#and yeah it's open for discourse i need fic material

[cosmicjoke]

In some of your favorite Levi fanfics, have you ever heard some insulting sentences about Levi, like "a guard dog who does Erwin's orders" and it made you feel cold and sad?

I came across this in a Levi fanfic I've been reading lately. It was nice and interesting. until I came across this sentence.

And the fanfic I read was LevixOc fic. Although in other Levi ship fanfics I've read, I've come across descriptions that would reduce Levi to Erwin, What I'm wondering is that this person probably loves Levi enough to ship him with an Oc of her own creation. Is she really in love with Levi's character or is she just using Levi as a fanfic tool? Or does she really know Levi as a "watchdog" "more of a follower of Erwin's orders"?

Not only that, but even in some self-insert/ship fanfic, Levi is portrayed as a cranky, rude, insulting person who doesn't think about anything but Erwin's orders, who leaves some people, including X, to die under Erwin's orders, who cheats, who is always grumpy, rude, insulting. It makes me really sad because now when I want to read something Levi-centered, I open it with fear. Sometimes I feel like I'm reading Eruri fanfic.

Whether it's newcomers to the fandom or people who barely know Levi, some people recognize Levi this way because of this kind of fan material/discourse. Or they even doubt his character. And I've even heard of fans who were disappointed and their love even turned to hate.

Well, one thing I can say is, I've been reading fanfic with Levi before that was extremely well written and that I was enjoying immensely, but after a while, I stopped, because it began to portray Levi as basically a slave to Erwin's will, and that always, always turns me off. I like eruri fics where Erwin is actually kind toward Levi and actually respects him, call me strange, lol. Or if he's unkind, it isn't deliberate, and he later tries to make up for it. I just don't like it when Levi is portrayed as having an enslaved mentality toward Erwin, of being beholden to Erwin, or putting Erwin over everything and everyone. It's such a gross misrepresentation of Levi and I just can't get into it. I also really don't like to see Levi disparaged or disrespected or put down. If he's going to be paired with Erwin, I like to see that relationship presented as equal and mutual.

As to your other points, I haven't really ever read Levi/OC or Levi/reader fics, but if people are portraying Levi as insulting and rude or deliberately unkind, then they just don't get Levi's characters at all. Levi CAN be insulting, but only when he has good reason to be, and he's never cruel or intentionally unkind. If Levi says something rude or insulting, more often than not, it's just because he's an honest person and socially awkward, and doesn't always have the best filter. It's not often that he's rude with the intention of hurting anyone's feelings. He doesn't just go around putting people down for no reason, and in truth, Levi is extremely thoughtful and conscious of other peoples emotions, and he, more than any other character, goes out of his way to express his gratitude for them. As to Levi cheating, he really, really doesn't strike me as the type who would ever do something like that. So, basically, it just sounds like you're reading some fics that have bad characterization for Levi, and yeah, sadly, that is something that kind of infects the fandom in general, with people beginning to formulate this made up, fanon version of Levi's character, and that version replacing the actual, canon version of him in their minds. They need to go back and read the manga or watch the anime to remind themselves of who Levi actually is.

Some people definitely are just using Levi as a tool or an avatar for their fantasies. They don't seem to care about his actual character or the story of "Attack on Titan" in general. They never talk about it. All they ever talk about is whatever made-up scenarios they have in their minds about him. It's bizarre.

[tanginae]

Modern!Tropang Nerds Headcannons, Part I

this ended up longer than it should be... also, yes i know it’s weird ‘cuz it’s in English but trust me, i realized that mistake too late and i apologize

anyway, it’s under the cut because i got  little carried away 

BASILIO:

His eyes are black, but theyre anything but boring: his gaze can pull even the toughest of people in, either fascinating them or scaring them; and Isagani's probably written a verse or two about them after he sees how gorgeous they are (Basilio probs thought it was weird, but he still found it flattering nonetheless). Actually very expressive, you just have to know how to look. Has permanent eyebags (from late-night study sessions) and long eyelashes framing them (he gets it from his momma). They may be deep, dark, and mysterious, but the way his eyes light up when he laughs, getting all crinkly and stuff is just… beautiful.

HE WEARS GLASSES. FIGHT ME ON THIS.  

His nose isn't too flat, just enough to hold up his glasses so it doesn't slide

His bottom lip and top lip share the same thickness, and are plump enough to make one wonder how kissing them would feel like. Also, he'd probably have the habit of biting off the skin when it gets chapped (dammit basilio get some lip balm)

His usual, stoic face looks otherwise to other people; he gets really surprised when they tell him he scares them. He often gets told he looks like he's going to slice open the next person who bumps into him. He's confused, most of the time, because "im literally not mad, guys?? What??" He also gets told he looks hot. He doesn't know how to react to that

If he looked hot wearing his normal face, he's pretty fucking cute when he's joking around, smiling and laughing. He looks all boyish, easygoing, and mischievous, a far cry from what people see when they first meet him

He's never going to admit this, but he doesn't have to because it shows: he loves dressing up real good. He won't spend too much on clothes, but it's just enough so that he looks like he stepped out of a magazine or something

He looks especially good in hoodies, probably because he rarely ever wears them

His blood is 75% coffee

Loves horror and gore movies only because he gets to point out its scientific flaws, they're practically a weird mix of reviewing and comedy to him

He probably keeps an old picture of him, Crispin, & Sisa for motivation, he looks at it whenever he feels taxed by the shit he's going through

He isn't religious or superstitious, though being raised in the province means he knows a considerable amount of folk tales and urban legends

Science Nerd

He's actually lowkey talkative and loves scientific discourse, get him started on it and he won't be able to stop. Probably loves biology and chemistry

Surprises people by his encyclopedic knowledge of obscure and morbid topics such as the best weapons to kill someone quickly, the most venomous substances know to man, etc. Isagani digs this. He's like a fountain of knowledge for when he needs something scientifically accurate for his writings

Has the patience of a saint

Hates fights and arguments; only a handful of things ever piss him off and it's when a) people use his past against him (the only people who can do this are Simoun and Isagani, and there is no way in hell Isagani's going to do that to him) and b) when people hurt/talk shit about the people he loves and cares for

Has ridiculous big brother instincts; which means he's very protective over his friends and close peers (even more so when they're younger than him)

Probably good at reading people; can detect whether they like him or not

He's that one student who starts assignments and projects weeks early

Never procrastinates

The type to obsess over something (a particularly difficult concept, a lengthy and complicated lesson, etc) until he knows it like the back of his hand

Nervous ticks: it's hard to tell when he's nervous since he's cool as a cucumber, but you'll know it when he fusses over stuff and people a lot more than he usually does

Has ridiculously steady hands that probably never tremble

Probably plays Amateur Surgeon for shits and giggles. He probably also gets four stars on every level, too

Great at handling money; really thrifty and frugal

Lowkey makabayan

Tends to show his affection through the little things; like getting them the food they like, sticky notes with sweet nothings on them, Jollibee burgers with the said sticky notes, stuff like that

He would make sure anyone he genuinely cares about never feels alone or lonely

He takes a little while to get past the initial awkwardness at the beginning of a relationship (any type of relationship, tbh), but when he does he's lowkey clingy as shit. He's going to fuss over them to no end until the other reminds him he has to take care of himself too

Probably gets detached as a defense mechanism when he feels as if people are about to walk out of his life

Highkey independent

He deserves all that is good and pure in this world

ISAGANI

Tall as fuck and bulky as shit, just enough muscle to make my panties drop

Probably has no abs. he's pretty soft and hard at the same time

And because he's bigger than most people, his hugs are The Best™

His eyes are probably a dark brown, framed by perpetual eyebags and rich lashes. Highly expressive, you can always tell what he's feeling just by looking at his eyes. It practically lights up whenever he laughs, smiles, talks about something he loves, that kinda stuff

HE WEARS GLASSES because of all the reading and writing he's doing

His lower lip is thicker than his upper lip, making him look like he's perpetually pouting. He always, always smiles with his teeth showing, and it's pretty much enough to charm the shit out of anyone

HALA TANGINa ANG POGI NIYA

He has chubby cheeks (because I'm assuming he DOES have a little chub), but that only softens his otherwise harsh features

Really nice and likable to everyone he meets, but will literally verbally whoop people's asses when the need arises

Has a low tolerance for bullshit, you know he's pissed when he's dead set on roasting the other person until they're nothing but a pile of ash

He's pretty impulsive, sometimes acting without thinking of the bigger picture (or thinking, in general)

His hands almost always have pencil lead  and/or ink stains

Probably owns a fountain pen. That dweeb

Owns a journal where he writes down his writings, but the said writings still end up on loose pieces of paper, café tissues, hell, even his own hand

He keeps his school notes poem-free, but they're anything but immaculate--his handwriting is probably messy and scrawl-y, especially when he's writing down things in a rush

He's only sociable when he needs to be. Otherwise, he's really quiet, preferring to observe people rather than talk to them

He indulges himself in coffee shops (he hates Starbucks, though); he's that one person you see actually reading and writing and/or studying there for hours and hours on end

He can and he will lose days of sleep over his assigned readings

He won't stop until he's finished everything and/or until someone tells him to stop and take a nap or something

He would most likely be a debate team member

He recognizes the oppression of minorities and will actively fight the said oppression; dreams of equality for everyone

Nothing annoys him more than people who claim to be against oppression but end up creating some form of oppression themselves (kinda like those feminists who are, in reality, just misandrists; those kinda things)

Legitimately wants to make his country a better place, and every time he feels exhausted in all aspects he just thinks of the future of his country, the one he's actively working for, and he finds the will to fight and continue

He will literally die for this country when he needs to

Highkey loves the sea and always, always feels at home there

He's a huge beach person

He is definitely the jealous type. However, he never manifests his jealousy in the form of violence, he just cries and/or sulks somewhere

Will willingly lower his pride and apologize even if it's the other person's fault; he almost always wins his arguments but when it comes to his special someone, he would gladly lose bless his soul

