#i don't remember much but the discourse was so bad and the fandom so terrible that i just ended abandoning the whole series

[sansevierias]

it’s honestly crazy how i put HUNDREDS of hours into playing da:i back in the day, but i remember very little of the game. everything was just... so flat? did my inquisitor even have a personality?

[sparrowlucero]

Even if a creator is a bad person it's still okay to like their work. People need to mind their own business.

Honestly it's not really that sort of situation. I'll actively defend Steven Moffat here.

There was a huge hate movement for him back in the early 2010s - which, in retrospect, formed largely because he was running 2 of the superwholock shows at once, one of which went through extremely long hiatuses* and the other of which was functionally an adaptation of an already well regarded show**, making him subject to a sort of double ire in the eyes of a lot of fandom people. Notably, his co-showrunner, Mark Gatiss, is rarely mentioned and much of his work is still attributed to Moffat (and yes, this includes that Hbomberguy video. Several of "Steven Moffat's bad writing choices" were not actually written by him, they were Gatiss.)

People caricatured the dude into a sort of malicious, arrogant figure who hated women and was deliberately mismanaging these shows to spite fans, to the point where people who never watched them believe this via cultural osmosis. It became very common to take quotes from him out of context to make them look bad***, to cite him as an example of a showrunner who hated his fans, someone who sabotaged his own work just to get at said fans, someone who was too arrogant to take criticism, despite all of this being basically a collective "headcanon" about the guy formed on tumblr. Some if it got especially terrible, like lying about sexual assault (I don't mean people accused him of sexual assault and I think they're making it up, I mean people would say things like "many of his actresses have accused him of sexual assault on set" when no such accusations exist in the first place. This gets passed around en masse and is, in my opinion, absolutely rancid.)

On top of that a ton of the criticism directed at the shows themselves is, personally, just terrible media criticism. So much of it came from assuming a very hostile intent from the writer and just refusing to engage with the text at all past that.

Like some really common threads you see with critique of this writer's work, especially in regards to Doctor Who since that's the one I'm most familiar with:

A general belief that his lead characters were meant to be ever perfect self inserts, and so therefore when they act shitty or arrogant or flawed in any way, that's both reflective of the author and something the show wants you to view as positive or aspirational.

An overarching thesis that his characters are "too important" in the narrative due to the writer's arrogance and self obsession (even though this is a very deliberate theme that's stated several times)

A lot of focus on the writer personally "attacking" the fans or making choices primarily out of spite.

A tendency to treat the show being different to what it's adapting as inherently bad and hostile towards the original.

Just generally very little consideration and engagement with the themes, intent, etc. of the shows

This one's a little more nebulous and doesn't apply to all critique but a lot of it, especially recently, is clearly by people who haven't seen the show in like 10 years and their opinion is largely formed secondhand through like, "discourse nostalgia". Which. you know. bad.

I think these are just weird and nonsensical ways to engage with a work of fiction. I also think it's really sad to see the show boiled down to this because that era of who is, in my opinion, very thematically rich and unique among similar shows, and I'm disappointed that it's often dismissed in such a paltry way.

This isn't to say people aren't allowed to critique Steven Moffat or anything, but the context in which he basically became The Devil™ to a large portion of fandom and is still remembered in a poor light is very tied to this perfect storm of fan culture and I just don't agree with a ton of it.

* I'm sure most people have seen the way long running shows and hiatuses will cause people to fall out with a show, with some former fans turning around and joining a sort of "anti fandom" for it while it's still airing. That happened with both these shows. ** Doctor Who will change it's entire writing staff, crew, and cast every few years, and with that comes a change in style, tone, theme - the old show basically ends and is replaced by a new show under the same title. As Steven Moffat's era was the first of these handovers for the majority of audiences, you can imagine this wasn't a well loved move for many fans. *** I know for a fact most people have not sought out the sources for a lot of these quotes to check that they read the same in context because 1) most of them were deleted years ago and are very difficult to find now and 2) many of them do actually make sense in the context of their respective interviews

[woodchoc-magnum]

idk. i'm annoyed.

i realise i am a fandom old at this point

and i have seen some shit in this fandom; witnessed the discourse.

and i don't post meta or spec or much of that stuff; i usually put all my ideas into fics.

but guys seriously. seriously.

eddie's current arc is not about buck.

buck and eddie are not currently dating.

buck is eddie's best friend and vice versa.

eddie is not cheating on buck.

eddie is lying to buck by omission, yes, but that is not a friendship ending offence.

eddie is on the very cusp of cheating right now. he went on a date with another woman, yes. he has not kissed her or slept with her. we are at a tipping point. we do not know what is going to happen next.

he only went on a date with another woman because she reminded him of shannon, who he is not over, who he has spent seasons trying to replace.

the point of this show is that none of the characters are perfect - and especially not buck and eddie. they all make mistakes. they have all made mistakes and will continue to do so because in real life, people don't always make the right decisions 100% of the time.

this black-and-white, morally righteous way of thinking, like eddie is suddenly evil now because he's on the cusp of cheating; that it's going to end his friendship, that buck is going to be angry at him for lying - do you have friends in real life? like, i am genuinely asking.

because if my best friend suddenly started cheating on her husband, i wouldn't be mad at her - i would be worried. am i alone in this? like i would be genuinely concerned and trying to help figure out what's going on.

all the shit i'm seeing in the fandom today, all of the spec posts and commentary about the episode and what might potentially happen, just feels like, once again, an attempt to paint eddie as the villain in the story to prop up buck. let's make eddie so terrible that buck has to have custody of christopher, right?

clearly none of you understand how a will works. it's for after you're dead. not for when you're alive.

but the main issue is this - now that buck has tommy, the people who tolerated eddie can stop pretending to like him. there's another option for buck now, so you guys don't need eddie anymore. right? am i fucking right??

i love drama as much as the next person, but in what world would buck turn on eddie because of this? in what world would the 118 shun him? he is their friend! they love him! they care about him! they are a family!

my god, nobody shunned hen when she cheated on karen. nobody shuns bobby and he indirectly killed 140 people!

eddie is a good person who makes mistakes, just like every single other character on the show.

that is the fucking point.

and the way ryan was talking in the interviews - isolation could mean any number of things. we know eddie has a tendency to isolate himself when he's feeling stressed out - does anyone remember season 3? season 5? buck literally broke down his door!

i'm just fucking tired of this bullshit.

eddie's not a bad guy because of this. he has done shitty things, yes. they all have. that's the fucking point of the show, and if you can't understand that or appreciate adult story-telling, then fuck off and watch riverdale.

