#FandomMeta

[athenanfaymont]

🔥 Another nighttime dalliance: Slow burn is not just a cliché, it's a philosophy 🧘

Love not as lightning, but as architecture.

There’s a reason we keep coming back to the slow burn.

Not just because it’s romantic. Not just because we like to suffer (though… we do). But because at its core, the slow burn isn’t just a storytelling device. It’s a worldview. ✨

It tells us that love isn’t always a thunderclap or a glance across the room. Sometimes love is built. Quietly. Brick by brick. Sometimes love is a choice made over and over, across battles and betrayals and misunderstandings and time. ⏳

It’s a philosophy that says: Love is not the thing that hits you. It’s the thing you learn. It’s patience. It’s attention. It’s noticing. It’s two people who don’t immediately get each other, but who keep showing up anyway.

🌱 Slow Burn is trust. It’s knowing that if you build something slowly, it’s less likely to fall apart.

🔥 It’s tension. Because when characters don’t fall in love instantly, we get to watch them fall. In bits. In pieces. In stolen glances and shared silences.

🛠️ It’s work. Because it asks for vulnerability, for change, for self-reflection. A slow burn couple will teach each other things they didn’t know they needed to learn.

And that’s powerful.

We see this everywhere in fiction:

💞 Aziraphale and Crowley — literal centuries of ineffable tension. 💞 Kagome and Inuyasha — from bickering and misunderstandings to trust, friendship… and something much deeper. 💞 Superbat (if you feel it) — they start at odds. They grow through challenge. 💞 Feyre and Rhysand — from enemies to lovers, navigating trauma, trust, and love in a relationship forged slowly and carefully. 🌙💖 💞 Anne and Gilbert, Mulder and Scully, Pining Steve Rogers, Jane Austen’s entire bibliography — all slow burns at heart.

The slow burn says: You don’t have to fall fast to fall deep. That you can want someone before you understand why. And that maybe the best kind of love isn’t the one that erupts— —it’s the one that endures. 💖

[Hello Clio]

[fandomspacesmatter]

Every time something ugly happens in fandom space—someone gets harassed, excluded, or dogpiled—there's a moment when people could step in. Say something. Offer support. Push back. But most don’t. They stay quiet, even when it's their mutuals getting hurt.

And then, a week later, those same people wonder aloud: “Why is the fandom shrinking?”

This is why. Because when things go bad, people look away. Because silence is easier than conflict. Because letting someone else take the fall feels safer than standing up. And in doing that, the space becomes hostile, even if only in small, quiet ways.

Fandoms don’t just fade. They rot from the inside when community care is replaced with self-preservation. If you want a thriving fandom, you have to act like it’s a community worth protecting. That means intervening. That means not letting people you care about get isolated or pushed out while you watch from the sidelines.

You can’t have it both ways. You don’t get to mourn a shrinking fandom while choosing silence when it actually counts.

[veeagainsttheday]

a little fandom meta/discussion about supremacist movements

I'm finally free of onerous, non-fandom related tasks and have been looking forward to writing something fun for ages. Unfortunately I'm now on the Regulus chapter of Remain in Light, my huge SiriusLives! fic. And with current events going on right now it is a SLOG. I have always wanted to write this chapter because I find his story in canon to be barely sketched out, and I thrive on filling in the gaps in canon. I recently re-read everything in OotP, HBP, and DH relating to him and there is a fascinating story lurking underneath there that intellectually I can't wait to start writing. Unfortunately the actual writing is requiring me to grapple with Death Eater ideology, which is Pureblood supremacy, which is, I'll be honest, really fucking hard to talk about in any meaningful way right now. It is clearly intended by JKR to symbolize white supremacy, and so trying to portray Regulus as at all a sympathetic character when I have to write about him being active in a supremacist movement is a real struggle in light of the events (and leadership) in the USA. Yes, I know that he eventually turns against it, but that’s not all of the story...  And in addition to the whole Pureblood vs Muggleborn thing, there's house elf slavery and would-be fascist governments. There's genuinely very dark stuff in these books.  I feel like fandom, at least the part I interact with, hasn't really addressed Death Eater ideology. In HP fandom and other places, characters who are explicitly positioned as having a supremacist ideology in canon are often romanticised (Snape and Draco are fairly complex examples, but for example there's the huge love going on right now for Kylo Ren and General Hux in the Star Wars fandom). Is this wrong? Should fandom feel compelled to explore why some sections are attracted to dark characters? Should fandom whitewash dark characters (ie, depicting Kylo Ren and Hux in a cute relationship with no reference to their 'work')? Or is there some responsibility to acknowledge that these are people making evil choices? I've talked before, here and with others, about how many people, including myself, use fandom to wrestle with issues of sexuality. That's a real, and really serious, thing. So what about grappling with the very real issue of supremacist movements, or fascism?

