#but this was specifically about incest shippers

[momentomori24]

This may just be me, but I think if you ship a canonically very abusive, manipulative and toxic relationship, you don't get to judge or call anyone degenerates for their own fucked up ships, actually.

[altschmerzes]

getting real tired of people who are shitting on “found family” more generally as a narrative concept and specifically named familial dynamics in fan interpretation of characters in particular because it all seems to be getting painted with a really wide and really homogenous brush. “we need to take found family away from people because they think it all has to be In Nuclear Family Terms and do you know friendship exists and you don’t have to call these characters siblings to legitimize their relationship while making it clear you Don’t Ship Them Ew Gross and THEN you sneer at people who Do ship them” cool cool that is a lot of really intense characterization and assigning of motive to other people en bloc!

like sure there’s some meaningful critique to be found in a broad trend to label every single relationship directly and specifically with terms that have very specific contexts and roles but im waiting to be told when anyone IS by the standards of people making and reblogging these very sweepingly generalized posts allowed to call a relationship parental or whatever. is that Ever allowed. who is handing out the permits. sometimes a specific term for a relationship isn’t actually about wanting an excuse to sneer about your ship (and frankly there’s a lot of projection going on there imo from people who are actively sneering about other people’s interpretation of a relationship!) and it’s because there are very specific contexts and details about a dynamic that makes exploring it from the lens of siblings or whatever very rich and compelling and interesting because words mean things and assuming everyone is just being reductive and demanding conformity to a nuclear family is, ironically, really reductive.

so like. cool it. stop being really fucking mean about people having an interpretation of a dynamic you personally don’t like or makes you feel a little weird or uncomfy because you ship them.

[to-the-batcomputer]

thinkin about that fic i read for batjokes purposes not realizing it later turned into brudick.... and how it freaked me the fuck out at the time lol

[daisyishedwig]

You ever think you're super chronically online and then you see a hyperspecific dni and can't understand 60% of what's listed and realize that maybe you're actually online a normal amount and you're totally fine.

[johannestevans]

Addressing Common Arguments Against “Consuming Harmful Content”

Challenging purity culture in online spaces and their fears of “problematic media”.

Read this piece on Medium. / / Leave a tip.

Photo by Ethan Will via Pexels.

Constant and continuous arguments endure on social media about the dreaded and frightening spectre of problematic media — from television shows that supposedly “glorify” unhealthy relationships or “sexualise” and “excuse” abusive relationships; to erotica, adult books, and 18+ fanfiction that supposedly teach teenagers bad life lessons and impact their ethics; to anime and manga that surely must be the cause of child abuse the world over. 

I wrote an in-depth essay about the intellectual flaws in these reactionary assumptions, delving into their roots in lacking media literacy and rising anti-sex attitudes here: 

The above essay discusses at length many of the fears and anxieties that lead to this reactionary thinking, but does not challenge or explore the echo chambers that can arise in online spaces, particularly in aggressive environments such as Twitter/X, and for young or isolated individuals who are particularly vulnerable to peer pressure and fears of ostracisation if they admit to the “wrong” opinions.

Many of these arguments are used by “anti-shippers” within fandom and online spaces, the term commonly shortened as “antis” — if you’re unfamiliar with the term, these are people who define themselves as opposing one or more specific ships, fandoms, tropes, or kinks, often due to what they perceive to be their “problematic” or inherently “harmful” elements when engaged with or portrayed in various forms of media and art. Because of the virulent and highly aggressive nature of these online communities, these people — many of them young or isolated, often marginalised and disenfranchised from in-person, supportive environments — can become radicalised, and can experience great fear and anxiety at the premise of others holding different opinions or perspectives from the ones these online communities have impressed upon them should be held immutably by all.

In this piece I’m going to be addressing common arguments and assumptions seen on social media one by one — it is not really intended to convert the above, often radicalised individuals, but to provide support and guidance in understanding why their perspectives can be flawed, and how to engage with and deconstruct those arguments. 

It is also intended to provide support and structure to begin to engage with and potentially challenge or affirm your own beliefs and ideas about fiction, art, and other forms of media, and the extent of the impact it can have on you or others — this piece is me addressing these arguments with my own perspective, but I would encourage people to disagree with and critique my rebuttals!

The goal here is always more critical thought, analysis, and understanding, and that doesn’t come from automatically following another person’s line of thought or argument just because it’s well-poised or you particularly respect or like them — no matter who that person or people may be. 

--

“Depicting [a theme] in media is the same as glorifying it!”

Let’s first engage with what people might be discussing when they panic about “harmful content” and “problematic” ships or pieces of fiction.

They might worry about people reading or watching works that discuss or depict anything from violence, incest, sexual assault, age gaps, BDSM, kinky sex, child sexual abuse, trauma recovery, rape, rape recovery, drug use, bestiality, to abusive relationships or anything else, will encourage people to think positively about those acts, those traumas, and those experiences. 

You might look at the list of things I just wrote there and go, “Um, there are big differences between some of those things and the others!”

And yet the same consideration still applies. 

Just because a theme or idea is present in a work, or is depicted in it implicitly or explicitly, doesn’t mean it’s being “glorified” and portrayed as overwhelmingly positive — and even if a theme or aspect is being glorified, this does not mean we shall simply unthinkingly absorb that perspective.

Reading a story that contains something doesn’t mean I’ll automatically think that thing is good or bad, regardless of how it’s portrayed in fiction — the media and art we engage with doesn’t wholly change and adjust our own ethics and morals as soon as we’ve interacted with it. 

We might play a videogame and disagree with the way some themes are presented, have criticisms of them, whilst enjoying and appreciating others; we might read a piece of erotica and find some parts about it very hot, but find others disturbing and a little uncomfortable; we might watch a TV show and just think it’s in very poor taste, despite theoretically being up for the premise. 

Engaging with media does not turn off and on switches in our brains that make us completely “pro” or completely “anti” one premise or other. 

People are more complicated than that. 

We have complex and layered feelings about every argument and perspective there is, every experience there is, because human beings are social animals, and we experience very few things through an uncomplicated, binary lens. 

For me personally, I often seek out works that cover the same traumas and harms I’ve experienced — why? Because seeking out those themes helps me process and better understand what has happened to me, and how I’ve felt about it, how I’ve responded. 

“I don’t have a problem with people writing about certain harmful topics to show them as bad, but some people sexualise or fetishise them!”

I’m sure you’re right. 

Some people might write about rape to work out a complex trauma recovery narrative — others might write about rape in a work as kink. An author might well write with both goals in mind in the same work. 

A traumatic event doesn’t become less traumatic because it sexually aroused us or brought us physical pleasure — in fact, those feelings can add to the impact of a trauma and the inner conflict we experience in the aftermath. 

Some people undercut victims of sexual abuse by saying they “enjoyed” it, pointing out that they orgasmed or showed signs of arousal as signs they “secretly” wanted it, and these feelings can contribute heavily to shame and fear as a victim. 

Sexual arousal is a bodily response. It is not consent, and it’s not an excuse for assault or abuse. Moreover, some people might feel arousal or pleasure but not be fit to consent — for example, if someone is underage, or if someone is drugged or insensible with drink. 

These people cannot give knowledgeable consent, but abusers might still say after an assault that they “enjoyed” it. 

This is purity culture at work — anti-sex attitudes use people’s “enjoyment” of something to undercut their autonomy and right to consent, by implying they “deserve” that abuse — abuse is abuse whether it’s sexualised or not. 

But the thing is, the obverse applies. 

Just as someone’s mixed feelings or sensations of pleasure during a sexual assault does not mean they consented to the assault, or because someone’s feelings of happiness and love for their abuser does not mean they deserved the abusive treatment they experienced from them, a person writing sexually or erotically about a topic, or engaging with art and narratives about that topic, does not mean they actually want that thing to happen in real life, to real people, or to themselves. 

Fiction is not real life. 

We watch a horror film, and it doesn’t mean we want serial killers or demons to run amok, killing teenagers or possessing their victims — similarly, just because we engage with porn or erotica that sexualises certain topics doesn’t mean we’re pro- or in favour of those topics for real people. 

Rape fantasies are incredibly common, despite being highly stigmatised, and just because someone fantasises about this sort of control fantasy does not mean they actually want to abuse someone or be abused. 

“It’s harmful to depict abusive or immoral characters as sexy or desirable.”

