#please research

As a westerner, from the US who has been learning about the cultures from my favorite medias my entire time in fandom -watching other westerners both from the US and other places* not take the time to learn about the culture their stories come from infuriates me. Because a lot of the misunderstandings and mischaracterizations that happen in fandom space would literally not happen if the time is taken to learn about the culture the story takes place in. Context is important in understanding what is being viewed and consumed.

One of the biggest examples of this trend that I can think of is in the BNHA fandom, with the Aizawa is a bad teacher trope. Cause first of all that is a load shit, but second Aizawa is the best teacher for those kids considering the circumstances of that universe and the setting in which the story takes place. A hero academy in Japan, he is their protector, their teacher, and a hero. His job is literally to make sure they do not die, that they are safe, that they become good heroes, and that they can live past the first year of heroics after graduation. His methods are harsh by some standards, but given the context of the situation and the role that homeroom teachers play in Japan it makes sense. If some people would just take a moment and look for the context they don't have things like this would not be as big of a diving poll as they are. I've seen some people get really heated about this particular trope, and it just, the information is there.

Please, do some research, even if it a five minute Wikipedia read or a quick google search. Learning about the culture, and context will help you enjoy the media so much more. I promise.

I'm sorry if someone has asked this already but I've been curious- since I've been thinking about making TOH merch myself one day. But is there a prerequisite to selling TOH fan made merchandises? Do I need to get perms with Dana or something haha.

Nintendo too for Pokemon maybe? But its ok if you're not sure

so with fanmade merchandise, it is (as implied...) fan made!

quick and extremely informal copyright lesson (because i've had to learn abt this in my classes): technically, fan art IS a copyright violation because you don't own the original IP... HOWEVER, most of the time companies will allow it because it actually drives up interaction with their properties! sometimes they can be strict-- Nintendo is VERY stingy with fanart being sold, however many artists are able to sell them as long as listings are titled without directly saying "pokemon" in the name.

I cannot fucking stress this enough. It bothers me to no end people impulse purchasing a living animal without understanding the first thing about it. Look it doesn’t matter what your philosophy on animal care is. You can think all life is sacred, sentient and valuable, or think that only human life has worth it doesn’t matter. If you look at pets are mere decorations, and you don’t do the right research before hand then congrats, you’ve condemed a piece of living furniture to slowly get weaker, sicker, and less attractive as it reaches a fraction of its lifespan. Alternatively if you acutally care about animals and don’t give them the proper care, then guess what, you’e condemned a living creature to a life of suffering an misery because of your own greed.