WC: 700

‎mischaracterization will always be an inevitable part of fandom. and that's okay. as jarring as it may sound it's the truth, the reason why fandoms run for as long as they do outside of fanfic and fanart is discourse . my favourite thing about being in fandom is seeing how people interpret character, how their character design foreshadows their personality, fate or even death.

it's not to say there aren't objective truths like the plot, lore surrounding certain characters, or hints the author would like for the audience to pick up. my main frustration lies in how we discuss mischaracterization in fanfics particularly 'x reader fics.’

in my opinion, there are multiple interpretations as to how certain characters would act if they were in a relationship, not all fanfics out there are monolithic. there are fanfic writers out there who focus on retaining the realistic nature of jjk characters, who highlight the fleeting love someone would receive if they were to date someone like gojo. just find them.

‎you cannot ask someone to ruin their only piece of escapism, i obviously cannot speak for most people but i’d say 'xreader' or ship fanfic in general hinges on the fact that you have to already be intrigued. wanting to see a certain dynamic play out or imagining characters in a certain AUs is dependent on your emotional connection to them in order for you to seek them out, you know?

‎there are so many people who are aware of how ridiculous some of these stories are, even i giggle as i write a hallmark romcom story regarding geto while knowing damn well it's unrealistic but it's what makes writing and being a part of fandom fun.

‎fic is and will always be an element of escapism for people and although I do agree it does come at the expense of turning a blind eye to some of the canon events. realistically most people wouldn't want to read about their favorite character being the most avoidant or arrogant on manipulative type of boyfriend, because it too closely mimics the real world which is what most people are trying to avoid.

‎most people would agree that sukuna is DEFINITELY not a frat guy or the epitome of a grumpy man who has a soft soft for you but is in fact the embodiment of hedonism. PEOPLE KNOW THAT. choso definitely isn't the soft awkward guy people make him out to be. people know that.

‎people know that satoru doesn't feel fully seen by his peers and jujutsu society. even geto doesn't FULLY understand the isolation and dehumanization that comes with being 'the strongest.' once again, people know that.

‎i also think there's an element of misogyny that is intertwined in this conversation, the idea that in a fanfic safe space mainly occupied by women cannot understand the nuances of characters like gojo, choso, geto hell even nanami, do you see how crazy that sounds? or am i waffling?

‎i've seen multiple posts of people doing character analysis and one of their opening lines is "people don't really understand [insert character here] because women only care about their looks." you are only perpetuating the stereotype of women being vain. like good lord, i promise you people can write/read smut about their favorite characters and still understand the story and it's themes.

‎I think another thing we need to discuss is fandom etiquette or at least the remnants of it, if you do not like something simply do not read it, do not interact with it. even as a fanfic writer myself, i try my hardest to make sure everyone is included and can see an aspect of themselves in my work, but ultimately i cannot please everyone.

‎what im trying to say is that character analysis and frivolous fanfic can exist at the same time. even taking the time to watch a show about a specific character and transitioning their personality into a different universe or timeline takes a lot of care and interest into the character, and honestly i think authors deserve more respect for that.

Like I was reading a Mahito x Nanami moder AU fic where Nanami was helping and tending the wounds of Mahito, who was kinda a escort or prostitute and was being abused by Jogo who was Mahito's abusive boyfriend/pimp and Nanami was trying to help Mahito to get out.

And Nanami and the story were kinda ok, but Mahito was way too meek and devoid of malice that he seemed like if he was another character. They could have replaced Mahito name for Yuuji, Hanami, Miiwa or even Fumihiko and it would have not made any difference in the whole characterization and plot (asides of possibly making the fanfic more in character and coherent).

Plus, real Mahito and Jogo fans know that if Mahito and Jogo were in a abusive relationship Mahito would be the one abusing and pimping out Jogo and not the other way around.

After finally catching up, I ended up consuming fics from several ships and I have come to the conclusion of where most of the mischaracterizations come from. Of course the more popular a ship the more cooks in the kitchen, and the tendency for things to get misconstrued. I’d list a couple main characters with the most jarring dissonance from before I started the manga, to after I finally caught up.

Geto- stsg ( Princess/ polite baby who has never done any wrong, or has but it’s not his fault it’s everyone else’s but his) . But this was quite far from it from canon for me. He has his baby girl moments in jjk0 movie I guess…. But other than that I didn’t get that vibe at all.

Yuuji- Itafushi ( dumb jock, hawking gorilla man who sometimes abuses Megumi or is too oblivious to everything around him and is only there to please him). This one was soooo off it actually kinda pissed me off combing through some fics. I had such a different conception of him before I read the manga and after finishing it was such a shame how much softer, kinda and way more aware of his feelings and thoughts than people give him credit for.

Gojo- stsg ( only worships the ground Geto walks on, he’d be lucky to even be half has fun or caring of others as he is in canon). I don’t even know where to start but Gojo definitely has way more going for him than being reduced to just one person. He’s funny, charismatic, and cares incredibly for his friends and students. He’s just maybe a little autistic? Bless his heart.

Megumi- Itafushi- ( Princess/ emo boy who’s so deeply wounded and damaged and exists to be saved and loved and cared for by Yuji. Throw him Nobara as his best friend ( for whatever reason lmaoooo). Megumi really is just a quiet boy who loves his sister and his friends but especially felt a kindred spirit with Yuji. I would even go as far as to say his feelings for him felt more profound than the other way around. But they definitely care a lot for each other and I wish people wouldn’t be afraid to expand on that in a better way other than making him emo or weak.

Sukuna- Skfs- exists only to worship the ground he walks on for whatever reason. I admit at the beginning of the manga Sukuna’s intrigue with Megumi was sussss, but after catching up to later parts and finding out it was to use him to escape being trapped in Yuji, I couldn’t quite understand why people were saying he was a simp for him. But to each his own. This one isn’t really that bad.

And I wonder how much of fics have now influenced the way people actually view these characters.

This isn’t to get anyone to stop writing or anything btw. I just thought it would be funny to say this and see if anyone out there had similar experiences before and after reading the manga.

It happens in all the fandoms all the time and the more popular a ship is, the heavier it gets.

I am indifferent to StSg but more often than not the problem with the ship is not the ship itself but the way I struggle to recognize Gojo in that fanon rendition - also Geto, I guess, but we actually saw not so much about canon Geto, esp adult Geto, compared to Gojo. I don't ship Gojo with anyone in particular but I have less of a problem with his characterization with fanworks featuring other Gojo ships, even SukuGo. Yuji is underrated too, I agree. It can be fun to write him a bit naive, but sometimes fans go too hard on that and it's def offputting.