[imminentinertia]

SHIPPER TAG GAME

@lurkingshan tagged me, thank you darling! So now I'm forced to admit that whispers I'm honestly not much of a shipper

I get into shows and films, but rarely so much that I get invested in couples (canon or otherwise). Even rarer, so much that I start taking ship war sides. Notable exception: Harmony (Harry/Hermione) because that ship came with the stupidest shit I've ever seen in any fandom.

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore?

What do you mean, don't care anymore. I absolutely do care about every ship I've ever shipped.

No wait - as a very young teenager I was so into Alice Hoffman's books it's not even funny. Especially Property Of. I wasn't terribly into the nameless main character, but I adored The Dolphin and thought McKay would be much better off with him. Then I grew up and realised that Property Of is pretty badly written and has a frightfully naïve plot (no wonder, she was practically a baby when she wrote it), although it really hit the spot for a 13 year old with a rabid case of bad boy syndrome, and completely stopped caring about any of the characters.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

The first I went insane about was Harry/Draco, so probably that.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple?

Harry/Draco. I wasn't going to write fic at all! Wasn't interested in writing them myself! But I got so fed up with all the horrible purple prose in a lot of fics, wrote a pisstake, and it escalated.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over?

No. That was so many years ago. SO MANY.

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse?

No. When I get into discourse it's about other things than ships. When I try to start discourse it's definitely about other things.

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently?

Some pairings squick me, but I tend to forget the horrors as quickly as I discover them.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read?

Jaeyoung/Sangwoo (Semantic Error).

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

VEGAS/PETE. I also adore a number of other BL couples, but that's the OTP. Show versions, not book originals.

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together?

Spooks WASTED A BRIILLIANT OPPORTUNITY for a ship that could have been either canon or not-canon by KILLING A GUY ten minutes after he meets THE POTENTIAL LOVE OF HIS CANON OR NOT-CANON LIFE. They barely had time to share some chips. YES I AM EXTREMELY MAD, 16 YEARS LATER.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting?

To me, any ship that's well written and where both characters are well formed and not limp 2D shit can be kind of interesting. I can't remember any of my squick pairings starting to intrigue me. Does it count that I used to dislike any KinnPorsche pairing featuring Ken, but I'm starting to quite like them?

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over?

Oh, I'm sure I do. I like age gaps. People are often very weird about them.

12. What was your favorite crack ship?

Giant Squid/anyone. Such a great setup for crack tentacle porn.

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of?

I've read a fuckton of Harry/Draco, but because of betaing and rec blog running it might be Even/Isak? Give it enough time and it will be Vegas/Pete.

14. What most of your ships usually have in common?

At least one, preferably both, of the parties is a criminal. Okay, that also has to do with what sorts of films and shows get made and appeal to me, but I love a good criminal so much and I just can't get interested in some goody two-shoes. I can honestly only think of Even/Isak when I try to list my ships that don't feature a delicious criminal. Preferably unhinged murderers, but I'll take minor misdemeanours too.

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship?

Big fat traditional seme/uke or het dynamics where the seme/man blatantly doesn't give a canon shit about the uke/woman. I could write a thesis on this, I suppose.

As usual I don't dare to actually tag people, but if you've made it this far, you are so tagged.

[deepbutdazzlingdarkness]

I think @kennyomegasweave tagged me in this OTP meme like...months ago? And I just found it half-finished in my drafts and decided to actually get it done.

1. What ship were you completely obsessed with when you were a teenager, but now you don't care anymore? 20s, not my teens, but I used to be utterly obsessed with Jack/Kent from Check Please and now, IDEK what happened. I still love them, but I have old fic I saved and never read and can't bring myself to care anymore. IDK it makes me sad.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one? Hmm probably Betsy/Joe from the Betsy Tacy series or Anne/Gilbert from Anne of Green Gables? My first ships when I actually got into fandom were Sawyer/Kate and Sara/Grissom from CSI.

3. Your first fanfic belonged to which couple? Magnus/Alec!!! I never thought I would write fic and then I watched season 1 of Shadowhunters and banged out (lol) 7 fics and almost 30k of porn in less than 2 months in 2016. They all have an insane number of hits (like. the highest has 54,878 hits and the lowest has 15,836 hits.........) and I still get kudos on them almost every day, it's wild.

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw a fanart over? Genuinely no idea, but the first one in my fan art tag is Katniss/Peeta from 2012 <3

5. Did you ever get into ship discourse? My first instinct whenever I see someone talk about something I don't like is to mute/block, so perhaps not actively, but I'm sure I have at some point.

6. Did you used to have any no-otp or have it currently? LOL. Yes. I still fucking HATE Jack/Kate from Lost and always will. Also Dan/Blair from Gossip Girl. Lately...I'm such a multi-shipper but I gotta say Kate/Anthony from Bridgerton bc I've genuinely had to restrain myself from bitching about how much I hate them SO many times since s3 came out lol.

7. Who were the couple in the last fanfic you read? I finished a rewatch of Beyond Evil last night so I've been rereading some of my old bookmarks bc I've read almost everything that's out there 😔. Shout out to the masterpiece simple & clean by whir.

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs? So many!!! Taemin/Kai is still my #1, but also Juwon/Dongsik from Beyond Evil, PatPran from Bad Buddy (it took me several episodes to actually get into the show but once I did I cried...so much over them and how much they love each other LOL), KunTen from WayV, Louis/Lestat...I feel kinda bad that I don't have a major current f/f OTP but I'm literally checking my kpop tags multiple times a week for rule 63 fic and most of my current WIPs are rule 63 f/f so there's that. (Two KunTen including what hopefully is gonna be a long one, plus a Jigyu I started yesterday for a fest that I'm hoping I'll be able to get done - not because of the length, but because I've never written Seventeen before)

9. Is there any couple that, to this day, you are extremely mad about not getting together? So many??? I feel like I have to say Dean/Cas.......Lee/Kara never really got together so them for sure. Sawyer/Kate from Lost even though I 100% choose to believe they got together post-canon pre-flash-sideways. Oh my god I'm looking through my "forever bitter" tag and it's a lot of Cooper/Audrey from Twin Peaks as I expected, but I forgot about Mini/Franky from Skins. and ABSOLUTELY THEM. Everything about series 5 was terrible but that especially.

