#generally i try to keep myself out of fandom discourse

[steviesnailbat]

I love arguing with strangers on the internet 🙃

#generally i try to keep myself out of fandom discourse #like i'll state my opinions but i'm not about to argue with anyone about it #if someone replies trying to i just ignore them #and if i see other people say things i don't agree with i just keep scrolling #don't respond or anything #at least generally #but occasionally i'll break this rule and respond to people who try to start something on a post I've made #which i did the other day #not on here on a different site #listen it's just no fucking fun to just sit there and argue with people #just a good reminder of why i don't usually bother with this shit

[lord-squiggletits]

It kinda sucks how Optimus Prime is a character who people (in real life) expect to be so Indubitably Good All The Time that they immediately shut down and refuse to acknowledge him whenever he does bad things or fucks up. Like I don't think I've seen any other character in this fandom get the same instantly negative reaction/never talk about him ever treatment that IDW Optimus gets.

Like, it's either him being a cop or the annexation of Earth. But instead of actually engaging with the story and going "so how does being a cop affect the way he treats and is treated by others" or "what led Optimus to annex Earth and how is this a reflection of his ultimately heroic ideal to treat organics as equal to Cybertronians despite the historical racism of his species"

people just instantly shut down and go "oh he's an asshole, he's stupid, he's not my Optimus, he's a bastard, he's edgy" etc etc and refuse to even like fuckin talk about him

It's so incredibly childish lmao especially when the IDW1 continuity in particular is already rife with characters who are also assholes that do stupid/regrettable things but people have no problems talking about/analyzing their stories.

My kingdom for a fandom that's willing to talk about IDW Optimus without immediately shutting down and just going "he's bad he's a bastard he sucks"

#squiggposting #discourse #idw op love #it's very annoying and kind of why i don't try to talk about him as much as i used to #i'm kinda tired of bracing myself for negative reactions every time #and tired of the general fandom silence about him #worse than hating them ppl also seem to make an active effort to ignore or to erase him #and it's the spite of that. like it's one thing to just not be interested or not care #but it's another to actively shun and ignore and erase him #it's not even just the cop thing either. ppl refuse to engage with any idw op specific lore that isn't like.... #idk his relationship with sen. SW? but that's for shipping purposes #of course ppl care about OP lore when it's time to ship him with someone else #but how many people care about IDW OP for who he actually is? hardly any #even w/ continuity soup people take out the cop part they dislike but they never try to write idw op's personality #so like it's not just cop hate. ppl just genuinely don't like idw op's personality or care about him in general #which i have to ask why the hell not because this is literally a feral and flawed prime that people keep saying they want #people keep saying they want an OP who isn't universally beloved and gets criticized for his hypocrisy and stuff #IDW OP IS RIGHT HERE WAITING FOR YOU TO ENJOY #ppl just genuinely can't stand the idea of an OP who's a real person and not just Inoffensive Fun Dad or Sad Woobie

[quietmonologues]

So. I hate shipping discourse and I try to keep it off my blog nowadays. I also don't consider myself a part of the fandom. But, I find discussions about this series particularly engaging and interesting, and Elucien do have me in a bit of a chokehold these days so I feel the need to get this off my chest and put this out into the world.

A common question I see is "why do people ship Elucien? They don't even like each other". And to that, I say this:

What about it? This is why shipping discourse in this fandom (and in general) is so ridiculous, because why is there confusion as to why people ship Elain and Lucien together? SJM literally wrote them as a potential pairing, that's why she made them mates. Pairing = shipping. It's not rocket science.

Two characters not liking each other is never gonna be a deterrent for them becoming canon or for people liking them as a ship. That's why enemies to lovers is such a popular trope. However way you define enemies (on opposite sides of a war like Zuko and Katara, or thinking ill of one another based on misunderstandings and assumptions like Darcy and Elizabeth), when it's done well, the story of two characters changing their opinion about each other, getting to know each other on a deeper level, and growing to love each other after their initial discomfort/hatred/loathing/indifference is a compelling story. It's about the journey, the development, and overcoming all the hurdles and bumps that are in their way.

Another reason for why the "they dislike each other" argument is so weak is because you literally have two other canon couples in this same series who had very rough starts. No matter how you feel about these two pairings, it's blatantly clear that Rhys and Cassian did put Feyre and Nesta in uncomfortable situations and have hurt them (physically/emotionally). But clearly, that was not a deterrent for them getting together in the end. So why the heck are Lucien and Elain different? Why is "Elain is so uncomfortable around Lucien" a continuous argument? It's so hypocritical given the fact that Lucien is the only guy that isn't forcing himself upon his mate.

Also, I'm sorry but some people (me...I'm some people) are tired of the "dark, battle-born, winged-warrior brother" and "previously human, traumatized archeron sister" pairing. Elain and Lucien are both associated with nature, they're both social and like interacting with people, they both experienced a deep love previously, they both abhor violence, they are both overlooked by others yet have the ability to see what others can't. They are a compatible pairing to me because they share many characteristics that are harmonious and complementary. They are the anti-thesis of Night Court aesthetics and thought, and if they ever have a book together then I can only hope it's the best one in the series.

And yes, the "Elain needs sunshine" and "Lucien is the heir to the Day Court" connection is important, my goodness. That's what symbolism is!

Sometimes it's that simple.

Okay, that's enough shipping discourse from me.

#acotar #elucien #pro elucien #anti elriel #i guess? #to all my mutuals...i'm sorry but back in the day this blog was a book blog so maybe i'm going back to my roots! #and yes this was spurred by that post i say in the tags where op was wondering why people ship elucien...which was promptly deleted! #bookworm

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

Introductory post: Please read! :)

hi everyone! welcome to my very own MDZS-specific iteration of the unparalleled @svsss-fanon-exposed and @tgcf-fanon-exposed. this blog is designed to find the differences between canon and fanon in the Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation fandom.

this blog is NOVEL CANON ONLY. although i may occasionally cite the drama or the donghua as the potential source for any misconceptions, the canons of these adaptations differ too much from the novel canon for my purposes (plus i haven't finished either one. whoops).

how this whole thing works:

send me an ask! is this thing you thought was canon actually fanon? is that fanon idea supported in the books? where? why? how?

i'll answer the ask with a rating, using SVFE's helpful rating system (explained below), and then go into detail. generally a post will include textual evidence supporting my rating, and possibly an analysis of what this means/where an idea came from.

i'll do my best not to introduce my own personal opinions or biases into the posts. if you have any textual evidence that you think disproves or otherwise contradicts one of my posts, i'm always happy to be corrected! HOWEVER. please do not argue with me or anyone else unnecessarily; this blog is not supposed to be a site for or source of discourse. i will block anyone who is repeatedly coming at me with bad faith. i'm doing this project for fun, and i want to keep it that way for everyone :)

posts will probably be sporadic so i don't burn myself out and lose interest. however, i want to try and answer as many questions as i can! submissions will open and close based on demand so i can stay on top of things.

some important things to keep in mind:

i'm not here to dunk on anyone's headcanons, and i am fully supportive of everyone's creative choices in the fandom!! (in fact i have many headcanons myself.) DO NOT harass anyone for their interpretations of the series. my purpose here is just to clarify whether certain ideas are textually supported, NOT to give an opinion on them.

i'm doing this blog for fun, so i'll be treating it as a casual project. i will only be using the official english translation of the novels, with the supplementary exception of the exiled rebels fanlation. i don't speak any chinese, so i will not be using the untranslated raws or any non-english fandom sources in my posts. although i'll be doing research as needed, i also will not be evaluating any headcanons purely based on chinese cultural norms, due to my unfamiliarity with them. if you are more familiar with any of these sources and have more information to add to a post, please let me know!

