Fanfiction Lounge Page 195

Started by ^^NICK^^ v.2.0 September 6th, 2003 7:57 PM
  • 882196 views
  • 15269 replies
Seen January 1st, 2023
Posted April 20th, 2020
4,423 posts
15.4 Years
How do you treat the subject of character death?

Hm... To me, a character dying is all about the reaction from the other characters. When I kill off characters, I do so realistically, and when they die, it's the consequences of that death and the reactions that I'm interested in.

It's not to be played around with or to be used as a:

'Oh, my fic isn't doing well, I better kill off a character!'
'It's been a prevalent notion. Fallen sparks. Fragments of vessels broken at the Creation. And someday, somehow, before the end, a gathering back to home. A messenger from the Kingdom, arriving at the last moment. But I tell you there is no such message, no such home -- only the millions of last moments . . . nothing more. Our history is an aggregate of last moments.'

Bay

She/They
Dani California
Seen 6 Hours Ago
Posted 7 Hours Ago
6,347 posts
17 Years
How do you treat the subject of character death?

Well, on "Nothing, Everything"...

Spoiler:
There's one character that I killed off on the second chapter, though throughout the story his name and his actions will keep popping up from time to time. In fact, his death and past actions is the reason the three main characters are under the situations they're in now. Yeah, bascially in that story it became a huge deal with those three not getting the answers they wanted from him before he died. Okay, should stop there before I spill more things out. :X


Yeah, bascially I treat character deaths that would like led to consequences and character development. I never really killed off a main character yet, but it's because I don't think it's needed and would make it as if I'm trying too hard to make the story too dramatic. For supporting characters and minor characters, I do deaths a couple of times as I feel it flows the story and would actually make a more lasting impact, would make character development, fits the theme well, etc.
Miles Edgeworth
Foul Play [On Hiatus]

Incinermyn

The Abomination Lives!!!

Age 37
Male
Wisconsin, USA
Seen July 29th, 2018
Posted May 21st, 2016
646 posts
15.8 Years
How do you treat the subject of character death?

To me, when it comes to killing off characters, I normally try not to overplay it and make the reactions to it as realistic as possible. That is, unless it's some type of comical death (basically something you'd expect to be in something like Scary Movie or some other parody), then I try and make it really unbelievable or just plain rediculous.

Dragonfree

Teh Spwriter. :3

Age 33
Female
Iceland
Seen February 9th, 2020
Posted November 28th, 2012
1,290 posts
19.1 Years
I love killing characters, but not death for death's sake; what I find interesting about death is the psychology associated with it. The Fall of a Leader, for example, largely revolves around the Scyther society's perception of death and there are quite a few character deaths in it; all of those are there because they serve a major purpose in the character development of the story (aside from the random prey, of course, but I don't really count them as characters).

Spoiler:
The main characters are called Stormblade and Shadowdart. The first actual character death is that of Stormblade's mate, who is killed on a hunt by a Letaligon (a fake Pokémon). Additionally, she was pregnant at the time. He has been clinging to her as basically his only friend in the world, and her death drives him into a frenzy where he brutally tortures and tears the Letaligon apart in revenge, which is the second death and serves the purpose of making Stormblade feel truly disgusted by his own actions and decide that maybe Shadowdart, who has been warning him about the dangers of caring too much about another individual, is right after all. The first death both serves the purpose of initiating this and of leaving Stormblade having nobody left to turn to except Shadowdart.

The third death is that of the swarm Leader, who is killed by Shadowdart in a duel. It's the first time that Shadowdart kills another Scyther and is therefore where he faces his own fear of death. He has also talked and talked about how much he will love to kill the Leader (whom he despises) and accordingly feels no remorse when he has won the duel and actually killed him.

The final three character deaths haven't happened yet, since they are in parts six and seven, which I haven't posted yet. I'm not going to spoil them, but all of them serve the purpose of developing Shadowdart's character.
~Butterfree/Dragonfree/antialiasis of The Cave of Dragonflies

Still not going to sprite for your fangame. Sorry, but I don't really sprite or give out permission for people to use my fake Pokémon anymore.

txteclipse

The Last

Age 32
Riverside
Seen March 23rd, 2023
Posted November 2nd, 2016
2,322 posts
15.7 Years
Character death is a tough subject, and there's some good and bad examples in many different works.