If you have never experienced abuse, manipulation, or otherwise poor treatment from someone you thought was attractive, charming, or admirable, if you’ve never been groomed by someone with whom you were enamoured, I’m very glad. 

I’m happy for you, honestly. 

But many of us have. 

People want to believe that all abusers are evil, are ugly, are obvious from a distance, are blatant from the out. People want to believe they can “tell” someone is abusive just from a glance, and write them off — and that anyone who would or might spend time with that person is therefore “asking for it”, or “letting themselves” be abused. 

In actual fact, many abusers aren’t. 

Many abusers are beautiful and charming — some of them draw you in, slowly bring you closer and closer until it’s very difficult to untangle yourself from your need and craving for their approval. They ruin lives, ruin psyches, and they cause unspeakable damage to their victims. 

And yes, victims often feel conflicted in the aftermath of their abuse.

Many of us hero worship or greatly respect our abusers, love them very deeply, crave their good opinion, because we are carefully groomed and manipulated, over time, into relying on their praise and their attention. For victims isolated from other sources of care and support, and especially for young children and teenagers, it can be very difficult to recognise what is happening and has happened to us. 

Even after we know and understand exactly what has happened to us, and also internalised that it was wrong, we can still feel conflicted. 

We are not retroactively deserving of our abuse because we crave our abusers’ good opinion, or their love, still. This instinct does not excuse or justify the abuse we’ve experienced. Victims of abuse are still victims of abuse even if we go back to our abusers, even if we “accept” or attempt to justify our abuse to others, if we try to excuse it, if we don’t ask for help. 

Abuse is never the victim’s fault, no matter how imperfect we are as victims. 

“Writing queer characters as abusive is bad representation!”

If we exclusively write queer characters who are perfect and unimpeachable, we’re not letting ourselves write queer characters who are fully human, with all the flaws and complexities humanity comes with. 

Queer people are not less deserving of this complex representation than cishet people are — and in any case, the purpose of art and media is not exclusively to provide good representation, or to show good moral examples for others.

We create to express ourselves, to reflect the world, to critique it, laugh at it, commiserate over it, to feel our feelings, to connect and communicate with others through shared stories. 

If we only let ourselves do things that might be seen as “good rep”, we rob ourselves of the ability to express ourselves as completely as we might wish to. 

“If you write abusive queer characters, you’re just contributing to homophobia and bigotry in art and media!”

Queer people writing queer stories with queer villains is not the same as cishet people including queer people or queer-coded characters just to be villains. The power dynamic is completely different. 

Queer writers’ writing of queer villainy is often inspired by their own experiences, including of bigotry, and the harm they might do reflects harm by society, the ways harms might be felt more keenly by their victims. 

Writing queer villains as villainous because their queerness makes them (or is used as a shorthand for them being) predatory, cruel, or callous, is homophobic and is often shitty, whether people intend that or not. 

But just having queer villains, having queer characters do bad or abusive things, or just have flaws? 

That’s as much a part of queer humanity as having queer heroes and having queer characters do good and helpful things.

Why would you read about rape when you could read consensual non-consent?

[Consensual non-consent being a kink wherein partners agree to roleplay a non-consensual situation.]

Rape in fiction is a form of consensual non-consent. 

The fictional characters, who are not real and do not have real feelings, are not consenting, but the reader choosing to read is. 

In the same way that two people playing a CNC roleplay game in the bedroom might be a safe and fun way of experiencing or re-experiencing the fear and trauma of assault with an escape clause (a safeword), a reader can do the same — they can stop reading. 

If a television show, film, or videogame becomes upsetting, again, one can stop watching, stop playing. It is a person’s own responsibility to set safe boundaries for themselves and protect their own mental health. 

“Why would someone write about trauma and abuse when they could write fluff?”

Why would someone watch a horror movie when they could watch a romcom? Why would someone eat cheese when chocolate is an option?

People do not have to choose one or the other — many people like both horror films and romcoms, cheese and chocolate, and reading about both horrible shit and positive things. 

“You mentioned that people might engage with media about dark topics to work through their feelings from their own abuse. How do I know if someone’s actually been abused?”

Why do you think it’s your right to ask that? 

Why are you prioritising your personal comfort and curiosity over that person’s privacy? If your instinct is to try to license who is and isn’t allowed to engage with a piece of art or media, why? 

You are never entitled to the details of someone else’s abuse. Your validation is not important enough to potentially trade for someone’s private traumas and experiences. 

“If you write or create about certain topics as a survivor, you’re just perpetuating abuse and you are as bad as your abuser!”

Creating works of art or fiction about people who are not real experiencing fictional harm that is also not real, is not in any way equivalent to real people doing real harm to others. 

If your support of abuse survivors hinges on how palatable their reaction to their abuse is, and you believe that some abuse survivors “deserve” their abuse for depicting their abuse in art and fiction, you’re not actually supporting survivors. 

If you believe that all abuse survivors do or should act the same way, or respond the same way, to their abuses, you are mistaken. 

If you are effectively angry at someone for not looking enough like a victim, for being “impure”, and therefore the same as their abuser, that is a form of victim blaming. 

Do you hold artists who create media about non-sexual trauma or violence to a different standard than those who write about sexual trauma or violence? 

Why? What is the difference to you?

If someone writing about sexual abuse in media is equivalent to real life abuse, is a fictional murder?

“People shouldn’t write or engage with media about traumatic things, they should just go to therapy!”

Therapy is not a moral machine where bad people with bad thoughts go in and good people with good thoughts go in. 

Good therapy and counselling provides us with the tools to manage our own mental health, our own emotional and psychological needs, heal from our traumas, and so forth. 

Many therapists will actually recommend safe re-exposure to frightening or upsetting topics, and also encourage self-expression on the subject of one’s most impactful experiences, which might include creating art and media to explore and discuss their feelings. 

With that said, therapy is as flawed as any other tools for emotional catharsis and healing — therapy and mental healthcare can be very expensive or inaccessible because of one’s working schedule; some therapists and mental health professionals are abusive or bigoted; some people may not be in the right place for MH care or therapy at this time, et cetera. 

Therapy isn’t a catch-all for anything you disapprove of in someone else, and it’s also not a punishment to force someone to repent for their sins. 

“It’s okay to write a story to cope, but you shouldn’t publish it in case it upsets others!”

So long as the work has appropriate content warnings and/or is published or screened in an appropriate space, it is not inherently harmful. In fact, reading narratives and engaging with those narratives can be valuable for us. 

Engaging with media that bears similarity to our own lives, reflects our own experiences, written by other people who we know understand the complicated emotions of survivors — whilst still condemning the actions of abusers or not — can be extremely validating and offer a lot of assurance. 

This is especially useful in regards to media that shows victims having a codependent relationship with or still loving their abusers, or where their abusers are shown as sympathetic, whilst the narrative still shows the toxicity and pain caused by the relationship. 

Moreover, there can be a sense of reclamation and security in exploring stories about similar harm as we’ve experienced whilst knowing we are now in a place of safety and are free from those past experiences, or that other survivors have escaped and we can too. 

“If children read this work or watch this show or play this game, they might think that the things depicted in it are okay!”

Is the work rated G or PG? 

Is it shown on a children’s TV channel, or appear in a section that is marked for children? Is it put on a children’s website, where the primary audience is children? 

In short, is the work aimed at kids?

If no, then it’s not for kids. 

Particularly if a work is marked for adult audiences only, if it’s labelled erotica, if it’s marked M or E or NC-17, if it says it’s for adults or asks people to check a box agreeing that they’re an adult, then the work in question is most definitely not for children. 

Everything in the world doesn’t have to be child-safe just because children exist.

It is the responsibility of parents and guardians to appropriately supervise their children’s online use, and to teach children and teenagers internet safety, some of which includes setting appropriate boundaries for themselves and not seeking out content that might distress them, or to know what to do if they stumble across content that does distress them — namely, to speak with a trusted adult about their feelings and what they can do to manage them and look after themselves, and be looked after.

It’s not the responsibility of random other adults in the world not to make horror movies or watch porn or play adult videogames or anything else, just because a child could potentially learn of their existence. 

“But someone else engaging with that work might think the things depicted in it are okay!”

You’re right, they might do. 

They might also engage with the work and think things depicted in it are bad. Fiction does not exclusively exist for our moral education. 

“It makes me feel uncomfortable or unsafe that people are writing about [a topic] with a tone or in a manner that seems wrong to me!”

