#i am done with fandom gatekeeping

[captainzigo]

when i say i hate bronies in my header, it’s hyperbole. i don’t necessarily hate you if you self identify with the brony label. i don’t even hate you necessarily if the brony label applies to you. it’s kinda like when one says they hate all men

i hate the bastards who seemed hell bent on showing me porn and gore as a child. the ones who made fandom for the new children’s show an unsafe place for children. the ones gatekeeping the show’s litteral target audience from their own spaces. the ones who were misogynistic and homophobic like i’ve never even seen in a baptist church here in the south. i can say more, but ill save that stuff for therapy.

i’m a fan of stuff for which i am not the target audience, a great many things, but im not bigot about it. also considering that i am a trans woman, and more than that i was a child when the show was coming out, the brony label does not apply to me and i would appreciate it not being used for me. entirely divorced from my personal baggage with the label

if you self identify as a brony im probably pretty chill with you actually. and if you are one of the people ive been describing here, you better have done a lot of growing as a person. and please venmo me $50 at least

[elenagoeslightly]

girl i dont know why i am seeing so many posts of ppl being angry about sylus being a new love interest or about rafayel being written one way or another (which confuses me endlessly bc he is a character. i am literally reading everything i can find about him like a woman obsessed and i have seen this pixel man become everything on ao3; sub, switch, dom, even vampire and i am having the time of my life. also quick reminder that writers in fandoms give you content for free. for free. there are literally ppl writing things that are perfection on earth and they are doing it for free. for free and for your entertainmet what a time to be alive.)

I have seen posts of ppl being scared about interacting or writing about rafayel bc of the fandom and i have to say that as a rafayel girlie i want as many ppl as possible to write about him and to have as many povs of him as possible. like literally gatekeeping a character is killing the character, bc no one wants to write about a characters if they have to be afraid of the reaction of others, and again, it doesnt make sense: you will get less fics, less drawings and less everything. youre shooting yourself in the foot.

Also the only problem with this game is the lack of a age limit and i will stand on this hill till the end of days.

and about sylus: girl. g i r l. first and foremost, kudos to the devs for making these pixel men more complex as the game goes on, bc ive seen this man chained, unchained, reading books with glasses in bed like a grandpa and making a salad like a domestic husband all in one week and hes not even in the game yet, so putting him in a box might be a bit against the character himself. also, this loyalty thing makes no sense. ive jumped from zayne to raf and i am probably going to jump again a lil (even if i find raf's character and his duality extremely captivating for some reason).

but again, pls dont gatekeep. ive been in fandoms for years and from my been there done that perspective, nothing harms a fandom more than that, bc it makes ppl pick a side and have arguments and that's a mess.

pls let ppl have fun and enjoy things pls pls pls

[chromatic-mediant]

Stop calling these Fandom Menace YouTubers stupid, when what they really are is manipulative. Yes, there are a lot of chronically online people who say infuriating shit because they genuinely lack media literacy, but if you see someone making a demonstrably false statement, i.e. labelling Amandla Stenberg's calm Instagram video a 'meltdown', it is because they're a manipulator. They know full well that it plays into the angry Black woman trope, and they know exactly what their followers are going to do. This is how gatekeeping works. You have a small, but deeply entitled group of people who believe that Star Wars should be theirs and only theirs, and they intend to keep it that way by trolling people out of the fandom.

For example, I saw someone on Facebook share a screenshot of a 1981 fanzine called Against The Sith, which was edited by fangirls, and it provides clear evidence that women and girls were an active part of the fandom in its early days. However, this completely goes against the Fandom Menace claim that once upon a time, the fandom was a boy's club until Disney made it 'woke'.

What are you supposed to do when you have clear, in-your-face evidence disproving your narrative? You make shit up.

So, this Fandom Menace troll kept leaving a bunch of long comments insisting that the screenshot had to be fake, claiming that the word Sith wasn't around back then, and that woke people were trying to rewrite history. Then, a bunch of people, including OG Star Wars fans, corrected him and said, 'Actually, the word Sith absolutely was around back then because fans were reading the novelisations.' Then the troll replied, 'Well, maybe the reprints of these novelisations had the word Sith in it, but not the originals,' to which the OG fans replied, 'No, I actually have a vintage first edition copy of the novelisation and I am telling you, the word Sith absolutely was around back then and Star Wars fans would've known this.' Every time they corrected this guy, he kept doubling down. Why?

Because the point of fandom gatekeeping isn't to be right; it's to piss people off and waste their time.

You see, these people don't care about making themselves look nice and reasonable to outsiders. They actually like their horrible reputation, because if the Star Wars fandom becomes associated with them, it means newcomers will be hesitant to join, and it also means longtime fans will either leave entirely or stop talking about Star Wars on the internet.

(Obviously, I do think more needs to be done about the Fandom Menace than simply refusing to engage with them, and I could write a separate post on that, but my overall point here is to remind people of the difference between ignorance and malice)

One of the reasons why I felt the need to create a Star Wars blog on here is because it's one of the very few apps where I don't have to block people every single day. I refuse allow these shitheads to tell me that I'm not allowed to be a part of this fandom. If that means moving to a healthier space, then so be it.

[olderthannetfic]

TL;DR: multiple people can arrive at the same fanfic idea/premise in different ways, but also, getting inspired by a different fanfic is not stealing, please don't gatekeep!

I joined a new fandom (it's Resident Evil (RE), which I'm mostly mentioning for that one 'nosy' anon because hell yeah I am super nosy as well, so here you go, dropping some names!), and I quickly stumbled upon one fandom-specific plot trope that I thought was both pretty neat but also super obvious (Infected!Character fic, which, in a world with zombies and viruses that cause zombies is a very logical trope).

Anyway, there was not quite as much body horror as I thought there would be, although I'm still looking, but that's not why I'm writing to you, that's just the (un)necessary background.