Spoiler:
In the Redwall series (some of you may have read it or are reading it), there is one book I don't remember which) where a main character dies in about the last twenty pages. The thing is: you don't know this until later. The actual part where the character dies makes it sound like she just gets knocked unconcious, and the other main character also thinks this, but when he tries to wake her up he realizes that she is actually dead. I had to read that part a few times, because I really couldn't believe it. The character had been in the entire book from the start, was one of the two central characters, had tons of character development, and then just got killed by some bad guy on a whim. It really sucked to read, but it was also one of the most memorable scenes I have ever read.


Now: there are also some character deaths that make me groan. If a bad guy is killed as a result of a monologue, I groan. If a good guy is getting his butt kicked and then suddenly gets super-awesome for no reason and kills a bad guy, I groan. If a good guy dies just to say something epic, or to look "heroic", I groan. If a good guy dies to save a bunch of people, takes a bad guy out in the process, and still gets to do a heroic monologue, I practically want to claw my eyes out. Some of these have been implemented to good effect in the past, but that's only on an extremely rare occasion. Mostly, these types of "Mary Sue" deaths just annoy me.

My take on character death is that it should be used to seriously develop other characters and/or create a serious change of tone and/or change of plot.
Age 36
Seen February 14th, 2012
Posted February 1st, 2009
446 posts
18.7 Years
Now: there are also some character deaths that make me groan. If a bad guy is killed as a result of a monologue, I groan. If a good guy is getting his butt kicked and then suddenly gets super-awesome for no reason and kills a bad guy, I groan. If a good guy dies just to say something epic, or to look "heroic", I groan. If a good guy dies to save a bunch of people, takes a bad guy out in the process, and still gets to do a heroic monologue, I practically want to claw my eyes out. Some of these have been implemented to good effect in the past, but that's only on an extremely rare occasion. Mostly, these types of "Mary Sue" deaths just annoy me.
you might need to be more specific, because the way I see it, it's not completely unrealistic for a character to act sacrificial, like for instance, giving their allies a chance to run away fully knowing there's a good chance the character him/herself won't survive holding off against an antagonist. However, such a thing sorta sounds like one of these "heroic" deaths you don't like.

txteclipse

The Last

Age 32
Riverside
Seen March 23rd, 2023
Posted November 2nd, 2016
2,322 posts
15.7 Years
Like I said, there are both good and bad examples. Well, maybe I shouldn't say bad. Maybe I should say "mediocre" or "unimpactful." It's not that the death usually ruins the story, it's just that it doesn't seem to have the effect it should or that you can't really "feel" for the character. If the character goes "out of character", so to speak, when they die, it just isn't believable for me and doesn't do anything for me.

For instance: if the character has been a goof-off for the entire story, and then they suddenly get really serious and start saying really serious things before they die, it's like you aren't reading about the same character. The death doesn't feel right because the character is different. Or if the character is a bad guy, and then they suddenly see the error of their ways and sacrifice themselves to correct whatever they have done, it feels fake. The character has obviously been bad for some time, and it's almost impossible for someone to just suddenly be good to the extent that they would give themselves up to save other people.

There have also been good heroic deaths, like when someone knowingly sacrifices themself to save other people. These are actually usually quite impactful, although many seem to take on a "cookie cutter" feel, if that makes any sense. It's like some authors make it a point to have at least one person die knowingly as a result of trying to save other people. The author usually has a brief period of mourning, and then the character is forgotten even if they have been an integral part of the story. That just isn't realistic to me.

That's a lot of writing, but I hope you understand where I'm coming from.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, what I described is the "for the sake of someone dying" thing. If the character really doesn't have to die, and it has little to no impact on the story or characters, then I usually find myself cringing.

EDIT EDIT: Wow I think to much. My main problem may be that I've seen certain character deaths that literally tear me apart, or otherwise affect me exactly like the author wants them to. If you've seen Das Boot, among other things, you may know what I mean.

