#this is canon in the making

[resonancewitness]

an attempt of making sense of being a RPfan reconstructing an untold story

using this space as I intend to, to make sense of my own experience in writing

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, way back when neither ao3 nor the Journal of Transformative Works yet existed, a dear friend of mine wrote a PhD in Fanfiction Studies under the advisorship of the very one and only Henry Jenkins. 

The new notion that she was exploring in her work was the notion of “charactereme”, an invariant of a character description that makes the character easily recognisable. What makes a Snape? What makes a Hermione? She based her research on HP fandom, very strong and popular at that time.

As far as I understood her line of reasoning, the charactereme consists of the canon (books) core or expanded canon (books + movies + games + interviews by JKR) core, and of the fanon addenda, the conventional agreed info. Say, Snape’s title is the Master of Potions (canon), heretofore he has a Master’s degree and for that he would have had publications in peer-reviewed journals (fanon) (and from this we can infer that Hermione, being Hermione, probably read them). 

Other than that, the individual traits, experiences etc. can be brought in, inferred by any given fanfiction author on the basis of their preferences and personal experience. For example, we do not know if Snape can sing or play a musical instrument, this is not mentioned in canon as far as I remember. Abiding by the charactereme makes the specific rendition of a Snape-in-a-fanfic either “in character” or “out of character”. The non-mentioned accidental traits (like singing) can become the plot-driving devices in some fanfiction stories (for example, “The Phantom of Hogwarts”). 

In this particular fandom where I am currently in, the canon is still in the making, as well as fanon, as well as the individual reading-into in personal reconstructions of the untold story. I find it extremely fascinating, especially for myself to delineate the boundaries between canon, fanon and individual inferences. For me canon is first-person utterances and other performances of identity claims (taking into account that the narrators sometimes are unreliable, as in obfuscating or outright lying) and the unedited videos of not-playing-a-known-role, especially when something bursts through an established mask/ social or public persona; fanon is conventions on existing interpretations (non-washable candies + rumours that eventually got somewhat confirmed); the rest is individual readers’ inferences and preferences. 

As a writer, I can totally understand the urge to reconstruct the untold story in writing, inferring and reading-into the motivations and inner experiences of the protagonists that make certain actions, however odd they may seem, inevitable, the only ones possible in the situation. 

But here I am thinking also about the demarkation line between attempts at “unauthorised biography” — and true fanfiction, where we take the charactereme and put it in a “what-if” situation of somewhat different circumstances — and see how they, being themselves “in character”, would deal with it. 

And also I am thinking about the difference between “imaginary character fanfiction” and “still alive real people fanfiction”, which for me is mainly an “ethics of perception/ ethics of publication” issue. 

Am I capable in my mind to keep separating the “image of the protagonist(s)”, the characteremes that exist and keep developing in my mind along with the developing canon and fanon, from the fact that these protagonists are derived from real people whom I don’t know and most probably never will? 

Say, the Hermione Granger that I know and love is not exactly the same Hermione that JKR presented to us, but this makes no difference whatsoever, in the wider scope of things. I know that I read-into the image of Hermione something that would make her more relevant to my own personal experience; she would be a perfect mould for the “self-insertion of the author” (me). As my friend wrote in her PhD, self-insertion of the author is needed either to "be the protagonist" or to "be with the protagonist". Very good for me, isn’t it? I can take the charactereme of an invented character and play with it to satisfy my own needs, no harm done to anyone. "In writing this piece of fanfiction, no Hermione Grangers were harmed".

But reading-into the images of real people something that I want them to be to satisfy some of my internal need? What being aware of this means to me? Can I keep separating and allowing to co-exist my playing with their images with genuine respect to them as people? What inner stance I need to take to keep witnessing something precious, to keep reconstructing the untold story, to be touched and transported by it, sometimes in a form of creative writing of attempts at unauthorised biography excerpts, never to be published, — and still maintain mindful awareness of this being what I am doing, no more, no less?..

#long-winded reflection #this is canon in the making #fanfiction #rpf

[jesncin]

"Who Is Superman? A Private Interview with Lois Lane" a fancomic about hope and connection. I've had this story in mind for so long and I'm very excited to be able to share it at last. Thank you for reading, and happy Lunar New Year!

