Strange mini (and not-so-mini) trends in Transformers fanfic!
Yes, Nightwind's been poking at FF.net again lately. With a stick. I don't know why I have this compulsion to do that. Maybe it's a form of "Train Wreck Syndrome." Or masochism, which might be far more likely. Nightwind has also been poking, with an even longer stick, at stuff on DA, which quite frankly is in some ways even more of a cesspool than FF.net. Strange but true.
So, I have decided to make a list of trends that are strange and that, in some cases, are a little disturbing to me. Why? Dunno. Maybe I'm pissy and need to vent about something. In any case, this list doesn't include the standard "human teen(s) (98.4% of the time female) get(s) mixed up with Giant Alien Robot(s) and Has/Have Adventures" trend, which is not so much a trend as a veritable force of nature in TF fanfic. It also doesn't include humanized TFs, which is almost as much of a force of nature and so, in my mind, doesn't qualify as a trend. Nor is slash in general really a "trend" anymore so much as something that's just become...entrenched. No, these are other little things that either bug me or that just make me go, "Uh...whut?"
I should note that my list here shouldn't necessarily be construed as criticism. It's fanfic/fanart and people have the right to write/draw whatever they want and should be allowed to do so. On the other hand, others are allowed to be bewildered/bothered by what they see/read. So, if you write/draw this stuff, please don't be offended. Rather, I'd be interested in hearing why you write/draw what you write/draw. Because sometimes with understanding comes better acceptance, y'know?
So, my list, which is probably not comprehensive. There are probably other things that bug me that I just can't think of, at the moment. But for now:
1) Prowl as victim of child abuse.
Really! Just recently, there've been...gosh, I think at least three fanfics on FF.net, by different authors, that premise this notion. I dunno why people think this is so. Perhaps it's their explanation for Prowl's reserve and his "coldness," as they see it? Why can't Prowl just be reserved because that's his personality? Not every personality trait has a Deep, Dark Secret lurking behind it. Sometimes it's just...who they are.
Maybe people who were abused (or at least think they were) like to identify with him this way? I mean, I identify with Starscream because of that. But at least we actually see Starscream getting the snot beaten out of him, so....
2) Ratchet as total, fear-inducing jerk.
Seriously, people! He's a PHYSICIAN! He can't go around beating people with wrenches with impunity. It's not ethical, and it wouldn't be tolerated, realistically. Nor SHOULD it be tolerated. Sure, he's grumpy. Sure, he can get aggravated with those under his care. SOMETIMES! But grumpiness and aggravation don't necessarily translate to physical violence. Or at least, if they did, I think there'd be repercussions for Ratchet. Serious ones.
It just seems that fan writers take things to extremes, and that just...bugs me. I like somewhat realistic portrayals of characters, not caricatures of them. So, I won't be hopping on the "Ratchet the Hatchet" bandwagon, I'm afraid.
3) Starscream as slut.
Maybe this is just my perception, but I'll tell you why this one bugs me: There's always been this fan assertion that Starscream is "gay" because the perception seems to be that he shares qualities with gay men. (Tracks, of course, suffers from this as well. Oddly, Sunstreaker doesn't seem to suffer from it, maybe because he's not as "flamboyant.") From that, there's the pervasive stereotype that gay people are sexually loose. So, put two and two together, and Starscream becomes a slut. I'll bet Tracks would, too, if more people wrote about him.
This...bugs me. Not because I don't think Screamer COULD be a slut, but rather because the association that I perceive the trend to come from bothers me. Let's put aside, for the moment, the argument about whether or not TFs have gender at all and therefore whether or not it's at all possible for them to be "gay." Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that they DO have gender and therefore can be "gay" and, further, that Starscream is gay. This doesn't change the fact that gay people are in reality no looser than straight people, on average. And even if that was true of humans, why would it necessarily be true of aliens?
*sigh* I guess this is just a stereotype that really bugs me. (Why, I don't know. I'm not gay, myself.) And it's entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that I'm falsely accusing. Maybe that particular stereotype is not what is fueling this fanfic trend. But that's my perception, and that's why I have a knee-jerk negative reaction to Starscream's portrayal in this way.
