Scaramouche, Scaramouche

No, I don't think original fic or RP of original characters is necessarily more creative than/superior to/possessed of more innate merit or value than fanficcing or RPing an existing fandom character.

"BUT FANFIC NEVER GETS PUBLISHED HUUUUUURRRRF" shut up, dimwit, yes it does, you just need to be licenced. XD Yeah, I consider tie-in novels to be in essence licenced fic. If you are deling ith a fandom like Star Wars that has different levels of canonicity depending on what material you're dealing with, the 'licenced fanfic' factor is increased by a lot. Or take X-Files. It had a few tie-in novels to its name and I remember fandom squabbles over their canonicity. That was the first time I saw the phrases 'licenced fanfiction' and 'alternate continuity' and that was way the hell back in '96 or so when Fox had an X-Files BBS and wasn't such a network full of fucking batshit. Generally the person writing the novels is a fan or they wouldn't be doing it (most of the time - sometimes you just have someone writing for cash), and some tie-in novels and expanded canon novels have wretched sues and stus in them equivalent to the derpings of your average teenage fan. I mean, heck - it's not as if official AU/fanfic-type material is directed only at adults (there were those second-person-P.O.V. Game Master books and a few standalone Zelda and Mario ones I recall at the local library - I never read them, but those were sure as nuts not 'mainline canon') and it's surely not exempt from crossovers (Captain N - which played it hella fast and loose with canon more so than the average fanfic).

I mean, heck - consider the expanded Dune universe and the expanded LotR universe. Both of these are books written by the kid of the original author and fandom's reaction to them is uh. Varied. World of Warcraft's got a bunch of tie-in novels and tie-in manga - basically official doujinshi. (These materials are the ones I was thinking about when I was all hurhur sues and stus because one author is really infamous for them, as well as for vastly deviating from the tone of the games and being a sexist numbnutter - and this guy IS officially backed.)

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