There was this one fic that I opened, which in its Author's Note clearly stated that the author set this fanfiction in another author's AU, because they loved the world created by this first author. The first fanfiction author basically came up with their own Infected!Character design and backstory (including fanart), and the second fanfiction author liked it so much they were now writing this fic based on/in that AU. Obviously not quoting the AN directly, but this second author was very complimentary and explicitly mentioned where they got the idea from, gushing about the first author.

In the AN for chapter two, the second author stated that they weren't aware that that first fanfiction author didn't allow others to write about the Infected!Character AU they'd made, that that first author in fact only allowed a very limited number of people they publicly approved of to write about their AU, and nobody else was allowed to touch the Infected!Character AU. This second author was now apologising in the AN for not knowing this, plus mentioning that they changed chapter one to switch up the backstory & design to not be too close to that of the first fanficton author's AU.

That made me sad, honestly. I've seen this attitude a couple of times, where fanfiction authors are super protective of their ideas that they won't allow any other fanfiction author to write about them, and it's always struck me as a little bit hypocritical, given the whole deal of fanfiction. Especially when the original/first fanfiction author is credited and the inspired work is clearly done because the second author loved the first fanfiction so much. If it's a highly developed/specific and original AU (so not just any common trope), and you don't even mention the fanfic you were inspired by, then I find that rude, but just flat out not allowing people to even touch 'your' thing? C'mon!

This partially ties into my other gripe about a specific type of comments I occasionally get, which are along the lines of 'huh interesting idea where did you get it? bc/btw there is this other fic with the same idea (posted before you)'; idk if I got the tone right, but they never seem to be actually genuinely asking how I got the idea (and I always delight in telling them, not sarcastically, I genuinely love talking about this stuff, bc I get inspired by the most random things and I love love writing 'original'/new things!! I love tropes as much as anybody, I read a shitton of them, but i when I write I love coming up with new shit/plot! it's so fun!!). They just vanish after my explanation, even when I try to invite further conversation. It always feels to me like they're 'checking' that I didn't steal the idea, and it feels a bit lousy.

I mean in (larger) fandoms, it is not surprising at all that two or three or even more people arrive at the same idea, maybe even inspired by the same thing, same reading of canon, or not, varied experiences--and just because the works are similar doesn't mean that they were inspired by one another, but if they are, that's not a sin! I just want people to not take everything in bad faith, and also, to not 'disallow' others from getting inspired, especially when they do it in a very polite manner!

It's because of comments like these that I sometimes, very privately, worry that before I'll manage to post the long fic I spent months writing--because I'm one of those who wants the thing finished before I start posting--somebody else will have a similar idea, post their thing first, and then I'll look like I'm lying about not reading/stealing their idea, or just jumping on the bandwagon, which again, it's not a bad thing, actually.

And it shouldn't be like that! I shouldn't worry, and people should also be more willing to accept that authors can arrive at the same idea at (roughly) the same time & accept that explanation without side-eyeing the author, and that if an author is inspired by a different fanfic, that's not a sin either (in fact, for me it would be an honour).

None of this is new either, but that RE stuff reminded me of it again.

Oh man, this is way longer than I thought it would be. Apologies. I'm going to add a TLDR at the start.

Anyway, I'm going to finish writing an Infected!Catboy!Leon fic now and be very unsurprised if I find out that somebody else has had the same idea long before me (aside from one or two reader fic inserts with that topic that I stumbled upon on tumblr, bc that's just not my thing at all (reader insert, I mean)).

--

In college, friends of mine had a falling out over one of them "stealing" the other's fic idea.

Space pirates.

Not specific space pirates. Not a way of integrating the concept that was fandom-specific. No, just the general idea of space pirates in the same fandom.

Never have I facepalmed so hard.

[noemilivv]

i’ve had quite a few people say in my ask box “you’re like the only fic blog i follow!” and honestly, i’m not sure why, because there are various hazbin hotel writers on this platform who are talented and deserve all the attention they have, and more! so i’m done gatekeeping my faves and am going to guide you to some peeps + suggest you fics from them!!

key:

❣️ = fluff

💋 = smut

🌧️ = angst

📖 = headcanons

💕 = top fave(s)

@bigfatbimbo — this girl is insanely talented it’s not even funny. her fics make me HUNGRY, STRAVING, THRISTY. like holy fuck. no matter whether it’s smut or fluff or something else, it’s great, she already has quite a bit of attention, but she needs way more.

anyway here are some of her fics i HIGHLY recommend you go read.

“and i saw sparks” lucifer x reader (💕,❣️)

hate sex velvette (💋)

lucifer w/ s/o who got their nails done for him (❣️)

silly vox hcs (📖, ❣️)

sub!lucifer (💋)

“the morning after” velvette x reader (❣️, mentions of 💋, 💕)

“i could be a better boyfriend” vox x reader (🌧️, ❣️, 💕)

@si1vya — they are a page specifically for matchups (i used to do them, but now don’t, as that event is over for my blog haha) but if i didn’t get to your matchup or you want another i highly suggest going to faith’s blog!! their so kind and generous and are insanely underrated and deserve the love💕

i’m not gonna list any posts because their a matchup page but still go check them out!!

