#if it's a simple comment on fandom that isn't toxic i will

[bcacstuff]

A Thank You

To start with a thank you to all the people in the comments on my previous post, and all the Anons, all the kind words, showing your support and appreciation for my blog. I received some very sweet and lovely messages which I will cherish and look again at when things get so negative that I start to question myself why am I doing this.

Snapped

Yes something snapped, after a long time ignoring all the harassment, negativity, toxicity, name calling and recently even threats in my inbox. Telling me, oh we all know how toxic this fandom is, isn't realistic. Logging on here and first being confronted with it personally as it is in my inbox, takes the fun and pleasure out of things. It's like getting home, but you first have to clean out your doorway because the neighbours dumped all their trash on it. At some point you will address your neighbours with this bad behaviour, wont you? (and probably not in the nicest way)

I ignored them all the time, trashed them right away stopped even reading them, as the content had not any substance. I wondered often, why do people do this? Does it make you feel better? Do you feel a hero hiding behind an Anon? Do you go tell your friends what you just sent to a person you clearly don't know the first thing about. Do you think it is justified because you don't like what I post or what doesn't fit your narrative?

It is never justified, no matter what, to do these kind of things to another human being. Never!

There are people that call me obsessed. When I see multiple harassment messages all similar, simply recognizable coming from the same person(s) on a daily basis in my inbox, lurking around on my blog just to get off on every post I publish, the second after I post it. Running to the Anon button to mock every word and purposely give a false interpretation of the things I write, or write on a daily basis on your blog about it, that is not obsession? But when I do what everyone does here, look at some IG accounts is obsession?

You know, posts on IG accounts stay there forever (most of the time), no matter when you look. Stories are published for 24 hours, and even forever when an account also puts them in their highlights. You surely know about that don't you? There is no need for me to watch every minute of the day an IG account, I don't refresh it every minute to see if there is something new. It's your biased imagination that makes you unable to see it in a normal way. I do not sit 24/7 in a cellar with 5 screens around me watching people. I also do not sit in my car for hours and hours in front of someone's house to wait till someone comes out of the house or arrives. That is stalking, watching someone's IG account isn't.

And perhaps I look at a few things more related to an IG account, like the analytics, as an interest because of my marketing background, using a simple tool available for everyone, doesn't make me obsessed or a stalker either. There is no need to watch it every minute of the day either, I can refresh it whenever I like, the numbers from a whole month (and more) are still there.

Saying I keep track of every move he does is a false interpretation. I don't know what he ate for breakfast this morning, or what color socks he wears today. I don't know all the time where he hangs out, what he is doing or whom he is with. I don't know, I know as much as you all! I simply use my logic, can see like you all can at what times he posts, and as he has his habits and patterns (which you learn easily over a bit of time) it is no rocket science to see when these times shift and he likely traveled to a place in another timezone. That doesn't justify calling someone obsessed or a stalker neither.

And then, on top of it all, I learned some things about his activity last weekend, which was perhaps the last drop. Yes I added that part, because it was part of why something snapped in me at that moment. Perhaps my reaction would have been different if it didn't came on top of all this negativity and toxicity I already deal with for a long time and only got more. Oh yes, I could've simply stayed quiet about it and perhaps I would have if not for above reasons. People that like to say I did mention it because I was just seeking attention, are just ignorant. Gosh the (negative) attention in my inbox is overwhelming, I don't need it and actually wish it wasn't so OTT. But since I mentioned it, I will address it in a separate post, but don't get too excited. I will share how I learned about it but wont elaborate on my personal thoughts which I choose to keep to myself. I also will not share any name or any other details.

If you don't like my blog, don't like to read about some things I post, don't like me as a person; Remember instead of running to the Anon button to lecture me and give me unwanted (and very unneeded) advise about how I should run my blog or live my life after you called me out, you also have the option to scroll on or move to another blog. You don't need to read my blog, I don't force you to come to my blog, you are here on your own free will and can leave whenever you want.

Anon

As a result of all this bad behaviour, I have switched off the Anon option. It's a bit with a heavy heart, as I prefer to keep my blog open and accessible to everyone who wants to be here and send messages to me. You still can send a message, but only with an account which will be visible to me. You can of course ask me to hide it when I choose to post your message, I will absolutely do so. For me it is just a way to finally prevent the cowards to send hateful messages to me.

I feel sorry for the ones that do not have an account on here and always gave me useful tips, and sent constructive messages. I hope you'll understand and consider to create an account. I don't mind if there is nothing on it, I don't see empty blogs necessarily as a sockaccount like some do.

I have to say, since switching the Anon option off, I received 0 messages. (that tells you a lot about how brave the Anons are) I enjoy the calm, the positive feeling instead of the negative feeling that I first need to clean out all this crap when I log on. So I will keep it this way at least for a while, and perhaps even forever.

Let's just try to keep the good and positive atmosphere here again, have some fun, some good discussions in a respectful way and exchange our thoughts on things.

[cupcraft]

I've been having some thoughts lately and decided to put it in a long post during my lunch break.

Cc's are not and never will be your friend. It's normal to engage and feel parasocial to a degree with cc's but it's important ccs and yourself create the boundary of "we don't know each other and thus are not friends/etc." This is important of the cc, because a responsible cc is aware of their impact, aware of the power dynamic, and sets healthy boundaries for themself. It's important for you in order to stay safe and engage with a fandom and cc with respect and to maintain a healthy mindset.

It is also normal for fandoms to defend their cc TO A DEGREE, especially when comments against the cc affect other people (this is a simple way to say it, theres a lot of nuance to this pt). But, you should never feel the need or actually try to parent or speak for a cc. For example, people being queerphobic to Ranboo is fair to speak up against particularly because the queerphobia affects other members of the fandom. However, feeling like you must speak on behalf of ranboo, be their parent, or protect them at all costs from "evil ccs and fans" is not only against their express wishes but just isn't a healthy or normal way to engage with a cc.

Because if you don't engage healthily besides breaking any cc boundaries, and hurting yourself and mental health, you really can hurt other people. If you're engaging in fandom and cc fandoms especially to a point in which you create yourself an echo chamber of toxicity that seeks to harm anyone in your path that is unhealthy behavior and you need srs help and I mean that genuinely like you need to talk to a trained professional or support group.

Like it's not normal to hate all ccs and people who are not explicitly positive about your cc at all times now and forever. It's not normal to make excuses for widely acceptable bad actions to the point you harm those affected by said bad actions. It's not normal to view holding a cc accountable as "just being an anti/hater/jealous" as you should always leave room to be critical of the content you consume especially if it's from a real person with real actions. It's not normal to dislike those that dislike ur cc so much (cc or fans) to the point you dedicate your social media presence to sending death threats, doxxing, harassment, gory images, etc as well as spending the majority of your blog screenshotting and vagueing and cyberbullying people. It's not normal to feel as though your cc is an infallible perfect idol figure that is in desperate need of an army protecting them at all times where you hang on their every word to dictate all actions, opinions, and morals to the point you will change your entire personality and ethics system just to maintain any ounce of being uncritical of someone. In simpler words, you might want to be aware the line of parasocialism and crossing over into being like a member of a cult (not to say it actually is a cult, this is an analogy)

And you might say to this post "this is a vague" but I'd rather argue that if you feel like this post applies to you regardless if you're mcyt or another cc/celebrity/real person based fandom you might want to realize that you need to do srs self reflection and understand how you got here, who you've hurt to stay there, and what things you've sacrificed for someone you don't even know. This isn't just an mcyt specific fandom problem.

