Cats on Fire! A Fandom Rant
Jul. 27th, 2006 08:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
seventheAnd now a fandom question:
OK, guys, what's up with the not being able to interestingly write certain pairings? Where is the goodfic, and moreover, why is there so much clichefic? Can't a girl get a genuine take on anything anymore - especially on pairings that aren't crack?
This was spurred by me reading![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
bottle_of_shine's discussion thread on Rinoa-haters, but it's been coming for a while - because it bothers me, immensely. And so I ramble.
Why's thereno so little goodfic for certain pairings?
Like, let's say, Cloud/Tifa. As harsh as the CloudAeris vs CloudTifa wars were, I am amazed at the lack of fic on both sides. Every Cloud/Aeris I find has pining!Cloud, resurrected!Aeris, and true!love!immediately!and!for!fucking!ever!. And I'm sorry to say it, but I have yet to find a decent fic showing Cloud and Tifa getting together. Especially now, after AC, when it's been shown that Aeris and Zack are both definitely hella-gone and totally getting it on up in the Lifestream - I'd expect Cloud/Tifa to be appearing all over the place. BUT NO.
There's plenty of fic about them together, really, but I want to read about how the relationship develops, not just your squicky-twu-lurve vignette about how happy they are in Edge City or some shit. I want to see them getting together - how people think it would happen. Because, frankly, I'm not convinced that it would. I want to see Cloud and Tifa dealing with their past and their presentand Cloud's angstastic angstathon from AC and their personalities - Cloud's fuckedupness along with his loner streak and his desire to please; Tifa's caring, loving, almost doormatlike motherly concern; plus, their almost-siblingly regard for one another - and how someone thinks it would work out. Slowly. Not involving a one-shot where they fall into bed and get up married. FUCK, PLOTBUNNIES.
Please, someone write me a realistic Cloud/Tifa. Please.
And another thing! Squall/Rinoa, why dost thou suck so much badly?
GOOD SQUALL/RINOA FIC. WTF. It's as canon as canon gets, as much as I hate it. In fact, it's because I hate it so badly that I'm looking so hard for goodfic. It makes me hurt because I find them both annoying, and yet I want to read it so much.
Which makes no sense, I know, but: My relationship with the Squall/Rinoa pairing is like that song you hear on the radio, where the first couple times you hear it you like it - you may be jamming along with it - it may even get stuck in your head for a day - but then, after the radio stations sieze it and jam it down your throat every twenty minutes you get completely turned off on it, and every possible good thing you may have seen in the song completely vanishes from your mind, replaced with the sudden urge to retch all over someone's shoes and/or turn off the radio and/or retch all over the radio, breaking it in the process? That's me with Squall/Rinoa. If I see one more flowery S/R fic called "I'll find you" or "Waiting for you" in which they have a fake fight and are drawn back together by flowery feathery happy true love, I WILL retch all over this radio, and it'll be YOUR FAULT.
Can I have a Squall/Rinoa fic not full of flowery romance? As much as Squall changes in the game, I don't think he's the flowery romance type, unless Rinoa is That Bitchy Girl that dated the guy you liked in high school and always made him plan fancy candlelit dinners and buy flowers and made you scream Date me! Date me! I won't make you wear a collared shirt!! And yet every Squall/Rinoa I find is full of candles and flowers and declarations of true love. Either that, or one of them turnsPLOT DEVICE nasty (Squall --> dick / Rinoa --> bitch) so that the other one can hook up with Seifer/Quistis/man!slut!Irvine. WTF.
Please. I want Squall/Rinoa dealing with the issues they will VERY OBVIOUSLY have between them. Not pink romance. I hate pink and I hate romance. And I don't want angst either, really, because Squall has enough angst to fill four Gardens.
Why's it so hard to find good pairing fic that's not stuffed with crap?
And another thing! Cecil/Rosa! They've got angst (hlo Cecil's bro, Kain, the past kthx), they've got issues (Kain), they've got a potential threesome (Kain) - where's the goodfic? Hells, where's the fic?
It seems to me that it's incredibly hard to find and/or write more "standard" pairings. People seem drawn to the "opposites attract" thing (I cite very many Seifer/Quistis, Seifer/Squall, Rikku/Auron, Yuffie/Vincent fics). Or they seem drawn to characters with snark and/or spunk to them. And most of the good writers I know (here and on ff.net) tend to be experimental with their pairings and their writing and their crack. Not that crack is bad -- I love it -- I'm writing a Quistis/Rinoa story with sorceress powers -- but -- hey guys, how about a new twist on the old standard?
Is it because the standard is "boring" and/or "lame"? Is it just because it's overdone and crackalicious pairings are more fun? Why is most "standard" fic such utter shite?
Just because a relationship/attraction may already exist doesn't necessarily mean that there's less for an author to play with. And hi, plot. There are probably things going on in these people's lives other than OMG IM DATIN U, so where is it? How will the relationship form around already-existing lives?
C'mon, let's make boring sucky pairings not boring and/or sucky!
Eeeeeeee.
