#United We Fan

[iwatcheditbegin]

Haters fail to grasp that Taylor’s massive success isn’t due to any trends , it’s largely based on her relationship with US. If you don’t understand the lore of pen genres she’s not for you

[emero0]

The real reason they haven’t shown akito’s room yet it cus its covered in mmj merch

[astral-shiro]

let this man keep his beef!!!

[katherynefromphilly]

Feel free to share this on any social media site you’d like so the world knows of Our Great Suffering.

[necrotic-nephilim]

@sasheneskywalker i love when you enable me to ramble about things because oh my god do i have thoughts.

so recently, i made a post discussing the phenomena of DC x DP and DC x MLB crossovers and why they exist and part of that post was discussing how largely speaking, at least half, if not more of the Batfamily fandom doesn't read the comics. if they interact with canon DC material, it's adaptations that are their own sequestered universes and oftentimes not remotely comic accurate or seeking to be. the most obvious example is the Young Justice cartoon. i'm adding a cut to this post because it just got so long i'm so sorry.

a lot of times, when people are discussing the "why" of this oversaturation of fanon-only fandom, they blame Wayne Family Adventures. and i think, to a point, i agree WFA is responsible for a boom in this fandom. but as someone who's been in the fandom long before we had WFA, to me it's the other way around. WFA was DC's way of meeting the demand for this easy-to-get-into, easy-to-consume content about the Batfamily that predicates itself on the comics just enough to be vaguely the same characters, but has a more sitcom, slice-of-life sort of vibe so DC could profit off of this section of the fanbase that otherwise wasn't consuming its primary material. and well, it's definitely worked. not only that, but i have a weird theory that the decline in the MCU also led to the rise in the Batfamily fandom. when you consider the fan content that made the MCU popular within fandom, it's that 2012 "they all live in Avengers Tower and Thor is eating poptarts and Clint is in the vents and there are movie nights every Friday" sort of vibe. those were the fics that were a hallmark of the fandom. and as the MCU has strayed from well... quality content in general, but specifically well-thought-out crossover content where characters can have their own arcs but also exist in a wider story where they clearly care about each other, that fandom was sort of homeless. so where do you go, if you like a superhero found family where you can have villains for angst but also stick them all in one big family-like home for silly crack and have a plethora of options for gay ships? well. you go to the Batfamily. if you write a crack/fluff Batfamily genfic with silly vibes and low stakes instead of say, a fic about a very specific comic issue even if it's a popular comic, you're *going* to get more traction for the former. because the fanbase largely just isn't reading the comics.

and i feel... complicated about this. because on one hand, Don't Like Don't Read has been a tenet of my fandom experience. i'm very pro-fandom and that includes fandom content i don't like. and to an extent, i do think this sort of should apply to Batfamily fanon. i enjoy having my moments with other comic purists, giggling over exceptionally painful OOC headcanons or even facepalming in pain over some content but it is on me to not interact with that content. you don't make fandom a better place by being hostile to fans who engage with canon in ways you don't approve of. and frankly? we as comic readers are not going to get non-comic fans to read the comics by being asshats to them. no one is going to want to pick up any comic if we get a superiority complex about it. and also, i feel like we're all lying to ourselves a little bit insisting comics are so, so easy to get into. they're not. we can just all agree, they're really not. i've been single-handedly helping my sister get into comics, specifically Wonder Woman and no matter how simple i make it, i watch her get frustrated trying to understand what pre-Crisis and post-Crisis and New-52 and Flashpoint and all these things mean and what a retcon vs a reboot is and what a Crisis Event is and what the hell Diana's current backstory even *is*. sure, you can give someone a beginner list of comics to start with and slowly dip their toes in the water but sooner or later, *something* is going to confuse them. comics as a medium straight up aren't going to be everyone's cup of tea. and if someone *just* wants to read silly fluffy fanfiction about the Batfamily, i can't entirely begrudge them for not wanting to take the hours and hours out of their day to understand this medium. it's not an accessible medium to get into. "read this and this, but this run is out of print and this run wasn't collected in trades at all but also make sure you read that event in order and this is a good comic but the backstory in it is retconned and you *have* to read this it's so important but it's also really bad because the author kind of sucks" sounds. ridiculous for someone who like. just wants to read some stuff about Nightwing. sometimes, we all make reading comics sort of sound like a chore, not a hobby.

