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What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I'm working on the outline for a new fic for when I finish my current one, and this question came to me. I want to make my stories as enjoyable as possible, so I thought I would ask my fellow Dokugans! What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves?
Loopholes?
Common "mistakes?"
Inconsistencies?
All answers are appreciated, especially those with examples!
Thanks everybody
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Last Edit: 2017/06/16 18:52 By Erynnn.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I can deal with a lot of things when it comes to writing fanfic as it's your world. I can even deal with the unbreakable wall of text. The one thing that will instantly stop me from reading a story is changing Kagome's appearance too much. I've read some fanfics where all of a sudden Kagome has rainbow or silver hair and fluorescent green eyes.
If you're going to use a preconceived character that has an iconic look in a story specifically made for fans of this character you cannot drastically change that character to fit your aesthetic.
Don't get me wrong I can understand small changes like Kagome's eyes being blue, gray, or brown and her hair being dark brown, black, or blue-black. I don't even care if you change her race into a half demon or full demon, but the drastic changes in how she looks really bothers me. Which is funny because you don't see this as much in Sesshoumaru.
I will agree with a lot of the people on here when it comes to Inuyasha being the main villain, though. It does make sense to an extent when it comes to the romantic side of things, but a lot of people make him plain unlikeable.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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My biggest fanfic pet peeve would be a Kagome that forgives Inuyasha too quickly or easily. Sometimes all Inuyasha does is say sorry and she completely forgives him after all the drama he puts her though. I think Inuyasha should earn his forgiveness towards Kagome.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I don't know why, but first person drives me absolutely mad. I am aware there are several very good ones, but I just can't.
That and name misspellings. Songo and such.
And of course the GIANT WALL OF UNBREAKABLE TEXT
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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There are a few things that tend to urk me when it comes to fanfiction.
Inconsistencies are one. I was reading a crossover Yu Yu Hakusho/Inuyasha fic where Kagome and Yuuskue were siblings. In the first chapter she didn't know she had a brother and that her mother in the show was not her real mother but in the later chapters she had memories of them together when they were young.
Another is when Kagome is almost immediately in love with/sexual with someone. If she put up with Inuyasha's crap as long as she did and held out for him she would not be jumping someone else right after meeting them/within a few weeks. Or when she is so forgiving that she becomes a doormat, unless it is to show how much she changes from the beginning of the story where she starts off that way and learns to value herself.
The last one has showed up less and less over time but spacing is a big deal. If the whole story looks like one paragraph or if it is written in text speech (yes I did find one of these), I am not going to read it.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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Karma: 57
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Plot-holes big enough to fall through, especially when the hole could be filled with tiny details that would anchor a story's plot-line in some sort of conceivable reality.
Wall of Text because no spacing or paragraphs makes things hard to read.
Simple punctuation. My brain tries to fix what I know is an error if it appears over and over again in a piece of text.
Use of OCs in roles that could be filled by canon characters unless the OC fills a role outside of canon, making that OC both a relevant and necessary addition.
Inconsistency in details from the plot to characters, which makes understanding the story confusing at times, and raises more questions than provides answers. It's like a broken wheel that keeps spinning without stopping.
Misspelling of names, phrases, words, and important titles from fandom-created languages and cultures (like the Dothraki from GOT, or the elves from Dragon Age). Especially if Ehlven should be Elvhen, or Elven. >.> It's weird seeing stuff like that spelt wrong.
Non-human species like Youkai or Elves etc, being overly 'human' especially in how they react to things like states of dress, propriety or formal and personal settings. It's kind of boring if they perceive the world as humans do when they're not human. I never see enough of the alienness that would make them different in every way.
Lack of conciseness and clarity in a story. If it takes half a page to describe something without really describing anything, there's too much detail. It's a good indication of the need for betaing, editing, and reworking of those details and ideas.
~ Pyre
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Last Edit: 2017/07/06 00:13 By Pyre.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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Lets see...
THE GREAT WALL OF TEXT. It is extremely difficult to read a chapter that has no spaces of any kind in the text. Also large paragraphs. It would be easier to break those into two or three for ease of reading, and to give the illusion that the chapter is longer then it is.
