#try telling us fanon-writers that of course

[crienselt]

So a few days ago I saw someone (elsewhere) questioning Zutara fans’ excitement about the scarf scene. It wasn't a mean comment, more general curiosity. And well, I didn't have time to get my thoughts out then. But they haven't gone away, so I'm getting them out here:

Here’s what everyone need to understand about Zutara shippers. We were baited baaaad during the initial run of the show–from the magazines to the shorts to the trailers and how they were cut. And Zuko and Katara’s relationship on the show certainly underwent a lot of development and featured objectively emotional–if not overtly romantic–moments between the two. We were well fed, and we had reason to hope. Right up to the end, we had reason to hope.

The shipping wars were the shipping wars, of course, with all the usual tensions; there are always going to be overzealous fans of each (and any) pairing willing to get toxic. Generally, I think Kataang fans were always jealous of Zutara’s popularity and Zutara fans, post finale, were jealous of Kataang’s, well, canon status. But really it operated much the same as any other large fandom’s shipping wars.

And then came Bryke and the panel where they showed and mocked Zutara fan art, some of which had been created by teens if not straight up children. Then came their, “Come on, kids! It was never going to work. Zutara is just dark and intriguing.”* And the pièce de résistance, their telling Zutara shippers (specifically girls/women) that they were doomed to have failed romantic relationships. Like, what? The thing with the art was arguably cruel, and the rest of it was oh, so condescending. Just all around not well done. 

The after effect was that Zutara went from being simply a fanon pairing to a wrong pairing. The ATLA fandom at large became a far more hostile place for Zutara fans, who were now more commonly deemed delusional and viewed as lesser fans. The vitriol only got worse when the show came to Netfilx and the next wave of antis rolled up with their co-opting of legitimate socio-political terms to paint Zutara not just as wrong but morally corrupt if not evil. It’s all very puritanical.**

So Zutara fans need to be reminded that we weren’t delusional, and we aren’t alone. It’s why it means so much to know that Dante Basco and Mae Whitman shipped their characters. And that so many other VAs came out as Zutara supporters too: Jack De Sena, Michaela Jill Murphy, Grey DeLisle, Janet Varney--even the cabbage man. For it to be revealed that it was discussed in the writers room; that the writers fought over it; that it WAS a canon possibility. (And that writers Joshua Hamilton and John O’Bryan are perfectly comfortable admitting their preference for Zutara.) To know that the Elizabeth Welch Ehasz described Zuko and Katara as an “Avatar-style Mr. and Mrs. Smith,” in the script for The Southern Raiders, and used the phrase “Zutara-feuling synchronicity and cooperation” to describe their action sequences. To see Giancarlo Volpe, a Kataanger, admit Zutara might been the better pairing in retrospect and choose a quiet scene between them (to see their “chemistry”) as what he’d most look forward to in the live action adaptation. It’s why we cling to the artwork done by Korean animation director. We aren’t delusional. We aren’t alone.

But try telling that to the general fandom, right? Most are ignorant of a lot of this, particularly Hamilton and O’Bryan’s revelations re: the writers room. A lot of Zutara fans don't even seem to know. But being baited by Netflix on their official accounts? Oh, people see that. And we are reminded in a big way that we aren't delusional and we aren't alone. And everyone else has to remember it too.

So, of course, we're having fun clowning over the scarf scene. And I think most Zutara fans know we are clowning. I don't think most expect to get canon Zutara in live action because of one little scene or the fact that their Netflix icons are facing each other. (I headcanon that that was totally the doing of Zutara shipper on staff, though, lol. Because there are a lot of us, and we are everywhere.)

And this is okay. Zutara has been doing just fine as a fanon ship. Meanwhile, NATLA might actually do Kataang justice. It always worked better as a future ship. (Really all the pairings do. But I especially don't ever need to see another 12 year old kissing let alone making out, in animation or live action, ever again.) There's a reason Padme and Anakin don't get together in Phantom Menace, after all. Also, there's always the chance they could give us Dante's or Mae's headcanon of them basically suppressing their feelings and choosing duty over love/right person-wrong time. And the odds of getting some more moments to clown over are high enough. 

Anyway, TLDR: Zutara has been made to feel like an out-of-nowhere crack ship and the live action crumbs remind us that it is not. And this is at least partially why we are enjoying it. (Because, also, it's just fun!)

*Side tangent: I’ve never gotten this dark and intriguing comment. Even during Season 1, the height of the capture fic era, Zutara was always a ship fundamentally about hope, predicated on Zuko's redemption. (Back in the day, there were also plenty of antis arguing that there was no way Zuko would ever be one of the gaang.) And they say “intriguing” like it’s a bad thing? Are we not supposed to be interested in the relationships of their characters???

**There have been some very good think pieces written lately on late stage capitalism and consumption as morality. Worth googling.

[svsss-fanon-exposed]

I really appreciate your continued emphasis on people being free to enjoy canon and fanon as they want while providing accurate canon information! All the asks and PSAs you've shared on that recently reminded me of a fic where sj actually WAS innocent, even wrt abuse. They had to make an a/n how it was their spin deviant from canon so it'd be great if they could stop getting nasty messages pls. I just think we should all foster a nicer fandom environment, so I love what you're doing~!

Yeah, I personally might be a book-canon purist, but I can certainly recognize that not everyone feels the same way-- and at the end of the day, it is fiction, what people want to do with canon and fanon is up to them and really has little to do with them as a person. I hold authorial intent in really high regard, but no need to bully those who don't, and who want to rearrange things.

Of course, for something like you mention, I would advise using some kind of tag to indicate that it's off-script. Especially since SJ's abuse of LBH is an integral part of the story the novel is telling, changing things like that changes the entire tone of things.

If a fic where the characters are intentionally OOC gets popular, then people will inevitably start going to that fic's portrayal and mixing that up with canon details (this is, probably, why there is so much apologism and denial of SJ's canonical abuse of LBH in this fandom, though it certainly wouldn't be the specific fic you're referencing alone and is probably a combination of many different factors). I personally don't like portrayals like this, but if a writer is changing it for their story, then who am I to judge or harrass them over it? The only issue comes when it spills over into the wider fandom perception, and you have people swearing left and right that SJ had nothing to do with the fake manual (he did) or didn't actually mean to abuse LBH or want him dead (he also did, and this can't just be contriubted to unreliable narrator since it comes from his own perspective in the extras). So I think an a/n at the beginning is a good idea in situations like these. If writers don't want to spoil things, just simply tag that the character is OOC compared to canon-- no need to go into specifics, and readers will know going in that the portrayal isn't meant to be a take on canon or aligning with it.

No one knows how popular their fic will become, after all, and if it gets into the wider fandom space without proper context, things like "Shen Jiu was just treating LBH normally for the time period, he wasn't abusive, LBH was just a self-obsessed person trying to demonize him" become mainstream, widely held beliefs.

Of course, this is what my blog is for, hopefully rerouting some of those ideas, pointing back to the sources where the divergence happened, so that people can see that while they may enjoy this canon-divergent depiction, that they shouldn't bring it into canon-based analysis. I think sourcing fanon is very important for this reason-- better than just saying "you're wrong" is being able to say "this is where the idea came from."

At the end of the day, a deliberately off-script, ooc portrayal should be tagged as such and AO3 provides those tags for a reason. There's nothing inherently wrong with writing characters OOC to change a story. People can write what they want! It's the writer's job to make relevant information known, and the reader's job to filter it out and just not read things they don't like. I'm so particular that I put down probably 80 percent of fics I read before I even get through the first few chapters. That's just me though! I'm a canon snob! Other people have no issues and that's fine.

As long as things aren't skewing into abuse apologism in regards to the canon-universe, there's literally no reason I can't just ignore things I don't like, and there's no reason other people can't do the same with things they don't like.

Anyway, don't harrass artists and writers in the fandom. If you feel it absolutely necessary to leave a comment in regards to an OOC character portrayal, don't be mean about it, just say something like "<Character Name> seems to be a bit OOC here, is this intentional?" but even then, it's really not necessary to come into someone else's space like that. Make your own posts, write your own fics.