Yes, many of us feel uncomfortable with some topics being depicted in fiction, and might find them viscerally disgusting or triggering, consider them to be in poor taste, badly considered, or similar. 

This is normal and okay. 

It’s perfectly natural to have limits on what one can handle in fiction, or to find your ethical considerations don’t match up with the things other people make. 

But it’s our job, as responsible adults who look after our own mental health and consider our own boundaries, to avoid that content. 

You cannot control what other people think about, feel about certain topics, or how they portray them in fiction. You cannot control other people. 

You can only control your environment, your boundaries, and the works you choose to engage with. 

You can limit your time on social media, mute tags or keywords, block particular users or sites, or simply look away or leave the room / close the tab. 

“What about rampant problematic works on Ao3!?”

Works on Ao3 are not a real issue. 

They are not representation. Fanworks and original works on Ao3 are not the mainstream. They are being read exclusively by members of various internet subcultures who read fanfiction in those specific fandoms, after reading the tags. 

This doesn’t mean we can’t or shouldn’t discuss certain tropes and norms in various fandoms — we might address our own biases around race, sexuality, religion, disability, and other characteristics, and how these biases and bigotries can come across in people’s approaches to fandom, the characters and ships they concentrate on, their headcanons, et cetera. 

The same can be said of people’s original creations. 

Ao3 has a robust tagging system, and allows people to mute and block tags they might be upset or triggered by — and in the event one clicks on an explicit work, a window will come up asking people to consent explicitly to moving through to read the work. 

It is people’s own responsibility to set their own limits as to what they can handle in reading fiction — and not to obsess over what other people might or might not be reading, which we cannot control, and is also none of our business. 

“What about loli and shotacon? Isn’t that the same as child pornography?”

“Child pornography” is generally not in use as a term — many people who have been victimised find that terms like “child porn” and CP grate, because “pornography” is work made with willing, adult participants. 

Videos and images produced of children are instead referred to either as CSAM — child sexual abuse materials — or CSEM — child sexual exploitation materials. CSEM is evil because it involves the unspeakable and agonising victimisation of a real life child or children, being abused and manipulated by adults around them, and worse than that initial victimisation, the recording their abuse is another victimisation in itself.

With every share of a piece of this material, that child or children are victimised another time, made vulnerable to more people, and the creation of this material can create more market desire, meaning that other abusers will encourage further abuse and recording of these children’s victimisation, or for the recording abusers to seek out other children to abuse. 

Victims of this sort of exploitation live in terror of the pictures or videos of their worst moments being shared to those they know, of being found by their loved ones, shared to workplaces, disseminated in any community they try to live in and be happy with — it is difficult enough to recover from one’s own abuse without the spectre of it constantly hanging over one’s head. 

People’s cartoons or art of fictional children is not equivalent to CSEM, because there are no real children depicted in it. 

It’s understandable to find these works disgusting or upsetting, triggering, unsettling — but to say that underage art or fiction is the same as or counts as CSEM is patently untrue. As a victim of CSA, it is galling to be told that choices my abuser made to harm and exploit me are equivalent to an abuser choosing to draw or read a comic about a victim that doesn’t actually exist. 

Some final questions to ask yourself: 

None of the above rebuttals are intended to imply people shouldn’t critique or criticise different media or their depictions. 

As well as the initial essay I linked, I actually wrote a big guide on how to approach close reading of text, and I’m working on another about analysing television and film.

In my opinion, it’s really important to be aware of different tropes and themes that you feel are harmful in fiction and art — racist tropes, sexist ones, homophobic ones, and all the rest.

It’s worth considering how works are harmful, and what you actually want to be done about it. 

I personally have criticisms of various tropes in media — I have particular dislike, for example, for the ways in which teacher/student relationships in TV shows and films are portrayed as “forbidden love”, with issue of their positions of power being depicted as one of bureaucracy or technical rules rather than a real power imbalance — I don’t care for the “sexy schoolgirl” trope, and the “barely legal” porn genre unsettles me.

All of the above three tropes often coincide with people’s thinking of teenage girls, especially those in school uniforms, as sex objects, and portraying school uniforms themselves as sexual or deserving of this sort of sexual attention. 

Not all depictions are the same — some works subvert the sexy schoolgirl trope by having those schoolgirls be secret monsters than punish abusers, and some works exist that critique teacher/student dynamics. 

It’s also important to note audience and outreach — a work that’s put on mainstream television channels or put in movie theatres by huge studios have a very different range of impact than an indie published novella, or one person’s fanfic on Ao3. 

Note where you’re holding individual or small studio creators — especially those who are in some way marginalised and are already facing adversity in their work — to higher account than large studios, or fixating on imagined harm their work could potentially cause. 

Is a work harmful, or is it just uncomfortable? Is it harmful, or is it just personally triggering to you? 

Can the work you’re concerned about do as much harm as you’re envisaging? Is it actually reaching the individuals you are worried might be vulnerable to harm as a result of it? Does the work intend to do that harm or hold those harmful views, and are the authors or creators working to address or apologise for that harm?

Is the work discussing, critiquing, or exploring the emotional impact of the dark themes within it? Does it have warnings or disclaimers before the work begins?

If you’re worried about a work “normalising” or “glorifying” a troubling subject — does the work actually do that? What is your evidence for this, having engaged with the text? Is that thing discussed in the text, argued, explored in-depth, or merely mentioned? Do characters show inner conflict and interpersonal conflict over it? Is it actually portrayed as good or normal? Is your concern the characters’ perspectives within the text, or the authors or creators’ opinions? 

Does the work carry ideas that are bigoted or feel like it includes apologism for some shitty ideas or ideology? Is the work a piece of propaganda, or function as propaganda? Do you feel the work is being advertised or pushed to an inappropriate audience for its subject matter?

If you do consider the work to be either likely to be personally distressing or upsetting to you, or potentially harmful because of its troubling or bigoted or just shitty ideas, how do you want to respond? 

If it’s the former, you should set your own boundaries — you should use your mute and block functions, you should avoid the work, you should seek out things that will comfort you, and perhaps discuss the distressing topics with someone you trust, whether that’s a friend or partner, a loved one, or a counsellor or therapist. 

If it’s the latter, you should absolutely deconstruct the piece in question and analyse the ways in which it’s shitty or harmful, or read essays by those who’ve done that work. You can maybe warn your friends about it, or if it’s a work of political concern — if the harm is being done because the work provides financial support to a hate group or a bigoted public persona, for example, you might perform a boycott, or involve yourself in acts of protest in response to the work or its creators. 

If it’s important enough to you and your beliefs that you feel urged to do those things, perhaps you should — if all you feel urged to do is to harass or shout at people online, though, it might be better for your own mental health to take a step back and do something more positive for yourself. 

Sometimes, a piece of work or media will be shitty, and shitty people will love it, and that will kinda suck — God knows I’ll see work that’s really transphobic or homophobic or antisemitic, and it’ll upset me that people I otherwise love and respect seem to be enjoying it so much. 

I can talk to my friends and my family about it, and I’ll do that — and I can mute and block the topic, and critique it in the right circles, or write essays if I’m really inspired to, responding to the work and what I feel its impact is…

But if my instinct becomes to just snipe at people for enjoying it when they really don’t know what the problem is, or have a go at them when they’re doing so unthinkingly, that’s not really helpful to them or to myself. It’s not addressing the harm I feel is being done, and nor is it really constructive. 

I’m an adult, after all — as I’ve said a few times already, it’s our own responsibility to set our own boundaries and consider what we’re doing to safeguard ourselves, and if in setting those boundaries and personal safeguarding limits, whether they’re in line with our own ethics and morality. 

We cannot control other people and their feelings, or the works they create, but we can take care of ourselves, including breaking ourselves out of obsessive moral spirals or anxieties about other people’s thoughts — and personally, I think that’s actually a very revolutionary thing to do given that we exist in a world that constantly tries to encourage (and monetise) that sort of aimless outrage. 

[proshipping-polls]

Do you ship it?

Reasons: Incest

Consider reblogging for a larger sample size!

Propaganda under the cut!

