Fandom and Viewer Issues: "Fan" Is Short for "Fanatic"

[Faemonic]

I heard that "friends and sisters...other fans see it as different and I don't want to take that away from them" was a Lana soundbite from an interview two years ago, though. It might have blown up because Emma going I Will Always Find You to Hook as a mid-season finale cliffhanger was more of an anvil than Eddy's S4 bite about the Frozen arc being inclusive of "important stories like Rumple and Belle, Hook and Emma, Regina and Robin Hood, Snow White and Charming".

 

I said it then and I'll say it now: heteronormativity ahoy.

 

What Eddy said should have been The Clue that Swan Queen wasn't going to happen because they don't consider it important, and that Mulan Rouge, much as I love the ship name, is not going to be good (because they don't have a story to tell, they just have a demographic to pacify; and they make all the necessary PR noises about New And Improved Once now with added HoYay, but also pledge to write the relationship the same way they would all their romantic relationships.)

 

Also, Eddy actually writes the show. Unlike the actors.

 

So...from what I've gathered, some article writer on E! necromanced Lana's soundbite and released it when that faction of the fandom was particularly tense. And when that faction of the fandom is particularly tense...

[Serena]

Netflix UK is doing masterful trolling.

What Eddy said should have been The Clue that Swan Queen wasn't going to happen because they don't consider it important, and that Mulan Rouge, much as I love the ship name, is not going to be good (because they don't have a story to tell, they just have a demographic to pacify; and they make all the necessary PR noises about New And Improved Once now with added HoYay, but also pledge to write the relationship the same way they would all their romantic relationships.)

Then that will be true equality, because most het ships on Once aren't good, either.

Edited February 14, 2016 by Serena

[mjgchick]

Netflix has got to find their chill. Did Jennifer or Adam hack Netflix or something? lol

[Rumsy4]

Netflix and abc are all about Captain Swan today. I'm really enjoying it.

[mjgchick]

I don't really think its fair because they've all but forgotten about Snowing, Rumbelle and Outlaw Queen but holycrap some fans are pissed.

Then you have Variety and many other media groups writing articles about them. I get it because they took center stage in 5A but it does suck for the other couples. I know I get annoyed when Arrow is all about Olicity.

[Rumsy4]

I guess I don't see why they need to be "fair" and all inclusive in everything. The worm will turn, and the promotion will be all about Regina soon enough.

[KingOfHearts]

Valentine's Day is actually the "anniversary" of Rumpbelle, so some shippers are a bit cheesed that's not being addressed. I understand the need to push CS since 5A just happened, it just humorously steps on the toes of shippers of other ships. (Which it shouldn't, lol.)

[Camera One]

I've started a Merlin and Nimue fan club if anyone wants to join... the ship name is Nimwit and we are planning on complaining in 5B that there isn't enough of this wonderful couple of true love.

[maryle]

I too love all the publicity that CS have in this Day of looove!

And it is sweet to see once upon a CS being use as marketing!

It make me smile!

But, I can understand the claim that for Valentin the promotion should have includind all canon couple.

Still variety and others sm site is another ball games!

I am impression that so much of them did post pic of CS gessing they know that the hater of the pairing are a minority.

[Rumsy4]

I'm on board, Camera One. Adam posted a Valentine's Day script tease about

Cora and Henry

. I'm going to complain to Adam how unfair it is against Nimwit.

[mjgchick]

I've been here for Nimwit from the get go.

[Faemonic]

It's too bad that the people behind OUaT promos aren't hip to the jive of continuity, because if the fans celebrate the anniversaries of their ships getting together, that's more an opportunity missed. If there are so few callbacks and continuity in the show to what had been previously established, at least the promo team should give it to the fandom, and I agree that Valentine's Day every year should be OUaT promotional's Rumbelle day, or at least equally celebrate all the canon romantic ships.

