#THAT'S WHAT FANDOM IS! CRITICAL THOUGHT AND FUN NONSENSE!

[praetorqueenreyna]

well i AM asking for the essay on modern ACOTAR fandom please🙏😩

YOU ARE ALL ENABLERS!!! FINE I SHALL WRITE MY ESSAY!!!!! I'm putting it under a read more because I'm embarrassed of how long it is.

ACOTAR fandom is strange in a fascinating and NOT FUN way. Fandom has gotten SO restrictive recently, it's suffocating. And idk what it is about ACOTAR, but its fans are among the WORST. Whatever discourse you've seen in other fandoms, multiply it by 10 to get the experience of being in mainstream ACOTAR fandom. It is an unchallenged belief in this fandom that writing, drawing, or consuming any kind of content that isn't 100% healthy in the real world means that you - YOU!!!!! - are a danger to real life human beings. Criticizing a character's choices and the author's writing decisions is warped into you being an abuse apologist and also you probably yell at abuse victims in real life. A drawing of Tamlin and Elain sitting in a garden is now a disgusting acceptance of real life abusers and you're traumatizing every abuse survivor.

I can think of countless examples off the top of my head of real life human beings being harassed and bullied and called all kinds of nasty names for the fictional content they create about fictional characters. Like, I cannot stress enough the irony of these puritans spouting off in woke-enese about how "dangerous" certain fans are being incredibly verbally and emotionally abusive to people in this fandom. A fanartist on Instagram was painting portraits of each of the ACOTAR characters, and as a fun framing device, each painting was meant to be a painting that Feyre would make, and the captions talked about how the artist thought Feyre would paint this character. A charming and delightful series taking advantage of the fact that the main character is a painter, right? WRONG!!! This artist did a painting of Tamlin, and she was raked across the coals for DARING to even IMPLY that Feyre ever even THOUGHT about Tamlin or could even CONSIDER forgiving him enough to paint him. She was accused of "forcing an abuse survivor to think about her abuser." Like, do you see how absurd that is?? Feyre isn't real!! Nobody forced anybody to do anything! That's the kind of batshit insane nonsense we're dealing with.

Not to mention any depicition or joking about the series' villains is seen as you endorsing REAL LIFE VILLAINY!! me and my friends are constantly under fire for DARING to enjoy villainous characters or dark content. I feel like I shouldn't even have to say it, but the content that you create and consume doesn't say anything about you as a person. People who are very well adjusted, kind, and happy will engage with dark content for a variety of reasons. Some use it as a coping/healing mechanism, some just find dark content fascinating and worthy of exploration, and some people have dark fantasies. This fandom behaves as if the things you make and consume are examples of what you consider "healthy" and things that you want to do to real life people. It's INCONCEIVABLE to them that you could enjoy something in fiction and not endorse it in real life. INCONCEIVABLE!!

Aside from the irony of people claiming to battle against toxicity screaming violent insults at real life people over fictional characters, this is very very funny. Those of us that have been in the rarepair trenches in other fandoms can't help but laugh at these grown ass women losing their minds because somebody drew a blonde man. The culmination of this has been the runners of Elain Week refusing to even SEE characters they don't like. The visage of Tamlin will shatter their fragile minds and send them to their early graves. And this isn't even TOUCHING how their standard for which characters are Acceptable and which ones aren't is almost solely decided by what the author has explicitly stated and not based on any critical thinking or analysis.

The sheer and utter absurdity of this fandom in particular being SO hung up on canon should be studied. SJM is such a poor writer that she contradicts canon within the same book. I am firmly convinced that nobody actually reads her novels all the way through before they are published. This canon is bad. Which is why it's so baffling that this fandom in particular is so obsessed with canon and what the author has stated both within the books and in interviews. SJM says this character is bad, and so they are BAD!!! This character is good, and so they are GOOD. Oftentimes if you see people try to tear down Tamlin, they'll bring up SJM saying that he's abusive in interviews, talking about how she doesn't like him, and bringing up that she put a hotline for abuse survivors in the back of one of the books. SJM has said that he's an abuser, and so therefore he IS, and there is no further investigation.

Again, a kindergarden concept I didn't think I'd have to explain to a bunch of grown adults on the internet, but a creator's intention is not the end all be all of discussion. It's certainly a part of the analysis, but it is also up to the reader to determine if the author has convinced you of the story they're trying to tell. For example, the creator Joss Whedon clearly created Buffy the Vampire Slayer to be a feminist, empowering show for women. However, the viewer can watch the show and point out areas where he failed in this intention and allowed misogyny, racism, and homophobia to seep into his works. Imagine if every time you tried to criticize a "feminist" show made by a man, the fans screamed at you that the creator said it's feminist, and so therefore it is, and that's the end of that.

This is PARTICULARLY galling with SJM's villains. A lot of them are just...not written well, or convincingly, or realistically. BUT a lot of them are sexual predators, and so any discussion about them and their character is cut off at the source. SJM tells you that these people are BAD GUYS and you have to accept it, otherwise you're defending r*pists. It's especially hilarious because a lot of her "good" guys also commit many horrible acts. Part of the hilarity of the Elain Week nonsense is that the man that the creators ship Elain with, Azriel, is a PROFESSIONAL TORTURER. But SJM says he's good and sympathetic, so therefore, he is. And it's an entirely different essay to go into how SJM portrays her female villains, and I got Cancelled for it last time I tried so NO YOU CANT MAKE ME!!!

Lastly, I'll mention the bloated victim complex of people that like popular things. Again, not unique to ACOTAR fandom, but certainly very prevalent. The people who are in the majority NEED to feel like they're the underdog, fighting the good fight. Hence having the people who like one of the MAIN CHARACTERS and one of the Top 5 Most Popular Ships acting like they are Jesus on the cross for shipping Elain and Bland Dude #4. They work themselves into a paranoid frenzy, feeling attacked at every twist and turn. I would bet my LIFE that the people that run Elain Week have never even seen Beron/Elain content, let alone had it submitted to their event. But they got themselves all worked up about the Evil Tamlin Cabal RUINING THE EVENT that they made these rules that are simply ridiculous. And it backfired on them. Me and my friends have been accused of ruining other character weeks for making content for ships that WE like but the moderators don't. They'll see one single Rhysand/Tamlin drawing and act like you've fucking shot them. They genuinely feel like nobody likes Feyre or Rhysand, the most popular characters, and everyone supports Tamlin. It's insane and they need to get offline. I've seen people wearing Night Court merch in real life. Trust me, you won. You are not the victim.

