Something that has been making me extremely uncomfortable, particularly in the Travnat fandom on Twitter, that I just can't hold in anymore is how excitedly people talk about the idea of Nat hitting and abusing Travis post-rescue.
If your headcanon is that Nat, despite desperately trying not to, ends up replicating the cycle of abuse she grew up with because her father was her primary model for love and intimacy, that’s a legitimate and potentially compelling thing to explore. I may not agree with it personally, but I can understand why people would want to explore this concept. Trauma survivors can reenact harmful dynamics, and there’s room for serious discussion and meta about that.
What bothers me is the way it’s very often framed by the fans. I’m constantly seeing posts along the lines of, “I can’t wait until Nat hits Travis in Season 4 and he apologizes to her afterwards,” or referring to the idea of Nat slapping Travis as “juicy” or “delicious” (I kid you not I have seen this), joking about Nat controlling where Travis goes because she's possessive, casting them into the roles of Obsession, celebrating the idea of an aggressive, abusive Nat and a submissive, victimized Travis as if it's a fun ship dynamic they're eager to see play out, ETC. That’s far from really engaging with the tragedy of abuse or trauma.
Domestic violence is a real thing that many people have experienced, and I don't think it should ever be discussed this lightly, even when we're talking about fictional characters. It's not something fun or shippy. It's not something to pair with reaction gifs.
I grew up in a violent household, and every time I try to spend time on Travnat Twitter, I end up getting genuinely triggered by some of the things fellow Travnats are saying. It's frustrating, because I'm literally just trying to run a cute little Travnat account. I don't really know what else to call it besides the admittedly overused and often eyeroll-worthy words: romanticization and fetishization of abuse. I don't enjoy watching something that has caused real suffering in my life be treated like a fun fandom trope.
Especially with characters like Nat and Travis. Nat is a character whose entire life has been shaped by the violence she witnessed and experienced at home, the idea of her becoming anything like her father after so many years of internalizing all of her anger to prevent this should feel absolutely devastating, not exciting. And Travis experienced unimaginable abuse and coercion in the wilderness, which resulted in him having to conform and make himself small, compliant, and invisible as a survival mechanism. In your post-rescue headcanon, Travis' abuse is being perpetuated by arguably the only person he felt safe with out there. That is tragic and dark and horrifying. Imagine if the roles were reversed and people were excitedly talking about Travis hitting and abusing Nat next season. I highly doubt the response would be the same. If you can see the discomfort and wrongness in that, why can't you see it the other way around? Also, you know making light of Doomcoming is wrong, so why is this situation any different?
I often see this urge with het ships within queer fanbases to "justify" it by casting the woman into a very dominant role and the man into a submissive one. Which is fine! But I think this concept can go way too far, as is becoming the case with some Travnat fans.
Please remember the seriousness of the subjects you are discussing, and how real victims are reading what you're saying about these subjects.