 

...Is what I would say if some Rumbelle/Dearies didn't sit on laurels in the weirdest way. "Why does Hook have to be lauded as such a hero when Rumple faced down Papa Pan without magic??" Because Papa Pan was three years ago and Swan Song was the last episode we saw before the hiatus! Of course people are going to be discussing what happened most recently! If you want Rumple in the limelight, we're more likely to talk about the Rumbelle Meridabear episode, duh! You know what? Just for that inanity, I'm glad that Valentine Rumbelle day wasn't a promo thing this year. Rasslefrazzle fandom.

 

(Sorry I've been grouchy this week. I might be turning into a werewolf.)

 

Then that will be true equality, because most het ships on Once aren't good, either.

Nooo! Must needs HoYay of one (1) episode that's at least on par with Nimwit or Rumbelle (Skin Deep's Rumbelle. I can't with that ship any time after.) And another that takes up a whole season and sets the stage for everything else that happens afterwards.

[Rumsy4]

 

Because Papa Pan was three years ago and Swan Song was the last episode we saw before the hiatus! Of course people are going to be discussing what happened most recently! 

 

This is exactly it. In 4A, it was all about Frozen. In 4B, the promotion was all about the (totally inept and ultimately pointless) Queens of Darkness. In 5A the promotion was heavily focused on Dark Swan. Of course they're now going to focus social media promotion on Captain Swan and Hook because the premise of 5B is Emma going to the UW to rescue her Love. Doesn't mean the whole of 5B is going to be about that (hah!)--just that it is the jumping off point for the half-season, and something for the promo dept to hang their peg on. Also, 5A was pretty CS-heavy, so it will be fresh in the mind of general audience and non-abc related media sites. Non-abc related media outlets don't generally concern themselves with ship wars and fan factions. 

 

To put it bluntly, the Rumbelle relationship is at its least-glamorous phase right now. That could be why onceabc failed to promote the anniversary, or it could simply boil down to lazy interns. I think it is simply impossible to please all factions of fandom all the time in an ensemble show like ONCE. The focus of story arcs also keep shifting each half-season, and they keep introducing tons of guest stars for each arc. It makes sense for the promos to focus on what's currently happening in the Show.

I'm sure we can bet on the promotion shifting heavily to Zelena, Hades, and Regina as the season progresses. 

 

Edited February 15, 2016 by Rumsy4

[Camera One]

The weird thing with the longer promo trailers is the promo people still seem to think it's a good idea to use Snow as the anchor.  The 5A trailer had her voiceover about getting the darkness out of her daughter.  The 5B trailer uses Snow's words "You're going to hell?!" to show what's happening and then shows her expression as she looks around the Underworld.  Of course, this completely doesn't gel with A&E's valuation of Snow, but it gives a somewhat misleading view that Snow is still relevant on the show (I still like her, but she is only one step up from Dwarf at this point).

Edited February 15, 2016 by Camera One

[Curio]

The weird thing with the longer promo trailers is the promo people still seem to think it's a good idea to use Snow as the anchor.

 

I don't think it's as much about Snow as it is about Ginny. Out of the entire main cast, Ginny is still arguably one of the most recognizable in terms of the general audience. Lana and Robert might have a passionate online fandom, but Ginny is more Hollywood-famous than most of the cast. If you stopped a random stranger on Rodeo Drive, they probably would have no idea who the heck Lana Parilla is. But if you mention Ginnifer Goodwin's name, they might have an inkling that they've seen her before in some movie or TV show. The promo people know this and try to convince the audience that they have star power on the show still, even though the writers have absolutely no idea how to use Snow as a character anymore.

[sharky]

Really? I never heard of Gennifer Goodwin before this. The only person who had any name recognition for me was Robert Carlyle, and I recognized Jennifer from How I Met Your Mother. The push with Snow is because she's Snow White. Much easier character to explain than the Savior.

