#block the person doing it because their as entitled to their opinion as you are

[alltimefail-sims]

Sooooo round walls are buggy as heck?! There's no way the the Sims team isn't aware of this.

Worst part is that their asses are going to try and sell the medieval kit people voted on even though round walls are quintessential to those builds and they do. not. work!!!!

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Can u not tag malleus or other characters when u hate on them pls it makes me sad

Hello, and thank you for reaching out about this! I do apologize for your discomfort 💦

I believe that this ask comes as a result of this post, as that’s the most recent post I can think of which might match the description of “hating on Malleus”. You’ll note that there is now a Malleus Draconica critical tag, which you can block if you choose to. This way, you won’t come across it while browsing my blog.

I’ve also gone ahead and retroactively tagged other related posts (although they’re mostly posts from the past year or two). There are similar tags for other characters, such as #Vil Schoenheit critical and the like. These tags are put on posts in which I discuss why I don’t like a particular character. I hope you can use these tags and the blocking feature to best curate your own experience on this blog.

The reason why I elected to make a new tag rather than exclude my posts altogether from the main tags is because I don’t think that it’s conducive to shut away “negativity” about a character when Twst is a game that actively promotes characters of a dubious nature. It encourages us to embrace both the good and the bad aspects of its large cast of colorful characters—so I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pointing out their flaws or why someone might not like X or Y for them. This can make some people uncomfortable, certainly. However, I don’t think that’s a reason to prevent sharing of this critique with others who might gain new insight from it. I say this as someone who has gained insight myself by reading about characters I dislike, and someone who has been told that their works have entirely changed people’s minds about certain characters. It goes both ways.

Even if someone dislikes a character I happen to like, I find it helpful to read conflicting opinions to gain a fuller perspective. I want to give others that opportunity as well. I realize that not everyone may share this sentiment though, which is why there’s always the option to block what you don’t wish to see. (Prioritize your own comfort!!) I think people should be able to choose not to look at content that upsets them, but I don’t think it makes sense for this content to be hidden from others who may be interested in seeing “the other side”, if that makes sense!

I also believe that fandom—especially as of late—seems to conflate critique with hate, to the point where the slightest criticism of a character or content is labelled as “hate”. This can lead to a dangerous area where anything that isn’t immediate and glowing praise is deemed “bad”. That’s not an area I want this fandom to hit, as it would inevitably limit our ideas (although this also applies to all other fandoms).

In reality, “hate” and “critique” are NOT synonyms of each other. Hate is hostile and exists purely to shame or to tear down the content in question. It doesn’t consider the other side or care to ask questions. Critique is judgment or opinion of that content, and it is usually meant to help improve the content. It has us ask “why?” and “how?” To put it simply, hate is “you’ll never be better” and critique is “you can do better”.

In this instance, perhaps the previous anon’s statements (“[…] now I'm a hater. Like wtf. He’s so incompetent.”) are hate. (Even so, they’re entitled to feel the way that they do, even if the way the opinion was expressed was over-the-top.) I do think I was emotional in my response, but I don’t think I expressed myself in a hateful manner overall. I opened with what is arguably a defense of his behavior and then went on to point out a legitimate character flaw Malleus has and how not everyone reading those vignettes would perceive that flaw in a gracious manner. It’s not blind hatred; it’s valid critique and it comes from a place of wanting to see him improve as a person. I try to not character bash because no one (myself included) feels good seeing others hating on their favorites. Malleus has flaws, and so do all the other characters. Those flaws should be acknowledged, and it’s up to the individual to determine whether those flaws result in liking or disliking that particular character.

I’m not saying that everyone should agree with my stance on the Malleus Dorm Uniform vignettes or how I feel about Malleus in general. What I am saying is that not all negative statements made about a character should automatically be categorized as “hate”. I worry that if we stretch the definition of the word too loose, it could become a situation where any and all critique is silenced 💦 What happens when no critique is allowed? Everyone begins to think the same way or has to be fearful of expressing an opinion, and fandom becomes so much less fun for everyone involved… And, worse still, the canon content itself can feel confident resting on its laurels and not actually put forth the effort to “be better” (since there’s no negative feedback coming from the fandom).

Again, I encourage you to curate your online experience!! Do whatever makes you the most comfortable. If you don’t like seeing something, there is zero shame in blocking it or taking whatever steps necessary to disengage. Lastly, please take care to not to overgeneralize what counts as “hate”!

Thank you for your time 🙇‍♀️ I know I probably rambled for way longer than necessary cnsbjwvuwgejbe

[lullabyes22-blog]

Reminder...

That whatever your reactions, takes and opinions on Arcane's finale, it is NOT OK to go on X/Twitter and bash the creative team responsible for its writing, to get personal with insults, to send threats, to stalk and harass, and to otherwise behave like a crap excuse for a human being.

Ditto for interacting poorly with the VA's and artists, who may have their own opinions, but who are under contract to promote the show, and who are, in the end, just doing their jobs.

Ditto DITTO for fellow fans with different opinions than your own. Fandom's gotten cute with a new buzzword - "media illiteracy!" - for simple takes that don't match their worldview at best, or at worst express liking for a character they don't care for.

Which, um.

That is not media illiteracy, folks. That is the literal experience of being part of a fandom.