Definitely a blusher and would get nervous as fuck over meeting/talking to the person that he liked

He's the type to stumble over his words and sentences whenever he talks about something that he likes; it's a joy to talk to him about the things he enjoys because he's practically vibrating with happiness. It's adorable and contagious

He would be the type to take his bf/gf out on a beach date. If it were in the day he'd organize a little picnic, if it were during the night he'd probably just show them the stars and hold their hand and tell them random little stories he's never told anyone before. He'd make them laugh and it'd be the most disgustingly sweet thing ever

(help I just died writing that)

He's also the type to just… stare at his special someone when they're sleeping, reading, or doing something mundane because he thinks they’re just so damn beautiful and he's lucky to have them

He's also the type to tell them they're beautiful when they least expect it

He can be blinded by his own optimism, and when he's disappointed, it just crushes him

When he stands for or against something, there's no shaking it. His principles are as tough as stone

He's brave, never failing to do what he thinks is right. He's pretty reckless, though

part ii 

[rainingpouringetc]

ok i’m going to try to articulate this as best as i can.

let’s say this character, i’ll call him fred for the sake of efficiency, is gay. he is canonically gay. in the original source material, he is blatantly homosexual. even if he never says straight out “i’m gay”, he still dates guys and talks about how much he loves men and author says later “yeah i never explicitly wrote it in the book, but he’s gay”, so you get it. he’s gay. now say someone writes a fic about fred where he’s straight. they don’t even try to hide it. and it isn’t just one person. it’s a whole part of the fandom that chooses to ignore the fact that he’s canonically gay and instead write fred as straight. they write him as having explicitly romantic and sexual relationships with women.

we all know that that isn’t cool. you can’t just be like “well i choose to interpret fred as straight, cuz that’s just how he comes off to me.” we would all point at that and say “hey you know you’re being kinda homophobic right. you know you’re purposely taking away representation from a marginalized group of people right. you know that’s not cool right.” we all agree on that? yeah? great.

now stay with me through this next part.

let’s say that fred isn’t gay. let’s say he’s aroace. he is conanically aroace. in the original source material, he is blatantly aromantic and asexual. even if he never says straight out “i’m aroace”, he still exhibits disinterest in men and women and talks about how much he hates romance and people in general and the author says later “yeah i never explicitly wrote it in the book, but he’s aroace”, so you get it. he’s aroace. now say someone writes a fic about fred where he’s gay or bi. they don’t even try to hide it. and it isn’t just one person. it’s a whole part of the fandom that chooses to ignore the fact that he’s canonically aroace and instead write him as gay. they write him as having explicitly romantic and sexual relationships with men.

this is where i’m going to lose some of you, but: these two situations are equally bad. it doesn’t matter that in the second situation, they are writing fred as a part of another marginalized community. because, here’s the thing, the aroace community is at the very least just as marginalized as the gay community. the aroace community is actively excluded not only from the straight community but also from the lgbtq+ community. plus, it doesn’t matter who is taking away the representation. you’re still taking away representation. people just aren’t as quick to jump and point it out because people don’t want to admit that gay and bi people can be just as aphobic as straight people can be homophobic.

if you haven’t figured it out yet, this post is more specifically about raphael santiago from the shadowhunter chronicles. i need people to understand that while writing fics about raphael and simon as a couple is fun and all, you’re still taking away representation from aroace people by ignoring his canon sexuality. and that’s not okay.

i’m not trying to tell you what you can or can’t write, or what you can or can’t read and enjoy. i’m just asking that you take a look around and realize that there are plenty of other characters to write about whose sexuality isn’t already a source of fucking discourse in twenty fucking twenty-one. i’m not trying to shame people who write about raphael and simon. i’m not calling you a bad person. i honestly believe that this issue stems less from malicious aphobia and more from simple ignorance. i’m just asking that see this and don’t immediately dismiss it. i’m asking that you see this and think about it.

tldr; writing canonically aroace characters as gay is just as bad as writing canonically gay characters as straight. that’s not to say you’re a bad person for doing this or reading about it, but please remember that there are other characters to write/read about whose sexualities aren’t already a huge debate in the community.

finally, i’m totally open to intellectual conversations about this topic, but if you’re just gonna come at me with blatant aphobia and zero interest in a productive conversation, you’ll be blocked, no questions asked.

[bewires]

I was going through the first five pages of the joenicky tag on ao3, and i noticed a pattern in the fics of certain recognizable authors. I usually don't subscribed to ao3 profiles or tumblrs, only doing that with a select few and you're one of them!

Now, do you think is correct to say that the fandom seems a bit divided into top!Joe authors and bottom!Joe authors? And If yes, do you think you fall into that category?

Hi anon. Thanks for coming to check out my tumblr. I don't know if this is intentional or not, but that's a bit of a leading question. I'm going to try to answer but forgive me if it comes out a little salty.

I don't think the divide is necessarily between top and bottom. I think the divide is more strongly between 'assigning a fixed sexual position between two queer men' and 'finding it distasteful to assign that role and wanting to work against it'.

Why distasteful? Well, in the long history of fandom, almost every m/m pairing has had top/bottom discourse - i.e. which person is the 'top' and which the 'bottom'. And the main critique of that is, it's very much a roundabout way to assign heteronormative gender roles to queer men. The 'bottom' role is often characterized by being shy, submissive, sometimes inexperienced, while the 'top' role is given more allegedly masculine characteristics like being outgoing, dominant protective. If the fic involves darker themes, like non or dubcon, the top will be the aggressor. Now, I don't believe these are inherently masculine or feminine qualities. That's the kind of reduction you'd catch in a Prager U video. But I do believe that assigning these qualities in accordance with who tops and who bottoms really exacerbates already heinous gender roles and it happens by projecting them onto a queer couple, which makes it even more upsetting.

My reading of the text of the old guard is that neither character is shy or reticent or needs the other to protect them. They take care of each other; it's mutual. That's the kind of relationship you rarely see in fiction and that's what I love about it. They're equals. And that's why I don't like assigning these traits to either of them. The source material does an excellent job of not falling into these stereotypes and it's sad that as a fandom we do it anyway.

No discussion of this topic in TOG would be possible without also mentioning that beyond the sexism and homophobia inherent in insisting one character be shy and in need of protecting, there's also the question of racism to be considered.

Joe is a queer, north African man in the world's most established relationship. That is representation not seen often in fiction. What is seen often in fiction is perpetuating long-held stereotypes about north African men being hypermasculine and sexually threatening. This is a racist trope that goes back hundreds of years, and in addition to all the gender issues of assigning top/bottom roles in TOG, assigning Joe in a top role if you're using the above metrics, plays right into these stereotypes, especially when you're writing something dark wherein he is the aggressor, that again, the source material does a decent job of avoiding especially thanks to Marwan Kenzari's acting choices.

So, that's why assigning top and bottom roles is problematic and why specifically assigning Joe a solely top role is problematic. This is why I don't think I could say there is a 'top' side and a 'bottom' side. Because the issues aren't solved by turning it around and saying 'Joe is always the bottom'. This is also a misread of their characterization in my view, and it's also reductive of what it means to be queer. But tbh I haven't seen anyone championing that position, I have seen people championing the position of "wow there is a lot of top Joe content, let's write some more bottom Joe content to even it out because the fandom content is playing into some harmful stereotypes'. And that aim is then not to create the same problem but reversed, it's to treat the relationship with some nuance and show that the caretaking is mutual.

So this is where I'm at anon: I am not in the top or bottom side, I am of the opinion that assigning a fixed sexual position to a queer couple is a problematic and fetishistic (esp in context of the way fandom already fetishises queer identities) way to go about writing them and I don't want to do it, which is why I stopped tagging positions in my fic. And I am not saying I am perfect and never play into these tropes, I definitely have and I am open to criticism about it. But I am trying to do better and for me a part of that is understanding and acknowledging that yeah, it's just fanfiction, but what you read and write has an impact in yourself and your readers and I don't want my impact to be hurtful.

[iamanartichoke]

☕️ loki series

I have been and will remain cautiously optimistic, leaning toward just-this-side of hopeful. 

I have wanted a Loki tv show pretty much since I first got into Loki, many moons ago back in early 2018. At that time, I had absolutely devoured Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, Agents of SHIELD, and thoroughly enjoyed the Defenders series as well as some of Daredevil. 

Considering the narrative arcs of these characters vs Loki’s narrative arc in the movies, it’s long been my opinion that Loki would be better served in a tv series. The movies simply don’t allow room for that; they’re at a disadvantage right off the bat due to the constrained space in which the story must be told, but additionally, they’re action/comic movies and Loki’s a supporting character, so he was never going to be given a ton of room for exploration. 

Anyway, after the trainwreck that was IW, my hopes of ever seeing a thorough Loki arc were dashed, so when the series was announced, my immediate reaction was fuck yes! And it still remains my reaction in the sense that I am glad that Loki has been recognized as a popular enough character to get a tv show and that there’s lots of potential for story-telling and seeing more of what Loki is capable of and possibly even allowing him to make some friends of his own. 

I think that the nature of this fandom on tumblr can color things, though; I do have a lot of doubts and worries based on conversations I have had here and possible directions the show might take, in which I don’t particularly want to see Loki go. And I’ll fully admit that I am emotionally invested in the character enough that if he gets a shitty storyline or is otherwise not portrayed well, I will be upset. 

It is not about only wanting to see the story I want to see and being salty if I don’t get that. I already know some people won’t like the show and I already know that others will dismiss those opinions as just being mad that the writers did not give the stans what they want, and that drives me nuts because it’s so fucking lazy.  

So just, like, let me dissuade anyone of that notion in advance, bc that’s never been the issue. Cause, I mean - right off the bat, the premise isn’t really my cup of tea. I’m not particularly interested in seeing Loki bouncing around throughout time, influencing historical events. I’m not super interested in the TVA. I wouldn’t personally choose a storyline where Loki has lost his memories (which is a theory but probable). I’m not thrilled that Thor isn’t there. 