Bold text. I've come across some stories where they put their entire text in bold, and that too can make it difficult to read. It's understandable for sentences or words to express a different characters point of view or to emphasize a word, but not the entire story. (Italic text as well. That can be hard to read, but not as bad as bold text.)
Punctuation and grammar. I can over look small mistakes that are just missed in editing, but not something that looks like they never even heard of a period, exclamation mark, comma, etc. Or that they never even read a book. Present tense is mixed up with past tense, etc. I came across a Sailor Moon story years ago with a great plot, but the punctuation and grammar were so bad it literally hurt my eyes to read. I couldn't stick with the story because of it.
Author notes. It's fine to have them marked off at the beginning or end of a chapter, but to have the author suddenly talking to you in the middle of a paragraph irritates me. And talking about random things like someone's underwear are from Victoria's Secret, what color their clothes are, that we all know someone's last name even if the author couldn't be bothered to look it up before they posted their story/chapter. Inserting text smiley and sad faces instead of describing someone's emotion in the story. Or inserting their own emotion just because they think a reader wants to know how they felt about a particular sentence or event they had just described.
Shorting of names. It irritates me beyond belief when authors shorten the characters name. Kagome: Kags, Sango: San/Sang, Sesshomaru: Sessho/Sessh/Maru, Inuyasha: Inu/Yasha, Shippo: Ship, etc. Readers like the characters names, full names, and no one wants to read an authors shortened modern-like version.
I'm not sure how to label this next one, but you know when you come across a story and you can just tell by the way it's written that the author is writing it exactly how they talk, slang and all. Stories like that bother me. Not everyone talks the way that author talks and no one wants to read all that.
Kagome instantly forgiving Inuyasha. That really bugs me. When I first got into Inuyasha I was all for the Inuyasha/Kagome pairing, but when I started reading fan fiction and decided to try a Sesshomaru/Kagome story it was like my eyes were opened. I could suddenly see beyond the romance to all the drama, verbal abuse, cheating, and more that Inuyasha put Kagome through, and found it unrealistic that she would stick with him and love him through all of that. Let alone think of him as her best friend. A person can love someone with all their heart, but they don't have to degrade themselves just because they don't want to be like everyone else that's hurt the one they love. And that's what I see Kagome doing time after time in stories.
She doesn't even make him apologize to her. She just instantly forgives him when he looks at her like he knows he did wrong; telling herself and everyone else that he's just not the type to say he's sorry.
Inconsistencies in Kagome's forgiving nature. She can be forgiving but it bugs me when she forgives Inuyasha anything and everything, but she gets with Sesshomaru in some fashion and he makes one mistake and she's like unforgivable, can never be with him. The same goes for giving Sesshomaru a chance. He'll come along and show an interest in her and start courting her, and Kagome will be hesitant and unsure, and yet she gives Inuyasha chance after chance after chance. Irritating!
Kagome instantly falling in love and/or being intimate with someone. Stories that have Kagome breaking things off and being heart broken over Inuyasha then suddenly hooking up with Sesshomaru irritate me beyond belief. Some stories have it happen in days or even hours and minutes. This after not allowing Inuyasha to touch her when they've been together for years. Then she proclaimes that she's in love and has loved him all along.
-sigh- I'm sure there's more but I can't think of them at the moment. If I do I'll come back and edit this post.
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Last Edit: 2017/06/15 15:59 By Serena530.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I would like to thank everyone so far for being kind in describing their pet peeves and not using anyone's story in particular to illustrate them. Let's keep up the good work of keeping the forum a welcoming place, even if we're talking about what bugs us!
I'd also like to point out that we have rules that relate to story appearance and author's notes... and if anyone finds anything on our site that doesn't comply with our rules, the Admins would appreciate a head's up, 'k?
Here is a good resource for figuring out if your story (or another story) complies with our rules: http://www.dokuga.com/forum/34-authors-tools
Again, thank you all for your kindness!!
~~Wiccan~~
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\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" - James Russell Lowell 1864
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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One of my biggest fanfic pet peeves is reading a story where Inuyasha plays the main role of a villain.
