#Not the RIGHT fannish stuff

[theirwolfbicanthrope]

fuck it. I cannot DO anything atm, not even donate. my layoff is either ending soon or I'll be fired who knows I don't (it's probably just my work anxiety but I let it linger so if it's right i'm not blindsided).

diving deep into the brainrot today. the nosferatu hyperfixation might not fix me but it will keep me distracted for a while and I need that.

can you guess i'm going thru a 'hey so enjoying the things you enjoy instead of wallowing in your helplessness is bad' funk today?

[burinazar]

:( patheticposting

nearly literally reduced to tears rn by how overwhelmingly it feels like nobody cares what I make or like or think about and how meaningless any of my creativity and love and effort is

[kuwdora]

the urge....

to rewatch season 3 and chew more on my feelings about what i liked and didn't like.

to finish one of my fic wips.

to start a new witcher vid.

to catch up on all my exciting fics in my to-read tabs.

to keep cruisin' through my reread of baptism of fire.

why can't i do it all at the same time? omg not to mention I don't think I ever finished Blood and Wine DLC (just a continuation of 'me having a hard time finishing things'...) i love it all. but. aaaaaaahhhh.

[dduane]

I read a lot to my mum (mostly fanfic, but also novels), since we birth enjoy it. And our current pick is Spock‘s World (which I already read SO OFTEN, because I love it), and we are having a ton of fun. Still at the very beginning, but the details about how Starfleet works here, the tech, the politics… Damn, it’s great. And just - the Vulcan chapters??? They live in my head rent free.

Usually I only get to leave comments like this with fanfic, but I remembered your tumblr, so - thank you very much from me AND my mother, we are having a great time with your work

You're very kind! Thank you. I'm glad the both of you are enjoying my stuff!

...Not least because I've frankly got a soft spot for that book, despite it causing me a lot of trouble. ...Though possibly also because it caused me a lot of trouble. I'm assuming you may have heard the story (full version here: tl:dr version follows) about how, while I was (I thought!) finishing it up a couple of weeks before its turn-in date, lightning struck a transformer in our little housing estate. The resultant voltage surge fried my computer and all the document backups then in its drive(s). I wound up having to rewrite about half of that book from memory—because there were no printouts of most of that material—and then write from scratch, and polish, the remaining 20K or so needed to complete the book. All in two weeks. (Because the pre-pub publicity for the book was in place, and the pub date was set in stone, with no wiggle room.)

So I got the book in under the wire... but my back's never been quite right since then. Sure, when the book came out it spent eight weeks on the NYT list... but the moral of our story remains: Never speed-rewrite a novel in a straight-backed chair. 😏 [ow, ow, ow, ow...]

Meanwhile, those Vulcan chapters: Those are probably my favorite parts too. It made my heart bleed when, due to length/timing issues, I had no choice but to exclude all of them for the audiobook.* However, at least I got to hear Leonard Nimoy reading the dialogue I wrote for him—and George Takei reading everything else. If somebody had traveled back in time and told sixteen-year-old me, then descending into full-on Trek fannishness, that some day Spock himself (and Mr. Sulu) would say things I told him to... I'd have passed out cold in amazement. Or dismissed it as delusion. (smh) What a world we live in.

Anyway: thanks for the nice words! And do enjoy the book. :)

*It does a bit more bleeding when I consider that had that production been happening now, the extra length wouldn't be considered an issue. But audiobooks were just getting started then, and no one wanted to spend more on them than necessary. (shrug) Just one of those things...

[annerbhp]

If you would but indulge this fandom elder for a few moments, I'd like to point out a few things that I think can make all of our fannish experiences on this hellsite (affectionate) so much more joyful.

Try not to treat yourself or others as "content-providers."

This happens when you allow yourself to be influenced by real or imagined expectations and demands of others. "But I know people want..." "But people would expect me to..." "But they might not like it if I..." "It's been too long since I've written/posted anything..." "What if people get upset if I..." These are the joy killers. The only questions you should ask yourself when posting stuff to tumblr (or not) is "does this bring me joy right now?" and "would this cause harm?" That's it. You can also tag liberally so people can block stuff if they want. That's also a nice thoughtful thing to do. But try not to let the nebulous concept of "people"--your followers, your readers, the internet at large, or whatever--become a bogeyman in your own head. Most of us already have enough internal critics trying to trip us up at any given moment. Try not to invent more.

Treating others as "content-providers" happens if you send asks or comments to someone on this site demanding more content of a specific type, or insinuating that you are entitled to something from that person. You are communicating to that person that they only have value as a content-provider, and only when providing whatever it is you want. This is dehumanizing and ignores the thousands of reasons that person might choose to be here. Tumblr is not a subscription service. No one is paying for anything here. Most people here are just doing stuff that makes them joyful and we are lucky enough that sometimes they share it with us too!

2. Fandom is not a marriage.

The concept of "being in a fandom" is actually incredibly nebulous, as it should be! There is nothing you need to do or declare to be "in a fandom." There is no minimum threshold of love, or time, or interaction, or "production." It's just a feeling. A place. A space that brings joy. (And sometimes, heartbreak, but that's another topic all together.)

Fandom is also not a marriage. You can't cheat on a fandom. You do not have to have formal divorce proceedings and let go of one fandom before messing around with another one. There's no such thing as fandom infidelity. Neither is fandom a job. You don't have to give two weeks' notice. You don't have to post public intent on the town hall. You're not banned once you step out, never to return. You can "take a break" without any moral implications or risk of becoming the focus of a pop culture debate about whether or not you were justified to mess around with another fandom during that time. You can leave a fandom and never go back, all without having to consciously decide to do so. You can fall out of love with a fandom and then fall back in love with it later. It's not a marriage/job! There are no rules!

3. Take ownership and curate your own experience.

If there is a thing, or a blog, or a person who once brought you joy, but on balance no longer does, or makes you more disappointed or annoyed or upset than not, you do not have to keep interacting with them/it. Following someone on tumblr is also not a marriage. You can follow/unfollow as you like, no harm, no foul. It's just curating your personal joy, and I hope we will always wish each other the best with that. If you are scared of "missing out on something," then you will either need to block tags enough to make it enjoyable, or decide unfollowing is worth the risk if it makes you too unhappy to keep following!

The ultimate thing is, it's up to you to curate your fannish experience. It is not up to the person you are following to change to fit your expectations or hopes. (See point #1.) You can feel ways about this, of course! But those are your feelings, which are yours to handle. Do not put them on the other person. Do not send them asks demanding things or lashing out. It won't make you feel better and it definitely won't get you what you are looking for, unless your actual aim is to kill the joy of another person so you are not upset alone. In that case I'm not sure what to tell you other than you might want to spend some time meditating on that one and think about if that's really the kind of person you want to be. Or if this kind of space is actually good for you.

