If they retcon TFU...

[Beniboybling]

TFU was decent, but TFU2 was bad writing.

In what way? Not saying your wrong just curious.

[Stinghen]

Well in all honesty, I'd rather not see any major characters rendered non-canon. Its unprecedented, because its the first step towards a convoluted multi-verse with parallel story lines, a comprised universe.

 

TFU has always been lower canon than the films and the series, and that is not about to change.

 

Whether you approve of Marek's story or not, its best for the sake of Star Wars that its kept - as opposed to rendering it non-canon. By doing that you've created a parallel universe, and Star Wars becomes a multiverse whether you wanted it to or not. And before you know it they'll do a TFU sequel any way and what if spin offs etc. And of course we have to work out what to do with the fates of the likes of Shaak Ti, and what about Mariss Brood, Kazadan Paratus, Juno Eclipse and Rahm Kota? All these loose ends dangling about.

 

It's not a matter of the loose ends it will leave. It's a matter of undoing a misplaced lore hijacking. That's why I would like if the TFU arc was rendered non-canon, because, as I said, the Alliance to Restore the Republic isn't about the God of War Sith-turned-Jedi.

 

Anyway I think Marek's story is well written, illustrated and voiced - and altogether part of a good game. I don't think its fair (or healthy) to use personal opinion to justify such a major action, which leads down an equally unpleasant path of a particular set of people clamping down on intellectual freedoms and shaping the EU to the way they want it to be.

 

I am not making the story, mate. I voiced my opinion and why I think it would be nice if the bad apples were tossed in the garbage. And giving the EU free reigns has always been the doom of Star Wars, and marked the dawn of some pretty crappy story arcs, like Darth Vader fighting a zombie apocalypse and Sith Lords that can eat up the entire galaxy.

 

It's the great "intellectual freedom" that turned the EU into a potpourri of horrors, where crap writers make crap stories and where self-important authors hijack the lore at every turn. The mess that is the continuity nowadays is a direct consequence of the latter class of authors, in my opinion.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Stinghen

[Wolfninjajedi]

Congratulations, you just created a parallel universe.

 

Nah, they could just wipe out that history that comes after.

[Beniboybling]

TFU has always been lower canon than the films and the series, and that is not about to change.

 

It's not a matter of the loose ends it will leave. It's a matter of undoing a misplaced lore hijacking. That's why I would like if the TFU arc was rendered non-canon, because, as I said, the Alliance to Restore the Republic isn't about the God of War Sith-turned-Jedi.

 

I am not making the story, mate. I voiced my opinion and why I think it would be nice if the bad apples were tossed in the garbage. And giving the EU free reigns has always been the doom of Star Wars, and marked the dawn of some pretty crappy story arcs, like Darth Vader fighting a zombie apocalypse and Sith Lords that can eat up the entire galaxy.

 

It's the great "intellectual freedom" that turned the EU into a potpourri of horrors, where crap writers make crap stories and where self-important authors hijack the lore at every turn. The mess that is the continuity nowadays is a direct consequence of the latter class of authors, in my opinion.

The levels of canon are only relevant in terms of contradictions, in the absence of that they are treated as a singular universe. The fact that we have C-Canon and S-Canon implies that things like TFU aren't just stuff you can toss aside.

 

Concerning this idea of "undoing" and "tossing out the bad apples" - that's not what's happening here. What your suggesting is that we grow another apple tree and pretend the other one doesn't exist - canon is just a label, it can't erase these stories from our minds, they still exist. So the creation of a parallel universe is inevitable.

 

And I'm not saying that your making the story, I'm saying that that's your opinion, Manneus. And such opinions, regardless of the source, have no place within Star Wars mythos. Why? Because Star Wars isn't just your universe, part of what makes the universe great is its appeal. For example, you think TFU is crap. While I think its great. Some people like the post-ROTJ but not the Old Republic, I like the Old Republic but not the post-ROTJ. And I think I could put forward a pretty strong argument for why the post-ROTJ is bad, but would that justify it being erased, if say I was in charge, or the guys in charge shared my opinion? No. Because that would alienate the post-ROTJ fans.

 

These "intellectual freedoms" you advocating the restriction of are what make the Star Wars universe diverse and appealing to all, and the day that is taken away will be a sad day indeed. That will be the real death of Star Wars.