[mauvearts]

Just wanted to say I adore your art. I hit my phone screen so fast every time I get a notification about a new piece that I almost drop it 😁. Your Lúthien and Maedhros in particular are perfect (Fingon, too, but I just really love them). I love the way you draw faces and the warmth of your colours. The Daemags art you did ages ago also feeds my parched soul, there's not enough art for this ship 💓🎵.

Thanks for creating and sharing!

hey, thank you for your message! You make me blush right here 🥰 I cannot express how glad i am there are still people who enjoy my work! >_< my main reason for drawing is to indulge in characters and to practice my hobby but having you guys around me to share is a huge motivation and a mental uplifting in times like these.

So thank you for being around ❤️

also character dynamics is what i like most about fandommeta - so non conventional ships are always fun to explore 8D (beside the big three-masted ones of course)

[the-fandom-tea]

Tagging paradigm:

Metas:

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Fandom:

#fanfiction

#fanart

#fanworks

#amv

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#video

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#complete

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News:

#animatednews

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#fandomnews

[athenanfaymont]

🛠️📚 “Where’s the Love?”: The Struggles of Writing Gen Fanfiction

Every time I hit “publish” on a new fic, I brace myself — not for hate, not for mistakes, but for silence. And more often than not, that silence comes when I’ve written something without romance at its core.

Because let’s face it: if your fic doesn’t have shipping, it’s statistically doomed to underperform.

💔 According to AO3 data, more than 85% of bookmarked and hit-count-heavy fics are tagged with romantic or sexual pairings. And when you look at Tumblr reblogs, Twitter/X rec threads, and even fanfic awards? The trend is clear: love stories dominate. And if your fic is about found family, grief, personal growth, moral conflict, or slice-of-life friendship moments... well. Good luck breaking 500 hits.

And that’s not wrong. Romance is powerful. It’s emotional, it’s validating, and it drives plot with satisfying clarity. A well-written ship can change how we read canon — and ourselves.

But still. Sometimes I wish that a fic about a character rebuilding their identity post-trauma got the same attention as one where they kiss someone for the first time. That we could crave inner worlds as much as we crave intimacy.

🔍 Writing gen (general) fiction isn’t just harder to get read. It’s harder to get noticed, categorised, or even respected. You tag it as “gen,” and people assume it’s dry, boring, plot-only, or worse: that you’re playing it safe. That you’re not going deep enough.

But I am going deep. I just want to explore the ache of legacy. Or the cost of violence. Or what it means to be loyal when no one asks you to be. And yes, sometimes those things matter more than “will they or won’t they.”

📉 I've seen incredible character studies sink unnoticed while fluff-fics soar. And again: romance isn’t the problem. The bias is.

We all say we love worldbuilding. Character arcs. Quiet moments. But fandom attention doesn’t always reflect that. And for those of us who write gen, it’s easy to feel invisible.

I'm a romance writer, at least, always with a bit of romance. I shouldn't be complaining… but I am. Or rather, I reflect, I reflect on my own bias, on whether I review Gen fanfics or not, on how I organize my searches, on whether I'm being unfair to myself by not giving my soul different stories to feed on.

