#ouat fandom hypocrisy

[ouatsnark]

I saw a sq who said they were watching a season 3 dvd commentary and colin had laughed and said hook was very persistent and he wondered why hook never gave up on emma, taking it as "oh even he was uncomfortable and felt weird about CS." like oh brother....you guys taking the actors words as gospel but not the writers

CONFESSION: I do not own the DVDs and therefor I haven't seen the commentary. So I can't really comment on what Colin said without seeing the video. I imagine he was just joking though... as Colin has been very supportive of CaptainSwan.

But I do want to say that these stans just pick and choose what they want to listen to!

If Colin's words are gospel then what about all of the times the entire cast and the writing room has said Swanqueen doesn't exist on paper or on screen?

Their queen has even said:

"Hook has come a long way" FACT

"She's always sarcastic, she's always belittling him" SEE! Regina is not a good person! Her sarcasm is 100% belittling people. And Regina has no room to belittle, anyone, even Hook, when she's done worse things than he has. And that's a fact.

"She puts up with him and if he makes Emma happy she's happy" And he does make Emma happy. That is what the show has written.

[a-tale-never-told]

Also, regarding what’s been brought up about RWBY or OUAT or other fandoms: have you ever heard the expression “White Women’s Tears”? Basically, white women hate being abused by men, but whenever their own abuse of poor people or PoC is criticized, they burst into tears and claim to be the real victims. You should look up the term “White Women’s Tears”, a lot of bizarre fandom behavior will suddenly make a lot more sense.

I have known about that. The utter excuse and the hypocrisy that women hate being abused by guys, but when they do abuse and are called out for that shit, they whine and bitch about it. One of the main reasons I hate Blake a lot so fucking much.

[marril96]

Remember, folks

Hating a fictional character is only sexist when the character you hate is female.

If they’re male, go for it. But if they’re female, you’re a filthy misogynist. /s

[idreamtofmanderleyagain]

Regarding my post recently about how annoying I find anti-Reylo petty!posting, I want to make it absolutely clear that like, I don’t have an issue with people wanting to have serious discussions about the problems they have with it or with Kylo, Particularly because Kylo painfully reminds some people of current real-world behaviors. 

Just as an example, within my own ships I’ve had serious issues in the past regarding the implications of how certain characters and storylines were handled. I shipped Rumbelle from OUAT for a long while. I was super into the concept during Season 1. But then Season 2 changed a lot of things for me. It was revealed that Rumple systematically manipulated Regina for many years. It was revealed that he also murdered his first wife out of anger and jealousy (she was his emotional abuser, but the framing of his motives made his major reasons clear. Also emotional abuse doesn’t justify murder but I digress).  He repeatedly lied to Belle in order to selfishly keep her with him and blind her to what he did to his first wife.

Belle spent the entirety of their relationship basically denying his darkness and insisting that he change. It was probably one of the ugliest renditions of a Beauty and the Beast tale there is, because it managed to pretty much intentionally have the messages some people criticize BATB for having (even though it never did).

I still like the concept of Rumbelle in theory, because Robert Carlyle’s performance in that first Season was phenomenal and I loved the idea of the character initially. It would have been awesome to see a well written romance for him.

But as you can see, this ship inherently has serous issues, and many of those issues involve racism and sexism and abusive behavior. I would still enjoy shipping Rumbelle, but personally I feel like too much of canon’s poisoned storyline has permeated it’s fandom and fanfic, so I just can’t really invest any energy into picking out the stuff I don’t like anymore.

While the height of my OUAT fandom days didn’t really occur during the height of the anti-villain stanning days, I certainly still had people assume a lot of things about my feelings regarding Rumbelle, many of which reduced me down from a complex human being with ethics into a braindead icky fangirl who didn’t care about the ship’s problems because I was too busy stanning Rumpelstiltskin/Mr.Gold.

Over the years on this site I have had people treat me and others that way over characters and ships like Loki and Labyrinth’s Sarah/Jareth, and any number of villains or villain/heroine ships I’ve had in my time here. People who engaged in this kind of behavior rarely interacted long enough to ask what my (or anyone else’s) actual nuanced opinions were, because it was easier for them to create an immoral target out of us. The purpose was to make themselves feel superior over someone they could not humanize, not to spread awareness or engage in actual discussion with peers.

