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army-of-mai-lovers · 3 years

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in which I get progressively angrier at the various tropes of atla fandom misogyny

tbh I think it would serve all of us to have a larger conversation about the specific ways misogyny manifests in this fandom, because I’ve seen a lot of people who characterize themselves as feminists, many of whom are women themselves, discuss the female characters of atla/lok in misogynistic ways, and people don’t talk about it enough.

disclaimer before I start: I’m not a woman, I’m an afab nonbinary person who is semi-closeted and thus often read as a woman. I’m speaking to things that I’ve seen that have made me uncomfy, but if any women (esp women existing along other axes of oppression, e.g. trans women, women of color, disabled women, etc) want to add onto this post, please do!

“This female character is a total badass but I’m not even a little bit interested in exploring her as a human being.”

I’ve seen a lot of people say of various female characters in atla/lok, “I love her! She’s such a badass!” now, this statement on its own isn’t misogynistic, but it represents a pretty pervasive form of misogyny that I’ve seen leveled in large part toward the canon female love interests of one or both of the members of a popular gay ship (*cough* zukka *cough*) I’m going to use Suki as an example of this because I see it with her most often, but it can honestly be applied to nearly every female character in atla/lok. Basically, people will say that they stan Suki, but when it comes time to engage with her as an actual character, they refuse to do it. I’ve seen meta after meta about Zuko’s redemption arc, but I so rarely see people engage with Suki on any level beyond “look at this cool fight scene!” and yeah, I love a cool Suki fight scene as much as anybody else, but I’m also interested in meta and headcanons and fics about who she is as a person, when she isn’t an accessory to Sokka’s development or doing something cool. of course, the material for this kind of engagement with Suki is scant considering she doesn’t have a canon backstory (yet) (don’t let me down Faith Erin Hicks counting on you girl) but with the way I’ve seen people in this fandom expand upon canon to flesh out male characters, I know y’all have it in you to do more with Suki, and with all the female characters, than you currently do. frankly, the most engagement I’ve seen with Suki in mainstream fandom is justifying either zukki (which again, is characterizing her in relation to male characters, one of whom she barely interacts with in canon) or one of the Suki wlw pairings. which brings me to--

“I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!”

now, I will admit, two of my favorite atla ships are yueki and mailee, and so I totally understand being interested in these characters’ dynamics, even if, as is the case with yueki, they’ve never interacted canonically. however, it becomes a problem for me when these ships are always in the background of a zukka fic. at some point, it becomes obvious that you like this ship because it gets either Zuko or Sokka’s female love interests out of the way, not because you actually think the characters would mesh well together. It’s bad form to dislike a female character because she gets in the way of your gay ship, so instead, you find another girl to pair her off with and call it a day. to be clear, I’m not saying that everybody who ships either mailee or yueki (or tysuki or maisuki or yumai or whatever other wlw rarepair involving Zuko or Sokka’s canon love interests) is nefariously trying to sideline a female character while acting publicly as if she’s is one of their faves--far from it--but it is noteworthy to me how difficult it is to find content that centers wlw ships, while it’s incredibly easy to find content that centers zukka in which mailee and/or yueki plays a background role.

also, notice how little traction wlw Katara ships gain in this fandom. when’s the last time you saw yuetara on your dash? there’s no reason for wlw Katara ships to gain traction in a fandom that is so focused on Zuko and Sokka getting together, bc she doesn’t present an immediate obstacle to that goal (at least, not an obstacle that can be overcome by pairing her up with a woman). if you are primarily interested in Zuko and Sokka’s relationship, and your queer readings of other female characters are motivated by a desire to get them out of the way for zukka, then Katara’s canon m/f relationship isn’t a threat to you, and thus, there’s no reason to read her as potentially queer. Or even, really, to think about her at all.

“Katara’s here but she’s not actually going to do anything, because deep down, I’m not interested in her as a person.”

the show has an enormous amount of textual evidence to support the claim that Sokka and Katara are integral parts of each other’s lives. so, she typically makes some kind of appearance in zukka content. sometimes, her presence in the story is as an actual character with layers and nuance, someone whom Sokka cares about and who cares about Sokka in return, but also has her own life and goals outside of her brother (or other male characters, for that matter.) sometimes, however, she’s just there because halfway through writing the author remembered that Sokka actually has a sister who’s a huge part of the show they’re writing fanfiction for, and then they proceed to show her having a meetcute with Aang or helping Sokka through an emotional problem, without expressing wants or desires outside of those characters. I’m honestly really surprised that I haven’t seen more people calling out the fact that so much of Katara’s personality in fanon revolves around her connections to men? she’s Aang’s girlfriend, she’s Sokka’s sister, she’s Zuko’s bestie. never mind that in canon she spends an enormous amount of time fighting against (anachronistic, Westernized) sexism to establish herself as a person in her own right, outside of these connections. and that in canon she has such interesting complex relationships with other female characters (e.g. Toph, Kanna, Hama, Korra if you want to write lok content) or that there are a plethora of characters with whom she could have interesting relationships with in fanon (Mai, Suki, Ty Lee, Yue, Smellerbee, and if you want to write lok content, Kya II, Lin, Asami, Senna, etc). to me, the lack of fandom material exploring Katara’s relationships with other women or with herself speak to a profound indifference to Katara as a character. I’m not saying you have to like Katara or include her in everything you write, but I am asking you to consider why you don’t find her interesting outside of her relationships with men.

“I hate Katara because she talks about her mother dying too often.”

this is something I’ve seen addressed by people far more qualified than I to address it, but I want to mention it here in part because when I asked people which fandom tropes they wanted me to talk about, this came up often, but also because I find it really disgusting that this is a thing that needs to be addressed at all. Y’all see a little girl who watched her mother be killed by the forces of an imperialist nation and say that she talks about it too much??? That is a formational, foundational event in a child’s life. Of course she’s going to talk about it. I’ve seen people say that she doesn’t talk about it that often, or that she only talks about it to connect with other victims of fn imperialism e.g. Jet and Haru, but frankly, she could speak about it every episode for no plot-significant reason whatsoever and I would still be angry to see people say she talks about it too much. And before you even bring up the Sokka comparison, people deal with grief in different ways. Sokka repressed a lot of his grief/channeled it into being the “man” of his village because he knew that they would come for Katara next if he gave them the opportunity. he probably would talk about his mother more if a) he didn’t feel massive guilt at not being able to remember what she looked like, and b) he was allowed to be a child processing the loss of his mother instead of having to become a tiny adult when Hakoda had to leave to help fight the fn. And this gets into an intersection with fandom racism, in that white fans (esp white American fans) are incapable of relating to the structural trauma that both Sokka and Katara experience and thus can’t see the ways in which structural trauma colors every single aspect of both of their characters, leading them to flatten nuance and to have some really bad takes. And you know what, speaking of bad fandom takes--

“Shitting on Mai because she gets in the way of my favorite Zuko ship is actually totally okay because she’s ~abusive~”

y’all WHAT.

ok listen, I get not liking maiko. I didn’t like it when I first got into fandom, and later I realized that while bryke cannot write romance to save their lives, fans who like maiko sure can, so I changed my tune. but if you still don’t like it, that’s fine. no skin off my back.

