#fandom discourse ????

[curiositysavesthecat]

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[lovelycureaestetic]

Ok.

[captain-hen]

i mean, i just think that if y'all didn't consider buck to be irredeemable after he cheated on taylor, asked her to move in without coming clean first and essentially trapping her, and admitting with his whole chest that he was 'settling' for her and STILL continuing to stay with her—it's very telling that eddie has become a villain because of what he's about to do 🤨

[antianakin]

Me: Ahsoka got brought in so late to Anakin's story that she ends up pretty irrelevant to his development because it was already written in its entirety without her inclusion. Anakin's motivations for falling and for coming back can't have anything to do with Ahsoka because they were never about her to begin with. She got shoehorned into Anakin's story without any real consideration for what this might mean for her character in the long term.

Ahsoka fans: HOW DARE YOU SAY FANS CAN'T LIKE AHSOKA

Me: I literally never said that.

Ahsoka fans: AHSOKA IS THE MOST MEANINGFUL CHARACTER IN ALL OF STAR WARS, SHE SAVED MY LIFE WHEN I WAS A CHILD

Me: Okay? Glad she means a lot to you, but that has nothing to do with my analysis of Ahsoka's place within the overall narrative and Anakin's story specifically.

Ahsoka fans: SO YOU JUST DON'T RESPECT ARTISTS AT ALL AND THINK THEY SHOULD ALL DIE EVEN THO THEY ARE BEING SO GENEROUS BY GIVING YOU MORE CONTENT TO CONSUME

Me: I respect artists just fine, but I reserve the right to have an opinion on the art even if it's negative or critical, as well as the right to express that opinion.

Ahsoka fans: I GUESS YOU'RE INCAPABLE OF HAVING A MATURE CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS THEN

[fangirl-nadir]

[allaboutalf]

Thank you Ryan for stating exactly what we’ve been saying in terms of buddie. If it happens (IF), it’s baby steps, cause that’s good storytelling. This isn’t fan fiction & any decent, well-developed & lasting ROMANTIC relationship for Buck & Eddie would need to be established well & plotted believably if it were to work as a story on screen & last. Especially knowing where the characters are right now.

So can we, especially those of us who are queer, just bloody well enjoy Buck & Tommy for what it is - a bisexual realisation storyline & queer romance - for however long it lasts? This should be something we’re celebrating & enjoying without getting hated on. Without it all being twisted into something negative. Cause we trust the writers (professional, employed people, not an 18 yr old with an AO3 account) to do their jobs.

Maybe them doing those jobs will lead to buddie & maybe it won’t, maybe it’s Buck & Tommy, maybe it’s Buck & someone else. Idk I’ve always shipped buddie but it was never guaranteed so I guess I don’t get the tantrums. But I just want to enjoy the ride for now & the romance with Tommy & the relationship with Eddie/Buck & it’s exhausting seeing people acting like just the one thing in the show (buddie) is important. Watch for whatever reason, but if you’re having meltdowns over it not happening yet (when it never made sense for the current story pace/place) then maybe just go watch clips on YT?

On a side note, I did distance myself from engaging with Ryan content a few years ago when the problematic stuff around racism, vaccines & guns was going on, but I’m glad to see it looks like he has worked to move past that & has worked to be better. He seems more comfortable in his skin now & the cast seem like they’re on good terms so whatever that means for him & what he’s come to accept about himself or improve about himself, I’m glad.

[messiahzzz]

i’ve seen fandom use the terms headcanon & canon synonymously for a while now, which i believe to be the true source of a lot of recent discourse. so i think it's high time for a well-intentioned lesson in fandom terminology:

headcanon:

Headcanon refers to something that a fan imagines to be true about a character even though no information supporting that belief is spelled out in the text. Sometimes that involves filling in your own explanation for a character’s strange motivation, or projecting aspects onto a character that make them more relatable to you. If you choose to believe, for example, that the Federation vessels in Star Trek malfunction so frequently due to Federation engineers simply being overmatched by the technology; or that Dumbledore and the Weasleys are evil conspirators, then you’ve created a headcanon—essentially, a canon that exists only in your head. Headcanon may represent a teasing out of subtext present in the canon, or it may directly contradict canon. If a larger amount of fans share this interpretation, it may become fanon. It is possible for someone’s headcanon to become canon if such details later become part of the original material. [x] [x]

here is how urban dictionary defines “headcanon”:

Used by followers of various media of entertainment, such as television shows, movies, books, etc. to note a particular belief which has not been used in the universe of whatever program or story they follow, but seems to make sense to that particular individual, and as such is adopted as a sort of "personal canon". Headcanon may be upgraded to canon if it is incorporated into the program or story's universe. [x]

fanon:

A portmanteau of fan and canon. It applies when someone’s headcanon is shared with and becomes widely accepted by members of a fan community, even when it has little or no basis in canon. [x]

canon:

The word "canon" originates from theology, meaning "the foundational texts of a religion." It refers to the body of work, characters, events, and details that are officially recognized as part of the story's continuity. These are the elements that are considered to be genuine or "official" within that fictional universe, often established by the original creator or by subsequent authoritative sources. Elements outside of canon, such as fan fiction or alternate interpretations, are not considered part of the official storyline. Essentially: It’s the source material. [x]

[achaotichuman]

Fandom Rant

The thing about ships, is that I will never hate on people that like those ships and hate on other ships. Because that's just fandom discourse. We all hate and love certain things.

