#probably better not to tag the fandoms lol

[thebroccolination]

Hi Key, your post is the second I've seen that hinted at Joss but without further explanation. He generally has a positive public perception and I only know him from 3WBF (which I liked), so I'm curious where this shift in perception is coming from recently.

Would you mind making a post or directing me to where I can learn more about his general...situation.

I apologize if this is intrusive since I know you don't like to engage in Fandom Drama and like to keep your space positive, but I don't have XTwitter and his Tumblr tag is usually quite dead.

Thank you in advance!

Why I Don't Fuck with Joss: An Extremely Academic Essay of Words and Screenshots

Hi Anon!

I normally would have DM'd you an answer to this, but since you sent the ask anonymously and you were very kind in how you asked, I didn't want to ignore you.

However, two things:

I do generally make it a policy to keep my negative personal thoughts about certain actors to private conversations or, y'know, Discord servers, just to keep it off public platforms where toxicity is already rampant. In this case, though, I think the situation is interesting enough to comment on. (Plus, y'know, I'm amazed he was even managing a comeback when he's been known to Be Like This for years.)

I didn't get a lot of primary sources for this post because quite frankly I don't like Joss and I don't want to look at his face any more than I already have. However, friends who've been following this more closely than I have were able to verify that there are sources out there for everything I'm going to mention. Just, y'know, don't use me or this post as a source. This isn't one of my Citations Included Posts, this is just a Why I Don't Fuck with This Guy Post.

So, for context, I made this post last month, and someone made a more explicitly worded reblog here that's honestly better if you're going in without any context.

Essentially, Joss has had a dodgy reputation for years, but I think because fan turnover is high in interfandom and he's never been in a BL series before, most interfans just know Joss as A Tall Man Who Likes Sportsball.

But when I got into Thai BL back in 2020, Joss was one of the first actors I heard of as ~Problematique~ so I looked into him, and what I learned made me go, "Ew," so I just keenly ignored him from then on. (General gross stuff like the Domundi boob-grabbing prank and some assorted Dudebro comments about women. I don't remember specifics anymore because he was barely on my radar, but a friend at the time who'd been in fandom longer basically told me, "Yeah, that's Joss, lol.")

Interestingly, before JossGawin became a thing, most interfans were rooting for JossLuke, but I think given how vocally left-leaning Luke has proven to be, I wouldn't be surprised if Luke saw the prospect of tying his public reputation to Joss and went, "lol no goddamn thank you."

Gawin, on the other hand, seems to be down for whatever GMMTV wants him to do, so he probably just sees Joss as a colleague he makes out with (acting is a weird job). He went to high school in western Pennsylvania, he has white relatives on his dad's side, and he hangs out with the Gym Dudes of GMMTV, so I'm sure he's completely desensitized and is one of those guys who thinks, "Nah," but doesn't go so far as to say, "Not cool, dude." The Gawin Caskey Method seems to be: throw a basketball, make out with a dude on camera, go home and eat an edible. Dismount.

Unfortunately, even though Gawin's never really made any political statements or taken any major stand for the queer community, he's gained goodwill that some people are now calling into question because of Joss.

Anyway, apparently Joss used to follow Andrew Tate on Twitter until Tate was suspended, so it seems a lot of people assumed Joss unfollowed Tate, but yeah, between the sexist comments, Boobgate, and admiring Joe Rogan, that was enough for me to physically recoil from the screen when I saw the teaser for MGB.

Okay NOW, everything from this point onward is new stuff I've learned over the past month that made me go, "Oh. So he's worse now."

Joss has apparently had that Joe Rogan quote pinned to his Twitter account since 2020, but people just shrugged it off because they like his man stomach or something? (I don't find him attractive, but even if I did, I truly don't understand how he made it this far. It feels like he's been pretty firmly canceled every year since I got here, honestly.)