#superman #clark kent #lois lane #clois #dc comics #my art #fancomic #long post #my immigrant clois love story agenda is HERE #I have big feelings over the superman private interview canon event- how differently an asian lois would make that scene play out #jl remix

[fumifooms]

The fabled, infamous buckled collar shirt… Opens. He’s usually always wearing his cowl and vest so you can’t usually tell. He does love wearing shirts with open/low collars, which you can esp tell by the Daydream Hour outfits Kui designed for him, so makes sense. And yet… The buckle collar…

If u don’t think this is the same shirt btw he actually does up his collar when meeting the canaries. Just 1 scene difference before after, below. He likes to open up his collars when the setting is more casual but business or action happens and it’s back to being all proper and laced up

Btw idk if it’s a mistake but that screentone on Chilchuck’s chest in the second picture of the post… Is Kui telling us he has body hair. Idk is he dirty does he need a shower?? Kui doesn’t draw Senshi with much body hair in the manga for practicality reasons but she did draw in a Daydream Hour once how much she actually thinks he has, so it wouldn’t be crazy if this was the case for Chil too, and then in a final chapter in a close shot panel where she even details the seams of the shirt she can go all out more. Kui talks about peach fuzz and whatnot for elves so maybe they’re just finer or paler in his case. Please please please— Sigh ok it’s a screentone mistake

Anyways while I’m here, low collar comp. Third one is that shirt he wears sometimes where you have to tie up the strings like in bottom row middle outfit of the first one…

#Dungeon meshi #chilchuck tims #delicious in dungeon #Chilchuck with that collar just open enough to show hints of chest hair #I choose to believe this is canon #Chilchuck #i should make a masterpost on his outfits and his closet during canon it’d be fun. I need to make chil compilations again #Never forget Chil canonically has gray hairs…… Just selectively #Goth and his goth gf /j

[mylittleredgirl]

even if you're not a supernatural fan, if you've been on tumblr long enough you are, like, culturally. like cultural christianity in america except it's the cw's supernatural. you may never have watched an episode or set foot inside the tag but your regular life shuts down on their holidays and all of your world news is delivered through that point of view. something to think about

#while i'm making equivalences we could look at the comparable impacts of the bible on the western literary canon and supernatural on ao3 #edited to add: y'all i have never seen supernatural either that's the post #yes my brain has been rotted by this fandom but the call is coming from outside the house #that tumblr lyfe #containment breach #spn

[foundfamilywhump]

the question, you see, is not ‘is it too ooc for this character to cry’ but rather ‘what circumstances would push this character to cry’

this is the whump wisdom, go forth and make that character cry

#gav gab #‘it’s sooooooo ooc to make that character cry’ no you see I think it is ooc #to put this character through absolute unimaginable hell physically and emotionally #and NOT let them cry about it #sometimes canon framing and media format and genre #limit the ability to let a character emotionally Feel all the insanely traumatic shit that’s happened to them #that doesn’t mean that in a different medium or genre exploring these things #it would be ooc for them to do so #send tweet. let those characters feel and emote. it’s not ooc or cringe and anyone who tells you it is is a reductive dick

[thunderboltfire]

I have unwittingly witnessed a new level of the absurd. Behold, the AI-generated equine anatomy models.

Ah yes, my favourite parts of the equine body. Paster and... *looks at the smudged writing on hand* boob. At least this one looks purely decorative and the being actually looks like a horse. But don't worry, it gets worse.

If we completely ignore the hipopotamus musculature of this one, there's still a lot of things that don't make sense in this one, like a tail that ends in a series of bone spikes and a complete lack of molars. You could make a cool pokemon on the basis of this, but it's not even in the realm of being an actual anatomy help.

I'm firmly convinced this is not a horse, this is something that really, really wants you to think it is a horse. The more you look, the more things look... wrong. The more details turn out to be shifted, bones crammed in to fill in the familiar form, its shape merely implied so that the human mind fills the gap. Of course the text seems like gibberish, because its anatomy is incomprehensible. it's either a parasite or a monster and in each case, it's an eldtrich body horror. I'm kind of angry at how well this joke writes itself.

#I'm just angry that despite of the fact I have almost every AI site blocked it still showed up in the search #I don't think these will fool anyone but still - make sure you know the things you reference are actually accurate #I can recommend Herman Dittrich's drawings when it comes to the equine anatomy #This time I was just searching for the anatomy it bc I forgot what's the name of the canon bone #anti generative ai

[s-aint-elmo]

part 2 of my pining falin agenda aka I STAND WITH MARCILLE THAT DRESS WAS CUNT

part 1

(ID in alt text)

#dungeon meshi #falin touden #marcille donato #farcille #dungeon meshi spoilers #doodles #mine #in my to-do list that second image is described as 'visions of marcille tarted up dark magician style dancing in falin's mind' #making laios call the dungeon lord dress weird in part one is just compliance to canon characterization HE DOES NOT SPEAK FOR ME #i looove fashion and fashion as characterization so my headcanon is that marcille's epilogue style is a direct consequence of that dress #she realized that there was no escaping the resemblance to her mother bc it is now a proven fact that black brings out her cuntiferocity #also falin is wearing a chemise de la reine bc 1) plumage real estate 2) similar to her canon dresses and 3) booba

[pokeberry5]

boy hostage (spiritual successor to this)

big brother to the rescue:

