#but i'm serious here

[tossawary]

This is petty fandom salt, BUT... I've been chewing on this phenomenon that I've been calling "Fandom's Darling". It is related to things like "Author's Darling" and "Mary Sue / Gary Stu" and "Protagonist Halo" and all that jazz, where one character gains a peculiar narrative weight in a story.

"Author's Darling" is when a writer has a favorite character, and the world and all other characters sort of get... warped to put the Darling in the spotlight. It's most noticeable in TV shows with multiple writers, when a character you personally like suddenly has their previous characterization destroyed to make another character look good somehow. Every other character might become weirdly incompetent. The Darling's feelings are treated as The Most Important Feelings in any given situation. The logic of the fictional world seems broken past suspension of disbelief in order to validate this one character's beliefs or skillset or some other fantasy. And so on.

"Fandom's Darling" is what I've been calling the pattern where a fandom essentially crowns a New Protagonist for their fanfiction stories (it's often a side character rather than the original protagonist, but it can also happen to protagonists). This character becomes the self-insert for all sorts of indulgent fantasies, gaining special powers or backstories, and/or becoming the focus of extreme whump, and/or hooking up with all the various hotties, starring in all sorts of tropey AUs, and so on. They're not always an obvious Mary Sue version of themselves, but the character's original personality and interpersonal relationships tend to get warped or dropped completely, and other characters tend to become a little flat around them. I call it "Fandom's Darling" because it's not just one self-indulgent fantasy fic (you do you! Have fun!) with characterization choices that I don't vibe with (I have neither the time nor the desire nor the authority to police anything, I am just venting), but rather a prolific mini-fandom of sorts revolving around this empty doll / fanon version of the chosen vessel character, so it becomes a little unavoidable.

I am salty about this (mildly frustrated) (imagine a soft sigh of disappointment before I just go do something else) because you are FUCKED if you actually liked the canonical version of this character and their interpersonal relationships. It's almost worse than liking an obscure character that no one cares about. There's about a thousand fics starring your fave, but maybe only about a dozen of them are actually rooted in any kind of recognisable canon.

[atissi]

hadn't seen anyone post the full comic about laios + falin's family on tumblr yet so. here you go source is from the reddit

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Flower Empowered.

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[dukeofthomas]

"Are the Robins child soldiers" It depends. If the story is super serious and into exploring complex morality and grounded from reality's standards, then yes. If the story is lighthearted, made for children, fluff, etc., then no. If it's somewhere in the middle, it might depend.

If an author wants to write a story seriously delving into the fucked up-ness of children fighting criminals, they can, and if you don't like it, you can read something else.

If an author wants to write a fun story about villains and heroes featuring Robin in a world where that's not an issue, they can, and if you don't like it, you can read something else.

If an author wants to write a serious story but not apply IRL-logic to Robin, they can, and if you don't like it, you can read something else.

[mimimar]

i've been completely charmed by witch hat atelier♡

(art prints)

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

putting my prediction on record now that the coming decade is going to see the rise of viral-marketed fancy at-home water filtration systems, driving and driven by a drastic reduction in the quality of U.S. tap water (given that we are in a 'replacement era' where our current infrastructure is reaching the end of its lifespan--but isn't being replaced). also guessing that by the 2030s access to drinkable tap water will be a mainstream class issue, with low-income & unstably housed people increasingly forced to rely on expensive bottled water when they can't afford the up-front cost of at-home filtration--and with this being portrayed in media as a "moral failing" and short-sighted "choice," rather than a basic failure of our political & economic systems. really hope i'm just being alarmist, but plenty of this already happens in other countries, and the U.S. is in a state of decline, so. here's praying this post ages into irrelevance. timestamped April 2023

[zenruu]

if you're still boiling a character as complex as alistair down to anything along the lines of: himbo, idiot, soft baby without an idea of his own, haha funny cheese man i'm straight up burning your house down with lasers and sending you directly to hell.

if you genuinely believe that man is stupid, all you're doing is admitting that you yourself cannot see beyond the incredibly transparent veil he wants to put over your eyes.

what he is is insecure, and he wants you to think he's stupid so that he doesn't have to live up to expectations he fears he won't meet. shortly after meeting him you can call him out on using humor to deflect and make himself smaller and he ADMITS IT.

he repeatedly shows you just how intelligent he is and how aware of the ways of the world he is. his history knowledge, his understanding of the chantry and its control of templars and mages that goes far beyond nearly anyone else we as the player speak with, his emotional intelligence when it comes to understanding others' intentions and needs... and this is just a thoughtless little post with quick examples i conjured up in five minutes! i'm not even doing a deep dive here! how do so many people miss all of this?

this is not advanced reading of subtext, it's incredibly simple and i'm completely unsure how people don't understand this about him.

he's such a great character for so many reasons - his flaws being some of those reasons - but a lack of intelligence is simply not one of those flaws no matter how you spin it.