But the fucking second, you start shitting on the people that do like those ships is the second that I will whip around and hate on you.

This goes for Feysand, it goes for Elriel, it goes Elucien, it goes for Gwynriel, it goes for Tamcien, it goes for apparently fucking Rhysta (???)

I dont know much about the situation, all I can say is anti and pro discourse will always exist. It is just how fandoms work.

However, hate for the person behind the screen should never under any circumstances be tolerated.

Do I hate Elriel, Feysand and Nessian? Absolutely.

Do I hate people that ship it? Fuck no. Unless they come at me.

And this does not mean I am not open for a good, well-meaning debate. That is something I very much enjoy. I think people discussing their opinions and giving their reasons as to why they like certain ships is what keeps the fandom interesting.

But hating, calling names, going off your head on people, or dragging them over it? Yeah, fuck that.

[sherlockholmeshound]

holy hell twitter star wars fandom sure is something

i will just say anidala wasn't very well written at first (and george lucals even admitted that romance isnt his strong suit) but reylo's writting is abysmal

ben/kylo's writting is even more abysmal, there's also the little, very small barely important fact that anakin wasn't abusive prior rots and is probable that if padme had lived, he wouldn't continue to be abusive since he literally fell to the dark side so she wouldn't die lol

but whatever, actually curious to anyone's thoughts on this??? i don't even know the kylo/rey ship that well

[phantasm-masquerade]

reblog for a bigger sample size if you feel like it

[webshood]

not gonna elaborate it rn, but people diminishing Jason's experience with homelessness, malnourishment, childhood abuse and neglect, because he got adopted by a billionaire while also hcning Tim Drake to be abused and starved by his wealthy parents is rooted in racism and classism

[curiositysavesthecat]

Additional comment from the submitter: ❝I know most people have more than one Blorbo, some may be male, some may be female, etc. So answer the one that is the majority of your Blorbos; if most (or all) of them are male, vote male — if most (or all) of them are female, vote female. Or if most (or all) of them are nonbinary, vote that. I chose not to include the 50/50 or both option because I’d like to know in which direction people tend to find a character ‘Blorbo Material’ in terms of gender.❞

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[braxiatel]

I think the best solution to the “Grian fans making everything about Grian” complaint isn’t to shame the Grian fans but rather that the rest of us who have other faves should simply become more abnormal about them

[captain-hen]

i wonder if this fandom realizes just how deeply racist it's obsession with buck "being a better dad" to chris or getting custody of him for whatever reason is. lol.

[antianakin]

So, for people who don't have basic reading skills, when I say Ahsoka is entirely irrelevant to Anakin's story, this does not mean that I think Ahsoka is a bad character, that I think Ahsoka should never have existed, that Ahsoka is uninteresting, or that I don't think Ahsoka can be important to fans who enjoyed her. When I say Ahsoka is irrelevant to Anakin's story, it really does truly mean JUST THAT.

Anakin's motivations for everything that he does already existed prior to Ahsoka. They're built into his story long before she ever even existed. The message of his story existed before Ahsoka was even a glimmer in Filoni's eye. So nothing about Anakin's story truly changes in any meaningful way because of Ahsoka's inclusion in it. He still falls because of his attachments, because of his fear, because he cannot live without Padme and is traumatized by the loss of his mother. He chooses to come back because of his selfless love for his son, because he'd rather die than allow Luke to be killed. None of the most important choices in Anakin's story have anything at all to do with Ahsoka and, quite honestly, I feel like it takes away from the whole theme of his story to try to shoehorn Ahsoka into those choices.

The story existed before Ahsoka and it has not, does not, and never will need her in order to make sense or be compelling.

NONE OF WHICH means Ahsoka cannot be significant IN HER OWN RIGHT. Ahsoka was the first female character to truly be the main character of a high canon Star Wars story (if we consider her the main character of TCW, which you can make a solid argument for). Ahsoka was the first female Jedi character to even be allowed to speak in a high canon Star Wars story let alone be the main character of that story. And that's significant, obviously. It was a major milestone in Star Wars and it meant a lot to a lot of fans growing up, especially young girls.

I have never and will never dispute what Ahsoka meant to the franchise and to the fandom.

She's still totally irrelevant to Anakin's story. The two things are not mutually exclusive. They can both be true at once.

