So someone just told me to shut up and behave like the people who yelled at Matt over twitter about something so much, he had to address it twice. So yeah, that’s totally what I’m going to do, but only after making two last points:
- On one hand, we have Matt telling us Scanlan spent his life travelling around, picking up knowledge and passing that on to others. On the other hand, we have Sam completely bamboozeled every time Scanlan is supposed to know anything about anything and telling us Scanlan spent his life touring with a band, performing music, trashing his patrons’ bedsheets, seducing people and making little Kaylies. We also have Scanlan lamenting the fact that he felt more like the storyteller instead of like part of the story. In comes Ioun telling him that he absolutely is the storyteller and that he should be the best storyteller he can be. How is that a satisfying conclusion to anything? I get that her words about how much he means to everyone were reaffirming and needed and honestly what the others should have been telling him ever since he got back, and how maybe that coming from a goddess of knowledge is especially reaffirming somehow.´- right while she kiiiind of invalidates the arc Scanlan at least tried to have outside of having a daughter.
- The whole champion issue aside, the fact still stands that the de Rolos died because they had an Ioun temple in their basement. At the place where Ioun was wounded. It would have been nice to at least get that addressed or acknowledged in some way. Instead, we get Ioun drawing a direct parallel between Percy and the guy who got his entire family killed. Oh, after she gave a moving speech about redemption, of course. I mean, if nothing else, rude. And Percy seeming unfazed by this doesn’t make it any less rude – it’s just what he expects to hear at this point anyway.
So long as you’re polite about it, no reason to stop tweeting about this or discussing it with Matt if he responds. He’s been very open about discussing story stuff with fans, repeatedly, engaging in conversations and even debates. Unless you’re insulting or threatening, there is not reason to “shut up.” People telling you to do that probably come from the fandom mindset of “any criticism, any discussion, any debate, is BAD AND WRONG AND HATEFUL AND WE MUST SUPPRESS IT WHEN EVER WE SEE IT, THERE IS NO WAR IN BA SING SE.”
Not every fan is gonna 100% adore every story choice. And that’s just fine! (I know, SHOCKING!) So long as you don’t name-call or send death threats, discussion and debate is a perfectly healthy part of fandom life.
If it goes on long enough you can maybe stop directly @ ing a creator, but it’s up to them to mute a conversation too if they just wanna step out. These aren’t ignorant youtube kids who are new to fandom life, these are adult professionals with years of experience with fandom and fans. They know their limits and they maintain them very well. (You’ll notice Laura and Travis seldom get into twitter talks, they’re more aloof in their social media activities, whereas Matt and Taliesin and Liam are a lot more active. That’s up to their preferences.)
Like good lord, people went after me about the Tary stuff, people went after fans earlier about the J’mon stuff, and so on. Discussion and even debate is not the end of the world, it is not an automatically bad thing to be crushed or stopped at all costs.
P.S. “shut up and behave” 90% of the time is lobbed at female fans, usually queer fans and black fans, talking about representation or story choices … and somehow not at the white cis male fans who scream at Marisha every damn week for the sin of being A Woman In Gaming. I’m sick of this. I’m not being rude for politely discussing story choices I disagree with in a show I watch. I will not “shut up” about subjects that are important to me, like how queer people are represented in the media. I am polite, I am kind, but I am also nobody’s fucking doormat.
Interesting and valid points all, but I feel the need to clarify that I’m not talking to anyone of the cast on twitter, just posting think pieces on here. Someone @ me to tell me to find a discord server instead and behave. Like the Scanlan fans who were upset about the cover but apparently were nicer to Matt than I am being. Which is why Matt addressed it twice, the publisher made an official statement, and Sam made a joke about it last episode. Yes. I’m sure my metas have just as much reach as that.
Wow, whaaaaaat?
Ok that’s just ridiculous. Tumblr isn’t the best venue for long talks but it’s been used for meta for years. Discord is a fun new thing but it’s just that, new, and confining fandom activities there is is telling someone to suddenly leave the fandom at large and vacate to a tiny room with like, 20 other people. Wtf. That’s rude as hell. Don’t listen to people like that!
If people don’t wanna see meta or analysis posts on their dash they can just … unfollow you? Block you? Blacklist your blog? There’s a million options for people who don’t wanna see media analysis and discussion posts!
Like me personally, I don’t really check the tags much? I follow a fair few people, mostly who post meta posts or reblog meta posts. I avoid a lot of the liveshow reactions and ship fights. I get the interesting discussions and analysis. This is not by magical accident or telling people I don’t like to shut up. This is a result of my own deliberate choices. In broad strokes, we’re responsible for what we see on our dashes on tumblr.
“behave” yeah I get the funny feeling that person doesn’t tell male fans that. Jesus, some people. Matt has dealt with far worse over rules-police types than he ever has from fans who are like “I don’t agree with this story choice.” He encourages people to talk about story choices! He responds to stuff on twitter and discusses it on Talks Machina! He ENCOURAGES conversation and dialogue between fans! This is not some nasty snide creator who wants silent fans who only clap at the end and keep their mouths shut.
Rock on, and if that person comes back to bother you, block their ass.
Thank you, you’re so sweet ❤
And I mean, if I can’t post my metas here, where the hell am I supposed to? I actually like to reach a bunch of people to debate deifferent view points, and kind of prefer that over a 20 people echo chamber. Also I just don’t like Discord.
Of course, telling people to shut up and enjoy their content in silence seems to be a new trend. Maybe quitting the main tag is something I should try again…
Overdressed & Underappreciated 