Not Reviewing Fanfiction

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Now I review many things on this blog. I look over many types of movies, books, and tv shows. However, I do not feel comfortable reviewing fanfiction. This isn't because I think it's not a real form of literature. I write a bunch myself and I can tell you it's more than gay sex. A Hell of a lot more than that.

I do not feel comfortable reviewing fanfiction because of how it is made.

Here are a few reasons why:

1.) The Creative Team Behind Every Fanfiction

Now I'm not saying people behind fanfiction are unworthy of my time. What I am saying is that the creative team behind, say, the latest Stephen King novel and the latest The Avengers fanfiction are completely different. At least for the majority of the time.

When a King novel is made, Stephen King writes the story. While he is writing, there is a research team that helps him get his facts correct. How do I know this? At the end of Under the Dome, for instance, he thanks the head of his research team.

After the novel is written there is an editor that tells him what changes should be made. This can range from correcting grammar to changing the entire ending of a book.

So before getting published, a Stephen King novel has many opportunities for someone to tell King, "Wait...are you sure you should do this? This doesn't seem like a good idea."

What does is the average fanfiction creative team like?

One person and maybe a beta reader (aka, something similar to an editor) go over the fic. So the creative team is much smaller for the most part. Mind you I'm not counting fics where two or more fanfic authors collaborate on a fic.

2.) Range of Influence

There are some fanfics that have their own fandoms. Hell, My Immortal (the infamous Harry Potter fic) has its own web series which I highly recommend you check out. But for every My Immortal, there are thousands of fics with only a few people enjoying them.

With a novel by Stephenie Meyer or Michael Crichton, however, there is a higher chance that more people will read them. More people will read them and be influenced by what is written in them. Now I am not saying just because you like books like Hannibal (Thomas Harris) that you will start killing and eating people. But to deny that fiction doesn't affect anyone's psyche is to deny fact. It can affect people to buy products or support a cause. Hell, it might even influence kids to choose a certain profession.

This is why the 'relationship' in Twilight is so bothersome: it's because there is a more likely chance that people will feel Edward and Bella's 'love' is what they should aim for.

But if you're an average fanfic writer you don't have that much influence. Sure some readers may take your fic as what life is about, but there is less chances that your bad decisions will have harmful consequences.

This isn't to say you shouldn't care about what you write, but that if you mess up it's not that big of a deal in the long run.

3.) Pay to Read

And the final big reason I probably won't ever review fanfiction is this: you get to read fanfiction for free. You don't have to pay anything to read an entire work of fanfiction, no matter how long it is. It could be as long, or longer, than the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy and you wouldn't have to pay a cent.

But with a novel like Divergent (Veronica Roth) or Harry Potter (JK Rowling) you have to pay money. You don't just waste time if you don't like a novel, you waste money. So if I review something I don't like, I'm hoping you'll consider my opinion so you don't waste your money.

I may complain about certain fanfictions, but I won't sit down and write a formal review. In other words: I may feel like I need to get my feelings out, but I'm not going to put my recommendation whether to read it or not on my blog.

So am I saying that no one should review fanfiction? No, I'm merely saying why I am not. You are free to review what you want in whatever manner you want.

However, please remember those three points when you do. Fanfiction should be judged as it is and not judged like a Thomas Harris or Suzanne Collins novel.

Star Wars Weekends (2014)

I go to Star Wars Weekends with my Dad.

Inbetween: The Works of Crayak 2

As I waited in my office for Ryan, I was nervous. Not just nervous to meet him but also nervous about the case I had been assigned. How would I react to facing Esplin again? How would I deal with an Andalite who had the chance to kill Esplin? How would I fight Crayak if Esplin was in league with the god-like being?

I looked around my office at the awards I had been given. I kept my medals at home, but any other kind of awards I put in my office. Not that I wanted to, but it looked odd that I didn’t have anything. But what was I really supposed to hang up in my office? I couldn’t put a picture of Rachel up or I felt guilty. I couldn’t put a picture of Cassie up because I didn’t want to let people think we were together. As for Tobias, there was no picture of him I had except for official photo shoots. And any picture of Marco would attract his fans that were also co-workers of mine.

