Okay you probably get this a lot but it makes me like really happy to see people 25+ still in fandom and self shipping. Its like really inspiring. (except the proship part but like okayyy sparkle on lvl45)
Re: "(except the proship part but like okayyy sparkle on lvl45)"
I’m answering this publicly because there’s a massive amount of historical revisionism packed into such a short, passive-aggressive comment, and it deserves a proper breakdown:
What "Proship" Actually Means:
It is not an endorsement of real-world harm, nor is it a personal stamp of approval on every fictional trope in existence. Historically and functionally, "proship" simply means pro-fiction and anti-censorship. It means supporting an author's right to write fiction and trusting adult readers to curate their own experience using tags, filters and "Don't Like, Don't Read" (DLDR), rather than harassing creators or demanding platform-wide sanitisation.
Fandom Was Built by "Lvl45+" Fans:
Modern media fandom - fanzines, fanfiction, conventions, shipping, and slash fiction - was literally built from the ground up by female Star Trek fans in the 1960s and 70s typing out zines on typewriters. Many of those original trailblazers are still active in fandom today in their 60s, 70s and beyond.
Respecting Fandom Elders:
Treating adults in fandom like a weird novelty, or acting as if fan culture was invented on social media a few years ago, ignores the exact people who fought for legal fan art protections and built nonprofit, anti-censorship archives like AO3 so everyone else could have a free space to post today.
Fandom has always belonged to adults, and anti-censorship principles are what keep creative spaces alive. So yes, I will continue to "sparkle on" - backed by decades of fandom history.
Edit - To clarify for anyone arguing semantics: when I say "fandom belongs to adults," I don't mean we hold a literal deed to the internet. Perhaps "built and sustained by" is the better phrase. But the point stands: adults started this culture, built the platforms, pay to keep the servers running, and create a massive portion of the fanworks. We share and welcome everyone into this space, but pretending adult fans are invaders in a culture they created and maintain is absurd.
