She/her, from Australia, over 25, INFJ, Pan, AuDHD, curves π . One blog multifandoms, will reblog all fan art I see because I am not an artist and I like to pay homage to talented artists. Also reblog posts and pics of cute animals, cottage core, books & tv & movies & just interesting, intelligent or thought provoking reblogs/posts. Been on tumblr since its existence. Minors DNI Taken.
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Fandom Culture in the Rise of Anti-Intellectualism
I've been in fandom spaces since I was a kid, so I take for granted all the knowledge I have from that. Through my involvement in the ACOTAR fandom, I've noticed trends that weren't really a thing back in the day.
β’ More and more people don't see the point of, or value in, critique and criticism.
β’ People think if you don't like something about the books then you have no place participating in fandom.
β’ People need ships to be canon, call anything non-canon a crack ship, and look down on others for liking non-canon ships.
ACOTAR is a lot of people's first fandom, and, because of that unfamiliarity with fandom culture, I suppose this was inevitable.
If you're someone new to (any) fandom, please keep this in mind :
Fandom culture isn't just about liking something. It's alsoβ
a creative outlet : making a piece about
βwhat you *wish had happened*
βwhat you think *makes more sense*
βwhat you just *think would be interesting*
an emotional outlet : being disappointed in media and wanting to talk about it
an exercise of the mind : breaking down the writing of media, looking for the meaning, or explaining an interpretation based on evidence
Fandom is a community and we all have our reasons for being here.
No, you don't have to like a protagonist.
Because stories have different purposes and will convey different things, protagonists aren't always even meant to be likable.
β’ Writers will sometimes specifically create protagonists they know won't be liked.
β’ Writers will write character studies of detestable people, who nobody should like.
No matter how likable a writer intended their protagonist to be, someone somewhere is going to dislike them.
β’ We all have our own tastes, experiences, and world-views.
β’ We can discuss our points of view and reasoning with each other, but there are things we'll never agree on.
Even if a protagonist is meant to be liked, but someone doesn't, they can still find enjoyment in media. There are other things to interest people besides the protagonist :
βthe world-building
βthe story and plot
βliking side characters
People ingest media for different purposes.
Even by the people reading it, Romantasy is constantly spoken of as only a "turn your brain off" or self-insert fulfillment genre. It's been put in this box as if it can only serve one purpose. But that is a limiting way of thinking.
People have their own reasons for ingesting media. Just as some are entitled to use media as purely entertainment or escapism, others are entitled to look into and discuss media.
Critique and criticism are healthy and valuable responses to media.
they help people build and exercise critical thinking skills :
βlearning about the structure of writing and discussing it
βlearning about the issues of bias, prejudiced depictions & harmful messaging and discussing them
they offer ways to shape cultural thinking for the better :
discussing biases, prejudiced depictions, and harmful messaging in writing, we can shine light on the problems in our societies and be aware of issues we need to address
they encourage writers to grow :
discussions about writers' technical shortcomings or personal biases can cause them to see the issues with their writing or personal thinking, and cause them to work on those while creating future projects
they inspire new writers to create their own works :
when someone takes issue with media, comes to understand why, and has suggestions, then they see writing isn't a closed off thing β anyone can do it
Continuing media even if to "hate read/watch/etc" is still a completely valid way to engage with it.
I've seen people say they bought books in a series all at once and felt they had to get through them rather than adding to the DNF pile. They wanted to get their money's worth, and after spending the time they did, they want to offload disappointment by giving their opinions. That's great!
criticism can prevent others from being disappointed too :
people with similar tastes, who would feel their time and money wasted on something, now have a better chance of spending it on something they would actually enjoy
Criticism and critique of media are not automatic judgment of the people who like it.
If your identity is wrapped so tightly with media that you try to shut down discourse or dismiss it because you feel threatened, then that is the actual unhealthy response.
Again : Fandom is a community and we all have our reasons for being here.
