Fandom, Fans, And Content Creators

Fandom, fans, and content creators

It’s funny. Lately, wherever I go to consume fancontent - whichever website and whichever type of fancontent - I keep seeing the same shit again and again. Just so many entitled “fans” complaining about the content they consume.

It’s 2019. Two-thousand-fucking-nineteen. I have, naively, thought we were past “character XX is a seme, he would never bottom, why would you make him an uke.” Terms like seme and uke are apparently Not Cool Anymore And Too Fujoshi And Fujoshi Is Bad™ now, but it’s literally the same thing.

But oh no, it doesn’t stop there. “I hate XX/YY, I’d really appreciate it if you did more XX/ZZ instead of XX/YY, I love your work but I hate XX/YY, thanks.” “Why do you draw XX like that, they are not like that.” “I hope that’s not shippy because XX belongs to ZZ, YY can never be more than a friend.”

I’m honestly sick of it.

Content creators do not cater to you. They graciously share what they create with you, for free, and ask for nothing back. (Though the likes, comments, reblogs, whatever are more than nice.) Content creators are people. Real humans who do all this for fun and to get better and to do what they love, whith the characters they love, with the ships they love, concepts they love.

They can do whatever the fuck they want. The make their fandom experience just as you make yours.

Want to read more coffee shop AUs? Look for them. Don’t want to read any omegaverse? Don’t read it. It’s your ship but the dynamic is not to your liking? Don’t read it or leave the fic. Don’t like the artist’s character design or artstyle? Don’t look at their art. Don’t like the ship? Block the tag and don’t open it if it’s clearely tagged with that ship. Do whatever you need to make your own experience better.

If you don’t like it, nobody, NOBODY, is forcing you to consume the content.

Imagine spending hours and hours and hours creating something you poured everything into, struggling with yourself all the while because it’s just not perfect enough. Then you finally finish, uncertain with the result but you allow yourself to be a little proud because it’s done and mabye it’s not perfect but it’s something you gave your all and you made you happy. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it made someone else happy, too?

Then you get and email or notification. It’s a comment. You’re all giddy and nervous. What are they going to say?? Did they like it??

“Why is XX a bottom tho :/”

And you can only go “oh.”

It breaks my heart when I see comments like this. Since when do content creators not have the right to have their own preferences, their own likes and dislikes, the right to try new things, ship what they want and however they want, their own style.

It is NOT the content creators’ responsibility to moderate your fandom experience. It’s yours.

Content creators should not and do not cater to you.

i remember adults telling me, as a kid, to listen to doctors and get my flu vaccine and any shots i could because they remembered Before.

then they started fighting Covid precautions.

i remember adults telling me, as a kid, that the ozone was disappearing and the earth was dying and we needed to recycle and save the planet.

now my parents think climate change is a myth.

i remember adults telling me, as a kid, that racism was a plague, that we had to love and accept everyone, that we should never judge before walking a mile in their shoes.

then they told me that protesting for my Black siblings was wrong.

i remember adults telling me, as a kid, that we needed to give to the poor. working at soup kitchens. making quilts. collecting food and money and supplies. building houses. because it was the christian and just plain right thing to do.

now they look at me, on food stamps with their grandchildren, and lament the "welfare state".

i remember adults telling me, as a kid, that it was easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and that any rich man, especially an immoral one, should never run our country.

you can guess who they voted for.

i remember adults telling me, as a kid, so very much.

when did they forget?

reblog this if your blog is a safe space on april fools and won’t have any jumpers, screamers, or anything scary or anxiety inducing

May you feel seen and loved not just today but every day.

my blog is a safe space for me. the rest of you are in danger i think

Last Week Tonight, March 16, 2022