#Let's ignore canon and embrace fanon

[bluelancelion]

So👏

I'm watching Merlin for the first time and I'm absolutely floored by it and by how much I fell in love with Merthur and the Knights, so here's a couple of Modern! AU that popped in my mind.

Rugby Champion/Nerd AU

- Probably a classic, I'd be surprised if ao3 wasn't plenty of it.

- Of course Arthur is Captain of the rugby team and of course Merlin is the guy sitting in the library all day.

- Don't ask me how they meet don't ask me how they fall in love, they just do

- Arthur's father is the school's principal

- And for this reason there's some people hating on Arthur cause they believe he has privileges

- Spoiler: he doesn't (or denies any of it when his father offers some) but due to this he finds hard to trust people

- Hence he trusts only his teammates aka true friends aka the squad!

- And Merlin of course

- Literally Heartstopper but make it #merthur with gay! Merlin and #bi-and-still-in-the-closet Arthur

Musicians AU

- Merlin goes to a public school and no one knows he's literally a world wide known classic musician

- Idk how don't ask

- Arthur is like the popular guy who plays guitar and all girls love him yadda yadda

- he has a band (must have the boys in every merthur fic sorry not sorry)

- Leon is the bassist, Percy the drummer, Gwaine the second guitar, Elyan is the dj and plays the keyboard, while Lancelot is the singer

- Again don't ask why don't ask how but Merlin and Arthur fight or argue and end up talking ever since

- Maybe Arthur was teasing him about knowing nothing about music

- Merlin silently snickering like *You dare to fight me with your half cheap-ass rock band when rich people spend thousands to listen me play at operas lmao you fool*

- But for some reason he can't tell him that or reveal his secret or else he'll be forced to change school (I dunooooo)

- So Arthur has no idea Merlin is a genius at music

- But.

- He notices Merlin has a perfect pitch, and something like- He can't explain it but Merlin has something with music, like a touch, so he invites him over to listen to his band

- All band members fall in love with him and side with him against Arthur when the two have their - now friendly - banters

- Bros being bros - Dudes being Dudes

- Idk what I was going for with this but IMAGINE WHEN THEY FIND OUT

- Like

- Imagine this fragile boi all cute smiles and sassy remarks and Arthur goes into protective mode cause he develops a crush-

And like, Arthur has a rock band so they look cool and they don't fear anyone in case Merlin gets bullied or something

And then they see him, for the first time-

Wearing a black/navy blue suit that costs thousand of dollars, walking in this giant golden opera with royal red drapes-

And he starts playing the piano for all these rich people and he's absolutely phenomenal

And suddenly Merlin fears Arthur won't be friends with him anymore or he'll fear he's gonna think Merlin is too "marvelous" to enjoy their little rock band

- But in reality Merlin loves them and he loves Arthur and Arthur honestly can't look at Merlin and see any other man than the guy he's been teasing and has argued with for all this time,

- aaand I don't know where I wanted to go with this as well lmao

Feel free to drop any completed fic link in the comments pls I am desperate :)

[find-me-in-hell]

i think canon vs fanon is silly let people have fun <3 'youve written xyz out of character!' WHO CARES!!!!! 'that character would never do xyz' again! who cares!!!! fanfiction is just that, fan FICTION who cares if it isnt accurate to the source??? its funny when ppl say a character with like five minutes/seconds of screentime is written wrong like wdym its wrong HOW WOULD YOU KNOW??? that character was there for five minutes half of which may have been a flashback and/or a DEATH SCENE???? we know nothing about this dude . even funnier when the fic is a) a complete rewrite b) majorly canon divergent or c) so far detached from the source LIKE BABE . i believe a personality is circumstantial and if a person grew up in the complete opposite environment to what theyre in now their personality would be completely different . i dont care if characters a or b are nothing like their source . after a while of reading fanfic without going back to the source u are Probably gonna forget the way they are in canon lets be real

[wenellyb]

Eddie Diaz is a white Latino. Did people learn nothing from the Pedro Pascal discourse? And does the fandom *not* remember that episode where the funeral protestor refuses to be tended by Hen and Chim, so he asks Eddie to give him care— fully seeing he’s white— until Eddie says his last name is Diaz and his father’s Mexican, but he can channel his mother’s Swedish heritage for the man’s comfort? White people are not members of the global majority, but they do live and exist outside Western Europe and the U.S. (like Mexico).

It’s so weird how parts of the fandom are making any positive reaction to a m/m relationship in this show (that isn’t their yaoi ‘buddie’ fanfiction) into something about loving to see white men kiss. Y’all would still be getting that with canon buddie! Y’all couldn’t even support Michael and Glenn (calling them “homewreckers”). Y’all constantly ignore Hen and Karen with your complaints of “queerbaiting.” Y’all also called TK & Carlos’ (911 Lone Star) relationship “toxic” because it began with sex and because y’all fanon Carlos as some aggressive control freak. Like… c’mon!

I don’t think anyone who is supportive of Buck’s new relationship is arguing that Tommy is perfect. He’s was a fucking dick to both Hen and Chim when they joined the 118. His “delivery man” comment to Chim was wildly unacceptable. No one has forgotten this. Yet both Hen and Chim are *NOW* good friends with him…? Why? He changed. And the show shows the audience this. They show that he developed a great camaraderie with Hen and Chim. They show how he— unlike Sal and Gerrard— shifted his behavior and worldview to accept, embrace, and enjoy change.

Tommy could have been Sal. He could have been Gerrard. He had a good working relationship with both men and both men encouraged bad behavior in the 118. Yet he didn’t. He stayed on and befriended Hen and Chim (when most of the other guys still refused). Because he chose to learn and change and open himself to people’s differences (which likely also helped him come to terms with his own “differences”).

Tommy’s arc is meant to show how someone can make amends, repair relationships, and become a better person (y’know… learn, grow, and reform himself). The general audience for this show is straight and white. They *need* to see white people changing and learning to be better. They *need* to see queer people coming into themselves. These are important story lines.

Fans like Buck and Tommy together because they like Buck and Tommy together, because they like what this means for them and what might happen going forward. That’s literally it. We’re all just overjoyed by having more queer representation, including Bi representation. That’s it.

But there are a lot of “buddie” shippers in people’s inboxes hating on Buck and Tommy together for no reason other than it stands in the way of their ideal porn fantasies (“buddie”). And they’re being weirdly queerphobic about it, too.

Hi Anon!!!! So much to unpack here. I'll post this and let anyone comment their thoughts because this is an interesting conversation.

I'll start by saying that it never occurred to me that Ryan Guzman was not White, until Bucktommy became more popular and some Buddie shippers said that Bucktommy shippers were preferring the White MM pairing and I was like "Hmm.... both Buddie and Bucktommy are White MM pairings"???? Like it never even occured to me.

I'm not here to debate Ryan Guzman's ethnicity, he knows that better than us, but as you mentionned people seem to forget that there are White latinos.

I should add that Americans will maybe have a different perspective but in Europe, there is racism, and there is also xenophobia both are bad, but not the same.

If I'm talking about someone who is White and Latino being a victim of prejudice, I would never say that they're victim of racism, I would say that he's victim of xenophobia.

Believe it or not there are a lot of Europeans are xenophobic but not racist and vice versa.

With that being said, I agree with the rest of your ask..

I love 911 Lone Star and watched 911 casually but I never got the Buddie shippers, especially the ones who said they shipped Buddie as a form of activism, or because there was a lack of Queer representation (which is true) but Henren are there, TK and Carlos are right there and it's the same franchise.

They never cared about Henren, they even erased them whenever they accused the show of Queerbaiting even thought it has several Queer characters.

