#bashfic

[pidgeony]

i have such an unfortunate fondness for characters that the fandom likes to portray as the most unlikeable people ever. now this would not be a problem because this is not false (for some of them) but this is also coupled with my unfortunate specific want to have their horribleness portrayed in my very specific way that i enjoy it which leads to. problems (i scroll thro twenty pages full of fanfics and then am forced to read the woobified fanonized version of them)

[incomingalbatross]

LAMC AU (all Evernote content)?

You've discovered maybe the sole Doctor Who document in that list!

So when I posted this, the title was not precisely true. It was going to hold all my Evernote content for this AU (my Evernote period came before my Google Docs period, so older fics are still languishing there) but I got fed up with the transfer process and quit halfway through. Good news, though: getting this ask motivated me to finish that! So thank you. :)

More pertinently, the acronym stands for "Less Angst More Chill" and it is a very self-indulgent AU I developed ages ago, still dear to my heart, where I take the Tenth Doctor and forcibly make him calm down by removing Rose from his era and adding the Brigadier.

(For those curious about the mechanics of how, the divergence point is the TARDIS being found in "The Parting of the Ways" by the Brigadier, Liz, and Kate, en route to a UNIT conference; they step inside and the TARDIS takes them to Nine, before Bad Wolf has a chance to happen. The whole scenario's definitely contrived, but that's what fixits are for, right?)

It's a fun AU for me because it has more Brigadier (you know I think that's always an improvement ;P), the Tenth Doctor is somewhat saner than in canon, and along the way it turned into a sandbox where I could play with all my Doctor Who toys blissfully canon-free.

Snippet:

"Hullo. Bet that was a bit of a surprise--sorry, best I could do. Just a recording, though. I'm the Doctor, by the way." The recorded image waggled his fingers in a wave--facing Alistair, but not quite looking at him. "I probably don't look familiar--don't quite know who's going to see this, so I can't be sure--but trust me, I'm the Doctor. The whole different face thing, it's just . . . something that happens occasionally. Sorry 'bout that."

Alistair sighed, leaning against the console. "Yes, I'm familiar with the concept of regeneration," he muttered. "What's going on, Doctor?"

The image (which had been patiently scratching its ear, arms folded, as if waiting something out), straightened up. "Anyways. That actually isn't the important part here."

"No, really?"

"The important thing is this message. Because if it's playing for you, that means two things. One: I've been separated from my TARDIS, probably forever. Two, and more importantly: You're on the very short list of people I actually trust to take care of the old girl without me."

Alistair stiffened, shoulders falling into military stance without his conscious input, chin coming up and eyes narrowing to focus on the hologram.

The Doctor's image was smiling slightly, contritely. Unfortunately for him, that was an expression Alistair had seen too many times, in the wake of far too many harebrained schemes gone wrong, to be at all impressed by it now.

[magic-owl]

when one of your like. LEAST favorite warrior cats characters when you were in middle school over a decade ago has turned into one of tumblr’s very favorites my inner child me is screaming crying throwing up 😔

[plumsaffron]

https://www.tumblr.com/mr111202/774786429042737152/miraculous-ladybug-and-ao3-character-bashing

Well… I applaud this guy for doing fandom research on the stats.

pft wow.

Adrien and Alya didn’t suck off Marinette or their interests the time they feel they should:

You two have chosen to be bash death. Taking your shields and protection away.

How interesting. Those that like and appreciate her or are down for her otherwise...

Marinette and Gabriel breakdance from having less bash than Alya and Adrien while usually being primary problems to all for almost the entirety of S1-5 and specials.

Lila with over 2k. Of course these humans would be that dedicated.

PFT excluding the class bonus, Bustier beats Gabi by 5.

What did she really do?

Well at least Nino is pretty safe (which is strange. Then again... that ignores the class as a unit)

Indeed kuddos to mr111202

[raxistaicho]

Is it true that Reyna put the Edeleth tag on her bashfic for a time just to bait shippers into reading it? I can't confirm it, but i honestly wouldn't put it past her to do that.