@multi-fandom-imagine — chelsea is SO TALENTED !! her husk fics specifically make me feel so whole it’s not even funny. she also writes for a number of other fandoms as well, but i know her from her hazbin content.

i just found her recently, so this list may be short, but here are some fics i highly recommend from this gal !

lucifer giving reader hickeys (❣️, 📖, 💕)

giving lucifer a squishamallow (❣️)

adam, husk, alastor, lucifer helping you on your period (📖, implied 💋 in husk and adam’s section)

husk cuddling pregnant reader (❣️, 💕)

@hazbinwhoree — you love adam? this blog is perfect for you!! no matter the fic type, they always write adam very in character imo!! one of the newer hazbin blogs i started reading for xD oh so talented and give this blog so much love for their dedication to writing adam haha

“Hands” adam x reader (💋, 💕)

adam comforting reader (❣️, 🌧️, 💕)

“PTSD” adam x reader (🌧️)

general adam hcs pt1 (❣️, 📖, 💋)

“Not Today” adam x reader (🌧️, 💕, ❣️)

there are many others that i did not include due to the post getting fairly lengthy, this list has potential to grow, no doubt. but i just wanted to give a short shoutout to some of my faves, please check them out, their so talented haha

i have a few requests in my inbox rn, i’m gonna work on them tomorrow, maybe tonight, idk yet

[itbmojojoejo]

This hellsite is going to die if people keep being so negative and nasty to people all for sharing their creations.

The joy is literally being sucked away bit by bit every week PURELY BECAUSE THE ATMOSPHERE FEELS HOSTILE. And for what? Is it jealously? Is it boredom? Is it because you've decided to have a dislike for certain blogs?

And honestly if its to gatekeep an entire fandom because you want your own thoughts and takes to be the only fanon then well done, you are doing a fabulous job, I know writers/artists/gif makers EVEN READERS that want to create for and enjoy a space that feels unwelcoming so they refuse to do it - and yes I'm included in that.

I am fed up of seeing people getting shit for simply wanting to be apart of fandom. I have already lost mutuals from other fandoms because they have deactivated from petty nasty anons on top of a hostile space and I don't want to see that happen again.

IGNORE/UNFOLLOW/BLOCK - IT IS REALLY THAT SIMPLE. You can even block certain tags you don't want to see. START DOING IT.

[d3sertdream3r]

I've been loving trop this season!! I am wondering how the whole SauronxGaladriel thing is going to play out though I'm nervous it won't be very satisfying with everything they've built up and all the marketing hype it's gotten. I'm worried they're baiting shippers to get more people to watch. Thoughts?

Oh boy, I have MANY thoughts!

I am absolutely DEVOURING this season, anon! The first episode in particular really blew me away. As a Saurondriel/Haladriel shipper, I thought all the direct parallels shown in Sauron and Galadriel’s journeys were PERFECT! 

I was worried they were going to retcon Sauron’s genuine feelings of despair and questioning if he should “repent” or not due to the amount of hate and toxicity from the usual suspects on the internet. Instead they really leaned into it, and I loved seeing The Dark Lord having nightmares. It’s a side of him we’ve never seen explored before! And that Annatar reveal… holy moly! Celebrimbor and I were both like: 

Galadriel has been breaking my heart in each episode. Elrond and Gil-Galad need to give my girl a break! Morfydd Clark’s acting is stellar. She is so heartbroken over not recognizing Sauron for who he truly was and even worse… catching feelings for him! She’s really going through it and it hurts, but it’s also brilliant on the writers’ part. 

Everyone else’s acting and stories are great too. Arondir was a favorite of mine last season and continues to be this season. Disa is FANTASTIC and I love her and Durin so much there aren’t any words to describe it. Isildur and Estrid are cute and I’m interested to see how their story plays out. I hardcore ship Elendil and Miriel, and his daughter needs to take a seat before she helps Pharazon destroy their home! I know the story, but MAN was it killing me to see how Eärien is contributing to its downfall in this show (in a good way… I think having her be involved with the opposite side of her father makes for great drama). 

As to the second part of your ask… I have been involved in many online fandoms for about 13 years now, and I gotta say that 98% of the time fans come up with way more interesting storylines than the creators of any show. A lot of the time they just don't deliver. I’ve been burned over and over again, so my bar is pretty low at this point. 

They’ve done a fabulous job with the Saurondriel dynamic so far, and I’ve seen some really interesting fan theories about Galadriel briefly joining Sauron or being taken prisoner by him. As truly fascinating as that would be, I’m not holding my breath. I think it’ll be a rehash of season one’s ending with more violence since they have swords this time around. After that, I’m guessing they’ll focus on Sauron gaslighting, gatekeeping, and girlbossing his way to the throne of hell while Galadriel and company work together to stop him. They’ve hinted at Celeborn a bit, I’m sure we’ll see them reunited at some point. 

I’m sorry if this isn’t very reassuring! I wish I could be more optimistic about Saurondriel in season 3, but I honestly don’t think Tolkien’s estate would go for Galadriel falling to the dark side in any capacity. Sauron taking her prisoner could happen, but I highly doubt it simply because as I said before, fans tend to have better ideas than a lot of creators in my opinion.

I could be completely wrong! I have just learned not to trust creators to handle things the BEST way, but that doesn't mean it won't be handled in a GOOD way. Hopefully that makes sense, lol. I think some people will be satisfied and some people won't, just like every other story. The shippy photoshoots and marketing have been delightful! I can't tell if they're baiting until I see the last episode. I think they were just having fun, but some comments from cast and creators would definitely seem a bit baity if the payoff is underwhelming. We'll see!

I really hope the season goes out with a bang and we all have something to love about it; especially Saurondriel shippers!

[genericpuff]

What the actual fuck are they thinking-

Okay, the caption might seem overblown but... this is not good.

The main LO subreddit has been closed for weeks now. It closed due to the API protests but considering the options in the community poll were to either "stay open indefinitely" or "stay closed until the decision is reversed", there's a tinfoil hat theory going around that the single mod that overlooks that place saw the API protests as an "easy way out", especially considering how hands-off those mods are. By the time the main sub decided to take part in the protests (after the height of the protests were over) it had already been stated by u/spez that they were not going to reverse the decision. Essentially, the LO subreddit is done.

Do you know what's been happening since it closed? Activity in ULO has been skyrocketing, but we've also been seeing a lot more discourse from people who have been forced to stomach the ULO content after having their main community shuttered.

