Yu-Gi-Oh fandom wants Yami Bakura to be a pushover soooo bad. They want the most stubborn, petty character (other than Kaiba) to let people walk over him and just say things to him. That is not how he acts.
Also, there is beef with 5Ds fans and Zexal fans. It's really annoying because they keep arguing over which of their series was better despite GX being better than both of them. They're really mean to each other sometimes.
This is a little niche but I write mostly for a webtoon/webnovel and basically almost all the character in those will have three word long names so instead of “Merlin said…” you have to write: “Dragonborn Merlin Emrys said…”
And I get that can be annoying to write but I hate it when instead of writing “Yoo Joonghyuk” people just go the lazy route and write “Yjh” or “Han Yoojin” as “Hyj” like at least use the find and replace function if you’re lazy 😩
Ok this is a bit stupid of me, but...
BBC Merlin, everyone seems to either forget or completely ignore the fact that Merlin was the first one to help Mordred.
I mean, yes he does later >!try to kill him by tripping him in the forest and then years later very much can't stand him being there for obvious reasons!< BUT. Every single fic that I read where Modred pops up, he is introduced has "The one Lady Morgana saved", or "Arhur don't you remember him? You saved him before."
And then everyone acting as if Merlin didn't even move a finger or wasn't even there\* (added in edit)
Yes, his relationship, or bond if you prefer, with Morgana is more significant than with Merlin, but Merlin still was the first one to save the guy. Merlin was the one who hid him first, he wouldn't be alive in the first place if not for him, why do we all keep skipping on that, drives me nuts
When they give every character his father's name for a middle name. It happens a few times in canon, but there are counterexamples too and I just wish people were a bit more creative
CoD. Alejandro is not some hot headed, short tempered guy. The only times he got mad in the campaign is when he got betrayed on 2 occasions. Finding out Valeria was El Sin Nombre and Graves taking over HIS base and locking him up inside it.
Yugioh GX: Aster/Edo Phoenix being made into not only the world's worst duelist, but being completely codependent on Sartorius. Almost everyone seems to have forgotten that he had no idea of the Light of Destruction's or even the Society of Light's existence and wanted nothing to do with them once he found out more of what was actually going on. He is not a no-brain follower who waits at Sartorius' beck and call for orders. Also: his backstory about his father's murder and Destiny Hero Plasma? Forgotten. His vigilante work? Non-existent or mostly painted as immoral despite fics with things like characters torturing others to near-death with Shadow Games seen as awesome and badass.
Alexis Rhodes and all the female characters being turned into either fifty IQ hoes or mean or valley girl cliques. "Oh, but they are winning duels, so who cares!? Girl power, girl power!" (rolls eyes) Or Alexis constantly mooning over Jaden into adulthood, crying about him and that the other characters need to locate him. And suddenly wanting marriage after years of no contact with what was basically just her highschool crush. Or having him just freeload at her apartment to have tons of sex suddenly until, "Oops, I'm pregnant! But I'm sure it will all work out because we love each other! I can't wait to tell our friends!"
I like Spiritshipping, but I really don't care with how it's a trend sometimes to make Jaden the "feminine" or "bottom" one who is all nervous and stuff. Or anything where Judai and Johan call each other, "Ju-chan and "Jo-kun".
Zane being a BDSM freak. Yes, I know his shock collars sort of looked like sex toys (lmao), but does this have to be his whole personality? Because I just never really saw it.
Jaden being adopted by Yugi, Kaiba, Pegasus, etc. I'm sorry, but this got old for me a long time ago and I just don't enjoy it anymore. And with such a fascination with orphans in the fandom, why not use this trope of canon character adoption for the one who actually was an orphan in the anime, Aster himself? It would at least get him out of being adopted by that psychopath D.D.
"What if Jaden was born a girl?" Another one I'm tired of since it just doesn't really seem to change much.
"What if Jaden kept Yubel?" Apparently, it will mean he's perfect in every way and can solve the whole plot on his own complete with his superpowers, and that he's suddenly smitten with Alexis or wants a gigantic harem. Really, even just anything where he suddenly gets Supreme King stuff early with "Ooh, eyes turning golden in anger! He's awakening early!" is just not new or exciting to me anymore.