4) Starscream as female, often "secretly."
OK, so this one's been around a loooooooooong time. And I guess it bugs me for the same reasons as those above. There's this perception that Starscream is "effeminate," and so this then translates into fics where Starscream is female.
I take exception to the very premise that Starscream is "effeminate." Again, this is because the assertion plays to a stereotype, a culturally-enforced one that says, "Real Men(TM) don't/aren't 'X'," where "X" is something that is typically associated with women more than men. Like, say, "good at cutting and styling hair." Again, even if the stereotype was true, why would the stereotype apply to aliens? For all we know, Starscream in all his "effeminate" glory is the epitome of "manliness" in TF culture. (And wouldn't that be a fun fanfic idea to play with? :) ) But even if Starscream was female, why does this necessarily become a Deep, Dark Secret?
Whatever the case, I do know that this trend is behind my compulsion to turn Starscream into an Alpha Male, of a sort, in my Crack!Verse. *snickers*
5) TFs as cats. Or other animals. But mostly cats. And I'm not talking techno-organic animals a la Beast Wars here.
This is more in art than fic, but...I don't get it, just the same. Sure, there's Air Raid with his kitty ears. Sure, a picture here and there is cute. Sometimes adorable, even. I admit it. But...there's a lot of it out there on DA and some people seem to be quite serious about it, as opposed to doing it just because it's cute. It makes my mind go, "Whut?" And when it bleeds into fic...Uh, yeah. I don't get it. Maybe it's a blending of TFs and the whole "furry" thing? Someone 'splains this to me, yes?
6) Prowl becomes completely disabled when confronted with anything shocking/illogical.
If this was true, Prowl would be far more of a liability than an asset. Period. Yes, I know it talks about this in his profile thingy. But again, in the hands of fanfic writers, it's taken to an extreme that borders on caricature. Hell, not even "borders." And it bugs me. Especially when this trend plays with the "Ratchet as crazy bastard" trend and Ratchet starts screaming and pitching wrenches at the person who made Prowl crash. Just...no. Please, make it stop.
Ahhhhh, I feel better now. :)
So, I have decided to make a list of trends that are strange and that, in some cases, are a little disturbing to me. Why? Dunno. Maybe I'm pissy and need to vent about something. In any case, this list doesn't include the standard "human teen(s) (98.4% of the time female) get(s) mixed up with Giant Alien Robot(s) and Has/Have Adventures" trend, which is not so much a trend as a veritable force of nature in TF fanfic. It also doesn't include humanized TFs, which is almost as much of a force of nature and so, in my mind, doesn't qualify as a trend. Nor is slash in general really a "trend" anymore so much as something that's just become...entrenched. No, these are other little things that either bug me or that just make me go, "Uh...whut?"
I should note that my list here shouldn't necessarily be construed as criticism. It's fanfic/fanart and people have the right to write/draw whatever they want and should be allowed to do so. On the other hand, others are allowed to be bewildered/bothered by what they see/read. So, if you write/draw this stuff, please don't be offended. Rather, I'd be interested in hearing why you write/draw what you write/draw. Because sometimes with understanding comes better acceptance, y'know?
So, my list, which is probably not comprehensive. There are probably other things that bug me that I just can't think of, at the moment. But for now:
1) Prowl as victim of child abuse.
Really! Just recently, there've been...gosh, I think at least three fanfics on FF.net, by different authors, that premise this notion. I dunno why people think this is so. Perhaps it's their explanation for Prowl's reserve and his "coldness," as they see it? Why can't Prowl just be reserved because that's his personality? Not every personality trait has a Deep, Dark Secret lurking behind it. Sometimes it's just...who they are.
Maybe people who were abused (or at least think they were) like to identify with him this way? I mean, I identify with Starscream because of that. But at least we actually see Starscream getting the snot beaten out of him, so....
2) Ratchet as total, fear-inducing jerk.