That's it for now. Thank you for indulging me. Don't be a dick on the internet, friends. Take no shit and do no harm. Take care of yourselves! 💕

[vaguely-concerned]

UNHINGED DISTANT VOICES THOUGHTS (or: now we don't have time to unpack all of that julian but --)

this ep has such a banger concept (several banger concepts that should have had an ep all to themselves, really), even if its overall implementation is pretty mid. the idea that julian seems to readily believe that the most central voices inside him are aggression, fear/suspicion, doubt, confidence/sense of adventure, professionalism... and garak, being surprisingly, seductively good at tennis and taking care of him :}

in a doylist perspective I don't think this is well-crafted enough to read into it too deeply before it starts to fall gently apart, but through a watsonian lens and my fannish heart this is fucking fascinating fdsjka. where. where are all the positive feelings and sides of you that aren't about bickering with garak julian. are you okay julian. I like that since the augment storyline hadn't been conceived of yet at this point, you could look back and justify Julian's surge of confidence at the end as him realizing the lethean hasn't been able to get that deep in his mind to find what that whole mess must look like in his brain. 'you don't understand me half as well as you think you do' gains such depth, basically accidentally

'I'm a part of you, remember? I know what you know. Well... maybe a little more.'

'Still the man of mystery?'

'Oh, you wouldn't have me any other way.'

what. the FUCK fhdskjha. what's more gay, the lethean having picked through bashir's brains for this characterization of garak and their relationship (that Bashir easily buys and depends on through the ep), or him seeing half a minute max of julian and garak having lunch and uh. drawing his own conclusions, apparently. wild stuff)

Isn't this also the first time we see Julian actually play tennis with someone? All the other times it's been racquetball, right? Well well. Interesting. is all I'll say.

avery brooks does SUCH a good job changing his voice in this to match julian's doctor voice, I almost jumped in surprise when he was talking b/c that certainly isn't sisko's voice coming out of sisko's mouth

garak alternatingly going 'now -- what do you want me to do?' in a very... willing directable sort of way and telling julian that he's a good boy doing good and being so supportive and attentive and that's how the lethean tries to keep julian's shields down the longest. many thoughts. few of them PG.

JULIAN'S REASONING THAT THIS REALLY ISN'T GARAK -- NOT EVEN HIS MIND'S VERSION OF GARAK -- IS THAT THIS GARAK ISN'T COMPETENT ENOUGH FSDKJFHKSDJ. and he sounds so petulant about it too. 'the real garak would have this fixed for me a long time ago if I just batted my eyelashes and told him I thought cylon pareg's body of work was very interesting and layered :'( I miss him'

jazdia julian BROtp got me crying in quark's tonight, this was such a good direction to take that relationship. I know they kind of fuck it up again in s7 but y'know I'll take the good stuff while it's here haha

julian makes for such an amazing crotchety old man im love him

julian has a near-lethal stress dream about turning 30 and being bisexual. it's weird but very entertaining, and garak is there

[holopossums]

Fandom challenge: Learn to indulge in and appreciate creative fanworks for what they are currently, without any sort of promise of more later.

Support unfinished, work-in-progress art, fic, etc. Have the attitude of "if it slaps, it slaps". Do not withhold praise/positive interaction to the creator or our enjoyment of their work out of fear of getting attached only to not get more.

When we come across unfinished and/or abandoned fanworks, we must find peace with the fact that this is all there is. Learning to deal with having no conclusions or closure isn't just necessary for media enjoyment, whether fannish or official, it's necessary for life itself. Things end all the time - people die, we break off relationships and friendships, people move away, places and events close down. And sometimes we don't get closure. We have to create it ourselves by finding inner peace.

And I think all that applies to fandom stuff too. People cannot stand the lack of closure of a fan-made work either. And I can tell that it's due to emotional immaturity, because these people do not know how to accept lack of closure or lack of more material over even the tiniest things like another person's fanwork.

We gotta stop obsessing over completedness of other fans' stuff like a bunch of entitled weirdos. That's someone's hobby, after all. Something that they do for themself and not us, in their free time, for free. What right do we have to expect anything from them? They shared with us something they made when they didn't even have to.

And I feel like people get so wrapped up in what's supposed to hopefully come as a way to sate their interests and boredom that they kinda... ignore the miracle that anything was made and shared at all? Like they wholly forget appreciating what's there.

The lack of appreciation for what's already been given because the focus is only on getting more, more, more really cramps my style. I won't be entertaining such attitudes. Not now or ever. And I will call people out on it, even friends, until it stops. We need to be better than this.

[zigraves]

Iiiiiit's TAFF voting time!

(what's TAFF?)

TAFF is the Trans Atlantic Fan Fund, a fan-run fund that every year helps cover the costs to send someone from Europe to North America to attend the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), or vice versa.

It's been running for 70 years now, with many TAFF delegates writing trip reports so you can read about intercontinental fannish friendships across the decades right here.

Anyone can be a candidate for the funds of TAFF, as long as they've been active in fandom for at least a couple of years and can find five people who'll support their nomination (sorry lurkers), and similarly anyone can vote in the TAFF race as long as they're an active member of the fannish community and donate a small amount to support the fan fund. (sorry again, lurkers). Fannish activity can include going to traditional sci fi conventions, but it also includes vidding, and fanfic writing, and doing podcasts and reviews about the fannish stuff you care about, and running community events like exchanges, and putting out zines.

(why are you telling me this?)

Well, partly, because it's very cool and I think you should know about it, and I think you should have the opportunity to run in future years. I think it's important to keep these cultural ties, and to have a chance to meet new people and go places you might never otherwise have gone. I think this kind of intergenerational friendship support across the decades is an important part of our history as fan communities. I think you should run, and I might even be able to nominate and support you.

...

but also because I'm a candidate this year, and would like you to spend the cost of a small coffee to support the fan fund and vote for me.

You can also vote for one of my competitors if you like, but don't you want to upend my whole summer and send me to Seattle? Sure you do!

[arcane-ish]

Okay, so about Mel

I have a lot of Mel fans on my "following" list, so know I'm on a different place than most of them. I thought I would still sit down as a more casual Mel enjoyer and try to explain why I listed Mel as one of the better things in the last arc and genuinely read her as having one of the better arcs.

First let me say, I think I get some of the disappointment. There apparently was a lot of acrimony in fandom. And there sadly is often always a lot of bitching about being right. It's also one of those really annoying instincts for fannish people to value being right or getting character/ship payoff over quality. The kind of crappy shows or reasons I've seen people defend just because their ship was in it.