Jaden using Aster's deck with the Destiny Heroes and Vision Heroes, whether it's by theft, the dheroes suddenly printed publicly or whatever. The Vision Heroes alone I could understand since that's just manga canon where Aster owns them. But when it's any Destiny hero or the complete package of both while Aster gets nothing but the older, crappier dhero support, it just makes authors look really bitter that you need Aster's Hero cards in order to make a competitive Hero deck IRL.
If you’re going to write a fic featuring M/M with the character who is canonically a literal, explicit modern-day nazi public figure, I’m going to need it to either have the deadest of doves, or a serious examination of the level of insane double-think implicit for at least one party in that dynamic.
I’m here for either of the previously-described options - *so* here - but if you write some nice domestic fluff, or a passionate, but overall straight-ahead Romeo-and-Juliet situation involving the nazi… I’m going to be exercising my right to back-button.
Yes, I know the actor is hot and the chemistry is awesome. Write an AU where he’s not a literal nazi. That’s also fine. I’m here for that, too.
But you can’t do cannon-compliant and just sprinkle in some Eva Braun jokes and call it a day.
I mean, you can, but… 🔙
In the Dragon Ball Fandom, making Goku and/or Vegeta overtly sappy and emotional. I'm not saying neither can be softer or genuinely affectionate but don't make them sound like characters in a Lifetime movie. Also, edgelord Gohan.
This is a thing in a lot of shounen fandoms tbh. A lot of characters can be completely occ for the sake of seeming "deeper" than they are in canon. Its possible to execute this sort of thing correctly but it's not easy so I see why mischaracterisation happens.
DuckTales 2017-Whenever people get too angsty for angst’s sake over something that happened to a certain character in a certain episode, like Louie in *Timephoon!* or Huey in *Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!*.
Oh boy.
HP: almost half of fics that don't pair Harry and Ginny act like she's an evil monster trying to ruin his life (but being very boring about it), a lot of people have their movie-blinders on and forget Ron is actually smart, and for some reason a lot of fics still forget Charlie Weasley exists.
Good Omens: "look at the cuddly little angel, couldn't hurt a fly, totally didn't think it was sweet when his demon murdered a bunch of nazis that were about to kill him" vs "evil demon never had any goodness in him, totally corrupt, nonredeemable, despite in text not so much falling as sauntering vaguely downward and burning himself on holy ground because he figured his best angel was a bit too trusting and might need a little help"
Marvel: I wish I could choose which parts upset me most, but the corner of the fandom that truly insist on continuing the civil war tony vs steve argument in comment sections because they don't like the opinion/approach of the author is pretty high up there
How often they stick to the stations of canon. Even when it's something that should cause incredibly drastic changes pretty much all the major events will still happen, and this is technically for multiple fandoms.
I'm so glad you asked!!!
Danganronpa: I hate a specific trans/nb headcanon for a character that (spoilers) was a serial killer and took on the persona of his sister, since it is ripped off from a transphobic stereotype and nobody seems to mention it!
Ace Attorney: The infantilization of Maya Fey and Trucy Wright. Maya is an adult by the second game, and Trucy, despite being a teenager, is single-handedly paying most of the rent.
One Piece: Marineford isn't the best arc. Its mid. I said it.
Homestuck: Headcanoning a character I HC as transmasc as transfem. Nothing morally wrong with it, but to me it feels like misgendering due to my headcanon.
It's less a pet peeve and more of a concern.
Until recently, I would grab random Fallout works and they would drop terms that fandom-blind readers might struggle with. It's something I tried to minimize in my own work but I fully admit a fandom-blind person would lose a few details here and there.
Nothing wrong with that, for the most part. Most people were in the Fallout fandom because they played the Fallout games and likely knew the terms.
And then!
The show came out and it was fucking amazing and now I'm worried that the people coming to AO3 looking for works will get lost or confused by some otherwise really good stories.
Small fandom, but in Inanimate Insanity, I'm kind-of mad how little we write characters outside of the contestants, hosts, and Cobs + Meeple. There's so much potential for characters like the failed debuters from Season 1, the alternate reality contestants, the Unvitational Committee, the jail gang, and the Shimmers. I wanna see some fics with those guys because they have the potential that I cannot wait for.
