#anyway. I know this quote (probably) isn't meant to be taken literally

[aaapplepie]

"I've never run into a creature so...successful at imitating humans..."

[yurissweettooth]

I would try to not get too worried about people posting "don't do that" about fandom. In the end, the statement "you can just block it if you don't like that!" goes both ways, and if someone is allowed to say "normalize mischaracterization" (which makes the series-absolutists mad) then series-absolutists are allowed to say "man it annoys the shit out of me when people mischaracterize x characters" (which makes the other side mad) In the end both sides need to go "oh this isn't for me", block and move on. It's just people talking on the internet about what they like or what bugs them and shouldn't ever be treated as more than that. But yeah it's mean if someone quotes someone else's post to say what they're doing is wrong lol just make your own post so you aren't getting that person involved at that point

Hi! ^^ So I should state that I actually 100% agree with what you are saying here and this is actually the stance I already had, so perhaps I should have clarified better in my original post 😅 [Also, I feel like tone indicators can get kinda confusing so I'll just say that I mean this in a very neutral/explanatory way with no negative feelings! I just feel like I should have worded my initial post better so I'll clarify a little here ^^] So my original post/vent was not about people simply saying they dislike a thing (even in that post I specified that I do not like/enjoy similar things and find plenty of takes that annoy me all the time and there are plenty of ways people engage in fandom that I simply do not understand or enjoy) but I was referring more to the mean-spirited posts that are belittling, shaming, and reducing people who are just trying to have fun down to people who are idiots with no reading comprehension and fake love for a series. Posts that accrue thousands of responses of people chiming in about how stupid, annoying, etc. said people are, naming and shaming people, etc. etc. And if it were simply just the posts alone I'd just block and ignore (as I try to do anyway) but it is also the fact that the same sentiments are being/have been directly targeted at me and others who I care for and probably plenty of other people as well. I would like to have fun on my own time and not be berated and told to "kys" because I HC a character a certain way. It is tiresome to be have wild assumptions made about my beliefs and morality because I examined both sides of a morally grey character or enjoyed a character even though they have done wrong and I don't align with them. It is annoying to draw a silly little doodle for fun or write a crackfic and have someone rip it apart because I am "reducing a character down to a single trope" (<-literally the intention of shitposts that are not meant to be taken seriously, not a reflection of my genuine thoughts or interpretation). I do not like when I post something innocuous and someone who thinks it's stupid and annoying reblogs it which gets a chorus of other people telling me how stupid and annoying it is when I was doing something for fun and sharing it for others who might enjoy it too. I know this is the internet, I know it has been full of assholes since the beginning of time and will be forever, but I do not think it is unfair or unreasonable to wish that people could be kinder to others even if that may never happen. I also thin it's fair to wish that people would not act as though they are morally superior because they enjoy fiction in a way others, name and shame people doing innocuous things they don't like leading to harassment, or reduce others down to ableist remarks. The latter is doubly problematic because there are MANY neurodivergent people in fandom who very well might have issues understanding the text and should 100% be allowed to exist peacefully and have fun anyway but are often subjected to bullying and ridicule as it is.

I think saying "hey, let's make it more acceptable for people to engage in fandom however they want to so long as it's fun for you and not hurting anyway" is very different than retweeting someone's post to thousands of people to tell them they are a fake fan because they wanted to have fun without backlash.

Same goes for the other way around too. I'm never going to say someone doing something innocent like stating their opinions or frustrations is wrong or bad for doing so, so long as they aren't bullying or belittling or being ableist about it or actively supporting people who are.

I just wanted to make sure I clarified that I never said nor do I believe that people cannot hold the opinion that things in fandom are annoying because I do not believe that. 😅 I just think that we shouldn't be assholes to/about people just because of that though.

[notcrypticbutcoy]

Hi, not sure if you are aware of this, but the Timothy post - the one with Jesus vs Satan - is offensive because it is an inaccurate (and false!) representation of Jesus. I know that conservative 'Christians' in America are horrible people, but that post is very... if you want to diss Christianity at least do it right, like "Abraham and Sarah were half siblings" or something like that. This isn't personal, mainly just... annoying

Previous Jesus anon; my point is, canon Jesus is awesome, but conservative Jesus is horrible. Also, there’s the whole literal theme cycle of sin and redemption, and sin is the conscious choice to send your faithful servant away with their death message because you - whoops! - slept with their wife and now she’s pregnant but the servant was too loyal to sleep with his wife whilst everyone else was fighting - I’m looking at you, David. Anyway. Catholic who despises “the religious belt” of U.S.A.