[Eolivet]

Came across Stephen Fry's reason for leaving Twitter and it made me think of this thread. Just substitute fandom-related issues for the real life ones he lists here, and it works very well:

 

"Let us grieve at what twitter has become. A stalking ground for the sanctimoniously self-righteous who love to second-guess, to leap to conclusions and be offended – worse, to be offended on behalf of others they do not even know. It’s as nasty and unwholesome a characteristic as can be imagined. It doesn’t matter whether they think they’re defending women, men, transgender people, Muslims, humanists … the ghastliness is absolutely the same. It makes sensible people want to take an absolutely opposite point of view. I’ve heard people shriek their secularism in such a way as to make me want instantly to become an evangelical Christian."

Edited February 15, 2016 by Eolivet

[Shanna Marie]

Press releases are written for reporters/editors/producers who don't watch the show. They are written to entice those people to do a story on the show that might bring in more viewers. I have this fight with my boss all the time when I write a press release about the college I work at now. That press release isn't a story for the faculty, staff, and current students.

It's so nice to hear that I'm not the only (former) PR person to have had this as a constant battle with bosses and clients. When I worked for a university, the administration acted like news releases were ego boosts for themselves or for donors and tended to change them in that way, which made them useless for reporters (reporters don't care that a professor holds the Given By Really Rich People In Honor of Other Rich People Distinguished Endowed Chair). And then there was the fun part where they didn't seem to realize that issuing a news release is an invitation to reporters to do a story, so you have to be prepared and willing to do interviews.

 

So, yeah, the accessibility of actors for interviews and the appeal to first the reporters and then to the general public that doesn't watch the show are key to a publicity campaign. The core fans and their agendas aren't a consideration.

[Rumsy4]

Captain Swan doesn't have those problems. ...It is a simple story for the media to use to show how the show works. It is promotable because even without watching the show people can understand the typical tropes of two broken people falling for each other. People expect the bad boy and the good girl. They expect the simplicity of the idea of the pirate and the princess.

Captain Swan has all the elements of an epic romantic fairy tale. In a Show that's based on fairy tales, there's been little in that nature since Snowing. It would be odd for the promo dept not to take advantage of that, considering the buzz in outside media over the pairing. Like it or not, Captain Hook and the Evil Queen are the two most recognizable faces of the Show, and CS is very popular, and used as such by the promo dept.

Colin used to suck at this - his answers anyway - but he is coming out of his shell a lot in this way.

I really think his friendship with Sean has a lot to do with it. Ever since they started hanging out and going to conventions together, Colin has seemed more self-assured and less like a fish-out-of-the-water during media interactions. Though JMo and Colin seem to have a great working relationship, she's been years in the business. I think Colin was able to relate better to Sean's experiences with social and entertainment media. Whatever it was, I'm happy for him.

[Faemonic]

On maybe a more positive note (does that even go here or should it be in Continued Adventures? Mods, please feel free to move this post) Archive Of Our Own declared it International Fanworks Day. One of the short fic challenges of the day (although I personally need about a fortnight to mull something like that over if it gets done at all even if it's short, so oh well) is to wonder what your fandom characters get fannish over.

 

Hee, it's canon that Cruella would rather play Angry Birds than keep an eye on a very important hostage.

[Kktjones]

I'm probably going to be sorry I asked this, but I noticed that last week and again today the Captain Swan fandom planned a trend attempt and both times the Swan Queen fandom also had something trending at the same time. I guess my first question is, was it planned this way to compete against each other, or did one fandom jump in and decide to turn it into a competition?

 

Also, while I'm sure Adam loves it because the TT can bring more attention to Once, I can't help but wonder what the fans trying to get out of it? I guess I can see trending something like "Happy Birthday JMo", but I'm not sure about these others. Is there someone out there with more social media savvy that can help explain?

[KingOfHearts]

Yeah, "EMMA SAVED REGINA" is trending on Twitter right now and I'm not sure why.