Because why I'm making this post is I feel like something needs to be questioned when we throw away our kindness, empathy, ethics, and compassion towards people just because they are any ounce a tiny bit little bit critical of something a cc did. And it would be easy to say the people willing to suibait/send threats/harassment/slurs/etc toward someone over a cc and be happy about it and own it are people who "just don't care and won't change". But I'd like to think they got there somehow you know that they weren't always the kind of person to justify that. And that doesn't mean they deserve anyone's forgiveness, but it does mean I have concern for that person I hope they genuinely get help and feel the full weight of what they've done all for 1 person that doesn't know them.

As always with everything, please add on via rb if want, correct me on anything, and send asks if you wish. Stay kind out there though ❤️

[scarefox]

btw still annoyed that Domundi or whoever doesn't just let Net and James make a statement together that toxic fans can piss off and leave their fandoms if they don't know how to behave and leave the other one in peace.

They could end this fandom war so easily (I assume) by just doing this together. Or even with JJ. One joined clear statement. Showing the crowd once again that they are all fine and okay with the situation. Instead of letting the toxic corner of their fandoms butt their heads in and fight against James or Net in the name of the other (unasked and uncalled for but these people have some fictional narrative stuck in their head that only the sources can shut down I am afraid).

Or simply just showing them together in footage... But no, they keep trying to ignore it while Net and James and JJ have to deal with haters alone without ever mentioning the other party.... even though they obviously still are friends and hang out together at work, events and offscreen. I don't think that silent treatment is working at all. Sure the NetJames whining got less but instead they formed into attack hives. James gets hate for whatever he does that isn't acting. Net gets hate for promoting his new partner. JJ gets hate for not being aware of everything NetJames related or simply just for existing in James previous spot 🤦‍♂️

Just one simple statement of them all together would calm down some of these aggressive people. And the others would be pissed off enough to maybe finally leave the fandoms. But that would mean to lose potential audiences and social media traffic I guess. Because the more people gnarl at each other in their hashtags, the more relevant the tags are, the more comments they get. Traffic is traffic even if it's negative. But is the stress and hurt worth it??

(I know Net and James were together at that one award show where they both received awards together and were obviously super happy for each other and together. But apparently that still didn't sunk into peoples heads...)

[piracytheorist]

Violence ask game for SxF. Hmm... I think I knew your "topic that brings up the most rancid discourse", so I wanna know your opinion about either "22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores" or "25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing" please? 😳

To counter your point I would actually not say what you think I'd say for "topic that brings up the most rancid discourse" because from my experience there is no discourse around that matter. It's just some fans of a certain character firmly stuck on their headcanons and for some reason the rest of the fandom just rolls with that to the point that the latter might come to the former's defence if you dare point out some objective truths about the text.

And look, I get that there are some toxic assholes on the bird app who have nothing better to do than attack those fans, but I say it with the most genuinely kind intentions, if they feel attacked by someone simply not liking their blorbo or ship and pointing out some very well structured character flaws... they're in a very big need of a break from social media. I'm not being sarcastic or patronizing when I say they need to go touch grass. I used to be the kind of person who would see any criticism of my favourite character or ship and take it as a personal attack, and I know now it was NOT a healthy reaction, albeit understandable with the amount of toxicity in my then fandom. And that was a far more toxic fandom, trust me on that. People have the right to dislike anyone's blorbo and to make analyses and talks about how the character is not perfect. Babying a group of fans by protecting them from that idea can only lead to even more toxicity. So uhm idk if that answered your question XD

I've already answered #22 here but another thing I like from canon is how oppressive Ostania's government feels but there's very little focus on that. I understand why people would choose to focus on romance over the political situation, but I don't see the canon story being able to end with a simple "And then the Forger family fled and lived happily in a neutral country". I don't see the story ending without the cold war ending too. Again, I get it, not every fanfic needs to be so meticulous about it, there's no right and wrong way of enjoying the story or creating derivative works. It's just something I don't see that often. It's not a bad thing.

And on "25. common fandom complaint that you're sick of hearing" again, I'm not very active in the fandom, but whenever there's a complaint about how slow the story is I'm this 👌 close from commenting "This story isn't for you." The point of the story is to have a slow burn for the family, to show how they bond through small moments and experiences. The point is to have Twilight slowly shed his spy persona and little by little reveal who he truly is, and then get shocked at how much he's changed since the beginning. You cannot do that fast. You cannot create family bonds after one intense experience. You cannot have Twilight and Yor have a deep, meaningful connection from one moment to the next. You cannot have intense identity reveals without the feeling of betrayal of "I've known that person for so long and everything about them was a lie" that only can happen if they've spent a lot of time and small moments together. And you absolutely cannot have Twilight, who's spent a decade suppressing his feelings and true self to the point that he'd forgotten what his actual purpose to be a spy was, suddenly be all happy and giggly and lovey-dovey within the span of a week (nevermind that in my fic I did that, fics are a different matter). If people want a quick found family story with a romance that develops within a couple weeks they have to find a different story. SxF is not here to do it fast, SxF is here to do it real. It's fine if some don't like it and wanna bail. But they shouldn't demand that the story does something the way they like it. They have to find that sort of story on their own.

And it's not like we don't want all of that development to happen. We want to see the family grow close, to see them come together happily after identity reveals, to see Twilight allow himself to feel and love and be loved... but all in due time. It's a long-term commitment. It's the slow burn that does it :D

[lurksunderthebed]

Funnily enough i had a long ass convo with one of the dudebros that just decided to drop by and comment how Ghost and Soap are NOT GAY!!! on one of the comment's that initially didn't even mention anything about them like that other than saying "they could have been friends or something more like romantic", and this guy just lost it. Problem with them is they wanna latch onto their "role" models so desperately it threatens their masculinity when someone dares to read these characters as anything other than cis het man.

Bear with me it's gonna be one long ass essay; The need to gatekeep a certain character because their views don't aling with how the rest of us choose to interpret them because according to them, their view is a fact but ours that's not aligning with their bias is a headcanon, make it make sense. Saying and seething that "Ghost isn't GAY!!!" isn't a fact, that sounds like an agenda to me because seeing Ghost as a bi/pan anything else doesn't count in the "manly man" category for toxic dudebros because masculine men only are allowed to dominate and bang women, right? It just shows how simple minded and uneducated the lot of them really are. Cannot fathom man and a woman having a platonic bond without saying "yeah they're polygamous, that's a thing in military for men to have side bitches" whilst defending fiercely Ghost and Soap as being anything other than "bros" because they feel attacked.

Don't get me started on the whole double standard issue either; it's very hot and cute when Ghost threatens Milena but it's disgusting and no no for Ghost and Soap who literally have an established bond between them and clearly care for one another. Same goes for Valeria, they were ready to pair her with Soap just because it was a woman and a man. A man has to bang chicks lol/ This philosophy is so tiring and dumb that it just shows you how a cis het man actually sees women. And i'd go as far as to say it implies misogyny aswell. Take that as you will. But this issue is present in every sort of fandom whose target audience is mostly basement dwellers that rely on their mums for a brand new GPU.

I think the whole thing has to do with projection. When it comes to people who lash out and get ridiculously upset about these sorts of things, especially about a FICTIONAL character it's cause they view it as an attack on themselves.

Which is all sorts of sad, because we're not talking facts here or canonical events, it's about how those fans see themselves in their fav characters.

As I said earlier, you could read into people's sexualities all you want. Aside from Laswell hilariously enough, there isn't any definitive proof of het/gay/etc in any character in 141. If there was, you bet my overly analytical self would find it and make a note of it for Ghost or Soap.

There's arguably more proof on Ghost being queer than him being straight/het which is the funniest thing. The easiest read is him being just not interested in people as a whole, especially with how much he doesn't really interact with others personally (outside of Soap).