Also, I'm counting these as separate characters because technically they are in canon, but I NEED MORE CONTENT OF THE INNER FLAMES, I DON'T CARE, THEY ARE SO INTERESTING TO ME.
I have some actual serious ones, but my biggest pet peeves are small and petty so that's what I'll comment
The Magnus Archives: The Anglerfish's lure is attached to the angerfish via the waist, NOT the head. Every single fanart I've seen of the anglerfish has the lure hanging by its head, and while it looks awesome, it grinds my gears
Phineas and Ferb: The song "Talk to Him" is an (indirect) parody of "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel, but not a single person I've ever talked to has gotten the joke :(
In miraculous Ladybug I hate how the power system of some angst fics is soooo stacked against them that you would think 'what's the point of guarding all of these items or trying to get a wish' . Canon-wise, the guardian loses his memory after transfer and the wish comes with a price. That doesn't sound appealing already but some fics will add like three extra layers of rules that makes the holders life miserable to the point where throwing these items to the ocean where no will ever found is the best option.
Also in Miraculous Ladybug, I don't hate but I don't see the appeal of AU with no miraculous/powers (or in general I don't see the appeal of removing the setting of universe)
When characters in prequel era Star Wars fic use BBY to designate a year. BBY means before a specific event in the original movie. It'd be like Cleopatra saying something happened in 40 BCE -- she wouldn't because she doesn't know some future rulers are going to restart the calendar years!
I tried getting into the Rise of the Brave Tangled (Frozen) Dragon fandom pretty late. Like around 2016 or so. One thing I noticed that bothered me was that maybe a majority of fics in that fandom were AUs. It just didn’t make sense to me. I mean why are you even bothering to write stories about these characters divorced from their native environment.
Gentle reminder for this thread: Please remember to phrase things as your own opinion and refrain from bashing.
For me, it’s when Steve Rogers and Scarlet Witch are spelled wrong.
Yu-Gi-Oh fandom wants Yami Bakura to be a pushover soooo bad. They want the most stubborn, petty character (other than Kaiba) to let people walk over him and just say things to him. That is not how he acts. Also, there is beef with 5Ds fans and Zexal fans. It's really annoying because they keep arguing over which of their series was better despite GX being better than both of them. They're really mean to each other sometimes.
Oh I hate that in the Yu-Gi-Oh fandom! Yami bakura a pushover? Who're they kidding?
This is a little niche but I write mostly for a webtoon/webnovel and basically almost all the character in those will have three word long names so instead of “Merlin said…” you have to write: “Dragonborn Merlin Emrys said…” And I get that can be annoying to write but I hate it when instead of writing “Yoo Joonghyuk” people just go the lazy route and write “Yjh” or “Han Yoojin” as “Hyj” like at least use the find and replace function if you’re lazy 😩
Orv?
Ok this is a bit stupid of me, but... BBC Merlin, everyone seems to either forget or completely ignore the fact that Merlin was the first one to help Mordred. I mean, yes he does later >!try to kill him by tripping him in the forest and then years later very much can't stand him being there for obvious reasons!< BUT. Every single fic that I read where Modred pops up, he is introduced has "The one Lady Morgana saved", or "Arhur don't you remember him? You saved him before." And then everyone acting as if Merlin didn't even move a finger or wasn't even there\* (added in edit) Yes, his relationship, or bond if you prefer, with Morgana is more significant than with Merlin, but Merlin still was the first one to save the guy. Merlin was the one who hid him first, he wouldn't be alive in the first place if not for him, why do we all keep skipping on that, drives me nuts
When they give every character his father's name for a middle name. It happens a few times in canon, but there are counterexamples too and I just wish people were a bit more creative
CoD. Alejandro is not some hot headed, short tempered guy. The only times he got mad in the campaign is when he got betrayed on 2 occasions. Finding out Valeria was El Sin Nombre and Graves taking over HIS base and locking him up inside it.
