#cause fanon gets real annoying sometimes

[toraawa]

ive been a fan of yours for a while and i gotta say, i think you have the best grasp of yurisere/predatorshipping in the fandom. you actually take their characters into consideration and acknowledge their complexity as two stunted individuals who are very different but similar instead of diminishing them to memey single-trait characters. its amazing how many other other fans reduce serena to only "edgey mean girlboss" and yuri to only "nasty psycho" and then call any other version of the ship than constant hate fucking, backhanded affection and beating each other to a pulp "wrong". very tiring how only a handful of us dont like that to be the only thing they ever do

btw, your fics on ao3 are a godsend. judging by your stats im definitely not alone in loving how you write yurisere. thank you for doing the lords work. cant wait to see more updates

First of all, thank you for the high praise! It's the second time this week I've been told something similar, lol!

Though I will say anon, the rest sounds pretty charged towards something or someone particular in the fandom, so at the risk of aggravating some current stuff I don't know about...

Yeah. I agree. A lot. You pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

"Edgy mean girlboss" and "nasty psycho" for Serena and Yuri respectively is... extremely accurate, lol, to the point where I kinda have to laugh bitterly for how pervasive it is. Like, I know they both got shafted hard by canon, but it's a bit annoying when so many people override Serena's multifacetedness to fit the girlboss mold and accuse Yuri of being one-dimensional. I'vs seen some even get strangely angry at the prospect of him not just being the sadistic plant guy. I just don't think him only being that is true. Then again, I'm a staunch defender of the assessment that most of Yuri's character is shown, not told.

Unfortunately, the fanon interpretation of characters overriding canon is something that happens in pretty much any fandom, so there's not much we can do but ignore it and find like-minded people. It's super annoying, but it can't be helped. There's also a broader phenomenon of prioritizing tropes and meme-y dynamics over actually appealing characters, so there's that too.

Since we're all waiting for more canon interaction, I'm definitely in the minority in that I don't think Yuri and Serena's interactions in Duel Links will be a pure hostility fest the entire time. I've also gotten accusations over the years that my Yurisere writing is objectively "wrong" for a plethora of reasons, many of which you stated above, so... there's THAT, too.

At the same time though, that isn't to say Yuri and Serena would never fight or bicker or even be mean to each other — I never expect them to be completely nice and friendly to each other right off the bat. And people are free to write and draw whatever they want — I want to express my disagreement and only that here — so if I don't like it, I ignore it. The people who don't fall into fanon have a much more appealing, deep, and romance-forgiving interpretation of yurisere to me, so I just focus on that!

Anyway, thank you once again for being a fan of my writing! I'm honestly surprised at the following for my current fics on ao3. The Arc-V tag doesn't get much engagement despite being updated every day. It's always great to know there are others who enjoy and share my idea of Yurisere, so to anyone lurking: don't be afraid to reach out!

[shaunashipman]

Honestly I was thinking about it and I have no idea what the writers are doing with Eddie’s character. I’m not sure if it’s on purpose and will be addressed but man his treatment of the women he dates is awful and doesn’t help to make him likeable. I don’t even dislike him but I think the writers need to address his constant mistreatment of the women (Shannon, Ana, Marisol and Kim) he is involved with and how that affects Chris as well. By constantly bringing women into his life, having them form a bond and then ruining the relationship.

Also it’s not lost on me that his fan base are the first ones to demand big apologies of Tommy for his microaggressions and misogynistic remarks (as a Black women yes saying that Hen has New York bitchiness or whatever the exact quote was is misogynistic and shouldn’t be undermined as that is apart of his character growth, him acknowledging that the things he did in the past did not make him a good person) but continue to excuse and make light of Eddie’s treatment of the women he dates. I think that as well is why I get so annoyed when they chalk it up to the only explanation is just being queer. It’s both misogynistic and homophobic at the same time. It’s distasteful.

I've gotta be honest, I am losing patience with eddie. I don't want to dislike him; while he's not one of my top faves, I don't dislike any the mains, and I actually really like his friendship with buck. but his stans are making me start to actively dislike him, and I don't want them to have influence over my enjoyment of the show in any way. so I'm basically trying not to think about eddie rn, so when the show comes back and we get actual eddie instead of the echo chamber version they're touting, I can just enjoy him.

but the writers definitely do need to acknowledge his treatment of women, and I really hope they don't just go the trauma over shannon dying route. obvs they have to deal with that elephant because they decided to do the kim storyline, but I hope that means we can finally put it to bed in s8, cause I was done with shannon 5 seasons ago.

actually, having chris in Texas with his parents* could be the perfect way to have eddie deal with his treatment of women, because it does clearly stem from how he was raised, and having a good reason already for him to be in more contact with his parents (and hopefully sisters) hopefully means doing a good examination of those relationships.

I do think at least a small part of ppl's insistence that eddie's treatment of women is because he's gay, is that they don't want to admit their fave is misogynistic, cause then he's "a bad person" and they shouldn't like him, rather than seeing it as a character flaw** that he needs to grow from. no, instead it basically boils down to "he's confused", so that makes all his actions okay.

*I do not ascribe to the opinion that the diaz's are evil for taking chris back to texas, nor do I think it was their idea. it could have been something they floated to chris in their talk, but I do believe it was chris' decision. I also don't ascribe to the opinion that the diaz's are evil in general. helena def needs to have a conversation with eddie and apologize for her "dragging you down with him" comment, but we've already seen that ramon has realized his mistakes and is trying to do better, there's no reason helena can't do the same. also, despite many fanon portrayals of them as being ableist and babying towards chris, the little direct interaction we've seen of them with chris does not support that.

**just because I"ve seen this complaint recently: in real life, misogyny, racism, and other forms of bigotry are not character flaws, they are just bigotry. bigotry that people can grow past, but still, not just character flaws. but fiction is used to teach life lessons, sometimes very heavy-handedly, and so in that respect, they are character flaws.

[loserboyfriendrjl]

since people are asking for them, here are my unpopular marauders opinions

(note, and i mean this in the most serious way: please, for the love of god, if you don't agree, just scroll. there is no reason to cause drama over some unpopular opinions of some random tumblr user just because you don't agree with me.)

remus is my least favorite character. don't get me wrong, i love him to bits, he's just the least intriguing to me. he's the character we've been given most of; not only that, i find sirius and james' character, as well as peter's (and his betrayal), as far more interesting

i don't really like jegulus for the same reason as remus; the dynamic is interesting, there is a lot to work with there, including the death eater and order member dynamic, but i just find some ships as more interesting

most of the characters are written as super one-dimensional and therefore i do not like most fandom characterizations which is a crucial point, to me, in whether i read the fic. i like fics in which the characters are written as real people, with human emotions and flaws, and not some qualities thrown together

some wolfstar shippers are pretty much the most annoying people in fandom (coming from a wolfstar shipper). shipping the only consistent ship in this fandom does not make you inherently better than everyone else, and just because someone else splits wolfstar for other ships dynamics does not mean anything

the black sisters and the evans sisters, if written well, can be more interesting than the black brothers and i don't think we talk enough about them (i also find the black brothers are really interesting, and i need more fics in which the intensity of these dynamics are explored)

i dislike the main characterization of regulus in fandom, being a huge fan of morally grey regulus. however, each with their own characterization, and i'm no one to judge next. i find him to be a very interesting character, however, and i like fics that dive deeper into his character

people who ship jegulus and hate lily for no reason need to chill; furthermore, people who hate mary and lily for "getting in the way" of their mlm ships are... i'm not going to comment on this, but you probably know what i mean

"stan bambi" comments on snape videos are really annoying because the very same way we don't like (and sometimes get aggressive) over snape lovers attacking the characters we like, why are we doing that to other people?

i need more peter-centered fics, and i do not like him only being a sidekick or ignored. also, mary is also a very interesting character, and i don't think we credit her enough for it

dorlene > wolfstar

the girls are far more interesting than people make them out to be and i NEED an atyd-like fic (long canon compliant etc) from their povs. it's not a want, it's a need, and i might just write it myself, because i think that a fic like that has a lot of potential

dorcas is morally grey and i need more fics in which that is a thing

this might be my most unpopular opinion but i prefer lily to regulus; i find them both to be very interesting characters, but i find myself more drawn to lily

pretty privilege is REAL in this fandom. bet that if peter and snape were conventionally attractive, they would be as loved as evan, barty, and regulus

i do not see sirius as transfem but why do people have to be so pressed about this hc. lif you don't see it, shut up, move on with your day, and let people who see it do their thing; this fandom is TOO pressed about other people's hcs

i kind of dislike fanon james because they strip him of all humanity and emotions, and make him a ray of walking sunshine with no issues (hence my essay on it, which you can read here)

james would choose sirius over regulus any day

[epickiya722]

I'm new to the JJK fandom, and after one month of interacting with the fandom, I noticed that many view Gojo as a womanizer. I believe it to be false.

Maybe it's because of that one time Gege commented that he doesn't see Gojo being faithful to a woman (that man looks like a twink, so I don't blame you, Akutami). Nonetheless, I do not believe it means that Gojo is a playboy/ fuckboy.Let me tell you: while Gojo got the looks, it does not change the fact that he got no hoes He's a hoe repellent no matter the gender.

