#Fandom discourse

[sdv-confessions]

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but: while it can be good and even necessary to to sit with something that makes you uncomfortable, you can and often should step away from from things that cause you genuine emotional distress. Put down the phone, turn away from the computer. Get a drink of water or a snack, talk to a friend, cuddle a pet, do a craft, watch your comfort show, go outside, take a shower, whatever works for your situation.

.

[sebadztian]

So, I saw a couple of posts about a topic that's so common in Kuro, it's starting to get old: How antis despise Sbcl (and its shippers) and what's wrong with this pairing (and Yana too somehow??).

Those who've been following me for a while know that I kind of ship Sebaciel. I might even have written a fanfic or two about them.

In most of my works, they're often decipted as this lovey-dovey romantic couple who are so attached to each other. They're this 'perfect' couple that everyone envied because they're just so sweet. A lovely story about a boy and his domesticated demon butler-slash-boyfriend.

But here's the thing...

If they started to hug and kiss and says 'I love you's in the manga, I'm probably going to drop it real quick. Why? Because that's not what Kuro is about.

Kuro is a dark story about a boy who has lost everything, who has had his world taken away from him and the length that he's willing to go to achieve his goals.

It's a story about humanity and its ugliness, about what being human is like, about how manipulative, greedy, deceiving, revolting, and ignorant humans could be. But at the same time, it also talks about humanity's strength, resilience, empathy, and forgiving nature.

Even the way 'love' is decipted in the story is not the kind of 'love' that would make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

In the Kuroverse, the word 'love' has different meanings for different characters.

For Lizzy, love means being Ciel's 'perfect' wife, even if she has to sacrifice a part of herself.

For Madam Red, she had loved - and lost - two of the most important people in her life and her conflicted feelings were what led her down that path.

For Sieglinde's mother, her love for her country and her husband has pushed her to sacrifice her own daughter.

For Agni, his love and devotion to Soma has led him to a path of redemption and in the end, it has cost him his own life.

For Joker and the rest of the circus troupe, they love each other so much, they chose to turn a blind eye towards the error of their way, choosing to sacrifice their own humanity for each other's sake.

And for our Ciel, he loved his brother so much that he chose to 'kill' himself to keep his brother 'alive'. (Of course there's also the whole thing about the low self-esteem stuff, but we're not going to talk about that here).

And for Sebastian, well, love means cats. He's simple like that.

So, if you're here screamig at us Sebaciel shippers about a pedo demon, about how Ciel & Sebas hate each other, about how wrong it is to ship them, and how Yana has never meant for them to be a couple...

My friend, you're wasting your time, breath, and energy because WE KNOW.

We know Kuro is not about some romantic couple who lived in a nice neighbourhood and they're friends with their neighbours whom they say 'Good morning' to whenever they leave the house in the morning.

We know that Kuro is not a story about love and romance and all things awesome. In fact, Kuro is very, very ugly. And yet, it's exactly why it's also so fascinating and beautiful.

This is a story where the protagonist is a demon who sees humans as grasshoppers. But at the same time, he also finds them fascinating. It's like this whole Kuroverse is Sebastian's own personal research lab and the other characters are his lab rats, with Ciel being his favourite hamster.

If you're looking for sweet romance, you're not going to find it in Kuro. That's what fanfics and AUs and all those headcanons are for.

And if you still don't get it... Well, then you probably should read something more lighthearted...

[mereblogs]

Y'all never had one and it shows

(the amount of men-carpet I know, that are in toxic relationships with women that control them, is pretty high, too, but no one's going to talk about that)

Just say yall don't think women have actual autonomy and move it

[shyjusticewarrior]

At some point "fanfic can be as good as professional writing" became "fanfic should be as good as professional writing" and that's caused major damage to fandom spaces.

[phantasm-masquerade]

reblog for a bigger sample size if you feel like it

[darling-shrike]

So help me god if I ever seen anyone so much a breathe something about Gaiman’s supposed autism or good omen’s cancellation again I am turning off your internet. This shit i why the first victims who came out only felt like they could go on a fucking radfem TERF podcast of all places. You disgusting ghouls need to keep your whining to the group chats and shut the fuck up. Fandom is progressive this fandom is activism that and it’s about david tenant getting railed more than it is helping real flesh and blood victims of SA fuck all of you

[perseidlion]

I hate crustaceans. They scare me because I was traumatized when I was younger.

That is not the fault of Red Lobster, especially if I choose to go there knowing my trigger. It is also not the fault or responsibility of seafood fans. They are allowed to enjoy crab, lobster and other pinchy sea creatures to their heart's content. I have no right to tell them they can't. It would also be really weird of me if I judged them and insulted them because they like to eat a kind of food I find stomach-churning and visually upsetting.

Friends can be kind to me and ask before ordering crab legs because they know it disgusts me, but at the end of the day they are allowed to choose their own dinner. I also have no right to judge people at the next table for ordering the lobster within sight of me. It's on me to check the menu for those items before I agree to go to that restaurant, or just accept I'll be a little uncomfortable if someone carries a tray of king crab legs past me.