And I include myself within that. Two of my favorite ships, Timebomb and Zaundads got some stuff, and that has deeply clouded my perception of the season, even though my more neutral opinion is that season 2 was extremely spotty.

I get that from "I had to fight people in fandom" point of view, Act 3 sucked. I get that from a personal fan engagement point of view, it is always easier to stay excited and produce media if have a ship to hold on to rather than just being the fan of a singular character.

I'm kind of in a special situation, that I've always lowkey not liked Jayce and really only found him tolerable around Mel. I thought the beginning of Act 3 was still reasonably respectful to them. They protect each other, they do a couple fight with each other.

Yes it's weird that Jayce brings up now of all times to complain about the past, but for me that was pretty much wrapped by them fighting together against Viktor. Then we have this moment where Mel explains her situation to Jayce, we have Jayce complimenting her. Honestly, before the last minutes went full on "zomg, looping timeline gifts and zapping into space together", I thought the MelJay was a bit muted, but decent enough in a finale that was generally super busy and where tons of other characters didn't have too deep writing either. But again, I see where characters wound up, completely changed people's perception of how they get there (ie that Mel and Jayce actually had a decent relationship throughout most of the show and that in my opinion both Jayce and Viktor always and Cait and Vi recently had some really spotty writing).

Somethign that is more easy for me to bear, because, like I said, I never liked Jayce that much, so it's easier for me to not care.

Everybody's Arc Was Kind Of Shit And Mel Was One Of The Better Ones

This is my basic premise of season 2. If I think of season 2, if I think of the characters who to me had the better arcs I come up with for example Sevika and Ekko.

They had better arcs because they stayed roughly in characters, formed some new relationships, got some badass moments and ended up in interesting places in the end. However both their arcs BRUTALLY suffered by lack of airtime and often missing from episodes or even arcs like Ekko.

I think Jinx had one of the better arcs, because it was very emotional and poignant, was constantly present, but even if felt choppy and all over the place at times and people are mixed on where it ended up.

I guess Jayce counts as somebody with a really meaty arc with lots of airtime, emotion, ending up in a different place, getting hero moments, saving the day etc. But like I said, I dislike Jayce too much to really think about whether his story was actually good this season.

I count Mel as among the better arcs, because she got at least semi-constent airtime, she imo stayed generally in character, she got to be badass, she ends up in a very interesting situation and they tried to be emotionally poigant with her and Ambessa. (her killing Ambessa giving major Jinx and Silco vibes even if the context was completely different) The pain of Mel's storyline has always been that she was a bit isolated from other characters, so I was happy that she at least got a badass fight together with Caitlyn. [honestly, in retrospect it's noteworthy that Mel got that spot with Caitlyn rather than Caitlyn fighting side by side with either her love Vi or her nemesis Jinx]

Just getting a badass fight isn't the same as actually getting poignant moments and developing a relationship with new characters. So that was definitely missing. People are just prone to not care as much about Mel's relationship with Ambessa, LeBlanc or Kino because from the point of view of the audience those are side or new characters and the audience only cares if the show really puts a ton of work in like in the case of Isha.

Overall the gist of Mel's storyline to me is that it seemed to be very League dictated. It's the origin story of Mel as a badass fighter, it sets up her character premise.

TBSkyen, a well known content creator in the League of Legends space, "reacted" to Arcane and he got quite angry at the finale, exclaiming something along the lines of "I thought this was gonna be a closed story, that the characters would complete their stories. But these stories are not complete, this is a sequel tease".

And that's exactly why Mel's story feels unfinished. She feels like she's part of that sequel tease (together with Cait looking at those strange map, maybe hinting at an alive Jinx).

There's a chance that Mel will get a proper resolution. But to be honest. I can't promise that. Maybe she'll get a badass Noxus based either animated or live action sequel... but we might have to wait 5-10 years for it.

Maybe the "Ambessa" novel is actually 95% about her. Maybe she will get a badass intro trailer like Ambessa. But I'm not gonna lie, even if the next season of League will be heavily Noxus based and they make heavy use of Mel in it. I'm not gonna lie, League's story telling can be very, very spotty. And even when it is decent, not everybody is particularly into collecting their infomation from short stories, splash arts, music vids, in game voice lines.

[jariten]

Roundup-catch up: October 2024!!

Sooooo close to catching up now. October I was just trying to get through it but as always gotta make the time to read.

Z-chan by Shingo Iguchi I first learned about in the book Dream Land Japan by Frederick L Schodt. A lot of the works he highlighted in that book actually remain untranslated or only got one recently (I had actually forgotten he did a spotlight on Murasaki Yamada!) Z-Chan was one of the works that got a spotlight, having initially run in Garo as part of a larger multimedia arts project by Iguchi. The surreal story of Z-Chan and the mouse Richard Sex operates on multiple levels and parallel worlds with with a serialized novella about the little gnome people with colored hats who live in parallel to Z-Chan inserted between or on top of the manga itself. A really beautiful and innovative use of the comic form, with an ending that will stick with me for a long time going forward. The Lotus edition which I read is to my knowledge the "complete" version including the appearance of the bear named Baron.

Otaku Vampire's Love Bite by Julietta Suzuki just strted its english language run. And while it isn't a high school romance but made me remember how I don't really have any fantasy romcoms in my life right now so its a beyond welcome presence. I feel like I'm in good hands with Julietta Suzuki, Kamisama Kiss was very formative for me but I didn't keep up with any of her follow up work. I really like the art style she's adopted now and the humor and clashing personalities is just what I'm hoping for. Cynically though this opening volume is a rather interesting illustration on how participation in otaku culture is increasingly consumer oriented. So in volume 1 I'm like mister male lead not very taken by the titular otaku vampire's fannish behavior as must confide in all honesty, find it to be kinda sucker behavior to do what she does which is filling her home with the low effort plastic merch the animanga industry is pumping out in dizzying amounts but I'm hoping the later volumes will get more into the creative, social, or community building aspect of being a fan that I do find to be a more interesting angle to the culture. But its funny and I'm interested in seeing how her world of vampires will intersect with our world in the upcoming volumes.

Natsuko Taniguchi has been extremely productive these past few years and there's even more stuff from her back catalogue waiting for me. And she got 2 ongoing serials! The one I want to highlight (as I havent read the second yet lol) is Jaa Anta ga Tsukutte Miro yo (Well, Why Don't You Try Making It) is one young man with an outdated chauvinistic mindset getting knocked to the present day when his cute, diligent, master of his beloved high effort japanese style dishes, girlfriend of many years suddenly dumps him. Autopsying the corpse of his shattered relationship quickly reveals that he's nitpicky and thankless behavior did him no favors. Forced with the reality of the situation he realized he must change, bc no Reiwa era woman wants a man stuck in the chauvinist Shouwa era.