I also didn't like him weight-shaming Gawin. There's some older clip of him calling Gawin fat, and I know in Asia it's more common to comment on other people's bodies and weight, but I also recently found out that he got Gawin a meat cake for his birthday because idk actual cake is for pussies? (Sorry, Anon, I was trying to aim for an objective tone but I abandoned it because I reeeally don't like this man.) And apparently a lot of JG fanservice is just Joss and Gawin at the gym so Joss can teach Gawin self-control or something? I've had their tag blocked from the beginning, so you'll have to look into that if you're curious.

Ah, and at some point in the last few months, Joss was apparently asked what his "type" is and he said something like "white, skinny English-speaking Europeans/Americans"(?) Which apparently made Asian women go, "Hey, c'mere real quick: good. Bye."

I also thought it was a huge red flag that Joss has been in the industry for years, and his domestic fanbase is still quite small. Others have pointed out that very few fan interactions with him are in Thai, and he's clearly courting a western audience both in his individual engagement and by partnering with a mixed American actor. When he did the LGBTQ+ panel last summer, apparently the reaction from Thai commenters was, "lmao why Joss?" not, "Oh yes, of course, Joss!"

So it seems like GMMTV has been trying to do a rebrand for Joss using Gawin and interfans more generally since Joss speaks English and interfans don't generally seek out the resources to do research. Remember last year when GMMTV announced that Y-MIND script competition? It was originally domestic only, but after Thai fans overwhelmingly went, "The contract terms here are wildly exploitative, so fuck off," GMMTV rereleased the promotional material in English and went, "HEY INTERFANS WANNA SEND US STUFF :D?"

That told me they really don't think especially highly of us.

On December 15th, someone pointed out that Joss didn't just follow Trump on Twitter, he also followed a ton of extreme alt-right accounts on Instagram. Not normal political figures, either. Obscure figures like Pearl, Candace Owens, that guy who was saying Your Body My Choice, and Andrew Tate's right-hand man, and more! Some of his fans tried to point out that he follows progressive Thai politicians, but as far as the American side, he only followed alt-right conservative accounts with zero liberal accounts.

Though, in fairness, someone did point out that Joss also follows famous progressive Democratic figures [checks notes] comedian Chris Rock and basketball player Stephen Curry.

So. Whoohoo for that, amirite?

Since Joss's fans weren't having much success defending him on their own, they threw some @'s at his account to get him to make some kind of statement that would somehow explain away why he was following a deep, deep alt-right fanatic like Pearl. (Spoiler: He didn't.)

The JossGawin International fan club even released the above statement to address the issue, then received such alarmingly vitriolic backlash from the JossGawin fandom for "betraying" Joss that the fanclub decided to deactivate entirely. (I have no idea if they reactivated or not, since I stopped keeping up with this whole debacle shortly afterward.)

One Thai(?) JossGawin fan actually seems to have used ChatGPT to create an English comment to chastise the fanclub for their lack of support in Joss's dire times:

Amusingly, rather than address his fans' concerns or unfollow any of the accounts causing the chaos, Joss instead just started deleting any comment on his Instagram that called on him to comment.

Five days later, he unfollowed 137 accounts. No idea how many of those were alt-right extremists and how many were just extra padding to make it look like a general cleanse, but it was at least fifty last I heard, and the fact that 1) it took him nearly a week to do anything but delete the comments calling him out, and 2) his first tweet after this whole mess was a quote-retweet of GMMTV's message welcoming Barcode into the company saying, "lol this kid looks like if me and Gawin had a baby" just goes to show how unthreatened he feels.

After all, Joss has been this way for years, and his upcoming series with Gawin is probably going to do numbers regardless. He's successfully rebuilt his stagnant career off the support of interfans, and he knows he'll be fine.

Even Foei has a show with Tay! We're all good here. \:D/

So yeah! That's why I don't fuck with Joss. \:D/

This'll be the last I say on Joss publicly.

I just figured I'd make one all-encompassing post so I can link back to this in case anyone asks why I'm not supporting any of Gawin's projects with Joss. It's a shame because I do really like Gawin, but this isn't even a hard choice for me to make.

