Word of Dante: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

[[Word of God]] is stuff the creators have said is true about their universe, even though it's not in the actual work.

 

 

 

This is especially likely to happen if there is no one who can unambiguously provide [[Word of God]]. Without [[Word of God]], Word Of Dante is the strongest authority you have on how to interpret the canon. Often created when an [[Expanded Universe]] claims to be "official" and thus canon, but is ignored by the primary canon. If there ''is'' a [[Word of God]], however, then what Word Of Dante does get produced is just as likely as [[Fanon]] to be [[Jossed]] at some point.

May be the cause of [[Newer Than They Think]], especially if Dante is much younger than the work. Again, it's easier to have Word Of Dante if there is [[Author Existence Failure|no longer anyone]] to give [[Word of God]].

 

 

Also related is the [[Death of the Author]], a concept from the field of literary criticism which states that all theories about a work (regardless of [[Word of God|their]] [[Fanon|source]]) can be equally valid. See also [[God Never Said That]].

 

== Anime & Manga ==

** Most fans treat the "Toriyama intended to end the series at the Freeza saga, but [[Executive Meddling|his editors stopped him]]" rumor as unquestionable fact. Many fans do the same to the "Toriyama abandoned his plan to make Gohan the hero of the Boo saga because he was sent death threats by Goku fans" rumor. In actuality, both of these rumors were started and perpetuated by fans, and they have never received official confirmation.

* At no point in ''[[Code Geass]]'' canon is it ever stated that Lamperouge (the last name Lelouch and Nunnaly take after faking their deaths) was Marianne's maiden name.

** [[Action Girl]] Kallen Kouzuki goes by her Britannian father's surname "Stadtfeld" when in public due to the social stigma against Japanese. Fans often assume that she also "westernizes" her first name to "Karen" at the same time, or occasionally that she really ''is'' named Karen, and "Kallen" is her attempt to reject her "slave name". None of this reflects on canon; in fact, characters who only know her in her Stadtfeld identity still call her "Kallen".

*** 'Karen' being a Westernization of 'Kallen' doesn't even make sense - if 'Kallen' is supposed to be pre-Westernization, then why does it have Ls, a sound which doesn't appear in Japanese?

* Recently, some pre-Sainthood "real names" for the main cast of [[Saint Seiya]] have been popping up in fics, particularly the last name "Amamiya" for Ikki and Shun. This in spite of the fact that only their constellation-based Saint titles have ever been used in the series proper.

* The ''[[Puella Magi Madoka Magica]]'' fandom has more or less unanimously decided that Homura is [[Conveniently an Orphan]], given that there is no indication that she has any sort of parent or caretaker. It is also an absurdly common piece of fanon that {{spoiler|[[Ensemble Darkhorse|Char]][[Knight of Cerebus|lotte]] was a [[Ill Girl|cancer patient]].}}

 

 

== Computer Programs ==

 

 

* The ''[[Star Wars]]'' Technical Commentaries fit this trope so well that much of their information overrides canon in the eyes of fans. The best example is the class name of the Star Destroyers from the original trilogy. Canonically, they're Imperial-Class according to the EU, the official website, and [[Word of God]]. Dr. Saxton, who wrote the technical commentaries, dubbed them "Imperator-Class" on the grounds that "Imperial" is a stupid name for a warship; he assumed that the Empire followed American and British tradition in naming ships and classes. Many fan works use "Imperator-class" and the name was eventually canonized in ''Revenge of the Sith: Incredible Cross-Sections'' (penned by Saxton as an author for Lucasfilm Licensing). Go, [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] naming-schemes!

** Though it's still established that, presumably out of pure ego, the Emperor changed the name to Imperial-class after he turned the Republic into [[The Empire]].

*** Not mentioned ''explicitly'' as the Vong, but Palpatine's agent in ''[[Outbound Flight]]'' tells Thrawn that the Emperor is trying to unite the galaxy in an attempt to stand against an (at the time unnamed) enemy from beyond the Galactic Rim. This is what first convinces Thrawn to side with the Emperor, as he had encountered an unknown extra-galactic enemy before. Kreia in [[Knights of the Old Republic]] II makes a similar comment about Revan, but that later turned out to be the True Sith, members of the order that fled into solitude sometime around or before the Great Hyperspace War.

 

 

== Literature ==

** Though it has become accepted that Hamlet speaks his lines to Yorick's skull in the famous graveyard scene, Shakespeare's First Folio (the first authorised publication of the play) makes no mention of it in the stage directions. In fact, Shakespeare used very few stage directions, so the ones that appear in modern editions have usually been added by subsequent editors.

** However, many people forget that the stories were originally published in The Strand, accompanied by Sidney Paget's illustrations. Those illustrations do show Holmes in deerstalker cap and occasionally with a pipe. It wasn't until the books were reprinted that these illustrations were left out, and forgotten by many readers. Conan Doyle specifically asked for Paget to continue doing illustrations for his stories, making the illustrations canon. The cap and cape weren't all he wore, but it was certainly part of his wardrobe.

