*sits down on the story time mat*
hey so did any of you ever read that book when you were a kid, the one about the mom in the kitchen making soup for everyone? and one by one they come by and say, I love that soup you made, but could you please leave out [ingredient]?I don’t like the corn, or the beans, or the peppers… remember that one?
and when she serves up dinner it’s just some hot fucking salty water and she’s like you ungrateful little shits here’s your fucking hot salty water*
I think about that book a lot. Especially when it comes to ants in fandom’s pants, and how they seem to want to exclude:
everything JJ did (that they don’t like)
everything Rian did (that they don’t like)
everything the characters say and do (that they don’t like)
everything the actors themselves say and do (that they don’t like)
everything the production crew says (that they don’t like)
everything the official social media accounts post (that they don’t like)
the literal content and implied themes of the films (that they don’t like)
and I’m like.. y’all just want some hot, salty water, that’s it, isn’t it?
I mean, all humor aside, I get it, I do; I know what it’s like to feel disappointed by something and feel like it’s going in a direction you don’t like. I know what it feels like to feel like your fandom’s been hijacked by a juggernaut that is the full embodiment of your DNW. And I know what it’s like when something you love takes a direction that feels wrong to you, bothers you, just fucking isn’t what you wanted to happen. I get it.
It’s okay to step away. It’s okay to just decide that it maybe isn’t for you. Life is way too fucking short to be willfully marinating in things you despise.
But, like… at a certain point… if all you want is hot, salty water, don’t come for the people who like the soup. We’re just enjoying the soup. We didn’t make it or define the recipe. We’re enjoying some damn tasty soup. And yelling for hot, salty water isn’t going to take away how much we enjoy this delicious fucking meal.
*I can’t remember the actual title of this book but I am sure someone out there does.