| Opinions |
| Hey everyone! This is just a little section where I get to rant and rave. That's one of the perks of being webmistress!!! Actually, these are not so much rants, but more like mini-essays. If any of you out there want to submit an essay, article or even a rant, please e-mail it to me. As long and it doesn't offend anyone, I'd love to post it! |
1. Why?~ The reason this is a non-yaoi site I thought I could avoid posting a note like this, but alas, here I am. Hmm...this is a sticky subject, as many know well. Even though I have stated before that �Please respect that this is a non-yaoi site, not anti-yaoi, and neither yaoi nor yaoi bashing will be permitted �, due to some less than pleasant e-mails, I guess I didn�t get the message across. So, for anyone curious, these are my reasons for making this a non-yaoi site. A) I�m a sucker for the underdog. Seeing how the GW fan world is dominated by primarily yaoi sites, I wanted to create a place for people who thought that other relationships could exist besides boy-boy ones. Just because I�m excluding yaoi relationships doesn�t mean that I�m against them or that I don�t like them. It�s just a matter of preference, which sometimes can�t be explained. (And if this site bugs you, I may as well set up a separate e-mail account for flames once you see my �Alternatives� site.) B) To further explain myself, I would like to try to share why I have a preference towards non-yaoi fan works. To do this, you�ll have to hear my GW story, so sit back and relax... I came into the Gundam Wing universe knowing nothing of yaoi, non-yaoi or any beliefs on the relationships of Gundam Wing. That having been said, when I became involved in the series, I had no idea what to make of anything. I came to watch Gundam Wing by chance. I was bored one afternoon and GW seemed to be the only thing on, and besides, I had seen millions of previews when watching Sailor Moon (which sadly I think I have now outgrown). But anyway, before I realized it, I was hooked on GW. I was drawn in by the amazing art, complex story line and overall intelligence of the show. And I also became attached to the Gundam Pilot Heero Yuy ^_~. I came into the show quite late, and soon episode 48 came and Heero and Relena had that helmet moment and from then on, I was immediately drawn to the pair. After the series ended, all I knew was that Gundam Wing was probably the best anime I had ever been exposed to and...that there was definitely something going on between Relena and Heero. That was my totally unbiased opinion. I went on the internet looking for anything GW after I was completely addicted to the show, because innocently enough, I thought there had to be more to the story because Relena and Heero had not kissed at the end. To my dismay, I learned that not only would they never kiss (thus fueling my inspiration for writing HY x RP fanfics) but also that a majority of people thought Heero and Duo were a couple. I was really shocked by this at first, for I thought that surely Heero and Relena were supposed to be the main couple, but then I thought there must be a reason, since I had not yet seen all of the episodes. So, I accepted yaoi for a while, although I did not quite believe it. But as I learned more, I realized that the Heero and Duo pairing was not wrong or right, but rather, a belief held by some GW fans. I am fine with this pairing, although it is not the one I believe in. Now, after watching the whole GW run in English many times, including the unedited version, and then watching Endless Waltz, both the subtitled and dubbed OAV, as well as the movie version, I personally cannot find any romantic attachment between any of the pilots, only the strong friendships and bonds of trust and brotherhood common to any soldiers during wartime. I also believe that there were certain male and female counterparts purposely set up in the show, i.e. Heero and Relena, Duo and Hilde. But here is where you�ll get really confused: I don�t think any relationships (besides friendships) are really going to happen between any of the characters for a long, long time. The pilots are 15 years old, for goodness� sake, (16 in EW) and living in a war-torn time. Sure, they have raging hormones, but I would think they would be trying to stay alive and complete their missions, rather than exploring their sexuality. And in Heero�s case, if a person really looks deep into his character based on the evidence of the show, I truly believe that it would take close to forever before he would ever admit to having feelings for, or *gasp* making a move on anyone. Therefore, most of my fanfictions take place when the characters are older and more mature, so that they actually might have a handle on what love really is. And, almost every one of my stories takes place at least 4 years after EW, making the age of the pilots roughly 20 or older. Even then, I don�t know if Heero, or even the some of the other pilots, would be ready for a serious relationship. Overall, I think the character relationships were meant to be pure and friendly, rather than anything else. Looking at raw evidence, it would be easy for me to suggest that Heero and Relena might have some sort of romantic connection; however, in an interview with GW�s creators, they claim that the two characters are just friends and weren�t really created to be romantically involved. This declaration, on the other hand, does not automatically mean that Heero is involved with any one else. There is a lot of word twisting and assumptions that goes on in both yaoi and non-yaoi arenas to prove each groups� own points. In the end, it is a person�s own preference to which couples they�d like to acknowledge, if any at all. And I think that each person should be respected in their views. (Just a note: I didn't even touch on the issue of manga or artbooks because they are unofficial publications and reflect the artist's/author's own views of the series.) So there ya go. That�s my long-winded answer to the non-yaoi question. I hope I didn�t bore you to death. Oh, and by the way, I�d just like to point out that these are my feelings and opinions, therefore I don�t see how anyone can dispute them if they are mine alone and really don�t matter that much anyway. So no flames, please. Thank you for reading. 