*wrestling announcer voice*

… in this corner we have Bo Holbrook of Ghostbusters Nightsquad fighting for the rights of current Ghostbusters cannon and for Fan Fiction writers to stop straying away from the business aspects of Ghostbusting …

… and in this corner we have Ghostbusters Doom Patrol who are trying to bring their own spin on the world of Ghostbusting through their writing …

let's get ready to rumbllllllllllllle!!!

(now that my moment of self-indulged stupidity is over …)

I'm gonna' have to agree with Bo in that a lot of fan fiction writers do tend to glorify the heroic aspect of Ghostbusting while often leaving out the main “struggling business” idea that initially made Ghostbusters such a great concept. Above all else Ghostbusting is a job. I also can see where this particular collection of Fan Fiction can be considered wish-fulfillment.

But if Doom Patrol wants to shake things up a bit to satisfy themselves that really is just their choice.

justinmarkus
*wrestling announcer voice*

… in this corner we have Bo Holbrook of Ghostbusters Nightsquad fighting for the rights of current Ghostbusters cannon and for Fan Fiction writers to stop straying away from the business aspects of Ghostbusting …

… and in this corner we have Ghostbusters Doom Patrol who are trying to bring their own spin on the world of Ghostbusting through their writing …

let's get ready to rumbllllllllllllle!!!

(now that my moment of self-indulged stupidity is over …)

I'm gonna' have to agree with Bo in that a lot of fan fiction writers do tend to glorify the heroic aspect of Ghostbusting while often leaving out the main “struggling business” idea that initially made Ghostbusters such a great concept. Above all else Ghostbusting is a job. I also can see where this particular collection of Fan Fiction can be considered wish-fulfillment.

But if Doom Patrol wants to shake things up a bit to satisfy themselves that really is just their choice.

Well…to be honest it's not even to satisfy ourselves or even a self-aggregating crossing over into Mary-Suedom or even to shake things up, cause that's not the case at all. You're more than welcome to check our website out Justin and read our stuff….

www.gbdoompatrol.com

You can't argue one set of Franchise fanfiction is narcissistic when another isn't, at the end of the day, you always write about yourself and give your character abilities, some which you actually have, others you may not…

Either way, I haven't read Doom patrol, and am not prepared to comment on its quality, but they're not the first to step away from the business side of things. When Jesusfreak coined NOMAD it was this massive international Ghostbusting unit sponsored by the United Nations….

Everyone wants to make themselves original.

Just be careful how you do it and be ready for criticism. Doom Patrol have every right to fly round the world in a delorean and bust ghosts using a gun from the 51st century should they choose. But Bo Holbrook has every right to think that idea is a pile of rubbish and tell them that. The important thing is both sides remain civil.

Lot's of people are going to regard certain… more fantastical story content as being rubbish, usually it's being in love with/being loved by a central character (Egon mostly… I don't know why…) or being related to a central character, son/cousin/brother etc, but it can be more extreme, as Bo appears to be suggesting.

Just…. be sensible, if you want a mystical band of ghosthunters, that's your call, and maybe Fanfiction.net will appreciate it, but you have to accept some more… hardcore GB fans will not.

But we're all guilty of some level of self indulgence. Be it having a skilled demonologist or being the Original Ghostbusters back up.

Sinister
You can't argue one set of Franchise fanfiction is narcissistic when another isn't, at the end of the day, you always write about yourself and give your character abilities, some which you actually have, others you may not…

Either way, I haven't read Doom patrol, and am not prepared to comment on its quality, but they're not the first to step away from the business side of things. When Jesusfreak coined NOMAD it was this massive international Ghostbusting unit sponsored by the United Nations….

Everyone wants to make themselves original.

Just be careful how you do it and be ready for criticism. Doom Patrol have every right to fly round the world in a delorean and bust ghosts using a gun from the 51st century should they choose. But Bo Holbrook has every right to think that idea is a pile of rubbish and tell them that. The important thing is both sides remain civil.

Lot's of people are going to regard certain… more fantastical story content as being rubbish, usually it's being in love with/being loved by a central character (Egon mostly… I don't know why…) or being related to a central character, son/cousin/brother etc, but it can be more extreme, as Bo appears to be suggesting.

Just…. be sensible, if you want a mystical band of ghosthunters, that's your call, and maybe Fanfiction.net will appreciate it, but you have to accept some more… hardcore GB fans will not.