The same goes for any trigger. If you're 18+ and in the world, chances are you might see subjects that disturb you. You just have to prepare yourself, avoid spaces when you can, and leave spaces that trigger you too badly all WITHOUT putting blame on others.

Trigger warnings are a courtesy in fandom culture. But it is not reasonable to expect that every possible kind of upsetting content is tagged.

To OP's point, some triggers are so specific or so uncommon that the person writing would maybe never even consider that might be a thing that would upset someone. It is common to tag the big ones that often upset people, and I haven't met anyone who objects to that.

But still, TWs are a courtesy not a requirement. If you read something rated M or E, you should be prepared for anything. Stick to T and G rated fics if you really need to stay away from problematic themes.

The same goes for film, books, and TV shows. If it's got an adult rating, you have to expect you might see adult themes. If you know it's a bad trigger for you, the onus is on you to do proper research before you consume that media.

It's also totally reasonable to be upset by these things if they catch you off-guard. But you have to accept that it is an issue you have to deal with yourself. It's not up to others to change their storytelling or excessively cover their work in warnings.

Art is supposed to make you uncomfortable sometimes. That's part of its purpose.

While we're talking about how triggers aren't one size fits all, can we also talk about how sometimes they're just plain stupid??

I can read, write, and watch rape scenes with minor discomfort, but a dubcon drunk makeout scene in a TV14 show made me shut down and turned me off of the show for a month because it reminded me of something that happened to me.

I can watch gore, body horror, and slashers galore with no problem, but watching people slice loaves of bread with razor blades on Bake Off made me feel sick because it reminded me of my own self harm.

Does it make sense? No. But that's just how it is for me. No two traumas are the same, and it's so selfish to think that someone exploring something traumatic in fiction, in any way, is a reflection of you and your situation.

You own what happened to you, but you don't have a monopoly on trauma lmao. You don't get to dictate how people write about these things. And you don't get to decide who is and isn't valid based on how they explore difficult topics in FICTION.

[sundown-racoon]

Now that gravityfalls is trending,, I want to say something that most of you will agree to

NEVER trust ANYONES opinion on the show if they hate Mabel,, the whole point of the series is that Dipper and her are close and should STAY close and that drifting them apart would do no good to the entire universe.

She is not a jerk or a bitch,, she's twelve and a sweetheart and YOU are crazy for hating her

[frontmansdefender]

shaming and making fun of people for still engaging in fandom activities once they reach a certain age is so embarrassing because why are you giving yourself an expiration date of time you have fun? why are you not-so-indirectly saying you will stop having fun once you reach a certain age? or do you really believe you have to stop engaging in fandom activities and having fun once you turn (x)? do you not think you will, what, live that long and turn that age too? do you think fun will suddenly stop for you and life will all of a sudden lose its meaning once you reach a certain age? how sad to be giving yourself an hourglass and just waiting for your time of having fun to run out.

adults can and should engage in fandom activities if it's what makes them happy.

adults can and should continue doing whatever they like doing as teenagers if it's what makes them happy.

age is just... part of life. it's a part of me and it's a part of you. shaming people for something you will have to go through (unless you don't think you will live that long) is such a loser behavior. indirectly saying you will stop having fun once you reach a certain age isn't the flex you think it is. it doesn't make you look "cool and edgy", it makes you look miserable.

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

"guys I do not condone any of this in real life" "this is fiction" "consent is key. this is only fiction" "murder is bad irl" — I wish fanfic authors didn't feel like they had to clarify this in author's notes or else they might be accused of being abusers or worse (I admit that such disclaimers are also something I personally use for my own stuff because I feel like I had to make it clear). like... people used to not care if an author wrote dead dove fics because people used to understand that ao3 fics are not a reflection of someone's in real life views or morality in any way. people used to understand that fanfics mean what they mean; fan fiction. none of it is real. maybe it's purity culture that normalizes witch hunt and censorship in the past couple years, and therefore authors feel like they have to clarify that just because they write about violence or noncon stuff doesn't mean they're murderers or sex offenders in real life. and I think it sucks that these things (purity and cancel culture?) have made authors feel like they have to apologize for the art they created instead of being proud of their hard work and all the dedication they put into creating these art. artists should not have to feel like they have to apologize for creating art that isn't all rainbow and sunshine. artists should not have to be made to feel ashamed of their own art if it's not all rainbow and sunshine.

I don’t agree with the “you can write noncon and dark fics as long as you make sure your readers get the message that these things are bad” or “you can write noncon and dark fics if it’s your way of coping with your trauma” take either. because writers do not owe you anything. the message writers want to send to their readers — whatever that message may be, if there’s any message or moral of the story for readers to take from the stories at all — is none of your business. why writers write what they write is none of your business. remember “don’t like don’t read”. no one forces you to read anything you don’t like. dark and noncon fics are a form of creative writing and creative writing is a form of art. you can’t pressure artists into creating art that “fit your moral compass” nor can you apply your own moral compass to artists to determine if they can create dark art or not, if their reasoning behind creating dark art passes your moral compass. like… what artists create and why artists create are none of your business. and you don’t get to shame artists for creating art that you hate / art that disgusts you. what you can do is ignore the art because it clearly was not made for you and that’s okay. what isn’t okay is you harassing artists because you don’t like the things they created.

writers, embrace and be proud of your works. as long as all the trigger warnings are tagged properly, you have nothing to apologize for.

