#I'm not fandom police

[schnuffel-danny]

@ all the folks who portray Jack as a full human person with thoughts and feelings. Instead of just making him the butt of a joke, or a head-empty shitty irredeemable dad (for nothing other than Danny-torture-angst): I am holding your hand in my little rabbit paws and thanking you with all my heart.

[panvatar]

As an autistic monster fucker and a furry (stay with me) I feel confident in saying Laios is not a monster fucker. Laios hyperfixates on monsters like irl people hyperfixate on dinosaurs. Not once have I seen him interested in a monster sexually. He is all about fun facts and recipes.

He is, however, definitely a furry and I'd bet money he's got a fursona and a monstersona.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[linka-from-captain-planet]

already seeing "ugh male Rook with Neve in the trailer... that's a LESBIAN" posts on twitter and I'm beating them with a big stick that says "you can HEADCANON whatever you want about anything ever but your HEADCANON is factually incorrect and if it chaps your ass even a little bit when anyone up to and including the literal creators of the character disagrees with your HEADCANON then that's fully a you problem and you should consider developing coping skills about it rather than contributing to this fandom's legendary hostility by policing (even in a manner you'll claim was "joking" when someone stands up for themselvs) people who are only enjoying their own playthrough, headcanon, or ship" and by stick I do mean the block button

[sissytobitch10seconds]

I honestly think it's so interesting that people tend to pick Kaz when they're making a character aro/ace when in the books Tolya mentions having no interest in romance or finding a partner and Harshaw (who was sadly omitted from S2) is mentioned to only love fire.

[praetorqueenreyna]

Me on my phone at 11 pm trying to piece together the rhysta nonsense

[marzipanandminutiae]

I wake up

I see a Hot Take in the tag for my main fandom that a male character is gay because "he's so soft and sweet and submissive! that makes him effeminate and GNC! which in turn makes him gay!"

I fight the urge to leave society and take to the Woods

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #38: Ozai carries Azula to the physicians' wing

This has been done for A WHILE now, but I didn't post it because the past days have been chaotic and not just on a personal level. For one thing, I really wasn't eager to drop this when people were losing their shit massively over the liveaction and its recontextualization of Azula and Ozai's dynamics, I didn't look forward to releasing this just to be told that whatever I've done in my story is somehow wrong, sooooooooo... that held me back, for a few days.

Then? The AI-Tumblr deal started to be talked about and I may or may not have freaked out about that too. Sooo... this is the first glazed and nightshaded piece of my creation, as consequence. The original, clean and proper version is available in my Patreon. Is this me being a dick to Tumblr-only people? Unfortunately, it very much isn't, I'm not trying to say that if you want the best iterations of my art, you should pay me for it... this is squarely, entirely, at staff/the CEO's feet. Obviously, there's the insecure side of me that goes "what makes you think they'd steal YOUR art when there are so many better artists out there!" but ultimately? AI is about taking everything en masse. It isn't a matter of developing a criteria about who makes the better art... it's just taking EVERYTHING and trying to repurpose it in whatever twisted way it needs to. Therefore? I think my choice is more of a matter of caution than anything else. Once AI bullshit dies out (and I really hope it does), we may just return to the same level of quality across all my accounts. For now, it is what it is.

ANYWAY! Point is this artwork is very much what my Patrons happened to vote for this month, a very shocking scene where Ozai reacted in the least foreseen way to Azula being attacked. Azula's confusion/terror comes from a place of not knowing what to do and being powerless to stop her father even if she doesn't feel comfortable with his help... but for once, Ozai isn't making a dreadful choice that will only devastate his daughter. He's actually worried about her health... and feeling genuine guilt over what landed her in the situation where she was in danger in the first place. Yes. I like me my complex Ozai who finally learned actions have consequences. He bores me to death otherwise :') if anyone STILL doesn't know that this whole situation is Gladiator-specific, then I shall clarify fully: this is artwork based on my fic. It's about a story that has been developing these characters for ALMOST ELEVEN YEARS now. It has nothing to do with whatever's going on in canon or in the liveaction, the scene in question was written almost two years ago and the artwork proposed and voted for several days before the liveaction aired. Ergo: there is no connection between this and that. Nor am I saying through this piece that Ozai is a good father. He is not. He can still be an interesting character to work with on a narrative level anyway :')