Someone said they did do that, but I can't confirm it now. It wouldn't surprise me, Reyna thinks she "deconstructed" Edeleth by having Edelgard act like Byleth belongs with her.

[epiphainie]

hate it when im reading a bucktommy fic and there's this unpleasant and contemptuous way of describing buck's exes. even belittling in some cases. and it always catches me off-guard bc it just be one line - totally not something that would be tagged as a character bashfic - like damn yall live like this?

[olderthannetfic]

To the anon asking what I think of ventfics and bashfics... I don't. I don't think anything of them. I'm not deeply morally opposed to them the way some people are, I'm not against them because how dare you be mean to my favorite blorbo, etc., but I also don't get anything out of reading them or find them satisfying to read, even when they're targeted at a character or concept I hate or the vent is about things that have bothered me, too.

I think, much like how reader insert fics do nothing for me and don't enrage me, this is a taste thing. Either you're into it or not. And I think it's exactly that deep and we don't need to mull this over too hard. It's like creamy vs. crunchy peanut butter - you like or dislike what you like, no real reason why.

--

To be honest, I've rarely seen anything that presented itself as a character-bashing fic that wasn't borderline illiterate boringness of the type I remember from creative writing class when I was 12.

I don't tend to read them because they don't tend to be worth reading. I'll happily read a fic that's negative about my blorbo if it appears to be written competently with some nuance—but that's not generally what most people label this way.

[gaycey-sketchit]

For the character ask game; 5, 12, 21, 22 and 25 for Tracey!

Thank you!!! (Also nice URL!! Makes me think of heart shaped snickerdoodles, which sound lovely.)

What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

First thought is the first song on my playlist for him--Home by Cavetown. It's a song about being neurodivergent and transgender, which he is, and also the song's final lines being "time is / slowly / tracing his face / but strangely he feels at home in this place" is just so perfect.

What's a headcanon you have for this character?

He loves to dabble in a lot of art forms besides drawing!! Some he takes to easily--his nimble fingers make him a natural at the piano--but others take... considerably more practice. Gary teaching him how to dance (<- link to my fic about this) is a little rockier at first, and I think they both sustain a few injuries in the process of him getting the hang of it.

If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Answered here!

If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don't like?

Tracey is mostly a very mild-mannered and gentle person but those sporadic moments where he forgets tact or gets really angry and goes off are so great, and I love when fic writers capture that side of his character too!!

What I don't love is mostly the homophobic, fatphobic, and ableist bashfic of the early 2000s, but thankfully people aren't usually like that in the open now (at least not as much). I am very accepting of differences in character interpretations if you're not just being mean, so the main problem I have with how Tracey is handled in recent fic is just. Please don't tag him if he's only mentioned in a single line, because I will get excited to see a new fic in his tag and then I will be sad.

What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I wish I could remember! I was very small when I first saw Orange Islands, and then I went a long time without seeing it. He was sort of There in my mind but my memories were pretty hazy, I remembered him mostly as just being a nice chill guy. I adored him instantly on my 2020 Orange Islands rewatch though, and by the end he had a hold on my heart. And now here we are!! And I love and appreciate him even more because he got me a boyfriend. Thanks Tracey for my life, love, and happiness.

[windamp]

i do think it's interesting to see like. psuedo bashing. where an author doesnt directly bash a character, but makes them less competent, less intimidating, less kind, etc etc- so that they are worse than in canon, but not to the point you'd typically associate with fanfic bashfic (where it's all overtly over the top)

generally in the second case it'll be tagged, the author might even be promoting the bashing. it's the point of it all. they dislike the character and want to rag on them overtly.

in the first case though, it's often as if the author can't realize it's bashing. the character they wrote is how they perceive the character, even if in the canon there's proof otherwise. they'll argue against any accusations, even if it's objectively obvious they've tweaked the character. they dislike the character but write them from like...an extremely uncharitable grudgey reading.

