[Brighteyes]

Syera brought up an excellent point earlier. I notice that many pple (not just in this fandom, but numerous others) will try to excuse a villain's behavior/actions by blaming it on their tragic pasts or whatever. I get if you really like a villain, but really, they're not these innocent lil' waifs at heart (you see this a lot in Gargoyles fics with Demona -- it REALLY gets under my skin).

Pple have already nailed a lot of the pet peeves that I've noticed with Aladdin fic. Here's something that bugs me: original characters with names like Diane and Keisha and such, names that have no business being in the Aladdin-verse.

*L* Someone wrote about Jafar having an eating disorder? For serious??

[Tokyorose]

almost all the jafar/jasmine fanfiction are poor, except for this one i found. Its actually amazing.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4527497/1/Poison_Power_Play


I really hope she writes more, its the only aladdin fanfic that i've read that i've really enjoyed, and that jafar wasn't completely OOC.

[Cantare]

Yeah, I also hate it OOC writing especially breakups that happen out of nowhere, and pairings that happen out of nowhere. I entered the fandom much later than everyone else here it seems, so I've actually missed out on a lot of the horrible Al/Moze, Jas/Moze, etc. fics that seem to have existed. I guess I should be thankful of that.

Ah, Mozenrath. What a kickass character. If anyone could have beaten Aladdin, it would have been him, if it weren't for the screenwriters' intervention. Heh.

[Calluna]

*waves* Welcome!

Firstly, I think you should keep in mind that this thread is over a year old, so some opinions may have changed.

My own feeling is that there is just so much characterization put into that relationship over three movies, 89 TV episodes, and countless books and comics, that it would be very hard to to break Al/Jas up in a realistic way. So I don't think that it's bad to try, but it is very difficult and that people should keep that in mind when they write alternate pairings. And I think what others here are complaining about is when one half the pairing suddenly drops the other without a thought, or when one of their characterizations is mangled in an attempt to break them up... that kind of thing.

As for putting them in difficult situations and straining that relationship to the breaking point... well, that's pretty much the fandom national passtime (and the series writers' as well, come to think of it). But then you run into the problem of everything's already been done... Sorry, this is turning into a rant.

I agree with your interpretation of Mozenrath; I mean, isn't that what giving up his hand for the gauntlet's power was supposed to show us about him? And when he found out it was killing him, he didn't mope about it for too long, he went out and tried to do something about it. He can be a little whiny when things don't go his way, but he gets over it pretty quickly.

[Cantare]

Finally got off my lazy bum and decided to join the message board.

After reading this thread I was getting a little anxious with the anti-anythingnot-A/J but I'm glad that some have enjoyed my fic so far. Wonder if you'll change your minds after the latest chapter though!

I agree, when I first got into the fandom last year I was sorely disappointed by the abundance of sexual abuse fics for Mozenrath. His character deserves so much more than a pitiful cliche and over-angsty flashbacks. I've always pictured him as someone who doesn't give a damn about how evil he is, doesn't want pity, and would sell anyone around him to the devil for some more power. The bad boy image is so easy to fall in love with.

Aladdin and Jasmine are a lovely couple and after reading Katie Ann's fic Gone I really fell back in love with that pairing. But in my own writing it's been fun and challenging to stretch them thin. To each his own!

[Salukfan]

[Oasis]

I haven't read many Aladdin fanfics, as I'm afraid of what I'll find and be scarred forever, but I know one genre that I still seem to hate.
Which is the random one-shots about the characters doing something... completely random... and out of character. (Aw man I'm going to feel bad for this) but at one point I read a one shot about how Aladdin was 'bored' so Genie pulled out a TV and they started watching some show... And that was about it. Ta-da! I facepalm'd.

However I have read one fanfic that does seem to have a good Mozenrath past! Really, it didn't have to do with sexual abuse from Destane, and I was happy! (It was Antiphony by Cantare) however that fic kind of also had Jasmine/Mozenrath undertones, or so far at least...

