[Fandom] ...in some ways this was inevitable.

[jennaria]

I check AO3 semi-regularly for more Yuri On Ice Stories I Am Interested In, which (as usually happens) are getting thinner on the ground. Unfortunately, this means I'm hitting the stage of the fandom life-cycle where I start to get grumpy.

...specifically, dear fanfic authors: why the heck are you writing stories wherein the only trace of this being a Yuri On Ice fanfic, as opposed to Any Other Fandom Ever, is the names? I don't even mean that I don't agree with the characterization. I mean 'fairy tale retelling' wherein the prince is now named Victor, and the brave maiden who rescues him is now a boy named Yuuri, and the helpful fairy is now (depending on which retelling) either Minako or Phichit, and Russian Yuri appears for at most three sentences to yell at everyone before vanishing again.

If you're going to write a fairy tale retelling, couldn't you maybe pick (a) a non-Disney fairy tale, and (b) think about what putting the YOI characters into the roles would mean? I don't feel like that's too much to ask. Grump.

Comments

[fragilespark]

The question of adaptation is one that I'm having to navigate with my Dragon Age 2 version of Sense and Sensibility. I worry about it being a name-replace so much, but I did a lot of work beforehand to find the right cast roles and the parallels that could be brought in from the source material.

I'd love to do a fairytale fic one day (when I don't have so many WIPs) and I think you're right to ask those questions.

[jennaria]

Hey, a true fusion of two sources with strong narrative voice is not easy - fairy tale re-tellings are simple by comparison. A good fusion does find parallels, I think, so hooray that you've managed it!

(And thank you. I'm never sure with my rants how much is just me being grumpy. :wry:)