BECAUSE this is a casual project from someone whose only credentials are being completely obsessed with mo dao zu shi and knowing how to write an essay, anyone is welcome to make a blog that does this but. better. let me know if you start one and i'll point people your way lol.

finally: i will NOT be entertaining any character bashing in or on my blog. i've noticed that a lot of mdzs characters have some very... strong opinions about them across the fandom, and i may evaluate the "canon status" of asks that address specific aspects of these opinions, but as a general rule: i am going to be neutral-to-positive about EVERY mdzs character (yes, even that one. and that one. and-). and again, this is not a personal opinion-based blog, i'm looking at textual support, so honestly i don't think this disclaimer is necessary. but. just in case.

💥💥the rating system:💥💥

CANON: what it says on the tin! this fact is supported by the text. if you're trying to be as canon-compliant as possible, this rating is for you.

RUMOR: this fact is an in-text rumor. although this idea is mentioned in the novel, it's still not explicitly confirmed as canon. the characters themselves don't know if it's true or not!

FANON – SUPPORTED: not directly stated in canon, but it's a very likely interpretation, taking into account factors like cultural norms and occam's razor! this rating might be retroactively added to a post previously rated FANON – NEUTRAL, based on crowdsourced information about the raws or chinese culture.

FANON – NEUTRAL: it's not canon, but it's not NOT canon. the text neither confirms nor denies this interpretation, so it's up to you whether you want to consider it true to canon or not. the world is your oyster.

FANON – UNSUPPORTED: not directly stated in canon, but it's a very unlikely interpretation, taking into account factors like cultural norms and occam's razor. this rating might be retroactively added to a post previously rated FANON – NEUTRAL, based on crowdsourced information about the raws or chinese culture.

FANON – CONFLICTING: this idea directly contradicts something stated in the text. if you want to stay as canon-compliant as possible, this rating is not for you.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs meta #here goes nothing i suppose #i want you all to picture the 💥 emoji as if 'the rating system' was a youtube title screen with a bunch of explosions and air horns btw

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

This is it, right? The album is finally out. I'm happy for Jimin. I've been listening to it since the morning and I think he did a great job for a first solo release. He showed he's capable of doing it on his own and make his mark. I hope good things come to him in the future.

I'm not going to analyze the album, or the music video for Like Crazy. This is the end of the road for me. It's time to move on. I know I said I will be here until he finishes the promotions, but life intervenes and sometimes in the best of ways. This is that situation.

First, some basic points. I won't delete the blog. I've worked too hard and a lot on it. Maybe other people will find it at some point and will see something interesting to read. I will not make any posts in the future or answer any private messages. I had some great conversations here for which I'm grateful.

I will not offer any other platform where I can be reached out. I'm getting out of the K-Pop world completely and I want to do this by leaving everything behind. From strictly a music perspective, I might follow Jimin's official schedule for the album if I'm in the mood for it, but nothing else apart from that, followed by the clean cut approach.

I made this blog during a period in which I was ignoring other writing responsibilities. It was escapism, just like getting into BTS at the beginning of the pandemic. I'm not regretting anything. I rediscovered the pleasure of writing and doing it on my own terms. I've wrote some of my favorite pieces here. They might not be the best ever, but I enjoyed every second of it and I'm proud of my writing.

I've said before that I will leave this blog when it's no longer enjoyable. I didn't keep my word and I just dragged it for months. I clearly wasn't having fun anymore, but I couldn't let go. It's familiar, part of my routine, what will I do next? But I realized that just because some aspects are positive, it doesn't mean I have to be stuck with something that doesn't represent me anymore.

I've also lost interest in BTS and K-Pop in general. I've spent three years being a fan, but also in a position of a sort of researcher. I feel like I've reached a point in which the knowledge I currently have is enough. My passion and curiosity is what drives me in everything that I do and get interested into. Now it's time to move on to other things.

I used this blog as an outlet for my rational side as well, writing publicly what I was trying to tell myself when I reacted emotionally to various aspects in this fandom. I was splitting myself because I couldn't deal or admit how some things affected me. But in the end, that's not entirely healthy. Balance is the key and I couldn't actually find it.

I want to borrow a quote from Miss Penny Lane, taken completely out of context, but this is something that I want to tell myself and to anyone who has been reading this blog. ''never take it seriously, if ya never take it seriously, ya never get hurt, ya never get hurt, ya always have fun''. 

Not everything has to be turned into a discourse, nothing is as important and as essential as one might think when we're deep into fandom spaces. Enjoy the song, the media content, the relationship, regardless of its nature, without letting it take over your life. It's not worth it.

Goodbye,

BMT

#bmt blog

[roo-bastmoon]

"I can't stand your kumbaya OT7 fake cheeriness. Be ffr."

First and foremost, I will always advocate that you police your own experience. PLEASE mute / block / unfollow me if my posts (and just my personality in general) are causing you distress. I never wish to be the source of problems in the world. So go with my blessing.

But second...

I hope you know there are some really good REASONS why I'm so "kumbaya" right now.

In my 44 years living on this space rock, I have:

--had a vicious abusive alcoholic parent who broke my nose when I was a kid

--been through my parents' nasty divorce that left us so poor we lived out of a car and ate one meal a day so our cats could have cat food

--developed disordered binge eating because I believed it was necessary during my semi-pro ballet days

--was sexually assaulted by a partner who professed to love me

--had not one but TWO diagnosed narcissistic bosses who made my beloved workplaces hell for years

--survived (so far) uterine cancer which took away my ability to ever be a bio-mom, something I'd always wanted for myself

I look at this laundry list of trauma (for which I am seeing a WONDERFUL therapist) and think to myself:

"Even so, I've lived such a cushy, privileged, safe and happy life. I've got four higher degrees; I've traveled the US and through Europe; I've worked on creative and charitable projects that I'm proud of; I've got a small band of wonderful real-life friends who stuck by me for the past 30+ years. It's been a good and meaningful life."

But I am TIRED of drama and I've had a lifetime supply of harsh words and meanspirited discourse. I'm just so fed up with it. I'm allergic to it now.

I'm not saying we should allow hate and harmful behavior to slide. But here on the internet, we have the power to block and remove anything we don't want to see or be a part of. I WISH we could do that in real life, where the stakes are so much higher.