Fandom in general will always be a bunch of self-cannibalizing schisms, and some of 'em will just straight up FAIL to pass the litmus test of 'live and let live' when it comes to fellow fans with opinions different than theirs. However it still bears reminding that there is a DIFFERENCE between being passionately engaged with a series - (and hey, critiquing stuff that you don't agree with, which, guess what, is a hallmark of engaging healthily with a piece of fiction, and should be encouraged so you aren't passively spoonfed more subliminal propoganda in both fantasy and real life) - versus seeing red and hurling epithets at someone you don't agree with because they think Oingo-Boingo's arc was sweet or thought DilbyTrillby's storyline could be better handled.

Arcane's ending is gonna be a wild one. Toes will be stepped on, ships will sink, and not everyone will get what they want. But it is still essential to remember this is a work of FICTION, which the writers are entitled to conclude in the manner they see fit, and which fans are entitled to interpret in whatever manner suits them.

All of which can be done without ragefrothing and spewing hate left, right and center.

I'm basically yelling into the Void and will be blocking the Arcane tag post-finale, as the interwebs will be loud and full of piss. However, if you'd like fun debate and want to share your feelings, or just bawl, you are welcome to drop by here, in my little sandbox lovingly curated for myself and my mutuals, and dig up worms/build sandcastles with us 💗

[theroundbartable]

Some of you might have seen this one Mergana poster who is using both the Merthur and the Anti-merthur tag. I have also seen someone be really upset for being forced to see it on the Merthur tag.

I have something to say about that.

Full disclosure: this was my initial reaction

" you could just block the Merthur tag. Why are you so upset? Hating a ship just to validate your own is pathetic." I went on a full tangent in my head about how shipping is for fun and shouldn't be so serious. About how it's telling that this person complains about how canon didn't treat Mergana right but then goes on about how Merthur shouldn't be allowed because canon dictates that Arthur is so and so.

And then I realized how arrogant I am.

It was actually the one who complained about the Mergana shipper using the Merthur tag that made me realize it. Because yes, it feels shitty when someone complains about your ship in your ship tag, exposing you to hatred and anger.

But you know what the Mergana shipper also did? They used the anti-merthur tag. We can block that tag.

And that is a kindness we did not repay.

I went to the Mergana tag because I wondered when was the last time I saw a Mergana post? And I wanted to see whether my suspicions would be confirmed. I went there and saw the Mergana shipper's complaints reflected in my face.

We Merthur shippers post post after post there about how Mergana is so funny because we see both as gay, or how it doesn't make sense in canon etc. Etc.

We've been flooding their tag with anti-mergana shit for months, taking it over, without tagging it as anti because we think we're being funny and because it's not hateful and not serious, and no one's complaining. No one's getting hurt, right?

And then it takes one, ONE persony one POST from their tag to make us upset, to make us rant. Because now we've been exposed to -

What? The same thing?

It's no wonder they are so frustrated, when they go to their ship tag and get just flooded with being made fun of, for their ship to be ridiculed. They are exposed to our ignorance and our arrogance and they didn't even complain about it.

They just went to do the same thing we did.

And they've always had a right to their opinion, even if we dislike it or disagree. Just as we are entitled to ours. But we can't tell them to be quiet when we've been so loud.

This post is meant to call myself out, btw.

[physalian]

Not-so-gentle reminder of things to think about before harassing someone over their opinion on a piece of media:

These are fictional characters who don’t know you exist and do not need you to be their knights in shining armor bullying the people who don’t kiss their asses.

These are fictional characters making fictional choices and one person’s love, criticism, or ambivalence toward them does not define their own personal morals and worldviews.

You are as entitled to your positive opinions as someone else is to their negative ones, and when you say “you just didn’t understand” how you’re coming across is “you didn’t draw the exact same conclusions I did, thus you are wrong” which is just not how media literacy works.

You are not the creator and the lines you draw and patterns you see (positive or negative) in a work of fiction are not objectively correct. They're your interpretation and we all interpret things differently.

You have no idea what is happening behind any given post you see and especially in fandom, people post impulsively a lot. If someone’s on here ripping a character you love apart, telling them they’re an awful person for doing so isn’t going to change their mind, and there’s a good chance the character they’re hating on is not the root cause of why they’re upset. That character may represent something very real in their own lives that you’ll never know about.

Thus, someone attacking a fictional character who does not know they exist and isn't real because they're having a bad day or are in a mood or simply don't like them is a whole different ballgame than seeing that post and attacking a very real person with thoughts and feelings because you are having a bad day or are in a mood.

I’ll rip a character or a story apart on here, but I’ll never attack the people who like them on here, and I’d implore more people to understand that “I don’t like X” does not mean “I don’t like that you like X” and it does not mean "I don't like X and don't like this piece of you that you see in X either".

If you don’t have something nice to say to somebody… don’t say it? Block and scroll on.

[blitzwhore]

I just saw Blitzø get called Stolas stockholm victim I can't with this fandom anymore😭

😂 As outrageously incorrect and stupid as that take is, I'm going to go on a tangent here. I hope you don't mind.

I think every fandom has annoying people with awfully terrible takes in it. People with zero media literacy. People who hatewatch. People who think they're entitled to the exact show they would've wanted, which has nothing to do with the actual, existing show.

