#it's also about internet discourse

[not-spiders]

there should be a word for "i think 99% of your takes are complete and utter dogshit and if i had to be in a room with you for an extended period of time i would develop a migraine at twice the normal speed, but there's one take of yours that rocked me so hard with its profundity and value the first time i encountered it that it still deeply affects some part of the way i conduct myself and hold my own belief system" because that's how i feel about a lot of people (particularly internet users with sizeable followings/audience bases)

[thund3randrain]

“It’s fine to ship Yelena with people bc aroace people can also have sex and be in relationships-”

I am putting you in a meat grinder and making you into spaghetti bolognese, which I will share happily with my aroace moots who are also tired of this shit

[fandomitar]

This is me vaguing about a tweet but I got angry so… thoughts about shipping underneath, don’t care don’t read etc

First of I hate that when fanfiction is talked about it is so often about shipping and smut. Why are we reducing a whole type of fanwork into one type?? Annoys me to hell. But what I hate even more is the moralising. Shipping (real, fictional or fictionalized people) is amoral. At it’s core it’s playing dolls in your mind. Sometimes you create representations of those dolls, by writing, by drawing, by talking. It’s thinking and the thought police is not real.

Or should we not think about things some people don’t like? Thats fucking crazy. In the real world we can’t control the thoughts of other people. It is normal to find things and people interesting, hot, cute and whatever. Sometimes people can even have fantasies about each other or people they see! Sometimes those fantasies are romantic or sexual! Sometimes they tell others about those thoughts! You don’t walk around with a sign saying ”don’t have thoughts about me or people I know about! Attraction forbidden!” You can’t do that on the internet either. Kill the cop and the priest in your head. It will make you happier.

Sending shippy of nsfw stuff to people (be it about them or not!) on the other hand is closer to sexual harrassment. That is a whole other thing! Also I hate that we seem to have forgotted the term ”truthing”. There is a big difference about fiction about people/characters and truly believing those things about them. Don’t say shipping when you mean truthing. Shippers know about real/canon relationships, they are not stupid.

People who do shipping or those kinds of fanworks in this fandom are very good at tagging the stuff appropriately and keeping it to certain sites. If you are continuously seeing something you don’t want to, it is on you. The internet is filled with stuff some people don’t want to see and your experience is in your hands. Block the tags and people on social media, leave the discords and learn to use the exclude option while searching tags on ao3!! This applies to both fans and ccs.

I’ve been seeing a lot of moralising in terms of fanfic in many fandoms recently. In my opinion it tells of a larger trend of purity politics. We have to defend rpf and smutfic, because it’s just the first step. It will continue to how all porn is bad, trans people are inherelty sexual, seeing gay people is not pg, women should cover up their bodies, we can’t teach sex ed, sex should’t be had or even talked about outside of marriage etc. Whether or not you like to read about forcefemmed fe*n noncon taking it up the ass from dark!cou*i is irrelevant. (I personally don’t like to read that!) You don’t have to read or see the stuff, you can even find it annoying! But we have to protect people we find annoying from people we know are dangerous. Join the war on rpf on the side of rpf🤝

[mumblesplash]

i'm not built for online friendships if i'm being totally honest like i *can* do it but the fastest way to my heart is and has always been roadtrips involving at least some risk of grievous bodily harm

[essektheylyss]

I do think some of the handwringing I've seen about "hate" is funny because from what I can tell, even on twitter people are being surprisingly civil. The cast hasn't even had to make a big announcement clarifying a situation because everyone misinterpreted something and worked themselves into a furor. It took less than 12 hours after the c2 finale before Matt and Liam were like, "Uh, what do you mean, we literally said on stream Caleb and Essek get together." But there's also been a significant shift online since then to the point where anything short of "the precious baby blorbos were treated so niceys :3" is considered vicious hate, for some reason*, so I can't say I'm really surprised.

