What is this... Über?
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| Title: | What is this... Über? |
| Creator: | Kym Taborn |
| Date(s): | July 3, 1999 (updated December 26, 2001) |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | Xena: Warrior Princess |
| Topic: | uber, altfic |
| External Links: | WHAT IS THIS...ÜBER?, Archived version; Whoosh! Uber uber Alles: What Is This...Über?, Archived version |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
What is this... Über? is a 1999 article by Kym Taborn. It is posted at Whoosh!.
Uber is a popular fanfic genre in the Xenaverse. An Uber-Xena story takes the essence of the characters and places them in another time, another place, or another reality.
Sections from the Essay
- The Über Heard Around the World
- Theoretical Background
- Pioneers of the Genre
- No Longer a Bastard Child
- Indexing the Über (glossary terms)
- The Future?
Some Topics Discussed
- the first sort-of uber fic was written in January 1997, called "A Meeting of Chance"
- first actual uber, a WIP, was "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" by Miss and Aisa, which was released on a private mailing list in early June 1997
- first completed ÜberXena was a western by Della Street, called "Toward the Sunset", which was posted on a private list on June 14, 1997
- the first complete ÜberXena posted publicly was "The Hitch Hiker", by Bongo Bear
- some definitions
Excerpts
ÜberXena EXPLODED into the XENA fan fiction world June 14, 1997. A spark that caught on like a wildfire, ÜberXena would within a year become a serious rival of the traditional XENA fan fiction (Classic XWP) as found on the internet. Attracting some of the most talented and popular bards (authors of XENA fan fiction) and by periodically outnumbering it in production numbers, ÜberXena had no difficulty in asserting its uniqueness and inherent power into the conventional XENA fan fiction scene.
ÜberXena fan fiction was first theorized by Kym Taborn (who also coined the term ÜberXena to describe the genre) and followed by others (notably Deb McGhee, who criticized Taborn's use of the term ÜberXena as too limiting and expanded on it significantly) the same month after the first completed ÜberXena was released on a private mailing list (June 14, 1997). Under Taborn's theory, ÜberXena was the logical outcome of the path taken by three episodes of the internationally syndicated TV show, XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS (tm).
The first episode was DREAMWORKER (early first season), which set into motion the idea that Xena and Gabrielle were so close that not only did they share a dream with ease, and not only did Xena exhibit an intense need to protect Gabrielle, and not only did Gabrielle demonstrate her complete faith and confidence in Xena, but that there was also a mystical aspect to their relationship. It was clear that these ladies were not just friends, but they were FRIENDS. This aspect of their relationship is referred to "Soulmates Type 1".
The second episode, REMEMBER NOTHING (early second season), demonstrated that Xena and Gabrielle would come together (i.e., find each other) regardless of which timeline the Fates would allow. It was now clear that these ladies were "destined" to find each other regardless of the circumstances which happened under their control or beyond their control. This aspect of their relationship is referred to as "Soulmates Type 2".
Finally, the third episode, THE XENA SCROLLS (mid-second season), showed us that Xena and Gabrielle's descendants would also be subject to the REMEMBER NOTHING irresistible impulse to find the other. It was now clear that this special "something" which bound the ladies went beyond their specific lives. This aspect of their relationship is referred to as "Soulmates Type 3".
In June 1997, XENA fan fiction writers took the concepts presented in these three episodes, and made the leap that the characters of Xena and Gabrielle were in fact archetypes that could be explored in different times and diverse cultural backgrounds. This phenomena could also be seen as an attempt at rewriting women's mythology of the past -- creating new versions of past, present, and future, and using Xena and Gabrielle as the archetypal hero and companion exploring these new views of the old stories and stereotypes previously dominated by male characters.
The first recorded proto-ÜberXena was not found in the Xenaverse, but on a Hercules fan fiction website. This Uber was written sometime in January 1997, a full SIX months before the first attempt was made in the Xenaverse (THE XENA SCROLLS episode was first released January 13, 1997). This phenomenal discovery is on the order of the Vikings reaching the New World centuries before Columbus. What do you think? What would a proto-ÜberXena be doing hanging out with the Herk crowd? Read "A Meeting of Chance" and see how it resembles an Über in superficial ways but completely misses the soulmate theme between the ÜberX and ÜG. It is sooo close that it deserves a cigar, but it misses the Über Boat by a mile. If you have time, be sure to read it because the Xena and Gabrielle characters could have been anyone. The person who wrote it is promoting is as the first Uber, but it is not. The characters are interchangeable. It misses the whole point of an uber which is the soulmatedness between Xena and Gabrielle, and there is nothing really between the reincarnates of Xena and Gabrielle. Infact, there really is nothing between Xena and Hercules, so you cannot call it a X&H uber either. In my opinion it is an interesting fantasy piece which is interestingly close to an uber, but is not one.
The first recorded attempt at a true ÜberXena in the Xenaverse was a non-web posted never completed serial short story called "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" by Miss and Aisa, which was released on a private mailing list in early June 1997. The first completed ÜberXena was a western by Della Street, called "Toward the Sunset", which was posted on a private list on June 14, 1997. The first complete ÜberXena posted publicly (which was written almost simultaneous to Street's western), was "The Hitch Hiker", by Bongo Bear. It was posted on July 22, 1997. This date was the official date the world was first exposed to ÜberXena, and we call it International Über Day to honor that event. We also salute Bongo Bear for publicly posting "The Hitch Hiker" and initiating one of the most exciting and creative movements within all of fan fiction culture.
In the short span of a summer, the new fan fiction genre had produced everything from short stories to complete novels ranging from westerns, pirate epics, futuristic cyberpunk, shogunate Japan, and contemporary drama, to the retellings of time honored stories such as Robin Hood, King Arthur, and even Sherlock Holmes.
Before that amazing June, however, there had been fan fiction written about Janice Covington and Melinda Pappas (descendants of Xena and Gabrielle in THE XENA SCROLLS), pioneered by early XENA fan fiction writer, Bat Morda. Many people consider these works about Janice and Melinda to be Übers. However, in our opinion, these stories are Proto-Übers. Many are more concerned with the characters being descendants of Xena and Gabrielle who are periodically subject to possession, than actual explorations of the archetype idea, although there are many Janice and Melinda stories who do have strong Über aspects. Since the stories are based upon show canon and as a rule follow the process of traditional fan fiction stories based upon media genre, they are considered in this Über Index to be Proto-Übers.