I remember when they started complaining that Bucktommy had more fics that Henren after one kiss.... but never said anything about Buddie having over 20 000 fics after 6 years of nothing even thought Henren was canon.

A lot of their takes are rooted in hypocrisy, it's like they're taking all the arguments that have been thrown at them and throwing them back at Bucktommy shippers without even thinking about it.

It's very important to have discussion about fandom racism, because it's a huge issue especially in the biggest fandoms but I do feel like some of them are bringing the issue in bad faith. This discussion is so important but it needs to be had with the Bucktommy fandom AND the Buddie fandom. So far the Buddie shippers only want the Bucktommy shippers to have it.

Why don't they take a look at the mirror first and ask themselves why they never cared about a Black Lesbian couple when one of them was a Main Character. Why don't they ask themselves why a ship with 2 best friends has over 20000 fics and a canon ship that is TK and Carlos only have 7000.

And why do they find the weirdest excuses to hate on Carlos (as you said), who's clearly not White and never give him the same courtesy they give their fave White chatacters.

When Buddie shippers talk about fandom racism, all I can think is: the call is coming from inside the house.

[eye-of-yelough]

why do you assume people are “afraid” to make their durgetash more toxic? that they should “come over to the dark side and have some fun?” people are having fun, they’re just not into what you’re into and thats fine. i think your durgetash stuff is very interesting, but i dont know why you have the need to post about how other people should feel, or how they should interpret gortash.

i guess because some of the people i’ve talked to have told me they were initially afraid to break the mould, as i was myself until recently, what with how sanitised fandom in general has become lately, and the whole “if you enjoy problematic media without giving a disclaimer that you don’t condone the actions taking place that makes you problematic” mentality. and i’m fine with people enjoying what they enjoy!

i’m not gonna pretend my last few posts about it haven’t been a little hostile and petty, they have been, but that’s just how i’ve been feeling lately. 90% of durgetash/gortash content is just . so not what i’m looking for. which would be fine, live and let live, but man does it make me feel like i’m losing my mind, the amount of people i see just ignoring canon to say gortash “worships the ground durge walks on”, or “just wants to be loved”, or “cared about karlach deep down”, or, worst of all in my opinion, is somehow “redeemable”. Mr “i want those Gondians aware of what they’re doing and deeply unhappy about it”. Mr “tadpoled and harvested the brain of a child in her sleep” to.. what? what the fuck was he doing with that kid?

ooh i know! what about Mr “renews his pact with The Dark Urge swearing to bring them no harm -

- only to subject them to psychological torture with his machines 2 minutes later for daring to refuse to Witness His Ascension”

but yeah, sure, their relationship was totally healthy and respectful….

…anyway. i’m being petty and hostile again arent i.

i genuinely harbour no ill will towards people who enjoy durgetash in the popular shippy way, it’s just that gortash is my favourite character at the moment, and he’s my favourite character because he’s awful. because he terrifies me. because he does 6 absolutely heinous crimes against humanity before breakfast. and the gortash fans who, like me, like to really embrace that and put serious thought into to what that means about him, how his brain works, how that effects his interpersonal relationships, are startlingly few in comparison to the sheer amount of people who seem to just. see him as someone to ship their durge with.

TLDR: every fandom has a fanon-ised version of events that gets passed around and around until it starts getting accepted as canon even though it isn’t. and sometimes those fandoms need a few people screaming no. so that’s that i’ve been doing.

[nintendont2502]

I think. there's so much potential with Ult Dirk and fanworks- specifically their meta nature

Like. Idk fanworks are usually created to try and 'fix' a perceived problem in canon (even if that problem is 'character x not getting enough screen time' or 'x and y not fucking' yk). Ult dirks whole thing is trying to fix canon and trying to maintain relevancy (there's a whole interesting side tangent there about ult dirk - a character focused on maintaining narrative relevancy as a source of power - being trapped in Homestuck's post canon, which not only isn't narratively relevant to the source but also isn't relevant to the fandom (and is in fact widely hated) and wasn't even finished - I'd love to believe that was done on purpose but that's just me trying to squeeze any scrap of meaning out of post canon I think)

ANYWAY fanworks are a pretty good way to gain relevancy methinks - unpopular characters/characters screwed over or ignored by the narrative usually flourish in fanworks, right? *But* there's the inherent trade off there - sure, you're gaining narrative relevancy, but it's in a narrative you have no control over. You as a character are being filtered through someone else's voice at best, and at worse there's a whole new version of yourself out there. And just. Fuck how do you think ult dirk - the ultimate version of the guy who had a crisis about different versions of himself outside of his control - would feel, knowing that after he finally united all splinters of himself into one, that's there's God knows how many versions of that version of himself - none of them under his control

If you want to make it really meta, I could almost imagine a version of Ult Dirk, realising he's trapped in a comic that - let's be real here - is never going to get finished, and that no one cares about (and new fans are explicitly discouraged from reading) and getting so desperate for narrative relevancy again that he embraces those fanon versions of himself, allowing himself to become watered down and diluted by the countless different interpretations of him written by the fans in order to maintain his power (or even his existence)

[steveharrington]

hmmm let’s do 8, 9, & 24 🔥

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

hmmm i think people are generally wrong about nancy. i disagree with a lot of characterizations/head canons/discourse around her bc i just so often feel like people…… in the pursuit of trying to argue that she’s a strong female character actually end up diluting her most interesting and unique character traits. i know this is kinda what i said for will but people make nancy overly nice and passive when that doesn’t match her personality at all. even the SHOW does this like in s4 when jonathan is like “i just know that nancy would throw away her career and future to be with me 😔” like oh my god have you met nancy??? no the fuck she wouldnt!!! i think nancy is very similar to my beloved gale weathers in that they’re both very driven and determined to get what they want, and in the pursuit of whatever that is (justice for nancy, money for gale) they don’t really stop to think about if they’re affecting others. it happens with nancy Every Season bro like in season one she shows up to jonathan while he’s PICKING A COFFIN FOR WILL and she’s like knock knock hi :) come talk to me :), in s2 she cannot stand steve’s coping mechanism of just bottling things up so she ditches his ass, in s3 she ignores all of jonathan’s reservations about investigating and then can’t understand why he’s upset when they get in trouble, in s4 she goes to investigate the death of a student for The School Newspaper and literally walks right up to wayne and is like hi. everyone thinks your nephew murdered that girl whose body was found in your house last night but i don’t :) And im not saying any of this to criticize nancy because THOSE BEHAVIORS ARE FASCINATING!!! i WANT to see characters who think and behave in unique ways, esp if they cause conflict among the characters, but everyone in the fandom is soooo insistent on making sure we never imply that nancy has ever done anything wrong in her life and thus we end up stuck with this boring fanon version of nancy instead of embracing that she won’t hesitate to get what she wants no matter the cost!!!!

9. worst part of canon

sorry that last one was so long i’ll keep it brief here: evil russians plotline

24. answered :)

[randomnameless]

Do you feel like the fandom has a sort of bigotry of low expectations attitude towards Almyra? Like Rhea is literally satan for not teaching Cyril to read (even though she didn't know he couldn't) but Almyra, where he lived during the time in his life where most kids are learning to read, doesn't get any flack for not educating it's children. And that's on top of treating the whole "ignoring the orphans you create in your raids for funzies until you can use them in your raids for funzies" as not a big deal at best and something Cyril needs to get over so he can embrace his Almyran heritage at worst.

Hm...

I didn't interact with khalidstan side of the fandom, a friend gave me a few links and I clicked, blinked, and they immediately returned lol.