This is especially true for queer media, and especially true for queer cartoons. (Hi, yes. I was active in the Adventure Time, Steven Universe, Voltron, and She-Ra fandoms when those shows were airing, respectively. I've seen some stuff). Some people just can't handle queer cartoons, period. If the queer characters/ships are soft and wholesome, they're infantilising and boring, and if they're complex and nuanced and actually have conflict, they're abusive and problematic. You'll hear the same recycled arguments over and over again. Like, the shit some people are saying about Blitz and Stolas after The Full Moon? Is literally almost word-for-word what they said about Catra and Adora post-season 3 of She-Ra (and even at the end of the show).

Here's the thing, though! Those people and their bad takes are not what I want to think about what I think about a fandom. Those aren't the people I want to call the fans. They don't deserve that title. Not when so many other people are out there dedicating their time to making gifs and art and meta posts, and writing fic, and commenting/reblogging to show support, and sliding into people's DMs to scream and squee together about a thing they love.

At the end of the day, "fandom" is just a lot of people each doing their own thing. Which people you engage with and allow to stay within your line of sight will determine your fandom experience. Fandom can be a huge, convoluted, online space full of people who are constantly arguing with one another and whose takes make you unfathomably angry... Or it can be you and your 5 friends and mutuals who scream gleefully at one another in 2-note posts. You can't control what others post online, but you can control your engagement with it.

How? Well, here's what I personally do to avoid getting upset by people's stupid opinions online:

Filter 'critical' and 'anti' tags (eg. #anti stolitz #anti vivziepop #Helluva Boss critical #HB critical #vivziepop critical). Many people actually do tag their critical posts because they know it's the respectful thing to do!

If I come across a post that has one or more of those tags, obviously, I don't click through to see it under any circumstances.

If I stumble across a stranger's untagged post with hate/criticism that upsets me: I stop reading and BLOCK. Immediately. I don't look back. I don't finish reading. I don't engage. I just block block block. I <3 the block button, seriously.

If I feel my mind reeling from a bad take I just came across: I take a step back, close my phone, breathe, remember life is beautiful sometimes. Go back and watch an episode I really like. Clean my living space a little. Vent about it to a friend (but only if I really need to, because if not, I'd rather not dwell on it).

If I'm starting to feel the need to reply to someone's bad take (directly or via my own post), I instead make the decision to channel that energy into making fandom posts out of love. (I don't do this just with fandom. If I see something transphobic online, I usually react by reblogging a bunch of trans art or trans positivity posts on my main, for example). I like to think of it as putting some positivity out into the world to compensate for the negativity I just saw. So, for example, if I see someone shitting on my blorbo, I may make a silly post just saying how much I love blorbo. Or I'll make (or draft) a post about how interesting I find some of blorbo's actions. Or reblog another person's positive/interesting post about blorbo.

And finally, I stay the hell away from Twitter. Or at least, if I go on Twitter, I try my best to avoid any tweet that has text in it instead of just art. Even the people who have good opinions spend too much time arguing with the people who have bad opinions on there. I don't want to see people's bad takes! No, not even while reading founded and perfectly articulated criticism of those bad takes! So I just limit my time on Twitter. And again, if someone is putting bad takes on my TL (even if it is to counter them), I unfollow and block as needed.

All this to say, yes, it really fucking sucks to read the opinions of people who don't understand and who hate the characters and ships and worlds you love. Gosh it's the worst. But you can curate your fandom experience. You can focus on the things you can control. You have the power to decide if your fandom experience is draining or fun!

And because I don't know how to finish this, here, have a Stolitz kiss to heal you:

We will keep winning and there's nothing the haters can do about it. 😌

[inc0mple]

Reiterating this on Tumblr. (These are my own thoughts and opinions that I am expressing for myself.)

You are allowed to be excited about a piece of media, and want to scream about it to the heavens. That's the mark of a good author.

You are also allowed to feel negatively towards media! It's your brain and your opinions!

But if your opinion is positive, I think it cultivates a better community environment to leave positive/affirming comments. Yes the new episode has us all feeling the feels, and I know hyperbole comments like "Author when I catch you author" are very common on Webtoon, especially with big plot events, and are written to be complimentary.

But sometimes threats and accusations towards the author, even meant in a positive way, can start to look like a slew of pure hate mail. You can, generally, say whatever you want on the internet without major retribution (a block or a deleted comment at most, usually). And if it's a well used/obvious hyperbole, like "OMGGGG HOW DARE YOU I'M NEVER GOING TO FORGIVE THIS" or "IM DROPPING THE COMIC" or even wishing misfortune onto the creator of a series (which is never okay to do online, by the way), there likely will not be repercussions because the understanding is that it isn't serious. However, in masses, these comments feel very heavy. I'm not saying you aren't allowed to scream in the comments (and to be fair I'm not allowed to make any rules, I'm just expressing my opinion and easing my own consciousness, but I ask you to at least hear it out), but simply keeping expressively negative language about hating the comic and telling the author to stop making it out of digital spaces can cultivate an equally excited community that feels much better to look at. You can type "AHHHHHHH SCREAMING ABOUT THE NEW EPISODE" without adding the /nrs toxic stuff, sucky words about hate and anger directed towards the comic or creator. This goes for more things than just Cinderella Boy.

