Idk if I need to warn about this but warning: mention of Neil Gaiman.
Anyways, random thought of the day: the more I think about Neil Gaiman's works, the more they lowkey feel like gothic anime and manga for people who think they're too sophisticated for anime and manga.
I know I'm not the first, but I've been thinking about modern fandom and I feel like some things would be at least partly improved if we brought back some old fandom terms. There's two in particular that I really think we could use again:
Squick - Basically means something you don't want to see in a piece of media, typically fanfiction or other online media. A squick can be upsetting, but it's not the same thing as a trigger. A trigger typically has to do with mental conditions, such as trauma or clinical phobias, whereas a squick just really bothers you.
Canon nazi (I figure this is best written with a lowercase 'n') - You know how people use the terms 'spelling nazis' or 'grammar nazis' to mean people who feel the need to address every mistake you make, and may even try to use it to say they don't need to listen to you? A 'canon nazi' is similar, they get after you for any small or even just potential divergence from canon in your art or fiction. And in recent times, these people will try to tell you you can't ship something if it's not canon or has no canon basis. Or even in the case of something unrelated to ships, I once saw someone make fun of OtGW AUs where Wirt becomes the Beast because it's not canon and he didn't become the Beast. What's the point of fanfiction again? As a whole, I've noticed that fandom has become obsessed with being 'CaNoN-CoMpLiAnT' and will even use minor things in canon or even just writers or actors saying/doing things outside of actively working on the series as evidence of something they like being canon, because they think their ship or headcanon has to be canon for them to be allowed to enjoy it. Or, they may use those small things to say that someone else isn't allowed to have a certain ship or headcanon. This obsession with 'canon compliance' is taking the fun out of fandom, and fandom is supposed to be fun.
Also, as a quick note, I'd be open to an alternative term to 'canon nazi,' maybe 'canon police?'
So yeah, I think modern fandom would benefit from bringing these terms back.
EYYO OTOTOY HAS BEATCATS MUSIC
I think this conversation started a pretty long time ago, but since I haven't seen a lot of solid answers, I just thought I'd thought put in my own two cents for finding Etsy alternatives. I have three ideas:
- A lot of shop owners on Etsy also have their own websites that they sell their stuff on, so I'd definitely look to see if your favorite etsy shops have their own sites. Just look up their names on google/bravesearch/whatever you use, and you should see if they do.
- There's a website called Storenvy that's the same type of thing as Etsy, another online third party for buying from independent businesses.
- Okay, hear me out on this one. Ebay started as an auction website, then auctions and general thrifting, then went kinda corporate and did nothing to regulate the bigger businesses selling on there. However, I've also seen some independent businesses start selling there, and I haven't heard of Ebay doing anything about those, either. So, uh...yeah. Be chaotic good and fund the independent sellers, I guess?
So yeah, those are my ideas for Etsy alternatives. Hope this helps!
Adding a few more mentioned in the comments since Etsy mainly ships to the US and not all of y'all are American:
-Folksy, a UK based store similar to Etsy
-Shopee, a Singapore based online store that ships to several Asian countries as well as Mexico and Brazil
-Mercado Livre, an online store in Brazil (I think?)
Saying this cause apparently some people still need to hear it: if you don't see enough of the fan content you want to see, MAKE YOUR OWN DAMN CONTENT. Make the art you want to see.