Almyra in fandom in general is... a short summary of what Fodlan's issue is, and the need to use copious amounts of headcanons or to project real life events on the two lines given because 10k years of lore means we still don't know the name of Claude's dad or why the fuck he isn't stopping the raids.

And in a way, I can't really say it's undeserved, to project so much, because we all like to see something new, and something "not often seen" in jrpgs, Almyra's aesthetic was so heavily inspired by real world locations, so of course people wanted to know more about it than about "random medieval european land #8854" and...

Well. The game doesn't say a lot about Almyra, it is mentionned about, someone you are supposed to see as a protagonist with knowledge about this land says some good stuff about it and... that's it!

(at least it wasn't the utter disappointment Hyzante was in TS, because that's another can of worms, but given the "aethetic" picked for the ultra religious people who justify everything by their religion that is actually false and controlled by an old fart using a puppet, and who also enslaves people, and has no redeeming quality bar its last survivor being a Mother (tm) who apparently knows some medicine - let's say this portrayal would have fit well with the early 2000s depictions of a certain religion and its followers in the real world).

So for this new and "exotic" (i fucking hate that word) country, of course people wanted to know more... and when the "more" showed that IS didn't move from the Kaga era with Persia = Verdane, well.

Some people, who really wanted to be invested in Almyra (maybe projecting a lot about it) were disappointed, and had to basically create fanon!Almyra from the few breadcrumbs we got - ending with the "Almyra is wonderful and #didnothingwrong, Fodlan BaD and Syrup must embrace his Almyran identity as Khalid's bby bro!" - canon events can be ignored!

And, as headcanon/fanon, okaay, this can work, I mean, it's not because people make sandwiches with mayo, eggs and cucumbers that I have to eat it, you know? Some people eat those kinds of sandwiches, I don't, don't like, don't read, etc etc.

But then, removing the fandom's tendency to headcanon and, well, be a fandom, in FE Fodlan itself we have... Claude.

And the way the games treat Claude, imo, ultimately fuels those headcanons.

Rather, not only Claude, but more specifically, his views about Fodlan, Almyra and the supposed reasons why they can't get along.

As I posted way too many times in the last 4 years, Claude will - for a reason I suspect is tied to Hresvelg Grey and the red herring called Rhea - never interact with the Almyrans attacking for shit'n'giggles in Hilda'n'Cyril's paralogue. He will not talk about House Goneril's habit to, uh, "take orphans left on the battlefield" with them.

But it's an issue with the Fodlan games in general, you can have an elephant in the room, or a giant dragon, if it goes against the narrative a certain character pushes, that elephant will be ignored, like, the lord won't even have 1 line about it.

The game took time to code Claude having line about random pirates "dirtying" Almyra's good name by pretending to be Almyran pirates to, just, steal stuff - but it didn't took time to code Claude maybe tell to the random peon leading the raid of the week to stop the fuck out - and I ultimately don't think it was a foresight.

Claude will tell you the reason why Almyra isn't well seen nor accepted in Fodlan is because of the Church or the faith Rhea preaches (since in VW Billy will still be head of the church), because the faith Rhea preaches apparently encourages isolationism, xenophobia, etc etc...

And nowhere in the game(s) will someone tell him that, uh, no, the faith Rhea preached welcomes people of all faiths and origins (Cyril sort of does, but this support is optional when Claude will always say the same thing at the beginning, middle and end of his route(s)), or how people do not welcome Almyrans with open arms because of their habit to raid their lands every sunday (re : lack of reaction in the Hilda'n'Cyril support) - Hell, in Nopes, it's Lorenz, not Claude, who tells Almyrans that they shouldn't pillage the cities they are invading (re : the elephant in the room, Lorenz adresses it though, even if it's played for funsies).

So if Claude says Almyra is the second coming of paradise on earth, and the game never bothers to correct him or have him learn, react and reconsider his earlier opinions, why should the fandom bother? Claude is a protagonist and can be the Lord, so of course whatever he says - even in passing, is true!

Coupled with the projection/fanon/headcanon issue of earlier and you have fanon!Almyra - where Syrup needs to ditch the woman who gave him meals and a roof and basic care to return to his "almyran" origins even if in Almyra he was treated like fodder and had "no reason to live".

Why?

Because said woman is a certain fandom's projection on the catholic church + the game(s) need a red herring + Hresvelg Grey + Claude said so and the game(s) never confronts him so it sort of works.

I think, back when I still had faith in redshit, I tried to argue to someone who said "obviously Almyra has more advanced medicine bcs trust me bro" with something like "in a world where singing 2 "Ave Sothis" can heal a fractured arm, what the fuck is advanced medicine?" Ditto for the more advanced ships because they have canons, we're in the Fire Emblem series, who gives a fuck about a canon if you have a mage with long range magic on the other side ? Ask FE4, people can summon meteors - do you really think a "canon" is advanced technology in an universe with magic? (unless we make a difference between magic and technology but it's all sort of pointless, some place isn't more backwards than the other if it uses different methods to reach the same results?).

----

Then, let's not kid ourselves, Almyra, just like everything in Fodlan, has been used by the fandom to demonise Rhea, because Rhea BaD since she's the fandom projected version of Pope Francis and Supreme Leader + Claude think she's the reason why Fodlan sucks.

So with the "Rhea is satan because she never taught Cyril, who kept that information hidden, how to read, but the Gonerils are somehow A-ok despite not teaching him too - granted they also forgot to give him food so at least they're consistent in how they completely don't give a fuck about him" -

I also read the "Rhea is evil because she only saved 1 Almyran Child from House Goneril, but again, House Goneril isn't evil for, uh, keeping more than 1 Almyran child needing to be saved" -

And Nopes gave us the best "Rhea is evil incarnated because she doesn't tell Cyril to run away when people want to slaughter her, unlike what she did for her blood relatives, so it's actually Rhea's fault that Claude had to use Cyril as an archery practice dummy!".

If Rhea must be bad, then everything she stands against must be Good! And that includes the people she bought a fort to defend against!

Tl;Dr : some part of the fandom idealisation of Almyra comes frmo 1/projection

2/Khalid said so and the game(s) never force him to reconsider

3/Rhea BaD (this one is a bit of a cheat, since it can be used to explain 95% of the various discourses that happened in this fandom since its creation!)

[scoopstrooptm]

okay so here is my thing about r*nance. what i honestly loathe about the way the dynamic gets treated in the fandom is about how few people actually explore the, in my opinion, REALLY interesting stuff about them — primarily that this isn't an easy relationship for anyone involved lmao. too often fanon just throws robin & nancy together without any explanation whatsoever ( in favour of exploring steve & eddie which is fine, totally cool, you do you. but honestly robin & nancy in itself as a dynamic has so much baggage and history that is textually there in the canon and by waving it all away so easily so many people just WASTE that compelling potential ). a lot of people also just assume that robin & nancy would fit together easily which, if there's anything to observe about the way they interact in s4, is simply not the case lmao. they may be friends by the end of the season, but only friends in the superficial saving the world sort of way. nancy doesn't know robin is a lesbian, nancy doesn't know that robin used to be bffs with barb ( which isn't canon to the show, i know, but is imo a really good way of actually pushing these two closer together ), nancy also arguably doesn't know she's queer herself either — and i would argue that she would have the hardest journey out of those four ( robin, eddie, steve & nancy ) towards embracing her queerness because of the way that her arc is surrounded by heteronormative relationships with steve and then jonathan. and, something easily forgotten by the fandom, but she lives in the midwest in the 80s. nancy may want to break out of the suburban trappings of her parents' relationship, but she is still arguably trapped by them despite those attempts.

