๐ฉ // @everlived
We're getting down to my capital c Controversial opinions now. Y'all have driven me to this. And I am not sorry for what I'm about to say.
I see the resurgence of darkfic and romances as a sign we need to back off the moral puritanism, actually. If it's to the point that fandoms populated by teenagers are openly writing content that I don't think a kid their age should be aware of, then we as the standard-setters of fandom have failed.
Darkfic and romance is not endemic of some great moral failing or anti-SJ movement. Historically, it's a way to cope with sexuality in a way that does not court shame or judgment.
You know that bit about how all our grandmas had those bodice ripper Harlequins full of Dukes or Sheikhs with rippling abs who abduct our fair lady protagonist and prove Hull's hypothesis correct? You know how our grandmas also didn't have the right to divorce their husbands unless they wanted to be social pariahs? Same maxim here. When sexuality is demonized and narrowed to a very specific, thin margin of acceptability, dark content arises as 'have your cake and eat it too.'
Oh, the protagonist is having sex, but she's not a slut or anything, it's being foisted upon her by an older, more attractive man who will eventually make it right by falling in love with her. It's a way to approach sexuality and its exploration in a way that gets a pass from the moral guardians. At this point, fandom is the moral guardian over fic, and the more we push back against sexuality or say only certain kinds of relationships can be explored without some thirty year old ignoring her kids to post about anime online screaming that you're some kind of monstrous pervert, the more we drive people towards this.
And like obviously if a fic is harmful via misinformation, poor representation, being marketed at an inappropriate age group, or used to fetishmine, by all means call it out. But don't think that everyone who writes questionable content is some kind of monster because you defined everyone who writes anything past a 13k slowburn coffee shop AU as such. You created this beast. Starve it out. Let people be weirdos on the internet in healthy ways and I promise this will taper off.
And even if it doesn't, block and move the fuck on.