so my point is, i do extend some grace to Batfamily fanon for existing. i think my biggest gripe is, as i said in my other post, misuse of tags (if you're not creating content about comics, maybe you don't need the comics fandom tag on Ao3, just the all media types umbrella tag) and my far bigger gripe: when panels are taken out of context to support fanon only headcanons. if i could impart *anything* onto the Batfamily fandom as a comic fan it'd be this: if you haven't *read* the comic, don't spread the panel. if you don't even know what comic it's *from*, don't spread the panel. it's fine to use comic panels to discuss your headcanons, but so often i see someone spreading a comic panel from a comic they haven't read, and when asked where it's from, they can't source it. a silly example that comes to mind is a post going around, taking a panel where Dick, in his internal monologue goes "here comes the sun. do do do do." and the post is claiming it's from him getting buried alive. when that panel comes from Nightwing (1996) #140, and he gets buried alive in Nightwing (1996) #127, two completely different moments frankensteined together. if you're going to not read the comics, that's completely fine, but unless you're sure of the source and the context, panels shouldn't be spread around. i'm sick of this specifically happening to Red Robin (2009), with ppl claiming Tim has totally killed people because he blew up some of Ra's' bases, when those panels within context, make it clear he gave everyone time to escape. and in a later arc in that very comic, Tim grapples with the idea of murdering Captain Boomerang, and *specifically chooses not to*, because he doesn't agree with murder, even against the person who has hurt him the most. if you'd like to write fanfiction where Tim is pro-murder and has done some sketch things, i'm totally on board and would probably like to read it. but there's no need to pretend it's canon from a few panels you saw out of context.

beyond that, i think it's not *entirely* correct to say that fanon is harmless. whenever i see very WFA-positive posts, they often default to the argument that WFA is fun and silly, and comic fans are killjoys for not liking it. which. i think is complicated because the issue is, WFA and fanon don't exist in a vacuum. if you like WFA power to you, i don't think it's the worst thing ever, but i do think it's degrading to these characters because honestly? they feel incompetent in the webtoon. it's one thing if WFA was solely a slice-of-life sort of deal, just having silly episodes where Bruce is taking on a PTA mom or they're all fighting for the last cookie. but when WFA attempts to take on more serious plots with these characters, it *fundamentally* falls flat in understanding them. i get it, Bruce comforting Jason having a panic attack because a noise reminded him of the crowbar felt cute in a microcosm, but i'm so serious when i say that storyline destroyed how like. half of this fandom understands Jason Todd's relationship to his trauma. it doesn't understand how he reacts when he's triggered, what coping mechanisms he seeks out, and how he would handle Bruce comforting him. even if i can believe for a brief moment Jason *would* be triggered by something like that, him running and trying to hide and then getting a hug from Bruce to make it okay is just. painful. WFA needs everything to be wrapped up in a nice, neat little bow. so even when it starts to tackle interesting concepts, it makes them fall flat with its need to be soft, low stakes, hurt/comfort. there was a two-parter episode that dealt with the complicated mutual hatred/jealousy between Tim and Damian that *almost* really interested me because for once, it felt like the webtoon wanted to explore canon messy dynamics. but of course, it had to be fixed with one conversation and a hug. you don't mend the *years* of issues these characters have like that. WFA isn't in character because these characters are hyperbole cartoonified versions of themselves to fit within the medium and be a cute happy family.