He is that type of guy that is really handsome, but the moment he opens his mouth, your perception of him changes so much that you would find Deadpool's left ass cheek more attractive. Hell, even Toji's worm. My dude is annoying as hell. He is rude, tactless, and privileged. Add to that the fact that he might also have mommy and daddy issues  because I'm sure he was not treated like a normal kid (but that is another discussion for another time).

Gojo might also have a lot of trust issues combined to the fact that he tends to isolate himself by not letting himself get too close to others. Like this guy is the strongest sorcerer, and his birth caused a shift in the Jujutsu world. Since his birth, people have been trying to kill him. Even the higher up in Jujutsu, see him as a nuisance and are waiting for the opportunity to do him dirty and you to tell me that he doesn't have trust issues? He has infinity on all the time, to the point that he does that subconsciously, and you want to tell me that he's gonna drop that just to get laid? So that he can get  a cursed technique aimed right at his balls?

And even if he is a playboy in the sense that it's not sexual and it's just emotional cheating. The dude feels like no one can relate to him. No one understands what it's like to be at the top, to be the strongest. So what would be the point?

I like Gojo, but in real life, being in a relationship with this man means you'll probably be his therapist because I know this guy has a lot of issues. At least he got money, so you'll be compensated I guess?

I'm rambling a lot, and it's not structured, but I also do not want to write a whole essay in your ask box.

In conclusion: It must be the cash cause it ain't your personality or whatever Beyoncé said.

What do you think?

When I tell you that "womanizer Gojo" is one of the characterizations I hate that some of the fandom has given him I HATE IT.

This is why we take the time to reread something and better understand it because in what world does a womanizing Gojo fits? Especially, in canon when it would be hard to maintain a romantic relationship given the risks Jujutsu sorcerers take? And with the description you gave are other reasons why Gojo wouldn't have a significant other.

Let's be honest, if there was one person who could handle Gojo it was Geto. This isn't me saying this as a shipper, but just stating a fact.

Like, if he would have a romantic partner, it would have him. Shoko's their friend, yes. But that is the most that she sees herself as. Chapter 220, she states hell would freeze over before she falls for any of those two. She's aware of the flaws they both have, but that doesn't she didn't want to be there for them.

One thing I like about Gojo is that despite the reputation he has as a sorcerer, he got his flaws that make him human. Just me, but I don't see the point of adding more flaws to him if I like him already as he is. Like, come on. Just make an OC, at this point.

I know sometimes canon can suck, but fanon? Is worse sometimes.

It's like how some people will depict Yuji drinking and eating anything because "Oh, he's a total dumbass".

I hate that. Yes, Yuji states he's dumb, but he has displayed he does have intelligence and sometimes even he ain't with the bullshit with others. When he said he'll eat anything, it was more on the lines of "I'll eat a cursed object to save people" not "I'll drink gasoline because I was dared to".

Like, damn, he ain't that careless! He ain't that stupid! (Just giving him the Kaminari treatment, huh?)

Just... I wish more people actually stop and think about what they're reading instead of running with it and going with a depiction that others say is "canon" (it's not) or "better than canon". Especially, with a media that isn't from your native country.

[toffeesbabbles]

also when its comes to utmv fanon for me I love it!! hope i never gave the opposite impression.

I just get annoyed when people parade it as canon or the better or more "real" interpretation (sigh underverse ink *NOT HATING ON UV*). Or worse, people judge an AU based on fanon. degrading it for a quality it didn't even have *looks at underswap* (people's used to critique US for just be a plain swap, when it was always intended to be a mix/not direct swap).

Many fun dynamics exist within fanon and i think that's really cool!

I think i enjoy fanon and canon differently and truly i enjoy a good mix of both! fanon is fun as an idea for me and sometimes icanlikeitbetterthanthecanon. I think my favorite stuff has mostly (personality wise at least) canon with fanon or headcanon tidbits thrown in there! Just cause i love the canon personalities of the sanses, but add some additions or changes to make it more suited to my tastes.

I think it also depends on the character, like a prefer (at least my interpretation of) canon(ish) ink but prefer fanon (ish) nightmare. idk im very picky and specific when it comes to these guys LOL

But if people wanna go completely off base, as long as the creator allows it idrc cause its not my oc anyway LOL. I also add fanon elements (star sanses and their dynamics, errorink, etc) into my own stuff. cause its fun!!

[rotzaprachim]

8 + one or two questions of your choice for the grishaverse :)

8) common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

the ken-dollification himbo-isation of matthias especially as it's used to kind of... flatten the mental processes of discombobulation and dissasociation and dislocation that come from being deradicalised from a cult? he thinks kaz is a demon but was he really wrong about that? i think matthias's character has a LOT more complexity in the books than people give him or the arc credit for and the way the very complex IRL psychology of how all-consuming and total the logic of cults and religious extremism are is flattened into big dumb dumb... dumb dumb... as well as the idea of matthias's ken-doll like ignorance around sex and whatnot as being some kind of light fun character trait instead of almost sometimes a write-off of the very real fact he was very much in a genocidal cult... idk man. it grinds my gears.

also! kaz's *distance* towards inej in the books! look he's not Nice to her and i don't want to excuse that but he has VERY good reasons apart from his own prudishness to keep that distance and that is that he is the boss and she is the employee! kaz keeping distance between himself and inej is the most ethical thing he can do in the most unbelievably unethical situation possible and i don't think a lot of fandom keeps that in mind esp during fics during the pre-soc era. THAT's why it's SO important he pays off her contract in CK it's literally the first step that possibly could happen in order for their relationship to progress in any ways.

what was the last straw that made you finally block that annoying person?

that person who plagiarized my fic and became a big name author in fandom sure grinds my gears/

worst part of fanon?

not a fan of a lot of the kanej content that kind of makes a sexual show of kaz being mean to inej or things that edge on straight up domestic abuse cause he's AWFUL it's JAIL TO KAZ FOR A MILLION YEARS JAIL like don't get me wrong he is REALLY awful, terrible even, i don't vibe with the tailorswiftisation of him either but like.... not to Inej he isn't. the reproduction of the if a boy is mean to you he LIKES YOU LIKES YOU thing but under new wording idk. anyway if he treated inej IN EITHER BOOK OR SHOW CANON like he does in a bunch of fics i'd literally want her to murder him no jokes

topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

the disk horse is always on the darkling being jewish and not a single. other. grisha. why are zoya tamar nina and jesper never jewish omg. why are the fics always the crows celebrate xmas and never jesper's crazy exciting fun hot girl purim party!!!!! why not that.

and finalllllyyyyyyy

a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

people can write matthias very aggressively controlling nina during sex but also i hate it and don't buy it. guys the princess and the fjerdan was a joke (and a commentary about eroticised xenophobia) for a reason. guys. his canonical sexual fantasy as of CK is about going down on her guys. the only way he's a top is if he's a service top or something y'know? anyway.

[sofoulandfairaday]

For choose violence: 6, 23 & 24

[i've gotten so many of these -- thank you so much guys, this actually means the world to me that someone cares about my thoughts!]

from: choose violence ask game

6. which ship fans are the most annoying?

It really depends. Nowadays, probably wolfstar. Some of them are pretty fucking annoying. But it's far from what it used to be. I was here during the gold old ship war days, and I remember dramione and harmione (?) stans being the most annoying people on the face of the earth. 2012 dramione fandom anyone? the ron bashing?? 2016 jily stans with the anti-snape posts??? *shudders*

Not to say the Marauders fandom isn't toxic now but my policy is to: block block block whenever I see people who say atrocious things with 100% conviction.

Also, I just can't stand, as a general rule, people supporting wildly fanon ships over canon ones, and trying to unironically argue why they work better... There is literally nothing wrong with liking a crack!ship, I could argue that's the point of fanfiction, but don't insult my intelligence. Sometimes I see takes where the only possible solution would be for the author to read the source material again.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

Unwillingly is a strong word... I have read some good Tomarry fics in the last year (but. like. literally three (3). don't get excited) which is something that I would have rather gauged my own eyes out than do in the past. But then again only under very specific conditions for themes/setting/length/etc. It's not something I would ever look for, it's something I read if I know the author from other works and think “let's give it a try”... so, probably, I'm actually more in love with those authors' writing ability than the actual ship. You can tell if you actually like a ship in the following way: mediocre stories still make you swoon. You can tell if you like an author in the following way: I would rather get slapped in the face than read this ship but you make it interesting/enjoyable.

Jily is another, not because I disliked it in the way I dislike Tomarry but just 'cause it bores me a little. After exhausting any and all Snape character studies where he mopes about Lily (happy-ending Snily is not something I've ever liked) I thought meh, why not.

Oh! And you might be absolutely shocked to hear this but Belladolphus was one of these too. I was (and always will be) a Bellamort shipper, for my first few years in the fandom I was indifferent to Rodolphus at best. The man doesn't have a (1) single line in the books and we don't even really know what he looks like, but he's my angel and my baby and my darling and I accept no Rodolphus Lestrange slander in this house. Now, they're one of my favourites.