 

Of course some restrictions should be enforced, things have to conform to the "rules" of Star Wars, they have too be succinct with current canon, they should be of good quality and they should represent characters in faithful lights. TFU ticks all those boxes, so nobody has a right to render in non-canon, which would make many fans unhappy.

 

And then of course we return to the problem of parallel universes, if the post-ROTJ for example was scrapped, don't kid yourself for a second that everyone would just accept it. They wouldn't, camps would form, rivalries would emerge, people would just not accept the new storyline, and what can we do other than wave pieces of paper in their faces? The next stage? Canon redundancy, people would stop caring about canon and the order it creates, if its preventing them from enjoying stories they've grown up with and enjoy. And Star Wars, regardless of what the high ups do and think, would just become a morass of stuff, continuity would be non-existent. We don't want that, nobody wants that.

 

Because in the end, we are dealing with a fictional universe here. One that only really exists in our minds, you can call canon messy or you can call it orderly, but that won't necessarily correlate with have orderly or messy it is perceived. However once its mentally perceived as a complete mess, regardless of whether it is in fact is ordered, you may as well give up, because the real Star Wars, the one in our heads, has been crapified.

 

P.S. You want an example? Take a look at some of the Jensaarai's videos, specifically those related to Asajj Ventress. Recently he's decided to disregard any and all material on in his vs anaylsis on Ventress that stems from TCW series. Why? Because he was alienated by the way in which they treated/retconned her character. Now I think that's a little silly, retcons are inevitable and we can't avoid them. And this one really didn't have a huge impact on her character. But despite that, the Jensaarai, in his head, decided to disregard the rules of canon.

 

And all in all, that sullied that particular video for me. It was not fun. Now imagine that but on a much larger scale, and think of all the unfuness that will create, discussion about Star Wars will deteriorate massively.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Beniboybling

[Beniboybling]

Nah, they could just wipe out that history that comes after.

Lol with what, brain bleach?

 

You can't erase memories Wolf, you can't recall all TFU material and burn it either.

[Selenial]

Lol with what, brain bleach?

 

You can't erase memories Wolf, you can't recall all TFU material and burn it either.

 

*Shrug*

 

I still have memories of "I have failed you master" *Blue Lightsaber through the Chest, followed my maniac laughing*

[Beniboybling]

*Shrug*

 

I still have memories of "I have failed you master" *Blue Lightsaber through the Chest, followed my maniac laughing*

Lol, that never made it into the movie though did it?

 

Anyway, regular bleach should be enough to get rid of that one.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Beniboybling

[Selenial]

Lol, that never made it into the movie though did it?

 

Anyway, regular bleach should be enough to get rid of that one.

 

No, it didn't, but I still remember it. If TFU gets retconned, it's no different.

[Wolfninjajedi]

Lol with what, brain bleach?

 

You can't erase memories Wolf, you can't recall all TFU material and burn it either.

 

You can't sure, but you could make it non-canon. Much like the darkside ending/paths in games that never seem to go anywhere.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Wolfninjajedi

[Beniboybling]

No, it didn't, but I still remember it. If TFU gets retconned, it's no different.

I think there is a difference between a. a deleted scene spanning only a few seconds that 1. few people are actually aware and was never regarded as "canon" 2. involved a minor character 3. had little bearing on the film itself and 4. only concerned a fraction of that characters story and b. a entire multimedia project with its own story lines containing 1. dozens of new characters all with fleshed out stories 2. events that had a considerably impact on surrounding works 3. dozens of new characters, worlds, concepts, places etc. - which would all be erased 4. has been circulated amongst the general public and confirmed to be "canon" in their minds.

 

The first cannot comprise a proper parallel universe, the latter creates an entirely different set of events - many of which people will cling on to and regard to be "true" as opposed to whatever its replaced with. And that only begins to describe the fall out this would create in regards to how we perceive the Star Wars universe.

 

They are incomparable, and you know it.

 

EDIT: The main distinction is that it was treated as canon, and now its not. That creates a conflict, it creates two different notions of "canon" - the past and the present. Whereas this deleted scene you refer to and the dark side endings to which Wolf referred were always grounded in the non-canon - the only parallel universe that can exist symbiotically with Star Wars mythos. And its all down to perception, if it were so easy that TFU could be rendered to this state of non-canon there would be no problem, but it cannot.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Beniboybling

[Beniboybling]

You can't sure, but you could make it non-canon. Much like the darkside ending/paths in games that never seem to go anywhere.