Anyways, it may be that other character deaths aren't necesarilly "bad", but they just aren't as potent as things I've seen. I may be a little biased against character deaths that aren't utterly emotionally wrenching, but I guess that's a little unfair on my part. Character deaths can be as serious or unserious as the author wants, and it's pretty much up to them to decide. Not all stories are meant to be heavy or overly deep.
Age 36
Seen 17 Hours Ago
Posted 2 Days Ago
What are your views on the people that only post in this thread to say that their next chapter is up or to ask for a review and never actually take part in the conversation?
:< They annoy me. I don't mind if there's more substance to their posts, or if at other times they take part in the conversation. But when the only appearance by them is just to say that a new chapter is up, I wish for nothing more than to...I dunno. Do something to them.

How do you figure out the gaps between a SPAM fic and a real fan fic with bad grammar ect?
I flip a coin.

Do you always have the same amount of chapters in your fan fictions, or do you just go with the flow of the story?
Flow where I want to. Flow around the world.

Are you more likely to make your character love his/her Pokemon or to leave the whole bonding thing out of your work?
Wouldn't it be kind of difficult to leave the bond out of the story, unless you want your Pokemon to not be well-rounded characters? I mean, bond or not, they still develop some sort of feelings towards their trainers. For some, it wouldn't go as far as undying devotion, as in the case of anime Ash and Pikachu. For some, it just might mean respect on both sides, where they are friends. And then there are those who view their Pokemon as some sort of status symbol, which is how my trainer starts out her relationship with her Pokemon.

How do you treat the subject of character death?
If it's needed, fine. For instance, in a different fic that I have a few one-liners written about from three years ago, the plan was to have a character die to spur on the team to finish the good fight. I would never include a death to try and gain popularity.

And ACC? Bugger off. :<

Avatar credit: Fairy
In a House
Seen March 20th, 2016
Posted January 22nd, 2010
1,823 posts
16.6 Years
And ACC? Bugger off. :<

Cruel words. My heart bleeds in agony. XD

Anyway, point taken. I don't mean to harass for reviews, it's just that I'm paranoid about posting anything else until I get feedback. If there's a problem in the first chapter, I want it to be one that doesn't affect the rest of the fic.


As for the subject of character death... well, my characters may or may not die at any given point. If there's a part of the story where I feel a death is necessary and will add poignance, effect the plot, make the fic better, etc. I will not hesitate to have the character die (in a self-sacrificial manner or otherwise). Gratuitous death for the purpose of pleasing the fans isn't something I feel inclined to do, especially since I hold a little bit of personal affection for all my characters. I mean, if I killed one off for no good reason I'd be thinking "Hold on, I just spent most of my free time daydreaming about this character's traits, struggling to make them human and believable, giving them an appearance that fits the setting and adds to the story, AND developing them as a person only to kill them off? And what did that accomplish?" If they die, they'll do it only when the death is meaningful. (By 'meaningful' I mean in the sense that other characters and the plot are affected majorly).

x x x x

Age 35
Female
Blackthorn City. :3
Seen February 5th, 2011
Posted November 1st, 2009
119 posts
18.9 Years
How do you treat the subject of character death?

Carefully.

Like everyone else, I'm not fond of gratuitous character deaths, but at the same time a death doesn't necessarily need to be 'meaningful' either. Certainly, if the character were a main character, then the death would have to affect the story--because they're so directly involved in the events that a lot of what comes afterward would be affected by it--but if done well then a 'meaningless' death, like an accident, could be just as poignant. Which I suppose is another way of being meaningful to the story...

I'd take into consideration the situation itself. If a situation is realistically dangerous enough for a character to die, I wouldn't be opposed to it even if it didn't end up spurring the protagonists on to greater heights or something. Let's face it, death comes as death comes, and not necessarily in any 'meaningful' way (which in itself can be pretty angsty for the characters who are left behind, wondering why the hell that person had to die in that way instead of this way...).

Uhm, yeah, so mostly I'd consider the situation and how dangerous it is (I'm a fan of whumpage and hurt/comfort, so I'm more likely to have my major characters injured and possibly scarred) but also, from a purely practical point of view, the character's role in the story. Sometimes a character just might not have any place in a story after a certain point, but has been too involved in the story up until then to just realistically move away or leave the business or whatever other ideas there might be for getting rid of them. Although, one of those options at least leaves it open for them to return if needed... which, depending on their relationship to the protagonist, might not necessarily be a good idea. It depends on what's happening.

