December 1st
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magistrate: To what extent does meta change how you write fanfic/build headcanons/etc? Do you find yourself adopting good arguments, or do you take a generally "my headcanon, my rules" stance? Has meta ever dampened your enthusiasm for something by changing your perception of that thing into something you no longer enjoy?
I really enjoy reading meta! And I'm eternally grateful to people who go through and analyse character motivations and little details about what they're probably feeling/thinking, because quite often I find it very hard to pick those sort of things up from watching a source. I mean, I get general characterisation and motivations and character voice from watching, but I'm just not very good at reading people beyond the basics. So I love reading stuff from people who are really good at picking up little emotional nuances and connecting them into the wider context.
Also, the above paragraph is really only true for visual fandoms. I don't really read that much meta for books, but when I do I find I'm not anywhere near as interested in reading other peoples' interpretations of characters. I tend to come out of books with really fixed ideas on characterisation and stuff, whereas with visual sources I'm far more fluid. I think this really does come down to the lack of ambiguity in text compared to live-action, and how much easier I find the former to analyse for myself than the latter.
True for both: meta is SO USEFUL for cluing me into ships! Seriously, even with eventually-canon het couples which have apparently had all the subtlety of being hit over the head with a brick, chances are that I am still completely and utterly surprised when they suddenly start kissing. Or when I stumble over the 50 million posts talking about how much UST there is. And then occasionally I do go "...oh yeah, there totally is XD" (Neal/Keller yep), but way more often I just accept that loads of people ship it and keep wandering on in confusion. This is one of the reasons I'm pretty much gen-only!
As for headcanons... I'm never quite sure whether I have the general concept of headcanons correctly, because I don't really seem to have them. Like, I have no idea where Peter grew up or what Neal's mother was actually like or loads of things which I've seen that many people have decided for themselves. But I do think I settle into a fixed idea of what characters are like which doesn't alter between fics unless I'm purposely trying something different, although it can be influenced by meta I've read. For instance, I know I've been consciously thinking of Elizabeth Burke as much more firm in her ideas for what she wants for her life from reading loads of meta showing how this is really consistant for her characterisation (basically I'm still annoyed by OT3 shippers complaining that she was "OOC" in the show in season 4. No she really wasn't.)
As for dampening my enjoyment... hmmm. I've definitely taken on board lots of meta analysing problematic stuff in media I watch/read. But, again, I like this sort of analysis -- I feel it lets me consume stuff in a better, more informed way, as well as sometimes helping me consciously try to fix/explore specific problems in fanfic. How to be a fan of problematic things is probably familiar to many of you, and I really like it. Acknowledge and call out problems, don't replicate them in your own work, and continue enjoying the rest. (One of the only shows I have literally stopped watching because reading the meta made me realise that it was even worse than I had previously thought was BBC Sherlock. I don't miss it.)
Masterpost (PS I still have quite a few spaces)
From
magistrate: To what extent does meta change how you write fanfic/build headcanons/etc? Do you find yourself adopting good arguments, or do you take a generally "my headcanon, my rules" stance? Has meta ever dampened your enthusiasm for something by changing your perception of that thing into something you no longer enjoy?I really enjoy reading meta! And I'm eternally grateful to people who go through and analyse character motivations and little details about what they're probably feeling/thinking, because quite often I find it very hard to pick those sort of things up from watching a source. I mean, I get general characterisation and motivations and character voice from watching, but I'm just not very good at reading people beyond the basics. So I love reading stuff from people who are really good at picking up little emotional nuances and connecting them into the wider context.
Also, the above paragraph is really only true for visual fandoms. I don't really read that much meta for books, but when I do I find I'm not anywhere near as interested in reading other peoples' interpretations of characters. I tend to come out of books with really fixed ideas on characterisation and stuff, whereas with visual sources I'm far more fluid. I think this really does come down to the lack of ambiguity in text compared to live-action, and how much easier I find the former to analyse for myself than the latter.
True for both: meta is SO USEFUL for cluing me into ships! Seriously, even with eventually-canon het couples which have apparently had all the subtlety of being hit over the head with a brick, chances are that I am still completely and utterly surprised when they suddenly start kissing. Or when I stumble over the 50 million posts talking about how much UST there is. And then occasionally I do go "...oh yeah, there totally is XD" (Neal/Keller yep), but way more often I just accept that loads of people ship it and keep wandering on in confusion. This is one of the reasons I'm pretty much gen-only!
As for headcanons... I'm never quite sure whether I have the general concept of headcanons correctly, because I don't really seem to have them. Like, I have no idea where Peter grew up or what Neal's mother was actually like or loads of things which I've seen that many people have decided for themselves. But I do think I settle into a fixed idea of what characters are like which doesn't alter between fics unless I'm purposely trying something different, although it can be influenced by meta I've read. For instance, I know I've been consciously thinking of Elizabeth Burke as much more firm in her ideas for what she wants for her life from reading loads of meta showing how this is really consistant for her characterisation (basically I'm still annoyed by OT3 shippers complaining that she was "OOC" in the show in season 4. No she really wasn't.)
As for dampening my enjoyment... hmmm. I've definitely taken on board lots of meta analysing problematic stuff in media I watch/read. But, again, I like this sort of analysis -- I feel it lets me consume stuff in a better, more informed way, as well as sometimes helping me consciously try to fix/explore specific problems in fanfic. How to be a fan of problematic things is probably familiar to many of you, and I really like it. Acknowledge and call out problems, don't replicate them in your own work, and continue enjoying the rest. (One of the only shows I have literally stopped watching because reading the meta made me realise that it was even worse than I had previously thought was BBC Sherlock. I don't miss it.)
Masterpost (PS I still have quite a few spaces)