I wouldn’t have chosen to go in any of those directions, and there are a lot of plot elements from comics that I wouldn’t choose to explore, either. But I am and would be absolutely fine with seeing them in the show. The caveat is that it has to be done objectively well, by which I mean that the plot needs to be solid and tight, the tone has to be balanced, and there shouldn’t be plot holes large enough for the Ever Given to pass through effortlessly. 

I am open to the potential of the series and these shows are two for two right now, insofar as good writing/plot/character exploration goes. Things look good for Loki considering WandaVision and TFatWS. So that’s what it all boils down to, for me: they can do anything they want with the plot, and they can do anything they want with Loki, but they need to make it make sense, both in a story-telling context and in an in-character context. If I don’t get that, then yeah, I will be upset. And I realize that my definition of in-character may differ from others’, which is fine, but like ... if they at least get it in the general ball park, I’ll be satisfied. 

The other aspect of the show is that I am not looking forward to the inevitable discourse that’s about to tear through the fandom, but at least, if nothing else, we’ll have lots of new material for gifsets and music videos. And I think I need to cut myself off now before I ramble for another 3000 words. (It’d be great if I could apply this tendency to ramble to my fic, just sayin.) 

Thank you for the ask! 

Send me a ☕️ and a topic and I’ll talk about how I feel about it lol.

[bao3bei4]

i have basically covered the material in this post several times on my twitter. but this is, in my opinion, the only s*xy t*mes with w*ngxian take you need. 

(cw transphobia, transphobic slurs, antiblack racism, mentions of csa and bestiality in fiction)

edit 6/10/21: hi! i’m realizing people are still reading this! this was written in response to aja romano’s vox article on the fic that was published in late february of this year. i had been frustrated with how their article seemed to miss the point in many ways, because they never talked about the substance of the fic. which, i mean, fair. i wouldn’t want to read a 1million word fic either.

but i already had, so i thought i’d write about some things that i believed needed to be part of the conversation. namely, that its author wasn’t a harmless troll, but a person i genuinely disliked who i believed should be deplatformed.

i think virtual1979 is a bad person. 

i think a lot of people mainly know about sexy times the phenomenon more than they do sexy times the fic itself. i have the dubious honor of being one of the few people who has actually read large portions of the million word fic, and that’s why i wanted to write this meanspirited hit piece. 

the fic is down right now and the author’s notes and comments have both been deleted, which is why i cannot provide screenshots. however, these are all quotes i have saved from when the fic was online, and i’m happy to talk with anyone if you feel any of these quotes are mischaracterizations of the fic. 

i also want to be clear this is not a “callout post” and i’m not trying to “cancel” them or whatever. i am just explaining why i don’t like them, why i don’t feel bad they’re being harassed, and why i do not find them sympathetic at all, and perhaps why you should also adopt these stances. 

let’s start with transphobia. 

sexy times with wangxian is transphobic. this much is apparent from the tags. virtual1979 tagged the following: F*tanari, d*ckgirl, Sh*male. they use this language in the chapters that include a character with both a vagina and a penis. 

they refer to this character (wei wuxian) with the pronouns “he-she.” the following excerpt is a fair representation of how this wei wuxian is referred to in the chapters where wei wuxian has a vagina and a penis. 

[Lan Zhan] would never be turned on by a female, and he would actually be turned off by a drag queen - but this… this Wei Ying, it’s Wei Ying, and he-she looks [...]

i know these words are common in porn categories, but they are also slurs. virtual1979 also uses hermaphrodite to refer to this set of anatomy, which is not strictly a slur, but definitely a stigmatizing choice of language. 

they have repeatedly made clear they are not open to criticism. they have also since removed the comment section. making an intersex character for the express purpose of using transmisogynistic language towards them in your million word porn fic isn’t annoying the way their tags are, it’s actively fucked up. 

fanfiction has a transphobia problem, and if we’re talking about sexy times with wangxian in any capacity, we must be clear: sexy times with wangxian is part of that problem too. 

secondly, virtual1979 is also complicit in ao3’s racism problem.

i think the way they write about chinese characters and settings is annoying and racist, but they are a malaysian chinese person, so i do have some sympathy for them. i am committed to having some patience for people who are annoying if they themselves are working through the prejudice they have faced. 

they’ve commented as much: 

Not gonna lie, this fic has been a steep learning curve for me despite my roots being Chinese as well, but I have absolutely zero knowledge in some of these aspects!

and i’m happy on some level they can get in touch with their roots. who among us has not been cringe and diaspora. any criticisms i have of their portrayal of chinese people will stay private and be made to other people of color.

i’m going to be clear here i don’t think the actual comment they made makes them super evil or anything. but this essay IS clearly in response to That Article, which did mention racism in fandom. so.

i think we have all seen the infamous karen comment they made, in which they compared people who criticized their tagging with “Karens,” equating antiblack state violence to... mean comments on ao3? and “SJWs,” which, eye roll. no ageism but you’re 41 why the hell are you complaining about sjws

anyway. i am deeply frustrated by the co-option of the word karen. a stand-in for a particular type of racist violence white women specifically can and do inflict has become fused with that reddit-type mommy issue “can i speak to the manager” internecine white resentment. 

so their trivialization of antiblack racism is another reason i don’t like them. again i KNOW it’s petty to point this out here, but this to me shows that virtual is afflicted with the same kind of fandom brainrot that aja is, where everything comes back to that same sort of self-centered bullshit. 

sorry for that jab. julian told me that aja thought that cql was about callout culture and all i could think was “wow! just like virtual thinking that--” because i also have spent too much time on twitter this week. 

this is just like. part of this ongoing pattern i’ve noticed with virtual, where they’re aware enough of real problems to acknowledge they exist (police violence, accessibility issues caused by their tagging) but are determined to double down on their minor relative persecution as king, shittily drawing parallels between like... real problems and fandom problems. equating the two or allowing the second to take priority over the former is like... par for the course for this type of person! 

third, this is just another clarification on more parallels between ao3 discourse and sexy times that went completely unremarked on by That Article. 

i would rather DIE than get into discourse. but why did they write this sentence: 

Lan Zhan’s rational mind finally broke with a tsunami of pedophilic lusts [...]

by the way that is the start of a 430 word sentence. and yes this fic does contain hundreds of thousands of words of aged down wei wuxian. make of that what you will. 

also why would you make wei wuxian teach baby chickens how to sexually pleasure him. do you hate these characters. what’s going on. i think mxtx should be able to sue virtual for that one. 

there’s a very obvious connection between mainstream ao3 discourse and sexy times that went completely unremarked on in That Article. sexy times contains multitudes and some of those multitudes are bestiality and explicit childfucking. 

this is not unrelated to fannish culture, they are not unfamiliar with fannish norms, blah blah blah. this is just normal fandom. they’re not subverting shit, they’re just a normal fan who unlike 99% of fanfiction writers on twitter, spends more time writing than posting. this has taken their fannish tendencies to cartoonish heights. 

finally, they don’t care about mdzs or wangxian. they’re literally just horny and spiteful that’s it. this isn’t a question of like... “ohh they were a good faith participant in fandom until they went joker mode” and the REAL villain is society/ao3. like no they wanted to write shitty porn, and when they found out they were annoying people, they decided to double down because they could be the main character of the mdzs ao3 tag every time they found a spare hour to write. 

here are some select receipts on that topic:

they do not care about canon: 

MDZS has quite a complicated and expansive plot and history, and enough content that one can choose to tune out certain parts and still get to the end of the story in one piece. Also, because of its source, some fans may not fully realize the nuances, cultural aspects (ooh, cultural appropriation is another triggering topic) or the full breadth and depth of the source material, such as a person like me, who is half-baked in terms of knowing what the canon universe is all about. So I end up playing with characters and settings technically borrowed from the story, and make them do things that would otherwise run counter to the original source material - and that draws quite some flak from those opinionated people I mentioned just now. It's part of what makes the fandom toxic. It's like they're the self-appointed guardians of the source material and they act like they own the rights to question such questionble fanworks, and dare I say, try to take down those that cross certain lines too.

they are just horny: 

After that giddines of extra drunken Lan Wang Ji scenes at the beginning, I'm blessed with Lan Wang Ji (Wang Yibo's, actually) fuzzy nips! Bless Bless Bless, and Amen! muahs the nips on the screen

anyway they did get nuked over wishing covid on people. 

so yeah. i want to be really clear. this is my thesis: i do not feel bad for them. you should not either. i do not like them. you should not either. that’s ALL!!!! 

[alo-piss-trancy]

Ok hi, I didn't wanna say anything, but please don't write knifeplay/bloodplay for Yuri. I def don't wanna spoil anything, but it's learned on a certain route that Yuri has a s*lf h*rm problem (I'll leave it at that).

You honestly seem like you're not trying to be a jerk with this ask, so I'm going to do my best to answer this as politely as possible without compromising my personal beliefs on the matter. This is going to be long and a little serious, but please note I'm not attacking you or trying to start a debate. I'm just laying all my thoughts on this down at once so I make myself clear, because a short answer would leave a lot of nuance out.

I understand what you're trying to do here. For the record though, I also considered that a pretty massive spoiler and I did not appreciate that at all. Even if you all think you're 'helping', don't do that again. Y/uri was pretty much the only character I'd managed to avoid most spoilers on and you killed the surprise for me. This game is already so full of fluffy 'filler' in the beginning that I don't have a ton of big plot points to look forward to in each route.

Now, I realise this is a very delicate topic and incredibly triggering to some people, especially with those two things combined. I am 100% willing to tag it with just about any variation needed to ensure you or others affected can blacklist/block it and never have to see a word of it in the future. I'd also be happy to go back and tag that original text post I made if needed. I mean that. You all are welcome to ask me to tag things anytime, and so long as you're polite about it I'm perfectly willing to oblige to the best of my ability in future posts! If I occasionally forget, just toss me a light reminder and I'll jump into editing and add it in.