[eydilily]

and the rarepair has suffered dilution by people picking their own new names for it instead of using the already established ship name, making it 10x harder to find stuff for them

slabtek is so ugly and everyone was already using tangtho for everything

you make a valid point, however i literally could not care any less

[redr0sewrites]

dude one of my fav fandoms i dont talk ab v much is ihnmaims (both the game and the short story) but the fandom itself is so toxic that i just avoid it </3 like its very evenly split into two groups of people who r both equally different in their own ways but some people r just so mean bro like that fandom is So. full of these like anti selfshippers and/or people who will send u literal death threats over mischaracterization and i wish i could be more active in the fandom but alas. its so scary

[shizekarnstein]

I finally decided to watch (torture myself) a chinese drama after taking a rest from the genre for a couple weeks (aka after finishing war of faith) and my lucky pick was till the end of the moon based only on 1) a post i read a long time ago about how interesting ep 1 was for a xianxia 2) 40 ep sounded like a good number (i was a fool) and 3) it really has a pretty op. And here i am. I went completely blind and im really glad i did? After finishing it yesterday (and crying my eyes out just as many times as the characters spitted litters of blood) i did my regular well lets see what other ppl thought of it in the trusthworthy internet and afsghjsjs its actually incredible how bad some ppl are at consumming media and making tantrums bc things dont happen exactly as they wanted them to. The ed was enjoyable, i expected far worse, and it even alludes with zero subtely to the original novels ending (that i just learned about) but somehow ppl still act as if it was an absolute garbage can when even i, a total blind watcher, could tell it leaned strongly to the happy ending a lot of ppl were crying about being robbed of???????? And convincing ppl to never watch it bc of their own biased pre conceptions about it??????? Pls. How utterly annoying. Till the end of the moon is a fantastic emotional rollecoster that production troubles aside manages to have you totally invested for 40 ep with an ending that in no way "ruins the whole show" just bc it didnt follow the exact step by step detailed recreation some ppl apparently needed? Pls first watch the ending of the rebel and then start talking about a truly bad executed "bad ending".

[winepresswrath]

Darla/Angelus is also great because the show has a competing designated OTP and they exist to serve as contrast and hateful competition to THE ship. they are soulless monsters even by the standards of soulless monsters, they literally make the other soulless monsters go "yikes... your relationship seems not good maybe." but they love each other so fucking much. the writers can't help it. they are constantly trying to find their way back to each other. the way she hits him over a head with a shovel and leaves him to an angry mob while he tries to say he doesn't mind dying if it's with her AND the way they coo about it to each other afterwards. the way she takes him back against her better judgement because she missed him so so much but then kicks him out again later because he still can't be who she needs him to be. that's just how they say i love you.

[purple-nightfall-writes]

what if we all went on reddit and talked about how we're so excited for whatever the hermits/lifers make and we trust their ability to make something super fun no matter what and also it's really fun to watch them hang out with their friends. and what if we were all really nice to them and stuff.

[asgardian--angels]

things I wish I could relive for the first time again:

that magical window where you finish a new piece of media, having watched/read it all by yourself with no fandom contact whatsoever, and you are just so happy about it, and full of interesting theories and takeaways, and just in love with it as a gorgeous piece of art.

because I swear to god as soon as you join the fandom for anything, you're bombarded with how you're supposed to view characters and their arcs, how you're supposed to morally and ethically judge the plot and the ways it apparently failed to present the right message, and if you don't you'll either be shunned for not sharing the popular headcanons or you'll be harassed for not criticizing the source material enough.

like how is it that the fans of a piece of media are also the ones being the most negative about it? If I like a show or a movie or a book, well, I liked it. That's kind of the point. I'm actually not here to tear it apart and talk about how it didn't live up to standards other people had! I enjoyed it for what it was, and forcing myself to find negative things to say about it doesn't actually bring me more enjoyment of it or reap any benefit to me. Fandom's a double-edged sword; you want to join a community to share your love for a piece of art, and the price you pay for a modicum of joy is a mountain of negativity. that's one main reason that I never engage with fandom until I'm completely done with a show, because if I was plugged into all of that commentary and discourse during the process, I'd be completely colored by how I'm expected to interpret everything this piece of art is presenting to me without being able to even form my own opinions.

[ingravinoveritas]

Michael wanting to play the Master opposite David as the Doctor has me convinced that Michael has been mainlining smutty Doctor/Master fanfic and fanart and between that and his full-time job reading and writing Ineffable Husbands smut I really do wonder when he finds the time to breathe...