Alright. With that out of the way, hope you guys like this piece! The big one I haven't posted is ALSO finished, also glazed and nightshaded, but I think I might just end up posting it on the 26th if I don't have time to do anything big for our eleventh anniversary... yep, I'm so busy I don't even have a huge project in mind this time. Also? I have a lot to write and I'm finally happily writing it, and I would like to continue doing that...

Anyway! If you would like to be part of the creative process behind this piece, as well as see it in its proper, OG, less color-bleeding clunky version? A $1 Patreon pledge gives you the chance to join in suggesting prompts, voting for them and reading Gladiator snippets 6 days before a new chapter is released!

[kiragecko]

cherrystainedknuckles

I guess the only problem with being asked to take a “marie kondo approach” is that in order to find any fanfic that appears to be based in actual canon timeline and plot points and characterization (which does exist, and I’m not sure why fanon fans seem insistent that it doesn’t), I literally have to search for hours. I’m not joking, I consistently make fic rec lists, and I have to search for hours and hours for actual canonical basis. same thing with character tags on tumblr.

I’m not saying fanon fans have to stop enjoying fanon or making up their own content. I’m just saying that when the tags used for both fanon tim drake and canon tim drake are the same tag it just becomes incredibly annoying sometimes, and I understand why people who like to engage with canon (me, often) become frustrated

-

I have definitely had periods where I got incredibly frustrated with fanon! Around 2019, I was wondering if I needed to leave the Batfandom, because it had been so long since I read a new fic where the characters felt 'right'.

-

But, if you're willing to, I'd like you to consider what you mean when you divide 'fanon' from 'canon'. Because I struggle to find a hard line between the two, for several reasons:

1. Fandom is transformative. Every fanfic is going to have some interpretation of the source material. The line between what is too much interpretation and what is acceptable is different for every person. For me, I find it can even vary based on writing style or other odd things - lighthearted fic can have more noncanonical stuff in it than heavier fic, and still seem true to canon.

2. 'Canon' is subjective. I do not consider the movies or video games to be 'canon', and it annoys me when things from those creep into the fic I'm reading. (I'm okay with SOME Battinson.) Some aspects of the cartoons are okay. I consider precrisis Jason Todd to be an alternate reality version, but Donna's precrisis origins are more canonical than the dumb retcons. Wayne Family Adventures isn't my main version of the characters, but I'm not bothered if some elements show up in my stories. I'm ignoring most of the nu52, but I like Duke and I'm still watching this new Lian to see what happens. I doubt your divisions are identical to mine.

(Also, some things that I think of as 'fanon' have shown up in nu52 canon! I do not accept them as any more canon because of this.)

3. Most 'fanon' is based on canon. Canon Tim has weird sleep habits. 90s Dick is really lighthearted and joking around some characters in ways similar to fanon. Dick can canonically not be trusted to take care of himself if his mental health gets low enough. Jason likes classical literature. Etc.

These are exaggerated and/or twisted in a lot of fic, but where is the line where they stop being canon? I wouldn't bat an eye at a lot of this stuff, if it didn't show up SO OFTEN.

4. Most 'fanon fans' do know some canon. What line are you going to set where it will be 'enough'. And are they allowed to mention parts of the canon they haven't read yet? Is anyone allowed to talk about Dick's early Robin days, or only the tiny amount of people who have read the golden age stuff? A lot of the 'mistakes' I see are obviously made by people who have read ABOUT canon, but don't know quite how it fits together.