But we're all guilty of some level of self indulgence. Be it having a skilled demonologist or being the Original Ghostbusters back up.

I suppose my real problem with with the almost indignant attitude any of them take when you point out the OBVIOUS flaws in what they do. They act like you're just a cog in the machine and you wouldn't understand their artistic expression because it's just TOO BEYOND your small little brain. When the truth of the matter is nobody understands them because they just don't make any damned sense at all.

I completely agree with Sinister.

CJ, just to be clear I was ever judging your work. When I said “shake things up a bit to satisfy themselves” I wasn't accusing you of it. I was simply saying that IF that IS what you wanted to do there is nothing anyone else can do about it. In fact I probably shouldn't have been so specific with the statement.

Allow me to rephrase:
But if anyone wants to shake things up a bit to satisfy themselves that really is just their choice.

When I said I can see how your Fan Fiction can be wish-fulfillment. You can't deny that on some level it is. Just like Sinister posted, whenever anyone writes a story involving his/her self in a situation that isn't possible it can be considered wish-fulfillment.

Let's face it. We all wish we could actually be Ghostbusters. Unfortunately that will just never happen.

I suppose my real problem with with the almost indignant attitude any of them take when you point out the OBVIOUS flaws in what they do. They act like you're just a cog in the machine and you wouldn't understand their artistic expression because it's just TOO BEYOND your small little brain. When the truth of the matter is nobody understands them because they just don't make any damned sense at all.

If, and I say IF, (like I said, haven't read their stuff) that is the case, then they just won't improve the quality of work, and you can continue to critique it. If however they're willing to listen then criticism has got to be helpful enough to show them where to improve.

That said. If they DO want the Delorean with 51st century armaments, it's their call, even if it is crappy, as long as it makes them happy and they can put up with people saying it's rubbish, that's their call. They have a choice.

Accept the criticism and acknowledge it and “improve” to suit what the masses want.

Accept the criticism and carry on anyway, but not get upset every time someone doesn't agree with them.

Don't accept the criticism and publish for a different audience.

justinmarkus
I completely agree with Sinister.

CJ, just to be clear I was ever judging your work. When I said “shake things up a bit to satisfy themselves” I wasn't accusing you of it. I was simply saying that IF that IS what you wanted to do there is nothing anyone else can do about it. In fact I probably shouldn't have been so specific with the statement.

Allow me to rephrase:
But if anyone wants to shake things up a bit to satisfy themselves that really is just their choice.

When I said I can see how your Fan Fiction can be wish-fulfillment. You can't deny that on some level it is. Just like Sinister posted, whenever anyone writes a story involving his/her self in a situation that isn't possible it can be considered wish-fulfillment.

Let's face it. We all wish we could actually be Ghostbusters. Unfortunately that will just never happen.

I probably came off more confrontational than I intended myself, and meant nothing against you Justin. You're right in that what any fanfiction does when writing about a character based upon themselves is wish-fulfillment, I won't deny that. If I ever did try to, then I'd basically be lying to myself every time I went to the movies or came to a board like this

Sinister

I suppose my real problem with with the almost indignant attitude any of them take when you point out the OBVIOUS flaws in what they do. They act like you're just a cog in the machine and you wouldn't understand their artistic expression because it's just TOO BEYOND your small little brain. When the truth of the matter is nobody understands them because they just don't make any damned sense at all.

If, and I say IF, (like I said, haven't read their stuff) that is the case, then they just won't improve the quality of work, and you can continue to critique it. If however they're willing to listen then criticism has got to be helpful enough to show them where to improve.

That said. If they DO want the Delorean with 51st century armaments, it's their call, even if it is crappy, as long as it makes them happy and they can put up with people saying it's rubbish, that's their call. They have a choice.

Accept the criticism and acknowledge it and “improve” to suit what the masses want.

Accept the criticism and carry on anyway, but not get upset every time someone doesn't agree with them.

Don't accept the criticism and publish for a different audience.

Sinister, if you ever read any of their work, it would become VERY apparent to you, as an educated man, that they're writing for no other reason but to entertain themselves. Which I can't be down with. Why bother involving Ghostbusters at all if you're going to just make shit up constantly like they do, ya know?

