Chalk Revelations

This scene of the goddess Diana with a hunting dog and stag commemorates the two ancient Roman festivals honoring Diana this month: the Nemoralia, a major three-day festival observed from the 13th - 15 at the sanctuary of Diana at Lake Nemi, and the anniversary of the dedication of her temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome on the 13th.

                       «•« ═══ 𖥔 ☽ 𖥔 ✧ 𖥔 🔾  𖥔 ✧ 𖥔 ☾ 𖥔 ═══ »•»

by Catherine Barnett

The Great Nebula in Andromeda.

Physical Science for Secondary Schools. 1962.

if anybody asks them why they are in a fandom that makes them so miserable, or why they engage with a canon that they don't even seem to like or take any joy from, they respond with "oh so now we have to love everything like unthinking idiots? we have to accept all the garbage given to us? we have to endure the way the writer/showrunner/company mistreats us? stop forcing your toxic positivity on everybody!"

a classic and obvious example from mdzs/cql fandom are the jiang cheng antis whose entire fandom experience is defined by aggressively hating a fictional character and berating other fans as morally bankrupt and delusional, and insisting to outlandish degrees that they understand the real meaning of how terrible the character is, and therefore the themes of the book/show, better than all the rest of the foolish, unthinking fans who lack their insight.

another classic and obvious example from kpop are the akgaes/solo fans, or the subset of fans obsessed with mistreatment narratives. a big part of this is always claiming to have special knowledge about real intentions or motivations, and they will state those claims in superior or self-pitying ways that sound like "oh i wish i could mindlessly love this the way you do. i wish i could be uncritical. but i can see the truth of how bad it is so i just can't. it's so unfair that i'm not allowed to love things, but that's my burden to bear."

that's two examples but these people exist in every fandom. they are the ones who make you earnestly wonder "why are you in a fandom that makes you so unhappy?" then you see how much engagement they get, how actively and completely they submerge themselves in the echo chamber they've created, and it makes sense.

the thing is, it's easy to shame people into feeling bad by claiming to know better, even if what you are saying is nonsense. that's a foundational principle of the internet. (and religion. and politics. and the worst kinds of online activism. etc.)