Fanfic Question (remake-related)

[Jairus]

Aside from Lifestream, I've also been working lately on a prequel story about Jessie and her background, but now I'm not sure if I should keep going. Somebody inadvertently let slip a bit of info about her background in the remake based on what the leaks revealed, and it's very different from what I've been developing. I guess I just don't know if anyone would have much interest in a story about it after the remake establishes its own for her. My work - both Lifestream and this - are based on the OG, but with the remake soon to be out, I'm not sure if people would still be interested in OG-based stories. So I'm trying to decide if I should still write her prequel story or just leave it alone. What do you all think?

 

[Rydeen]

I generally prefer to stay canon-consistent, but there are a lot of people who love AU fic.

 

[Jairus]

Well as it's OG-based, not remake, and so little is known about her, most any approach in that regard could be considered canon, couldn't it?

 

[Rydeen]

The topic of canonocity is gonna be pretty interesting... I would argue that previously undeveloped backstories that are developed in the remake will become unequivocally canon. Retcots will be a little trickier.

 

[Jairus]

Canon for the remake, yes - but does remake canon equal OG canon? I'm not so sure...

 

[Rydeen]

I'm one of the people who watched AC first, and I take the approach that absence of information is overridden by compilation additives. But I think a lot of people, especially those who played it before AC was even a thought, may view the OG as a 100% standalone product and ignore the compilation.

 

[Jairus]

Well, the way I've been writing Lifestream is that it can be seen to either be a part of the Compilation or not, depending what the reader wants. The prequel story is the same way, pretty much. But it's the remake that I'm more concerned about. I just wonder if anyone would have any interest in a story like that when the remake already has a background for her.

 

[LNK]

I say go for it. As long as it's interesting, I'm sure people will be willing to read it. I can't wait for the "Dawn of the Future" book, and that is not canon for ff15. I just really love the characters and story of that universe

 

[Firstone33]

Not the only one ffxv rapidly became one of my favorites but vii will always be the top. I read lifestream and I got hooked immediately. I can't wait for Dawn of the future as well

I say go for it. As long as it's interesting, I'm sure people will be willing to read it. I can't wait for the "Dawn of the Future" book, and that is not canon for ff15. I just really love the characters and story of that universe

Well, the way I've been writing Lifestream is that it can be seen to either be a part of the Compilation or not, depending what the reader wants. The prequel story is the same way, pretty much. But it's the remake that I'm more concerned about. I just wonder if anyone would have any interest in a story like that when the remake already has a background for her.

Well you know my take but do whatever makes you feel on how you should go with it

Aside from Lifestream, I've also been working lately on a prequel story about Jessie and her background, but now I'm not sure if I should keep going. Somebody inadvertently let slip a bit of info about her background in the remake based on what the leaks revealed, and it's very different from what I've been developing. I guess I just don't know if anyone would have much interest in a story about it after the remake establishes its own for her. My work - both Lifestream and this - are based on the OG, but with the remake soon to be out, I'm not sure if people would still be interested in OG-based stories. So I'm trying to decide if I should still write her prequel story or just leave it alone. What do you all think?

My advice is to see what her remake deal is and go from there maybe take some elements from her remake backstory and add it to your Jessie story to make it more interesting but really up to you all we can do is give our honest opinions and inputs

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

FWIW, even now fanworks are split into OG canon and compilation canon. I can still read pre ACC fanfic with pleasure, even though their post-meteor stories have now been established as non-canonical. Some writers simply ignore the Compilation. Others ignore canon altogether. An imagined backstory for OG Jessie isn't going to be invalidated by the canon of the Remake. The Remake isn't a replacement, it's an alternative.

 

[Jairus]

I hadn't thought about that, Lic - that the remake could be considered just an alternative canon instead of replacing the OG. Thanks!

 

[Odysseus]

I'm all for "death of the author" when it comes to fanfics, so I say do whatever you want.

 

[Jairus]

What's "death of the author" mean, Ody? I've never heard that phrase before.

 

[Odysseus]

Basically, it doesn't matter what the author thinks of their own work, what matters is what the audience takes away. If you view the remake itself as an author-made fanfic expansion of the original, then their ideas of how the characters are is no more valid than yours is. So do whatever you want.

 

[Glaurung]

I say go for it, Jairus. Fanfic can be true to the canon or deviate from it so much it creates a whole different universe, and that's ok.

The only rule is that the story stays consistent on itself, as any other story. The spirit of fanfict has always been to explore and push the boundaries of a pre-established universe and create something the audience enjoys, even if it goes against the original work.

Hell, my first long fanfict was a what-if retelling of FFVII with Sephiroth as the central character, and going against EVERY SINGLE fact about him already established in the OG. I have another one held on hiatus about yet another what-if, this time applied to the Thor movie on which is Loki and not the titular character the one sent to Earth. Probably my version of Loki goes against decades of comic book characterization, but I just wanted to explore what would have happened if he had been the one stranded down here. You know what? People enjoyed it!

The fun thing about fanfict is that, as long as the writing is good, and the plot consistent, you can do whatever you want.

And now I'm quite interested on seeing what you have in mind for Jessie

 

[Firstone33]

FWIW, even now fanworks are split into OG canon and compilation canon. I can still read pre ACC fanfic with pleasure, even though their post-meteor stories have now been established as non-canonical. Some writers simply ignore the Compilation. Others ignore canon altogether. An imagined backstory for OG Jessie isn't going to be invalidated by the canon of the Remake. The Remake isn't a replacement, it's an alternative.

