#transgression in fandom

[kryptonbabe]

It's baffling to me how some people really believe that someone's taste in fiction is an accurate portrayal of their personalities... "I don't trust people who like X", "I'm suspicious of people who ship Y", like our lives truly revolved around this specific topic, like we are all reduced to a handful of comic books, movies, fanfics, blog posts, headcanons. It's surprising to witness people being judged by what I perceive as such a small aspect of their inner lives. I get we sometimes get so attached to these characters and their fictions that we might think they are defining parts of who we are, but they're really not, we are complex and ever changing, made of experiences as well as our interpretations of the world. Fiction is merely our playground, our laboratory, a safe space to explore concepts, experiences, sensations; a place to express feelings and learn about how others feel, and the human experience is diverse, as such the art and fiction created based on it won't always be pleasant or appeal the same way to everyone. You can enjoy multiple things for multiple reasons and this won't say anything about your actions necessarily, bad people can enjoy wholesome media, good people can enjoy transgressive and what is perceived as toxic and problematic and bad and bizarre media. We are not products to be so easily classified and comprehended, the study of human psychology would be way more simple and brief if we were

[happypeachsludgeflower]

When I first listened to ‘Not Sorry For Loving You’ (the unfinished version on YouTube a few weeks ago), I saw people commenting that Calypso was dumb (and other such rude things) because Odysseus told her he was married and wouldn’t love her. She was told up front and still didn’t understand why he wouldn’t love her.

And yea, he did tell her. It’s not his fault she didn’t believe him. She really should have listened.

But I don’t think she was necessarily dumb, or that it was all her fault either.

From what she says in the song, she was abandoned on that island when she was a young child (I know that’s not exactly accurate to Greek myths, but it’s her backstory here so it’s what I’m going with). And no one can arrive at, or leave her island unless a god intervenes. She’s been alone on that island for a hundred years since she was a kid.

Can you imagine growing up in insolation for a hundred years without a single person to speak to or touch? She probably doesn’t even have solid memories of other people by this point. It makes sense that the first human she’s seen in a century, the first person she’s talked to, the first person that’s broken the cursed solitude that was driving her insane—of course she loved him. Why wouldn’t she?

I for one, cannot blame her for having terrible social skills, no comprehension of boundaries, or a full concept of what no means. I’m frankly surprised she even knows what love is (if she even does at all?? It’s debatable if she loves him romantically or not). Of course she wouldn’t understand when he said no.

Anyway, all I’m saying is, it wasn’t either of their faults.

If you want to blame someone blame Zues for sticking both of them there and being the world’s largest ass.

[anetherealpoetess]

i don't know why my dash insists on shoving insipid anti-haladriel content down my naked throat. if you want to kneel before stories with your head bowed in shame, reverent in the wrong ways, fearful of the male conservative gods, then fine. if you like stories clean and sterile and stripped of blood and lapse and fury then cool. if you enjoy your temples without blood sacrifice then that is your choice. but stop insisting other women need to agree with your stifling opinions. some women are born in the old faith, where narrative is neither pure nor safe, where transgression is sacrament, not sin. you can love the shepherd all you want, but don't go crying when other women prefer the wolf. stay in silence in your stifling little churches, but quit insisting we must kneel beside you. we're not interested.

[mamawasatesttube]

just saw someone who claims to be 30 years old get extremely butthurt at the idea of disliking fanon of any sort because every single canon is always homophobic and racist. . . . .. . .. . ... .. unlike fanon, apparently. wheres the bts literacy crisis gif

[beepborpdoodledorp]

BOY, I SAY, BOY, YOU GOTTA QUIT YOUR MOPIN' OVER ALL THIS NPC HUBBUB, Y'HEAR? WHY, IT MAY BE NORMAL TO FEEL LIKE NOTHIN' BUT AN OL' SACK OF CORN BUT WITH ALL THIS THINKIN' OF WHAT YOU ARE YOU NEVER STOPPED TO THINK WHO YOU ARE, BOY! WHY, BOY, IF THAT LITTLE CLOWN GAL'S BEEN ABLE TO SET UP SHOP AT THAT BIG TOP THAN WHO'S TO SAY YOU COULDN'T TOO, BOY! WHY, YOU COULD BE SOMEONE REAL THERE, BOY! 