🧠✨ If you’re one of the readers who leaves kudos, reblogs, or comments on these kinds of fics — thank you. You’re rare, and you make all the difference.

And if you’re a writer feeling discouraged? I see you. Your work is powerful. Even if it doesn’t trend. Even if it doesn’t get shouted about. Even if it’s read in silence, at 2 a.m., by someone who desperately needed it.

Keep writing. Not everything that matters gets bookmarked.

[Naoko Takeuchi]

[athenanfaymont]

💬 "Don't Even Try to put Her in One Box"

Steph Brown and the Found Family That (Sometimes) Tries to Parent Her

If you’ve read my previous post on Steph as Gotham’s chaos-bringer 💥💜, you’ll know I believe she isn’t just a hero — she’s a survivor with sparkles, a subversive ray of sun in Gotham’s shadows.

But no one survives Gotham alone. And Steph? She chose her family. And they chose her back — in wildly imperfect, deeply meaningful ways 💫

💜 Cass & Steph — The Soft Power Duo Cass is silence. Steph is noise. Cass reads bodies. Steph overshares. And yet, they sync in a way that goes deeper than words. Steph offers light without demand. Cass offers presence without pressure. They fight side by side, they sleep on rooftops together, and in each other’s company, they are safe. It’s not a sisterhood born of matching trauma — it’s chosen solidarity. 🫂

💙 Tim & Steph — The Glorious Disaster That Is Love Let’s be real: Tim and Steph are a mess, and I mean that lovingly. They bicker, they break up, they reunite, they screw it up again. But underneath the drama is a bond built on knowing the real version of each other — the insecurity, the exhaustion, the want. Tim pulls Steph into the mission, but Steph pulls Tim out of his own mind. Is it always healthy? Not exactly. But it’s real, and when it works, it works💔💞

🟣 Babs & Steph — Mentor, Sister, Teammate Barbara didn’t just give Steph the cowl — she gave her a vote of confidence when no one else would. But what began as mentorship evolved into partnership. They push each other. They annoy each other. They believe in each other. Babs teaches Steph how to fight smarter. Steph reminds Babs why the fight is worth it. And sometimes they argue about snacks and surveillance. As it should be 🖥️🍕

Steph’s story isn’t just hers — it’s written in connection. These bonds are messy, but authentic. Traumatized, but tender. And so full of love, even when it’s badly communicated or wrapped in angst.

So no, she doesn’t fit in a box. But she fits into hearts. Especially theirs💜

[Javier Pina]

[athenanfaymont]

💜 Steph Brown: The Chaos Bringer Gotham Needed

Stephanie Brown isn't what Gotham expected, and that's exactly why it works 💥

She's the girl who burst into the Batcave uninvited. The vigilante who started on the streets with a homemade costume and a mission her father definitely didn't see coming. And somehow, she's gone from Spoiler to Robin, from Batgirl to the chaotic heart of the Batfamily. Not through stern determination or brooding temper, but through grit, chaos, humor, and an absolute refusal to fall 🦇🎭

Steph is laughter in the middle of a thunderstorm. She throws glitter on the grief. She weaponizes joy. In a city that feeds off fear and control, she does something radical: she feels, she speaks, she shines.

She’s not perfect. She makes mistakes. She’s been sidelined, underestimated, even erased from the narrative (DC… we remember 👀). And yet, she comes back. Stronger. Louder. In brighter colors. Because Steph isn’t here to play Gotham’s game — she’s here to flip the board and spray paint it gold. 💫

Where Bruce broods and Jason rages and Tim spirals and Damian calculates, Steph endures. Not with cold distance, but with empathy and defiance. She says no to the silence. No to the cynicism. Yes to the possibility that Gotham can heal — maybe even laugh.

And maybe that's her greatest power.

Steph Brown isn't the Batgirl Gotham expected. But she's the Batgirl Gotham needed 💜💥 And she'll continue to ruin every villain's plan, every tragic narrative, and every assumption about what a hero should be.

(And I love her as a Spoiler)

[Pere Pérez]