#stan culture

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

tag y’all’s problematic ships 🫶🏻

[icedsodapop]

[curiositysavesthecat]

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[creelarke]

I’m all for celebrities being rude to fans who 1) are rude to them first 2) know no boundaries 3) invade their personal lives and spaces. But if you’re unnecessarily rude to the people who are kind to you and just trying to be supportive just because you think you’re above them, then you’re just an entitled and rude person who needs to be reminded that these people are the ones making you famous and rich.

Also you deserve the ratio here.

[sophiaslittleblog]

Hay guys can you reportthis account on twitter for targeted harassment. Like yah sure make fun of my face because I had an opinion about a singer. That’s normal. Stan culture is a disease. https://x.com/faithgirlyyy/status/1854349308247564337?s=46&t=ISxuzN3kd3ofIH6noauorA

[bowerxdepp]

people saying “no one wants this” “who asks for this” “stop making these” when a movie announces a sequel or when a show announces its next season is so silly because you might not want it, but there are fans who do. and lol no want forces you to consume it? getting sick of this franchise? cool. just don’t watch it. there’s literally no reason to voice your opinions when the only thing you’re going to achieve is make fans who are excited about their favorite media feel bad for getting excited about things that make them happy. do I think some series and franchises should just be done? yes. will I watch it? no. will I be a bitch about it when it gets renewed? no. I’ll just ignore and move on and focus on things I like instead.

you’re not hurting those big companies by saying you don’t want their sequel. you’re making people who found comfort in those media feel bad about enjoying things that make them happy.

[becomingvecna]

"you miss the point if you idolize these characters" do I look like I give a fuck about your character analysis and psychological essay? babe I'm watching a movie as a source of entertainment. and if these characters look hot covered in blood and killing people, I am going to idolize the fuck out of them and I am going to fall in love with them. it's okay to just have fun and enjoy the characters and say yayyy more blood while watching a movie during a movie night after a stressful day without psychoanalyzing everything my dude. let your brain rest and just enjoy hot characters doing hot villain shit in films. you're not going to start killing people irl with an axe just because miss pearl did it and you think she's such a strong, badass female character, and you're not going to shoot someone irl in the head just because the joker did it and you think he has a point. or or you're not going to start eating people irl just because hannibal did it and you think he's hot as fuck. just... enjoy hot characters doing hot villain shit. idolize them. fall in love with them. the point of movies and tv shows is that you can escape reality for a while. it's a cruel, fucked up world here, and these little fictional worlds can be your getaway for a while. it's okay to embrace your dark fantasy and idolize villains.

for legal reason, this is about fictional characters.

[miumiumanzo]

In the light of youtuber flops, Taylor Swift staying silent, and Gaiman SA allegations, I think it’s important to have the mindset of creators don’t owe you anything. They don’t owe you your life, the stability of your mental health, your personality, and everything else about you. Appreciating art and expressing gratitude to creators is one thing, but latching your entire existence to one media and one creator/one collective is another. Most of these creators create their works without having you in mind. They don’t even know you. You don’t owe them anything. And I feel like this is just as important as having good boundaries for yourself in general too.

[reblogandlikes]

Self insert Fandom

I've come to realise that most of the toxicity within the acotar fandom is often rooted in a ridiculous amount of self insert. They see a character as them, therefore their actions are absolved. They see another character in their abuser, or worse, 'as' their abusers and so they can never be impartial towards them, thinking the worst because in real life they've dealt with a lot.

I get it. Art can sometimes mimic reality, but they are indeed forgetting that this is a whole fantasy fiction book about human women turned fae getting dicked down with a hint of war and political intrigue. These characters are not, in fact, you or your abusers. Making the series so personal to themselves can then lead to a lack of introspection of the work as a whole made to be enjoyed and critiqued to the readers' preference, whether shallow or in depth.

But because this fandom in particular seem to make these books so personal than reading it as a piece of fiction, they're inflicting real world scenarios onto fictional characters and if their characters face any backlash or reasonable questioning, they take it as a personal attack which for some reason leads to insults and wild assumptions of very REAL people.

"No, no one is saying you should forgive your abuser mum, boyfriend, sister, because this literally isn't about you. I dont know you or your situation. Im talking about *insert character*."

"No, I don't think reactive abuse is OK, though I also don't believe lying about SA is OK either, let alone condoning SA."

"What do you mean it's abusive to lock someone up and then make an excuse to say it's not abuse to lock someone else up?"