** Similarly, it's generally accepted these days to present Mycroft Holmes and the Diogenes Club as some sort of cover organisation or outpost of the British secret service. This is largely an invention of later pastiches; aside from a few hints that Mycroft's job in the British government is a bit more extensive than he likes to admit ("on certain occasions he ''is'' the British government"), it's never really suggested in the original canon that either the club nor Mycroft are anything other than what they appear to be (a near-silent club for reclusive eccentrics and a [[Brilliant but Lazy]] civil servant respectively).

** Holmes' relationship with "''The'' Woman", Irene Adler, has largely been expanded from a healthy respect for the one person we ever see outsmarting Holmes to a [[Dating Catwoman]]-like [[UST]] situation at the very least, thanks more or less to this trope combined with [[Promoted to Love Interest]].

*** And there's the fact that he only has any contact with her once (briefly) when he's casing her house under an assumed identity. The closest that they come to even having a conversation is when Irene leaves an extended letter for Holmes ''after'' she's already escaped.

** He made the connection in some ''very'' early works, mainly to explain the similarity of "ear" and "leaf" in the Elven language. The pointy-ear thing actually goes back to fairy stories, though.

** Lots of people think Caspian/Susan is canon, when actually they barely talk to each other in the ''Prince Caspian'' book. The movie, however, did make it canon.

* Some critics find [[Plato]]'s writing of [[Socrates]] to be this, since Socrates was emphatically opposed to writing any philosophical wisdom. Which statements were genuinely Socrates' and which ones were put in his mouth by Plato is a subject of much analytical debate. Plato certainly backpedaled on the statements that led to Socrates' execution.

 

== Live-Action TV ==

* On ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', the demon in the [[Musical Episode]] is never named, and in the credits is listed as "Demon." However, fanon has named him Sweet, after a line in the credits saying "Sweet makeup provided by..."

 

== Music ==

* The second movement of [[Ludwig Van Beethoven]]'s 8th Symphony allegedly originated as a canon honoring Johann Nepomuk Maelzel for his invention of the metronome. This canon (WoO 162) is now considered non-canonical, merely one of Anton Schindler's more elaborate fabrications about Beethoven's life.

* Thanks to Revo's [[Shrug of God|complete refusal to clear up any ambiguities in the albums]], most [[Sound Horizon]] "canon" is really just a large swath of widely-accepted fan theories.

 

 

== Mythology & Religion ==

** "Apocrypha" has a specific meaning in terms of biblical studies; it refers to Old Testament books present in Greek sources (such as the Septuagint) that aren't present in the Hebrew Tanakh.

** Lots of retellings of the nativity story shows us Jesus in a stable. The Bible never mentions any stable.

** "...and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7.

** The names and number of Wise Men who visited Jesus were not mentioned in the Bible; they come from 6th to 8th century sources.

*** What's more, they likely did not visit Jesus on the day of His birth or twelve days after. It could have been up to two years.

** The Bible also never specifically singles out the [[Seven Deadly Sins]]. That set comes from later saints and Church Fathers (and originally, there were 25 of them.)

** Similarly, the Antichrist, who is mentioned only in the first epistle of John in the context of "many antichrists" (who are more likely general oppressors and heretics rather than specific apocalyptic enemies), is often identified with various apocalyptic figures, such as the Beast from the Sea from Revelation, the Man of Sin/Lawlessness from Second Thessalonians, and the Little Horn from Daniel.

** Nowhere in the Garden of Eden story does the Bible mention the name of the forbidden fruit, commonly accepted as an apple by people who aren't Biblical scholars. In fact, Jewish sources debate five or six possibilities, which include everything from fig to grapes to ''wheat'', but no apple.

*** In fact, in many early paintings he's represented as a goat that walks on his hind legs.

** There is only a single, fairly cryptic mention of "Lilith" (Isaiah 34:14). The idea of Lilith being the first woman before Eve comes from medieval Judaism.

*** Some traditions also hold that Lilith then had children of her own, from whom Cain's wife (also a bit of an explanatory difficulty) came.

 

== Theme Parks ==

 

== Videogames ==

** It has recently (sort of) become [[Ascended Fanon]] by constantly appearing in official release notes. Herobrine has now been removed several times from the game and "all ghost entities under the command of Lord Herobrine" have been removed.

** ''Hisoutensoku'', the third fighting game in the series (numbered 12.3) had no official English title, a first for the series. For a few months after its release (and intermittently afterwards) the game was referred to as ''Unthinkable Natural Law'', after a loose translation of its Japanese title.