because that right there, is the crux of it. the Batfamily fanon seeks to simplify the Batfamily and force them into a nuclear family. there are so many fantastic posts on here discussing how the nuclear family-ification of the Batfam is eroding decades worth of complex histories so i won't go too far into that. but what i will say is that there's this need, in the Batfamily fandom, for the Batfamily to exist as a unit. they are a *family*. (honestly i think calling it the Batfamily is a misnomer and has been for years but we're in too deep now.) they exist to each other first, and any teams or friends they have come secondary to this family unit. you can *specifically* see this demonstrated in what headcanons are becoming popular these days. i have an entire lengthy meta in my drafts about how i *loathe* the "the Batfamily meets the Justice League" genre of fanfic because it makes no *sense*. in order to have this genre of fic exist, you must operate under the assumption that no one in the League, or adjacent to the League, knows the Batfamily exists and are thus utterly shocked to discover Batman has kids. and to make *that* work, you have to strip *every single Batfamily member* of such important dynamics and friendships so you can lock them all in Gotham for their whole lives. Dick can't have the Titans, Tim can't have Young Justice, Duke & Cass can't have the Outsiders, Jason can't have the Outlaws, Damian can't have the Supersons, Babs can't have the Birds of Prey, and so on. because if they had these relationships, they would be known to the League. the Batfamily fandom doesn't care about this, it's just "silly fanfiction", it's not trying to be serious. but how can you say you like Dick Grayson as a character if you don't understand the Titans *are* his family? at some points of his life, moreso than the Batfamily even is. it is constantly repeated to us in most comics with Dick how much the Titans mean to him. he *needs* them to be who he is. the same extends to every other Batfamily member, most of which have been full League members at this point. but in fanon, that doesn't matter. the Batfamily are a sequestered unit first, and all of those side relationships are secondary and easy to toss away, if it makes your fanfic work better.

and because they have to be a unit first, you have these forced relationships that dump years of actual canon material for the sake of making them get along. the Batfamily fandom has its favorites and well. it's no secret it's usually the boys. Jason and Tim by *far* stand out as fandom faves so, their dynamic is a heavily explored one. it does matter that in canon they don't tend to get along and especially don't see each other as family. what matters is that you can push dynamics onto them. and so fanon gets all twisted up about which Robin Tim actually idolized as a kid (Dick) and what member of the Batfamily is pro-murder but still an older sibling figure to him and looks out for him (Helena, or if you want the dynamic of once tried to harm Tim but they've reconciled, Jean-Paul) in favor of who's the most popular. Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian are always going to be the standouts for popularity, but it's specifically Jason and Tim who are getting fanonized the most. and that's because really, we don't have much canon content of Tim that *isn't* the comics. for Dick you've got Young Justice (tv), for Damian you've got the DCAMU, for Jason you've sort of got the Under The Red Hood movie, but Tim sort of lingers in this limbo. (yes, he's in Young Justce (tv) and Titans (live action) but in neither is he the main character nor given much depth) so, he gets a *lot* projected onto him and has become fanonized. and even with Jason's animated movies, you don't see him interact with Tim, so people build it from the ground up how they want to see it, disregarding of canon comics. i think it's what makes him so popular in the first place- he's malleable into whatever you want or need him to be.

and of course, the fanon ignores other characters in the Batfamily it doesn't know about. i feel like you could create a tier list of Batfamily characters by their popularity, going from the fandom main characters: Tim, Jason, Bruce, Alfred, Dick, Damian. to the underrated: Steph, Duke, Babs, Cass. to the forgotten about unless they're convenient for a story: Kate, the Foxes, Helena Wayne, Carrie, Selina, Harper Row, Maps, Minhkhoa Khan. to the absolutely unknown: Helena Bertinelli, Jean-Paul Valley, Onyx Adams, the Clovers, Julia Pennyworth. it's not lost on me that the ignored characters tend to be women and people of color. which is both a canon and fanon problem, DC will continue adding interesting characters to the Batfamily, play with them for a few years, then drop them to default to the "Batboys" again. and it's a vicious cycle of the fandom only caring about the "Batboys", and thus people entering the fandom via fanon osmosis won't have content about the other characters, therefore, they won't be interested in those characters enough to create it, and it's just this ouroboros consuming itself, no matter how much canon content we have of these other characters. and it's ridiculous just how large the Batfamily is becoming because of this, which is why i'm a pre-Flashpoint fan, because then the Batfamily was contained enough to actually feel like a family with every character having nuances relationships with each other, but i digress because those thoughts could be their own post.