The most frustrating part of this is the blatant hypocrisy involved with this kind of behavior. I’ve seen Loki fangirls I’ve known who seem to enjoy trashing Reylo, as if Loki had significantly cleaner hands or ideologies than Kylo. As if the Loki fandom hasn’t churned out a boatload of Abuser!Loki fanfiction, as if they hadn’t mostly turned me off of my own ship (Loki/Darcy) because of how toxic they could depict it. As if I didn’t see a sizable percentage of Loki fangirls make Nick Fury the biggest villain in their fanfics, making him essentially an oppressor figure. 

If you are a Loki fangirl you are certainly not automatically better than a Kylo fangirl. You don’t get to pretend that you are cleaner than the Reylos. If you like any villain at all, your hands are not necessarily cleaner.

But if you’ve never liked a villain at all, your hands are not necessarily cleaner, either. How many Rose/Doctor shippers who hated on Martha, or Clara/Doctor shippers who hated on Danny Pink, are anti-Loki or anti-Reylo, I wonder? I’m really not at all convinced that people who behave this way care about abuse, sexism or racism when it’s their own ships or favorite dudes.

The problem with these mean spirited petty jokes, bitching and bullying posts about Reylo that get passed around on this site is that they give away the hypocrisy of (predominantly) white fangirls who only half-bother to bring up serious issues when it’s convenient and safe for them, when it looks good for their SJ cred and social media reputation, and when they can hurt others with it without any consequences or repercussions for themselves or the things they personally enjoy. 

And honestly I’m done with that. Have the courage and maturity to be critical of your own spaces, while respecting other people’s ability to do so within their spaces. If you are going to be critical of something, actually be thoughtfully critical and leave the petty bullshit behind you, because it just makes you look like a dick at this point.

So in conclusion, if you’re a marginalized person who had negative feelings about Reylo and expressed that thoughtfully, that post was not directed at you. If you are a Reylo who doesn’t have a single critical eye for what you consume or how you yourself engage in fandom, particularly when it comes to how you might alienate marginalized people, that post did not exist to protect you.

That post was me not giving a single fuck about anybody’s bullshit anymore. I don’t care about anybody’s online reputation or ego or petty mocking anymore, I don’t care how much SJ talking points and banners you list in your blog descriptions. I’m tired and getting way too old for this obnoxious high school shit.

[ouathinktank-metacommentary]

I'm confused, I never understood it. Who ARE multishippers anyway, and what do they multiship - if they hate Emma so much?

I’m sure this is a question you should rather be aiming–at them? But then again, yes, you’d probably be accused of being a single-minded Swan Queen (just assuming :) shipper, a biphobe–or something equally banal. Because, that’s the general pattern?

But if you ask us, I’d say there are two categories. The first, who started as SQ shippers (built cred as fanfic authors, then wanted to expand the fanbase–things to peddle an’ all) and then more or less failed at balancing, putting their fanwanked version of OQ canon (they just want Regina happy, aww!) ahead of Hook-infested (she’s been degraded in favour of CS, so they “don’t want that Emma anywhere near Regina” now) Emma canon–to the point of anti-Emma and even anti-JMo. And the other group, who believe that shipping different ships with different characters (be it from the same show, or any another) makes you a multishipper. You know, instead of shipping single character with multiple others (like say, I totally dug Faith the vampire slayer in two het, and.. *counts*..four different slash ships) but–EQUALLY so?

The problem aren’t those multishippers who ship whatever, the problem are those who due to the ‘authority’ given by their following (clicks, notes, illusion of popularity and the the power it brings, arrogance to lord over the sheep, gaslighting, bullying, you know–typical highschool frame of mind) took monopoly over entire interpretation of the show, its characters, enforcing opinions onto entire fandom, telling people what to think, accept, how to behave (in fandom or at cons) hell–even which actors to worship and which to shun. All of which could’ve been prevented, you know?

[justanoutlawfic]

I don't have a meme blog. I found you through the ouat tag. But maybe people just like calling out your hypocrisy in hating some characters for the same things your faves have done.

