fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #5298 ]

[ SECRET POST #5298 ]

⌈ Secret Post #5298 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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[Ferris Bueller's Day Off]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 06 secrets from Secret Submission Post #756.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

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What kind of changes to a character in fanfic are you ok with?

I don't mind when they're more badass or when their love interest is diferent than the canon one. I read a fic where Bertie Wooster was a veteran of WW1 and it was an interesting one.

Man, I am easy as fuck. I think it is more of a question of what I am not okay with. I don't like when characters are dumber than canon. I don't like when they are made evil just to make a different character look like an innocent angel.

My one and only rule is no woobies. Everything else I’m chill with. Just say no to woobies. Woobies! Not even once.

I really prefer characters/events stay close to or at least plausibly dovetail with the canon as much as possible. (And yes, this means I generally have zero interest in AUs, for the reasons mentioned in the above secret.) I mean if I like the canon enough to look for derivative works, I'm looking for stuff that's similar to the canon.

Buuuut having said that, I have seen both serious takes and humorous takes on the "polite, gentle, harmless character turns out to be FIERCE and possibly a cold-blooded killer", and that can be fun.

Also if a character acts like an idiot in canon for comic relief, and the author actually finds a reasonable way to make them a well-rounded character and not merely an idiot, like we only saw that particular side of them because of the narrow/biased perspective through which we viewed some of the character's actions.

o-ooh, I also love the Pretending to be dumb trope!

It's not always just "pretending" even. Sometimes it's just that they're earnestly naive and trusting - but then you get to a certain point and they're all business. Or sometimes they just don't have the whole picture in regards to what they're being an idiot about, or they are just not very good at a particular thing but have other talents. Turning a pure comic relief idiot into something a little deeper can be tricky, but interesting if done right.

I'm pretty picky about characterization. I'm okay with slight deviations when they feel like they are developments from canon. Or in AUs, i don't mind different characterization that is believable for what the character might be like if their life was different.

but anything that feels OOC instantly throws me out of a story. IC is a turn on for me pretty much. I will usually backbutton if a fic starts to feel OOC.

Idk, it depends I think.

Like canon-divergence AU's I won't mind necessarily? But it's all about how they're done because some I think would change the characters so much that they wouldn't be who they are in the canon anymore(not on the fic writers, more an actual fact of the AU). But I've also read fic that's taken genuinely good characters and made them a little more morally-flexible and that's fun sometimes, not full-dark mind you as I nearly always detest that(no you haven't written them 'dark' they're just a rapist) but bending them a little bit? I can roll with that on occasion.

But most of the time steering too far away from the characters canon selves will annoy me and I won't like it, I'm reading fic for the characters I like, not OC's with their names slapped on.

I like certain head canons some fandoms/writers in a fandom adopt -- Be it from the way a character would act when X events happen, or the idea that with X technology, they would totally behave in a particular manner. I remember when I was rotating through one fandom, almost all the writers -- regardless of how they were writing Character A, and I feel like they did a good job, it's like everyone in that corner of fandom agreed "Character A fucks like this" lmao.

I don't mind when they make a character darker, unless they're really a ball of sunshine type of character. No guile and truly sweet. That's why I tend to read dark!Character unless they're already questionable in canon.

I too can't stand the infantilization that happens to certain characters and the "uwu cinnamon roll protect at all costs HDU, Character X is a divine angel" etc. GTFO. To be fair, I simply scroll by and don't read those fics. Ditto for the fics that are heavily tagged for anxiety, depression, PTSD, it's all the summary etc etc etc. Like...unless the character is dealing with it in canon, or it's something that develops over the course of the story, I don't want to read about that. It's certainly not one of those things I would tell people "no, you can't write that. X doesn't have these issues/so OOC, IDC if you're exploring get out" that's what fic is for! Have fun! Express yourself and work shit out. Whatever.

I'm relatively easy. The two main ones I can't stand are when the characters are written like literal children, and when characters who are fundamentally kind are written as being sort of judgmental and ungenerous (in that Bella Swan sort of way where she just doesn't really think anything nice about anyone who isn't Edward).

I LOVE when the characters' positive traits/abilities are emphasized.

I admit I do love when the character who I prefer as the bottom is made slightly more vulnerable and/or subby. It doesn't have to be a huge change though, and if it gets taken too far it runs the risk of becoming character-infantilization, which I hate. So there's a bit of a balancing act to this one, for me.

When it comes to AU type changes, it really depends on the character. Some characters are easy to adapt to AU scenarios ("Sherlock Holmes; hostile, precocious school-boy" works just fine for me), while others really are not easy to adapt (Tony Stark has to be rich, powerful, and devoted to some kind of large-scale cause, or he doesn't feel like Tony Stark to me).

I have this problem with HP fics where Harry is raised in a loving family. Just feels too diferent.

Your third paragraph speaks to me on a spiritual level. I haven't thought about it like this, but I also love these subtle changes for more vulnerable/uke fave. But not too much.

Oh man, yeah, I couldn't get into a fic that changed something so fundamental about Harry.

Your third paragraph speaks to me on a spiritual level.

I'm so glad someone here shares my taste! I think it's actually pretty common in fandom at large, but on FS I feel like there are a lot more people who hate even a whiff of subby-vulnerable-bottom characterization and basically view it as inferior to their preferred dynamics which--idk--adequately eschew the norms or whatever.

Have you got a link to the Bertie as a WW1 vet fic anon? That sounds interesting.

it's called Green Ice. Unfortunately I'm not on my laptop rn, sorry.

Thanks! I'm sure Google will bring it up :D

I'm super easy, I love AUS. You can change the setting, ages, species, genders, whatever. What I want to remain the same are personalities, dynamics, and stakes.

Personalities: Kind characters should still be kind, reserved characters should still be reserved, moral characters should still be moral, ect. If you want the Black Widow to be the meangirl head cheerleader in your HSAU you probably can, but she's got to have survived a really rough upbringing and intentionally wear the face that'll get her what she wants and eventually realize she would rather make Marvel High a better place*.

Dynamics: Siblings, romance, brothers in arms, frenemies, enemies, unless that's the factor that we're changing it's got to be consistent. And so does the power. Sticking with Marvel comics: Tony Stark can't be Steve Rodgers' boss, they're coworkers; Steve should be of a higher status than Bucky, Thor should be almost completely removed from these concerns.

Stakes: I need to care about stuff, and I need to feel like important characters are important. It's not enough for Leia Organa to be a teacher or a principal I need her to be a state legislator at minimum*. Theoden king of Rohan doesn't have to be king of a country, but he better lead a club or company and inspire great loyalty**. The Avengers don't have to be saving the world, but they need to be influence something.

*I'm done with High School AUs, I'm too old to appreciate the stakes any more.
**Is there already an AU where the Riders of Rohan are a biker club? Guys, I want this really bad now.

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[ SECRET POST #5298 ]

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