What determines if something is fandomizable isn't how good it is, it's how much room there is to play around in it. A satisfying story that is straightforward in how it's told (not in the sense of the story itself but whether it's through a single movie vs a tv show vs a franchise) doesn't have nearly as much to mess around with as much longer stories with lots of different aspects to them and a lot of possibilities to play with.

Like I hate this idea that "good" media doesn't have fandoms when so many of the examples used are like. Two hour long movies with a satisfying conclusion and very little space to explore other possibilities, compared to tv shows with 12 seasons or comic franchises that have been getting published and adapted to other media for 70 years. It contributes to the idea that fandoms are built out of dissatisfaction or a desire to "fix" stories rather than out of passion for shared interests.

A hallway taking you from one room to another has a lot less stuff to do in it than a park does. That doesn't make the hallway better, it just serves a different purpose.

fuck the idea that i deserved to be singled out for pain when i was born a complete, beautiful human being with so much fucking goodness in me. i was let down over and over and i did the best any kid could. my efforts may have looked inadequate from the outside but i know they were actually miraculous, magical. all the things i did to get by. i worked so fucking hard to stay safe and be good to others, and i will never abandon myself to other people's callous, stupid, ignorant judgement ever. again. from this moment on i will live in constant acknowledgment of my intrinsic beauty and worth.

I love being a nobody on here because I could make one of those ‘if this gets ‘x’ amount of notes I’ll go and actually work on my original works’ and it wouldn’t get near the goal

Most heroes: Hi, I’m alive but my parents are dead

Danny Phantom: Hi, my parents are fine but I’m dead

I feel like if the world was ever rent asunder on a metaphysical level dinner would go first. If you ever notice the concept of dinner stops existing that’s our canary in the dinnermine

The Beast that Bothers

The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Illinois, October 7, 1943

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.

?

Please go watch Sex Explained on Netflix. Not only is it a great resource for the basic sex education that is sorely lacking in the U.S., but some of ya’ll need to take a deep breath and remember the difference between fantasy vs reality. This purity culture thing that we’re going through right now is directly harmful to responsible, healthy sexual expression. BTW this woman, Lisa Diamond, is a noted psychologist and has been pushing for greater understanding of womens sexuality as a whole.

swimming and eating

Here is what my mother told me when I was young: the world is harsh. It is unforgiving and it has teeth. Take no shit.

Here is what I have learned from the world: it is wounded and the humans scattered throughout it are rarely the rats of Rat Park, they are the tired, trembling experiments in need of more kindness, not less. Do no harm.

Here's what I have learned from the world: humans are good. They are soft, and gentle, and they are wounded, all of them. When humans were young and wild, they looked at the snarling beasts that came to their fires, the ones with sharp teeth in their long muzzles, and they saw soft fur and the welcome-home wag of a tail.

Here is what I have seen: Given an opportunity, humans will choose creation and love. They will create art, and music, and community. They will tell each other stories, sing each other songs, help each other heal. Even without safety, even when it wounds them, they will love. They will love each other - their family, their friends, their mates - and they will love the world.

Here is what I have seen: there is hope. Sometimes it is ugly and twisted and burns, but humans will hold onto it with both hands and their entire heart. They will share it with one another. They will use it to tame beasts with fur and teeth as well as the ones that live inside of themselves. They will create because of it; they will say I hope this makes someone smile, I hope this makes someone cry. I hope this saves someone. And it will.

Here is what I know to be true: evidence of a healed broken bone from thousands of years ago reminds us that what makes us human isn't our wounds, but how we care for one another through them.

Here is what my mother told me: the world will gnash its sharp teeth at me. It will try to wound me.

Here is what I know to be true: I am human, and humans heal one another and can turn sharp teeth into wagging tails.