There is no reason to assume malice when there are other explanations. This is hard with topics like abuse apologism, but people also need to remember that this is fiction. SJ was abusive in canon, but he's still not a real person, and if someone wants to write a version of him where he's not abusive, then that portrayal can easily be treated as a version from an alternate universe where things were different. This is not the same as saying a person in real life isn't abusive, because in this case, it's not apologism-- it's literally a different universe where the rules of the original canon don't apply. In fictional and fandom spaces, it's a lot easier and better off to just give people the benefit of the doubt.

As long as you're not claiming that his canon behavior wasn't abusive (since that's about behaviors now, and not just a fictional story), it literally doesn't matter what people write in fanfic.

Authors, tag your fics with everything you'd like your readers to be aware of, because when a reader opens up a fic they're probably expecting the characters to follow canon unless stated otherwise.

Readers, read the portrayals and stories you like. Don't read the ones you don't. If something isn't tagged correctly, and you find out you don't like it after reading, just close the fic and stop reading.

No one should ever be harassing anyone else over fandom for any reason.

[heliza24]

Simon doesn't repress his emotions, actually

There seems to be a widely held fanon understanding of Simon that goes something like this: Simon hides and represses his emotions, and his relationship with Wilhelm is what opens him up. I disagree with this characterization. In fact, I think Simon is actually very in touch with his emotions, and expresses them openly to his family and friends. Wilhelm and August are much better examples of emotional repression than Simon is, and if anything, the show is commenting on how the restrictive class system that raised Wilhelm and August fosters emotional repression. 

I can think of lots of examples where Simon is very open with people he loves and trusts, even when that openness might lead to conflict. I think he is really pretty open with Sara in a lot of ways. Their argument towards the end of season 1 is such a perfect encapsulation of this. He expresses how much he loves Sara and wants a good relationship with her, and also how frustrated he is by how she is pulling away from the family. 

He is also consistently open and unguarded with Rosh and Ayub. He tells them about how he’s feeling about his relationship with Wilhelm in season 1, about how he feels during the fallout from the sex tape, about his changing feelings about Marcus in season 2, and about the prospect of getting back together with Wilhelm.  The scene where Simon falls asleep on the phone with Ayub is one of the most tender, emotionally open scenes I’ve ever seen on television. 

Simon also channels his emotions into his music, which is a healthy and appropriate way to deal with the heartache he’s experiencing. We see him slowly crafting his song over the course of season 2, and returning to the keyboard when he’s feeling especially distraught. Creation of art like this requires self introspection, and I think Simon has that in spades.

What Simon doesn’t do, especially in season 2, is confide in Wilhelm. But this isn’t because Simon is afraid to talk about his feelings at all. He’s making the conscious decision to withdraw from Wilhelm, because Wilhelm deeply hurt Simon and betrayed his confidence at the end of Season 1. Drawing conscious boundaries like that also requires self introspection; working to keep yourself emotionally safe is not the same thing as repressing your emotions.

I think it’s easy to interpret Simon not talking to Wilhelm as Simon squashing his emotions because Wilhelm is the protagonist of the show, so we naturally see the world of Young Royals through his eyes. So when Simon doesn’t share with Wilhelm, it feels like he is also refusing to share with us, the viewer. But that’s why Lisa and the writers chose to create Rosh and Ayub, so that Simon would have confidants that he trusted, that were outside of the hostile class system of Hillerska. They are great characters, but they’re also devices that allow Simon to show the audience how he is truly feeling. 

In my post about Simon and radical acceptance, I talked about how I see Simon’s arc in season 2 being about accepting that he is still in love with Wilhelm. I should maybe make it clear that I don’t think that he doesn’t understand or express how he’s feeling at the beginning of season 2. He tells Rosh and Ayub that he is still stuck on Wilhelm, and he starts writing his song to express his heartbreak. But at the beginning of season 2 he is trying to move on from those feelings, and leave the drama with Wilhelm behind.  The change comes in the way that he accepts that he is in love with Wilhelm by the end of season 2, and decides that it is worth walking towards their relationship, even if it could lead to him getting hurt.  I think as a fandom we need to be careful not to reduce all of Simon’s emotions to whether or not he is actively pursuing Wilhelm. He is a complete character who expresses his emotions whether or not he’s with Wilhelm.

It kind of baffles me that Simon gets brought up when we talk about emotional repression, but Wilhelm and August are never mentioned. Both were raised in families where stoicism is valued above all else. (This is especially true in the Royal Family). Both are grieving (Wilhelm for Erik, and August for Erik and his dad), but we hardly hear them talk about this after the initial loss, even as it continues to motivate their actions. Both have physical manifestations of the emotions they are trying to repress (Wilhelm has physical symptoms of anxiety; August punishes his body through disordered eating in an attempt to maintain control of his emotions.)  Wilhelm is eventually able to open up to Boris, but it takes a lot of coaxing over several sessions. August flat out refuses to be honest with Boris at all.  

When @bluedalahorse and I were discussing this idea of emotional repression, the male characters’ relationship to anger came up a lot. I think the stereotype of emotional repression in men is that they are pressured to appear perfectly still and stoic at all times. But in reality, anger in men is often viewed as neutral or logical, and is therefore the socially acceptable method for engaging with any and all emotions. 

I think a large part of Simon’s character is a sense of righteous anger. We see this come up in different ways for him. He gets angry at the class system of Hillerska, at his dad, at August, at Marcus, and at Wilhelm. He often manages to translate that anger into an assertion of boundaries, which is a healthy way to use those feelings. He manages to set up boundaries with Wilhelm and with Marcus, for instance. And even when he does explode in a way that is unhelpful or dangerous, he has Rosh and Ayub to call him out and reel him back in, like when he jumps on August in season 1. I’m not saying Simon has a perfect relationship with anger; he definitely doesn’t. But I think he has a much healthier relationship with it than August or even Wilhelm, who uses anger as a substitute for sadness and grief.

August spends most of season 1 translating his distress into being a bully to the boys in Forest Ridge and shitty boyfriend to Felice. Shooting and posting the video also feels like a way to channel his sadness through anger to me. He records Wilhelm the same night that he admits that his dad’s suicide made him feel guilty. This is the only time that we hear him talk about his dad at all, and he immediately covers up this moment of emotional vulnerability with an act of aggression against the person he shared it with.

Wilhelm has a really hard time dealing with the sadness he feels at the loss of Simon in season 2. Wilhelm spent so long repressing his emotions, and finally felt like he could confide in someone when he met Simon. But in season 2, that one emotional outlet is taken away from him (with good reason from Simon’s point of view), so instead he lashes out, first at his mom and then at August, neither of whom are directly responsible for the breakup in the same way that Wilhelm is. 

So if we’re going to talk about emotional repression and growth towards openness and vulnerability in Young Royals, I think we should be talking mainly about Wilhelm and August. A big question of the show is if these two characters are going to arrive at a place where they no longer repress their emotions. Right now Wilhelm is moving in the right direction, and August is backsliding. But it will be really interesting to track how they evolve in season 3. 

[lord-squiggletits]

One of my least favorite parts of how JRO wrote Optimus is that he wanted so badly to continue his dark and gritty world building making the Autobots problematic, but evidently couldn't reconcile this with Optimus being a Heroic Paragon, so instead he leaned way too hard into "oh Prowl was the one who did this and it was behind Optimus' back" which if anything I think makes Optimus look worse, not better. Because then it's like, okay I know Optimus trusted Prowl a lot as his friend but you CANNOT TELL ME that over the course of 4 million years, Optimus as the leader of the Autobot army who literally would have access to 99.9% of all the records they produce, would never notice or question where some of these odd/inconsistent details were pointing. It just seems really inconsistent with how a real military would actually function, especially regarding Optimus' character, who is incredibly thorough and responsible and wouldn't neglect to keep up with all the details of his army.

Hell, Optimus knows who the Wreckers are and had them on call for tricky operations when he needed them (Stormbringer) so he's literally not at all ignorant of/averse to the use of special wartime units composed of dubious individuals. He's the fucking commander of an entire army, of course he knows that War Is Hell (TM) and no one's hands are clean. That's not even getting into all the stuff he got up to in phase 2/3, I mean everything from the annexation of Earth to OP breaking humans out of prison against Council orders shows that Optimus is no stranger to immoral and/or unlawful means.