Personally, I think when it comes to those sorts of people it's best to just leave it be. No amount of actual factual basis or any sort of reason will change their minds. Because it's not the characters in question that is the issue, it's themselves as people that push their own agenda into it.

Again irony at its finest. For all the people out there upset at those pushing the "gay agenda" onto these characters, it's really themselves pushing their own values onto them. Realising this would require more self reflection than most of that vocal fanbase actually have.

[tetradic-echinoidea]

It makes me sad that so much of the creative community on social media has succumbed into this petty squable about what kind of engagement is worthwile and how creators aren't content machines (which is true! but!) and how they're all going to leave if people don't start giving their energy to these creators in a specific way... like, girl. You know that's extremely toxic, right? You know that your followers and their followers aren't engagement machines only there to spread validation and help all artists grow an audience? That it's not ANY individual's job to build an audience for YOU??

If you've looked at social media these days, literally everything and everyone is screaming for our attention all the fucking time! Hey you're not engaging with the news enough, or in the correct way, or hey you didn't give a statement about this or that or you're not supporting artists and creators, because you are only liking things, which doesn't "do anything". By the way buy this product! Help these hundreds of people fundraising for money, why do you not reblog their posts?! Why aren't you caring enough?? Wow, you only liked this post again? Why aren't you helping these people??

Like. I'm sorry to say but as much as social media and the internet connects us, everyone has the right to determine the level of connection they want to have with you. Creators don't owe content to anyone, but no one fundementally owes them their energy and time (or space on their blog!) either.

Staking the existence of your creative pursuits on strangers, without their knowledge, is doomed to fail. A random person seeing your post and liking it has no clue you have set them an expectation of "helping you build your audience". They are primarily engaging with your work in a way that is comfortable and natural for them - whether or not that is through a simple like, reblog or a comment/ask. It might also reflect on how much they liked the thing they saw - or maybe they want to check it out later, who knows. It doesn't really matter. It does everyone a disservice assuming the worst of people who don't engage in the way you decided is correct and worthwile. You can't force people to be moved by your work, or to want to show it to other people. If they don't they don't. They aren't doing anything wrong by engaging with the things they truly love and care about, and not engaging with things that they do not want to engage with.

Sitting there seething that the people walking by aren't stopping to talk to you isn't gonna make those people wanna stop and talk to you. They don't fucking know or care that you want something specific from them in return for putting yourself out there on a website out of your own volition.

The unfortunate thing about creating art is that it is sometimes very lonely, and difficult. But there are things you can do to alleviate that without putting unfair and toxic expectations on total strangers. At some point you have to just realize, that to get the sort of engagement and conversation you want you need to go somewhere and ask for that. Whether it be your friends, mutuals, people you share fandoms with, or asking a more experienced creator for feedback. Finding groups where everyone wants to share and receive feedback.

I reblog things from my friends, and things that really speak to me or that I have something to say about, because that's what I want to be doing on my little blog. I wanna support the artists I wanna support! It doesn't mean I don't want the art I don't reblog to succeed, but no one can give their time and space to everything and anything they see. Give it to the things you like! Give it to the things you authentically want to give it to! I don't know about you guys but I would rather have 1 reblog by a person who really fucking loved something I did rather than 10 reblogs by people who reblog everything they come across out of some sense of duty.

Also, I am just asking - if the point of reblogs is to spread the work of an artist how the hell is a "dump side blog" with likely no followers going to do anything?? Anyway, sorry to the 5 non-bot and non-dead followers I have, I just needed to have another 0 note rant on the tungle because this shit irritates me to the nth degree. Truly social media's idea about helping and community is so fucked and full of toxic entitlement. Ideally a community is a place where people help each other, but social media is like. million little disjointed islands of semi-communities and constant flow of strangers between them. It really is not the ideal place for that deep sense of belonging.

[kitkatopinions]

Hey guys, new RWBY season drops in like two days, so I just wanted to make a post because every time we get a new season, we also get A. An increase in people posting RWBY criticism. B. An increase in people complaining about seeing RWBY criticism. And C. An increase in people asking what RWDE is. So I thought I'd give some advice on how to avoid criticism (if you want to) and posting criticism (if you want to.)

This is one of the only times I'm using the main RWBY tag, I usually try to avoid it since I'm a RWBY critic. I'm using it now in an honest effort to help, please no one send me hate anons. :)

What is RWDE? RWDE is a tag used for any and all criticism of RWBY. The fact that it's a play on the word 'rude' doesn't actually mean the criticism must be mean spirited. Most people who post in the rwde tag were ordered to by other rwby fans who demanded we use the tag as a filterable (and not use the main rwby tag either,) so we didn't really choose the name, and use it as a courtesy to other fans. RWDE is used for anything from complaints saying the whole show is a wreck to the tiniest nitpick. Like any tag, people who use 'RWDE' range in opinions, there's no 'rwde hivemind,' I myself have been in fights with other RWDE posters in the past.

What to do if you don't want to see RWBY criticism? Filter out the 'rwde' tag, as well as 'anti rwby' and 'rwby criticism.' This is pretty simple. Just go to your settings, scroll down to the 'content you see' section, go to filtered tags and click the little edit icon, you'll get the option to add a tag to filter. If you do this, then Tumblr will hide posts tagged with 'rwde' from you, and you'll have to make an active choice to seek it out. If there are certain characters you'd like to avoid seeing criticism of, rwde posters frequently use anti character tags as well. I personally have 'anti Blake Belladonna' filtered out because I don't like to see too many posts complaining about her. Another trick is looking up rwby with a hashtag # at the front like #rwby, which I've heard helps avoid the 'this post mentions rwby and therefore appears when you search 'rwby' even if it isn't tagged' feature (which I know is a headache to deal with.) Also please don't avoid blocking out of some belief that it makes you a coward or a bad person, the block function is for everyone's benefit, and if you continuously see someone posting things that annoy you or are just taking up space or you just don't really wanna see, blocking them is a good way to get them out of your life without any fighting.

What to do if you want to criticize or critique RWBY? First off, criticizing RWBY at all in any way is something that does come with a risk. This fandom can be really toxic towards critics and defensive of the show to the point where even minor objective nitpicks will be called hysterical fits of rage. It's unfortunate, but if you want to post criticism, it's best to be aware of what you're getting into. I suggest using the rwde tag when you criticize despite the venom against it, because that's the most well known criticism tag and is the one most likely to have been filtered out by people that don't like seeing criticism. Not using the rwde tag might result in you getting people in your comments or ask box angry at you for the fact that they saw your posts. If you want to critique without being associated with 'rwde' and don't want to use that tag there's only so much you can do (popular RWBYtubers have been labeled rwde just for criticizing RT,) but you can use tags like 'crtq' and 'rwby criticism' and 'rwby critique' that might get less of a venomous response. Also I would again suggest that you be free with the block button.

If you heard something about how horrible rwde and rwby critics are... Please actually look into actual rwde posters and read actual rwde posts (in their entirety, not just screencapped parts of posts) before you believe anything from other people. Just because someone says 'rwde posters think X, Y, Z' doesn't mean it's true, and again there's a wide range of opinions you'll see from rwde posters. I'm not saying you have to like us or seek us out or anything (again, you've got the filter and block option and I suggest people who don't like criticism do so and we'll leave each other alone,) but don't buy into the 'htdm' stuff without even looking to see what's true and what isn't please and thank you!

Anyway, whether you're looking forward to the new RWBY season or dreading it, good luck on Saturday!

[nikethestatue]

I'm thinking of leaving this fandom too. Honestly, I truly loved and enjoyed meeting fellow Elriels. One of the kindest and brilliant people I've met online. I've been in this fandom for years now, even before acosf came out. But I can't deal with the general acotar fandom now, and sadly, no matter how much I loved all the Elriel/Feysand contents, and friends here, it's not enough anymore.