And if you do dislike it you're allowed to do that. Just remember nobody owes you. We are reading this comic for free, and we are not entitled to the enjoyment of it. If you want to drop it, drop it; you're allowed to. If you have a grievance with it you can maintain that! But spamming public forums just because the plot didn't go your way isn't really cool. And if you are typing the types of comments y'all know I'm talking about and mean them, check yourself. Those are not okay things to say. Be a good person.

The internet doesn't take away the people behind the screen. I thought this was something we learned in elementary school. You are not just talking to a profile picture and a username. This also doesn't just go for statements directly towards Punko; let's all just be nice to each other and make sure we aren't stepping over people's conversational boundaries that they would have with any reasonable, human stranger - because most of us are strangers, or vague acquaintances. And you wouldn't be yelling at people like that if you were standing in front of you irl, unless they were your friends. And you do not have that level of familiarity with most people online.

How big of an issue this is in this fandom depends on who you ask - for the most part people are so nice here and it's so great - but I just wanted to make a blanket statement because it's something to keep in mind and I've been seeing a lot of it as the finale approaches. If you don't like a piece of media it's probably best to just disengage with it. Also, threats are not okay.

[jenjenmina]

People hate krs!Cale???

TLDR; People don't hate krs!Cale. Some people think og!Cale fans do (they don't). They hate og!Cale because of it.

I just recently remembered about a reddit post asking about 'why do people hate krs!Cale just because of og!Cale?' and just… wow. I checked and it's deleted now and thank goodness.

It was 10 months ago so you can tell what they said stuck with me. Not in a good inspirational way, as in it was like a parasite that wouldn't leave and kept filling me with rage because of how wrong it was.

To summarize, it was basically saying that "og!Cale fans are hating on krs!Cale just for their own agenda, krs!Cale did nothing wrong, the soul swap was consesual, why does og!Cale even have fans?"

Almost everyone in the replies was like 'I didn't know people liked og!Cale' or 'People hate krs!Cale??' but I noticed one person pointed out that op was a mdzs fan. They were basically saying that op was projecting the stanwars of 'Wei Wuxian vs Jiang Cheng' of the mdzs fandom into tcf. Honestly they were rude, but they had a point.

(For context, mdzs is a popular book. In it's story, the main character that people love, Wei Wuxian, has some conflicts with a character people are divided about, Jiang Cheng. And in the mdzs fandom, WWX stans hate JC, JC stans don't hate WWX but WWX stans feel like they do just because JC stans defend JC. So it's almost always a stanwar there.)

Tbh, I always felt that there were people in the fandom who don't like og!Cale or don't like even mentioning him. Every so often, I'll see someone invalidating his experiences, him as a character, or people's love for him. Like "(character) didn't do anything wrong to ogcale", or "What did ogcale actually do", or "I'm sick and tired of ogcale stans and fics". I ignored it, people are entitled to their opinions no matter how much I disagree or think they're wrong I don't care to confront them.

But that reddit post was what basically confirmed for me/convinced me that some people feel insecure because of og!Cale. They subconsciously think og!cale as a character and people's love for him automatically makes krs!Cale "someone who stole ogcale's identity and isn't actually Cale and doesn't deserve everyone's love for him as Cale". You know, they think that's what og!Cale fans think.

I'm one person so I can't speak for everyone but I don't think anyone actually thinks that about krs!Cale.

I don't wanna invalidate people's experiences in the fandom, especially since I don't have concrete proof of what that reddit post said because it's deleted and i blocked everyone who said stuff like this: "(character) didn't do anything wrong to ogcale", or "What did ogcale actually do", or "I'm sick and tired of ogcale stans and fics". So there will most definitely be people who will question ME about these experiences and say it didn't happen.

But I don't think anyone hates krs!Cale because of og!Cale. If they do, they don't represent the entirety of og!Cale fans and you don't have to hate og!cale as a character because of it.

Krs!Cale and og!Cale isn't a stan war. It never was, it never should be. It's not Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian.

It's not rocket science. Everyone in the replies of that reddit post didn't know people were hating on krs!Cale because people AREN'T hating on krs!Cale.

+++to that one specific person who here on tumblr who hates on authors who writes fics of ogcale doing krs!Cale things like saving the world and being loved, click off. Don't like, don't read. You know how easy it is to mute users on ao3? You know how easy it is to exclude ogcale as a character in the filters? You know how easy it is not be rude to people who people who are just minding their own business?

[arom-antix]

Hey, just wanted to reach out to say that I found you pointing out and calling this person was really great and you shouldn't have apologized. It was incredibly true what you said, and to be honest it seems out of touch with the reality of a great deal of the japanese fandom, the nuances and their culture. Also, it was as you pointed out, extreme and may I say rude. I want to mention too that the way it was written, as if entitled of the knowledge and the 'explanation' made it all worse in context of the 'fucked up'. The original poster always gets away by using the 'well-written academic'' statement of their 'metas' as an excuse to do or say and make everyone else agree and if not, uses victim narrative and discourses exactly selecting wording for people to agree on it or feel bad.