It also leads to a lot of annoying fanon where people write Optimus (sometimes unintentionally, sometimes not) as like some sort of ignorant fool who's unaware of the machinations of his own army or has some sort of naiveté of "b-but we can't use bad tactics against the enemy! I would never condone the use of morally gray means in war!" No, IDW Optimus knows perfectly well all of the bullshit he's enacted/condoned for the sake of trying to win the war. Some stuff is definitely out of character for him and was only machinated because of Prowl, but I think this fandom REALLY underestimates Optimus' personal agency/responsibility as the commander of a whole ass army and ESPECIALLY underestimates Optimus' capacity to condone morally gray Bullshit Of War while still being a good person individually as well as, comparatively, the lesser evil compared to Megatron/the Decepticons.

Anyways what I'm saying is JRO may be a good writer but he's really hesitant to make Optimus morally gray and does some asspulls sometimes to justify most of the bad things the Autobots did as "Optimus just didn't know," and since the majority of the IDW1 fandom only reads JRO's stuff they go running with this premise of ignorant/uninformed Optimus when there's evidence elsewhere in canon to show that Optimus is, in fact, very highly aware of the bullshit he's allowed "for the greater good" and the only stuff he was "unaware of" was the stuff he would literally never agree to the ethics of, like bombing innocent neutrals disguised as Decepticons to get them to join the Autobots.

[ikkosu]

Hellooo Ikko, how are you ? I've been trying to come up with appropriate questions to get to know your robot husbands for a while now but I feel like an idiot every time I write one down because I can't tell if it's elementary knowledge or not sooo can you give me a very basic primer on how things work around here ? For reference, I don't even know what a valveplug is, have no clue about conjux endurae and I only know Pharma and Prowl (your husband) so I think we have a lot to cover here. Love your new pfp btw!

Glad you love it!! It took me a while to muster up the courage to swap. I still miss the old one though.

Also it's okay if it's complicated at first 😭 trust me, getting into his fandom requires knowledge of the canon and the fanon too lmaoo. And the fanon isn't so little either 😭, it's as complicated as the cabon with the terminologies which is why I always adore reading original fanon works. It's almost always better than the original ones.

and a writer of the mtme comics (an idw tf comics series) used to write transformers fanfiction, can you believe that? If you're curious, it's called Eugenesis and I don't know what to say about it yet since Im only on the first chapter 💀 and it's certainly interesting...

Anyways, things get complicated so I'll only explain some surface level stuff. Me just jotting down stuff from the top of my head dhjsiwks.

So, basically in fanon stuff because in canon there's no way hasbro is giving them actual dicks, cybertronians have an interface panel. their version of a built in panty that just slides open and close for use. It's located around the crotch, the rectangular shaped thing and when it opens it reveals two interface array/ port (genitals) : a valve (vagina) and a spike (dick).

Though, gender isn't really much a thing in their society, female Cybertronians also have a spike and a valve (in fanon, of course). And there's also other ways writers make the bots fuck. Some writers prefer ports over spike/valve, a different method of fucking that involved plugging and wireplay? I guess, I am not that knowledgeable enough to explain ( I will read more I swear)

So if you write anything explicit, nsfw in the fandoms tf writers will use the tag #valveplug to indicate it's nsfw. And maccadam (lorewise, it's an oil house, basically like a bar where Cybertronians go to drink energon and chat etc. I heard it's used because everytime tf pops up it's just Megan fox because of the movie 😭 and people wanted fandom centric things and not that)

Going into Cybertronian culture is not my forte, but I do know a little. it's a given they interact differently when it's comes to love and relationships. They take these things seriously. Amica endurae : best friend, and Conjux is basically your wife/husband and they'll have to undergo a ritual. And it's canon! :D examples of relationships are Chromedome/Rewind, Ratchet/Drift are just a few . There's many more but I forgor

Cybertronians express emotions through emp field since they don't have a heart but a spark. A spark is kind like a soul? So it's like a magnetic field. when they 'feel' things, other mechs can also feel it as well. they can pull it close to them when they're uncomfortable or expand it to assert domination — just some of the things they do.

Relationships in Transformers gets complicated when there's Sparkbonding involved. I do not know much about that djidskfhkwn so dshsjsja

Some terms, Servo : hand, helm : head, pedes : feet, breem : hour, joor : months, klik : seconds.

There's also many robot husbands!!! Optimus, (iconic dad) Soundwave, Megatron, Ultra Magnus and more :DD

Also, you've just given me the signal I need to learn more about Cybertronian culture LMAOAOA

[fridayyy-13th]

so i am an ardent Sasha James Enjoyer, and as such i very much dislike fanon!Sasha. her personality and character do a near-complete 180 from canon to fanon, making it tough as hell to find fics that don't just make her the Braincell Mom Friend—if she's even featured—and i took that personally. i'm a fic writer, and i have quite a few WIPs bouncing around in my flash drive that feature her in at least some capacity, and i certainly didn't want to add to the pile of fics where Sasha is Like That. so, a while ago i re-listened to every episode she appears in and Compiled A List of Sasha Trivia, just random bits of info that caught my attention that help me keep a clear image of her character in my head. with maybe a little bit of headcanon thrown in there for fun.

so! without further ado: various Sasha notes bc i love her

never had any direct interactions/experiences with the supernatural before the Distortion

afraid of rollercoasters, doesn't like horror

considered herself a skeptic, thought working in the Institute made her moreso

had a "dreary" commute to work, liked peeking through the old warped windows of her building's stairwell bc it made people distort like a funhouse mirror

a bit of a pedant (calliope)

was more sympathetic towards Martin than the other two were after he gave his first statement in 022, felt bad for him being the target of Jon's ire

sososo curious, to the point it can overpower fear

deliberately didn't tell Jon about her initial encounter with the Distortion bc she knew he'd try to discourage her from going, which she'd already decided to do (stubborn)

of course, followed the Distortion (a whole-ass monster) to a cemetery in the dead of night without telling anyone about it

(she did so because it sounded like it knew a way to save Jon's, Tim's, and Martin's lives, and in the wake of Prentiss targeting Martin, she decided she couldn't take that chance)

"without thinking" she figured out how to kill the worms using CO2. i like to think that was some Knowing right there

Jon considered her the most "level-headed" of the team, and trusted her to be telling the truth

was the one to ask if Jon was okay after being caught off-guard by his surprise party (and was also the one who said it was "kind of fun, giving you a heart attack")

knew Jon was lying about his age, knew about Martin's CV (goes through her coworkers' files)

despite having hacked her way into said confidential files, she considered being recorded during Jon's birthday party an invasion of privacy

bullied Tim into stapling statements that one time

Tim was more outwardly upset by Jon's being promoted instead of Sasha than she was. she knew if she said anything about it she'd just wind up in trouble, so she kept her mouth shut

had been in academia for ten years by the time the Archives transfer occurred

knew about Danny and the reasons Tim joined the Institute

didn't think there was such a thing as a "real you," save for the actions one takes. considered everything else a mask put on for others

was dead-sure (and was correct in thinking that) Gertrude kept the Archives a mess for a reason, and was concerned about what the reason could be

and that's about all! alas it would have been wonderful if we'd gotten the chance to learn more about her, but given she's only in six episodes, some only for a moment, she really is jam-packed full of character and life. i love her so much.

[bigskydreaming]

Totally random thought, but you know how no fandom has such a thing as completely normalized tags, BUT many fandoms or parts of a fandom have popular tags for finding fics on Ao3 with specific tropes?

Like for instance, I remember a few years back that a lot of the fic writers in the pro-Scott corner of Teen Wolf fandom tried to idk, kinda start a trend of using tags like ‘Scott-centric’ or ‘Scott McCall as Primary Character’ when posting fics on Ao3, because we wanted to make it easier for Scott fans to find fics that were specifically ABOUT him, given that there’s usually no way to differentiate between those kinds of fics and fics that have him tagged as being in it.....but he’s just a completely background character in a S/tydia or S/terek fic who has maybe a few lines....which of course is just....not what most Scott fans are looking for when they use Scott McCall in the search filters to try and find something about him to read.

And so anyone who follows us on tumblr, where we talked about this, know to search for ‘Scott-centric’ or ‘Scott McCall as Primary Character’ and they’ll definitely find any fics written by various pro-Scott mutuals....but tumblr isn’t the entirety of any fandom, lol, and there’s plenty of other fics on Ao3 that do fit that tag but wouldn’t necessarily think to use that tag in specific for people to search for.....and even if they DID try to make a distinct tag to advertise that Scott is the main character of their fic, there’s no guarantee that what they come up with would be similar enough phrasing to get sorted into the an common parent tag.