I didn't signed up for this. I didn't signed up for the constant bullying, name calling, slut shaming, misogyny, victim blaming, pitting women against each other and etc., I didn't know the fandom will turn out like this, like a true hell for someone who only wanted a break from real life. I'd like to blame acosf because most of the misogynistic take started after it was released.

I didn't signed up for all the dumb takes. Honestly now? I felt SO ashamed of being part of this fandom. I was friends with someone on the other fandom when some people from acotar fandom started making fun of the characters from the other fandom and they started comparing unprovoked. It was so embarrassing that even though I am not mutuals with those people, I still ended up telling my friend I'm not in this fandom anymore.

I didn't signed up for idiocracy or delusions. No, all the takes that gets crazier everyday? No matter how much I convinced myself that it was funny and time will come when they'll be proven wrong and would leave this fandom (because most of them hate what sjm writes/loves. They hate Feysand, they hate the IC, they hate everyone but the two characters) it's not working anymore. It felt like "wow, really, I'm in the same fandom of people who actually think (or better yet not using their minds over a simple fun series) like this?" I hate to be categorized with these people.

I didn't signed up to lowkey get called stupid because apparently I don't have a degree on literature, fashion, or whatever. I hate how I saw a woman in this fandom dragging women down because they have "big job and helps to fight misogyny, what are you doing? I'm above you." when she's the most misogynistic person everyone ever met.

The arguments are repetitive, most posts are the same or just being aggressive. I'm actually just staying on tumblr for the fanfics and theories now but like what I said, the negative side of this fandom wins, and it's so so toxic for me.

Acotar fandom are full of misogynistic people (not all, but most) and they are even proud of it. You will see it on every tiktok, Instagram, Reddit, fb and Twitter posts (especially if it's about Feyre, Elain, Mor, N&C), you'd see the horrible comments against women characters and downplay their nasty behavior as "its just fiction" well yes, but considering how they act like this? What more in real life?

You can't have a decent argument here or have the chance to clear your name because the next thing you know everyone will post you on their Instagram Stories or blog with all their thousands of followers to see and they'll proceed to shun out an entire group.

Oh let me say that even acotar Reddit isn't a safe space for everyone. Not unless you stan Tamlin, Lucien, Eris or Azriel. There are people from Facebook who also infiltrates the elriel group and made fun of us on the comments. This fandom is a shitshow.

And yes, since I'm already in this, I hate how someone would literally badmouth elriels to ARTISTS. Who'd tell horrible things to the point where artists refuse to take comms or draws the ship. I was so baffled when I learned this from a friend. Like really? How petty can people be in this fandom?

It never felt safe anymore. And our feelings? Invalid. Only some group of people in this fandom has a say.

It's like suddenly after acosf, we're suddenly invaded by 5 years old who thinks being a gIrlboSs is cute.

And sadly maybe this is like my goodbye letter to this fandom. (Not to Feysand & Elriel, but I'll just connect when acotar 5 is released) It was such a great ride at first, but suddenly became cancer.

I don't have the heart to actually post this on my blog. I stopped answering anons because I'm slowly distancing myself.

I hope to have another pre acosf days, or better days where acotar readers doesn't compare traumas, wanted a woman character to suffer/punished, doesn't put value on women based on their womb, people who thinks they are above everyone and have to hate on female characters in general.

Ps: when acotar 5 drops, I'll never ever think twice on visiting acotar fandom again (but would never say bye to my friends)

I honestly admire you and the other OGs for staying here for so long. I know what you all went through silently in this fandom, and I admire the strength and class on how you all handled it.

That's all, thanks for reading this. (I'll surely miss sending you anon asks about acotar stuffs lol, I love your response everytime)

Oh Anon. Yes. To all of this.

It's a sad anon, not gonna like, it was hard to read it, because it's so very true.

It's been eye-opening, being in this fandom, as someone who kind of older and been around the block a few times. I thought that something's changed. That women talking about women's changed. That women thinking about women's changed. That we've been fighting the same battles. That we were kind of past appearances, hobbies, inclinations, abilities, and we were going to be accepting and kind towards other women. Nope. Not so much.

That's been the most shocking thing for me to witness in these past few years. The intense cruelty that women are willing to subject other women to...over a book. Over a character. It's weird. And if you are not in it, you wouldn't actually believe it. But it's true.

I think it's the anonymity of online existence that allows people to be like that. Or maybe it's like the Salem Witch trials--young girls being cruel to others only to be heard. Accusing and acting out for attention. Maybe things haven't changed all that much.

I will stay because I have to see this thing through. I think the next ACOTAR book will be announced sooner than we think.

But after it's done, after Elain's book is done, I'll be off faster than a prom dress.

(if you feel comfortable, tell me who you are, so if I don't see you, I know you left)

Hugs. Be in a place that's good for you and your soul and your psyche.

[beautifulhigh]

I find your response to my question unnecessarily harsh. Tbh, I sent it as a light ask hoping you would go meta about how they are equally crazy about each other. After all, Henry uprooted his life and left his family and country for Alex. He is the one who did the more tangible sacrifice.

For the record, in rl relationships, nothing is 100%. One person always does one thing more than the other. Fictional characters are toxic and co-defendant and that is why they are exciting so there was no need for personalizing a simple ask.

Lesson learned.

Hopefully the lesson learned is "I would like Jen to do a meta on something, so I'm going to send her an ask saying 'hey, can you do a meta on this?' because then there will be no doubt what I am hoping to see and I won't be setting some opaque task that I can be all high horse about when she fails it, having not realised she was being asked to do something rather than give her thoughts on something".

Hopefully the lesson learned is that something is personal when it is coming at you specifically and isn't when a general comment is made about fandom in whole.

Hopefully the lesson learned is that I never said 100%. I said equally. In fact the only reference I made to something being fully on one side was when I made the comment about Person A doing everything and Person B doing nothing and how that is an abusive relationship.

Hopefully the lesson learned is that if you're using the anonymous button then I am not going to play guessing games.

[penname-artist]

🕯️how do you think engaging with each other through tumblr, twitter, comments, kudos, creates healthy fandom experiences? How do you deal with that if you're not a social person/experience social anxiety?

*cracks knuckles* oh boy. This one's gonna be an essay, brace yourselves everybody, Pen's gonna go on an hour long rant again.

In short answer (for the people that don't want to read my essay, *sniff* I get it! It's fine!) the very aspect of having open communication between members of the fandom is what makes it inherintly healthy. Now trust me, it's VERY easy for that to become an unhealthy or downright toxic thing, happens a lot in fandoms especially when it's large enough to have splinter-groups of what I'm just going to call 'Hardcore People' that don't bend to outside opinions. In short, as long as the majority of a group or fandom keeps it flexible, all is well.

Now to extend on that (this is the part where quick skim readers leave LOL) a lot of the best qualities I've seen in fandom, specifically in reference to THIS fandom but it can definitely apply elsewhere too, is (here we go again with my labels) Mutual "Feeding". What I mean by that is when groups of different interests collide (in a good way) over their variations of interest, and they intersect or overlap, thus providing one another with sustenence. Collaborations start happening, people get together on funny and cool ideas, tons of AUs sprout, and canon basically gets thrown out the window 90% of the time, etc. The brightest lights I've seen in this fandom are when two or more people feed off of each other and start to pump out excess amounts of content. Ironically, though, the worst parts of fandom start from the same branch.

