#if you couldn't say it to someone at a con without getting backlash don't say it here

[tricksterlatte]

I've always been fascinated by fandom history, and I know I'm not the only one. It's interesting to see how fans of pop culture can create a culture of their own, and in the modern age of social media and the internet in general, that culture is as widespread as ever. Unfortunately, that also means downsides are becoming bigger as this culture becomes widespread, and it's saddening to watch, maybe even concerning.

I don't discuss these things to be preachy, especially considering how I've fallen into several of these pitfalls before, and have perpetuated some of this behavior in the past. To say otherwise would make me a hypocrite and a liar, and I firmly believe this goes for most people in any fandom. I was just thinking about this recently, and how a lot of the biggest stressors in what should be our stress relief really can be pinned mostly into a few central talking points, which I would love to discuss to know if I'm not just going crazy here

The concept of Big Name Fan has evolved into a position of authority on fandom, which does not fall to anyone regarding subjectivity. No one in a fandom is an authority except the creators themselves, who have every right to stay away from the fandoms they have birthed.

Popularity in general being conflated to intellectual authority as well, especially on websites with public stats, particularly following counts. The algorithm is no benevolent god, but people will sometimes see someone with 30k followers and think they are correct on a minor non-issue that has spiraled into discourse, especially when compared to someone with 30 followers. This also is just...a bummer when fanon evolves into perceived canon, and newcomers to the fandom can't post even innocuous meta or headcanons without it being perceived as morally/intellectually incorrect.

Monetization of fanworks, but especially zines, have led to a hypercompetitive atmosphere that only escalates the bitterness and resentment. This is not a universal problem, but many zines across all fandoms habitually accept the same artists and writers, or diminish the value of fanfic due to the limitations of physical printing. The application process has devolved into such a disheartening debacle for a majority of people I see, and the way it is often framed as "your work just wasn't good enough" when it's really about what the mods deem mass marketable will destroy just about anyone's self-esteem after repetitive rejections, and will give some frequent zine runners a false sense of final say over the community (not usually, but it can happen).

The level of distrust for anyone new attempting to start a fan project is just so depressing nowadays (and this one we sadly can blame on a few people by name, but the ones who have sent this issue spiraling still don't care and that just sucks. I feel horrible for everyone who has been tricked).

Somehow comment and anonymous asks have gone backwards from "don't feed the trolls" to "suck it up, at least you're getting comments." I have seen some of these comments people have been told to suck up. It's not okay in general. It's particularly gross when it's an anonymous hate message unrelated to the fanworks themselves, perhaps born out of resentment or bearing an ulterior motive. And some will even attack and defame character due to identity. It's not subtle. It's not okay. People should absolutely be dunked on for this, and I gotta say I'm sick of unsolicited concrit being enforced as positive either. If they didn't ask, don't give it. There's a reason a lot of fic writers some people adore suddenly go ghost, and they can't even talk about it.

Don't like, don't read has been discarded in favor of don't like, tell others don't read and also don't write. Transformative works don't have to fit into a canon or even in character mold. That's why they're transformative! It's a different type of artistic expression. If you don't like it, chances are good it simply wasn't meant for you. It's not bad. Don't shame others, god especially not for non-issues such as a t/b preference or a different gender hc, preferred haircuts, types of animal you imagine them as in another lifetime, I could list literally anything here and I bet there has been a fandom fight over it.

Exclusive yet publicly advertised community Discords that will bar you from invite if you're not one of the cool kids. I have unfortunately fallen into this trap before, and refuse to ever enable or endorse that behavior ever again. This isn't about friend groups either, it's about fandom-dedicated servers that flaunt themselves as a VIP club instead of what they are: a friend group. I also don't even know how to broach the subject of private accounts that turn into fandom tea accounts with dozens if not hundreds of followers, only for people to be angry if someone isn't exactly okay with horrific stuff being said in general, let alone about their mutuals or friends.

I know none of this will likely ever change, and tbh i'm so tired of it all, but...does anyone else know what I mean? I'm stressed out whenever I try to enjoy myself, because popularity and a strange business mindset is steadily taking over fandom spaces. I'm not saying people should stop trying to make stuff that sells, or that people universally do any of this, but fandom is evolving into a thing I'm not sure is good. idk anymore

[shinydixon]

bet you're gonna have a lot of messages about this so i hope my goes through: when i say joe doesn't have social media but he knows for sure about the shit going on behind it, i mean it. i knew he knew about the vanquinns, the harassment and everything else. it's why jamie teased that he couldn't resist joe's chocolate button eyes. because they probably talked about it. and when i say joe and grace are friends, i also mean it. i'm not saying it to mock vanquinns, i'm not saying it superficially as if they're friends who only talk during cons. they probably text all the time. i don't like her. i've met a lot of girls who act like she does. i mean, look how joe deals with all the shit that happens online: he ignores it because it's nonsense and he's got better things to do. she, on the other hand, lashes back only to backtrack and play woe is me after the backlash. i'm not saying she didn't get hate or that her mental health isn't fucked because of it. i'm saying that sometimes it's like she sees how the fandom is on fire and tries to pour it out with gasoline. a fan suffered racist attacks because of her taking offense with the said fan not liking chrissy. the character. a fan didn't like a character. and grace, a grown woman, took offense to that. i wonder what her black costars who have to suffer through this entire bullshit think of that. i wonder what she'd say if someone cornered her during a panel and asked that in front of an audience. so i don't like her, i'll never like her. maybe she's changed, doesn't matter to me. i don't fucking like her. but i understand she and joe are close friends and i think some people in the fandom should also start to understand that. i think it's cringe when vqs try to use 'they're such good friends' as code for 'they're banging'. but i also think it's shitty when some fans say 'they're just friends/coworkers' in a way that makes it seem they're not close. they are. and that's fine, that's ok. the only issue is when they, like joe himself said, rally around hatred and misinformation and ship him with his friend as if they're dolls or as if a man can't possibly be sweet with a female friend without it meaning something else.

I already said it and I repeat:

Dear Grace did you also tell Joe what you did while you were online and your fans were harassing a black quinnie for not liking your stupid character because you quoted that tweet word after word ?

I bet she didn't.

That's the only reason that prevents me to like her and keeps me neutral