[thattimdrakeguy]

What Happens When You Only USED To Care

I find it extremely hard to take any person in the fandom that does that schtick where they make fun of Tim based on made up or overly exaggerated stuff seriously.

I can't even find it within myself to give them the power of my hate, because it's more like a fly near your ear. You swat em away and bye bye bye.

Maybe it's because I know so much about how DC ended up being, that I can tell when they're bullshitting and saying stuff others put in their ear.

I mean you take a kid's favorite toy, and add modifications and paint jobs that take away the whole point of the toy, the kid's aren't going to want to play with it anymore.

Am I expected to blame the toy itself?

Especially with how the fandom has bastardized these characters that they so clearly love, but they still constantly get cancelled.

And I won't make mention of who, because someone will get sensitive, and plus then say "WELL TIM DID TOO" showing they're completely missing my point and didn't read the whole post.

I'm not sure why the fandom thinks taking complex and fascinating characters that allowed readers to escape their potentially bleak lives to jump into something more joyful (at least in an entertainment kind of way) and turning them into sitcom tropes is a great idea that OH IS SO GREAT, and EVERYONE WILL PREFER.

'Cause when the comics start copying that trend, you're actually scaring most people away.

Sure it's different from the big bad edgy we had to deal with a while, but it's still not getting these things back to were the once were.

You're replacing the bad, with a different flavor of bad. This time coated in a superficial dusting of praise that doesn't help anything get anywhere.

See, the fandom isn't as big as it may seem. It functions as an echo chamber which gives the illusion of their being way more. These comics wouldn't constantly be cancelled if they were as good or as popular as people make them out to be.

So all those posts praising the nonsense are as functional as having that one friend who praises you no matter what while the rest of the world says otherwise. Might feel good at the time, but let's face it, it gets you nowhere.

And that's just how the internet works. A bunch of little weirdos sitting around making their chamber, and thinking what they say to someone else still matters.

But it don't.

It doesn't.

They're all just so confident they mean something, when they mean as much to the greater world as a weed so far out of view, you don't bother trying to pull it.

You can make up what ever you want, and try to be as abrasive and irritating about what you made up as much of you want, go out praising when some desperate writer that settles for brownie points over critical praise and legacy puts it into a comic to find validation also as much as you want.

But the lack of genuine interest from most people still leaves it as a dud.

So many characters people think are popular, when they're tragically not, no matter if they were formerly good, is saddening. Because a lot of these characters at one point were good, and interesting, and genuinely popular beyond the small pond filled with indignity.

At best they have fan bases that once cared but now no longer do. That don't bother paying attention, because why should they after being denied the simple thing they want--good writing and characterization. The whole reason most start reading in the first place.

I might point one finger at one of these dudes, because I can comfortably say I used to love them too.

No one bothers trying to help out, and bring them back up though.

They want the instant glorification from a bunch of nobodies, who don't care about them as a person, and are only a validation machine instead of anything with a beating heart in it that will truly be there for them when times gets rough besides thoughts and prayers alone.

And as many years as I've seen this stuff, it never stops.

If I haven't been in a better place since I've almost entirely left DC behind in the dust, I would consider that depressing.

These people are online doing this so much that it is what they dedicate their lives to.

It is their life.

They made themselves so unlikable though, that a lot can't be bothered to find pity.

If you have to rewrite reality in your brain, what's the point of living there? You're just convincing yourself you're the only one not wrong, with no hint of irony. What a weirdo thing to do.

Clinging on to things with no solid backing.

In the grand scheme of things they are that insignificant unless you're also stuck in the chamber.

Hell, the only reason I made this post as long as it is, is less out of care and passion, and more because I can't help myself from being overly wordy.

If only DC could be fucked to remember what it takes to write good stories instead of ripping fandom people off. Maybe something would click in and once again take off.

And giving the illusion they now care--

As we can see with the frequent cancelations--

That only works when you have the talent and know how, to tell good stories, with great characters once again. A retro paint job and partially putting the character where they should be can only do so much, when limited talent has to take the rest of the wheel.

Otherwise all you're gonna get is a month or two of decent sells...and it's back into the dumpster again. Where the higher ups might eventually decide to blame the toy and not the manufacturers.

Unless you're Batman or Superman or that level of iconic/popular.

Disappointingly and quite obviously, it's not hard to know if not assume most characters don't have that level of icon to have their back in the dark times. Meaning most go back into the void unless the ones upstairs think this time their new failed from the start scheme will win them all back.

The secret of success in comics is simple, now it may not go back to the way it was, but they can still come back a bit, and here's the secret--

Learn how to fucking tell good stories, with good characterization, with artists that are beyond simply having good talent, but actual passion that shows them how everything's supposed to be.

If I order a nerf gun, and comes not looking anything like what it did on the box.

You know damn well the person who bought it is going to be displeased and not order from them again.

You're testing customer loyalty, and the economy not doing as grand, and prices going up--

The amount of time you have to get them back is depleting.

So get your head out of your ass and actually do something.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

https://www.tumblr.com/mokkamicci/708045503336775680/kataang-vs-zutara-a-small-chat

This accidentally came up on my dash so I thought I’d give it a read and you know what? They were so close - so gosh darn close - to making a couple of really good points, but they kept losing it. I was willing to hear them out, but they lost me when they started talking about Aang’s character traits.

Honestly, I think you're being too kind. I see someone who is not okay with harrassment, but that is perfectly happy living in an echo-chamber where the only thing that exists is their alternative version of Avatar in which Katara never liked Aang and he was terrible, and, more importantly, an alternative reality in which the poor zutarians are just "fighting back" against the evil Kataang fans by *checks notes* accusing them of pedophilia, rape apologism, racism, and misogyny for shipping Kataang instead of zutara, and thus using that as justification for doxxing and sending rape/death threats.

(Seriously, the dick sucking and constant "BUT I DO LOVE OUR OBVIOUSLY SUPERIOR SHIP" after the tiniest criticism is the biggest proof of the zutara fandom having some serious issues. Even zutarians are scared of speaking out against their so-called friends because they KNOW these fuckers are unstable and impossible to reason with).