Oh, and while we're on the subject: the director of MGB, Ark, is also Not a Good Dude by all accounts I've heard from multiple people who've interacted with him privately. I mean, he sure is queer, but he's also said to be a misogynist with some white-people-worshipping tendencies. He doesn't have the highest opinion of BL fandom in general, either, especially when you look back on his whole direction of IT'S NOT A BL Shadow. Just, y'know, another reminder that queer people aren't Virtuous or Evil by nature. We're a big ole clusterfuck of nuance, so you don't have to support MGB for Ark just because he's a queer man. I have zero proof that I can share publicly, so you don't have to take my word for it. Just, y'know, in case you were on the fence, I've heard he's a dick.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go write absolutely filthy gay porn to purify myself from writing Joss's name so many times.

[wonderofasunrise]

Dozens of Songs: Tag Game Meme

Thank you for the tag love @thebiwifeonao3 💜

Rules:

12 songs you've recently listened to (include a lyric that you like maybe)

12 ships (can be solo or platonic) that the songs loosely remind you of

Tag 12 people to do the same

Whether you've been tagged or not, you can send an ask with the song and pairing to create a work based on the idea. The theme is 12, so could be 12 characters, words, paragraphs, chapter - anything!

See my playlist below the cut:

1. "Shadows of the Night" by Pat Benatar - B'Elanna/Seven (Star Trek: Voyager)

You said, "Oh girl, it's a cold world when you keep it all to yourself." I said, "You can't hide on the inside all the pain you've ever felt." Ransom my heart, but baby don't look back 'Cause we got nobody else

2. "Islands in the Stream" by Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers - Mark/Susan (ER)

But that won't happen to us and we got no doubt Too deep in love and we got no way out And the message is clear This could be the year for the real thing

3. "Snow on the Sahara" by Anggun - Beverly/Picard (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

If your hopes scatter like the dust across your track I'll be the moon that shines on your path The sun may blind our eyes, I'll pray the skies above For snow to fall on the Sahara

4. "They Don't Know" by Kirsty MacColl - Kerry/Susan (ER)

I get a feeling when I look at you Wherever you go now I want to be there too They say we're crazy but I just don't care And if they keep on talking still they get nowhere

5. "In My Life" by The Beatles - Harry/Tom (Star Trek: Voyager)

But of all these friends and lovers There is no one compares with you And these memories lose their meaning When I think of love as something new

6. "Chasing Shadows" by The Corrs - Philip/Elizabeth (The Americans)

Nothing simple anymore He said to me, "Can we go back to before?" The child appears Hate this girl that I've become Needy apparition Wring my heart like a dishcloth

7. "The Whole of the Moon" by The Waterboys - Data/Tasha (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

I spoke about wings You just flew I wondered, I guessed, and I tried You just knew

8. "Power Over Me" by Dermot Kennedy - Stan/Nina (The Americans)

So we hide away and never tell You decide if darkness knows you well That lesson of love, all that it was I need you to see

9. "Little Lies" by Fleetwood Mac - Tom/B'Elanna (Star Trek: Voyager)

Although I'm not making plans I hope that you'll understand there's a reason why (Close your eyes, close your eyes, close your eyes) No more broken hearts We're better off apart, let's give it a try (Tell me, tell me, tell me lies)

10. "Freefall" by Sharon Corr - Luka/Abby (ER) hehe help me Zoë

I am half-asleep and dreaming I'm awake but I'm not breathing I am shooting out the lights And I'm drowning in the lies I am flat against the surface I am scratching on the ice And I am fighting for my life I'm fighting for my life

11. "24 Hours" by Andrea Corr - Riker/Deanna (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

I'm not the only one that loves you Hey, everyone does You've got a map of your past Engraved on your face But your strange heart is the heart of a boy

12. "A Memory" by Doppler - Alicia/Jason (The Good Wife)

You're crying out for lightning All I give you is rain I'm the gloom in your afternoon Waiting for the sun to fade I'll take the West and you can keep the East

Tagging @sapphicsandscience @cloudsnbones @artificialconditions @everybodyknows-everybodydies @laura-elizabeth-legaspi-weaver @flutter2deceive (let me cheat by tagging just half a dozen here ok lol)

[bewarethetooth]

HEYY I'M ACTUALLY ALIVE AND IVE TOTALLY BEEN ALIVE SO HERES MY FAVORITE THING EVER DRAWN TODAY:

Now excuse me while i sleep until 5pm because the sun IS rising and i AM so tired

[turtledotjpeg]

@hxhbigbang24 time!!