10. Is there any ship you used to dislike but now you think they are kind of interesting? IDK I feel like I don't usually change my mind like that. I wouldn't go as far as saying "kind of interesting" but I guess I don't hate Bree/Roger from Outlander AS much on the show as I did in the books lol.

11. Do you have any ship that, in the past, was considered normal but now you would be cancelled over? Hmm...Cesare/Lucrezia maybe? If not them almost definitely Norma/Dylan from Bates Motel LOL.

12. What was your favorite crack ship? I was gonna say I couldn't remember any that truly fit this definition, but then I remembered the Kent Parson/Claude Giroux series #dirtbags and that was great. Actually no my real answer is Syd/Richie from The Bear. Now *I* don't think it's a crackship but they have that vibe.

13. Who is the couple you read more fanfics of? Here's a side by side view of my most bookmarked ships vs the tags I have saved rn on my front page. Unfortunately you can only have 20 but I think it's a pretty good representation. (Other than the ENHA ship, where I legit don't know anything about them or frankly even what they look like, but that tag produces so much incredible unhinged porn that I read canon-blind.)

14. What most of your ships usually have in common? I feel like I have several different ~types, but: friends to lovers, I LOVE bicker-y couples, age gap relationships, especially when one of them is a mentor-ish figure, and power dynamics in general.

15. What do you absolutely hate in a ship? Nice Guy characters, whether they're a guy or a girl. The OG example is Xander (duh) and Chloe from Smallville but you also see it with characters like Sol on My Stand In...there's def more things I hate but that's one of most major ones for me.

[fictionkinfessions]

THESE ARE ALL THE HETALIA RACIST SOURCE ASK RESPONSES. IF YOU WANT TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION REPLY OR REBLOG THIS POST. IM NOT POSTING ANY MORE ASK RESPONSE ABOUT THIS

I'M SHOVING THEM ALL INTO ONE POST BECAUSE YOU ALL HAVE A TERRIBLE HABIT OF READING PAST EACH OTHER AND PLAYING TELEPHONE GAME. NOT ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT BECAUSE THEY GET PARTITIONED ON ON THE QUEUE. ANYWAYS.

THANKS FOR UDNERSTANDING.

READ MORE'D DUE TO LENGTH. CAPSLOCK CRUISE CONTRol deactivate.

Anonymous asked:

Some of y'all need to remember that it is not, in fact, morally wrong for people to make fanworks of your kin that you don't like. I'm not talking about legitimately problematic stuff, I'm talking about totally normal ships and interpretations you don't like. You don't get to be the fandom police, suck it up and just block people and tags that make you uncomfortable like the rest of us

Anonymous asked:

guys you can just… choose to not talk about certain kintypes, esp if you know they are from something harmful 😭 like, sure, on here it’s fine, that’s what the blog is for! but it supremely sucks seeing people defend their sources from criticism when the criticism genuinely is ‘this has so much racism/antisemitism/ableism/etc.’ i have kintypes from harmful media, i get it! i just… don’t talk about them, or if i DO i recognize the harm the media has caused, and boost the voices of those it affects. also, on this point: no one ever needs to feel guilty for kinning from smth - esp spiritual kin or someone who does not control it! just be understanding of the harm the Media does, and be respectful - thats it. idk, critical thinking and respecting others is so important.

Anonymous asked:

@ post/703018736627679232 - Would you rather someone be upfront about it on my list so you can block them and move on or befriend them not knowing and then only learn it way into a friendship? I've had the latter happen before as someone who kins from a problematic source (not Hetalia), which is why I mention it upfront.

Anonymous asked:

cannot believe we are actively having hetalia discourse in 2022. don't you guys have jobs

Anonymous asked:

Respectfully, it is not the responsibility of everyone else to suppress themselves when it comes to catering to some random individual's personal discomforts. It's up to you to curate your own online experience.

Block users! Block more tags (such as # racism cw)! Don't interact with content that bothers you! Nobody is forcing you to read, reply to, or send in your own asks about sources that are triggering to you.

Also, being kin doesn't mean you support or enjoy your source's creative origins, writing, or canon at all, obviously. Identity on this level is not a moral issue, it's just a fact of being.

Anonymous asked:

Boy some of y'all are missing the point of that guy's ask about Hetalia kins. The "stop kinning" thing might've been poor wording because yeah, most people can't simply not kin anymore, but you can absolutely stop engaging with the source, stop supporting it, not list your kintypes publicly.. I kin from Hetalia too and I simply don't talk about it publicly. I actually started keeping a diary where I write about my problematic sources and kins when I get the urge to talk about it. It's helped a lot more than I thought it would, honestly. Maybe some of y'all should try that too?

Anonymous asked:

Hmmm MPC, if it’s okay, could you add on to my Hetalia ask (the one signed from a biracial POC) the addition that the anon I think was very out of line was the one who claimed only the English dub was racist, however, I was already seeing people say this before that ask, so don’t think those comments are only directed at them?

(I felt a little bad about singling someone out, but the more I think about it, I really do need to clarify that. Sorry for a SECOND discourse ask now!)

Anonymous asked:

Okay sorry to add to the discourse but I think some people are seriously conflating “kins a character from a show” to “enjoys the show.” To me, someone liking Hetalia is one of the biggest red flags, but idk why we’re acting like kintypes can be helped. They can SOMETIMES be suppressed healthily, but not always!

I totally get if you don’t want to interact with Hetaliakin. I’m not sure I could comfortably, tbh. But people keep saying stuff like “how dare you ignore the racism in that show and act like nothing is wrong with it,” when I don’t think a single person defending the ‘kin from it has said anything like that. -A mixed POC

Anonymous asked:

wrt 703034476015566848 - yes, there was someone in the replies of one of the (many) hetalia posts blaming you for their being triggered because the post was "untagged" … even though if you use blacklist properly it blocks any post with the blocked word (in this case "hetalia") even if its untagged, so its just kind of on them and i dont like seeing people put responsibility on strangers for their own caretaking lmao. sorry if commenting on it was out of place though.