What I like is how its not just His story, but Hers as well. His ex girlfriend is herself unpacking the culture of the good and perfect woman that she had completely immersed herself in. Her hair and clothes never strayed off trend, she strictly monitored how she behaved in front of men so they wouldn't be put off by her, never got along with other women especially ones who were bad at performing like she did. But it all changes once a young woman with a flashy style and "alien" like hair color crashes into her world and makes it just a bit bigger. I didn't stress it in the last roundup but social commentary is on the trend alert for manga in the 2020s and I'm really looking forward to see where it will go.

Like I've talked about before about veterans who just really know what they're doing... Tennen Kokekko by Fusako Kuramochi was made when she was 20 years in the industry. By this point she's a very early adopter of digital tools for art and the way she draws is near unrecognizable from her work in the 70's-80's. I wish the bunko covers were less plain because ohhh my god. To see someone play with layouts, techniques, and form while telling a beautiful but complicated coming of age story that isn't just the young protagonists' story but the adults' as well. My mistake is not talking about this series as I was reading it bc now I'm just way too overwhelmed about what I want to say that I can't get anything out aside from gushing but this work truly is by someone who really polished their storytelling abilities and never stopped challenging themselves artistically. Might make a spotlight post because the live action movie being the only thing that made it over to the english language truly does make me feel like we've deprived of something. Ooooooor it will appear in the queue 🙂‍↕️

[shadowmaat]

The Jedi Order: a different view

From what I can tell the overwhelming majority of fannish content regarding the Jedi, their Order, and their Temple, relies solely on content from the now-discontinued Legends.

I understand the urge since it gives fans a veritable feast of trauma and whump for Obi-Wan and can help underscore the belief that Anakin was a misunderstood, maligned pariah who was never good enough for anyone in the Order.

However. It does get a little... tiresome after a while. Oh, people do some incredible and cool things to try and "fix" the Order, but they still start with the belief that the Order needs fixing. I wanted to ignore all that and start fresh.

Right! So! I'll focus on the Jedi on Coruscant, since they're the most relevant to the picture. I'll also start with the Temple itself, since it IS where everyone lives.

THE TEMPLE

The Temple was founded millennia ago and has been building on ever since in an effort to keep up with the growth of the city around them. I'd be tempted to base that at ground level, or the nearest equivalent. Given how high up Coruscant has now become, that implies layers upon layers upon layers, and of course they aren't going to add one level at a time, it'll be multiples.

I would absolutely love to see some archaeology-focused stuff. Jedi explorers delving deeper and deeper into the Temple's depths, discovering lost and forgotten histories, artifacts, art, books, etc. And also notes from previous Jedi archaeologists who also delved down.

With that in mind I've decided that the "Room of a Thousand Fountains" is a vast misnomer. The Temple Gardens extend downward, encompassing previous Gardens and lovingly maintained not only by the Agricorp (who aren't limited to just crops), but also bunches of Jedi, outside gardeners, and of course specialists for the different regions/biomes. There are plants in the Temple that have gone extinct everywhere else in the universe (credit to RoosjeM's Temporary Temple Guards for making me think of this possibility).

The point is, the Gardens are ENORMOUS. There are fixes and workarounds for the issues of sunlight, and I imagine there's a water reclamation/sanitation/whatever system in place to make sure everything (and everyone) stays as hydrated as necessary. I betcha there are secret depths to the Archives, too. Maybe museums full of ancient starships that regrettably had to be walled up whenever the surrounding city got too tall.

Jedi come from nearly every sapient species imaginable, and some of them have specific environmental needs. I know I've seen plenty of fics where Plo Koon's quarters are specially sealed so he can breathe his homeworld's atmosphere and not need to worry about goggles and an anti-ox mask. I think it'd be more interesting if there were entire sections dedicated to (or easily converted to) different atmospheres. This is easier and a lot more convenient when, say, there are multiples of a species in the Temple. Sure, individual room conversions can be done, too, but having a whole mini "neighborhood" of your fellow [species] can be nice as well. Walk freely. Chat with neighbors unencumbered. Enjoy meals together. Communal stuff like that.

I also love the idea of water-filled corridors for the aquatic types. Like that one comic panel that showed naked Kit Fisto happily swimming by on his way to somewhere else. Maybe an underwater training salle so the aquatics can learn how to fight/use their sabers in those conditions.

Dining areas would also be spread throughout the Temple, with some being "generic" fare to feed a wide variety of the most common species and others having a more specific focus, both in terms of species and cuisine types. Open-access kitchen areas for those who want to cook their own food, but not in their own kitchen (MUCH better ventilation in the public spaces, for starters). Also vending machines and automats for those on the go. (This shows up in K_R_Closson's All the Roads We Walk Are Winding and was goddamn genius.)

THE JEDI

In my version of things, the Jedi are much more considerate than fandom generally depicts.

A Jedi can never "age out." While allowances can be made if someone with basic control skills wants to leave, or if they want to find their own path when they reach their species level of majority, no one is ever forced onto the streets or "dumped" into a place not of their own choosing.

When an Initiate enters the Temple the biggest themes they are taught are "Community" and "Choice." Community means that they will always have a home in the Temple, no matter what. They can leave and come back if they choose. There are no legitimate mistakes that can get you thrown out. Failing a class, or multiple classes, doesn't mean you don't belong, it means that you need a more tailored learning experience to help you reach your goals.

Starting at an early age, crèche clans are taken on a "tour" of the various service branches; each one maintains a presence within the Temple itself, not only to maintain connections with the Jedi as a whole, but also to make communicating their needs (to the Jedi, to the Senate, to various interests) easier. And there is always at least one person available to chat about what it is their branch does. I did a whole separate post exploring how varied the Service Corps could be.

As the initiates grow older, they're encouraged to do a work/study thing that matches with their interests and gives them a better taste for what a particular field is like. This can, and usually is, done many times so an Initiate can find the best fit. And if they can't find a good fit, that's fine, too; there's no time limit on choosing a career. In fact it isn't uncommon for a Jedi to switch paths, either within an individual branch (Consular to Sentinel) or an entirely different discipline (Seeker in ExplorCorp to Crèche Master in the Educorp).

The point is, there are always choices available. It isn't shameful to not be a Knight. In fact it's expected that most will choose paths that don't involve a lot of political juggling and aggressive negotiations (although politics do creep into every field).

The whole mess with the Jedi being beholden to the Galactic Senate is a bucket of eels I'm not willing to handle at the moment, but I figure this is a good start to pinning down my ideas and I may venture back if I think of anything else.

