Angela Davis, Freedom Is A Constant Struggle

romance is everywhere if you’re really looking

embarrassment has good bones

Annie: There are legends of people born with the gift of making music so true, it can pierce the veil between life and death; conjuring spirits from the past...and the future. In ancient Ireland, they were called Filí. In Choctaw land, they called them Fire Keepers. And in West Africa, they were called Griots. This gift can bring healing to their communities. But it also...attracts evil....

Sinners (2025)

Artem Rohovyi - Symphony of Branches gouache on paper

Moonstone Scorpion Pin

Las Escobas Tropical Forest Trails, Guatemala

by Helene Hoffman

Monach butterflies (Danaus plexippus) rest in a tree in California, USA

by Robin Gwen Agarwal

One thing that always strikes me as interesting about fandom is how institutionally conservative it is.

That's not to say that it's necessarily ideologically conservative (though I do see more than my fair share of misogyny, racism, ableism, acephobia, transphobia, imperialism apologia, fascism apologia, etc.), bur instead that fandom is broadly a community that privileges tradition and the status quo over change.

There is a veneration of the older Big Name Fans, particularly those involved in the creation of AO3. This often comes with the implication that they were faultless and pure of heart, and if they argue(d) for something, then it must be the right answer.

That ties into the originalist push that is often used to oppose changes to the community or to AO3 specifically--it was perfect in its creation, the original intents were entirely right and implemented correctly, and any change is a violation of that impeccable original design and so is bad. The old laws (Don't Like, Don't Read etc.) are also often still pushed as the law of the land, with limited conversation about new or updated cultural rules or norms.

There is also a strong implicit or explicit in-group mentality that I see, often also used to oppose change. Fandom is by women, for women, and any change must consider women first, last, and always. And if you are doing or asking for something that might impact women (specifically the women who are currently welcome in fandom), it's because of misogyny.

I'm generalizing, of course--fandom, like any other community, has a diversity of ideas and viewpoints. But I do wonder, if I asked people who consider themselves part of Capital-F Fandom whether they would support cultural or structural changes to the community or to AO3, how many would say yes.

Hadal: 'love language' robe with an Arabic love poem by Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish embroidered onto the sleeve.

The poem reads:

قالوا: تموت بها حبـاًً، فقلـت لهـم. ألا اذكروها علـى قبـري فتحيينـي

English translation: They asked "Do you love her to death?" | said "Speak of her over my grave and watch how she brings me back to life."