Honestly, there's a lot of Critters who need to hear this, too, because they DEFINITELY participate in toxic stan culture & they're ruining fandom. You'd think they'd take the hint when Matt encourages a lot of criticism & has taken to repeatedly apologizing for the harassment. https://twitter.com/patricklenton/status/1288364801513492482

Like, it's not fucking slander to suggest Critical Role is not the only TTRPG show out there & people should try branching out. Matt fucking agrees. He agrees people shouldn't see him as the only way to DM & he's not the best. He agrees he & the group have made hurtful mistakes.

But every time anyone says anything that can be stretched into a negative, the stan brigade shows up to pile on harassment. Even against people who like the show and are legitimately friendly with Matt or the others, not just parasocially. Especially if they're marginalized.

Doesn't seem to matter to them that Matt has repeatedly told people to back off, or apologised for their behaviour, or said they make having fans vey stressful. Because Matt's feelings don't actually matter to them, their near religious devotion to their false ideal of him does.

It's exactly like Life Of Brian. I'm convinced this is an inerrant toxic failing of humanity that's also led to so many religious wars in the name of so many sacred teachers who taught about peace, love, and kindness. Look at the history of Jesus stans for example.

I rankle at the idea that this is a Critter problem because it is, but it's so much fucking deeper than that. It's a huge, deep cultural problem that transcends any one icon or group and unless we grapple with that, no fandom will ever be safe.

Honestly a lot of shipping wars are just stan culture for certain pairings and it all follows exactly the same behavioral patterns and causes exactly the same kinds of mass harassment that also destroys fandom. Same entitlement to an ideal and disdain for the actual creators.

I don't know how we fix this or even attempt to punish or have other tangible redress to reform it. The cynic in me thinks humanity has cross culturally across millennia proven this is just our fundamental nature. The amplifying effects of social media just give it more power.

The Wicked + The Divine is essentially about stan culture and how it destroys creators, turns them into destructive monsters, and seems fans down evil paths, all propped up by managers who keep saying the whole thing is necessary. I think about issue 13 a lot.

I had hope but I was still surprised WicDiv stuck the landing so well and came to that incredible conclusion about the whole thing. The only true way to end the cycle that is up to both the creators and fans. I hope more people will read it and listen.

I love this fandom. I've met so many wonderful people in it & seen the tremendous good it can do. So it angers me all the more that stands take it too far & give all of us a bad name. If anything, they'll be the ones to make the whole thing not worth doing publicly for the cast.