Nah, I don’t have hypocrisy. I will happily call out my faves and I have, several times. Just look through my blog. I’ve said that Regina losing Henry and Snow losing Emma is a circle of reprocussions for terrible, villanious actions. Still love them both. Still felt my heart break.

I’ve been very clear. You just want to twist my words. If you have an issue with my views, you can block me or leave my blog. It’s not a fandom requirement to talk to me.

[mrs-emma-swan-jones]

Colin spoiled Rumple death lol

Anon #2: Welp, Colin just spoiled Rumple's death to the masses with that new post LOLOLOLOLOL.

Anon #3: ***HYPOCRISY*** JMO spoils baby hope at a fan con for a few 1000 people. Not a huge plot point. *Burn the evil witch. Boo* Colin spoils probably the biggest plot point tonight for all of instagram...*Aww sweet irish idiot"

Anon #4: Me: waits for the anti JMo crowd who piled on her for spoiling Hope at a con to pile on Colin  Also me: dies of old age Also me: yawns at the predictable and transparent hypocrisy           

LOL, literally no one on the OUAT cast gives a single fuck anymore and I love it! 

And of course they’re not going to jump on Colin for spoiling Rumple’s death (even though it had 1. already been spoiled and 2. is a much more significant spoiler than the CS baby).  First of all, Colin is a man, and there is definitely some underlying sexism in this fandom when it comes to how these people react to things he does vs. things Jen does.  Second of all, they’re so obsessed with him that they absolutely refuse to be upset with him over anything.  Jen literally did the exact same thing he’s done now (ignoring the fact that Colin’s spoilers was worse) and they attacked her just because they wanted a reason to be mad at her.  There is no reason for them to be mad other than they want to be hypocrites and attack Jen.  They’re the literal worst (as if we needed any more confirmation).

[superfluousstuckupitude]

wtatennisfreak-blog replied to your post “People already shipping hq or regina + someone else is… certainly…”

Wish Hook may have the same genes, but he’s a totally different person, having totally different experiences. “Rogers” was already a way better person when he met Emma than Hook was when he did. He obviously hasn’t devoted his existence to revenge.

@wtatennisfreak-blog

Wish Hook may have the same genes, but he’s a totally different person, having totally different experiences

Saying he’s a totally different person and had has totally different experiences is quite the claim. How do you know this? What evidence do you have to back this up? We’ve seen him for like what, two episodes? That’s not a whole lot of screentime to come to the conclusion that he’s totally different from the Hook we know.

In fact I could argue he’s the exact same person. He’s the Hook if Emma hadn’t become the saviour and if you recall he’s over 300 years older than Emma. Many of the experiences he’s had were long before Emma was born. So I could make the argument that both Hooks have had the exact same experiences up until the time Emma was born.

“Rogers” was already a way better person when he met Emma than Hook was when he did

See above argument.

He obviously hasn’t devoted his existence to revenge.

You’re speaking very absolutely for not having very much evidence to back up statements you’re making. Why would he have had a reason to obsess over it? In his realm snow and charming already dealt with the dark one so he has no reason to go after him. Hook has an addict’s personality; with his revenge, then with Emma, and with alcohol as well. It seems without his revenge and Emma his addictive personality just went straight for the alcohol.

Let me ask you a question, are you a hook fan? I ask because I’ve seen you on one of my somewhat anti Hook posts and I’ve seen you on others similar to it defending him. If you are a fan why do you read anti posts about him? Even with the post this is about I didn’t tag it in the OUAT tag. So do you actively go looking for posts that speak negatively about your fave? 

Besides the point of that post was not to discuss the differences in the Hooks but to point out the hypocrisy in the fandom. To call out some Regina fans who call out behavior in the CS/Hook fandom they deem problematic but exhibit the same behaviour.

[piracytheorist]

no one is erasing milah from narrative as part of the past, because that is part of Hook's past, just because the fandom didnt pay much emphasis on her, no one erased Hook's revenge and first love.... i think you completely missed the point of the post you saw and talking about. are you going to complain how milah is erased from rumple's past when he murdered her and nothing has come of it. and i really dont know how milah even came to the conclusion of what the debate of wish hook lol

Wow.