Listen to the Pope, not conservatives who don’t know nothing. Just… the mispresentation of my religion across mass media because of idiots is very annoying. Sorry for the rant. I like my religion, but not all of the ‘followers’ a.k.a the idolators.

Alright, I’m going to attempt to make this reply as non-salty as I can, but I should prelude with the fact that I heavily dislike and criticise religion. In general. Not just Christianity - all religions. I don’t really talk about my views on religion much, because I know it can be a very sore point, so perhaps reblogging that post was poor judgement on my part, but  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

I’m afraid I’m not going to apologise for reblogging that post, because it’s obviously very tongue in cheek and not meant to be taken too seriously (and…doesn’t the Bible think humans are superior to animals? Doesn’t the Bible consider human souls above animal souls, or something?) (Quick edit because I didn’t make this clear, I am aware that that whole post is pretty inaccurate to what the Bible actually says, but again...tongue in cheek!) But I am sorry you didn’t like it - if you want me to tag those sorts of things so you can blacklist it, I’m sure I can do that. Not that I plan on making those sorts of posts a habit. “Satan wants equality” or whatever someone had said just made me snort.

But, look, I get where you’re coming from. I do understand that Christianity gets a lot of flack, and if you’re a well-meaning person just trying to do your thing, it must be disheartening. So I do sympathise with you in that respect. There are bad parts of all social groups - sadly, they’re usually the ones who get the most attention. It is what it is. Christianity is not at all unique in that respect.

I’m going to rid you of the misconception that I think what I do because of religious nuts in America. I’m not American, so to be perfectly honest, while I am aware of and despise the sorts of people you are referring to, they were a creed I discovered after the founding of my original point of contention with religion when I was about six years old, came home from school one day, and apparently announced to my mother, who’d never expressed any opinion on religion at all, that I thought religion was stupid. I’ve been through phases and thought about it critically since then, obviously, but…you get my point.

Jesus is probably one of the things about Christianity I dislike the least, because I do think Christianity expresses some good messages, and he gets the majority of them, but I just disagree with most of it, as a general concept. I haven’t decided I don’t like Christianity because of a few Evangelical Christians, or because of the “misrepresentation”, as you call it, of Christianity in the media. (Which…I could make a whole other post discussing that point).

A religion can’t exist outside of its following. You can’t say that a section of Christians that large are just “idolators”, because in America, they have rather a lot of power, and however much they may be warping the Bible for their own political agendas, what they’re quoting is, nevertheless, there. The Bible does condemn all sorts of ridiculous things. That said, I have the utmost respect for people like yourself that have clearly decided to update and modernise and adapt, while still believing in your god and your religion.

But, America aside, I have obviously met many perfectly nice Christians in my life. Some have been genuinely lovely people. I still don’t believe in what they believe. I still disagree with the way that in my experience Christians, particularly, have habit of trying to convert you. I recently worked with a group of Christian women in a kids’ after school club, and the level of indoctrination made me very uncomfortable. There was no balance. They weren’t Arsehole Christians, by any means - all were perfectly accepting of same-sex marriage, of divorce, of interracial marriage, they were all very nice and friendly and did good things in the community - but they did very loudly want everyone to believe what they did. And despite my repeated insistence that while I respected their right to practise their own religion I was an atheist, they made countless attempts to convince me to go to Church with them, even after many very polite refusals and explanations. 

The day I listen to the Pope is the day I’ve been possessed by an alien, I’m afraid. I understand what you’re trying to say, but again, please don’t think I dislike your religion because I’ve heard too many “The Westbro Baptist Church Shits On Gay People” stories. It’s far more nuanced than that. I am very aware of what Christianity is really about, and I am very aware that there are perfectly lovely Christians in the world. I can like Christians - some of them, as with any section of society!

I still don’t have to agree with them.

(Anon, I feel a teensy bit mean replying to you with all this, but…there it is. I hope you have a lovely day