Edited February 15, 2016 by KingOfHearts

[Curio]

Because if they get it to trend, then Adam will read it on his Twitter feed and it will suddenly make him realize that these random Twitter people are right and that he needs to change the direction of the show he's been writing for half a decade.

[Serena]

Can we get "EMMA ALSO SAVED GRUMPY" to trend?

[mjgchick]

It's fun to watch both sides going at it via twitter trends. lmao

 

Sorry but I need an "EMMA SAVED MJGCHICK" to trend because had she not took over the darkness it would've eventually leave Storybrook to hit me up in Miami Florida.

Edited February 15, 2016 by mjgchick

[Curio]

"HOOK SAVED SNOW"

[KingOfHearts]

I'm not sure why there's a whole "Han Shot First" controversy surrounding Emma's heroism in 5x22. Yes, she did save Regina, but she saved everyone else too. She gave equal attention to Regina, Hook, and her family. How is that not fair?

[mjgchick]

Where's the "ELSA SAVED EMMA" trend? Fandom is slipping.

[Panopticon]

 

Really? I never heard of Gennifer Goodwin before this. The only person who had any name recognition for me was Robert Carlyle, and I recognized Jennifer from How I Met Your Mother. The push with Snow is because she's Snow White. Much easier character to explain than the Savior.

 

 I think that Big Love alone gave her a fair amount of recognition. HBO shows tend to be media and critical darlings, so lots of exposure there even though HBO is a channel most of the population doesn't get. And only about 6 months passed between the Big Love finale and the OUAT premiere, meaning she didn't have a chance to fade after the standard "here's the latest crazy HBO show ending!" momentum. (Not that the ending was actually all that crazy, but that was the narrative.)

 

As for me, before OUAT started I had seen Carlyle and JMo in multiple places, but couldn't have matched their names to their faces and their various projects. However,  I knew exactly who Ginnifer Goodwin was. I used to get excited every day when I walked past a poster advertisement for OUAT with her in full Snow White costume and think "I have to watch that show when it starts!" I would have watched anyway, but she was an extra draw.

[Souris]

I'm probably going to be sorry I asked this, but I noticed that last week and again today the Captain Swan fandom planned a trend attempt and both times the Swan Queen fandom also had something trending at the same time. I guess my first question is, was it planned this way to compete against each other, or did one fandom jump in and decide to turn it into a competition?

 

Also, while I'm sure Adam loves it because the TT can bring more attention to Once, I can't help but wonder what the fans trying to get out of it? I guess I can see trending something like "Happy Birthday JMo", but I'm not sure about these others. Is there someone out there with more social media savvy that can help explain?

 

The first "competing" trend I'm aware of was last week. I know that SQ decided to trend SWAN MILLS FAMILY after CSers had publicized the intent to trend SWAN JONES FAMILY later that day. I know the EMMA WILL FIND HOOK trend today was planned for several days -- I have no idea when SQ came up with their EMMA SAVED REGINA trend for today.

 

I believe the reason behind the trends is to show fan passion and that there's a good amount of fans for that pairing. And, of course, one side doesn't want the other side to be the only one to trend, since that would make it look like the non-trending side isn't as passionate or as "real" of fans. It's all to the show's good, as I'm sure ABC & A&E see any Twitter trend as good publicity for the show -- that they don't have to spend a cent on. They're probably cackling happily.

 

I do find it vastly amusing that the SQers who vow they're no longer watching the show & hoping it will be canceled are actually helping it seem more popular by trending things to do with the show.

[PixiePaws1]

Yeah, "EMMA SAVED REGINA" is trending on Twitter right now and I'm not sure why.

They forgot to add the 'BITCH NEVER SAID THANKS EITHER' at the end...

[KingOfHearts]

I do get a little annoyed at the twitterlings who reply "SWAN QUEEN ENDGAME" or "CAPTAIN SWAN" to every tweet by the cast/crew. I'm all for fans showing support for their ship, and it's not bad per se, I personally just don't care for it.