Listen, I've got a lot of issues with the main sub and the things they've done over the past year. There are definitely some really shitty folks in there who have ruined things for those who are just casual readers by just being way too protective of this comic. But that doesn't mean the main sub shouldn't exist. The main sub, as dead as it was by the time it closed, was still an option for people who didn't want blind praise or relentless criticism/shitposting. Though there were people who tried to gatekeep the shit out of the main sub (attempting to make it a "positive vibes only" space) the main sub was never explicitly designed for only praise, and by the time it closed, it was seeing a lot more balance between praise and criticism (to no one's surprise, because criticism has become a lot more mainstream in the LO fandom, simply due to the comic's undeniably tanking). All that said, it made for a nice middle ground. Even I enjoyed going in there and reading people's takes on new episodes every week, whether or not I agreed with them. ULO was not designed to be the only route for discussion concerning LO, it's very specifically run for one specific purpose and that purpose will not line up with those who are now without a space.

Without the main sub, there are people with nowhere to go. Some people casually grin and bear it through ULO, others have gone to /r/LowSodiumLoreOlympus, but considering how dead that sub is also, it's clear the popular opinion is swaying more towards criticism. I can't imagine what it's like to be a community refugee right now.

So what does that leave for those who don't want to use ULO? The Facebook groups, and the Discord. The Facebook groups are probably the most accessible communities - not everyone uses reddit, not everyone knows how to use Discord, but everyone uses Facebook.

So the fact that the Facebook groups aren't going on a small break, but are going on their own 4 month hiatus?

Not only does this further reduce the options for fandom interaction, but this is terrible for the comic. Hiatuses like this can kill long-term retention, and fandom communities are often the best way to keep that retention on some form of life support.

Think of it this way - if I didn't have the ULO community, I probably would have dropped off LO ages ago, cut my losses, moved on. But it's the fact that I have a community to keep in touch with and have fun with that keeps me on this series. This goes the other way as well, into the casual and praise communities - while I'm sure many will still eagerly return in October, for those who are more casual readers, Lore Olympus will essentially be out of sight, out of mind. And that is NOT something you want to happen to a comic that is already losing traction.

I genuinely do not know what Rachel is thinking closing these groups. And yes, I am pointing to Rachel on this decision because she literally runs the official LO Facebook groups. LO going on a mid-season hiatus over the summer when HALF OF HER DEMOGRAPHIC IS HOME FROM SCHOOL is already such a huge risk that will likely kill her numbers; but to go and cut off her official groups from being able to stay connected and talking about the comic during the hiatus, on a platform OCCUPIED BY THE OTHER HALF OF HER DEMOGRAPHIC, LITERALLY ADULT WOMEN ?? What is that supposed to achieve? If she wants to give her mods a break, sure, okay, do that for a few weeks, but four months? Is she so allergic to fans being able to theorize or "figure her out" (because god knows Rachel doesn't like being predictable) or, god forbid, is she worried about giving them too much "freedom" to reflect and discuss the comic during this time without the weekly dopamine distraction hits that they actually stop and realize how shitty the comic is right now?

All I can say is, as much as we're theorizing that LO is going to be getting a 4th season, I really do hope this midseason hiatus is its last. Whatever life this comic has left is being choked out by Rachel and Webtoons' own hands.

And when it does go out, it better go out with a bang. That's the least it can do for itself and its community at this point.

[dungeonmeshi-confessions]

sometimes i feel many issues within the fandom are because people that are not used or do not enjoy anime are watching it now thanks to netflix and so trie to apply fandom purity rules.

Like the trope '1000 years old looks like a kid' thing is disgusting because it is used for sexualization of characters, not because it exists, half foots are allowed to have whole life and not one is posed or drawn like parody porns or voiced like little girl role plays.

The thing about Shuro also seems to be rooted in this, only focusing on the autism similarties without inspecting the societal rules and when applying race not considering that this is a japanese media.

The orcs too, people say it is colorism and i do not doubt there is some bias but Zon is more patient than Leed; she insults the party and Chilchuck repeatedly and only help them because of respect for her brother and diplomacy. Zon was telling his kid how they end up in the dungeon and has to discuss it with Marcille who never tried to examine her racism and he didnt punish her for it, then he let them eat together and asked Laios genuinely and believed him in his goals in the dungeon. If the fandom falls in the 'oh the light skin character is better person' is because their biases, not Kui's.

Senshi's pantyshots are a comedic gag mocking the usual trope to ogle female characters it does not make the media more pure and honestly it is a bit insulting because if Kui wanted it to be sexy she woukd have done it like that, she is very very good with anatomy. The fact that it is a groundbreaking concept for so many people speaks of the ignorance of the media, plenty animes have a Comedic Gag to keep the story lighthearted (think of Fullmetal Alchemist and the Alphonse badly drawn) and has no significance on the overall theme.

And Mithrun. He just had his anime debut and I am baffled. People are calling him ugly and geriatric when he also fits anime tropes so recognized that his VA voices another character of nearly the same personality. And ugly??? he is drawn like any other overpowered twink but has a lazy eye and you call him ugly??? hell, SPECIAL EYES are another trope in anime to distinguish the characters, to dismiss it with a 'so ugly' is so ignorant and reeks of ableism. you should have seen him and think 'oh this an important character'.

i want to gatekeep anime and i dont even like it as much. Try to interpret the media on its own genre (seinen) and tropes instead of treating it as any other of your western pandering cartoons (and yuri is a genre too!if you are going to be 'oh this is queerbait because of farcille' go put some fucking work and get acquainted with japanese queer media, which has canon couples! yuri is not a meme!!)

.

[rist-ix]

The sparxshipping teasing from Iginio got me wondering.... if we ever did get canon sparxshipping explored, whether in a reboot or new adaptation, how would you like it for it to be done?