And honestly, I think Ahsoka would be doing a lot BETTER as a character if people were able to recognize that more. Ahsoka IS NOT RELEVANT to Anakin's story. Anakin is relevant to HER story, but she truly is not that relevant to his in return. Ahsoka cannot remain anchored to Anakin forever, it's quite literally dragging her down. Trying to make her more significant to the Skywalker Saga is making it impossible for Ahsoka to be significant in her own right, separate from her relationship to Anakin.

So I'm going to keep saying that Ahsoka is irrelevant to the Skywalker Saga, to Anakin's story, because it's true and I find it a really important part of any discussion about Ahsoka as a character and her place within the narrative and the franchise.

[madlori]

On Tommy Kinard

"It's not that I don't like Buck and Tommy, it's just happening so fast, he's underdeveloped!"

*clears throat*

Here is a recap of what we know about Tommy. And this is just off the top of my head, I didn't rewatch anything.

He was closeted at the 118 before and found the atmosphere repressive. He (probably) acted like a dick to fit in. When presented with the chance to make things better, he took it, and developed positive relationships with Hen, Chim and Bobby.

He was in the army and trained there as a pilot.

He knows Muay Thai and has a set up in his house.

He likes to work on cars and has a lift at his house (where TF does he live is my question - he has some nerve being agog at Buck's loft if he has a muay thai gym and a car lift)

He is down for violating departmental policy at the drop of a hat (has done so on at least two occasions) to help a friend and has no problems fucking with the fire chief.

He is a nerd. He likes pub trivia and has incorrect Star Wars opinions, and can keep up with Chim in the movie-quoting department.

His favorite movie is "Love, Actually" and he likes craft beer and monster trucks.

He came out when he transferred to Harbor and felt comfortable enough to stop lying about who he was.

He follows MMA and has friends in Vegas who like him well enough to hook him up to a frankly insane degree.

He'll risk his own life and engage in helicopter skulduggery to save people he doesn't know...I mean, apart from doing that for a living.

He'll take time out of his day to give a tour to the cute boy who called him up and offer to give that boy flying lessons (a significant time investment) which was probably maybe about more one on one time with said boy.

He yearns for the belonging and found family that the 118 became after his departure and probably befriended Eddie hoping to earn a plate at the cookout, aside from just clicking with him.

He likes Eddie and Chris a lot and they like him. Chimney also likes him.

He was attracted to Buck right away and was emotionally aware enough to pick up on Buck's jealous feelings over Eddie and his friendship, even if he was surprised that it was him Buck wanted to get to know.

He respects and values Buck and Eddie's friendship and wanted to make sure Buck knew that.

He's brave enough to shoot his shot by planting one on a dude.

He's a lil bitchy but also generous and ready to throw in with this insane guy who's inviting him to a family wedding after 0.5 dates.

He showed up to a bachelor party when he was on call because Buck asked him to, then showed up in turnouts after fighting a fire for like 12 hours yadda yadda we all know this part.

He has got it BAD for one Evan Buckley, who he only calls "Evan" which according to LFJR is a conscious decision by the writers, which fascinates me.

He was willing to take a chance with a man just discovering his sexuality BUT wasn't willing to put himself through that if the man in question wasn't ready for it. When Buck showed him that he was, he was all in.

He does NOT take his coffee like that.

Oh and

He's a beast.

This is VASTLY more information than we knew about ANY of Buck's previous girlfriends with the possible exception of Abby. Even Taylor did not get this much development over 20 episodes (things we knew about her: she was an ambitious and ethically flexible reporter, did not eat fudge, had a dad in jail, and sometimes jogged for exercise, she was capable of being nice and did love Buck, I believe). And as for it being fast? Sometimes it just be like that? A relationship doesn't have to have year(s) of buildup. Sometimes people do just meet, like each other, and start dating, in fact in the real world that's usually what happens. It's in TV Land that you have to have eighteen seasons of UST before pulling the trigger. Most of the time in reality people just vibe off each other and decide to go out and THEN they learn about each other.

And they've got a great start. You'd think they'd barely spoken by how a few naysayers are talking about it - the loft scene was like a solid five minutes of very open conversation, the Cringe Date seemed to have gone well and again, open and honest (if cringey) conversation before Cockblocker Eddie showed up, and the coffee meetup was again....open and honest conversation. They're not gonna show us long scenes of them exchanging firefighting stories and workout preferences (I mean, I'd watch that, but it's not what the show is about).

In conclusion, anyone saying he's poorly developed or the relationship is "out of nowhere" either is being willfully obtuse or has ridiculously unrealistic expectations for relationships and/or what constitutes character development.

As for whether they have chemistry, that's a matter of subjective opinion. Given that a TON of people watched that harbor tour scene (even when it was posted as a sneak peek) and started going "wait...what's going on here...are they flirting??" might be a clue. People were talking about Bi!Buck maybe happening with Tommy based solely off that clip of the harbor tour and what they were seeing between them. And imho that loft scene was crackling. But we all see things through the lenses of our biases, myself included.

Got that off my chest, whew.