[tzarrz]

to all people who said PART 1 made them laugh - i lov u 💗 this is for u

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

They make a great pair. The worst kidnapper in history and a kidnappee who will not only come back to said kidnapper after escaping, but comes up with a whole new plan that involves him continuing to be a hostage. Amazing.

[chimchiri]

For the requests: maybe Dash and Spitfire are doing some bonding gaming with Scoots? I'm sure they enjoy some console gaming, but maybe they could be convinced to do some board games as well?

I had to color this in because I loved this idea too much. Scootaloo gets some help from Spitfire and learns an important lesson about strategy and playing the long game.

Poor Rainbow gets demolished.

[accirax]

the entire fandom rn

[takethelx3]

When he's mad and wants to talk down to you, but he's also shorter than you, you have to make it work somehow!

[beanghostprincess]

this specific sanji rewired my brain completely at the time to the point that it's quite literally the only thing that can make me reach full happiness now

[blackkatdraws2]

Mariella [Achromatic Loop / Blank Scripts AU]

[voilaammayi]

me when sherlock & co.

[royalarchivist]

Bagi: I think Badboyhalo is turning green. Without the rainbow stuff, I saw green stuff in his hand- in his back.

Fit: You might be right, yeah. I mean, it's hard to tell with- Hold on. Wait- wait. Bad, take your shirt off. Take your shirt off.

Bad: Well, I mean, I don't know if this is the right setting for-

Fit: Take your shirt off. [Leans into the mic and uses a deeper voice] Take your shirt off, take your shirt off, take your shirt off.

Empanada: whoa there are kids here and its me D:

Fit: Don't worry, Empanada- Bad's my good friend, and I just want to make sure that he's doing okay, you know? That's all I'm doing.

Bad: [Disappointed] Oh, ok... I guess Pac would be upset if it was anything else. Anyway!

Fit: Wait, what? What? Huh?

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

—

Bagi: I think Badboyhalo is turning green.

Empanada: [In response to Bad saying everything is fine] mhm sure uncle bad i believe you especially

Fit: You might be right, yeah. Wait, hold on- I mean, it's hard to tell with-

Bagi: Without the rainbow stuff, I saw green stuff in his hand- in his back.

Fit: Wait, really?

Bagi: In his back, yeah.

Bad: Yeah, I don't know what Bagi is talking about. [In a loud whisper] Bagi's been seeing things, Fit!

Fit: Hold on, wait- wait. Bad, take your shirt off. Take your shirt off.

Bad: Well, I mean, I don't know if this is the right setting for-

Fit: Take your shirt off. [Leans into the mic and uses a deeper voice] Take your shirt off, take your shirt off, take your shirt off, take your shirt off.

Bagi: [Cracking up]

Bad: OK, ok, ok! It's off! There you go!

Fit: [Sees the infection / marking on Bad's back] Um... That doesn't, uh... Yeah, you might want to get that checked out.

Bagi: It's kinda different, you know?

Fit: Yeah, I think you might want to see a doctor.

Bad: Nah, it looks fine! No, it looks fine.

Empanada: whoa there are kids here and its me D:

Fit: Don't worry, Empanada- I'm just checking- Bad's my good friend, and I just want to make sure that he's doing okay, you know? Like, that's all I'm doing.

Bad: [Disappointed] Oh, ok... I guess Pac would be upset if it was anything else. Anyway!

Fit: Wait, what? What? Huh? Huh? What?

Bad: Oh, you didn't want to check out my muscles? Anyways, it's fine... I just- you know. Anyways...

Empanada: you got pac after all

Fit: Yeah Empanada, he's my roommate! Yeah, he's my roommate, it's- it's- it's cool, it's cool.

Bad: You got Pac, after all. Your roommate.

Fit: My roommate, My roommate.

Empanada: sure tell yourself that

Bad: [Cracks up]

Bagi: [Also cracking up] Oh Empanada, I love you so much! You're definitely my daughter! You're so my daughter! Here- Empanada, here's another cookie for you!

Fit: [Groans] I'm catching strays, I'm catching strays from an Egg today, oh no...

Bad: This is great! Oh, my goodness...

Empanada: you wore each others clothes tio

Fit: Yeah, but that- but I mean, that was- I- I know it- it- um...

Bad: I love this, this is great.

Fit: I got nothing, I got nothing... I got no defense to that.