problematique-tm

[problematique-tm]

Not to be ~~problematic~~ but this sounds a LOT like klantis back in the day.

Watch Out For Online Cults

A lot of talk about cults and manipulative people in the community is focused on an in-person level. Things that an in-person group will do, how their control extends into your offline life, but cult behaviors and mindsets can absolutely be used online and may not be as visible or as obvious. Here’s a small, incomplete checklist of things to watch out for, red flags and the like. (Note: I’m not talking about any specific group or individuals here. None of these on their own make a cult, but a lot of them together can potentially mark a toxic environment at least. This isn’t intended to be a diagnostic tool, just things to analyze and reflect on. Please always be safe and don’t let yourself stay in toxic environments whether they “count” as a cult or not.)  

The “leader” can do no wrong. They are not capable of truly making mistakes, or any misstep they do make is quickly explained away or defended by their followers. Any criticism is quickly punished, labeled as problematic, or otherwise shut down. Online, people will often sing the praises of or “lovebomb” the leader after these incidents.

It’s Us vs. Them. Anybody who criticizes the group is an enemy. Anybody who chooses not to be a member of the group must have something wrong with them. Critics/people on the outside just don’t “get it” like they do. The “outside” may be painted as threatening/the group as a safe haven, and opposing viewpoints should not be given any attention, even to consider them critically. You’re discouraged from joining other similar groups.

Using social justice lingo as a way to control people. Manipulators can speak the language too. They may bring up gaslighting, gatekeeping, policing, invalidation, and other things and accuse an individual or group in order to either guilt the person into acquiescing or vilify them to the other members. This is a really effective tactic for shutting someone down.

The leader is elevated or enlightened in some way. They claim to be a deity, or at least closer to the divine/enlightenment than you. They have a more effective/direct line of communication with spirits or entities.They have wisdom or knowledge you must stay with them to take part in. 

Dictating parts of your online life. Members must change their names, icons, speech/typing patterns, etc. to conform to the group. The rules for behavior in an online setting go beyond what is needed to maintain order. Members may be asked to do a lot to “prove” they deserve to be/stay in the group. 

You’re scared to leave. You can’t imagine your online life without this group. You feel like you need the community/resources it provides you. You’re worried members will turn against you if you leave. You’re worried that leaving or voicing concern about the group will have negative repercussions on other platforms. 

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Writers: Sheith is a good ship

Producers:  Sheith is a good ship

Storyboard artists:  Sheith is a good ship

Voice actors:  Sheith is a good ship

People on tumblr with no involvement in the show: But can’t u see…. It’s a bad ship… We know things…. Things even the writers don’t know about the characters they have created…. We have headcanons……. 

[problematique-tm]

i’d be really curious to know what percent of queerbaiting is 

a) an intentional marketing scheme to stir interest in the project and attract certain fanbases (lgbtq people and young women) vs. 

b) members of the creative team genuinely wanting to write queer characters but the corporate side of things force them to tone it down but they still leave little hints vs. 

c) they legitimately did not know how gay something would come across

[problematique-tm]

Imma be real

Y’all can have your fun and hope for the best with the new season, but it makes me uncomfy when I see all these theories that any ship will become canon. Like at this point if the ship isn’t blatantly obvious and set up by the show (aka allurance) it’s like???? Idk I’m trying not to get my hopes up and just watch the show. I’m a voltron veteran. I’m tired. I honestly don’t believe one bit that anything gay will come out of this show. I want it to. Gods, I want it to. As a queer person it would be great to see representation more than just the creators confirming Shiro is gay, but I don’t believe for a second at this point that they’ll actually do it. And at this point, honestly I don’t want it. This fandom has reached a level of toxicity that is beyond repair, and no matter who gets together (even the obvious endgame couple) a lot of people will be furious. It’ll be hell and chaos for both the show cast/creators and the fandom.

So here’s my theory. They took extra revising time so they could add a better ending, throw in extra character moments, and maybe do an end montage of art. And you know why? They are doing it because this fandom is entitled, bloodthirsty and always dissatisfied. I’m not saying everyone is, but most of us? Definitely. They obviously care about the fans AND the show, and wanted to add things, but I can’t help but think that this decision wouldn’t have happened if the fandom was fucking normal. Don’t take this as a win if your gay ship becomes canon. Take it with a grain of salt. Don’t think they were destined since day one, because chances are the cast and crew were pushed over the edge and are just giving the people what they want so things don’t get any worse.

And hey, if you don’t agree with me I’m fine with discussing it, but you’re getting blocked immediately if you get aggressive right off the bat. I can talk this out like an adult, unlike a good portion of this cursed fandom.

[problematique-tm]

hot take:

STOP referring to antis and anti behavior like “urgh why are klancers like this?” 

STOP referring to assholes who make crass pedo jokes to sheithers over a damn t-shirt like “urgh why are shancers like this?”

STOP referring to assholes who attack, mock and otherwise make feel uncomfortable people who ship anything other than sheith like “urgh why are sheithers like this?”

STOP GENERALIZING PEOPLE. NO MATTER WHAT THEY SHIP, WHO THEY STAN OR WHAT FANDOM THEY ARE IN. 

There are assholes in every social sphere and in all aspects of life, but call them what they are: ASSHOLES

Infighting between shaladin ships is only going to make the VLD fandom more toxic than it already is, so stop making it about ships. 

[problematique-tm]

It’s really a shame that antis took this intersting dynamic that Shiro and Keith have and minimized their interactions to “they’re like bros of course they act like that,” and moved on.