[olderthannetfic]

You know what obnoxious thing I keep seeing in fandom I wish would stop? This absolute need some people seem to have for their ship to be Representation in some way. Shipping is just imagining scenarios between two characters! You don’t need it to be a Special reason or whatever? I have a ship that is popular and people make weird vague comments about how the fandom is racist because both of them are white and there are other ship options that have poc so the white ship being big is a reflection on how racist the fandom is but the thing is…

Look I’m going to be real with y’all the fandom is for the game Detroit: Become Human and let’s just say the two major black characters are basically stereotypes written by a neocon lib boomer in a story that itself is imho…let’s call it tone deaf and corny af rather than overtly racist but yeah. Black folks on twitter regularly mock this game for good reason. It is very much a boomer white man’s idea of the civil rights movement but with robots. The robots sing actual slave hymns. The main character is essentially a light-skinned Martin Luther King Jr (dubbed Markus Luthur King by blktwt lol) and the religious allegories of him as a savior figure are very on the nose. It is bad lol. It’s not that I wouldn’t want to explore the black characters but the fandom is full of young white people singing the praises of this writing while patting themselves on the back about it which is genuinely uncomfortable to be around. Just my 2 cents but the virtue signaling and insane policing around those two characters makes it unbearable to interact with their content it is deeply sanitized and you WILL get death threats if you attempt any nuance or are critical of the (kinda racist imo) way they were written in canon.

The worst part of this is that Markus has a popular ship with a character a lot of people read or interpret as a more soft or femme gay man and you know what zoomers hate? Femme gay men. So obviously this is made to be ‘problematic’ in some way because these people can’t just admit to being femmphobic/homophobic themselves.

Sometimes it’s easier to stick with the boring white characters in the background because they aren’t being closely guarded by stupid reactionary people who are used to flashing their favorite fictional poc characters as tokens of their own goodness and virtue.

--

The pinnacle of this game is that moment when the black lady lectures her son about why they need to run the robot underground railroad to Canada.

I watched some playthroughs. Unsurprisingly, I liked the buddy cops with the good development, not the cringey activism plot with too many foils and not enough development of any single relationship and not the the Women Care About Babies plot.

But if I were going to do something fannish with Markus, I'd write him having a fucked up relationship with his mentor's son post game—the surrogate son who thought the guy was great and the estranged son who knew he wasn't but who has also done a bunch of shitty stuff himself.

It's especially hilarious when tryhards think the problem is not enough people shipping Markus with North as if the slashers are going to be into 1. het and 2. yet another unnecessary traumatic sex stuff backstory for a lady.

Even worse, half the whining isn't even about that Nines fanon nonsense being more popular than Markus: it's about how Markus/Connor would be better than Hank/Connor because old people are ew.

Sorry, children, a lot of people are here to thirst for Clancy Brown and because they'll turn up for any Caves of Steel ripoff. Other Connor ships were never in the running.

[letteredlettered]

Hi, I hope that question don't bother you, I heard about Gallaplacidia taking down her works, and that's hurt me a little. I don't blame her, I already preorder her novel, but the fact that one autor need to delete fanfiction in order to become a 'real' autor, and be taken seriously make me mad, because she is talented and she hasn't did anything that need to hide. I'd like to hear your thoughts about it.

thank you for your time and your lovely work

This ask is from two years ago. Sorry I'm so late.

I'm afraid that I don't know galla, I never read their fics, and I don't know anything about why they took them down. Maybe they explained themself, and your feelings are based on that explanation. But if they didn't explain themself, I wouldn't make assumptions about why they took down their fanfic.

People do it for lots of reasons when they get published. Sometimes fanfic is just a chapter is someone's life, and when they're done with that chapter, they want to close it as much as they can, like moving out of a house, taking pictures down from a wall. Sometimes people want to write ideas they've already posted, and their publishers actually prefer them to take down their stuff because they don't want anyone thinking they can just read the fanfic version for free, instead of a copyrighted version. Sometimes someone is writing YA and knows that their pro name could easily be linked to their fannish pen names, meaning that children who read their books could be searching about them and easily stumble across smut.

And then there's the fact that some fans (both fans of fanfic and fans of pro fic) are just disrespectful--both to fanfic writers and pro writers. And I could see being a professional author who is not keen on the idea of trying to sell her book, going to book festivals and book releases, and getting asked about fic, fic about characters you did not create and are no longer writing. It's happened before; it's a reasonable fear. Taking down your fic is a signal that that kind of interaction is not welcome and you have moved on.

And there are plenty of really tremendous fic writers who are also pro who did not take down their works. I think those are people who still want fandom to be a part of their lives, which is wonderful, but it also means they are willing to navigate all of the above. Some people just aren't, and that's okay. It's sad that they took their fics down, but it's their right to do it, and they should do what's good and healthy for them. It's not wrong and it's not hiding, and it's not necessarily because they didn't respect the fic they wrote or fandom as a whole. It's just not their thing any more.

All of that said, if anyone is putting their fics up on AO3 they are imo licensing you to save it as a pdf, so I would recommend you download all the fics that are your faves so you can read them on your own. Some authors will try to tell you that that is a horrible thing to do and disrespecting their wishes and their word or whatever, but I disagree (as long as you don't go about posting it anywhere else).

[sunnydale-digest]

Hi friends, you seem like the right people to ask? I really want to be more active in the BtVS fandom, do you know of any active communities, like discord servers I could join? I’m trying to find fannish events, fests, fanfic prompts etc but Tumblr search has been wildly unhelpful.

Certainly! :)

For Discord servers specifically, you can look in our "Discord" tag on sunnydale-digest. I see that some of those invites are expired, so you may have to contact the people who posted them - unless someone reading this post wants to hook you up with fresh Discord invites? We're set for the Buffyverse Discord Server and the Buffy/Giles and Buffy Femslash ones (these can be joined with no extra help by scrolling down the "Discord" tag to 2020).

For other communities and events, you can look in our "Announcement" tag (this will cover ones promoted or run on tumblr) or go to @sunnydaleherald and look in the [Community Announcements] section of individual newsletter posts. Not every sunnydaleherald post has Community Announcements, but the upside is the Herald covers all events we know of, not only those that have tumblr posts attached to them. Note that quite a few events recur yearly, so if you want to find out about all of them now, you'd have to scroll back a year or hope someone enlightens you in the replies of this post. Of course, you could alternatively keep track of new announcements using sunnydale-digest or sunnydaleherald and find new/recurring events as they come up in the future.

We have some prompts here.

You could also join a forum or a subreddit. There's BuffyForums, Buffy-Boards, r/buffy and r/ANGEL to name the most active ones that come to mind. Reddit has a bad reputation which is partially deserved, but I feel like the Buffyverse subreddits have really blossomed in the past few years. There's not only active discussion but a bunch of art and stuff on there.

