#proship wars

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

one of the things I see the most in any fandom space is pearl clutching people saying how “shocked” they are when it turns out a “problematic” ship or a “problematic” character is loved a lot in said fandom.

the most recent example for me would be from this poll where it asks people to vote which ship they like the most, thousands of fans have voted, and the results happen to show the ship that is — according to these people — most problematic has won. needless to say, hundreds of these “noble people who usually harass real people, who just want to ship their little ship in peace, over fictional characters in the name of being morally superior” are so shocked that such a “harmful and problematic” ship is the one that is most liked within the fandom they’re in.

I mean… I don’t know what to tell you, but just because you’re “loud” and you like to “witch hunt” people who enjoy fictional things that you think is Bad, doesn’t mean the ship or the character you deemed Problematic is actually hated by the majority of the fandom you’re in.

sure, you are allowed to hate these ships and these characters for any reason, but other people are allowed to like them. and surprise surprise, the world doesn’t revolve around you and your mindset that Liking Bad Fictional Things Equals Condoning Bad Things in Real Life.

shocking, I know. but most sane people can actually distinguish the differences between fiction and reality. and that’s why people who like fictional villains aren’t actually serial killer in real life.

fandom is and has always supposed to be a safe and fun space in which anyone can like and enjoy whatever they want. it never is, and it’s never supposed to be a courtroom where someone’s moral compass is judged based on how they enjoy Fictional Things. because the whole point of enjoying a ship or liking a fictional character is that it’s fictitious, it’s not real. no one in real life is getting killed because a hot fictional villain is loved by hundreds and thousands of fans.

I hope you feel better soon though 🤍

[clonehub]

For the purposes of this poll, ship and let ship means you don't care what people ship; everything is fair game. Some might refer to you as "pro ship".

If you think certain things shouldn't be shipped, if you apply morals to what you or others ship, and/or you do care, then answer "no".

You define white for yourself.

No results option bc you either pick or you don't.

Please reblog for sample size.

[hurtcomforted]

I never thought about this until I saw it seriously used, but the term "illegal ships" is just so fucking funny.

Like okay, do you think the whole Game of Thrones is a crime? That the millions of people who watched/read/worked on it are disgusting criminals who deserve to go to jail? Is that what you're implying?

"Illegal ships" do you know what the word fiction means?

[v1-kisser]

Proship dni for my comfort thanks.

I feel like everyone portrays F/Os as these romantic, perfect all around lovers, and while that's all well and good! I prefer F/Os who are flawed, who don't always say the right things. Who can sometimes be petty or selfish. F/Os who have a habit of seeing conflict as a contest on who can talk the loudest, instead of a conversation. F/Os who run out of patience sometimes and have to go cool off mid-conversation, even if they're right. F/Os who struggle to communicate their emotions.

I find comfort in the idea of a relationship where mistakes like that are allowed and given room to breathe. A relationship where, no matter what the conflict is, the walls eventually come down. Maybe it takes hours, maybe days until you're both calm enough to work it out. Maybe it takes several conversations to solve it, but each end in Hey. I love you. I'll talk to you tomorrow.

You're not perfect, and neither is your F/O. That's okay. That can be beautiful, too. There's not a hug that's more comforting than the firm, tearful one after reaching mutual understanding. Knowing that you didn't mess it up too much, you didn't break things permanently. You couldn't if you tried. They missed you... and you've got some serious affection to catch up on.

[area51-escapee]

Hello!!!!! If you’re seeing this post, that probably means that you’re in a fandom, possibly even multiple of them! I’m running a survey on some fandom related things and I would really appreciate it if you could help me out!

First of all, this survey is not being used for any real research or study. I’m just very autistic about fandom culture and history and I felt like this would be the best way for me to get responses to the questions I have in a well organized manner. I really hope to hear from a wide array of fans in a wide array of communities! It’s completely anonymous of course so please feel free to be honest! I do plan on sharing some of the open question responses at the end however so please be aware of that.

Second of all, my actual questions and what I’m looking for. I’m very interested in the culture and attitudes around shipping and fanfiction, and the terms pro/anti-ship. I want to know when other people recall seeing these terms first pop up, and I want to hear from people who may self identify as one or the other, or neither or something else entirely. There are several open ended questions and optional spaces to elaborate on your thoughts so please feel free to add on as much as you’d like!

Here is the link to the actual survey :) I’m posting this on July 21st, 2024, and I plan on leaving it open to responses until August 21st, 2024, to hopefully have time to get more feedback. I may repost this same post a couple of times between now and then in various fandom tags so please feel free to block the tag ‘Allen’s fandom survey’ to avoid seeing it again if you don’t want to (or feel free to block me akdhsjdhdk).

Anyways! I appreciate it if you read this far and if you decide to respond to the survey! It would also really help if you could share it so it reaches more people in even more fandoms and communities, but that’s not really necessary. You can message me for questions or let me know if you want to be tagged when I eventually start posting about the results and my findings! Thank you, here is a picture of my cat for your troubles :)

[beevean]

I can't stop thinking about this morning's anon and some of their wording. "This was so scary to write because if any of my friends knew about this my life would be over".