2. Plagiarism Issues~ Protection vs. Paranoia It has come to my attention that the issue of plagiarism is becoming more prevalent among the fanfiction community of GW. I would first like to state that I am against plagiarism and that it is an overall rude and unkind thing to do. I recently read a fanfic that was really good, I mean, really good and it made a huge impact on me. Then I found that it was almost directly copied word for word from an excellent book. Stuff like this is obviously disappointing and wrong. In this case, I�m glad that the original author of the story was protected and that the copied fanfic was taken off the web. Plagiarism is a sensitive subject. People want to protect their own original ideas and receive the credit and feedback that they deserve, but at the same time, is this possessive attitude creating more panic and paranoia than it should? I would just like to say that it is extremely hard to think up new and innovative ideas for GW stories, or any story for that matter. It seems like everything has already been done. This, of course, is no excuse for copying someone else�s hard work, but in all honesty, how many new situations can we throw our heroes and heroines in? It may be very possible that 20 different stories describe a similar moment when Relena and Heero become lost in each other�s gaze. But is this plagiarism? It�s a tough question. This may have happened to you: You write a really great story. Just for kicks, say you have a particularly good scene where Heero and Duo are talking in a garden, and Relena is secretly watching them. So la-de-da, you post the story. As you�re searching for other stories to read yourself, you find a fanfic that has a scene almost exactly like your garden scene. What�s worse, is that this fanfic is most probably older than yours, so it seems like that author had the idea first. What will people think? Will they assume you plagiarized, even though you�ve never seen the other fanfic in your life? Or will people not even notice? As it turns out, you are probably just being paranoid, but it�s still really scary to think that someone could falsely accuse you of an action you didn�t consciously do, which would really hurt your rep as a fanfic author. A lot of the time, I find I am so paranoid, I try to correct every little piece of a story I�m working on to make sure that it hasn�t already been done. You see, copying another person�s work is a pet peeve of mine, so I really try to be careful I�m not accidentally doing it myself. However, this attitude is a hassle. I have found that a person cannot write a good story with a paranoid attitude. This is because he or she just doesn�t have their heart and soul in it. You must trust your own writing style and ideas. Stories have been told and retold for centuries. I guarantee there is a common formula to all romance novels. And one can�t imagine how many Relena-kidnapping stories there are out there! One last point: the one thing that made me mad was someone accusing an author of plagiarism without providing any evidence, such as what work they were referring to as being copied. If people just cry wolf to get some attention, it will lead to the loss of the fun and carefree attitude of the fanfiction world, and the loss of trust between authors and their audiences. Soon, authors won�t want to post their stories anymore, for fear that their ideas might be stolen, or that they might be harassed by fans who crave attention, even if the attention is bad. Also, yelling at people through message boards or other types of public groups is no way to go! I would hope that people would please be considerate and use e-mail if they are dealing with such a sensitive issue as plagiarism. And now for my Peace on Earth message: So please, all I ask is that no one plagiarize. You all are wonderful people with wonderful ideas! And before anyone yells at an author who they think copied their work, just take into consideration...how common is the idea or scene that is accused of being copied? Good ideas seem to be a lot more popular than people think. ^_~ Thank you for reading! 3. Flames~ My one and only response I know that writing this may seem contradictory to my �no-response-to-flames� policy. I don�t like responding to flames and I guarantee I am not going to in the future. So why am I writing this, one may ask? Well, in all fairness, I thought I would just tell everyone straight up what my stance on flames is for anyone who�s wondering or for anyone who is thinking of sending me a flame. I would just like to say that I was the proud recipient of my first flame the other day. Flames are crazy things, especially when the sender uses all caps, like they are trying to intimidate me or something. I really don�t know what the person who sent me a flame was trying to get across, but I was actually really happy. To me, flames mean that I am branching out, and that more people are visiting my site than just the tight-knitted non-yaoi community. It�s exciting, really. But for the records, any future flames will be promptly laughed at and deleted. That brings me to my next question: What are flames actually trying to accomplish? If they are meant to get a rise out of me, that certainly doesn�t work, unless you can call laughing hysterically a rise. Then, I actually feel sorry for the poor person that took the precious moments out of their life to tell me how much I suck and that Heero and Duo belong together. It�s really quite sad if you think about it. If you do have something to tell me about, or if you would like to rationally explain why you think Heero and Duo belong together, or whatever, I�d love to hear your opinions, as long are they are actually polite and backed up by brain power. So, in conclusion, my opinion on flames is that they are pointless. They waste my time as well as the senders, and they are overall very rude. I will never answer a flame, so why bother sending them? I have already mentioned what my reaction to them is. And on a happy note, I am so glad to see that a lot of webmasters are not tolerating flames. Power to the flame retardant and Keepers of the Peace! 4. Character Hate Shrines- What�s the Deal? I would just like to ask: Why? Why would a person devote so much time and effort to create a website about a character that obviously angers them? I really have no opinion on the subject, I am just rather intrigued. Could anyone please enlighten me? I would love to write a little essay on this topic. And don�t worry, I am not out to get anybody, I am just seriously baffled. Please e-mail me with your comments. |
| Topics Include: Why?~The reason this is a non-yaoi site Plagiarism~ Protection vs. Paranoia Flames~ My one and only response Character Hate Shrines~ What's the deal? |
 |
| Home |
| Back to the Craziness |
| BTW, I'm sorry Netscape people, but this page looks really messed up to you. Netscape and IE have different font spacings. >_< Please use IE to view this page! |