[nerianasims]

I've never written a bashfic or read one on purpose, but it just occurred to me that, even though I have only seen one episode of Buffy, a fic in which Spike murders Xander is mightily appealing to me. Or anyone murders Xander. Cordelia? Cordelia murdering Xander would be fun.

[beevoosee]

the three classifications

NOTES ABOUT THIS ART!!!!

- eloise is more strawberry blonde 2 me but I rlly liked this blonde color on her too!!

- GINNY.... godd.. so much to say abt her. ginny in ginny bashfics serves cunt every time idc what she did free my girl she's innocent

- charles potter.... (the dorky loser guy w the red hair) this is the first time i've actually colored him!!! it's not spot on to the image of him in my head (mentall illness I think Abt him way too much) but it's still :3 he's just a boy fr..

- they're all gryffindors <3 i adore them

[incomingalbatross]

So Your Fave is OOC: A Brief Guide to the Condition

(Note: this list is intended for cases of OOC Protagonists specifically. Please contact the publishers at Faves Diagnosis Ltd. for information on other character types.)

Infantilization Also known as woobification in the classic manuals, this variety has plagued faves for decades, and is particularly insidious among intellectuals, younger protagonists (relative to the rest of the cast), and those perceived as having repressed inner lives. Do you know your fave as a stubborn, determined character with a temper and a brain and some personality flaws? Have all of those traits disappeared in favor of endless tears, martyr syndrome, and a general air of helpless pureness and fragility? We may be looking at infantilization.

Villains are Cool A condition particularly widespread in faves native to moral, plot-heavy, or thematically-complex stories. If your fave is a person deeply dedicated to the heroic side in their canon, but you suddenly find them rejecting that side outright as inherently corrupt and instead celebrating the antiheroes or even villains as misunderstood victims, this may be the diagnosis you've been looking for. May coexist with Author's Mouthpiece (see below), but this is a difficult and risky diagnosis.

Author's Mouthpiece There is ongoing debate in the diagnostic community as to whether this should be defined as a single condition, though tending to be comorbid with other varieties, or whether it should be established as an umbrella category which encompasses several more specific conditions. In this pamphlet, we define it by itself first, before describing related conditions. This condition directly replaces your fave's opinions and beliefs with those of their current writer's, with varying but often severe results.

Secretly Judging You This afflicts faves with the secret power, unrevealed in canon, of having been right about everything all along—and bitter about it. Likely to appear in bashfic and fics labeled "fix-its." Is your fave suddenly condemning people, concepts, or ideals to which they are canonically loyal? Are they taking pains to explain why every flawed or questionable action they took in canon was actually correct, while revealing their scorn and contempt for the flaws of their friends (or even claiming they never really were friends)? They may have been afflicted with this unpleasant condition, often considered a variant of, or comorbid with, Author's Mouthpiece.

Has Read the Canon A variety particularly widespread in fix-its and AUs, which gifts the protagonist with a magical ability to know exactly what the right decisions are at any point in their canon, even when they have no in-universe basis for their choices. Another symptom includes mentioning canon plot points as hypotheticals and then sneering at them as being absurd. It cannot be proved that these protagonists were given a summary of their original canon before beginning to live out their AU, but evidence strongly suggests that. Also considered an offshoot of Author's Mouthpiece, although there is some debate as to just how far the overlap goes.

Snarky McQuip An attitude change, sometimes manifesting as general scorn for the other characters and/or story (see also: Secretly Judging You), and sometimes as an air of flippancy and emotional distance from the events of their own canon. Has been identified as a symptom of Has Read the Canon, with which it often coincides, but the argument that it is a tonal manifestation of Author's Mouthpiece (reflecting the author's emotional distance) has been found more convincing in recent years. May also be an outside contagion from the MCU and related environments, mutated bathos from Whedon canons, or the proliferation of dissatisfied fan cultures.

They Would not Have the Emotional Intelligence to Say That A more superficial change than many listed here. In which a characters' feelings and beliefs may remain unchanged, but they suddenly acquire the ability to state them in direct and impersonal language. If their mental blocks have disappeared, they suddenly have the vocabulary of a therapy book, and all personal idiosyncrasies have been flattened out of their approach to communication, you may be looking at this condition. Again, it is less deep-seated than most! However, we understand it can still be deeply disconcerting to encounter in your fave unexpectedly.