Wow.

There's so much presumption and misunderstanding in this message I don't know where to begin (and if I even should).

"no one is erasing milah from narrative as part of the past, because that is part of Hook's past, just because the fandom didnt pay much emphasis on her, no one erased Hook's revenge and first love"

Yes, no writer in OUAT has erased Milah ('cept for that time they destroyed her soul). But fans have constantly written fics where there simply is no Milah around, or meta where they say that she wasn’t a positive influence for him because she wasn’t his TrUE loVE!!!11! and Emma is better just because she is his TruE LoVE!!!1!

Besides the fact that that is piting a female character (who was murdered twice, horribly) against another female character (when all those two characters did on screen was work together like the Boss Ass Bitches they are), that is Milah erasure, because they’re simply saying that Milah didn’t have any impact on Killian’s characterization.

I could point you to so many anti-Milah posts written from CSers but 1) that would take a lot of time and 2) I don’t want to point fingers at certain people.

“i think you completely missed the point of the post you saw and talking about”

You’re right, anonyme. You think. And I’m kind of confused about what post you’re talking about. How do you even know what post I saw and came in my own fucking blog to vent about it? How do you even know it was a post I saw and I was not prompted by a private discussion?

“are you going to complain how milah is erased from rumple's past when he murdered her and nothing has come of it.”

Uhm, actually, I have. A TON OF TIMES. My initial review of 5x14 is just mostly 2500 words of me screaming out about how horrible this episode was, how horrible Milah’s treatment was and how I hoped she would come back. And I have made the occassional post about how RumpeIstiltskin needs to be brought to justice for what he did and Milah needs to have her justice.

In fact, my top-noted drabble is just about that.

If you have no fucking clue about what I post and what opinions I have do not fucking come into my inbox and presume things about me. Okay? Okay.

“and i really dont know how milah even came to the conclusion of what the debate of wish hook lol” 

And this is the proof that I shouldn’t have bothered with this message in the first place, because it’s obvious that you didn’t understand how Milah was brought into the discussion, LOL.

But because I’m cheerful this morning and have already done my homework for my German class, I’ll explain it to you: There have been CS fans who have been erasing Milah, like I explained above, for a very long time. Coming now and complaining about Emma erasure in the narrative is complete hypocrisy and partiality, since they themselves have been doing the same with another female character that Killian Jones, their fave, once loved until she died in his arms.

Mind you that I’m not talking about all fans who are talking about Emma erasure. I’m talking about a certain part of those fans who I’ve constantly seen bash and erase Milah in the past.

And this is my blog and I have every right to complain about it, as you have every right to unfollow me and ignore my posts and leave us both be :)

[ouatsnark]

The people who claim you're anti-adoption or homophobic solely because you don't like Regina are funny.

That's the downside of fandoms. There's always gonna be a group of people who attack someone for not shipping what they do.

People are scary.

And honestly, how is you being anti-child/spousal abuse homophobic and anti-adoption?

Regina Apologists say that because if they don't then they'd have to acknowledge that Regina was in fact the villain, not the victim, and what she did was abuse Henry, rape Graham and destroy Emma and her parents lives.

Because if they were to acknowledge that then all of their false accusations against Killian Jones would come back on Regina.

Also, they know if they scream about the phobias and the isms usually that will make people shut up because who likes to be called those things? Honestly, it just made me scream the truth even louder. Cause no way you're going to put me in a box and tell me I can' speak about things I am clearly seeing on the screen.

[finallygotitfigured]

they pulled this same shit in ouat fandom. same people. their hypocrisy tune never changes. same mental gymnastics, different show, different ship, different fandom.

yawn.

kara when she’s in love with a man: she is WEAK! she doesn’t need a MAN! he called her out on her hypocrisy? ABUSE! he said that she was his weakness? TOXIC! he ignored her orders and saved her life? CONTROLLING! he lied to protect himself? MANIPULATIVE! he’s white? RACISM! supergirl hates WOMEN!

kara when she’s *supposedly* in love with a woman: YES! girl POWER! FEMINISM! she NEEDS lena to SURVIVE! she’s being tortured mentally/emotionally and physically? that’s LOVE! they keep secrets and lie to each other? it’s because they’re IN LOVE! both women are so far canonically hetero? HOMOPHOBIC! you don’t want kara to be with her abuser? WOW you HATE GAYS and you HATE WOMEN!