but, at its core with this dynamic, you have nancy, who i love, but is not the easiest of individuals ( embrace her flaws >:(((( ) and has a lot of issues and trauma surrounding not just her romantic relationships with the boys, but also the way that barb haunts her entire narrative. you have robin, who isn't even canonically out to anyone but steve yet, and struggles to even talk to her canon crush, vickie, let alone self-reflect on the fact that she may have a crush on nancy wheeler ( which, unpopular opinion, but i don't think she does during the s4 timeline ), who is the it girl of the show but also her best friend's ex. and then you have steve, an integral third part of this dynamic that should not be ignored, who has absolutely every right to feel weird about the concept of his best friend dating his ex — the same ex who, regardless of who you feel is at fault in the breakdown of the steve & nancy dynamic, canonically broke his heart.

a fundamental truth about this dynamic is that robin will not date nancy or act upon any hypothetical feelings unless steve is okay with it, and steve is fully entitled to not feel okay about it or at least have Something to say about it ( i hate when fanon just brushes over that tbh, stop invalidating steve's feelings, especially by using girl power as an excuse, i fucking hate it ) — at least at first. this is why i fully endorse the idea that the robin / nancy / steve trio should be about robin bringing steve & nancy together to a point where the two of them can resolve their issues and work towards a friendship, as that definitely needs to happen first before robin & nancy can even begin. robin will prioritise steve over everything, to her detriment or not — i do think the fandom's hesitance to explore things that would challenge robin & steve's friendship is a shame, because as with any sort of relationship, a friendship, even one as strong as theirs, is not a fixed thing. it will bend, it will encounter struggles, it will change and mature as the two of them get older. they will always be best friends, but the way they define themselves as best friends in middle of nowhere, indiana, location of their trauma where they only have each other for support, will be entirely different to how they define themselves as best friends 20 years down the line when they are living their best lives, both in relationships, steve with kids.

but back to the point: r*nance is arguably about steve & nancy figuring out their shit first. steve has to come to terms with nancy & robin being friends first — which admittedly he already was working towards in s4, his comment to nancy that it's cool that she and robin are friends now and that they should all hang out when jonathan comes to visit was cute!! and a step in the right direction!! i hate that the show then suddenly shifted gears and started pushing romantic st*ncy. but nancy also has a part to play, since i fully believe that if she were to ditch jonathan and then immediately jump in with robin, she will just end up in the same cycle that she was in when she left steve. before robin, nancy needs some time on her own to figure some stuff out. she needs an arc equivalent to steve's in s2 and 3 where she can figure out what is actually important to her — and part of that is having a friendship with robin, another girl her own age who she can have fun with and who can help her with her barb trauma. the friendship part is vitally important!!!! only then would she be ready for another romantic relationship imo, but then that can only happen after robin comes out to her as a lesbian. and, considering that to robin's eyes, nancy is probably one of the straightest girls out there lmao, that's also not gonna be an easy thing either.

so anyway my tl;dr; about this is just. robin & nancy as a romantic pairing won't be canon anyway, but even if there was the tiniest sliver of a chance that it will happen in s5, i wouldn't want it. because there is SO MUCH that could be ruined for all three characterisations here and considering the duffers reputation for writing romantic relationships ( is there a single canon romantic relationship in this show that i am invested in ? aside from joyce & hop idk jury's out. i'm even sceptical on robin & vickie ), i don't trust that it would be handled in the right way. this dynamic is difficult!!! it challenges everyone involved!! which doesn't make it bad — it actually makes it really compelling, imo, but fanon just throwing nancy & robin together because girls or because they've paired the boys off and need something to do with the girls without any real thought given to it is just.... i'm not a fan ( it's why i'm also not the biggest fan of the fruity four as a concept, another unpopular opinion lmao ).

[kai-keda]

Do you have any YouTube videos planned for this year? I love your analysis and how you combat bad ooc fandom arguments

Thank you so much for showing genuine interest in my content!

With a big move planned to happen this year, I'm currently letting myself settle into a routine post-holidays with a better balance of all my artistic endeavors including animation and analysis.

Once I get more settled, I'm pretty set on trying Patreon again since it was such a huge success before (I had to close it because I made the mistake of setting it to charge patrons monthly regardless of posted content and the stress tanked my mental health despite all my patrons at the time being super support and patient).

I have TONS of unfinished analysis videos and other ideas that I haven't even started on. I'm hoping getting into a routine and setting up a Patreon that only charges if content was posted (as well as planning on utilizing the freeze function this time) will get my butt in gear and motivate me to actually finish them.

(Especially considering Manny is willing to edit a majority of the video ideas I've got started/planned once they get to that point)

Since the Tumblr Anon's have been so kind lately, here's some working-titles of some analysis projects ^^ "Actually - You DON'T Know Death of the Author!"

"Man of La Mancha and Modern Fandom Culture"/"Man of La Mancha and Escapism"/"Man of La Mancha; The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Escapism"

"Embrace Your Destiny Was Kinda... Weak"/"I LOVE 'Embrace Your Destiny' But..."/"Good Fanservice, Bad Fanservice and How To Tell The Difference" "Stop Confusing Fanon for Canon"(possible supplement to Death of the Author)

"Sensitivity Readers and Why They're Important"/"Get Sensitivity Readers"/"Sensitivity Readers Are Crucial"

"Why I'm Salty Towards 'What If?' Style Videos"

"Fan Content is NOT for You"/"Fan Content is FREE"/"Respect Fandom Creators"

"Dragon Ball is NOT Journey to the West!"

"The Promised MK Character Analysis"

"Let Me Ignore Dragon Ball Super, I'll Let You Adore Dragon Ball Super"

[shifuaang]

I think the problems with fanon kataang can be because they are written in response to zk, which often likes to bash kataang. Like this has issues for various reasons, not in the least the fact that while zk can work in an au (or at least an interesting disaster) it seems the fandom at large surrounding it has no clue who these characters are and hasn’t watched the show without a bag over their head in over a decade. But even if they were somehow capable of making good points: defensiveness restricts protrayals for kataang. Overall zks fandom is best ignored because their common arguments tend to have no real meat to them anyway (but it’s weird that they fail so hard! I think it might be Kataras second most likely fanon ship, after Katoph.)

I totally agree with you and think this, along with purity culture, has made a significant swath of the Kataang fandom buckle down and be afraid to think outside of the box. Genuinely one of my biggest grievances with the KA fandom is the unwillingness to detach themselves from LOK's canon and explore other options for the characters. This is largely due to the fact that it's become the one anchor that they can secure their ship to when it comes to arguments from ZK shippers. Every bashing, unwarranted critique, and outlandish character assassination from them can be followed up with 'well Aang and Katara canonically got married and had three children together', and so that's what the KA fandom clings to.

Even though, personally, I'd rather have no canon proof of Katara and Aang post-ATLA in exchange for LOK not existing.

And this isn't to say that ZK is the sole blame for this phenomenon, but it's certainly a contributing factor. So many things are reactionary, as you said, instead of organically written. I have no problem with people indulging in revenge fic (like one of my favorite fics is a satire/commentary on the fandom saying Katara acts like Aang's mom), but it has swung so far in a 'wholesome' direction that a lot of the flavor is missing. It's become 'we must write the most non-toxic, happy, no-conflict family in order to prove ZKs wrong'. Meanwhile, ZKs know full well that their statements and metas about Kataang being toxic are bullshit because they ship one of the most potentially tumultuous pairings in the show. Which, honestly, go for it! There's nothing wrong with shipping ZK.

