Internet Backdraft/Fan Works

• Go to any Fourm about Avatar: The Last Airbender fanfiction and mention you like "Embers" by Vathara. Or you don't like it, for that matter. Either one will give birth to Flames that can be seen from the dark side of Pluto.
• Mention the fanfic All He Ever Wanted to the Axis Powers Hetalia fen. The fandom will be split among fans who tout it as Better Than Canon and anti-fans who hate it to death. And it looks like this has been going even in The Other Tropes Wiki. From the ymmv page:
  • "If you don't like it? Either you don't appreciate 'True Art' (which is always angsty and contrived and what not), you're a butthurt Prussia or England/Japan fangirl who cannot stand their less-than-stellar portrayals, or You're Just Jealous of Mith and/or Puel's "online stardom" so you want to 'slander' them."
  • "If you like it? You're a Professional Butt-Kisser who want to look good by saying you like their stuff, a pompous Jerk Ass who looks down on the average fandom and think you're superior because of your tastes, or you MUST be one of these fans that relentlessly bully those who dislike it."
• About the only other Hetalia fanfic that's even more controversial than this one is a certain infamous fill over at the Hetalia Kink Meme - if you're familiar with the kink meme at all, you'll instantly know which one we mean. Said fanfic is so immensely popular that it has spawned numerous spinoffs and related requests, but its...shall we say...controversial subject has caused many anti-fans to call it Canon Rape that should never, ever have been made, even as the fic's fans attack them for getting so uppity about a work that was created just for Fetish Fuel purposes.
• Mentioning Phyrriccomedy's The Chosen End is like throwing fish in a barrel. You have discussions about characterization of the leads (Draco in Leather Pants Russia and Uke America) about the bashing of England supposedly "based" on "historical canon" (only applied to him and not to Russia or USA), the wanky and holier-than-thou behavior of the author (shown in the Hate Fic in which she makes England a crazy Yandere who rapes and tortures America), the fangirls who can't tolerate any criticism of TCE...
• There's also one Hetalia fanwriter who used to be a well-respected and highly praised Big Name Fan until a combination of real-life depression and criticism from people who viewed her France as OOC caused her to have an epic Creator Breakdown and stir up a torrent of wank on the Hetalia kink meme discussion post that was so bad that the kink meme mods severely limited the topics allowed on the discussion post and a general discussion post had to be started on another journal. The wank died down over time, only to be resurrected when the fan returned to the kink meme, despite her earlier declaration that she was quitting it for good, and wrote a fill that left many readers disturbed at her treatment of France and commenting on how it seemed like she was vicariously torturing him and how she still seemed to be sensitive to criticism in spite of her insistence that she genuinely wanted to improve her characterization of France. Nowadays, the very mention of her name or portrayal of France is a one-way ticket to a whirlwind of wankery and complaints from anons who are sick about this topic being brought up again.
• Ask for opinions on sub quality between Miss Dream or Sailor Moon Fansubs for Sailor Moon videos, prepare to run from the explosion of flames. Drama such as this has also caused vandalism in The Other Tropes Wiki.
• Likewise, following either Ian Andreas Miller or Hitsuji Kinno's spellings for different character terms or names may wind up getting you torn down by the anti-fans of the one whose spellings you support. That's not even getting into the debates over which one of them is the more pompous. If you thought even the most simple spellings weren't serious business, you might wind up having to think again with certain forums.
• "The Tie": Hottest/most emotional/greatest American Idol fanfic ever, or purple/out-of-character/melodramatic In Name Only claptrap that should've ended x number of chapters ago? Ooooooh, pretty bonfire!
• Callisto Hime, fanfiction's equivalent to Justin Bieber. That is all.
• Dumbledore's Army and the Year of Darkness for Harry Potter fans. You'll either love it or hate it. There is no middle ground and both sides are quite vocal.
  • And please, don't even bring up the author's... turbulent personal life. It's for your own good. Really.
• Go to any My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic forum, fan site, or image board and mention Cupcakes, Nyx, The Conversion Bureau and spinoffs, or any sexual art of the characters. The ensuing firestorm will leave you wishing that Princess Celestia would show up and send everyone involved to the moon.
• Mention the "Draco Trilogy" on any Harry Potter fan site. Then stand well back.
  • Oh, the HP fandom. You can cause a flamewar about Shipping, saying that Word of God isn't Canon, the Epilogue...
  • Before the Gainax Ending was unveiled, many a Flame War was caused on the Paradigm of Uncertainty mailing list by a hapless newbie stumbling in and asking when the next chapter was due. Back in the Golden Age of Harry Potter Fanfic the fic itself generated as many Flame Wars as you'd expect from an epic Mind Screw with Alternate Character Interpretations and a controversial ship, but nothing on the scale of The Draco Trilogy.