[swallowtail-ageha]

Yeah, the tl:dr is basically that. Still marginally better than those in Ye Olde Fandom Days who simply said "[female character who literally did nothing wrong] is a bitch and i hate her because she gets in the way of my ship" and proceeded to write the most stomach-churning bashfics, but this behaviour still grates my brain like cheese because now it's coated under the "we love the female character" when it's obvious that they Do Not.

(And don't get me started on those who fridge the women to give the men a reason to be sad and end up with another men through angst. It's so gross and whoever does that has no right to complain how female characters are treated in canon)

i dont really know how to articulate this but its crazy just how many people dont even realize they dont care about female characters. all their faves are men. they never talk about girls without being led into it. and when you try to point this out to them they try to defend themselves that their faves are just the archetypes they like, despite clearly not caring when that same archetype is a woman. like i feel like at a certain point it is your problem with the common denominator if you cant find a single female character to enjoy

[dizzying-waves]

Someone making a blog dedicated to bashing a character they don't like has got to be the most pathetic thing ever.

[gaycey-sketchit]

WHOMST is your little guy 👀

I am about to ramble so much and vaguely complain about this Situation a bit. Thank you Natalie for this opportunity (genuine).

I was halfway joking about the "you'd never guess" thing because I feel like I am not subtle. Currently the one I'm way too fixated on is. Tracey Sketchit, of all characters. The embodiment of "just some guy", the Ash companion who stuck around the shortest number of episodes before being demoted to extra, who hasn't spoken a single line in about seventeen years, who most of the fandom either barely thinks about the existence of or actively dislikes (even though he has done nothing to deserve this). I love him so much. I can count the number of people I've come across who have him as a fave on one hand, and I'm pretty sure a person could at least very nearly count the fics in his AO3 tag that are actually about him (rather than having him as a background character) on their fingers too. The most common relationship tags in the aforementioned tag don't even include him--they're Ash/Misty and Ash/Gary by a longshot. And that's almost half the tag right there. (I am afraid to check FFNet, because FFNet is where bashfic lives and I know how some parts of the fandom feel/have felt about him.)

The upside to this whole situation is that the handful of people who do love him really love him, so while content is hard to find much of, there's a lot of love in what little exists. This fic is a good example of this, it is so beautifully and lovingly written that I teared up the first time I read it. And the second time.

As for how and why this happened, I... don't really know. He's already been in my top five since my Orange Islands rewatch back in late 2020/early 2021, but he's usually roughly tied for fifth place with Professor Oak rather than consuming all my thoughts. Part of it might be that he contrasts so nicely with Gary, who I find more fun to write than any other character, so they're really fun to write together--you've got this sweet, mild-mannered, normal guy juxtaposed against a loud bratty whirlwind of chaotic energy, it's fun. But I'm also just... deeply charmed by his personality on its own. He might not stand out like the louder and more chaotic company he keeps, but there's just something endearing about how he's sweet and gentle and polite so much of the time, and he's kind of on the shy side, but has moments where he gets really passionate about things and/or gets overexcited to the point of sort of throwing things like tact and common sense out the window. Like how his reaction to the TRio in his debut episode is to get really excited about the talking Meowth and then run right up to these criminals in the middle of doing a crime and try to give Meowth an interview. Also as a fellow creative I find his relationship with his art really relatable--it's clearly such a passion of his that he'll pretty much whip out his sketchbook and start drawing anywhere in any circumstances when inspiration strikes, but he also gets adorably self-conscious about it sometimes. He says early on that it's The Dream to have his sketches evaluated by Professor Oak and when this does happen at the end of Orange Islands, he is so nervous about it he starts shaking hard enough to shake the whole couch he is sitting on (along with Ash and Misty, who have to tell him to calm down). That moment is such a mood, that's exactly how showing your work to someone whose opinion you care a great deal about and waiting for them to say something about it feels (at least in my experience).