I don't know if they tagging you in the way they did made you reblog and apologizing/backing up, but no one thought bad about you pointing it out. On the contrary, a lot of people had been bullied and discriminated by this person when they called them out/disagreed going onto lenghts of sending their friends to harass people, and the other persons can't even defend themselves because they are effectively blocked. To quite a few people in the fandom has been done, even accusing them as 'acephobes' (when they're not) or even Nazis by spreading lies. So yeah, I just wanted to say that. I think you were right to call them out publicly.

Thank you very much for this ask. To be completely honest I agree with everything you said here and don't actually feel bad about pointing anything out. I mainly apologised because I didn't want any potentially poor phrasing from my side to cause unnecessary hostility and because I myself have gripes with this person's behaviour but didn't want to cause a scene.

My honest opinion is that they have a serious issue with taking accountability for their own mistakes and highly overestimate their own intellect. If you're reading this, @thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai, sorry if I seem harsh, but it's true. I saw your post lamenting how you're the only academic meta writer / fan in the fandom and I didn't interact then because I honestly do not care enough to start that drama but with the information Blonndiec has just given me, I think it's necessary that someone calls you out.

You're not an academic. You're not beyond the mental capabilities of other fans. You're actually incredibly childish in your metas and analyses and I am not kidding when I say that I was halfheartedly writing essays more academic than every analysis I've seen from you when I was barely a teenager. I don't know how old you are and I frankly don't care. You're not as clever as you think you are.

Also, don't think I didn't notice that you didn't reblog my correction (link here to my correction and here to their "response" for those who didn't see that exchange) of your post so that you could control what your followers saw of the exchange. You're the opposite of an academic. You control information to tailor the narrative, you don't cite your sources properly if at all, you don't format your posts in anything close to how an academic analysis would be, you make unbased claims, you reference posts and canon material without in any way indicating where that information is from, you reference your own (equally unacademic) metas and your conclusions from them without indicating what post it's from or that it's your own theory this new one is based on and instead present it as a common fact, and I could go on and on and on. Your posts are also riddled with logical fallacies and you talk in absolutes and opinions when there's no canon basis to claim such things. I'm sorry, but that's not academic in the slightest.

To be clear, you don't have to be an academic to post on the Internet. You don't have to be anything at all. You could up front be a genuine idiot with no remorse and that's fine. But when you claim to be an academic and also put down the rest of the fandom for not being on your level, you have to be able to back that up. It'd still make you sound like a prick but at least your arrogance would have a basis. It currently does not.

I haven't personally seen the discussions that Blonndiec is referencing and I'm not going to claim anything definitive (because that would be unacademic of me, take notes) but if what they're saying is true and did happen as described, which I have empirical, if anecdotal, evidence to believe could very well be (a friend of mine has personally been blocked by you after they criticised you without actually mentioning your name which I of course can't prove is the reason for the block but the timing is awfully convenient), you should know that you should be ashamed of yourself.

If there's context missing, feel free to enlighten me and call out any incorrect accusations. You have every right to defend yourself. However, I encourage you to cite your sources since you're such an academic. If you don't, then it's just your word against Blonndiec and anyone else who might comment's word and that doesn't prove anything. Don't misunderstand, acephobia and nazi rhetoric should absolutely be called out but only if it's actually happening. False accusations can ruin lives. I hope you know that.

I'm not a fan of calling people out publicly and, again, thank you for this ask, Blonndiec. But considering many of the issues I've personally seen and those I've been informed of by second hand sources were posted publically, I don't really feel bad about calling this out. I could do a full breakdown of just the insulting "academic" comments alone and how there's no academia to be found in said academic metas and, Samurai, if you give me reason to, I will show exactly what I mean point by point (and academically just to give you an example of even low level academia).

If you respond to this, do it in a reblog. That's what a real academic would do. If I'm wrong and you can prove it, you'd have no reason to not show my post in your rebuttal. If I'm right, you'd have every reason to be upfront about your mistakes and how you intend to rectify them. There's nothing wrong with being wrong but there's a lot wrong with refusing to admit to it in a way that lets others peer review you (academic thing, look it up) and come to their own conclusions about the situation. That's what you did when you just @'ed me instead of reblogging my response. A true academic wouldn't hide a peer review. You'd know that if you were one.

I swing in many academic spaces and yet that doesn't make me any kind of expert and I don't claim to be one because I'm not. But since you want to be one so badly, reblog this with a response and show us all how smart you are. I'm dying to know what your academic take on this is.

[laeana]

I’ll preface this by saying no drivers should ever receive death threats or wish for them to crash and so on. You won’t ever catch me saying this to anyone (not that I ever post about f1 on Instagram or X anyway).

But on the other hand, it is a little bit funny to me seeing campaigns of how dare you hate on Lando and send him death threats! on tumblr of all the places, as if the people here were the exact same ones that were on instagram. If you want to spread awareness about that fact, do it on the appropriate platform. You shouldn’t clog drivers’ tags with it, even more if you turned a blind eye when anybody else received hate and started to advocate only when it concerns you.

That being said, if you don’t want to see posts hating or even just criticizing your driver, you should stay away from the anti tag that belongs to them.

