#fandom discourse

[genflavouredcola]

thinking about the blog i saw recently that was called like "DNI MOIDS", had a DNI for people who played the weird route in deltarune, which I found through a post about how liking the rudy knight theory was misogyni. musings of an individual who hasnt been outside since the biden administration

[fourtoast]

May I ask why you don't like James Potter? Genuinely just trying to understand... Of course everyone is entitled to their own opinions, and you obviously do not have to like a character, but it just seems like you really don't like James and I can't seem to comprehend why...

In answering this, I'm sort of breaking my self-imposed rule of not openly discussing characters and ships I dislike. I'm of the mindset that because it's not hurting anyone, there is really no reason why fandom discourse should happen, and so many of the complaints I see people post/start problems with are things that I'd have rattled off to my mutuals and kept my general opinions to myself.

However, since you asked, I'll open the discussion.

First, I want to make it clear that I don't agree with most fanon characterizations. There's a reason I tend to stay away from some of the more popular fics, read primarily fics written by my mutuals, and use a very specific set of tags when searching on AO3. Don't take this as an attack on people who enjoy the fanon characterizations of everyone or as me trying to start something. I'm not afraid of the block button and, at the end of the day, I believe it is your (general) responsibility to curate your online experience, so if you see something you don't like on my blog or on anyone else's, I kindly ask that you block or unfollow and move on with your day.

It's not James as a character that I have a problem with, but rather his fanon characterization. Now, I acknowledge that everyone is entitled to their own opinions on this subject, but the "sunshine boy, golden retriever boyfriend, friend to all" characterization that seems to have been widely accepted by this fandom just has never sat right with me. I've talked about this briefly before (as a more general concept), but there does seem to be the idea that one's favorite character has to have the same morals and beliefs that they do, and often, in doing so, the character is stripped of a lot of their most interesting qualities/flaws.

Canonically, James is a much more complicated character and is someone who was, at times, arrogant, reckless, and cruel, especially in his teenage years. The fact that he publicly sexually assaulted one of his classmates in front of so many others, and that he ignored Lily's lack of interest for years, is glossed over a lot in fanon, and I personally find it uncomfortable to see that kind of behavior erased or minimized, and then replaced with this almost flawless, endlessly charming persona. It feels to me that in an attempt to make him more appealing or to fit certain ship dynamics, a lot of writers sand off the edges that actually make James interesting.

To be clear, I also recognize that people do this with most characters, not just James, so this, as I've already stated, is in no way an attack on any of those writers. I've found even myself doing this in some of my earlier writings, so I'm not innocent in this debate either. But with James, there seems to be a particular insistence on portraying him as a universally beloved, morally upright guy, and that just doesn't resonate with me. It's not that I think people shouldn't enjoy these portrayals, but it's just not what I look for in fanworks (or traditionally published media), and it's one of the reasons I've always found myself gravitating toward more nuanced or villainous characters. Barty and Evan are canonically absolutely terrible people, and that complexity is what draws me to them. In my experience, they're the only characters (and by extension, ship) that people allow to be morally grey or even downright evil, and it's only because of this dynamic that I still engage with the fandom. I don't need a character to be "good" or universally likeable to be interesting, and I find rough edges, moral ambiguity, and significant character flaws far more compelling.

Honestly, my issue is less with James himself and more with how the fandom (in general) tends to flatten characters into simplified archetypes (especially so many of the women, but that's a post for another time). I think we collectively lose so much when we decide that every character has to be sanitized to fit a particular mold. It's okay for characters to be flawed and messy. That's what makes fiction interesting!

So yeah, that's the gist of it. I don't necessarily hate James, but rather the way he's portrayed in fanon, which has ultimately colored the way I engage with both the character and the fandom at large. I hope this explains where I'm coming from!

[fangswbenefits]

It’s really disheartening how online bullying is so often dismissed and brushed off because it’s “not real life”. It is. It very much is and it has ramifications beyond what you see on your screen.

And it’s really sad to see online spaces crawling with bad faith actors and harassment while people on the sidelines applaud because violence and aggression are so rampant, that excusing it as “we are just doing the right thing!” seems like a valid reason.

It isn’t.

Even if you feel like you’ve been hurt, that is no excuse to turn it into an opportunity to harass people for “shits and giggles”.