So for my part, after being in all kinds of internet fandoms since 1999, I've come to the conclusion that I will not hang with mean girls, I will not feed trolls, I will not fight with antis, and I will TRY not to pop off on people who upset me (sometimes menopause gets the better of me, I admit it). Rather, I will just redirect my focus to what brings me joy, I will follow my bliss, I will take revenge by living happily.

And keep in mind... People are human. Fans and members alike are going to have bad takes, bad attitudes, bad days, bad habits. The question is: are they willfully causing harm? If yes, intervention is necessary. If no, then a little grace might be more useful.

I come from three generations of teachers and one of the most important things they've said to me is: Shame is not a teaching tool. It might temporarily change someone's behavior, but more often than not they double down in order to counteract embarrassment. If you want good results, thank a person for trying their best, acknowledge they are likely struggling, and invite them to be the better version of themselves you absolutely know they can be. Sometimes that works.

With ruiners, it doesn't. They just want to ruin things. Ruining things makes them feel powerful, because they cannot create; they can only destroy. It is their only talent. Ruiners invade a space and absolutely delight in ruining it for everyone else. It's a disease and I don't know the cure. The only way I know to counteract a ruiner is to stay in your space and LOUDLY be joyful, be cheerful, focus on what you love, and drown out their vitriol and hate with compassion and love.

So THAT is why I'm so "kumbaya cheerful OT7." Even on days when I would love nothing more than to thrash and whine, I'm trying my best to be a good little oyster and filter out the toxins, so this place remains focused on what matters: supporting BTS and enjoying ARMY.

If after knowing all that, I'm still not your cup of tea? I totally understand and I really don't mind if you need to mute me. This blog is just a hobby, just a place I come to escape the stress of work deadlines and house renovations and sick kitties and my own health issues and real life problems. Probably that's why you're here too. It's meant to be fun and enjoyable. I'm sorry if you don't like me, but... I'll never change all my colors for you.

So go follow your joy and find like-minded blogs. You have my blessing. And maybe we'll meet each other again on down the road, and we'll both be in better places, and we can walk together by then. Either way, you deserve to be happy.

Love, Roo

[the-marron]

Shipper Tag Game

Tagged by @forerussake , thank you 🥰

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

Hmmm, a hard question right off the bat, because even if I am no longer actively seeking the ship content out anymore, usually I retain a lot of fondness for it, so there are precious few ships I used to be into and that I am simply meh about now, but I think it would be ShikaIno, from Naruto. Canon came at me hard, so while I have some fondness for it, it is what it is, and I am not that much into Naruto anymore either way, so it doesn't hurt much.

2. Which ship would you consider your first one?

Simba/Nala? Lol 😂 but in all seriousness, I think it would be BatCat. Or Aragon/Arwen, I am very hazy on the details when exactly I imprinted on those, the timeline is not clear

3. Your first fanfic was about which couple?

Read or written? Read: no idea, I think it might have been some self-insert into Inuyasha universe? Written: Sirius/Remus

4. Do you remember the first couple you saw fanart of?

Nope. When I discovered the internet I discovered all of it at an alarming pace, but my bet would be on either Sirius/Remus or some couple from W.I.T.C.H

5. Have you ever gotten into ship discourse?

I try not to. I have opinions, yes, and I like discussing them with friends, but I try not to make it anyone's problem - everyone will ship what they want to ship and find different dynamics compelling, so I don't think it necessary to crusade one way or another because one ship is superior to another. It's all very subjective.

6. Did you use to have any NOTP or have one currently?

I have quite a bit! Funnily enough I have some canon ships I absolutely dislike and can go off about whenever I catch a poor, innocent victim to listen to my rant.

But my general rule is that I don't like OT3s. In any fandom, in any form, it's just not for me at all. To make matters worse, I am a monoshipper at heart, which usually means that I have a dynamic/ship that I like with characters A and B, and it makes me lose interest in all the other configurations with them. So maybe not an active NoTP but very unlikely for me to read A/C if I committed myself to A/B.

Special shout out to Weilanzun, because this is my most recently acquired NOTP.

And to Batman/Talia Al Ghul which is my longest reigning one.

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

Zhou Ying/Bai Ling from Tai Sui 🥺 my poor white half-demon, hopelessly devoted to his prince... And so few fics with them ;_;

8. Currently, do you have any OTPs?

Plenty. I don't abandon old ones, I just collect them together in my jar of ships and rattle it from time to time, to see how they sparkle together.

But from my most recent and long-term commitments: Weilan, Luolin, Heixie, Luo Qingeng/Jiang Yang (do they have a name???) and BatCat, forever and ever

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

Well, the story is a story, so as long as it makes sense that these characters do not end up together, then I am okay with it, that's what we have fanfiction for, right?

BUT

I am still not over that wedding stunt DC Comics pulled with BatCat. Months of teasing, of promising the wedding, the freaking wedding albums being released and then the WEDDING DIDN'T HAPPEN. They broke up instead because Batman has to be the dark, sad, lonely something something and you can't be a hero if you have a wife. 50 years and DC Comics is going backwards in this regard :/

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

Not sure? Nothing comes to mind. But I am very open to being pulled into/converted into ships as long as they are not on my black list, and even then I try to keep an open mind, in case something clicks.

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

Hah, a lot, because I got into shipping as a teenager. So reading romances about other teenagers felt normal and all but now I don't feel the need to revisit them.

12. What is your favorite crack ship?

Ha. Not today, Satan. One moment I am joking about a crack ship and the next I have 10k words written about it and like 3 sad headcanons and a shipping chart ready.

13. What is the couple you read the most fanfics about?

Oh wow, good question. If I like a ship, then I tend to read through the entire Ao3 tag of theirs, sometimes more than once because what if I missed some gem in the first go? So it would come down to the sheer numbers of fics, I think. So that would be either Sterek, Stucky or Eames/Arthur (fun fact: this is also the first fandom that introduced to me the concept of derivs)

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

Devotion. Very often the conflict between their feelings and their duties/ loyalty towards something they cared about before they met the other.

I like both sides of the ship to be competent at their respective fields and torn apart by their own choices and priorities. The 'I love you but do I love you enough to abandon everything I am'?. I like both answers more or less equally: both the 'yes, it's us against the world now' and 'I hope we won't meet on the battlefield' are set ups I enjoy immensely. But I also like smart-asses annoying each other into marriage one witty comeback at a time.

15. What you absolutely hate in a ship?

Imbalance of attachment. If the ship seems terribly one-sided, like one character is putting in all of the work and tries and tries, and tries while the other mercifully sometimes acknowledges them, then it's a no for me.

Same with the 'if you patiently wait for this person to like you, even though they told you 10 times they won't, then they eventually will' trope, like someone's love is what you earn through steadiness and hard-work.