Again with the flexibility, though; as long as people stay open to ideas and interpretations and all that, it's harder to veer into unhealthy territory. Groups are AMAZING tools in fandom, for bringing folks together directly on ideas and concepts and giving them the best possible fandom food: each other's ideas. It can reignite a whole ass bonfire. But, in the same line of thought, it's very easy to get wrapped up into a concept to the point it becomes rigid and hard to approach from any unusual angle. One guy in the fandom will have an idea that isn't aligned with the general crowd and all of a sudden he's on the outskirts of the fandom altogether. Tons of fandoms, particularly beefier or more mainstream ones, are prone to this. I think a friend has mentioned the Transformers fandom is very similar to this mindset and stingent about a lot of things like original characters and the likes because of it. it might not ever affect the fandom as a whole (at least I hope not) but toxic mindsets can absolutely spread around and make for a very unwanted experience in a piece of media you enjoy.

But fandom exists to be a place for lots of people who enjoy a form of media to come together around that media and make content of their own; it's the foundation of what makes fandom just that. It's community. And while there may undoubtably be this unspoken "heirarchy" of fandom, from lurkers to content creators to trendsetters and influencers, the same foundation applies that fandom is for fans, regardless of status. There isn't (and God i hope there never will be) hard lines or strict policies or specific expectations in the world of fan-creations. It's as simple as you like a character and you want to draw them with your other favorite characters together: boom, it's there. And it's such an intensely creative field that it's entirely impossible to market it in any way, shape, and form. And I love it for that reason. It's my escape into the world of fantastical imagination, and now I can bring all my friends along with me and we can exchange our ideas on how Leland would react if he were alive to Finn's stupidly falling right into a trap when he would clearly be able to see the helicopter with a giant magnet hanging over him. And that's so much fun.

Particularly in my position, having been a Planes server owner for, ehhh, close to like two years now, I am really really lucky to be in a position that I can see all kinds of collaborations unfolding around me. It's like when you put seeds into the ground and then suddenly you see them growing and spreading on their own, and you feel like the proud parent of a beautiful garden where all you did was slap some seeds in the dirt, and it was enough to let them all bloom.

And that might kinda sound like Big-Headed talk, so I try to never let that go to my head. I might have started all this and be "leading" my server, quote-on-quote, but I definitely don't rule this place nor do I expect to be treated as such; I'm still a content creator at heart, and I just want to frolic around with my friends and my favorite characters and make Cool Things. I'm just extremely lucky to also be in a position to make something like Volo Pro Veritas (and even just my usual content like fics, art, and videos) and have it be something that can bring people together and ignite more ideas in the fandom. That's all worth the world to me.

And getting to be the reason lots of people in this fandom can come together and make their own things is so incredible; I've watched a lot of folks slowly start to come out of their shells and speak up about their ideas, and share those ideas around and make some absolutely incredible stuff about the things that they love. Really it all just funnels back down to that sense of community, a place you can belong with people and be one of a lot of voices ring out in the community. Even in the smallest of ways. People don't realize the impact they've got on other people. One person is the reason I got into the Planes fandom. One person is the reason i started writing fanfiction. One person is the reason I built the servers I did. People are still going to be the reasons I do what I do, because as much as I love doing fandom things for myself, it's even greater when I get the chance to share that with others. I've made friendships that will last a lifetime.

I've also grown. We all have. And we all do, somehow, some way. So long as community exists, fandom is going to find a way.

Okay that's my essay everybody! It's over now, I promise! XD

[catgirl-catboy]

My problematic headcanons? Well in that fandom I really don't know what hc count as problematic or not

But I hc Chihiro as both trans and bigender spectrum so I enjoy the discourse surrounding around it because idk it sounds fun.

And yeah, they forget that game is from Japan and their gender norms and identity revolving around gender is different than we have.

Quite nsfwish but I hc Taka as a top leaning switch yeah this is not even a problematic hc but when I see people tear eachother down for simple hc, I like to include that too

And I believe Gonta would identify as X gender if they have the knowleadge about it (x gender is ig an umbrella for genderqueer identities in Japan)

And I like the hc Gundam have skin picking disorder and his bandages comes from it, well i believe he would do that because of the way he can't healthily manage his emotions when he was a bit isolated one. Or maybe a harmful stimming behaviour, idk really know

(idk what pronouns you prefer for Chi, so I just used my own HC of she/her for this.)

Honestly, Chihiro has such a complex about others looking down on her for being weak, you could argue that any gender makes sense with canon because she simply hasn't thought about it enough.

Also, in the context of a killing game, physical strength means nothing if you have the sense to carry around a weapon. Even if you weigh a hundred pounds soaking wet, nobody will fuck with you if they know you've got a knife. Also, they won't attack anyone they percive as crazy, like Syo or Nagito.

My take about the chapter is that none of the tropes involved were transphobic (the existence of GNC characters isn't transphobic), but comments made by the characters were really squicky and not to my tastes. Since I can't play the game in original Japanese, I'm hoping Sakura's "this girl is actually a boy!" is a mistranslation. I also feel like the fact Kyoko does the same thing to Hifumi that she does with Chihiro makes it less bad.

In a perfect world, I'd also like "maybe we should still treat Chihiro how they were currently presenting, since we don't know if they wanted to live life as male after the secrets were released and might be training as self-defense" but since lives were on the line it makes sense they weren't thinking.

(context: I'm ace and will read smut, but won't read PWP works. It needs to be attached to dead dove or a longfic for me to get invested. Also porn with feelings best tag)

I headcanon all of my faves as tops simply to avoid the weird characterization that comes with them being bottoms. Its like if people took what kind of bunk bed you preferred and based your entire perceived personality based off it and as someone who has a normal bed, I just don't get it.

Yeah, Gonta in canon is so performative about masculinity, in a way that I don't think came solely from them being in the woods. I feel like in their mind, Gonta conflates fitting gender roles with approval from their family, which can't be healthy long term. Also, in Gonta's mind gentleman is "someone that can help others perfectly, even if they don't want to be helped" and if that isn't met they're failing. Even if his version of Masculinity isn't obviously toxic, its still Toxic for Gonta specifically.

Yeah, Gundam probably has a host of unhealthy coping mechanisms. It makes sense for his character, since its revealed he'll hide in the nurse's office to avoid having to be in loud physical situations. I like to belive that Sonia and/or Mikan help him move past them.

[blaiddydbrokeit]

I have decided a couple of role vibes of fandom I associate you with!

of course, there is the blaiddyd enthusiast (same!) and the cheese and the lions and cats, but in a less jokey (but still accurate) way, your blog is like one where when one is having a bad day, it's a get away for it! Like there's isn't much drama or any toxicity posting, it's just a nice place to be! Allan and your miya memoir shorts are my faves, and I read almost everything you post in Dimitri's voice because the manner you write is so similar to how he talks! It's oddly calming! :)

Oh! Thank you. I'm... quite glad to know that my blog is a positive space, since I try my best to make it conducive for both myself and whoever happens to stop by.

I do make posts of those particular varieties as and when I feel compelled to, whether by inspiration or particularly strong emotions, so you can definitely look forward to more of them. Mitya Memories in particular is extremely close to my heart - kinposting is something I've been extremely careful with due to potential... stigma, so to say, but it does help with releasing the deeper feelings in a healthier way than the other more destructive habits I used to heavily peruse.

You actually aren't the first person to remark on the way I write - I've gotten many a comment about how very "Dimitri" it is, but it is, admittedly, scarcely accident or mere coincidence. Though, I am pleased to know it is calming. If something as simple as the manners of conversation helps you at all, then please, by all means enjoy it as you see fit.

