sorry "homestuck wasn't even this bad" guy back i had more thoughts once i sent the ask.
older fandom spaces used to be so much better, genuinely. especially with shipping. what the FUCK happened to "character has two hands" what happened to ending ship wars with a silly "but what if they were POLY"
i miss it. i really miss it. as a poly person i miss it. i hate modern ship wars. i hate them so much. i really really do. fandom feels so toxic now.
maybe it's just that bnha is so much different than homestuck but back in homestuck days (yes i know the homestuck fandom is still around but it's NOT like it used to be, i watched it deteriorate in real time :() if you encountered another homestuck you would ask what the other person ships, not to decide if you hate them or not based on their ships, but to start a conversation and to make friends :(
there was a gap between cons i went to and after the gap i could FEEL the difference. everything felt different. everything felt WRONG. my last con before the one after the gap, i made so many friends! i asked them their favorite ship from homestuck and we made quick friends, even when we hated each other's ship! it was a conversation starter! but at the one after the gap, i tried asking someone what they shipped in our mutual fandom (voltron, it was before i got into bnha, and it's only gotten worse since this con :() and they literally recoiled because they thought i was trying to start shit... and it was like!! no!! this was a fandom greeting!! i'm trying to make friends!!
i don't go to cons anymore :( the fandom spaces have changed so drastically... it's so... hateful, now
If no one else hears you, know that I do.
While bkdk is the first ship I’ve interacted with heavily, I’ve been interactive with fandom enough in the past to know the extent of how bad bnha and anime fandom is as a whole (in comparison to different media) after the pandemic. There was a definitely a shift in fandom culture then when anime became more popular (which I honestly don’t have room to talk about since I didn’t get into anime until 2021).
Modern ship wars are taken way too seriously, and I think some people legitimately feel like they’re fighting for the honor of the motherland or something. Like, Horikoshi isn’t gonna personally thank you for commenting “Deku is straight” on some teenagers art of bkdk holding hands. And considering the results of the art contest, one of the artists who one literally being a bkdk, I think it’s safe to say that Horikoshi doesn’t give enough of a damn. Especially since one of his assistants used to post bkdk fanart all of the time.
I don’t think the fandom space is worse now because homestuck and bnha are different, I think it’s cuz of the influx of different people entering anime fandom and people rejecting queer shipping specifically in shonen anime spaces, because of the disapproval from cishet men. Because from what I remember, this was never as big of an issue in western cartoon fandoms (cartoon isn’t just kids shows btw, I mean I adult cartoons as well, before someone gets their panties in a twist about me comparing anime with cartoons).
It’s like every shipping community in shonen fandom feels the need to compete with each other to seek approval from shonen bros in order to stop getting hate from the western anime space. So everyone just stays at each other’s throats and cuts other people down in order to build themselves up for the sake of gaining respect. And it’s funny to me, because it’s really not that deep. All it’s doing is ruining the fandom experience for people who’re just trying to mind their business.
Honestly the state of fandom in the anime community just makes me avoid going to cons and telling people that I even like anime. Any time I tell someone I like anime and manga, usually the first reaction is to quiz me since I don’t “look” like I’d be into it as much as I am.
In conclusion, the bnha fandom is terrible and toxic, but not for the reason everyone says that it is. It’s the same kind of toxic that the entire shonen anime community bolsters, and it’s literally just the result of toxic masculinity/male entitlement, queerphobia, and misogyny causing everyone to feel the need to prove themselves to the dudebros that somehow control the climate of the fandom space. Honestly, I think this little corner of the internet on tumblr will be the safest judgement free place you can find. For me at least, it’s a safe space.
I’m sorry they ruined cons for you, anon. I hope one day fandom culture progresses and you can enjoy cons again without fear or judgement :(