[kilgoreontralfamadore]

I so desperately want to be Cow Goth, but deep down I know I’m Wars and a wee bit o’ Four…

Tagging @starwolfie @nyastri @toyouhellohowareyou @pepperpuppy417

Tag Yourself: Linked Universe Edition ✨

(Open for better quality)

[johnny-depp-is-loved]

Reblog if you are employed / have a full time job and are a fanfic writer who still actively writes and posts new chapters / new works.

My friend says you can’t be an adult, have a full time job and be a fanfic writer at the same time, because you’ll have to sacrifice your writing, fandom activities, for your career. And I just… don’t think that’s the case? At all? Unless I’m missing something? Unless I’m doing it wrong by being employed and still writing fanfics?

[whumpster-fire]

Broke: Chilchuck Tims is child coded.

Woke: Chilchuck Tims isn't child coded, he's a middle-aged, divorced man with grown up children.

Bespoke: Chilchuck Tims cannot be accurately described as either "child coded" or "not child coded" because he is a deliberate commentary on the idea of "child coding" itself.

Chilchuck, and half-foots in Dungeon Meshi in general, are given significantly more neotenous proportions and appearances (e.g. larger heads and eyes, rounder faces) than the other races. This is not universal for depictions of hobbits / halflings in Tolkien / D&D inspired fantasy fiction. Compare Chilchuck relative to the "tallmen" (humans) in Dunmeshi to how small races are drawn in something like Legend of Vox Machina (many of those characters are gnomes but whatever) or in basically any official D&D art. It was an intentional artistic decision to make him look like that. This is reinforced when he's temporarily transformed into a tallman (human) and in addition to becoming much taller he gains features that make him look more visibly middle-aged (stubble, eye bags / wrinkles, a more oval face) that he doesn't have as a half-foot. See also Marcille's transformed form and supplemental drawings of what all of the main party would look like as other races. However they do NOT look indistinguishable from actual children as portrayed by Dunmeshi's artstyle and have distinguishing features e.g. larger ears.

Chilchuck is frequently mistaken for a child in-universe, or treated / perceived as one even by members of other races who know he's a half-foot, and he hates this. His infantilization and that of half-foots in general isn't just a running gag, it's a significant plot point and source of discrimination. Like when the party gets impersonated by shapeshifters copying everyone based on the others' memories of them, and most of the Chilchuck clones look and behave more childish than the real one, and they almost get away with it, even though his party should know better than to think of him as a kid.

The narrative consistently takes the position that the people infantilizing Chilchuck are wrong, and are being ignorant/racist.

Conclusion: Chilchuck is definitely not "child-coded" in the way that a 700 year old shapeshifter that looks and behaves indistinguishably from a little kid for contrived reasons. However, he is intentionally designed to make it seem plausible for people who know he's an adult to still not fully believe it and this can make the viewers fall for it too. Which I guess is "child-coding" in a sense. But the message the work is trying to send is very clearly "Don't decide that grown-ass adults are equivalent to children and treat them like children because they have physical characteristics that remind you of a child you dipshit."

While hobbits aren't real and Chilchuck's traits that get him mistaken for a child are exaggerated compared to the vast, vast majority of real people, infantilization of grown-ass adults due to ableism, racism, or just people being dumbasses who forget short people exist is a real issue, and if you start shit with people for shipping Divorced Dad Chilchuck Tims with other characters or whatever you are displaying the exact attitude that's being criticized.

[wenclair-more-like-whenclair]

All it takes for a character to be interpreted as heterosexual is simply for the character to exist. A character can never kiss a member of the opposite gender, hook up with one, or show any signs of attraction and still be viewed as straight. Meanwhile, two members of the same gender can have the most intimate onscreen relationship, flirt, check each other out, show visible signs of being in love with the other, and somehow none of that is enough to even SUGGEST that they might be queer.

What a gross double standard. Sexuality is not “straight until proven otherwise” like so many believe it to be. Newsflash to all the straight normies out there, your favorite non labeled, sexuality unconfirmed character in your favorite show is NOT STRAIGHT just bc they haven’t been confirmed as queer. Use your fucking brains for once. It’s all about diving into media and picking up on subtext until that subtext suggests queerness. Then, suddenly, everyone loses their fucking ability to interpret a piece of media. Have you considered that: if all signs point to them being gay then maybe they actually really are just gay???

[notsosecretly-a-badgebunny]

I will ship two men together who are canonically married to different women with no shame. WTF is this nonsense 🤣🤣😭😅😭😅

WHY ARE PEOPLE EVEN IN FANDOMS ANYMORE