and the thing about fanon is it doesn't exist in a vacuum. DC has started turning the comics to accommodate for what fans are asking for, because fans will beg and beg for content they're not going to consume. Tim Drake: Robin had Tim as a coffee drinker because that's the fanon accepted headcanon. and the resolution of the recent Gotham War arc was for Bruce to buy this new manor for everyone to move in and call him. nevermind that most of these characters have their own homes and have zero reason to be moving in with Bruce. Tim had his marina in Tim Drake: Robin, Dick has Bludhaven, Cass and Steph have their little side of town in Batgirls (2022), and so on. these characters are being forced together as a unit, as one big happy family living together, to appease what non-comic fans want and it's damaging comic relationships. Robin: Knight Terrors saw Jason and Tim team up and working together, which i've seen varying opinions on but i personally despised. their interactions made zero sense for any of their canon history, but it appeases them being this close sibling relationship that fanon acts like they are. also the fears they faced in their respective knight terrors didn't make sense for either character and *only* worked as a moment of bringing them together so they could reassure each other and have this weird dreamscape bonding moment. the canon is bending itself to the will of fanon rather than building on the pre-existing complex relationships. Tim barely even gets along with his most important team in Dark Crisis: Young Justice because it seems the only important relationships the Batfamily can have is with each other. and when we do see them outside of the Batfamily, it only seems to be to relive the glory days like with World's Finest: Teen Titans, instead of developing them as they currently exist. this isn't recent in the comics, it feels like you can trace it back to the New-52, but it does feel a *lot* worse over the recent years. WFA is fine when it exists in its own bubble, but the simple truth is, DC content never exists on its own. the adaptations will reflect back onto the comics. (the damage the Young Justice cartoon has done to some characters should honestly be studied) and so it does frustrate me a bit when fanon-only or adaptation-only fans act like we're being nothing but killjoys for being frustrated with this. since they don't read the comics, they don't see how the comics are suffering as a result of this.

people argue about what's out of character for the comics they don't even read. i'm sorry, but "bad dad Bruce" is consistently canon. that man is just kind of shitty. when you take someone who has the drive he has, who has this need for the Mission first, who needs a teenager in spandex next to him to keep him off the ledge, that guy is sort of going to be a shitty father figure. he just is. not on purpose or with malice, but when you compare him to any other dad in a big DC family, he sure takes the cake. it's why characters like Oliver Queen tend to *really* fucking hate Bruce for how he treats his kids. Bruce loves fiercely, but he doesn't do well with putting that love first. and his love is a controlling one, he is very particular about controlling how others in the Batfamily are "allowed" to operate. it's what drives the wedge between him and Dick, it's why Steph is never a true daughter to him. (besides the reason of her needing to be a love interest to Tim first, anyway-) i've never understood the massive outcry of people reacting to Bruce kinda being shitty in comics they're not reading. there are some moments that get ridiculously OOC with how cartoonishly evil he is (the whole Gotham War arc and that... complicated mess with Jason) but largely if you want sitcom loving nuclear father Bruce, you have to accept that is a fanon thing, not a canon one. the Batfamily being a nuclear family in *general* is fanon. most of the "Batkids" don't actually see Bruce in a particularly fatherly light and begging for moments where he calls them his kids or they call him dad outside of incredibly specific circumstances is just OOC.

it's getting harder and harder to exist peacefully in this fandom it feels like, if you don't comply to the standard fanon has set. i'm happy people are having fun with their blorbos, even if in ways i dislike, but that "harmless fandom fun" does ripple it's way back to canon, eventually. so i end up pretty tangled with my feelings because are fans at fault for DC making these poor decisions? probably not, but it certainly feels like an unfortunate cause-and-effect situation whether at the end of the day, nobody is happy. and of course, i know some fanon-only fans are striving to be more canon accurate and care about canon dynamics more than others, but for them it's always going to be an uphill battle with the above-mentioned out-of-context panels thrown around and ever-pervasive fanon overtaking anything that's truly seeking to be canon compliant. so really, it sometimes feels like we're all losing.