That said, I want to make it clear that I am very firmly against censorship. I'm willing to take all necessary precautions to ensure people can curate their experiences on this blog and AO3, but at the end of the day I can still post whatever fictional stuff I choose to. As can anyone else. Same goes for more formally published media.

Now, it's entirely possible I would have gotten to that part of the game and decided 'oh dang, I'm not so enthused about that fic idea anymore...'. My whims and ideas change frequently, and what you mentioned is a heavy topic with a lot to unpack and process. It's also entirely possible that future plot would only provide more fuel.

Fyi, when I originally mentioned the knifeplay I was actually thinking a lot more along the lines of her doing it to the protagonist, not the reverse. But for the record, if I did choose to write it with focus on Y/uri, I would still be well within my rights to.

This next part of my answer is going to address some heavy topics, this is your warning!!!

Sometimes people's kinks are a way to take a thing that is personally scary or upsetting to them and find a way to reverse it. To find pleasure or power or get used to the idea of the awful thing in a safe, controlled fashion. I'm not going to go into the full details on this because there's plenty of explanation and research elsewhere already written up, as well as an excellent book on the subject, and I'm not turning this blog into a discourse debate. But I needed to mention it for my point.

There are plenty of stories that could be explored with Y/uri in this context. Did she have this kink before the self harm events started and it was completely unrelated, or did she develop it afterwards? How did she discover it beforehand? If developed afterwards, did it start out as another way of harming mixed with pleasure in a self-destructive way, often done sloppily and without proper technique? Or was it strictly used as almost exposure therapy to deal with those urges and thoughts in a safer, more contained scenario, maybe even allowing the partner she trusted to wield the knife to prove their bond/reinforce that she can be loved without being hurt deeply, that she is worthy of affection and trust and loyalty. Maybe this finally helps give Y/uri a tool to embrace her 'weirdness' without harming herself and others. Or, what if she thinks it can be a useful tool and is sure she's ready, but partway through the scene she gets triggered or has flashbacks... how does she deal with it? How does her partner? Can it be overcome with effort, research, and taking things slowly, or does she realize this kink is actually completely off the table for her?

What if she has this kink and is excited to try it, but her partner isn't? How does she take that rejection? Or do her poor social skills mean she skipped negotiation to begin with and attempted it in the middle of a vanilla session? Would her partner freak out or even get mad, or try to swallow their fear and let her do it so they don't hurt/offend her, even at the cost of their own comfort?

This topic also opens a ton of potential plots for darkfic, but I'll refrain from discussing that out of respect for you and others.

So as you can see, there's much more to explore than 'Knife=Hot'. I believe those discussions and ideas are necessary and provide important fuel for thought when explored fictionally, especially since mainstream media doesn't cover a lot of them.

~~~

I feel I should take a second to clarify knifeplay for those who may be unaware. It doesn't always equate to actual cutting/drawing blood. That can be an aspect, but usually only by those far more experienced and, you know, actually into that. A lot of participants don't actually go that far. Mostly, it's either about the physical sensation of the knife touching you at all, or the adrenaline/controlled fear and intimate trust of a partner bringing an object like that so close/teasing you with it.

In fact, it's frequently advised in those circles (especially to newcomers) to use a dull butterknife instead, because it simulates the same feelings of metal on skin/can dig in a little without any real risk of cutting/drawing blood. Even if one chooses to use a different knife, it's still pretty common to dull the blade, or some people even substitute with a closed pair of scissors (combined with the partner blindfolded, you can't really tell it apart from the real thing).

These versions of knifeplay are well controlled and ultimately pretty harmless, so long as both parties know what they're doing and stay alert. And more experienced players with sharper knives are even more cautious/have studied extensively to know where/how deep to go without risking scarring/serious injury.

Remember the golden rules of kink: Safe. Sane. Consensual.

With those in place, it is not nearly the same as self harm. Just as controlled, consensual, well-negotiated BDSM with safewords, respected boundaries and a trusted partner is never in the same league as abuse.

~~~

Now that that's out of the way, back to my point:

There's no perfect representation or narrative for everyone, in any group (be that gender/sexuality/triggered by certain things, etc). Every human being is different, everyone interprets media differently, and everyone takes away different elements from stories.

What one person in a particular group may find cathartic, relateable, or painful but necessary food for thought, another may find completely repulsive, personally hurtful, offensive, something they can't stand to hear. And guess what? Both of those can be true at the same time. One side is not immediately right over the other.

There are queer characters or interpretations of them in fics that I vehemently despise, might even find hurtful or sickening and think 'how can anyone create this, it's insufferable! People in 'my group' aren't like that, it's a horrible representation. I can't relate to it at all!' But you know what? Other people can and do, may find comfort in those exact narratives and experiences, may heal their pain instead of inflicting more. And that's great. It's what they needed or wanted and if I don't like it, I click away and do my best to avoid it.

There are specific tropes and narrative themes I personally cannot get through without being triggered into anxiety attacks or dragged back to bad times and places in my life. Sometimes I see them tackled in ways that are hurtful or seem insensitive to me. But I recognise that for someone else, it's exactly what they needed to see to get through that or come to terms with it, or see a way they wish that thing could play out. I would never dream of telling those people they aren't allowed to enjoy it, OR telling the creator of that piece of media or a tv show 'Hey ummm please don't use this plot because it turns me into a human wreck for a week'. Because it's not remotely my place to do so. They can create whatever they want, they have no responsibility towards me or my well being. A few might be kind enough to include a warning at the beginning of that episode or in the description, but they are in no way required to. It's up to me to curate my experience and try to keep my guard up/research what might have those tropes, and in the rare occasions I get blindsided, yeah, it hurts like hell. I struggle, I might even backslide a bit. But I just have to try my best to deal with it and make a note to be more careful next time. Because you can't control the world around you, not even the online world, and you have absolutely no right to. The only right you have is to protect yourself without infringing on other people's boundaries/rights.

And there's also another important point. There doesn't have to be a big important point or explanation for why a creator creates something, or why consumers can enjoy that creation! If someone wants to create a plotline with all of my triggers used in the most 'insensitive', 'wrong', pointless ways possible, strictly for Entertainment or pure kink material instead of some deep dissection of the issues involved? They can go hog wild!!! They are 100% allowed to do so on this earth, and I can't (and wouldn't want to) do a thing to stop them.

One person can read a kink fic and it hits a very emotional theme for them/they think it explores a deep topic well. Another person can read that same fic and get nothing out of it except their rocks off. Both of those readers are completely equal and 'allowed' to enjoy that fic. Both reasons are completely valid reasons for why the creator was 'allowed' to post/create that fic in the first place. Nobody needs permission, nobody has to answer to anybody except themselves. Period. This extends to any topic, any type of fic.

Yes, even for things I find absolutely abhorrent and insensitive and don't understand/want to read ever. I may resent everything about its existence, but I will defend to death the creator's right to make it exist in the first place.

It only affects me if I let it affect me. If someone's making content I despise or am upset by and can't handle, I can choose to ignore or avoid them, blacklist those tags, I can block them and move on with my day. I can do anything within my own bubble, but the second I consider going into their bubble and saying they can't make that thing, I am in the wrong. Because I'm not respecting their space and rights.

If someone makes cookies with ingredients I'm highly allergic to, pastes the ingredient warnings all over the box where I read them, and I still eat one, would anyone cheer me on for blaming them when I have a reaction? Would anyone think it was remotely okay of me to start calling up every bakery in town and saying they weren't allowed to bake those cookies EVER, because some people somewhere might be allergic?

No. They'd tell me I was crossing the line, because I'm infringing on other people's boundaries and lives. I'm expecting everybody else to take responsibility for something that, while horrible and painful, was my fault for touching.

Now, if someone sets out unlabelled cookies not realizing I'm allergic to something in them, and I eat it and have a reaction, that sucks. It's an awful experience. But is it the baker's fault? As long as they didn't do it maliciously, not really. They can be advised politely to label it in the future, and I can do my best to remember to ask/be more cautious next time I come across something I'm unsure of, but they're still allowed to bake those cookies for themselves and others.