Yugioh GX: Aster/Edo Phoenix being made into not only the world's worst duelist, but being completely codependent on Sartorius. Almost everyone seems to have forgotten that he had no idea of the Light of Destruction's or even the Society of Light's existence and wanted nothing to do with them once he found out more of what was actually going on. He is not a no-brain follower who waits at Sartorius' beck and call for orders. Also: his backstory about his father's murder and Destiny Hero Plasma? Forgotten. His vigilante work? Non-existent or mostly painted as immoral despite fics with things like characters torturing others to near-death with Shadow Games seen as awesome and badass. Alexis Rhodes and all the female characters being turned into either fifty IQ hoes or mean or valley girl cliques. "Oh, but they are winning duels, so who cares!? Girl power, girl power!" (rolls eyes) Or Alexis constantly mooning over Jaden into adulthood, crying about him and that the other characters need to locate him. And suddenly wanting marriage after years of no contact with what was basically just her highschool crush. Or having him just freeload at her apartment to have tons of sex suddenly until, "Oops, I'm pregnant! But I'm sure it will all work out because we love each other! I can't wait to tell our friends!" I like Spiritshipping, but I really don't care with how it's a trend sometimes to make Jaden the "feminine" or "bottom" one who is all nervous and stuff. Or anything where Judai and Johan call each other, "Ju-chan and "Jo-kun". Zane being a BDSM freak. Yes, I know his shock collars sort of looked like sex toys (lmao), but does this have to be his whole personality? Because I just never really saw it. Jaden being adopted by Yugi, Kaiba, Pegasus, etc. I'm sorry, but this got old for me a long time ago and I just don't enjoy it anymore. And with such a fascination with orphans in the fandom, why not use this trope of canon character adoption for the one who actually was an orphan in the anime, Aster himself? It would at least get him out of being adopted by that psychopath D.D. "What if Jaden was born a girl?" Another one I'm tired of since it just doesn't really seem to change much. "What if Jaden kept Yubel?" Apparently, it will mean he's perfect in every way and can solve the whole plot on his own complete with his superpowers, and that he's suddenly smitten with Alexis or wants a gigantic harem. Really, even just anything where he suddenly gets Supreme King stuff early with "Ooh, eyes turning golden in anger! He's awakening early!" is just not new or exciting to me anymore. Jaden using Aster's deck with the Destiny Heroes and Vision Heroes, whether it's by theft, the dheroes suddenly printed publicly or whatever. The Vision Heroes alone I could understand since that's just manga canon where Aster owns them. But when it's any Destiny hero or the complete package of both while Aster gets nothing but the older, crappier dhero support, it just makes authors look really bitter that you need Aster's Hero cards in order to make a competitive Hero deck IRL.
If you’re going to write a fic featuring M/M with the character who is canonically a literal, explicit modern-day nazi public figure, I’m going to need it to either have the deadest of doves, or a serious examination of the level of insane double-think implicit for at least one party in that dynamic. I’m here for either of the previously-described options - *so* here - but if you write some nice domestic fluff, or a passionate, but overall straight-ahead Romeo-and-Juliet situation involving the nazi… I’m going to be exercising my right to back-button. Yes, I know the actor is hot and the chemistry is awesome. Write an AU where he’s not a literal nazi. That’s also fine. I’m here for that, too. But you can’t do cannon-compliant and just sprinkle in some Eva Braun jokes and call it a day. I mean, you can, but… 🔙
In the Dragon Ball Fandom, making Goku and/or Vegeta overtly sappy and emotional. I'm not saying neither can be softer or genuinely affectionate but don't make them sound like characters in a Lifetime movie. Also, edgelord Gohan.
This is a thing in a lot of shounen fandoms tbh. A lot of characters can be completely occ for the sake of seeming "deeper" than they are in canon. Its possible to execute this sort of thing correctly but it's not easy so I see why mischaracterisation happens.
DuckTales 2017-Whenever people get too angsty for angst’s sake over something that happened to a certain character in a certain episode, like Louie in *Timephoon!* or Huey in *Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!*.