what IS skin off my back is taking instances in which Mai had justified anger toward Zuko, and turning it into “Mai abused Zuko.” do you not realize how ridiculous you sound? this is another thing where I get so angry about it that I don’t know how useful my analysis is actually going to be, but I’ll do my best. numerous people have noted how analysis of Mai and Zuko’s breakup in “The Beach” or Mai being justifiably angry with him at Boiling Rock or her asking for FUCKING FRUIT in “Nightmares and Daydreams” that says that all of these events were her trying to gain control over him is....ahhh...lacking in reading comprehension, but I’d like to go a step further and talk about why y’all are so intent on taking down a girl who doesn’t show emotion in normative ways. obviously, there’s a “Zuko can do no wrong” aspect to Mai criticism (which is super weird considering how his whole arc is about how he can do lots of wrong and he has to atone for the wrong that he’s done--but that’s a separate post.) But I also see slandering Mai for not expressing her emotions normatively and not putting up with Zuko’s shit and slandering Katara for “talking about her mother too often” as two sides of the same coin. In both cases, a female character expresses emotions that make you, the viewer, uncomfortable, and so instead of attempting to understand where those emotions may have come from and why they might be manifesting the way they are, y’all just throw the whole character away. this is another instance of people in the fandom being fundamentally disinterested in engaging with the female characters of atla in a real way, except instead of shallowly “stanning” Mai, y’all hate her. so we get to this point where female characters are flattened into one of two things: perfect queens who can do no wrong, or bitches. and that’s not who they are. that’s not who anyone is. but while we as a fandom are pretty good at understanding b1 Zuko’s actions as layered and multifaceted even though he’s essentially an asshole then, few are willing to lend the same grace to any female character, least of all Mai.

and what’s funny is sometimes this trope will intersect with “I conveniently ship this female character whose canon love interest is one of the members of my favorite non-canon ship with another female character! gay rights!”, so you’ll have someone actively calling Mai toxic/problematic/abusive, and at the same time ship her with Ty Lee? make it make sense! but then again, maybe that’s happening because y’all are fundamentally disinterested in Ty Lee as a character too.

“I love Ty Lee so much that I’m going to treat her like an infantilized hypersexual airhead!”

there are so many things happening in y’alls characterization of Ty Lee that I struggled to synthesize it into one quippy section header. on one hand, you have the hypersexualization, and on the other hand, you have the infantilization, which just makes the hypersexualization that much worse.

(of course, sexualizing or hypersexualizing ANY atla character is really not the move, considering that these are child characters in a children’s show, but then again, that’s a separate post.)

now, I understand how, from a very, very surface reading of the text, you could come to the conclusion that Ty Lee is an uncomplicated bimbo. if you grew up on Western media the way I did, you’ll know that Ty Lee has a lot of the character traits we associate with bimbos: the form-fitting pink crop top, the general conventional attractiveness, the ditzy dialogue. but if you think about it for more than three seconds, you’ll understand that Ty Lee has spent her whole life walking a tightrope, trying to please Azula and the rest of the royal family while also staying true to herself. Ty Lee and Azula’s relationship is a really complex and interesting topic that I don’t really have time to explore at the moment given how long this post is, but I’d argue that Ty Lee’s constant, vocal adulation is at least partially a product of learning to survive at court at an early age. Like Mai, she has been forced to regulate her emotions as a member of fn nobility, but unlike Mai, she also has six sisters who look exactly like her, so she has a motivation to be more peppy and more affectionate to stand out.

fandom does not do the work to understand Ty Lee. as is a theme with this post, fandom is actively disinterested in investigating female characters beyond a very surface level reading of them. Thus, fandom takes Ty Lee’s surface level qualities--her love of the color pink, her revealing standard outfit, and the fact that once she found a boy attractive and also once a lot of boys found her attractive--and they stretch this into “Ty Lee is basically Karen Smith from Mean Girls.” thus, Ty Lee is painted as a bimbo, or more specifically, as not smart, uncritically adoring of Azula (did y’all forget all the non-zukka bits of Boiling Rock?), and attractive to the point of hypersexualization. I saw somebody make a post that was like “I wish mailee was more popular but I’m also glad it isn’t because otherwise people would write it as Mai having to put up with her dumb gf” and honestly I have to agree!! this is one instance in which I’m glad that fandom doesn’t discuss one of my favorite characters that often because I hate the fanon interpretation of Ty Lee, I think it’s rooted in misogyny (particularly misogyny against East Asian women, which often takes the form of fetishizing them and viewing them only through a Western white male gaze)

(side note: here at army-of-mai-lovers, we stan bimbos. bimbos are fucking awesome. I personally don’t read Ty Lee as a bimbo, but if that’s you, that’s fucking awesome. keep doing what you’re doing, queen <3 or king or monarch, it’s 2021, anyone can be a bimbo, bitches <3)

“Toph can and will destroy everyone here with her bare hands because she’s a meathead who likes to murder people and that’s it!”

Toph is, and always has been, one of my favorite ATLA characters. My very first fic in fandom was about her, and she appears prominently in a lot of my other work as well. One thing that I am always struck by with Toph is how big a heart she has. She’s independent, yes, snarky, yes, but she cares about people--even the family that forced her to make herself smaller because they didn’t believe that their blind daughter could be powerful and strong. Her storyline is powerful and emotionally resonant, her bending is cool precisely because it’s based in a “wait and listen” approach instead of just smashing things indiscriminately, she’s great disabled rep, and overall one of the best characters in the show.

And in fandom, she gets flattened into “snarky murder child.”

So where does this come from? Well, as we all know, Toph was originally conceived of as a male character, and retained a lot of androgyny (or as the kids call it, Gender) when she was rewritten as a female character. There are a lot of cultural ideas about androgynous/butch women being violent, and people in fandom seem to connect that larger cultural narrative with some of Toph’s more violent moments in the show to create the meathead murder child trope, erasing her canon emotionality, softness, heart, and femininity in the process.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t write or characterize Toph as being violent or snarky at all ever, because yeah, Toph definitely did do Earth Rumbles a lot before joining the gaang, and yeah, Toph is definitely a sarcastic person who makes fun of her friends a lot. What I am saying is that people take these traits, sans the emotional logic, marry them to their conception of androgynous/butch women as violent/unemotional/uncaring, and thus create a caricature of Toph that is not at all up to snuff. When I see Toph as a side character in a fic (because yeah, Toph never gets to be a main character, because why would a fandom obsessed with one male character in particular ever make Toph a protagonist in her own right?) she’s making fun of people, killing people, pranking people, etc, etc. She’s never talking to people about her emotions, or palling around with her found family, or showing that she cares about her friends. Everything about her relationship with her parents, her disability, her relationship to Gender, and her love of her friends is shoved aside to focus on a version of Toph that is mean and uncaring because people have gotten it into their heads that androgynous/butch women are mean and uncaring.

again, we see a female character who does not emote normatively or in a way that makes you, the viewer, comfortable, and so you warp her character until she’s completely unrecognizable and flat. and for what?

