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 Posted: Sun May 25, 2008 2:16 pm
When writing fanfiction, it's pretty hard to keep the characters in character at all times, especially is it's AU or if you've introduced an OC. Some of us manage, but there's always a little leeway, allowing you to have Mori actually talk or Ichigo to perhaps not be the best fighter this side of the universe.
Of course, that doesn't mean you can have Mori chat Haruhi's ear off, and your OC certainly can't beat Ichigo down without even trying. So the question I pose to you today is this: How out-of-character do you get? Do you think OOC-ness can be justified (i.e. "So-and-so's a lot meaner in my AU fic because she had a pretty rough past." or "Ichigo and Rukia don't hit it off in my story because he didn't owe her for giving him the power to save his family; they didn't have any common-ground.")?
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Posted: Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:21 pm
For me, it's when the character in question no longer resembles the character I've seen/read without any steps leading up to it or a reason. If two rivals/enemies started out that way, then there had be a steady progression from when they turned from that into friends or lovers, because humans are such complex creatures. We do not easily get over someone trying to kill us or outdo us every step of the way.
When a character's history is changed, it's going to affect how the character develops over time. As for how dramatic the change is going to be, it depends on how much of an impact it makes on a character's history. Losing a parent or never meeting an influential friend is certainly a big impact. It shouldn't be too hard to locate right away since there won't be any mention of that person in the story and the life experience they gained from it won't be there either. It also depends on the settings themselves.
It's when they changed the character without any rhyme or reason. For OCxcanon romance, the character is often changed to fit the whim of the author or Sue, but more than often, you can't differentiate between the two. I hate it when they make an evil or psychotic character turned into a mushy, corny love sap. Sephiroth is a calm, calculating man when sane. He's most certainly not a romantic guy, sane or not. Kadaj only cares about his Mother so if you aren't her, get out of his way.
I enjoy developing characters through their experiences. Sure, they'll probably end up somewhat OOC, but I have built it up to that experience where you can see their progression. I just don't like overnight changes like Hermione suddenly forgetting about studying in favor of fashion over the summer. She's a bookworm for crying out loud.
Slight OOC is (for me) acceptable when the characters are placed in situations we don't know how they'll react. In those cases, we can only guess their reactions and thought processes. After all, we didn't create those characters. We're only borrowing them.
I hope I made some sense. =/
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Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 12:09 am
No, it makes perfect sense! That first sentence is a perfect way to measure if a character is acting OOC; genius, Chibi wink
This makes me feel a bit better about all my AU fics; I mean, I'll still worry over every little line of dialogue ("Would he really say that?" or "Would they really start fighting?"), but what you've said is true, and I'll keep that in mind as I have a 20-year-somthing Kairi write anonymous love poems to the literary magazine Sora edits or when I pluck Kaien out of my AU-Rukia's history.
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Posted: Mon Jun 02, 2008 10:06 pm
Yay! Sometimes my thoughts are all scattered and it's hard relaying the information without losing track.
AU is going to be different as they'll be in different settings and have different histories. It's their personalities that should mostly reflect their original ones. I mean if like someone like Sephiroth, a distant, calculating, no nonsense guy, suddenly becomes the most popular guy, well liked, and a hopless romantic sap, then obviously that's not Sephiroth. They only share the same appearance and name.
Now if you write Sephiroth as if he had one or two close friends, but was still calculating and no nonsense, then that would be fine for AU since he wouldn't have been raised in a labs or gone through all that torture. Sure, he might have experienced some neglect or was expected to be perfect, but he wouldn't be an experiment for some deranged scientist.
Characters reflect their history and environment, but their core still stays the same.
Huzzah! Chibi said something intelligent... for a change. 4laugh
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