Aang is a child that wants to have fun instead of fighting a war - a responsibility that he never asked for and has no way of rejecting. He feels trapped because he is, and that upsets him. That's his only "immaturity."

The most selfish we've seen him be was when he hid the map to their dad from Katara and Sokka, because he was afraid THEY were going to leave him - because they were the only 'family' he had left, and he was scared of being all alone. He still realized what he did was wrong and confessed. He wasn't caught, he decided, of his own free will, to tell the truth and suffer the consequences.

And I gotta laugh whenever Zutarians pretend AANG was the character that had trouble putting people's needs before his own, not their "perfect", beloved Zuko, who literally let his uncle go to prison just so he could be on Ozai's good graces again - Ozai is literally the ONLY person Zuko always put before himself, and that's why he ended up trapped in that abusive situation for so long: he was constantly distancing himself from people that could help, because they weren't saying what he wanted to hear.

The only thing that's funnier is their insistence that Kataang is one-sided despite plenty of evidence that Katara liked Aang back, meanwhile they insist zutara is canon when neither character was explicitly stated or implied to have feelings for the other.

So much for "Zutara fans criticise the Kataang ship with logic and facts." If that shit is logic and facts, I don't even wanna know what lies and nonsense would look like.

[sasukeless]

you don’t have to answer ofc but what are your thoughts on fandom calling male characters “lesbians” (just in general)

i’m kinda conflicted on it myself tbh and am interested in hearing your thoughts

well as a lesbian i do try not to care too much about these silly fandom trends cus i have a life outside but sometimes ppl make it hard to not be a hater like.

i do think m/f shippers that call the man in the ship lesbian 99% of the time they do it because their ship gets called mid or gets criticism and they think making it suddenly yuri will gain them points or make the ship stop being mid (it doesn’t) < incredible funny when they post a pic of the ship and caption it YURI!! once every blue moon then u check their acc and it’s just full of heteronormative nonsense the rest of the time

and again it’s not that serious but also it is because i don’t mind when it’s just about jokes and fun but it’s obvious when some crowds just use this as an excuse to plainly ignore and avoid seeking ACTUAL yuri

tldr: like many things in fandom it’s all fun when it’s just silly posts but some people should do some introspection

[hauntingofhouses]

i think fandoms can be soooo ridiculous a lot of the time (see: all the nonsensical fan wars, discourse, etc) but i cannot understate how much i actually love fandoms.

like yeah it may be super nerdy and even cringe and outsiders look at it like "why tf do you care about these fictional characters so much?"

but 1) my field is literally..... literary studies..... in which all i do is study fiction and analyse it like an insane person, and 2) even if that WASN'T my field, thinking about the stories we consume is important even for any person to do, because thinking about stories exercises our brain to think critically!! why do you think our ancestors used stories as a medium to share knowledge, to propagate moral values and lessons? stories—telling them, thinking about what they're saying, and caring about the characters within them—are all inherent to the human experience!!!

so that brings me to fandom. because we are literally just making these little communities with each other based on our shared love for a particular story, and for a particular character or theme within them that resonated with us, or whatever. we're all here because we loved a thing so much that we built connections from it!!!

like yeah my irl friends laugh at me when i tell them i write fanfic, cuz ha ha what a nerd what a loser etc, but dude. i made genuine real friendships from fandom alone. from just obsessing over two characters we thought were cute together, we've gone to sending each other gifts and postcards and having voice calls and confiding in each other and sharing parts of us and our personal lives and our cultures (cuz we're all from different countries) with each other! like now i don't even share a fandom with most of my old fandom friends anymore but we still stick by each other and that's amazing???

also like, i cannot emphasise enough how amazing and encouraging it is to share your craft (art/writing/etc) with others in fandom. because for example if i make my own personal art or write my own original work, i'd have no one to share it to, no one interested to see it, and thus no one will be there to provide feedback or encouragement.

but if i post a piece of fan art or fanfic, people actually do see the work i post and care about the craft and the content it's depicting and even share their thoughts on it and that ??? is so motivating and lovely ??? because even though i make art for myself, art is still meant to be shared and seen at the end of the day—even if only with one person. so to be given the means of sharing our art in such a way, to have such a community that fosters so much creativity, it's amazing. i don't really get that anywhere else.

and especially to have this in like, a casual setting, you know, where you can just be yourself and do things according to your own time and energy without the pretenses of professionalism and a perfectly curated resume or portfolio, and all the confines of a rigid work schedule, which would all make the process of creation less fun and less genuine, and instead just more taxing and chore-like.

because fandom is essentially meant to be about doing what's fun for you! it's about sharing your creations and enjoying what others share with you. you make friends and you go ham with it.

and also it's why it's more frustrating when people take things too seriously and legitimately get upset over assumptions of other people's beliefs and hold the most minor grievances that could only be felt if you're like, chronically online.

but on that note, there are definitely still honest-to-god bad people in fandom spaces too (see: racists, TERFS, homophobes, groomers, harassers, etc). but that's the case with all communities, because bad people are always going to exist, and thus statistically speaking, the bigger a group or community is, higher chances are there's gonna be some awful people in there. but honestly that is its own can of worms and also that's not what this post is about, but i felt it necessary to address because i don't want to paint fandom as like, the best thing ever in the world, because fandom spaces are incredibly flawed, as everything is.

but i've always been one to appreciate things despite its flaws. and though this may be very personal to me, when i love things so much, i am still willing to stick around and try to change the culture around it in the ways that i can (like promoting internet safety measures, creating safe spaces for thoughtful and polite discussion, raising awareness on harmful stereotypes and fandom depictions or opinions, etc).

so regardless of the bullshit that online fandom spaces tend to perpetuate, i do very much still love the way that fandom allows me to connect with folks over something as silly as our little blorbos, and from there end up making life-long friends, or at the very least new acquaintances. insert reinforcement of my thesis statement about stories fostering human connection here. the end. send post.

[agentrouka-blog]

(A formal, polite and detailed answer with logical points and a little constructive criticism is most preferred)

I'm sorry but I can't help laughing at this. This person really had the audacity to end their question like this.

Anon, honey whoever you may be I'd say write your own essays but considering you've yet to learn to be a critical reader I'm not surprised you demand people on tumblr do your work for you.