Because, whether you ship them or just like them as friends, Shiro and Keith have such a deep bond with each other. They are fundamental to each other’s characters, impossible to talk about one without mention of the other. They’re always there for important moments in the other’s story. Every time Keith pushed Shiro away he just came back insisting that he wanted to help; saying that he’d never give up on Keith. And Keith held onto those words for years. He never gave up on Shiro either. All those times Shiro disappeared or was near death and even with his illness Keith never once gave up, even when Shiro himself seemed to resign to his fate.

Keith never gave up on Shiro when they had to fight either. Even knowing it was a clone, it was still a clone of Shiro, it was still him to Keith. All through that fight he was trying to talk with Shiro, to understand, to help him in anyway he could. And at the very end of that fight Keith still never let go of Shiro. All through the show, their bond is highlighted more than the other paladins. We seen them being vaulnerable and emotional with each other. They have these heartfelt conversations and assuring the other that they’ll be ok. I can’t think of many cartoon shows where two male main characters are like that with the other.

It’s just…astounding to me that antis can take such a beautiful and complex dynamic that Shiro and Keith have and…they completely ignore it, shove it under an umbrella of “brotherly love” and move on. Heck, half the time antis talk about Shiro and Keith it seems ooc. It’s a damn shame. You don’t have to ship two characters to appreciate their story together.

[problematique-tm]

I have a hard time forgiving antis for ruining shadam for me.

They did it with klance. They did it with shallura. And they did it with shadam. Thanks a lot fuckers. Now I associate shadam with sheith hate, death threats towards the cast, and the usual bullshit. Guess it’s another tag I’ll have to block. I’ve had a hard time dealing with seeing it on my dash... it’s just not good for my mental health. Let me be a fucking multishipper in peace...

Also, antis do not interact. I’ll just block you and you’re not gonna sway my thoughts or opinions. Just deepen it.

[problematique-tm]

Christ, I didnt even know about the Jermey thing. I've been hearing discourse today about how "certain fans" in the fandom took the discussion about the thought process in creating the characters in episode 1 in the voltron podcast as somehow Lauren saying Shiro, Keith, and Allura are the only main characters in the show. Theres a tweet going around about it but its starting to cause a lot of uproar.

ah but they are the main characters? i think the narrative plays that out. this series does an amazing job of giving everyone their due, but it’s obvious that shiro and keith and allura are the protagonists. they all have pretty in depth arcs that are intertwined to some degree (mostly keith and shiro, but allura had her not-all-galra-are-bad arc through keith). 

i guess here’s the thing like… lance did show up first in the first episode. the episode is framed through him because he’s our every-man character. he’s the comedy relief and the way you relate to the oddness of everything that’s happening, but he’s not the main character. and he was never going to be. it was just a different way of framing the story and i wonder a lot if they regret that. like if they’d started the first episode with keith and not cut those two extra sheith scenes in the first episode, i really wonder how different the fandom would be. 

even so, by the end of the first episode, it’s pretty apparent that our main characters are those three. allura hints to her own arc by describing the loss of her planet and her deep personal investment in the story. shiro we already know has escaped galra control and is the leader of voltron. and keith is given a dedicated focus in the episode at multiple points–as is his relationship with shiro. 

i think it’s all right there. like i’m not calling anyone stupid for seeing it differently but there’s absolutely a level of naivety in fans who didn’t see that–which isn’t to say lance or pidge or hunk or coran can’t be your faves, but when you choose a secondary character as your favorite, you have to be prepared for a little bit of disappointment that they’re not like… the series lead? that said, they’ve done an incredible job of building up all three of those characters and giving them really lovely and nuanced arcs. it’s just… of course lance was never going to be black paladin, you know? like that was absolutely never in the cards and i think that was clear from the first episode. his arc with allura is still beautiful and nuanced. it’s just… not everyone is the angsty main character leader, you know? i’m not and you’re not. and that’s lance’s position in the story. he’s us.

[problematique-tm]

i feel kinda sorry for the bubbline fans hoping for #1 on fandometrics, because you know the kl@ntis will keep kl up there, just like how rupphire only hit number 2. 

i mean, if you disqualify kl because of all the crosstagging, absolutely it’d reach number one.

[problematique-tm]

Hey y’all! I really enjoyed this season and if you did too, I highly recommend leaving a positive Rotten Tomatoes review for the season itself. Right now it’s got an incredibly low score (31%) and that sends a message to the executives that people, regardless if it’s true or not, that having canonically gay characters like Shiro is going to lower their ratings. I know that people are upset by the treatment of Adam, but that’s not what the higher ups are going to see. They’re going to see overall low scores and associate that with Shiro, since Adam himself only had a minute of screentime. 

So please, if you have a minute, log in to Rotten Tomatoes and leave a positive review! 

[problematique-tm]

you're still as gross as shit for shipping sheith, and no amount of condescending bs is going to change my mind, sorry. shiro was in a position of authority of keith when he was a child; keith refers to him as his brother. something not being literally illegal doesn't make it healthy.

[problematique-tm]

antis attacking david gaider, a gay man, for shipping sheith?

alexa, play ‘fuck you’ by lily allen

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— tweet by David Gaider, BioWare writer of the Dragon Age games (and more)

Didn’t we all?

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not everything is about lance

[problematique-tm]

Yeah, that’s… okay, no, I have no words. 

[problematique-tm]

Klance take over the fandom 😂😂😂💕

[problematique-tm]

I'm sure that if Adam had survived but stayed separated from Shiro the backlash would have been the same.

antis don’t know how relationships work because nobody would be willing to date their sorry asses