It's the hold another ship has on KA that drives me wild. The arguments aren't worth having let alone crafting an entire fandom around. Let's celebrate Katara and Aang for who they are, flaws and all. The Southern Raiders and Ember Island Players and all! It's time we learn to embrace it.

[haiq-trash]

Artist/writers/creatives and the audience can be SO pretentious sometimes? WHO are YOU to place your belief that x reader writers are "less than" and that ppls take on a character is below "canon"? Who are you to say that other writes will bastardized a character and make them "one noted" so? It doesn't change the ACTUAL character. Its just a interpretation albeit common and maybe misplaced of a character but to get on your high horse and say you "fear" for a characters portrayal in FANFIC and the making the writer seem grubby and less than is so...disgusting and pretensions.

Let people have fun with art, let people embrace self indulgence, let people explore, let people FAIL at creating.

This ThE chaRacTer mUsT bE 100% CanOn tO thE tExt aNd I hAte ALL FanOn takEs is....idiotic.

Is there bad takes on characters or a character gets cliches and stereotyped to deay that will spread ofc. But its primarily YOUNGER writers who are NEW, their finding their way in writing but also want to be praised and seek approval. Its not harming anyone!

These young writers are still finding their footing. Their still experimenting with characterization, flaws, seeing DEEP into a person. For some its easier for others harder. But this mentality of x reader writers are gross, x reader smut writers are below dirt.

Has to stop.

Fanfiction is not CANON, for the love of god its in the name. The character will not be viewed the same by everyone, people come across and see different things in art. They will "bastardiez" your fav character because maybe that's how they see them. It might be influence by the outside fandom environment but out liars will also remain.

Fanfic gives you freedom to expand or for a writer to give their take on a character. How they see that person, their actions, their feelings and its all personal and individualized because every person is different.

You might not like x reader or x reader smut but writers even the "bad " ones take so much time out of their day to create for free! They spend hours writing, editing, thinking for something and posting it to the void!

They create for just the sake of creating! To feel or to make others feel. Isnt that beautiful? Isnt that art in a way?!

Yet people have the audacity to voice their opinions and call it trash. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean u can ignore the effort it goes into writing and making fanfic. Did you NOT read blue period??

Creation doesn't have to have a purpose, it doesn't have to be objectively " good". The ONLY person who can decide who SHOULD and SHOULD NOT CREATE is the CREATOR.

Get off your high horse.

An to those new creators, writers or artist. It will be hard, at first its all flows and is fun and freeing but slowly as you improve there will be more blocks to overcome. Insecurity over your work, its getting harder to create, you hate your work more and more. That's FINE, it means your improving. Just KEEP creating but remember to take brakes that's fine.

Its fine to stumble, to go back and then improve, to get worse, to be self indulgent, to be confident, to cry, its ALL fine.

Art is Human.

It grows, it gets worse or better, it exist and doesnt need a purpose to exist. What a good person and what a bad person is objective just like art.

Ive said it once and ill say it again, NO ONE not YOURSELF and not OTHERS should EVER keep you from creating if it makes you happy. Keep going, you'll make something beautiful that only you can make.

An for those who think this? Get over yourself and grow up.

[soleminisanction]

it's funny how the more i learn about steph in canon, the more i dislike her. not even bc of how she is but bc of how different she is from fanon steph and how there's this pressure to not acknowledge the way she is written in canon. i would absolutely love steph if we as a fandom engaged in her more negative personality traits and faults rather than imagined her as a sunshine child who can do no wrong

(steph anon again) and ngl? even fanon steph is a bully. a person who is always making fun of you or making you feel lesser for how you act or what you wear etc is not someone you would want to be friends with, let alone date lmao. and somehow people eat it up and think it's actually normal and admirable even. i would say that it'd be great if steph could grow as a character but that would mean people would have to actually acknowledge that she's not little miss perfect who can do no wrong

Mood, anon. You've just summarized my entire relationship with Steph, going back, oh... it's getting close to 20 years at this point? From pretty much the second Steph put on the Robin costume, this disconnect started up where people cared more about the optics of The ""First"" Female Robin™ than about who she actually was as a character.

That's where I think it comes from, anyway. That and her Batgirl run, which is one of the most frustrating reading experiences I've ever had the misfortune of suffering through. (It is so sexist. And ablest. And low-key racist. But it does all of those things in a subtle, ""snarky,"" ironic way that able-bodied White Feminists can ignore while hyping themselves up, so it's fiiiiiiine /s)

I don't think I could ever "love" Steph -- I've known way too many people like her to ever reach that point -- but I could absolutely respect her if the fandom and canon embraced her more negative personality traits. She could be a really interesting exploration about the relationship between action and intent, or about maturing past the selfishness of youth, or even about moving on and learning to do good after you've made an unforgivable mistake.

But that'll never happen so long as she's never aloud to be truly in the wrong, so we're just out of luck I guess.

[sxrrandomfanfics]

What are your favorite characters in all of your fandoms and why?

Oh boy, this is going to be LONG. So I'm putting it under a Keep Reading

And I'm writing this for my 900th post! Wow!

Total characters/fandoms - 34

OK K.O. - Dendy Ah, my little blorbo. Blorbo shaped frog girl. Dendy is a scientific based character who doesn't seem to get many things and the fact she wants to learn more and grows over the course of the show makes me love her SO MUCH. She has a great design and wish that she got more screentime in the later seasons compared to season 1, but... cancellation is a jerk.

Psychonauts - Lili Zanotto You've got a ten-year-old girl whose style is something I wanted and I would have LOVED to have Lili as a role model for me when I was little. This gothic plant lover who randomly picks up animals and threatens to set people on fire has a style that is SO on point. The little tsundere has powers that match her personality and even as she gets comparatively worse as the series goes on and the first impression I had of her I didn't like... I still love exploring the possibilities with her.

Amphibia - Anne Boonchuy Okay, you have someone who can remind me of my Middle School friend group and kind of heal it? You have someone who embraces the culture and food that she grew up with? You have someone who just has some love of where she goes but treats it in a VERY realistic sense of knowing nothing about the world? CHEF'S KISS. Not to mention, the abilities she has the the GROWTH she shows in the show. Showing her flaws and gaining new strength. The heartbreak she deals with her friends and their toxic traits being brought to light as she gets an actual good friend in Sprig. It's so great to see.

Pokemon - (modern) Sneasel This is mosly for design and the idea that Sneasel's Darkness set it apart from many of the Pokemon. A rarity that used to be brown with white feathers to deep green with red feathers. The sleek and speedy designs is one of the best from my "home region" of Pokemon.

Undertale - It honestly has changed a lot. Looking back on canon vs fanon, I'd have to say: Asgore. He's just a sweet old goat man who's lost so much in his life. He doesn't want war against humanity, he only wants what's best for his kingdom. And even then, he just hopes another human won't fall down into the underground and he can just tend to the flowers. Let the old goat man garden and let him be happy.

Deltarune - Even without ignoring the Undertale characters: Susie. Similar to Lili, Susie is a troubled character with not much known except the fact that journeying the dark world with Kris opened up her eyes and her heart. She's also a great character to get a laugh, such as with messing with Ralsei in Chapter 2 and being willing to make HER own choices. She also shows off the soft side of her heart with Lancer and Noelle and that's GREAT for her. Susie is a hero.

Sonic - Rouge the Bat Sonic X, THANK YOU for showing me this delightful little bat mercenary who worked for the government. She's a creature who I wish was shown off more in the modern Sonic media in a way where she was a true mercenary and wanting the gems for herself. Give me a plot where she gets the Chaos Emeralds. Give me Super/Hyper Rouge, SEGA. Do it, you cowards.