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

In canon or out of canon? Because I feel that's different.

In canon probably Snape. The world isn't split into sexual assault apologists and Death Eater apologists, we all have some functioning brain cells and critical thinking skills, it's important we choose to stay in the fucking middle.

Out of canon... come on, you don't need me to tell you what it is. Personally, I think that pointing out the flaws in a book series is important and useful to the general public (and so many criticisms of the series are incredibly valid), but clutching your pearls because the kids decorate for Christmas in Grimmauld Place and *gasp* “I cannot believe JKR wrote her characters putting christmas decorations on the disembodied heads of slaves and thought "yes. this is good. very cute and charming."” (yes, this is a real comment someone made on the internet, i didn't write this. yes, it has hundreds of likes.)

Guys. It's not that deep. It's played as grotesque in the same way the Addams Family is. The Blacks are spooky ha-ha that's the joke. It's played for dark giggles, literally not that fucking deep. Although maybe I'm wrong and insensitive for this, but come on. Feel free to correct me.

Also, something that most people don't get about the Blacks: they weren't unkind to their house elves, or at least not in the way we think. Again, the Blacks are a bit like the Addams family in this scenario, they have a macabre way of doing stuff: their elves were all very devoted and thought it was an honour to be beheaded (which happened when they were too old or weak to carry the tea tray) and Kreacher even hopes that that will be his destiny when his time comes, like his mother before him. Dumbledore also says that "Mistress Cissy and Mistress Bella" were probably kind to Kreacher in their own way - Sirius was the one who was cruel to him, actually. They all saw elves as their natural slaves (which is bad), but they were part of the family just as much as servants were for an aristocratic family of the 1700s/1800s.

[selfshippinglover]

All the s/i asks with ur Undertale s/i??? >:33

THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH ANON I OWE YOU MY LIFFE RNNN QWQ,, (Just gonna copy and paste the other two answers since it was only two)

✍️: Overall, how does the fandom trait you? Are you a beloved character, or hated? Are you popular, or a minor side character? Anything in between?

~As for traits? Well,. she is a soul of kindness so hopefully stuff correlating to that? Probvs cuteified too tbh cause I know I look naive to outsiders so i bet she does too

~In my inserts design I was aiming for her to be more of a side character but I think she teeters the line cause of development lol. So I'd guess she'd be taken as one of the two. She followed the skele bros around a lot, and is generally in their section. She'll also be in Hotland visiting Alphys tho <3

~I hope she's beloved but she could also just be the, "annoying love interest every story has for some reason" and I'd say that's fair.

📝: How would your story in canon go? How would you influence the events of the original story?

~Obviously there would be new dialogue options, character interactions, a whole third bedroom in the skele bros house, a side mission, aaaand different stuff per which route the player is playing

🤪: What is your trait that fanon would exaggerate?

~Probably naivety since that happens to me irl =-='

🥰: How would someone who loved you portray you?

~With lots of emotions, essays, silly edits, screenshots, and excitement! Just, real accurate portrayal, death fodder, or the silly <3

😡: How would someone who hated you portray you?

~haha guess just kill me off and make me being too stupid too understand shit?

👯: What canon character are you most similar to?

~Alphys 1000%! Our insecurities, flaws, and interests align too well afgkjg

🌦️: Would you be accompanied by mostly fluff or angst fanfics? Both? Explain why.

~I'm hoping fluff but every fandom has people that thrive off angst soooo. Plus, hard to resist a good, "partner dies in their arms fic" right?

🏷️: What is you and your f/o’s ship name?

~ Not anything special, just combining names like "CiRus" or "PapCi"

❤️: How popular is you x your f/o? Are you a rarepair?

~Not sure? tbh I worry people would find the ship boring cause we're a lot alike

💞: Aside from with your f/o, who else would you commonly be shipped with? Why?

~Maybe Alphys or Sans sense we're besties? Tsunderplane cause I think their cute and would say so? idk really dsfkjsdg

☕️: What are the most common plots of shipping fics between you and your f/o?

~Heehee most likely friends to lovers going along with the source! More specifically, I bet there would be a lot of first confessions, pining, and/or angst involving their relationship in No Mercy timelines. (In a no mercy run she helps Alphys evacuate the citizens and is too late to save Papyrus. Instead, she ends up watching him die on Alphys lab screen :(( )

🛌: What tropes show up in fics involving your ship?

~Friends to Lovers

~Mutual Pining

~Endearingly Dorky

~ Insecure Love Interest

~Eh, stuff like that

💘: Why would people love your ship? Why would people dislike your ship? How might it start debates?

~The hopeless romantics like myself will appreciate the the facial expressions, the descriptors, and the the general fluff of it all <3

~Dislike it for feeling shoehorned, or uninteresting most likely

~I can't see it starting debates tbh. Just like, some people are more interested than others and/or some don't care either way.(It's a background thing anyways)

🙈: Why would your ship be thought of as cute/fluffy? Why would your ship be considered problematic?

~WE ARE THE CUTE FLUFFY SHIP EVER! THAT'S WHY!! No problems, just two mentally ill skeletons vibing and kissing sometimes <333

🎞️: What ‘canon’ scenes would the fandom point to as evidence for the validity of your ship?

~Cici clearly excited whenever he's around

~VCi getting all nervous around

~She brings him a lot

~Idk it's everything with her tbh

~On Papyrus's end it's more subtle though. Little things like him offhandedly mentioning her unprompted in a phone call

~Saying how he wishes she was there to share something with him

~Waiting to do things until she's around

~For him it would be little text stuff

💌: How would your dynamic be portrayed? What might people focus on most? Any misconceptions?

~I imagine it being shown over time or maybe in a slow burn kind of style? Lots of stuttering and red blush, stuff like that <33

~Strong focus on death or pining no in between gkjslgkh

~(Insert the many misconceptions with Papyrus here)

👀: How does your ship with your f/o influence both of your characterizations and the world? Would there be any interesting metas written about your dynamic?

~I mean, I'll be more willing to try things and be more silly in general. A bit more open with the things I usually feel insecure about sharing cause' they're viewed as childish. Really, they make me feel safe so I'd be more unabashed in everything.

~Papyrus would have a forever friend! Someone that can help with his low self-esteem and wants, hopes, and dreams!

~Won't affect the world so much. Paps and I are just seen walking together a lot and the townsfolk probably gossip(especially the bar-goers and Mettaton dkjgsd) (Did I ever mention that Alphys, Undyne, and Mettaton are dying for us to hook up? )

~I work at grillby's so he has more help and the player can talk to me there? idk lol

~I mean, there's lots that could be drawn from that considering Ci is a hacked in self insert that was added in by a human

~She has human memories but also lives with the monsters so she'll have a unque perspective on things for the time

~But idk if it would be too meta heavy??

[vitaegratis]

♦

♦ What was a mildly annoying thing that has happened to you rp wise?

I’ve been role playing on and off since about 2011, in various fandoms - and like there are plenty of horror stories but when I think of ‘mildly annoying’ one in particular thing comes to mind. And lowkey braced me for writing Eddie in terms of ‘be prepared to be exasperated with fandom when you write their favorite white man’.

So like, I was a fan of Bucky Barnes prior to the MCU - and I had an rp account based on the comic portrayal. After the first Captain America movie came out, I had an MCU verse - and basically had my own little Winter Soldier adaptation/plot with various partners.

When the second Captain America movie came out, it was a fun time! One of my favorites! ...it also made life as a roleplayer pretty difficult. The community was flooded with a bunch of new dupes, which - is great! Love that people are discovering/latching onto a character, but. It wasn’t dupe anxiety so much as being ostracized for not towing the fanon party line?

Which. Is how it sometimes feels as an Eddie fan too, but oop.

I know this sounds pretentious and gatekeepy and that’s Bad, but I kind of miss before the character became a fan favorite. Eddie was a fan favorite from the word go, so I knew what I was getting into - but to go from being one of the only fans of a character to having people come in out of nowhere and tell you that your portrayal is Wrong by their standards is.

Mildly annoying, yes, is one word for it.

Cause from like 2011 to 2013 or so? Marvel fandom by and large did not care about him, actively ignored him/kept him dead in fanworks, or actively hated him for getting in the way of the two main ships at the time (Steve/Tony, Natasha/Clint).

Everything changed around the time of the second Cap film, and it was just. Overwhelming, and tbh killed my muse for the character for a bit. The pendulum swung completely the other way - and again  and it’s not that I felt any type of ownership or bitterness!

 I was glad people were getting into the character...  not redundancy, or like anyone was stepping on any toes. Everyone has their own take on a character, and that’s great!

It was more just. A bunch of little things adding up? Suddenly the fandom is much larger, and you’re sort of made to feel unwelcome despite being there first? Which. Again, gatekeepy. Bad.