Azula

no, I didn’t come up with a snappy name for this section, mainly because fanon interpretations of Azula and my own feelings toward the character are...complicated. I know there were some people who wanted me to write about Azula and the intersection of misogyny and ableism in fanon interpretations of her character, but I don’t think I can deliver on that because I personally am in a period of transition with how I see Azula. that is to say, while I still like her and believe that she can be redeemed, there is a lot of merit to disliking her. the whole point of this post is that the female characters of ATLA are complex people whom the fandom flattens into stereotypes that don’t hold up to scrutiny, or dislike for reasons that don’t make sense. Azula, however, is a different case. the rise of Azula defenders and Azula stans has led to this sentiment that Azula is a 14 y/o abuse victim who shouldn’t be held accountable for her actions. it seems to me that people are reacting to a long, horrible legacy of male ATLA fans armchair diagnosing Azula with various personality disorders (and suggesting that people with those personality disorders are inherently monstrous and unlovable which ahhhh....yikes) and then saying that those personality disorders make her unlovable, which is quite obviously bad. and hey, I get loving a character that everyone else hates and maybe getting so swept up in that love that you forget that your fave is complicated and has made some unsavory choices. it sucks that fanon takes these well-written, complex villains/antiheroes and turns them into monsters with no critical thought whatsoever. but the attitude among Azula stans that her redemption shouldn’t be hard, that her being a child excuses all of the bad things that she’s done, that she is owed redemption....all of that rubs me the wrong way. I might make another post about this in the future that discusses this in more depth, but as it stands now: while I understand that there is a legacy of misogynistic, ableist, unnuanced takes on Azula, the backlash to that does not take into account the people she hurt or the fact that in ATLA she does not make the choice to pursue redemption. and yes, Zuko had help in making that choice that Azula didn’t, and yes, Azula is a victim of abuse, but in a show about children who have gone through untold horrors and still work to better the lives of the people around them, that is not enough for me to uncritically stan her.

Conclusion

misogyny in this fandom runs rampant. while there are some tropes of fandom misogyny that are well-documented and have been debunked numerous times, there are other, subtler forms of misogyny that as far as I know have gone completely unchecked.

what I find so interesting about misogyny in atla fandom is that it’s clear that it’s perpetrated by people who are aware of fandom misogyny who are actively trying not to be misogynistic. when I first joined atla fandom last summer, memes about how zukka fandom was better than every other fandom because they didn’t hate the female characters who got in the way of their gay ship were extremely prevalent, and there was this sense that *this* fandom was going to model respectful, fun, feminist online fandom. not all of the topes I’ve outlined are exclusive to or even largely utilized in zukka fandom, but a lot of them are. I’ve been in and out of fandom since I was eleven years old, and most of the fandom spaces I’ve been in have been majority-female, and all of them have been incredibly misogynistic. and I always want to know why. why, in these communities created in large part by women, in large part for women, does misogyny run wild? what I realize now is that there’s never going to be a one-size fits all answer to that question. what’s true for 1D fandom on Wattpad in 2012 is absolutely not true for atla fandom on tumblr in 2021. the answers that I’ve cobbled together for previous fandoms don’t work here.

so, why is atla fandom like this? why did the dream of a feminist fandom almost entirely focused on the romantic relationship between two male characters fall apart? honestly, I think the notion that zukka fandom ever was this way was horrifically ignorant to begin with. from my very first moment in the fandom, I was seeing racism, widespread sexualization of minors, and yes, misogyny. these aspects of the fandom weren’t talked about as much as the crocverse or other, much more fun aspects. further, atla (specifically zukka) fandom misogyny often doesn’t look like the fandom misogyny we’ve become familiar with from like, Sherlock fandom or what have you. for the most part, people don’t actively hate Suki, they just “stan” without actually caring about her. they hate Mai because they believe in treating male victims of abuse equally. they’re not characterizing Toph poorly, they’re writing her as a “strong woman.” in short, people are misogynistic, and then invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of feminist theory to shield themselves from accusations of misogyny. it’s not unlike the way some people will invoke a shallow, incomplete interpretation of critical race theory to shield themselves from accusations of racism, or how they’ll talk about “freedom of speech” and “the suppression of women’s sexuality” to justify sexualizing minors. the performance of feminism and antiracism is what’s important, not the actual practice.

if you’ve made it this far, first off, hi, thanks so much for reading, I know this was a lot. second, I would seriously encourage you to be aware of these fandom tropes and to call them out when you see them. elevate the voices of fans who do the work of bringing the female characters of atla to life. invest in the wlw ships in this fandom. drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic (please, drop a kudos and a comment on a rangshi fic). read some yuetara. let’s all be honest about where we are now, and try to do better in the future. I believe in us.

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grayintogreen · 3 years

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I was not technically tagged, but at least two people on my dash were like DO WHAT YOU WANT NO ONE IS YOUR GOD, and you know what? They’re right and valid.

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

96! And 90% of them are from just this year. Can’t wait to find out what the big 100 is gonna be. Any one of my WIPS could be Disney’s next 100th fic.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

455,024 (also mostly from this year...)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

In my entire life??? Since I was twelve??? I don’t even know, man. I wrote a lot of ooc crackfic and fic for cartoons when I was on FF.net, and then I was on LJ and wrote for a TON of different fandoms, but on AO3, I have written for Critical Role (so much CR), Yashahime/Inuyasha, Guardians of the Galaxy, His Dark Materials (TV), Steven Universe, Bleach, Alias, Supernatural, Dollhouse, Pushing Daisies (the last four were all transferred here from LJ, though)

4) What are your top five fics by kudos?

- turning wine back into water (Critical Role, de-aging fic with plot, 30457 words)

I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE HOW POPULAR THIS FIC IS. It beat out two of my super popular GotG fics that have been up since 2017 BY A LOT. Apparently, there was a market for the Mighty Nein being adorable cocktail brats and saving the world. Thanks, Liam’s Quest!

It is probably one of the most wholesome fics I will ever write too. I love it.

- Sunshine Came Softly (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket and Mantis friendship, 3188 words)

THIS FIC STILL GETS HITS EVEN TODAY. It was written right after I saw the movie so it hit hard and fast on the hype train.

- Mine Is Just a Slower Sacrifice (Guardians of the Galaxy, Rocket-centric, 2248 words)

BOY YOU CAN TELL THESE FICS ARE ANCIENT BECAUSE I HADN’T DEVELOPED MY TITLE NICHE YET. where are the lower caps and Seanan McGuire lyrics!!

Anyway, this was written probably IMMEDIATELY after I saw the movie and had to process Rocket’s emotions during the last moments, because of who I am as a person. For what’s mostly a character study, it got some mileage on it.

- they drink dreamers up like brandy (Critical Role, 1625 words)

Back to Critical Role! I wrote this one when I was in a fucking blind post-finale haze and producing massive amounts of Kingsley content and I wanted to write a silly fic about Caleb being tiefling catnip.

- if adversity breeds character (we’ve character enough for two) (Critical Role, Beau and Molly-centric, 1824 words)

I feel like most of my most kudos-ed CR fics are Beau-related, which is funny because I never really wrote her EVER. I guess I need to write her more often. ANYWAY, this one got jossed immediately after 141, but I needed to write Beau and Molly bantering and I couldn’t get her flipping him off after revealing her card is Rumor out of my head.

(Incidentally my sixth most kudos-ed fic is my Fjorester next gen fic, WHICH I WAS NOT EXPECTING AT ALL. IT’S A FIC BASED ON MY OC FANCHILDREN!! I’M VERY EMOTIONAL ABOUT THAT!!)

