Would have posted here A LOT sooner had I actually known this sub forum existed
TLKFF things I hate: 1. "Kovu and Kiara's Cubs/TLK4"I just can't read these anymore, as every one I have ever read has played out almost exactly the same way -
Kovu and Kiara's twin cubs, *insert random Swahilli words here* are born but a shawdow lies over the kingdom as a familiar threat rises once more If anyone knows of a decent one of these then PLEASE tell me
2. Insanely short storiesNot even joking, I have read wall-of-text one shots that literally comprised 300 words, and were very much (as DGFone said before)
Simba did this. Scar said this. Mufasa came over. Mufasa attacked Scar. Mufasa killed Scar. The endI think for a story to be good it has to be of a decent length where all the action doesn't happen at once, for example:
Simba was walking through the pride lands. Suddenly, a hyena jumped out of the bushes.Describe Simba's feelings, his surroundings, what is he thinking etc.?
3. CUB SIMBAXNALA FLUFFI can't stand these fics
at all. These stories are basically all exactly the same, don't go anywhere, and serve no purpose other than to indulge the writer's fantasies or what they
wish had happened. They're also usually insanely cheesy.
I am a firm believer that cub Simba and Nala were friends and nothing more, and any romantic link between the two of them didn't develop until they were adults, which is why these stories just don't do anything for me.
I think TLK fanfiction is extremely difficult to get right, given the source material. Sadly a lot of the fics out there are extremely bland and at times badly written. I feel that a lot of people think that the TLK section is very easy to write for, but when they get there and upload a story they find that it isn't. To quote ff.net user
Readsmanyfavsfew:
(in reference to Sturgeon's Law)
For lion king fanfiction anyways, a 90% crap ratio is wrong, I think a 99% percent crap ratio would be more accurate. But still the gems of fanfiction exist, in wading through the torrents of horrid language, absent description, and flat out embarrassing characters, I've found some truly excellent literary works.Luckily, I've discovered some
extremely talented writers here on MLK (I have told some of you
)
TLKFF Things I Love:1. "Mufasa Survives"I LIVE for these (heck, I've written one of these
). I love Mufasa as a character, but he isn't featured prominently in very many stories. I think if a long , detailed story is going to have Mufasa be one of the main focuses his survival of the stampede is likely to be a factor of the story. Every so often I'll stumble on a really good one, though strange ones do exist
2. Canon StoriesI really prefer stories which focus on the characters of the first movie, probably just since it's my favorite. I would very rarely read anything different if I'm honest (besides entries for the MLK writing contest)
3. AU Fics
(I write these too
) An AU fic (stands for alternate universe) is basically when "canonical facts of setting or characterization in the universe being explored or written about are deliberately changed." I feel like for TLK this has
a lot of possibilities, so I usually read them if I see them listed as such.