[seasononesam]

When people are like “why does Sam never get shit from the fandom for killing Emma? 🤔” it’s like… well he does actually!

[uchudishe]

More abhorrent crossovers. Maybe trying to be an artist was a mistake, BUT THERE IS NO GOING BACK.

(On second thought, this is very tame, considering things that some people in BF fandom draw, do and write...)

Freedom Vi

Cuz with her antics she would be either Freedom, Loner, or Bandit or Renegade

Vi's gun is sponsored by discord Spanish inquisition mantis *winks*

[bad-as-me]

for no reason other than I don't see this point being discussed: if you are of the mind that people should curate their own space, ignore what they're not into and mind their own business (a good practice to have online), that also means it is incredibly unfair and immature to throw shade at people who do make the effort to stay in their lane

"but why are you at the ___ store if you're repulsed by ___" One you are not owed an explanation for why someone is not into something, just as they aren't owed your explanation for why you are into that thing. and Two, just because the thing they like might have text/subtext about a subject they don't like, that doesn't mean they should be forced to center their interest on that specific subject.

of course it's uncool to go after people for exploring anything in fiction, especially if that is a major theme of the work. however most pieces of fiction tend to be about several things. maybe they would rather focus on other themes, maybe it's just the specific way it is treated in a certain context that sets them off. hell maybe they would rather imagine a version of that work where That Subject is not a part of the story at all. but that's as much their right to do in their own free time as it is for you to get into the darker parts of a story.

idk i hope the point i'm getting across here is it goes both ways. you do you, but you're not entitled to other people's space if they don't want to engage with that. that doesn't make them "cowards", they are doing exactly what you told them to do.

[firewizahd]

my friend accidentally used my other friend’s feint on a 0-pip wand cast, and she got so angry that he ended up writing her a formal apology, which I will transcribe below:

Subject: Sincere Apology for My Mistake in Battle

Dear [REDACTED],

I hope this message finds you in good health. I want to extend my heartfelt apologies for the mistake I made during our recent important battle. I deeply regret using a 0 pip spell on your feint, which undoubtedly had a negative impact on our overall strategy.

I understand the significance of well-coordinated moves and the impact they have on the outcome of battles. My action not only compromised our plan but also affected the trust and teamwork we have developed over time. I genuinely apologize for my lapse in judgment and any frustration or disappointment it may have caused.

Please know that I am committed to learning from this experience and ensuring that such a mistake does not happen again in the future. I value our partnership and the camaraderie we share, and I am determined to work harder to uphold our battle standards.

Once again, I am truly sorry for my actions and any adverse consequences they had on our recent battle. I hope we can move forward and continue fighting side by side with renewed determination and unity.

Sincerely,

[REDACTED]

[kryptonbabe]

A personal argument in favor of transgression in fandom spaces

Marquis de Sade (1740-1814), would he write Wincest, Reylo and Zadr fanfiction with obsessive yandere mafia boss tropes if he was alive today?

It's so weird for me to come to fandom at my current age (30) and with my background, I was not a very online teenager, I had an art tumblr growing up, but that was very far from the whole Superwholock bubble and discourse. My first interests reading were classic literature and stuff from school and Harry Potter for little bit, then Tolkien for a long time, then science-fiction and transgressive literature, starting with A Clockwork Orange, then Piano Teacher, Bret Easton Ellis, Yukio Mishima, Dennis Cooper etc. I'm a sensitive traumatized person (for reasons I won't explain) and I've been depressed and anxious most of my life, experiencing disturbing intrusive thoughts, so the themes in fiction that interested me were always the things I was most afraid and uncomfortable with in real life, traumatic events close to me that I had no other way to explore and no one else to talk to about. In a way transgressive art was always there for me, showing me how evil thoughts and experiences are not an exclusive thing, not a burden I must carry alone, those artists and writers also cared and thought about those things in meaningful ways, that was a relief. Slowly and with therapy I learned to organize my intrusive thought as creative thoughts, ideas I could use to paint or write, and this really really helped me.