Because something I was thinking about recently is the fact that like......I SUCK at coming up with tags when posting a fic on Ao3. Its easily my least favorite part of the posting process because uh....as any longtime follower knows, I may be creative but ORGANIZED? Not a strength of mine, lol. I can write a 5K one shot no problem, but then tell me now I have to come up with tags that are actually helpful in guiding people who might be interested in it to find it, and I’m like.....Kalen.exe has stopped working.

And I do know I’m not the only one who struggles with tags....both coming up with ones to help people find their fic, or coming up with tags to search for to narrow down their options when looking to read a fic that falls within specific parameters.

The problem of course is getting specific tags to catch on in a way that’s actually opt-in and helpful to both writers and readers.

For example.....fics where Dick Grayson is depicted as being an asshole to Jason Todd when they were younger? Obviously on my no-fly list. Not what I’m ever looking to read, and not something I’d ever write. So of course I always filter out ‘Dick Grayson is a bad brother’ the same way I filter out ‘Scott McCall is a Bad Friend’....but its not like this is guaranteed to catch all or even most fics that contain these tropes. Because while there are writers who dislike these characters enough to highlight that they think they’re jerks, there’s plenty who also write the characters that way but almost as an afterthought or due to popular fanon trends.....while they themselves don’t actually think about the character in question enough that it even occurs to them to include tags that are specific to their depiction of characters who are just....not priorities for them, personally.

But at the same time, as a writer.....whenever I tag fics where I want fans of these characters to know that I am definitely not writing these specific tropes, so fans who are frankly exhausted by the prevalence can easily find my fic among the thousands and thousands of fics that pop up when you just search out their character tags.....

Like, I don’t actually think oh just use the exact opposite tag, even though I wrote the fic to BE the exact opposite of a Dick hates Jason or a Scott is a bad friend fic.

And THAT is because of how many fics get tagged something like Dick Grayson is a Good Brother.....by writers who view ‘being a good brother’ as Dick only ever appearing in that fic to support or prop up one of his siblings. Just like many Scott fans never go searching the ‘Scott McCall is a Good Friend’ tag because of how damn MANY fics tagged that only consider him a good friend when writing him as just.....existing to affirm or validate Stiles and only do what he says at any given opportunity, lol.

Obviously this is a generalization and there ARE fics tagged Dick Grayson is a Good Brother that I would like due to him having a positive relationship with various siblings but WITHOUT being sidelined and still getting to have a sizable role in the fic or a plot of his own....but unless they’re written or recommended by a mutual, I’m not necessarily likely to ever find that fic because in large fandoms like Batfam or Teen Wolf, even specific character tags can be tiring to wade through.

Like I don’t filter OUT these tags in the same way I do specifically negative tags, but I don’t search them out and I certainly don’t tag my stuff with these tags, because as an example....Scott McCall is a Good Friend pulls up 1,800 fics when I search just that tag in specific on Ao3.

And I think most Scott fans would agree that there are NOT 1,800 fics where Scott is portrayed as a good friend....but in a way that still lets him be the kind of nuanced or spotlighted kind of character Scott fans are looking for when they search for something to read. But its still a hell of an undertaking to search through even ‘just’ 1,800 fics in search of the relative few where he is a good friend BUT in a way that actually respects his character and doesn’t just make him a prop for the actual focal characters in a fic.

So when tagging fics I want LIKE-MINDED Dick Grayson or Scott McCall fans to find easily, I’m more likely to tag a fic with something like ‘Dick and Jason don’t hate each other’ or ‘Dick didn’t fire Tim.’ 

I don’t want to tag fics ‘Bruce Wayne Is A Bad Parent’ because so many of those fics exaggerate him into a one-dimensional abusive monster and that’s never what I’m trying to write and I don’t want people automatically filtering out my fic if I use that tag when THEY’RE just trying to avoid over-the-top abusive Bruce fics.....but at the same time, I DO like to focus on specific canon instances where Bruce has been problematic as hell, like NTT #55. 

And I know and respect that there are many Bruce fans who consider a lot of these instances OOC and are just not what they’re looking to read when they look for fics about his dynamic with his kids.....so I’m not about to go tagging a Bruce-critical fic with ‘Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent’ just because I’m not writing that fic to smear Bruce’s character or paint him as an irredeemable monster. Because I get that 90% of the people who go searching the Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent tag aren’t looking to read a fic that highlights one of his more fucked up character moments while still trying to reconcile that within his larger characterization overall....realistically, most fans who search out the Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent tag usually prefer fics that don’t treat his worst parenting instances as canon.

So I think tags that are more nuanced or specific than ‘Bruce Wayne is a Good/Bad Parent’ or ‘Dick Grayson is a Good Brother’ or Scott McCall is a Good Friend absolutely WOULD be helpful for a lot of writers and readers alike....but only if they’re tagged with a phrasing that people actually search out, or that the writer thinks to specify as a tag.

The problem of course being....how do you make more specific tags popular or common enough that they actually catch on in a way that makes it easier to search for fics because these tags become a go-to search option for fans rather than just being a matter of one getting lucky enough to search with a phrasing that a writer thought to specifically tag for?

All of which led me to this thought:

What if instead of trying to make various tags commonplace among specific fandom circles of writers/readers.....any interested writers make use of just ONE specific tag. Something like including “open to tagging suggestions” - not unlike how many writers tag their fics ‘ask to tag’ when open to readers suggesting they include a specific trigger warning that they the writer might have overlooked or not thought to include in the first place?

It has to be acknowledged that you are occasionally going to run into the problem of some readers being presumptive or overbearing about this, framing their suggestions not as suggestions but as ‘you should have tagged your fic with this’......BUT I think the potential benefits mitigate or outweigh this likelihood.

A) Obviously no writer HAS to use any tags suggested by readers, but all the suggestions readers might make for tags an author hasn’t already included.....are going to be tags that reader would have searched for specifically TO find a fic like the one they’re commenting on. 

And while it depends on how many suggestions a writer gets, its not necessarily realistic that a writer is going to end up adding EVERY tag suggested by readers.....but there’s definitely likely to be SOME suggestions that are useful and help guide more interested readers to that fic. Especially if you’re a writer who struggles with tagging and never finds it easy to decide what tags might be relevant or helpful for finding your fic.

B) Volunteering that you’re open to hearing about tagging suggestions makes it more likely that any readers who were put-off by your fic would be polite and helpful when suggesting there’s a tag that could help warn off fans who aren’t looking for the kind of takes you’re offering. The entire reason that tags like “Dick Grayson is a Bad Brother” ARE helpful as search filters is because a writer who uses that tag gets that fans of the character are not likely to enjoy their take on the character. They’re not the intended audience for that fic. Not everything appeals to every reader. 

So there is a precedent for tags intended to warn off fans of various characters that this fic includes characterizations they’re not going to like.....and advertising that you as a writer are receptive to hearing about tags that could warn other readers they might not be the target audience for your fic - especially with longer fics - could in the longrun help you weed out readers who are most likely to be bothered by your characterization of their fave.

C) It could lead to more reader engagement with your fic in general. Readers who might otherwise just leave a kudo, not because they don’t WANT to comment on your fic but because many readers don’t know have a clear idea of what they want to say about a fic or what they liked about it......might be more inclined to think about what about that fic specifically appealed to them, and mention this with a suggestion for a tag. 

Fans who like specific takes on a fave character WANT to see more of these specific takes. The more popular fics that use that take are, the more commonplace that take is likely to become, inspiring others in turn. The more fans are able to regularly seek out fics with this specific take, the more that take becomes known as something fans WANT to seek out, which in turn lets authors know hey, there’s an audience for this take.

So even if you’re a reader who doesn’t frequently comment because you don’t have any idea what to say other than ‘great fic, I really loved it’ and you worry that’s a lame comment or writers don’t want to hear that (its not, btw, I love any and all comments I get).....like, writers using a tag like ‘open to tagging suggestion’ provides both a focus for a potential comment and a REASON to leave a comment when you might not otherwise. 