(post referenced)

I agree. I kind of wonder why there are so many "How would you respond to this statement that I, anon, ostensibly disagree with" questions.

There are obviously short little "Look at THIS nonsense!" asks and they are fun because it's clearly just meant to be a bit of shared fandom foolery.

But then there are really detailed posts and arguments being packed into an ask, no source given, with a request for commentary, and I always wonder... don't you have your own opinion, anon? What do YOU think, anon? Why, instead of starting your own dialogue or making your own post, or even just sharing your own thoughts, are you facilitating a dialogue between two strangers who have expressed no desire to be in one?

I'm far more interested in the actual thoughts of an anon themselves than I am in someone else's reddit post or tiktok essay. I don't hang out there, I would if I wanted to but I don't. If you noted those posts, why are you not giving me your thoughts along with the text? We could have a conversation then?

Are you harvesting my thoughts as a script for your own rebuttal? Are you asking me what is correct to think? Is this your essay and you're not brave enough to present these as your thoughts, so you're asking me to comment from a "neutral" perspective? None of those things are good things.

Don't submit other people's essays for me to grade. My husband is a teacher, I am a firsthand witness to how frustrating that is, and that's when you're getting paid to do it. This is my free time. I'm happy to spend some of it thinking and writing about the books. But not to pick apart other people's thoughts at the behest of a third party.

[queriesntheories]

how do you do?

I love to make Stuff: writing things, artsy things, music things, whole buncha things. I also post a lot of nonsense thoughts, and share the cool things I find around the web, especially artsy fun things and stuff that makes internet surfing a little easier.

You’ll see some swearing in the tags, but any jokes on the ruder side I keep tagged; block #not so family friendly if you don't want to see that.

I have a Good Omens sideblog on @bananafishgorillashoelace (with a dash of nutmeg) :D

I'm proudly queer and genderfluid! Not entirely out everywhere, still figuring myself out but generally just trying to do whatever feels fun. All of my trans/queer/questioning siblings out there; I see you, I hear you, and I love you /p (and to folks who are aspec in any form, you're the freakin coolest and I hope something nice happens to you this week! this is entirely unrelated to me, I just hope you have a great day!)

If you need anything tagged just shoot me a message, I’m easy going and don’t mind it. Actually just message me generally I like talking to people :>

More info about this blog and the stuff I do under the cut, but thank you for stopping by regardless of the reason why ^^

And remember folks: Don't like what you see? Blocking is free! (and constructive criticism is recieved gladly!)

I exist on YouTube as AychTooOh, making music shitposts, playlists, and the occasional fan edit! I try to upload when I can; if you have any playlist ideas send them my way :D

I have made a Wug Picrew, so you can make a cute creature from child linguistics (this is one of my favourite things)

Sometime I write fanfiction on AO3, on the rare occasion that a silly pairing or a scenario socks me in the face with inspiration

I exist on Themeplaza too, occasionally making silly fun 3DS system themes/splashes! (and if you have any requests, shoot me a DM and I'll see what I can do!)

I have some old art on Newgrounds; very very inactive over there, but that's where you might see art I post for collabs :P

Aside from my GO sideblog, I'm also working on turning my tag #q’s internet trinkets into a neocities page! Check back soon for updates, and please send me stuff you think might fit ^^

I also have a pretty hefty original project of my own that I've been chipping away at for the better part of two to three years! If the fates align, you might see it this year!! ;D

Here are some cool people I think are very neat that you should follow too

@paperoxalis - very skilled 2D and stop-motion animator, sculptor, artist, and writer too! They recently released an adorable animation you can watch here :)

@scottysee - artist, writer and animator working on so many projects; always amazed by their work! You can join their Discord server here :)

@unknown-is-aaaa - very talented artist with an interest in plenty of fandoms, and a heck of a cool-looking art style! They also have a Twitter you can check out here :)

@galandrielle - long-time writer with a heck of a story to tell! Check out her work here! (I’d recommend starting with Michael and John - A Story of Friendship)

@canceltheact - more like a group, but these guys on the theory team are the best and are such wonderful friends to have! &lt;3

@midnightnautilus - artist/animator/writer/squid, creator of the amazing Markiplier AU “A Bit of Madness”!

@backlitrabbit - ARG enthusiast, aspiring writer and all-round very cool human. Check out their YouTube channel here :D

#putting this in my pocket for later - stuff I save for future things

#things q thinks are cool - posts that make me go “:o” (I have many a subtag for this that usually starts with "and by cool i mean (adjective)")

#Q’s creations - the stuff I make :D (don't question the capital letter, i messed up)

#friends of q - things from my friends :)

#q’s internet trinkets - Fun/useful internet things I find that you can use (mostly free if I can help it, bc fun is essential to the human experience even if you’re tight on cash)

#q rambles - my funny little soapbox

#asks go brrr - asks :D please send me asks they're very fun

#not so family friendly - Not entirely PG-13 stuff I find interesting/funny, but still want to share. Block this tag if you want a clean dash, I won’t judge.

#bag of rainbow things - like the things I find cool tag, but LGBTQ+ community/education/history related. (and also probably personally related to me ahaha ^^;)

#yay recipes! - recipes from places! Some of these may also be in the pocket tag; I’ll work on sorting them eventually

#q’s crow obsession - for all your Corvid needs

#wiggly frequencies - the hills are alive with the sound of muse (yes I’m making a DaThings reference on my pinned post cause her stuff rocks. Anyway this is where the music stuff lives)

#because funni - *slams whiteboard* LAUGH!

(ps if you're wondering where I got these cool little gifs from they're from blinkies.cafe and they rule <3) (I also got this star divider from here!) (last updated 12/05/24)

[angeldeviloshi]

As tense as everyone is for the next chapter of csm in 2 days, personally I'm more anxious about the thoughts I'd get about it because it's gonna lead to me making nonsensical word vomit again, but moreso the feeling of whether or not it's a take or thought that resonates with people because I've been having doubts about my place in the fandom (but also I've only been here for like 8 months or so) and it hasn't been fun to be honest because I'm sensitive and have symptoms that make me overthink and spiral against my will. This is why I make funny posts that end up polluting the tags. 🥴 I know csm as a work is ripe for various interpretations due to its execution but sometimes you can still come across as a pretentious tryhard about it if it doesn't gel with the right people, and I don't necessarily mean people like those "it's not that deep" dudebros because people do get up in arms about how to read and appreciate csm in general and that has led to for lack of better word, dogmas on how to correctly interpet csm and fjmt over open and productive discussions about fjmt's work. (part of that is also due to parasocial behaviour which part 2 ironically also addresses but yknow.)