And to what end? Nothing good can come from it. Nothing at all. I'd say just you wait, but I don't want it to happen. Edited December 6, 2013 by Beniboybling

[Wolfninjajedi]

And to what end? Nothing good can come from it. Nothing at all. I'd say just you wait, but I don't want it to happen.

 

/Shrug

 

We shall just cross the bridge when we get to it I guess then.

[Stinghen]

And I'm not saying that your making the story, I'm saying that that's your opinion, Manneus. And such opinions, regardless of the source, have no place within Star Wars mythos. Why? Because Star Wars isn't just your universe, part of what makes the universe great is its appeal. For example, you think TFU is crap. While I think its great. Some people like the post-ROTJ but not the Old Republic, I like the Old Republic but not the post-ROTJ. And I think I could put forward a pretty strong argument for why the post-ROTJ is bad, but would that justify it being erased, if say I was in charge, or the guys in charge shared my opinion? No. Because that would alienate the post-ROTJ fans.

 

Well, people will be mad. I wouldn't say they'd be mad without reason, but it's just a matter of perspective. Just look at how all those Revan fans froth at the mouth because of how he gets b*tch-slapped through the floor in the game, and they still play it. People will come to terms with it, in time.

 

That said, I only hope TFU will get erased forever. It's probably not what is going to happen, because it's too big a source of income, and I'm sure Disney would rather tap into that fanbase as well.

 

These "intellectual freedoms" you advocating the restriction of are what make the Star Wars universe diverse and appealing to all, and the day that is taken away will be a sad day indeed. That will be the real death of Star Wars.

 

Of course some restrictions should be enforced, things have to conform to the "rules" of Star Wars, they have too be succinct with current canon, they should be of good quality and they should represent characters in faithful lights. TFU ticks all those boxes, so nobody has a right to render in non-canon, which would make many fans unhappy.

 

I beg to differ. These freedoms made Star Wars a mess. Not only did it introduce a countless number of contradictions and discontinuities, many times willingly, it opened the doors to lore hijacking and disproportionately OP characters.

 

The problem with TFU are its delusions of grandeur. Galen Marek killed a bucket-full of Jedi Masters because he's so speshul. Galen Marek kick-started the Rebel Alliance because he's very speshul. Galen Marik could beat Darth Vader because he's too speshul. Galen Marek saved the Rebellion because he's the most speshul. Cut down on the speshulness. Did it really need all that crap to be considered "good storytelling, good game"? That sort of thing kills SW for me. That sort of thing needs to go away. And good riddance. If the only likable thing about Galen Marek are the things I mentioned here, then he's not really that much of a character.

[Beniboybling]

Well, people will be mad. I wouldn't say they'd be mad without reason, but it's just a matter of perspective. Just look at how all those Revan fans froth at the mouth because of how he gets b*tch-slapped through the floor in the game, and they still play it. People will come to terms with it, in time.

 

That said, I only hope TFU will get erased forever. It's probably not what is going to happen, because it's too big a source of income, and I'm sure Disney would rather tap into that fanbase as well.

And what do you think would happen if say, Revan was rendered N-Canon? Do you think they'd get over it? Wait, wait, I mean what do you think would happen if the entire KOTOR series was wiped from the slate of Star Wars mythos? Smiles all round? No. I certainly wouldn't accept it, and would continue to regard it as canon, linear Star Wars universe - gone. Now expand that to the entire Old Republic era, and you can imagine the uproar it would cause.

I beg to differ. These freedoms made Star Wars a mess. Not only did it introduce a countless number of contradictions and discontinuities, many times willingly, it opened the doors to lore hijacking and disproportionately OP characters.

 

The problem with TFU are its delusions of grandeur. Galen Marek killed a bucket-full of Jedi Masters because he's so speshul. Galen Marek kick-started the Rebel Alliance because he's very speshul. Galen Marik could beat Darth Vader because he's too speshul. Galen Marek saved the Rebellion because he's the most speshul. Cut down on the speshulness. Did it really need all that crap to be considered "good storytelling, good game"? That sort of thing kills SW for me. That sort of thing needs to go away. And good riddance. If the only likable thing about Galen Marek are the things I mentioned here, then he's not really that much of a character.