Exactly if ffvii does not give her a backstory you make one yourself it is not called fanfiction for a reason lol

I say go for it, Jairus. Fanfic can be true to the canon or deviate from it so much it creates a whole different universe, and that's ok.

The only rule is that the story stays consistent on itself, as any other story. The spirit of fanfict has always been to explore and push the boundaries of a pre-established universe and create something the audience enjoys, even if it goes against the original work.

Hell, my first long fanfict was a what-if retelling of FFVII with Sephiroth as the central character, and going against EVERY SINGLE fact about him already established in the OG. I have another one held on hiatus about yet another what-if, this time applied to the Thor movie on which is Loki and not the titular character the one sent to Earth. Probably my version of Loki goes against decades of comic book characterization, but I just wanted to explore what would have happened if he had been the one stranded down here. You know what? People enjoyed it!

The fun thing about fanfict is that, as long as the writing is good, and the plot consistent, you can do whatever you want.

And now I'm quite interested on seeing what you have in mind for Jessie

I have an au I want to do where sephiroth remains good and does not cause the nibelheim incident Genesis does and go from there, that is why fanfiction was created it gives us to either write Canon or completely alter events heck you could make cloud be an actual soldier first class and erase Zack from story altogether like cloud really was in soldier during nibelheim have him do the missions Zack did and so forth.

You can do lot of things with Canon in fanfics and you most of the time never get in trouble heck I would not be surprised if square enix loves fanfics lol

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Fanfic is part of what keeps the fandom alive.

 

[Odysseus]

Official material only goes so far. You can only scrape the bottom of barrel so hard, and once you've watched your Advent Childrens and Played your Crisis Cores and Dirges, the wood begins to splinter. Your fingers crack and bleed, but your hunger is not sated. Suddenly you find yourself watching 140p fan translated videos of before crisis, listening to fan made audio books of obscure novels, reading documentation on the game's developement, you play through final fantasy tactics because Cloud is in it. You find yourself miles below the barrel, your hands now bloody stumps. The craving remains but the enjoyment has gone. "There has to be something left, anything!" you cry, desperate for some final payout for the massive time investment you have made, but there is nothing. Then in your darkest hour, you find a new light at the bottom of your hole. "Ao3, FanFiction.net? There's... THERE'S SO MUCH! It's beautiful!" you cry, tears forming in your madness-stricken eyes.

...

What the FUCK am I talking about? I need to go to bed already.

 

[Firstone33]

Fanfic is part of what keeps the fandom alive.

Sad but true

 

[Obsidian Fire]

The entire point of Fan Fic is to write in a setting everyone is already semi-familiar with. Part of the fun of reading fan-fics is seeing what people do with canon and how they change it. And if the writing is semi-decent, even better.

I would worry a lot less about how canon a fan-fic is and more about how internally consistent it is with itself and how well it is written.

If I wanted canon, I would be playing/reading it. Not coming to Ao3/FF.net and scouring for versions of canon I know aren't going to be canon in the first place.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Why sad? I don't see anything sad about it. It's glorious. A work of art isn't a sterile rock to be admired from afar. It's a fertile field where anyone can plant an idea and all kinds of flowers and fruits can grow. Creativity begets creativity. A story, game, or TV show that inspires no fanart or fanfic has failed to capture the imagination of its audience. It will die and leave no heirs.

PS Obsidian, you make a good point. I enjoy fanfic that does something new with the existing characters and setting: pre-canon, post-canon, missing scenes, fill in the gaps, all that kind of thing.

 

[Jairus]

Well, here it is! I hope you guys like it!

Final Fantasy VII: Reflections

 

[LNK]

Official material only goes so far. You can only scrape the bottom of barrel so hard, and once you've watched your Advent Childrens and Played your Crisis Cores and Dirges, the wood begins to splinter. Your fingers crack and bleed, but your hunger is not sated. Suddenly you find yourself watching 140p fan translated videos of before crisis, listening to fan made audio books of obscure novels, reading documentation on the game's developement, you play through final fantasy tactics because Cloud is in it. You find yourself miles below the barrel, your hands now bloody stumps. The craving remains but the enjoyment has gone. "There has to be something left, anything!" you cry, desperate for some final payout for the massive time investment you have made, but there is nothing. Then in your darkest hour, you find a new light at the bottom of your hole. "Ao3, FanFiction.net? There's... THERE'S SO MUCH! It's beautiful!" you cry, tears forming in your madness-stricken eyes.

...

What the FUCK am I talking about? I need to go to bed already.

Whoa lol

 

[Odysseus]

2014 was a trying time for me, I tells ya. To put it in a more sane way, I agree that fanfics keep a fandom alive. Sometimes for works old enough, fan productions basically make up the entire backbone of the community. Dunno if anyone here has head of the game "Yume Nikki," bit its one of my favorites. That fanbase is comprised almost entirely of fan theories, fan art, fan fiction, etc. because the game itself has no dialogue, and nothing from the developer has been heard in over a decade now. Fan works is important, and I don't feel like some companies appreciate that *cough*NINTENDO*cough*.

 

[Glaurung]

Fanfiction also helps connect with other people with the same interests. It was thanks to discovereing that this existed, so many years ago, that I began writing my own.

Also, it's thanks to fanfiction that I get to have some mental solace from real life. I can put my constant daydreaming to good use