Furuba musings (hey, it's better than folding laundry)...

[wordinista]

My cold is being stubborn in its retreat. The crazy fever is gone, the cough is more or less gone, but now my sinuses are rebelling. I have never sneezed so much in one day. Oy. My peppermint coffee seems to be holding things at bay (or maybe I've conned myself into believing in a placebo, I don't know). I haven't worn contacts in days because I've been too lazy to put them in. Bleh. No energy to do much of anything.

Hee -- that kind of explains the basket of unfolded laundry to my left, doesn't it? ;)

Anyway, I've been lurking on a couple of different Furuba ML's, and I'm learning something.


I don't think I really want to get into the Fruits Basket fandom proper. Don't misunderstand me -- I adore Furuba. Adore it.

(*sneezes again and swears vehemently*)

Where was I? Ah. Furuba. I love the anime, and I love the manga. I actually prefer the manga to the anime, if only because it offers more detail in the characters' personalities. Though I think the anime is a lot more conducive to fanfiction, because it does gloss over certain characters' traits, so a fanwriter could take more liberties and play around a bit more. As a fanwriter, that's actually quite appealing. Particularly since I don't follow the fan-translations. I'm horrible and dull and boring, and I'm reading the manga as it's released in the States. So while I know about a few spoilers, by and large I'm ignorant of the fine details. And I'm okay with that, really. I'm okay with the story being revealed to me gradually. I'm actually a very patient person. (It drives George insane, particularly when Christmastime or my birthday rolls around.)

(*pauses to fold a little laundry*)

But as I lurked on the ML's and poked around a bit, I began to find myself growing a bit... apprehensive. There are some seriously hard-core Furuba fangirls out there who are positively nazi-like in their views. Not since Buffy the Vampire Slayer have I seen so many staunch believers in their OTP's. (With BtVS, we had the Buffy/Angel 'shippers knocking heads with the Angel/Cordelia 'shippers, and the former also taking offense to Buffy/Spike 'shippers. While I'm a card-carrying A/C fangirl, I always wanted to see Buffy and Xander together -- I know, I'm weird. Someday I may make a public plea for a Buffy/Xander giftfic, because I'm sad.)

In Furuba, we've got the Kyou/Tohru fangirls versus the Yuki/Tohru fangirls, and then varying factions of Tohru/Anyone Else. And, my god, I'm actually afraid to admit that I'm a Kyou/Tohru fangrrl in much the same way I'm hesitant to admit in mixed company that I'm a registered Republican. I'm also finding that non-yaoi pairings are somewhat sneered at.

Way to foster a friendly, non-intimidating fandom, kids! Yeah! *rolls eyes*

So this is the way I see it -- Furuba appears to be overrun with fangirl-nazis who will:

A. Flay without blinking if you violate their OTP

Or...

B. Write in the anime as opposed to the manga.

Now, I can see the manga purists' perspective, but they're still scary. And scary manga purists are somewhat off-putting to fanfiction authors. I know whereof I speak, being a fanauthor and all. I'm actually AFRAID to share my FB writings, because the fandom seems so tetchy. I'd half expect to find annotated flames in my inbox citing manga volumes, chapters, frame numbers, and dialogue as to why my interpretation of Shigure is OMG WRONNNNNNG~ OMG OMG OMG!!!

See, I'm working on a fic with everstar3 -- it's a joint thing. And while we both prefer the manga for the character depth, there are a few things that don't happen in the manga and do happen in the anime that we need for the 'fic to work. So, we decided to tweak things a little so that the fic had the depth of the manga, up until Volume 5, but was mostly set in the world of the anime. So... kind of a hybrid universe, I guess.

Oh, my GOD, the more I look at these ML's, the more I'm convinced we'll be burned at the STAKE.

A Shigure-centric, Kyou/Tohru 'fic, set in a hybrid "anime/manga" universe.

Oh, and it's Shigure/OC. (After having so much fun with Teles and Sesshoumaru, I couldn't resist seeing if lightning could strike twice. Yes, I know about Miyu. But the 'fic idea came before I learned about her. And while I considered rethinking it to be either Shigure/Miyu or Shigure/Mii-chan, it just doesn't WORK the same way.)

Oh! And it hypothesizes on an end to the curse. (The curse's end has nothing at all whatsoever to do with the OC, so stop looking at me like that.)

...