[/rant]
In conclusion, fandom(s), please. I'd issue a challenge for good Cloud/Tifa or Squall/Rinoa fic, but I want longer fics that show development, so I'm not going to challenge anyone and be like "WRITE ME 50K WORDZ ON THIS PAIRING, GO". But --
But why? Why is the rum gone, fandom? Why?
[EDIT] Sadly, after re-reading this rant, I also want to humbly request Rinoa/Irvine, which is crack and goes completely against my point. WTF IS WRONG WITH ME.
OK, guys, what's up with the not being able to interestingly write certain pairings? Where is the goodfic, and moreover, why is there so much clichefic? Can't a girl get a genuine take on anything anymore - especially on pairings that aren't crack?
This was spurred by me reading
bottle_of_shine's discussion thread on Rinoa-haters, but it's been coming for a while - because it bothers me, immensely. And so I ramble.Why's there
Like, let's say, Cloud/Tifa. As harsh as the CloudAeris vs CloudTifa wars were, I am amazed at the lack of fic on both sides. Every Cloud/Aeris I find has pining!Cloud, resurrected!Aeris, and true!love!immediately!and!for!fucking!ever!. And I'm sorry to say it, but I have yet to find a decent fic showing Cloud and Tifa getting together. Especially now, after AC, when it's been shown that Aeris and Zack are both definitely hella-gone and totally getting it on up in the Lifestream - I'd expect Cloud/Tifa to be appearing all over the place. BUT NO.
There's plenty of fic about them together, really, but I want to read about how the relationship develops, not just your squicky-twu-lurve vignette about how happy they are in Edge City or some shit. I want to see them getting together - how people think it would happen. Because, frankly, I'm not convinced that it would. I want to see Cloud and Tifa dealing with their past and their present
Please, someone write me a realistic Cloud/Tifa. Please.
And another thing! Squall/Rinoa, why dost thou suck so much badly?
GOOD SQUALL/RINOA FIC. WTF. It's as canon as canon gets, as much as I hate it. In fact, it's because I hate it so badly that I'm looking so hard for goodfic. It makes me hurt because I find them both annoying, and yet I want to read it so much.
Which makes no sense, I know, but: My relationship with the Squall/Rinoa pairing is like that song you hear on the radio, where the first couple times you hear it you like it - you may be jamming along with it - it may even get stuck in your head for a day - but then, after the radio stations sieze it and jam it down your throat every twenty minutes you get completely turned off on it, and every possible good thing you may have seen in the song completely vanishes from your mind, replaced with the sudden urge to retch all over someone's shoes and/or turn off the radio and/or retch all over the radio, breaking it in the process? That's me with Squall/Rinoa. If I see one more flowery S/R fic called "I'll find you" or "Waiting for you" in which they have a fake fight and are drawn back together by flowery feathery happy true love, I WILL retch all over this radio, and it'll be YOUR FAULT.
Can I have a Squall/Rinoa fic not full of flowery romance? As much as Squall changes in the game, I don't think he's the flowery romance type, unless Rinoa is That Bitchy Girl that dated the guy you liked in high school and always made him plan fancy candlelit dinners and buy flowers and made you scream Date me! Date me! I won't make you wear a collared shirt!! And yet every Squall/Rinoa I find is full of candles and flowers and declarations of true love. Either that, or one of them turns
Please. I want Squall/Rinoa dealing with the issues they will VERY OBVIOUSLY have between them. Not pink romance. I hate pink and I hate romance. And I don't want angst either, really, because Squall has enough angst to fill four Gardens.
Why's it so hard to find good pairing fic that's not stuffed with crap?
And another thing! Cecil/Rosa! They've got angst (hlo Cecil's bro, Kain, the past kthx), they've got issues (Kain), they've got a potential threesome (Kain) - where's the goodfic? Hells, where's the fic?
It seems to me that it's incredibly hard to find and/or write more "standard" pairings. People seem drawn to the "opposites attract" thing (I cite very many Seifer/Quistis, Seifer/Squall, Rikku/Auron, Yuffie/Vincent fics). Or they seem drawn to characters with snark and/or spunk to them. And most of the good writers I know (here and on ff.net) tend to be experimental with their pairings and their writing and their crack. Not that crack is bad -- I love it -- I'm writing a Quistis/Rinoa story with sorceress powers -- but -- hey guys, how about a new twist on the old standard?
Is it because the standard is "boring" and/or "lame"? Is it just because it's overdone and crackalicious pairings are more fun? Why is most "standard" fic such utter shite?
Just because a relationship/attraction may already exist doesn't necessarily mean that there's less for an author to play with. And hi, plot. There are probably things going on in these people's lives other than OMG IM DATIN U, so where is it? How will the relationship form around already-existing lives?
C'mon, let's make boring sucky pairings not boring and/or sucky!
Eeeeeeee.
[/rant]
In conclusion, fandom(s), please. I'd issue a challenge for good Cloud/Tifa or Squall/Rinoa fic, but I want longer fics that show development, so I'm not going to challenge anyone and be like "WRITE ME 50K WORDZ ON THIS PAIRING, GO". But --
But why? Why is the rum gone, fandom? Why?
[EDIT] Sadly, after re-reading this rant, I also want to humbly request Rinoa/Irvine, which is crack and goes completely against my point. WTF IS WRONG WITH ME.