[adm-starblitzsteel-4305]

❗‼️ ANNOUNCEMENT ‼️❗

Born June 12, 1964...

Happy 60th Birthday to Takashi Yamazaki!!! The goat whom the movie Godzilla Minus One has me changed my life and above all, 100% true Godzilla cinematic peak!!!

Let's give him a warm and welcome celebration!!! 🥳🥳🥳

[mrslatifi]

people really need to stop asking stupid questions to logan and making stupid comments about him. because if i hear another 'heyyy, what's your fav food???' or 'do you know what kilometer is??? 🤨🤨🤨' type of questions, i will commit a crime.

also, i just wanted to say that you really did god's work... thank you for letting him know that he's loved and supported no matter what happens. i was really happy to see that someone was actually asking real questions and telling him nice stuff 🥹🫶🏼

To be honest, when I was in the room the atmosphere was really awkward. The host kept momentarily struggling to even find someone to ask a question, plus Logan kept downing himself and comparing his failure to Oscar’s success, it was breaking my heart. He honestly looked really sad, and I’m glad I got brave enough to speak up! He seemed very anxious and a bit shy, and with the way the season is going for him + the way he’s mostly just seen as a meme, he deserved to be reminded that he is a person and deserves to be where he is as much as anyone else.

He seemed really happy after I spoke to him. I even noticed that he gave the bracelets I made him to Benny, and Benny is wearing ALL of them this weekend. How sweet 🥹 I really wish the best for Logan. He seems very intelligent and sweet, and I know he’ll find his way whether it’s in F1 or somewhere else.

But yes, you’re right! He needs more people to voice their support. Just look at how happy and energetic he was today after the little bit of love I sent him from all of us!!! I’ve never seen him so full of life and act so silly before!!!

Little bits of kindness go a long way!! Don’t forget that (for Logan and for every aspect of life)! 💙

[mayashesfly]

Document: The Traitor

(Or my personal take on the player in Pressure's Game Lore)

M-██████ - Codename: The Traitor, is a specifically made variant of M-████ made by Mr.█████ for the Blacksite Mission. (See document █████████ for more information)

Infected individuals by this variant are called Sleepers.

It has been modified to only find suitable Sleepers signed under the EXR-P unit. In the case of its current Sleeper dying, it will infect another EXR-P.

It is oblivious to its change of Sleepers, viewing its next run with its new Sleeper as another life. Though it does not grasp the concept that death is permanent and not reversible, viewing its next life as a normal phenomenon.

Due to its natural inclination to seek knowledge and take everything it can, it tends to gather all loose assets and all valuable equipment it can carry.

It excretes a colorless and odorless gas that Sleepers exhale, attracting Z-V06 when concentrated in an enclosed area, like lockers.

However, Sleepers inhaling this gas for too long in an enclosed area showcases symptoms of cleithrophobia and causes the Sleeper to leave the enclosed area immediately.

The smoke Z-283-Chainsmoker emits exacerbates this symptom.

As motivation for it to kill its current Sleeper before it can reach the Crystal, Mr.█████ has made a way to give it more information about the facility and its hazards when it changes Sleepers through the usage of the Saboteur's abilities.

It's shown to be effective during the early stages. Though currently, an unfortunate side effect of this action is that it now seeks out to survive until at least room 50 in order to meet the Saboteur.

[In the case that it reaches the Crystal, it will naturally make its current Sleeper fall down to their death before they can take the Crystal.

However, in its perspective, it believes that it actually took the Crystal and had to survive more rooms before it could 'win' thanks to Mr.█████'s abilities.

Depending on how it performs in this illusion, it will either meet the Saboteur as always when it 'dies' or transfer directly to another EXR-P unit thinking that it 'won'.]

Document: █████████

M-████ - Codename: █████████, are entities found in the █████████████ capable of entering the minds of people, taking root in the victim's brain to control their entire nervous system.

However, it is incapable of feeling the pain its infected individual experiences, leading their victim to be more susceptible to injury without being able properly treating it since it lacks proper self-preservation instincts.