Seriously, people! He's a PHYSICIAN! He can't go around beating people with wrenches with impunity. It's not ethical, and it wouldn't be tolerated, realistically. Nor SHOULD it be tolerated. Sure, he's grumpy. Sure, he can get aggravated with those under his care. SOMETIMES! But grumpiness and aggravation don't necessarily translate to physical violence. Or at least, if they did, I think there'd be repercussions for Ratchet. Serious ones.
It just seems that fan writers take things to extremes, and that just...bugs me. I like somewhat realistic portrayals of characters, not caricatures of them. So, I won't be hopping on the "Ratchet the Hatchet" bandwagon, I'm afraid.
3) Starscream as slut.
Maybe this is just my perception, but I'll tell you why this one bugs me: There's always been this fan assertion that Starscream is "gay" because the perception seems to be that he shares qualities with gay men. (Tracks, of course, suffers from this as well. Oddly, Sunstreaker doesn't seem to suffer from it, maybe because he's not as "flamboyant.") From that, there's the pervasive stereotype that gay people are sexually loose. So, put two and two together, and Starscream becomes a slut. I'll bet Tracks would, too, if more people wrote about him.
This...bugs me. Not because I don't think Screamer COULD be a slut, but rather because the association that I perceive the trend to come from bothers me. Let's put aside, for the moment, the argument about whether or not TFs have gender at all and therefore whether or not it's at all possible for them to be "gay." Let's say, just for the sake of argument, that they DO have gender and therefore can be "gay" and, further, that Starscream is gay. This doesn't change the fact that gay people are in reality no looser than straight people, on average. And even if that was true of humans, why would it necessarily be true of aliens?
*sigh* I guess this is just a stereotype that really bugs me. (Why, I don't know. I'm not gay, myself.) And it's entirely possible, perhaps even likely, that I'm falsely accusing. Maybe that particular stereotype is not what is fueling this fanfic trend. But that's my perception, and that's why I have a knee-jerk negative reaction to Starscream's portrayal in this way.
4) Starscream as female, often "secretly."
OK, so this one's been around a loooooooooong time. And I guess it bugs me for the same reasons as those above. There's this perception that Starscream is "effeminate," and so this then translates into fics where Starscream is female.
I take exception to the very premise that Starscream is "effeminate." Again, this is because the assertion plays to a stereotype, a culturally-enforced one that says, "Real Men(TM) don't/aren't 'X'," where "X" is something that is typically associated with women more than men. Like, say, "good at cutting and styling hair." Again, even if the stereotype was true, why would the stereotype apply to aliens? For all we know, Starscream in all his "effeminate" glory is the epitome of "manliness" in TF culture. (And wouldn't that be a fun fanfic idea to play with? :) ) But even if Starscream was female, why does this necessarily become a Deep, Dark Secret?
Whatever the case, I do know that this trend is behind my compulsion to turn Starscream into an Alpha Male, of a sort, in my Crack!Verse. *snickers*
5) TFs as cats. Or other animals. But mostly cats. And I'm not talking techno-organic animals a la Beast Wars here.
This is more in art than fic, but...I don't get it, just the same. Sure, there's Air Raid with his kitty ears. Sure, a picture here and there is cute. Sometimes adorable, even. I admit it. But...there's a lot of it out there on DA and some people seem to be quite serious about it, as opposed to doing it just because it's cute. It makes my mind go, "Whut?" And when it bleeds into fic...Uh, yeah. I don't get it. Maybe it's a blending of TFs and the whole "furry" thing? Someone 'splains this to me, yes?
6) Prowl becomes completely disabled when confronted with anything shocking/illogical.
If this was true, Prowl would be far more of a liability than an asset. Period. Yes, I know it talks about this in his profile thingy. But again, in the hands of fanfic writers, it's taken to an extreme that borders on caricature. Hell, not even "borders." And it bugs me. Especially when this trend plays with the "Ratchet as crazy bastard" trend and Ratchet starts screaming and pitching wrenches at the person who made Prowl crash. Just...no. Please, make it stop.
Ahhhhh, I feel better now. :)