Last of all, I don't know if you're an active commenter already, but what helped me become active in the BtVS fandom was a multifandom comment challenge, so one option would be to perhaps take some inspiration from @justleaveacommentfest if that helps (it's not currently running but often reblogs resources and encouragement and does run more often than the blog description makes it sound) and go to town on one or more of the archives where Buffyverse fanworks are found, such as archiveofourown.org, dark-solace.org/elysian, fanfiction.net, sunnydaleafterdark.com, tthfanfic.org or westofthestorm.com (presented alphabetically). If you'd like some recs to help you choose works to read / look at, I highly recommend checking out Buffyverse Top 5 on Dreamwidth, and for newer works we have a fic rec tag right here and also a "[Recs & In Search of]" section in sunnydaleherald posts.

Alright, everyone, what'd I miss? What are other good ways to become more active in the BtVS fandom? What events should OP consider? :)

- thenewbuzwuzz

[lynne-monstr]

QZGS Fanwork Rec Bingo 2022 (Roundup)

In late 2022, the QZGS fandom had a rec event. I posted each rec in its own post, and now two years later, I finally have a masterlist.

I added some new recs in addition to the original set. These were in my notes at the time, but I didn't get myself in order in time for posting. I'm very glad to be able to include them now.

Rec guidelines: I tried to limit myself to one fic per author. I did not always succeed. This list is heavily biased towards yuhuang and Blue Rain because that's where my fannish interest lies.

NSFW recs or fics with content warnings will be indicated on the rec itself.

Fanworks under the cut

Pre-canon - That Dream, Passing On by kaleidastra

Author’s summary: Fang Shijing celebrated Blue Rain's first championship; along with someone he never expect he'd meet again. Rec notes: This fic makes me so happy!! It’s chaotic and funny and emotional all at once, and manages to have a lovely emotional resolution while still sucker punching you in the face in the best way. I love all of FSJ’s internal narration. And have I mentioned it’s funny! Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters: Fang Shijing, Wei Chen; gen No content warning

A work from before 2020 - they're never hiking ever again please and thank by andthenabanana

Author’s summary: “This,” Zheng Xuan says between heavy breaths, “is not bonding.” Rec notes: Ahhhh this fic is so wonderful. Blue Rain goes on a hike and there are Shenanigans. Full of teasing and team bonding and Huang Shaotian being the best vice captain. This fic brings Blue Rain to life and gives great warm fuzzies. Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters: Blue Rain; gen No content warnings

Rare Relationship focused - One big exhale (never did me no good) by UndeadRobins

Author’s summary: Different players need different incentives to help them improve. It doesn’t take long for Xiao Shiqin to figure out what Sun Xiang needs. Rec notes: The xsq/sx fic of my dreams! Their live action dynamic was begging for a fic like this, and this one delivers!I love how the dynamic between them creeps up slowly until it fills the entire page. Truly a gem of a fic. Adaptation: Live Action/Novel Characters: Xiao Shiqin/Sun Xiang Contains: light D/s, rated m

Glory focused - china's sword and curse by snoflakesun

Author’s summary: It… it could’ve been a fluke, or just a lucky moment. This was what most of the audience thought. Perhaps he had seen Yu Wenzhou’s screen, or maybe the mic didn’t pick up what he had said. But all of the pro players knew, this definitely wasn’t something that happened by chance. Rec notes: They’re partners your honor!!! Um I love everything about this. Fun banter, teamwork, and Huang Shaotian gets to trash talk as much as he wants! So much fun! I am a sucker for yuhuang synergy and fun battles and this delivers on everything. Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters:/Ships: Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotuan, Sun Xiang, Zhou Zekai; Yuhuang No content warnings

A fic longer than 10k - Memorable by Saxifactumterritum

Author’s summary: Huang Shaotian’s retirement is announced to the world at the last moment, right at the end of the season, but Blue Rain know about it a long time before that. Huang Shaotian retires, everyone expects him to stick around Blue Rain, but he doesn't. And then it's sad. Rec notes: Sad retirement fic 😭😭😭. My favorite thing about this fic (besides all the feelings and character stuff and friendships and OCs and everything else) is the very realistic look it takes about what happens when people move away. It’s so easy to pretend nothing will change but the truth is that it does, and it takes work to maintain those connections at a distance. The journey Huang Shaotian (and Blue Rain) take when Huang Shaotian leaves is, in turns, sad and sweet and funny and it feels like getting punched in the gut in the best way. Adaptation: Live Action Characters/Pairing: Huang Shaotian, Yu Wenzhou, Blue Rain; background yuhuang No content warnings

One of your favorite tropes - my baby brings heat like a mama does by wolframvonbielefeld

Author’s summary: GLORY FORUM POST #89566: huang shaotian is NOT in love with yu wenzhou. false alarm. Rec notes: A bit “idiots to lovers,” a bit “didn’t know they were dating,” and a whole lot of mutual pining and also friendships! This fic is just so much fun! Bonus for one of my all time favorite visual moments with huang shaotian getting caught (bewildered) holding a massive tub of lube. Brilliant, a masterpiece. The fic is unfinished, but I believe it’s just the epilogue that isn’t posted, and the existing fic delivers on emotional resolution. So even if you avoid WIPs, I still recommend this one. Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters/Ships: Yu Wenzhou/Huang Shaotian, various pros Contains: NSFW (Rated Explicit), sexually explicit, omegaverse

Free Space - Out With the Old and in With the New by smallspace 

Author’s summary: Everything is swapped! The avatars are playing a slice of life tabletop roleplaying game where they are the players and the esports pros are the characters. But not everyone wants to play the same character forever. Here is a series of snapshots of avatars changing their characters. Rec notes: What a fun idea! The way the TKA storyline is adapted for the swap is so clever, and the humor is top notch. I laughed all the way through (except for the knife part 😭😭) Adaptation: Donghua/Novel/Live Action Characters: avatar and player ensemble; gen No content warnings

Post-Canon - at the edge of a new leaf by GeniusCactus

Author’s Summary: Wang Jiexi and Yu Wenzhou bond over tactics and good quality tea Rec Notes: The power of teamwork!! This fic is such a lovely quiet moment between Wang Jiexi and Yu Wenzhou, and filled with all the things I love: friendship, introspection, parallels, the occasional pun, and people being stronger together than apart. Also tea metaphors! Bonus for both Tiny Herb and Blue Rain having a very strong presence in the fic despite not appearing in the story. Adaptation: Novel Characters: Yu Wenzhou + Wang Jiexi; gen No content warnings