They're going to lynch us. *covers head with arms and sobs*

*sigh*

It just seems to me that we've got a fandom that's ruled by scary fangirl-nazis that ALSO happens to have OMG some of the very worst fanfiction I've ever, ever, ever had the bad luck to read. HOLY JESUS, IT'S SO BAD. REALLY REALLY REALLY OMG BAD.

So they're not scaring off the 'tweens who write bad self-insertions about the American exchange student who comes to stay at Shigure-san's house. They're scaring off... me. And if they're scaring me off, they're probably scaring off other fanwriters who know the difference between a comma and a semicolon, or who realize that Japanese students actually DO have class on Saturday mornings, and they DON'T drive to school, and they DON'T change classrooms, and they don't do any other number of things that American students do.

Maybe I need to learn to be less skittish. Or perhaps I need to learn not to CARE about the psycho fangirls. I'm not entirely sure, frankly. But I do know that the more I learn about all the scary manga purists in the fandom, the less I find myself in the mood to work on "A Bump in the Road."

Comments

[ankoku-jin.livejournal.com]

Eh, fuck 'em if they can't take a joke. Or a literate fanfic. XD

Seriously, WHO CARES what a bunch of frustrated teenage virgins with far too much free time and a clinical-level obsession with their stupid 'ship think of your fic? I personally would have a hard time sustaining trauma from a flame which contains any "OMG"s whatsoever. (Unless perhaps the trauma were associated with the "reviewer's" atrocious grammar and tendency to write in Standard Revised Internet Fuckwit (SRIF) rather than Standard English.)

Don't mind me, I slept poorly and am full of vitriol as a result. ^^;;

Anyway, don't let them intimidate you, no-one died and made them The Lawful Gods of Furuba(tm). ^~

[mscongeniality.livejournal.com]

I am filled with masses of love for Furuba and heaps of indifference for the fandom in general. I lurk on a few lists, which I make liberal use of for scans and translations but the proliferation of squealing 12 year olds and rampant intolerance towards anybody who views the fandom differently pretty much guarantee that I will never do anything MORE than lurk (err...nevermind the graphics contests or play by email).

Honestly, I'm reminded of the line from 1776: "Only this last is understandable, as there is an incredible reek of stupdity among the officers." I'd have to say that there is an incredible reek of stupidity in that fandom in general.

I wouldn't worry about writing your fic. For one thing, anything you contribute will almost certainly raise the bar in a fandom that could desperately use it. Also, I've noticed that there are still many, many fics that base primarily on anime continuity and don't draw from the manga at all, let alone from the chapters that haven't been printed in English. I say continue writing, make a note of which continutity you're drawing from in an author's note and post it as soon as possible so those of us who love FB and love good fic have something that we can look forward to.

Yes. Listen to lystra.

[white-death.livejournal.com]

Please.
This fandom NEEDS good fics. It also NEEDS intelligent people. Dear gods, does it ever.

My LJ is so chock full of rants about FB fandom and FruityGroup in particular, it's not even funny. Apparently, random stalkers of my LJ (I don't understand this either - I'm not interesting) 'reported' me to the Nazi mods at FG, and I was torn a new asshole and almost kicked from the group as a result. Because of that, all of my FG rants are under custom friends-lock these days. Which is...just fucking SAD, I must say.

One day, I'm going to have the spare cash to get a HtY subscription of my very own. On that day, I will tell the FG Nazis once and for all what I think of them, and suggest what they do with this information. On that day, I will lose my mind and start my OWN FB ML which will stand as an alternative to FG for manga updates and REAL information and discussion which is NOT filtered for yaoi content and other pet peeves of the FG moderators.

And, by gum, it will be a glorious day indeed.
But.
Until that happens, I am still at the mercy of FG. And, being so, must vent on a regular basis to get out all of my frustrations.

Now I will stop talking at you and actually reply to your post. =D
♥

Peppermint coffee?! XD For real?
Glad to hear you're almost sort of getting better.

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Please.
This fandom NEEDS good fics. It also NEEDS intelligent people. Dear gods, does it ever.

My LJ is so chock full of rants about FB fandom and FruityGroup in particular, it's not even funny. Apparently, random stalkers of my LJ (I don't understand this either - I'm not interesting) 'reported' me to the Nazi mods at FG, and I was torn a new asshole and almost kicked from the group as a result. Because of that, all of my FG rants are under custom friends-lock these days. Which is...just fucking SAD, I must say.