There are stories I have read where Inuyasha is with Kikyo and kicks Kagome out of the group leading to Kagome being with Sesshomaru or where Inuyasha feels betrayed because Kagome has developed feelings for Sesshomaru and then begins to plot his revenge on both of them.
In my opinion making Inuyasha the villain to drive a story has felt very overused and I loose interest once I read over a description to a story with this kind of plot.
I would like to read more stories where Inuyasha can accept the relationship between Kagome and Sesshomaru and be happy for them as well.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I agree with Serena, Kagome being very forgiving is annoying. I understand small things, like Inuyasha or someone losing their temper. But I read one story where Inuyasha left Kagome to die and then three chapters later she was cool with it.
I am totally in favour of everyone playing with the characters as they want, but sometimes it just kinda bums me out. I really wanted Kagome to give it to Inuyasha is the show and comics, he just made me so mad!
I am guilty of shortening Characters name though It's only when one character is using it as a pet name.
Another thing I have found is when authors drag out the story, this may just be me. I am a( luker) die-hard fan of Oroyukae's work. I have read all of her stories. 76 chapters with her is a gift from the gods. However, some other authors I feel they drag things out? I do not mind 8 million chapters as long as most of it is not fluff. I read a story on Archives of their own and I was about twenty chapters in and suddenly the story stopped. Like for the next ten chapters, it did nothing for the story, it was just ten chapters of walking and speaking, but not propelling the story forward. Again just my opinion.
On the other hand, as I said, some authors can write 76 chapters and I binge read like a madhatter.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I personally dislike it when Kagome is nothing but sass and little empathy, and Sesshoumaru is too lenient with it. Like she will literally say something offensive or belittling to him and she gets the equivalent of a slap on the wrist.
I get that having her be sassy is a way of trying to make her appear smart and strong, but there are other ways of doing it. Kagome isn't just sass, she's incredibly empathetic, as seen by her care of Shippo and when Sango first joined the group. I just don't think she'd go as far as she does in some fics, and it just ruins it for me. She will bite back if pushed or if the occasion calls for it, but not to the extent that every word from her mouth is a witty quip.
Another thing is first person, which I just personally don't like but am guilty of doing it with some of my old fics
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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I have a problem with Mary-sue or Gary-sue characters. Kagome is soooo pretty, sooo smart, soooo strong and talented or Sesshoumaru is sooo strong, smart and handsome and can get away with absolutely anything, even if it is downright awful. He doesn't have to worry about making a wrong choice or there being any consequences, after all Kagome will forgive him. This really tips the scale in what may otherwise be a good story. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses. In cannon, Kagome burst into tears after her first trip down the well, she was that scared. And Sesshoumaru couldn't figure out the riddle his father left about the sword (not for a long while, anyway) and it was Jaken's idea to use the unmother (if I remember correctly) and Sesshoumaru was so proud that he lost his arm to his brother for underestimating him. And its not just the main characters. I've seen some examples of the bad guy being overly perfect in all they do. It's just annoying. No one is perfect, even if their name indicates otherwise.
Some of my peeves are as others have mentioned. There should never be an author's note in the middle of a story. It interrupts the flow of it.
And having to put a key to reading the story at the being also drives me a bit bonkers. I am not going to memorize that this 'talk' means they are thinking and this "talk" means they are talking or this means Joe is talking and this means Bob is talking. Simplify it so I know who is talking and thinking as they are talking. That should be in the story itself.
And remember punctuation. I'm not texting you so please spell out you not u and follow capitalization rules.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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Thank you all so much for the amazing replies! I really appreciate the feedback! I have a lot to keep in mind with my next fic
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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1) When Kagome is soooo perfect and sooooo wonderful and OMG she's the beeeest evvvvarr!
2) When Kagome is so "girl power" that it turns into her just being rude and/or immature. It's not a good look.
3) When Inuyasha is demonized (pun unintended, haha) or made into HUGE jerk (i.e. moreso than is cannon) so that Kagome hooks up with Sesshomaru.
4) Story summaries that say "I suck at summaries". Don't be negative about yourself for one thing, and it tends to betray a sense of vulnerability about the writing in general in my opinion. Plus, 99% of the time, the summary is fine!
5) When Kagome or other human characters are portrayed as basically as strong as or stronger than the demon characters. It really throws me for some reason.