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Usually!! There are times when I forget and then it’s been so long that I never go back, but I like responding to comments. They make me so happy and I want to make sure the people who take the time to comment know that I see them and appreciate them. Especially if they give me long comments. You long commenters know who you are and I value you and also flail incoherently in your direction.

6) What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

God, probably this church takes no conversions simply because, like, the whole ending scenes are MISERABLE AND FULL OF ANGST and then it has the hopeful ending that is actually a bullshit lie.

But second place probably goes to what couldn’t i offer, what couldn’t i give, which is just misery porn in disguise as a character study. Sorry, Cree.

7) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Okay, so back in the day when I was a tineh fanbrat I wrote a lot of self-indulgent crossovers featuring my friends and I in true Mary Sue format being ~saviors of the world~ alongside our favorite fictional characters and after I grew out of that, I very rarely did it again, because as someone who can only write AUs if they’re high concept and can only write crossovers if the canon welding is pristine, it’s difficult.

I have ideas for some! I just haven’t written them yet. Or they’re sitting in Google Docs partially written.

8) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not to my recollection, which is insane, because I’ve written some things in my youth that deserved it, but also I was a kid, so maybe I definitely did not deserve it. Don’t send hate to kids!!

9) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

The first smut I ever posted on AO3 involved some fucking American Gods flesh horror shit, so that answers your second question.

Basically, yes, but I write smut to facilitate character development in a way that regular story beats can’t, mainly with characters who are in some way deeply fucked up and have unbalanced dynamics.

So basically chances of me writing smut that isn’t Creecien or Lucigast? Very low. (I haven’t written Lucigast smut yet but I will. Inevitably.)

10) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that anyone’s told me, but one time when I was a teenager someone ripped off an entire group messageboard RP I was in and tried to pass it off as a fic they wrote.

11) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Not that anyone’s told me!

12) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I tried and it did not work out, because of (non-wanky) reasons, but it’s just not something I’d be very good at. I was the kid who wanted to work alone on group projects. I’m bad at group work.

13) What’s your all time favourite ship?

That I’ve WRITTEN??? Because that at least narrows it down significantly. Sesshoumaru/Rin hands down. It’s a good dynamic and they’re fun and sad at the same time.

My self-indulgent ass does also enjoy writing Creecien though. I’m putting it out there because I want it.

14) What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

GOD POOR SUPERNOVAS OF ALL SOUND AND LIGHT. THAT FIC COULD’VE BEEN A CONTENDER, but I unfortunately posted it RIGHT BEFORE the White Diamond episodes aired and it became so jossed by canon so fast that I gave up on life with chapter two half finished. I need to delete it but I can’t bring myself to bury my shame.

15) What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and meta-narrative and character-specific stuff. I go into every story with CHARACTER FIRST mentality, which is how I end up writing so many damn character studies or why my word counts explode. I’m just out here naval gazing because I love character stuff SO MUCH.

I’ve been told I’m good at fight/action scenes too, which... Shocks me, but I think watching and playing a lot of D&D stuff has really improved how I write fighting and action sequences.

16) What are your writing weaknesses?

[whispers] too much naval gaze. dial it back, bitch.

I get really caught up in character stuff and forget to do important things like ADVANCE THE SCENE OR DESCRIBE THE SCENE OR LITERALLY ANYTHING. I also don’t think my prose is all that great, but I’m pretty sure every writer feels that imposter syndrome bullshit, so /waves hands. All I’m saying is I have seen some writers on AO3 who are writing some fucking vivid imagery and stringing flawless sentences together and weaving introspection and description together like beautiful baskets and they are stronger than any US Marine and I salute them and wish to be them.

17) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

Iiii try not to. There’s times where I want to throw in, like, a little Zemnian for Caleb flair, but I try to stick to things that are either untranslatable (like German compound words), common phrases (like please or come here), or insults/curses/ pet names. Things that I don’t think Google will fucking lie to me about.

18) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

I think it was a Sailor Moon crackfic about Haruka being forced to enter a beauty pageant which was just a blatant rip-off of Ms Congeniality and oh my god was it awful. I don’t even wanna talk about it.

19) What’s your favourite fic you’ve written?

this church takes no conversions, probably BECAUSE it’s my little red-headed stepchild of a fic involving so many things that are just never going to make it popular (backstory fic, fic that is almost 85% headcanon, doesn’t involve popular characters, etc.), but godDAMMIT I love that fic so much. It was fun and I use every bit of that headcanon in almost everything like it’s my job.

shattered stage is a close second, because it was such a crazy concept for a fic that I PULLED OFF SOMEHOW and is this wonderful mix of crazy plot and character and lore and my three favorite tieflings having to work together. And also Jayne Merriweather as the main villain.

A lot of love went into both of those fics and they are my babies. this time next year we’ll see if I add Creedemption and shoot at fate to this list- probably. All of my epic long fics resolve to be my babies because I spent so much time on them, and I have to love them and cherish them because I raised them into gigantic wordy attempts to write a doorstopper.

#writing meme #my writing #shattered stage #this church takes no conversions

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foxy-knowledgeseeker · 3 years

Note

maikka and rayllum for the ask game? (- thinkingisadangerouspastime)

Maikka

when I started shipping it if I did: I don't maybe three months ago when you brought it up in the Aang Server ajdfaskjfsalfs

my thoughts: I LOVE THEM. I had never thought about them until you mentioned it, but the second you shared your thoughts, I was like "I can *see* it!" And now this pairing is in my top for three for both of these characters (mostly because I just think Mai is the second most shippable character, after Aang). It's so unexpected, but I honestly think they would vibe, and

What makes me happy about them: I love to think Mai would find Sokka annoying at first, but his sense of humor, being either really dumb or at his own expense, would end up growing on her, and he would become one of the people that can actually make her laugh (other than Aang ofc!). I also have a headcanon that they are both foodies and would bond over that! Finally, their characters lend to some interesting post-canon concepts when it comes to their roles as politicians/leaders of their respective nation/tribe, Mai's status as Zuko's ex mixed with Sokka's status as one of Zuko's friends, the absolute POWER COUPLE they would be as two nonbending weapons specialists with Sokka being more melee specialized and Mai being more ranged. Just...so much potential!

What makes me sad about them: Realistically, I don't see a relationship working very long-term for them because I always imagined Sokka would want to stay in the South Pole or, at the very least, *really close* to the South Pole, but Mai would not be a fan of the cold. I almost always imagine them eventually breaking up (sad!) OR imagine them in some kind of AU. This is not to say the right kind of narrative finagling can't give them their happy ending; I just haven't played around with it a lot.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: There is not a whole lot of Maikka fanfic out there, and I honestly worked through pretty much the whole tag a couple months ago. My biggest grievance with Maikka fanfic is that most of the fics out there seem pretty shallow right now (short, modern au one shots where the characters have been flattened) or the writer has Mai just like...bullying Sokka...constantly, and not even in the fun, flirty way. Just in the..."you have convinced me they don't even like each other" kind of way. With their common interests but potential to meet any variety of relationship roadblocks, I just want something a little *more* for them, ya know!

things I look for in fanfic: Oop I already answered sorta above, but I love when Maikka fanfic has them confront the issues of their separate roles in their cultures/societies, their shared histories with Zuko, but also plays into their shared interests and compatible personalities. Just let them like each other, but also let them struggle to overcome challenges of circumstance!! It's more fun that way!

