#People only criticise Bloodweave because it is popular

[dreamingofthewild]

Rant about fandom culture incoming. Please feel free to scroll by ❤️

As someone who has never been in a fandom before and only recently got into "nerd culture," I find the idea of getting upset about shipping and headcannons very jejune. Especially in an RP game that lets you explore different relationships and routes.

Fanfiction is not about what is real or canon. It's about exploring the characters, imagining them in different settings, or alternate universes.

Shipping is the act of creating a romantic pairing between two people or characters who are not otherwise romantically linked. People ship two characters together for a variety of reasons. Usually, they like the dynamic or the chemistry and want to explore it further.

BG3 is a role-playing based off of a role-playing game that also lets you role play as one of the main [origin] characters. The game let's you explore many paths depending on how you want to play.

Every ship is a valid role-playing variant.

But it's not just about shipping, I have also seen people judge others for how they choose to play the game or chastise others for ignoring "canon" whilst ignoring canon themselves.

People write essays or create blogs dedicated to hating specific characters and judging the people who like them (why bother?). The characters are complex and change depending on how you choose to play the game.

From what I have observed, there is usually some kind of bias behind strong opinions, and there will always be something in the game you can use to defend or disprove a view. The curtains are not always just blue, but sometimes they are.

Just accept that people are going to like characters you don't, ship characters you don't, and choose different in-game choices. Your headcanon, your opinions, and your preferences are not everyone else's. This is a role-playing game where you get to make your own choices, and fanfiction is about exploring scenarios outside the source material. There is a lot in the game that we don't know or that is down to interpretation.

Surely, there are better things we could be doing than writing lengthy posts about why we don't like something and discouraging others (me included as I write this post).

Focus on reblogging what you like or creating the content you want to see. I'm tired of people telling others they're doing fandom wrong and acting like their opinion is the only correct one that is free from any bias. No one is free from bias.

All of this, just to say, I wish people would let others enjoy the game how they want to. Most people do, but there are always a few.

You're not a clown for sympathising with Astarion, shipping Astarion with Gale, imagining Gale with kids post game, or exploring darker character paths.

People project onto all of the characters just as much as they identify with them. And I am sure that there is not a single ship out there that does not have some fanfictions that are a little ooc or where people explore the dynamic different to how it would be in the game. Even with oc x origin ships sometimes. So that is not a valid reason to discredit something you don't like. Especially if you're okay with it when it is not something you personally dislike.

Neither is the fact that you can do what you want in an origin run because they gave us the option to play as them and control their story. If origin runs don't count, then that means no ship is valid except the one between an origin character and Tav. Not just the one you don't like. People often see what they want to see and take any evidence that supports their view, whilst disregarding or finding ways to discredit the ones that don't.

Also, I love it when people claim not to care who people ship but then proceed to create a lengthy post about why they shouldn't be shipped. Including calling the people who ship them clowns or another derogatory term. People who are actually indifferent don't bother to go to such lengths to discredit it. Even if it is just on your own private blog with the names censored, why take the time, especially when you supposedly don't care?

When you're chronically online, you start to notice some patterns. That's all I'm saying.