Fanon

**Fanon** is most commonly taken to be the assumptions and explanations that fans make up to 'fill in the gaps' of the original fiction, or, in some fandoms, a misinterpretation of canon. It deliberately attempts to avoid contradicting the canon itself.

Fanon becomes especially potent when put into writing, either in essays or fanfiction, as it is then likely to be referenced thereafter by other fans. If fanon becomes especially prevelant, it can be mistaken for or misremembered as *being* canon by newer fans - after all, everyone 'knows' it. (In some fandoms, fanon ends up *becoming* canon due to fans turned pro or mistakes made when new writers do research.)

## *Daria* Fanon

In *Daria* fandom, fanon is anything said or implied about *Daria* that is not strictly canon, but does not contradict canon and is therefore widely accepted by most fans.

The source of such material often has a semi-official tone to it. Before 2011, when Highland was canonically placed in Texas, most fans still located Highland in that state based on comments in an interview with the creator of *Beavis and Butt-head,* Mike Judge; they also assumed that Lawndale was located in a state like Maryland or Pennsylvania (usually Maryland), based on an interview with *Daria* creator Glenn Eichler.

At other times, the fanon is an extrapolation from what's presented. Tiffany Blum-Deckler is an Asian girl with both an Anglicised first name and a double-barrelled Jewish surname, leading to the fanon that she's the adopted child of a Jewish family. Mr. DeMartino, due to his military school background, age, and early comments on the Vietnam War, is sometimes assumed to have fought in Vietnam.

Fanfiction has often given the characters middle names, and characters like Sandi and Stacy got full names, that have been copied enough in other people's fanfictions to become fanon. Background characters have also been given names, such as Tori Jericho for "Popular Girl" or Scarlett for an unnamed goth; even stories that have completely different characterisations or roles for these 'backgrounders' will use the names "Tori" and "Scarlett", making them instantly recognisable to regular fans. A writer may feel free to write about them as they would about *canon* characters, without needing to explain many details. (See also shared characters.)

## Jossing

An important aspect of fanon is when those commonly held assumptions about a show are contradicted by later official material, especially if aired on TV. This is called Jossing, after Joss Whedon, the creator of *Buffy the Vampire Slayer*. (See the link for a full explanation.) Early *Daria* fanfics were sometimes Jossed, and the entire *genre* of Trent/Daria romances was Jossed when the show explicitly ended Daria's crush on Trent and had them both admit it wouldn't have worked between them.

Since the show has long since ended, fans (sadly) don't have to worry about this on a regular basis.

A major "jossing" occured when Glenn Eichler gave an interview to Kara Wild in 2005-06. Mr. Eichler stated the ages of the Barksdale sisters (Helen had sometimes been assumed to be the youngest), said "Mad Dog" Morgendorffer was a *drafted* WW2 soldier (he'd been assumed to be a career soldier and often placed in the Korean War), and mentioning other previously unheard-of facts that hadn't made it into the show proper.

The 2017 feature "Catching Up With The Daria Gang" gave us post-canon looks at the cast but has been collectively decided as 'not quite canon' as it was not an official MTV production. Thus, post-fanfics don't worry about how they've been Jossed by it.

The longer the original series remains off the air, the more authority is given by fans to other fan creations, and the stronger fanon becomes in the minds of all. If "Catching Up" had come out in 20*07*, it may have been more disruptive.