Warrior Cats - Hollyleaf As someone who VERY MUCH followed rules as a child, I love Hollyleaf and her whole debacle. She's a part of a family who's supposed to have power but only Her BROTHERS get it. She's a child born out of wedlock and thinks that breaking the Warrior Code means she's automatically doomed to destruction. As someone who grew up in a VERY religious town (not home, the home life was good for me) the feelings that Hollyleaf suffers from was VERY poignant to me. I also LOVE Tenelleflower's interpretation of Hollyleaf in "Rewriting The Power of Three." But even still, Hollyleaf!

Wings of Fire - Moonwatcher OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THIS. So going from one person destined to have powers but received none, to one who was born with powers everyone thinks were LOST. Moonwatcher is such a skittish girl who is just trying her best throughout her book and she keeps seeing bad things happening and can't do anything about it. Nor can she say anything without the risk of losing those around her. A far cry from Hollyleaf but a beloved character in a mirror world to her. Unfortunately a victim of Tui T. Sutherland's first book syndrome. Where overtime her protagonists from Book 1 become more... one-note and less important.

Pucca - "" Yes, I know it's a show that contains sexual harassment. YES, I know the main character is the harasser. But the style of the show and the fandom comics that got me into the show have REALLY stuck with me. In the sense where I like fanon more, but still enjoy her antics in the show.

The Owl House - Luz Noceda Luz Noceda. Typical weird girl who loves fantasy and writes fanfiction. Hey, a character for ME! But really, Luz going from enamoured to the fantasy to realizing the reality of this world is SO GOOD. The fact she goes from following a prophecy to making her own claim in the world with the magic she knows is fantastic. I love her.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic - Fluttershy One of the characters who has to constantly relearn the same lesson, but I love her nonetheless. A shy little pegasus mare who doesn't even like to fly. She loves her animals and overtime she befriends some of the wackiest characters in the show. And it's fun to see her slowly get more assertive and be willing to stand up for what she believes in.

Steven Universe - Amethyst It used to be Connie, but you know what? Baby Amethyst in the movie and rehearing what LITTLE songs she got, makes me think that I like Amethyst more. She goes from being an aunt to a cool older sister and she relates so well to Steven. She's the bridge he needs and helps him so much.

She-Ra - Entrapta Again, similar to Dendy, Entrapta is such a cool design and I love characters similar to her. Also her relationship with Hordak is something very very fun and I like how that created Wrong Hordak, too.

Miraculous Ladybug - Marinette Dupain-Cheng Do they make her memorize her love interest's schedule and insist they're meant to be? I mean yeah, but she's a teenager who's been bullied all of her life and when Adrien came he was like... the first male who was showing her kindness. That's a mood for me and my first love (Granted, I wasn't this obsessed). And also she's a baker, who is a very sweet and creative girl who tries her best and when she's hit with inspiration she goes OFF.

Ace Attorney - Phoenix Wright Call me a sucker, but Phoenix Wright in the Ace Attorney series is a great man. He's a bit of a bumbling oaf with a big heart and I love his different story beats. Like why he wanted to become a lawyer, losing his loved ones, facing impossible odds and embracing the idea of truth over money. Love this goofball.

Infinity Train - Lake Lake's entire identity crisis of being a person is something filled with existential dread and death. This protagonist murdered someone, a COP, and was still in the right. She's got a heart and she knows it and she's ready to show the world.

Camp Camp - David Saying this as a camp counselor: Yeah, I'm biased. David is SUCH a good and relatable character to me. I got into Camp Camp when my camp had a lot of older campers who didn't care about the camp experience. I poured my heart and soul just like David did! And that's something that I loved! David is a ball of sunshine who keeps getting hurt cause he's the butt monkey of the show, but dang if Season 1 Finale didn't have the best David line!

Hero: 108 - Alpha Girl Does she have 0 backstory? Yeah... but there wasn't consistency with serialized cartoons and Hero: 108 was based on ancient Chinese literature which... looking at things like "Journey to the West" actually is supposed to be more episodic. Anyways, Alpha Girl being the hero of the Second Squad deserved more credit both inside and out of the show. A big brute who was willing to throw down and take what she deserved.

Kingdom Hearts - Roxas Roxas is one of the most complex characters in one of the most complex series. Why do I love him? He goes from an emotionless husk being controlled by the Big Bad Evil Guy, to a boy who

Star Vs. The Forces of Evil - Janna One of the best characters all the way through. Consistantly likeable and honestly if anyone were to have been affected by Eclipsa's chapter, I would have loved to have seen her. She was a side character who helped the scenes she was in and got one of the best ending lines for any characters.

Golden Sun: Dark Dawn - Sveta BEAST MEN BEAST MEN BEAST MEN. Yeah... I may be a furry. You give me a mid-late game ally who is a wolf/fox/whatever who can literally go BEAST MODE on an enemy? I'm gonna love 'em! Sveta is one of my favorite characters in the Golden Sun: Dark Dawn games for her tragedy. She loses her brother and has to rule the land without him. She's... she comes in last so her character arc isn't that great but she's a tragic werewolf and I love her.

Code: Lyoko - Odd Della Robbia Of all the characters I love, Odd is one of the most expected. He's a playful guy who is a bit of a player and machine/music nerd with weird hair. But also he's the best character in the video games. DS Code: Lyoko made Odd SO broken. Get full defense upgrade, hold down B, and MASH A. Nothing will damage you except Hornets.

Kim Possible - Ron Stoppable I'm partial to love interests. ESPECIALLY this one. Who didn't start out as a love interest but had GREAT chemistry for the friends to dating. He's also a great comedy character and so so so sweet. He's a reluctant big brother who soon grows to LOVE his baby sister and he is the one who saves the world in the finale with "mystical monkey powers." Great Guy.

Digimon - Takato Digimon Tamers is the best Digimon series. And Takato is one of the most realistic characters in a series that thrives on the characters telling the story. Takato cares for the digimon he created and is also terrified. This series and Takato is where Digital Monsters really lives up to its name.

Secret Saturdays - Zon Saturday She's a dinosaur and I love her noises.

American Dragon - Fu Dog I haven't watched American Dragon in a long time. But Fu Dog has some great lines.

Adventure Time - Flame Princess Flame Princess was the character I really loved. A character who was seen as evil for powers she couldn't control. Put into one box that she was able to break out of. She got a sweet friend in Cinnamon Bun and she absolutely did well for the kingdom, despite the fact of the brutalness she faced from the Candy Kingdom and the Elementals series.

Kill la Kill - Mako Mankanshoku My first "proper" anime. Mako Mankanshoku was hilarious and fantastic through the short series run. I loved her use in the series and that weird spotlight she'd always get when she was pumping up her sister in arms. Everyone deserves a Mako in their life.

Hey Arnold! - Helga Pataki Oh boy, what a shocker. But really, Helga goes through so much that she really doesn't deserve. And because of that her expression of affection has been twisted. The deuteragonist mean girl love interest has really caught my eye. ... Not sure what that says about me.

Invader Zim - Gaz Membrane Gamer girl who is done with everything. She doesn't care if Zim's an alien or not, or if Dib is obsessed with being right. She exists in her own world and people accept that.

Yu-Gi-Oh! - Seto Kaiba He's so pathetic. It's hilarious. He wants to beat an ancient spirit in a children's card game. He makes his little brother into the "Damsel in Distress" trope, but for boys even in a video game. This boy is just fantastic. Hilarious.