I drew for this fic which made me SAD and also made my HEART WARM!! I will not say too much to avoid spoiling future chapters, but I illustrated a few moments from this scene near the end of the story that I loved!

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

and happy pride to these assholes. it's still june so i can technially still make that joke right

[aliferousdreamer]

how i felt finishing season 4 of the next step:

[rotisseries]

i have GOT to stop going and checking out the notes on... that one post.... but it's CRAZY to me that people keep reblogging it very seriously being like "HOW CAN PEOPLE LIKE HENRY HE MURDERED 20 CHILDREN"

you mean the fictional child murder?? you mean the fake fictional child murder?? you mean the fake fictional telekinetic sci fi child murder by fake fictional telekinetic sci fi murder man on fake fictional telekinetic sci fi horror netflix show stranger things??? YOU MEAN THAT FAKE MURDER???

no you're so right there's never once been a history of fandoms liking a guy even if he did a bit of fake fictional murder what an insane concept

[maingh0st]

This is just curiosity if anyone else notices this. People say that the TFOTA fandom holds no toxicity but I don’t think that’s the case. We just don’t have ship-wars. But have you noticed that a good amount of the fandom has a holier than thou attitude on how you’re supposed to enjoy the fandom? I admit I dislike wren and have been open about it in the past, But I noticed that the fandom will defend her and call you names for stating your dislike of her and being rude to you than do the same thing you’re doing with a character they love but do it with Taryn or another character they dislike, and hate noticing that they’re doing the same thing and call you names for stating that. I also noticed that some fans will call you names and be rude to you for having a different opinion on the next faerie book. Say the fandom is not for you for not liking things they like, and call you toxic for not having the same headcanons as them or not liking the same thing as them and being open about it. It’s especially bad on Reddit. But it can be bad on tumblr or any platform that has them do the same actions but say you’re the toxic one for not liking things they like. I’m curious if you’ve noticed that

hi! I'm really sorry you've had those experiences. honestly, I'm pretty new to tfota tumblr, and I don't engage with the fandom anywhere else (you mentioned reddit), so I've had less time to pick up on behaviors like that. I don't know if I'm lucky, or if I've just cultivated a pretty chill group of followers and accounts that I follow, but my time here has been pretty lacking in toxicity (& if people seem like they're trying to be inflammatory, I usually try not to engage)

in general, fandom lives in this really interesting intersection between entertainment (so we get the "let people like what they like; it doesn't matter" crowd) and truth/meaning (so we get the "stories reflect your ethics & our world & therefore shouldn't just be mindlessly enjoyed" crowd). I'm just a person yapping on the internet, but if I had to take a stab at where a lot of fandom toxicity comes from, it's in the clash between those two ideas. everyone has the right to form their own opinions and preferences for the media they consume, and yet at the same time, we often want to have conversations about what those stories mean & whether their themes are good reflections of our real world.

but if a character is your favorite babygirl who can do no wrong & you see someone criticizing their actions (or, alternatively, if you're deeply disturbed by the themes in a story & see someone ranking it as one of their favorite books), it can feel personal. we can forget that the individual behind that account is a whole person with life experiences that form their perspectives & whose opinions are no less valuable than our own.

I'm sorry you've experienced name calling and gatekeeping; that's really unfair. fandom is for everyone (just don't cause harm), and people are allowed to have differing opinions. I wish open & respectful conversations were more common than they are, but they do exist, and that's why I'm still here—I've had so much fun jabbering with people (who often have different perspectives on the books we read!) because I learn from them. I hope you're able to find that comfortable niche here, too.