[redrocketpanda]

From the person who brought you unhinged JJK S2 fish discourse, please accept my humble new offering: me holding up images whilst screaming ferally at you: did ya see?! did ya see what they did with the colour symbolism in episode 4 and what it Means?! Well dw cause I'm here to serve you a heinously long meta-analysis regardless. This episode has completely undone me and I need to give you a blow by blow account of why

I want to go in depth about the final scene of e4 bc that's really what set the cogs whirring in my mind, but let's start with the following image bc it exemplifies everything, not just in terms of the colour symbolism but of the heartbreaking changing relationship of stsg

Throughout the previous episodes and opening/credits of S2 we have been made to associate the colour blue + lightness with Gojo and the colour red + darkness with Geto. The sparkling blue eyes and stark white hair of Gojo, his Limitless: Blue technique, the white fish, the way he is often shown standing/walking in the light, turned to face Geto versus the black hair + dark eyes of Geto, the black fish, shown standing/walking in the shadows, turned away from Gojo (etc etc)

Yet the final scene of e4 flips this on its head and what this Means is, quite frankly, soul destroying

We join Geto as he walks along a dark, narrow corridor flooded with red light until he reaches heavy doors. He's confronted with his own image, reflecting back at him, before using both hands to prise open the door. When he steps into the bright white light of a high-ceilinged room, his face falls as Gojo emerges like a messianic figure from the applauding crowd, carrying the shrouded corpse of Riko (side note: god I have a lot of thoughts on Gojo as a messianic figure but I'll save that for another time)

Gojo approaches Geto with his head bowed (whereas usually he is always looking up at Geto) and the moment Geto lays eyes on Gojo he knows something is wrong (similarly to Toji earlier in the episode). He barely seems to recognise Gojo and though Gojo's eyes still sparkle with their bright blue infinity, his expression is dull and lifeless. Geto asks disbelievingly in a way that stabs me right through the heart: "Satoru. Is that you?"

At the start of the conversation, the camera pans from Gojo on the left to Geto on the right and is shot from below in a way that emphasises the growing cavernous expanse between them

But it's what happens in the following moments that's really the killer

Gojo states that he fucked up and that everything that has happened is therefore his fault. Geto tells Gojo "let's head back" (I read this both as: let's head back home and as an indication that Geto wants things to go back to how they were). The camera then cuts to Gojo's mouth as he asks flatly - "Suguru, should we kill these guys?" - and then zooms out as he continues - "The way I feel right now, I doubt I'd feel anything about it." The camera zooms out, showing Gojo standing in front of the applauding crowd, holding Riko's body and continues to draw back, making Gojo seem as if he's getting further and further away from Geto, as well as from us, whilst his eyes glow ethereally

I want to do a separate post about what happens with Geto, Gojo + their relationship in episode 5 but I do also want to point out here: this is the scene that Geto experiences invasive flashbacks of in the following ep. It's the moment that he realizes that he's lost Gojo, that Gojo is now fundamentally different in a way that Geto doesn't recognise or understand, that Gojo is far beyond his reach

As Gojo walks past a motionless Geto, away from the light and into the darkness, we cut to Geto's downcast eyes, pupils dilating wildly as though he's in shock/about to cry (this harkens back to the fish, the way that Geto can no longer bear to look at the white fish as it swims past). We are then left with Geto standing in the bright blue-white light telling Gojo that there's "no point" in killing them, whilst Gojo replies in the darkened, red corridor "does there really need to be any point to it?"

Gojo is a broken man, a complete shell of who he once was and this scene demonstrates Gojo's transition as he turns away from Geto. The colour symbolism, though, is present throughout the earlier parts of the episode and beautifully illustrates how we arrive at this exact moment (as well lays the foundations for what comes next)

Let's return to our blue/red colour theory bc there's a lot going on here during this episode!