Who I’d be comfortable with them ending up with, if not each other: For Mai, either Zuko, Ty Lee, or Aang. For Sokka, either Suki, Aang, or Toph (this is where I out myself as a closet Tokka shipper >.<).

My happily ever after for them: One of the ways I imagine them getting a happily ever after is like...maybe if one of them has a more permanent ambassador position in either location or perhaps an au where they both end up in the same city in a university system as like professors or consultants. Or any number of modern aus have potential. I could be convinced of married Maikka with kids because I think Sokka is actually very family oriented and Mai would be a good mother, but I imagine they would have kids much later than their friends.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: We recently talked about "very tall water sibs" in the server, and now I love it, so I picture a very tall Sokka and a still pretty tall Mai (like Sokka's 6' to Mai's 5'11"), and I think they would mix it up and take turns being the different spoons OR they would be that couple that cuddles face to face, limbs all tangled.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: EATING or practicing weapons. I love the idea of Sokka teaching Mai to sword fight and Mai teaching Sokka how to throw daggers. I imagine it's something they could both nerd out about.

Rayllum

when I started shipping it if I did: When I first watched the show! I was hoping they would get together and THEY DID, and I was very glad to see it.

my thoughts: They just got that best friends to lovers, mutual respect, learning and growing together, accommodating for each other's strengths and weaknesses goodness! I just them!

What makes me happy about them: I love that Rayla introduced Callum to a whole world full of magic, where he could really thrive with his talents! And I love that Callum believes in Rayla and knows her to be capable and brave and never lets her forget it! They just emulate the kind of relationship I would want with a partner!

What makes me sad about them: Can't think of much right now, but I suppose the xenphobia they have to deal with from their people on both sides. It must be so hard to grow a relationship with that kind of animosity coming from the people they love!

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I have not read much Rayllum fanfic (other than yours!), so I don't have an answer for this really. Stay tuned because I plan on reading more fic for them this summer!

things I look for in fanfic: I want them to deal with the challenges they face in that mature, emotionally intelligent way they always have! I just love when they team up to overcome the odds because they do make such a great team and respect each other's skills and ideas so much! Give me badass duo Rayllum any day!

Who I’d be comfortable with them ending up with, if not each other: Um...honestly I don't think there are many age appropriate characters that have been developed enough for me to have an opinion. I know I don't like Claudia with Callum. Maybe Soren with Callum? I get straight vibes off Soren, though...Oooooh maybe after they have grown up, I could get behind some Callum x Aanya? Just for fun. And I think Rayla would be happiest with another elf, if not with Callum OR I do like an aroace Rayla headcanon, so maybe even no one, and she has a plethora of queer platonic relationships with the whole gang!

My happily ever after for them: Callum moves to Xadia to grow his skills as a mage, and he and Rayla live happily ever after living and learning together and using their skills to help people! I love the idea of Callum finding a home with the Moonshadow Elf community.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: Rayla is the big spoon, no I do not take criticism.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Maybe a niche headcanon, but I love the idea of them really getting into their universe's equivalent of chess (I don't remember if they have one in canon, but if not, I headcanon there is a chess-like game). I think Rayla would get really competitive about it, and Callum would approach it very methodically.

Send me a character, ship, or list of characters and I will answer these questions about them

#this was so fun!#i love both these ships so much #thank you for the ask #thinkingisadangerouspastime #emily answers

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ryqoshay · 4 years

Note

So I just finished reading all of How to Handle a Nico and I absolutely fucking loved it, do you have any NicoMaki fanfic recommendations of your own?

I must offer my apologies for the delay in response. I did not forget you, Anon, despite answering two questions that came in after this one. However, I wanted to wait until I knew I had a good amount of time I could dedicate to making a proper list of recommendations worthy of my time in the LL/NicoMaki fandom, which is typically sometime during my weekend.

Also, please bear in mind that this list is not all-inclusive. NicoMaki has one of, if not the most extensive list of fanworks out of the various LL ships. If someone reading this list is a fan of, or the author of a given work not included, please do not take it personally, this is merely a sampling of my favorites. There are genres and tags that I tend to avoid for various reasons, and there are many perfectly good works with the NicoMaki ship tag that I haven’t read simply because they are not the primary focus. And due to current events, as well as those of last year, there is a sizable backlog of NicoMaki focused fics that I hope to get around to reading sometime soon.

And as I expect this to get long, I will put the list itself under a cut.

First and foremost, I must shamelessly shill an author whose first forays into NicoMaki fanfic are based on HtHaN. It’s been almost a year since the first one went up and I remain in awe that I was able to pay forward the inspiration given to me by other authors. For this list I will only be including said works based on HtHaN, though VNVdarkangel has written some other NicoMakis I haven’t read yet. - Always there - Nico wakes up in the middle of the night. Some post-canon fluffy angst. - On tracks to the heart - Takes place during the scene transition in Homecoming. - Meet ‘n’ greet - Nico has a meet ‘n’ greet event and Maki shows up - Part-time idol composer - Nico hires Riko to compose some idol music for Egao. Minor YohaRiko to keep up the casual connections between HtHaN and HL. - Next steps... - A long, multi-chapter work that takes place after the numbered chapters of HtHaN. This work tells the story of NicoMaki as they take advantage of the research mentioned way back in Telling Mama. Yay science babies! - Out of focus - Maki can’t focus on anything but Nico - The door to dreams - Riko finds the piano from How to Celebrate a Maki and Maki finds Riko. More minor YohaRiko from HL. - Idol trainer - A non-NicoMaki, RinPana honorable mention tied to HtHaN

Next, I must link a few things from jstonedd, whose works I can point to as being among those that helped cement NicoMaki as a my favorite ship. - Buy Your Love - By the gods, I’ve honestly lost track of how many times I’ve reread this fic. It is also responsible for my headcanon that Tsubasa teaches Honoka how to skate, which I thusly include in Nico on Ice. - Soldier Wars - If memory serves, this work earns its M rating less for lewd stuff and more for action movie depictions of violence, like an R rated Charlie’s Angels or something. - After School Troublemakers - Earns its tag of Fluff and Crack. - Babies Maybe - More Fluff and Crack I only skimmed the first few chapters of Otonokizaka Private Academy and it didn’t seem very NicoMaki focused or really much my cup of tea. But I’ve heard others like it, and it was finally completed a few years back, so there’s that.

