I think something big is gonna be announced.

👁👁 Is my childhood (prime teenage years?) about to be relived? Chat- Chat am I going to start gnawing at my cage.

Risa Rambling below asdfghjkl

It’s okay to not like or create for certain characters. They’re fictional. You’re hurting no one. 

It doesn’t matter if they’re a “main character”. You are still a fan. 

Likewise, it’s okay to not feel comfortable around certain content and create spaces for you. People can choose to engage, or not. That doesn’t make you the purity police. That makes you human. All humans have “edges”. There’s a line between actively searching people out to shame them, and going “well, actually, I’d like to create content without these elements for a bit”. The first is not okay, the second is.

It’s okay to not idolise fictional characters that abuse loved ones, or equate strength with being cold/cruel (no matter how complex they may be; their race, gender or sexuality). People talk about “strong” characters and they often mean well-written (which is actually in the eye of the beholder too), but sometimes they’re mixing that up with personality traits, which isn’t good. So, you’re all fine, my friend. If someone views a character as “strong” and you don’t - in either way - your opinion is valid.

Linked to the above, it’s okay to not like characters because they remind you of past trauma. People will automatically assume the worst of you because it’s far easier than dealing with nuance - and I’m sorry for that - but just remain firm in your views and opinions. Your comfort is worth more than engaging with a character because you’ve been told that otherwise you’re just [redacted].

It’s okay to latch onto characters of a certain gender because you’re working through stuff and you can see yourself in them. It doesn’t mean you hate or detest other genders.

It’s okay to have not yet written or created for characters because you haven’t met them yet in the canon. (I bet a whole swathe of you have only watched TWN and played W3, and that’s totally cool! You’ve got so many more cool characters to meet, and you should be excited; hell, I’m excited to meet them all over again).

It’s okay to only engage with one set of source material, or most of it and exclude one. We’re lucky to have so many options.

If you do decide to self reflect based upon posts you see - on misogyny, misandry, racism, homophobia or any attitude - don’t just do it on your own. Have conversations with people you trust to be honest (and non-judgemental so you can tell them/acknowledge things that make you feel uncomfortable). Unfortunately, this might mean the people you know online aren’t the best choice.

It’s okay to have different opinions to your friends. If they’re your friends, they’ll get over it and focus on the bits you share.

And finally, most importantly, it’s okay to reserve fandom - Tumblr, Discord - as purely fun. You don’t have to engage in any activism or discourse. You have real life to deal with, and sometimes that’s hard enough. Block or unfollow people (including me, friend, I really won’t take it personally), permanently, temporarily, if you’re not in the correct headspace to deal with what they’re peddling at the moment.