Idk I just think the fandom can benefit from knowing that you can still uphold critical thinking, media literacy and appreciation for art against "it's not that deep" obnoxious wisecracks without promoting counterproductive mindsets through snobbery and pearl clutching that serve to limit the potential for the fandom to have meaningful conversations about csm that isn't rooted in one hegemonic ideal over the other and end up alienating other fans who enjoy csm for their own reasons too. And maybe I just want to be able to discuss these thoughts beyond the same handful of presumptions that keep getting repeated over and over that the fandom decides is the //final truth// when there's more to be discovered and explored. You'd be surprised at the interesting things you can learn about the blorbo and the story that you haven't thought about before, even after it's ended.

Or maybe I just need to try harder to find my people lol. I usually just talk into the void because I'd rather not impose on people but you still end up feeling like you are anyways to get anyone to see what's in your mind, and sometimes you do and you don't know it. But anyways. For what it's worth, I appreciate the people who've read/liked/rbed my word vomit and silly jokes on here though. It's nice to know that I'm at least able to provide some people with entertainment or closure in light of what fjmt throws at the readers. 🥲

[parateuthis]

20 credit hour semesters are not good for the speed of active progress on personal projects, but I've got that One Meta Thing I Have Yet to Name rotating in my mind for a bit, and I have Thoughts.

Anyways. It's weirdly hard to accurately get across what I mean when I talk about this thing, but I think the difference between canon and fanon Benrey HLVRAI really encapsulates it by virtue of being such a stark contrast. I'd be hard pressed to find a better example of how fandoms change characters to slot more cleanly into that common perception. Benrey's in such a unique position; he's an inhuman villain canonically "lusting over" the protagonist the whole time, he has a lot of interactions with other characters, a blank slate for a backstory, a lot of very memorable and dramatic moments. It would be difficult to deliberately create a character better fit to becoming the fandom's favorite. Also, by design he is completely fucking nonsensical and absurd. He is tied so, so tightly to Scorpy's sense of humor. iirc Holly talked during an interview for a podcast about how Benrey makes a more terrifying (and hilarious) villain because of that complete sense of like... you absolutely cannot understand him, you absolutely cannot reason with him, he is talking about how "SONY CEO JACK TRETTON HIRED... a Nintendo CEO Reggie and they built a big... BOMB" and he is going to kill you.

Everybody rewrites Benrey. I'd argue that you kind of HAVE TO, if you want to write anything remotely serious with a character like that. It's very commonly noticeable with the other characters too; HLVRAI has a story, but moment-to-moment, commitment to the bit and "what would be the funniest thing to say or do here" takes priority over developing a character that works in more serious contexts. (Side note and clarification, this isn't a criticism of HLVRAI, it's a lot of fun, it's just another way that the source material and fandom find themselves at serious odds, and if I had the time and energy I would be writing out another long post about the tone side of how fandom changes things.) Some characters hew more closely to canon characterization in fanfiction- Gordon as the straight man translates easily, and Dr. Coomer plays ball with tone shifts very well- and the author's own balance of interest in the source material vs the fandom plays a big role as well. But I have never, ever seen a Benrey I could mistake for the canonical Benrey. (Not that the canonical Benrey could really WORK in a text medium, imo. Live improv in GMod is his natural environment and specialized niche.)

Which brings me back to my own project, where the characters are the fanon versions of a nonexistent children's cartoon being eventually exposed to the nature of their reality. Fanon interpretations are obviously something I'm thinking a lot about as I'm developing characters, both in terms of general inspiration and as research for making them really click as something you would see scrolling through your dashboard. But as wonderful of an example Benrey is, that very same extreme absurdism makes him difficult as a model for the changes people make to make unique characters fit a mold, because that would imply a world where something like THIS

could be the main villain's speech from a children's cartoon.

actually that fucking rules

[chemnections]

It really bothers me that so few people on this site seem to genuinely like Frank. I'm glad I found this blog.

There are so many people who only post about him when he mentions MCR, or only post about Frank when there is some nonsense drama fabricated around him and those people want to get in on the memes.

It's almost as though people can't be genuine or sincere about Frank. There's always a level of sarcasm or criticism or slight hostility when they talk about him. They can write novel length posts about anyone else in MCR with no snark, but can't do the same for Frank. The only exception to this is the Sydney bus accident, and honestly I dread the day some fucking ghoul tries to make a joke post about that incident.

these past few days really have been disheartening on that front.

i did expect there to be some anger and typical capitalism discourse from people who really do not understand what they are talking about. but it is so crazy to see anger from people i actually didn't expect to lash out in that way. seeing users change their frank profile pictures because they were so mad over the reverb sale, or i have even seen someone keep theirs but with a red x over his face. as if frank doesn't see what happens online and like his feelings can't be hurt. all because they objected to him selling old clothes (conveniently forgetting that were part of iconic shows/tours/photographs) for a proper collectors fee? significant figures in music have their 'old clothes' in museums or on display or in private collections - these pieces have the potential to increase in value or have donation value to future music exhibitions.) the turn around from being excited to try and buy something of frank's to straight up condemning him is weird. like you said, like they never really liked him in the first place.

mikey literally just had a signature bass line where the bass costed over $1000 and i never saw anyone comment or complain about it. no one accused mikey of 'going for the cash grab'. and this isn't a dig at mikey, just shows the double standard.

long time frank fans should know that 'being critical of your favs' is not dished out fairly and often leads to certain fans attempting smear campaigns against frank. it's why i tend to be protective of him on this blog, to try and counteract that bs.

there were some particular tweets that really pissed me off and i thought about responding, but i also didn't want more attention on them. it's a thin line.

and then with the context of certain meddling/manipulation that goes on in the fandom space where frank is often targeted with unfounded rumours. . . i'm usually out of the loop on that one but i've been curious with lola's reemergence. on that topic i can think of a certain person with a deleted possum post making fun of a car crash.

