Snowflake 2

[flamingsword]

snowflake_challenge #2: In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for your fave character, ship or fandom.

I don’t know how to play favorites with people or characters or fandoms, but maybe a primer for fandom itself would have been nice, when I was still dipping a toe into these waters, not wanting to “bother” anyone with my unseemly and uncool enthusiasm for the X-Men fanfic I found on a web ring while researching a Gambit cosplay I never wound up making. (Possibly because I was too busy reading fanfic.)

So: you’ve found out about fandom! Welcome to the world of other weirdos! Pros: Some of them are just like you! Cons: Some of them are just like you!

Look, we English-speakers got raised in some fairly similar background radiation of imperialist authoritarianism, capitalism, and toxic positivity in the US and UK, and Australia wasn’t far behind us on that front. We all have a lot of similar cultural crap, and most of us don’t deal with it very compassionately. We weren’t taught how to, or even taught that we were being raised with these flaws in the first place. We had to fumble around on our own and figure out how to play nice with each other. So when you meet another fan who you’re not seeing eye to eye with, maybe don’t go in guns blazing. Maybe extend the same generous interpretation of their actions as you would have liked to be extended at the same point in your development.

So first: people grow better in the light of affectionate regard than they do in the harsh glare of shaming and being blamed for why we can’t have nice things. Even people who are obviously trolls 🧌 deserve basic human decency, even if you’re not going to give them the attention they are after.

Next: if your enthusiasm is not fun for other people, then you are hanging out with the wrong people. I get it, the weird cultural hegemony we live in taught you that being cool was equal to never getting excited about things, never caring enough to put your heart into something, never over-sharing or even just sharing. But fandom is a by-us for-us group of enthusiastic nerds, and we honor that by sharing our joy, not gatekeeping, and recommending the good stuff to other folks.

And last: if you think someone is being a jerk, you can tell them why that’s so, and maybe they’ll change their mind. But if you think someone liking something you don’t is what makes them a jerk, then maybe keep that to yourself? If they are not causing real-world harm to real people you can just ignore them. It’s fine.

And that’s it. That’s enough to get you started in any fandom. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

Comments

[ex_flameandsong751]

But if you think someone liking something you don’t is what makes them a jerk, then maybe keep that to yourself? If they are not causing real-world harm to real people you can just ignore them. It’s fine.

I wish more people would actually fucking take this to heart, especially since the purity police furthers the anti-LGBT agenda.

[Ranty aside: I get more pissed off at antis who are themselves somewhere in the QUILTBAG, than I do cishet antis. Like, Tolkien fandom is full of queerphobic conservatives, this is not news, this is just... expected, and I avoid those people and they mostly avoid me because they don't read slash and they make a big public display of ~not reading slash~. What annoys the shit out of me is when people who are some flavor of LGBT themselves act like the only acceptable fanfic is "pure and wholesome" and we must not have anything "problematic" in it and especially not smut. I get it that smut is not everyone's cup of tea for whatever reason, and being ace/aro is valid, one can be sex-repulsed without insisting everyone has to be the same way**, but a lot of TERFs are anti-pornography and anti-kink for everyone/all people all the time, period end of story, and in general when one finds oneself agreeing with TERFs they might want to contemplate their fucking life decisions for a hot minute.]

**And yet, there are ace/aro-spec people who write smut, myself included.


As far as the shaming people for enthusiastically sharing - yeah. Back on the good old LJ, people called this "harshing my squee". I try not to do it to other people, because as an autistic person who hyperfixates a lot I've had it done to me [I used to get told to "shut up about Tolkien already", I would be called "cringe" if the same conversations were happening now in 2023]. Personally, even if someone's not in a fandom I'm in, I enjoy seeing enthusiasm and passion for something. The world is so fucking depressing, it's nice when someone takes goddamn joy in something that's not hurting anybody else.

...I need to make a "thanks for coming to my TED Talk" icon.

[ex_flameandsong751]

Also you said WEB RING, OH MY GOD I FEEL SO OLD RIGHT NOW AAAAAAAAAAAA

[ex_flameandsong751]

Also, I made the icon.

[silveradept]

These are things I hope that all the fen, new and old, learn and remember.

[mekare]

Wonderful post, thank you. Especially from the perspective of a non- native speaker of English.

[silk_dragon_zen]

Love this post! Agreed on all points!!!

— the SilkDragons

[we_are_spc]

Ah, so you have beaten us to this. :) I would have done this had no one else did, because like you...favorites are hard to pick from.

as it was Cedar did a double dip as Trausio did-one of his great loves is old are rare things-books in specific, but antiques ingeneral as well-and, yes, that incluses buuildings as well.

Mine, well, now that would be telling, wouldn't it? :p

~Kaelaren~

[miscellanium]

"Pros: Some of them are just like you! Cons: Some of them are just like you!" got a sensible chuckle out of me, thanks for that XD a primer for fandom itself is a good idea, and this is a very nice one.

[shipperslist]

Welcome to the world of other weirdos! Pros: Some of them are just like you! Cons: Some of them are just like you!

Yes. This.

And a very good post. *salutes with a cup of tea*

[jesse_the_k]

Wow, that is such a generous welcome! Thank you and thank you.

[flamingsword]

Yay! Welcome to fandom! Also, welcome to my journal! I hope it’s entertaining. 😄