[harleyquinzel]

Do you hate cs because of the ouat fandom or are there other reasons?

i hated them from the start bc i was rooting for swanfire and i didn’t like at all how hook was all like I KNOW U WANT ME, U KNOW I WANTCHA, I KNOW U WANT MEEE, U KNOW I WANTCHA and emma was like nah lol and he was likE BITCH BUT I WANT U and she was like no thanks lol and he was like I WON’T GIVE UP UNTIL U SAY YES and then she ends up giving in like ok then

i didn’t actually hate them at the time but the fandom found a way to make it worse by worshipping them like they weren’t problematic (or boring) as fuck and also the way they neglect regina makes my blood boil i’ve seen so many cs shippers talking shit about her saying she’s evil and that’s she doesn’t deserve love as if hook wasn’t a bad guy himself lol ok yall can choke on your own hypocrisy

[missielynne]

People who are mad Rumple is putting the blame on his mother for his life of cowardice and bad choices: Okay, but let’s not forget that “Rumplestiltskin made me do it” is a common easy out for other villains like Regina and Killian when it comes to taking responsibility for their own bad acts when they want to reform, or at least not look so bad. And people still give them sympathy. Troublesome people on OUAT not taking responsibility for their own bad actions as soon as they ought to is not new. I don’t know why people are so much more pissed off now that Rumple’s the latest addition to the pack. I mean, I know some people will never like him because of how he’s written now and that’s okay. Not saying you should. But I just wish the hypocrisy in this matter was acknowledged more often by the fandom as a whole and not just people who want Rumple to have the same thing all the other characters have gotten relatively easily, or have gotten a good start on relatively easily.

[stunningcaptainswan]

My two cents in the whole positivity vs negativity debate: I identify myself as someone who tries to be positive about the show. I usually leave the snarkiness and the negativity to fandom behavior and some things that bother me such as double-standards, hypocrisy, etc - maybe I’m too harsh at times and maybe that’s something I need to get better at, but I digress.

I am not a fan of anyone, regardless of their position on any matter, feeling entitled to the point they think they can control the way other people feel.

I don’t think we can choose the way we feel about the show. We watch it every week and we either like it or we don’t, we don’t just decide “I’m going to like this” or “I’m going to hate this”. However, I do think we can choose whether or not we want to focus on the things that make us unhappy or on the things that make us happy. For some people, ranting about all the things they hate about the show is what probably helps them going through this rough time where they find very little to be excited about. For others, choosing to highlight the good and enjoyable things is what probably makes them feel better and helps them preserve the feel-good feeling of being in a fandom. Both are perfectly legit and valid.

Personally, OUAT has always been my #1 source of escapism, the one thing that I can always count on to give me happy and fuzzy feelings. My real life right now isn’t the best and I honestly feel upset, angry and extremely frustrated. These are emotions I don’t want to experience about one of the very few things that still brings me some joy to my life. I refuse to do so, no matter how much the show disappoints me from time to time. It’s better for me, it’s better for my anxiety and it’s better for my overall state of mind. That’s why I still choose to mainly look at the positive things this show is giving me.

I have no problem with people ranting on their own blogs and I will never tell anyone they shouldn’t feel the way they do, but as someone who struggles with anxiety, coming across a lot of negativity about the things I try so hard to keep in my happy bubble can disturb that balance I’m trying so hard to keep. But that’s fully on me and it is my job to prevent coming across the negativity (blacklist is my best friend - tagging appropriately is crucial!) because, at the end of the day, I can’t control what other people post on their blogs.

Moving on to my next point: as I’ve already mentioned up there, you can’t choose how you feel about the show, but you can choose how you react to those feelings. Some choose to react by dwelling on the negative while others prefer to dwell on the positive, and I assume that choice is influenced by what each individual thinks is the best option for themselves/makes them feel better. This is something very personal and that each fan has to find out - and, really, no one can (or should) do it for you, you have to find out by yourself. I am saying this because part of the reason why I also choose to be positive has to do with my previous experience in a fandom where I was able to learn something about myself.