The thing is I started to get interested in comic books too, this by the age of 20, reading them by myself and sharing my ideas with some close friends who didn't care about comics, but would listen to me. I started being active in fandom spaces recently, almost ten years after I started reading comics and, oh boy, is this a different environment. Where the morally ambiguous, weird and transgressive are very close to forbidden, people are divided among anti and proshippers, and exploring heavy themes and disturbing scenarios is frowned upon. I recently read about an Invader Zim artist who was bullied and had to abandon their blog due to attacks to their weird art. As if Comte de Lautréamont, Marquis de Sade, Georges Bataille and I don't know, the fucked up passages of the Bible never existed, to free us from the closed-mindness. It's all so backwards, restrictive and conservative. Not the fact that some people do not want to engage with these themes, you have the right to do so, but we accomplish nothing by judging and hating on people who want to talk about these subjects, who understand the human nature as a complex experience not imune to evil, malice, bizarre impulses and desires.

Talking about these things is different from supporting and agreeing with them, but they are a part of our existence and sometimes expressing awful experiences through art is the only escape someone have. To ignore the worst in us is a conservative attitude that idealizes a perfect conduct and ideal way of being, an hygienist perception of what it means to be human, with a lack of nuance and complexity that is just boring on top of being a form of censorship.

[xipe-slayground]

How I feel these days when celebrity gossip addicts won't shut up about how we should hate _____ because reasons:

[normalbrothers]

besides this rarely being true for the characters it's applied to, i think another annoying, but also frankly tragic aspect of the 'x is the biggest victim with no agency ever and they are so pure and never did anything wrong, etc' is that it ends up diminishing their good qualities as well. someone being capable of graciousness, kindness and care and choosing to be so (and sometimes in the face of great adversity and personal hurt) is more remarkable to me than them just being "good" because they are supposedly constantly abused into a state of wilting passivity

[alchemistys]

idk who needs to hear this but ur white man slash ship isn't progressive and neither is fandom

[datamodel-of-disaster]

Queer identity is not just an aesthetic.

It doesn't exist separate from the lived reality of people's bodies, nor from the lived experience of sexual desire and contact.

Top surgery scars are healed wounds, not pretty tattoos. I'm all for romanticizing the transformation in art, draw them however you like, but then don't turn around and call people gross for talking about the realities of their own surgery recovery, including botched procedures, pain, or ugly scarring.

Queer sexuality is a lived experience of sexual attraction (or, yes, the lack thereof), not just brightly colored flags and thematic lighting. Like, sure, have fun with it, but... maybe don't go around plastering LGBTQ flags over all your fave characters and then start yelling about perverts when people talk about shipping them or write/draw smut featuring them.

Representation that only allows for aesthetic is not representation, it is censorship.

Sex is not gross. Bodies are not gross. Go outside. Touch grass.

If you draw and write and headcanon and cheerily meme about queer characters and then climb on your soapbox against any representation that is more physical than a flag and some sanitized suggestion, you are a hypocrite.

And no, I don't care about how sex-repulsed or triggered by body stuff you may personally be. No one is obliging you to consume content you don't like. But if you cannot accept that to be queer in the world is an intrinsically physical and sexual experience for many, and that representing that is not bad just because you don't like it, you don't get to play here.

[kalashtars]

crazy just howww much saltburn was a movie filmed For Me. i was there for the dark academia boom on tumblr. i was part of its creation. there's like a straight line between my posting about the secret history on tumblr and the creation of this film.

[bigskydreaming]

Me venturing briefly into 911 fics after Buck came out as bi: I am BEGGING people to stop basing their entire view of two men having later-in-life gay or bi awakenings on that one fucking reddit post about the guy thinking he's homophobic after his roommate came out.