I like both parts to be equally unwell about their partner, one way or another. They can be sickeningly domestic and gushing, or they can be crazy in that 'no one defeats him, but me!' kind of way, but they have to be in balance on the insanity scale. I like when characters grow into their relationship and both affect one another, falling more and more in love with each other as they go, but not when one person is a prize the other has to win/outwait/earn.

Thanks again for the tag, that was a nice bit of soul-searching there, very fun 👌😌

Tagging: @baiyubai , @babischlong-six , @mjsakurea, @mejomonster, @elenothar

#tag game #shipping #shipping tag #fandom #marron gets personal

[imminent-danger-came]

drop a bitterbomb about lmk or the fandom, just go ham. i am here for that mk rant

Hmmm I don't think I have a complaint about lmk itself! (Except maybe the fat clone joke, but I have my man Pigsy so it evens out for me). I really love this show with my whole heart, and though I can be bitter about some things (toh, shera, recently nimona) I do try to give things the benefit of the doubt if I can tell there's real heart and thought behind something. And lmk? So much thought goes into this show, you can feel how talented these writers are!

As for the fandom. *Ahem* *Gets on top of my soap box.* This is a lot of power you've given me.

Like I said in my tags, MK is so often relegated to the role of "therapist" it's shocking. I think a lot of folk view MK and Steven (from Steven Universe) as the same character, and while there's fun similarities, MK is very different from Steven. Steven is definitely the group therapist and ends up having to be the most emotionally mature of all the crystal gems, struggling to keep everyone above water. MK on the other hand has to rely an incredible amount on everyone around him, rarely being the one to actually give comfort himself. MK just also isn't really a character with a "I can fix them" mentality. He's not going out of his way to redeem anyone, except the person in front of him who he thinks can help save his friends/the universe.

Maybe this is a bold take, but I view MK as someone who would choose his friends over the world (he also literally does so in 4x02). He is not a selfless world-first kind of hero, which makes his guilt over getting the world in trouble all the more delightful to watch.

So, it's always surprising to me when I see MK being the one to comfort other characters (namely Red Son and Macaque), when Mei is LITERALLY right there. Our hopepunk shonen protag girly. She's the one to usually do the comforting (along with the rest of the gang), but I think in general a lot of people sleep on Mei.

Which brings me to my second rant: another thing that's kind of disappointing/annoying about the fandom is how pretty much Sun Wukong and Macaque are the only two characters, with MK as a third to promote some kind of interaction between the other two. Sometimes I play a game with myself of seeing how far I can scroll the lmk tag before I see a post about only Sandy.

Which, lmk has such a wonderful cast of characters, it's kind of sad seeing fan content only about Wukong and Macaque—now don't get me wrong, I also love those monkeys, but there's also a lot more characters to explore! Mei is one of my favorite characters, and I think Tang has one of my favorite arcs in the show (3x08 is such a good episode. I am also a big fan of 4x03).

And, god. For all the fan content about Wukong and Macaque those two definitely get the brunt of the blorbofication.

In canon? They're very flawed and fucked up immortals who have hurt themselves and others. But in the fandom? UWU Precious sad boys who blush. It's kind of maddening. Originally I had a lot of people mad at me in my notes for thinking sweet boy Sun Wukong knew MK was a monkey the whole time/involved in MK's creation. Like. I legitimately can not believe there was discourse on twitter about Wukong being a "deadbeat dad". Have you seen this man. Hello. He's an asshole, but he's our asshole, and he tries.

#People were also mad at my ''SWK and MK are gonna fight next season'' prediction. And I'm like come on man #One: You can still love someone who has hurt you. We all hurt each other. That's life #Two: MK has not ever gotten to express the ways Wukong has hurt him in the show. And that's gonna come out at some point #Though I think my blog has found it's way to folk who are a lot more chill #And some who are on this SWK V MK pain train with me #Which is based #anyways that's enough complaining from me #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk rant #asks #imp's a little feisty

[toh-tagteam-au]

Is Hunter still going to be aroace in your au?

EDIT: I’m going to be sticking with Aro Hunter going forward, and I appreciate all the replies to this post! I’m keeping this up for personal reference, but just a heads up I’m no longer unsure. 

Original answer below:

----

Im glad you asked this because I've been wanting to make a separate post about this since Labyrinth Runners but I kept chickening out. Apologies for the wall of text in advance.

Full disclosure + some context before I get into it: I really like keeping Tag Team as close to canon as I possibly can. It's why towards the beginning of development I kept certain plot points open ended. I'm lucky that I didn't have to retcon any comic parts that were already posted pre-season 2b (the next few updates would have been ruined by some of the reveals in Hollow Mind, so I'm kind of glad I waited).

I never really expected Hunter to get into a relationship/hint at attraction at all back when it was season 2a, so I was comfortable having him be aroace since the chances of it being conflicting with canon were slim. I was in the group of people who were like "there's no way his character arc would have that much time/it would be rushed/wouldn't make sense if it did happen" etc. Plus, I'm aro myself. I was kind of excited to do a storyline that sort of reflected my own experiences with attraction and lack thereof. And I liked the ships that fandom brought forward, but I wasn't expecting them to move past the crack-ship category. So again, I felt secure in my canon-compliant-ness of Hunter's aro-ness.

But season 2b introduced the REALLY INTERESTING concept of Hunter and Willow actually being canon somehow. Or at least Hunter being attracted to her in some way. I was fascinated. Their actual canon dynamic is GREAT!! Teen soldier who was introduced as a hard-ass gets blushy at a school girl who can and would kick his shit in and is implied to not even think of him romantically yet. Not to mention the whole narrative catharsis at seeing a clone of Caleb, notorious husband of a witch, also falling for a girl. I love it SO MUCH!

So that brings me to an unfortunate choice I was sort of hoping you guys would help me with?

On one hand, I love Hunter and Willow. I love that they're implied to be a potential thing and that they'll have more dev in season 3. Their dynamic is my jam and it makes so much literary sense that they'd have chemistry, not to mention it just brings out the best in both of their developments in canon (Willow being a nervous shy girl with no self esteem turning into someone who can and will kick the emperor's ass to save her friends, Hunter being a heavily abused high ranking child solider turning into a blushy mess in front of a strong girl). I just love it. Nothing about his sexuality has come up in-comic so far, so I wouldn't have to retcon anything to make that a thing in TT.

On the other hand,,, I've already said that TT!Hunter is aro on this blog. I've sort of built up/mentioned this pseudo-romance arc he was going to have around the Grom episode. A lot of you seemed super excited about him being aro back when I first mentioned it, and I don't want to disappoint you guys and fake you out by being "surprise!!! he's allo!!!" I guess I could have him be Demiromantic or just ace to keep that vibe of aspec, but I don't want it to feel like a consolation prize either.

So it's this unfortunate back and forth between me really liking Willow and Hunter/wanting to keep things as canon as possible, versus sticking to what I've said out-of-universe in the past. I kind of get the sense that both options have their own baggage – I'm unsure if the aro hunter vs hun//tlow discourse is as intense as my dash makes it out to be since I try to avoid it and I generally like both options, but choosing one kind of feels like I have to choose a side. So I wanted to ask you guys what you think/want to see.