I was constantly angry and disappointed at the show I was crazy about and I was so lost and frustrated that my first instinct was to complain and to point out all the problems with that show and what should have happened instead of this, that and that. I got so angry and annoyed and consumed by the negativity that I actually ended having a serious health scare due to all the stress that I was getting from something that was originally supposed to make me feel good. Back then I thought ranting was actually helping me but I then learnt it ended having the opposite effect on me. Now I’m not saying this applies to everyone who focuses on the negative, of course it doesn’t. There are many people who are very well aware that letting out their frustrations is what works best for them and by all means they should keep doing it if that’s the case, but what I’m simply trying to say with this is: be sure that your choice to be negative or positive is the right choice for you and for your well-being. If being positive is the right choice for you, be positive. If being negative is the right choice for you, be negative.

It’s also normal for positivity to annoy you if you choose to be negative. And vice-versa. That still doesn’t give you a right to think you’re better than the ones who choose to be positive. And vice-versa.

If you’re on a side and the reactions from the other side annoy you, you can:

a) blacklist/unfollow people whose opinions you don’t want to see on your dashboard

b) ignore it and tell yourself - “it’s just an opinion, it can be different from mine and their truth doesn’t have to be my truth”

c) talk privately with people/friends who you know feel the same way you do and to whom those opposite reactions are annoying too.

Do NOT act like you’re better than people that have a different opinion and do NOT go on people’s ask boxes to tell them how wrong they are and how they should be feeling a certain way. Respect. And respect. And then respect.

[alwaysbeyondhope]

Seriously debating just unfollowing all OUAT fandom blogs that post anything other than gifsets. I fucking hate this type of discourse. I fucking hate the hypocrisy in it all, and I'm too fucking tired and off my meds to deal with this shit without losing my goddamn mind.

[ouathinktank-metacommentary]

Alright, due to general interest...

Almost two months later–we’ve been doing great, thank you for all your (overwhelming) inquiry. The life without the bottomless pit of crap that’s OUaT, as well as its cesspool of a fandom–can do wonders for your complexion. Ulcers, too. Watching actual good TV and doing actual real-life activism that does make difference, you know? So while we’re grateful for your concern, this is now a response to ALL of you who messaged us (or other people you thought were our ‘friends’ and ‘in the know’) wondering–why we chose to do this. The (long) answer would be–we were simply NOT interested in any more in…

1. New OUaT storylines, because we were there for the old ones–on which they shat on, at every turn. So, this reset/restart? Sheer desperation. Starting from the ”very special new gay character” (this time allegedly not the one to be quickly and happily swept under the rug after their cringeworthy five minutes of pointless tokenism? Wow. Groundbreaking!). All based solely on actors’ fanbase rather than characters and/or good storytelling, so the best one can expect plot-wise is just fanservice--more curses, more info dump, fast-paced shallowness and of course–retcons. Of retcons.

2. New characters/actors, because if five out of their six seasons gave us nothing more than inconsistent drivel where they broke about eleventy thousand rules of decent (see: something audience with an ounce of intelligence can watch) writing, the best one can expect character-wise is… well, what you got so far–inconsistent crap, serving just for one thing–to Mary/Marty Sue. Both on behalf of Kitsowitz as well as dimwits buying it.

3. Any new ‘modern fairytale’ they can try and sell as such, because no–we are NOT the audience for these hacks. Their target are the dim, superficial, limited and conservative (see: bigoted, racist, homophobic and misogynist) or just dumb Tweens and Twimoms.

4. New shit based on old tried and tested shit, when even bad promotion is good promotion. Shameful public behaviour from people like Aguilerra, YNB and Shatner fueling more fandom toxicity, and Kitsovitz of course kissing their collective arse despite them bullying/doxxing their fans (people who actually buy their product) because–free promotion.

5. Meta rehash – because for about four years now there hasn’t been anything out there that hasn’t been chewed up and digested, ad nauseam.