I'm gonna try to answer both of these in one post cause they overlap a little, but first of all thank you!

Buckle up fellas I'm bringing discourse.

This is gonna be a bit of an unpopular opinion I think, and it’s that I don’t want sparxshipping to be canon at all.

Feel free to get the pitchforks, but until then imma talk. I have villainships that I think not only add something to the overall plot, they kind of define it too. Reylo for examples, with its themes of redemption, masks and compassion, or Darklina and how important their relationship is to the war and Grisha oppression, or Lotor and Allura with its symbolism of breaking the cycle of abuse, making peace, reclaiming a heritage thought lost and so on.

To put it very briskly: an established Sparxshipping relationship adds nothing to the plot. It would have to be a plot of its own, and while there are tons of fascinating plot threads you could weave back into Domino, Bloom's family and the war before the Fall, it is simply, plainly, and rightfully so not the story Winx Club is telling.

Winx Club, at its core, is about the girls and their friendship. That is the show I love, and that is the show I am invested in. Fanfiction is a separate thing, I’ll get into that later. But canon, commercially produced and globally aired Winx Club is what we are talking about now. And the one defining truth of Winx Club is that it’s about the Winx. Their boyfriends are the side note, the Kens to their Barbies, to cement them as the cool popular teenagers younger kids are supposed to see them as. If Bloom and Valtor had a lasting serious relationship, Valtor would inevitably have to be shoved into that category as well, and that would ruin the entire appeal of him.

To boil it down even more: if sparxshipping were canon, either Winx Club would have to shift away from its intrinsic premise and formula, or Valtor would have to be diminished beyond recognition. So my longstanding opinion has always been: don’t make sparxshipping canon. Just don’t.

What I, personally, would do if I were ever to gain access to the mythical and likely overcrowded writing room at Rainbow SpA, is this:

Tease the fuck out of it.

Lean into their fucked up little hate-obsession. Every time they share the screen they have to be radiating unresolved sexual tension. Their chemistry has to be so off-the-charts it sparks a million fanfics before the season even ends. If there aren’t so many crappy amv's set to angsty Taylor swift songs it brings down the YouTube servers by midnight you have failed. Because canon is bound to certain limits, but fanfiction is NOT. The goal of any show should be to create something that will awaken an inescapable need to build on it, to continue where it left off, or to wonder but-what-if? To make people text incoherent keysmashes to their fandom buddies with shaky hands in the middle of the night and be unable to sleep until they’ve confirmed their buddy has seen it too.

I would want to see Bloom go fully I-have-lost-sight-of-everything-but-revenge until her friends manage to pull her back, I would want them to fight so vehemently the structures around them collapse and they don’t even notice. They should be in situations where they are UNDENIABLY going to die if they fight on and they still do it, they literally CANNOT stop, they don’t care to. To the point that everyone around them is seriously concerned and talking about their terrifying obsession with each other, more or less out in the open. And after a season full of epic fight scenes, high stake conflicts and frankly obscene tension between them, I would want Bloom to kill him.

Straight up.

Give her that moment of calm self assurance, at peace and perfectly in control, while Valtor tries to gaslight-gatekeep-girlboss his way out of this, contrasting the way her support network and genuine, unconditional friendships strengthen her while Valtor, who is always sabotaging everyone around him, is forced to confront his own powerlessness in the face of the power that created him. His manipulation attempts have nothing to latch on to. They have one last exchange where Valtor is visibly furious at her denial of him / his own failure — to really drive home that this is Bloom's triumph — but the last words they exchange are cordial. Maybe a comment at her growth, or a warning about his mothers, or another way to foreshadow future threats — if he couldn’t defeat her, no one should. He ends on a high note, but he does end, and it’s at Bloom's hands. She retakes the corrupted spark into the Flame she is guarding, and that is that.

And then, and this is important. He fucking haunts her for the entire next story arc. The next season, the next two seasons maybe, because she has learned a fuck ton of things from him and it is really, really difficult to move on knowing everything she does, knowing everything he implied or hinted at, or simply knowing so many really, really cruel ways to get her way now, which isn’t who she wants to be, but it would be easy, quick and effective for the greater good, right?

Boom, character conflict for the next season established, lots of potential for future flashbacks or visions, Valtor stays on his high horse of forever-the-juiciest-fucking-villain-of-the-franchise and the story can move on.

The End

Cue three decades of mind-blowing fanfiction. We all say Thank you Rainbow and cry ourselves to sleep thinking about what could have been.

[hajimedics]

I wouldn’t really consider myself as being in the welcome home fandom (it’s my special interest however I won’t actively engage in the fandom), but I wanted to give my personal two cents on the matpat video situation.

as much as I think matpat’s only mildly annoying nowadays, I am more concerned about how clown is going to feel instead of the new wave of fans that said video will bring. I mean, putting the world “cult” loosely in the video title? speculating that the neighborhood is part of some sect? making up theories about characters even though we only know a smidge of their backstories and personalities? it’s all just so baffling to me. clown has stated that old arts (like wally with cross-shaped cufflinks) do not reflect the tone of what welcome home is going to be now and to think that a big youtuber has done the opposite, I’m becoming worried about the perception people will have on this story in the future.

like.... it’s not really just about “this annoying youtuber has touched our precious welcome home!!!!! it’s so over!!!!”. what will clown think of this? I wish him nothing but peace in his mind. hopefully all of this stuff will not overwhelm him too much. he deserved all the break. and I hope people will know that there are more things to be concerned about rather than merely, indirectly saying “we need to gatekeep welcome home” as if you have any right to decide what to do for someone else’s story. thanks

[starleska]

I just saw on YouTube that MatPat has made a GTLive about Welcome Home.

