[ SECRET POST #2438 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2438 ⌋

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

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.


__________________________________________________



09. [tb]


__________________________________________________



10.


__________________________________________________
















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 012 secrets from Secret Submission Post #348.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ], [ 1 - sjwtroll ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

02. http://i39.tinypic.com/slqjbn.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

So..."Stop talking about what I don't like!"?

Honestly, I talk about meta because I *LIKE* meta. I like figuring out how a world works, etc.

That said...what fandom are you in that talks so much meta? Most of mine generally end up either not talking about it, or actively not liking it.

[souljelly]

Also curious as to what the fandom is.

I wish my fandom had more meta. Trade you, anon.

[(Anonymous)]

See, I think there's actually not enough. To me, meta's one of the best things about a fandom.

It's fine to not enjoy it, of course, but... people are meta online because it's often kind of hard offline.

[(Anonymous)]

I love meta. But meta is not the same as fangirling or whatever so I can understand why a person can get tired of it if it's meta all the time.

There is such a thing as too much of a good thing.

[seventh_seal]

Nice attempt at sounding like an idiot, but a bit too obvious. 5/10

[(Anonymous)]

I like meta until people start trying too hard in their meta posts (zomg I really understand this character!!!11 He's such a dork and blah blah blah) and they just get annoying to read. Otherwise, it's one of my favourite parts of fandom that I actually participate in. Probably because I can't write fiction or draw anything.

[blueonblue]

I don't think meta belongs on AO3, but meta posts were one of the things I liked about LJ in the old days. And mailing lists. My nostalgia goggles tell me those had lots of good discussions.

[(Anonymous)]

You're right about doing it to sound smart. Only it nearly always makes them sound dumb. They keep trying to make themselves sound smart by tearing down paid writers, but just expose their own prejudices and lack of narrative abilities.

[ninety6tears]

Aw, I would love for my favorite book fandoms to be drowning in meta :(

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, op. Me too!

what is meta?

[(Anonymous)]

I think I might have been misunderstanding what "meta" meant all this time...

Secret 2 - General fandom, meta

[transcriptanon]

[Picture is a kinda shapeless blob with eyes and a huge mouth asking "are we meta yet?" There is the copyright symbol and the word "hugh" in a corner. Specific credit in notes.]

I'm so tired of all the meta. Everything is meta meta meta. Can't people just shut up and enjoy the books without making a huge deal out of every little thing that crosses their minds and every "question" they have?

Sometimes I think they just want to sound smart.

[kallanda_lee]

Or, you know, some of us just love the discussion? Some of us like the act of thinking about things?

[(Anonymous)]

You must hate academia. Don't go anywhere near the Shakespeare fandom, your head will probably explode.

[dragonimp]

For some of us, that's HOW we enjoy our media. That's the fun part.

(Though this sounds like it's about the fandom for a specific series of books, and I'm incredibly curious)

[(Anonymous)]

A problem I have with meta is that it just goes over the same issues with lots of people just repeating their opinions, while other issues are kind of ignored. And while it's not bad to discuss problematic parts, reading negative meta can really get in the way of my enjoyment of things.

[logicbutton]

WHAT. But meta is the source of 100% of the humor in Harry Potter fandom!

[(Anonymous)]

Where are you that you see meta ALL THE TIME because I'm jealous.

[miarrow]

Don't read it then? It's kind of silly to tell people not to think critically about their media consumption, some of us can't turn that off. Plus you can enjoy something even if you find parts of it problematic.

[(Anonymous)]

I used to like meta, and in a lot of cases, I still do. But there's a certain section of my fandom where all they DO is meta - usually "in defense of" their favorites and to tear down their hated characters and couples and seasons. It drives me dingy because after a while, it just seems like so much mental masturbation and "hey, look how smart I am" shit going on.

I like what I like, even when it doesn't make sense, and seeing a fucking 10K manifesto on why that's a shitty character/story/headcanon just makes me want to defriend the over-thinkers.

Which is what I did.

And I haven't looked back.

Fandom life has been so much less frustrating and rage-inducing, OP, you should try it.

[intrigueing]

I like meta in theory, but so much meta that I see is the unbearably pretentious and complex kind where the meta writer pulls out load of analysis that is but one possible interpretation of events, and instead of treating it as one possible interpretation of events, they treat it as explicit Word of God canon gospel and judge everything else in canon, and everyone who voices their opinion of canon, according to the idea that their one possible interpretation of events is unimpeachable.

This happens a lot. Repeatedly. And yes, I have some very specific people from various fandoms in mind.

[(Anonymous)]

I don't know. I get that some people will go on long-winded so-called "meta" analyses that are really just gigantic manifestos for their favorite/most hated character/ships. And yeah, that can get old, but I just scroll past. The rest of the time, I really, really love meta. I can't help but have critical analysis reactions to media I consume; that part of my brain no longer shuts up.

So that's how I like to engage in fandom. I get enthusiastic about a thought, or I see a gap in the discussion, and I want to share my thought or fill that gap and have conversations about it.

I'm sure some people do meta to "seem smart," in exactly the same way some people do fic or art just for the positive feedback instead of for the enjoyment of creating, and some do it for both, but I don't find it any more inherently pretentious than "serious" ficcers or artists.

[(Anonymous)]

I have never understood why fandom's critical analysis is even called 'meta' in the first place. It seems like a misuse of the term. I thought 'meta' usually means something self-referential: 'an X about X'. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just irks me every time I see it.

Good god, enjoy the meta while you can!

[(Anonymous)]

Before your fandom too becomes just a series of the same photos posted and reposted over and over on tumblr and no intelligent discussion whatsoever. You'll miss it, believe me!
Speaking from experience.