** Among the fandom, there's the notion that Sheogorath is the only person in the Shivering Isles allowed to grow a beard, which is generally agreed upon to the point where it was ''stated on the wiki''. The evidence for this one comes from the fact that Sheogorath has a beard and that if the player goes to the place Sheogorath teleports you to when you try to attack him, where he drops criminals from multiple feet in the sky, there's a body with a note saying that the man was executed for having a beard. However, the note doesn't specify anything other than that he ''had'' a beard - for all we know, the crime could be that it was ''longer'' than Sheogorath's, not that it was ''there'' in the first place. [[Mad God|This being Sheogorath]], he might just have made up a random baseless excuse to kill the guy.

** If Ran himself is asked, he will often answer that he is from ''Rockboard'', an obscure Japanese only ''Mega Man'' themed NES board game video game.

 

 

== Visual Novels ==

 

 

== Webcomics ==

** To a lesser extent, ''Nepetaquest 2011'' also discusses how some trolls use their hives as "waystations", which function as shops. This was more or less made up by the author entirely, but it's still cropped up in other fanfics.

** Speaking of troll society, there's also the idea that the troll deity is named "Gog", thanks to trolls referencing "Gog" and "Jegus" in conversations with the kids. This has gotten so prevalent that the fantroll community had to point out that the trolls using the term "Gog" are intentionally referencing a ''[[Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff]]'' misspelling - they otherwise say "Oh my God" as normal.

 

 

== Web Animation ==

 

 

== Web Original ==

 

 

== Western Animation ==

** Eric having the last name Montgomery. He must just look it. This concept is so established in [[Fanon]] that it can easily be mistaken for [[Canon]].

* ''[[Total Drama Comeback]]'' gets this often for [[Total Drama Island|the Total Drama series]]. However, whether the creators are acknowledging (a "TDC" logo appeared in the second-season special) or subverting it (Ezekiel and Bridgette's personalities third season and their {{spoiler|early eliminations}}) it is still unknown.

 

 

* A lot of phrases assumed to originate in the [[American Federalism|U.S. Constitution]] are actually from contemporaneous letters, speeches, or [[American Courts|Supreme Court]] decisions.

** The Declaration of Independence is probably the most frequent victim of this. It seems to run together with the Preamble to the Constitution in a lot of people's heads. One of the most common examples of this is its use by religious conservatives to uphold the idea that the Christian faith is enshrined in the Constitution. While the Declaration does contain mention of "Nature's God" and a "Creator", it is highly debatable whether or not these are references to the Christian God (many of the Founding Fathers were deists), and even if they are, the Declaration holds as much legal standing as the Articles of Confederation do.

** The Supreme Court's power of judicial review (i.e. deciding whether or not a law is constitutional) is not enshrined in the Constitution, but was created in 1804 via the landmark decision ''Marbury v. Madison''.

*** This isn't to say that judicial review was created out of thin air by the Supreme Court: the Constitution is (obviously and by its own admission<ref>The Supremacy Clause, or Article VI, Section 2, which states that "This Constitution...shall be the supreme ''law'' of the land.... (Emphasis added)</ref>) a law, and laws have always been subject to judicial interpretation under [[The Common Law]], which the US follows. ''Marbury'' is simply the Supreme Court (or rather John Marshall) explaining the consequences of that system interacting with an entrenched, written constitution.<ref>In a nutshell: The common law says that the judiciary gets to decide what the law means; when laws conflict, they get to decide which law trumps which. Because Britain has no written, entrenched constitution, all laws can be changed by a simple majority vote in Parliament: if a Statute A passed in 1789 seems to abrogate Statute B passed in 1779, then Statute A trumps Statute B (generally speaking). However, the Constitution is a law that cannot be changed by a majority vote in the legislature--the bar is ''way'' higher. This means that a statute that conflicts with the Constitution cannot be valid, because Congress alone cannot change the Constitution. And since the judiciary decides what laws mean--including the Constitution and statutes--and the Supreme Court is the highest organ of the judiciary, the Court gets final say on what laws are valid and invalid.</ref> So subverted in a way.

** The interesting thing is that the Supreme Court does, in fact, rely on these papers for a hint on how to interpret the Constitution, and that in [[The Common Law]] tradition, this is perfectly acceptable. ''The Federalist''/''The Federalist Papers'' is considered particularly persuasive. These have no real standing but being written by the same men that wrote the Constitution itself can be considered a meaningful window on their intent, and therefore how pieces of it should be interpreted.

** And Shakespeare got much of that from earlier Dantes who had an equal disregard for reality.

** The first Tudor, Henry VII, beat Richard III for the throne; to make himself look good, he put out a lot of propaganda to make Richard III seem like an evil bastard. It had become so entrenched by Shakespeare's time that he wouldn't've been able to get away with writing anything ''good'' about him. As an example of the sort of thing invented in propaganda: The Duke of Somerset, who Richard III killed in Shakespeare's play, died when Richard III was ''three years old.''

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Trivia Trope]]

[[Category:Continuity Tropes]]