frank cares and puts in extraordinary effort into his career, truly giving fans so much, and for his efforts he is unappreciated or has his name dragged through the mud. from his efforts to reunite mcr in the first place, to the amazing ls dunes content recently and giving fans opportunity to purchased reasonably priced collectors items tagged with stories where all fans can learn more. have fans ever heard of thank you? and appreciating what you get instead of demanding for something else? truly biting the hand that feeds. and then there is a controlling aspect to it as well - not accepting who frank is as a person, the art and opportunities he is putting out and bullying him online to get things out of it. i'm glad he won't bend to that pressure and his snarky response tweets were gold.

this is the same behaviour that ran frank off of twitter in the first place. so it's hard not to get upset about it when it is being ruined for the rest of us. but we also can't change other people. it is what it is.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

BMT Blog Guidelines

This blog is still primarily a BTS-focused page, but given the hiatus status and the rise in individual projects, I am in the position on readjusting some of the topics that I will approach, according to their relevance and personal interest.

I will still post about BTS content if it's available (such as Run BTS episodes, Bangtan Bombs, documentaries, etc.) and HYBE's business approach, just as before. As to the members' individual works, I reserve the right to talk about those who actually interest me. I was always open about who those people were and I maintain that position.

A small percentage of my posts could be the subject of other interests that I my have. I also welcome asks about K-Pop in general (as long as I am able to answer them), fanfiction, fashion, film related questions and others.

Asks etiquette and guidelines

1. Antagonistic messages will be deleted/blocked if they are expressed in a rude manner. Disagreements towards a topic or my own position on it are allowed, as long as the anonymous sender has the courtesy to express those thoughts respectfully and is willing to participate in what could possibly lead to a contradictory debate.

2. Bait messages will be blocked. If an ask looks more or less like this ''I heard X did this..../was seen with..../I guess Y are right...../I hope Z are happy...../What do you think?'', do not bother sending it. I will not respond to it. I urge those who believe that I can easily fall into the trap to reconsider, find other blogs and a life.

3. Shipping asks will be deleted/blocked, regardless of ANY ship. I have written on numerous occasions what constitutes actual shipping discourse in my view and I will not engage with it. My position will always be that I write about shipping at a metatextual level. It's a personal choice and also because I do not welcome an abundance of ship talk here as it usually turns into an invitation for others to send more asks.

4. As a follow-up to point 3, asks in which the sender poses as a non-shipper, only to try and ''subtly'' promote a particular ship agenda/discourse/talking points, will be automatically blocked.

5. Asks which contain shipping material in particular those which involve members that I have no interest in, will definitely be deleted and blocked if the sender is trying to act smart with me.

6. Asks which contain baseless rumors from tea/lurker accounts will be deleted/blocked. I am perfectly aware of the modus operandi of those accounts and they bore me. False information is not welcomed here and the BTS tea is mostly cold and not even lukewarm. It may be the hot stuff in this particular fandom, but not to me.

7. Asks about the fandom that do not bring anything new to the table will be deleted/ignored. Army is a community that is well established in its behavior which I have criticized countless times. This rule addresses mostly the usual twitter army nonsense that repeats itself daily.

8. Because this happens quite often, those who send asks complaining about Jimin not working and not doing whatever else the members are doing, will definitely be blocked. I have no time and patience for any of this anymore.

For now, this is it. As I always said, I welcome thought-provoking questions, regardless if they're a hot topic or not. I'm not afraid to express my opinions as sincerely as I can. And I know I have a lot of readers not only interested in these types of discussions, but also willing to participate. And as in the previous year, more fun and lighthearted topics will be approached as well, from a fan position. Otherwise, all work and no play will make this blog dull in the long run.

To those that recently followed this blog while I was on break, welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay. And to those that may have left, adieu!

*This post is open to be modified or for more information to be added. Please check it from time to time. It will also be pinned so everyone can see it at all times.

[spade-riddles]

Submission:Analysis of the scene in the Anti-Hero video

I am shocked at the loudness of the scene about the gaylor and hetlor sides of the fandom. I think it shows Taylor really understands the dynamics of the fandom to a minute degree, and is trying to communicate with hetlors, gaylors, and jerk through it. Here are my thoughts:

Chad is wearing headphones, suggesting he is the only one who is *really* listening to her music.

The queer-coded son Chad is more likable and sympathetic, but also pretty pissed off and annoying too (guilty lol), using her to make podcasts and books that are ultimately about himself

"Growing Up Swift" sounds like he's about to say "Growing Up Gay," a common trope.

Nice that she calls us the Chad though, like as opposed to the virgin in the Chad/virgin memes. Like she's calling gaylors cooler. The character has a kind of outlaw vibe, cynical, doesn't care what people think, hates everybody especially fake obnoxious swifties/Preston and Kimber making fake sad faces. So true for us

Preston and Kimber yelling at Chad for recording the funeral for his podcast, like how hetlors criticize us for prying into her life for evidence even though they're the ones who are actually harming her

The ritzy son Preston using her name to get into the country club is like the twitter-famous swifties who exclude gaylors and clout-chase in the fandom

Kimber calls Chad "you monster" like how Tay calls herself a monster on a hill, aligning herself and Chad in their queer-coded villain-ness

Chad is wearing sunglasses while the other two are taking selfies, reflecting how gaylors are often more anonymous online than hetlors

Kimber says "great well, good job chad, you finally pushed it too far" and he replies "what are you implying by that." This sounds like it could be dialogue in a movie where a character is glass-closet gay, but also sounds exactly like how the hetlors are always accusing gaylors of ruining Taylors career/life, sometimes in a subtly (or overtly) homophobic way, homophobia that they justify with "you're crazy, you're a bad fan." Also resonates with don't blame me "they say she's gone too far this time" about being too loud 

Chad says he flew all the way here from Ibiza, an island known for clubbing and tourism. Chad seems excluded from the rest of the family like gaylors must find remote corners of the fandom to congregate to avoid attack. Tourists come have a fun wild time in Ibiza/Gaylorland, and it can be pretty fun to stay for a while, but Chad seems to possibly live there full time. Full-time gaylors living on our clubbing/tourism island can attest it can get lonely sometimes

Chad being the one to excitedly exclaim "there's probably a secret encoded message that means something else" is very gaylor side of the fandom; the other two agree that mom does that but they're not as excited about it and they don't immediately think of it and turn to it the way we do. They're more used to ignoring the secret encoded messages haha. They are very gullible when she writes "there's no secret encoded message" and just stop looking, like the hetlors do every time she hetsplains some nonsensical narrative about tom Hiddleston or whoever lmao

I think she is also poking fun at Jerk with the portrayal of this family dynamic. He is, in fact, the gay son in a ritzy country club family. He is desperate not to be seen that way, to fit in instead of sticking out like Chad does. Naming Kimber something so close to Kimby is like a threat to Jerk -- it's like saying, I could out you easily in some piece of art, I could write about your family, I could say your name in a lyric, I am not afraid. Chad says Preston name-drops mom to get into his country club, like how Jerk's PR and clout is majorly helped by his association with KK. 