People didn’t read rules/abouts - interacted without knowing my character history and making assumptions. When they realized I didn’t ship a grown man with his former teen sidekick (cause again, comic influenced - totally different backstory) I was called homophobic. I wasn’t out at the time, but. I’m bi. And that also feeds into a annoying peeve I know we have in common, shitting on m/f ships and making assumptions about people because they have them. Cause sure, if you’re only familiar with the films... Bucky/Widow- had no real interaction - most of it was antagonistic. But... this is not a crack ship...

TLDR; when you write a secondary character and then that character blows up and suddenly everyone’s an ‘expert’ who makes you feel unwelcome in the fandom despite you liking the thing before it was cool (in a non hipster way).... that’s mildly annoying.

[frozenmoonshine]

Head Canon - Haitani Ran as your boyfriend:

Idek where all these ideas came from, I'm far from a Haitani stan, but I do think the common fanon representation of Ran is rather unfair to the character, considering all the canon stuff we found out from the official character book #3, so... here's my small contribution to fixing it. LOL

Fluff; Hetero relationship

☆ ‌It's no secret that he loves attention and being the center of it, and with his natural good looks and charm/charisma, he always attracts a lot of attention from girls, wherever he appears. That earned him a bad reputation of a playboy/womanizer, but it couldn't be further from the truth. He just enjoys the attention that comes with flirting, but he's only had like, two girlfriends (by the time he joined Tenjiku).

☆‌ Not the type to fall in love easily, or even to develop a crush! He's actually super picky when it comes to women, just like with everything else in life. But once someone has sparked his interest, he goes into the chasing mode, and god help his target, cause they WILL fall for him, no matter what!

☆ ‌But I'm not saying that he's pushy or annoying, or a creep that doesn't know when to back off. Noooo, he's just a sly, witty, little tactician, who will have you play yourself right into his trap! If he's locked on to you, there's no way out, but let's face it - why the hell would you even want out?!

☆ Once in a relationship, he gets comfortable with you easily, you have movie nights and nap dates at least twice a week (after all, he takes 'Netflix and chill' very seriously!), he lets you play with his beloved hair, even mess it up, LOVES lying in your lap, and will fall asleep in less than five minutes, especially if you stroke his hair.

☆ ‌If he's not answering his phone for a while, you know there's only three possible reasons: he's sleeping, in a middle of a fight, or at the hair salon. He will call/message you back right away when he sees the missed calls/receives messages, and most likely say something along the lines of: "Sorry babe, I was asleep". (Bonus points for his sleepy, morning voice! Sexiest thing ever!)

☆ ‌He's very chill and doesn't really do drama. He dislikes fighting with his SO, but when it does happen, even tho it's rare, he'll just go to sleep without talking to you for the rest of the evening. If you buy him a montblanc cake the next day, he'll forgive you whatever your wrong might have been! If he was the one who was wrong, he'll lose sleep thinking about it, and eventually message you a memoire of an apology at like 4 AM. Next time you see him, he'd take you to his favorite hair salon to make up for whatever he did.

☆‌ Not the jealous type at all. So much so, that it might even leave you wondering if he even loves you at all, but cheat on him, or do anything to seriously break his trust, and he'll simply break up with you. He dislikes jealous girls as well.‌

☆ He wants to appear intellectual, but is actually dumb, so he can be rather cringy. He focused on pretty much anything other than studying, so no wonder he keeps using all those "complicated" words wrong, or getting his facts wrong. And if he tries speaking English, lord help you not to laugh at his face! But if you teach him the right things, he'll highly appreciate it. Just don't make fun of him in front of others, that's your one way ticket to hell!

☆ ‌He's quite a sweetheart when he's genuinely close to someone (ask Rindou if you don't believe me). He'll always let you vent to him, hear you out, listen to your problems, no matrer how small or trivial, and he's an amazing listener. He'll always offer emotional and moral support, even if he appears to be teasing you, he's there for his SO when it matters. But he himself can be quite closed off, and not talk about his problems easily, at least not the real ones. He will bitch about a bad hair day, but not openly tell you what's troubling him for real. If you tell him it's ok to rely on others sometimes, he'll just take that as a green light to act like a spoiled kid for the rest of the day, and expect you to baby him.

[thespineoftherighteous]

Katelyn.

headcanons cause I have Thoughts about her

she's super into exy (as a fan more than as a cheerleader) and actually follows exy teams and leagues, more than most of the foxes even do (she 100% had a proper fangirl moment over Kevin)

(after they get married she teases Aaron that she's been playing him the long run this whole time and the only reason she ever dated him was because she was counting on the fact that eventually he would have connections to get her free tickets to watch pro games. which he does. begrudgingly. which means he goes to every one of Kevin, Andrew, Neil and Matt's games when they play in the area. begrudgingly.)

it's canon that she is very talkative, especially around new people, and though she has a way of it being not annoying to most people, she's never fazed with being told to pipe down

on that note, once her and Nicky are properly acquainted and get to know each other they immediately hit it off and it's family family

but that's nothing to how she is with the girls

although the girls have been through things together that Katelyn could never really understand, they immediately took her in once Aaron became more okay with bringing her around

Dan tells Katelyn how grateful she is for her because, well, obviously Neil is not the only one who noticed how much lighter Aaron gets when Katelyn is around. and Dan tells her as much and that, even though he still tends to act like he can't stand the rest of them, Aaron is still one of her foxes, someone she considers family. so to know that he has someone he can lean on is very important to her

(Katelyn does not get maybe a little bit quiet or emotional hearing this and she does not maybe say something to Aaron about that later and that does not surprise or confuse Aaron even a little bit to know that Dan thinks about him like that. not at all)

they have sleepovers regularly. sometimes they gossip about the boys, sometimes they gossip about the vixens, lots of times Allison and Renee end up throwing pillows at Dan and Katelyn because how did the conversation turn to exy stats again, sometimes (if they get drunk enough) Katelyn tries to teach them cheers. most of the time Allison ends up strutting around in Katelyn's uniform and whining when she has to take it off.

her relationship with Andrew is something that always troubles her. given her own background and her experience with the Foxes, she recognizes how delicate their situation is and even though everyone tells her to leave it be she still wishes there was something to do to make one of the most important people in Aaron's life hate her..not so much.

idk if it's the fanon that's affected me but I like to think that the vixens have similarly (to some extent) fucked up backgrounds as the foxes, so Katelyn has sharp edges to her and is notorious for snapping at people and has often had to be pulled back by someone on the squad and away from a fight she was having with a crowd member

Neil had no intention (zero) or desire to ever befriend her past the point of general decency. but they end up developing a very casual siblingish type relationship and are very easy around each other. (she's one of, like, five non-Foxes whose number Neil has)

she's wicked smart and does really well in school

but she's amazing at putting on the Dumb Cheerleader act to fuck with assholes or to get shit out of people

she's one of those girls that always smells really good and when you walk past them on the street you do a double take because omg

she goes nuts when Aaron picks her up (esp after games, like in tkm)

one time (for spirit week or some shit idk) the vixens decided to wear the jersey of their favorite player to encourage fans to buy more jerseys. Aaron told her he'd give her one of his real ones [ ;) ] so she wouldn't have to buy one but she insisted that it would be 1. not fair given that the rest of the squad had to buy theirs and 2. hypocritical, given that the whole intention was to get people to buy more

you can imagine his indignation when homie showed up to the pregame chaos with the other vixens, not in a 'Minyard #5' jersey but a 'Wilds #1' one, grinning devilishly at him as he paused on his way to greet her

Dan brushed past him with a "haHAA looking good girly" and got to Katelyn first, smothering her in a hug

"that is...not what a supportive girlfriend is supposed to do."

"sorry babe," she responded gleefully. "but if makes you feel better you were definitely my top third choice."

"i- third??"

"well the captain was first, obviously. [winks at Dan] and then, well every Kevin Day fan should have a Kevin Day jersey and you know how big of a fan I've been for years"

*disgruntled Aaron noises*

Matt passes by as he runs laps to warm up and Katelyn waves and turns around to point at the name on the back of her shirt. he stops for an approving fist bump and a: "nice fit. I might need to steal that."

Katelyn: only if I can steal your girlfriend

*more disgruntled Aaron noises*

Dan joins Matt as he continues his laps and Aaron finally greets Katelyn properly

"next game I'll wear yours, I promise." her voice is muffled from within their hug. "and the next one and the next one and the next one..."

"yeah yeah." maybe he's smiling a little now too

"that is, if you're still willing to give me one of yours?"

"absolutely not. buy it yourself."

I digress

[incorrectmyhero]

:0 for the ask thing,

deku bakugo hawks and kaminari

honestly for the first three, i dont like their fanon personalities

for denki im just curious

hell yeah... ngl you chose mostly ones i have no issue with sjhff

Deku

Favorite: his character design! ik not everyone likes it, but i like that it's a bit more plain. usually mc's have insane multicolor designs and he's just... green with freckles. it's less ridiculous and i like it. Least Favorite: his personality isn't my fav. i don't find him compelling, just kinda annoying at times. cute, but sometimes a little much. i usually end up wanting to watch others, not just him. i usually skip the first few episodes when rewatching cause he isn't the most entertaining (and I'm not a huge all might fan) Pet peeves: people forgettin how strong he is. Don't get me wrong, this man is timid when it comes to friends (i mean, look at his reaction to Toga wanting to date him) but he's going head to head with Shigaraki and doing just fine. he'll deck bitches.

