Shipping problems.
Jun. 27th, 2009 01:05 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pataka02Last night I was reading someone's reaction to a Ten/Martha fic they had read which basically discounted Rose's existence and portrayed her as a needy and poor companion who gave up all too easily at the first sign of trouble... which, no. She's just not like that. Is she too attached to the Doctor? Probably, same as he is to her. But an inept companion? No. Rose Tyler never gives up and kicks ass.
I'm all for shipping, and I'm fine with people shipping whatever they want -- sure, I don't like Ten/Martha, but then I don't read it. Jack/Daniel? Not my cup of particular tea, so I avoid it. Unless something is really well written and recommended to me over and over, then I just stay clear. That said, why can't people write alternate ships without denigrating other characters?
I love Rose/Doctor, and Sam/Jack, and Kara/Sam... and Kara/anyone. And Sam C./anyone. Hmm. Okay, so generally I have a female character that I adore and like to see shipped with whomever floats my boat. Whatevs. But that said, if I read Kara/Sam fic, I don't want to see Lee portrayed as an idiotic asshole (hey, I'm not a fan of the guy but I still like him at times). One ship shouldn't put the other characters down. I remember seeing a Jack/Daniel fic where Sam Carter was cast as an evil genius whose hubris got many killed, and Jack had to pretend to be interested in her to keep watch over her... really? You expect me to buy that? Why in order to write your story do you have to assasinate other characters so wholeheartedly? Yeah, there's AU fic and non-canon fic, which is awesome and that's what fic is for, but if you're not using the characterizations portrayed onscreen (or in the book) then all you're doing is not writing fanfic so much as writing your own fic... which fine, but don't pass it off as fanfic. You can make the character sinister or write them having turned evil, but they should still be recognizable as the characters we all know and love. The reason we like them is because they (ostensibly) are nuanced and neither wholly good nor wholly bad, which makes it more fun to play with them. So yes, Buffy can get tired of fighting the good fight and become apathetic and stop (hi season 6), or Sam's desire to discover more leads her to making a big mistake (hello Red Sky), or Kara is... well, Kara. Hee. She's too complicated to sum up.
You can write Jack/Daniel quite well (I've read some) without ignoring Sam and Teal'c in the process, and the same with writing Ten/Martha while still accepting that Rose affected the Doctor's life. It isn't a competition of your choice of love interest being better than the other possibility. I don't know why it's so often portrayed that way.
Sigh. I need to stay away from bad fic more.
I'm all for shipping, and I'm fine with people shipping whatever they want -- sure, I don't like Ten/Martha, but then I don't read it. Jack/Daniel? Not my cup of particular tea, so I avoid it. Unless something is really well written and recommended to me over and over, then I just stay clear. That said, why can't people write alternate ships without denigrating other characters?
I love Rose/Doctor, and Sam/Jack, and Kara/Sam... and Kara/anyone. And Sam C./anyone. Hmm. Okay, so generally I have a female character that I adore and like to see shipped with whomever floats my boat. Whatevs. But that said, if I read Kara/Sam fic, I don't want to see Lee portrayed as an idiotic asshole (hey, I'm not a fan of the guy but I still like him at times). One ship shouldn't put the other characters down. I remember seeing a Jack/Daniel fic where Sam Carter was cast as an evil genius whose hubris got many killed, and Jack had to pretend to be interested in her to keep watch over her... really? You expect me to buy that? Why in order to write your story do you have to assasinate other characters so wholeheartedly? Yeah, there's AU fic and non-canon fic, which is awesome and that's what fic is for, but if you're not using the characterizations portrayed onscreen (or in the book) then all you're doing is not writing fanfic so much as writing your own fic... which fine, but don't pass it off as fanfic. You can make the character sinister or write them having turned evil, but they should still be recognizable as the characters we all know and love. The reason we like them is because they (ostensibly) are nuanced and neither wholly good nor wholly bad, which makes it more fun to play with them. So yes, Buffy can get tired of fighting the good fight and become apathetic and stop (hi season 6), or Sam's desire to discover more leads her to making a big mistake (hello Red Sky), or Kara is... well, Kara. Hee. She's too complicated to sum up.
You can write Jack/Daniel quite well (I've read some) without ignoring Sam and Teal'c in the process, and the same with writing Ten/Martha while still accepting that Rose affected the Doctor's life. It isn't a competition of your choice of love interest being better than the other possibility. I don't know why it's so often portrayed that way.
Sigh. I need to stay away from bad fic more.