6) Major typos or consistent grammar issues. I am 100% guilty of this myself (we all are, to some extent), so I don't mean to sound like a hypocrite, but things that are really egregious like "You're car is here!" drives me up the wall.
7) Mix-mashing Japanese and English/Western culture and/or language without thinking it through. For example, when Sesshomaru lives in a Western stone castle with a moat or something... a) Japan has way too many earthquakes for that, and b) it doesn't match! (Also, the phrase "oh my Kami!" Or "Oh Kami!" Or any variation. "Kami" does not mean "God" in the monotheistic, Christian sense. It's just... so wrong. So, so wrong...
These are some of my pet peeves. This does not necessarily make a story unreadable, but it is something I think about when I write. Some of this is just my taste, so not everyone may agree with this or feel the same way.
-Sp@ce
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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Specific to Inuyasha:
1. The mis-characterization of Kagome is probably my biggest pet peeve in the inu fandom. When the author wants her to be strong [enough to capture Sesshoumaru's interest], they turn her into a rude, domineering and obnoxious character that yells and cries very often. It's like there is no middle ground between being a doormat and having a backbone.
2. "Humanizing" Sesshoumaru. In these types of stories, the author starts from the premise that emotions are alien to demons - despite the many demons in the original story that wear their hearts on their sleeves - therefore Sesshoumaru's "emotionless" personality is a product of him being a demon. <--- I think this is bunk and I see no reason for "softening" his personality to make a romance work. A reticent, stoic personality is pretty normal for humans irl, so 'humanizing' Sesshoumaru basically amounts to changing his personality to fit the author's purposes.
I really appreciate authors that keep him in character. You get the sense that they have taciturn friends or family members irl, so they are able to write Sesshoumaru with confidence rather than changing him to make writing him easier.
3. Uplifting human [female] characteristics by bashing demon females. Takahashi sorta did it in the original work, so I guess it's to be expected in fanfics. I know that this is a weird thing to complain about, but it seems like a shortcut to me versus developing a character over time. And dammit, Sesshoumaru's mother deserves respect!
4. The worshipping of Inu-papa. He really was a no-good, philandering skeeze ball and a terrible father.
Um... other than that, extreme grammatical errors, too many OCs, obvious author inserts, too many exclamation marks and announcing memories as Flashback
I hope this didn't come across as too harsh.
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Last Edit: 2017/06/18 12:12 By ponpiri.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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ponpiri wrote:
4. The worshipping of Inu-papa. He really was a no-good, philandering skeeze ball and a terrible father.
I just spit out my drink laughing
I think the problem people have with Inu No Tashio is we only have half the story. We never get the full details on what happened for him to turn to a human woman. Besides falling in love. But, was it a case of a failed mateing between him and Inukimi? Or was he just a sucky mate and cheated on her? Personally, I viewed Inukimi and Inu No Tashio as a political arrangement and she never was angered about the human woman until Inu No Tashio falls. That is what makes her bitter.
I think Sesshomaru's relationship with his father is one of a child thinking he is getting left behind. Which is true to an extent. I do think Sesshomaru took his mother's indifference and thought she was hurt and angry. They only had one child, which to me is the one and done idea. Human Royals need " an heir and the spare", yokai would not really need that unless the child was sickly. Which a child born to Inu no Tasio and Inukimi would not be sickly
I will agree with you on the female Yokai statement. While I understand people trying to highlight Kagome in the best possible light, she doesn't need to be. She has this ability to make people like her just by being nice and caring. I mean she won over a bunch of people who tried to kill her. I look at that dynamic as Yokai females may have the physical power and strength, but Kagome has her own strengths. That does not mean you need to diminish characters.
