Hello! Daily reminder that your views of acceptable shipping are not necessarily shared by everyone, and while you are welcome to express your opinion, you should really keep it out of the billdip tag.

you are literally shipping a 2.6 trillion year old demon with the 12 year old kid whose PTSD he caused 

that’s fucked up

We sure are. And again, that’s your opinion. Serial killers and cannibals are “fucked up,” too, but you don’t see people complaining about the SAW franchise or shows like Hannibal or Dexter.

Darkness and pain are things people want to know about, and identifying with character as they fight to survive gives us a way to consider how we ourselves would react under similar circumstances. It’s terrifying, and it’s “fucked up,” but oftentimes those themes can help people work through past experiences, identify unhealthy situations before it’s too late, and/or recognize signs of abuse in the real world.

Fandom writing is especially personal, because it’s not censored by a publisher or packaged to sell. It’s exactly what you need it to be, and sometimes what people need isn’t pretty. Here are two articles that go over the subject in more detail, the first of which has some good recommendations for reading.

1: The Heartbreaking Dynamics of Sexual Abuse, Explored Through Literature

2. Why Do We Like Dark Stories?

do you honestly not see the issues with romanticizing pedophilia and abuse, both of which you seem to think are okay?

I think we have a vastly different view of what “romanticizing” actually means? Like, the literal definition is “to deal with or describe in an idealized or unrealistic fashion; make (something) seem better or more appealing than it really is.” And that’s…not something I do in my works?

I’m primarily a horror/angst writer, so if I deal with a topic, I will make sure both the reader and the character know it’s awful, and there probably won’t be a happy ending for anyone involved. I can’t think of a single fic in my genre where “abuse” was idealized in the way you are describing.

You might be thinking about fetish erotica? Fanfiction with tags like this (and I’m picking one of the tamer ones, because there are tags in some that minors shouldn’t see.):

But even in this fic, which I read and enjoyed, the sub character knows he shouldn’t like what the dom is doing. He has multiple opportunities to end it, and he doesn’t want to. There’s no initial deceit. It’s perfectly obvious Loki is a villain and a violent criminal, but Tony makes a conscious decision to pursue his infatuation into a potentially unhealthy and unbalanced relationship.

If you are a minor, you probably shouldn’t be reading this kind of fic. Same goes for underage fetish literature, which does exist, and can be extremely upsetting, even to adult readers, which is why they are rated explicit, and  heavily tagged with warnings on Ao3.

The problem with “romanticizing” arises when neither the author nor the characters sees abusive behavior for what it is. Fifty Shades of Grey, obviously, is a piece of literary garbage (my opinion) that portrays an abusive home as a romantic ideal. It markets the idea of “dubious consent” to an audience who is completely unfamiliar with BDSM culture, and wouldn’t know enough to distinguish abuse from consensual play. Actual people in the BDSM community have spoken out against the franchise, and I personally believe it never should have been published.

Twilight, the series it was based off of initially, has similar issues, because Bella sees nothing wrong with the controlling, overbearing, and self-serving way Edward treats her. In a way, that is 3000 times “worse” than fetish lit, since it was marketed to women all over the world as a star-crossed romance.

It’s perfectly fine to critique and condemn those works, but that’s not the same as shaming the authors out of writing entirely. They had a right to produce and market that terrible literature, and their fan base has a right to continue reading them. Ethical censorship is a very real thing that exists in this world, and I take my right to free speech very seriously.

So, with that in mind, yes. I think it is “okay” for stories like that to exist. Morality is subjective, and if you don’t like something, you are welcome to talk about it. Post a critique, write a review, simply don’t read it and move on. Honestly, it has never been easier to filter out content on sites like Ao3, but if you go looking for something, you will probably find it.

Explicit Underage Content by Fandom on Ao3:

Avengers: 209 of 59328
        (0.35%) underage with (0.14%) also tagged as non-con
Teen Wolf: 6188 of 67032
       (4.4%) underage with (0.6%) also tagged as non-con
Gravity Falls: 69 of 3193
        (2%) underage with (0.9%) also tagged as non-con
Billdip Only: 42 of 1178
        (3.5%) underage with (1.7%) also tagged as non-con

I can only speak for fandoms I’ve been a part of, but I can tell you that some of those ua billdip fics are positively terrifying, and not in a “this person must be a real life sex offender” sort of way. They’re dark, and violent, and oftentimes show the absolute worst things that could ever happen to a human being. Nothing about those stories is even the slightest bit “romantic,” nor is it meant to be.

ok so you’ve actually missed the entire point here thanks

Except I really didn’t, so you’re welcome. I’ve acknowledged your moral misgivings and taken the time to give you well supported and honest answers, so I’m pretty much done here.

Put away the loaded questions and judgmental statements, prove that you’ve actually read and considered my point of view, and come back when you’re ready to make a real response. That’s how discussions work.

lmao i really don’t need to write a respectful response to someone who thinks pedophilia, abuse, and non-con are okay soooo

Ah well, I don’t really feel inclined to continue a conversation with someone who supports moral censorship and equates fictional violence with real world abuse, so there you go. Argument complete.

Have a nice day.

isoscelesfish drops the mic