It's short but I honestly felt so bad for them. They really don't need this on top of their other experiences. And what's worse, this is the common mentality now: I keep seeing, on Twitter and Tiktok screenshots, teenagers who genuinely ask if a ship they like is "proship", with the underlying message being "please don't bully me".

And listen to me. I am the most insecure bitch on the planet. I would literally eat my own hands with ketchup and mayonnaise rather than reveal my music tastes to other people. I've been endlessly mocked for my passions ever since I was a child - not bullied, but I've been told by parents and classmates that no one cares, or I'm too old for this, or I need to live in the modern world... long story short, to this day I do not want to be perceived. So I understand the feeling of "you will pry my true tastes from my cold dead hands". I am old enough to know these are irrational thoughts, but to this day I much prefer to keep things to myself.

So listen: you deserve friends who do not judge you.

Again:

You deserve friends who do not judge you.

It's one thing to prefer to keep your tastes private because you're a private person. That's fine! That is your right! But please, if you really think your friends will hate you because you happen to read Problematic™ fiction... no, that shouldn't happen. Especially not on the internet, where nobody should know about you as a person. Friends who do care about you would not think any less of you for something as common (yes it's common!) as enjoying some spicy stories. It is not a crime. It does not say anything about your morals. And it's even worse if you've already suffered in the past, but this goes for everyone.

I don't want to get into the whole pro/anti ship discourse because I am sick of how easily the internet twists the meaning of important words until discussions can't be had because the two factions are not even talking about the same thing anymore. I don't know anon's previous or current stance on shipping, what they meant by that comment, and again the wording worries me a little when combined with that other comment. I do have my thoughts about it that go beyond what "proship" means, and I'll summarize:

not only no one deserves harassment for what they ship, but the only thing you can judge from someone's writing is their writing level. Not their actual personality, not their experiences, and less of all their real-life morals.

Brand this backwards on your forehead and read that in the mirror everytime you wake up.

Anyway. I don't know if you'll read this, anon, but I really wish you all the best luck in the future. And I'm very glad that you approached me to tell me that - as sad as the circumstances are, and I'm sorry for being self-aggrandizing, your praise made my day :)

[curiositysavesthecat]

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

[littleblackraincloudofcourse]

Probably about to piss someone off but. . .

I pointed this out to a friend recently while trying to get them hooked on One Piece, then I thought given what's happening in several other fandoms right now, it's worth sharing it with everyone I can.

One Piece has been running since the 90's and has fans that have been there since the beginning. Since the live action last year, there has been a surge of new fans, myself included, who knew next to nothing coming in.

Some of us have chosen to go back to the beginning and read or watch everything while others are only watching the new series.

There are also numerous "conflicting" ships that some are diehards for. There are fem and trans variants of many of those characters and ships (mostly many fan created) as well.

The one thing I've seen almost nothing of is wars between fans about any of this. Older fans have been willing to answer questions and help new fans find info about backstories and lore without judging them for not going back and finding it themselves. I've never seen (for example) Zosan fans telling Zolu fans they can't ship them for any reason. Canon, crack ships, rare pairs, none of it matters. We're just having fun.

One Piece is one of (if not the most) well loved anime and manga series in existence and I've seen less drama from them than in fandoms of some one season series.

So to all the One Piece fans, thank you for being kind and welcoming!

And to everyone else that bothered to read all this, what are we doing?

[klaotaku]

DNI

please don't interact with me if you support clonecest or incest in general, it makes me very uncomfortable

thank you :3

[some-pers0n]

You can just say it's a mistake. It's so much worse to try and excuse it

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

“dni if you’re problematic” is level 95 middle schooler behavior btw. “problematic” by what standards? my brother in christ, you’ve got to be more specific. but I can promise you that you are also “problematic” in some people’s opinions whether it be online or irl, whether or not you know it. unless you’re a literal saint who’s never done anything wrong, ever, in your life, I guarantee you this; you are also “problematic” in someone’s opinions. I am problematic in someone’s opinions. every single one of us is problematic in someone’s story, sorry to break it to you though.

[4my-r4wr]

i think every fictional character ever should just be in one very large polyamorous relationship. they should all date. all of them.

[intooned]

A cozy place to be, all I'm sayin'.

[wolixy]

Why does tiktok teens in fandoms try to make every ship pedophilic/incestuous?

They say "But the are like brothers they grew up together😭" as if childhood friendship doesn't exist, "Nooo he's like a father to him" even when both characters are over 18 but have a huge age gap, and "It's minor x adult no ewww😭" when it's a 18 yo shipped with a 16 yo.

Do they have some sort of fetish they are too afraid to admit? Have they never talked to anyone outside of their own family? No, really wtf.

[lameotello]

I hate that we've gone from "don't like, don't read" and not caring about what fucked up shit is depicted in fan media as a standard to hypervigilance and having to mind your every word so the group you've found yourself in doesn't know you ship the Not HOA Approved Ship

[gagfadget]

You know someone has terminal online fandom brainrot when they say, “this is what the antis wanted all along and I hope they’re happy now” in response to actual books being banned and trans rights being taken away…