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Dear General-You Weiss Kreuz Fanbrat:
I'd like to talk about a guy named Ken Hidaka. You may remember him. For those of you who haven't watched the series, he's the one you most likely haven't noticed yet. Got short brown hair, brown or blue eyes depending on who you talk to and a weapon with an unpronounceable name, occasionally plays soccer, likes kids and random acts of huge and senseless violence. That Ken. Everyone with me so far?
I mention this only because frankly, the way some of you choose to write about the guy had me wondering if we were talking about different characters. Since we don't seem to be, I'd like to clear a few things up...
Ken Hidaka is not:
This isn't to say you can't write him as any of these things. You can write about whatever the Hell you like - but if you don't want to come across as a complete idiot you've got to explain yourself a bit instead of expecting the rest of the fandom to nod and smile and somehow fail to notice you're writing about someone who's almost, bit not entirely completely unlike Ken. Is a little background really too much to ask for, fanbrats?
Oh, and by the way. Before writing Weiss Kreuz fic, watch the fucking show.
No love,
- laila
General Secretary, The Foundation For Keeping Ken Hidaka In Fucking Character.
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fanficrants cross-post, de da, de da, de da...
I'd like to talk about a guy named Ken Hidaka. You may remember him. For those of you who haven't watched the series, he's the one you most likely haven't noticed yet. Got short brown hair, brown or blue eyes depending on who you talk to and a weapon with an unpronounceable name, occasionally plays soccer, likes kids and random acts of huge and senseless violence. That Ken. Everyone with me so far?
I mention this only because frankly, the way some of you choose to write about the guy had me wondering if we were talking about different characters. Since we don't seem to be, I'd like to clear a few things up...
Ken Hidaka is not:
- A pushover.
- A hysterical femme.
- Madly in love with Aya.
- An Emo Kiddie.
- An 'hilariously' bad cook.
- An idiot.
- One of the World's Great Lovers.
Really. He isn't. First and foremost, he's a freaking trained killer and, given that he's still alive and in possession of all his limbs and faculties, obviously a capable one. Secondly, he's extraordinarily stubborn, equally violent and, before I forget, physically strong (there's a case to be answered that he's the strongest in Weiss). Please, fanbrats, check out the way he kills people. Consequently, he is not going to make a particularly good target for random rape, physical abuse, etecetera. Aya, for example, would not be able to do anything to Ken if Ken didn't want him to. If you insist on writing a fic where he does, could you at least try to explain how Aya accomplishes this and why he doesn't end up with a plant pot buried in the back of his skull for so much as thinking it?
I can count the number of times Ken cries in canon on the fingers of one hand. If I tried to count the number of times he burst into tears in badfic, I'd still be counting come Doomsday. Fanbrats: Ken is a guy. I don't care what he's getting up to in bed. Write him is a bottom by all means but please, God, just try to remember that he's a man! Really. He. Is. Male. He's also far more likely to react to emotional stress by flipping the fuck out at any person who makes the mistake of asking him what his problem is, not breaking down and sobbing in their arms. If you're going to make him cry, you're going to need one Helluva good reason to get him there. Aya freezing him out is not a reason. And, speaking of Aya freezing Ken out...
Okay, I admit it: I'm not the world's greatest fan of Ran x Ken slash. But I'm not just writing this because I have a downer on the pairing. I'm just after pointing out the small fact that Aya and Ken canonically barely tolerate each other at first. Therefore, if your Kapitel fic has Ken eating his heart out for Aya the minute it starts, with no explanation given for why he is no longer finding Aya hugely and immediately annoying just because he's Aya, I am going to laugh at you. Then hit the back button. I'm not asking for the War and Peace of exposition - I'd just like it to be acknowledged that, true love for one another notwithstanding, Aya and Ken Really Do Not Get On Most Of The Time.
I would have thought this one was self-evident, but apparently not. There are plenty of ways to deal with emotional angst which don't involve self-mutilation and Evanescence lyrics and Ken, at least in Kapitel, is very much the Denial! Poster Boy (and after that point he's started to enjoy himself). The chances that he's cutting himself in private are slim to non-existent - it's not like he doesn't have plenty of opportunities to release violent urges on targets other than his own upper arms. Oh, and by the way, a guy who happily wears old jeans and tee-shirts some two sizes too large is likely to be a stranger to Hot Topic clubbing gear - or Japanese equivalent of same.
Ken can cook. Canon. He enjoys it. Canon. Read Weiss Side B. You wouldn't say Omi was bad with computers, would you?
Once again - trained killer. Firstly, if Ken was even half as stupid as most badfic made him out to be, why in the Hell would any assassin team bother with him? Second, even if they did, there's no way that someone that idiotic would have survived as long as Ken has done. Come on, fandom. This guy kills people for money and has been doing so for years. No, Ken isn't stunningly intellectual, but the fact that he's a trained killer and still walking around means he's got to have something in the way of street-smarts. Oh, and liking sport does not automatically render an individual moronic.
I know Ken is cute but look, Mary Sue writing fankiddie, if you want a member of Weiss to sweep your Sue off her dainty little feet you should not be looking at Ken. Have you seen the way he behaves round women? It wouldn't occur to him to try and pitch industrial-strength woo at anyone, never mind your speshul Sue, when his idea of a good date is the swimming pool and his idea of a good woman is one who'll let him duck her (and who doesn't expect the guy to take the initiative). Yes he's romantic as Hell, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be any good at romance or even particularly interested in it. The fandom has one Youji already. We sure as hell don't need another one.
This isn't to say you can't write him as any of these things. You can write about whatever the Hell you like - but if you don't want to come across as a complete idiot you've got to explain yourself a bit instead of expecting the rest of the fandom to nod and smile and somehow fail to notice you're writing about someone who's almost, bit not entirely completely unlike Ken. Is a little background really too much to ask for, fanbrats?
Oh, and by the way. Before writing Weiss Kreuz fic, watch the fucking show.
No love,
- laila
General Secretary, The Foundation For Keeping Ken Hidaka In Fucking Character.
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