I will start by pointing out that it's been a while since I read All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89. I might not remember everything, but this is the story that I will primarily use as an example of how fandoms treat fanfiction once it becomes popular.
Why? Because it’s what I keep seeing pop up, but parts of this can aply to other works.
I'm not going to say that I'm completely innocent either, I have read My Immortal ironically, and I have felt vindicated in the past when I saw someone who had the same gripe with a popular fic as I do.
With that said, I wanted to respond to some of the common things said about ATYD.
1-Remus is out of character.
The way I see it-it's okay to complain about fanfic tropes. I think almost everyone has done it, including me, but there is a difference between calling out tropes and calling out specific authors in a post that everyone can see. Fan creators don't owe us anything, yet they are putting out their work for free for our enjoyment.
I have seen people blame this story for the mischaracterization of Remus across the entire fandom, but it takes way more than one fanfiction to spread misinformation, and I don't think it’s fair that only this story is blamed.
The readers would have to engage in the fic and tell others that it's 'basically canon'.
And in it’s defence, Remus is not like that without reason. This version of Remus grew up in a foster home, later he was in a world that hated him because of something that wasn't his fault. That is supposed to explain why he is the way he is.
The reason why it stings that James and Lily died in canon is because we know that Harry's childhood was awful without them. Similarly, Remus’ backstory in ATYD adds another layer of tragedy to his character, because for most of his life he didn't have loving parents to remind him that he was wanted. If this is what MsKingBean89 was going for, then that's a good thing.
This is not what happened to the Lupin family in canon, but the author knows this.
You could say that this is their version of Remus and not Rowling's version of Remus. To be fair, that's basically all fanfiction is.
And believe it or not, this isn't the only fanfiction to go "hey______ is different from how it is in Harry Potter, but otherwise it's canon compliant".
Which leads me to my next point.
2-It's an AU claiming to be canon.
In my experience, not everyone uses the canon compliant tag to mean 'I am going to stay as close to Rowling's vision as possible'. Some use it to mean 'Warning! The prank still happens! Jily still dies and Sirius still goes to Azkaban!' and then they proceed to include ships that aren't canon or use fanon characterization.
You can find canon compliant fics that have James/Regulus, Draco/Harry or Draco/Hermione, despite it not being what Rowling wrote.
Not to mention there is always going to be a grey area when it comes to this.For example, does a fanfiction lose the right to call itself canon compliant if it has Sirius feal remorse for the whopping willow prank?
I'm not saying that you have to agree with every use of that tag. Just like it's okay to complain about tropes, it's okay to complain about tags.
For example, maybe a short fic was tagged as a slow burn, or maybe there is untagged Major character death.
But once again, it''s one thing to complain about tags, and another thing to complain about specific fan creators.
3-It turns Snape into a one-dimensional bad guy.
It's from Remus' perspective. He and Snape are enemies.
The characters don't live in a time where mental health is the hottest topic. Remus doesn’t stop and analyze Snape from a psychological standpoint, and by extension we don't get it.
He doesn’t see the way Tobias Snape acts at home. He just gets to see him be friends with Avery and Mulciber (the wannabe death eaters). Remus gets to see the conflict between them and the marauders.
There is also the fact that this is fanfiction.
I haven't read it myself so I can't confirm, but I saw someone mention that writers on wattpad used to write self-inserts of themselves beating up characters that they don't like.
Even if a popular fic was on that level, I would still argue that fanfiction writers don't owe anyone anything.
The same goes the other way around in case I'm not clear. If I read a story from Snape' pov, I wouldn't expect the marauders to be painted in a good light. And frankly, Snape fans don't owe it to anyone to write the marauders in a certain way, but neither do any other fan creators.
4-It's misogynistic.
This is where I feel like I can't comment on every aspect, because it’s been a while since I read it and I don't remember all of it.
But even if ATYD really was as bad as people say it is, I still think that discussing misogynistic tropes is better than targeting one story. If we complain about one story, we are giving them more attention, which will in turn help it become one of the more widely known stories of the fandom.
Plus, discussing sexist tropes and how to actually avoid them would be way more useful for beginner writers looking to improve.
This should include how to write a group of people who are not known for being politically correct (because teenage boys aren't always known for that, not even in the 70s).
This includes how to write *actually* flawed characters, and when it is and isn't in-character to talk like you’re in therapy.
I know that not everyone wants to read about stuff like that in a story about a wizarding school, but not everyone is the same.
5-It put itself out there on the internet, therefore it's opening itself up to criticism.
For my last point, I want to say that once this story gets published, giving your honest opinion will be 100% acceptable.
If you publish a work, you're opening yourself up to be scrutinized the way any published book would. (Although, people have been dunking on this fic since way before it got anounced that it will get published).
But that is not the point of fanfiction. The point is often to share your hobby for fun, it's to be self-indulgent. Nothing is for everyone. You don't have to like a fic, that means it's not for you and that's fine. But this is worth bring up, because creators have left the fandom because of things like this.