[ SECRET POST #2012 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2012 ⌋

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

01.


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02.


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03.


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04.
[Infinity Blade II, Chaos Ring]


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05.
[Kushiel's Legacy, Avengers, Harry Potter, Star Trek]


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06.
[America's next top Model]


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07.
[Common Law]


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08.
[MST3K ("Space Mutiny") and Final Fantasy VI]


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09.
[the bachelorette]


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10.
[Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon]


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[ ----- SPOILERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]













11. [SPOILERS for Deus Ex: Human Revolution]



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12. [SPOILERS for Legend of Korra]



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13. [SPOILERS for Legend of Korra]



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14. [SPOILERS for Pandora Hearts]



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15. [SPOILERS for Merlin]



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[ ----- TRIGGERY SECRETS AHEAD ----- ]














16. [WARNING for suicide]

[Park Yong Ha]


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17. [WARNING for abuse]



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18. [WARNING for abuse]



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19. [WARNING for rape]



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20. [WARNING for incest]



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21. [WARNING for incest possibly (OP's request)]



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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 000 secrets from Secret Submission Post #287.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

i hate secrets like this so much

Technically it's not the secret you hate - that didn't even mention slash.

I don't think people are blaming slash so much as they're blaming Die For Our Ship (that trope when people hate a character because they're considered a "barrier" to a prefered ship happening). You see this sort of crazy behaviour just as often from fans of het pairings - Harmonians and Zutarians spring to mind. But it's just that in this particular case the female characters (and their actresses) DO come under fire a lot thanks to the shipping that goes on - most of it slash - even though hating Gwen simply for getting in the way of Arthur/Merlin is stunningly pointless because Merlin/Arthur was never going to happen in canon anyway.

But to answer the OP's question, the term "Mary Sue" is practically obsolete these days. If someone decides to dislike a female character, all they have to do is check the Mary Sue litmus test, pick out three or so aspects that fit the character, and boom - instant Mary Sue. (Never mind that there are hundreds of entries on that list, and MOST characters have to have at LEAST three or four in order to be any kind of any interesting character at all). It's used more as an insult than a genuine critique these days.

The reasons generally given for Gwen being a Mary Sue is that she never does anything wrong. And sure, there are probably those who dislike Gwen on her own terms, or who love Gwen despite shipping Arthur/Merlin. But let's not kid ourselves, the main reason Gwen gets called a Mary Sue is because of Die For Our Ship – that or it's the mother of all coincidences that the Gwen-hate didn't start in earnest until the moment she came into focus as a love interest to one half of a very popular non-canon pairing. Nothing brings out the “Mary Sue” accusations quicker than shipping wars.

Mithian ticks a lot of Mary Sue boxes as well, but the difference is that she posed no permanent threat to any Fan Preferred Couple. She was only around for one episode, and so it was "safe" to like her and easy to make comments along the lines of "if Mithian had been Guinevere, I would have LOVED the Arthur/Gwen ship" because there was no chance of that actually HAPPENING. But I guarantee you, if Mithian HAD been Guinevere and she had been introduced (let's just say) at the start of series 2 in the exact same manner, with the elaborate entrance/dramatic unveiling, the awestruck reaction shot from everyone, the instant rapport with Arthur, the mad hunting skillz, the belching competition, the great lengths gone to in order to make her perfectly compatible with Arthur - dear God, fandom would have torn her to shreds.

I honestly think that a female character has a MUCH higher chance of being a Mary Sue if she’s paired up with the alpha male (Ginny, Rose Tyler, Katara). And if there’s a fan preferred couple involved, then God help her. And because it’s so easy to argue that almost ANY character is a Mary Sue, it’s a great way to justify dislike - but it can happen to male characters and to het pairings as easily as slash-related fandoms. It's all about context. That's my half-baked theory anyway.