Anonymous asked:

Hetalia discussion: idk why this is a discussion at all. It's between a kin identity and a history of oppression and genocide and real people's trauma and discomfort. Genuinely how is this discourse. What's more important.

[somuchbetterthanthat]

i take one step into the maintag and i remember fondly years of being a french teenager reading crazy hp fanfictions with no interaction whatsoever with anybody else or even the knowledge of the world “fandom” and i almost miss it

[olderthannetfic]

Aside from all the RR discourse going on.

I'm glad that AO3 include other languages when they do the news and all of that, and I seriously hope that in the future (definitely not the near one 'cuz I know this kind of things take a lot of time and effort and work —high respect for the volunteers) the archive will be more non-english speaking friendly (to put it in a way). 'cuz something that I've noticed in a lot of spanish fandoms is the "yeah AO3 is fucking amazing and they take the anti-harassment seriously but all of the things there are mostly in english and while I can read it I can't write it and if I want to share this lovely fanfic I made to more people then I'll go to Wattpad". Is something that I thought too in the past because on other social media like Reddit I saw a lot of posts saying that is kinda ""cringe"" to write in your first language and that it felt more right to write in english (specially if you're going to 'post' it on AO3L) and all of that crap. (Like you do you write in English if you want to, lol.) I seriously thought about writing a fanfic of a ship in english because the ship in the spanish fandom is active at all —but after too much thought I said "lmao fuck it, I don't need to write my shit in english fuck this language"... But a lot of people really feel the pressure to deliver something that "perfectly matches" an almost exclusive english-speaking archive.

So yeah, I hope that people can get rid of this feeling to writing in a language you don't want to nor feel confident enough to do so and post their fanfics on AO3 more (like that person that posted a shitton of TLoTR fanfics in a native language —don't remember the name sorry). If more people post in their first/native languages then the community can grow more while we patiently wait an AO3 that is more non-english speaking friendly.

--

Yeah, there's a terrible pressure to join English-language spaces over building up the ones in most languages. It's too bad.

I'm sad AO3 didn't build in interface translation from the beginning. My memory is that a year or two in, people tried to start translating the interface and found it was already a giant pain in the ass on the technical side. OTW has good intentions, but language stuff needs to be a priority up front or it tends not to happen.

[praemonitor]

I'm feeling a lot better today, almost at my 100%. Thank you for your kind wishes.

Mi first draw to the fic? General of the First Order, Armitage Hux. I'm obsessed with that bastard, or rather, with the potential of what the canon could have had given to us, but finally didn't.

At first was a little bit daunting reading a 4 chapter unfinished fic with > 75k word count, but I decided to give it a go. I was engrossed with chapter 1 and 2, but what made me 150% invested in the story was minisode III, with all regarding the Finalizer and the quest of it's people for survival; it was amazing with the way you describe it, the tension, the urgency, the despair without failing into defeatism (Hux being a boss indeed.).

I remembered being pretty happy when I saw the update for minisode V (the mission on Naboo is one I re-read regularly), and I literally SCREAMED when a saw the update for minisode VI (I was at the office. I threw a glass of water to the floor to cover my fangirling from my coworkers XD) Needless to say, that that minisode grabbed me by the throat and will never let me go.

I came in for the terrible, uptight, brilliant and damaged Armitage, with the plus incentive of getting gingerpilot. I don't want to start waxing poetry about Poe, because I wouldn't have enough characters left on this ask, but that man? *Sigh* live rent free in my heart since TFA

BUT! all of this gushing for this two, is no a disparage for the Reylo. Canon Raylo never got my disapproval, but also never got me beyond "they're kinda cute together. That could be interesting" But their dinamic in the first of the new is richer a deeper, and a really absorbing facet of the story.

And your take and expansion of the secondary characters? They are everything. I wish Kes was my father (mine is not bad, but is in no way in Kes league. In. No. Way); Dopheld and Kaydel are (sometimes murderous) precious beans who deserve everything good in the galaxy; THE KNIGHTS OF REN, ALL OF THEM (TRoS made them dirty, is all I gonna say), I'm so pleased of how you tied them to the canon in their identities that I cannot believe how attached I am to them; and the Xionos, for better or for worse (fuck Hamada), and all of those from the Colossus and Resistance.

Everything in this story in rich, complex, and spellbinding, made with care, love and passion, like a intricate trapestry full of colors, forms a storys, open to us to appreciate and be in awe at.

Happy Star Wars and may the force be with you. Always

You've brightened my whole day, thank you so much for this message! I'm so excited you have a special place in your heart for Minisode III -- its "haunted ghost story" vibe was really fun to write. And I also loved writing Kes and Hux's dialogue in Minisode VI, what with the political dynamics between the Resistance/New Republic and the First Order as they learn to work together.

And of course, Dopheld Mitaka and Kaydel Ko Connix grabbed their very own side plot and ran with it, so good for them!! I have a very disorganized text document full of scene ideas for Rey and Ben, Poe and Hux, Mitaka and Connix... maybe someday those will see the light of day?? Right now they're an incoherent jumble of words, haha.

Honestly and truly, thank you so much for reaching out. The past year has been rough for me writing-wise. I've actually been trying to write an original novel, which should be fun and exciting, but I keep doubting my creative ability, convinced my plot ideas and original characters are no good.

Further fueling my anxiety, the novel I want to write revolves around controversial real-world topics that are really important to me personally, but I dread the thought of not doing these topics justice and unintentionally triggering online discourse. It really doesn't help that I sit on the sidelines of fandoms I love (i.e. Star Wars, Our Flag Means Death), watching fic writers and fan artists get harassed for any missteps -- real or perceived. It breaks my heart and leaves me too scared to write anything for fear of accidentally causing offense.

Which is all super frustrating because I LOVE writing. So thank you again for your kindness, support, and enthusiasm, and for reminding me why I love writing so much. Have an amazing day!!