E4 starts on a banger: we're cruelly given a recap of Toji telling Geto that he killed Gojo and then within the space of about 7 minutes, Geto too has been killed. It's tragic and sad and none of us want to be reminded of it but I'm going to (srysrysry) because hey, check out what's going on. Notice the cool blue tint of Geto's "death" versus the vivid red of Gojo's? (a horrible eg I know but you should've heard my scream when I caught onto it)

And here's another cool example that had me ajdjsksjdk bc ofc I clocked Gojo using his red technique, but look at the blue glow around Geto's hand?! I don't recall seeing it being used for Geto before (correct me if I'm wrong) so it's interesting to see it being used here, plus us seeing Gojo using Red properly for the first time

Let's just pause here for a moment bc this is a hugely important moment for Gojo's character arc and the fight with Toji gives us an incredible colour theory moment

In the previous episodes, we've seen Gojo being able to easily use his Limitless Blue technique but remember how, in E2 Gojo tried to use Red and hilariously fucks it up announcing "I failed" and resorts to punching the bad guy instead? It isn't until this episode, after Gojo has used reverse cursed technique whilst on the verge of death to heal himself (idk if heal is the right word) that he is able to learn to use Cursed Technique Reversal: Red

We have this really beautiful animation sequence during Gojo's fight with Toji. A blue and a red droplet swirl around each other and then splash together to reveal a swirling rotation of blue and red rippling water. The colours converge, red droplet slipping into blue water, blue droplet into red. The droplets come together to form the shining purple infinity plucked between Gojo's fingers, granting him the "Hollow Purple" technique that allows him to blow a hole through Toji.

Gojo explains:

"Reverse cursed technique uses negative energy. While it can enhance the body, it can't regenerate it. Multiply that negative energy against itself to create positive energy... Take the amplified and the reversal, then smash together those two different expressions of infinity to create and push out imaginary mass."

Gojo + Geto, amplified + reversal = two different expressions of infinity -> create / push out

Toji "killing" Gojo was the moment that set Gojo on a different path, which allowed him to evolve beyond belief and causes him to ascend to, what he believes is, divinity. He takes the basics of Blue and Red (primary colours; Gojo and Geto) and mixes them together to create something new, something transcendent, something that surpasses who he (and Geto) were before. He becomes an unstoppable power that far surpasses everyone else, and this is what Geto recognizes: that Gojo has evolved without him (which we know from E5 has huge consequences for Geto's thinking)

And so now, finally, let us return to Geto at the end of E4

After Gojo asks Geto "does there really need to be any point to it?" (killing), the camera flashes quickly between the applauding audience and Geto's empty hand, which he then clenches into a tight fist. He raises his downcast eyes to look forwards (resolutely, looking into the future) and responds: "it's very important there is..."

We're left with the image of Gojo standing on a blue floor, surrounded by the clapping crowd. The floor wavers as an all consuming darkness pulses beneath him, locating Geto as it's central point as it surges out towards the crowd "...especially for a jujutsu sorcerer."

We're reminded of the conversation where Geto and Gojo almost come to blows whilst playing basketball in E1. Geto's argument that jujutsu sorcerers exist to protect non-jujutsu sorcerers whilst Gojo complains about having to protect "the weak" + patronisingly tells Geto to get off of his moral high horse.

Now we witness the extent of Gojo's apathy in action, as he pulls away from everything and everyone, and the swinging of Geto's moral compass from protection to genocide as he's left behind in the ruins of all that once was, of everything and everyone that he loved

[steevejr]

trans women are really not allowed to have anything on here. as soon as a trans woman says anything suddenly it’s ‘not an oppression competition’ and ‘we are ALL one gender; the LGBTQIA gender’. but god forbid someone says anything minimizing about trans men and suddenly AFABS are the most oppressed gender 😔

[lordfarragut]

dw mcr fans i already got this:

1. the rest of the album info leaks

2. some if not all of the songs are leaked

3. band says it’s real but they aren’t gonna do anything with it, or just quietly have it taken down

4. no mcr5

( 5. honestly as a longtime fan i could see an mcr5 in 2028 or something crazy just for how silly it would be )

[ct-hardcase]

sometimes I'll think about how there's beautiful aspects of the bi community in how many genders we can both encompass and love and the complications/nuances that come with that but the problem is that I almost exclusively see this talked about through the most annoying discourse and people reading this orientation in the worst faith