"Y'All Jus' Jellus!" The Scary World of Fandom

[kitt852]

Can "shipper" refer to people who are fans of a couple who actually got together?

[goggle]

underjoyed said:

It sounds as if the Harry Potter series has a goodly number of pretty intense shipper-type fans (with various ship preferences), too.

Synopsis of recent events: JK Rowling says something in an interview putting down the Harry/Hermione pairing, shippers get angry.

[Maddiemoo]

Can "shipper" refer to people who are fans of a couple who actually got together?

Sure. For example, after Half-Blood Prince, Harry/Ginny shippers are still around. Shippers include every type of relationship, from ones that have happened, like Harry/Cho, to ones that have a very good chance of happening, like Bill/Fluer after Goblet of Fire, to ones that have no chance in hell, like Harry/Giant Squid. The Harry Potter shippers really can be a bit scary. If there are two characters in the books, chances are, they've been shipped together. Hell, I've even seen Aberforth/Goat. (I hold a special place in my heart for that one, actually.)

[monkeypox]

Can "shipper" refer to people who are fans of a couple who actually got together?

Like in real life? Oh, hell yes. Orlando Bloom/Kate Bosworth shippers are especially heinous. LJ avatars, Web sites, borderline stalking and flame wars on IMDb. They have made this silly celeb relationship a big part of their lives and don't take kindly to anyone challenging the wuv. Some of them even claim to be friends with one or both of them and therefore know that the relationship is oh-so-strong and headed for the altar. Tinhats look moderate in comparison.

To be fair, though, most of them are very young or act like they are. At least I hope so, because if they are functioning adults...damn.

[pepper67]

Freedom of speech, and not to mention, it's not like they are passing it off as real. Don't like it, don't read it! I'm not into slash whatsoever so I don't read it, but I like me some good smut.

I didn't and don't read RealPerson fic. But I bet those fans wonder why some actors hire a LOT of bodyguards and refuse to interact with their fans at all. Slash, het, deathfic, whatever. But RealPerson fic is, IMHO, a step too far.

It reminds me of the Orlando fan who'd photoshopped a picture of her and him in bed together and was going to ask him to sign it. It obviously never occurred to her that he might be freaked out that she'd spent time and effort making this 'masterpiece'.

People are allowed to do all sorts of things. It doesn't mean we can't comment on their creepy weirdness.

Commenting on creepy weirdness is frequently the best part of my day! ;D

Hell, I've even seen Aberforth/Goat. (I hold a special place in my heart for that one, actually.)

Apart from the jaw-dropping 'OMG' factor of that pairing, who's Aberforth? I've read all of the HP books but I'm drawing a blank on placing the character.

[indygirl]

Dumbledore's brother and <<probably the bartender of the Hog's Head>>.

[dwanollah]

It reminds me of the Orlando fan who'd photoshopped a picture of her and him in bed together and was going to ask him to sign it. It obviously never occurred to her that he might be freaked out that she'd spent time and effort making this 'masterpiece'.

Sad thing is, I have a friend semi-involved in the Orlando fandom, and she's seen/heard of shit like this more than once. She just ended a friendship with someone who sneaked an erotic and explicit poem into something another friend was giving to Orlando (via connections) to sign... and he returned it, unsigned, needless, after seeing the poem.

I have several friends who write Duran Duran slash, and for the most part, the Durans seem to think most of it's in good fun, and enjoy playing with the pairings... Simon paws John or kisses Nick onstage and gets our slashy lil' hearts palpitatin'!

[Deleted]

Speaking of scary fans...

Poor Mandy Moore.

[mostlyharmless]

Some of the thread titles on IMDB:

I want her panties...
What if she got raped?
where does she live?
Why wont she finally do nudity?
Is Mandy Moore a virgin?
Whens she going to marry + conceive?
How many lovers has she had?
I want to sleep in bed with her...
Doing Playboy?
Implants?
do u think mandy moore is a virgin

Though I still think that IMDB must employ people to post flame provoking stuff evey time a board gets quiet just to keep things going. There can't be real people like that, can there?

[duskwolf]

Yes there are...I've read enough fan fiction, and if that isn't an indication that some people simply don't understand the course of human relationships, and generally how to relate to the outside world, then I don't know what is.