I’m honestly conflicted. On the one hand, I am genuinely happy that a big YouTuber like MatPat has noticed Welcome Home, as I do love his theories on occasion.

But I’m also worried. After everything Clown has been through with the sudden rush of a massive following, and also me knowing how MatPat’s very large fan base can be VERY zealous, I’m genuinely worried for Clown. I know they’re going through a lot and are currently on a well deserved hiatus, but I do have the sudden thought that the prospect of MatPat’s fan base getting too zealous may end up doing harm in the long term for them. They have done that before on other things.

And that’s not even getting into MatPat potentially making a theory video about Welcome Home when the project hasn’t yet left the Prologue Stage of its story, which may end up again doing harm.

I wonder what your opinion on all of this may be. What do you think of MatPat covering this potentially as a theory and do you worry about his fan base becoming zealous for Welcome Home?

hello sweetheart! thank you so much for sending in this ask, and for putting your thoughts down in such a respectful manner - very well articulated 💖 i'm going to pop my response under a read more, as i feel it deserves a good chunk of text for a reply.

and if you're a new Welcome Home fan - welcome to the fandom! 🥰 here's a simple guide i wrote which explains what Welcome Home is, where the story is taking place, and how you can support the creator.

okay, here we go! ✨

first of all, i understand why you're concerned. this explosive growth has been tough for Clown - and having caught the edge of the tidal wave of attention just for Welcome Home fanworks, i don't blame them for being so stressed! no one could've predicted Welcome Home would blow up so much, although it is a testament to Clown's artistic talent and skill 🔥

here's the thing: fandom isn't something you can control. i feel that even though this concern comes from a good place, we may be sliding a little too close to gatekeeping territory, and that isn't fair. i totally get what you're saying about the overzealous part, but i don't believe there's anything inherent about being a fan of MatPat's content which would cause someone to behave in a disrespectful, boundary-overstepping manner. let's be clear: we are not inherently more deserving of enjoying Welcome Home just because we discovered it earlier, or any other trait that would separate the earlier fandom from a new influx of fans from MatPat.

again, i sympathise with your perspective. i was an old MatPat fan myself: a real creepypasta-obsessed teen who discovered all sorts of cool fandoms through him and other channels! but i don't think Welcome Home being covered by MatPat means there's a higher risk of harm, or that those fans in particular are more likely to exhibit inappropriate behaviour. i worry about fandoms which, when trying to make sure everyone is being respectful, end up creating an us vs. them mentality...and there's nothing i dislike more than fans who believe they're more entitled to enjoy media more for artificial reasons, like if they discovered it earlier, or know more about the property, or engage in fandom the 'correct' way (whatever that means) 😕

i think that just because Clown is (very understandably!) stressed and needs time to adjust, doesn't mean we should try and halt the popularity of Welcome Home - which would be both unfair and impossible. there's no criteria for whether or not someone can be a fan - all that is to be expected is that they are respectful and kind. we should continue as always: being respectful, and echoing Clown's wishes. i think we should welcome all these new fans and show them a great time! and if a fan does do something harmful, we shouldn't attack them; instead, we should let them know why that's not okay, and not assume everyone is out to do harm. ignorance isn't always out of malice, and many of us discussing this issue have the luxury of being older, and having had our younger years in fandom under much less scrutiny. perhaps there's this lingering anxiety due to the claims of fans doxxing/hacking, which Clown has since debunked as being odd fandom rumours.

ultimately, Clown put Welcome Home out into the world for other people to enjoy. MatPat is allowed to make theories on Welcome Home, and his fans are allowed to enjoy it too. this is the same as an unknown video game being covered by Markiplier, or a similar property being picked up by the nerdcore music community. yes, it's likely MatPat's fans may be on the younger side, and perhaps inexperienced with fandom etiquette or boundaries. however, this is a generalisation! i feel perhaps this anxiety with new fans coming in has something to do with our own overzealousness, and how in the early days we began making fanworks/interacting with Clown's content in ways which he's since stated he's not comfortable with 💖

at the end of the day: whether we're 13 or 55; whether we compile large documents full of information about the Welcome Home story or write gushing posts about how cute Wally Darling is; whether we've known Clown's work for years or are just discovering it today - we're all fans, and we all deserve to be here. being zealous is what fandom is all about! the best thing we can do is just keep on putting out positive energy, and encouraging all of that lovely, budding excitement. let's keep helping new fans learn about the amazing story of Welcome Home, and making them feel welcome too 🥰

[sflow-er]

I don’t think August will have any kind of legal repercussions unless the drugs do come out and/or he gets officially accused for the video and it becomes a Wilmon vs August situation. I do think though we might get social justice and honestly that’s the biggest punishment for August since his status is all he cares about and needs in order to succeed in life. If they take that away from him he is done (which is also why I could maybe see his mental health getting even worse).

That being said, 6 episodes (even if one of them might reach a one hour length) aren’t enough and I’m scared the multiple storylines will be rushed and some things not even properly addressed…

Hi anon! Sorry it's taken me a couple of days to reply.