I personally think it’s silly to have the stance “let’s not hate on any driver okay??” because that’s just not how reality works. You will feel emotions toward people and how they’re acting, good or bad. Sometimes you will vent, and maybe some other people will share the same opinion. As long as it’s kept in the appropriate space, where is the problem? I don’t want to see Max or Lewis’ hate so I have the anti tags of theirs blocked for example, it’s as simple as that.

I’m also tired to see people saying Lando is only hated because he’s challenging Max or because it’s a popular thing. Sure there are opportunists, just like in every place. But let’s not act as if Lando hadn’t been overprotected by a part of the fandom with the image of being an absolute manchild and baby that could do nothing wrong, with the excuse of British humor and the fact he’s advocating for mental health as a shield.

I say that from the bottom of my heart, I used to really like Lando. Seeing him have his first win was wow, crazy and emotional. But the way he also has behaved this year just reinforced remarks and attitude of his that never sat well with me even in the past. Maybe we should question his PR for letting him self-sabotage and say things that he shouldn’t, but nonetheless it won’t change that he has said and done things that made him appear as childish, entitled, and sometimes insufferable.

That post wasn’t supposed to be so long, but maybe we should make a list of all the times he lacked respect or said/done things about the other F1 drivers this year so that no one can come up with the idea that if we dislike him it’s only because it’s popular. Using this excuse really feels like denial from some people that don’t want to see why his behavior may have irked a part of the fandom.

[fight-nights-at-freddys]

I saw a post on twt about how having "secret non-proship" accounts is "violating trust/consent", "breaking boundaries", or being predatory, and I completely disagree with that sentiment. For several reasons (not least of which is because this post was about *Hazbin Hotel* which is inherently "problematic").

For one, you're not entitled to know every facet of someone's life before they interact (keyword being interact. This isn't about being friends with someone, just interacting) with you. There will always be people on the internet that like things in private that you hate, and you have to deal with the fact you'll never know. There's also the very real problem of, if you do happen to be openly proship, you're also opening yourself up to harassment, and some people don't want to/can't deal with that. It only makes sense for those of us that don't want that negativity to pretend not to be proship, and again, you'd never know unless we told you, so it can't hurt you.

And, like, if anything, proshippers having alt accounts where they're not talking about being proship, they're actually respecting people's boundaries, because they're not interacting from a proship account. If you're still complaining, it's not about boundaries at that point, it's about controlling everything someone else does.

I don't personally have one of these accounts (I wouldn't want to interact with anyone that hates me, anyway), but in my opinion, as long as you're only engaging with that person on a surface level (i.e. not talking about ships, not engaging in discourse, etc.) it shouldn't matter.

[astra-galaxie]

Taking a Break

Hi everyone.

As you’ve probably guessed from the title, I am taking a break from the Criminal Case fandom. I’ll be gone for at least 2 weeks, maybe more if needed. While I’m gone, I will not be on any sites, at least not for CC-related reasons, updating any of my stories or posting new content on Tumblr. That means I won’t be checking notifications or even going on some platforms, and I will be leaving all the Discord servers I am in after posting this.

If you need to reach me (please don’t contact me about CC), I will occasionally check my direct messages on Discord.

2024 has so far been the worst year for my mental health, and to summarize how I feel in one sentence: I’m tired, and honestly, I have considered leaving CC more than once. I tried not to let my mental health affect my relationship with CC since it was like the light at the end of the tunnel for me. But with things calming down IRL, I’ve realized how straining CC was on my mental health and a person can only bend so much before they break, and I fear I will break if I do not step away…

I have been in the CC fandom for over 10 years, most of that time spent as a lurker and then as a writer who stayed in a little bubble isolated with my stories and rarely engaging with others. But over time, I came out of my bubble with the help of friends I made through CC and gained even more along the way. However, things have happened recently behind the scenes that are making me consider leaving the fandom, so it's time I take a break and focus on other things for a little while.

This is not goodbye forever. If you know me and my stories, you know my goal is to write every Criminal Case season from 1 to 8 (yes, I will be writing and hopefully improving City of Romance!). I’ve been at it for about 8 years, so I’m too far into things to give up!

But I have another goal, and no, I’m not referring to making headcanons for every CC character. It's to create a safe space for people to share their ideas, thoughts, and opinions without fearing ridicule. There is enough hate in the world, so why should I contribute to it when I can use my platform to be positive instead? It’s why, even when the idea might not be my cup of tea, or I might not understand parts of it, I still encourage people to pursue their ideas and focus on the good things. I hope people know that you can send me the craziest, crack-filled ideas (anonymously or not) and that I will do my best to give positive feedback.

I do give constructive feedback if people ask me to, but again, I’m no Goddess of Writing and Content Creation, so I would never expect people to take my words as gospel. I would never want people to feel they HAVE to change something in their creation just because I suggested it. I want people to be happy with THEIR work, just as I am with mine.

The biggest piece of advice I always give people when they ask for my help or opinion on their project(s) is to write about what makes you happy. While it is important to listen to feedback to learn what you can improve on, ultimately, YOU are the creator. YOU are putting in the time, effort and skills into the project, and if YOU are not happy with what you are creating, then you will lose interest in it. Create things you are happy and proud of. YOU are bringing your ideas to life and sharing them for others to enjoy, not the other way around.

You can never please everyone, but you can always please yourself.