One author with whom I’ve interacted moreso than any other - maybe not VNVdarkangel as of late, but... - is the creator of one of my favorite Fantasy AUs, which is often a genre I don’t read much as it so often leans on Harry Potter, of which I’m quite unfamiliar. Of course I say I often avoid Fantasy AUs despite now writing two... Anyway, we have a few differing headcanons and I must say it’s fun to have a civil discussion about them - as opposed to others that become heated and dissolve into ad hominum attacks like the one marked by Comment Deleted tombstones in the comments of HtHaN. Anyway, that train of thought derailed, so here are some of lonelypond’s works. Worth mentioning that most works take place in the U.S. instead of Japan, something that confused me for a few chapters when I first started reading, but have come to enjoy it, especially when places are mentioned that I know. - Casual Lunacy - The aforementioned Fantasy AU as well as my introduction to this wonderful writer. Pulls in a quirky character from Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun, an adorable anime I’ve been meaning to finish. Maki is a werewolf. And I really need to reread this one at some point. - PhotoJazz - Maki is a photographer and Nico is an actress. - AU Yeah August - A collection of short 1 Shots. I haven’t read all of them, e.g. the Harry Potter one, but those I have were adorable, e.g. Summer Camp, Fake Dating and FWB. - Christmas Confections - A collection of amazing Christmas themed works that rank among my favorite gifts each year since I first started reading them. I’d link them each individually, but they’re all amazing so just read them all; you won’t be disappointed. Maki and Christmas just go together and lonelypond writes them well. - Can’t Get Started - To quote the summary “Nishikino Maki is trying to make it in the piranha fishbowl of movies, music and Hollywood. Yazawa Nico already has. And they keep crashing into each other.” Literally. It’s quite amusing. I’ve heard good things from other readers about the 1Kiss series but have only skimmed a few; they are high on my To Read list. The Idol House series came out during my troubled 2019, so it also remains on my To Read list. The Moonlight series seems to focus on NozoEli, which is fine, but for better or worse lowers it position on my To Read list. It’s lonelypond, so I do intend to read it eventually, but there are more NicoMaki focused fics that I’d like to get to first.

Next up is Lucia Hunter, a case where I must separate author from work. To this day I remain uncertain as to the details of the issues between this author and the denizens of Sukutomo, but the animosity exists nonetheless. Still, the listed works below were part of my gateway drugs into the wonderful world of NicoMaki fanfics. - The Diamond Princess’s Melancholy - How NicoMaki came together. - Love marginal - My favorite portrayal of KotoHonoUmi. NicoMaki is a side pairing here, and remain so through the rest of the works, but they’re still worth reading, imho. - Shiranai Love*Oshiete Love - RinPana focus but NicoMaki still plays their role. - Garden of Glass - de de deee de de deee Obviously NozoEli focused.

My first encounter with Rinforzando was a T rated cute and fluffy fic but they’ve done some pretty good NSFW works as well. - Ten Years - Always enjoy a good adult NicoMaki fic. - Limbo - NSFW FWB NicoMaki - Caprice - NSFW 2nd Person post-canon NicoMaki. I’m not typically a fan of 2nd Person perspective, but this one was worth it. - Cheers for Loving You - NicoMaki Secret Santa.

Hidekins is another author that has written a lot of NicoMaki I’ve enjoyed, but on a quick scan through the AO3 entries, few are jogging my memory with title and description alone. Perhaps I’ve read more here on tumblr? Perhaps I’ll come back and add more if I remember them better later. - NicoMakisses - A set of five cute short NicoMaki stories about kisses.

Saberin writes a lot of 3rd year stuff, and that’s fine, but the NicoMaki collection is worth checking out. - Prickly Love - As of writing this list, there are 10 chapters of cuteness

whoneedsapublisher writes a lot and I enjoy the style. Thus, when I see NicoMaki pop up on the account, I try to read. - Couples Therapy - One of my favorite Maki headcanons is included here. Not explicit but earns its M rating and thus is NSFW. - Subtle - Not particularly crazy about the Nico-taller-than-Maki, but that’s a minor complaint compared to the rest of this wonderful work. - At Least Six Confessions - Presequel to the above work. Poor Nico had her work cut out for her with a romantically dense Maki. - Keep Your Promises - Ten years later... - Happy New Year - Sometimes stalemates must be broken by someone. - Hidden Depth - Nico’s voice changes. And Maki likes it - Pretending to Pretend - Not explicit, but earns its M rating so NSFW. One of my favorite examples of the Fake Dating trope. - Merry Christmas Maki - I can’t think of a better present. - No Lies Allowed - Truth of Dare, NicoMaki style. - All Dressed Up - Based on a wonderful pic by noelclover - Santa’s Stand-in - Guess who still believes... - Switcheroo - Always love the idea of the girls trying to behave like the others. Makes me want to rewatch that episode. - Tick, Tock - Some introspective Maki - Insensitive - NicoMaki dating issues - Tomatoes - Maki’s favorite food I’ve heard good things about Dazzling Warrior Nightshade, so it’s on my To Read List, but I must admit I can be picky about my Magical Girls stuff. Madoka set an... interesting bar for the genre for me and in most cases I’d prefer to watch it as an anime or read it as a manga/doujin. Still, the idea of Nico being a magic girl amuses me greatly, thus why the fic remains on my radar.

And here are some other random works I’ve enjoyed over the years. - Smile, Nico Nico! - In which Nico drags Maki to the dentist - Billiards - NSFW 2nd Person. Yes, I know I just said I’m not typically a fan, but this one was also good. - Piano For Beginners - NSFW AU where Maki is assigned to teach Nico how to play the piano so as to be convincing for a film. - critical rules for not-dating - NSFW FWB AU that I need to finish reading someday but was happy enough with what I’ve read that I’d still recommend it. - 24 visits - Visits as in Nico the idol visiting Maki the doctor in the hospital. - 24 dates - A NSFW followup to 24 visits

So yeah, that’s a fairly decent list to get one started in their AO3 NicoMaki delving. As mentioned above, this is not all-inclusive and there are a ton of NicoMaki works out there. I haven’t visited FFN in years, so there may still be some authors that post there exclusively and have written some amazing stuff, but I cannot recommend what I haven’t read, or at least skimmed. I also have some tumblr works bookmarked... somewhere, so if I find them I might compare them to this list and maybe add those missed.

Here’s hoping something here piques your interest and makes you fall a little more for the wonderful NicoMaki.

#Ryqo's Q&A #NicoMaki #fanfic stuff

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uh-mozzaza · 4 years

Note

Kars Bruno and Gyro for the ask game \(^°^)/

Alright, lots of faves >:) I’ll try to put these under a read more

LORD KARS

favorite thing about them

Supposedly he’s a villain??? But he falls more on the amorality scale rather than the evil scale. He doesn’t exactly... look like a mad scientist (not your stereotypical nerd, let’s put it this way), but his goal is the same and story are the same. Daring to go beyond what nature imposed on his body, reaching higher and higher in the real of possibilities, desiring to experience more than what he is allowed, dedicating his whole existence to that objective, hubris and obsession. That’s very sexy of him, and he does all that while looking like that

least favorite thing about them

He needs some respecting women juice :/ I get that he didn’t give a shit about a honorable combat, but he could have avoided the hair guitar. And have you seen the PILLAR WOMEN???? Some crimes are hard to forgive

favorite line

when he drops off the cliff, avoids to smash the flowers and starts to maniacally laugh

brOTP

Pillarfam gives me family feels ✊😔❤️

OTP

Haha what if we committed the genocide of our species 😂 when they oppose us in our quest to finally see the sun 😍🌤 and raise two children together 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 and stay together for millennia 🙈💕 haha just kidding... unless?😳

nOTP

Since I interpret the pillar men as a family of which Kars and Esidisi are the two good dads, I tend not to like the occasional Kars/Wammu (but I’ve seen some people getting harassed for shipping them and like??? bro calm down)

random headcanon

You know how he made the vampire horses? I bet he made all sort of vampire animals, for “practicing” or as “enrichment training” for babby Wammu and Santana, at least that’s what he says. Truth is, he really liked having all those feral little animals around.

