Meta Links 2014/3/27 - 2014/4/2
Notices
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
General FandomReclaiming Derivative Fiction: Arwen Spicer (blog) - "With the heightened visibility of fan fiction in recent years, conceptions of what constitutes professional-caliber fiction have been in flux, and derviative fiction (based on pre-existing works) has been slowly regaining legitimacy."
topic:fanfic
So You're Writing A Figure Skating AU: lannamichaels(DW) - "This is not at all meant to be a comprehensive Guide To Figure Skating For Fandom, it's just bullet points from someone who follows figure skating and has INTENSE FEELINGS about some skaters, which comes up at random points. "
topic:au, topic:writing, topic:fanfic
Tags and Spoilers: wrabbit (DW) - "So I have noticed some fans saying that they prefer to ignore or not read the tags on AO3 because they might find them spoilery. As someone who doesn't consider many things spoilers I found this intriguing. I would like to pose a few questions to everyone: "
topic:fanfic, topic:tagging
Collaging Character: Jennifer Crusie (blog) - "It’s tempting to just pick one face to represent your character and leave it at that, but I’ve found that it’s too limiting, especially if you’re using an actor in a particular role."
topic:character
Magical Mondays: Your Future Will Always Suck if You Can Predict It: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "Whether a character can see the future due to a mutation or for some magical reason, one thing is certain: things don’t work out for the person who can see the future, and they usually wind up dead or insane."
topic:magic
Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Why Are There No Female Religious Leaders in Geek Culture?: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "Despite this, I have never read, watched, or heard of a fictional religion based on Catholicism which features women as priests, bishops, or even, dare I say, the Pope."
topic:religion
The Devil Made Me Do It: Possession as Plot Device: Lady Geek Girl And Friends (blog) - "But aside from the visceral discomfort viewers feel from seeing a possessed person, how is possession used in the overall narratives of a work? In other words, what is the point of possession?"
topic:possession, fandom:teenwolf, fandom:americanhorrorstory
On Black Characters and the Cost of Diversity: squidinksamurai - Lady Geek Girl And Friends (blog) - "I think it would be easy to write it off as just another instance of fans of a very White and very male industry being a very White and male kind of racist. But there are deeper questions about misunderstanding of the role of diversity in artistic representation."
topic:race, topic:superheroes
Television Without Pity’s Vanishing History - and Why We Should Care: Learned Fangirl by Keidra (blog) - "The influence of Television Without Pity is notable as a both a pop culture website and a catalyst and birthplace for many of pop culture fandom norms we see in social media and on blogs."
topic:fandom
Fanfic or Canon: Raizel Liebler -Learned Fangirl (blog) - "But of course, the line between these two concepts is frequently unclear. Who decides what is really canon? Even when it is produced by the original author? "
topic:canon, topic:fanon
Character Death: Rageprufrock & Mklutz - Slash Report (podcast) - "Break out your widows weeds and best funerary hankies, /reporters, because this week we're exploring the wide and wonderful world of character death."
topic:death
Specific Fandoms
A Song of Ice and Fire
: boiledleather (tumblr) - "New Yorker tv critic Emily Nussbaum coined the term “bad fan” to refer to viewers who watch shows about morally compromised people primarily to revel in those moral compromises, and who subsequently attack those characters and critics who seem to stand in the way."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:fandom
If Robb is a hypocrite for wanting to disinherit Sansa, then Catelyn is, too. : madaboutasoiaf(tumblr) - "I am actually a Catelyn fan too, I think she gets a lot of undeserved hate but I do think you make a point that has been missed in the debate."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:character
so what do you think about that post on asoiaf uni saying robb and stannis were hypocrites for taking sansa's birthright winterfell from her?: mybestman(tumblr) - "Stannis and Robb, to be honest, don’t think of Sansa as a claimant to Winterfell because she’s a woman and they’re men in a system where women do not normally inherit."
fandom:asoiaf, topic: sexism
Game of Thrones and Invisible Cootie Vectors : scottlynch78 (tumblr) - "A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE / GAME OF THRONES is the biggest and most glorious soap opera in the history of soap operas."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:sexism
Arya Stark and Mercy: ladysmallwood(tumblr) - "Arya going through a more pronounced sexual maturity isn’t surprising, but the fact that this seduction of Raff is her first truly sexual experience is just very shocking."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:character
Problems I Have with Catelyn Stark: A mother’s madness: dknc3(tumblr) - "Speaking as both a mother and as someone who has spent a LOT of time analyzing Catelyn Stark in these books (anyone who follows me has pretty much figured out she’s my favorite character, and I freely admit that bias), I think it is very realistic to have Catelyn question herself in the midst of all that’s happening."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:gender
Batman
Unmasking the Joker: The Hooded Utilitarian by Chris Gavaler (blog) - "Kane and Robinson agree that Finger handed Kane a photograph of Conrad Veidt from the 1928 film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs which Kane used to draw the Joker."