[marshmallowprotection]

hey kait do you mind if just. go insane over here.

like, you see, i hate getting into arguments/drama/conflict. i hate it so much it causes me physical discomfort. it's horrible, really, like my heart clenches and breathing gets ejsjsksm (idk how to explain) and i start crying and i feel so terribly upset and icky for the rest of the day. its insane. and yet i still somehow manage to always, ALWAYS, get into it (more like i start it tbh but hcndbd) and it's always SO BAD. and the worst part is that right now, it's shipping discourse. SHIPPING DISCOURSE. can you believe this? this is like, the low of the low. jesus christ. i am actually feeling like shit over shipping discourse oh my god. and it's on TWO (2) social media platforms, as if it couldn't get any worse. now obviously i can't retreat, i have entirely too much pride for that, like that would be super embarrassing. i would rather get death threats, on god. so instead i settle for feeling like shit and also getting called crazy by other ppl. but anyways the whole thing is theres this ship in a fandom i rlly like and it's a pretty popular ship, every time those characters get any kind of content together everyone agrees that they're gay, you know? but i hate that ship and it feels creepy as hell to me. bc the characters met when one of them was 14 and the other 17 and they're currently 19 and 22. and i think that shipping them is weird bc one of them has been an adult for a while now and the other is just now becoming one, and like, the idea of the an adult catching feelings for a teenager they've known for a while right after they become legal has very groomy creepy vibes to it. i thought that this was something everyone agreed with. so i said it. but it turns out im wrong. and now ppl are telling me that "ppl can fall in love at any age" "they're both adults so it doesn't matter" and "they're almost canon anyways" like i dont care! i dont care. i dont give a single fuck your ship still sucks ass. and like clearly you can tell im not planning to change my mind anytime soon (bc i dont have to! im right!! jesus could come from heaven to tell me its okay and i would still say it isn't!!!!! bc it isn't!!!!!!!) but im also lowkey beginning to feel like im crazy? idk bro im exhausted

sorry for the huge rant i've been frustrated the whole day 😭 honestly even sending this is making me cry again bc im now paranoid that everyone is gonna disagree lol 😂

GE Saeran is always your rock. When you start to even show a hint of being distressed, he springs into action. He asks you if you want to be held and if you confirm that that is what you want, he's happy to put his arms around you with a sigh. You can have faith in him if you have nothing else.

He'll press lips against your forehead and murmur sweet nothings until you know, without a doubt, that you're going to be okay by the morning. "That's right, my love. Slow down, take a big breath, and remember that you're safe with me. If you need to cry, I will hold you until your tears stop."

Jaehee can be anxious when it comes to knowing what she can do for the people she cares about. She knows the natural do-good and can make sure that you've got water, blankets, and a cozy place to sit in the dark. She may not know what to say but she knows what will help physically.

Her ideal way of comforting you comes down to sitting side by side in the living room, curtains drawn back, sharing drinks, watching your favorite movie, and just talking about whatever feels right at that very moment. "I know it's not the best feeling in the world, but I'm here to listen if you want to talk. I don't have anywhere to be and I'd love to have my night spent making you feel safe."

[laurelwinchester]

I remember you being a Jensen fan who saw John as a bad father and agreeing with a lot of your posts. I was wondering what you think about Jensen's comments on the podcast that John was not a bad or abusive father during the show and the idea that he takes offense to opinions along those lines. I get that he has a show to sell but I don't know how I feel about him defending John's parenting and taking aim at fans for reacting to what was portrayed onscreen since the beginning of the show. 1/2

I think focusing on the idea that John was once a good man, before he turned into the revenge obssessed person he was shown to be during the show, would have been the better direction to go in to promote the show and sell the character. 2/2

.

okay so i'm going to start this answer off with an apology.

first of all, i'm sorry it took me a few days to get to this. i am forever behind on asks. second of all, i'm preemptively sorry because you took the time to thoughtfully write this out and send it to me and i'm afraid you might not be terribly impressed with my rambling answer. which is...

i just don't care anymore. about any of it. i have zero thoughts about what was said on the podcast. i don't care about what actors say and i barely care about what writers and/or showrunners care. i don't care about validation for my opinions, i don't care about the discourse. i just...don't. weird for me, i know, but it's a new thing i'm trying out lol.

the thing is, i'm just coming off like a month of watching and investing in The Boys and it was...fun. it was so much fun. it was genuinely the best time i have had in fandom in at least a decade. i forgot what it was like to have fun in this space. i forgot that's what fandom is supposed to be. i haven't had an experience like that in so long. i want to hang onto that.

and i've decided this is the energy i want to keep. life is short and long and chaotic and often rather terrible and fandom is supposed to be the place where you go to let go and have fun. not the place where there is constant discourse and dissection and projection and talking things to death and disagreeing with that and sneering over this and taking offense to what this actor said or what that article said or whatever. don't get me wrong, other people can do these things and they're not wrong for choosing their own fandom experience, but i'm tired and i just want to sit here on the bench and feed my birds.

i will 100% slip up. i will. absolutely. i will see something and i will bitch and moan and complain before i can stop myself. there will come a time where i see a particularly rancid take and have an ''actually you're wrong and i'm right and here's why'' moment. but for the most part, i just want to care a little less these days. i want to stop tip toeing around waiting for the next drama. i want to be less bitter. i want to be less unhappy in fandom. i want to write my fic and live in that world i've created. i want to watch these little shows and reblog these gifsets and overall just have fun. i'm here for a good time not a long time. that's my new vibe.

to speak directly to your point, which i have wandered away from and i apologize for that, yes, i think john was abusive. i think he was a shitty father. hate him. i fully believe that. others may not. jdm definitely doesn't. jensen may or may not (honestly kind of hard to tell given how he flip flops, i think it's possible he might just have a bit of a crush on jdm). but they're both entitled to their opinion. it's none of my business. has zero impact on me or how i see things. will this view of john impact the prequel? maybe, but the prequel is either going to work or it isn't. nothing any of us can do about that now. we'll just have to wait and see. watch it if it's good, change the channel if it's not, and go from there.

[lunartearrose]

What your fave Coroika character says about you - Team leader addition!