Your not getting the point, as much as you might not like it. Your opinions are not representative of everyone's, your vision of Star Wars is no more right than anyone elses. Not matter how self righteous you may feel about it. And that's the problem, taking away intellectual freedom takes away diversity and all of a sudden Star Wars loses its appeal.

 

And of course, rendering N-Canon won't do anything to help, it will just make things worse.

 

But you no what the best thing is, diversity. You say "that's what kills Star Wars for me" are yet here you are, a Star Wars fan, loving it up. Why? Because there are other facets of Star Wars you can enjoy.

Edited December 6, 2013 by Beniboybling

[Stinghen]

All I'm saying is that curbing the hijackings would make my Star Wars experience that much more enjoying. Therefore, I hope that at least some aspects of TFU (such as the ones I mentioned earlier) get tossed into the bin. Like they tossed into the bin the origins for both Darth Maul and Asajj Ventress (not saying they're better or worse), in order to keep Star Wars continuity a logical thing, which it currently isn't.

[cs_zoltan]

The problem with TFU are its delusions of grandeur. Galen Marek killed a bucket-full of Jedi Masters because he's so speshul. Galen Marek kick-started the Rebel Alliance because he's very speshul. Galen Marik could beat Darth Vader because he's too speshul. Galen Marek saved the Rebellion because he's the most speshul. Cut down on the speshulness. Did it really need all that crap to be considered "good storytelling, good game"? That sort of thing kills SW for me. That sort of thing needs to go away. And good riddance. If the only likable thing about Galen Marek are the things I mentioned here, then he's not really that much of a character.

 

You just summed up the whole post-ROTJ era, you want that to be erased as well? You still didn't say anything objective why it should be erased, TFU doesn't coflict canon afaik or anything....

[Beniboybling]

All I'm saying is that curbing the hijackings would make my Star Wars experience that much more enjoying. Therefore, I hope that at least some aspects of TFU (such as the ones I mentioned earlier) get tossed into the bin. Like they tossed into the bin the origins for both Darth Maul and Asajj Ventress (not saying they're better or worse), in order to keep Star Wars continuity a logical thing, which it currently isn't.

And I'm saying that your idea of "hijacking" is in fact different people coming in with different perspectives. What you want is a Star Wars universe tailored to you. But unfortunately its not your Star Wars experience. To quote Lucas:

 

"After Star Wars was released, it became apparent that my story—however many films it took to tell—was only one of thousands that could be told about the characters who inhabit its galaxy."

 

Clearly TFU is not your story, but it is someone else's.

[Stinghen]

You just summed up the whole post-ROTJ era, you want that to be erased as well? You still didn't say anything objective why it should be erased, TFU doesn't coflict canon afaik or anything....

 

I'm not saying TFU conflicted canon, you misread my post. I am saying TFU hijacked canon, which is a different thing.

 

And I'm saying that your idea of "hijacking" is in fact different people coming in with different perspectives. What you want is a Star Wars universe tailored to you. But unfortunately its not your Star Wars experience. To quote Lucas:

 

"After Star Wars was released, it became apparent that my story—however many films it took to tell—was only one of thousands that could be told about the characters who inhabit its galaxy."

 

Clearly TFU is not your story, but it is someone else's.

 

No. My idea of hijacking is what TFU and Drew Karpyshyn are so fond of doing. The author takes his pet creation (Galen Marek), makes him stupidly powerful for no reason other than the sake of making a powerful character, then the author artificially pumps up the significance of his pet creation by having him interfere directly in important entities (such as events or organisations, in the present case the formation of the Alliance) of a much higher canon, thus attaching the pet creation irrevocably to Star Wars continuity. Kind of a like a parasite, they hijack the purpose of the more important events or organisations typically by setting the history for its origin in a forcible manner. The only thing characters like Galen Marek have going for them is that they are artificially pegged to these far more important overarching entities, and other cheesy tricks that play on creating fan service (Marek's handling of the dual lightsabers, the fact he's converted from the Dark Side and him being the "Jedi Knight with the love interest" character, a trait people seem to find appealing in a Jedi hero).

 

Seriously. If the writers of Rebels dissociate the Alliance to Restore the Republic from this sad fan service, lore-hijacking figure, so much the better.