In general, I like a few character deaths for realism's sake (because stories where everything turns out hunky-dorey and everyone gets married to each other and has ten kids and live happily ever after just kind of annoy me, especially when there was extreme physical danger involved in the story... at least have someone permanently scarred in some way, please!), just not too many. Although, I also have a tendency to get attached to characters and object to their deaths on a purely subjective basis. ^.^;;

Especially when we're talking in terms of fanfiction... I just realised that up until now I've been thinking in terms of stories in general. O.o I don't actually like reading fanfics in which the author kills off a canon character. ^.^;; Considering I've done exactly that in the past and will be doing so in the future, it's incredibly hypocritical of me to say that, so I should probably clarify by saying that I'm not fond of deathfics; that is, stories which are about the death and solely about the death. If they die in the course of some grand adventure (or near to, yanno, with a meaning and a reason and all that) then yeah, I can take it. I'd mourn, but I could take it. Especially if I was warned beforehand. :P

The kind of death I do not like is the 'final moment monologue' syndrome. It's just been done so many times, that when a character on the verge of death starts monologuing and you just know they're going to die at the end of it--or a few words short of the end of it--I start rolling my eyes. I wouldn't mind if they monologued, fell unconscious, then died a few hours later of their injuries without waking up again, but the timing is just... meh. I know it's good drama and all, but really.

That should come under the heading of 'not necessarily bad but tired and old', though, I suppose. Some of the other heroic cliches txteclipse has brought up tend to make me cringe too, for much the same reason. They're just so easily abused.

The other thing that gets me is when a person dies and doesn't stay dead. For comedic purposes--or the author is deliberately trying to make a point with it--yeah, okay. But usually the character needs to be brought back for a damn good reason before I'll accept it. There are some stories which I like in which that happens, but mostly it depends on how it's handled; if a character is brought back solely to get together with their romantic interest so they can live happily ever after or something like that, then no. Just no.
Age 36
Seen February 14th, 2012
Posted February 1st, 2009
446 posts
18.7 Years
Especially when we're talking in terms of fanfiction... I just realised that up until now I've been thinking in terms of stories in general. O.o I don't actually like reading fanfics in which the author kills off a canon character. ^.^;;
don't worry about it... even though I am careful about adapting certain game mechanics (I probably mentioned earlier about representing Pokemon stats), I've gotten to look at my ideas as stories by themselves a lot. As for the canon characters.... I too don't wanna kill any of them off (the only exception is someone whom I've based off of a background character, though technically, it's kinda half-canon half-original there). Given, I don't exactly intend to give them sugary sweet endings neither. In any case, I rarely involve canon characters altogether. The only story planned to heavily involve canon characters at all is a oneshot starring Kaede (the girl Ash faced in the Houen League), and my serial will feature a few canon characters but not many, most notably the miko sisters in Ecruteak City (and even so, I'm giving the characters original personalities and backgrounds, as it's still a unique canon despite the world being derived from the games).

The kind of death I do not like is the 'final moment monologue' syndrome. It's just been done so many times, that when a character on the verge of death starts monologuing and you just know they're going to die at the end of it--or a few words short of the end of it--I start rolling my eyes. I wouldn't mind if they monologued, fell unconscious, then died a few hours later of their injuries without waking up again, but the timing is just... meh. I know it's good drama and all, but really.
just making sure, but "monologuing" is when they give some long-winded speech and/or their life story, right? I don't intend to ever do that. Usually, if a character's suffering from a fatal wound and hacking up blood, but they have some last word they need to convey, it'd make sense to have them try and do so in as few lines as possible. If a character does have a death monologue, it should be before they commit suicide, as opposed to being injured and conveniently collapsing right after they finished talking. I'm also rather fond of having time seemingly slow down as you hear the final thoughts (instead of spoken dialog where they struggle just to say one syllable) of a character who's meeting their demise.

The other thing that gets me is when a person dies and doesn't stay dead. For comedic purposes--or the author is deliberately trying to make a point with it--yeah, okay. But usually the character needs to be brought back for a damn good reason before I'll accept it. There are some stories which I like in which that happens, but mostly it depends on how it's handled; if a character is brought back solely to get together with their romantic interest so they can live happily ever after or something like that, then no. Just no.
bleh, I know exactly what you mean. Seriously, if you like a character and want them to stay alive to the end of the series just for the hell of it, then just let them live. Don't give them so big dramatic death scene that's ruined when a reset button is completely pulled out of the author's ass. -_- And if there is a resurrection, at least make it sensible, preferably done through techniques that've been foreshadowed for a long time.