Feel free to reply to this post, say ur opinions in the tags, or send me asks on what you think. I probably won't respond to all of them, but I'll definitely read them all and take them into account.

#ask #not comic #should I tag with the ship tag? for filtering purposes? #I feel like this ship gets enough discourse in their tag #ask to tag

[tolkien-feels]

Did Tolkien specifically state that elves were heterosexual or is it just some people?

(Like, I'm in no way trying to be rude, I just wanted confirmation since one of my friends ships Russingon, and the other said that elves were heterosexual)

Oh that's a minefield. I'll try to answer this as unbiasedly as I can, but keep in mind I am both 1) queer myself and 2) not interested in shipping as much as I am interested in other aspects of fandom. If either of these things makes me lean towards one side or the other, I will leave to your discretion as you read this.

I'll try to be as succinct as possible but we'll see if this doesn't end up long.

Also this is such a minefield, like I've said, that I will disable reblogs because I really don't want to deal with discourse at best and actual queerphobia at worst.

The first thing is that traditionally, shipping has never relied on whether an author would approve of it or not. So "You can't ship this because the author says you can't" is not an opinion that would have been given much weight for much of fandom history. "Could this theoretically be canon?" is an incredibly recent development, especially when it comes to queer relationships. So your friend could and should ship whatever they want!

In terms of authorial intent, better read people than I could point you in the direction of a small library of literary scholarship debating how Tolkien portrays gender and sexuality. It's a complicated, nuanced topic.

As for what he's actually said... That's difficult to answer. I don't believe there's a sentence out there that says "Elves are exclusively heterosexual." Does that mean that they aren't? Well, not quite.

Maybe Tolkien didn't think anyone would assume anything but that they were heterosexual, and didn't particularly think he had to clarify that point. Or, alternatively, he did not think they were in fact exclusively heterosexual but was not comfortable with exploring that due to a myriad of factors, so he chose not to address it at all. There's no real way of knowing this, especially not without dedicating a lot of time to studying it, which I have not.

In terms of "Has he ever portrayed a queer relationship?" Eh. Also difficult to tell. There is a lot of ambiguity in how Tolkien portrays a lot of relationships, including heterosexual ones. I could make a case why a lot of his canonical, heterosexual couples are purely platonic, and a case why a lot of his commonly-read-as-friendship, same-gender relationships are romantic.

Also, just because Tolkien did not portray something "on screen", it does not mean it doesn't exist in his world. The Hobbit has no female characters, but presumably, there should be women in the world. So that's also not the way to go about it.

There are a few texts where Tolkien discusses how elves view marriage and sex, but 1) their role in canon is debatable; 2) they contradict each other and also other canonical or semi-canonical sources; 3) they tend to be framed in terms of customs (=what was socially expected among elves) rather than unbiased worldbuilding (=what Tolkien knew to be true.)

This distinction would not usually matter, except many people have proved Tolkien often enjoyed playing with the gap between reality and tradition. The most important texts about elves and love also tend to have a frame narrative of having been compiled or translated, so that's also another layer.

This isn't an intellectual exercise. This is actually important. In general, when Tolkien lays down a custom, you can immediately think of something in direct contradiction to it, and he often draws attention to these contradictions in the text itself. So it's actually very important, when reading these texts, to remember they are fallible by design.

This may all seem like I'm trying to rule lawyer. I promise you that is not what I'm doing.

Here's what I'm doing: I'm showing that to get to an answer, you have to dig so deep that I find it extremely unlikely that this is an important, unchangeable aspect of canon.

Tolkien did change canon over the course of his life - making dwarves more heroic, for example, and working on fleshing out female characters. If he lived forever, and came to think actually he wanted to have openly queer elves, he wouldn't have to break canon nearly as much as he had to in order to revise other things that he did revise.

Honestly? Sexuality in Tolkien's worldbuilding is almost a non-issue. The etymology of the name Maedhros probably bothered Tolkien much more than his love life. You need to break canon much harder to have bearded Aragorn than to have queer elves. If we're sticking to strict, strict, strict canon, we are going to run into contradictions all over the place (ask someone about how nonsensical Tolkien's math is), and I tend to take cues from the text to see what is important to pay attention to.

This is of course subjective, but like, I find Russingon much more canon-compliant (although I don't ship them) than if you were to tell me Fingolfin, who was married in Aman, married someone else in Beleriand. That is enough of a taboo among elves that it comes up, explicitly and implicitly, at several key points.

Now, I still wouldn't care, because I don't need Tolkien's permission to do what I want, but I would say that breaks canon much more definitely than the mere idea of queer elves.

(If anything, Maedhros and Fingon might run into a different taboo - they're too close kin to be in a relationship. But that's a rule Tolkien can't seem to make up his mind on. Which kind of proves my point.)

Having said all this... I would tentatively say Tolkien did not mean for any elves to be queer. But that understanding is informed more by my understanding of him as a person than by my understanding of canon, because again, this simply isn't something that comes up in a clear way. Or if it does and I'm just forgetting something, it's obscure enough that I don't think it really matters as much as issues people routinely ignore in the fandom at large (eg linguistics, or elements drawn from medieval literature.)

So while I do think people are justified in assuming no, there aren't queer relationships in Tolkien, I also think that's got to be the weirdest hill to die on unless you are bringing your biases to the text.

EDIT: Adding @pearlescentpearl‘s reply because it belongs here

Weighing in with a supporting thought! IIRC the clearest thing Tolkien ever said about elven marriage is that it’s *for the sake of children*, which is incredibly congruent with many of the histories Tolkien liked to study. Whether you were straight or queer, having children was incredibly important for a number of reasons and having children within some kind of formal acknowledgement of a union was useful for a. the pooling of resources, and b. the allotment of resources to descendants (inheritance). so for elves, if the purpose of marriage is ultimately for children, and the making of children involves both parents pouring in the strength of their spirits to nurture the baby, a marriage didn’t have to mean ‘I am romantically and sexually attracted to this person’, although undoubtedly common. it could also mean ‘this is the person I’ve chosen to procreate with and no other reason’, which still leaves plenty of room for one or both to have queer relationships outside the formal union they make children with, which is also congruent with a lot of historic practices

[lunapwrites]

I am only going to post about this once.

Doing a little cleanup on my about me pages... kinda feel the need to revisit the author-induced HP-verse blowback and renewed fan creator exodus for a moment, just bc I keep seeing... discourse.

For context, in case you're reading this far and are unaware: I am pretty open about being nonbinary probably most accurately agender? still kinda feeling that out, and about being queer in general. So I feel like I have at least a small leg to stand on in this conversation, given the umbrella I fall under.

I understand why other authors and artists feel the right decision for them is to disengage from fandom, or to remove/orphan their body of work. I support them in their choice, and I wish them the best. Likewise, I understand why others may choose to remain, and to continue creating content (subversive or otherwise) that speaks to them and to others who are able to see themselves and their experiences in it. As a member of this camp myself, I salute these people. It's not an easy decision to make to continue in this climate.