[itsmoonpeaches]

Can you let me know where blissful ignorance is? Do you not at all interact? Asking sincerely. The top post in the kataang tag is a zut@ra post that says they feel sorry for Kataangers and then lists all this anti-Aang bullshit. I had to block the three Kaatangers that engaged seriously with it. I also want peace and quiet, but where is that to be found where even in supposed safe spaced, Zuta@ras are up my ass?

I do not interact with fandom discourse. Meaning, I almost never (there are very few exceptions) comment on things relating to that. I might reblog or like something, but I don’t say things. 

I have been in this particular fandom for very long, and I used to be more involved in that regard. I do not do it anymore. Fandom discourse tends to fuel an annoyance and an anger deep within someone that ends up becoming a ball of stress and eventually leads them to want to leave a fandom. Sometimes, it makes someone associate a thing they love (i.e. a book, show, game, movie etc.) with negative things. I have left a fandom before because of the negativity that I saw within it. I don’t want that for myself when it comes to Avatar which is a show that is close to my heart, so I stopped and I do not interact. Meta is something I’ll always love, but that’s not fandom discourse. 

I won’t comment on the rest of what you have said here, but I might suggest that blocking tags might be helpful. You can also not look through ship tags which are breeding grounds for negativity and fights. If you want to look through specifically wholesome K@taang content, try looking through the #kataangtag.

[fandom4soup]

Why Ichirukis Feel Trolled , A Fan's Advice To Young Authors

Long sad looks, passion and dynamism.

Inapropriat physical contact. He grips her pajama top, and in the wrong area no less, she touches his leg on the knee or above.

Do you have that kind of touching with your friends, especially in a friendship where both of you have compatible sexual orientations?

Would you be happy if your significant other did it to their best friend, who saved their life and oh with whom they live together? No, no matter the circumstances you would be at least jelous and a bit bothered about it.

Because Orihime is so kind, we sometimes consider her stupid. She is not. She saw it.

Tip for young authors. Don't bait your loyal fans, IF you don't want to face their resentment and criticism.

Forshadow the pairings you plan to make canon, and when you want a brother-sister dynamic between unrelated people, signal it.

Love triangles are not all spawned in hell, but if you have one în your work, just admit it, don't use it to sale merchendise and then act as people are stupid and you are above it all.

I am not mad that my ship ISN'T canon, as I am mad about being told that I am mad, bad and dangerous to know, because I am seeing what can have a valid interpretation as attraction between those two.

It would have been so simple to signal strictly platonic feelings between those two. They both have brother-sister connections in their life, just establish strong paralles between how they are treating their syblings and how they are treating eachother. People will ship anyway, but not because you led them on.

If your readers are that supid they can always say: "We are like brother and sister." Kishimoto for all his faults went on and said it about Naruto and Sasuke, another suspiciosly strong bond that had some ambiguity to it. People still ship it, but they weren't led on and then dropped into a parallel universe ten years later where you can't but feel that you must have missed something.

Even when your work is not about shipping, if you have couples in it, you should make at least a little effort when writting said couples.

When it comes to love triangles, some authors go that extra mile and actually make two of the people related, Lucas made Luke and Leia actual brother and sister. The fear of a repeat made the Kylo Ren/ Rey ship way smaller than it would have been before the second movie, when people found out that they weren't related.

I am not saying make Rukia a long lost Shiba. I am not an author. I am just a random moron on the internet. You are the one blessed with both the creativity and the power to fix it.

You are not forced to fix it. Just know that your fans will be dissapointed by it and some of them will just quit în dissapointment. For every annoying complainer you will have at least 10 readers that just give up and pick up something by another author.

If we are so vocal is because we love your work so much, and we are thinking about it long after putting the book down.

Some fans will be toxic and entitled. Some fans will just like to say what worked and what didn't for them în your creation,creation that they like enough to use their precious time to comment upon.

People are evil and you will always have some haters. The question is, do you intentionally troll people? If the answer is yes, why are you surprised when passionate segments of your fandom come after you with pitchforks? That's what people do to trolls.

I am against both physical and verbal violence, but when something displeases me in your work, I will politely make my displeasure known.

[undertale-data]

[Image Description: An Undertale chat box that has “WHY FANS LOVE UNDERTALE” at its center. Next to it are a line chart and an Egg from the Dating Hub on its left, and a CRIME measurer (also from the Dating Hub) on its right. End I.D.]

[Image Description: a pie chart titled, “LEVEL OF LOVE FOR UNDERTALE.” The textbox on the top right reads, “On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the highest, how much do fans enjoy Undertale?” From the top going clockwise, 12 or 0% chose 5 and below; 23 or 1% chose 6; 98, or 4%, chose 7; 325, or 12%, chose 8; 529, or 20%, chose 9; and 1664, or 63%, chose 10. End I.D.]

It’s clear from all of the data analyzed so far that fans who took the time to answer our survey love Undertale. It is unlikely that they would have taken the time to answer so many questions if they had not, and even less likely that they would have come across our survey in the first place. Naturally, it comes as no surprise that 63% of our responders gave their love for Undertale a score of ten out of ten. 95% gave their love for Undertale a score of eight or higher, and only 12 responders responded with five or below, a number so small that their responses had to be lumped together to be visible on the pie chart. Of those, only 3 responders gave their love for Undertale a score of 1, and based on those responders’ other answers, it is likely that they were only intending to troll. We are very fortunate that the vast majority of responders took the survey seriously, enough so that responses like this are barely a blip in the data.

Now, for our final analysis post of the event, we will delve into the reasons that fans love Undertale so dearly.

(Essay and highlights under the cut.)

There have been countless essays on the impact that Undertale has had on people’s lives. I can hardly add more on the subject than what has already been said, but I hope this summary can provide a brief overview of what stood out among the over two thousand answers given in response to this survey. That said, due to the sheer volume of answers, I could not read every single one in depth—however, I did skim all of them, and some that stood out or were representative of several responses have been highlighted below. If you would like to see what every fan who consented to share their response had to say, you may view the full list of responses here. Note that these responses have not been edited in any way. This document may take a long time to load, as it is over 100 pages long.

(Warnings for mentions of suicidal thoughts in the following essay.)

Several responders loved the theme of choices mattering in Undertale. Whether people played the pacifist, merciless, or neutral routes, they enjoyed how the game reacted to their actions. For some, it even made them consider their own morality. One touching response explained the impact that the theme of mercy made on them. “I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.” Many fans left similar comments about how the themes of Undertale made them better people.

Undertale changed how its fans treat others, and it also changed how fans treat themselves. The theme of staying determined and the messages of hope in the game were a light to a very large portion of fans. I cannot list all of the fans who said that Undertale helped them out of a dark place, or that they would not be alive if not for Undertale. “DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.”

Undertale brought fans together in unexpected ways. Some said they met friends or significant others through the fandom. “I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale,” one fan said. A different fan who is non-native English speaking mentioned that the game and the fan community helped them to learn English.

It would be impossible to discuss Undertale without mentioning the fan community. Whether for good or bad, many responders mentioned the fandom in their responses. Overall the feelings towards the fandom seem positive, though many made references to “toxic” parts of the fandom without specifying which parts they consider toxic. Others rejected the idea of toxicity in fandom. One response said: “[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!”

One thing that makes the Undertale fandom unique is the way it embraces various AUs. Some fans are tired of AU content, but the majority of responses show a love for the creativity behind AUs. “Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.” The lack of a judgemental atmosphere seems present in the AU community, according to the responses we saw. There is an interesting balance between AU and canon (sometimes referred to as “classic”) content that another responder pointed out: “The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertale fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)”

Regardless of the many AUs the fandom has created over the years, the original game of Undertale still feels like home for many fans. They wished they could reclaim the feeling of playing the game again for the first time, but even though we can’t reset time in real life, there is still a special feeling for fans each time they play Undertale. One fan said, “Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.” This feeling is one that can be cherished time and time again. In the words of another responder: “It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it.” Others pointed out the strength of the found family trope in Undertale, which likely contributes to this feeling of “home” as well.

