A Short Pre-Reading Note From the Authoress
by Cooking Spray
This is a well-traveled rut in the world of Slayers fanfiction. Indeed, anyone reading this has probably read at least a couple other fics following the same subject matter. In general, a lot of mass-produced ideas tend to deteriorate with quanity, as amatuers wielding pens ship out their version of the canon. And, if you've been unfortunate enough to stumble upon one of the really bad imitations, I know it can kind of damper the whole concept. People will generally be more critical than with something more original, because, well, its no stroke of genius. It's been done before.
Well, here's my contribution to the whole 'Slayers High School' package. I have this addiction with taking common fanfiction bases and revamping them, Cooking Spray-style, just for the heck of my writing pleasure, and to show everyone out there that socially redeeming themes can be done the right way. And of course I have fun doing it, kind of like a side item. It gets people interested again.
With that said, I feel the need to inform you of the character adaptations, considering basically we're taking the essence of the Slayers canon (a la' the plot) and throwing it out the window, then taking the characters, putting them in a modern setting, and finding ways to adapt their personalities and charms to the new environment, without taking away from what originally made them themselves. And yes, it can be done. (Isn't that the point of this fic?)
Let's start with our heroine, Lina. Still intact is her general nature, carefree, spur-of-the-moment, energetic, positive, common-sense resourceful, and slightly irresponsible and fiery-tempered. Now, since we're making her a normal high-school girl, her sorcery powers are gone. Which is cleverly reinstated by a comic love for video games such as Gauntlet and Dungeons and Dragons. And since before she was feared and confronted for being the notorious apocalyptic bringer of sorcery hellfire, for the fun of it, we'll give her a little role reversal, and make her a freak with a bad-temper. Her hair and proportions further push along this fact. Also carried on is her love for food, which is easily fulfilled with modern substitutes that the old Lina probably would have died to try. See? She's still the Lina we know, just a bit........... well, if I dare, version 2.0? Can't you imagine her doing things like this provided the show be rearranged? Even Zelgadis. His stony skin is quickly shed for scars from a long-ago car wreck, deeming him a perfect candidate for outcast-dom and reinstating his pessimistic, dark, loner persona. And freaks flock together, right? So there you go, Lina's his instant buddy.
Then we have Naga, the obvious, but harmless, antagonist. The real Naga was vain and haughty, and though not totally dumb, still belittled Lina a lot. So, why not make her a cheerleader? She's got the figure, and the mindset, and I'm pretty sure she'd be more than happy to accept the job. And we'll convert her belittling to loathing for Lina, who she sees as a threat to her reputation. A short, figureless orange-haired freak intimidating to her would definitely endanger it, no? And what better source of rivalry than Gourry? He's perfect football player material, the kind of jock that girls like Naga would lust after. And of course, Gourry's so dense he doesn't realize Naga likes him, so she does little more than fawn over him helplessly and then fume when he discusses video games with Lina. Do you see the plot begin to become recurring?
Xelloss is relatively easy. His position is also neatly squared aside, which is kind of interesting, because it makes him human. He can still be his annoying, smiling self. Then this brings he and Filia's relationship into play. Filia's essential character is also pretty much intact, besides she's obviously not a Ryuzoku. Making up for the loss of her priestess-dom, we make her the daughter of Saichuro, a shrine owner, and give her the position of the ultimate goody-good, much like her righteous self. She hates Xelloss for disrupting her calamity rather than being a Mazoku, and he loves to provoke her anger because........... he's Xelloss. And since he can no longer do his disappearing act, and survive Filia's abuse, we give the practical joker Flo Jo running abilities. This also increases their abilities for coupledom, but throws more canon out the window. Which is either good or bad, depending on your viewpoint.
And left over is Amelia. We trade her justice-idealism for Drama club, considering her obvious fetish for the melodramatic, and an innate sense of right and wrong, keeping her spirited, engimatic overbearing energy. To account for her loss of royalty, we give her a rich dad and a mansion. And there you have it, made-over Amelia.
And somewhere in the thicket of all this revision, we have the obvious unsure attraction that Zel has for the opposite Amelia, and the pureness and likewise uncertainy she feels for him, Filia and Xel's love/hate relationship, and the whole Naga/Gourry/Lina love triangle. Plus a whole lot of zany plot-wise fun, and the new possibilities opened up by modern inventions. Wouldn't they all love a good old-fashioned chat on AIM? And what would Lina and Gourry think about Ring-Dings and McDonald's? It's something refreshing to think about.
Anyway, now that you know the plot structure, if my not-so-subtle hints haven't prompted you to read the fruit of these efforts, do so now! Honestly, you won't regret it.