Bakugou

Favorite: HIS NAME!!!! I'll say this for the rest of time, Katsuki Bakugou is a perfect name. Let me break it down, if you don't know. To really simplify it, 'Katsuki' can mean win. 'Bakugou', contains the kanji for 'explosion'. now, Win Explosion on it's on is pretty good, but when you take the kanji for Masaru Bakugou's name (爆豪勝) and Mitsuki Bakugou's name (爆豪光己) you get Katsuki! (爆豪勝己) That's probably less exciting to you but i love it. Least Favorite: in all honesty? as a writer, i love bakugou. he fits within the mha world perfectly. everything matches and it's all world appropriate. i dont like how long the character development took him, but that's about it. Pet peeves: guys, early bakugou is an asshole. he doesn't like deku or todoroki. he's the worst. he is not adorable tsun who secretly loves deku <3 like... there's necessary development. some fics have development for him, which works. but some just... assume he's secretly really nice....... no

Hawks

Favorite: huge fan of his character type! the relaxed, young, but somehow v serious and traumatized characters are great, especially when they draw parallels to each other <3 also his character design is awesome. Least Favorite: tbh, my only real gripes are with how he's interacting with villains, but honestly i dont think i can make any statements until after we know wassup w dabi. Pet peeves: making him owo bird baby who would never hurt a soul. he'll murder a bitch and give a child a hug. he can do both.

Kaminari

Favorite: Electricity user with consequences and genuine growth. Name another electricity user that has an actual downside to their power? leaves so much room for growth and we've seen it throughout the series. Least Favorite: not about him, but his relationships. im still waiting for him to be like "hey can you stop saying im stupid it's hurtful". like... that's some perfectly set up angst right there and also everyone just gets to insult him?? tf??? Pet peeves: not acknowledging his capabilities. he's not the brightest, but he's shown he's heroic, moral, and powerful. people underestimate my boy.

[artobotsrollout]

Skdjfkg oh that is A MOOD, I leave sentence bits all the time. What are Thundercracker and Skywarp like? What are some things they like and dislike? I'm so so SO happy you're bringing Star's trine in!!

[I am so so sorry this has taken me so long to answer. I was so pumped to answer then I over thought my answer then I was worried because I wasn't sure if some things I said about them were going to be canon or not and then other drafts overtook it and made it hard to navigate to. 😢 I seriously appreciate your asks.]

Woo for half forgotten sentence bits!

And I'm so glad that you and other peeps are excited about the inclusion of Thundercracker and Skywarp in The Harbingers AU!!

Things may change as more of the story is developed but have my current thoughts on them.

Answers to your questions and a WIP sneak peak at Skywarp's design below the Readmore.

------------------------------------------------------

Before I begin I'm gonna get the obligatory 'This is not canon compliant nor other continuity compliant' general warning out of the way. (It's not aimed at anyone specifically I'm just covering my bases here. Also cause I'm ignoring fanon and a lot of canon unless I think it fits and like it. )

ONTO THE QUESTIONS!

------------------------------------------------------

What are Thundercracker and Skywarp like?

What are some things they like/dislike?

Skywarp and Thundercracker play a pretty big role in the Harbingers storyline so I'm P excited about em.

-Starscream is resilient, adaptive, cunning, unpredictable, brilliant, regal, precise, and dangerous. Hard to kill. Stubborn. He's not Megatron's second in command for a large chunk of time for kicks.

-Thundercracker is diplomatic, creative, hard to read, reliable, heavy hitter, perceptive, and a touch eccentric.

-Skywarp is mischievous, fast, a glass canon, hard to hit, hard to pin down, chaotic, intuitive, clever, and ruthless.

Thundercracker

A mech of few words and lacking in many exuberant expressions, many wonder what mysteries said mech hides. Some people pity him for Starscream and Skywarp 'stealing the spotlight'. Some think he's the real 'brains behind it all' and is too busy 'reigning in' his trine mates to live up to his true potential. Truth is that Thundercracker actually dislikes the spotlight and loves the energy that Skywarp and Starscream have (even if he gripes about it sometimes). Starscream is the brains, but he does run some things by TC when he needs another opinion. He really wishes that people would stop coming to him and putting his trine mates down just because they are energetic and expressive! He loves their energy and personalities! No one needs 'reigning in' and saying otherwise isn't alright. Those who work closely with the lead trine usually learn real fast not to disrespect any of the trine. Except Ramjet. Ramjet is stubborn and refuses to stop being a little shit about everyone even though he's punished with terrible duties every time he does so. The only ones allowed to insult his trinemates are him and his trinemates.

Many assume Thundercracker must be the straight man to Skywarp's nonsense upon acquaintance but they would all be very wrong. TC just gives off less of an outward obvious energy compared to Skywarp and Starscream. Between the three of them he's basically the best with people and most diplomatic. Can be manipulative if a situation requires it. Kinda has Grimlock from Cyberverse energy. (my headcanon Grimlock in my AU is the Grimlock that's in RiD15 because that's peak him IMO) For a Decepticon he's considered rather polite. The fact that he's the one people usually approaches first annoys TC to no end.

He limits how much he talks, outside of the company of mechs he actually likes to talk to, to save energy. Helping Starscream keep the mechs who follow him happy and helping to find solutions for arguments requires a lot of diplomatic skills and patience which can sometimes leave him exhausted. On his off time he usually sticks close to his trine or hides in his quarters.

He frequently plays the moral centre when situations get outta hand. Closet theatre kid. Some people have made the mistake of calling him "soft". But the whole Trine holds such a high rank in the Decepticons for a reason. And Starscream would not have trined with just anyone.

I'm still kinda figuring TC out so the above may change as time goes on. His personality and deeper motivations are just not coming to me quite like Skywarp's, Ironhide's, and Jazz's did. I think I need to write some head trine shenanigans to really figure his whole deal out.

Likes

Stories in any form. (He comes to really enjoy cartoons, comics, and musicals.)

Watching awful movies and shows with Skywarp and Starscream and mocking it mercilessly.

Writing and art

Cute things

Earth animals

Discussing nerd art and literature stuff with Starscream

Helping Skywarp plan his pranks

Dislikes

Megatron

Having nothing to do/boredom

When Skywarp and Starscream argue about something small and unimportant.

Headcanon Voiceactor Potentials:

Markiplier or ProZD

Notes:

Has a small superstitious streak that Skywarp has been known to abuse with his pranking.

A closet theatre nerd

Has a great singing voice and secretly wishes someone would break into song with him.

Skywarp

Lil sneak peek of my Harbingers Skywarp design!!

I've been tweaking things about his design for awhile now and I'm still tweaking but I'm finally getting somewhere sncjek. Fun fact about his design!! For some of his proportions I'm referencing ferret anatomy.

Does a lot of cackling while he fights. Switches between rough front line scrapper to sneaky stealth attacks.

Skywarp is the sort of person who is more than meets the eye. I'm sorry I HAD to 😂.

Skywarp is very high energy with a mischievous streak a mile long. He is unapologetically himself and gives exactly zero frags about what most others think of him. Besides the whole cackling like a gremlin at everything and causing problems on purpose thing, Skywarp is pretty easygoing temperament wise. He isn't afraid of change or the new and unusual. He let's things go quickly so he's almost impossible to prank or insult back in any satisfying way since he really isn't bothered by much. He really doesn't care that he has a reputation of not being the smartest cause it means people underestimate him. He's more patient and skilled than he lets on. He and Thundercracker are two of Starscream's closest right hand mechs for a reason. But he's not self conscious about this perception and sometimes will actively play into it. An enemy who underestimates you is a more easily beatable one. Skywarp is still loveably head empty no thoughts though. He reserves his patience and smarts for pranks and the battlefield. He has zero brain to mouth filter and is impulsive 70% of the time. Oddly drops wisdom bombs on occasion.

Skywarp's hijinks also kind of puts him in a role similar to a court jester. He acts goofy because that's just who he is a person but the upside of that is some people don't take him as seriously as they should. So he overhears a LOT of conversations from mechs who assume he's not listening. This makes it handy to give Starscream inside information.

Another upside of people underestimating him is it makes it almost laughably easy to get the drop on people. Don't be fooled by his goofiness this mech can be dangerously patient. His impressive agility, surprising patience, and ridiculously good hand eye coordination make him unpredictably deadly for foe and prankable ally alike. He can play the long game.

Likes

Pranks

Dumb dad jokes and puns.

Watching awful movies and shows with Thundercracker and Starscream and mocking it mercilessly.

Copying stunts he saw in a movie once

Saying or doing things wrong on purpose purely to annoy his trine mates

Watching horror movies and laughing every time someone dies an easily preventable death. Is frequently overheard whispering "Get em!" at the monster/serial killer.