Spoiler:
Time for my usual anime/manga references.... I'd say Nausicaa did this alright. Hell, as much as the series is criticized nowadays, even Dragon Ball made sense of its resurrections... although they never really did much with most the characters who did come back. Also, the game Chrono Trigger.... one would expect it to just be common sense, seeing as it revolves around time-travel, but apparently, they played up the added bonus of a Chekhov's gun, in the form of a doll you're capable of obtaining as early as the beginning. ^^


If there was absolutely nothing leading up to it, however, it kinda shows that the author didn't know how the character would come back when they died (meaning they wanted them around to the end, albeit for no real purpose on the character's part a lot of the time, and just felt like giving them some cheap drama along the way without thinking of a decent way out of it beforehand), or even if they'd come back (in which case, they just succumbed to fanservice or something AFTER they planned an otherwise permanent death). Again, it's just salt to the wound if it's done through some completely out-of-nowhere deus ex machina.

Spoiler:
I enjoyed the anime Mai-HiME for the most part, but god damn, I hate the reset button it had to push for its ending. -_- Another example could be found in Pokemon: the Ruby/Sapphire adaption of the Special manga (god, Ruby ****ing fails as a character).

Some might also be willing to point out the recent Dialga vs. Palkia vs. Darkrai movie, however someone on SPPF makes a good point in its defense: after Latios and Lucario, they probably wanted to try something different and a little less expected. Also, given Palkia's space-warping powers, it's not entirely far-fetched neither.

Grovyle42(Griff8416)

No. 1 Grovyle Fan

Male
Seen April 11th, 2023
Posted May 14th, 2014
1,103 posts
15.9 Years
I have a question. What if it's presumed that a character dies but it's never actually confirmed (i.e they never actually see the body or have living proof of the death)? Is it still in poor taste to have the character live even if they didn't actually die? (although the characters think they did). Keep in mind this would not be in result of nagging fans.

Isaac Gravity

Supports hot-bloodedness

A quiet place where I can stare at the clouds
Seen August 23rd, 2008
Posted August 23rd, 2008
262 posts
18.5 Years
I have a question. What if it's presumed that a character dies but it's never actually confirmed (i.e they never actually see the body or have living proof of the death)? Is it still in poor taste to have the character live even if they didn't actually die? (although the characters think they did). Keep in mind this would not be in result of nagging fans.
In the world of mecha (especially Super Robot Wars) if there's no body found even after the mech suffered loads of damage/blew up then the MIA can always come back with some form of plot armor simply because of the above reason regardless of how crazy the idea they survived all that seems.

Is it in bad taste? In the eyes of the beholder honestly. I'm pretty neutral towards these kinds of situations if I look at them in the above perspective. But... I guess its ultimately in how its all pulled off really. That's what I think anyway.

txteclipse

The Last

Age 32
Riverside
Seen March 23rd, 2023
Posted November 2nd, 2016
2,322 posts
15.7 Years
I actually kind of like "almost deaths" in which the author goes back and shows how the person didn't die. The reason they live is often one you don't expect, but makes perfect sense when you hear it.

However, I don't really like the "I lived because of blind luck" thing, unless it seems plausible. For illustration's sake, if someone has a nuke dropped on them, they aren't going to live unless there's some serious crap going on. On the other hand, if someone falls off a bridge, there's a chance they could be alive. I'd be more inclined to accept the latter, unless the former had a really good explanation.
In a House
Seen March 20th, 2016
Posted January 22nd, 2010
1,823 posts
16.6 Years
Actually, the whole "I fell but I'm still alive!" thing is the most common form of presumed-death experience and is becoming a bit cliche, in my opinion. Actually, I'm thinking of writing a parody-fic in which the characters push a villain over a bridge to his apparent death and then spend the rest of the story looking for him because, as the main character says, "Falling off a bridge to your apparent death is NEVER fatal in this kind of story!" Ah, but that's for another day.

Kakakyz, next question.

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?