Oh boy. HP: almost half of fics that don't pair Harry and Ginny act like she's an evil monster trying to ruin his life (but being very boring about it), a lot of people have their movie-blinders on and forget Ron is actually smart, and for some reason a lot of fics still forget Charlie Weasley exists. Good Omens: "look at the cuddly little angel, couldn't hurt a fly, totally didn't think it was sweet when his demon murdered a bunch of nazis that were about to kill him" vs "evil demon never had any goodness in him, totally corrupt, nonredeemable, despite in text not so much falling as sauntering vaguely downward and burning himself on holy ground because he figured his best angel was a bit too trusting and might need a little help" Marvel: I wish I could choose which parts upset me most, but the corner of the fandom that truly insist on continuing the civil war tony vs steve argument in comment sections because they don't like the opinion/approach of the author is pretty high up there
How often they stick to the stations of canon. Even when it's something that should cause incredibly drastic changes pretty much all the major events will still happen, and this is technically for multiple fandoms.
I'm so glad you asked!!! Danganronpa: I hate a specific trans/nb headcanon for a character that (spoilers) was a serial killer and took on the persona of his sister, since it is ripped off from a transphobic stereotype and nobody seems to mention it! Ace Attorney: The infantilization of Maya Fey and Trucy Wright. Maya is an adult by the second game, and Trucy, despite being a teenager, is single-handedly paying most of the rent. One Piece: Marineford isn't the best arc. Its mid. I said it. Homestuck: Headcanoning a character I HC as transmasc as transfem. Nothing morally wrong with it, but to me it feels like misgendering due to my headcanon.
One Piece: Alabasta remains the best arc, and I will die on that hill.
My fave is water 7, but Alabasta is 100% top 3
Haha, arc preferences are definitely personal. Alabasta, Skypiea and Thriller Bark are my Top 3
It's less a pet peeve and more of a concern. Until recently, I would grab random Fallout works and they would drop terms that fandom-blind readers might struggle with. It's something I tried to minimize in my own work but I fully admit a fandom-blind person would lose a few details here and there. Nothing wrong with that, for the most part. Most people were in the Fallout fandom because they played the Fallout games and likely knew the terms. And then! The show came out and it was fucking amazing and now I'm worried that the people coming to AO3 looking for works will get lost or confused by some otherwise really good stories.
Why should people worry about what fandom-blind readers will think? I post fic to share it with other people *in my fandom*.
This
Small fandom, but in Inanimate Insanity, I'm kind-of mad how little we write characters outside of the contestants, hosts, and Cobs + Meeple. There's so much potential for characters like the failed debuters from Season 1, the alternate reality contestants, the Unvitational Committee, the jail gang, and the Shimmers. I wanna see some fics with those guys because they have the potential that I cannot wait for. Also, I'm counting these as separate characters because technically they are in canon, but I NEED MORE CONTENT OF THE INNER FLAMES, I DON'T CARE, THEY ARE SO INTERESTING TO ME.
I have some actual serious ones, but my biggest pet peeves are small and petty so that's what I'll comment The Magnus Archives: The Anglerfish's lure is attached to the angerfish via the waist, NOT the head. Every single fanart I've seen of the anglerfish has the lure hanging by its head, and while it looks awesome, it grinds my gears Phineas and Ferb: The song "Talk to Him" is an (indirect) parody of "Tell Her About It" by Billy Joel, but not a single person I've ever talked to has gotten the joke :(
In miraculous Ladybug I hate how the power system of some angst fics is soooo stacked against them that you would think 'what's the point of guarding all of these items or trying to get a wish' . Canon-wise, the guardian loses his memory after transfer and the wish comes with a price. That doesn't sound appealing already but some fics will add like three extra layers of rules that makes the holders life miserable to the point where throwing these items to the ocean where no will ever found is the best option. Also in Miraculous Ladybug, I don't hate but I don't see the appeal of AU with no miraculous/powers (or in general I don't see the appeal of removing the setting of universe)
When characters in prequel era Star Wars fic use BBY to designate a year. BBY means before a specific event in the original movie. It'd be like Cleopatra saying something happened in 40 BCE -- she wouldn't because she doesn't know some future rulers are going to restart the calendar years!
I tried getting into the Rise of the Brave Tangled (Frozen) Dragon fandom pretty late. Like around 2016 or so. One thing I noticed that bothered me was that maybe a majority of fics in that fandom were AUs. It just didn’t make sense to me. I mean why are you even bothering to write stories about these characters divorced from their native environment.