This post is not about my new awesome icons, sadly

[briar_pipe]

*pops head up from under this here rock*

Okay, I haven't posted much lately, and I'm generally not posting publicly on this journal, but I think this needs to be said by as many people as possible, so.

Comments

[zahrawithaz]

the kmm = kink me merlin comm?

I haven't seen this and am not quite sure what you're talking about, though that reflects my limited presence in fandom. May I ask what the "certain tropes" are? I gather you're talking about a chain of fandom reactions that accrues around them--the process, rather than the content--but I am curious what they are. And does "witch hunt for infidelity" refer to infidelity to canon source, or to the Guinevere/Lancelot affair in the Arthurian legends?

[briar_pipe]

Yes, the kink meme. Specifically, this was prompted by a recent case of trolling on a fic that dealt with infidelity, both Gwen's and Arthur's, though the troll focused on Arthur's. The OP asked for a situation where Merlin and Arthur had been together for a while before Merlin suggested they have sex without protection, and Arthur decided to admit to infidelity rather than put Merlin at risk. The fic, which was a WIP when it was removed at the author's request, seemed to be hinting that some of Arthur's issues with infidelity stemmed from Gwen being unfaithful to him in the past, though this hadn't yet been clarified. The entire work was a modern AU

[briar_pipe]

It was interesting, and (imo) well written, and I don't usually go for the infidelity trope at all. One of the reasons I think this particular story was attacked was that, like the other 3-4 stories that were jumped on in the past few months, it stood out for both its quality and the care with which the author approached the premise. Many people found it compelling, myself included.

[rane_ab]

the tendency to assume that if someone writes a character you love in a negative light that doesn't deal with any of those 'who you are' concerns, that it's because they hate the character and want to hurt that character's fans.

This completely puzzles me every time. Why would you even assume someone would bother to write a fic just to portray a character in a bad light? Surely there are better ways to waste your time. And it's usually right there in the prompt, which makes it even more ridiculous that people start reading a fic they know will bother them in the first place. I'm starting to think they're just trolls trying to manipulate the fandom, who find this a pretty effective way to cause a stir. It makes me feel sick that they manage to bully people out of writing the fics they don't like, though. :(

[briar_pipe]

I agree with you, it's very disturbing.

If I thought it was just to cause a stir, I wouldn't contribute to it by posting, but I think the trolls really do want to squash certain types of fic. Otherwise, why bother targeting anonymous fics? Couldn't they just as easily go after named authors? They've also attacked stories that weren't popular yet or had just begun, and that smacks of someone with a specific agenda, not just looking for a good wank. Maybe it's more than one person, but the type of fic attacked it pretty amazingly similar each time.

I think most trolls need a life, and that's why they troll at all. Boredom and entitlement are a bad combination.

[woldy]

Wow. Merlin fandom is really not having a good year, is it? *sigh* I'm guessing it's a potent mix of immaturity and a messed up sense that if they can't control canon they can at least control fandom by making sure their M/A isn't polluted by other relationships, especially canon ships. Doesn't surprise me that it's happening on the kinkme TBH because so many of the M/A and B/C people seemed determined to keep it as THEIR SPACE for their ships last summer, and anonymity encourages both wank and trolls.

I'm just going to hide in my multi-shipping hole, and ignore the haters as best I can.

[briar_pipe]

It's almost even worse than simple cross-ship hate, if you can believe it. Perhaps in the earlier case of the "Merlin cheats with Lancelot" story there was a bit of that. But the one wanked last summer and this latest fic weren't about the other pairings at all - they were just about exploring Merlin's and Arthur's infidelity (respectively) and why it was happening.

I do think you're on to something about a sense of helplessness in the face of canon, though. The attacks started after S2 ended, possibly even after the first behind the scenes shots appeared from PF last spring, so it may very well be linked. Or just, as you say, immaturity.

We may end up discovering that ignoring the hataz is the only way to fly. Wise words, bb!

[woldy]

Personally I love stories about infidelity, & although I can see why they might make some people uncomfortable there's no excuse for harassing authors - especially when you knew what the pairing & themes would be before you started reading. It makes me wish there was an infidelity-themed comm for Merlin fandom, like hp_unfaithful, so that there was a supportive space for those stories.

[briar_pipe]

That... might actually turn out to be a great idea, if you turned off anon commenting. Knowing other people liked the trope enough to put their names on it might be enough to help people realize this is just a kink like other kinks, not a commentary on the characters.

And yeah, it always makes me wonder when people click on things they know they won't like. Are they masochists? Do they just like being angry?

[magog_83]

I think I must be out of the loop on a lot of things in fandom!!

I admit, the thought of Merlin and Arthur being unfaithful (I haven't read the fic you mean so I'm going from comments here) makes me really sad. If I have to have A/G shoved in my face canon-wise, then I love my M/A to get their happy destined-to-be-together ending in fic land, especially since I don't multi-ship at all, it's only M/A for me.

Having said that, I just don't read fics that I don't like. If I find the characterisation of someone OOC, or it contains something I don't agree with, then I just click back out and move onto something else, bullying someone because they didn't interpret a character the way you do is just wrong and creates a nasty atmosphere in what has always seemed to be a very welcoming and inclusive fandom. To take that to a silly extreme, I don't ship A/G AT ALL, so ANY A/G fic portrays them in a way that I don't find IC, because I don't buy the romance, but obviously the A/Gers do so it's just another take on characters or whatever, I'm

[briar_pipe]

Honestly, being out of the loop on this one sounds wonderful. I almost wish I hadn't seen it go down, except I really wouldn't want someone to be bullied in silence without witnesses willing to speak up.

I'm not personally into the trope of unfaithfulness, but what I find most interesting is that neither Arthur nor Merlin was unfaithful with Gwen in any of those stories. For once, she wasn't involved. They weren't about working around canon so much as exploring a kink that some people have requested on the kink meme, which is, uh. Kind of where they're supposed to be free to do so

[magog_83]

An orgy AND a circus perhaps?! There could be mud wrestling! And maybe Merlin cheats a bit so he can beat Arthur, and everyone gets a bit distracted by Gwaine and Lancelot's turn...

The last month or so has been all about finishing the thesis, so
I've mostly skimmed my flist and that's about it :)

Are there people then who ship M/A but only like one of the pairing?? :/ That seems strange! I must admit, I've wanted to whack Arthur quite a few times in series three, but he's still Arthur and I love him, prat and all.

[briar_pipe]

Circus orgy! But the wrestling simply must involve jello, I insist.

I... have a deep and abiding confusion for shippers who hate one half but continue to ship the whole. When I truly can't stand a character, I'm not interested in writing them, even as a villain. As a partner...?

(And yes, being annoyed with someone sometimes is not the same as hating them.)

Good luck with the final bits of thesising. That's exciting! ^_^

[heather]

Whoa, completely out of the loop on this one, but I've seen some weird passive-aggressive and even outright aggressive prompting and commenting on the kink meme a time or two that bugs me a lot.

I'm so so sorry to hear that someone was bullied or intimidated on a damn kink meme. Jeez.

[briar_pipe]

I've seen those prompts too, but I've got this great talent for scrolling on by. But aside from the prompting, which can be divisive, most of the time people seem able to distinguish between stories they want to read and stories they don't. I don't know what's wrong with this particular troll or set of trolls that they can't make a simple decision that other people learn to do very early in fandom.

And yeah, a kink meme. *shakes head*