fandom:dccomics
Comics
Contemplative Strolling: How do Comics Represent this Type of Subjective Time? (Part 2 of a 3-part Series): The Hooded Utilitarian by Adrielle Mitchell (blog) - "To continue my February 13, 2014 musings on time, I’d like now to focus on one particular type of perceived time: the subjective experience of the stroller, the old literary archetype of the flâneur."
topic:time, fandom:comics
Steven Universe
Sexualized Saturdays: The Crystal Gems: Lady Saika - Lady Geek Girl And Friends (blog) - "Without digging deeper into word of mouth and the multitude of headcanons, the show is a fantastic subversion of gender norms, as it features a trio of diverse ladies with very different personalities and body types working together to save the world, and a little boy who looks up to these women as his ideal role models."
topic:queer, fandom:stevenuniverse
Divergent
The Glorious Incoherence of Divergent: NOAH BERLATSKY (blog) - "The disjointed world of the popular sci-fi series doesn't make for a great movie, but it embraces the idea that, in young-adult fiction, it's up to the audience to fill in the blanks."
fandom:divergent, topic:fourthwall
Hockey
On the Exploitation of Personal Tragedy For Narrative Purposes: hockeyfact (tumblr) - "Why I Do Not Want To Read Peverley/Chiasson, But Will Defend To My Death Its Right To Exist"
fandom:hockey, topic:fanfic
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Captain America 2: The WInter Soldier (film review) CONTAINS SPOILERS : selenak(DW) - "This comic hero block buster is a spy thriller worthy of the 1970s classics of the genre, pitch black in its view of what has become of us - and I'm saying "us" because that trade off wasn't limited to the US (while Germany doesn't have a camp in Guantanomo, we outsourced people to be tortured by the CIA; shame on us, and all the power to the one who is currently sueing because of that) - and yet also not cynical; it has a belief in the capacity of humans (and not just those who are in the title credits) for decency that fits its main character, even and especially under pressure."
fandom:mcu, topic:politics, warning:spoilers
Marvel, Please Cast An Asian-American Iron Fist: Keith Chow - Racialicious (blog) - "I can’t help thinking that Iron Fist gives Marvel a chance to add even more diversity to its interconnected cinematic universe. Not to mention that this is a case where changing the race of the character has the potential to actually add layers of depth to the story of said character."
topic:race, fandom:mcu
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Essie Davis: On Playing A Sexually Liberated 'Superhero' Without Apology: Linda Holmes (blog) - "The post provoked a gleeful celebration of Phryne's great and sexy life by her fans in the comments, and quite a few people who hadn't watched the show before took the position that these reviewers - the ones who called her a tramp - were making it sound like a pretty good show."
fandom:MissFishersMurderMysteries
Original Fic: Game Theory
Our Cousins Across the River, or, How Reading Game Theory Made me a Better Person: vocativecomma (AO3) - "In which I squee over Game Theory, and come to some revelations about recovery narratives and identity categories along the way."
fandom:originalfic, topic:hurt/comfort
Sherlock
The Problem of the Premature Reichenbach: archipelagoarchaea (tumblr) - "the one sticking point, the one issue that was so different in BBC Sherlock from ACD canon [...] The fact that Sherlock’s fake death occurred during what seemed like the height of of his closeness to John. "
fandom:bbcsherlock
The Politics of Sherlock Series 3 Part i: violethuntress(tumblr) - "Sherlock often feels like an apolitical show with a comic-book-style, surfacey take on death, injury, and abuse. How interesting is it then that Series 3 deals with some of the most serious political issues of our time."
fandom:bbcsherlock, topic:politics
Tolkien
Reclaiming the Dwarves: Judaism and Book-to-Movie adaptations: axforthefrozensea(tumblr) - "So my earlier post on the similarities between Jewish and Dwarvish song as presented in The Hobbit was part of MORE THOUGHTS that I had regarding the way Dwarves presented in The Hobbit movie versus the book."
fandom:jrrtolkien, topic:worldbuilding
Supernatural
The Bunker and the state of Sam and Dean's relationship (picspam) : ash48 (LJ) - "I've been thinking about the Men of Letters bunker and how it's gone from a place that represented a warm, comforting space to a claustrophobic, cold one. "
fandom:supernatural
John Winchester and Abuse : amonitrate (tumblr) - "The actual fact of them being hunted doesn’t change or contradict the actual fact of John being a child abuser"
fandom:supernatural, topic:abuse, warning:abuse
If you have meta to submit or rec, please comment to this post or to the screened Submissions Post. If you'd like to give us blanket permission to link your meta please comment to the Blanket Permissions Post. If you have feedback or questions, check out our FAQ, Contact the Mods, or PM/email. If you'd like to volunteer to link-find or mod, please comment to the Volunteers Post.