I think it harkens back to TLGAD too, as Kimber wants the beach house so badly, which we can assume is Rebekah Harkness's Rhode Island house from the song. I always thought TLGAD was partially a threat to Jerk, as his family is an American dynasty and Taylor plans to have a marvelous time ruining it. Kimber wants that house, and Taylor doesn't allow them to continue the dynasty in it. It could even be a metaphor for taking the baby, cutting off his lineage. Who knows if she never showed up indeed.

In the end, it is the homophobic country music fans and those who need to identify with a specific (straight) form of womanhood that will turn on Taylor if she comes out, as seen through Kimber killing her and then showing up in the Fearless dress. Mainstream clout-chasey hetlors (Preston) will side with homophobes and point fingers at gaylors (Chad) like they always do. When Chad calls out what's really going on a terrible fight erupts. I think this shows Taylor sees us duking it out over her on the internet and feels bad about how ugly it can get, watching us all get hurt and feeling powerless to stop it even though it's about her

The fact that she's leaving both the gaylors and the hetlors out of the will makes me think she might not give us the explanation we want, even in the end; we may be just as disappointed as the hetlors. Maybe she's preparing us for the idea that when she leaves Toe, she won't immediately get with KK or publicly come out/explain anything. She may just be a single cat lady for a while, and we may just end up with 13 cents :/ Even though we are the more sympathetic gay son, we still may get nothing in the end... at least she warned us.

[itsana004]

Number 4 and 8 for the character Droite! ✨

First of all thank you so much for the ask 🥺💞💞💞

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Ohhh oh my gosh uhh brain rot

I have so many unrelated to Zexal or Yu-Gi-Oh media in general I thought of putting her in. I already made a fic of Danganronpa AU and it's really fun to think about all the Zexal cast being in Danganronpa universe and solve murder cases in trials. Dark Deception AU is one of them where she's stuck with another member of Zexal cast, I don't want to divulge too much around it or this post will turn into a paper scroll.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Omg the spicy questions. I have seen many things over the years that I despise, and sometimes I wondered if those people just hate her character or women in general at this point.

I also rewatched Zexal many times and of course paid much closer attention to her being my fave than most people, but I still don't understand why people popularised so much the idea of Kaito basically hating Droite just for existing… the way she's talked about and treated in some fanfictions is abysmal, abusive and mysoginistic…. things Kaito would never ever dare in canon… Like okay sure characters in fanfics can be OOC all the time, but it almost feels it's the most popular perception to me… and in canon it's Droite dominating him in most situations and those two seem to respect each other since she cheers for him in his duel with Yuma and he intercepts Shark to say she should be the one dueling, it just shows these two at the end of the day respect each other as individuals and as duelists ever since they literally trained together as elite duelists.

Kaito treated so many other characters like sh8t and people were like “it's him acting like a lone soldier”, “it's a facade” etc. but when it came to Droite, where the animators made sure that Kaito doesn't truly feel that way, people believed it? It almost feels like the fandom wants him to hate her, for her feelings to be unrequited, rejected, sh8tted on and insulted, humiliated just to fit some kind of agenda and this just didn't sit right with me. I also think she's overly criticized for her feelings for Kaito when there are many other characters like Kotori, Cathy and Anna crushing over the same guy and being more unnecessary than Droite’s will ever be, I think her feelings fits her due to her backstory, I just don't like how the writers completely dropped it after introducing it for many episodes and instances up to episode 54 and never mentioned again after 55 maybe. Heck even Akari's nonsensical “love story” with Charlie can be sh8tted on or so many problematic ships openly shipped in zexal fandom but people draw the line at the ship of two perfectly normal adults? Give me a break.

I also saw a ton of fics where Droite treated Gauche like sh8t over Kaito, it's just… sigh… I don't know I just I guess I despise the idea of my faves hating eachothers guts for no reason? :’) Most of the time it feels like people projecting onto their faves ngl

As you can notice this post mainly surrounds around her “feelings” and I guess that's also the biggest thing that drawn hatred to this character in the first place, but I like to see her as a character instead and appreciate the good things about her which I never ever see being talked about by the people who have claimed to like her, just as a precious moot said “people think it's progressive to hate on her for traditional feminine traits instead of seeing her as a character” which I think is the perfect explanation to this.

[bestworstcase]

I feel like many bad takes or bad analysis from certain crowds ultimately boil down to people being utterly inattentive and basically wanting to FEEL smart over actually BEING smart.

They like the idea of "show don't tell", but scorn the idea of actually putting in any effort to actually understand what they're being shown, especially if it contradicts what they want to believe.