Because if there is a specific aspect of a fic that you really loved, or it resonated with you because of the author’s specific take on a fave character, letting that author know that this is something that you would’ve sought out their fic for specifically, if they knew from your tags that your fic contained this element or take.....that means there’s likely other readers who would be interested in this fic if they knew that specific appealing element was present.

And you’d not only be helping that author potentially find more readers who are the intended or ideal audience for that specific fic, but having that reason to focus on what about the fic made you love it so much makes it that much easier to come up with something specific to say about it, ie ‘and btw, I really loved this aspect of your fic in particular, or for this specific reason.’

Both of which - more readers and specifics about what readers liked - are things I think most writers would agree we all love.

Anyway, just a musing I was pondering. Thoughts?

[imgoingtocrash]

Thoughts on Rebelcaptain & Velcinta: Jyn and Cinta would definitely be best buddies who look at people with their murderous eyes but are big softies with the ones they love. Cinta would tell Jyn the Cassian’s embarrassing stories like girl I can’t believe you’re in love with him and Jyn is like hahah girl me neither- WAIT NO NO NO I’M NOT IN LOVE WITH HIM!!! (the denial era) Meanwhile Vel and Cassian are the ones who try to look responsible and professional but have lots of private jokes between them (and of course Vel loves to tease him with the way he acts around Jyn like hey Cassian can you stop acting like a teenager in love for 1 minute and focus on the job please)

First off anon I am SO HAPPY you came to me with all of these thoughts. People reblogging my post with vigorous head-nodding about Rebelcaptain and VelCinta interactions has been the best. They all live and are happy because we said so, your honor. It’s making me think about the possibilities even more. (If I didn’t have writer’s block for the past year, I’d be writing fic about it, I know it!!!)

My favorite part of comparing these relationships is that they’re similar dynamics but different people.

Like yes Jyn and Cinta are the more obviously violent ones BUT they do it differently! Jyn has never met an explosion she doesn’t like to watch and also start. She CAN be quiet and lethal but that’s not always typical for a Rogue One mission lmao. Meanwhile, Cinta definitely learned the quickest, quietest ways to kill. (Even when those events have definitely impacted her psyche over the years, like the kill she makes in the season finale.)

Jyn will obnoxiously and loudly say I AM NOT IN LOVE WITH CASSIAN SHUT UP to cover her feelings while Cinta is just plainly like “Vel is the love of my life.” and then moves on like YES they’re bonding they’re dishing they’re braiding each other’s hair while discussing blaster models, it’s beautiful!!

Similarly what I cut out of that original post idea because I couldn’t phrase it in a simple way was that I think it would be very fun if, because of how Cassian barged into her life and mission, Vel is competitive as hell with him.

She spent YEARS flitting in and out of the Coruscant world of fake laughs and weird champagne and dealing with her dumbass cousin-in-law’s comments for this Rebellion and Cassian just WALTZES IN and not only helps the mission succeed but instantly kills Skeen for trying to take the loot and leave them for dead. And after spending months trying to find his stupid ass…he willingly joins Intelligence as is an incredibly useful contributor and eventually takes part in an integral mission to the Rebellion’s success. And also he’s kind of great to have as a partner on a mission but it will take her literal years to admit that to anyone willingly.

(This is also a rant she tells to Cinta at some point in the confines of their bunk.)

And from Cassian’s POV he’s constantly trying to prove himself to Vel because of that! She’s been in this fight longer, technically, (Let’s not get into the fanon vs. canon backstory stuff rn for the sake of me keeping this weird fangirl rant straight) and he’s like Hell Yes teach me your spy tricks and also I will never stab you in the back again EVER.

For some reason the scene has come into my head of Vel teaching Cassian some kind of fancy Waltz or whatever for a mission and she’s like If You Step On My Toes Again I Will Stab You but also they’re kind of having fun and getting along because spy-ing is what they both do best and creating a cover and all that comes with it is probably their mutual catnip. They’re like…vitriolic buds.

But also…she fell hard for Cinta. Like she wasn’t prepared to find love in the middle of this war and you can see how much she struggles with balancing that and the mission in-series. So I agree, she would probably be like: Cassian. You don’t know how long you have. If you like her just fucking SAY IT. I promise that it’s worth the risk in the end.

And it’s probably the most emotionally honest and personal with him that she’s ever been in their friendship-of-sorts-thing that they have, so he takes it to heart. But also he’s like “You two have been together as long as I’ve known you and you STILL look at Cinta like that, what’s your excuse?” and Vel immediately starts talking about how she she wishes she’d dropped his ass into the dirt when they met, he’s SUCH a pain. 🙄

The way I don’t think the actual series will do this for them and I just pulled all of this out of my butt but I love the idea of it…yeah. That’s a nice little dynamic thing we’ve got going here. It’s so much fun to think about. I love it. 🥹

[finitefall]

It's so weird to see the show hell bent on making some random love story between rhaenyra and Alicent and it's so fucking badly written to the point it's completely meaningless and out of place . And Alicent stans dare to accuses us of homophobia and bigotry despite the fact many of us are part of LGBT community just because we don't like some fictional ship. And I'm actually worried that if HBO will make a show about Robert's Rebellion they would make a weird love story between rhaegar and robert , the whole reason of the rebellion because Robert felt betrayed when rhaegar chose lyanna over him lmao . One of the showrunners literally said that Alicent and rhaenyra tried to reach out to each other so they can be together again (that was a comment on the feast episode with Viserys family) Now this brings to the question , why we didn't see the same happening to Aegon and rhaenyra? If They could change characters’ ages and dynamics to make Rhaenyra and Alicent the same age and best friends, why we couldn’t get that much for the siblings who literally went to war against each other, and then that resulted at the end in one brutally murdering the other in front of her son? In the book both of rhaenyra and aegon dislike each other and unlike the show there is a relationship going on there even if it's not a good one. While in the show i don't know if they know that they are siblings at this point.

Because the book is a History book written by men, so it's very misogynistic to believe it according to Condal & Hess who are all about feminism and putting those two female characters victims of men at the heart of the show. So of course we saw Alicent and Rhaenyra trying to reach out to each other in episode 8. Aegon? Who cares, it's not about him, HOTD is the Alicent and Rhaenyra show!

Just don't try telling Greens stans and Rhaenicent shippers that the writers actually messed up the characters so badly that the writing is sexist, because they truly believe in the same screwed up definition of feminism than the writers.

Yep, if you don't like their queerbait ship, you're homophobic. Look, I've had f/f and m/m fanon ships and I didn't say crap about the canon m/f ship (which is Daemon and Rhaenyra here). I wouldn't mind people having Rhaenicent as a fanon ship: my problem is with the writers trying to push it down our throats and Rhaenicent shippers insisting it's canon. And as you say, even people who aren't straight are accused of being homophobic because they ship Daemyra instead of Rhaenicent. I had an anon insulting me here about this, there were so many things that were wrong in this message.

[ripaxed]

shed tell me all of your opinions on the tdroti ladies right now. this includes svetlana if you skip her i will scream. /lh

Oooh the gen 2 gals

Staci: She’s a fairly funny character in canon! I get a good chuckle from how other characters react to her (especially Dawn. I think it’s so funny whenever they get mad or annoyed). Also I think it’s cute that she styles hair :]. Though more of my affection for Staci comes from fanon. I greatly enjoy the idea that Staci is insecure socially and uses her lies to try to find validation from her peers. She’s sadly my least favorite of roti’s cast but that’s much more about of how much I like gen 2 than anything else.

Dakota: Dakota is genuinely one of my absolute favorite characters in all of total drama. I love her character concept because of just how popular Total Drama is in-universe of course a teenager would look towards it for fame. The additional idea of her returning as an intern is genuinely creative and well executed. I think genuinely all of her jokes land and they capture her personality perfectly to make her flawed and in need of growing but still completely likable throughout. Her and Sam’s romance is well developed and genuinely sweet, and love that it actively makes both characters better in my opinion. I have some mixed feeling about Dakotazoid, but I do like how plays into her character arc and I think her being a wrestler and living her dream of being famous through a new angle is delightful.

Dawn: TD D&D SWEEP Dawn is such a unique and funny character. I think she could interact well with basically any other character in the series. I absolutely adore how the writers used her as a tool for the audience to learn more about other characters. They’re a fun little oddity to think about. Easily one of the most memorable early (or earlish) boot characters in the show. My thoughts on Dawn that aren’t just rambles are rather concise but do not think that means I adore this character any less.