But do NOT use that as an excuse to spam, rage bait, or terrorize others. Everyone is entitled to their likes and dislikes, but you should not force your opinions on others. If you see something you don’t like, just ignore/block it and keep scrolling. It takes much less time than writing a hate comment or making a call-out post. And while sometimes those are reasonably warranted, please still take the time to consider the repercussions of something before you post it and ask yourself: Is it really worth it?

If you’ve stuck with me this long, thank you for listening to my rambling.

Maybe it's naive or wishful thinking to hope people have learned from 2024 and will think before they post, but I hope at least some people will learn from their mistakes or those of others. I know I have learned from the mistakes I’ve made. I don’t think I’m perfect or anyone special because, at the end of the day, I’m just a writer who discovered a hobby for creating fanfiction when they were a teen and somehow gained a following of amazing fans and made fantastic friends along the way. I’m human and make mistakes, but it's from those mistakes that we grow and improve as people.

That said, I am signing off for now. My mental health is at rock bottom, and all I can focus on recently is negative. I keep thinking the worst of my writing and other content. All my mind has been telling me is that everything I make is terrible, and no one likes it. And while I know that is far from the truth, thanks to the amazing support and love I receive from all of you (shout out to everyone who keeps the CC fandom alive!) I must leave and stop focusing on everything before returning with a clear, more positive mindset.

I will see you all when I return. Will I not do anything CC related? Probably not, since you can take Astra out of CC, but you can't take CC out of Astra! But I will not be touching or even looking at my mainstream series while I’m gone, so don’t expect me to return with an update ready for it.

Thank you for listening.

Astra G.

[kilarthmac]

Let's talk about Caelum.

I'm gonna preface this with saying that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if once you're done reading this you decide you don't want to follow me or you want to block me, that's completely up to you. I'm not trying to change your opinion or attack anyone who has a different one than mine, I just wanted to put my two cents out there.

I also wanted to say that whatever your opinion on the matter is, it's yours and yours alone, and you should respect the opinions of other people even if they don't match up. I personally do not sexualize Caelum, but I do think he is an adult with childlike characteristics, and those two statements are not mutually exclusive. He can be an adult, but he also doesnt have to be put in adult situations.

It's okay to have strong feelings one way or the other about this topic, but it is not okay to harass people or go on a witch hunt for those with the opposite opinion to give them shit about what they think. If you disagree with someone and do not want to see their stuff on your timeline, just block them or scroll away. You alone are responsible for your own dash, you cannot make other people responsible for what you see on your timeline.

All that being said, I do not like how the fandom treats Caelum and Empathy Daemons in general.

My stance on the matter is that Empathy Daemons as a whole are adults, but because of how E'Laetum created them, they tend to have childlike characteristics. Those who say that Empathy Daemons are ALL children blatantly ignore the fact that Regulus is an Empathy Daemon as well, and that he has been shown to have adult tendancies (his BA, getting possessive over his charge, etc) while also maintaining his childlike characteristics (telling his charge a bedtime story to sleep, having a very one dimensional view of himself and his charge, etc). This is where I have a problem whenever I see people try to say that all Empathy Daemons are children. Regulus is clearly an adult. There is no "reading between the lines" about this.

Caelum is also an Empathy Daemon, but he is a very different character than Regulus. He is a lot more childlike compared to Regulus. He gets his words mixed up, he likes sweets, he likes hugs, etc. But in his most recent video (Your Bakadere Empathy Daemon Friend Visits You), even he says that he almost went down a path similar to Regulus' until Delphinus stepped in and assigned him to Freelancer, and that stopped him from falling (timestamps from 2:40 - 3:18, and 8:45 in that video). It may be uncomfortable for some people to think of Caelum as going down the same path that Regulus did, but this video clearly shows that he had the potential to. Caelum and Regulus are not as different as one may think.

Erik has also said himself that D(a)emons step out of the Elision Well as adults and they do not age. Of course they don't know everything so they still have to learn, but that's not the same as being a child. On top of the most recent Redacted 101 video, take this screenshot from Wonderworld (previously Redacted Records, when Erik was still in the server) from 2020, where Erik talks about how D(a)emons coalesce.

He even mentions how in earlier Caelum videos he didn't know what he wanted the d(a)emon life cycle to be yet, and that's why he had Caelum state that he was a "kid daemon" at one point.

Not to mention the fact that in the official timeline, it shows that Caelum coalesced in 1999, and is even older than Damien.

At the end of the day, Caelum is a fictional character. Whatever someone ends up deciding to make of him is their choice, this is a fandom after all. If it really bothers you to see what certain people make, block them and move on. DO NOT berate them for their headcanons or fanart or whatever else. People are allowed to have their own headcanons, make their own fics, and draw their own fanart. This is a fandom space, and people are allowed their creative liberties.

Anyways, that has been my two cents. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments if u want to, but please please be respectful and don't attack anyone.

TLDR; I don't sexualize Caelum but I do think he and all Empathy Daemons are adults (ex: Regulus), everyone should respect everyone else's opinions and just block what they don't want to see on their timelines, and the fandom needs to chill out lol

[permanently-sprained-ankle]

I’m Native American. If a start a movement for specifically my tribe (Ayamara & Quichua) to discuss issues specific to natives in the Altaplana, other natives aren’t going to start complaining that they’re being unfairly excluded. Me starting a group for people like me isn’t saying that other natives aren’t native, and it’s not invalidating their indigeneity.