[Souris]

I do get a little annoyed at the twitterlings who reply "SWAN QUEEN ENDGAME" or "CAPTAIN SWAN" to every tweet by the cast/crew. I'm all for fans showing support for their ship, and it's not bad per se, I personally just don't care for it.

 

It's tiresome. It's especially bad form when they reply like that to tweets about someone dying, which I've seen them do.

[mjgchick]

 

And Outlaw Queen. Robin Hood and OQ have been treated like shit since S4, just like the other couples, just to make CS shine more.

This had me cackling for 5 minutes straight.

[Stuffy]

I do get a little annoyed at the twitterlings who reply "SWAN QUEEN ENDGAME" or "CAPTAIN SWAN" to every tweet by the cast/crew. I'm all for fans showing support for their ship, and it's not bad per se, I personally just don't care for it.

Well at least it's better than that creepy "mom" and "dad" bs the kids are do now.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Stuffy

[Rumsy4]

Well at least it's better than that creepy "mom" and "dad" bs the kids are do now.

I cringe every time I see someone tweet that at the actors.

[Faemonic]

I'm not sure why there's a whole "Han Shot First" controversy surrounding Emma's heroism in 5x22. Yes, she did save Regina, but she saved everyone else too. She gave equal attention to Regina, Hook, and her family. How is that not fair?

 

People who want Emma and Regina to be a romantic pairing considered Emma eating the Forces of Darkness as a romantic gesture because Regina was the focus of that event. When JMo interrupts a fan who says Emma saved Regina with, "Actually, Emma ate the Darkness to save the town..." Then it's kind of like getting an origami heart from your crush on Valentine's Day. You'd be happy about that, right? But then you find out that several other people brandish about the same origami heart and one of them keeps saying that theirs came with a mixed tape from your crush. (Do kids these days still make mixed casette tapes? What's the cool version?)

 

If you're a jerk, you're going to decide that those several other people are a vicious conspiracy of lies to discourage you from feeling happy that your love is finally requited, or you're going to go up to your crush and accuse that person of cheating on you and call them names like tease and whore (even though you can't be both at the same time) and demand that your origami heart was the realest and truthiest of all of theirs!!!

 

But, typo alert, that happened in 4x22. We're now on five.

 

But if you really want to be fair, why would JMo interrupt someone saying that Emma saved Regina with how Emma saved the town? Both are true, but to make the distinction is suspicious. And I'm not even saying that means JMo put Emma in a closet and the correction was reactionarily protective. I mean I'd interpret that to mean that Jen was 89% done with people tweeting her in Portuguese (that she doesn't even speak) about being a euphemistically "big shoe" just because she wants to catch up on Orange is the New Black or just because Eduardo Casto made a rare fashion failure and tried to bring plaid back, like every gesture she makes is a sign of her perceived sexual availability and, minority representation becomes just an excuse to objectify and dehumanize someone. That's not the supportive behavior of an ally. That's oppressive.

 

If there hadn't been that tension, she'd be cheering on Swan Queen like she used to, and I suspect she wouldn't have been averse to the plot going that way.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Faemonic

[Curio]

"Keep watching the show. See what you want to see. I didn’t kill your ship as it never had life." — Michael Coleman

 

I wish Michael could still tweet these kinds of things. That's glorious.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Curio

[Souris]

If there hadn't been that tension, she'd be cheering on Swan Queen like she used to, and I suspect she wouldn't have been averse to the plot going that way.

 

I suspect she would indeed have been averse to the plot going that way, as she was averse to the plot going the way of Swanfire given how Neal hurt Emma, and Regina also did a hell of a lot of hurting of Emma (and her family). I find a huge amount in common in the Swanfire & SwanQueen romantic concepts, not the least of which is their fans seem to put far more of a premium on the happiness of the party who isn't Emma.

