A few Thanksgivings ago, Deniz was complaining about bad fanfic

And I asked her if there was an epidemic of "violet orbs" instead of eyes. Her own eyes got a bit wide - "HOW DID YOU KNOW?" She was surprised and amused to find out that this had been the case back when I was her age, and undoubtedly before.

The other day, Ana was complaining about bad fanfic, so I related this anecdote to her. Ana averred she'd never seen that. "Oh! Maybe your fandom is smarter than that!" (I didn't think it was, but stranger things have happened.)

Today, she encountered her first orbs in fic. They weren't violet. Perhaps they were turquoise or some other odd color. I'll have to ask later.