When I took ASL classes, my teacher explained that interpreters should interpret EVERYTHING, including slurs and things that theyβd normally be uncomfortable saying. She said something along the lines of βdeaf people have the right to swear.β I think that applies to what theyβre allowed to see as well.
Why shouldnβt deaf people be able to fully express themselves and consume media the same way a hearing person can? If everything you watched had random bleeps every time there was a swear word, youβd be annoyed, so why are deaf people not receiving the same consideration?
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Okay, I know everyone in the anti Rhysand crowd loves to dump on Rhys about how he assaulted Feyre, how he never did anything to stop the wing clipping, etc... but those problems are already mentioned in the narrative(albeit portrayed in a very different light).
You know what ISN'T talked about? Illyrian child soldiers. Illyrian kids are forced to go into war camps at eight years old, they get whipped as encouragement, they have to participate in a bloody death tournament. All of this is only to give the bat boys sob backstories. And yet somehow, the fandom never talks about them half as much as the wing clippings. Like, we all know that Illyrian girls have no choice but to become housewives, and that it's terrible, but hey, at least Rhys acknowledges it's wrong, and is trying, ....well....sort of....(with dubious effectiveness...and effort...) to stop it. Let's talk about how Illyrian boys have no choice but to go into war camps, to become warriors even if they don't want to, and nobody ever acknowledges how fucked up this is in-universe.
Also, I admit I'm not an expert in human psychology, never mind fae psychology, but maybe, just maybe,... boys getting regularly whipped from age 8, being raised to value physical strength and only that... might not be an environment where healthy, open-minded men emerge? Maybe statistically, boys who grow up in a healthy, non-violent environment where they are allowed to become what they want may have a higher chance of having a healthy, non-violent attitude towards women and believe women should be allowed to be what they want? Like how does nobody in-universe even acknowledge how fucked up this shit is?
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Since you all liked the last one so much, hereβs more (I swear Iβll think of some happy ones one day)
π He doesnβt like to get drunk because he doesnβt like to feel out of control. He will have a couple of drinks, and has mastered the art of always looking like heβs drinking and not just nursing his drink.
π He hates being looked after. It feels too vulnerable, too exposed, too condescending. Even something as simple as making sure heβs eaten sends a wave of irritation through him. Heβs managed for 500 odd years, he doesnβt need any help heβs fine (really). God forbid you try to help after Beronβs been at him.
π₯ His hounds are feared by everyone because of their size. Theyβre softies, all they want is to sniff and maybe get a few pets but everyone moves carefully away from them, their fear permeating the air. This upsets Eris for some reason (it all feels so familiar).
π He doesnβt flinch at loud noises or unexpected touch anymore, heβs figured out how to show no reaction at all. He canβt stop the drop of his stomach nor his blood running cold for a moment though.
π Heβs really good with children. They seem to be drawn to him, and he pretends he finds them irritating (they love this) but still instigates the pulling of faces. βGo away, annoying little creature.β He teases as he shakes his arm whilst holding their hand tightly βI said go away why are you following me?β he struggles to keep his frown in place as they shriek with laughter as he pretends to try and shake them off harder.
π₯ Heβs tired. Not the kind of tired a good sleep can fix, but to the bone drained and exhausted. He's so sick of it all, his father, his brothers, the court, everyone always thinking the worst of him. But he knows he canβt stop, he knows what will happen if heβs not there to stop it. He has to keep fighting has to keep taking the hits, but god, heβs so tired.
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Finished once and for all !! :D donβt look much at the background, Iβm not good at them.
So for Gwyn I chose a beta fish as inspiration, I think they capture that ethereal, nymph-like energy she has. While for Azriel I went for a mammals tail, in this case the Orca, theyβre the warriors of the ocean, the toughest there is, so I thought it fit to have Illyrians attributed to this particular species (this is a world weβre Illyrians live in matriarchal communities because why not). You can play with this headcanon if youβd like :)
titsay
stormborns
kaledo-art
gummygunk
blakekathryn
jacobvanloon
snowghoul
janainaart
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