Dancing

Dislikes

Starscream and Thundercracker having loud philosophical arguments discussions when he's trying to sleep

Being nitpicked

Musicals

Headcanon Voiceactor Potentials:

Bradley Cooper (Similar voice he does for Rocket in Guardians of the Galaxy)

Again I'm so sorry this took so long!! I was actually planning on waiting till I finished their rough references but I'm STILL struggling with TC and I don't want to postpone this any longer so Ill just post the refs when I finish them. Thank you so much again for the questions you send in! I love and appreciate them and they are always a blast to answer.

[lovee-infected]

Your character analysis posts are really accurate! I like how you want to show that a character is a lot more than they show. It kind of angers me that there are people who headcanon the boys as something they're not, or they saying that they're this one personality trait only. What other characters from twisted get mischaracterized, at least in ur opinion?

THANK THANKK !! XD

I really enjoy going into depths of characters' personalities because damn- there were some big brains behind their creations!

This question was rather important so I couldn't decide on any specific characters to talk about, so I decided to list all of the twst characters and how they'd often get mischaracterized.

Mischaracterization isn't bound to twst fandom because as long as a there's a fandom, fanon interpretations of characters exist.

Almost any character in any fandom can be mischaracterized at some point, but it isn't always that noticable or important. Mischaracterization often becomes noticable when pretty different interpretations of rather 'popular' characters exist within a fandom, which causes many to argue over what the correct interpretation is.

For now, I'm dividing all of twst characters into "5 groups" to explain how each of them might often get mischaracterized.

Group A: Complex personalities

It's simple, these characters can be quite hard to understand. It's either because of having too many features at the same time, which makes them quite hard to read because we'll need to achieve a balance between all of their different personality aspects, or being quite secretive and mysterious which awfully bounds our knowledge regarding these characters and their personalities.

•Malleus Draconia: We previously talked about Malleus; the main reason of him getting mischaracterized is having plenty of spine-chilling features while having considerably childish and innocent hobbies at the same time. This opposition often makes it hard to decide on what the cannon Malleus is like, because it can hard to choose one between his darker side and softer side. What we need in order to achieve a rather cannon interpretation of Malleus, is a balance. Just as I previously said: Malleus isn't a baby, but he isn't a monster either.

•Lilia Vanrouge: Even without going into depths, you can tell that Lilia's personality is complicated as hell. Though I can't really tell that he's being Mischaracterized because the cannon Lilia himself can switch into a totally different personality in a matter of second, one moment he's a 90+ year old father trying to lead his children into he right path, one moment he's an unraveled neon teenager playing the ear-scrathing heavy metal with that guitar of his, and the other second he's an absolute monster which can creep the heck out of you with a simple "Boo". Lilia can also get plenty of different personalities through fanon interpretations:Yandere Lilia/Vampire fae/ Papa Lilia/ Daddy Vanrouge many other details which I can't go through now,but let me just say: A Lilia analysis would be rather long, and interesting one.

•Jade Leech: Speaking of reading characters, better know that this mister eel Leech is an absolutely tough one. You'll never know what he's hiding behind that friendly yet evil smile, or what intentions might be behind his extreme will to play the role of the butler and help everyone out. Understanding this Sebastian Michaelis complex is an absolute challenge and this is probably one of the things that makes him so Interesting, you always know that he's hiding something dark on the inside, yet you can't really tell what it is.

•Cater Diamond: This might be rather hard to notice, but there's a lot about Cater which is left untold. Despite his sweet and positive appearance, his personality is actually a bitter-sweet complex of too many emotions and a pretty well-written background. The amount of info found through his voice lines and personal stories is rather amazing as if you're reading a real boy's life story! But this amount of detail and considerably dark aspects of his personality can make it really hard to understand what's going on in this mysterious mind; especially because of how he seems to be hiding a second face under that friendly smile.

•Jamil Viper: Jamil can be quite hard to read. He isn't really emotional and hardly ever expresses his true feelings. Even NRC students agree that he can be quite a mystery, from his past life and daily struggles to how many of his true feelings and intentions remained a secret until chapter 4. Jamil is a complex of pain, power, hatred and patience. His background is perfect example of a villainous story and how a child can grow to be a villain, which is quite interesting! Jamil's story is worthy of a detailed analysis and some time for all of us to understand what this guy has been going through.

•Rook Hunt: We often tend to know him as Pomefiore's "dramatic stalker", and he surely is! The fanon interpretation of Rook doesn't usually go against his cannon interpretation (Expect for the times that people get salty over his appearance or attitude- Which leads to the creation of countless Rook memes-) While it's true that he's more than just a French stalker, it can be hard to talk about anything else when it comes to Rook, because the cannon Rook tends to hide a lot about himself, leaving us with a considerable lack of useful information to use. He really got us all there, huh? Even as he's a fictional character and we're living in real life- he tends to control what we know and think of him-

characters that can also belong to this group: Leona Kingscholar, Idia Shroud, Vil Schoenheit , Floyd Leech

Group B: Ignoring important features:

This group can get easily mischaracterized, mainly because each and every of them has an specific feature that really makes them stand out. (Ex: Riddle's short temper, Azul's soft and sensitive side, Sebek's obsession with Malleus,...) But paying to much attention to that one specific feature often leads to ignoring everything else about their personalities, and gives them a pretty simple and fanon interpretation which can sometimes be the total opposite of the detailed and cannon one.

•Azul Ashengrotto: Azul's fanon picture had an extreme change after chapter 3, mainly because of how his background and breakable side was revealed; the cruel and heartless mafia boss turned into the soft and emotional baby. This sudden change in perspective stole the hearts of many fans and the fandom in general came to appreciate Azul even more, but at some point it caused his most important feature to be forgotten: Azul tends to be strict about hiding that sensitive side of his, so the Azul we get to see in general is the fearful picture of the mastermind who's taken the magics of many away, not that baby Octopus who used to cry whenever other kids bullied him because he was different. Getting to know his background and true feelings made us forget about his professional and strict side which is indeed the most important side of his personality!

•Idia Shroud: Baby boy, soft child, sweet tooth cutie, pretty little emo,...and hundreds of other nicknames to appreciate Idia and his iconic nature. But in contrast to what many assume based on his appearance and social anxiety, Idia is way different from just a shy yet adorable nerd; this guy is seriously hiding some evil inside. If you go through his stories and get to the points where he's thinking with himself, you'll see how different he can be. While he can't really get to tell these properly through his main lines, you can find him secretly insulting and nagging at how annoying some people are several times. It isn't just about being shy, Idia obviously dislikes many of the people around him. Focusing on his social anxiety and awkwardness causes us to forget how different he is when he isn't forced into a face-to-face conversation, also note that there are many thoughts going through this guy's brain that you probably hadn't thought of.

•Floyd Leech: While Jade's personality is obviously a pretty complicated one, Floyd's character is even more confusing because of his playfulness and seemingly childish manners. But it's important to remember that deep inside, floyd is just as mysterious as his brother. Describing Floyd as childish and dumb is equal to falling into Yana's trap, because Floyd is designed as an extremely smart and somewhat of sadistic character. It's so important to know that he's way more than just a chaotic eel or an playful idiot, Floyd literally has anything needed to be ranked among the most dangerous characters of the game, his personality along side his magic and genius can be quite deadly.

•Sebek Zigvolt: To be honest, many of us are just doing him dirty. Look, it's true that Sebek's often caught praising and talking about Malleus but please do not forget that Sebek as well has got his very own personality! Associating Malleus with whatever he says or does (especially through fanfictions) is somehow fading his character because most of the things I get to read or hear about him involves Malleus. Come on! This is Sebek that we're talking about, not Malleus! I understand that talking about Malleus is legit something he often does but while you're writing a fanfic, please remember that Sebek has got hundreds of features and personality manners to talk about other than talking about his "Waka sama". So instead of just focusing on his Malleus appreciation habit, try to get to know his very own features and personality! In many of fanon interpretations, Sebek is bound to doing nothing but talking about Malleus and only him which is pretty unfair! We should all take some time to talk about Sebek himself, not his obsession with Lilia or Malleus.

•Riddle Rosehearts: I understand where this is coming from, but I want to see something more than an angry Riddle shouting and screaming about the importance of rules and harshly forcing others into following them whenever I read something that involves Riddle. I see how being angry and turning as red as a tomato is his rather famous feature but we shouldn't ignore everything else about hum because of it. Other than his background and mentionable talents and abilities as the greatest dorm leader Heartslabyul's history, keep this in mind that Riddle did decide to try and change his way of leadership and reduce his obsession with rules after his overblot.

Characters that can also belong to this group: Vil Schoenheit, Rook Hunt, Kalim Al Asim, Silver, Epel Felmier

Group C: Ignorance/Lack of information

The reason with this group is obvious, we need to talk about them more often! While they're all great characters with interesting designs and personalities, it's somehow rare to see anyone doing a proper analysis of their characters, either because of not going through their details or stories, or even going through them but not finding anything special.