I have personally stopped reading stories when I find that the author has demonized ( pun intended) Kagura and Inukimi. It bothers me. I haven't seen any here, but FF has a lot of them. That is just my personal thoughts though. Inukimi is powerful in her own right and Kagura just wanted freedom. She is powerful, I just dont think she ever had the chance to show it really.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 4 Months ago
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Scar wrote:
ponpiri wrote:
4. The worshipping of Inu-papa. He really was a no-good, philandering skeeze ball and a terrible father.
I just spit out my drink laughing
I think the problem people have with Inu No Tashio is we only have half the story. We never get the full details on what happened for him to turn to a human woman. Besides falling in love. But, was it a case of a failed mateing between him and Inukimi? Or was he just a sucky mate and cheated on her? Personally, I viewed Inukimi and Inu No Tashio as a political arrangement and she never was angered about the human woman until Inu No Tashio falls. That is what makes her bitter.
I think Sesshomaru's relationship with his father is one of a child thinking he is getting left behind. Which is true to an extent. I do think Sesshomaru took his mother's indifference and thought she was hurt and angry. They only had one child, which to me is the one and done idea. Human Royals need " an heir and the spare", yokai would not really need that unless the child was sickly. Which a child born to Inu no Tasio and Inukimi would not be sickly
I will agree with you on the female Yokai statement. While I understand people trying to highlight Kagome in the best possible light, she doesn't need to be. She has this ability to make people like her just by being nice and caring. I mean she won over a bunch of people who tried to kill her. I look at that dynamic as Yokai females may have the physical power and strength, but Kagome has her own strengths. That does not mean you need to diminish characters.
I have personally stopped reading stories when I find that the author has demonized ( pun intended) Kagura and Inukimi. It bothers me. I haven't seen any here, but FF has a lot of them. That is just my personal thoughts though. Inukimi is powerful in her own right and Kagura just wanted freedom. She is powerful, I just dont think she ever had the chance to show it really.
Oh. I've called Inupapa much worse in my reviews. I just think that the relationship between the brothers would have been better had their dad been more forthcoming with his views instead of sending them on long-drawn out adventures to teach them lessons after his untimely death. And really... he could have kept the medio with Tenseiga or at least not give his first kid a hand me down. Poor Sesshou received virtually nothing smh
Anyway, I assumed that Inupapa was a philanderer due to his status. If he was a ruler of a specific region (I think there's an argument against this), then I think he would have had concubines and such. I also had that impression going by what Takahashi has stated about Inuyasha's two-timing ways and the fact that she deliberately drew him to resemble his father physically and personality-wise.
I thought the original family dynamic would have been an interesting side-story to develop. I could imagine plenty of Jerry Springer moments in that household.
As for Kagura, I get it, especially coming from a Sess/Kag POV where the author may want to set up a love triangle or whatever. I see her in the same way I see Kikyou: two women, regardless of race, who were prisoners of circumstance. Both wanted to be free and both ended up dying because of it. I also thought it interesting that they both solicited the brothers to help them accomplish their goals and died in the effort to do so.
There were so many things about the original work that left me unsatisfied tbh, which is why I find some fanfics to be even better than the original despite the many cliches that are present.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 3 Months ago
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Hm, I think most has already been said, but I want to add something to the Mary-Sue part. I hate Mary-Sues as "minor" characters just as much as when the main characters are portrayed this way.
For example: In CU Kagome's mother often knows EVERYTHING about demons though she never was in the feudal era and her interaction with Inuyasha is just asking him if he wants something to eat. I seriously doubt any information they may have in legends or something similiar is reliable. So, if Kagome has a problem with a demon and her mother talks with her about it and tells her about demon psychology I always have this urge to shout "How would you know? Are you a demon psychologist and nobody knows?"
If she lets her daughter talk and encourages her to think about what happened or asks questions about demons it would be better and more like a mother who tries to understand an important part of her daughter's life.
Also, I get sick if somehow Sesshomaru manages to come to the future and Kagome's mother is so happy that her 15 YEAR OLD daughter wants to marry some guy she - her mother - has just met and who tried to kill this daughter on several occasions. Maybe Kagome could explain the problem with the killing (after all, who didn't try to kill or at least harm her? Even Miroku kidnapped her and he sealed his wind tunnel so he would not harm her, I won't even mention his groping ...) but a normal mother would still lock her daughter up in her room and tell that guy to ask again after the daughter finished school. She may know that in the era Kagome travels to girls were already married with 15 but I doubt this would change the protective feelings a modern day mother has.