The mental gymnastics is truly outstanding. If they're so called morally grey, let them be just that.

Speaking for myself, it's easy to find some commonality in a characters personality. It's written by a whole human who has a personality too, after all. But I do not attach myself to these characters as if they are my family members or those dear to me. They are, in fact, not real, and I will talk about them in the context of a fantasy text, generally.

Now the moment you take their actions out of a fantasy text, every character, and I mean, every character, needs to be dealt with the same scrutiny. Your faves will be called out and dragged. You cannot call real people names, but then think highly of yourself when your faves have done worse. What does that then make you? A racist? A misogynist? An AS denier? An abuse apologist? Someone who endorses apartheid? Someone who's OK with controlling the female body? A war criminal?

You see how absurd that all is?

Honestly, it's not that deep. But again, it's not bad to see yourself in character. Just realise that when people have some reservations about them, they are not calling YOU out. They are strictly talking about that character and that character alone. But maybe if you find so much offence, perhaps you should think about why that is. Look deep and figure out why it troubles you so much. Perhaps they're holding up a mirror, and you simply can not bear to look into it, seeming that that character represents you so much.

I think this is the only fandom I've been involved in where simply daring to disagree with the main MC and side characters can lead to online prosecution and just so much hostility. I've seen some truly nasty comments, and it's boggling. I can imagine how off-putting it may seem to newer readers.

I long for the days when people can talk about the characters and narrative alone without feeling the need to make disclosures about what they support in real life because it's truly unnecessary. I thought reading fiction was meant to be a form of escapism, not defending my moral standpoint.

If I said I enjoyed Katherine Pierce, Klaus Mikaelson and Kai Parker from TVD, what then? They're despicable, but fucking enjoyable. Don't get me started on Game of Thrones characters.

Alright, I'm done now 😅

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

one of the things I see the most in any fandom space is pearl clutching people saying how “shocked” they are when it turns out a “problematic” ship or a “problematic” character is loved a lot in said fandom.

the most recent example for me would be from this poll where it asks people to vote which ship they like the most, thousands of fans have voted, and the results happen to show the ship that is — according to these people — most problematic has won. needless to say, hundreds of these “noble people who usually harass real people, who just want to ship their little ship in peace, over fictional characters in the name of being morally superior” are so shocked that such a “harmful and problematic” ship is the one that is most liked within the fandom they’re in.

I mean… I don’t know what to tell you, but just because you’re “loud” and you like to “witch hunt” people who enjoy fictional things that you think is Bad, doesn’t mean the ship or the character you deemed Problematic is actually hated by the majority of the fandom you’re in.

sure, you are allowed to hate these ships and these characters for any reason, but other people are allowed to like them. and surprise surprise, the world doesn’t revolve around you and your mindset that Liking Bad Fictional Things Equals Condoning Bad Things in Real Life.

shocking, I know. but most sane people can actually distinguish the differences between fiction and reality. and that’s why people who like fictional villains aren’t actually serial killer in real life.

fandom is and has always supposed to be a safe and fun space in which anyone can like and enjoy whatever they want. it never is, and it’s never supposed to be a courtroom where someone’s moral compass is judged based on how they enjoy Fictional Things. because the whole point of enjoying a ship or liking a fictional character is that it’s fictitious, it’s not real. no one in real life is getting killed because a hot fictional villain is loved by hundreds and thousands of fans.

I hope you feel better soon though 🤍

[icedsodapop]

Wish people, esp White people including White women and White queer people, would stop worshipping Dolly Parton and recognize her for the centrist liberal she really is 😑😑

[curiositysavesthecat]

*This poll was submitted to us and we simply posted it so people could vote and discuss their opinions on the matter. If you’d like for us to ask the internet a question for you, feel free to drop the poll of your choice in our inbox and we’ll post them anonymously (for more info, please check our pinned post).

[peetapiepita]

Okay, as one of the only standing members of the original 2010s Josh stan crowd, I feel like I'm obligated to speak up on it now.

New fans, if you believe the conspiracy theories about Josh's relationship, please know that Josh hates you, he hates your guts.

Do you want to know why he deosn't post on social media anymore? The dude used to tweet about seeing Billy Ray Cyrus on the red carpet LIVE. He used to post on Instagram about his dog sons. He used to post about fun stuff that happened on set.

