#in sebchal stuff i never know if i should feel bad for charles

[cherrynika]

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[leqclerc]

diff anon but i agree bcs i had similar experience! 2019 was hell, some ppl on here even refuse to speak of charles by name when talking about him. it was so hard to find ppl who support both seb & charles. but my IRL friends don't know F1, i usually also watch with my dad but he's just a casual fan, so sticking it out here is the only option. now the atmosphere is much better, in part bcs of blogs like you! thank you for simply spreading good vibes & positive energy ❤ (& sebchal worms ofc 👀😳)

Ah, thank you 💕🥺 I’m happy that I can help in some small way! And yes, the worms are vital 👀👀

I’ve heard the same thing, yeah. :/ I understand having favourites - and, equally, having people/characters you just can’t stand - but for the most part if I don’t like someone I just...don’t blog about them? Whereas I feel like some people absolutely revel in their hatred and vitriol and take more pleasure in tearing down the person they dislike (and their fans) than they do talking about things they actually enjoy. 

I have to say I’ve been in...worse fandoms in terms of fan behaviour, where bullying was “normalised” by people who felt they had the moral high ground and that their horrific behaviour was somehow “justified” because they were the self-appointed good guys...where influential groups/users actively encouraged witch hunts and harassment and sending threats and all of that disgusting stuff. I’ve seen far too many real people be hurt and made to feel unsafe and uncomfortable in fandom spaces because some of the more rabid fans felt the need to defend fictional characters to the point they blurred the lines between reality and fiction, and on top of that felt absolutely no remorse. But that’s less of a compliment and I guess more of a commentary on what’s, unfortunately, seen as “normal” in certain fandoms/fan communities and...honestly it’s horrifying and inexcusable. 

Not to mention the past year has been extremely difficult for a lot of people for a variety of reasons. Many people use fandoms as an escape or respite from their real lives, to talk about the thing they love and share or make content. So I would never want to contribute to making this a negative, unsafe space for anybody, because no one deserves that, regardless of what they ship or who they support. There’s an actual person behind that screen, and some people should really think twice before typing something that could potentially have massive consequences. 

But also...I think everyone’s entitled to curating their own online experience by utilising the tools that are there for that purpose. If there’s content out there that’s upsetting to you, or that you’re just tired of seeing, there are ways of filtering tags, either through Tumblr’s built-in feature or third party extensions like XKit. If someone’s behaviour is upsetting to you, there’s always the block feature. It’s not personal, and it doesn’t make you a bad person or anything. Those tools are there for a reason. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s not real or that it can’t hurt, or that your trauma is somehow less valid. Take care of yourself, always 💕