This will mostly involve recurring team leaders, but if it's popular i will make a post for the one off team leads! Anyways, here we go in order!

1. Goggles

-you really thought he was Team Blue's leader and still consider him the actual leader

-you are actually super sweet and gentle!!!!

-currently ignoring the goggles crimes of public indecency <3

-you want him to habe more character arcs and make them with your bare hands! You're super creative with what you make and should share it more!!!!

-quite gay, likely neurodivergent!

2. Specs/Glasses/Megane(????)

-really mad when people don't remember that he's blue team's leader!!

-you have anxiety

-pls b gentle on urself you're trying your best

-you have a firm belief that glasses should be smooched on the cheek

-you buy every single gear and weapon in game impulsively! Must have all!

3. Rider

-you feel strongly about this boy's characteristics

-i betcha you have/crave black leather jackets and awesome punky platform boots

-you either love gorai or hate it with a passion

-Rider did nothing Wrong (except for the scene with metry we dont talk about that/make rider apologize for real in fanon)

-u would like to be held gently sometimes

-often the most mature of a friend group! The least chaotic

4. Army

-you! Food lover!

-to-do lists and schedules actually work pretty nice for you

-you just thought he was really cute

-You draw/like it when people draw him with freckles on his lil squiddy face

-very mad about the bees

5. Aloha

-YOU ARE SO BI AND HAVING A TIME(??)

-chaos flows through your veins and nothing can stop you

-one day you will show up at your friend's doorsteps and whisk them away on a lil urban adventure like gravity falls but with a little less danger and more running around roads/woods with sticks and fishing out pond gunk with said sticks

-with all that being said! Your brain has a good time till it mistakes your intense feelings for panic and makes it full on terror. You do not want it to stop you, but friends are more there to bring u down to speed

-funney little jokester

-you either make aloha as much of a party boi as he seems or take one look at the panels where he maked *those* faces and run with what bubbles beneath

6. Mask

-you have a few mood disorders and i hope you're doing ok with them. But you did see mask and vibed!

-this is a character you vibe especially hard with

-fond of the "weird" pets such as rats, ferrets, snakes etc.

-salmon run arc was fun for you!

-gaymer big gay

-often a fan of the sad x ray of sunshine stuff!

7. Skull

-you expected him to be super evil but fell in love instead

-likely on the ace side

-Sewing is either an aesthetic or a hobby of yours

-you just think skull is a neat sweet boy and you're so fucking valid for this

8. Gloves

-him green!

-ok honestly Gloves lovers are the sweetest people ive ever met u rock I'm certain ive never met someone who faved gloves and was mean

-no bad vibes!

-you firmly believe this boy deserves the world

-you draw with the stitches and hc watermelon eyes

9. Emperor

-you saw this smug bastard and knew. You love this fucker

-ya find yourself amidst debates a lot but there are hills you will die on for He

-you're so pissed off that they dont let you have emperor gear like COME ONNN

-Your feelings are rather intense! A lot of the times it gets tough but dont forget the support you have and like. Try to take it gently

-dont forget ur water! Or your meds!

-nb vibes

10. Vintage

-you really like actiony anime! Not shounen per sey but as long as it has you saying "holy fuck shit's happening" you're watching it

-this bastard boy you feel might get the goggles friending treatment you know but you love him still the way he is and plan to love him after that

-ur not cis

-eye aesthetics are fun for you

-actually terrible at vintage's main but god dangit if you aren't learning it to cosplay in game...!

-you get into discourse like Emp does but you could honestly care less for the love of god you want these ppl to stop talking

-firm believer in the skull and vin were exes/are complicated hcs

-u want to have more fandom friends! But. You are nervous.

Welp, that's it! Definitely doing a part two since i couldn't fit prince or hachi or quite a few actually

[marshmallowgoop]

ik you don't want asks about this but as a sexual assault survivor you are absolutely valid on how you feel about Ragyo. I skip the bath scene on every rewatch, and I find her atrocious. The fact that people are attacking you for this is dumb.

Anonymous: Hey man you’re allowed to talk about who you want on your blog. It’s your shit. People are so entitled nowadays and can’t let people have opinions anymore. You’re not dumb, you’re not trying to be offensive. And it hurts seeing how you’re trying to be courteous and step on eggshells and still getting dragged. Like people are allowed to disagree but there’s no need to be rude to someone trying not to be rude. You’re literally saying an opinion. Everyone else relax, my dude. You’re fine.

Anonymous: It’s amazing how all these people can recognize ragyos terrible behavior but insist on having to defend her….

I know these are old asks that I was initially too nervous to answer, but given that I have written on the topic since, I don’t want to leave this support and kindness without a proper response. People going out of their way to stand up for me deserve responses so much more than people going out of their way to insult me, and I want to honor that, even if it’s belated.

Warning for discussions of sexual assault and abuse below.

Part of the reason I did end up writing more on Ragyo Kiryuin is actually due to the sentiments expressed in your comment, first anon. The fact that I, a survivor of sexual assault, was being personally attacked and shamed for sharing that I find the depiction of a literal sexual abuser troublesome… let’s just say that it struck me as very, very wrong. It felt especially wrong because I only spoke up about the situation in the first place because I was asked to.

As the second anon says, I think it’s become difficult to have opinions. (Or perhaps it’s simply always been difficult.) I remember an old post on here that said something like, “The way to become popular on Tumblr is to never have an opinion on anything ever.” And… I feel like there’s a lot of sad truth to that. The most successful fandom blogs tend to be reblog hubs that post artwork and avoid anything that could be so opinionated as to incite drama and controversy, and fandom discourse has become so volatile that anon hate over headcanons is… a thing.

Or perhaps it’s always been a thing, in some way or another.

But in any case, the more I thought about it, the more disturbed I was by what happened. The notion that I should just shut up and stop talking about something that’s very relevant to my own personal experiences, all because my opinion isn’t the same as someone else’s, is gross. Not every survivor will agree with me, and that’s valid; as I explained in the linked post above, my own feelings on this particular situation have changed over the years. But to ridicule me, to call me stupid, to say that I don’t know anything, when I have done nothing but share my own personal thoughts on something and never, ever put anyone down for holding a different view, is not okay. In this case, it’s literally silencing survivors who felt hurt by some of the decisions in the show. 