5. 'Canon' is FULL of contradictions. Yes, there are canon events. Yes, there is characterization that is consistent across 3/4s of comics. But. I'm still working on my sidekick timeline. I've devoted days to figuring out ages and passage of time. I've spent over a decade trying to figure out Jason Todd's motivations, and why Tim treats him the way he does. I've read all the 90s and early 2000s CANONICAL character assassination of Jason.

I spent years thinking that Donna's death was almost as foundational as Jason's, only to later discover that I had just happened to read the specific comics that focused on the fallout, and she only stayed dead for a short time. That happens to fans ALL THE TIME! We read a character summarizing an event we haven't directly read, and just accept it as what happened. But characters have biases, and not all writers care about accuracy.

-

I've read some Tim Drakes that I consider to be almost entirely 'fanon'. And quite a few that were so scarily 'canon' that I got chills. (Not all of which were similar to each other.) But the vast, vast majority have fallen somewhere in the middle.

I definitely do not want the responsibility of deciding which ones count as 'canon'! And I think I would strongly dislike anyone who tried to decide for me.

Being frustrated is logical, and I empathize. But the original post was about the impossible expectations some fans feel. The expectation to read thousands of comics, synthesize all the contradictions, and come to conclusions that match the 'true fans'. That's a perfectly reasonable thing to be complaining about.

If that's what some fans are experiencing, of course they're not going to want to engage with canon! There's no way for them to succeed, so why should they even try?

When you join THAT conversation to discuss your frustration about fanon, it strengthens that perception. When you call them 'fanon fans' it emphasizes their belief that you don't think they belong. And rather than trying to change, it's more likely that they'll double down. Canon is full of gatekeepers, so they'll avoid it.

[subparcarrion]

would yall read a fuckass tma fan episode about some dude remembering that one time from when he was sixteen and got sucked into this crazy ass fandom (?) for a song that wasn't really a song by people who only might have been people?

[mocc-tok-flip-flop]

The submas brainworm is only getting stronger, so I have drafted a whole-ass comic for a new AU idea! One where Chandelure gets to take center stage and become the main character she was always meant to be~

The gist of the AU is that Chandelure has a ghostly soul-bond with Ingo, which essentially means that his soul is under her protection and he sorta registers as a ghost to other pokemon. Basically protects him from other ghosts trying to put their sticky paws on her trainer and also gives the two of them a bit of an empathetic connection. Not quite telepathy, but able to transmit complex feelings and lets them check how badly they're hurt.

Naturally, this means that when Giratina (who was honestly just trying to play around. They were given the tedious task of just opening rifts and looking through all those peep holes made them curious. So when they saw a soul that had a beautiful ghost bond, they became fascinated) snags Ingo and drags him through, Chandelure immediately feels when Giratina's power accidentally tries to overwhelm Ingo's soul and she absolutely loses her shit. Through psychically screaming and using her protective aura to try and bash Giratina, the distortion god acts like a dog that's done something they shouldn't and tries to hide the evidence of their messing around (Ingo getting fucked up via soul and getting not too gently dropped off a mountain).

I have more ideas, especially relating to how Emmet is taking his brother's ace losing her mind and how her actions affect the investigation, but if I keep going down these tracks I'm going to end up with another 90k WIP fic like i did with Naruto. (Though if people wanna see the AU written out...👀... I could absolutely be convinced. I'm very weak...)

[aprilblossomgirl]

# mood 1 + mood 2 (basically)

[linterteatime]

pwease don't repost! the sillies™

[airrec]

When considering characters' canonical relationships to each other, one must remember that --

the healthy - unhealthy spectrum (speaking not just objectively, but subjectively, taking into account characterisation and context)

the weak - strong spectrum (that is, how much investment is in the relationship, and how much that relationship weighs when a character is making decisions)

the potential - actual spectrum (this one is especially important to remember when it comes to canon; us fans love to take potential and run with it, but that doesn't mean that the actuality of that relationship in canon is as strong/healthy/whatever as it could be)

-- are all three different facets of a relationship.

