I really think everyone needs to truly internalize this:
Fictional characters are objects.
They are not people. You cannot "objectify" them, because they have no personhood to be deprived of. They have no humanity to be erased. You cannot "disrespect" them, because they are not real.
I think it's good to remember from time to time that the individuals creating pieces of interactive fiction are precisely that—individuals. I know no author who is a part of a corporation or major group, and I know many who are producing works solely because they feel passionate about a story and wish to share it. They are working on their stories between other obligations such as families, school, jobs, etc.
All work is entirely on their time for the publics enjoyment, and they are under no obligation to interact with their reader base—but many do, myself included. Why? Because it can be an amazing experience to hear the feedback and comments of those reading your works, and it helps motivate to continue those projects further.
That being said, it is also good to remember that harassment of an author is not harassment of a faceless corporation—it's of an individual, and often times it fails to be beneficial in the end. Being mindful of how one comes across is critical to productive conversations and outcomes. To quote an old saying: if you wouldn't say it to their face, why say it at all?
I feel like with the new ~fandom drama~ or whatever going around, I should re-introduce my favorite theory of fandom, which I call the 1% Theory.
Basically, the 1% Theory dictates that in every fandom, on average, 1% of the fans will be a pure, unsalvageable tire fire. We’re talking the people who do physical harm over their fandom, who start riots, cannot be talked down. The sort of things public news stories are made of. We’re not talking necessarily bad fans here- we’re talking people who take this thing so seriously they are willing to start a goddamn fist fight over nothing. The worst of the worst.
The reason I bring this up is because the 1% Theory ties into an important visual of fandom knowledge- that bigger fandoms are always perceived as “worse”, and at a certain point, a fandom always gets big enough to “go bad”. Let me explain.
Say you have a small fandom, like 500 people- the 1% Theory says that out of those 500, only 5 of them will be absolute nutjobs. This is incredibly manageable- it’s five people. The fandom and world at large can easily shut them out, block them, ignore their ramblings. The fandom is a “nice place”.
Now say you have a medium sized fandom- say 100,000 people. Suddenly, the 1% Theory ups your level of calamity to a whopping 1000 people. That’s a lot. That’s a lot for anyone to manage. It is, by nature of fandom, impossible to “manage” because no one owns fan spaces. People start to get nervous. There’s still so much good, but oof, 1000 people.
Now say you have a truly massive fandom- I use Homestuck here because I know the figures. At it’s peak, Homestuck had approximately FIVE MILLION active fans around the globe.
By the 1% Theory, that’s 50,000 people. Fifty THOUSAND starting riots, blackmailing creators, contributing to the worst of the worst of things.
There’s a couple of important points to take away here, in my opinion.
1) The 1% will always be the loudest, because people are always looking for new drama to follow.
2) Ultimately, it is 1%. It is only 1%. I can’t promise the other 99% are perfect, loving angels, but the “terrible fandom” is still only 1% complete utter garbage.
3) No fandom should ever be judged by their 1%. Big fandoms always look worse, small fandoms always look better. It’s not a good metric.
So remember, if you’re ever feeling disheartened by your fandom’s activity- it’s just 1%, people. Do your part not to be a part of it.
the newest loa chapter in a nutshell basically
why do my tumblr mutuals not understand they are the hottest smartest lovable funniest most groundbreaking people alive 🙄
Okay but when will Gabe break my back though?
The love me tender let me take care of you protective boyfriend big spoon little spoon soft neck kisses quiet goodnight-
tatum saying he always wanted to be the person to make mc happy no matter what and that never changed tatum dropping everything because mc needed him tatum saying it would kill him if something happened to mc tatum saying he would never forgive himself if mc got hurt
He’s just so perfect
us getting on here to make memes about how much we hate a game we love
Here's a theory me and @blainehellyes came up with because we don't trust PB:
I cannot believe i run a fucking choices blog. Like of all the things to get into it's fucking choices. What the fuck. How did i get here
I want him, I want him too. Current mood. Sitting here trying to decide if this is a passing phase or if my precious Kayden is being phased out for a newer, younger model. Maybe it’s time to move on (it’s been about a year, right?) (I obviously have a “type”)
@chaotichuman0090 @nikx83 @mercury84choices @masquerade-reimagined
there's been an increase of fa ads lately
I really hope you will like it.
Hopefully someday
❤️❤️❤️