The reason he doesn't post anymore is those toxic fans who have been brainwashing you. They harassed Claudia AND him personally whenever either of them posted about the other. (Oh and they use that as a point in their conspiracy theories as if Claudia not posting about Josh isn't caused by them.) They bombarded Josh's comment sections when he just posted a picture of Claudia chilling by the waters, calling him names and accusing him of disgusting things he never did.

Josh got enough of that and decided to clear out his Instagram. THAT'S why you never see him online anymore. He was literally bullied by those conspiracy theorists who claim they are his fans.

Imagine being hated by Josh so much he cleared out his Insta and never posted again, that's who you decide to be when you believe the conspiracy theories surrounding his relationship. If that's what you want, you do you.

[galaxostars]

Do you guys remember the first time you read/watched Harry Potter and thought Snape was responsible for everything only to be hit in the stomach when you found out alongside the characters it was Quirrell all along?

Do you remember reading about Sirius Black escaping jail and wanting to murder Harry and do you remember being ready to throw hands at him? And then do you remember that sinking feeling when you realized he’d been wrongfully imprisoned for twelve years and was painted as the guilty one when it was Peter all along?

Do you remember hearing about the death eater Regulus Black, following in Voldemorts’ footsteps only to be hit with the crushing truth later, that he’d betrayed him and died doing so and no one knew about it and you had, yet again, judged him too harshly?

Do you remember hating Draco and progressively coming to understand the circumstances that led him to that?

Do you remember loving Dumbledore and realizing suddenly how badly he wronged Harry?

Do you ever think about those moments, and how we all judged those characters and fell into the easy trap? Time and time again? How easy it was to gulp down one version and not realize how biased it was?

I feel like if there’s one thing those books taught me it was to never get along with one version of a story. You can’t hear one side and admit it’s the final truth. You can’t judge someone through one lens and not admit it’s skewed. You can’t erase circumstances. You can’t shut out the other side of a story because one is sufficient for you.

If you want to crucify someone for something they did, remember all those times you were ready to crucify Snape, Sirius, Regulus, Draco and so on.

I’m not against holding people accountable for their actions, but I don’t want to get that sinking feeling of guilt that I had with characters on real human beings. And it is inhuman to hold one thing against someone’s head forever—especially when you don’t know the whole story.

We all make mistakes, we all fuck up, and we also, all have our own truth. And we’re also all capable of empathy towards others. 🖤

God knows I hate jkr with a passion but fuck if I love the message that was spread through those arcs.

[paragl00m]

I think what bothers me about the "fake fans" discourse is that people on their fandom high horses see other, lesser fans' interactions with the fandom (theories, questions, favorite song/episode/"era" etc) as products to consume and critique rather than the attempt by an excited, probably young human being, who found a piece of art or media they resonate with, to connect with other human beings who are excited and passionate about the same.

It also seems to stem from the "if it's popular, it's not cool anymore and I won't feel cool for liking it" attitude where early adopters (or people who swear they were) try to gatekeep a fanbase at the expense of the artist's success. But if you truly like an artist, wouldn't you want them to be successful? Wouldn't you want them to be able to grow and move on to higher and higher accolades and have more people who appreciate their work? I'm not sure how giving an artist the reputation of having a fanbase of rude, exclusive, engagement-policing fans helps them more than it hurts.

I've seen posts about how fans of Ethel Cain/Hayden who aren't trans, or don't live in the south, or don't have religious trauma, or aren't women, don't understand her and shouldn't interact in the fanbase or share their own interpretations of the lyrics that might not line up with the Ethel narrative. Where do y'all think understanding begins? If people are listening to American Teenager bc they think it's fun and poppy, great. If that's the only song of hers they ever listen to, fine. But maybe they will connect with it and decide to explore more of her music. I am a transsexual man who lives in Louisiana and doesn't have any sort of religious trauma or background, but I resonate deeply with how Hayden writes about being transsexual in her music, I identify strongly with her Ring/Great Dark spiritual interpretations, and I like how her sound gets very gothic at times. People are drawn to art for so many different things, let's not be cops about it.

Essentially, fandom should be about shared appreciation for the artist and about having fun sharing it. I got on tumblr bc it seemed like Hayden had a fun little community going with some down-to-earth fans where they have sort of peer-to-peer conversations. And then I start looking in the #ethelcain tag and many of the posts are "fans" talking about how much they hate other Ethel Cain "fans." Lighten up, damn

[bowerxdepp]

No one:

Those One Direction x Y/N fics when Wattpad was at its peak: