Snowflake Challenge 2021 - 10

[shadowhive]

Challenge #10

In your own space, write a love letter to Fandom in general, to a particular fandom, to a trope, a relationship, a character, creator, episode, or it could be your fandom friends. Share your love and squee as loud as you want to. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This is an interesting one and I dunno where it’s gonna go.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room before getting to the positive. Fandom has gotten really bad these last few years. Between call out posts, bullying and just just general shitty behaviour at times fandom hasn’t felt like a nice place to see. It’s sad and it’s really unfortunate and horrible. Fandom should be a positive place, a thing that brings people together so to see one such a mess...

But I digress.

The positive, then, is that sense of community that fandom brings. I’ve met a lot of people through fandoms over the years, some have been awesome, some have been awful and some I wish I’d known better. Fandom has at times kept me sane, at times made me crazy.

At its best fandom is about sharing the squee, about whatever it is. You can usually see it best at get together, at concerts, at conventions. Hopefully those things will come back once this is all over. As much as I’m not a terribly social person and things haven’t changed too much for me in lockdown, I have missed all of those things.

But yeah, I’m glad for all the people I’ve met and all the experiences I’ve had through various fandoms, Star Wars Celebration. The various nintendo meets. Download and Sonisphere festivals. All the gigs.

I’m glad for all the people that are still here and have stuck around. Their support and kindness means the world especially now.

Let’s all try and remember what fandom is all about. Focussing on the things we love, instead of hating the things we don’t, because that’s how we win. (And by treating people with kindness)

***

Yesterday and today have been a bit bleh. I’ve been tired and unmotivated so I’ve not read, or done any of the uni stuff I was going to. Again, it’s a game of depression or meds. Hopefully tomorrow I can boot up the laptop and get going on it.

Thankfully I’ve done a bit of gaming still, but not much. Elder Scrolls Online has a free ESO+ event so I’ve been filling up the craft bag and started Markath. I’ve done one boss and, ugh, a harrowstorm (fuck do I hate those things) so we’ll see how far I get before the sale (where I’ll get it still probably).

Speaking of games has anyone played Armello? I’m thinking of getting it in the Xbox sale when money goes I ,

I’ve finished Disenchantment tonight and just... damn, those last 5 minutes. I hope we get to find out what happens soon. I’ll probably watch Carmen Sandiego or finish Julie and the Phantoms tomorrow.

While looking for usbs I got awhile back, and nope, can’t find them, I did, however, find my Animal Crossing amiibo cards (though the folder I have is still awol) and the special ones aren’t with them. So that’s a good thing.

I’ll likely head up to zzz soon, once QI’s done.

Comments

[rhoda_rants]

This is . . . almost exactly what I was gonna say, honestly. At its best, fandom's great, but fandom has been very weird lately, and the isolation has made it worse. Snowflake is reminding me what was great about in the first place, and I hope we can get back to that place in more spaces too. <3

[shadowhive]

Yeah, it’s been very strange. It’s not a new thing, it’s been something that’s been around for awhile, but it feels like it’s gotten worse. One thing I blame it on is minors getting involved in fandoms and harassing people and generally being childish, but it’s not just them doing it.

I hope so! Snowflake is good for that

[rhoda_rants]

I think the new kids have been, mm, led astray but gatekeeping purity culture. There's this weird pocket of pearl-clutchy weirdness in fandom these days, and it's part "Save the children!" and part, "I'm a children, you old people don't belong here!" when we BUILT this house goddammit. I'm not bothered by minors (possibly because I don't write that much smut, which I know makes me an anomaly), but I am bothered by the pervasive idea that even having dark, or smutty, or otherwise "adult" content is automatically harmful no matter how you tag it.

I feel like I have a Tumblr post about this saved somewhere. Hang on...

*perusing bookmarks*

Okay, here we go: https://finnglas.tumblr.com/post/171558469100

It's not exactly what you're talking about, but it's part of the same stew. I need to spend some time unpacking that one day.

[shadowhive]

It is extremely strange. I’ve been in bandom for years and one of my main ships is Waycest. Always has been, always will be. But it’s only in recent years with these new teen fans that people have been threatening others, harassing them and sending death threats. It’s strange and especially so considering that bullying is one thing the boys were always against.

But I’ve seen it in other fandoms too, calls for purity in fandoms like supernatural and even Hannibal. Yeah because a show about a cannibal and murder should be pure (and minors and that crowd why are they even watching these shows). It’s just... ugh!

People are just... the worst

I’ll have to give it a read soon 🖤

[rhoda_rants]

I don't get it. I really don't.

As for why younger folks are watching Hannibal--well, it's on Netflix now, so no one can stop them. That's not the WHOLE problem, but like. How to put this? I remember being a kid on the Internet back in the 90s. And I remember the older fans in the room acting as mentors showing us how to navigate everything. I also remember my actual parents being utterly terrified of the idea of me so much as talking to anyone online, period.