Infected individuals lose autonomy on their own body, making them incapable of moving or talking. They remain conscious and self-aware even if infected severely, only retaining their capability to have their own thoughts and mind.

Dissections of the infected individuals showcases signs of brain damage left behind from a bright metallic-like substance, almost akin to mercury. Though most individuals have survived and recovered after being infected and released.

Transmission of unmodified M-████ is unpredictable as it is not traceable through any physical means. Though observations from known infected subjects showcase that key individuals in an infected subject's life can be more susceptible to being infected by M-████ as well.

One thing that is known about M-████ is that it has a natural inclination for seeking knowledge and taking everything it can, sometimes to the expense of the individual it has infected.

If someone you know suddenly developed an interest in exploration and/or asking invasive questions regardless of your closeness with the individual, contact ███████████████ immediately.

(Note: These documents are not affiliated with nor created by Urbanshade)

[goodfellowe]

It’d been the prominence of the dream that had managed to unnerve Bow the way it had, the feeling that she should know something about what was being presented to her bothering her. What that message actually was, though, she wasn’t sure.

The Queen's Labyrinth (AO3)

Chapter 6: A Fine Way to Love

Further out, the Subcon forest feels... different. It feels colder, too.

Cover art by @mebssann.

[kaurwreck]

I'm sincere when I say I don't know how y'all have the energy to scrutinize Mori treating his successors like they're competent when the Port Mafia's skill users have been culled thrice over within seven years by men who can't act right (Rimbaud, Verlaine, Shibusawa, Gides, Fyodor), and the longevity of the tripartite framework relies on Mori not patronizing who's left.

Especially considering, like, there are foreign military police in modern Japan, British Somaliland appears to still exist, and Ango has seemingly kept Taneda in a medically induced coma for an irreversible amount of time so that he can unilaterally leverage Taneda's fictional authority within a very-historically-real cabinet in the Japanese government that hasn't existed irl since the Meiji constitution.

Like, I'm not asking anyone to engage with media in any other way than the way they enjoy most. It's just. Has anyone else noticed bsd!Russia appears to have annexed bsd!Abkhazia and bsd!South Ossetia.

All of this to say: you don't really have to beat the same dead horses if you don't want to. If you do, then by all means, lay into Equus with your whole chest. But, also. There's a lot in bsd the fandom scarcely, if at all, touches, and the incongruity between the work's layers and worldbuilding and even niche fandom engagement with the material is stark.

[bamfaholic]

For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son...

Our baby needs more attention, I love him. Didn't love drawing the scars though, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I also wanted to give him golden tears but said fuck it.

Alternative color variations AND a bonus of the speed paint beneath the cut!

[ID: A 3/4 angle portrait of Alan Cumming's rendition of Nightcrawler shrouded in shadow. Only his face is visible. The digital art piece is in color, predominantly blue. His eyes are yellow without pupils, his skin is blue with purple influences, and he is drawn with scars on his face in a slightly lighter blue. His expression is sorrowful, eyes staring off to the upper right, his lips relaxed and closed. END ID]

Original is the top left!

Please feel free to use this in recreational use! Credit me if you post anywhere else (as an edited product ONLY). Do not use for financial gain.

Banner by me, free to use with credit

[exhaustedwriterartist]

I may be tired and delusional, but I'm still alive and kicking.

[melonisopod]

"Type-Moon is allergic to money!" No they're allergic to caring about their western fans please learn the difference.

[onemoreattempt]

Okay guys. We can do it this time because, as a general rule, my posts don’t go too far (not a complaint, just a fact. I like where my posts go [excluding outliers], so please don’t change things). I believe in my small target audience. We can do this.

Tip: Read the comments before voting. Comment the current status once you have voted. Once it gets to even: hold your votes!

Communication! Teamwork! We’ve got this!

[sliqtril]

people who genuinely beef over the disventure camp characters are craaaazy. like calm down. they are competing for a MILI!!!! its so easy to justify the evil shit they do . dont act like you wouldn’t be throwing ur teammates under the bus too YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN THEM

[spemark]

i am becoming obsessed heeeeelpppp