A co-worker had tried to give me a picture of a Bald Eagle and a Red-Tailed Hawk harassing each other, as a joke, and I threw it away quickly. I didn’t speak to that person for a few weeks and he must have realized why since he said sorry when we started talking again.

As I drifted into my mind I was brought back to the present by a knock on the door. I looked around my office quickly and made sure I was presentable.

“Come in.” I said and was greeted by the presence of a tall man. “Ryan Hardy?”

“Yes.” Ryan answered and I could tell that he was used to speaking with a mouth but it was still a foreign thing for him.

He continued to stand as I looked at him. He was tall and skinny. Not too skinny to be unhealthy. Well…unless you counted his face. His face was…it looked like an Andalite’s head was put on a human body and given a mouth. Plus the stalk eyes were removed.

“You’re Jake Berenson. The leader of the Animorphs.” Ryan said and I realized I had been looking at him for awhile.

I had been looking him over to see the specifics of how he had chosen to look for the rest of his life. I hadn’t meant to drift off too much and worry him.

“Former leader of the Animorphs.” I said and walked over to him with my head outstretched. “I’m an FBI Agent now. Same as you.”

“Same as me.” He replied as he shook my hand. I could swear there was a bit of regret in his voice. Or maybe he just hadn’t learnt all the fine details of human speech.

After a whiff of his breath reached my nostrils, I realized that his unsteady speech wasn’t because of the foreignness of a mouth, but by drinking. I didn’t know if he had drank a lot or not due to me not knowing how long he had been a nothlit.

“So how long have you been a nothlit?” I asked after thinking of the correct choice of words for around a minute.

“Does it matter?” Ryan replied and his body tensed.

“I don’t mind if you drink, but I mind if it makes us lose Esplin 9466.”

Realization came to him as he nodded.

“I haven’t drank more than I usually do.” Ryan answered.

I started to make sure I had everything I needed for the crime scene. This included making sure my gun was fully loaded. I didn’t want to be unprepared even though the chances of us getting attacked at the crime scene were less than likely.

“Where are we headed?” Ryan asked.

“To Esplin’s most recent crime scene.” I replied. “Done by one or more of his followers.”

“There’ll be fighting then.”

“No. I doubt the killer, or killers, will be sticking around for us.”

“But you checked your gun.”

“I said I doubt the killers will be there. Not that they won’t be.”

“Maybe you’re just on edge because the Abomination is back on your planet. Maybe you’ll make a mistake that will let him win.”

“Maybe you need to shut it until this is over. I might accidentally shoot you in rage.”

“I don’t believe every rumor I hear, I doubt you’ll make good on that promise.”

“Just shut it.” I replied and he followed me to my car.

Once we both sat in and buckled up, I started to head towards the crime scene. Unfortunately, Ryan decided this was a good time to start a conversation.

“Do you know anything about Esplin’s host?” Ryan asked.

“I know the host’s name is Joe Carroll and he used to be an English Professor. Was like he worshiped Edgar Allan Poe.”

“Did he write anything?”

“Yeah, crappy stuff. Read up that he was so delusional that he thought people were actually following him like a god. Probably how Esplin got to him.”

“What do you think of this Crayak he’s worshiping?”

“Nothing I’d like to think about now.”

Then things were silent as Ryan realized he had said something wrong. I had to give him credit for one thing: He was good at understanding humans.

But that also meant he must’ve been here for awhile. Probably after the war ended. A year among humans could make it so he could understand my species even while slightly intoxicated.

As the silence went on I thought about how Esplin could’ve come to Earth. How could it be that Esplin found someone delusional enough to think that being the host of the former Visser One was a good idea.

But what if things had just fallen into place on their own. What if Crayak didn’t give two shits about Esplin?

That’s what I had to believe if I was to capture Esplin.

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All of Inbetween: The Works of Crayak   

Sayings Sundays (June 8, 2014)

The Normal Heart is a wonderful movie (based on the play by Larry Kramer) about a gay activist during the start of the AIDS outbreak. By wonderful I mean totally heartbreaking. It follows Ned's relationship with Felix as he tries to deal with the AIDS outbreak. This includes trying to bring attention to the seriousness of the disease as everyone in power turns a blind eye.

I would highly recommend you see this movie and I'd recommend the play if I had seen/read it. But that might be in the future if I can deal with all the heartbreak again.

I chose this quote as it's one of the things this movie is about: acceptance of the gay community since they are normal people and normal people love.

I was listening to "I Forgive You" by Kelly Clarkson and the line 'we were just a couple of kids' stuck out to me. I knew I would have to relate it to Animorphs but I didn't know how.

Then it occurred to me it could be a nice Jake/Cassie (aka Cake) song talking about their lives after the war.

After the war Jake and Cassie aren't together. They had both changed so much that they couldn't be together. I chose the lyrics to show that Cassie forgives Jake for all the fucked up things he did during the war and that she forgives herself for not being as moral as she should've been. But she finds that forgiving both of them doesn't make her feel any better.

Cassie also thinks there were some bad things they both did during the war because they were kids. They were thirteen when the war started, so of course they would make mistakes that even adults would have trouble avoiding.

Left Behind: This Time With More Nic Cage

Back in the day I was a Catholic. During that time I read all of the Left Behind series. In school I watched the first of the original Left Behind movies. Yes, I went to a Catholic school. I considered the books okay and the movie horrible. So when I found out about a remake with Nic Cage I was...in shock to say the least.

First things first: I don't feel this needed to be remade. It's not a series that makes you go, "I really think there needs to be a movie adaptation of this or my life isn't complete!"

It's not the fact that it's about The Rapture, a Christian belief, that makes me think a movie like this doesn't need to be remade. That premise still sounds interesting to me even if I don't believe it will actually occur. And if they go to adapt the whole series? The last book is boring since that's when Jesus arrives and you know how it will turn out. Knowing the outcome of a book/movie always makes me not like it (or, at least, like it less).

However, Nic Cage being in it makes me feel like I have to see it. I know he will give a very entertaining performance and that, to me, will be the only reason to see the film. I saw he was in it and then realized I will have to see this movie at some point.

Now I don't know if I'll want to see it in theaters as it seems better, and cheaper, to enjoy it in the comfort of my own home.

The Normal Heart (2014)

Title: The Normal Heart

Based on the Play By: Larry Kramer

Director: Ryan Murphy

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Groff, and Frank De Julio

Rated: TV Movie (HBO)

Released: 2014

Personal Rating: 6/6

Oscars: N/A

Plot: A gay activist attempts to raise HIV/AIDS awareness during the early 1980s.
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A Real Tearjerker
I am not usually one to come away crying from a movie. Crying multiple times during a movie is nearly unheard of for me. So the fact that this movie pulled all the right heart strings to make me do so is beyond amazing. And why wouldn't this movie move me? The subject matter isn't happy and so neither is this movie. It is a time of history that needs to be remembered even though it is painful to do so. I'm only 27, as of viewing the movie, so I didn't have personal experience with the time period. I'd probably have left the movie with even more tears than I did if I were older.

Nice Bit of Continuity
There is a shot near the beginning of the movie where people are dancing and the camera eventually ends up looking at Ned who is just watching. He seems like he wants to join but he just doesn't have it in him to. That's basically me at parties and why I don't go to them for the most part. So I connected with Ned in that shot. Near the very end of the movie, right before the credits, there is the same basic shot of people dancing and the camera eventually ending up at Ned. But the feelings of both shots are completely different. It is a wonderful and haunting bit of continuity.

Ned's Tactics
Ned is a character that sees a goal and fights for it. He can't help but fight. This does mean that he angers his allies just as much as his enemies. Though his fighting may seem very strong it is his copping mechanism. He is afraid of failing so much that he acts strong so that he'll believe it and not become weak. His anger, though, is applied to his opponents and people he believes are bullshitting him. Ned can be a very kind and caring person to those he likes.

Final Thoughts
There is so much that can't be covered in a short review like this. My written reviews, like this one, are meant to look at what I consider the most important parts, and sometimes the only ones I can really remember, and not analyzing every little detail of the movie. So there is a lot I couldn't cover here. Jim Parsons does a great job. I am used to him playing Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory and so couldn't help but think of that while watching. This film came on my radar because Mark Ruffalo is in it. He is a great choice to play Ned. Plus Ned can be so adorable at times like when he is having his first dinner date with Felix.

The Normal Heart and Not Giving a Sh*t

I talk about a scene from The Normal Heart and how it affects people today.