Fandom and let fandom, y'all

[rogueslayer452]

There is this fandom meme I've seen that I may or may not do in the near future, but there were some questions on there that I felt deserved to be answered separately since they were more generic instead of specific fandom based.

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?
When it comes to LJ, not really. I don't think I've ever defriended anyone who had different fandom views or opinions unless they were starting unnecessary drama with others who disagreed with them. On Tumblr, however, yes I have unfollowed people who have had certain opinions, viewpoints, or attitudes about fandom that I felt I didn't want to see all over my dash, especially since many over there can be so damn aggressive to the point of being annoying. But I find that with Tumblr, it's a very impersonal space where you can follow/unfollow/block people on a whim and it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, as opposed to LJ where there is more of a personal connection between you and your mutual online friends. Honestly, I love it when online friends have different opinions on things, I love reading what other people think about something that we mutually like, we don't always have to agree. Just don't be a dick about it.

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?
Unfortunately, yes. I usually try not to let fandom opinions ruin my fun or my preferences, but sometimes the shipping wars and pushy fanatical shippers of certain pairings that I actually like can be so persistent and overwhelming that it seems impossible to avoid unless you distance yourself from the fandom altogether. This can even happen with pairings that I was mostly indifferent towards but ended up hating because of the sense of entitlement of the fandom itself. It's why I try to stay away from the intensity of certain sides of fandom.

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?
Absolutely not. I never understood this mentality that you had to ship what the majority of people in the fandom shipped, as if that ever made a difference in anything. It implies that if you're not on board with the most popular thing in fandom then you're in the wrong, which is just ridiculous and immature. This is kind of entitlement is what fuels most, if not all, shipping wars. It doesn't matter if you ship something that is popular or not, canon or fanon, just ship whatever the hell you want to and don't let anyone else tell you otherwise.

What are your thoughts on crack ships?
Love them. Listen, I have plenty of crackships myself, and there's just something I enjoy with seeing the "what ifs" of characters being together, especially if they aren't even from the same fictional universe. It's just fun imagining the concept. That is the beauty of what makes fandom so great, we have so many options and possibilities to make what seems the impossible work.

Comments

[violateraindrop]

Fandom is also full of hypocrites. Numb3rs (the show with David Krumholtz) had two male detectives that I shipped, but it was impossible to find fanfic. I'm guessing that is because one is black and one is white which is something other people have noted, too. Predominant pairings are often two white men and if you don't ship them, you're homophobic. Doesn't matter if there is a POC right there which has more chemistry with either one of these characters.

*butts in*

[mfirefly10.livejournal.com]

Predominant pairings are often two white men and if you don't ship them, you're homophobic. Doesn't matter if there is a POC right there which has more chemistry with either one of these characters.

This applies to...many, many fandoms I've been in but your icon immediately made me think of how many POI fans would side-eye me for not shipping Reese/Finch. It didn't matter that I loved both characters and their friendship, people would always question why I didn't ship them, particularly if I mentioned the pairing I actually shipped which was Carter/Reese. (I mean, I shipped Reese with Zoe too, but Carter was my favorite person to ship John with.)

Re: *butts in*

[violateraindrop]

I felt exactly the same! That's why I used the icon ;)
I remember trying to find Carter/Reese fanfic and was surprised how many people shipped/wrote Reese and Finch because I didn't see it at all. Their friendship was precious but other than that? Carter and Reese had good chemistry in my opinion and I'm happy that canon acknowledged it, even if it was a little late. And I also shipped him with Zoe to some degree. The thing they had on the show worked for me.

Re: *butts in*

[mfirefly10.livejournal.com]

I understood why people shipped Reese and Finch but, like you, I didn't see it as anything more than a really strong friendship. Reese and Carter had excellent chemistry and I was glad to see their feelings sort of acknowledged right before the end. Yeah, Reese/Zoe was just a fun pairing and I enjoyed their casual friends-with-benefits type relationship in canon.