#back at it again at krispy kreme #sart #tim drake #dick grayson #dc #dick & tim #some of my favorite things about canon are a) dick being (ferally) protective of tim #and b) that gotham villains refer to robin and nightwing as brothers #idk i love drawing tim a little bloody #he's ok!!! dick got to him on time im realizing he kinda looks dead #oh OTHER favorite thing is those panels of vigilantes where all u can make out of their features are their glowing eyes #(my excuse for not drawing tim's belt is that if he had it he'd've escaped so they must have gotten it off him)

[noodles-and-tea]

Returning home

#I like to think it works like Sophie being old in Howls moving castle #without his friends and family and Arthur Merlin obviously ages #but Arthur makes him feel young again - like who he was with him #because Arthur woke up obviously because that’s what happens #it’s true and canon and I said so #(don’t tell anyone im only on season three currently) #my art #Merlin #bbc merlin #merlin emrys #arthur pendragon #Merthur

[arggghhhsstuff]

forever obsessed with percy being weird. off-putting. strange even. a cryptid maybe. an urban legend if I may. my boy is the son of one of the oldest, most powerful gods, has been in FBI's records since the age of twelve, fought and won two wars against immortal beings, went to hell and back. I think he's allowed to be a little odd.

#percy jackson #cryptid percy jackson #<- there are only 3 fics under this tag on ao3 it's making me so sad #because i have THOUGHTS and HEADCANONS and IDEAS but i don't know how to write #demigods being less humans than they are in canon is a favorite headcanon of mine #they get to be WEIRD and SCARY and POWERFUL #!!!! #percy jackon and the olympians #heroes of olympus #pjo #pjo hoo toa #demigods #percy jackson fandom #percy jackson tv show #pjo show #yeah

[resonancewitness]

love the priorities set in self-description

有趣的灵魂

"(has) an interested, curious, active, searching soul"

(...a kind reminder for the ones who don't know how to see past the surface without a reminder? ;) and pay an unbalanced amount of attention to the surface)

...I wonder if he knows that passage from Cyrano de Bergerac, when Christian asks Roxanne "and if a witch stole or withered my beauty, would you still love me?"

I wonder even more what equivalent stories they have in Chinese culture, that would be even more familiar and at hand

also funny that the automatic translator translates this sentence as "interesting soul", and not "interested soul", adding self-absorption and narcissism where it was not put in by the author. Figures.

#xiao zhan #reclaiming agency #this is canon in the making

[sm-baby]

Someone please help me

#showtime #caine x pomni #the amazing digital circus #mf i pride myself in making it feel canon BUT ALSO I HAVE NEEEEEEEEDDDSSS *cries on the floor on my knees*

[freefallintothevoid]

The real reason everyone makes fun of Dicks Discowing outfit is because he's the only one that can somehow pull it off

Every superhero and vigilante has has a costume like that at some point, something daring or a bit ridiculous that in hindsight that they just couldn't make work for whatever reason. Nightwing? The pretty motherfucker not only made it work, he slayed in that outfit. It looks ridiculous by itself on display in the batcave but not when Nightwing puts it on

The only reason Dick doesn't know this is because all his siblings have collectively gaslit him into thinking that it's his worst costume to date.

#if you just look at the discowing comic era youll see what i mean #disowing PULLED #jason tried the costume once and looked so absurd hes never told anyone about it #it doesnt matter if Dick is a fashion icon or not he can make wearing trashbags look pretty #batfamily #nightwing #dc comics #headcanon #bruce goes along with it because too much exposed chest for vigilanting #that v line collar thing was really something #nightwing is canonically freaking gorgeous #batman #discowing #dick grayson #redhood

[celadonlonghorn]

i know everyone else is posting these but i havent seen one of the full image so im posting it so i can say im in love with every single one of them

#splatoon #marina especially but that's because i've always loved marina #and we finally get to see she's got “hair” under her tentacles which makes my character purple's design make more sense in canon YAAAAAY

[lotus-pear]

hngghh domestic......

#screaming crying throwing up sliding down the wall soft skk makes me so feel so warm and giddy #listen i love their canon dynamic but a hopeless part of me wants them to fall in love and pursue a tranquil domestic life #free from the burdens of their jobs and their past (<- i am delusional this will never happen) #A GIRL CAN DREAM #bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd #osamu dazai #dazai osamu #chuuya nakahara #nakahara chuuya #soukoku #skk #lotus draws

[chloesimaginationthings]

Michael Afton has bad eating habits in FNAF

#myart #chloesimagination #comic #fnaf #michael afton #fnaf vanessa #vanessa shelly #vanessa afton #fnaf movie #sister location #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #These are canon foods Michael likes btw #EXPECT for disappointment but doesn’t it just makes sense he’d like that #We’ve seen him eat exclusively junk food #in the survival logbook Michael mentions you get free pizza working at Freddy’s #and also that he chews bubblegum every shift #Vanessa isn’t impressed AT ALL by Michael’s diet 💀 #it’s actually impressive he has the energy to do five nights at Freddy’s