General FandomReclaiming Derivative Fiction: Arwen Spicer (blog) - "With the heightened visibility of fan fiction in recent years, conceptions of what constitutes professional-caliber fiction have been in flux, and derviative fiction (based on pre-existing works) has been slowly regaining legitimacy."
topic:fanfic
So You're Writing A Figure Skating AU: lannamichaels(DW) - "This is not at all meant to be a comprehensive Guide To Figure Skating For Fandom, it's just bullet points from someone who follows figure skating and has INTENSE FEELINGS about some skaters, which comes up at random points. "
topic:au, topic:writing, topic:fanfic
Tags and Spoilers: wrabbit (DW) - "So I have noticed some fans saying that they prefer to ignore or not read the tags on AO3 because they might find them spoilery. As someone who doesn't consider many things spoilers I found this intriguing. I would like to pose a few questions to everyone: "
topic:fanfic, topic:tagging
Collaging Character: Jennifer Crusie (blog) - "It’s tempting to just pick one face to represent your character and leave it at that, but I’ve found that it’s too limiting, especially if you’re using an actor in a particular role."
topic:character
Magical Mondays: Your Future Will Always Suck if You Can Predict It: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "Whether a character can see the future due to a mutation or for some magical reason, one thing is certain: things don’t work out for the person who can see the future, and they usually wind up dead or insane."
topic:magic
Oh, My Pop Culture Jesus: Why Are There No Female Religious Leaders in Geek Culture?: Lady Geek Girl (blog) - "Despite this, I have never read, watched, or heard of a fictional religion based on Catholicism which features women as priests, bishops, or even, dare I say, the Pope."
topic:religion
The Devil Made Me Do It: Possession as Plot Device: Lady Geek Girl And Friends (blog) - "But aside from the visceral discomfort viewers feel from seeing a possessed person, how is possession used in the overall narratives of a work? In other words, what is the point of possession?"
topic:possession, fandom:teenwolf, fandom:americanhorrorstory
On Black Characters and the Cost of Diversity: squidinksamurai - Lady Geek Girl And Friends (blog) - "I think it would be easy to write it off as just another instance of fans of a very White and very male industry being a very White and male kind of racist. But there are deeper questions about misunderstanding of the role of diversity in artistic representation."
topic:race, topic:superheroes
Television Without Pity’s Vanishing History - and Why We Should Care: Learned Fangirl by Keidra (blog) - "The influence of Television Without Pity is notable as a both a pop culture website and a catalyst and birthplace for many of pop culture fandom norms we see in social media and on blogs."
topic:fandom
Fanfic or Canon: Raizel Liebler -Learned Fangirl (blog) - "But of course, the line between these two concepts is frequently unclear. Who decides what is really canon? Even when it is produced by the original author? "
topic:canon, topic:fanon
Character Death: Rageprufrock & Mklutz - Slash Report (podcast) - "Break out your widows weeds and best funerary hankies, /reporters, because this week we're exploring the wide and wonderful world of character death."
topic:death
Specific Fandoms
A Song of Ice and Fire
: boiledleather (tumblr) - "New Yorker tv critic Emily Nussbaum coined the term “bad fan” to refer to viewers who watch shows about morally compromised people primarily to revel in those moral compromises, and who subsequently attack those characters and critics who seem to stand in the way."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:fandom
If Robb is a hypocrite for wanting to disinherit Sansa, then Catelyn is, too. : madaboutasoiaf(tumblr) - "I am actually a Catelyn fan too, I think she gets a lot of undeserved hate but I do think you make a point that has been missed in the debate."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:character
so what do you think about that post on asoiaf uni saying robb and stannis were hypocrites for taking sansa's birthright winterfell from her?: mybestman(tumblr) - "Stannis and Robb, to be honest, don’t think of Sansa as a claimant to Winterfell because she’s a woman and they’re men in a system where women do not normally inherit."
fandom:asoiaf, topic: sexism
Game of Thrones and Invisible Cootie Vectors : scottlynch78 (tumblr) - "A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE / GAME OF THRONES is the biggest and most glorious soap opera in the history of soap operas."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:sexism
Arya Stark and Mercy: ladysmallwood(tumblr) - "Arya going through a more pronounced sexual maturity isn’t surprising, but the fact that this seduction of Raff is her first truly sexual experience is just very shocking."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:character
Problems I Have with Catelyn Stark: A mother’s madness: dknc3(tumblr) - "Speaking as both a mother and as someone who has spent a LOT of time analyzing Catelyn Stark in these books (anyone who follows me has pretty much figured out she’s my favorite character, and I freely admit that bias), I think it is very realistic to have Catelyn question herself in the midst of all that’s happening."