I am extremely fortunate in terms of where I'm at in my journey, and where I live and work, and a supportive partner who is cis enough for the both of us lol. I understand that my situation comes with a certain degree of privilege - but that privilege is bought with the sacrifice of my truest self. These online spaces are one of the precious few places I have where I can express those sides of my identity, and my writing is the best place I have to explore them. Characters like Remus and Sirius and Tonks? They're the most familiar to me, and therefore the safest. For me, continuing is the best choice for the sake of my mental health - even with the pressure to quit.

To that end, it... bothers me a bit when I see discourse claiming that people who continue to engage in and create for this fandom are morally deficient. That, by and large, is not the case. Most folks are just out here trying to do the best they can. I don't think that shaming or call-out posts are constructive.

If you are expecting me to post disclaimers or to self-flagellate on every fandom post/fic, you will be disappointed. I will instead continue as I have been and put my limited bandwidth and energy into keeping my queer friends and family housed, fed, and safe. And I will continue to do so without posting about it because frankly I don't have the spoons to advertise every time I do something. (That said, if you're in the US and in need of help, please reach out privately: I probably have resources I can leverage.)

I am a big proponent of doing what you can with what you have and that every little thing counts. Make friends and network. Promote causes. Feed each other. Show up for each other. That's the important part. Like, it's not all big activism and protesting and bold proclamations. Sometimes it's just buying eggs.

Idk. I just feel like we all have better ways to spend our time than all this empty grandstanding. Just go... do something positive. Even if it's just providing emotional support, you know? Everything counts.

#support each other #do good recklessly #or carefully. i'm not your dad. #this is not to say don't boycott #it's just that i think we give boycotts too much credit #they are powerful tools #and can send a message #they work best in tandem with other action #but you do more good if you take care of your community #at least directly. #yelling at people online is easy #do better #obviously there is nuance even with this #and levels based on ability #available resources. etc #i get that. not saying do the most all the time. #it's not a contest. just do what you can for who you can. #i am very small. my arms only reach so far. #but i am still helping who i can how i can. #i think if we all do a little we can do a lot of good #discourse #fandom wank #anti jkr #hp #between fanfiction about dead gay wizards #and laws passing nationwide making your existence a felony #only one of those things is actively harming people #and it ain't the dead gay wizards #like. i love the energy. #but maybe we direct it more constructively.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP Hiiiii. I was reading the comments of a reaction video and saw this comment from a non-shipper. It reminded me of your post abt the types of people in the fandom n how they react to jikook. I think this commenter is a Type 2. It made me feel a better that armys see jikook as close friends and notice how they click. But some Vmin shippers saw the comment and started flooding it with how it's actually Vmin that are closer. 😅 It's like Type 3 rival shippers are really the worst huh.

**

(@tanniephile, I go on a bit of a tangent and ramble in this one)

Hi @tanniephile!

The comment you posted doesn't seem complete, but it does give the general idea that the commenter thinks jikook "click" and that jikook have a close friendship. And yeah, with nothing else to go on, it seems OP fits into Type 2.

I think like that commenter, a lot of ARMYs are actually cool with jikook. Most of the angst around any of the pairs in BTS is driven by the shippers rather than anything the pair does or is, and that's exactly what happened here. OP said nothing we don't already know: Jimin and Jungkook are close and their families are close too, but that was apparently enough for Vmin shippers to feel put on the defensive, spamming the comments section to highlight their ship. This is one reason I've said before that the sordid reputation shippers have is well earned. Too many of y'all are loony.

Like whatever the fuck happened yesterday with that taekook picture their poor friend had to delete right quick because taekookers were posting NSFW taekook fanart under it, while acting a fool in jikook shipping spaces at the same time. Who knew one picture could energize thousands of taekookers to multitask so efficiently? I saw a few jikook bloggers try to deal with that mess, and regardless of my dislike of shippers in general, I have to give the jikook bloggers who at least tried to act like thinking decent people their full kudos. Y'all are better than me cause I just kept deleting that insanity.

One thing that annoys me about jikook vs taekook shipping discourse, is that a sizable chunk of disturbed individuals have turned it into sport. The real game is not about anything jikook or taekook are actually doing. Instead the majority of people shipping taekook are playing a game that is all about one upping jikookers, using primarily Jimin as the game piece. Even Taekook themselves are only side pieces on the game board. Jimin is the person taekookers actually care about and they use 'wins' against Jikookers as proxy to keep score. Most jikook shippers appear to be more self-aware, but you'd be lying to yourselves if you didn't admit there's a growing faction who are drawn more into playing that game alongside taekookers, than actually enjoying or keeping up with Jimin and Jungkook.

Because there is no reason on god's green earth why one picture of taekook (unconfirmed) bowling with their friends, should cause anybody to care.

When I saw the volume of asks I was getting yesterday, I thought something more must have happened. I thought to myself how I would've felt if jikook was spotted bowling instead (jikook have done this too before btw), and my feeling would've been the same - I'd note it as just another random outing we've been made privy to and leave it at that. I wouldn't think of it as a date or proof of romantic attachment, the thought of taekookers would not even cross my mind until when they would inevitably become abusive towards Jimin and Jungkook on all online platforms. Like, honestly, I get why jikookers feel compelled to respond to this nonsense - taekookers can be disgusting, manipulative, and almost mind-numbingly absurd in how they think and behave that some of that filth begs to be exposed and corrected, but I really do wish more people including jikookers left them on read.

People that disturbed are bound to self-destruct if left to their own devices. Give them any oxygen and you give them a reason to not just keep existing but to become even more intense.

I wish more jikookers realized that their engagement, more than anything else, even more than confirmation that taekook are dating, it is the engagement from jikookers that taekookers are after. Like that's the whole game. It's the same for other toxic shippers (such as the Vmin shippers above) who treat their relationships as some kind of competition. Once taekookers successfully bait you into responding, into comparing and counting 'moments', into acting like Jimin, Jungkook, and Taehyung aren't real life breathing human beings who have actual friendships in real life, then they've gotten exactly what they want. And the entire space gets overheated over nothing. Energy is redirected from more enjoyable things (their photofolio reaction vid is still fresh, RUN BTS dance practice dropped only two days before, and RM is dropping the album of the year in 2 weeks). It entrenches people deeper into their respective teams, and common sense becomes even less so.

It's weird.

It takes borderline harmless instances and artificially inflates the importance into something angsty or catastrophic. Things then take on outsized meaning only because shippers think of it so.

For example,

So what if Taehyung mentions Jungkook in his Vlives because he knows shippers would care? And so what if Jimin does the same? Or Jungkook for that matter?

Is this something that is completely impossible? Of course not. They are idols and they know many people in their fanbase enjoy hearing about their pairing interactions.

Will this mean he *only* mentions Jungkook or Jimin for that reason? Of course not. They are actual friends in real life who actually hang out. They clearly enjoy spending time together and sometimes don't mind sharing those tidbits with their fans.