 

But if you really want to be fair, why would JMo interrupt someone saying that Emma saved Regina with how Emma saved the town? Both are true, but to make the distinction is suspicious.

 

I don't find it in the least suspicious. Maybe it was just because she knew how it would be twisted by fans and wanted to nip it in the bud, but in reality Emma DID save the entire town. What the hell was wrong with clarifying that? To classify it as just for Regina narrows the breadth of Emma's sacrifice, and given how protective JMo is of Emma, I'm not surprised she'd want to make it clear that Emma was thinking of everyone in the town. That's a very savior-esque thing to do.

[mjgchick]

It felt like the fans were belittling her sacrafice as just for one person or for romantic purposes. Like why is no one confused on Hook taking on the darkness for Emma and her family but this one every time Jen corrects them or a character actually says it in the show it's some controversy. It's so weird.

[Camera One]

I find a huge amount in common in the Swanfire & SwanQueen romantic concepts, not the least of which is their fans seem to put far more of a premium on the happiness of the party who isn't Emma.

 

I don't think it's fair to tar Swanfire and SwanQueen with the same brush, considering the latter is completely imagined.  I don't think one can assume that every person who liked Neal and Emma didn't care about Emma.  

Edited February 16, 2016 by Camera One

[mjgchick]

I've seen a lot of Neal and Emma fans who hate Emma. At least the way they talk about Emma compared to Neal who was a douche among douches. But you're right not all of them are. I just get a sense they take their bitterness out on Emma and not the writers for having her fall for Hook instead. If only they were bitter that he was written as a 200 plus year old man having unprotected sex with a 16 year old.

[Serena]

It's not unusual for the fans of a "losing" ship in a love triangle to take it out on the character that chose "wrong". I never watched Lost, but I heart that Kate got a lot of flack.

[Rumsy4]

I never shipped Kate with anyone, but it was hard to empathize with her character until the very last couple of seasons. It was the same for me with Jack. But I agree that fans of a "losing" ship can tend to take it out on the character. Many SF shippers I knew shipped it mainly for Baelfire/Neal, and didn't like Emma all that much. But that's not to say most of them have that preference, because who knows.

[Curio]

It's not unusual for the fans of a "losing" ship in a love triangle to take it out on the character that chose "wrong". I never watched Lost, but I heart that Kate got a lot of flack.

 

I always thought Kate had the best natural chemistry with Sawyer, but I never got angry at the characters. Instead, I got annoyed with the writers and ended up quitting the show around the fourth or fifth season because of unrelated plot hole reasons. (Considering Once has arguably more plot holes than LOST, I'm surprised I'm still addicted to this show.)

 

The strangest thing to me is that fandoms from other TV shows feel the need to take sides in our fandom wars, too. Apparently, Clexa shippers must band together and support SQ even if they've never seen the show, and if a CS shipper also likes Clexa, then they're clearly "fake" shippers who don't actually support Clexa, and SQ shippers try to tell Bellarke shippers that their ship is super "problematic" like CS, and Olicity shippers tend to sympathize with CSers because they also get a lot of flack for their ship "taking over the show", and somewhere off on the sidelines Rumbelle are complaining about something and SQers fake-sympathize with them.

 

Oh, the fun things you learn just by scrolling through Tumblr.

[Camera One]

I don't know... I just feel uncomfortably near the over-the-board fans on Tumblr or Twitter when I see blanket statements about "everyone" who likes a certain couple or character.