Missing Scene - The Old Man and the Dream by Dayadhvam

Author’s summary: During Season 10, Wei Chen goes to All-Stars for the first and last time. Or: a brief sojourn down memory lane ft. one Troubling Brat. Rec notes: My heartttttt alksjdlksjfsd. It’s fine I’m fine (that’s a lie I am NOT fine I am drowning in feelings). I love them, I love them, I love them. I have so many emotions about Wei Chen’s conflicted feelings over Blue Rain and Glory and Swoksaar, and where he fits into it all. This fic packs so much of a punch and I love every second. Characters: Wei Chen + Huang Shaotian; gen Adaptation: Novel/Donghua No content warnings

Female character focus - lightning strikes thunder(clap) by afincf_tirwer

Author’s summary: Dai Yanqi knew they were wrong. She knew where Thunderclap’s strengths lay, and it wasn’t solely Xiao Shiqin’s burden to bear. It rested on everyone’s shoulders, everyone who played, to support each other and cover for where others lacked. And right now, they were lacking Xiao Shiqin. Rec notes: Dai Yanqi tactician fic!! Love this glimpse into Thunderclap without Xiao Shiqin, and Dai Yanqi finding herself and her place and growing up. I particularly love the balance between her as a serious player and also having a happy, shiny personality. Get a girl who can do both! Adaptation: Novel Characters: Dai Yanqi, Thunderclap; gen No content warnings

Made you laugh - my captain, my tortoise by Fayah

Author’s summary: “Sun Xiang, don’t you have any pride at all? Even a tortoise is more professional than you are! But saying that is an insult to my cute little pet tortoise!” Huang Shaotian gets a bit too carried away with his trash talk in Blue Rain’s match against Excellent Era and accidentally reveals that he is secretly raising an illegal pet tortoise. Rec notes: this didn’t just make me laugh, it made me howl, it’s so funny omg. Top notch humor, 10/10 amazing. Beautiful. The live action turtle fic of my dreams. RIP Huang Shaotian, he’s trying his best. Blue Rain, best team. Adaptation: Live Action/Novel Characters/Ship: Blue Rain, yuhuang No content warnings

Comic or Fanart - the adventures of tiny swoksaar by saxifactumterritum 

Rec notes: This isn’t a traditional comic format, rather a series of art across two tumblr posts depicting a tiny Swoksaar breaking out of his snowglobe to seek a tiny snowglobe Troubling Rain.  The art is so rich with details, I really feel like I am getting a glimpse of Huang Shaotian’s living space and all the knickknacks he owns. All the poses are so dynamic and full of motion, and the facial expressions are fun and evocative. And the story it tells is adorable! Bonus for live action-based art, which is particularly rare and brings me endless joy. Adaptation: Live Action Characters/Pairings: Swoksaar/Troubling Rain No content warnings

Art link

Alternate Universe - A Life Given, A Life Restored by NR_Red

Author’s summary: Yu Wenzhou was a cyborg, and sometimes he thought he may have forgotten what it was like to be a ‘complete human’. Rec notes: A yuhuang meet cute AND super cool worldbuilding! All the rich details make me feel like I am getting a glimpse into a much larger world. The contrast between Yu Wenzhou’s matter-of-fact acceptance and Huang Shaotian’s enthusiasm is just as wonderful here as it is in canon. Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters/Pairing: Yu Wenzhou/Huang Shaotian No content warnings

Team focused - Initial Actions (Not Initiations) by Syncogon

Author’s summary: Team Blue Rain welcomes their newest member. It’s a great time! Almost no regrets are had whatsoever. Rec notes: I admit I am biased on this one because this fic was gifted to me for secret santa but also it’s amazing so i am in fact not biased at all. Rec Notes: I love this both for the team dynamics (new player traditions! Spicy noodles! So much teasing! They’re a family!!) and how all the players get distinct personalities, and the individual character moments (Zheng Xuan!! And the tiny hints of Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian’’s history glimpsed around the edges). This gives me such happy warm fuzzy feelings and I love it every time I read it. Lu Hanwen’s outsider POV on the team is a constant delight. Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters: Blue Rain; gen No content warnings

Crossover/Fusion - Lu Hanwen and the Wizard of Oz by SeiryuuSuzaku

Author’s Summary: Lu Hanwen is now the Captain of Blue Rain and trying to do his best to lead his team. But he has his doubts and his impulsive indulgence in chicken is going to give him a very strange dream that night. Gods of Glory are everywhere; Even in your dreams (●'▽'●)ゝ Contains: no content warnings Rec notes: Whimsical and delightful but at the same time, such a lovely character study of Lu Hanwen as captain of Blue Rain. This is exactly the kind of humor/crack I love, with just the right amount of seriousness woven into the shenanigans. And so many hilariously funny visual descriptions! I snorted out loud several times!  Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters: Lu Hanwen; ensemble No content warnings

Made You Cry - somebody that i used to know by BlueberryAsh

Author’s Summary: “I’m not him,” she says. “Nobody can ever be him. But I’m here. Ye Xiu, I’m here. Let me help.” Set within the confines of s01e35. Rec notes: I’m starting off my recs with an easy one, because this fic came immediately to mind when I saw the prompt. There’s just so much packed into all 533 words of this fic. I love the vibe of it—so much history and emotion and nearly none of it is said out loud and it doesn’t need to be. One of my favorite parts of this is that Su Mucheng and Ye Xiu are in this together, and there’s such a heavy weight to their history that comes across in the fic. And also it’s sad pegging, which I think is great. Pairing: Su Mucheng/Ye Xiu, past Su Muqiu/Ye Xiu Adaptation: Live Action Contains: pegging, angsty pegging, nsfw, canon character death

A non-english work or translation - 夜莺 by 青山为雪 (Verdancia)

Author’s Summary: L向群星致意。(t/l: Greetings to the stars) Rec notes: i have sadly only read this via machine translation, but even with the clunky “translation” this fic is gorgeous and I love it deeply. A lot of the story is told in flashback,and follows Astronaut/explorer Huang Shaotian and his relationship with Yu Wenzhou over the years. A series of partings and reunions set against the backdrop of a mystery in the current day. There’s some cool funky stuff the author does with time and perception that eventually rips your heart out in the end, but it’s worth it. Adaptation: Novel Pairing: Yu Wenzhou/Huang Shaotian Contains: There is major character death involved but it’s a bit of a twist that unfolds as the fic progresses. If I were to tag it as if it were my own fic, I would use “Choose Not To Warn.”

Prequel Era - This rec is a 2-for-1. Art and fic!

