To YOU it’s bad writing. To ME it’s a very nuanced piece of work that explores subtle intricacies without outright saying it. And also it’s bad writing
Things I find interesting about my fandom in 2025:
(I've been in the DC fandom since 2009)
people who have ignored the last 14 years of continuity still uncomfortably cohabitating with people who have only read the new continuity, and both sides not really understanding each other. Both groups trying to figure out how to handle the no continuity at all group. All of us trying to use the same tags while we write/read about characters that sometimes only share names with each other.
The short memory of fandom. The VAST majority of the fics that get submitted to my rec blog are from 2021 or later. At least a quarter are from 2025. We don't seem to be circulating classics, anymore, which is very different from the culture a decade ago!
the loose group of Batkid gen hurt/comfort writers who are out there mostly remixing each other's works. Every once in a while, they add a new plot into the ecosystem. Vastly different ratings, sometimes, but very similar tones. It's just SUCH a different environment from the rest of the fandom! I really enjoy them. and the sense of community they seem to have.
how social-media AU writers ALSO seem to form a loose group, and build off of each other, rather than canon. The epistolary format seems like it would appeal to a much broader range of creators, and I find it really interesting that the reality is so different.
the vast, polarized camps of the NO BATCEST fans and the JayTim fans. The vicious and mean-spirited battles they engage in. How I can be enjoying a story, and suddenly hit an authour's note telling me I'm a gross freak, and then I go on to the next chapter and ... there was no reason for the note? The plot is about nothing even closely related? Baffling.
The continued evolution of fanon Jason Todds. He's become so many fascinating characters, and I really enjoy watching it happen. Canon gave us so much junk, and fans have sifted multiple different precious metals from it!
The incredibly strong opinions about Slade Wilson. Readership just DIVES when he shows up in a recced fic! I find it really funny.
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The fandom feels a lot more lively than it did in, say, 2019. There are pockets of beautiful stuff happening. I'm noticing a greater variety of characterization, which I really appreciate.
But I'm putting in more effort to avoid toxicity. I'm still MOSTLY keeping my dash from from people outright attacking each other, but I keep finding people who do it casually, just as a part of the fandom experience.
I enjoy being a DC fan. I don't think we're a HEALTHY fandom, right now, but I think we could be. I think there's a lot of good here.
Also that one I think is less intentionally patronising and perhaps closer to a pet peeve but i hate hate hate "I need people to understand" formulation at the beginning of meta posts so much. Like even in contexts when I agree it makes me scrunch my nose like oh yeah sure. It feels one step removed from 'i don't understand how people can miss something so evident but I'll dumb it down so you people get it once and for all" which I don't think is a message you should be sending people over things that literally don't matter. Also you look ridiculous if you're wrong.
in honor of my second anniversary of joining the tumblr bat fandom i present to you this chart describing my observations (this is slash j, i tried to make it humorous and as even as possible)
[reads comics/doesn't ship batcest:
often looks down on fanon only fans
hates wfa
while trying to correct fanon misconceptions often overcompensates and creates an equally fanon take just in the opposite direction
incessantly complains about people mischaracterizing their faves and the general state of the fandom
has dozens of comic panels saved so they can whip them out when arguing about canon with somebody
has one blorbo they adore and one they viciously hate; every meta post will be skewed in favor of their fave but they will never admit that
posts great reading lists 👍
doesn't read comics/doesn't ship batcest:
thinks bats are a nuclear family
“bad dad bruce is ooc actually 🥺”
says “dc stands for disregard canon” but doesn’t know enough about canon to even begin disregarding it
loves wfa
the most godawful headcanons known to mankind
the most popular fics on ao3 are written by them
has one batboy that they woobify to the extreme
onyx? harold? jean-paul? who are you talking about?
overlooks female and non-white bat characters most of the time
includes non-bat characters (wally, roy, kon, jon, slade) only so they can ship them with their favorite batboy
a beginning stage for a lot of people entering the fandom
reads comics/ships batcest:
a rare category
every serious analysis of a complicated canon relationship will be filtered through shipping goggles; sees subtext and coding where there’s none
blocked by half of the fandom for shipping batcest, blocked by the other half for complaining about fanon too much
has to be very careful not to say anything weird when talking about dc comics with strangers (especially irl)
often thinks they are better because they aren’t antis AND they read comics
dislikes wfa on principle but appreciates it for the ship fodder
will know a lot more about one half of the ship and mostly focus on them, often to the detriment of the other character being shipped
writes some of the best fanfics in the whole fandom ❤️
doesn't read comics/ships batcest:
migratory slash fandom
ships mostly male bat characters, might rarely post a ship with a female character for diversity’s sake
the most godawful headcanons known to mankind but at least they are horny
flanderizes complex canon relationships so they can fit the generic ship dynamics (grumpy x sunshine, buff jock x twink nerd)
a lot of them are lurkers
the ones that aren’t lurkers post heaps of batcest fanfics and fanart (thank you 🙏)
you want to know how robin jason was like? you want to know how dick robin was like? then read the comics were they appear. don't expect anyone to tell you how they were.
happy robin, angry robin is pure bullshit, they were both, they were neither, they were (a little more!) complex than that. you wanna get the nuances? read those comics and interpret them yourself
turnnoffyourmind
dailybridgerton
gummygunk
romaincrisis