So there's this divide between our generation being sheltered (well, an attempt was made, but you know what I mean), and the generation behind us being HYPER vigilante and trying to take over, and I don't know how that happened.

[shadowhive]

Yeah me either

Yeah I think that’s part of it. There’s an utter lack of respect for older fans now. The amount of times I’ve seen younger ones say stuff like shouldn’t you be doing taxes/looking after kids etc. It really is... Ugh

I don’t get it either, it’s crazy

[rhoda_rants]

I hear similar things from older generations than us, too, and that really sucks. Getting hit from both sides is no fun at all.

[goddess47]

Meeting with my fandom friends online is what has kept me sane in the past year. They are now my best friends and I don't know what I'd do without them. But I also can't wait to see them in person as soon as it's possible.

And I've been lucky to avoid a lot of toxic fandom. I've been lucky to find a niche with good people... I wish that for you.

Hopefully you get that uni stuff done when it needs to be done.

Hang in there. It's going to take time but it's going to get better!

Thank you for sharing! Hope to see you again in Snowflake!

[shadowhive]

Yeah I can relate to that.i hope you get to see them soon! Most of mine are for that even when things are normal

I try to ignore it as best I can be when I see it (or someone I know gets targeted by it) it pisses me off. I wish people would be nicer and put all that energy into the things they liked instead of bringing others down

I hope so, my motivation has just been eh lately. (I’m meant to be doing an assessment thing but only just bought myself to open the laptop this morning)

Thanks I hope so!

Awww thanks! I do every challenge so feel free to have a look

[turps]

Snowflake must have posted just after I headed off to watch tv.

Thankfully my fandom experience is toxic-free, but I know that's because I keep very small circles and don't really venture away from here. I hope you can find that too eventually, as at its best fandom is amazing.

[shadowhive]

Yeah it was quite late!

You’re so lucky for that! That’s a good idea relly🖤 you’re so sweet

[sjh2009]

I'm sorry to hear you've had negative experiences of fandom. I always find that so sad. We're all here because we love a show, different people love different parts, different ships, etc, but it's something to be embraced, no-one should be treated negatively, it simply isn't necessary. Either you agree or you agree to disagree nicely!

But, you're still here, and I'm glad that you are. There are so many more positive people in fandom than negative and I think the Snowflake Challenge brings us together so well to remind us of this. Like you, I'm not the most social person, but I love the conventions and get together and I miss them too.

You're so right, the core of fandom is that we are here because of something we love, no-one should take that away from us, everyone should be treated with kindness, if people don't have anything kind to say then they're the ones in the wrong place!

Thank you for sharing and for taking part in the challenge.

[shadowhive]

Exactly! What gets me is how people seem to be more inclined to harass others lately. I’ve had threats against me just because of a ship I have and that’s just something that was unheard of when the fandom started. Now people seem to be willing to harass creators plus people that worked on shows, even to the point where they bully them offline. It... really pisses me off.

Aww thanks. You’re so sweet to say that. I admit I’ve come close to leaving some fandoms altogether over the past few years but I’ve stuck around. Snowflake is a good reminder as to why

Exactly! You’re so right🖤

[spikedluv]

I've been lucky to remain mostly outside the toxic cesspool bits of fandom, but it's right that we remember that it does exist and call it out. I would also like fandom to be a place of positivity and joy rather than negativity and hate. Thank you for sharing this!

[shadowhive]

You’re lucky! I wish I was too

Yeah me as well🖤

[wenchpixie]

I cannot WAIT until we get to go to gigs again, being in that crowd of people, all loving the same thing, SO GOOD.

[shadowhive]

Me too! Set it off is meant to be my next one (I posted a vid of theirs the other day) but it’s been postponed twice already and they’ve changed the name to’midnight world tour part four the love of god please don’t make us reschedule again’

[hannah]

I don't know what happened, either, and I don't much care for it. Fandom needs to remember how to be kind.

[shadowhive]

Me either, I wish it was much more kind

[dreamersdare]

At its best fandom is about sharing the squee

Yes, this. Fuck the wank; I like the bits where something new comes out in canon, and we all get super excited about it. Or where someone has an idea, and then someone else riffs off it, and we all get communally creative (either in terms of writing, or arting, or just brainstorming ideas and sharing pretty pictures).

[shadowhive]

Yess that’s what I love about it, I just wishfandom wasn’t as fractured as it was so people could all do those things together

[dreamersdare]

I think fandom's just a reflection of wider society in that, to be honest. We're fractured and at loggerheads in all sorts of areas. I'd love to suggest a solution, but I don't have one :/

[turlough]

Let’s all try and remember what fandom is all about. Focussing on the things we love, instead of hating the things we don’t, because that’s how we win. (And by treating people with kindness)

This! So very much!! ♥