Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-27997069-20160317174518/@comment-28064260-20160407030135

GetYourFix wrote: We name Chara, so I often refer to them as. Really? Don't know what you're trying to question here. GetYourFix wrote: I was using this mindset to point out that forcibly controlling another being is very like. You know, did the same with Asriel. ...which is irrelevant to what I said. You also assumed I believe we're Frisk, and I didn't say or imply that. GetYourFix wrote: I thought you meant metaphysical or ghostly. And then, perhaps, outside of the timeline. I understand perfectly what meta means in the literal sense - doesn't fit that definition at all. So... On you for being vague. Nobody uses "meta" as a shorthand for "metaphysical" (yes, I've had philosophical discussions with people from philosophy major). So again, you assumed incorrectly. GetYourFix wrote: If you meant "Meta" as in the slang, then I'm curious why you didn't mention Flowey or sans. They talk to us directly through our flavor screens. Do they need to be explained, too? Flowey and Sans talk to Frisk and Chara, not to players. Let's remember that game mechanics such as save, load and reset are recognized as in-universe powers that control timeline. If they talk to players then these game mechanics wouldn't be treated as in-universe powers. Even if we assume they talk to players, they still wouldn't be meta-characters because they're not defined by their metaness. Flowey and Sans are characters before their metaness. Another way to put it is that they do meta things but they don't play meta-roles. On the other hand, Chara by the end of genocide is given the role of reflecting munchkins, which is a meta-role. GetYourFix wrote: Perhaps using words that have definitions that can be understood in a non-abstract way would have kept me from wasting your time. A few come to mind: meta-reference, metafiction, metacinematic...

Meta on its own is a prefix. I'm unfamiliar with most American slang.

I guess I'm not answering your question because you're using the wrong vernacular or not being precise enough. Not sure which. Just because I didn't spell it out for you doesn't mean it has no definition. I did use the word "metafiction" in one of my previous comments. Meta has its own definition. Being a prefix doesn't change that.

I am using the right word, I just assumed you'd get the context of "meta" with Chara, and I'm evidently wrong. So let me get this straight for you once and for all: since we're discussing a fictional character, the context for "meta" is "metafiction" unless otherwise noted.