Just a point of personal inquiry. I think the closest I get in the current draft of "Thief in the Night" is a short scene where Gale and a main character argue about the origin of life, and Gale loses the argument because he can't prove anything he's said up to that point any more then the other character can. It's kind of a gratuitous scene, though, so I'm wondering whether or not I should add something in that would add a little more plot exposition or develop the other character somehow. Hrmm...

x x x x

Seen January 1st, 2023
Posted April 20th, 2020
4,423 posts
15.4 Years
Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?


An intellectual question, good work ACC.

Okay, at the end of my fan fiction, they begin to question if there is an afterlife, an a certain character knows whether there is or not, but won't tell, and the moral to do that is that you'll never know until the time comes, which is what I was trying to achieve... I didn't give to much away about the story there, did I? XD.

To add to that, I also have a topic to boost some life in here:

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
'It's been a prevalent notion. Fallen sparks. Fragments of vessels broken at the Creation. And someday, somehow, before the end, a gathering back to home. A messenger from the Kingdom, arriving at the last moment. But I tell you there is no such message, no such home -- only the millions of last moments . . . nothing more. Our history is an aggregate of last moments.'
In a House
Seen March 20th, 2016
Posted January 22nd, 2010
1,823 posts
16.6 Years
Hmm...

In answer to that question, one of the "quirks" I wrote into "Thief in the Night" is that every chapter title is also the name of a song or a reference to a song. Chapter one is "Fall Out" by the Police, Chapter two is planned on being called "Synchronicity", also by The Police. But I don't really use music in the actual fic other than a short segment where it's stated that a band is playing a love song. Well, when I get around to drafting that part. Anyway, I try not to throw in real names because it feels a little.... gratuitous, and serves to confuse the Pokemon world with the real world. They are two very different places though they do share similarities. Plus it feels weird to throw an American (or even British) artist's work into a country based off of Japan. If anything, I'd mention Ayuko Tsuchiya or something like that. Problem is that I'm not knowledgable enough about Japanese culture and language to even attempt to give the Pokemon World a culture based heavily off of it, so I just opted to give it a culture pretty much distinctly its own. Phyres Island I'm taking more liberties with because it's not a "region" Per Se, and it has its own government separate from that of the other regions. As a result it's pretty distinct in culture and has differing laws particularly dealing with gun control, civil service, etc. Anyway, point is that I don't insert real-world artists because their music makes no real sense unless the culture is one that listens to that music heavily.

x x x x

Age 36
Seen February 14th, 2012
Posted February 1st, 2009
446 posts
18.7 Years
actually, English songs ARE popular in Japan. You just don't see them crop up in anime as much as they do in our shows/movies because anime tend to go with original soundtracks (watch a news broadcast or a commercial, on the other hand, and they're bound to show up). Not only that, but a lot of series will refrain from making pop-culture references. I mean, there are some out there that do make such references, no denying that, but they're not in the majority, let alone the mainstream. Also, if a pop-culture reference is made, it's usually pandering towards otaku, as seen with Suzumiya Haruhi and Lucky Star (but again, there are exceptions to this... Bleach acknowledges Western artists on occasion, and the name Bleach itself is based off of an album, indicating a heavy music influence on Tite Kubo's part).
In a House
Seen March 20th, 2016
Posted January 22nd, 2010
1,823 posts
16.6 Years
See what I mean about knowing absolutely nothing about Japan? Yeah, I'm not even attempting to give the Pokemon world a culture that leans towards any particular country because of this. I could probably find this out with a bit of research, but I've always been more interested in Japan's history and folklore then their current culture. I know about weird things like the requiem ceremony for broken needles, but not about the music scene or the popular movies.

x x x x

Grovyle42(Griff8416)

No. 1 Grovyle Fan

Male
Seen April 11th, 2023
Posted May 14th, 2014
1,103 posts
15.9 Years
Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
No religion (except for some Arceus references).

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I do use real music in my fic. Oasis and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, for example.
Age 36
Seen 17 Hours Ago
Posted 2 Days Ago
Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
I used to in a previous draft of my OT fanfiction. Right now, though, there's no place for it, so there's nothing. I do still keep the idea of the Pokegods, with my character "praying" to them and cursing Dialga when she's late for school. But that's it so far.

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I don't use any music. At all.