As mentioned briefly earlier, the music is part of what makes Undertale feel like home for fans. Even when responses focused on other aspects of the game, many would throw in a comment about the soundtrack at the end. One comment focused on the music said “IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.” Like with the game itself, the music has incredible replay value, an amazing feat considering most of the tracks use the same few motifs. “I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story,” another responder said. “They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.”

If the music sticks with fans in their hearts, then the game’s lore sticks with fans in their minds. Even six years after the release of Undertale, fans are still creating new theories and digging up new secrets. The way the game breaks the fourth wall in particular intrigued many fans and has stuck out through all these years. The awareness that the game shows for the RPG genre makes it memorable. The game plays with the player’s expectations and turns them on their heads, all while reminding the player that they’re in a game. There are few other games that do this on such a large scale, so it’s no surprise that fans cite this as one of their favorite things about Undertale.

Lastly, the LGBT+ representation in Undertale has been a huge draw for fans. Especially in 2015, the sheer volume of non-cishet characters was unprecedented, as one fan pointed out: “It's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. Hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. It's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.” The LGBT+ cast including Frisk, Chara, Napstablook, Monster Kid, Mettaton, Alphys, and Undyne each connected with fans in unique ways. It’s clear how important this is from responses such as: “There are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.” “It made me gay and trans so thanks for that.”

Once again I am overwhelmed with just how much there is to say about Undertale. One responder really understood when they compared Undertale to an iceberg, explaining that there are so many layers to the game that there is something for everyone: “everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans—from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers—is the mark of the coolest games!” I would have to agree with them.

It’s been six years, and despite everything, it’s still you. Thank you for reading, participating in this survey, and above all, staying determined.

Highlights:

DETERMINATION became a metaphor for not killing myself at a really rough time in my life and I’ll always cherish that. Undertale isn’t afraid to go to really dark places but at the same time holds on so tight to its hope.

I think the coolest thing was having the opportunity to watch the AU community grow from its bare roots. It's nearly insane how big and complex it's gotten, unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Roll your eyes at the 50th AU Sans all you want, it's encouraging people to step outside the boundaries of fanart and pushing people to make their own ideas! I mean, hell, it was how I gained the confidence to start making my own original content.

i love how the lgbt rep is so naturalized... there are just gay people! and its nobodys business!

The music is my go to answer, but what I really really REALLY love is how the minor characters have so much personality to them when you talk to them. They aren't incredibly important to the overall story, but they're all so likeable and diverse that you just can't help but like them immediately!

I think it was the first videogame I have played that broke the fourth wall that much. Of course there has been other videogames that broke it but just for one or two tongue-in-cheek jokes. The guilt of killing mama goat was also something intense as well that I appreciated as an experience and that I didn't think a videogame could cause on someone.

I love how no character can be seen as completely bad! Everyone builds up Asgore as some horrible villain, but he turns out to be a 'fuzzy pushover' who's broken and just wants his family back by the time you meet him. Then you think Flowey's an irredeemable killer who engineered the suffering of the monsters across many timelines, and he is... but he also used to be the kind and beloved Prince Asriel Dreemurr, traumatized by his death and subsequent rebirth, projecting his best friend onto you.

The fact that choices matter in the game. Your first playthrough and getting the golden ending for the first time. I can never replicate those feelings again, wish I could erase my memories and replay the game from the start.

I wouldn't have met my now husband without Undertale.

(Toxic parts of the fandom aside) The community is possibly one of the kindest I've ever met. Cringe culture is completely dead, and I feel like I can be myself. I felt a very close connection to many of the characters, and I loved consuming content about them when I was in a rough patch in my life.

just everything, the whole game has just impacted my life so much. i know it sounds really lame, but when the game first came out, i would purposely put my hands in my pockets and sway slightly, like sans' idle animation. of course i dont do that anymore haha, but undertale still really impacts me to this day, and i wouldnt have it any other way :)

it made me gay and trans so thanks for that

I realized that Mercy isn't something that's given to those who deserve it. Flowey didn't deserve it. I don't deserve it myself. Shoot, we ALL need Mercy in our lives.

The thing I love most about Undertale is no matter how many times I play or watch a playthrough it always makes me genuinely happy. It always feels welcoming like home or like comfort food that I never grow tired of no matter how many times I go to it. Toriel still makes me feel all warm and cozy in her home, the Skelebros always make me laugh, and I still cry on the inside watching Frisk comforting Asriel. And on the flip side the No Mercy run still invokes the negative emotions in me as well. In short Undertale just feels like a second home to me and I always wish I could stay.

The reader inserts are my favorite way to decompress after a hard day

I think Undertale helped me discover my love for 8-bit games, and made me realize how IMPORTANT music is in video games.

the worldbuilding and character design are my favorite parts of the main game apart from the music! I’m also a huge fan of the random AU music- not for like underswap or underfell i like the stuff where someone makes a megalovania for a random au where gru from despicable me replaces sans as the character. i think its funny

Just... the vibe, honestly? Even the best fics I've read can't capture that feeling of nostalgia/almost-"coming home" that comes with hearing the music and talking to the characters.

there are canon nonbinary characters 🥺. i have never seen representation of myself before.

[SLAMS FIST ON DESK] I KNOW MOST PEOPLE SAY THE FANDOM IS TOXIC AND CRINGE OR WHATEVER BUT OH MY GOD. The Undertale fandom, both the UTMV and the actual UT fandom, has been so much fun to be a part of. I've met countless friends because of our shared interest in something related to the game! The art people create can be breathtaking and so inspirational, and the fanfics are so so good!! I've seen people write incredible things for this fandom and it's what made me continue writing!

There's a scene where Frisk (the player) is going towards what is presumably going to be their death. They will fight Asgore and he will use their human soul to break the barrier and free his people. The music, despite the player's impending doom, is... triumphant. You are not the triumphant one here, and yet, the score invites you to experience the monsters' joy and happiness as they tell you the tale of their subjugation. The monsters are going to be free. This is their victory, but they don't hate you or want you to die. They're just... happy. That scene has always struck me very deeply. I feel it represents the best parts of Undertale.

I loved how well thought out the Geno route was. It really made me feel like I was doing something horrible, and the characters were very obviously reacting to dire circumstances.

I dunno? I like Undertale for it's characters, story, music, secrets and many more. I am not good with Headcanons but I also like the neutral endings and how different they can depending on who you spare and kill

I was very bad at english before, i thought i couldn't progress because i was very shy and not confident. But my sibling and i wanted to have the best experience with this game so we wanted to play it in english. It's this game and the fandom which helped me to make huge progress in english !

THE SOUNDTRACK. IT'S SO GOOD like I will literally go through the entire thing over and over and not be bored with it. It makes my monkey brain so happy you have no idea.

to avoid writing an essay i will say one word. Mettaton

It is like Toby specifically made the games to fit the iceberg meme and it's awesome, everyone can find something to enjoy in the lore/game regardless of what kind of fan they are! Being able to appeal to various types of fans - from simple happy shipper people to deep dive lorediggers is the mark of the coolest games!

I love almost everything about Undertale as a game on its own. The music, the art and especially the characters and how they interact. They made me feel at home. Undertale means a huge amount to me. (I even got a tattoo of the castle when you and MK walk together!) The fandom helped keep the game alive all these years, with all of its AUs. Although personally, I always enjoyed AUs that kept characters as close to the classic material as possible (dancetale, outertale) I do appreciate the creativity of the fandom. They almost created entirely new stories with new characters of their own! If it weren't for those people, the Undertake fandom would have probably not been as active as it is now. I do feel like we're getting a resurgence of classic content now too! (In 2021)

the mystery. toby fox refused to give answers to anything and i think thats very sexy of him.