unpopular opinion

He actually looks better in his full clothed get up than when he is showing his dick to the sun and Speedwagon U_U

song i associate with them

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youtube

Miles and Miles by Yacth, cannot credit this one as my idea, read the lyrics on a fanart, I’ll try to find it and reblog. The song fits a lot with his “death” and make me very melancholic :(

favorite picture of them

when will my husband return from the war T-T one of my favorite araki tropes of “you will feel empathy for this villain”

BRUNBO

favorite thing about them

What can I say that has not been said before? He’s stomped toxic masculinity into the ground, he is kind, he is generous, he is cold, astonishingly sexy, dangerously scary, determined, and so very very very weird. If you are not in love with him, you are wrong.

least favorite thing about them

Issues of organized crime hit very close at home, I have to do a lot of mental gymnastics and when it comes to Vento Aureo. It gets tiring when I see non-italian fans (or hell, Araki himself in some instances) simplifying the situation or romanticizing the “problematic” aspects of Bruno instead of participating in critical consumption. It’s not that I think Bruno shouldn’t be a gray character, that’s actually one of his strenghts!, just that people should be a bit more mindful when talking about him.

favorite line

“nya nya” :3

brOTP

@ Trish ″You are my daughter... You’re my daughter! Boogie woogie woogie!”

OTP

A series started since the 80s, 8 parts long, innumerable characters... and the second spot for most fics on ao3 goes to Bruabba, a pairing that is together for half of a part and involves no one of the protagonists or recurring characters of the main series. Oversaturated? Overrated? Absolutely not, it’s fucking great. The power they have...

nOTP

my take on Br*trish and Br*gio

random headcanon

He likes Miles Davis and his favourite movie is Il Postino which like, suggest a hedonistic streak. If he had the time, he would enjoy going to those contemporary art museum that no one gets. He’d spend 3 minutes looking at a spot on the ground and people would gather around it thinking it’s art, but he probably was just dissociating for a little.

unpopular opinion

I’ve seen people argue that he is a MILF cause he is protective and cares for his children, I’ve seen people argue that he should be called a DILF instead because he is emotionally cold and distant. Those takes are not just sexist, but legally wrong. I’m begging y’all to get educated on the new italian legislation, that uses the gender neutral terms Parent 1 and Parent 2 (genitore 1 / genitore 2) he is a gnc P1ILF - Parent 1 I’d Like to Fuck

song i associate with them

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youtube

Il Pescatore - Fabrizio De Andrè

Where do I start to explain to explain this song? I would need a literature course. In very poor words, it’s about a fisherman helping a murderer as a last act before dying; it’s a whole reflection on morality and The Law vs love, kindness and humanity. You know, Bruno :)

favorite picture of them

GYRO

favorite thing about them

The last Zeppeli, returning once again in both the role of mentor and companion, his destiny intertwining with the Joestars. I get emotional about this shit. He’s so goddam cool, an executioner doctor cowboy, should be a ridiculous Mary Sue and instead works so well as a deuteragonist. He has one of the most satisfying character arcs in all of jojo to me (and in most of the stuff I’ve read).

least favorite thing about them

Hol Horse and Mista runned so he could laze on the sofa, waiting for you to make him a sandwich. He’s a misogynist, a fucking disgrace when compared to the feminist icons of past cowboy tropes in jojo >:(

favorite line

"If I stare at his ass the whole time, I can't win!"

brOTP

Valkyrie best girl, no joke she was the character I was most worried about getting hurt

OTP

Steel Ball Run is my favorite love story, that’s all I’ll say cause it’s getting late and I don’t want to cry

nOTP

I don’t think I’ve seen him shipped in any pairing that I actively despised? I dunno, Gyro x the cougar that cheated on her husband with him? I dunno Gyro x Women in general cause women deserve better than his stinky ass???

random headcanon

He probably has notebooks full of doodles of when he was a kid, when he was trying to learn automatically to recognize the golden ratio. Pages full of spirals, flowers, apples, animals and interspersed with his shitty jokes (which he probably had no occasion to share before he met Johnny given the severe environment he grew up in, he probably felt so happy to finally find someone he could share his thoughts with oh god here come the tears)

unpopular opinion

He is so fucking sexy. Yes I said that. His long hair is sexy, his green lipstick is sexy, the hands on his belt pointing to his “balls” are sexy, his canonically soft hands are sexy, yes even his GO GO ZEPPELI grill is sexy. He hits both my moronsexual and sapiosexual side, passing through my monstersexual side because everything about his appearance is an eldricht horror.

song i associate with them

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youtube

Yee -and I cannot stress this enough- Haw! Big Sky by Orville Peck

favorite picture of them

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rachello344 · 5 years

Text

A glossary of fandom terms that have either been taken from literary criticism (incorrectly) or that I use that are either no longer in use or have... different definitions now.

If anyone has any terms they’d like to see added or words you come across that have confused you, please drop me a line. I’d be happy to add to this whenever. It’ll all be under a readmore so that I can edit it when needed. ^^

Discourse--Literally a discussion, like, the act of discussing. That’s it. More specifically, people will say, “the novel here participates in one of the many discourses on gender” or something like that. Essentially linking one occurrence to a wider conversation. Literature and Media do not exist in a vacuum, but neither can one work make a trend, but I’ll get to that. Just call it wank or meta. Use the words we have, don’t take words from academia, especially when you don’t understand their context.

Romance--One of many genres of fiction. This is a story that centers around a romantic relationship between two or more characters. I could tell you about how all genres are crutches and constructs we assign to make ourselves feel better, but that might be moving too fast. For now, what’s important is what a romance isn’t. A romance is NOT some kind of idealist model that must serve as a positive example for the Youth. That would be Utopian Romance fiction (which is boring because stories need conflict, but that’s my own opinion on the matter). A romance only needs the major plot conflicts to hinge around the romantic (as in not platonic, this could be love or lust or some combination thereof) relationships between its characters. Pride and Prejudice is a romance. Captive Prince is a romance. The Foxhole Court, while containing a romantic subplot, is not a romance. Harry Potter is not a romance. A story can have romance without being a romance. Compare romantic comedies with action movies, as an example. But, don’t think that a romance can’t be tense or unhealthy or whatever. Fifty Shades is also a romance, remember. If you wrote out the Joker and Harley Quinn’s story, only focusing on them, their story would be a romance. It’s more complicated than that, obviously, and there’s nuance, but I think you get the picture. Regardless of your moral views on the love depicted, a romance is nothing more or less than a story about the development of a romantic relationship.

Fetishization--I hate seeing this word thrown around. This literally means that something has been made into a fetish object on a cultural level. You can have the fetishization of purity in American culture, for example. And you can have the fetishization of homosexual relationships in pornography intended for heterosexual audiences. However. A single work of fiction is not fetishizing anything. It may contribute to an overall trend, but this is not a word to use for single entities. This is a cultural trend word. Sure, it can be used for subcultures, but whenever I see this word used, it’s used to mean that some work of fiction or other is bad for displaying a queer sexual relationship in any kind of (perceived) perverse way. Please stop using this word incorrectly. As a kind of burgeoning critical theorist (i.e. English grad student), it is incredibly frustrating. You’re using words you don’t understand in ways that undermine the hard work being done by people in my field. Unless you’re going to read Marx and Lukacs and learn what the word “reification” means, I think you should use another word. In most cases, what is meant is that some group people don’t like are showing an interest in something perceived as not belonging to them, whether that’s true or not. I think if we unpack that a little, we can all find better ways to phrase things. Fetishization is an accusation thrown around, not the analysis it’s meant to be. And, frankly, it needs to stop.

