Snanger Danger!
Mar. 18th, 2012 06:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
nike_ravusThings tragically cut from my article on Fandom Pairing Names (FPNs) (:D I have an acronym! I am a scholar!)
On February 14, 2012 the Faberry fan community motivated enough fanpower and effort to carry their couple to victory in the eonline TV’s Top Couple Tournament, regardless of the fact that Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray have never shown signs of romantic interest in each other in the maintext of Glee. Although I can only conjecture, I doubt the name Quichel would have been able to motivate such enthusiasm and fervor.
And
Blending is also evocative of the inseparability of the base terms. The speaker employing the blend is not making a simple coordination; he is, in fact, referring to a concept, which is identified by the names of the two participating characters, but embodies something other than just the incorporation of the two characters. regardless of opinions about the individual characters, the pairing itself has its own set of associations and interpretations. An example of this that I recently encountered was using the pairing name descriptively. An author of a fanfiction story about characters from Glee stated in the description, “this is not a Brittana fic.” By this she meant that although some of the story would include Brittany and Santana as a couple, the point of the story was not so that they would end up together, nor was it considered the only viable pairing for either of the characters. Pairing names often carry with them a specific worldview including a set of values, hopes and valid storylines, which must not be violated in any way.
And
Somehow the token [dordi] is evocative of insulting someone’s mental competence. It is understandable if others were preferred.
On February 14, 2012 the Faberry fan community motivated enough fanpower and effort to carry their couple to victory in the eonline TV’s Top Couple Tournament, regardless of the fact that Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray have never shown signs of romantic interest in each other in the maintext of Glee. Although I can only conjecture, I doubt the name Quichel would have been able to motivate such enthusiasm and fervor.
And
Blending is also evocative of the inseparability of the base terms. The speaker employing the blend is not making a simple coordination; he is, in fact, referring to a concept, which is identified by the names of the two participating characters, but embodies something other than just the incorporation of the two characters. regardless of opinions about the individual characters, the pairing itself has its own set of associations and interpretations. An example of this that I recently encountered was using the pairing name descriptively. An author of a fanfiction story about characters from Glee stated in the description, “this is not a Brittana fic.” By this she meant that although some of the story would include Brittany and Santana as a couple, the point of the story was not so that they would end up together, nor was it considered the only viable pairing for either of the characters. Pairing names often carry with them a specific worldview including a set of values, hopes and valid storylines, which must not be violated in any way.
And
Somehow the token [dordi] is evocative of insulting someone’s mental competence. It is understandable if others were preferred.
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no subject
Date: 2012-03-18 10:35 pm (UTC)Well, there is a reason Faberry sounds a lot more appealing than Finchel. But there are always the pairings it's hard to name, like Cara/Dahlia, or Cara/Kahlan, and so forth. I don't know how much it matters... I think the true point of it is that unlikable (to the fandom) characters often seem to have unlikable names (see: Finn). Thought there is something to be said for simply sound - TyZula sounds a lot more interesting than AzuLee, and it's exactly the same ship. Doccubus combines their professions (doctor+succubus), and is certainly better than any variation than could e made of Bo/Lauren.
Pairings as a concept is an interesting issue. Nearly any TyZula story means Azula will be portrayed in a more positive light; the same is true for Faberry regarding Quinn, and Brittana regarding Santana.
Is it odd I don't know any other fandom pairing names? There's tons of stuff I ship, but I can't actually find a name for it (Melisande/Phedre [really Melisande/anybody, preferably female], Emma/anybody [preferably female], Willow/Tara, Haruka/Michiru, Nico/Karolina, etc). The only other one I can think of is Kigo.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-19 01:43 am (UTC)I'm still working on it, but I had to trim it down to 4000 words, including references and appendices, (and since I have ~180 FPNs, it's a big appendix). I'll let you know when it's out!
Now how do you quantify 'sounds more interesting'? That's kind of what I'm trying to do, though I'm not sure how successful it's gong to be.
I think the writing implications of FPNs are a whole other interesting story. Perhaps they're restrictive for writers, but for readers they're rather comforting, like genres. (I have just discovered the Pinkberry subgenre of Faberry and am rather hoping it takes off.)
no subject
Date: 2012-03-19 11:29 am (UTC)What is 'Pinkberry'? Also, I find it interesting how some fandoms give names to the pairings, and some don't. Why is that, do you think? Or why do certain pairings gain names, while others don't?
no subject
Date: 2012-03-19 12:40 pm (UTC)Pinkberry is Rachel/Punkass!Pink-haired!Quin, as far as I can tell.
I think one thing applicable to why some pairings get names and others don't is the fact that there seems to be a pretty consistent correlation that goes, if you have one FPN in a fandom you have more than one. Once the naming has begun, it seems unstoppable (and then you end up with things like the Harry Potter fandom where every possibly imagined pairing has its own name.)
But to start the FPN process you need a critical mass of people who want a name or expect there to be one, and then you need someone to suggest it, and have be both accepted by a group of people, or rederived by enough people that it becomes 'natural'. Then newcomers just learn it as if its always been there, and then it's stuck.
no subject
Date: 2012-03-19 12:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-03-19 03:19 pm (UTC)http://forums.fictionalley.org/park/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4591
no subject
Date: 2012-03-19 05:03 pm (UTC)Well, live and learn, I guess. Say, do they have actually have a list of fics under each ship?