Your message is so sad to me in retrospect, first anon, because it tells me that other survivors aren’t going to want to speak about this. We’re not going to have as many meaningful conversations about LGBTQ+ representation or the depiction of abuse in fiction because people are going to be too scared to talk about it; they’ll fear that they’ll be as harassed as I was, if not worse. I thank you for sharing your experience with me. It’s reassuring to know that I’m not alone in my thoughts, and I recognize that these aren’t easy topics to discuss, so I really value that you were willing to speak out.

To address your message, third anon, as I elaborated on in my more extensive Ragyo post, I do think I could have spoken better, and I do understand feeling hurt and upset by my opinions; that’s fair, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But I have a hunch that the anon hate firestorm I received was partly because there was the impression that I’m a “gross man who hates Ragyo because she wouldn’t want me because she’s a lesbian.”

And… I have a lot of problems with that. I don’t want to regurgitate my other post too much, so I’d recommend reading that for more discussion on the difference between finding a character bad and thinking that their depiction could have been better, but I do want to add here that I’m not about this kind of demonization of men. Ragyo is a sexual abuser, and in my opinion, her abuses are not presented well. I am a woman, but a man feeling the same way does not automatically make him a “gross man,” especially if he’s also a survivor. 

If the genders were reversed, and Ragyo were a man abusing his sons, portrayed in the same way, I have a feeling that I would never have been attacked like I was. And, personally, that bothers me. I don’t like that female abusers are not taken as seriously. I don’t like that there’s even the argument that the only reason men could possibly dislike Ragyo or her depiction is because she’s a lesbian who wouldn’t want them and not because she’s an absolutely atrocious sexual predator who abuses her own daughters. In scenes that I (and others) find to be glamorized portrayals of assault.

This all got very long, but thank you three for reaching out. I don’t particularly like talking about Ragyo, but if someone is going to ask for my honest opinion on her, it’s… pretty dreadful to then get what I got. I’m still really disappointed about what happened, and I’m sad that this kind of thing discourages meaningful, productive conversation. But I will continue writing my opinionated thinkpieces, and I’m very grateful that they’re not seen as awful garbage by everyone, and I’m very glad that not everyone wants me to just shut up because I’m terrible and stupid. 

Thank you.

[clarz-cc-archive]

answered June 26, 2020

Q: what are your thoughts on the viability of twitter as the long-term hub for fandom? i've been on twt in various fandoms for 7 yrs now and my general assessment is that it brings out the worst in many ppl. even apart from the terrible mass harassment and dog piling (which only seems to be getting worse, tbh), even the culture of "chill" twt often seems to encourage a lack of empathy or compassion, an assumption of bad faith, and a sort of generalized hyperbole that can lead to a flattening or removal of nuance. this was sparked by an interaction i saw play out earlier that went very badly bc of how everyone approached it when, from what i could tell, there was no actual disagreement btwn any of them. idk. ultimately, i don't know where else fandom would go that wouldn't replicate many of these problems to a greater or lesser extent. but i feel like i've seen you touch on some of this before and i wondered if you had any thoughts.

A: bts fandom is my first one on twitter, so it's always hard for me to separate what of my experience is fandom-specific vs platform-specific; my acct was created in 2016 but i literally had never used it until i started using it for bts at the end of 2018 because it seemed like all the cool people i would wanna be friends with were on twitter (the vibe of the bts fandom on tumblr, which is where i was previously, seems p different to me and i couldn't rly find anyone who was talking about them in the ways i wanted to talk about them!) i think there are advantages and disadvantages to twitter tbh, but i can only really compare it to tumblr, since that's the only other platform i've used for fandom (i was around and reading fic in fandom during livejournal in the early 2000s, but i only lurked, so i don't have any experience with creating content or interacting with ppl there from which to draw.)

i've found that twitter is a much easier place to get to know people, since replies to threads are such an easy way of joining a conversation, so i made friends here much faster than on tumblr, but i think the simultaneous disadvantage of replies is that it makes it easier for people to dogpile and that other ppl feel totally fine with barging into your mentions when you don't know them with some kind of shitty hot take lmao. twitter is a terrible place to try to have any kind of discourse too tbh, bc the fact that you have to put things in threads makes it WAY easier for people to qRT only one part of a thread and take that out of context. there's also a thing i see on twitter way more than on tumblr, which i think comes from this drawback of threads, where when discourse is happening people will agree with some small point you made in one tweet of a thread and run w it in a direction that's kind of extreme, so points that were originally v nuanced will steadily get boiled down through ppl's agreement or disagreement into these weird extreme hard stances, and the convo IMMEDIATELY veers off in 400 different directions. i think this happened on tumblr too, it's kind of the nature of online discourse, but it was at least slower, yknow?

ultimately, whenever twt blows up i frequently see ppl being like "oh god i miss [tumblr/lj/etc]," and like i don't know abt any of y'all but i remember shit being JUST as bad on those platforms lmao! they were hellscapes, just in slightly different ways! i think fandom will prob move on from twitter, bc fandom seems to move en masse every 5-10 years anyway, but i also think it's important for reasonable people and experienced fans in these communities to keep having convos abt how to build community and how to treat others online, bc fandom will ALWAYS have new uninitiated people coming in. the optimist in me hopes that if i behave in a way that i think is fair and kind online, maybe it will encourage others to do the same! it's all i can do!

[yammoba]

@raspberry0rain

It wasn't actually queerbaiting though. They were actually a couple, and Shiro did have an on screen marriage. It might not be quality representation, and if you were watching voltron specifically for representation i get hating the show, but queerbaiting it is not.

I wasn't happy with it either, just from a pure writing standpoint, it wasn't as strong as it could have been, and there were probably other options. But a lot of those other options would have taken more time, and the last season was rushed as it is. They could have cut some other stuff for sure and I think that it maybe would have been the smarter thing to do. But I also personally don't think the last season was that terribly written. It was flawed for sure, but in a way lots of endings are. Especially if you're writing and planning season to season and don't get to plan things from the begining, or aren't able to stick to your plans for what ever reason.

