ao3.life

Meta Analysis

Tag · 95 works

49 works open to everyone here carry this tag; 90% are complete. The average one runs about 4,300 words. Read any of them in your browser, save it as an EPUB, or listen to it.

Some results are potentially explicit

Avatar: The Last Airbender+2

Why Do Non-Canon Ships

by sarehptar

A vaguely academic examination of the phenomena behind fandom shipping and why certain non-canon ships become exceedingly popular, far overshadowing the popularity of canon ships. This essay touches on common mistakes writers make with female characters and romantic subplots, and suggests a explanation for the enduring popularity of so many m/m ships which have no chance at all of becoming canon. Examples are drawn from Avatar the Last Air Bender, Voltron Legendary Defender (god help me), and My Hero Academia.

General 10k words 1 ch Complete 1.1k kudos

Nonfiction · Meta · Meta Essay · Meta Analysis· +11 more

Shall We Date?: Obey Me!

too hot (and getting hotter)

by WickedBee

Of all the harebrained schemes you could have come up with, this has one of the best results: you get to see Simeon's back.You gift Simeon what passes for a virgin killer sweater, if only more proper and fit for him. Also, you stress yourself too much about this.

Teen 4.3k words 1 ch Complete 261 kudos

Ambiguous Relationships · Angst and Hurt/Comfort · Gender-Neutral Pronouns · Gift Giving· +7 more

My Hero Academia

Lots of Thoughts on My Hero Academia

by sarehptar

A collection of meta analysis essays for My Hero Academia, currently villain-centric. (Found out we can archive more than fanfic here, so I'm crossposting from Tumblr for ease and permanent access.)

General 16k words 3 / ? ch In progress 210 kudos

Archived from Echodrops blog · Body Horror · Cross-Posted on Tumblr · Dabi is a Todoroki· +18 more

Marvel Cinematic Universe

The Unexpected

by Crazed_Fuzzle

A meta look at why Darcy Lewis has become such a phenomenon in the Avengers fandom.

General 702 words 1 ch Complete 194 kudos

Meta Analysis · Women Being Awesome · Seriously why do we like Darcy so much?

Noragami (Anime & Manga)

Lots of Thoughts on Noragami

by sarehptar

A collection of meta analysis essays for Noragami, currently character-centric.(Found out we can archive more than fanfic here, so I'm crossposting from Tumblr for ease and permanent access.)

General 40k words 7 / ? ch In progress 155 kudos

Archived from Echodrops blog · Canon-Typical Violence · Character Analysis · Child Abuse· +16 more

Little Einsteins (Cartoon)+1

Expurgate

by Rosewind2007

**Update: Chapter 3 added to reflect changes made to the short story “The Future of Work: Compulsory” —this chapter is purely meta** Murderbot always mentions humans and augmented humans…I wonder if it did that before the survey with PreservationAux*?*no mention of augments in The Future of Work: Compulsory, by Martha Wells, for the record [note: 03/10/2022–new chapter]

Teen 4.9k words 5 ch Complete 143 kudos

Fluff · Fluff and Humor · Log modification · Meta Analysis· +8 more

RWBY

I Have A Problem

by najio

So at roughly 6:30am, right when I was going to bed, my brain went hey! Let's make a giant network graph of all the shipping tags in this fandom, because it'll probably be hilarious! And that is what this is. I still have not slept.Basically this is a shipping chart on all of the steroids.

Teen 1.8k words 3 ch Complete 94 kudos

Not a fic · just another step on my descent into madness and also probably a cry for help · the most try-hard shitpost of all time · Meta Analysis

DC Animated Universe+2

Hall of Mirrors

by Gray_Days

Elsewhere in the multiverse, things go differently. Batman lets a man fall, or doesn’t; the man breaks, or reassembles the pieces into something resembling beauty; the glittering shards reflect fire, or a kind touch, or distort the grim line of a mouth into an endlessly laughing face. A stone dropped into a river causes ripples. Sometimes the water rises, retreats, leaves behind fertile ground and the promise of life. Sometimes it scours everything in its path and leaves only broken rock and crumbling bone. Sometimes, only silence remains.

Teen 9.3k words 1 ch Complete 43 kudos

Earth-3 · Elseworlds · Alternate Timelines · canon-typical philosophy· +11 more

Class of '09 (Visual Novel)

Why is Jecka and Nicole the Most Popular Class of '09 Ship?

by Zoop Top (Rolex)

A vague essay analyzing why Jecka and Nicole from Class of '09 is the most popular ship among the rest of the pairings. Analysis heavily references sarehptar's/Echodrops's fandom essay, and also breaks down canon interactions and events among all the characters mentioned. This analysis also infers why the pairing with no canon romantic subplot (or confirmation) has such a big presence over the canon pairing (Ari and Nicole) and the confirmed romantic interest (Emily).

Teen 2.2k words 1 ch Complete 43 kudos

Analyzing Fandom Shipping Tendencies · Archived from Tumblr User Kwamiwayzz · It's Not Just Yuri · Meta· +5 more

Kingdom Hearts

One Who Knows Nothing

by The_Violet_Howler

A one-page essay analyzing the beauty of Xehanort's Heartless' last words.

General 665 words 1 ch Complete 40 kudos

Nonfiction · Character Analysis · Meta · Essay· +6 more

Our Flag Means Death (TV)

Stede Bonnets First Gay

by sixstepsaway

I read Stede being a bitch to Izzy as "he was suddenly realizing he's gay af and having to rapidly process that", and this is me talking about that.

Teen 540 words 1 ch Complete 37 kudos

Meta Analysis · Meta

MILGRAM (Music Videos)

Haruka Isnt

by AzureMist

An essay which serves as a deep dive into Haruka's coding as an intellectually disabled person, and why the fandom consensus that Haruka is autistic-coded hinders the understanding of Haruka's character and story.

General 3.1k words 1 ch Complete 34 kudos

Meta · Meta Analysis · Disability · Disabled Character· +6 more