One day, I'm going to have the spare cash to get a HtY subscription of my very own. On that day, I will tell the FG Nazis once and for all what I think of them, and suggest what they do with this information. On that day, I will lose my mind and start my OWN FB ML which will stand as an alternative to FG for manga updates and REAL information and discussion which is NOT filtered for yaoi content and other pet peeves of the FG moderators.

And, by gum, it will be a glorious day indeed.
But.
Until that happens, I am still at the mercy of FG. And, being so, must vent on a regular basis to get out all of my frustrations.

Now I will stop talking at you and actually reply to your post. =D
&hearts;

Peppermint coffee?! XD For real?
Glad to hear you're almost sort of getting better. <_<

<i>I don't think I really want to get into the Fruits Basket fandom proper.</i>

I don't blame you. None of us mature, intelligent fans do. Because it's overrun with fucking idiots. Pardon my French.
But it's like a horrible Catch 22. None of the intelligent fans speak up or participate in the fandom because it currently sucks. And, until we do, or create some forums where we CAN have fun, we're all stuck lurking.
A friend and I opened up <lj site="livejournal.com" comm="cogitoergofruba"> a while back with this aim, but it has yet to take off.

<i>I actually prefer the manga to the anime, if only because it offers more detail in the characters' personalities.</i>

And because, you know. ;) The original author wrote it, unlike the anime - which did a great job of preserving the spirit of the first few volumes of manga, considering.

<i>Though I think the anime is a lot more conducive to fanfiction, because it does gloss over certain characters' traits, so a fanwriter could take more liberties and play around a bit more.</i>

Interesting point. Hadn't really thought of it that way before...

<i>I'm okay with the story being revealed to me gradually. I'm actually a very patient person.</i>

XD I'm NOT.
I learned what Japanese I know because I saw <i>Petshop of Horrors</i> and HAD to have more. RIGHT now. And that was three years before it was even picked up by TokyoPop.

<i>There are some seriously hard-core Furuba fangirls out there who are positively nazi-like in their views.</i>

I'm a Nazi, but I'm not an inherently retarded Nazi. I'm also elitist, so I have no problems mocking the stupid fangirls and feeling utterly superior to them in every way. ^_~v

<i>Not since Buffy the Vampire Slayer have I seen so many staunch believers in their OTP's.</i>

Yes, it's...juvenile.
Given, there are some pairings which I am so strongly against, I can become physically ill at the thought. But that's really different - and stems from sex abuse/psychological issues.
I used to be pretty strict AyaTori, but I currently RP with an Aya who has a cross-over pairing for the Snake and love it. I'm very flexible as long as immediate family member incest is not involved in a pairing.

<i>I always wanted to see Buffy and Xander together -- I know, I'm weird.</i>

^^ I like the wish-fulfillment pairings. When the character who's been crushing on another who 'doesn't think of them that way' finally gets their chance. &hearts; It's sweet.

<i>Someday I may make a public plea for a Buffy/Xander giftfic, because I'm sad.</i>

=( Sad? or like <=p sad?
XD

<i>In Furuba, we've got the Kyou/Tohru fangirls versus the Yuki/Tohru fangirls, and then varying factions of Tohru/Anyone Else.</i>

And can I just say I am fucking sick of Tohru/Juunishi? Seriously. I think it's just because she makes such a great Mary Sue avatar for the kiddies.

Bring it on

[everstar3.livejournal.com]

*cracks her neck* Yo.

Hee. Just kidding. Seriously, though, I am not afraid. What're they gonna do? Call me names? Ooh. I'm afraid! I'm afraid of the undersexed tweeners who can't spell, can't write, and can't read! They're going to call! Me! Names! And maybe not read my fic! Horrors! Because I really wanted my fic to be read by illiterate prating morons who are so locked into their own views of What Fruits Basket Is that they'll probably commit seppuku when Takaya-sensei puts Kyou with Tohru, which she's going to do, thank you, because she's been hinting at it since the FIRST FREAKING VOLUME. (*scribbles note: dear Takaya-sensei, hurry up and make them do that, will you? It'll solve a lot of our problems. kisses, evvie*) Or, you know, whatever. Maybe she'll put Yuki with what's her face (student council girl). Maybe she'll put Shigure with Mayu. I don't care. So what if Akito's a... well, you know. Maybe he's a hermaphrodite! Maybe he's a fish! Maybe we don't know yet and we'll find out when we get there!