In conclusion. I love him.

[mirrorfalls]

Hi Mirror! I hope your week is starting off on a good note. I have a question for you: what's your favourite thing about Ran and/or Ran's interactions with the other characters? ~ Santa

Short long answer: This.

Long short answer: Beneath the cut.

So here's something I once dropped the esteemed - and infinitely-more talented - @scratchface in a DM, which is probably the closest anyone's ever come to making her respect Ran.

"Ran has enough parts in her for a good character. She probably has enough parts for three or four good characters. When a series, however banal, runs for a thousand installments, it can come up with those purely by accident."

This may sound backhanded to you and a lot of others, but it's genuinely, unironically why Ran appeals to me so much. Having grown up on AmeComi and Batman specifically, I'm used to stitching all my favorite characterizations out of dozens of different stories that at-best pay only lip service to each other's continuity and at-worst go out of their way to contradict and overwrite each other. What's really fun (and/or "fun") about Conan is that it somehow manages the same despite having only one author, one publication format, and one almost painfully-faithful adaptation.*

And Ran - especially early manga Ran - is the absolute pinnacle of this. Where Shinichi/Conan and Kogoro had their roles pounded out in cast-iron from the getgo, Ran's a Jack (Jill?) of All Trades who can play almost any other part the ensemble needs. Sympathizing civilian? She can "How awful!" with the best of 'em. Butt-kicking cavalry? Watch those fists fly. Distressed Damsel? She can give even that creaky old trope a level of agency I'd never thought possible - just witness Golden Apple, or the wharf showdown, or:

Better still, the fact that she has to be the plot-hook for roughly one-third of the filler cases gives her a correspondingly wide range of interests and hobbies, for those willing to squint at the margins. You know she's a black-belt; you probably know she goes "Rhosts, Rhaggy?!" at the slightest mention of the supernatural; but did you know her for a Three Kingdoms reader?

A gambling prodigy?

A Yoko Okino fan, just like her pop?

Scraps these may be - but it's usually from scraps that you get the richest fruit in any Transformative work. And so it goes with her presence on AO3: a shadow of Shinichi's or Kaito's in raw numbers, nevertheless capable of unparalleled tear-jerking and side-splitting from any author that puts in the work. Hell, I don't even mind the straight-up bashfics that turn her flighty or abusive; canon's planted enough seeds to make that sort of characterization juuust this side of plausible, and plenty entertaining besides.**

(Predictable self-plug: I've spent years working on a longfic to stitch all the above (and a dozen other traits!) into a single, coherent narrative tentatively titled Hey, What If We Didn't Lie To And Manipulate Our Female Lead For 1050+ Chapters?. There are authors who've pulled off similar projects for Shinichi, Kaito, and Shiho, but I think as far as Ran goes it's still fairly uncharted territory - and will probably remain so even if I finish it in 2030 or thereabouts.)

Of course, if I told you that my Purely Story-Minded Doylist Eye was the only thing at work, you'd call me a liar, and you'd be right. Ran's no less flexible in terms of lowdown wish-fulfillment, whether you want a straightforward action-girlfriend, an overbearing Onee-chan, a too-pure Ingenue/explanation magnet, or - my personal favorite - an old childhood buddy who can needle you in ways nobody else would ever have the nerve and the right to. She's got the range. She's got the style. One day, she might even get a story - a canon story - that deserves her again...

(Detractors, consciously or otherwise, usually point to the fact that Ran's irrelevant to most of the Big Organization Cases, and indeed is meant to remain irrelevant to them for as long as they keep happening. Just three or four years ago I might've shuffled my feet and mumbled an objection along the lines of "She has relevance, and she can get more!", but at this point I've long given up on any impression that the Big Organization Cases are meant to hold any weight at all. Far as I'm concerned they're just an extra-dull flavor of filler; the series' real heart is in the slice-of-life romcom fluff, and very possibly always has been.)

* "But what about the live-act-" What about the live-action?

** In controlled doses, anyway.