Normalization--This is thrown around so often I hardly know where to begin. This is not a word that can be used for a single object, again. This is a word meant for trends. For example, we could talk about the fact that male violence in our culture is normalized and so no longer taken as seriously as it should be. A fictional work depicting something you don’t like in a way you perceive as positive and uncritical does not mean that it’s normalizing it. A single crime procedural does not normalize crime. You could say that the trend of always showing cops to be in the right, no matter the extreme actions they take, normalizes the liberties they take in the real world, making it difficult to speak out against police brutality and other such abuses. But again, that’s the genre as a whole--procedural cop dramas could all contribute, but one of them is not going to be normalizing on its own. That isn’t how that works. Just say that you find whatever it is unpleasant to read because of X or Y trope. Or talk about how the TROPE is normalizing something. That’s totally legitimate. The trope of X normalizes Y behavior in Z culture/situation/etc. and this is harmful because W.

Romanticization--This does not mean that something bad is shown in a romantic light. This is another big trend word. Cultural myths about heterosexual marriage and related gender roles contribute to the romanticization of domestic abuse. A single work of fiction depicting an abusive relationship in any kind of perceive positive light is not romanticizing abuse. Cultural narratives about women needing to be convinced can romanticize the act of rape, especially from the male perspective. One work of fiction cannot do this. It has to be on at least a genre level, if not cultural or societal. Again, subcultural too, but you have to make the argument apply outward. The BL/Yaoi trope of having a Seme character force an openly reluctant Uke character into sex romanticizes sexual assault. One BL using the trope can contribute to it, but it isn’t romanticizing anything on its own. It’s not powerful enough to be capable of that.

Wank--The word once used to describe what is now called “discourse.” It’s usually a circle jerk of complaints about some fandom or another or the people in it. Every example of so called discourse I have ever seen was actually just wank wearing a new hat. Don’t put on airs or borrow credibility. Call a spade a spade.

Meta--Analysis on a series or character. Some of these are better reasoned than others, but the only way to truly rate them is in how well they use their evidence (and how much evidence they have) to support whatever claim they make. These are often essays, but can be a couple paragraphs, sometimes with pictures as evidence along with quotes from the source. Some “discourse” falls into this, but only very rarely. Most people call meta either meta or analysis instead.

BNF--Big Name Fan. This is THE person in your fandom, generally an artist, occasionally a fic writer or other content creator. You’ll know them when you see them. This is the person everyone follows. Their headcanons are so widely accepted that they almost always become fanon (whether you like it or not). Some of these people are super nice and use their powers for good. Others can become divas, mad with the power the fandom has given them. Regardless, there is almost always drama brewing around them (whether they like it or not, unfortunately). I recently saw some commenting on people actually asking other fans for permission to hold certain headcanons. Someone with that power is a BNF. That is a TRADEMARK of a BNF. Their fandom credibility and respect is so high that people see them as some kind of authority figure. Be wary of people who go along with this. They’re not to be trifled with, and frankly, it’s safer not to engage.

TPTB--The Powers That Be, otherwise known as the writers/producers/creators of any given series. These are the people that create Canon and produce Word of God.

Canon--Anything that explicitly happened in the confines of a series. Basically, the events of any given series in whatever form the standard is. I.E. episodes of a TV show, books in a book series, etc.

Fringe Canon--Works that are connected to the series in question, but not part of the standard form. Often includes movies, novelizations, guide books, etc. Can be considered canon, but isn’t something every fan will see/have access to, so can’t really be considered The Canon. Can also includes things that are implicit in the text, so something that can be argued in meta but that not everyone will agree on.

Word of God--Something said by TPTB that remains outside of canon. I.E. interviews, panels, and other things said at conventions or for PR. Common mantra, “PR is not showrunning” meaning that Word of God often has little to do with what happens within the series. Example: Some sub-textual evidence of Dumbledore being gay does not make his being gay canon (it makes it fringe canon, imo). Rowling saying that he was gay in an interview is here considered Word of God. You can take it or leave it, because no one in the series says the words “Dumbledore was gay” or any other variation that would make it explicit canon.

Headcanon--Something that you decide about a character. This isn’t canon and often has no strong basis in canon. It can include sexuality, gender, religion, favorite color, anything not covered by canon. You can also have headcanons that contradict canon.

Fanon--Headcanons that have become Too Powerful. These are things, good or bad, that have been accepted by a probably absurd number of people. Some of these can be great, especially when the series has some seriously bad writing, but if you find yourself disagreeing, this can be the worst thing you ever have to deal with. Especially when people who subscribe to it insist on its being canon...

Ship--Any feasible romantic relationship, canon or non-canon. There are of course platonic variants, but those are usually specified (broship, brotp, etc.). Most often two people, but more recently polyshipping has come into vogue. To Ship (v.)--For me, this does not apply to canon ships no matter if I like them or not. Shipping is transformative. To me, more than anything, shipping (as a verb) means you consume or create transformative media centered around that relationship (most often non-canon or not explicit canon, but could include canon, it just needs to be an active not passive interest in the relationship).

Canon Ship--The series endgame, usually (but not always!) straight. This is an explicit couple. They are in a relationship. They kiss (or something) on screen. You can still take it or leave it, but that doesn’t stop it from being canon.

Rare Pair--This is a ship that has some basis in canon, but is extremely unpopular. Some people include anything with less than a certain number of fic on Ao3, but it varies by fandom. I’ve been into rare pairs with less than 10 fic written for them, so anything around 500 still seems like quite a bit in comparison. Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV), but you’ll know it when you see it.

Crack Ship--These people have probably never spoken. There is no reason for them to be in a relationship other than the fan’s preference (often aesthetic or story-related). A crack ship is often random and completely baseless. A crack ship is not simply a ship that won’t be canon. Most ships will never be canon. This goes beyond that into the ridiculous. As a recent example, Keith x Zarkon would be a crack ship, while Keith x Hunk is perfectly reasonable (if rare).

Multi-shipping--Shipping characters together without a strong preference for one combination over another. For example, shipping your fave with every possible romantic partner, not just one (or more in a polyship). This includes Everyone x Character type things, not just “I could ship them with literally anyone.” Both count.

OTP--One True Pairing. The ship you love above all others, canon or not. For me, I have exactly one of these per fandom, but I know other people use it differently now. This used to mean that you ship the thing exclusively. You might like art for other ships with the characters in this OTP, but you’re not that into it. This used to be THE ship. The characters in this OTP were not shipped with others, and other relationships were used for jealousy or plot reasons, not usually because you enjoy the other ships. This is the ship you go to war about.

OT#--Same as above, but there are more than two people involved. So, the one polyship you hold above all other ships (poly or not).

BrOTP--Platonic version of the above. These are the ride or die friendships of the series. You don’t see them as in love, but they absolutely love each other. There’s devotion and loyalty and affection--or you just think their friendship is the best/greatest/funniest and you don’t see them ever ending up together romantically. You want these characters to be BFFs, not lovers.

#fandom meta #my meta #Glossary of Fandom Terms #Lemme know if I missed anything big lol #I've been sitting on this for over a year XD

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