[lucientheartisticfox]

i have not watched the special yet but MAN good!shadybug's outfit is a DOWNGRADE. like, shadybug? she looks cool. pretty. reminds me of scorpion cookie. i like her outfit! good!shadybug, however? no. that's just original ladybug with like, a couple embellishments. how is THAT meant to be an UPGRADE?! they could have just changed her color scheme slightly and BAM. good!shadybug! a character can be edgy and still be a good guy! i just. they could have done better. they could have done so much better

[milfbrainrot]

im so glad i cleared out so many of my old posts bc i remember listening to this podcast while still in Performative Fandom Mode and god that must've made me unbearable.

like i remember making a post about maxwell once bc she was my blorbo but also being like "oh no im a bad person for liking her, better preface this by saying she's a bad person so people don't think i excuse her actions!" and then someone got mad at me about it and i was so confused bc what do you mean im not supposed to do that on the callout post walk on eggshells website

[athenaholmesartistsguild]

I've only just started chapter 3 of Gaiden but I am absolutely obsessed with the theme of powerlessness and how it's conveyed within the game.

I can't help but notice how often Kiryu says he 'doesn't have a choice' when doing pretty much anything. Even if it's in super banal, low-stakes interactions like doing something for Akame, he's constantly stating that he feels as if he has no agency in his current situation.

In the previous Kiryu Saga games, Kiryu is painfully aware of the consequences of his actions, but he still regards them as choices that he made; not something he was forced into.

His status as a Daidoji agent has basically beaten him into submission. He'll occasionally try to fight against this absolute control over him, but he's eventually returned to his position as a pawn in this huge, shadowy organization. The Daidoji are the first organization/power structure that managed to get control over Kiryu's tendency to burn shit to the ground and good god do they take advantage of that.

But then Kiryu's also painfully aware that this is the reality he asked for. Not only does he outright say this multiple times, but he's telling others that 'they started this' when they're confronting him and it's so obvious that he's talking to himself.

He's constantly bouncing between feeling miserable and powerless and then resenting these feelings and berating himself for having them in the first place. He's grasping at any sliver of control he can still have over his life, not to find meaning in his new existence, but to further punish and abuse himself.

I can't remember the exact post, but I saw someone describe Gaiden as a love letter to the Kiryu Saga and that's the best way to describe it, I think.

Kiryu's arc in his games is an incredibly slow car crash where we witness in painful detail how incapable he is of permanently leaving his life as yakuza to protect his family.

He has this almost codependent relationship with the Tojo Clan and feels a compulsive urge to get involved in the constant crises happening.

Of course, there were outside factors that were trying to pull him into these conflicts. Everyone believes that he's the only one who can fix everything. Kiryu's name carries power. Isn't it disgustingly selfish to refuse to get involved when he was the one who chose the clan's chairmen?

How could he refuse to deliver a single letter after the 5th chairman was shot right in front of him?

How could he ignore the people threatening to take his orphanage away from him and his kids?

How could he tell his daughter that she can't become an idol because of his past?

How could he justify staying alive when it did nothing but bring harm to his family?

What choice did he have?

But remember, you chose this, Kiryu.

[wildlyfreemoon]

NON COMMITTAL QUESTION what do my followers (all 21 of you, including bots I’m sure) think about me posting fics?

Idk I’ve been watching twd (as is clear bc it’s the only thing I post ab rn) and daryl…

Lowkey I have a couple ideas already… it’s just I don’t want ppl who follow me to feel weird ab me posting fics? Idk if that makes sense. Like I don’t THINK ppl will have problems with it (this is literally tumblr) maybe I’m just insecure about my own abilities/ideas…

[bisexualdinahlance]

There's only so many pimms fics out there and while I'm happy I'm no longer seeing five million "Kent was an abusive narcissist and jack did nothing wrong" fics i kinda hate that most of the stuff I see now have swung in the almost complete opposite direction to "Kent did nothing wrong and Jack is a self centered piece of shit but it's okay guys bc Kent forgives him". Like that's not really better! What happened to nuance what happened to "we both owe each other apologies"!!

[vacuum-fluorescent-display]

i have to stop going in the main fandom tags on ao3

[dreamerlynx]

.

[steampunk-raven]

every fandom ive been in always has people who engage in so much fandom discourse and like 9 times out of 10 I fully agree with their opinion but they’re just. so mean about it