Yes, even if they're horrific. Even if they're morally bankrupt and genuinely deplorable and evil.
Yes, even if they're from media people consider "slop".
Yes, even if they're from media people consider "cringe".
Yes, even if they're very much unconventionally attractive.
Yes, even if they're obscure, niche, sourced from a meme, etc.
Yes, even if they're from "gooner" media.
You are always welcome in the community.
Regardless of where your F/O is sourced, who they are, and what their presence in their story (or lack thereof) is like. Your feelings, your choices, they are your own- your relationship with your F/O is special and no one can break the bond you have with them.
Shed your fear, your anxiety, your shame: be proud of loving your F/O, they'd want you to be.
🍒 Imagine your f/o coming to see you and seeing the merch you have of them-
🍓 Imagine them first seeing you wearing a shirt/hoodie with them on it-
🍒 Imagine them finding the drawings you’ve made of them-
🍓 Imagie them quietly reading the fanfics you’ve saved and written about them-
🍒 Are you imagining? Now imagine finding their collection of pictures of you, figures they’ve had commissioned, drawings they’ve tried to keep in a drawer somewhere, and don’t even get them started on the fanfics they totally weren’t writing-
I've seen people on here be confused about why so many selfshippers are anti, and I think I know what the most likely answer is. It isn't true in every single case, obviously, but I have a feeling it's why a lot of them are like that.
Since selfshipping got more popular, there are now more people seeing it as a normal thing. That's good, but it also creates environments where there are people within the selfshipping community who are desperate not to be put into the weird pile.
I think the reason lots of selfshippers are antis is not simply because they misunderstand what proshipping is, it's because they're desperate not to be seen as too weird.
It's kinda like when cis gay people try to exclude trans people from the queer community. These gay people are so desperate to seem normal to a bigoted society that they're willing to hurt the people deemed weirder than them.
Selfshippers who are antis are doing a similar thing, making a show of hating those seen as weirder and more 'unacceptable' than them so they can more easily gain the favor of the people who used to see them as too weird as well.
To all the selfshippers who worry about if they're good enough for their F/O...
You are. You always have been. It doesn't matter if you're not as strong, as smart, as creative, as 'useful'. It doesn't matter even if your F/O usually hates people like you. In case anyone hasn't told you, you're special and your F/O loves you!
Marriage with your F/O, who also happens to be your relative.
Something you've planned so far in advance, or maybe just a spontaneous event. A special day you worked so hard to get to. The day is gorgeous, the sun is shining down upon the world, warming every living being, there's not a cloud in the sky. It rained last night, the dew on the tree leaves catching golden gleams off the sun's rays. The world is empty, it should be, given you can't legally marry who you love. It's looked down upon.
You, however, look fantastic. The material of your outfit is comfortable, despite how formal it's meant to be, and you stand out amongst the flora, bathed in the rays of light from above. You look up, and the sight catches you off guard.
Your F/O, your family, standing beneath the shade of a particularly large tree. Whether dress, tuxedo, or anything in between, they catch your eye more than the natural beauty around you.
Making your way to them, to join them, the sun above seems to burn hotter, as if cheering for you. Perhaps it is one of the only supporters you guys have with how taboo your relationship is. You're just in front of them now.
You're not sure if the heat is from the sun or from your beloved.
They talk sweetly to you, a compliment about how you look so good in that outfit, and you can only smile and give the same sentiment right back.. it comes so natural for you.
Leaning in to one another, in a ceremony where the only witnesses are the trees and flowers, you bond yourself to your F/O in a final, decisive kiss.
Here, no one can harm you, or try to break you away from your F/O. Here and now, this place is a special haven for you and your F/O to live life normally without judgement.
For artists who are worried about drawing their F/Os: it's okay to draw them how you please.
It's okay to draw them with darker skin, if you want. It's okay to draw them fat, if you want. It's okay to change their gender presentation or their religion, if you want. It's okay to fluff up fur or hair more than in canon, it's okay to change their clothes and accessories, it's okay to draw them with every and any headcanon you want for them.
On the same side, it's okay to want to be as canon-accurate as you can as well!
They're your F/O, and you understand your F/O more than anything. How you draw your F/O is who your F/O is.