Propaganda:

"It's funny, it's between two consenting adults, neither is older in a significant way so there's little to no manipulation factor (unless you're into that sort of thing) it's m/m so you don't have worries about any incest babies running around, and it's ironically a wierdly fitting end to their relationship since they canonically sail off to go be alone in the middle of the sea and go on adventures together also its funny"

Bonus:

"Ngl i started shipping it personally because i personally hated how many antis there are in modern fandom and scientifically engineered which ship i could get into that would specifically piss those same antis off, i am truly a spite shipper at heart"

[spriteofmushrooms]

All Jiang Cheng Ships Are Bad and You Should Feel Bad, a non-comprehensive list:

xicheng? Trying to upstage wx by taking the #1 eligible bachelor for your ugly #5 blorbo. As IF!

chengxian? Literal incest literally literally. Even more incestuous in MXY's body. That's THREE JL uncles?

zhancheng? Fiction is REAL and you are making your fugly slut into a HOMEWRECKER!!

zhanchengxian? Ummm first of all, everyone knows that fictional mlm only need a mommy (bottom) and daddy (top). What would he even do? 🙄

sangcheng? WWX barely even mentions NHS and JC interacting, and since he was gone for 9 months of the GSL lectures and then dead for 13 years, I think he'd know!!

mingcheng? What, just because he's tall and strong and WWX teases JC about NMJ? Great OTP, idiot. He's not even in the top five eligible bachelor list.

chengyao? Infidelity much?? Or are women not REAL to you?

chengsu? WHY ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH BREAKING UP THEIR MARRIAGE?? Also she has like two lines of dialogue, they have clearly never spoken before. 🙄

3zuncheng? More like JC's healing bussy. Which is NOT healing, FYI.

chengqing? Well Wen Qing is canonically a lesbian who's repulsed by men. Sooo lesbophobic.

chengning? Get your necrophiliac hands OFF my uncomplicated sweet baby Wen Ning!!

chengxuan? Oh my god, do you not even care about Jin Ling!

rencheng? LAN QIREN IS AROACE. PROOF?? IT'S FUNNY. Aphobe much??

zhucheng? Oh my god, WZL is literally at work. I suppose you'd write JC harassing baristas, too?

chaocheng? This is double homewrecking.

zhuicheng? Barf!! In my version of the novel, JC constantly tried to murder every Wen survivor and said he'd eat a-Yuan!!

chengyi? It's sooo curious that you just recreated the chengxian dynamic without the real incest... Stealth chengxian shipper.

zhencheng? Who's Ouyang Zizhen?? Oh, right. AGE GAP!!!

xuecheng? Why would JC care about an orphan street kid with a lot of resentment? That's right... chengxian III: The Return.

OC/JC? Kind of telling that you had to make up a guy to ship with your blorbo... Unlike LWJ, who was specifically designed for WWX by the author, this is just sad.

JC/reader? Love yourself.

[olderthannetfic]

what is the reason why reader insert fics are not published on ao3 though?

are they getting hate comments on there? or just tumblr provides more reach?

I sort of feel like also a good chunk of reader insert writers are antis because in not one but many fandoms I'm part of big reader-insert writers made posts about the awful incest shippers and pro shippers and one of them even advocated for reporting those writers accounts.

I guess antis are in every fandom but it was weird seeing that coming from so many reader-insert writers specifically. makes me think they like publishing on tumblr because they know on ao3 they can't report the yucky incest fics and they don't wanna share a platform with them.

--

Readerfic is popular with young people. Lots of young people are antis. I wouldn't read too much into this.

And it does get posted to AO3 in increasing amounts.

The only reason it wasn't there initially is that it's often the hettiest het to ever het, and AO3 was started by slashers, but now that AO3 has been big for years, the demographics of users have changed.

[pro-sipper]

"Dead Dove: Do Not Eat"

About the tag, the origin, and why I think no one on either side of the fandom divide knows how to use it

First of all, I'm crosstagging because I think it's a general issue, not just something for pro or anti shippers. I see the tag get misused on both sides and I just wanted to throw my two cents in

So, where did the term originate? Like all culturally significant things online, it started as a meme. More specifically, a meme from the television show Arrested Development. Character A has put a dead dove into a brown paper bag to store in the family's fridge. On the bag, he has taped a sign that reads, in big bold letters, "DEAD DOVE. Do Not Eat!"

Character B comes across the bag, reads the warning, and opens it anyway. When he's met with, you guessed it, a dead dove, he proclaims "I don't know what I expected".

This is an example of (and has since basically become the spiritual successor to) the "Exactly What It Says On The Tin" trope.

If you want to check out the full history and countless examples of the trope, please check out the page on tvtropes. But for a slightly shorter history - it originated in a British commercial for Ronseal's Quick Drying Woodstain, which the tin claimed "dried quickly". And in the commercial they told you "It does exactly what it says on the tin!" So, the tin says what the product does, then the product does it. You get the idea.

In fandom spaces, the trope just means that the title of Thing (be it movie, show, fanfic, etc) tells you exactly what happens IN Thing. If a show is called "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", you already know it's about a girl named Buffy who slays vampires. If the movie is called "Cocaine Bear", you can bet a bear will get into some cocaine at some point. If there's a fanfic called "Fluttershy Has Tea With Jesus"... you get the idea.

While both tags started out with the same intentions and meaning, I don't think it's any wonder that "dead dove do not eat" has been so easy to misinterpret. For one, "exactly what it says on the tin" sounds more straightforward. You don't have to understand the specific reference to infer it means to check the label (in this case, tags) before purchasing (opening) the product (fanfic)

But dead dove is harder to understand if you don't know the reference. And at a glance, it sounds much darker. Doves have symbolism in multiple religions, and are seen as a symbol of peace. A dead dove evokes images of gore, violence, general unpleasantness. It must only apply to something sinister, right?

The thing about "exactly what it says on the tin" is that the tin needs to say something. You can't point at a blank label and say "here's what you can expect". People would be much less likely to engage with your product if that were the case

In the same vein, slapping "dead dove do not eat" on a fic with no other tags can lead to confusion. In this tag's case, it's a warning. But what are you warning about if you don't also put it in the tags? It leaves people's minds to conjure up only grim and upsetting images of what might be in your fic. Especially when, as it's also common to do, the tag gets shortened to simply "dead dove".

And while, yes, the tag is most likely to get slapped onto fics with dark or upsetting subject matter, that means something different for everyone who comes across it.

Most people seem to think it only applies to inappropriate relationships (age gap, incest, etc). But I've seen it applied to a variety of things, from potentially triggering material (like suicide) to things that simply may not be everyone's cup of tea (like excessive gross-out toilet humor).

In the end, "dead dove do not eat" is a tag that, in my opinion, should not be used as a descriptor as to what type of content your story contains. But rather, a gentle warning to say "hey, I'm specifically telling you what you're about to encounter, so whatever happens next is up to you".

After all, if you read the warning and still open the bag to find something you don't like...

I don't know what you were expecting.

[pessimisticpigeonsworld]

Blood Purity and the ASOIAF Fandom

I find it very ironic how Targaryen antis scream about "blood purity" then turn around and support and play into blood purity themselves. Specifically I'm talking about Stark stans and stansas/jonsas.

The Starks canonically prefer to marry with Northern houses, in other words: other First Men. This tradition gives them a rather small gene pool, meaning that incest is pretty much a necessity for them to carry it on. Uncle-niece, aunt-nephew, and cousin weddings were all allowable, and cousin weddings were rather commonplace.

What all that means is that the Starks practice blood purity. Yes, it's different from how the Targaryens did it, but the only differences are that the Valyrians allowed brother-sister marriages and there are only two other Valyrian houses to marry. The Celtigars barely even count, due to how little Valyrian blood is left in them. Both the Starks and Targaryens did marry outside their preferred gene pools. However, that fact doesn't negate that they both practice blood purity.

Stark stans who condemn the Targaryens for marrying to preserve their Valyrian blood are hypocrites. The Starks prefer to marry other First Men and allow certain forms of close incest, if they had as few options as the Targaryens did, they would probably change their views on brother-sister marriages.

Stansas tend to follow the same patterns as Stark stans. They ignore Stark incest and talk about "super special Stark genes" in an almost cult-like fashion. Stansas will go on and on about how the Starks are very special and their (specifically Sansa's) blood is the key to saving the world. Now, there is magic blood in ASOIAF, and the Starks are the one of the families with this. However, the sheer hypocrisy of Stansas and Stark stans to embrace and cheer on this fact for the Starks while simultaneously despising the Targaryens for the same fact is interesting.