[dazzeling diamond]

I can't believe such a story could even exist...that's beyond bizaare!

Ah the world of fanfics, is a both a curse and a blessing to the fandoms they are devoted to.

[Jafaria]

That pathetic excuse for a fanfic writer should not exist. I'm ashamed that it calls itself a Jafar fan.

[AladdinsGenie]

All that person's stories scare me, so...

[Salukfan]

I just want to mention that the ideas seem to be getting worse.

There's a fic over on fanfiction.net about Jafar and his... eating disorder. WTF x 10,000,000.

(I feel kind of bad calling out a specific fic/specific "writer," but when you fail that much, you deserve it, I'm sorry. )

[Emmlei]

[Syera]

Even if Mozenrath WAS an innocent character abused at one point, that doesn't change the fact that he's a villain now and is simply too dangerous to be left to his own devices.

That's the thing with villains - especially real-life ones. You can feel sorry for them, but even if they do have a tragic backstory, it doesn't change the fact that they're still too dangerous to be left running loose, and something has to be done to stop them before they cause more damage.

Consider the pedophiliac sexual abuser - many were sexually abused themselves as children. Do I pity them? YES. Do I think their horrific, painful past means all should be forgotten and they should be set free? NO. Because I know that their past experiences have messed them up enough to make them a danger to society.

[VampireNaomi]

When I was falling asleep, I somehow ended up thinking about the things that always throw me out of Aladdin fanfics. Here's the list.

Aladdin/Mozenrath: I'm a firm believer of that every pairing can be written well, but that doesn't mean the end result will please everyone. I've tried to read bestia and Lynn Osburne's fics because they seem to be the best, but I dislike this pairing so much that I just can't enjoy it, no matter how well written it is.

Mozenrath, the innocent abuse victim: I'm sick of how sexual abuse from Destane's part is almost always an importan element in Mozenrath fics. If the issue was handled well, okay, but most of the time it's only there to provide some cheap angst and an excuse for Mozenrath's actions. "Oh, what horrible things he has gone through! No wonder he did evil things! Let's forgive him at once and be best friends!"

Rasoul, the one-dimensional idiot: When you need a violent bully in your fics (especially Aladdin/Mozenrath) Rasoul seems like the best choice, and I guess he is. What I hate is that some people refuse to see that there's more to him than his hatred for Aladdin; he's loyal to the Sultan and Jasmine (even so that he can tolerate Aladdin) and I like to think there's some kind of friendship thing between him and the other guards. If I ruled the world, everyone would have to watch Destiny on Fire before attempting to write Rasoul.

Iago, the innocent abuse victim #2: The relationship between Jafar and Iago probably wasn't all roses and kisses, but I'd like to know who came up with the idea that Iago was abused and tortured by Jafar, and that fear is the only reason he worked with him in the first movie. When I look at Iago in the first movie, I don't see an innocent victim who is beind made to act against his will out of fear of violence. I see a greedy crook who knows perfectly well what he's doing and what it will do to others. He and Jafar were the perfect partners in crime (even said by the animators on the commentary). The fear and violence only becomes apparent in the second movie, but then again, Iago is having doubts, so Jafar needs something else to convince him. Eh, I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's really annoying when fics go "Iago was tortured by Jafar, so he can't really be blamed for anything he did in Aladdin. He had no choice, he's innocent and not greedy at all!" Iago is one of the deepest characters in Aladdin and went through redemption. Fics that make him entirely innocent ruin all of that.

"In secret, I always had feelings for you!": I love odd pairings that are well written, but the cheapest way to attempt them is to skip all character development and declare that the characters were always in love, they just never showed it to anyone. It's lazy writing and will annoy everyone who wasn't already convinced that the characters were doing each other behind the scenes.

There's probably more, but I really need to start doing something productive right now.

[Syera]