 

About Lucas' quote, he also said he didn't care squat about the EU, and his world was his business. He didn't care for trampling the twenty-five-thousand years of history with Sio Bibble's and Palpatine's statements ("There hasn't been a full-scale war since the formation of the Republic", "I won't let the Republic, which has stood for a thousand years be split in two" and "Once more the Sith will rule the Galaxy"), and I'm sure he wouldn't care about stepping in people's nuts and reducing the absurd reach TFU had into movie continuity. He won't be the one writing the story, but he'll stick his nose in it, make no mistake.

[Beniboybling]

That's a nice conglomeration of negative adjectives and phrases you've got there, but nowhere in that monologue of opinionated white noise did I actually uncover a reason for why this so called "hijacking" is a bad thing.

 

The way I see it, is that authors are merely creating new stories by tying them in with existing concepts. Obviously any character existing within this particular time period is going to have strong affiliations with both the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. And why not give Vader an apprentice? It elaborates on the power plays going on between Sidious and Vader and altogether adds another dimension and a back story to the formation of the Rebel Alliance.

 

All the authors have done is introduced a character to act as a vehicle for the story. All this stuff about parasites is just you voicing your distaste for a story that doesn't quite fit - in your opinion - with an existing and important arc in mythos.

 

Finally Lucas' opinions (which surprisingly enough you cannot express - because you are not George, how many more are going to do this?) are unimportant, the point I was making is that George recognizes that his story, his perspective on how the Star Wars universe should be (I'm sure you've heard his opinions on the post-ROTJ) is just one of many.

 

P.S. What Revan has to do with this I'm not sure, Drew and BioWare created an entire chapter in Star Wars universe with Revan at the center, no amount of hijacking there I'm afraid. He was also opposed to Revan's OPness.

[Stinghen]

That's a nice conglomeration of negative adjectives and phrases you've got there, but nowhere in that monologue of opinionated white noise did I actually uncover a reason for why this so called "hijacking" is a bad thing.

 

This comment doesn't help further the discussion. If you really have no arguments about my rant, then please don't make this sort of comments, because then I'll think I have struck your nerve (I've had that impression many times before with you).

 

If you can't really fathom why I am pissed off by lore hijackings, well, it seems you're not so fond of creativity as you like to believe. Because that sort of thing is not creativity, it's quite the opposite, it is leeching the creativity of others. Hence my denomination of hijacking for it.

 

The way I see it, is that authors are merely creating new stories by tying them in with existing concepts. Obviously any character existing within this particular time period is going to have strong affiliations with both the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. And why not give Vader an apprentice? It elaborates on the power plays going on between Sidious and Vader and altogether adds another dimension and a back story to the formation of the Rebel Alliance.

 

All the authors have done is introduced a character to act as a vehicle for the story. All this stuff about parasites is just you voicing your distaste for a story that doesn't quite fit - in your opinion - with an existing and important arc in mythos.

 

The way I see things, the authors are being insidious. It's all well and good to tie their creations into the existing universe. But there are countless ways of doing that without hijacking the events and entities. And having strong affiliations with the Empire or the Alliance does not mean they would need to create, organise, or be overly important to these organisations. It is a matter of personal taste here, and I've stressed over and over that it is my opinion, and that is why I would like if Galen's importance to the Rebel Alliance was severely downplayed.

 

Finally, Galen Marek should be a vector of the story in The Force Unleashed, not the whole story of the Rebellion Era. When I read the synopsis of the game, I was thrilled. When I heard what else came out of it, I realised the game's plot is rather cheesy.

 

Finally Lucas' opinions (which surprisingly enough you cannot express - because you are not George, how many more are going to do this?) are unimportant, the point I was making is that George recognizes that his story, his perspective on how the Star Wars universe should be (I'm sure you've heard his opinions on the post-ROTJ) is just one of many.

 

Those were my interpretation of how he goes about the EU, from interviews George Lucas himself gave. And his opinions prompted the lore folks responsible for trying to tie in the continuity to develop their whole canon tier system, no doubt.

 

P.S. What Revan has to do with this I'm not sure, Drew and BioWare created an entire chapter in Star Wars universe with Revan at the center, no amount of hijacking there I'm afraid. He was also opposed to Revan's OPness.