Gravity Falls - Stanley Pines Stanley Pines... Mr. Mystery himself. Always second place to his brother... BUT NOT IN MY EYES. I LOVE STANLEY PINES (even if I go by "Sixer"). Stanley Pines deserves the world and is a fun caretaker for both Soos Ramirez and Dipper and Mabel Pines. And his story is delightfully tragic. Love them so much!

Danny Phantom - Desire She is my favorite villain. Manipulating wishes is my jam.

[sitp-recs]

Hi Liv! Ignore me if your inbox is already full of requests 😬 I’ve noticed you seem to like Charlie as much as I do, and I think he’s the perfect example of how fandom has taken canon and completely made it our own. JKR may have given him a name and place in the Weasley family, but fandom creators have turned him into such an interesting character and he’s one of my favorite side characters to pop up in Drarry fics. What are your thoughts on Charlie? And if you don’t mind, could you rec some fics with Charlie in them? Whether he’s a prominent side character, or even if there’s just a particular Charlie scene that stood out to you :)

Hello lovely, thanks for the ask! I’m right there with you, I love seeing Charlie (or any Weasley, really) get some appreciation. His fanon version as this chill, kind, hot dude who happens to be the ultimate queer icon and triggers Harry’s sexual awakening is delicious! I ship him with just about anyone as you’ll see below, lol. These are some of my favorite fics - they’re all pretty smutty and I’m not even sorry, lol. I’m sure I’ve mentioned 90% of them at some point, so I’m sorry if you know them already 😬

love on high by tryslora (2015, E, 1.3k) - Charlie/Draco

Charlie loves to take Draco up on dragon back and fuck him high above the ground.

trust by @onbeinganangel (2021, E, 1.5k) - Charlie/Harry

Charlie knows now that being a brat is Harry’s nature. Harry knows he’ll get something out of it. Which doesn’t mean Charlie won’t make him suffer for it.

The Gladdest Thing Under the Sun by @tackytigerfic (2019, E, 1.7k) - Charlie/Neville

Neville and Charlie had been friends for long enough that he knew exactly how Charlie fought, and how he fucked. He knew he could have taken Charlie home if he wanted to - he had seen enough of Charlie’s conquests to know that he was Charlie’s type, and he had drunk and danced and laughed with Charlie enough to feel the flare and heat of his interest. Or: Neville wants Charlie for good, not just for the night.

Together by @primavera-cerezos (2019, E, 2.4k) - Charlie/Harry/Draco

Harry tells Draco about his history with Charlie. Draco asks Harry to invite Charlie over. They get together.

Good Uncle, Bad Uncle (Except They're All Dreadful) by Lokifan (2016, E, 2.4k) - Charlie/Lily Luna/Bill. Tw: incest

Bill and Charlie know what really makes a family Christmas.

(Don’t) Behave by @shiftylinguini (2016, E, 3.3k) - Charlie/Teddy

Teddy is a bit of a mess, and Harry is at his wits’ end with his eighteen-year-old godson. Sending him to Charlie, thinking the older man could knock some sense into the kid, seemed like a great idea. Charlie, however, thinks Teddy is just fine as he is—more than fine, in fact.

Settling It the Grown-Up Way by tamlane (2014, E, 3.5k) - Charlie/Ginny/Ron. Tw: incest

Ron and Ginny have a fight. Charlie intervenes. Kinky stuff happens.

Home for the Holidays by @gracerene09 (2017, E, 4k) - Charlie/James Sirius. Tw: incest

Charlie was expecting a normal holiday season at home, surrounded by food, laughter, and the warm embrace of family. He didn't count on James taking that last bit quite so literally.

Tonight Let's Get Some by @writcraft (2019, E, 4.6k) - Harry/Charlie

Harry discovers private karaoke rooms are great for blow jobs, gets a crash course in Muggle music and hopes that One Direction songs are the way to Charlie Weasley’s cock heart.

how to win (despite yourself) series by curiouslyfic (2011, E, 4.8k) - Charlie/Draco, Charlie/Draco/Harry

Charlie knows he's only got Draco until Harry makes his move. Just, Charlie's gotten attached now and Draco's not easy to give up.

Use My Last Breath (to say I love you) by @cassiaratheslytherpuff (2020, E, 6k) - Harry/Charlie

Harry loves the way Charlie's hands feel around his neck. He's not sure how to feel about the tiny dragon or the long-distance relationship.

One, Two, Three by @gracerene09 (2017, E, 6k) - Harry/Draco/Charlie

He and Draco had talked about it before, inviting somebody else into their bed for the night, but it had only ever been in theory. Tonight, Draco seemed set on making it a reality.

Have You Ever? by @doubleappled (2019, E, 9k) - Charlie/Harry

Half a lifetime ago, Harry spent an awful summer in Romania with Charlie Weasley. Now, he’s determined to follow up on the seeds that were planted back then.

Putting Charlie Right by mindabbles (2018, E, 9k) - Charlie/Teddy

Teddy is good at his job. He can take the most disorganised, poorly maintained record keeping system and have it pass any audit within weeks. Teddy is very, very good at his job, and he’d be able to prove that fact if Charlie wasn’t bent on distracting him.

Heat by iamisaac (2017, E, 10k) - Charlie/Teddy, A/B/O dynamics

When Teddy comes of-age, he discovers that while he didn't inherit his father's lycanthropy, he did inherit his omega traits. Charlie, as an alpha, is more than happy to help him through.

Time and Place series by @ruinsplume (2016, E, 11k) - Charlie/Sirius, Charlie/Remus/Sirius

Remus and Sirius need to spice things up.

Sweet and Crafty, Soft and Sly by tamlane (2013, E, 11k) - Charlie/nieces. Tw: incest

When Charlie's nieces decide to make him the guest of honor at their slumber party, he finds he's in no position to argue.

Closure is a state of mind by @quicksilvermaid (2020, E, 12k) - past Harry/Charlie, Harry/Draco. Tw: MCD, hurt!fic

After Harry's husband Charlie is killed, his Mind Healer recommends a Polyjuice therapy company, so Harry can see 'Charlie' again and find closure over his death. Draco, whose life over the last ten years has gone from bad to worse, gets assigned Potter's case.

Charlie Weasley's Fuck Autobiography by @lqtraintracks (2014, E, 14k) - Charlie/Teddy/Harry/Draco, Charlie/Bill. Tw: incest

Charlie doesn't think that this is his Fuck Autobiography. But it so is.

Fire on the Mountain (Run, boy, run) by cryptonym (2014, E, 25k) - Charlie/Draco

Charlie is just trying to get on with life post-war with his beloved dragons and forget. Draco just wants to get out of England and somehow manages to wangle his way into a placement on the reserve. Charlie doesn't expect him to last a week, but his dedication, perseverance, and obvious love of dragons are impressive, and it doesn't hurt that he has a damn fine arse. Charlie's just not sure he can trust Draco.

This is Never Happening Again by hpleems (2018, M, 32k) - Harry/Charlie, endgame Drarry

“Potter,” Malfoy said, shaking his head. “Do I look like I care about your holiday plans? Trust me: this is *never* happening again.”

Grounds for Divorce by @tepre (2019, E, 122k)

Malfoy finds a coin. Harry finds a letter.

Licurici by louisfake (2021, E, 133k) - Harry/Draco/Charlie

Charlie wanted Harry, but he’d never planned on having him. He’d never planned on Draco Malfoy, either. He hadn’t planned on anything but living out his days in Romania, with his friends and his dragons and his safe, peaceful distance.

Little Spaces by @dracoladon and @lazywonderlvnd (2020, E, WIP)

Draco's back from France and working on the spell damage ward at St Mungo's with Hermione, who invites him over for dinner. Without telling Harry.

