It wasn't actually that bad, either.in this fandom in the ONS era. Honestly, ever since K-fans arrived, it’s become impossible to be here; you can't say or do anything anymore. Every day there’s something against us ,it’s starting to become unbearable, and many Robron fans don't help matters either. Following Robron and being part of a fandom is supposed to be a fun escape, but it just isn't anymore; sooner or later the rope snaps.
10 favourites, 10 fandoms
RULES: List your ten favourite characters from ten separate fandoms, then tag ten people!
thank you for the tag @donttelltheelff <3
masters of the air - john bucky egan
it's always sunny - charlie kelly
star wars - luke skywalker
the pacific - eugene sledge
top gun - tom iceman kazansky
x-files - dana scully
supernatural - dean winchester
star trek aos - james t. kirk
x-men - erik lehnsherr
hockey - matthew tkachuk (does this count? im gonna say it does)
as per usual my tag anxiety is a thing, if you see this and wanna partake please do :))
I can barely use tumblr without it crashing and this ain't what I usually put on my blog but I dont care bc I'm excited and want to throw ideas into the void!!! So under the cut will be SPOILERS for Helluva Boss all episodes released to this day (9/9/23 having season 2 episode 6 posted and the date of me typing this post). Cool? Cool.
Edit: (its now 12/10/23 and I see I never posted this lmao its just in my drafts. Which I have like fifty of 😅)
Okay okay so like: I'm a nerd who's an obsessive little bitch at times and when Fizz was explaining his side of events I was like... I'm not calling you a liar, 'cause Blitzø was definitely jealous, at least a bit, but I dont think jealousy over fame caused the biggest strain. So I went back through the episode slowly and took some screen shots of the flashback parts to show a bit what I mean.
[Image description: Cash Buckzo smiling as young adult Fizz reads card with words on the front saying "Wish you were My So" with Fizz's hand blocking the last letter. In the background of the image young adult Blitzø is watching behind curtains unhappily]
Pretty sure we can all tell that card really saying "wish you were my son" seeing how we know Cash is a shit father from season 2 episode 1. The deep blue (personally reminds me of space) and star decorations of the card are also an interesting choice, as well as the handwriting. It all points to Cash either having other people doing work for him, or being capable of doing these things himself, but not caring enough to similarly educate his kid in turn. So its no fucking wonder why Blitzø was upset! Theres a difference in wanting the spot light and wanting your parent to act like they love you instead of your bestest friend! (As someone who was the bestest friend at one point shit ain't comfortable!)
So Blitzø sees this shit and feels understandably hurt. I would too. He has a letter for Fizz, but logical or not, the hurt caused by Cash would sour emotions around Fizz for Blitzø for a little bit likely. So he removed himself from the situation before really ever entering, and with the shove he gave the cake holder and the talk of booze stealing from Cash later in the episode, I have to imagine that was his way of trying to not ruin Fizz's party. Blitzø throughout the series has been a bit quick to violence, volatile emotions would just worsen things. In some sense, if the fire hadn't gotten out of hand so quickly- or they waited until the cake was settled to light the candles, I'd argue Blitzø was making a more emotional mature decision than I normally think of him.
But then theres the card and flower itself. Its sealed with a heart sticker and says "Fizz's eyes only". The flower looks familiar. Five red petals all coming together to a yellow eye like center. Reminds me of the flowers in Stolas' hospital room in season 2 episode 4 Western Energy. People theorized that those petals dropping had something to do with the whole he loves me he loves me not game. The nature of these twos relationship is interesting.
I included these four screen shots because I think they emphasize the hurt Blitzø felt, his confusion, but mainly to point out Cash. When all the charecters are silhouettes we see one that is clearly Blitzø standing under Fizz's birthday banner. But behind him, one of the last sprinting out of the tent is a partly hidden silhouette. But the horn, head, hand/claws, and mustache make it clear that this is Cash once again. But when we see from a more street view Blitzø is alone when the explosion of fireworks happened. Doesn't this imply that Cash just not only left the kid who he wished was his son but also his blood son behind despite all he needed to do was grab them and push them to run?
I read an ask over on @tsuki-no-ura’s blog today that sort of broke my heart and hit on some things I’ve been feeling and thinking. I agree with the anon that it feels like our fandom has become a worse place. The post I just reblogged touches on some of why I think that is. Also Ghostmartyr’s recent post was helpful as well in understanding the rampant negativity. The feeling of heartbreak that comes from crushed hopes and dreams generally doesn’t allow for graciousness.
It’s hard to avoid the negativity. Mantras like “don’t like, don’t read” and “stay in your lane” are great, of course, but they only work if everyone follows the rule. Like the anon in Tsuki’s ask said, if you are online for more than a few minutes, if you dig even the slightest bit into the tags, you’ll see something you regret and not everyone has the strength or the support group to let it go or ignore it. It hurts to see people willfully misrepresenting your favorite character or your ship community. It’s hard not to take it personally.
The advice to build your own community is also good, but I understand how difficult this is. Not everyone has the confidence to slide into another persons dms to start the process, and many long timers in the fandom are understandably cautious of befriending new people. It can take years to find people you can safely laugh and cry (and vent) with. Until you do, you are sort of adrift in the wider fandom with all its issues.
Regarding ship wars, I feel like here on tumblr they most often take the form of meta blogs that devote the majority of their time to denigrating other ship communities. While they may officially hold the attitude of “ship and let ship”, the number of disingenuous anons they answer and the sheer abundance of replies that focus on straw man arguments or else attempt to paint an entire rival community in a negative light is honestly astonishing.
I don’t know what to say about those. Just. Yeah. It’s disgusting and dishonest. I hate it too. Also I know as a meta blog I shouldn’t be casting stones. Glass houses and all that. But I’ve tried very hard not to do that. I’m obviously not perfect in this regard but I feel pretty confident that if you look at the 4356 anon asks I’ve answered, there are only a handful that could be considered casting shade on anyone. I get bait daily. It would be so easy to fall into that trap. But it’s such a shitty thing to do.
Tsuki’s reply to the anon was perfect of course and I could sympathize with her feelings. That need to be careful and constantly censor yourself is something I can relate to. There’s also the awareness that no matter how hard you try or how careful you are, someone somewhere (or maybe a lot of someones) are going to view you poorly because your ideas are inconvenient to them.
I don’t have any solutions here. I just read that ask and wanted to let people who are hurting because of fandom negativity know that I see them and I’m sorry. It sucks. It’s exhausting. All those things. You aren’t crazy. You aren’t alone. You aren’t weak. You aren’t overly sensitive. You are human.
I hope you find things that make you happy, like Tsuki said, either by reading your favorite fic for the hundredth time or focusing on the humor, art and shitposts that are also fandom staples. At least that part of fandom never changes.
Seriously, there were so many “quirky fan things” that I thought were exactly that--quirky fan things--until I became an English major and learned, yeah, no, that’s actual literary stuff, and it is valid.
Applying ideas from one fandom to another? That’s intertextuality.
Headcanons, self-inserts, role play, or connecting heavily to a character? Just an extension of Reader Response Theory.
Fixating on one specific aspect of the story, like setting, or wondering what would happen if that one aspect was different (i.e. an AU)? That’s looking at text through different lenses and examining how things like history and location and world-building shape the narrative.
Imagining and obsessing over all the thoughts/feelings/details behind a particular scene? That’s close-reading and looking for larger themes and symbols.