Following so far? Great.

So then why is it that when a marginalized group like physically disabled people want a movement specifically about the struggles we face as physically disabled people, we’re told we’re unfairly excluding others?

Why do people feel entitled the cripplepunk movement, a movement and space that isn’t for them, especially when there are plenty of movements that center their experiences?

There are two main reasons I’ve seen:

“””””internalized”””””” ableism: you feel as if your mental disability doesn’t count as a disability, so when you’re told that you can’t participate in a space for only physically disabled people, you feel as if that confirms your ableist internal belief that you’re not disabled enough. “Internalized” is in quotes because people with this attitude really just externalize it to hurt others.

“””””Lateral””””” ableism: as a disabled person, you hold and perpetuate beliefs that echo the wider structures of institutional and systemic ableism, and you feel entitled to hold those beliefs because you are disabled. This is comparable to trans people who are transmedicalists. “Lateral” is in quotes because most of the time, people who hold this attitude are lashing out at people with a completely different disability than them.

So let me ask you: why do you feel so fucking entitled to a movement that’s NOT FOR YOU?

And before you say “I’m physically disabled and I think it’s fine for non-physically disabled but mentally disabled people to be included”, re-read the “lateral” ableism point. Your ableist opinions aren’t correct just because you’re disabled.

DISCLAIMER: I’m not saying mentally disabled people aren’t disabled or that one kind of disability is always worse than the other. Any BS in replies will either be mocked or blocked.

[sunflowersandsapphires]

I saw something in the fandom that made me upset and I need to rant about it. It’ll be below the cut so I don’t clog up people’s dashes!

I cropped the name off of this post because I am not trying to start drama, but I found this under the “Matt Murdock x Reader” tag and found it INCREDIBLY disheartening to go through to comments/reblogs and see how many people agreed.

I am in no way trying to dispute the fact that fandom spaces and self-insert fanfiction is heavily white washed/influenced by white writers. As a white woman myself, I catch many little slip ups in my own work that make my writing less accessible than I want it to be. I understand being frustrated that there aren’t many stories where you feel your appearance has been considered.

However: fanfiction, fanart, gif making and coloring, edits, and other forms of fan-made-content are usually completely free to access. No one is entitled to them—they are a privilege, not a right. Which means that people are allowed to write whatever characters they want, even if it’s not completely unique or what you want to read.

My issue is with OP’s critiques of weak/feminine/sweet/innocent readers and the way they voiced their opinion (again, not disputing the appearance stuff). I know that many readers are sweet or innocent, but as someone who is rarely given the space to be the “damsel in distress” so to speak, I enjoy writing characters who are taken care of and protected. Regardless of my or any other writer’s reasoning for writing the characters this way, we are allowed to do that. It’s our fucking work.

If you don’t like something, no one is forcing you to read it. If you notice a lack of fics that appeal to you, write some yourself. It is inconsiderate to chastise people spending hours of their free time to give you content that you can enjoy just because it’s not exactly what you want to see.

Also, don’t threaten to block me if you don’t like how I write. Just block me. It is your responsibility to curate an enjoyable experience on this app, not everyone else’s.

In summary: I am not trying to say that fandom is perfect or inclusive or that critiques of my writing aren’t welcome. This person can have whatever opinions they like and are welcome to post them on their blog. I would just like to point out that the delivery could’ve been more polite and that authors don’t need to change the plots/characters’ personalities they write just because others aren’t happy with the outcome.

[vro0m]

Okay I'm just gonna say one last thing about this and then be done with it. Some people are unhappy with things I have posted here. I have read what they have to say.

That said : I am not responsible for other people's opinions, thoughts, and actions, only my own. If you agree with me or not, if you're capable or not of making your own mind about things, including about the opinions I post on my blog, is none of my business.

I am not a teacher. I am not a pundit. I am not a journalist. I have no authority. I also have no duty to any of you. I don't even owe you an answer yet here I am.

All of you have and are entitled to your opinion of me and that too is none of my business. I'm not trying to convince you of anything when it comes to me. I am not interested because we don't know each other. If you think I'm wrong, then I'm wrong. If you disagree, then you disagree. If you think what I post makes me a bad person, then I am. That is your opinion and it is fine by me.

And if you think I somehow have influence, it is because you gave it to me. I did not ask for it. You can take it away if you want, that's up to you. As far as I'm concerned this is just a place to set down my thoughts about F1. Whether you interact with my blog is your choice. Whether you give me reach by reblogging is your choice. I'm not forcing you to read what I post. There are options to never have to perceive me again and to forget that I exist. You can unfollow and block me. If you dislike what I post, if you find that I cross a line or am offensive, it is for you to do what you need to do to not see it anymore.

I will not pander to anyone but myself because this is my space. As such, I will keep doing whatever I want on my own blog, including choosing what I want to engage with or not, and what I want to say or not. Everyone of you make your own choice about whether or not you want to keep seeing what I post. I will take responsibility for myself, you can take responsibility for yourself.

That is the last I will say on this.