Ok, I hope you get what I was trying to say There are other characters with similiar "problems" but the way her mother is shown often irritates me
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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Mislabelling the category: To start reading a story listed as canon with an interesting summary only to find yet another high school fic is usually quite annoying. To be fair there are some good HS fics out there but they often aren't what I'm in the mood for.
Forced format: Forcing what should be a multi-chapter story into hundreds of drabble sized bits is an instant won't read. If a short conversation takes 20 or more chapters to complete, or an action scene has a drabble for every swing of the sword, you're doing it wrong.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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My biggest pet peeves are;
when they supe Kagome up and the evil stays on its original level.
Honestly this is annoying. You are making a pretty strong character stronger, for what? Naraku being regular old Naraku. There are many stories where I find that she gets stronger with all these powers just to show off. If the villain stays in its same power threshold, not getting any stronger, and Kagome is basically like a Kami by a certain chapter, you begin to wonder why the antagonist isn't dead yet. To me, if the good grows in power so should the evil. Most of the time she has these powers and she's just walking around for chapters on end, doing nothing.
A next thing I dislike is when you say that her powers is nearly as strong as Sesshomaru, and that they are the two most powerful people in the land yadayada, and then there's something evil giving them problems when they are ORIGINALLY described as being the most powerful beings in the land.
when they drastically change a character's looks
This is extremely disorienting. I usually have a problem with this because I can't see the character looking like that. The little things are okay. Eye colour, hair length, maybe hair colour only if it could be understood, I.e., dark brown, black, blue black. To change the entire look just to fit your aesthetic isn't right. People fell in love with the see characters for their looks. I could take some inconsistencies because the manga and anime differ, but suddenly having Sango with green eyes or Kagome with silver/ red hair rubs me wrong. Especially if this the only reason that Sesshomaru begins to like her. And that's not going into her becoming a youkai.
when they neglect key points of a character's personality and behaviour then invent their own to replace it.
This should speak for itself.
There are some that I can't think of at the moment and others that are already mentioned.
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I think I screwed up somewhere. Oh well, let the magic begin
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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Karma: 76
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My biggest pet peeve isn't anything to do with plot or story really. I've guilty of it myself but I try to minimize it. If I read a story and every other sentence has jarring grammar mistakes then I will stop reading. I can over look one every now and then even in the same chapter, but if it's constant then it's too much.
I do have a thought on your first comment, the one about power. I used something like that in one of my stories and the reason behind it was simply to suit the idea that Kagome was initially so powerful that given actual training most of what happened would have been trivial for her. Just my thoughts.
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My Motto:
Honor mea arma est, timor mea stultitia est.
Respect is my Weapon, Fear is my Folly.
My Belief:
If you can, do. If you can't, try.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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I'll try not to mention something that's already been expounded on.
Aside from grammar, character bashing, etc.
I'd say my biggest peeves are lack of character development and forgetfulness.
I've literally gotten into stories that once I've reached the end were completely unsatisfactory. An example would be no changes between any side relationships after what was supposedly a life-changing journey. Like, what? They fought the bigger bad, got mated, and all that jazz, but Inuyasha is still emotionally constipated, Shippo is still two feet tall, and nobody has gone to the bathroom in a year! I'm not asking for a saga, but I do prefer all the ends to meet and for something to have happened besides Sess/Kag after 20+ chapters. It just makes sense.
Alright so the first one is a bit much, but I hope you understand what I mean. It also ties into my next point. Forgetfulness is in my opinion the "well, the gangs all here" sentiment. I've seen fiction that supposedly contain all the characters, but focus on Inuyasha, Kagome, Sesshoumaru, and Kikyo, barring the bad guy. If the gang is there... why are they only mentioned during fighting! That really ticks me off!
If you want them there, then use them! Have them contribute! Otherwise, you really could save yourself some time writing a story just with the people you wanted. These characters are tried and true, well-rounded, and enjoyable. I hate to see the franchise I love disrespected by the characters I've come to love being relegated to biological wallpaper.
That's all I got. Hope it helps!
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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Number one: I agree about the suped up Kagome character comment earlier. I've read stories where they make Kagome multiple types of demons rolled into one. With all the accompanying powers. Really?