Do better.

Try your best to resolve things privately (even if you weren’t granted that grace in the first place), because airing out everything and screaming “death!” from the rooftops isn’t the cute little act you think it is, and people will eventually realise this and avoid you.

[if-dreams-do-come-true]

Just me speaking to the void, but…

I don’t think you should be complaining that writers are writing a character ooc when you go on to interact (and positively if I may add) with fanart that depicts the character in an ooc manner. If you are going to stick with what is specifically stated and shown in canon, then in theory you shouldn’t be liking fanarts where that character is drawn to be ooc. If you only complain about writers making characters ooc and don’t extend that opinion onto other forms of media, then your issue is with the writer as a person.

It’s okay to dig and explore a little deeper into a characters psyche. Just like IRL people, you have no idea how that person actually is behind closed doors and in their private life. It’s the different interpretations and the headcanons that makes the fandom more interesting. This toxicity that’s spreading on this platform is why everyone is hesitant to interact with one another and it’s ruining the fandom experience.

It’s ok to disagree with someone, but it’s even more important to agree to disagree and RESPECTFULLY! Seriously, please learn that not everything is for you and that’s okay. But what’s not okay is hijacking other user’s posts and then going on to use it to belittle the OP. If all you are interacting with is discourse, maybe you should be asking yourself if you are in the tags because you genuinely like the character or are you here for the drama? I much rather see someone’s unpopular opinions and controversial takes on a character than someone complaining.

No matter what your own opinion on the character is, if you think your opinion is the right one and you make others feel bad about theirs…then that’s oppression.

[totally-not-zierde]

I haven't posted since ages but REALLY they are still bashing female characters for being "in the way of the M/M ship" what the heck in the 2009 is this shit

The next step is adding "here lemon!" in the middle of the fic and "SLASH! This means men!! Men having a relationship!! Don't like don't read!!" as a disclaimer

[trivial-writing]

Is it me or is fandom getting way too purity culture ified? Like, I’m no pro shipper. But c’mon I’m getting flamed for having my shipped characters not having a canonical age! They’re both close, I think, in age. That’s enough for me!

And yes, I am talking about Lance and Diantha. They were like, “why don’t you ship Originshipping. Go die for shipping Wallace and Winona and Steven with Cynthia. You can’t ship two gay characters with opposite gender characters!” It’s just so weird!

And I got flamed for shipping Lukagami because they were like one year apart. ONE!!!! It’s only one! I’ve shipped characters with larger age gaps. I hate it when I’m here, shipping what I like, and then these anti’s come here saying I HAVE to ship what’s canon.

Like, no. I don’t have to. I don’t HAVE to ship Kataang. I can ship Zutara if I want to. Besides, I don’t even ship anyone in Avatar. Unless the Cabbage merchant and cabbages don’t count.

Like, you can ship anything you want as long as you’re not hurting anyone. Shipping is supposed to be fun! It’s not supposed to be full of some random ass obligatory ass rules like “Oh ThEY hAvE to Be OnE dAY oLdeR thaN eacH othEr!” or some crap like that. Shut up! I personally don’t like dark ships, but it’s like, I don’t like it, so I scroll. I don’t even try to interact with the creator! It’s not that hard to have fandom etiquette!

[zomb-xx]

why do the same types of characters *always* get hcs as trans?

cause like feminine/gnc men get hcs as being trans men in droves, and only feminine men, and it feels like some of you are doing it bcs you see trans men as inherently more fem than real - i mean cis men. and also cause some of you fetishize their bodies and only see them as men w/ vaginas.

but like fem/gnc men also get hcs as being transfem because they're too fem, Real Men don't act that way, so they must be women, yk? (and then it gets seen as a compliment, for some reason (definitely not bioessentialism))

and masc women get hcs as being trans women in droves, and as i said before, it feels like some of you are doing it because you see trans women as inherently more masc than cis women (this definitely has nothing to do w/ bioessentialism) and also because y'all fetishize trans women's bodies and only see them as women w/ dicks.

and they also get hcs as being trans men because they're too masc, Real Women don't act that way, so they must be men.

and also the significant lack of enby hcs for anyone ever bcs we just don't fucking exist ig