Jonsas, who are all stansas just to be clear, are probably the most hypocritical in this group. Jonsa shippers will espouse both anti-incest and anti-blood purity arguments, especially in regards to the Targaryens. However, at the same time, they will write posts about how the incest between Jon and Sansa wouldn't be wrong and how Stark blood is superior. Just like the Stark stans and stansas, they are unironically supporting Stark blood purity. All three of these groups will also write about how the Targaryen bloodline needs to be wiped out.

So basically: Stark stans, stansas, and jonsas all not only support Stark blood purity, but also the eradication of Valyrian blood in Westeros. The hypocrisy is riveting.

[badger-tales]

pssst you! 🕵️‍♂️

Yes you,💃

A little birdie 🐥 told me you're looking for someone to write your fanfiction requests 👀

Well,

it looks like you're in luck!!

My name is Badger 🦡 and I am at your service 🎩

What are my qualifications👩‍🎓you might ask?

Well let me explain!

Qualification number 1. Almost 10 whole years of fanfiction writing experience! Yep that's right! I have almost ten years up my sleeve of tumbler fanfiction experience (that makes me a middle age divorcee round these parts!!)

Qualification number 2. I write like a mad man🤪! My fanfiction tend to range from 3k words to 6k words 📚 (and those are only my basic one shots!😱)

Qualification number 3. (This is technically qualification 2.5😉) I will have your request written and uploaded within 1-2 business weeks! 📥

Have I piqued your interest yet? 🤔

Great!! 🎉🎉🎉

Below is a comprehensive list of the who and what I write!! 👇👇👇

Harry potter❤️

- Harry Potter

- Fred Weasley

- George Weasley

- Bill Weasley

- Charlie Weasley

- Cedric Diggory

- Oliver Wood

-Neville Longbottom

- Draco Malfoy

🌙Marauders🌙

- Remus Lupin

- Sirius Black

- James Potter

- Regulus Black

🕷️Marvel🕷️

- Spiderman (Andrew and Tom)

- Quicksilver (Evan and Aaron)

- Deadpool

📖Criminal Minda📖

- Spencer Reid

🦇Stranger Things🦇

- Steve Harrington

- Eddie Munson

- Robin Buckley

📐Gravity Falls📐

- Dipper Pines

🔪Scream🔪

- Billy Loomis

- Stu Macher

⏳Doctor Who⏳

- 9th

- 10th

- 11th

- 15th

🔥ATLA🌊

- Zuko

- Sokka

When requesting a fanfiction I do ask that it is specific:

- what character you wish

- genre (E.g: Angst, fluff, Smut etc)

- a general idea of the plot (James asks reader to tutor him in Transfiguration for the OWL exams and over the course of their sessions they realise they have feelings for each other) or something to that extent

- if you would like the reader to be in a specific house at Hogwarts specify and I’ll be more than happy to comply

- AU and/or Crossovers

- ships x reader (eg: wolfstar x reader)

- I'm more than happy to write smut however don't set your expectations too high with that one I don't have a lot of practice!!!

- I'm pretty okay with writing just about anything including heavy topics such as mental health, bullying etc and will try my best to write it intentionally and not to trivialize anyone experiences

- I do have a few hard passes with my writing and they are as follows:

- any kind of rape/non-con

- incest (I'm looking at you Fred x George shippers this is NOT a safe space 🙅‍♀️🙅‍♀️)

- any kind of self harm

- graphic depictions or descriptions of suicide

- pregnancy fics

- (blank) taking care of you on your period fics (sorry I hate them)

- I will specify I will only write fem!reader or nb!reader

This it’s important 👇👇👇

- 🚨when it comes to smut: I will only age up characters that are 16+ in their series🚨

Take Avatar the last airbender as an example.

I know canonically they age but in the main series aang is like 12. I find it kind of odd even if I were to age him up to 18+ to write any kind of 18+ content for him.

Zuko for example is about 16 in the series and I find that a 2 year age jump is more comfortable to write for than a 6 year age jump.

See anything you like?? CLICK HERE TO REQUEST SOMETHING or go to my account and hit that request button!

[ecoterrorist-katara]

Idk about you, but there was a period of ATLA fans trying their damn hardest to convince me that Katara didn't get any hate. And then when I counted that yes, she did (I didn't make up all of 2020 and 2021 ffs), they told me to calm down?? Like, am I the only one who's experienced this?

The people who are so "neutral" in this fandom are actually the worst ones istg

IT’S SO WEIRD! It’s not even just revisionist history, it literally still happens today. Reddit is overrun with “haha Katara dead mom” jokes. Redditors really show their asses with their simultaneous contempt for Katara and their fervent defense of Ka/taang.

On Tumblr I blame the Zu/kka shippers lmao (who also tend to be the ones who claim to be neutral multishippers, as if multishipping wasn’t the norm in this fandom, yes even amongst the ZKs). Some m/m shippers really want to get rid of the female character in the way of their m/m ship. Which, hey, shipping is supposed to be fun, and if you put Katara with Aang or Azula or Haru or Suki or whoever with zero development for the purpose of your Zu/kka, there’s nothing wrong with that! They do that with Mai and Ty Lee, no drama, bc Mai is not so well developed as a character.

It’s just that…instead of admitting they want to get rid of Katara so that they can enjoy their Zu/kka, they emphasize how she’s so mean to their woobie Zuko, or to their woobie Sokka. Then you get absolutely wild mental gymnastics that are just Katara slander with more steps, like the baffling “homophobic Katara” headcanon (as if Katara, who allowed a fortuneteller to dictate her breakfast and spent the entire show waffling over whether she likes a boy, is any less likely to be queer). People on Tumblr don’t hate on Katara directly anymore because they know it’s misogynistic, so instead we are subjected to a wide variety of random ass takes. The latest form of Katara slander is “just let her be a kid” and assigning her qualities to Sokka, which I categorically refuse to read, because it pisses me off. People are so weird about Katara.

I think this must be something specific to Zu/kka, not m/m ships in general. My first major ship was Klaine and female character slander was not an issue at all. Anyway I ship all variations of Fire Sib x Water Sib (except the incest ones, which apparently requires clarifying nowadays), but Zu/kka is becoming my least fave of the bunch due to fandom shenanigans.

[katyspersonal]

Stance about proanti disco horse (TW: personal CSA details)

I don't really like being a fence-sitter, especially at the risk that some mutual might grow really attached to me only to feel "backstabbed" once finding out we're not on the same page at all, and since this topic became more active after Fromsoft 'approved of incest' (debatable but it at least looks it!) and a certain person whose server is VERY appropriately literally named "a cult" makes a list of people in Soulsborne fandom to side-eye, avoid and shun, I wanted to say what I think

1) I do NOT sympathise with antis. Just try to accept this. They are insensitive loosers without basic common sense that need an excuse to feel like they are contributing to the "noble battle" and turned out to make lives of survivors of the thing they claim fictional works nOrMaLiZe uwu worse on multiple occasions. They are incredibly vile in what they accuse people of based on what they explore within the safety of fantasy, and as if they are not doing enough harm under guise of "protecting" us, survivors of incest, abuse and pedophilia, they are even eating their own if their fellow antis are "too tolerant" to proshippers. Enough instances of an anti showing sympathy under specific circumstances and being shunned too on the "if you're not with us then you're against us" notion. Antis are CULTS, plain and simple.

2) I am also disgusted by how antis tell proshippers "to seek therapy". Every person has dark impulses deep within, regardless of whether they had trauma they now cope with or not, that many people will never realise they have, and creativity is a healthy way to let them dwell. What person chooses to do with the characters is not a mental illness that somehow ruins them and the world around them. You don't get to hold having """morally better""" dark interests over proshippers and claim to be superior on that matter, and if you claim to not have dark interests at all you are just laughable in your pretence. And above all, I am upset at how trauma that I've survived is trivialised to the fanfics and fanart people can't stand.

3) People who are simply disgusted by incest, abuse and pedophilia in fanworks are NOT antis, however. Antis are people who actively police creativity, try to isolate shipper of the thing from the fandom by DMing people to unfollow them, accuse them of having horrible intentions and paraphilias, tell them to seek therapy and all that. As heartbreaking as it could be to lose a mutual over this problem, disgust is an understandable reaction to such ships and everyone should be allowed to detach from a person that posts something they're uncomfortable with for their own mental health! People have a right to not want to engage with such shippers, that doesn't make them fandom crusaders. It is a mistake that might come from someone's exhaustion with actual antis, but respectable personal discomfort is different so let's not jump onto seeing everyone as an enemy! The difference is: do they see their disgust as a personal boundary, or as a sign that you are a harmful monster they should fight?