Avatar credit: Fairy
Age 36
Seen February 14th, 2012
Posted February 1st, 2009
446 posts
18.7 Years
See what I mean about knowing absolutely nothing about Japan? Yeah, I'm not even attempting to give the Pokemon world a culture that leans towards any particular country because of this. I could probably find this out with a bit of research, but I've always been more interested in Japan's history and folklore then their current culture. I know about weird things like the requiem ceremony for broken needles, but not about the music scene or the popular movies.
like I said, pop culture references (especially in comparison to our shows) are particularly low in most anime that I've seen. That said, you can make the setting seem inherently Japanese without actually delving into that sort of stuff (in fact, there's really no reason to go out of your way like that.... there's a difference between making the setting a particular culture, and then there's just trying too damn hard. Truthfully, I feel like I was doing the latter in my earlier versions ^^').

Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?
my serial and its sequel are pretty much based around the concept of gods, so.... yeah. Do I draw parallels with existing religions? Not sure, really.... I think I mainly focus on religion in general. Though, given the heavy influence, some aspects of Buddhism and Shintoism may be there (Shinto especially, given the comparisons I was making earlier between it and legendary Pokemon.... though, a lot of the newer legendaries seem to lean towards Greek mythology).

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?
I'm an insane person and I have insane dreams of doujinshi. ^^ [cough] That said, although I in no way want to reference actual music (given what I said earlier), an original soundtrack to accompany my manga would be wonderful (and my erogee could especially use a soundtrack.... as well as voice-over work). I wouldn't mind using a bit of my own pocket money and, through usage of Paypal, Skype, and a fair amount of talent-searching, direct some promising amateurs to perform music for me overseas (alternatively, and this may sound like a typical otaku comment, I'm wondering about the possibility of me actually being in Japan in a few years. Except unlike most otaku, I'm actually serious.... I've gotten a little interested in a career as an English teacher there and might consider continuing work towards my Bachelor's Degree ^^).

I've even got a few songs and BGMs already in mind.... my problem is, I don't know how to compose worth crap, so I doubt I'll be able to properly convey the kind of tunes I want to hear, at least not without seriously looking into the study of music. Alternatively, I could take a shortcut with this intriguing Vocaloid program I've been seeing on Youtube lately (I hear it's so easy to use, a deaf monkey could supposedly compose decent songs with it). That isn't to say I'll use computerized sounds all the way through (even if Miku does sound surprisingly good), but they could be used to represent what it is I want real people to perform. Also, given the bilingual approach I'm taking towards my projects, you can expect vocal songs to mainly be in Japanese, though a few may be in English (including English versions of some Japanese songs).

For a listing of titles for some BGMs I currently have planned (though subject to change), click the spoiler below.
Spoiler:
for the erogee:
夢のミラージュ (Yume no Mirage/Mirage of the Dream; opening theme)
あれ…ノコッチ…? (Are... Nokocchi...?/That's... a Dunsparce...?)
NAIL IT、ネアル!! (Nail it, Nearu!!/Nail it, Neal!!; "Neal" is the nickname of the protagonist's Sabonea/Cacnea)
洞窟で… (Doukutsu de.../In the Cave...)
磁場の砂 (Jiba no Suna/Magnetic Sand)
面会時間 (Menkai Jikan/Visiting Hours)
ハーデスの川 (Haadesu no Kawa/The Rivers of Hades)

for the serial:
LOST SOUL (character song for a major antagonist)
自然対理工 (Shizen tai Rikou/Nature vs. Technology)
ヤベー…イサミだ! (Yabee... Isami da!/Crap... it's Isami!)
親子 (Oyako/Parent & Child)
陰陽師 (Onmyouji)

I'd also like remixes of some Pokemon songs, including (but not limited to) the BGMs to the Pokemon Center, Route 111, Enju City (Ecruteak City), the Ice Path, Colosseum's regular battle music, and some others. Also, in spite of what I said about existing music, classical music could be an exception. In particular, I could see "Night on Bald Mountain" having a fitting part at some point.

Bay

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Dani California
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17 Years
Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw paralells to religious beliefs?

The first version of "Nothing, Everything" was going to have really heavy religious themes. However, I then quit on that version as I'm afraid I might trigger controversy. ^^; On the second version, it's going to be more based on the theme of history.

If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

Spoiler:
In "Nothing, Everything" I had made up a couple of bands and songs loosely based on the real life ones, though the characters won't meet them in person...their songs will be heard on radio XD. I pretty much did that for the same reason ACC-M said.