Anne Maria: Anne Maria is a very funny character that I think is under appreciated in a wide sense! She has such a fun little personality and I like this line she balances between being either very sweet or brash. It makes her a rather well rounded character in my eyes! She has so many memorizable lines More like Queen I’m-A-Dorka! and just moments in general. This is rather small I do like how Anne Maria sticks up for Cameron and Brick, it’s very sweet to me. Speaking of Anne and Brick I also like how she took his early position as being Jo’s opposition! They have a fun back and forth. Anne Maria is a very fun character that I wish had a bit more focus in the season proper. Also her and Vito are cute :>

Svetlana: Svetlana is an entertaining character! I have a notable enjoyment of athletic td characters that can dominate challenges. I wouldn’t say necessarily say she’s my favorite of the system but she does have my favorite moments of them I think. Svetlana helps you now. Yes, I am knowning this! Svet steals the show whenever she shows up and I like that its a genuine character trait. She’s a showboat! She knows she’s talented and is going to make sure others know!

Jo: What a standout character Jo is! Easily one of my favorites in the season proper. She’s such a bulldozer she easily directs the whole season into how it turns out. I realize I’ve. said this multiple times but Jo is genuinely such a hilarious character, I love her nicknames and I think she has an amazing va! Jo has a plethora of amazing rivalries between Cameron, Brick, and Lightning and I think that’s apart of why she’s so vital to ROTI’s dna! And I do appreciate an episode dedicated to showing off her insecurities! It makes her so much more two dimensional and an interesting character to think about! Jo’s amazing.

Zoey: What an odd character Zoey ended up being. A character that was presented with often conflicting personality traits that were quite possibly made unconsciously by the writers. Still however, I find those conflicting personality traits to be exceptionally interesting and makes Zoey a more complex character to a degree. I do find it disappointing her label as the Indie Chick wasn’t always used to its full potential, there’s elements of it in Zoey’s scenes of course, but she doesn’t wear her stereotype on her sleeve like her castmates do. Over all, the best way I can say how i feel about Zoey is that she’s an enjoyable character when not in the presence of her love interest. Which is unfortunate of course. However, I’d rather not leave this on a poor note so I’ll say this, I do really like Commando Zoey. I like that Zoey realized her own vulnerability in the game and did something about it. Her frustration with Scott and even with herself possibly manifesting in a hardcore challenge beast. She gets so in her head about surviving the competition however, she loses herself and puts Cameron into harm’s way. I like that she snaps out of it and effectively abandons her place in the game for her friend. I like Zoey when I think about her, but I don’t think she was used to her full potential in the season proper

[turboautismrobot]

a kokichi truther could sit me down and ramble about how awsome he is for like an hour and id gladly listen but i still wouldnt understand why people are so drawn to him

i mean, hes the v3 antag and of course people will be drawn to the antag, byakuya and komaeda are also incredibly popular characters, but kokichis character falls so flat to me i just dont get it at all

fanon kokichi often makes him lean into the "not actually evil" thing or erases it completely and makes him straight up evil and a piece of shit and i like those interpretations way more than what he actually is :/

chapter 4 of v3 was insane yes but i still dont understand why he killed miu if hes so "against murder" (which side note but being "against murder" is the funniest shit i ever like killing people is bad?? yeah no shit its fucking bad, welcome to being a normal person bruh) and chapter 5 solidified kokichi as an attempt on the writers part to make another komaeda

but heres the thing with trying to make the same impact that nagito did, komaeda is such a carefully constructed character with so much depth and so many layers that you cant emulate him without an insane amount of work, all of the pieces for nagitos character fall into place seamlessly, he makes sense

kokichi will have monokuma tell you, though his motive video, which has no reason to lie to the audience since it was only ment for kokichi to watch, that he abhors murder and has strictly prohibited it within his gang, and then manipulate gonta into killing miu and watch him do it with a straight face. pick one liar boy

after komaeda dies he is still relevant, after you clock the suicide his trial becomes increasingly terrifying, even when hes dead he seems to be fully in control of the trial, theres a whole mini chapter just about him and kamukura, hinata is still conflicted about him and wants to understand him after he dies, theres the whole cutting his own arm off and replacing it with junkos thing. even if he doesnt have the whole narrative at gun point nagito is still significant after his death, the game still makes a point to bring him up and presence or lack there of is meaningful

after ouma boy dies and his trial is over we find out he, somehow, isnt actually evil and it kind of Ends At That. we find out the camera bots trough the blueprint he made but none of the characters give him any thought after it, his abscence isnt noticed, hes not missed, no one pays him any mind after his death, not even the game. rantaro, the first death of the game, becomes more significant than the antagonist that had been with us the entire time

nagitos luck talent is relevant, its trough his luck that he is traumatized time and time again and turns out the way he is, its trough his luck that he survives the russian roulette and gets the hope's peak file, its trough his luck that his insanely elaborate kamikaze plan ALMOST works, its trough hinatas understanding of nagito and his luck that it fails at the very end

kokichis supreme leader talent is irrelevant, his skills as a petty theif have more spotlight than his talent, in a game with so much emphasis on talent that we have the talent ultimate labs the antagonists talent means nothing, kokichi never leads anything, in fact he isolates and fucks off to the ether for most of the game, i cannot recall a single moment his talent was relevant other than making everyone belive he lead the remnants of despair at some point (which side note if some random mf showed up trying to become a new leader to the despairs they would have killed him i think lmao. specially if its post dr2)

i dont have a conclusion to end this on, im not a kokichi enjoyer but he has successfully become a minor roman empire in my brain due to how mid he is lol

[roxannepolice]

Re: your new meta post on dw, I don't really know how to articulate my thoughts properly, but I think it kinda comes down to... fans of the show wanting to make jokes or ideas that Sound Funny/Interesting, but don't actually make sense in terms of characterization or the show's philosophy. Like... when someone wants to make a joke about something stereotypical about an animal, even though it's not exactly true? Like the idea of praying mantises cannibalizing their mates, as an example. It's a commonly known pop culture idea that we know works as a metaphor for human relationships, even if it's not scientifically accurate.

People want to make jokes about the master having the hots for TLV doctor, even though in actuality the master wouldn't react positively, because it'd skew their entire dynamic and what attracts/repels them from each other. People think it's funny, or an interesting concept, or makes for good fan content ideas, or they just have their ship goggles on too tight. (Trying not to be too mean about this, here)

It's a fine line to walk to not be a buzzkill about fans doing this, because people should be able to have fun, even if the lack of coherent characterization and fanon-ification bothers me. Going with the praying mantis example, I try not to be too "um, actually" about scientific myths or old wives tales, either.

But for what it's worth, I think that staying true to characterization accuracy is really important for doctor who, compared to other pieces of fiction, because of the nature of regeneration and different actors portraying the same character. There has to be some level of consistency from the first to the latest, or it risks falling apart.

And... for better and worse, the show is written and run by fans nowadays, so all the things I've said about the fandom applies to the writer's room, too.

Anyway, I enjoy reading your meta and following you, you're very pragmatic and I appreciate the way that you care a lot about these sort of things. I don't know if people give you a hard time about it, but I wanted to say that I appreciate your posts, in case people do give you a hard time for not just going along with popular fan depictions of the characters :)

Thank you, nonny, I really needed such reassurance today ❤️❤️ I wouldn't exaggerate that I'm getting a hard time over my takes, more that. hard time would be in a way better than no response. Like, I feel like a knight that's travelled a very long way over the seven lakes, and seven mountains, and seven forests only to hear that her lord is verily the fairest man to look upon. That's nice, now joust with me for fun! And of course I respect that not everyone is in the mood, but I also get the impression tumblr culture has developed a self-defence mechanism where, if you don't agree with something (particularly something as end of the day trivial as a tv show), you don't interact lest you get excommunicated, even though you actually want to discuss. Basically, I make a point of being open to discussion (in fact, craving discussion), because I would give a lot for such reassurance from others...

Anyway, yeah I see your point about how fandom making cases that don't necessarily work is fun, which is why I make separate posts about why I disagree (again, tell me I can discuss in the original post and I will sacrifice my first born to you). But there's also a level at which widespread fanons lead to even more detached from canon interpretations, and sometimes I just feel a need to say ok, stop there. Like, using your wonderful mantis metaphor, it's one thing when someone compares their partner to a mantis, either honestly or jokingly, and another when you read a full long post about how female praying mantises are the epitome of "natural", human feminity, either in a all-women-are-evil way or hell-yeah-girlboss way. At some point you just have to say "dude, that's not even how mantises work". But still, I do get the point.

