canon robin when

I think this is a very fair point to make. Nora sort-of resolved the drugged kiss in Canon when Nicky apologized to Neil (and although Neil did not immediately accept Nicky’s apology, they did eventually become friends). I also know that a lot of readers have asked Nora over the years about Andrew’s reaction/what would happen if Andrew found out about the drugged kiss. Obviously Andrew’s reaction would be Bad, y'all (he would not feel guilt or remorse for drugging Neil himself b/c those aren’t emotions Andrew often feels or engages with & he genuinely believed Neil was a threat who needed to be investigated, however, he WOULD lash out at Nicky for his indiscretion - either violently or refuse to interact with Nicky ever again - especially b/c Nicky had PROMISED Andrew that nothing would happen at the beginning of the night when Andrew told him off for commenting on how attractive Neil looked). I think we all know Andrew's reaction would be bad (what I think readers are really asking is: why won't Nora make Andrew's bad reaction Canon). Nora as well has acknowledged that she knows Nicky is an unpopular character & that is why she doesn't talk about him very much/engage with his character often. [I also think AFTG Fandom eventually needs to address why the 'unpopular characters' who the author receives hate for ever talking about are... all the PoC characters. Frankly, I don't think Nora's response of just Not Talking about these characters is quite the right way to go about it, but I do know that she has received a lot of hate/threats over the years in regard to a lot of aspects about AFTG, so I do understand in that sense, I just don't think... letting all the canonical PoC characters of AFTG fall to the wayside b/c they are 'unpopular' is the best course of action].

I think Nora realized she backed herself into a corner writing Neil/Nicky's scene in the first place. Having Andrew find out about the forced kiss would definitely ruin the Found Family ending/bringing all the Foxes together because Andrew absolutely would NOT be able to forgive Nicky. Therefore, the information has to remain contained between Nicky & Neil, and for the readers that can feel a little bit like an unresolved dangling thread. Sometimes Fanfics try to resolve this by having Andrew find out, and although he is upset & angry at first, eventually he & Nicky resolve their issues. I don’t think Nora believes Andrew as he is characterized in Canon would ever be able to forgive Nicky or be close to him again - and I agree. Or it would take years and years and years to rebuild that trust, not just a few months. I also know some Fanfics do just banish Nicky and I think that’s… sad. It’s a sad ending.

I also understand where Nora is coming from when she said that she also doesn’t think Andrew interfering (banishing, threatening, or otherwise violently harming Nicky) is the right resolution to the forced Nicky/Neil kiss. Not just in the context of the narrative & what the theme of AFTG is meant to be, but also - I think the desire for Andrew to know by some readers is so that he can have the “right” reaction that those readers want (fury, vengeance, etc.,) because there is a belief that Neil did not have the “right” reaction (he did hold a grudge, but the kiss itself wasn’t specifically traumatic for Neil & eventually he forgives and becomes friends with Nicky). For some readers, Neil let Nicky off too lightly & Nicky wasn’t adequately punished by the narrative for what he did to Neil.

But also, it’s not Andrew’s place to have the Right Reaction on Neil’s behalf. Inserting him into Neil & Nicky’s conflict ultimately shifts the focus from Neil & his emotions & his assault onto Andrew’s emotions & Andrew’s assaults & the idea that Andrew’s response is the ONLY valid response & the way Neil responded was WRONG. And the thing is, I 100% believe that Andrew WOULD view his own righteous anger as the “right” response but when handled by an inexperienced writer it can definitely come across as dismissive of Neil when the incident is… 100% about Neil. It’s so the writer & readers can feel vindicated, but at the expense of Neil, who is the main character, the one who was forcibly kissed. He basically becomes a prop, a “victim” to be rescued and educated by Andrew on how to properly respond to assault.

Moreover, the way Nora wrote Nicky in TFC - including having him be aggressively sexual & the one to forcibly kiss Neil - was also Racist. It perpetuated stereotypes of Latino men being sexually aggressive, promiscuous, dangerous and threatening to white people (particularly to ‘innocent’ & ‘inexperienced’ white people). Considering Nicky was also the only brown character in the Foxes it was a poor writing choice. Nora, I think, realized that and did adjust Nicky throughout TRK & TKM to be a more well-rounded character instead of just the Sexual One & also Aaron’s Bonus Chapter did try to add depth to WHY Nicky is so upfront with his sexuality and how its related to his trauma instead of the implication that This Is Just How Brown Latino Men Behave.

Therefore, I think when Fanfics just… have Nicky behave exactly as he did in TFC (or worse even MORE exaggerated than how he behaved in TFC) instead of incorporating Nicky’s later-series characterization & depth & what we know of his trauma, it is perpetuating a racist stereotype. I think I’ve mentioned before but, yes, while adding diversity into AFTG by making the Foxes more racially diverse can be good, it’s not enough for that racial diversity to be surface level. Moreover, it’s also important to address the racism already within the canonical novel. [I think AFTG Fandom pats itself on the back far too much for not "woobifying" the villains b/c "everyone hates Riko" and listen: an inability to see humanity or depth in Japanese people is not the Fandom Win some of y'all think it is. Especially when all the white boy characters HAVE had their negative traits, antagonisms, flaws, etc., smoothed over or justified in Fanon... also, off-topic: making Japanese the Language of Evil that all the white boys have 'trauma' regarding versus the "good" European languages: German, French, Russian... like c'mon, we need to use some of our Critical Thinking when we're writing posts b/c some of the way y'all write about Japanese people/the Japanese language, culture, food, etc., in AFTG is that it's the Evil Foreign Eastern Other that is SO SCARY to our white boys (especially Kevin & Jean) and it's like... do y'all hear yourselves when you write this shit].

Lastly, I find that Canon rewrites in general are basically just Nora’s novels with… very minimal differences. My (perhaps unwanted & borderline egotistical advice) to writers who want to explore a Canon rewrite: you need to engage more with the Butterfly Effect. (1) it’ll make your story more interesting b/c readers will be surprised with the changes instead of being able to predict literally every single plot point b/c it’s quite literally AFTG exactly and (2) what happens in Nora’s novels does NOT make sense if there have been some drastic changes that are then not explored further. The follow-through on these changes are ESSENTIAL to your Fanfic.