@micros0ftpaint

I honestly don't remember it being as bad as everyone seems to think it was?? At least to warrant the level of frothing hatred and dismisal the show receives?? Admittidly I didn't pay that much attention to the marketing, because i didn't need to, I was already going to watch the show. but the most from the actual team i remember is some tweets and like 1 interview that got quoted to hell and back. The fandom kept talking about it and asking about it and theorizing and I honestly think that it skewed people's perspectives.

I think it was a stupid move to try to hype up Adam in the ways that they did, given what was there and what the show was actually focused on. Especially because most people who were gonna be watching the final season, were already watching the show. It was pointless, and probably more of an attempt to pander, than anything? So, as someone who mostly just watched the show as it was coming out, people calling the show itself queerbaiting irrideemable media is baffling to me. Comparing it to something like Sherlock for example, it doesn't even come close. (I also wouldn't even call Sherlock "irrideemable" I think there's very little media that is genuinely that)

From a writing perspective it might have been good if Shiro had been able to mention or think about Adam or have flashbacks or w/e in earlier seasons. And I think it is pretty clear that they chose to add him in last minute. And to be real, I don't think they gave much thought to the character's sexualities and if that should be a thing in the show until the fandom started bring it up. Which is why if feels more like a case of "pandering" gone wrong. (To be clear i don't think "pandering" is inherently bad) However you could make serveral in character arguments for why Shiro didn't mention Adam or discuss his sexuality. They are reasons that could have been written around, but given what the show was actually focused on, and how much time they ended up having, I think it was mostly reasonable. The last season was rushed, and probably tried to cram too much stuff in, and maybe could have been better if it focused on character development and cut out the plane guys... but I love the plane guys and it honestly felt like they were trying to have a bunch of ~epic action fun moments~. Which, as a meatheaded mech fan, I enjoyed immensely.

It just bugs me because when people talk about queerbaiting a lot of the time they are using one word to refer to a wide variety of practices which have different origins and effects. And using it as a buzzword to declare the something somehow uniquely morally bad?? When I honestly think people were just disappointed for a variety of other reasons, a lot of them ship related, and some not. But it feels like people think its not good enough to just be disappointed, its also like an attack on them personally, which is a mindset I see continuing to be popular in various forms, and I think it does damage to discourse and how people think about and write queer rep. And using words in a "buzzword" fashion to get people to immediately agree with you is a general internet problem as well, and causes lots of issues. which is why I'm salty.

This is also more of a general thing, but I also think in a lot of cases people's expectations for queer rep in shows is a bit... high? Its good and fine to have high expectations, and to keep pushing things forward, but I also think sometimes people loose perspective on the actual state of things and how difficult it is to actually get away with good queer rep, especially in kids media. And I think people tend to loose sight of how far we've actually come, in not that long a time. Especially considering how long it takes for a show to go through development and being made. And I think fandom plays a roll in this skewed expectation. Because queer fanworks and interpretations are so popular. And that is a good thing! I am happy that people have more space to be comfortable and talk about these things, it used to be so so much worse, and I'm happy that people get to write 120k word fanfictions about dudes kissing and not get sent cease and disist letters, or wildly mocked by the majority of internet users. But I also think tempered expectations can be a valuable thing, especially, especially if you're engaging with marketing for a property. Thats just like... a general thing for marketing, not even just for representation.

[lareinecersei]

if you don't mind my asking, what is it about Jalsa that makes you despise it so? not that I don't love your roasting of it lol I'm just curious about what drove not just you but probably most of us to loathe the ship

I knew there were Jonsusan shippers before the show put thecharacters together, because people will ship Susan with literally everythingthat moves in this story, but it was a niche crackship. I ignore most crackships, but this one I started to hate, fueled by the fans being obnoxious. There were somemoments in the fandom after Jon/Susan reunited in s6:

-      When Jon and Susan were reunited in the show, people startedtearing down Arya and her connection to Jon, claiming Jon loved Susan just asmuch, if not more than Arya, and besides, Arya did not own Jon, and now I guessSusan is the most important character in Jon’s life…

-      Then, when Jon became King, the fandom exploded and this wholemess of a ship really took on, because Susan had to become queen at any cost,even if Arya, Bran and even Jon had to be sacrificed. Most people motivated itwith “Susan deserves someone good”, but when people pointed out thatJon also deserves someone good and he has a type, and it’s not Susan, it’swomen who are less traditionally feminine, they responded that Jon pickingSusan would be a sign that he grew up and became more mature, and I remembergetting mad and posting this:

I’m sorry (well, I’m not) but when you say Jon shouldlearn to appreciate “feminine strength” and you associate him growing out ofhis attraction to non-feminine girls with him “growing up”, what I hear is thatfeminine girls are superior to the rest, that only immature boys can lovenon-feminine women, whom they should discard when they grow up, in favor of“feminine, inner strength”, or that non feminine women must change and becomemore feminine in order to be loved. 

-      After that, the first leaks started toappear, speaking about Jonerys, and that’s when they started demonizingDaenerys, calling her a terrible villain Jon could never love, saying that Jonwould never choose Daenerys because she is barren, and obviously Susan is theonly working womb in Westeros, and I was baffled how misogynistic the wholediscourse was. Only this week, Daenerys has been called a “demon”, someone saidshe bragged about being raped, that she is a bad victim, unlike Susan, andthere is an entire analysis on how she has crazy eyes when she meets with Jon.

-      Then, the infertility/childfreediscourse moved towards Bran and Arya as well, with misogynistic and ableistcomments. This whole fandom has an obsession with child making, I swear toGod, I’ve seen posts where they suggest Jon and Susan have babies out of duty.

Also, these attitudes: 

-      Jonsusan is based on Arya andBran (and book Rickon) being shoved aside and it’s not ok.

-      In order to make Jonsusan work,they steal so much from Arya and Daenerys it’s almost funny.

-      This whole Madonna-whore complex,where Susan is a flawless angel and Daenerys is the worst thing that happenedto Westeros since the last Other invasion.

-      Their so- called parallels withNed and Cat are disrespectful to the characters, Ned and Cat did not die forthis. Also, while Catelyn wasn’t abusive towards Jon, his memories of her arenot good, so I doubt he’ll ever be attracted to anyone who looks so much likeCat.