Again, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts abd very kind words!

[teaveetamer]

As someone who is currently learning Japanese, I often wonder if the majority of the people who make the "in Japanese, Character X actually says this"-argument (happens in a lot of Japanese-media-related fandoms) have even the most basic understanding of the Japanese language to be honest.

Thing about Japanese is, it works completely differently from not just Indogermanic (meaning European, Indian and some Middle Eastern), but any other languages out there, even the ones it's closer related to like Chinese and Korean. That's why it's so difficult to learn Japanese: you basically have to forget everything you know about language.

Honestly, I don't think it is an inheritly bad thing this happens in fandom a lot, because in 90+% of the cases, it's about trivial stuff and can actually spawn some pretty cool fanon things. However, once someone claims they write serious meta and do not have an understanding of how Japanese works as a language (not saying all meta-writers are that way, I've seen plenty who seem to have a really good understanding of Japanese actually), it can become problematic because it not only leads to (mostly unintentional but sometimes deliberate) misinterpretations and misunderstandings, but also gives people a completely wrong impression of the language and by extension, the culture. Language and culture go hand-in-hand after all.

Of course we're all human, and mistakes, misinterpretations and misunderstandings happen. That is okay, and I don't want to tell anyone to not write Meta that takes the original Japanese versions of their source material into account. After all, plenty of people are also learning Japanese and this can be a great help. However, I think a meta should never be regarded as "more valid" because it takes the Japanese version of something into account. I also think that anyone who doesn't have Japanese as a first language and includes it in their meta should disclose this, especially if using someone else's translation to go by.

I do think that we, above all, need to remember that even people who have been speaking the language for years with a relatively high competency level can still make mistakes just because of how opaque Japanese can be sometimes.

I think it's absolutely irresponsible for someone who doesn't know much, if anything, about the language to try and use it like this without confirming with someone who does know the language really well. And I think it's obvious to everyone who saw that take that either the guy had no knowledge of Japanese and tried to read/use it anyway, or he was getting some really bad advice from someone who doesn't have a very solid understanding of it.

And mistakes happen! Mistakes are fine, so long as you correct those mistakes when they are pointed out to you, as soon as they are pointed out to you. To not do so is just irresponsible and honestly kind of offensive in this particular case. Like, you're literally treating this language and culture like a prop for your argument, regardless of what it actually says or how all of the people who have corrected you feel about it.

[emptypassicn-moved]

@angelicgentleman       sent ;;

        “   my punchable url ”

From ;; Send me your URL and I’ll tell you // No Longer Accepting

My Opinion on; Tea (@/angelicgentleman)

Character in general: Pip is a character who, in canon, I don’t much mind. I like his canon iterations, both SP and GE. I do often wish SP Pip had done more with the fact he’s a parody of GE Pip and, similarly, wish interpretations of SP Pip more often used the fact he’s a parody of GE Pip. Though, most “Pip fans” or “Pip writers” seemingly never even bother checking out anything about the source material. Pip is also one of the characters I generally see get butchered the worst by fanon for SP, removing any spine he has and making him horrifically attached to Damien. I’ve already posted something stating my immense distaste for parts of Pip’s fanon portrayal but I figure it’s worth mentioning here as well.

How they play them: Quite well.

Tea’s Pip I was honestly initially suspicious of. I’ve met far too many Pips who write him like the fanon version or, at the least, ignore his episode as well as his “original media” a ton. Her Pip also had some traits that Pips like that have tended to, adding to my initial suspicion and hesitancy. But Tea is the only other Pip writer, aside from one I used to write with, to not only not use the fanon version but also keep in mind his episode as well as his original media. And, in all honesty, it is great to actually great to see a Pip writer that seems to genuinely give a shit about both his specific episode canon and the canon of the original novel.

I didn’t think I’d ever actually get to write my Herbert against a Pip who didn’t default to the “Damien is Pip’s best friend” or “Pip has no friends” thought processes again, let alone one who was actually aware of their relationship in the original novel. Yet here we are. I’ve enjoyed writing Herbert against Tea’s Pip immensely, it’s the first time in a long while I’ve actually been able to enjoy having any form of relationship between those two characters. Not to mention now having an excuse to more consistently use Herbert, one of the two favorites, is nice. /hj

Tea’s Pip is probably the best Pip I’ve seen aside from the one I used to write with. Her Pip is polite but still has a spine, as Pip should. Also still hates French people and agreed to brawl with my Mole, as he should. Honestly, it’s a refreshing take on Pip after so many constantly either being outright terrible or just kind of bland and not taking advantage of either source material.

I’ve only really ever had like a few things about her Pip iteration to make me go “hrm, feels weird” but they’ve been things I’ve been able to understand through chatter or just interacting with her Pip.

The Mun: Tea is nice.

Tea was awkward for me to talk to at first, though things tend to be that way when trying to talk to someone more online. I never really had any “issues” with her either outside of me occasionally not really understanding what she was saying. She’s been nice to get to know and talk to over DMs as well as chattering about shit with as well as plot with.

It’s actually really nice to meet someone who actually did read GE and also is actively interested in it. And seemingly uses it in their Pip since, well, Pip SP is meant to be Pip GE directly (just in a parody sense). I’m someone who really likes GE so being able to grip someone who seems to be similarly interested in it is just nice.

She’s been nice to chat with in DMs about various things as well as joke with. And I “grip (affectionate)” her.

Do I:

RP with them: I do.

Want to RP with them: Of course.

What is my;

Overall Opinion: 0/10 for attaching that punchable Gregory image that broke how I usually format my ask answers /j

But, in all seriousness, I think Tea is great. She’s nice in general and nice to talk to. Would recommend her Pip as it’s one of the best I’ve been able to interact with.

Pip blunt forever ig.

**Note: Mun’s answer are all to be completely honest. Don’t send url if you don’t want brutal honesty

[johannstutt413]

(requested by calligomiles; continuing from this)

“Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!” Ptilopsis’ head peered into Olivia’s room as her alarm sounded. “Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!”

“I’m awake, I’m awake.” Not that she particularly felt it, but she was getting out of bed nonetheless.

Tilly giggled to herself. “Ifrit already left for class. She ate all of her breakfast, including the seconds she requested.”

“Impressive.” The drowsier Liberi had found her glasses and now much less blind began to dress for the lab. “Thank you for taking care of her. If I can find the time to learn to cook, I should.”

“Dr. Silence already works so hard to save the world, though. Ptilopsis has no objection to supporting her in that endeavor however necessary.” Although admittedly, it was an element of her daily calculation.

Silence shrugged on her topcoat before hugging the mid-number-crunching analyst. “I’ll be helping Iffy with her project tonight. Saria said she might come by for a bit as well to pitch in, but I won’t be upset if you go home with her.”

“Understood.” Mostly. “Firewall temporarily disabled. I’ve noticed the two of you talk more with each passing day, but this is the first I’m hearing of you allowing Saria to see Ifrit.”

“Her project is more focused on the skeletal system than anything else, and I think Saria’s substantially more familiar with that field of anatomy than I am...Besides, she’s proven herself with how she treats you.”

Ptilopsis blushed. “Oh.”

“I know it’s taken me some time to admit it,” the doctor continued, following her beloved to their waiting breakfast, “but after all the time she spent working for and with Iffy, it’s not fair for me to keep them separated. She did what she thought was best, and regardless of whether I agreed with or agree now with her decisions, they were made with good intentions. Sorry to start the morning like this.”

“It’s fine. Ptilopsis is glad you continue growing as a person.” She hadn’t declared that she’d re-erected her firewall, but it was clear from context.

They ate breakfast after transitioning to talking about their business for the day - patients with scheduled visits, the other Medics on rotation for their shift, their usual morning briefing - but before they left for the office, Olivia pulled her close for another hug. “Thank you. I couldn’t do this without you.”

“‘This?’” Tilly temporarily halted her work protocols. “In what context?”