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Miles Edgeworth
Foul Play [On Hiatus]
Age 35
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Blackthorn City. :3
Seen February 5th, 2011
Posted November 1st, 2009
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18.9 Years
just making sure, but "monologuing" is when they give some long-winded speech and/or their life story, right? I don't intend to ever do that. Usually, if a character's suffering from a fatal wound and hacking up blood, but they have some last word they need to convey, it'd make sense to have them try and do so in as few lines as possible. If a character does have a death monologue, it should be before they commit suicide, as opposed to being injured and conveniently collapsing right after they finished talking. I'm also rather fond of having time seemingly slow down as you hear the final thoughts (instead of spoken dialog where they struggle just to say one syllable) of a character who's meeting their demise.
Mhm... pretty much a discourse that monopolises a situation/conversation. In this case, though, I tend to refer to most pre-death speeches as 'monologues'. >.< Bad of me.

I think part of the problem of me not liking pre-death speeches--monologues or otherwise--is that a lot of the time they seem to be something irrelevant to the story or just... trite. And yes, the 'conveniently collapsing right after they finish talking' is another part. :P

The slo-mo technique is pretty fun too. ^^ Never written it myself, though; I'm partial to the sudden and shocking, when the either character dies instantly (usually written from the PoV of someone else) or falls unconscious and never gets a chance to think last thoughts. Or you don't find out they're dead until one of the other characters do.

Spoiler:
Another example could be found in Pokemon: the Ruby/Sapphire adaption of the Special manga (god, Ruby ****ing fails as a character).
Hell yes. :< I haven't read past volume 19 yet, simply because I was spoiled and I hate the idea of what I know is coming up so much that I just haven't had the heart to keep reading.



I have a question. What if it's presumed that a character dies but it's never actually confirmed (i.e they never actually see the body or have living proof of the death)? Is it still in poor taste to have the character live even if they didn't actually die? (although the characters think they did). Keep in mind this would not be in result of nagging fans.
Well, depending on how it's done (and who the character is ;) ) I haven't a problem with that happening, especially when it's pre-planned. If it's used for the sake of a plot device (not exactly fanservice, but the character really has no right to be returning) then it falls under the lines of being badly done. It's like Isaac Gravity said: it depends on how it's pulled off, and I'd consider an assumed death to be easier to pull off well than an outright resurrection.


Do you occasionally use religious symbolism in fiction, original or otherwise, or do you draw parallels to religious beliefs?

Mm, I'm not sure how to answer this, mostly because I'm Christian and I'm sure some of my stories have some kind of religious bias without me noticing.

In terms of Pokemon-specific stories, I usually have people swearing by God, although depending on where they're from they might also swear by a Legendary, even though I don't exactly consider the Legendaries to be gods that humans, at least, worship (at least not in this modern day and age, or not commonly). Pokemon, on the other hand, I do see as worshipping and praying to the Legendaries, such as they can. It's really only recently that I've become interested in introducing real-life religion to the pokemon world.

Spoiler:
In my OT, the protagonist is myth-obsessed and names her pokemon after mythological deities, but she herself is atheist, while her rival is Catholic.


However, I usually don't try to insert symbolism for the purpose of drawing parallels... not actively, at least; I do recall some of my characters in HotM/CaC being allusions to Biblical characters. Also, it depends on a little on what culture the fandom is set in--Rurouni Kenshin and Yu Yu Hakusho, for instance, have Shinto and Buddhist aspects to take into account, because of their plotline and/or setting.

As for my original stories, well, I try to involve real-life religions where the setting is a real-life setting, but in terms of completely fantastical cultures I tend to create my own, although they may be inspired by real-life religions/mythologies (such as one which is based off the Ancient Egyptian pantheon and beliefs).

So... yeah. ^.^;; This topic kind of falls under the realm of 'things I don't think about but just happen'.


If you ever use music in your fan fiction, do you allow it to be real music, like something made by Paul McCartney, or do you create your own singer/band/song?

On the rare occasions I have used music, it's been real stuff.
Spoiler:
(although, also in my future OT, there's a major character who is obsessed with classical and operatic music.)
Anything that isn't real stuff I'd usually avoid naming or creating an artist for.