Now, if I deliberately baked cookies with an ingredient that people are very frequently allergic to (ex. peanuts) and set it out in a crowded buffet without a warning label, that's a jerk move. That's intentionally trying to cause harm to others. But simply baking that flavour of cookies still isn't a crime or harmful by itself.

~~~

I'll be honest, I'm running out of steam and I think I've said most of what I have to say, so I'll wrap it up. I want to reiterate that I'm not ripping into you with this long answer, anon! I understand why you sent me what you did and I'm trying not to come off as harsh. I'm happy to go back and tag things and will tag anything else similar in the future!!! But at the end of the day, regardless of whether I personally end up writing that fic or not, or even want to after I get to that plot, I don't agree with telling anyone they can't/shouldn't write it at all. I wanted to try and explain my viewpoint thoroughly, and I hope you can respect that, just as I'll respect and try to accommodate you and other followers. This is the only time I'll really get up on a soapbox like this, and I have no interest in debating these things on my blog further, but it is a topic I've been passionate about all my life so I'm afraid I'm not budging on it.

[suits-of-woe]

this is so typical of me but for the ask game, could you do edmund and/or the lear sisters?

YES I absolutely can, this is as much my brand as yours. Sorry for the delay in posting, I had a change of plans yesterday :)

EDMUND

Sexuality Headcanon: Only really attracted to women but if it was somehow useful to sleep with a man he probably would and probably wouldn’t mind it too much. Also, I HC him as relying way too much on sex to fulfill his need for affection. Also also, a sub, I will die on that hill. Gender Headcanon: Male in the canon but I have a huge soft spot for female!Edmund too so either works for me. Probably cis but I’ve seen some people post about trans Edmund so maybe? A ship I have with said character: Edmund/Goneril is my TRASH because it’s such a mess but it could be so good. Started off as kind of a joke/speculation for one particular fic and now I have a lot of feelings about it. A BROTP I have with said character: Edmund and Edgar!! Let! Them! Be Brothers! Especiallly pre-canon :((( Also not sure exactly what the Edmund and Cornwall dynamic is, possibly it falls under BROTP but it’s definitely interesting. A NOTP I have with said character: I’ve seen like one fic of Edgar/Edmund as a romantic pairing and. No. Just stop. A random headcanon: Has gorgeous handwriting. He’s obviously great at forgery, but I imagine his own writing is just lovely. As opposed to Edgar, who probably has a very messy scrawl. General Opinion over said character: Actual love of my life, more than is justified. He’s objectively terrible, but he’s also so sympathetic and so self-aware that it makes me love him even more. Imho, hottest character in the canon.

GONERIL

Sexuality Headcanon: I guess straight in canon? See I really like the idea of lesbian Goneril in the female!Edmund AU and I feel like...she probably has some sort of equivalent hangups around sex in the canon-verse too, but she clearly likes men so...not entirely sure? At the very least she’s definitely not at ALL attracted to Albany. Gender Headcanon: Definitely a cis woman, since that’s tied to a lot of her experiences and especially how Lear treats her. A ship I have with said character: As I said before, Edmund/Goneril is terrible but also great and has a special place in my heart. A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Regan before Shit Went Down. It was probably always a little rocky, but that scene where Regan takes her hand and they stand up against Lear together? Excellent. A NOTP I have with said character: She and Albany just have an objectively terrible relationship that makes both of them miserable. I don’t think that’s controversial, but yeah, definitely a bad ship. A random headcanon: Less of a headcanon and more a question but: where did she get that poison that she used on Regan? Unlike in a lot of plays, there’s no mention of that. I wonder if she had it for awhile, planning it for something, maybe Albany, maybe herself, maybe something entirely different. General Opinion over said character: She used to be my least favourite sister and boy was I wrong! I find her very weirdly sympathetic and I think she’s a deeply sad and desperate person with a uniquely tragic position in the fucked up world of that play, but also, a very cool evil lady.

REGAN

Sexuality Headcanon: I think of her as bi; don’t really have textual evidence for that but oh well. Definitely into some WEIRD SHIT as far as BDSM (emphasis on the S) taken wayyyyyyy too far. Gender Headcanon: Probably a cis woman, not really anything to suggest otherwise. A ship I have with said character: Regan/Cornwall is the power couple for the ages! So equal in their dynamics, so passionate, so fun and evil and tragic in a weird way at the end. A BROTP I have with said character: As I said, her and Goneril! Also her scene with Oswald is very...interesting idk, I haven’t thought about it much but I wonder if they ever had a weird sort of friendship. A NOTP I have with said character: Regan/Edmund isn’t a NOTP exactly because it’s definitely canon and definitely interesting but I think it’s just bad for both of them and not what they actually want. A random headcanon: Sometimes in production she’s dressed in every Dark Evil Villain Outfits, but I actually imagine her wearing very colourful, ostentatious clothing a lot of the time. Probably very quick to change out of her mourning clothes too... General Opinion over said character: The least sympathetic sister, but also by far the coolest. PEAK villain stanning material, and one of Shakespeare’s female villains who’s allowed to get most in-touch with her brutality in a super fascinating way.

CORDELIA

Sexuality Headcanon: Probably straight cause I’m not sure why she wouldn’t be I guess? Gender Headcanon: Probably a cis woman but in a staging where Cordelia is actually the fool I think it could be really interesting to consider as a pants role/exploration of her gender. Especially in terms of her only being able to get Lear to listen to her while she’s dressed as a boy. Maybe not an actual reflection of her identity, but still much to play with. A ship I have with said character: Ugh it really depends on the AU for her, @princess-of-france​ has such a great Edmund/Cordelia dynamic in her work, @harry-leroy​ opened my mind to Edgar/Cordelia too, but I have such a hard time choosing one just for the canon play. But Cordelia and France are adorable in every universe, so I’ll go with that! A BROTP I have with said character: Her and Edgar! I’m on the fence about them romantically but I love the idea of them being close before the play. I would have loved to see one last conversation between them at the end. A NOTP I have with said character: I don’t know that people SHIP this but the Lear/Cordelia as an incestuous relationship discourse is YIKES. A random headcanon: Way wittier than she tends to get credit for. She canonically had some connection with the fool, and I wonder if she had a similar relationship with Lear before everything, able to quietly question him in clever ways without him taking offense. She might not have realized that her defiance in front of everyone would be a step too far. General Opinion over said character: I’ve definitely moved past seeing her as the boring good angelic daughter, thank god. She’s a wonderful character! I talk about her less than the other two mostly because I don’t think I need to be in her defense squad as much, and I love villains, but she’s fantastic.

[sporklift]

Correctly Portraying the Losers

One thing I’ve noticed about the It fandom, is that a lot of the wank and discourse tends to revolve around how people interpret the characters. People seem to get bogged down in what’s the “right” way to interpret and portray the characters.

I just wanted to take a moment to say that absolutely any way you want to portray/interpret them, is fine. It’s all good, guys. 

Do you take issue with how Ben’s body issues are portrayed and want to see him get confidence without the transformation? Go for it. Do you want him to have to deal with his feelings of self-loathing after he’s done so much externally to make himself feel better? Great!

Do you want to write a story where Maggie and Went are neglectful or cruel to Richie? Fine*. Do you prefer the book version of loving but emotionally distant Tozier parents? Wonderful! And you can write one story where it’s the former and one with the latter (I did). 

Do you want to write a story where  Myra takes the divorce really well and gets her ass in therapy? Sendmethatfic,pleasethanks. Do you want to write a story where the divorce results in plates being thrown against walls and Myra trying to get everything she can out of the alimony? Yeah, living for that drama! 

I’m not gonna go through all the Losers, or all the interpretations I see getting eye-rolls, but this is what I mean: 

The Author is dead. Canon isn’t sacred. We’re here screaming about the scary clown movie and the love between the friends there. And so, however you interpret the characters, and however you want them to be interpreted for one story, comic, song, cosplay, etc is fine. 

And, in a fandom like It, where we’re often patchworking things between all three of the monstrously huge content sources we have, and where they all differ, it’s very possible for five people to have five different interpretations of the Losers. Hell, the book, the movie, and the mini-series all have different versions of the characters and the story. We’re transforming the text. We’re adapting the charactes. 

 Some people write fic with the source material open, rereading pages or watching scenes over and over again. Some people like the characters or ideas and just want to take it someplace new, someplace they love and don’t bother looking back at canon. And that’s all chill. That’s all good. 

I don’t know if anyone needs to hear this. But, I know I would’ve before I became a bitter fandom wine-aunt: Everyone has things they jive with and things they don’t in fandom. Just because someone doesn’t like something doesn’t mean it’s bad or inherently wrong. Someone else likes the interpretation you like. Just find them and have fun in your sandbox. Don’t let anyone tell you how to make your sandcastle. 

*tbh if the 2017 film had shown Maggie and Went I have to believe that they would’ve been kinda bad, given how Andy seems to interpret Richie’s home life and that the 2017 film removes any and all sympathetic portrayals of adult. 

[amymel86]

Strictly Professional - Jon x Sansa Fic - Chapters 1 and 2

Here - have the first 2 chapters of this ridiculous fic that was in response to a fantastic prompt that @jen-snow​ found....

CHAPTER 1

"That's mine"! Sansa snatched the innocent looking brown box that Jon had just signed for with the postman.

He was left feeling a little dumbfounded standing there by their apartment door, holding some letters that looked suspiciously like bills, as Sansa swiftly disappeared into her room, kicking the door shut with her heel. Jon shook his head to himself and was about to make his way to the kitchen when he heard Sansa lock her bedroom door.

That's weird.

He arranged a little 'work from home' station at the old worn oak kitchen table that Sansa had brought with her when she'd taken over from Sam as his flatmate.

Jon didn't need much to work - his laptop, a cup of strong coffee, a notepad and the old mug that he now used as a pen pot - Sansa had gotten it for him when he'd landed his job at the newspaper (his first since graduating from his Journalism degree) and he couldn't quite bring himself to throw it out when the handle had snapped off. The quote printed onto her gift still made him smile - "The problem with internet quotes is that you cant always depend on their accuracy" -Abraham Lincoln, 1864. Sansa had remarked that the mug had reminded her of his lecture about believing in fake news.

Jon had been full of high hopes for his first leap into the world of journalism, but over the past eight months those hopes had floated away like a helium balloon escaping from a distracted child's grip.

For the first few months his main duty has been proof-reading others pieces, which hadn't been too bad, but now he seemed to have landed the tedious role of monitoring and replying to reader's comments on the newspaper's website.

