#you cannot gauge someone's moral fiber by the FICTIONAL MEDIA they partake in

[blindmagdalena]

I’ve seen a lot of posts about people being upset with people who self ship or write fan content about Homelander supposedly “defending Homelander’s actions.” When tbh in reality I’ve seen nobody actually defending Homelander. Instead it’s a lot of imagining what things would be like if he had healthy/stable supports in his life and also a lot of “yes he’s repugnant and yes I lust after him carnally.”

Just I have no clue what some people in the tags are on about with their hatred of fans in the community.

they're inventing a narrative that makes the most sense to them. they hate Homelander and everything he represents, and in their mind, anyone whose opinion differs is The Enemy. fictional depiction = real life endorsement, right? that's the puritanical brainwashing invading fandom spaces. if you like a character, you MUST be cosigning their actions.

we can no longer explore or empathize with characters who exhibit harmful beliefs and behaviors without explicitly condoning those behaviors. you may only empathize with characters who are flawed in Good and Acceptable ways. no uncomfortable or ugly trauma responses allowed.

most people who feel the need to attack or post hate in character tags are just looking for people who will rally with them. they're looking for a sense of community and people who will validate and support their outrage over people who dare to like a character they despise. it's the same thing that motivates us to find people who LIKE what we like... but the evil version lol they want to chase that sense of "winning" at fandom by being the Most Correct and Morally Superior enjoyer of media.

i got a really interesting ask a while back from an anon who came snooping in the tag to see what Homelander fans were really about... and ended up having a surprisingly reasonable reaction to what they found.

because you're right! the majority of us do not excuse or dismiss anything Homelander has done. a huge part of the appeal IS how fucked up he is. the horrible things he's done. because the reality is that Homelander can't actually hurt anyone. writing about him is not hurting anyone. we're just playin around in the sandbox that is narrative exploration.

it's okay to just like or dislike characters without moralizing your media consumption. i promise.