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Jules (Patreon)

Published:
2020-01-21 11:00:07
Imported:
2021-02

Content

Just a Julie drawing.

So this weekend, I spent a lot of time with my young 12 year old nieces. I swear this has a point to it. I let them talk to me about Undertale and Undertale fan fiction for HOURS. It made me think a lot about how much media has changed and what are the things kids like to consume right now. For one thing, I NEVER would have talked to my aunt and uncles about weird alternate unvierse fan fictions. But I'm the cool one, I'm in the know about fan fics. I know about Undertale and Sans and junk. I can speak the language.

What I'm trying to figure out is why do these sorta worlds with broadly drawn characters and weird dimensions resonate so well. It's similar to Homestuck fandom from a few years ago. There are "characters" but they don't quite work in traditional story telling. They're a shared experience and creation between a community of excited fans. They happen organically but they still find their origin points to a source.

Whether it's Homestuck, Undertale, or even Five Nights at Freddy's, there's a pretty interesting way where the lore in these stories can organically inspire a community of creative types to start forming fan worlds. And I'm here wondering... how do I take that to my advantage without feeling like I'm pandering?

I think the lore for Julie, as it stands, has a lot of potential for that sort of mind bendy alternate universe type fandom. But I don't want to design a story in a way that has me going "how do I make this like Homestuck?" I'm just trying to figure out, what is it about these stories that clicks with people of a certain generation.

I realize that... if I'm making stories for younger kids. I shouldn't be just making the kinds of stories I would've liked as a kid. Kids haven't changed a LOT really, but there are differences now that there are welcoming internet communities where a creative kid can thrive and form their own versions of events. I'm not gonna go out there and be like "How are you doing, fellow kids." But I do need to consider, how to appeal to them without sacrificing what I want to make with my work.

Files

Comments

Wanderjar

Well said Psu. I think the answer you are looking for is to not overwhelmingly flesh out the backstory or lore of a universe or character but to make your fan/viewer/etc ask themselves "what would it be like if X happened to them (which is something relevant to me)"

Wanderjar

Remind me to share a very unique bit of.... Fanfic? I guess? With you later on after Valentine's day. It's certainly different

McZed

Homestuck, Undertale and the like have nuanced yet strong characters. A beginning writer can grapple with Karkat's core traits (short, shouty, always grumpy, still very loyal) while a more experienced writer can work in his subtler traits (cosmic level bad luck, fear of abandonment?, questionable relationship choices despite being quietly obsessed with romance, self-loathing almost to a blackrom level). This level of character building, and the varied roles that characters have, has basically made Homestuck into a modern Commedia Del Arte for fanfic writers. Deep lore and strong world building helps a lot.

Amyphist

I'm glad I don't have any 12-year-old relatives, we would have no cultural references in common! :D Haven't played any of these. Fanfic isn't exactly anything new though... and games have been encouraging kids to create their own stories since the invention of D&D, at least.

xiakha

It's a mixture of compelling characters that have clear direction and the charming interactions they have with each other and with the protagonist. It's especially compelling in Undertale because the Genocide Run makes all of the other characters gain fuller characterizations based on who we know they are in other runs and how they step up or change tactics in the Genocide Run Setting-wise, I think Homestuck's ability to lay out rules and then leave the logical conclusions as an exercise to the reader (and therefore reward the reader with insight and speculation that may work out as predicted) led to much of the fan theories and lore, even when concepts/mechanisms were never fully explored in universe

psudonym
>>31517337

I'm willing to admit that I only just learned about Commedia Del Arte from a comedy video on how the Fire Emblem Characters are all the same.