•Ace Trappola: Both Deuce and Ace are characters who have appeared through all of the chapters so far, which means that we've had the chance to get to know them better than any other character in the game! But their fanon interpretations are pretty simple and sometimes, boring. Most of us don't even realize that we're mischaracterizing them-! I often see them being pictured as either stupid or loud and troublesome. Ace for example, got a really strong plot about how he'd go through a relationship and his past experience in the ghost marriage, which can be a strong guide to how we should picture Ace in reader inserts, but sadly we're just sticking to fanon interpretations and don't give his personality the detail and cannon depth he deserves. Let's note that he can be quite evil, smart, logical and unpredictable too at the time.

•Deuce Spade: Deuce's case is pretty similar to Ace. I'm not saying that he's a totally different one from how the fandom is characterizing him, but come on, Deuce isn't just a chicken dummy! We've learned a lot about his relationship with his mother, his past life, his relationship with his close friends, his hobbies and his will to become a great magician so there's a lot we can say about him! Instead of just sticking to his clumsiness and sometimes, stupidity it's better to consider those features and details to describe him. Not only will it make us have more of a cannon interpretation on Deuce, but it'll also inspire us to create newer and more creative content for him!

•Silver: Look, while many of us love this sleepy guy, we need to understand that he isn't just a sleeping beauty or Lilia's cute son! Let's admit something, we're facing a lack of Silver content and even as we go through most of the existing Silver fanfics and content, it either has something to do with his sleeping issues or his relationship with idia, maybe some arguments with Sebek as well but it's rare to see anyone talking about anything else than these when it comes to Silver. His relationship with Lilia and Malleus, he way he appears in others' side stories, how he handles his tasks and the way Malleus and Lilia describe him is telling us that there's a LOT about him which we often ignore!

•Trey Clover: It's true that the cannon Trey isn't that different from the fanon one, but I can tell that the fanon Trey lacks quite a few of the cannon features. We're giving him a rather solid and sometimes boring personality of Heartslabyul's calm and collected mum who treats everyone nicely regardless of how reckless or annoying or rebellious they are. But the real Trey does express annoyance and uncomfortablitiy from time to time, he can even be quite sarcastic. If you come to get a close look, you'll see that Trey isn't always as nice as he seems to be.

•Ruggie Bucchi: I genuinely adore Ruggie's personality design, especially how he mostly comes of as a mysterious troublemaker but at the same time, he's being a tiny family man on the inside. Watching how he can be quite reckless toward other students in NRC (especially the first years) and on the other hand, be a pretty caring and protective sibling who really loves and cares about his poor family and is working his hardest to support them really brings the tears of joy to my eyes. Ruggie's story has got a lot to tell and this interesting design and personality really deserves more attention and supporters!

•Jack Howl: It's true that Jack doesn't really get mischaracterized , but he deserves to be talked about more often! Most of the fandom captured his personality really good and I can feel his tsundere-ish and protective vibes through most of the fanfics that involve him. He's got a rather calm and collected nature which gives him a more balanced personality compared to the rest of the characters, and can make it easier to understand the cannon Jack. He used to get really mischaracterized back in twst's pre-release, but after the game was released and we got to know the cannon Jack, most of those misunderstandings were solved. Perhaps the only thing that I wish to mentioned more often are the adorable details and his background, especially his relationship with his family and siblings.

Characters that can also belong to his group: Silver, Deuce Spade, Ace Trappola, Rook Hunt

Group D: The healing type (Iyashikei)

Look, the cannon interpretation isn't always the happiest or the sweetest. This group usually get mischaracterized because their fanon interpretation is presenting something better, something that more fans would accept and love. 'Softening extremely dark and unapproachable personalities' or 'spreading adorable and wholesome headcanons' are two common ways of the healing type. Characters with extremely bitter personalities usually belong to this group, because their stories can be too sad for the fandom, so many decide to go for a softer yet untrue way of characterizing them, which is sometimes good but going too far with the softening process often leads to creating a character that's nothing like the original.

•Leona Kingscholar: While I was working on my Leona analysis, I came to understand why some fans prefer the fanon Leona over the cannon Leona. Cannon Leona is quite dark and unapproachable, and you'll find his background and personality in general quite painful and sometimes depressing if you try to study the cannon Leona. Within all of the twst characters, he's got the darkest design therefore it can be quite hard for fans to accept his cannon interpretation. That's why some try to give him more of an affectionate and soft nature to make his personality seem less painful to go through. This sometimes create a totally wrong interpretation that goes against everything that the cannon Leona is, but at the same time many fans agree that cannon Leona on the other hand is just too dark to accept. We can tell that this fandom's favorite Leona is a balance of cannon and fanon Leonas, something neither too dark nor to childish and wholesome.

•Ortho Shroud: There isn't much we know about Ortho and his background, and I can't say that he's being directly mischaracterized either. Sometimes all we have to use in order to capture his personality are the fan- theories, which can really complicate stuff. Best way to know him is by paying enough of attention to his voice lines and hidden details, but it can end up being quite dark if you dig too deep- His background with Idia isn't directly mentioned but there are some dark details hiding through the story that can seem quite scary when you actually think about them, therefore many of the fans decide to ignore those details, and since there isn't much of Ortho content (mostly fanfiction) either, many (including me) decided not to mention anything about those dark aspects...

•Epel Felmier: Cannon Epel is quite different from the fanon Epel. Not saying that Epel is a meanie because he surely does have pretty cute and adorable aspects but the cannon can Epel can be quite reckless, mean and rude at the time while the fanon Epel is always described as a shy, cute boy(which is exactly what the cannon Epel hates to be described as). Going through his ghost marriage stories and voice lines, we can realize that Epel's rather bad with romance, and for now, he doesn't really seem to be interested in any love-related issues either. Writing reader inserts especially can be really hard if you're going to stick with the cannon Epel, therefore many choose to use the fanon Epel instead, a cuter and softer Epel who's quite acceptive and approval of being in love. A considerable majority of fans prefer this soft and cuter Epel, and this is why Epel mostly gets mischaracterized in reader inserts.

Characters that can also belong to this group: Malleus Draconia, Azul Ashengrotto, Cater Diamond, Ace Trappola, Lilia Vanrouge

Group E: Mischaracterized on main

Spreading false headcanons, not paying enough of attention to official details and simplifying complicated personalities are often counted as general ways of mischaracterization. Unlike the previous groups, this group doesn't really have a proper excuse for their mischaracterization, especially as we see some fans are being attacked and offended by some who tend mischaracterize characters in this way.

•Vil Schoenheit: We previously talked about Vil and how there's a pile of wrong information about him spread all over the fandom, from the one saying that he's trans and his pronouns are she/her (Many fans were attacked and forced to use She/Her for Vil) to the ones that are picturing him as a selfish character who cares about no one but his very own beauty, and is bullying Epel just because he envies Epel for being more beautiful than him. Look, regarding his relationship with Epel I must say that he's trying is hardest to make Epel be more mindful of his appearance and manners, he cares to help each and every around him look their best and isn't just focusing on his very own beauty. I meant to add him in group B because how many consider him to be obsessed with beauty and ignore everything else about him like his remarkable skills in leadership and other abilities in general, but considering the great amount of wrong information that is being spread around the fandom and is causing misunderstandings and arguments, I thought it'd be better to put him in this group.

•Kalim al asim: One sentence, four words: He is NOT stupid! While I insist that everyone in the fandom is free to have their personal interpretation and ideas regarding the characters and their personalities, keep this is mind that it's okay as long as it doesn't offend anyone else! How does it feel when Kalim stans are just watching others making fun of their favorite and calling him useless and stupid? Even worse, how does it feel when they're being told reckless stuff like: "Hey, you know that your favorite is the dumbest character in the game?" Let me clear 3 points right here: 1)Even if one's favorite is stupid, you do not have the right to insult them because of it even if you mean it as a joke 2)Nope Kalim is not stupid, generosity and caring for everyone around him with genuine kindness makes him a good and pure person, not a stupid one. 3) People who are saying that he's stupid because of not doing that great in school are just as funny as those who told all of us that you won't be any successful if you don't get good grades in exams. Lmao, dude this is the 21st century.

Characters that can also belong to this group: Floyd Leech, Epel Felmier

Well, I guess that's all? I couldn't talk much about any of them otherwise this would've gotten too long- So I just put a small intro of how each of the boys often gets mischaracterized instead. Okay it's awfully late lol I leave this now-

[thattimdrakeguy]

One of the most annoying things about Tim is people’s dedication to making him the most boring piece of shit on the planet.

Like it is exasperating that every now and again I see people defend Tim’s unique aspects being taken away, but don’t when it doesn’t happen to someone else. It’s just so obviously ignoring what’s their for their own fantasy world...about an already existing fantasy world. Look, I’m not acting like this is a big deal, like it really goes to show how bad people are in the heart or something, I’m not a maniac, but gosh it’s so frustrating sometime.

But there’s been too many times where people deny that a unique thing about Tim exists. So they complain when it’s represented. But they never complain when a similar thing happens to another character, sometimes in situations where it’d actually be out of character for the other character it happens to, simply because that’s how they like it. Not because of whether or not it’s an actual accurate representation of the character. I’m not sure if that even makes sense, because I’m not trying to be so specific that it sounds like I’m calling a specific person out. But it drives me up the wall.