4) Not all proshippers are innocent. There is a merit on what you could tell about a person based on what they think of fiction and how they judge it. If you want to be sure, you need to look out for the logic someone puts into their ships. For example, if someone simply discusses their pedophilia ship as something messed up yet fascinating for them, or it feels as though they're never focusing on power imbalance and manipulation aspect of it in their fantasy as horror element but instead it is just a matter of fact, or is a survivor that dwells on their trauma this way wishing their groomer was """nicer""" OR went further - they're basically Just A Guy that doesn't engage with fantasies the same way as you do. Like, it is just a guy ok? However, if they go into spiel about how age is just a number or age of consent in other countries or how maturity is psychology and not amount of years lived or how some teens are presumably mature enough to consent *flashback to yandev's suggestion about 'test for ability to consent'* etc etc..... this is probably a freak. You get the principle. If you can't help being suspicious of someone over their dark interests, you need to hear out this person's logic regarding the concept to tell which one they are, instead of assuming everyone is guilty OR everyone is innocent. Trust me, most proshippers absolutely do not want to make actual predators to feel safe in their 'let's ruin some fictional guys' interests circles, not only the trauma survived ones.

5) (STRONG trigger warning for CSA, skip to #6 if anything) Personally: I don't mind most of the incest and abuse ships. I was living under the same father figure's sexual and just emotional abuse (rarer, physical) since age 8-9 and into late teens, and only could do something to get away from him at the age of 20. Somewhere when my puberty started to kick in, I had a dream that I had an older brother and we were living under this hell together, with him protecting me from him at the expense of enduring worse physical abuse... but we were in supportive "relationship" through it. I think it altered something in my brain chemistry, that made me associate incest ships where one sibling cares for the sick/miserable/weak one and protects them, or where they're up against the same hardship or the same bad guy with safety and warmth instead.

As for the abuse ships, again, during puberty I was having guilty thoughts of seeking """consensual""" sex with my stepfather. He was not allowing me to seek a partner of my age on the side, naturally, and I was going rabid. Nonetheless, I had a will of steel and repressed those feelings, never acting on them, for the sake of what very little remained of my ruined pride. But it left me with the interest of what would happen if not, that I can take out on fictional characters (for example, a certain mutual who likes Sulyvahn x Dancer knows what I am talking about :p). If this is something I must uproot from how my brain developed, I'll do it when I am ready and consider it an improvement, and not when some no-life looser online tells me that what I can do with fictional characters somehow makes me as bad as the person who harmed me. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

5.1) Yes, this does mean that my blog is safe for people who like Lorian and Lothric or Miquella and Malenia or alike popular pairings. I don't really 'see' these ships personally (Aldia and Blind Swordsman are better alternatives respectively sorry lmao) but I did like artworks with them; if not because they are drawn well then as expression of support for people to do what they want. You can tell my contrarian bias is sprouting wonderfully No you did not just hallucinate my like under MalMiq fanart in 4 AM delirium and yes I am aware that I have two mutuals who openly ship it (you girls know who you are)

6) Many people avoid these ships purely based on fear of harassment and not because of genuine conviction. I could make an essay on how Miquella and Radahn is aKtUaLy not incest, but on the first glance it is. And you know what happened in the fandom after Fromsoft "approved of incest relationship in their story"? Right, people who don't mind incest ships or even openly support proshippers or even ship this stuff themselves popped up like mushrooms after the rain!! This should be telling that most people are neutral or even interested, and ALL that holds them back is lack of strong support, but what can be stronger than approval of the creator of the darn thing? If you want to make a change in how people engage with fiction and promote healthier alternatives to problematic ships, you cannot do it through holding the threat of isolation and bullying over their heads. The best way to promote healthier ships is to actually ship them, as well as passionately discuss characters who are popular to put into a problematic ship in healthy non-ship context. I think more people should promote their ideas this way, because being afraid is not being convinced and your "allies against weirdos in the fandom 🥺" WILL backstab you as soon as they feel safe to do so. Sure, I will be laughing at how frail that "allyship" turned out to be when that happens. You won't be laughing, though. Allies that are simply here out of fear of harassment are not allies, so watch your back.

7) The argument about "such fanworks help groomers to fish victims" works in reverse. Many people are convinced that a pedo will grab someone's adult x minor fanfic and go at a kid being like "hey do you want something like this? 👀" or similar stuff.. Usage of fanworks really happens to fuel the dynamic when the victim got already on the hook. And when there are no fanworks, the predator will create or commission such works on their own, initiate RPs and whatnot. However, the way questionable fanworks actually help to create new victims is isolation of the person who enjoys such fanworks. Some person, a minor, enjoys an ship between adult and minor, between siblings or noncon, and their peers start shunning them for it from the fandom. They just happen to have no one to confide in about these interests and no one to talk to. Like I said in previous pointer: if someone has these interests, they will not evaporate with fear, they will just get concealed. That person, bullied for what they like to do with fictional characters, will not """seek therapy""" like antis told them. What they WILL seek tho, is someone, anyone who will listen.

And THIS is where an actual predator lurking on some dumb community Discord server will spot the vulnerable, isolated, lonely minor and chime in like, "damn I like this stuff too, we are against the world, too bad people are so judgemental of us, right? :)". Cult-like shunning creates both victims to get scooped by another cult AND victims of individual predators. No matter how much you or anyone else is uncomfortable with certain fanworks and themes, do not allow this "freak" to fall out of the community. It is dangerous out of the loop.

____________________________

Alright I hope that I've made myself clear on the topic. I've been questioning on whether to add something so personal here or not, but decided to do so. The last time I tried to discuss this topic without showing my own wound, I got yelled at for being insensitive looser who'd speak differently had they experienced anything like that personally, so.... :^) There are times where who is speaking matter. I don't want any pity for my trauma, it's alright, really..

At the same time, if you don't like me after this post you can hardblock or softblock without any grudges from my end (pay close attention to number 3 in this post, making personal boundaries is not the same as being an anti)

[drop-dead-dropout]

Fuck's a pro shipper?

We've got a new one boys try not to scare em off /j

Okay but seriously, I'm more than happy to explain. I assume that if you're asking this question you're not aware of the proshipper vs antishipper, uh, "conflict", I guess. So, here is what both of those terms mean, to the best of my descriptive abilities:

Antishipper (often just "anti"): someone who vaguely believes that consuming problematic fiction (usually specifically problematic sexual fiction like lolicon or incest) is either a true reflection of them as a person or a corrupting force that will cause them to play out these desires in real life, onto real people. Basically, if you read age gap, you touch real kids in real life or secretly want to.

Proshipper (sometimes "profic"): someone who does not believe the above, and believes that fiction is not the same as reality because it doesn't harm anyone and therefore people should be left alone as long as you have no reason to believe that they would ever do something like that irl. Often hand in hand with things like anti censorship, kink positive, etc, though being a proshipper does not necessarily mean you have a problematic ship or kink yourself (example: me).

You're probably asking this question because you saw me day in my bio that I am a proshipper. I've tried to stay neutral in this initial description, but obviously I probably didn't manage to be completely unbiased considering that I believe myself to be right (most people do) so if you want to ask further questions after this that's perfectly fine. That being said:

Why am I a proshipper?

So, to understand this, let's first look over the issues within both communities— every group has issues, after all.

What problems do proshippers have?:

- sometimes 4chan assholes co-opt the label "proshipper" just because they're lolicons, even though there's good evidence to suggest that they would do or even have done criminal sexual acts in real life, or that they possess actual csam (child sexual abuse material, a term being used in favor of "cp" these days as porn implies consent). Proshipping has nothing to do with the harmful idea that you should be allowed to exploit and abuse real children.

- there are still many gray areas which proshippers themselves don't agree on. For example: I've seen a bunch of arguments about if writing fanfiction of live action shows or movies changes the equation. The general consensus of proshippers is that writing fanfiction of a character played by a child actor is definitely a more delicate situation and should not be sexual as it's inextricably tied to the image of a real child, but there are others who believe differently.

