To a Never Ending World

[Rhyste]

It's only up at Fanfiction.net right now, because, I am: LAZIEST PERSON EVER @#*)RUEJSDL_*@)#&U.

... but, yeah...

http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=1191511

Uh, arrogant Tsukasa, angsty Maha, Balmung is sparkly, Mimiru has "issues" with her friends... it's an Alternate Universe fic. @_x; I wrote the first chapter initally just to call Tsukasa a pussy.

[Ohseki Ayu]

(*crashes*)

(*twitch twitch*)


.......I notice you neglected to tell us about completely OOC Subaru.... o.<

[Asmaria]

Um... Questions...

Who's this girl Maha? She doesn't act a thing like the Maha in the series...

Aura's already awake?

Tsukasa seems really wimpy. c.c; It's your story, but... any particular reason you chose to make him that way? There are points when I can see him being a bit more sarcastic in his defensis, kind of like placing that wall there that he always seems to do.

Subaru just seems... RUDE! o_O No offense or anything, but... wow. Not the image I had of her at all.

.....

I'm really sorry, I don't have any qualms with your writing style, but once I got to the fight in the city of Mac Anu... I just can't take it anymore. x.x Everyone seems so out of character. I'm not trying to be rude, but perhaps you should try to keep everyone closer to their real personalities? I can't see Krim working with the knights suddenly like that, Tsukasa shouldn't be so wimpy, Maha doesn't even talk, when did he become a girl? And Subaru is just... total role reversal. She was always so softspoken and while strict, very polite as well.

If you write something new in the future, I'll give it a look though. ^_^;

[Rhyste]

It's an Alternate Universe fanfic. XP That's why everyone and everything is wrong, and weird.

OOC Subaru = getting everything she *deserves*

[Ohseki Ayu]

You know, I've noticed that most AU fics are just an excuse for the author to do whatever he or she pleases with a given series or character, regardless of canon. The fact of the matter is that, even if it is an alternate universe, there are going to be some basic similarities between the personality of the canon character and the alternate character. It's possible, yes, for a person's character to be slightly to very different depending on the sitution--for example, if a character ended up leading a very different life from the original character--but the fact remains that they are still the same person. The basic personality is going to remain the same; otherwise it's not the same person anymore, but rather, a completely different character. In addition, the alternate world that you've constructed is not that different from the original The World with which we are familiar. There is absolutely no justification for turning Subaru into a total b*tch--you're just doing it because, as far as I can tell, you don't like the character. And believe me, I've been writing long enough that having extreme biases, either for or against a given character, is going to negatively affect your writing.

In short, ignoring established characterizations, especially as radically as you did with Subaru, in favor to portraying characters the way you want them to be is going to make your fanfic a bad one. You really don't want that, do you?

[Rhyste]

I understand that an alternate reality is usually looked at as a shallow, pathetic, stupid, ridiculed, ridiculous, retarded, dumb, absolutely degrading, and fanfics that are alternate universe are ultimately looked down upon because of automatic bias.

To be honest with you, this started as a fanfic where I got to call Tsukasa a pussy.

And speaking of Subaru, I don't think the writers of the .hack//SIGN were in exact favor of her either, actually, I don't think they were in favor of any of the characters.
EDIT: ... Maybe Mimiru, but everyone else is a bit lost at Sea.

And the fanfic isn't even finished yet, how do you know how Subaru will turn out in the end? If anything, everyone's going to get a happy ending; including Ginkan.

... BTW - "You know, I've noticed that most AU fics are just an excuse for the author to do whatever he or she pleases with a given series or character, regardless of canon." Yes I've noticed this too. After reading too much Harry Potter fanfic. However, in an alternate reality, you're given flexibility. And you know, I'm betting you wouldn't be saying this me if I had changed everyone's name and pretended like they were other players.

Oh, and concerning the "justification of turning Subaru into a b*tch" - Tsukasa and Subaru are searching for the same thing in the actual series; they're personalities were alike, to meet that bar of Tsukasa's personality was changed to; Materialistic, Arrogant, and Self-Satisfying, Subaru's had to be changed to meet his. Although you may argue that this is because I don't like her: no, I didn't like Subaru, because the problem I had with her is that she acts as a passive, frail, person who must move around the online world of which she clings onto, while not looking for the gap to fill up her emptyness and not looking for the "color" in her real life until she is able to find Tsukasa, a perosn similar to her: in the A.R. Subaru has become frail person, arrogant and materialistic to meet Tsukasa's personality, and who moves around The World, and being less passive about it and more like, "Hey I'm disabled everyone should feel sorry for me rather than me feeling sorry for myself." They're now both searching for searching for where they belong, only... they both have different out looks on life itself. Subaru is disabled, but her disability gives her arrogance: she believes she deserves something, in specific sympathy, and most important what she's missing: "actual" power, which she has in The World. Tsukasa is abused and teased, and he wants to be better than everyone else so he can go become stronger than them and "pay them back" for all hardships he's suffered.

[Ohseki Ayu]

I don’t have an automatic bias against AU fics. If well-written, they’re a pleasure to read. I love thinking up alternate situations in which to place favorite characters of mine to plot out how they would react, and I often create several alternate situations and realities in which to place my original characters for my own amusement. AU fics can be quite a bit of fun; they can explore a character or characters in ways not possible canonically. AU fics can be excellent, if well-written. It’s the poorly written AU fics that leave me questioning the reason for continuing to read fanfiction. If I had an automatic bias against AU fics, I wouldn’t have read your story in the first place.

You are right as far as the writers’ lack of bias in favor of Subaru; they lacked bias in favor of any character. All the characters were equal. However, I don’t recall ever saying that the .hack//SIGN writers favored her in the first place. >>;

Of course I wouldn’t say that if you’ve given them new names and pretended they were different characters. That’s called making an original character. >>;; That’s perfectly acceptable. The thing one needs to worry about in that case, though, is Mary Sue-ism...but that’s a different matter.

As far as the changing of Subaru’s personality is concerned, you do have a point. Something awfully traumatic must have happened to her IRL for her to have changed that much, though; something that made her a lot less mature than she is in the series. That’s basically what it boils down to: you’ve make Subaru immature. Canon Subaru was a quiet person who would listen to both sides of a story carefully and mete out appropriate justice to preserve the order of The World. She did not, in spite of appearances, think of herself as being better than anyone else; she tried her hardest to be fair to everyone. AU Subaru is petty, selfish, and self-centered, and believes that the world owes her something for being disabled when it doesn’t. She basically starts up the Scarlet Knights, not to protect players and ensure that they have fun playing The World without worry, as she did canonically, but so people will shower attention, admiration and sympathy on her. I really do hope you have a good reason for making that decision, to make Subaru as immature as you did. It’s Subaru’s maturity and support that inspired Tsukasa and allowed him to grow up and get over himself. If Subaru is no longer Tsukasa’s anchor...if, indeed, now Subaru is in need of an anchor herself...who’s going to help them out? Who’s going to help them become responsible adults? (*has a strong suspicion the answer is ‘Balmung’*)

In any case, as I really don’t have any intention to continue reading due to how much your decisions have grated on me, let’s just leave it at this; you can continue writing as you please, and I won’t criticize you any longer. I’d rather this not turn into a flame war, and whatever your next comment, I’ll let it be the final one.