“Raising Ifrit, attending to Rhodes Island’s Infected, researching Oripathy, deploying on missions...You make my life possible.” She managed to catch herself before crying properly, but a stray tear rolled down her face and onto the analyst’s jacket.

The other Liberi twittered sweetly in her ear. “The same is true for me.”

“It is?...Thank you.” A brief collapsing of the little space between them, a kiss that lasted either seconds or years, and Rhine Labs’ former Oripathy expert was ready to start the day. Work went as expected through lunch, with patients and care plans and the occasional accolade or scolding of some Operator or another. When the Liberi lovers came back from the cafeteria, however, a familiar Vouivre was waiting for them.

“Good afternoon.” Saria was in business mode. “The Doctor needs me to deploy for a mission; I need a pre-deployment exam.”

Silence nodded. “Ptilopsis can take care of you.”

“...If it’s all the same, can we all talk in the exam room in private?”

“Hmm.” The doctor glanced at Tilly, who was rebooting quickly after a momentary blue screen, before nodding. “If you prefer.”

The trio took the nearest open room, and as the analyst performed the exam, the Vouivre got down to business. “I made notes for Ifrit’s presentation, but since I won’t be there to help, I sent them to both of your inboxes. There’s more than enough information for her to ace her assignment.”

“Thank you. I’m sure she’ll be happy to tell you how she did when you come back.” There was no question that she’d be coming back, after all.

“...Which brings me to my other point.” She sighed, taking a moment to collect herself. “When I come back, I’d like to have a full discussion, all parties involved, about setting a schedule for me to spend time with Iffy.”

Silence lived up to her codename as Ptilopsis carried on dutifully with her task, doing her best to ignore the conversation and focus on procedure. “I...I think that’s a good idea.”

“You do?” Saria’s heart rate, as measured by the device her examiner was using to measure it, betrayed her surprise.

“Yes.” Olivia made sure she didn’t respond with the other phrase that came to mind. “I isolated her from you, and the rest of the world, out of a hyperbolized sense of danger. Not that there weren’t genuine concerns for her well-being, but in keeping her under lock and key like I was, there’s a possibility I did more harm than the good I intended. I’m not the only person in her life who’s made rash decisions out of good intentions, and it’s hypocritical of me to keep pretending that my mistakes are justified when others weren’t.”

The Defender sighed. “So it’s still a mistake, then.”

“I think so...but I’m learning to admit when I might be wrong.”

“I see.” This’d turned out better than she’d thought it would. “Tilly?”

The Liberi took a breath before shifting her attention. “Yes?”

“When I said ‘all parties,’ that includes you.” The Vouivre looked her directly in the eye.

“Understood.” Ptilopsis shut down her defenses for a moment. “Why?”

That was a rare question to hear from her; the analyst was much more a ‘how’ and ‘when’ sort of person. “Because you’re part of her family, too. You deserve a say.”

“But I don’t have any concrete opinion on the matter. I’m happy you’ll be able to spend time with her, but the specifics are up to you and Olivia.” It was a good thing she was essentially done with her examination; this was going to eat up most of her processing power, she could already tell.

“Tilly,” Silence interjected, “it does affect you, though. You’re very careful with how you spend your time, and Saria and Iffy spending more time together will affect your calculations.”

She nodded. “It will.”

“So if we set a schedule that makes it harder for you to make those calculations, that’s not fair to you. We know how hard it is for you-”

“No. You don’t.” The analyst looked each of them in the eye in turn. “But that’s okay.”

The room around Olivia and Saria disappeared from their awareness as Ptilopsis reactivated her defenses and continued her work. It wasn’t until she finished that the Vouivre had any kind of follow-up, which was lifting her off her feet in a tight embrace. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for-”

“Oh, cut the bullshit, there definitely is.” The Defender set her down but kept her arms around her. “Every time we get into a fight or try to reconcile, we disrupt your life at a deep emotional level, and even if it’s better for us to try and get along, you get dragged along behind us in the process. We know your condition, but we don’t how it feels - you’re the only one who does. That doesn’t mean you have a right to lash out, but you do have the right to speak up, and we want to hear you.”

Tilly couldn’t keep walls up in the face of that. “Ptil...I know that, love.”

“Then take my apology for springing this on you in the middle of the week.” She held the Liberi’s gaze even as her vision started to blur.

“O-okay.” The analyst sighed before wrapping her arms behind Saria’s neck and pulling down slightly for a kiss. “You’re forgiven.”

The Vouivre let her go. “Thank you.”

“You are too, dear,” Ptilopsis continued, addressing Silence as she walked over to hug her as well.

“Thank you...and I’m sorry.” The doctor squeezed her like she had that morning. “We never explicitly said we would stop making these kinds of changes, but we did imply it a few weeks ago.”

The other Liberi shook her head. “Data changes, people change, and life goes on. Ptilo...I want you both to be your best, your happiest, and if that means chaos, then- Firewall engaging, overriding, halting process- then so be it. I need to be better, too. I’m sorry you had to hear the Other Voice.”

“You’ve held it at bay for years,” Saria noted, walking over to hug her from the opposite side. “That can’t be easy, especially with everything that’s happened.”

Olivia nodded. “Certainly not...I believe the Doctor is expecting you, Saria?”

“Unfortunately. I should probably be on time for the shuttle.” As she let go of Tilly, her hand accidentally touched Silence’s. The doctor said nothing. The Defender said nothing.

Ptilopsis made a note to record that in her diary that evening.

[incoherentbabblings]

What fanon interpretations of DC characters do you dislike and which ones do you like (if you like any)?

I don't read much DC fanfic anymore I have to say, so I may be utterly missing some of the more prevalent ones...

I don't mind fanon where it's based around hobbies or interests? It's a real sticking point for some, but I genuinely don't mind it.

I know it's pretty much canon now, but for example Cass being into theatre and dance. I like that one. And Tim being into photography is one I don't mind at all either, in fact I use it a lot in my own writing. So yeah, let Jason be really into books for instance, beyond just... Knowing the plot to Three Musketeers. I don't think they are a net negative at all for the characters. It's just a hobby or interest - something for people to relate to outside of the supeheroing.

I'm... Very picky for Tim fics. If there's angst for Tim to cry about it better be a self inflicted crisis rather than anything than his family have done to him. He can cry and be miserable and depressed - of course he can - but I'd rather it was about things that had happened to others (to show his compassion) or a right old mess he'd managed to get himself into (to show his bullheadedness). Rather than 'my parents never truly loved me' or 'damian/jason are cruel to me and dick/bruce are just allowing it to happen'.

Tell you one thing though, I wish fanon made a bigger deal out of his more manic episodes (that aren't motivated by sleep deprivation or coffee I should qualify). I know it's more of a New 52 onwards thing, but Tim's mood has been shown to have very big highs along with quite bad lows, I think it would be interesting if people explored that more.

The one I think we all struggle with, readers and writers both, is having the supporting batfam characters pop up, and they only exist to prop up the pov or opinion of the fic's main characters. I think Dick, Cass, Steph and Duke suffer the worst from this. For the sake of a) not having the time and space to make room for more conflict or b) just not caring about them enough, disputes or clashing opinions or ideologies are hammered into being flat. So, for example, Dick being placid and very easy going and the perfect big brother, Cass having anything to do with Jason when he's still on a 'is murder ethical' debate, Steph and Duke just being there to rack up numbers or to have them be blandly optimistic or snarky about shenanigans.

I think in those instances, it's okay to cut the supporting characters. You don't need to include everyone just for the sake of ticking boxes I think. Like I say however, this is something I do myself from time to time. You need a character to come in and say/do something to move the plot along and you just have to go with one the audience is already familiar with. So... Catch-22 that one I think.

What else... Um... I guess then it just turns into my personal preferences. Steph is a lot softer and quieter than people give her credit for. I like Dick to still be a couple of levels above his siblings in any given topic, since he has a decade's experience on most of them. I don't mind Bruce being depicted as a good or bad dad, but I can't stand fics which look at a canon instance of his being abhorrent, and try to justify it or have other characters forgive him for it. Not until that conversation happens in canon I say. There should be more Duke and Cass fics because he understands her the best (sorry Tim and Steph).

Though - favourite fanon? Anything that exaggerates or emphasises Damian and Dick's parent child dynamic. I have to say, that's one I'm a right sucker for.

Which ones do you guys like/loathe? Are there ones I missed that you think are the worst?