- I'm genuinely struggling to come up with more of these. Um, sometimes lolicons are really shitty people, like in point 1. This isn't SUPER relevant though cause in reality the overlap between predominantly queer or female proshippers and Reddit incels who just wanna jerk off to a petite anime girl is pretty small, though I'm sure it exists somewhere .

Now, what problems do antis have? (Fair warning, this is gonna sound even more "biased" but I hope my logic is still sound from the outside :p):

- I don't have any statistics on this (haven't exactly been many research papers on fandom drama), so you're going to have to trust me when I say that antis are absolutely NOTORIOUS for extreme harassment campaigns. The first time I was exposed to the word "antishipper", it was attached to a story of a former animator committing suicide because antis had gotten them fired by "exposing" their porn alt on Twitter and they could no longer afford medication for their disability. So, hell of an intro!

- their opinions are, in pretty basic ways, not backed by science or even practical common sense. The human brain can distinguish between fiction and reality after around age four or five

and people certainly aren't trying to hand nsfw content to children that age so I think it's safe to say that the people who are reading these things won't be "confused" by them or whatever. Also, even just using your brain and talking to these people, you find out most of them project onto the YOUNGER character.

- they claim to support victims but often simply don't. I won't keep dragging threats into the spotlight because I know there are probably antis who aren't as violent, but it's honestly astonishing to me how often they jump straight to wishing death and terrible things on people, and this has included more than once telling a rape victim they hope they get assaulted again just because they're a proshipper. See, a lot of these "taboo" sexual fantasies like age gap and incest actually themselves stem from a traumatic experience, and any therapist will tell you that fiction is a much healthier way to explore intrusive thoughts and urges than more dangerous coping mechanisms like self harm or substance abuse. And when confronted with this, in my experience and many others', antis will simply ignore that fact or say that the therapist is some sort of evil enabler.

-the general cognitive dissonance of believing an incest fanfiction will make you "forget" that incest is bad vs being fine with horror movies and slashers speaks to a deeper and honestly kind of worrying anti-sex mindset. I'm not sure I'm qualified to tackle this particular topic, but I definitely agree that it's a thing; after all, I have no idea how else those two things could coexist.

Anyways, I'd like to close this off by saying not everyone is as crazy opinionated as I am, I'm just autistic and like talking lol. A lot of people who id as proshippers just have a sort of minding their own business, ship-and-let-ship mentality, and a lot of antis are unfortunately just teenagers who were told proshipper = evil pedophile groomer and thus they put "proship dni" in their bios just cause they don't know and don't really care what it means. It is undeniable that many antis are kids themselves, and that does worry me, because fandom drama (especially Twitter fandom drama) is dangerous and vitriolic and also they're putting extremely serious threats on their digital footprints at the tender age of 14! But whatever, I'm not their parents, that's just my worry. Sorry for rambling this long lol, I wouldn't blame you if you dropped out halfway through but this is basically my summary of this whole thing. Do with this knowledge what you will! Or, you know, don't! I'm not a cop!

[dustbunnylair]

Jujutsu Kaisen And It's Popularity Giving The Fanbase a Bad Reputation (JJK Spoilers)

Jujutsu Kaisen has currently become extremely popular not just in Japan, but also in Western Countries. At first, I wasn’t too concerned about it gaining popularity, I’ve been a fan since the first season was animated so I was quite glad it was gaining a fanbase. I really didn’t care if Gojo was getting popular, that’s fine, but it started to concern me when I realized people are debating over what ships are and aren’t canon.

First off, let’s go over the definition of shipping. Shipping is when people in a fandom or fanbase of fictional media start shipping fictional characters within that fictional media. But within shipping, it is EXTREMELY important to note that shipping characters are only valid when it is fictional characters, legal, and nontoxic. This means pedophilia, incest, abusive, etc. relationships are invalid within shipping.

In Japan, the top ships are mostly illegal. Shipping minors with adults, eg; Gojo x Yuji, Gojo x Megumi, Sukuna x Megumi, Choso x Yuji (also incestual), etc. But in my opinion, specifically within the US, the top ships are probably SatoSugu (Gojo x Geto), NobaMaki (Nobara x Maki), ItaFushi (Megumi x Yuji), along with less popular ships that are more likely to be canon such as HaKira (Hakari X Kirara), and a very wholesome and canon one, ToMema (Toji x his wife)

Honestly like I said I don’t care if Gojo is popular or not, I think the only problem is that almost if not all of everyone likes him because he’s strong, which is also literally the reason people like him in JJK. I don’t really care if people sexualize him or say SOMEWHAT sexual things, I do think people take it too far within comments, but if it’s only somewhat sexual there’s really nothing you can do about it because he is 28 years old.

Gojo and Geto are very well-written characters, lore-wise. Technically they are platonic soulmates. I think the only excuse I’ve seen for people not liking SatoSugu is that Gojo is confirmed to show attraction to women, which isn’t a lie. He is attracted to an actual celebrity, Waka Inoue, or I guess, was, because he was 16-17 during his past arc. But following up that “theory” of him showing attraction to women, is that people can be attracted to both men and women, hence bisexuals, pansexuals, etc. Gojo is ALSO confirmed to be a womanizer because he is NOT loyal.

Another thing anti-SatoSugu shippers say to claim Gojo isn’t lgbtq+ or whatever, is that best friends exist.

…Because we didn’t already know that. Honestly, I think people forget headcanons exist. Headcanons are when someone believes or interprets something about a character, for example: thinking they are trans, gay, lgbtq+, neurodivergent, etc. It doesn’t mean that it is genuinely true and/or confirmed by the creator. 

And to follow up with people hating on SatoSugu, that the season 2 Gojo Past Arc argument scene, aka Geto’s last goodbye to Gojo, aka KFC break up/dumping scene. it is a real location in Shinjuku, Japan:

Not to mention that the day that they both died, December 24th, is Japan’s Valentines' Day and KFC is a meal that couples get on that day. During the afterlife scene in the Manga, chapter 236, Gojo says to Geto, “Satisfied? If you were among those patting my back... then I might've been satisfied,”. Some songs that are played and directed at Gojo and/or Geto, have very meaningful lyrics:

“Shame On Me” by Avicii (One of the two Gojo’s theme songs named by Gege)

Shame on me for lovin’ you

That’s what I get for lovin’ you;

You know I can’t live without you;

And all the things you put me through

are you baptized and born again? 

I’ma raise hell for the bitter end;

I’m a crazy little bitch in the first degree, 

shame on you for loving me.

Come Back Home by Two Door Cinema Club (One of Geto’s themes that Gege said was)

I know this isn't it

You'll hit your target someday

So now you're on your own

Won't you come back home

To see you're not that kind

And find the strength, to find the strength

To find another way

Alone Tonight by Munrai (a song specifically written for an official Geto + Gojo promotional video)

If I came to your place tonight, would you let me in?

Sakayume by King Gnu (A song played in Jujutsu Kaisen 0 portrayed towards Rika and Yuta’s relationship but also how Geto feels toward Gojo)

I'll dive into the sea of memories

And pick up the pieces of my love

And keep them in you forever.

Where Our Blue Is by Tatsuya Kitani (The first opening of Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen, is written from Gojo’s perspective, confirmed here: https://x.com/skanaaa_/status/1690104150045184000?s=20)

Even now, blue resides

Even now, blue remains clear

No matter the prayers or words

Though they draw near, they never reach

It's like a quiet love

In the summer-like colors running down my cheeks

The words that curse you are stuck in the back of my throat

Akari by Soushi Sakiyama (first ending for Season 2 of Jujutsu Kaisen, the lyrics “Show me your blushing face once more” is confirmed to be Gojo speaking to Geto from an interview, the interview is here

Realizing that something seemingly everywhere

Exists only here

Even trivial conversations are fine

Show me your blushing face once more

SPECIALZ by King Gnu, The letters used in the lyrics “I love you 6a6y” are speculated to likely represent Gojo and Geto, hinting at Gojo’s six eyes. the lyrics "get 1○st iπ 31" can be related to Geto and 31st October when the Shibuya Incident took place. Daiki Tsuneta later confirmed in a TV show called 日曜日の初耳学 that the lyrics were indeed intentional; in this specific manner: "get 1○＝夏油/Geto, st＝悟/Satoru, 1○ 31＝10月31日/October 31st, get 1○st iπ 31＝get lost in me(我に返る)"

n short, people think that because the fandom and/or fanbase of Jujutsu Kaisen are shipping illegal ships, over-sexualizing characters, arguing over legal/non-problematic ships, arguing what is and isn't canon, or arguing about who is and isn't gay, the Jujutsu Kaisen fandom/fanbase is slowly turning into the My Hero Academia Fandom. Honestly, it isn’t too far off, and it’s unfortunate that Jujutsu Kaisen is getting a bad reputation. Unfortunately, anything that gets popular on social media, especially TikTok, will have bad sides of the fanbase/fandom. 