Is he saying this to deliberately manipulate millions of people into hating Jimin or Jungkook because he's secretly malevolent or wants to hurt his bandmate? Of course not. Again, these are real life friendships corroborated by their own words, and that of their other 5 bandmates, etc. The people acting a fool on account of one bowling outing should be held responsible for their own actions. Taehyung is not the reason Patricia from Manila is spamming jikook blogs on Tumblr about taekook fucking under the stage in Busan to make Jimin jealous.

*

At some point, y'all are going to have to realize that taekookers enjoy doing this. It's a game. They're the og shippers because they do not see the guys as people. They're here because they think they've found an interactive telenovela game with the option to proxy self-insert. Many of them are not capable of thinking beyond the game of their ship, they are not capable of giving a fuck about possibilities outside the fantasies and narratives they create. I know it, they know it, and that's probably why after the 12th taekooker ask sent into my inbox yesterday, that person finally took a hike. There's nothing to be done for taekookers, vminers and other toxic shippers, they're too far gone. Jokers still seem like they have their wits about them and know how to have fun, so I'm addressing this to y'all instead.

These people are insane and have no one to tell them. It doesn't have to be your problem. Jimin is and will be fine. As will Jungkook and Tae. Engage with the lunatics if you must, but also please consider all the above.

#jikook

[zeroducks-2]

I have noticed that anti rhetoric seems to go against most of the old types of ships people would flock to in like 2008, Sasunaru is a ship of all time but Bakudeku is abusive. Even if there isn't anything wrong with a queer ship (can't be called pedo or incest) messy and angsty ships are treated as worse than super fluffy ones, and tbh this has kind of made me feel alienated from fandom.

I know that I repeat myself but it's true. You're right. The purity culture that antis employ is rooted in homophobia, which is why even the fluffiest gay ships get targeted 100% more than the "dark" het ships. If you ship Jaytim you're a freak of nature and you should repent, but if you ship Brubabs you're fine - mostly fine at least.

Because here's the thing. They started coming after the dark ships and the really heavy kinks, then they switched to just non-vanilla ships and mild kinks, then they expanded to any ship that has a vaguely "unhealthy" connotation (sometimes this unhealthy connotation is made up), and kink doesn't even need to be involved. They are starting to attack het shippers too - it doesn't happen as often but I do see people being harassed for shipping Sasunaru and Sasusaku, or Brubabs, or anything the casual anti dislikes really. The dynamic of laying out why a ship is pRoBLeMatiC, arguing how shipping is bad and makes you a bad person, seeped into fandom spaces of all kinds and is employed even by people who aren't antis themselves, because it got just so widespread. It's essentially the norm for a lot of people; they see a new ship and their first reaction is to dissect it to find reason to harass who ships it (see one of my mutuals who got bullied to hell and back for drawing punkflower because of course if you ship Miles and Hobie you're a pedophile, even if Hobie's official age has not been disclosed, and Miles is most certainly not a child).

The so called discourse will keep spreading. I know this sounds alarmist but there is no limit to anti mentality, it's kinda like how republicans take it out on trans people, then spread it to queer people in general, then go after the rights of women and children and if they could they'd abolish divorce. I'm pretty sure they will actually try depending on how the elections go next year. Antis are on the same path. Now we progressed to a point where het ships aren't safe anymore either, and some antis make the case that sex and nsfw content should not exist at all in any kind of media, fictional and transformative alike, not just the "toxic" representations of it.

I too feel alienated from fandom too because of that. It's an old adage, but fandom is supposed to be a safe space and it's just not that anymore (come to Aethy for a better experience btw, they really do have a policy to kick antis out if they bother people). Sure block the people you don't want to see, customize your own space, tailor it for yourself and all of that. But when you are a creator it's consistently harder, harassment is always around the corner especially when you're an artist. Especially because a website like tumblr directly caters to antis and censorship worshippers and does not by any means defend who's getting harassed.

#kind of a downer post I know I'm sorry about that #ramblings #my asks #I probably need to get off of tumblr don't I

[bleach-your-panties]

↬i currently take requests for characters from Bleach, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Haikyuu!!, Tokyo Ghoul, Tokyo Revengers, Hunter x Hunter, Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) [[now open!!]]

↬check my squad etiquette for characters that I WILL NOT write for.

↬requesting on the blog is FREE, but keep in mind that i now also take commissions.

the tip button is active on my page if you're feeling generous and really enjoyed one of my works. i also have a kofi page (check under 'explore your new squad' header)

↬request any character(s) you want. refer to previous bullets for characters i will not write at all, but if there's a question about if i will or can write for a character, just message me or leave an ask.

↬yes, i age up characters. got an issue? find the block button. they're fucking cartoons.

↬do not come into my inbox with discourse involving aged-up characters. if you made it that far, you must've seen something you liked.

i am an adult, i can tell the differences between promoting blatant ch*ld abuse/child expl*itation, and fiction writing. dark content included.

if you felt that something i wrote was offensive to a particular person, entity, or group, please bring it to me RESPECTFULLY and we can discuss.

↬when i begin to add other fandoms, it'll be announced on the blog, always.

↬i can write SFW, N/SFW, smut, fluff, crack, angst, horror, dark content, psychological, headcanons, thirsts, drabbles, songfics, and full-length fics.

‼️DO NOT LIKE, REBLOG, OR COMMENT ON MY N/SFW & DARK CONTENT IF YOU ARE A MINOR, A BLANK BLOG, AN AGELESS BLOG, or a "MEME" BLOG. I WILL BLOCK YOU‼️

↬from here on out, 2/26/2024, minors may not at any time interact with my works. THIS IS A FIRM RULE. WAIT UNTIL YOU'RE OF AGE.

i am not anybody's damn role model or parent on here, nor am i responsible for what types of content your children are consuming.

↬if you're a minor, ageless, blank, meme blog or you never share or comment on my works, do not ask me when fics are coming out or for a part 2. be glad you got part 1.

↬i do FxM smut pairings only for now; i've attempted others in the past but they're not my strong suit, so it may only be limited to headcanons or thirsts if I attempt it. I could possibly do FxMxF and MxFxM upon request. Depends on my inspiration for the request (which depends on you!) i think I'd like to try writing from a male reader's perspective as well. i currently do not write transgender readers, as i have little experience writing for those types of readers, and i doubt i'd be very good at it. i can try my hand at writing gender-neutral/afab readers if requested. i've kinda done it a little in the past, and i am always trying to improve my writing skills.

↬requests for female characters may only be limited to fluff, crack, SFW, angst, headcanons, thirsts, etc., for now. Headcanons and thirsts can be N/SFW.

↬characterxreader pairings only. i will write threesomes, gangbangs, etc but there must be a reader involved somewhere. i also write black!readers and will write poc!readers.

↬request as many times as you want, but please be aware that they may not all get written.

↬i write best when I have a clear picture in my head, so please give lots of details about what you want.