Best Reguards and Lotsa Xel and Filia Love,
Cooking Spray
by Cooking Spray
This is a well-traveled rut in the world of Slayers fanfiction. Indeed, anyone reading this has probably read at least a couple other fics following the same subject matter. In general, a lot of mass-produced ideas tend to deteriorate with quanity, as amatuers wielding pens ship out their version of the canon. And, if you've been unfortunate enough to stumble upon one of the really bad imitations, I know it can kind of damper the whole concept. People will generally be more critical than with something more original, because, well, its no stroke of genius. It's been done before.
Well, here's my contribution to the whole 'Slayers High School' package. I have this addiction with taking common fanfiction bases and revamping them, Cooking Spray-style, just for the heck of my writing pleasure, and to show everyone out there that socially redeeming themes can be done the right way. And of course I have fun doing it, kind of like a side item. It gets people interested again.
With that said, I feel the need to inform you of the character adaptations, considering basically we're taking the essence of the Slayers canon (a la' the plot) and throwing it out the window, then taking the characters, putting them in a modern setting, and finding ways to adapt their personalities and charms to the new environment, without taking away from what originally made them themselves. And yes, it can be done. (Isn't that the point of this fic?)
Let's start with our heroine, Lina. Still intact is her general nature, carefree, spur-of-the-moment, energetic, positive, common-sense resourceful, and slightly irresponsible and fiery-tempered. Now, since we're making her a normal high-school girl, her sorcery powers are gone. Which is cleverly reinstated by a comic love for video games such as Gauntlet and Dungeons and Dragons. And since before she was feared and confronted for being the notorious apocalyptic bringer of sorcery hellfire, for the fun of it, we'll give her a little role reversal, and make her a freak with a bad-temper. Her hair and proportions further push along this fact. Also carried on is her love for food, which is easily fulfilled with modern substitutes that the old Lina probably would have died to try. See? She's still the Lina we know, just a bit........... well, if I dare, version 2.0? Can't you imagine her doing things like this provided the show be rearranged? Even Zelgadis. His stony skin is quickly shed for scars from a long-ago car wreck, deeming him a perfect candidate for outcast-dom and reinstating his pessimistic, dark, loner persona. And freaks flock together, right? So there you go, Lina's his instant buddy.
Then we have Naga, the obvious, but harmless, antagonist. The real Naga was vain and haughty, and though not totally dumb, still belittled Lina a lot. So, why not make her a cheerleader? She's got the figure, and the mindset, and I'm pretty sure she'd be more than happy to accept the job. And we'll convert her belittling to loathing for Lina, who she sees as a threat to her reputation. A short, figureless orange-haired freak intimidating to her would definitely endanger it, no? And what better source of rivalry than Gourry? He's perfect football player material, the kind of jock that girls like Naga would lust after. And of course, Gourry's so dense he doesn't realize Naga likes him, so she does little more than fawn over him helplessly and then fume when he discusses video games with Lina. Do you see the plot begin to become recurring?
Xelloss is relatively easy. His position is also neatly squared aside, which is kind of interesting, because it makes him human. He can still be his annoying, smiling self. Then this brings he and Filia's relationship into play. Filia's essential character is also pretty much intact, besides she's obviously not a Ryuzoku. Making up for the loss of her priestess-dom, we make her the daughter of Saichuro, a shrine owner, and give her the position of the ultimate goody-good, much like her righteous self. She hates Xelloss for disrupting her calamity rather than being a Mazoku, and he loves to provoke her anger because........... he's Xelloss. And since he can no longer do his disappearing act, and survive Filia's abuse, we give the practical joker Flo Jo running abilities. This also increases their abilities for coupledom, but throws more canon out the window. Which is either good or bad, depending on your viewpoint.
And left over is Amelia. We trade her justice-idealism for Drama club, considering her obvious fetish for the melodramatic, and an innate sense of right and wrong, keeping her spirited, engimatic overbearing energy. To account for her loss of royalty, we give her a rich dad and a mansion. And there you have it, made-over Amelia.
And somewhere in the thicket of all this revision, we have the obvious unsure attraction that Zel has for the opposite Amelia, and the pureness and likewise uncertainy she feels for him, Filia and Xel's love/hate relationship, and the whole Naga/Gourry/Lina love triangle. Plus a whole lot of zany plot-wise fun, and the new possibilities opened up by modern inventions. Wouldn't they all love a good old-fashioned chat on AIM? And what would Lina and Gourry think about Ring-Dings and McDonald's? It's something refreshing to think about.
Anyway, now that you know the plot structure, if my not-so-subtle hints haven't prompted you to read the fruit of these efforts, do so now! Honestly, you won't regret it.
Best Reguards and Lotsa Xel and Filia Love,
Cooking Spray