I'm a little confused about the first part, as the drugs and the video are the only things August has even done that could lead to legal repercussions. But I'm guessing this ask is more of a general response to my criminal justice post...? That post was never meant as a prediction of what is likely to happen in S3. It was an attempt to describe how things could potentially turn out if the show did go down the police investigation + charge route. Around the time when I wrote that post, many fans seemed to be hoping for August to get 475 years in prison for making and posting the video, which simply wasn't consistent with legal precedent or the basic tenets of the Swedish justice system. So, I wanted to try and explain the framework. As for the most likely outcome in the show, I do think 'social justice' (in your words) or perhaps even 'poetic justice' is a decent prediction! It would be a pretty fitting end to August's arc for him to be locked out of the inner circle he was so eager to gatekeep, and to see his own actions cost him everything when he started out telling Wille that people like them could get away with murder. That being said, I do think it's a bit of an oversimplification to say that status is all August cares about, as there's a lot more to it than just him being hungry for power and success. I mean, he definitely is, don't get me wrong! But his status is also inextricably linked to his father's memory and legacy, which he cares very much about, and his sense of self-worth, which is very low underneath all the bravado. In other words, you are spot on that losing his status would be a critical blow. I also agree that we'd have every reason to worry about his mental (and physical!) wellbeing in that scenario - and that's where my opinion probably diverges from the majority of the fandom. No matter how awful and wrong August's actions were and how much I want to see him held responsible (whether legally or socially), I personally believe in rehabilitation through accountability and effective intervention. Especially in young people whose brain isn't even done maturing yet, but also in adults (as my spouse's work in a relevant field proves to me over and over). I want to emphasise that I'm not talking about August being forgiven. His victims don't owe him that, nor does he deserve it when he doesn't even fully understand the gravity of his actions or regret the harm he caused to Simon for example. I'm just saying that seeing some consequences is an opportunity for him to get some help. To start dismantling his warped views, building the true self-worth he lacks and the resilience he needs to weather the loss of his status, and somewhere down the line, growing into someone who no longer hurts others and himself the way he's been doing. I'm aware that we probably won't get to see that growth in the six eps we've got left. I'm just crossing my fingers for some hints in that direction - him looking into therapy, picking up a pitchfork to muck out Rousseau's stall at a decrepit Årnäs, or if he does end up in community service for example, getting started on that. I am also reasonably prepared for some of his issues to not be addressed, even if I do see that as a huge missed opportunity. But I dread the possibility of the show ending with him in a state where we can expect him to end up like his father, completely alone and unable to cope with the consequences of his own actions. It would partly sully Wilmon's well-deserved justice for me and make for a tragic ending (and as August is quite universally hated in the fandom, I'm not at all sure how that would be received).

[twistedsocials]

man with all the drama ive seen recently i am genuinely so scared to start writing an original comic i want to make,,

because what if someone sexualizes the characters (main cast mainly consists of minors and as a minor that thought terrifies me) or what if somebody ships this one character i have who looks 14 but would technically be 17 if still alive (black butler reaper situation) with the older reaper character im making who died in the 1880's (i will literally pass away if this happens) or what if the fandom ships characters together but the characters that were shipped together erases the either canon, or underlying queerness of the characters in the ship??? sometimes i think i just want to keep my silly little story to myself but at the same time this is the most i've ever done for a story idea i have (ive drawn character designs for three whole characters and going on four, created the base lore for the characters, and have been brainstorming like hell i procrastinate a lot so this very rarely happens) but at the same time my anxiety keeps telling me to not to and just,, gatekeeper it y'know-???

this is probably a dumb rant and im probably worrying over nothing though,,

No no I was just thinking the same thing with my own characters.

I have fankid ocs and I was just thinking how it would go if they had fandoms. I know my ocs who are meant to be cousins would immediately be shipped together by some freaks, or the one who’s supposed to be Floyd’s kid would be insanely sexualized despite being 17.

The two ocs who are canonically queer would get debated on or fetishized heavily. Even mischaracterized horribly.

And I have one OC who’s meant to be like Aroace/aromantic, and I know there’s gonna be debates on whether or not he should be shipped.

So yeah I feel you there. It’s not a dumb rant dw lmao

[tsukimon02]

❄️New Genshin OC: Elincia Lawrence👑

I’ve been on a Genshin Impact OC designing spree, so I ended up designing a daughter for Eula! Before anyone asks, yes she is heavily inspired by my love for Fire Emblem lol. ANYWAY, this is most detailed OC I’ve ever made QwQ

Before I go any further, I need to clear up some things first so PLEASE READ THAT FIRST!

1. My watermark is partially outdated; my Twitter is Tsukimon02.

2. Please disregard the 7 constellations, that was a mistake I made while drawing, so please do not tell me for the millionth time.

3. I cannot stress this enough and I am done playing nice due to some people acting like this: DO NOT INTERACT WITH ME OR ANY OF MY GENSHIN OC POSTS AT ALL IF YOU GATEKEEP! This also applies to anyone who acts like the fandom police and enforces what is or isn’t canon in Genshin with people’s OCs. Nobody cares if something is canon or not when it comes to OCs. Please stop that, keep that crap to yourself, and move along or YOU WILL BE BLOCKED ON THE SPOT. Thank you.

ANYWAY, now that’s out of the way, onto the character data for Eula’s kiddo!

👑Elincia Lawrence

👑 5 Star Cryo Sword

👑 Mondstadt

👑 Knights of Favonius

👑 Constellation: Exaltatum Est

“The Lawrence Clan must repent for its past misdeeds. As the Spindrift Knight’s daughter, it is up to myself and future generations to atone. I challenge my fate!”

The daughter of the Spindrift Knight, Eula, and Co-Captain of the Cavalry Company [alongside Kaeya], Elincia strives to atone for the Lawrence Clan’s past misdeeds and mend the relationship between the clan and the people of Mondstadt together with those who are a part of the next generation of the clan.

[the-bloody-sadist]

#we don't support peer preasure in this house

Love your hashtag above.

Can I ask how do you deal with hurtful comments on your fanfics from someone you consider a friend? Like I know if some stranger send hurtful comments it felt bad but damn when someone you know said the same thing it felt worse. Early this year I was kicked out and blocked from an animanga lover group when they find out that I wrote mlm fanfics from major shounen series (naruto,bnha, aot, jjk). This what they said :

“I'm convinced you must have never had friends before because all of these relationships are perfect depictions of what PLATONIC friendship is. If you want a gay story support ACTUAL gay couples like in BL & GL manga. Do you know how frustrating it is to see people move mountains for a non canon ship that’ll never happen then ignore actual gay manga’s and anime’s in BL & GL anime/manga...."

