This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Working Title: Canon Defilement: From YKTTW
Jisu: So as not to offend fan-character creators (I love you! Unless your characters suck) or slashers (although I consider all non-canon pairings Canon Defilement), I split the list at the beginning.
Qit el-Remel: I've read a World Of Warcraft fan fiction piece involving the Lich King being redeemed on behalf of an incredibly Mary Sue-ish, violet-eyed death knight (who'd already given birth to his bastard love child back when they were alive). And marrying her, and settling down with her under an assumed name. It was written since the second expansion pack was released, despite directly contradicting the events thereof.
However, the author started throwing Link's Queen-worthy temper tantrums after one of her stories ended up on a bad!fic blog...so I'm not touching it with a ten-foot pole.
Ethereal Mutation: It defines a commonly used term, but I agree that the examples should probably just be taken out back and shot. Also, the application to regular canons seems tacked on just so people could list stuff such as One More Day. I'll give this a day for discussion before cleaning this article up.
fleb: I couldn't wait, example-wise. Examples has gone to live with a nice family on a farm.
That Other 1 Dude: Thirding the example-less approach.
...
"Oh, a certain mark on her forehead; a crescent moon I've been told, and a distinctive hair style that was already formed. A funky one, I say. Looked like she had meat . . . balls . . . in . . . her . . . oh . . . my . . . god . . ."
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fleb: Regarding this former pagequote (see right)... I know an example list is a disaster and flamewar waiting to happen, but Gonterman is just so non-controversial an example I'd say keeping him and his Retcon on the page, just as a quote, all by itself would be just fine.
Ethereal Mutation: I don't know. Much of the context relied upon the further writing in the examples section and it just doesn't seem like anything more than crappy prose without knowing what it's referring to.
fleb: Wait, wait... inspiration here... we create a Troper Tales page! Normally I think that namespace is an utter waste of hard drive space, but we can link to Canon Defilement just below the quote for the explanation.
But then we hit the "example list is just begging for it" problem again. (Should we just put all the examples we cut into Troper Tales?) We could link to Fan Fic (under So Bad Its Horrible), which gives a hefty description of Gonterman's work for context.
Ethereal Mutation: Or maybe just only attribute its source (e.g. "David Gonterman Davey Crockett, Sailor Moon: American Kitsune"). There's an explanation of the whole sordid affair on that page as well.
fleb: Huh, didn't know his work had its own page. Good one. ...Wait, the quote already has a link exactly like that, so it can go back just the way it was.
Anonymous Mc Cartneyfan: Proposition: We do accept Character Derailment as a trope. Canon Defilement is to Character Derailment as Canon is to Character Development. Because of how Canon is defined, Canon Defilement should only be possible in Derivative Works - that is, Fan Fiction and adaptations. So, it's a form of Adaptation Decay. Oops, we aren't supposed to have The Same But More, are we?
Insanity Prelude: If we cut this, the Gonterman quote could head [[Horrible/Fanfic So Bad It's Horrible Fanfic]].
Ethereal Mutation: There is a difference in the same way fanfiction is different from regular literature. They might be nearly identical in format, but the general expectations placed upon them are quite a bit different. In that same sense, Canon Defilement shows the difference in terms of expectations and limitations. Things that one might get away with in fanfic wouldn't pass muster in professional literature and vice versa. It's worth having on a separate article rather than as a giant patch on Adaptation Decay (especially since Canon Rape is a common term in many circles).
fleb: Adaptation Decay doesn't cover all derivative works, it covers adaptations. It doesn't cover canon sequels (sequelitis) or fanfiction, except the very few that are novelisations of the existing story.