All things aside the over-sexualization of adult characters, shipping illegal ships, people arguing over simple legal ships, and arguing what is and isn't canon or who is and isn't gay. Shipping legal ships and having non-offensive headcanons, isn’t wrong, and it shouldn’t always be looked down upon. If someone is shipping characters way too far and telling someone to harm themselves because they don’t agree with a ship, then yes, that is something we should look down upon. Shipping can also be platonic, hence why people call Geto and Gojo both soulmates AND platonic soulmates. 

To be honest, I think the only people I’ve seen hate on SatoSugu are straight cismen or straight people in general, people who can't handle that gay ships will exist at times, and/or SuguShoko (Geto x Shoko) Shippers and GojoHime (Gojo x Utahime) Shippers. It’s fine if you disagree with it and still continue to respect other people for their opinion on the ship, but if you are just gonna talk about what is and isn’t canon I will believe you live in a world of delusion. If you wanna talk about what is and isn't canon Utahime despises Gojo, she would never get with him and Gege said Shoko would rather die than get with Geto and/or Gojo.

Thanks for listening to my yapping. Please respect others’ ships as long as it isn't a pro/comship, and just respect people in general, unfortunately, the world doesn’t do that enough, especially on social media.

[mariodreemurr]

Intro / Pinned Post!

“They laugh at me because I’m different. I laugh at them because they’re all the same.” –Kurt Cobain

Greetings, fellow humans! …Er, hey, everyone! Welcome to my all-purpose blog! Here, you’ll find all my Tumblr posts, including various art pieces, reblogs, and selfshipping stuff! So, without further ado, allow me to introduce myself. (This post may change over time!!)

Mario / Marma / Marm

22 y/o (there’s no NSFW/suggestive stuff here, but please be mindful before interacting)

AMAB Paraboy (He/They)

Bi-xenosexual (meaning, I am a bisexual who is exclusively attracted to sapient nonhumans)

Furry / alienkin (The last 2 names I gave for myself are names for my aliensona! I might post him someday.)

Selfshipper / fictolover (I do NOT use my aliensona for selfshipping. I consider him a separate character.)

INFP 4w5 so/sx 469 (4w5-6w5-9w8)

Hobbies / Interests (including media)

NOTE: Me having an interest in or having F/Os from a certain media DOES NOT MEAN THAT I CONDONE THE CREATOR’S ACTIONS, IF APPLICABLE!! Also, I don’t consider myself to be in these fandoms, if applicable. I’m just a fan!

90s alternative / grunge music

The Amazing Digital Circus

Beastars

Chikn Nuggit

Drawing & writing

The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy

Hazbin Hotel / Helluva Boss

Heavy metal, especially alternative metal (which includes funk metal, nu metal and rap metal)

Invader Zim

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure (especially Part 3)

Kitty Is Not a Cat (please please PLEASE interact if you are also a fan of this!!! I want to meet more people who enjoy the show)

Nintendo, especially Super Mario, Kirby & Pokémon (up to and including Gen 7)

Personality types, most notably MBTI & Enneagrams

Pizza Tower

Statistics & data science

Trivia Crack / Triviatopia

Undertale / Deltarune / Undertale Yellow

BYF

I am autistic, which makes it very hard for me to interact with people sometimes. At times, I say things that I don’t truly mean, so please be patient with me. In addition, please say what you mean whenever you talk to me, as I often take things very literally.

I have very bad social anxiety, and I often delay responses simply because I’m shy and/or I don’t know what to say that won’t offend other people.

DNI (may change over time)

Anti-selfship, anti-furry

Proshippers/comshippers/darkshippers (including neutrals, anti-antis, and “proship safe” blogs)

MAPs & adjacent, adults who selfship with minors, incest shippers, zoos

Selfshippers who ship themselves with real people (fictional characters played by irl people/actors are fine)

Biphobes / those that engage in bisexual erasure

Homophobes, LGBTphobes, TERFs & other bigots

If none of these apply to you, go under the cut for more!

Now that you’re still here, it’s time for the fun stuff!

(NOTE: As long as you truly respect them, I am 100% comfortable with sharing ANY AND ALL of my romantic & platonic F/Os!!!)

My F/O lists may change over time.

💖 (One and Only) Romantic F/O 💖

My one and only romantic F/O is Petal, one of the 16 (!) main characters of Kitty Is Not a Cat, an obscure Australian cartoon that aired from 2018 to 2020.

The show centers around the adventures and experiences of a human orphan girl named Kitty, who really wants to be a cat. One day, she encounters a mansion where 15 talking, musical cats live. Initially reluctant, the cats eventually agree to take care of her and accept her as one of their own. It is a very wholesome and underrated show, and I highly recommend thar you check it out!

But enough about the show, let’s talk about Petal!

Petal is a cat (of no specific breed) with purplish gray fur, including dark “chest fur.” She also wears a black collar.

Petal is considered the “mother” of the cats; she is protective of them and loves looking after everyone, especially Kitty. Petal is also very kind, caring, and enthusiastic to a fault…so much so that the other cats have gotten annoyed at her sometimes. Despite her kind and gentle nature, she knows when enough is enough, and is willing to put her foot down if it means justice.

Petal’s motherly nature makes her quite intelligent for a cat. But she still has done some pretty derpy things at times. For example, there was one episode in which she confused a play Kitty put on as fact instead of fiction, and she joined the other cats in searching for buried treasure outside the mansion. In another episode (and one of my personal favorite ones), Kitty built a big plastic playhouse outside the mansion, and Petal and the other cats got the idea that she was moving out. This made her and the other cats very sad, and they in turn “visited” her in an absolutely hilarious sequence of events.

And yet, despite not fully understanding things sometimes (in particular, human culture and behavior), she does her absolute best to be as kind and respectful about them as possible. This kind of support is exactly what I need in life.

And this is our ship!

(This commission was done by @/sheepie-self-ships!)

Our ship name is AltMetal! Every post about this ship, whether it is an art or writing piece, will be tagged with this.

There’s not really much more to say here, other than the fact that I love her so goddamn much. If you want more content of this selfship, follow this blog, which includes gushes and whatnot!

Queerplatonic F/Os

Petal is my only romantic F/O, but I also have a handful of queerplatonic F/Os. Even though they’re not romantic, I still very much care for them. They are:

Amyllia-Gotanka (OC)

Casey (OC)

Maria (OC)

Wendy (OC)

Familial F/Os

I also have 6 familial F/Os. They are:

Kirby (Kirby series) - Son

Tito (Trivia Crack / Triviatopia, but esp. the latter) - Son

Haru (Beastars) - Daughter

Mandy (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy) - Daughter

Toriel (Undertale) - Mother

Asriel Dreemurr (Undertale) - Brother

Platonic F/Os

Lastly, I have several platonic F/Os. They are:

Adam (Hazbin Hotel)

Angel Dust (Hazbin Hotel)

Ankha (Animal Crossing)

Barbie Wire (Helluva Boss)

Cheeta (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Foghorn Leghorn (Looney Tunes)

Ginsburg (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Grim (The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy)

Happy (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

All of I.M.P. (Helluva Boss)

Jean Pierre Polnareff (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Johnny Cage (Mortal Kombat, esp. his MK1 incarnation)

Part 3 Joseph Joestar (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Legoshi (Beastars)

Meow Skulls (Fortnite)

Miley (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Ming (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

The Nazz (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Noriaki Kakyoin (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Sallie May (Helluva Boss)

Schnitzel (Chowder)

Sidon (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Sir Pentious (Hazbin Hotel)

Spook (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

Starlo (Undertale Yellow)

Thorn (Kitty Is Not a Cat)

And that’s pretty much it for this post! Hope to see y’all around in the future!

(NOTE: I will use this image below instead of DNI tags from now on as a way to not clutter the tags. Since this is my first DNI list, this probably won’t be a permanent image, as it may change over time. To keep myself safe from proshitters, I will put “proshippers DNI” at the end of my posts.)

Proship/comship DNI.