Here to vibe and write fic

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As time goes on, the more I realize that one of the things I look for in a fandom is multiplicity of popular readings, especially with regards to shipping.  Monolithic fandoms tend to turn me right off, as a rule, or at least not hold my attention for very long.

Ooh, look, there I go, being pretentious again, what even does that mean?

Well, it means that: … if most of the active fans in a fandom only talk &/or create transformative works about a single ship; …if rare/crackships are actively devalued or even vilified; …if only one kind of character is actively valued (especially if it’s only white male characters/actors and the canonical cast is more diverse than that); …if actual/eventual canonicity is widely considered to be the primary value for a headcanon/ship (because, for most fandoms, canonicity is singular/monolithic);  …if a few popular metas are treated as religious texts and required reading for anyone new to the fandom; …if there used to be more multiplicity but somehow the fandom became more monolithic over time; …THEN those are signs that often indicate a fandom that I will personally find off-putting, if not actively toxic.  The latter is even more likely if a fandom shows 3 or more of those signs.

Think of it like… gardening? or, more accurately, agriculture in general.  Monocropping, or the use of land for a single crop, is something that is super useful for those who value a certain kind of stability, but it also can have detrimental effects on the viability of the land over time, making that land less sustainable in the long run.  Similarly, I think that monolithic fandoms are less sustainable in the long run, because all of the fandom’s creativity is dedicated to upholding a single interpretation (or single set of closely-related interpretations) of the source material, which can easily be destabilized by one ~shocking~ sweeps-week decision by canon creators or one offhand joke in some behind-the-scenes interview.  

Moreover, monolithic fandoms tend to drive away ‘fringe’ creativity by newcomers who just want someplace to play with their own ships/headcanons for the fandom, and who may well have strengthened the fandom as a whole over time with their participation had they felt welcome.

And like, I know that some people think that it’s oymoronic that I’m both against ship wars and that I’m dead set against Certain Ships (or Theories) That Shall Remain Nameless (due to the behavior of their shippers/vocal proponents), but it really can be boiled down to this principle of ‘healthy multiplicity.’

I mean, I guess monolithic fandoms are fine for the kind of migratory fans who always find themselves in a fandom when it’s booming, but for fans whose timing is off (please note: this is an accessibility-of-fandom issue) or who tend to stick around a little longer, this kind of thing can be super detrimental to their enjoyment of fandom.

And it’s also important to note here that this is not a single-person issue, but a group-behavior issue.  Behaviors and attitudes in aggregate function differently than in isolation, so this is not meant to lay blame at any one fan’s feet.  It’s not unwise to interrogate one’s own biases and contributions to a fandom’s atmosphere of being welcoming (or not) to other fans with differing ideas, but neither is it essential to consider oneself solely responsible for a fandom’s overall trends.

「Commission」 Since it's a birthday present, my commissioner also has a little note to that birthday star ^^

"It’s made for the best bestie of a lifetime！We’re like Naruto and Sakura - two halves of a whole idiot！Best friends！Happy birthday Babu！"

reblog and all that jazz