[elenyafinwe]

Underneath The Silence

His musings were interrupted by a booming voice.

"Sensei!"

Tobirama raised his head and was confronted with the somewhat alarming sight of an Akimichi rushing towards him. Still the same wild brown hair, the same headscarf and the same drawings on the full cheeks. This could only be Torifu, thirty-five years older and at least three times as big, but unmistakably him.

Before he knew it, Tobirama found himself in a bone-crushing embrace and his feet lost contact with the ground. He gasped, but Torifu ignored all his protests to put him down again.

"I knew it!" exclaimed Torifu. "I knew it, that this old wolf here wouldn't let a few ridiculous foxes from Kumogakure get him down!"

"I must insist that you let go of my patient at once!", Fuyuko ruled him. "I don't feel like patching him up from pieces again."

A little glimpse of my current WIP, I’ve already rambled about it here. As I’ve thought I switched the title to a Nightwish refference. Underneath The Silence is a line from How’s the Heart? and from now on I will tag my posts for that text with this title.

(I���M GOING TO SEE THEM LIVE THIS SATURDAY, AHHH!!!)

(Whatever Emppu is doing here.)

So, anyway. I’m about 9k into the text (instead of writing my Founders Week stuff) and I have no idea how long it will be. But long. That’s for sure. So far I have the setup made and Tobirama gets accustomed to the new Konoha 35 years later. Pood dude gets pestered by his doctor, Fuyuko, who thinks that he’s an insufferable prick (not wrong), but can’t say it out loud. Tobirama really should listen to her more.

You’ll also get an old acquaintance from my Butterfly Verse, tho this text is not linked to it. But I got attached to Okami. She’s mom shaped and fluffy, I had to put her in here.

Okay, maybe some key facts for this project for those wondering what this is about: Underneath The Silence is a time travel fix-it, where Tobirama messes up a new experimental Hiraishin seal and lands in Konoha, which was indeed his destination, but he did not intend to skip 35 years. This saves him from the Kinkaku force tho, but only barely. This again is Minato’s luck, because that will save him from Kyubi (sorry, Kushina, but I ignore Boruto as well as this Hagoromo bullshit, meaning you still die when Kurama is ripped from you and I need some angst and hurt.) The text is just one big excuse to try writing TobiMina (or MinaTobi, still don’t know) slow burn and with slow I mean slow. Minato’s fliriting method will be passive aggressively attaching himself to Tobirama and refusing to let go. Danzo probably gets yeeted, because I hate that dude (I’m a bit predictable in this matter, but heeey).

I have many ideas so far what I can do with that story. Also the fact that this will have ftm trans Kakashi, who is Tobirama’s grandson. Kakashi is fucked up as hell because of that whole matter with Obito and Rin and Tobirama is as bad with kids as always, but somehow they get together. I know that fanon has it, that Tobirama tends to collect kiddos, but I always imagined that he’s actually terribly awkward around them and it was actually Hashirama’s idea to make him a teacher by shoving baby Saru in his arms.

I also have ideas™ for Shisui and especially Itachi, but won’t tell you more about it. That’s a RAFO! 😎 Oh, aaand.... what if agender Shisui 😇

Here I am, working on the fifth (!!) novel length text for this year and indulging myself in the illusion that I was happy with my token het Minato headcanon. I thought that MinatoKushina was the only canon het pairing I’m vibing with. But apparently no. I have to make even that gay.

[thehollowprince]

I have truly grown to hate shipping. Between every fandom having at least one ship that ruins it for everyone, to people fetishizing mlm relationships, to queerbating, which is a serious issue when it happens, being turned into a buzz word thrown around for whenever two straight (usually white) men don't bang when they want them to, it's just become a shit show. It's no longer a fun fandom thing. It's entitled fans, that throw temper tantrums, and sometimes even send death threats, because they didn't get what they want. I hate it.

Oh, you're preaching to the choir!

I've said this multiple times over the last few years, but shipping culture is ruining fandom for so many people. Far more often than not anymore, if you were to enter a fandom space for a show or book or movie, because you thought the premise was interesting or you loved the story, only to find that all the majority of that fandom space cares about is the ships... be they canon or not. That's all anyone seems to care about anymore.

Take The Falcon and The Winter Soldier as a recent example. The storyline was good (if a little heavy on the propaganda) but if you were to go through the fandom tags, most of what you'd see is people gushing about Sambucky and how they were so in love over and over and over again. Now, I know not everyone was doing this in a malicious way, or even trying to make that the center of what the show was about - we were just working with what we were given - but the amount of people intent on ignoring the relationship that Sam and Bucky had on screen in order to prop up the one created by the fandom was still a lot. Hell, it even got to a point by the second episode where many fans were accusing Marvel of "queerbaiting" them, tossing out the word as a means to invoke an emotional response and get people to side with them on this issue that wasn't an issue.

I even made a post about how it wasn't queerbaiting and how tossing that word out whenever fandom was inconvenienced was doing more harm that good.

They did the same thing with Stucky, focusing more on the fanon relationship than anything that actually happened on screen between the two of them. They took that one line "I'm with you til the end of the line" and made it their catchphrase, repeating it so much that I wanted to scream.

The thing that made it all the more frustrating was the fact that I liked those ships. I liked what was there between Sam and Bucky, or Steve and Bucky, or even Steve and Sam, but I couldn't go into a fandom space to talk about those characters without the conversation quickly being diverted to the ships themselves. I could make a post right now about Sam's arc in TFATWS and how he went from rejecting the shield and mantle of Captain America to embracing it and actively taking both by the end, and it would quickly be taken over by the thought of how instrumental Bucky was to all of that and how he motivated Sam and so on and so forth.

And that's not to say that those things aren't true, but sometimes I just want to talk about a singular character without bringing shipping nonsense into it.

Same thing happened with the Buddie (and to a lesser extent, Tarlos) fandom. I like both Buck and Eddie on 9-1-1, but whenever you mention either character, all the fandom does is scream about how they're queerbaited because these two are going at it on screen. Oliver Stark, the actor who plays Buck, recently deleted his entire Twitter because of the shippers that were tweeting at him and in his DMs, talking about how Buddie had better be canon by the end of the season.

That's not healthy!

Let's talk about Teen Wolf for a minute, as I usually do when this topic comes up. For years, even to this day, people are convinced they were queerbaited with this show when it came to the ship of Sterek. A ship created between two characters that hardly shared any screentime in the first season (and even less when you take Scott out of the picture) that somehow took over the fandom. It took over the fandom to the extent that they started making things up, either scenarios that happened "off screen" (Stiles helping Derek look for Boyd and Erica/Stiles hanging out with Peter playing chess) or even assassinating characters ("Scott is a bad friend") all in order to make their ship more palatable, especially for the "fans" who relied on blogs for this content and never actually watched the show.

Hell, I saw this...

... today, not even two hours ago, almost four years after the show ended, and six years after one half of this ship left rhe show. The shipping got so bad, consumed the fandom to such a degree, that they have utterly convinced themselves that they were the victims of this whole thing, all because a ship that they made up didn't happen on screen. The way they throw around the word queerbaiting, completely ignorant of its meaning and how harmful it is when it's actually done, all while ignoring the canon gay characters of this show is just further proof how how shipping has changed fandom.

Its no longer about just liking a thing, it's become this whole thing that some people have made into their entire personality.

It's why I always hesitate to call myself a shipper, or to say that I ship something, because the immediate connotation when someone says that is that that's the only reason why they're here.

Shipping Culture is the Death of Fandom.