What Does Character Bashing Mean?
Fandom CultureWriting a character with deliberate hostility — exaggerating their flaws, stripping their virtues, and making the narrative punish them. Usually targets a rival love interest or a disliked canon figure, and considerate authors tag it.
Character Bashing in Practice
Bashing is fic as grudge: the author dislikes a character, and the story exists partly to humiliate them. It became prominent enough in big 2000s fandoms — certain love interests and authority figures were reliable targets — that 'bashing' warnings entered standard tagging vocabulary, often phrased as '[Character] bashing' so fans of that character can steer clear. The line between dark characterization and bashing is intent and craft: an honestly explored villainous take is not bashing, while a beloved character flattened into a cartoonish obstacle for the ship usually is. Bashing has fallen somewhat out of fashion, with tagging-conscious fandom preferring the gentler route of simply writing characters out of the story.
Example usage
"The tags warned about bashing her, so I skipped it — I like reading villain takes, not hit pieces."
Related Terms
OOC (Out of Character)
Describes behavior that doesn't match how a character acts in canon. As a critique it means the characterization rings false; as an author's tag it's a preemptive admission.
Definition →
Darkfic / dark!Character
Fic that deliberately explores disturbing territory — cruelty, tragedy, moral corruption — without softening it. The dark! prefix (as in dark!Harry) marks a character written as a sinister version of themselves.
Definition →
Anti
A fan defined by opposition — to a ship, a character, or a category of fan content. In current usage, anti most often means someone who campaigns against ships or fics they consider morally wrong.
Definition →
NOTP
A pairing a fan actively dislikes — the anti-OTP. Where an OTP is the ship of your heart, a NOTP is the one you scroll past, filter out, or rant about to trusted friends.
Definition →
More Fandom Culture Terms
Read fanfiction on the go
Fanfict Reader is the best way to browse, search, and read AO3 fanfiction on your iPhone. Download for free and start reading your favorite stories today.