With so many people calling Tim a generic piece of shit, it’s so annoying to see people complain when Tim gets an accurate representation of himself, where he is his unique self, simply because it’s not what they want, even if what they want doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things.

I just really want to see a Tim that looks like Tim, acts like Tim, sounds like Tim (as in how he talks not literally the sound, since we can’t hear comics), and have adventures that work with his character.

But so many times people just want to act like what he is, is not the case, to focus on something that only happened under one writer, or even one arc, sometimes even one issue, and make that his whole character. And often stuff that is in direct contradiction of an obviously specific thing about him. And lately shit that they completely made up.

And I’m not meaning this in an interpretation way, I mean like, they complain about consistent, purposeful, in the nature of the character as was meant to be things, that were so specified and represented by multiple writers during a high quality period of time that it is ridiculous to say it isn’t right.

I want to see the Tim for who he is. Because I really enjoy Tim as a character. I like the things that make him who he is, compared to the characters around him. And I don’t want those things taken away, because then it makes him less unique, and more boring and generic instead. WHICH IS THE EXACT THING PEOPLE KEEP COMPLAINING ABOUT HIM, ‘CAUSE IT KEEPS HAPPENING, AND THEY NEVER KNEW HE WAS UNIQUE.

I’m not saying he is this perfectly unique, never before seen character. But why he worked was because of how different he was compared to the characters he was surrounded by. To make him more like them in whatever aspect defeats the whole point of who Tim is. He’s meant to be dorky, he’s meant to look like the exact opposite of threatening, and be short and pretty much innocent looking, he’s not meant to do everything perfectly, he is a bit goofy. Trying to take that away and make him like everyone else is so damn boring. It’s doing that, that makes people call him boring already all the freaking time. Why do people want that?

They can have what ever they want in their fanon land. That’s not anything I have a problem about even if it very much confuses me why they change what they do. But if it’s what they enjoy, I’m not going to say anything. I’m not acting like they can’t do that. That’s not at all my point. I’m talking about people tryna deny what the characters are like to get their way in the real content, when their way doesn’t add up, and even seeing people agree with what he’s not. Because then well, what’s the point anymore?

I don’t like it when people complain that an accurate representation of Tim gets represented. It’s annoying. Not a matter of argumentation of interpretation, but complaining about stuff that cannot be denied.

And this doesn’t even apply to just Tim, I see it happen to all the characters. It’s just it bugs me the most with Tim because he’s my favorite. Let the characters be the characters. Them being themselves is how they got the popularity they did. It’s why most people like them to begin with. It sounds melodramatic, but it almost feels disrespectful to try and make a change like that for your own sake. Especially if you have any sense of pull.

[willel]

About Ships

So, before the season drops, I want to say something about shipping in this fandom. Most people who have seen me around or know me already kinda know how I feel but it's been weighing heavily on my lately so I feel the need to say something more.

First thing's first, I don't have any deep deep ships. Like, I like Jancy and Jopper? I liked Joyce and Bob? I do like them, but I'm not exactly creating or consuming a lot of content for them you know. (I definitely do more than other ST ships though)

I have friends on "both sides of the aisle", as they say, when it comes to the younger teen ships (they really aren't kids anymore eh?) and I'll like a fanart/headcanon there and stuff cause people are creative and it's cute.

At the end of the day, I don't care that much. It's because of a past experience you see (and I just don't feel as much for them as I do the older ships cause they were so young. Maybe s4 will change my mind? From the sounds of it, Lumax is already starting to)

Again, I won't specify which fandom, but I was in a fandom once. As the main plot kept getting worse and worse and people were dropping off, the only people left in the fandom were shippers. Those shippers fought. They fought a lot (including myself sometimes, but I usually just wrote essays. Like I'm doing now)

Unfortunately in that series, my favorite ship didn't end up being canon. Man. It sucked a lot. I was one of the people who dropped in and out because of how bad the plot was getting but I stuck it out for my ship that ended up not being canon. Pffft. It was a disaster for me and my friends, but we kinda wiped our hands clean of "canon" and continued on with "fanon" activities. We still do to this day.

It's been a decade since that series ended, AND THE SHIP WARS ARE STILL HAPPENING. Right now, as I type, there are people fighting over those ancient long decided ships. I'm a grown woman now so I'm not, nor are my friends. But every day there are canon shippers hounding non-canon shippers.

"How dare you do this, they aren't canon."

"Why can't you accept canon."

"You should be arrested, this is not what happened in canon." (yes, someone said this once about fanart. Not kidding)

"You guys are so butthurt, why are you still shipping -insert ship- even though it's not canon?"

"How dare you attack our ship by not accepting canon."

Here, this is a recent anon message I got on one of my shipping blogs. REMINDER, this ship was declared not-canon like 10 years ago.

It's the most annoying childish shit you've ever seen. It's so fucking annoying you just don't understand. Legitimately this shit has deeply affected me so much that it takes a fuckton to make me ship anything at all. Like "Oops, I like a ship that isn't canon and now I'll have to live the rest of my life being followed around by children who get butthurt over literal fanfiction! Yay!" Why would I even bother to care when show writers obviously do no freakin' care. I haven't gained a real true new ship for 10ish years because I'm so done with mainstream writers.

... Phew.

So anyway, I say all this to say, I have and will continue to keep myself emotionally distanced from the ships in the Stranger Things fandom (and all fandoms really). I fear it is heading down the wrong path. I fear that people can't just like what they like regardless of their canon status. Why can't people just enjoy their ships. Why are you fighting? Why do you care what other people ship? Why are you attacking characters over your ship? Why are you attacking other ships for your ship? It doesn't work like that.

Like I mentioned, I have friends on both sides of the aisles. I have friends who ship everything! It distresses me more than anything that someday soon, a portion of my friends will be hounded forever for liking a non-canon ship or some shit.

I've already experienced it personally, and now I'm watching it happen again to an entirely different fandom from the window.

I'm just some rando on the internet but please please PLEASE, if you find yourself being too serious about ship? If you find yourself too emotionally invested in its canon status? If you find you'll be emotionally devastated because of the outcome of Season 4? If you realize you could turn into a gloating annoying monster because your ship is canon and the other isn't?

I just want to tell you to please please please take a step back. Take another step back. Take a breath. At the end of the day, this is a fictional show. With fictional characters. With sometimes questionable writing choices. It's OK if your ship isn't in the final winning. You can still enjoy your ship and not get too sour about it. If your ship is canon, you don't have to be an asshole, you can also just enjoy your ship and not be a dick about it.

Trust me. You'll look back on these days in the future and be embarrassed of yourself if you're too much into this. I know I was, sorta.

Even though I am looking forward to season 4, a part of me is not looking forward to how the fandom is going to act so I just hope if at least a few people read this, maybe this place will still be a tolerable place to be.

I wanted to write this because the other day, I saw some really inspiring tweets about the current situation with two ships (you already know which two). But specifically about one of them.

You see, there's a trope I don't mind, but I also don't like that much because writers don't usually write it well. It's the unrequited love. Even in the series that shant be named that ended 10 years ago, the main character did not end up with their main love interest and you know, on its face, THAT'S OK.

But writers never seem to understand this and fuck it all up with excuses for why it's unrequited or a reasonable way for the character to move on.

They either go "Lol, they never loved them anyway! It was all a misunderstanding! A joke! Haha! Anyway, they married their TRUE love just now and it's someone else entirely. Isn't that great?"

or "Oopsie, this character will never be able to move on and be miserable forever and ever! Boo hoo 😢. TRAGEDY, THEY END THEIR LIFE, THEY'RE DEVASTATED AND HATE EVERYONE"

or "Oh they THOUGHT they were in love but they got over it in literally 2 seconds after they blinked once and GASP! A brand new interest and this time it's for REAL!"

I've been so so so worried that the show writers and advertisers have been hyping up THAT kind of story. The stereotypical "in love with best friend will never have best friend how silly of him" kind of thing and I dreaded it. Mostly because of the fandom reaction. Some justified anger from people cause I felt like it'd be written like shit. Some anger from people because the other site of the fandom would be gloating and celebrating.

Over and over these scenarios ran through my head and I became annoyed with events that haven't even happened yet. It truly bothered me that much just thinking about the fandom war.

But, on twitter I saw some shippers discussing how the unrequited love COULD be written well. How the shippers don't/shouldn't have to dread it. How it could be good for his character and not a complete shit show and you know? That gave me a little hope.

If that future comes to pass, it would be a relief if the fandom doesn't explode and have a full out war.

But for me, this is all dependent on if the writers can actually write it well. Can they write an interesting and satisfying conclusion? Can they bring the fandoms together and have everyone holding hand and skipping through the fields?

Can they not make some characters look bad in order to make all this work cause they tend to do that a lot. :/

Gosh I'm so hoping so. I just want my friends to be happy. I want to be able to enjoy fandom and fanart and fanfiction without having to scroll past dozens and dozens of ship posts arguing about the outcome.

I just really hope whatever the writers decide to do, it's not a shitshow