fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #6413 ]

[ SECRET POST #6413 ]

⌈ Secret Post #6413 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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Of course I have things that I don't relate to, that I don't like, that "rub me the wrong way," or make me downright uncomfortable to read/think about. But the point of fiction is to engage with the mentality and humanity of those people who don't see things the way I do. Sometimes that means being uncomfortable.

Because they're not "blorbos," they're fictional representations of human beings. Including those people who have different thoughts, desires, and values. And if those representations have different histories and different realities than your own they will have different thoughts, desires and values. Making characters into dolls onto which you project yourself wholecloth isn't storytelling, it's navel-gazing.

And yes, while I find your way of engaging with fiction myopic and unrelatable, if a character thought like you I wouldn't "backbutton"; I wouldn't be "alienated"; I'd let the writer show me how to empathize with your perspective, which is exactly what you've done by giving your own backstory regarding how you came to your views, so I know that you know that this is how writing works. You've shown me your perspective so that I can see it, so that I can empathize.

But the point of fiction is to engage with the mentality and humanity of those people who don't see things the way I do. Sometimes that means being uncomfortable. Because they're not "blorbos," they're fictional representations of human beings.

Do you not understand the fanfic does not equal all of fiction? Like, you know those people who are obsessed with healthy eating to the point that it's become an all-out eating disorder? That's kind of how you're coming across ITT except with intellectualism in reading practices taking the place of food.

I am not reading The Great Sex Olympics of 221B (wonderful as it is) for the sake of self-betterment. I've read plenty of things and continue to read plenty of things that give my mind something to chew on and build with. But I am reading The Great Sex Olympics of 221b because it's fun and hot and it gives my brain dopamine when little else will.

I have no (0, zero) interest in reading fanfiction on the internet that makes me uncomfortable in any way that I don't innately want to be uncomfortable.

In fact, it's fascinating to me that you say you find my way of engaging with fiction "myopic and unrelatable" because - setting aside that you actually don't know much about my way of engaging with fiction, and what you do know of it you only learned after making all these incorrect assumptions - I've begun to suspect that the feeling is mutual. I find there to be something distinctly myopic and unrelatable about treating all fiction as existing for the same purpose and requiring the same approach from its readers.

Hell, even the fact that you are offended by my referring to favored characters as "blorbos" and have attempted to deny that they are my blorbos is strikingly myopic (and pretentious) to me. Do you not understand that they can be both at once? That my favoring them in that way and wanting to consume fannish content about them purely for enjoyment and no other reason, doesn't in any way negate or degrade their literary quality as characters, nor does it negate or degrade my ability to engage with them in other, more intellectually rigorous ways?

You seem to have convinced yourself that the fact I don't want to read my faves, who I am vicariously experiencing the story through, casually partaking in an activity I have a personal squick for, indicates something about my ability to empathize with fiction, and even in general.

This is the most out of pocket shit I've experienced on the internet in a while.

Damn, so this really is why so much fanfic is so bad these days. TIL.

Enjoy your blorbos.

Nayrt but are you trolling? HOW are you this up your own arse.

Haha yeah that was mostly tongue-in-cheek. I figure when someone is dramatically grandstanding about my having "attempted to deny" their "blorbos" that's the level of the conversation we're at.

I engage with fanfiction the same way I engage with other fiction, personally, while they have "zero desire" to engage with fanfiction that "makes them in any way uncomfortable". And that includes characters they project onto doing anything they don't understand or enjoy. Kudos for not engaging with other fiction that way, but treating fanfiction like junk food means that's all you'll ever get out of it, yeah? I'd offer that there is similar catharsis to be found in fanfiction that aims slightly higher, though. If you ever feel so inclined.

AYRT - No babe, this ain't it, sorry. You've got some of the right materials, but you're putting them together so badly.

BTW, idk if you realize what a blorbo is, cuz you cant deny someone has a favorite character they care a lot about. That's an emotional reality for them. Insisting otherwise is some overstepping shit that doesnt even make sense.

I mean, if you want a sincere answer, yes: I know what a blorbo is, I never "denied" that thread OP cares about a character or projects onto them or is used for their comfort, I pointed out that that isn't actually the nature of the character, the character isn't their hug blanket, it is a fictional representation of a human, and does not need to conform entirely to the OP's perspective and do only things that make them comfortable.

Honestly? What set me - and I'm assuming a lot of the other people in the thread - off was this:

fanfic involves a high level of identifying/relating to the characters

Because, no. It doesn't. Nothing about fanfiction requires this, and furthermore, nothing about identifying/relating to a character requires that one never feel uncomfortable about their actions, which is what OP implies by this statement.

While I'm glad OP clarified that they don't treat all fiction this way, there are a lot of people - myself included - who've noticed this attitude becoming more and more pervasive, and rapidly devolving into "if this makes me uncomfortable, it's wrong" --> "it's wrong, therefore the person who wrote it is bad" --> "bad people deserve to be punished" --> harassment, per one of the next post's secrets.

(It also just makes for really shitty storytelling, and I'm a fan of good storytelling, myself. Even in fanfiction. But that's a matter of taste; I won't take up with OP over that one. Yes there has always been fiction like this, but don't drag the entirety of transformative work down with it by stating that it has to be like this, that it necessarily "involves" it.)

It's getting late for this thread yeah I agree with all of this. As long as you're reading fanfic the way you wanna read fanfic, you're doin' it right. Judging other people for their fanfic habits is the main way to "do it wrong." As seen above. ;P

OP - Couldn't agree more. *fistbump*

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[ SECRET POST #6413 ]

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