Fic: not yet by saxifactumterritum

Author summary: just a little moment before ywz is captain, before he and hst are in a relationship, before they've quite got to friends. anyway they're dancing in a dark room instead of doing chores. Rec notes: ASLKJSDFLKJS! One of my favorite things about this fic is how it says so much in so little. It’s a tiny slice of life moment but it’s also a silent turning point for Yu Wenzhou and Huang Shaotian, the shift from two people towards a real partnership. It’s quiet and soft, like a liminal moment made real. Characters/Ship: Yu Wenzhou, Huang Shaotian; pre-relationship Adaptation: Live Action No content warnings

Art by bienmoreau

Artist caption:  “I’m glad you found me.” “I nearly didn’t.” Rec notes: There is so much life in this art that it blows me away every time I look at it. The poses, the facial expression, the amazing use of light and dark. I feel like this art just reached into my brain and scooped out the fic and brought it to love. It’s so gorgeous and amazing and absolutely stunning.

As an extra tiny bonus, I will link the podfic I did for this fic. Advance apologies for my pronunciation. I can only hope it doesn’t overshadow the vibe of the fic. (Is it tacky to link my own podfic? Perhaps, but this fic is so great that I want people to be able to read it in multiple forms)

A fic shorter than 1k - Curse or gift by UndeadRobins

Author’s Summary: Swoksaar knows curses. After all, he’s a warlock and there’s no one knows curses better than a warlock. Rec Notes: Short and sweet and right in the feels. I love the matter-of-fact tone that gently eases from statements of facts and into feelings. And bonus for avatar fic <3 Adaptation: Novel Characters/Pairings: Swoksaar/Troubling Rain No content warnings

Meta - Raindrops to a Downpour by TheDefenestrator

Author’s Summary: How could two people so different ever make an effective combination? Rec Notes: While not technically meta, this fic gives me cool meta vibes so I'm going with it. Meta in a fanfic hat, perhaps. Anyway, I love the thread of mirroring and parallel that runs through the fic. Under the surface of fast vs slow lies something much deeper and more complex Adaptations: Novel/Donghua Characters/Pairings: Yu Wenzhou + Huang Shaotian; Yu Wenzhou/Huang Shaotian No content warnings

A “Comfort Food” work -  What do you want? By Saxifactumterritum

Author’s Summary: Huang Shaotian meets Sun Zheping by accident. He's a little bit overwhelmed by how cool Sun Zheping is. This is going to be very fun.  Rec Notes: This fic is so fun! Huang Shaotian swooning over Sun Zheping is so adorable. And huge bonus for all of Huang Shaotian’s other friendships in the background - with Ye Xiu, with Zhang Xinjie, his relationship with Yu Wenzhou that’s mostly in the background but no less strong for it. At it’s heart, this is a getting together fic but all the various friendships breathe so much life into the story. Also, Sun Zheping’s jacket is super cool. Adaptation: Live Action/Donghua Characters/Pairings: Huang Shaotian/Sun Zheping; Yu Wenzhou/Huang Shaotian (polyamorous relationship) No Content Warnings

Minor Character Focused - I (don’t) wanna be the very best by jellysunfish

Author’s Summary: Zheng Xuan's season 8 quest to find Zhang Jiale and make him un-retire himself so Zheng Xuan doesn't have to carry the burden of being the GPA'S #1 Spitfire. How stressful. Rec Notes: Another fic where I’m maybe cheating because this fic was gifted to me. But is it not in the spirit of a gift exchange to love your gift? So perhaps it’s not cheating after all. This fic is such a delight, I reread it all the time and it never fails to make me laugh. Zheng Xuan is so relatable in his search to not work too hard or get too much of the spotlight. And I appreciate him gleefully throwing his teammates under the bus in his efforts. I cackle so much at all the shenanigans! Adaptation: Novel/Donghua Characters: Zheng Xuan, Zhang Jiale No content warnings

And that's a wrap! If you made it this far, please give the fic authors and artists some love <3

[pluckyredhead]

☕️batfam (not each character, but your opinion of them as a family both in canon vs. canon)

I think the version of them that you see in things like WFA and a lot of fandom stuff is delightful and entertaining. Don't get me wrong - a lot of the fandom stuff is also wildly wrong and infuriating. But there are writers who do a great job with a more fannish take on the Batfamily and I enjoy their work. (It is usually...painfully obvious who has actually read the comics and who only knows the Batfam via tumblr posts.)

The Batfamily in mainstream continuity is...not that. The characters are significantly more traumatized and rarely joke around with each other. They're also not a unit in the same way. They almost never do anything together out of costume. They don't have a joint baseline relationship of "family" - each pair of characters has a unique relationship. Like, Dick and Damian are close, Tim and Damian have a very rocky history, and Jason and Damian have honestly just not interacted that much? (Hilariously, Jason literally shot Damian early on and Damian doesn't appear to hold a grudge, while you know Tim is still mad about the dinosaur thing.) Damian has a specific relationship with Steph. Tim has a specific (and close!) relationship with Babs. (He used to just...hang out in the Watchtower! Being nerds together!) Duke and Cass are close, which of course is largely ignored by fandom. Etc.

I think the fact that the canon relationships are fraught and in some cases either really volatile or nonexistent is potentially really interesting. Like, I would love to see a story that puts Jason and Tim on a mission together and really digs into that dynamic, or Tim and Damian. (Or my dream story, one where Tim feels Some Kind Of Way about how he used to be Dick's favorite but now Damian very clearly is. (This is not how Dick sees it at all, for the record. Tim is his little brother! But Damian is his baby. It's different.))

Or look at the Robins' current relationships with Bruce: Dick is the closest with him but also accepts and absorbs much of Bruce's bad behavior without question. Bruce and Jason cannot be around each other for more than 30 minutes without dragging up every wound they've inflicted on each other over the years. Tim is desperate to fix Bruce to a degree that's actively unhealthy for Tim. Bruce functionally ignores Steph's entire existence and she seems to have wisely made her peace with that. And Damian is desperate for the unconditional love Bruce seems incapable of giving and mad at himself for it.

I don't actually want to change that. I find it fascinating. I'm not opposed to stories about the kids healing some of that damage, but I don't particularly want it to be via their relationships with Bruce. I'd like to see it happen via their relationships with each other. (That one story where Dick was like "Tim you will never fix Bruce, PLEASE stop trying" and Bruce was like "Lol he's right" was SO good. And then the writing on Tim went catastrophically off the rails but we're not talking about that right now.)

Anyway I think I've gotten a little far afield of your original question, but basically: I like (the good takes on) the fanon Batfam, but I also think the canon Batfam is really interesting. I don't think the two should be conflated (which is what DC does when they try to give us fluffy interactions that haven't been earned, Tom Taylor). And I don't think anyone is wrong for preferring either a more lighthearted take or a more fraught, canon-compliant take. The asshole behavior comes in when you refuse to accept other people's preferences.

(But also, if you are looking for an actually loving and healthy canon family that has playful interactions, you want the Flashes or the Arrows.)