(and yes, again: not everything analytical/speculative is a meta, read up)

6. Systemic issues/intersectionality/ discussions–because as shown consistently (which yay, they DO know what ‘consistency’ is–after all?) during the past five years they simply DGaF. And besides, after all these years, please don’t tell me you still expect any decency from them in terms of acknowledgement, treatment or, godforbid–representation?

7. Either critical or hopeful, negative or positive theorizing and analyses, because–see #1, #2, #5, and #6.

8. The “other camp’s" aggressive bigotry and homophobia. Us wanting the story about two mothers sharing a son is about normalcy, about equality. Not our self-insertion because of ‘gay privilege’. Privilege would be gay people not having to pay taxes. You know, kinda like their churches don’t?

9. General idiocy of our part of the fandom, such as... “yeah, I used to ship Swan Queen, but Emma sucks anyway (and also it’s all JMo’s fault because she’s closeted and a homophobe while Lana is a faultless demi-goddess!) but I’m here just for Lana and hey, I did spit at their token lesbians because representation FTW but still, GIVE REGINA A FEMALE LI THIS SEASON!!I!” *rolls eyes* It’s okay when you’re a young queer person just starting to learn and gain their footing, but when you’re a 30+ yo? Not sure what’s more cringeworthy and sad, hypocrisy or actor idolatry.

10. General fandom bile in the same corner again, because we don’t know about you–but we here are done with the aggressive, ego-maniacal, self-centred and attention-seeking. Which unfortunately won, if you’ll just look at hat kind of individuals (quasi intellectuals who gain credibility and 'bnf' status by waving around either their academic credentials or industry insight connections, drowning the sheep in condescension--and them buying it nonetheless) you accepted as your fandom leaders, gatekeepers and authorities on all things Regina Mills and Swan Queen. Telling you what to think, what to say and how to behave? *rolls eyes* Fandom is supposed to be a FUN experience, not substitute for therapy.

11. Fandom gossip – general badmouthing, hearsay and other petty crap of such nature. Tumblr community, even one surrounding character larger than life such as Regina Mills, or the one supporting the beautiful idea of a modern fairy-tale about two mothers sharing a son (which should, by the by--be normal, not ‘progressive’ anyways?) should NOT be a microcosm of everyday human pettiness.

12. Anonymous hate in our inbox. Blaming us either for being too critical about everything, or not being critical enough (based on your own fandom ‘allegiances’) and being “a sellout, abandoning the critical/meta fraction when it was in a desperate need of level-headedness and reason”. You realise that it's not US you're angry with, right?

13. Last but not least, if you’re out ‘chaplain Anon’ with delusions of being a protector of naive, manipulated masses–whilst in all actuality being a highly-disassociative, obsessive stalker and a sociopath (in total, you’ve sent about how many, two hundred messages–about ten only last week?) I sincerely hope you’ll seek help. Professional. And then find a new hobby. Perhaps start training for a triathlon? It's great for general fitness as well as heavy neuroses, I hear.

(If you recognise self in any of the listed in #12 and #13, then you can fuck right off. In a wide circle.)

I sincerely hope that all these offer answers to ALL of the questions you’ve been sending us in the meantime. We’re grateful for all your concern, so the purpose of this update was to tell you that yes--while we ARE on an official hiatus, we did say that we’d be around. And we are, which a lot of you PM-ing us, know. We’re still here for you, and we still enjoy talking about all the great, positive things that this show and this fandom gave us. But... *drumrolll* ...

Anonymous posting will be switched OFF, as of this point.

We see no point in it anymore. Honestly, we never did because all civilized discussions and discourse we tried to encourage here--were supposed to be something you could and should have been proud to stand behind, without the greyface and shades. So if you’re going to send us a message and NOT stand behind it, then–it shouldn’t be considered worth reading, at all?

And yes. In the meantime, our decision remains the same. We‘ll be around, in other ways than doing what we used to. This is not a dramatic exit, just... a break, if you will. So if we happen to blink and miss something good happening, either in the ‘new’ show, or the fandom–please feel free to ping us.

Until then…

Your friendly neighbourhood ThinkTankers.

All four of us.