Jon logged onto his computer with a sigh as he wondered if 'job satisfaction' was actually a myth. He was just about to type out his twenty-fifth reply when Sansa emerged from her room.

"You alright"? He asked, only half paying her any attention as his fingers still tapped out overly neutral responses to heated internet discourse.

"Mm-hmm" she squeaked in response, hiding her face as she opens the refrigerator to peruse it's contents.

Jon glances at her over his laptop screen as she turns to face him. His eyes do a double take once he sees the rosy flush of her cheeks and how that very flush seems to travel down her chest and disappear into one of those torturously tight little strappy tops she wears without a bra.

"You sure? You look...warm".

Sansa's eyes met his with the subtle flavouring of a guilty secret. Jon watched as she gnawed at her bottom lip and very visibly contemplated her response. Her eyes closed briefly with resignation before she pulled out the opposite chair and seated herself with a smile.

"Ok, so I'm doing....a thing" she said, reaching over to pluck a pencil from Jon's prized mug-come-pen-pot. She twiddled and twirled it in her hands, not looking up at him as he invited her to continue with a raised questioning brow.

"Ah yes. 'A thing' - that explains it all. You best get back to it then". Jon responded sarcastically. Sansa snorted, the pink of her cheeks deepened in hue. Jon reached over and planted a hand on top of Sansa's fingers to stop her fidgeting with the pencil. She finally looked up at him and huffed as she sat back in the chair.

"Ok, ok" she started, her eyes darting around the kitchen as if she was searching for inspiration. "Marg started doing this thing where-"

"Oh this'll be good" he interrupted with a smirk. Jon knew all too well the kind of influence Sansa's friend had over her.

"Shut up" she snapped. "Do you know what? Nevermind".

Sansa made a move to leave Jon and the conversation.

"Aw don't be like that Sans"!

Looking back at him, she calms and seats herself back down with a mild huff and an eye roll.

"You were saying"? Jon comments whilst gesturing with an upturned palm towards the table between them, urging her to continue.

"Ok..well...Marg's cousin...or second cousin?....cousin thrice removed?.." Sansa asks herself, glancing up and to the side as if that would unlock a memory that would solve the mystery. "Anyway! Whatever she is - she's set up a new online store and needed people to test and review her products. Marg said I'd be good at it...so, yeah, that's - that's what I'm doing" Sansa finished on a murmur as her hands took up their fidgeting with the pencil again. "She's paying me for the reviews and I get to keep the...err....products".

"Alright" Jon said slowly with a quizzical brow.

Why's she so agitated?

"It's just-" Sansa started, attempting to answer his unvoiced query "the products are...umm...sex toys".

Jon had evidently chosen the exact wrong moment to take a slurp of his coffee as most of his mouthful had tried to escape.

"I'm sorry, what"?! He spluttered.

"You heard me Jon Snow" she replied, folding her arms in defiance and leaning back in her chair.

"Well yeah, I...I mean..." he really hadn't anticipated that answer.

Handcreams, shampoo, techy gadgets or make up - that's what I thought you were going to say!

Sansa smirked, her previous nervousness evaporated into dust now that the truth lay before them and it was Jon and not her scrambling for words.

"....so....that was-" he indicated towards the general direction of the apartment front door where he'd signed for her parcel "-and you were-...."? He petered off, his hand now gesturing towards Sansa's bedroom.

"Masturbating with an 9 inch dildo? Yes".

Jon's mouth hung open. He was shocked into powerlessness as Sansa stood and leant over the table to swipe his cup of coffee.

"And now if you'll excuse me, I need to go and write about it".

  CHAPTER 2

Jon definitely did not make Thursdays his regular 'work from home' day once he had realised that that's when Sansa's new 'products' for her to test got delivered. He definitely wasn't aimlessly walking passed her bedroom door more frequently than usual, and he really, really wasn't stalking the website for her reviews once he'd found out which one it was for.

He knew he was balancing on a thread here. Throughout his and Sansa's friendship he'd found a coping mechanism to be able to keep his mind clear. Jon valued her too much to mix his messy feelings in with what they had. At first - in his teens - it had been because she was 'Robb's little sister' - she was off limits. Then, somehow, she organically replaced Robb as his best friend when her brother had started his serious relationship with Jeyne and moved south to Dorne. His coping mechanism wasn't about Robb anymore, it was about preserving what they had - what he cherished.

Jon had learnt to compartmentalise. That way, he could keep his two versions of Sansa separate. There was the 'real' Sansa who would challenge him to catch popcorn in his mouth as she launched them at his face before they settled in to watch a movie. Then there was 'fantasy' Sansa whom Jon would picture humming appreciatively as she sucked his cock while he jacks off.

'Real' Sansa would tease him with sarcasm, 'fantasy' Sansa would tease him by bending over that kitchen table and wait for him to fuck her. 'Real' Sansa would make sure he ate vegetables every once and a while, 'fantasy' Sansa would scream his name as he ate her out.

And never the two should meet.

Only, sometimes, they did. Every now and again the two Sansas - real and imaginary - blend along the edges for Jon, like when she cuts his hair. She would station him upon one of their dining chairs in the middle of the kitchen and start to run her fingers through his locks, her nails sometimes lightly scraping his scalp causing a trickle of goosebumps to travel down his spine.

After the first time she did this for him, Jon learned that he would need to make sure he had a copy of a newspaper to hand so that he could disguise any disobedient escapee groans as reactions to an article. Jon would then claim that he was 'just going to finish reading' so that he could remain seated to conceal his hard-on after Sansa would blow stray hairs away from his neck.

And yeah - so what if I can't cum when having a wank unless I picture her? It doesn't mean anything. Completely normal. Nothing at all unhealthy going on here folks. Jon lies to himself as he continues to peruse the sex toy and lingerie website. He spots a suspicious looking reviewer profile name for a 'real feel' dildo called 'Woody-Be-Good'

'Stark-After-Dark' - that's gotta be her hasn't it!?

Jon started reading the review.

I love my Woody! This 'real feel' guy really did hit the spot just right! He's very life-like and even features very realistic looking veins! Woody does have  that weird silicone smell that all toys of this particular material do, but I'm sure that will fade with time. The base is easy to hold onto and the girth is perfect. Considering I've used Woody a few times now and managed to cum pretty hard each time, I'd consider this little investment money well spent!

Under her review, Sansa had given the product 4 out of 5 'spanks' as a rating with four little hand symbols.

Fucking hell!

Jon stared at the words on his laptop screen, his eyes darted towards Sansa's closed bedroom door. Clicking through to her reviewer profile page, he could see that she's already written 24 reviews.

24 reviews? 24 products?! She's only been doing this for 3 weeks!

Jon subconsciously licks his lips and clicks on a review for 'Secret Buzz - Silent Bullet Vibrator'.

This little guy packs a punch! The vibrations are really strong and if I'm honest, a little too strong for purely clitoral stimulation. However, the good people at 'Rose Petal Sex Toys' have made this little doozy with a three speed function so you can calm him down a bit to your own liking. The 'silent' part of the product description does not lie! Super quiet! This little vibe is the epitome of 'value for money' and would repay it's cost back in orgasms in the first few days! I enjoyed my 'Secret Buzz' whilst watching one of 'Rose Petal's DVDs.

Jon's brow furrowed as he clicked the link onto the page that described the DVD Sansa had watched. Erotic Adventures. He skipped the product description and scrolled right down to the reviews.

Stark-After-Dark says:

Erotic Adventures was exactly as described! The DVD features nine separate mini adventures and sex-capades of three female characters. There's something for almost everyone - from the medieval maiden that comforts her sword wielding partner by riding his cock by candlelight, to the fine young damsel who gets swept off her feet and onto her back by her seriously hot cowboy gunslinger or the slightly more mature woman who looks like she's thoroughly enjoying having her toy boy worship between her legs! I enjoyed each little setting and the sex was fucking hot! The actresses were convincing in showing their pleasure and the actors looked like they really were trying to please their partner instead of the camera. I've watched a fair amount of porn and this DVD is quite clearly geared towards the female viewer...

Hang on - ''I've watched a fair amount of porn'?!

"Jesus Christ"! Jon exclaimed, not quite sure how his head hadn't exploded yet at the thought of Sansa getting off to porn.

"What's he done now"? Sansa answered as she sauntered out from her bedroom, causing Jon's neck to nearly snap with the force of his abrupt movement. 

"Nothing"! he quickly replied. Too quickly if he was being honest with himself. Jon felt his cheeks burn.

Calm the fuck down Jon, he thought as he slammed his laptop screen shut and pulled it up his lap to conceal the bulge he had going on in his jeans.

"Well he'd better pull his finger out - it's been far too long since his last miracle" She joked, plonking herself down onto the two-seater sofa next to him, Jon made a noise of agreement that was somewhere between a grunt and a whine. "Or are we counting those times the image of his face has showed up in some old lady's piece of toast? Cause I don't think we should count those - I feel like he's just checking in to make sure Glenda is eating wholemeal bread and not that white crap... not miracle-y enough if you ask me" she finishes, leaning across Jon to grab the TV remote, ready to choose what film they were to watch that evening.

She selects some romantic comedy that Jon really isn't paying attention to - too busy wondering if he was ever going to be able to recapture the defined separate boxes he had stuffed 'real' Sansa and 'fantasy' Sansa into. The lines had never been so blurred and he cursed this little review gig she had going.

Why did you have to tell me you were doing this Sans? I could have continued to live in blissful ignorance!

The two main characters on the tv screen started to get a bit hot and heavy with their kissing and pawing at each other, Jon side-eyed Sansa next to him when she suddenly paused the film.

"So I've been thinking".

"Hmm"?

"Claudia - Marg's second-cousin-in-law-twice-removed or whatever - the one who sends me the stuff to review - said that she was looking for some proper male reviewers and -".

"Nope".

"Oh come on" Sansa pleaded half heartedly, amused at Jon's automatic reaction."It doesn't cost you anything except time and you get to keep the stuff and you're basically getting paid to cum"!

"I don't want to write about wanking Sans".

"No-one has to know it's you! And Claudia needs a guy who's not just gonna write 'feels like a real pussy'-" She puts on a ridiculous mimicking voice and wobbles her head "and I already told her that you're a journalist"!

"Wait - what? You're discussing me with your sex toy supplier"?

"Just in passing Jon.....please" she whines, throwing those big blue pleading eyes into the mix "if Claudia's website doesn't take off then I don't get to do this reviewing thing anymore....and it's...it's fun".

Yeah, I bet it is.

Jon blinks at her and looks away, staring at the coffee table in contemplation before huffing in defeat. "Ok, fine! Tell her I'll do it" he concedes. Sansa lets out a happy little squeal and jumps up from the couch, making a comment about emailing Claudia straight away. "NO BUTT PLUGS" Jon shouts after her, eliciting a fit of laughter behind her bedroom door. Jon sniggers to himself as he stares at the laptop still placed over his crotch.

What the fuck am I getting into?

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

Why I don't Believe in Star Trek's Triumverate