I have never read ONE of their stories that contained any semblance of the monotony of the job that is Ghostbusting. You never see them in a story that DOESN'T somehow stop the world from ending, or end with them killing some kind of ubermonster. It's never treated like pest-control for them, they're not glorified janitors, They're goddamned action heroes. Every story. Every time.

That being the case, and since they insist upon writing some garbage, why not mix it up a little. Be realistic about it. They're human beings really. Have one of the characters go batshit insane from the daily grind of “patrolling doom”. Have someone get hospitalized for severe exhaustion from having to lug around all that equipment all that equipment and wear an all leather leisure suit. Do SOMETHING to acknowledge the fact that you guys aren't comic book super heroes and you're regular human being.

And for the love of fucking GOD, wear flightsuits like the rest of us. You guys don't look cool. You look fucking retarded. Especially Roig and the Undertaker looking kid with their hoods and trenchcoats. It's just dumb.

Bo Holbrook

Sinister

I suppose my real problem with with the almost indignant attitude any of them take when you point out the OBVIOUS flaws in what they do. They act like you're just a cog in the machine and you wouldn't understand their artistic expression because it's just TOO BEYOND your small little brain. When the truth of the matter is nobody understands them because they just don't make any damned sense at all.

If, and I say IF, (like I said, haven't read their stuff) that is the case, then they just won't improve the quality of work, and you can continue to critique it. If however they're willing to listen then criticism has got to be helpful enough to show them where to improve.

That said. If they DO want the Delorean with 51st century armaments, it's their call, even if it is crappy, as long as it makes them happy and they can put up with people saying it's rubbish, that's their call. They have a choice.

Accept the criticism and acknowledge it and “improve” to suit what the masses want.

Accept the criticism and carry on anyway, but not get upset every time someone doesn't agree with them.

Don't accept the criticism and publish for a different audience.

Sinister, if you ever read any of their work, it would become VERY apparent to you, as an educated man, that they're writing for no other reason but to entertain themselves. Which I can't be down with. Why bother involving Ghostbusters at all if you're going to just make shit up constantly like they do, ya know?

I have never read ONE of their stories that contained any semblance of the monotony of the job that is Ghostbusting. You never see them in a story that DOESN'T somehow stop the world from ending, or end with them killing some kind of ubermonster. It's never treated like pest-control for them, they're not glorified janitors, They're goddamned action heroes. Every story. Every time.

That being the case, and since they insist upon writing some garbage, why not mix it up a little. Be realistic about it. They're human beings really. Have one of the characters go batshit insane from the daily grind of “patrolling doom”. Have someone get hospitalized for severe exhaustion from having to lug around all that equipment all that equipment and wear an all leather leisure suit. Do SOMETHING to acknowledge the fact that you guys aren't comic book super heroes and you're regular human being.

And for the love of f*cking GOD, wear flightsuits like the rest of us. You guys don't look cool. You look f*cking retarded. Especially Roig and the Undertaker looking kid with their hoods and trenchcoats. It's just dumb.

I have to agree with Bo's second to last paragraph here. If you're gonna put your characters into “out there” scenarios, then you need to acknowledge the hardships and stresses that can come with it. Suicidal and depressed Ghostbusters can be interesting, particularly if that GB is having an existential crisis because he's seen the universe for what it is and sees no point to it.

Even if you don't wear flightsuits… which is your perogative…. you'd need to acknowledge that you're probably breaking the rules set down by CEO of Ghostbusters Inc. It's a brand image. I'm not sure the CEO of McDonalds would be too happy with one of their burger flippers wearing clothes that make him look like Slash or something…

But again, that's your call. It's your story. But in this instance, think, are you writing for yourself? Or to entertain others? Maybe it would be worth seperating your universe from the Ghostbusters one or retitle it with Ghost Smashers to emulate the original Aykroyd plan? And thus not have to worry about pleasing die hard GB fans?




Having said all this, Bo, your comment about action heroes and such is… valid… but… I dunno, I'm getting a lot of flashes of the Ecto-1 as the Batmobile and various other things…. a lot of RGB and EGB turned the Ghostbusters into Action Men as opposed to Ghost Janitors, which seems to be solely a product of the films. And if you accept RGB and EGB as canon, then you have to acknowledge that there'll be a lot of stories like that.

To be very much off-the-topic at hand:

Hey Iain, whatever happened to the GBUK? I don't hear much about guys anymore, not since Chronicles of Gozer really.