 

Hehe. I mentioned Revan because of Karpyshyn's Bane novels, where suddenly Darth Bane didn't come up with the Rule of Two himself, he was prompted to develop it by Revan's holocron. And on the matter of KotOR, it is rife with hijackings everywhere - the Rakata are the personification of the spirit of lore hijacking. But all this is off-topic.

Edited December 7, 2013 by Stinghen

[Beniboybling]

This comment doesn't help further the discussion. If you really have no arguments about my rant, then please don't make this sort of comments, because then I'll think I have struck your nerve (I've had that impression many times before with you).

 

If you can't really fathom why I am pissed off by lore hijackings, well, it seems you're not so fond of creativity as you like to believe. Because that sort of thing is not creativity, it's quite the opposite, it is leeching the creativity of others. Hence my denomination of hijacking for it.

 

The way I see things, the authors are being insidious. It's all well and good to tie their creations into the existing universe. But there are countless ways of doing that without hijacking the events and entities. And having strong affiliations with the Empire or the Alliance does not mean they would need to create, organise, or be overly important to these organisations. It is a matter of personal taste here, and I've stressed over and over that it is my opinion, and that is why I would like if Galen's importance to the Rebel Alliance was severely downplayed.

 

Finally, Galen Marek should be a vector of the story in The Force Unleashed, not the whole story of the Rebellion Era. When I read the synopsis of the game, I was thrilled. When I heard what else came out of it, I realised the game's plot is rather cheesy.

 

Those were my interpretation of how he goes about the EU, from interviews George Lucas himself gave. And his opinions prompted the lore folks responsible for trying to tie in the continuity to develop their whole canon tier system, no doubt.

 

I am making an argument, and its an important one. I'm pointing out that your not actually providing any reasons for why "hijacking" is bad, you just using a flashy metaphor to make it look that way. I'm not convinced. Case in point:

 

Change "Leeching the creativity of others" to "drawing on the creativity of others." Same meaning, totally different feel, because of the different wording. That's all your doing here, describing something in a negative way.

 

But there is nothing negative about engaging in the symbiotic universe where all authors do and are expected to build on the works of others, that's how Star Wars works, it evolves. New ideas are attached to old ones making the old ideas better and giving the new ideas a spring board to propel their story and integrate with the universe as a whole. Really all your saying here is that you don't like the story of the Force Unleashed, plain and simple, don't try and use as grounds for calling authors "insidious" - not only is that unhealthy, but its also unfair on the writers themselves. They are not "bad people." You don't like the story, we get it, its not however an epidemic killing Star Wars mythos.

 

I'm also noticing that your taking the liberty to highlight that this is just "your opinion" - but I'm getting mixed messages. Because apparently its not your opinion, its fact: "is not creativity, it's quite the opposite" to quote.

 

Basically, "lore hijacking" is your way of saying "I don't like this" while trying to portray it as some kind of literary pitfall clearly observable by anyone who understands the rules of creativity. My response is lol no. Maybe if we replaced it with "my-interpretation-on-how-the-Star-Wars-universe-should-be-portrayed hijacking" it might make more sense.

 

But "my opinion" is probably a little less verbose.

 

P.S. Don't pass your interpretations of George Lucas' opinions off as facts either, that's been done one too many times. You have no evidence to suggest whatsoever that Lucas doesn't care about the EU. And again its unfair to decide that he doesn't, especially given the fact that he constantly draws on EU material for his own creations. Go figure.

[Selenial]

Beni stop posting, you have a PM to reply to.

[Aeneas_Falco]

 

Seriously. If the writers of Rebels dissociate the Alliance to Restore the Republic from this sad fan service, lore-hijacking figure, so much the better.

.

 

So much THIS.

 

Honestly I'm hoping Rebels not only ignores The Force Unleashed, but contradicts it. I'd love to see Galen Marek rendered non-canon, or at least, have his canonicity put into question.

Edited December 9, 2013 by Aeneas_Falco

[Karkais]

Change "Leeching the creativity of others" to "drawing on the creativity of others." Same meaning, totally different feel, because of the different wording. That's all your doing here, describing something in a negative way.

 

"Bad artists imitate, great artists steal."

[Beniboybling]

"Bad artists imitate, great artists steal."

Not sure is that's entirely relevant, given that TFU is an original story with original characters...