When I say Triumverate I mean the belief that many people hold which is that Spock Bones and Kirk have some sort of special bond that goes all three ways. Some people make it romantic (I ship Spirk, let’s get that up front now) other people make it one big bromance, but the key thing is that all three men feel the same way about each other.

This simply isn’t true if we look at the the canon material. The one exception would be the Final Frontier, Shatner practically beat us over the head with Triumverate in that film.

The thing is what was portrayed in that movie was not consistent with what we had seen up to that point.

While I personally though several bits of Final Frontier had merit (particularly the “Not in front of the Klingons” business but I’m biased) it’s scenes like the three of them singing Row Row Your Boat around a campfire and saying good night fifty million times that show why the film is considered the series’ worse. The Triumverate scenes don’t fit.

The relationships between the three men in TOS are completely different. Briefly: Kirk and Spock are in love, Kirk and Bones are best friends, Bones and Spock are a mess.

Okay. If you disagree with my breakdown I’d love it if you kept reading. I’d love some friendly discourse.

So I really want to get into how I perceive the relationship between Spock and McCoy, because that’s where I find myself shaking my head and going, “This feels wrong” in fics I read and posts I see. I *think* most people who’ll be reading this seeing as it is Tumblr will agree with me that Spock and Kirk are head overheels, always touching, dig it in there Mr. Spock in love with each other. And I hope many of you will agree that Bones and Kirk have always been there for one another through out their adventures and they really are like family to one another.

But there’s this sentiment in the fandom over how good of a relationship Spock and Bones have and this is what I have the most issue with.

I’m not gonna go saying how Spock and Bones are enemies or anything like that because that’s really not my point at all, I don’t believe that. Just watch The Empath. McCoy wasn’t about to let Spock die for him. Likewise in All Our Yesterday(ya know Bones and Spock get stranded on the ice planet) Spock wasn’t about to leave McCoy behind.

However the only times we see the two of them getting along and actually maybe being nice to eachother is under dire circumstances. Whenever it’s just normal day to day interactions they yell at eachother (hell they yell at eachother in dire circumstances as well most of the time). This isn’t normal. People like to pretend it’s all friendly bickering but it isn’t. Spock makes that quite clear in All Our Yesterdays with this little interaction

“You listen to me, you pointed-eared Vulcan.”

“I don’t like that. I don’t think I ever did and now I’m sure!”

Kirk enjoys an easy relationship with both of them. Kirk and Spock play chess together, Kirk and Bones drink and laugh.

Spock and Bones don’t have anything like that. They insult each other. That’s all they do.

Now I think McCoy is a good guy. I think he’s an excellent doctor with excellent bedside manner plus the fact he’s just always ready to fight amuses me to no end.

But he doesn’t understand Spock and he thinks that he does and it Bothers me So Much because after years of working with someone like Spock it’s like he never bothered to look past the surface.

For example the end speech of Requiem for Methuselah where McCoy goes on about how Spock will never know love and how pitiable that is and right after he leaves, right after he leaves, Spock tenderly goes up Kirk, puts his arms around him and goes “Forget.”

But Spock doesn’t know how to love someone remember? That’s what McCoy said.

Look at the space amoeba episode “Immunity Syndrome”. Those two idiots were at eachother’s throats the entire episode over who gets to go on a suicide mission to the point it was getting hiralious. Kirk’s over here sad and agonizing over which of the two people he loves the most he’s going to send to go die basically and meanwhile Spock and Bones are literally bickering over who gets to die first. My favorite thing is when Kirk decides to pick Spock and says the words “I’m sorry Spock” because,,, ya know,,, it’s a suicide mission and Kirk is sorry Spock’s going on one and Bones thinks that that means he got the job, because he’s just that eager to go on the suicide mission. (Like I said, idiots.)

Anyway look at this interaction right before Spock goes off into space.

MCCOY: You’re determined not to let me share in this, aren’t you? 

SPOCK: This is not a competition, Doctor. Whether you understand it or not, grant me my own kind of dignity. 

MCCOY: Vulcan dignity? How can I grant you what I don’t understand? 

SPOCK: Then employ one of your own superstitions. Wish me luck. 

(Silence and stares, then McCoy opens the hangar deck door. Spock walks across and into the Galileo. The doors shut.) 

MCCOY: Good luck, Spock.

McCoy gets it wrong. Again. Spock’s not interested in hogging an important scientific discovery to himself, he’s not selfish like that, he never was. Spock thought he was the best fit for the job, that was it end of story. McCoy doesn’t get him. It also speaks to how messed up their relationship is that McCoy can only say good luck when Spock can no longer hear.

But the strongest evidence for just how much McCoy doesn’t understand Spock is in the episode Tholian Web. Bones and Spock are both grieving the loss of Captain Kirk and Bones antagonizes Spock. I find it unbelievable, Bones really does question Spock’s every decision. If you don’t remember the episode basically the ship lost Kirk, there’s a thin hope they could get him back, but the Tholians are ordering them to get out of Tholian space. Tensions run high as Spock risks every thing to try and get him back.

Take a look at this interaction between Spock and Bones

MCCOY: (looking at a medal) He was a hero in every sense of the word, yet his life was sacrificed for nothing. The one thing that would have given his death meaning is the safety of the Enterprise. Now you’ve made that impossible, Mister Spock. 

SPOCK: We came here for a specific purpose, Doctor. 

MCCOY: Maybe not the same one. I really came here to find out why you stayed and fought. 

SPOCK: The Captain would have remained to recover a crew member at the risk of his own life or even his own ship. 

MCCOY: Yes, he would, Mister Spock, but you didn’t have that decision to make. What would you gain by fighting the Tholians? You could have assured yourself of a captaincy by leaving the area. But you chose to stay. Why? 

SPOCK: I need not explain my rationale to you or any other member of this crew. There is a margin of variation in any experiment. While there was a chance, I was bound legally and morally to ascertain the Captain’s status. 

MCCOY: You mean to be sure if he was dead. Well, you made certain of that. 

Yeah. What the hell. The fact that McCoy can’t put together that maybe Spock stayed because he would do anything to save his Captain, the fact that he would think Spock would WANT the captaincy at the expense of Jim’s life, that he would be eager and happy to take off and leave Kirk behind is baffling to me.

How the hell can you know a man for so long and yet get everything he is and everything he stands for so completely wrong.

Spock’s not an open book. He was taught to repress all his emotions when he was a kid and this has caused him so much damage it’s incredible. He has absolutely no idea how to handle his emotions in a healthy way, so when shit really hits the fan like it did in Tholian Web and he’s really hurting that’s when he puts up his shields the most because he can’t deal with what he’s experiencing. That’s when he really needs to be given a break but that’s exactly when he can’t get them because he’s the first officer and the whole ship is counting on him.

So it’s not easy to get to know him. But Jim does. Jim understands Spock completely. He doesn’t have to say a thing. He understands and has the uptmost respect for the bravery, competence and selflessness.

Bones doesn’t. He just doesn’t.

[aroceu]

The Five Laws of (New) Fandom

Hey guys, what’s up, it’s me with capital letters and fresh discourse. I want to make this easy to read while getting my point across but within a very nuanced topic, so I’m going to break this down into key bulletpoints.

This post is about the recent discussion of “fandom rules,” especially when it comes to content policing, accessibility, and the responsibility that differs from adults (or people with more life experience) and kids (or people with less life experience.) Attribute whatever definition you want as you wish, but please note that I’m not separating adults based on a strict definition of adulthood as I’ve learned it, but in general subjective interaction with either other adults, or people that the adult would perceive to be children relative to themselves.

For ease, and quick sharing, here are the five main points. Click under the cut to read my explanation of each.

Fandom culture on Tumblr and Twitter is a completely new culture that did not comparably exist beforehand.

In order for people to look for a certain type of content, they have to know that this type of content exists.

Creators are responsible for their content - not just what they make, but where they post it and how accessible the content is.

If the site has no censorship rules, then censorship is not occurring - and neither is it the answer.

If you’re an advocate of social justice; if you’re a feminist; if you create LGBT content; if you care about POC representation - then be consistent. Don’t be a hypocrite.

1. Fandom culture on Tumblr and Twitter is a completely new culture that did not comparably exist beforehand.

As someone who entered fandom in, let’s say 2006, I started on sites that were specifically geared towards people my age. (I was a kid at the time.) Quizilla. Fanfiction.net. Neopets. GaiaOnline. These spaces specifically had kids as their target audience, and, well, as a kid, I was on them.

Many of you probably heard, and probably were even there when the Fanfiction.net purge happened. While it was upsetting, as it essentially removed material without much warning for the creators at first, it was because FFn was a site specifically geared towards children, and adult content was prohibited. There are a lot of general issues I have with FFn (the “no script” policy, the elitism about grammar and spelling directly in the uploading page...) but generally this act of censorship was to protect the kids that frequented the site as much as adults.

This can be said for the other sites I listed. But even with LJ fandom - yes, I was there too - though there were kids and adults alike, LJ fandom specifically centered around communities, where there could be hard no under 18 rules. Even then, in order for you to look for an LJ comm, you’d have to look for it. If you’re a kid who never heard of Harry Potter/Teddy Lupin as a ship, there is an extremely slim chance of you actually encountering it in the first place otherwise because that type of dynamic is not something kids typically consider. Additionally, LJ as it existed was a very user-focused platform, as in the space you interact with is yours and yours alone; if you traversed into other waters, you were now entering someone else’s space, or a space for a group that you could possibly be a part of. But there was still that space that was individually yours, that no one would ever accidentally find unless they were looking for or already knew you already.

Twitter and Tumblr are much different to this. With the culture of reblogging and retweeting and huge site-wide tags that are either dysfunctional (Tumblr) or just seeing everything someone microblogs about, everyone in general is much more prone to exposure. This includes kids. If shit isn’t under lock, kids can see stuff. But if stuff is locked, then people who post things to share it with the world, or at least people who share their similar interests, are limited in their audience. Both sites operate at a fast pace and center around condensed info - and not even just with how the sites work, but with how we as people interact with people on the site. Neither Twitter nor Tumblr are specifically geared toward an age group, unlike FFn/Quizilla/etc. If you post something on Twitter or Tumblr that is geared toward your community, it’s still not necessarily limited to just that community, unlike LJ or Yahoo! Groups. 

We’ve said time and time and again that the internet is a cesspool. But Tumblr and Twitter just make it bigger - and in issues with this fannish discussion, worse.