[Faemonic]

I don't find it in the least suspicious. Maybe it was just because she knew how it would be twisted by fans and wanted to nip it in the bud, but in reality Emma DID save the entire town. What the hell was wrong with clarifying that? To classify it as just for Regina narrows the breadth of Emma's sacrifice

That's just what I meant. Jen saw an annoying and oppressive fan twist to what would otherwise been a neutral fact: save the tearleader, save the world. The specificity in and of itself didn't necessarily need to be considered narrow. Back to my origami hearts example, if you say, "I got a Valentine from my crush--" and someone else interrupts with, "Everyone did! Everyone got an origami heart!" That's like refusing that the first speaker got a heart, too. That would probably only be such a necessary clarification if the second speaker had been kidnapped into the first speaker's basement to be tortured for information about their best friend, and was desperately trying to save aforementioned best friend by clarifying that the Valentine meant nothing like their torturer is taking it.

 

If it weren't like that, the appropriate response would be, "I'm happy for you, tell me all about this charismatic person."

 

 

It felt like the fans were belittling her sacrafice as just for one person or for romantic purposes.

I think there's a similar controversy with Hook having turned the ship around at the end of Season 2 for A.) his memory of Bae or B.) Emma or C.) the town and manly honour that Prince Zuko would approve of. Defenders of each of those factions haven't been nearly as noisy. At least, from what I've seen, this "controversy" manifests in some hot debates that are instantly resolved by someone barging in to share the latest screencap of the hotness of the high seas and then forgetting what everybody was arguing about because there's all this jumping and squeeing together. (I'm sure there are fans who prefer to continue to harsh the mellow, and to that I can only say boo.)

 

Evil Regals could do this for Regina, too. I might not join in, but I'm just saying it's healthier than breathing fire out at anybody who has a slightly different interpretation.

 

I don't think it's fair to tar Swanfire and SwanQueen with the same brush, considering the latter is completely imagined.  I don't think one can assume that every person who liked Neal and Emma didn't care about Emma.  

Swanfire as endgame turned out to be completely imagined, unless MRJ secretly comes back for 5B. Heck, as midgame I didn't even know what was going on that they were playing at. I'm sure not all Ugly Ducklings despised Nealfire with the burning fiery passion of a thousand suns, but the script couldn't have helped!

 

Horseloving Sleeping Warrior (I hope that's Philip Aurora Mulan OT3 I have had it up ta here with the polyamory-proof love triangles on this show) was...umm...easy for me to imagine but alas it was not so.

 

I wouldn't knock the "completely imagined" ships...because most completely imagined ships don't get knocked: Golden Hook (Mr. Gold / Hook), Red Beauty (Ruby / Belle), I even shipped university-age Paige|Grace with university-age Henry until I realized that Paige would still be older than Emma, and wasn't Sleeping Warrior one of those imagined ships for a time? The Swan Queen shipping sphere has generally pushed back a lot against "your ship is not canon" (even though it's not but you don't hear Mad Captain Charming Scarlett Hood shippers complaining and that's not canon either) and accusations of delusion (I sometimes ship Golden Hook! I'll be the first to say I'm downright delusional and probably kinky with father issues, just for that!) so...why? Just...why this specific tension on the headlines of this fandom all the time?

Edited February 17, 2016 by Faemonic

[Selina K]

 

The Swan Queen shipping sphere has generally pushed back a lot against "your ship is not canon" (even though it's not but you don't hear Mad Captain Charming Scarlett Hood shippers complaining and that's not canon either) and accusations of delusion (I sometimes ship Golden Hook! I'll be the first to say I'm downright delusional and probably kinky with father issues, just for that!) so...why? Just...why this specific tension on the headlines of this fandom all the time?

 

i have to say here that they reap what they sow.  A lot of the BAs in that fandom seem to spring from the fact that they insist that their ship is canon and is endgame and they harass the writers and actors every time something appears in canon that does not support their interpretation.  I am not a huge twitter follower, but pop into Adam or Jen's mentions and it is loaded with SQ stuff, and a lot of it is really just mean.  I've never seen GoldenHook or Captain Charming bombard the show runners or actors with their ship name and accusations of homophobia because their ship isn't written in canon.  I don't think anyone would knock the ship for being imagined if the BA's were not so insistent and aggressive with the writers and actors about how it is not imagined.  