Media only exists in their eyes to reinforce their own biases instead of challenging what they think, and anything that does so is an affront to their image of themselves.

taps the sign. (<- a tangent but i have very strong opinions regarding “show don’t tell,” to wit that as it is utilized memetically as both advice and criticism it is nonsense.)

i think you are ascribing egotism and small-mindedness to a phenomenon better explained by the simple fact that textual analysis is a difficult skill to learn and one that is, outside of specific disciplines to which it is a core function, very poorly taught. i benefitted a great deal from having an exceptional humanities teacher in high school who made it a priority to teach textual analysis and critical thinking skills above everything else, and it absolutely blew me away to get to college and discover that almost all of my peers—incredibly smart, creative, thoughtful people—wrote analytical essays on par with what i had written in middle school. none of them were stupid or arrogant or lazy [frankly many of them worked a hell of a lot harder on every essay than i did, because they were learning new skills while i practiced things i’d already been doing regularly for four years]; but they hadn’t ever been taught how to parse texts analytically, whereas i had, so there was a huge divide when we entered college which shrank as they built those skills. as with anything some people will find it easier to learn textual analysis than others but nobody is born knowing how to do it and short of studying it in college in some capacity you’re unlikely to be taught more than the bare minimum lies-to-children basics.

there’s also the secondary factor that some people enjoy textual analysis and some really don’t, in the same way that some people enjoy mathematics and others do not; people in the latter category are generally not going to be reading or watching stories they enjoy particularly deeply because that would make the experience an unpleasant chore, and that’s, like, fine? the vast majority of people read and watch things to have fun and certainly in the context of fandom the core motivation is enjoyment. there’s no one right way to enjoy a story. (that said, fandom as a whole does tend to be rather analytically lukewarm because the primary approach to the text is transformative rather than analytical and this, in combination with the tendency for fandom to bring non-analytical and analytical audiences into close contact, can cause some friction. in my experience this friction most often occurs along fault lines between fans whose engagement is driven by emotional connection to or identification with certain characters and fans who engage analytically with character as a narrative tool; i think there is a degree of mutual incomprehensibility between the two camps that tends to spark conflict when the two interact.)

all of this is compounded by—(thwacks the dead horse)—christian hegemony, which is the underlying cultural engine driving things like fandom purity culture and the rigidity of good/bad categorization of characters and implicit expectation that all stories are or should be morality plays, and so forth; this is an issue on both sides of the non-analytical/analytical divide and has less to do with individual arrogance than it does the hegemonic moral framework that underlies US culture generally and online fandom culture by extension because online fandom is extremely americanized. although i do think that this is also, if not THE root cause, then at least a significant factor behind the recent-ish rejection of subtext as ‘real’ (so to speak) and the proliferation of the attitude that a story that fails to overtly and clearly explain itself is poorly written; points at evangelical christianity in particular fostering the mindset that individual questioning and interpretation and extrapolation from scripture is suspect on the grounds that there is a singular right answer that you are told by church leadership, which at minimum does nothing to equip the people who grow up in evangelical churches to handle critical analysis or even more-than-superficial comprehension of any other text.

of course some people are disingenuous and arguing in bad faith—that is the bedrock of hatedom specifically and tends to be driven by a variety of factors of which latent or overt bigotry, bitterness over jossed theories, and strong group identification with the hatedom seem to be the most common—but that’s a really small (if vocal) minority compared to the number of people who either lack analytical skill or don’t enjoy analytical engagement or both but form strong opinions anyway (as people tend to do about things they really like, or really don’t like). i don’t think it’s useful or kind to presume that anyone with a staunchly weird or whacky take is treating a story they like as a vehicle for self-aggrandizement.

[chadwickswidowspeak]

I’m sorry people are attacking you lol anyway some people really know how to ruin things this fandom isn’t even fun anymore it’s just toxic homophobic and hypocritical asf which is sad I thought this was going to be a fun enjoyable place for black lgbt people to write and laugh and have fun but it’s always something you can never have your own opinion lol anyway have a nice day ❤️

Lol I’ve been attacked since I started this blog because I literally always say what I want. I don’t care.

When I believed the anti-vax shit was bullshit I stood on it.

Now, I believe she’s above stupid games about her sexuality and shouldn’t play into it. And because of that, the fans are foaming at the mouth bc I called her a troll and too old (and been through too much) to seemingly rile up a group of people that go with wherever the wind blows.I stand on it.

I’ve been on tumblr since I was 14/15. It’s always been a place for all ages to discuss and enjoy fandom. There is no age limit on that. So it’s not the read they think it is.

She seems to have moved on from the nonsense and I’m glad for it. I was truly just replying to my asks ahaha. The real fans will stay for the talent and her personality.

Tish’s new Fandom problem is they lack discernment and critical thinking. In their mind, she’s perfect. No one is.

But thank you! 🌈✨

[gffa]

i love you for all you do for the jedi discourse

I've been thinking about this lately, the fraught tension of the discourse around the Jedi, how contentious it can sometimes get, how I know I'm not always the most patient I could be, and sometimes I regret that. But other times I don't. Because there are times I feel like I'm screaming into the void about how, every single day, there is some new bad faith response on one of my posts, some new unsettlingly "hyper invested in a stranger on the internet's opinions about made up space wizards" comment in the tags I browse, and that I'm just really exhausted at feeling like it's always up to Jedi fans to be saints, but if we show the slightest bit of snapping at yet another person putting a bad faith take on our posts, oh, we just ~can't handle anyone not babying our faves~. And honestly I don't know where to go from here, because I do enjoy good faith discussion, but I'm also just so worn out of five years of this, never knowing when someone is being reasonable or when they're going to blow up on me, never knowing when a comment is serious or a joke, the lack of structure of discussions, are we talking on a Doylist level or a Watsonian one?, etc. Five years of playing defense against people coming into the space I've created for myself, I don't know how much I can really even contribute to the discourse anymore, because it's just been so many times piled on so many times that this has happened. And the majority of the time they're pretty mild, but after a certain point you're just tired of having the same thing thrown at you, so you play defense and try to cut things off at the pass, try to predict the nonsense comments you're going to get, and that becomes woven into your meta, rather than being able to relax and just talk about what you want in the way you want. I'm not upset about this so much as just kind of navel-gazing and I do kind of loathe some of the behavior of fandom, as well as I wanted to talk about why some of us may seem pretty prickly and I hope that I can project that, yeah, I have my scraped raw nerve points in some places, but that I'm working to let go of it, and if you wonder why I've checked out from a lot of these conversations, that's why. There's little to be gained by it, I've thought about these topics for five years, I've given it all a ton of critical thought, and I'm settled where I'm settled. I'm exhausted, so I'm just going to be over here, in my own corner, trying to turn back to the things I love talking about, because that's the kind of corner of fandom I want. That seems like such a downer answer for a sweet ask, apologies!  I’m just annoyed at fandom today (what else is new) and wanted to go, you know, there’s a reason some of us seem like we’re in a bad mood at times. That said, the kind comments are appreciated and I will endeavor to get back to being more fun about Star Wars and the psychic space wizards even more than I already am.  (To be fair, I shitpost a good amount, too, okay.  XD)