2. In order for people to look for a certain type of content, they have to know that this type of content exists.

There is a post going around about the “rules of fandom” that discuss things like “your kink is not my kink and that’s okay”; “don’t like don’t read”; “shit and let ship.” And this would be fine if fandom still existed in a space where consuming content was just as passive as sharing content.

But with the nature of Twitter and Tumblr, this is no longer the case. People are not just limited in what they know they like and stay within a subcommunity while avoiding what they don’t like or avoiding criticism. Tumblr and Twitter puts things in your face whether you like it or not. Yes, blacklisting exists, xkit and whatever exist, Twitter now has a muting keyword function - but if you’re on a platform where you may see this type of content for you to blacklist it, you’d need to know that this content is a thing in the first place.

Since there are kids in the internet, they are very limited in their experience and knowledge. I’m not going to discuss parent restrictions about kids being on the internet because that’s a completely different topic, so: given that let’s say a thirteen year old is already on the internet, what websites are they going to use? Who are they going to follow on the website? What may they be exposed to that they didn’t know existed at first?

I do believe that a creator who posts whatever content - Problematic or Otherwise - in a space that the creator is capable of controlling, allowing certain access or otherwise, a locked Twitter account, a Dreamwidth access list - has a perfect right to do so, and anyone who gets access to that space and then complains about content there when they knew what would be beyond the lock is rather naive, entitled, and in a generalized circumstance in the wrong. Because this person had the chance to go “I don’t want to see that so I’m not going to” but instead they opened a bag that said “character death” on the outside and then they opened the bag and the character death was on the inside. What else did they expect?

But see, Twitter and Tumblr don’t operate like this. (AO3 does, but I’ll be talking about this soon enough.) And beyond that, if someone doesn’t know what to blacklist in the first place, then they have a higher chance of seeing it. And they might not have an established opinion or view of that content - a ship, a trope, whatever - yet, so the exposure naturally normalizes that content for them. We are only as much as our experiences and our exposure, but people with less life experiences are naturally exposed to less, and their initial interactions with certain content shape their view of it as they continue to grow.

3. Creators are responsible for their content - not just what they make, but where they post it and how accessible the content is.

So, yeah, if you have enough experience to evaluate what you think is right and what you think is wrong, on a website that is a psychological cesspool for adults and kids alike, you do have a responsibility to monitor the content you share, who you’re exposing it to, and how you expose it. If you don’t want to share it at all in case of this, then don’t share it. If you want to share it but with people who will appreciate it instead of “calling you out,” then post it in a private/more locked space.

I’ve been hearing a lot that people shouldn’t put the onus on creators, since anyone with autonomy and self-agency is responsible for the sites they venture onto. But see, that would be more relevant for a site that is specifically catered to adults. If you post something that you know can get backlash - or even if you don’t know but the backlash comes from a position you can evaluate as justified - then don’t whine about your hurt feelings. If you share with an audience that is prone not to be appropriate for the content, then it’s not the fault of the inappropriate audience for existing and responding to your content. And especially if a place is filled with varying experiences, ages, and mindsets, and you post something that gets criticism and backlash, I don’t know what you expected. Again, the bag outside/inside analogy. 

Kids have always been in fandom. And, really, kids have always been on the internet. The reason that it’s a matter of discussion now is because kids and adults are in the same fannish spaces (Tumblr/Twitter/AO3), so 16-year olds are now in the pool of people who can see the content of a ship between a 16-year old and a 26-year old as drawn/written/created by let’s say a 25-year old. And this is really the key difference, and where this becomes, yes, the 25-year old’s responsibility, not the 16-year old’s. If you know 16-year olds tread this website - you better get ready for responses from 16-year olds. This is not an LJ community specifically for your ship, especially with Tumblr’s broken tagging system. This is Tumblr. It’s a deep blue space of hell, and people are gonna interpret your art or your fic all they want, and they’re going to reblog it, and then someone’s going to see it whether they like it or not and get upset. This is how Tumblr works. 

(I hate this site, can you tell.)

And this is also how kids work. And how people work. But telling kids they should “get off the internet” or “shouldn’t be in fandom” isn’t the fucking solution, because if you weren’t a kid in fandom you probably don’t realize the impact fandom has on your thinking when you’re under 18 (and I say this as someone who, yes, started fandom under 18); and if you were a kid in fandom you’ve been desensitized to the point where you think everyone is at the same level of maturity and development as you when they’re not. In the real world there’s a reason age-appropriate laws exist - online it’s much more of a personal judgment space - so use your personal judgment and evaluate the person that you want to be in a public space.

In the same way that we (should) hate bronies for how a kid can’t google “My Little Pony” without some fucked up fanart showing up - safesearch on or not, the fact that the content exists on a public forum is far more of an issue - we should also remain aware that we are completely at agency and thus the responsibility for the shit we share on the internet, in a public forum, on private Twitters or Tumblrs, where anyone can see. If a kid knows and is on an adults-only website, that’s one thing; but the internet is unfailingly not adults-only, and neither are Twitter or Tumblr. We’re responsible for what we say and the content we post. Is that such a difficult point to grasp?

4. If the site has no censorship rules, then censorship is not occurring - and neither is it the answer.

AO3 (and Dreamwidth) specifically has a rule about “no censorship” when it comes to creative content. This means that people who are in charge of the content on the website cannot take any works down by means of content creativity alone. Plagiarism, bots, and harassment (which is not to be confused with criticism) are one thing - but even if you post some racist bullshit that isn’t plagiarized and doesn’t encourage harm in anyway, then it can’t be removed.

That doesn’t mean it’s racist. That also doesn’t mean that people can’t tell you it’s racist. The “freedom of speech” rule has been discussed to hell and back; but in the same way that you can create and post whatever you want, people can say whatever they want about it. They can be like “hey, this is fucked up,” or “hey this is seriously Problematic material” or “hey what the fuck is wrong with you.” Although I’m not going to get into the difference between ad hominem criticism versus harassment (though, yes, they are different.)

You can tell people to stop criticizing you, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop criticizing you. I can tell people to stop creating content with underage age gaps, but that doesn’t mean people are going to stop doing that. It’s only censorship when you are silenced beyond your ability, in which case there’s usually a reason, like FFn’s purge (aside from the censoring of slash material, like on LJ, since slash material is not inherently “adult content” so it doesn’t have any justification on underage people.)

The whole point of discourse and criticism - why it exists, why people reblog shit, why people get upset at seeing something they like getting criticized - is just about the same as people posting stuff that warrant criticism in the first place. Because it’s expression. Because it’s trying to get you to think. Because it’s sharing a perspective. No, not everyone likes something because it aligns with their morals in some way - they like it because they like it. But then they get offended when they see it come under attack on the basis of morals, which then presumes that yes, they do think they have a “moral right” to enjoy something, rather than a general right.

A moral right is something you evaluate and that no one else can control. If you get offended at something you like being criticized, then maybe you should evaluate why you like it in the first place and self-analyze, instead of immediately jumping to the defense of “but I have the right to like it in the first place!!!” No one is trying to take away your right to like it, or create for it. That would be censorship. If you have an ethical issue with criticism, that’s really your problem - if you think you have a moral justification to create or enjoy something, you better be ready to defend it on that basis than a position of your “ability” to create or enjoy in the first place. 

No one is forcing you to shut up or stop. By all means, continue doing whatever you want to do if the venue allows it. But if it’s in a space that allows as much free speech for you and for others, and it’s something that you know can get criticized - then if you throw a hissy fit over it, objectively, it’s on you.

5. If you’re an advocate of social justice; if you’re a feminist; if you create LGBT content; if you care about POC representation - then be consistent. Don’t be a hypocrite.

This post is getting so long, so I’m ending it at this point.

Okay, a lot of Twitter/Tumblr/AO3 fandom is also slash fandom. I don’t know everyone’s fannish history so I don’t know what everyone knows, but fandom outside of slash - which, really, boils down to being homophobic fandom in one way or another - has existed for just as long as slash fandom, possibly even longer. Within slash fandom, we also push for better LGBT representation, POC representation, and female representation. A lot of us identify as feminists, or even intersectional feminists. (If we can’t agree on this, then you can just skip this post honestly.)

And why? Because mainstream media is shit, and centered around straight white men. A lot of us absolve the “straightness” in slash fandom; a lot of us discuss wanting to center on characters of color, or female characters. This is because we know our reality is much more colorful, more interesting, less straight/cis, less male-focused. Because we know that straight people and white people and men are in positions of oppressive power in the real world, but they are far from being the only people in the world.

And lately, a recent hot take has been that “fiction isn’t reality,” when it comes to discussion of toxic and unhealthy relationships. But this argument holds no fucking water if you want better representation for real life marginalized groups in fictional media (including fanwork!), but when it comes to character dynamics, then suddenly the impact of fiction (including fanwork!) means nothing to reality. Yeah, real life shitty dynamics exist. But they’re shitty and result in real life instances of trauma. In the same way that you might want straight/white/men to be less glorified, less normalized by the media - you should also really want unhealthy/toxic character relationships to also be less glorified or normalized in fiction (including fanwork!) 

You can’t pick and choose to what makes you feel like a good person and what makes you feel like a shitty person. If you really cared about fictional representations of oppressed groups, then you wouldn’t be spewing that “fiction isn’t reality” bullshit - if you really believed that, you wouldn’t care at all.

So reevaluate your priorities, because you’re responsible for all your actions, all your words, what you share on the internet - whether you like it or not. The impact, message, and your content that gets spread is all on you. People are allowed to make mistakes, but we have to own up to them, too.