It's a weird feeling when people follow you for your art, openly tell you they love your interpretation of the characters, but the moment you start talking—actually explaining that interpretation, pointing out patterns, naming the things you push back against—they quietly unfollow.
And that's completely fine, to be clear. People can follow or unfollow for any reason. This isn't me saying they shouldn't. I get it. Art is easier to consume than conversation. You can look at a drawing and take from it what you want. Read it your way. Project onto it. But when I start using words—analysis, critique, boundary-setting—that ambiguity collapses. Suddenly there's a person with clear opinions behind the art, and those opinions might quietly challenge something you're comfortable with. Not aggressively. Just by existing.
The unfollow isn't about me being "hostile" or "rude". It's about the discomfort of being seen. Of realizing that the art you liked came from someone with a perspective, and that perspective might not align with your own.
Because here's the thing about certain corner of ORV fandom: they've built a reality where their fanon is the characters. The only truth. And they avoid reading critique of a ship dynamic they're deeply invested in, because engaging with it might crack something they're not ready to examine—and remind them of canon they're not ready to accept.
Now, I'm not going to sit here and pretend I'm some neutral arbiter of fandom discourse. I have preferences, I have a very clear stance, and I think it's more aligned with the text than the alternative. And so probably think they. But the difference is that I'm guided by canon instead of brainrot or love for stupid yaoi templates. Because as much as you call something an interpretation, there's a point of no return where it stops being about interpretation or preference and starts being about pattern.
Because this particular corner of the fandom doesn't just prefer their interpretation. They police it.
They chase out those who see things differently and are way too vocal about it for their comfort. I've known it happen to others and now I'm watching it happen to me. The moment I established a presence here, with clear opinions and boundaries? Here come the anons. Vagueposting about me on Twitter wasn't enough, apparently, so they felt obliged to clog my Tumblr inbox with their crap (in case you are wondering why I paused the answering). Anon asks telling me that I waste my talent, telling me to shut up, to stop "forcing my bullshit" on people, etc—as if existing publicly with an opinion is the same as forcing it down someone's throat.
I know you, fuckers, are probably reading this, so I'll tell you directly: You guys are so fucking childish.
ORV is a story open to interpretation, but "interpretations" that strip characters of their fundamental traits to fit a stereotype aren't interpretations. They're erasures. And you, who defend those erasures with anonymous harassment are not defending a reading. You are defending a template.
Let me be clear: this isn't a call-out post. At least not in the traditional sense. I'm not naming names, not posting screenshots, not pointing fingers at specific accounts. If you, random wanderer, are reading this and wondering if it's about you—it's probably not. I don't know you like that.
I'm not airing out individual grievances. I'm naming something that happens and that keeps happening, and I'm finally saying it out loud because I think it's something worth noticing.
If you only want my art but not my voice—if the drawings are fine but my meta makes you uncomfortable—that's your choice. But maybe ask yourself why it makes you uncomfortable.
So, why am I saying all of this?
Because I'll keep drawing and I'll keep talking. The people who stay for both are the ones I'm here for anyway.
Consider this my one and only statement on the matter. I've said what I needed to say. Moving on.