I just feel guilty for liking it so much when I'm in my 30's. But I recently got diagnosed with ASD, so I guess it explains things a bit. Many ppl consider Papyrus to be neurodivergent, and some adult fans are too, so seeing that makes me feel a bit better.

i think about "Despite everything, it's still you" everyday of my life.

I like how it's just as funny as it can be serious. All routes are this way. I laughed as much as I cried when I played the Pacifist route and then once I opened the game again and Flowey was telling me to let them be happy, I immediately turned off the game. I somehow felt bad.

The Found Family Trope

The True Pacifist Ending is just...man. And the fanworks about saving everyone even when the game doesn't let you? MANNNNNN

I think what I like the most about Undertale is how the music attaches you to the story. They're simple melodies that stick with you throughout the whole game, and they can remind you of both good and bad times.

there's honestly a LOT to love about this game, but i think one of my favorite things about it is just how many lgbt+ characters there are??? i can think of alphys, undyne, frisk, chara, mettaton, napstablook, monster kid, asgore, mad mew mew, the dress lion, the royal guards, and arguably even papyrus off of the top of my head, but im sure i'm forgetting a few from just undertale alone (there's even MORE in deltarune)!! it's practically unheard of to see so MANY from just one source, especially during its heyday in 2015-16. hell, you can't even GET the true pacifist ending without helping two gay couples hook up. it's really nice to see all of them being accepted for who they are and not judged for their sexuality or gender, at least in-canon.

[Image description: A wordcloud in the shape of the capitalized word UNDERTALE. The text is white on a black background, and uses the font found in the game. Some of the most visible words are: Game, Love, Music, Life, AU, Store, Friend, and Feel, which represent the most common words in the essays people wrote about their love for the game. End of ID]

[anti-anti-stevinel]

I don't know if you're still active here, but I need to... say this. Hopefully you are okay with this really long text...

-> There's still so many people who say Stevinel is pedophilia. I. just. don't. get. what's. in. these. people's. minds!

I mean, look at a literal rock that uses light to form a body that was supposed to be, literally again, childish (that is, a kid, unlike any gem ever created before Spinel) for Pink Diamond (because she was childish too) but ended up being left behind, abandoned in a garden of all places. No changing EVER. Spinel symbolises, not only abandonment, but being STUCK IN THE Past. Stuck As The Past. In Time Lock. The only moment she actually DID CHANGED was when she discovered the real truth. Then, she went from childish, lovable, trusting, to angst teenager (even antis can admit that, surely?) with depression and trust issues. I'm quite sure she has PTSD too (believe me, I'd know...)

Remind you of someone? That's right. Steven.

Steven started childish, lovable, trusting... A child. And then he ended up being more angst and a Teen with depression and PTSD. And probably with some trust issues (at least not as trusting as before)

What I see here is both of them first as children that had to grow up (tho in different ways; and one as a half human and the other as a full gem - emotionally and psychologically, as gem physically don't age) to a teenager (not yet adult) (tho All the characters can grow. They aren't to stay forever the same, if some fans don't want to, or stay the same if other fans want too, but without the need to attack each other because someone disagrees. Agree to disagree exist, you know? And no, it doesn't mean you can comment hurtful words) with one too many traumas

...because what else is there that we don't know about Pink D and Spinel?

- If these two weren't created to be two sides of the same coin, then I really don't know what else to say 🤷🏼‍♀️ -

And some of us were kids who grew up with the show, and so with Steven and the rest of the characters.

-> Then there's the: but is toxic; or, it's incest.

Spinel was toxic during her moment of weakness, in a lot of pain, anger and self hate. She was hurt and wanted to hurt back (being abandoned hurts more than what people think, unfortunately, and will always be there, present. In doesn't ever go away, even if you forget about it or force yourself to forget it... You can only learn to live with it, like with any other trauma). That happened to many people in real life, but that doesn't make all of them permanently toxic people

Actually, if that was the case more than half of the whole Earth's population would be toxic and alone, or hurting someone all the time (that isn't part of simple selfishness, money, war, religion, race and/or politics related), but it's not like that. Most of them are victims/survivors. Most importantly, I have the feeling that we all need to search the whole meaning with a lot of examples of what being Toxic means and how it works (I think it's obvious who is actually hurting who in the fandom...)

There's also the fact that other characters had been toxic at some point (if we really have to use what some people might believe toxic means: to hurt someone, attack or trying to kill)

Pearl did, multiple times, try to kill Steven. Some accidentally, once because of misunderstandings and hurt when he was a baby, indefensive

Amethyst probably too, tho accidentally, not even knowing that if it wasn't because of Steven's half gem part, he would actually be dead already

Lapis did also try to kill Steven at some point and changed, and had a toxic relationship with Jasper (but not necessarily with the rest of the gems. Toxic is both ways, people, so it's not solely Jasper)

Peridot too. She also changed and became better (tho I believe she was never considered as a toxic character?)

Even Greg and Connie hurt Steven, lied and used him at some point (they did, don't lie to yourself, everyone) And Lars too... He even humiliated him.

About Incest. How? How, exactly, could there be any incest when it wasn't ever stated that they were familiy? Nor are gems related to each other. Lapis Lazulis aren't related to Aquamarines. Pearl aren't related to the Diamonds. And Amethyst aren't related to Jaspers, Agathes, etcetera

The only reason we view some as siblings, or anything family related (that isn't just friendship or Steven-Pink D/Rose Q) it's 1- crewuniverse said that or, 2- the gems itself stated it as such

In that drawing so many talked about of the Crystal Gems, Steven and Spinel there with the word Family above them, guess what: it meant Spinel wasn't part of the family bc of the way she was separated in all the ways it could be shown in said drawing. There's a difference between her and the crystal gems + Steven. It is easy to see, very obvious

But even if that wasn't right, and they were considered family, well... guess what again: couples can be family too! Even friends can be part of a family! It's more about the feeling and the connection one feels, and not that much about blood (which, I'd know too) (tho I know that a romantic relationship with a biological familiar isn't exactly approved by many, and it can be considered immoral... gems aren't exactly created by blood, are they?)

And that's my point. Gems don't have family per se. I think Rebecca (or someone else from the crewuniverse?) stated the same, and that the only reason the Crystal Gems were considered Steven's family now is because they ADOPTED him. They considered themselves as his family

Rose was literal family to Steven, but the rest of them was only part of the family even before Steven because they themselves were closed to each other

Rose and Pearl had a romantic relationship before Greg (and other humans) (and maybe a bit during Greg time too?)

Amethyst saw Rose as a maternal figure because of the way she was created and the way both interacted, probably

And Garnet? She was a new fusion. New to life on Earth. To me she always seemed to be more of a friend, or a cousin of sorts if some want to put her as part of the family (tho I already said that friends can be considered part of the family too, sometimes)

📢 So, again. Where's the pedophilia? Where's the toxicity? (apart from some parts of the fandom) Where's the incest?

-> This isn't about: age means nothing, or they have a childish mentality and so they are a kid. No. This is about Gems being Aliens, ageless, sexless and genderless (unless they decide the pronouns they want for themselves)

-> They don't age. Again. They don't grow up unless it's related to experiences and emotions, and that only means they develop, they still don't grow up in a Human sense

They are Not Humans, so stop comparing them

Well... That's all I wanted to let out. I apologise for... All of this 😅☝🏻

Gah, don't know when this was sent, but yeah, totally agree.