fandom:asoiaf, topic:gender
Batman
Unmasking the Joker: The Hooded Utilitarian by Chris Gavaler (blog) - "Kane and Robinson agree that Finger handed Kane a photograph of Conrad Veidt from the 1928 film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs which Kane used to draw the Joker."
fandom:dccomics
Comics
Contemplative Strolling: How do Comics Represent this Type of Subjective Time? (Part 2 of a 3-part Series): The Hooded Utilitarian by Adrielle Mitchell (blog) - "To continue my February 13, 2014 musings on time, I’d like now to focus on one particular type of perceived time: the subjective experience of the stroller, the old literary archetype of the flâneur."
topic:time, fandom:comics
Steven Universe
Sexualized Saturdays: The Crystal Gems: Lady Saika - Lady Geek Girl And Friends (blog) - "Without digging deeper into word of mouth and the multitude of headcanons, the show is a fantastic subversion of gender norms, as it features a trio of diverse ladies with very different personalities and body types working together to save the world, and a little boy who looks up to these women as his ideal role models."
topic:queer, fandom:stevenuniverse
Divergent
The Glorious Incoherence of Divergent: NOAH BERLATSKY (blog) - "The disjointed world of the popular sci-fi series doesn't make for a great movie, but it embraces the idea that, in young-adult fiction, it's up to the audience to fill in the blanks."
fandom:divergent, topic:fourthwall
Hockey
On the Exploitation of Personal Tragedy For Narrative Purposes: hockeyfact (tumblr) - "Why I Do Not Want To Read Peverley/Chiasson, But Will Defend To My Death Its Right To Exist"
fandom:hockey, topic:fanfic
Marvel Cinematic Universe
Captain America 2: The WInter Soldier (film review) CONTAINS SPOILERS : selenak(DW) - "This comic hero block buster is a spy thriller worthy of the 1970s classics of the genre, pitch black in its view of what has become of us - and I'm saying "us" because that trade off wasn't limited to the US (while Germany doesn't have a camp in Guantanomo, we outsourced people to be tortured by the CIA; shame on us, and all the power to the one who is currently sueing because of that) - and yet also not cynical; it has a belief in the capacity of humans (and not just those who are in the title credits) for decency that fits its main character, even and especially under pressure."
fandom:mcu, topic:politics, warning:spoilers
Marvel, Please Cast An Asian-American Iron Fist: Keith Chow - Racialicious (blog) - "I can’t help thinking that Iron Fist gives Marvel a chance to add even more diversity to its interconnected cinematic universe. Not to mention that this is a case where changing the race of the character has the potential to actually add layers of depth to the story of said character."
topic:race, fandom:mcu
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Essie Davis: On Playing A Sexually Liberated 'Superhero' Without Apology: Linda Holmes (blog) - "The post provoked a gleeful celebration of Phryne's great and sexy life by her fans in the comments, and quite a few people who hadn't watched the show before took the position that these reviewers - the ones who called her a tramp - were making it sound like a pretty good show."
fandom:MissFishersMurderMysteries
Original Fic: Game Theory
Our Cousins Across the River, or, How Reading Game Theory Made me a Better Person: vocativecomma (AO3) - "In which I squee over Game Theory, and come to some revelations about recovery narratives and identity categories along the way."
fandom:originalfic, topic:hurt/comfort
Sherlock
The Problem of the Premature Reichenbach: archipelagoarchaea (tumblr) - "the one sticking point, the one issue that was so different in BBC Sherlock from ACD canon [...] The fact that Sherlock’s fake death occurred during what seemed like the height of of his closeness to John. "
fandom:bbcsherlock
The Politics of Sherlock Series 3 Part i: violethuntress(tumblr) - "Sherlock often feels like an apolitical show with a comic-book-style, surfacey take on death, injury, and abuse. How interesting is it then that Series 3 deals with some of the most serious political issues of our time."
fandom:bbcsherlock, topic:politics
Tolkien
Reclaiming the Dwarves: Judaism and Book-to-Movie adaptations: axforthefrozensea(tumblr) - "So my earlier post on the similarities between Jewish and Dwarvish song as presented in The Hobbit was part of MORE THOUGHTS that I had regarding the way Dwarves presented in The Hobbit movie versus the book."
fandom:jrrtolkien, topic:worldbuilding
Supernatural
The Bunker and the state of Sam and Dean's relationship (picspam) : ash48 (LJ) - "I've been thinking about the Men of Letters bunker and how it's gone from a place that represented a warm, comforting space to a claustrophobic, cold one. "
fandom:supernatural
John Winchester and Abuse : amonitrate (tumblr) - "The actual fact of them being hunted doesn’t change or contradict the actual fact of John being a child abuser"
fandom:supernatural, topic:abuse, warning:abuse