As to the yaoi, I don't ship yaoi because I don't care for it, except in Aya's case, because it's so hard not to. (I don't ship 'Tori-san/Aya because poor 'Tori-san doesn't need that kind of stress.) But some people like it, and frankly, it's hard NOT to see it in the Mabudachi Trio because... Aya. But, Jesus, I've peeked into the GW fandom, where they'll ship Heero with everything from Relena to his Gundam. (No, really. No, really.) So I am not afraid. I have a killfile, and I'll use it. I'm not writing for them. I'm writing for me.

Um. When I write. *staggers under the weight of the nagging* Hopefully I'll be able to get back to it this semester since I'm only halftime. I'm pretty sure there are IY fans waiting to lynch me for not updating Pieces. But I will write for Fruits Basket because I love Fruits Basket, and the delicacy and care that Takaya-sensei has put into it. I can't be manga-pure because I haven't read all the manga. So I'll do the best that I can and be as true as I can to the characters I love, and if people don't appreciate it, they can go sob over their badly drawn doujinshi of The Time Someone Put Ecstasy In The Juunishi Banquet.

[evilpuppy.livejournal.com]

*tsks* You should make it Akito/Tohru. According to manga truths. *wicked grin* If you want to make 'em scream, really make 'em scream! Mwah ha! Mwah hah hah!!!

Kyou/Ayame, Hatori/Yuki, Uo/Momiji! We'll roll out the OTPs with such force their pathetic little fangirl souls will weep blood!

[kittyarcade.livejournal.com]

"And, my god, I'm actually afraid to admit that I'm a Kyou/Tohru fangrrl in much the same way I'm hesitant to admit in mixed company that I'm a registered Republican."

...what. omg, that's it, I'm totally de-friending you now! XP

*runs off to write a self-insert fic featuring Kyou and a Weenie*

...ok, that just sounded wrong :6

I think you're going to find hardcore fangirls (and guys, let's not be biased here ;P ) in every fandom. Let's not forget the ever-present Inu/Kikyo vs Inu/Kagome war that is raging right as we speak (so many lives lost... *sniff*). And who cares if the masses (or the minority) don't like your fic, you've got hardcore fans of your own that'll read your stuff (I'm so hardcore, I tattooed a heart with "Teles" on my bum XD ).

[dawnsama.livejournal.com]

Is the situation as bad, less bad, or worse than the Inuyasha fandom scene? Are there more tweener fangirls, less, or about the same?

Seriously, I'd like an answer to those questions.

I'm kind of afraid to go into the Furuba fandom, having only read up the USA domestic release and only seen random episodes of the anime. I'm afraid of spoilers, see. I was planning on taking a peek into the fandom after I've read a few more volumes of the manga... except now I'm even more frightened of it. Out of curiosity, has anyone ever jumped a person who used the name "Fruits Basket" instead of "Furuba?"

See, I'm working on a fic with [info]everstar3 -- it's a joint thing. And while we both prefer the manga for the character depth, there are a few things that don't happen in the manga and do happen in the anime that we need for the 'fic to work. So, we decided to tweak things a little so that the fic had the depth of the manga, up until Volume 5, but was mostly set in the world of the anime. So... kind of a hybrid universe, I guess.

Whether or not you guys decide to post this fic, I am very interested in reading it. Post it on Green Tea at least? (Not the forums of course.)

What I'm thinking is, screw the fangirls and screw their loudness and screw their ability to attack in numbers and screw their naive, mainstream-driven opinions and all the fallacies they use to support their arguments! I'm sure there are intellgient, mature people in the fandom who would appreciate a good fic. And worse come to worse, you could do what evilpuppy suggested and add in a little Akito/tohru action. Take that fangirl flatworms!

In other words, don't bother with the immature and stubbornly ignorant. Post what you will, and learn which comments to take and which to flush down the toilet, and I know you already have this ability.

[dqbunny.livejournal.com]

Ironically, I was about to rant in my LJ about how many Inuyasha rabid fangirls are complete idiots. Substitue the IY fandom for Fruba and I think you've hit the nail on the head with IY as well.

[thatnanda.livejournal.com]

Yay! Kyou/Tohru! *giggles* He needs it more!