↬don't be shy, I won't bite your head off if you ask me a question about a pairing, characters, or any of the above rules.

↬please don't rush me or continually ask when your request will be completed. It depends on my time, motivation, and will to write. Writing can be hard and I'm a perfectionist, so I won't submit half-assed work.

↬requests that i choose to write are completely at my discretion. if i feel like i cannot write it, i will either let you know and we can possibly modify it, or i will just delete it altogether. i will not force myself to write something that makes me uncomfortable or that i have no inspiration for.

↬if you are always requesting but won't leave me one measly comment, i will delete any future requests from you. these take time for me to write, so please show that you at least read it all the way through.

↬MOST IMPORTANTLY: DO NOT STEAL MY SHIT. I WRITE ALL OF THIS SHIT BY MYSELF.

↬my ask box is open and will remain open until otherwise stated.

↬feel free to use the ask box just to talk to me, or send me a pm!

↬don't think too hard about it! can't wait to hear from you! 🤍🤍

#ask box open #ask box #ask me stuff #ask me questions #ask box always open #💗💗🍡°ask box #byp🌹 #byp 🌹pinned post #byp🌹navigation page #❄️squad protocol⋱❥

[jaerie]

ehi.. how are you? Everything is fine? I love having your content / reading your thoughts (mostly in tags) on my blog and i was wondering if everything was okay <3 i find myself re-reading lots of your fics (that i saved and read on my e-reader) and i want to thank you for creating lots of little univers for us .. is highly appreciated.. i wish you all the best, take care and thank you again! <3

This is a million days old, but I hope you see this and know how much I appreciate anyone even noticing I haven't been around. Thank you so much for reading my works! I selfishly love discussing and hearing about my own fics since I put so much of my blood sweat and tears into them. I really really miss world building and all the content I used to put out for this fandom. I've hesitated to respond to this because I haven't been sure how much I want to put out there about myself and what I've been going through. I know that historically I've really let my little outbursts spew out into the void and have been trying to be better about keeping that to myself. Same as the rest of the world, the changes left in the wake of the pandemic and general social and political shifts have left me absolutely exhausted in my personal and work life. So in that aspect, I'm not okay while at the same time being as okay as I can be given the circumstances. Apart from that, I have always had a complicated relationship with this fandom, and I guess at the end of the day, this fandom hasn't felt like a safe space for me for a while. I came here for a good time, to escape the stress of my real life, and the particular way this fandom has been handling discourse is getting to be increasingly more exhausting for me. I hesitate to say I'm leaving or have left, because I haven't, but I have had to change the way I interact lately. What happened at Red Rocks affected me more than I want to admit in many ways and really changed my perspective on things I think I had been in denial about. I was chasing what I used to love about this fandom and so many of those aspects just aren't here anymore in the same way. It's completely okay for people to shift their opinions and thoughts on a band or artist, but many of the people I considered friends or interacted with have shifted too far away from my own opinions and thoughts and has made it difficult for me to see a place for myself here that doesn't feel hostile or uncomfortable or invalidating. So yeah. I'm not gone or deleting, and continue to post nostalgic clips from my videos on tiktok, but that's why I haven't really been around.

#anonymous

[bthump]

This isn’t specifically about you and more about the anons, because I’ve noticed that you sometimes get requests to respond to meta posts other people make and something about that makes me a bit uncomfortable. Since your meta posts are widely liked by a big part of this community, it sometimes feels like you’re being kinda requested to „debunk“ other meta posts. Diversity in opinions is so important for a good fandom atmosphere and some of the anons you get seem to wanna stir up hostility and I don’t like it. Since I like some of your meta posts, but also find myself agreeing with other people, I just feel weird about this dynamic, you know? How do you feel about it?

I think that's a fair concern but honestly, I don't see it as inherently a problem. This might be my 00s internet bias here lol, but I tend to view meta on a public platform as fair game for response or external commentary - which includes my own posts. My meta is here to be read by anyone who wants to, and to provoke thought and discussion, and that's generally what I assume of others' meta as well.

Like I recognize that attitudes have changed in the era of mostly unmoderated spaces and reblogs and the lack of diverse comms with their own norms and discourse running rampant lol, and so it's often considered automatically rude to disagree with people now, but I think that can only extend so far. Like, I don't reblog posts just to disagree with them (unless they're a friend and I know they're cool with discussion) because I know it sucks when you keep getting notes from people who are liking or reblogging the take you disagree with, but I don't think that should mean not discussing other people's meta at all, as long as it's done respectfully of course.

And I understand why someone might want a second opinion on something they read. I think everyone should think for themselves and form their own opinions, and I completely agree that diversity of opinion is important in any fandom. But not everyone has confidence in their own analysis, or the learned skills for criticism, and I think it's reasonable to seek out other viewpoints and decide which seems most correct to you, or use them as boucing off points to figure out what you believe. I definitely don't want to be the only Berserk meta blog out there, and I'm more than happy to agree to disagree with most people. I'm not an authority on the story lol and people are free to agree or disagree with me however they see fit.

That said, I'm always a little wary about tone and intent, especially in Berserk fandom, because I'm not here to get into arguments and I try to make that clear. But I take most asks in good faith. Sometimes I might go a little too far with that lol, but honestly I'd rather come across as naive than hostile. If I found out that someone was trying to start a fight between me and someone else, or was using my posts to dunk on someone else, or if followers of mine took it as a cue to harass someone, I'd absolutely say something and stop answering those asks. (Hopefully we're all chill enough over here that this doesn't happen, btw. As far as I'm aware I've never incited anything like that and I've personally only ever seen fandom arguments started by people mad about Griffith fans existing, but tbf I also don't pay attention to whatever's happening outside of my dash.)

But yeah I don't think that's what's happening here, and I don't want to assume someone's trying to start shit unless there's clear evidence for that. Like in the last ask I got like this, the anon did specify that they agreed with the post they wanted me to comment on, and were just seeking more opinions/wondering what my own take was, and I think that's reasonable.

Idk, this is definitely one of those things where I know there are different valid opinions about etiquette. But I generally abide by the 'do unto others' rule, including here. I blog with the expectation that anyone can read what I write and agree or disagree, and that I might inspire other discussion. Sometimes I get nervous about being linked to notably hostile fan spaces, like the berserk reddit, but it has happened with virtually the same motivation as those anons (what do you guys think of this person's take?) and ultimately I'm fine with it, and even a little flattered.

All that said, at the end of the day I do think that it would be best for anyone who sends an ask referencing someone else's analysis to be specific about what they want to know, rather than a general 'what do you think of this?' question. Both because it shows why you're asking and what you're interested in and leaves less room for doubting your motivation, and because it makes it easier to answer.

#ask #anonymous #b #i don't necessarily want to encourage these types of asks so i'm not gonna post that last paragraph separately as a psa #but i don't want to tell anyone to refrain either as long as everyone's being chill about it #this is probably overly long lol but it's a fair concern and i want to address it as thoroughly as i can #theme: fandom