Equating them with each other is a fallacy that is easy to fall into, but it's important that when talking objective meta analysis of canon, one doesn't forget that just because, for example, a relationship is healthy/respectful that automatically makes it stronger and makes it weigh more in the characters' decision-making than another relationship.

Potentiality is not actuality; analysing what is, and extrapolating from there into what could be, are both two important elements to meta analysis. But it's important not to confuse one with the other, and then to further confuse that with fan created content.

[lucienarcheron]

This fandom is getting weirder and weirder and that is not a compliment.

[lazy--lillies]

This song is so Percy coded and it's driving me insane

(if anyone was wondering it's Sorry for Me by Ricky Montgomery)

[not-poignant]

A lot of folks don't realise that they're fanpolice, or at least have the potential to be fanpolice (or engage in feelings yakuza style behaviours), and a good way to check if you're fanpol - at least when it comes to fanfiction - is a common sentiment that even I've fallen into the trap of expressing, and it goes like this:

'I just need the author to know they're writing something that's wrong.'

It could be that you read something triggery or squicky, or that the author is writing something so dark, you're genuinely unsure they understand that something is morally objectionable irl.

On AO3 this is very easy to check: Did they use appropriate warnings? And tags? Does the content of this fic reasonably fall under these tags and warnings?

If the answer is yes, then the author knows.

They might not share the same understanding as you, but they certainly know enough to warn folks in advance. It might even be tags that you've always been comfortable with but for some reason, in this one fic, get squicked by, and immediately assume 'oh god it's the author' and not 'oh god, it's the writing, I've been squicked.'

If you're still unable to distinguish whether the author knows the difference between right and wrong after seeing an author appropriately tag a work with something like 'dead dove: do not eat' - you may not be able to tell the difference, or alternatively, are having a kneejerk reaction to something very squicky personally.

(In the case of fics that have been inappropriately Warned for - i.e. 'No Warnings Apply' in the case of Rape or Major Character Death, you can certainly give AO3 support a heads up about these fics. There's a reason those warnings are mandatory in the absence of 'Creator Chose Not To Use')

Some folks are just going to be 'antis' about everything, but some of us can stumble into fanpol behaviours when we're shocked by content we didn't expect to find shocking, and we immediately look for somewhere to blame our unexpected shock and discomfort. If the first place you go is into the author's comments or inbox with that blame (or an attempt to shame, ridicule, or mock) that's fancop behaviour.

I think it's worth noting that there's a grey area where many folks have engaged with fanpolice / fanpol / fancop / anti style behaviour while still generally being very supportive of philosophies like 'don't like / don't read' etc. and not realising that these philosophies still apply to you even if you have an extremely strong emotional reaction to something you didn't expect to.

Many of us are going to also experience this, or have in the past. If we like surfing certain tags, if we've read enough DD:DNR fics 'safely' it might not occur to us that other authors might have different ways of writing under those tags.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Certainly because I've done it myself, years ago now, and I've seen other folks who would consider themselves very supportive of all fanfiction do it, and you can sort of tell by the language they use. As soon as you see a: 'I wish I just knew that the author understood this was wrong irl :/ ' - and the fic is tagged for - there's something going on that's leading to fancop style thinking. Often it's to try and correct a sense of emotional injustice or betrayal, sometimes it's grounded in moral panic.

Folks who cling to fancop style behaviours believe that feeling their own strong emotion (particularly those of revulsion or disgust or fear) is an accurate compass re: identifying moral injustice, and then proceed to apply 'corrections' to those around them who have caused that revulsion, disgust, or fear. But imho, it's easy for everyone to feel a strong enough emotion that they might slip into fancop thinking or behaviours without realising, for say one particular fic, or one particular ship, without ever realising, because they're 'permissive the rest of the time.'

Anyway, just some barely coherent thoughts on the matter that I'm barely even resolving here. I miss using Tumblr to think about this stuff out loud, so here we are, lol.