What do you think? Even until now, I'm still feeling a bit guilty for liking non canon mlm and wlw ships from shounen series. But when I found your blog and read your posts, I felt way better. Especially that answer of yours to anon who asked is it weird to love mlm& wlw more than wlm. Thanks for sharing your hard work (analysis, fanfics, arts, reviews).

Sorry for my rants and for my weird feelings.....

Ohhhh this is so precious please don't apologize for sending me this ask, I love feelings and hearing about other peoples' experiences with them and how my art/accounts have somehow been relatable because of that.

The peer pressure in fandoms is absolutely insane and convinces me that the social aspect works the same as any high school full of bullies. There WILL be mean girls, there WILL be cliques, and if you're a creator like me, you're going to be a MAGNET for like ten different types of them.

As for how I deal with hurtful comments, I was raised in an environment that constantly shamed me. I was controlled from all sides on what I could draw, write, and consume, so I'm used to being shunned by those who "love" me because of what I'm interested in! Because of this, the hate comments were what I EXPECTED going in and the positive comments were actually the things that threw me for loops. Hurtful comments only had the power to nag at me when I didn't have an audience (or friends) to bounce them off of so they wouldn't keep popping up as a "do I actually do this, though?" "am I actually bad for this?". But now they don't bother me; they give me the chance to either make a troll reply or spice up my friends' group chat for the day.

As far as a FRIEND leaving a hurtful comment??? I have so much sympathy for you. I am SO sorry they treated you that way.

When I make friends, I tell them openly what I do and to what extent. This way, I gather the type of people I want and push away those who don't. If they think it's not okay, they're silly.

Those friends who kicked you out of their little club? SILLY. They think they're so pure and moral for gatekeeping what can and can't be done with creativity and passion. They won't ever know what it feels like to live as freely as you do. In the end, their opinion is an opinion that is largely not shared by the logical, rational public. Any professional in the art/film/writing industry can tell you that much. How else are we supposed to make stories? Have a little IMAGINATION!! DAMN!

I'm saying a lot of this because it's the best thing to tell yourself when you read things that are clearly meant to make you feel shame when you haven't done a single thing wrong. Since this is Tumblr and I can ramble to my heart's content, maybe it'll help you if I also point out the specific tools that have been used in that message they sent you. Sometimes a good breakdown of tactics is all it takes to remind yourself you're not in the wrong.

"I'm convinced you must have never had friends before" AKA "you're so ignorant" - invalidating your experiences to crumble any foundation you might've had to stand on if you wanted to argue back. Starting off with this helps them cut you down so your self-esteem is lowered.

"these relationships are perfect depictions of what PLATONIC friendship is" - their opinion is being stated here as a fact, as if the entire world agrees with them and there's no other way to see it. First of all, this means NOTHING to the shipping world, since it exists largely to turn friendships into romances. Idk what they wanted to do with that one.

"If you want a gay story support ACTUAL gay couples like in BL & GL manga" - I'm not sure what kind of burn that is. SUPPORT ACTUAL GAY COUPLES LIKE THE REST OF US!! Okay snuffledumpkins. Guess nobody taught them how to MULTITASK!!! GUESS WHAT? I CAN SUPPORT ACTUAL GAY COUPLES *AND* NON-CANON GAY COUPLES, FREAK! WHAT NOW, HUH??? Being serious though, this is an attempt to define for YOU what ''''''true gay couples'''''' are (ACCORDING TO THEM), when this is an entirely fluid meaning and can be applied to whomever you'd like in fiction. This is THE PURPOSE OF FANFICTION.

"Do you know how frustrating it is to see people move mountains for a non canon ship that’ll never happen then ignore actual gay manga’s and anime’s in BL & GL anime/manga...." AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHA! (inhales) AAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAH imagine being so stupid that you don't know how much better LGBT representation can be in fanfiction and non-canon works than in actual BL/GL works. Imagine thinking that the only way you are allowed to enjoy BL/GL relationships is through canon couples, otherwise you're not helping the cause. Here's the biggest thing to remember: they don't give a fuck about the cause. They are using that language as a way to shame you. Oh you think these friends are in love??? You must not support LGBT people in real life. You must not support ACTUAL stories about ACTUAL gay people.

The logic jump is LAUGHABLE.

Ughhhh, what a long rant from me. But your last paragraph absolutely WARMED my heart, minus the part about feeling guilty. Let me just...[shines spotlight down on you][metal screech][picks up megaphone] YOU ARE NOT IN THE WRONG FOR WANTING FICTIONAL FRIENDS TO FICTIONALLY FUCK EACH OTHERS' BRAINS OUT!!! YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS MATTER, HOWEVER, ARE VERY UNDERSTANDABLE AND SHOULD NOT BE INVALIDATED, BECAUSE BULLYING IS A DIFFICULT THING TO DEAL WITH AND CAUSES VERY COMPLICATED FEELINGS REGARDLESS OF WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG. YOU ARE A WONDERFUL PERSON AND YOUR FICTIONAL PREFERENCES DO NOT DEFINE YOU. BE FREE, LITTLE BIRDIE! SHIP THE MASSES OF BOYS AND GIRLS IN RELATIONSHIPS THAT ANIME LOVES TO TEASE ON PURPOSE WITHOUT ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH A ROMANCE SUBPLOT BECAUSE THEY'RE COWARDS!!!! THEY CAN BE ACTUAL GAY COUPLES TOO! BECAUSE YOU SAID SO! AND THAT'S OKAY!!!!

[puts the megaphone down][coughs]

I hope that helps. :D Thank you for the ask, and much love to you! It means a lot that you appreciate my work and my analyses and my opinions enough to ask me about such a painful subject.🖤

You are, in fact, quite normal for your opinion, and my entire audience would agree.