Number two: Endless descriptions of whatever Kagome and her friends are wearing, their hair styles, their shoes, arrrggh! I don't need to know what she is wearing at all times, unless it for a special occasion like a wedding, or if it is important to the story line. Just give me an interesting, believable plot! Of course, I am not young, so that accounts for not needing to keep up with what young people are wearing this week!
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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Karma: 154
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Lots of my pet peeves have already been mentioned, so I won't repeat, but a couple handful have not.
1. Overuse of the words "orbs" instead of eyes and "appendage" for... anything else. Most times the actual word works better - hand, leg, tongue, ... other body parts...
2. Stories where the author literally repeats the exact same description of a character word for word. It's like they have a generic male-youkai character description and they have copied and pasted it into the chapter every time the character shows up, but they've changed the colour of the obi, stripes, hair, or eyes. I don't recall if the story I read this in was SK or a crossover, but it was a long one, and the repeat descriptions got really annoying.
3. How Kagome's description changes when she turns youkai or hanyou. All of a sudden she's inches taller, curvier, and her hair is way longer.
4. The statement that any red-blooded female would think [insert male character] has the perfect look and any red-blooded female would fall all over themselves for the male character in question. I find this idea really offensive. I'm not any less female because I don't find the male character in question to be the best thing ever. People are attracted to all kinds of different personal characteristics (appearance or otherwise) in others and we definitely don't all agree.
5. Using the wrong homophone (or near homophone). The list is entirely too numerous to write out all the examples, but "he grabbed her waste" doesn't fit unless he's cleaning up from a picnic. I can understand auto-correct or a spell checker changing one or two of these in a story, but loads of them makes it really hard to figure our what the author is trying to say. Sadly, spelling checkers won't catch these, because it is a correctly spelled word, it's just the wrong word.
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Re:What are your biggest fanfic pet peeves? 7 Years, 2 Months ago
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Karma: 1
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I had to really think about this before I replied to your question. Not because I didn't have any peeves, but because I have more than a few. I have been at Dokuga for a while and am not yet an author on this site, and there are MANY talented story tellers here. I do not wish to impugn any writers work. With that being said I will pare my list down and give you my top two peeves.
I think my top peeve would be InuYasha bashing. I love InuYasha. How can you not? Right? LOL! I just happen to love Sesshomaru a whole lot more!
I don't have a problem, AT ALL, about making InuYasha the bad guy. If it's part of the storyline, fine. Develop his character and explain why he is like he is. Don't cop out and just make him an asshole. He could certainly be one, but the closer they got to killing Naraku and destroying the jewel, the more compassionate he became. Kagome's influence on him was great. It happened over a long period of time and was an actual change in his character and in his heart. I think it would take a lot to change that.
My second peeve is stupid, basically because I'm guilty of it. I am by no means, what so ever, the grammer police. My daughter betas for me, and she's like, Mom, you can't say it like that, or Mom, no no no.... NO!!!
My fifth grade teacher loved the smell of skunk, loved to say the name Ponce De Leon, and read to us from the Chronicles of Narnia before last recess. And the one thing she taught me that actually stuck was this. When you grow up and write a story, and post said story on Dokuga, don't let Sesshomaru end a sentence with a preposition. OMG!!! Okay, I said it. I told you it was stupid!
And I was serious. I am so guilty of doing that very thing! All the time. But I don't think our noble, EDUCATED, sometimes snooty Sesshomaru, would let himself fall to the level of mere peasants and not speak perfection.
I am not familiar with the manga. I have heard that there are some differences between that and the anime. I have the whole series and all of the movies on dvd, so that is what the story I am writing is based on.
In one of the episodes Sesshomaru asks where something is at. At!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I was talking to the TV and everything. "Try looking behind the at!!!"
"Ooops, you dropped you're preposition. Would you like me to pick it up for you, my Lord?" Gaaaahhh! It was terrible. My poor little inu's just sat there wagging their tails, looking at me like I'd lost my mind!! LOL!! I don't know. Maybe I have? I'm a grown woman and I'm addicted to anime/manga! Heh heh!! Hope my crazy helps you out!!
Geessh! After 2 a m. I'm off to bed.
Much luck to you on your next story. I'll be looking for ya!!
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