 

I was looking at the whole Emma saved Regina thing on twitter the other day and the SQ fandom was all excited they got to 30,000 tweets.  But if you looked closely, you saw it was a handful of people who used that tag 100 times.  All you need then is 300 people to tweet 100 times and you're at 30,000.  That hardly makes you the most powerful ship, the biggest fanbase, and all the other accolades they heap upon themselves.  If they really had that much power and they choose to wield it by being ugly to others on twitter, that's pretty sad.  If you want to lobby for more LGBT representation on family hour tv shows and do it respectfully and raise funds for the Trevor Project, you have a lot greater chance of earning someone's respect and consideration than when you just respond SWANQUEEN is canon! no CaptRapist! every time Adam tweets out a quote or episode title.

 

I don't blame JMo in the slightest for correcting people's interpretation of the event. If someone said when she kissed Graham it was a TLK, and she said, no, it wasn't actually, it was Savior magic but it was latent because she didn't know she was a catalyst at that point, would anyone care?  She makes acting choices based on her interpretation of what she is given from the writers.  If the line is Regina worked too hard, but then she tells her parents and Hook, I love you and I trust you will save me and she pulls her inspiration from the latter actions rather than the former line, why wouldn't she state that?  It's because her interpretation doesn't jive with what BA's want it to be, so she must be mocked and humiliated by that part of the fandom, which, if she pays any attention, I then don't blame her for being prickly when dealing with them.  If someone slapped me across the face every day for a year, I'd probably flinch the next time I saw them, especially if they said, "Remember how you told me to slap you?" and pretended justification for their actions.

[Curio]

I think there's a similar controversy with Hook having turned the ship around at the end of Season 2 for A.) his memory of Bae or B.) Emma or C.) the town and manly honour that Prince Zuko would approve of. Defenders of each of those factions haven't been nearly as noisy.

 

I think the big difference between how the fandom reacted to Hook turning his ship around and the end of 4x22 is the background/behind-the-scenes hoopla surrounding each instance. With Hook turning his ship around, we have audio commentary of Colin and the writer of that episode discussing how Hook's relationship with Bae was a big factor in that decision, and it's hard to argue against both the actor and the writer of the episode. The scene is a bit more open to interpretation, so there really isn't a "winner" or "loser" in those debates. It also helps that Hook fans respect Colin's interpretations most of the time and won't vehemently attack him if they think differently. But with 4x22, it was an annoying mess because Jen clearly seemed flustered and frustrated in the Comic-Con interview when the topic came up. So you have that, on top of Adam & Eddy saying things that could be interpreted as disagreeing with Jen's opinion, and then the fans who are disagreeing with her tend to not care about Jen's interpretations to begin with...and the situation gets out of hand.

Edited February 17, 2016 by Curio

[Rumsy4]

Mary Margaret mentions in 5A that Emma saved everyone. I can't remember the episode. So, now it's explicit in canon why Emma did what she did. Though if it came down to it, Emma is the kind of person who would sacrifice herself to save even just one life. But when fans claim it was just for Regina, it seems reductive of Emma's sacrifice. So, one can't blame JMo for clarifying.

Eddy suffers from foot in mouth syndrome, and his interview answers are typically reductive. I think he focuses on just one aspect of a question when he answers. At the end of the day, people interpret things differently. But to apply one of Lana's quotes out of context, actors have as much right or more to interpret things as they wish. Vilifying and mocking them for it is immature and selfish to say the least.

I am not a huge twitter follower, but pop into Adam or Jen's mentions and it is loaded with SQ stuff, and a lot of it is really just mean.

Any OUAT/related tweet gets the same treatment. Even if the tweets are by non-OUAT actors, entertainment media, cast or crew. The replies are flooded with mentions of SQ and nasty gifs and social justice rants. On the other extreme are fans who tweet "mom" and "dad" at the actors. It's become a cringe-fest.