u/FeistyBloom1

With social media and fandom spaces constantly favoring controversy and amplifying hate, curious ako how readers who like hated characters/stories deal with all the negativity around them?

Yung mga stories/characters/authors na tagged as problematic, controversial, toxic, etc?

Fandom spaces now just seem like an endless loop of negative posts and comments, while positive ones barely get as much engagement. Hindi nga naman kasi built ang social media for positivity. For example, sa Inksteady posts, the likes of “Mas hindi ito inaasahan ni Mitzie” end up popping up on your feed with. EVERY. scroll.

So kung meron dito na fan ng characters, stories, or even authors na pulutan ng mga tao and often gets dragged everywhere, anong ginagawa niyo?

Do you just block toxic content creators or users? Or patuloy lang kayo sa pag defend? Or kahit triggered kayo, hindi na kayo pumapatol because you find it nonsense and a huge waste of time? Don’t you find it exhausting na there are so few appreciation posts for characters, stories, or sometimes authors that you care about?

Do you just step away from the negativity and read and enjoy them in silence instead because no one seems to get it/them?

It’s always been odd to me how female 2nd leads get treated in the Wattpad community which, mind you, mostly consists of women readers.

Sa isang story na nabasa ko:

• The 2nd female lead loved the ML silently from afar and respected his relationship with the FL. She only tried pursuing the ML when the FL was no longer in the picture. And even then, she still respected the ML’s feelings. She did nothing but help and take care of him without expecting him to see her differently.

And you know what she got in return?

Readers: “Higad” “Ahas” “Desperada” “Malandi” — all sorts of slut-shaming, degrading remarks, and name-calling. That’s what she got.

But…

• The 2nd male lead kept pushing himself onto the FL despite knowing she already had a boyfriend, even doing things to break them apart and put them in danger.

You’d think he was hated? No.

Readers: “Ah daddy!” “Siya lang ang villain na tinanggap at minahal ko” “Sana kayo na lang” “Sige lang, mas deserve mo naman si FL” “Bakit kasi hindi na lang ikaw/kayo?” — all while flooding the comments with kilig reactions. And kahit magalit pa yung mga readers sa kanya, halatang pilit and ang lambing pa ng approach. (e.g. “Bad! Mag-break na muna tayo!”) and then a few seconds later: (e.g. “Sige na, mahal na ulit kita. Tayo na ulit.”)

Pero kung si 2nd female lead ang nagpupumilit? Mas lalong malala makukuha niya. But, oh well.

Pag may break-up si FL and ML:

• Readers would love and eat up all the FL’s interactions and moments with the 2nd ML. Yun ang magiging source nila ng kilig sa malungkot na part ng storya.

But

• The moment the 2nd FL greets the ML, malalagot pareho si 2nd FL at ML. Si ML masasabihan ng “manggagamit,” si 2nd FL naman ay “nagpapagamit, rebound” etc.

The 2nd ML can win the readers’ hearts with his interactions with the FL, even while she’s in a relationship or going through a break up.

But no other female character can replace the FL in the readers’ hearts for the ML. Kahit minsan, parang mas tinrato pa nang maayos ni 2nd FL si ML.

Kahit tingin nila hindi deserve ni ML si FL, ayaw na ayaw nilang may dumidikit kay ML. 😂

Isa sa mga napansin ko sa Wattpad: readers are often more biased toward the FL, kaya mas forgiving and tolerant karamihan sa flaws and mistakes ng mga FL. FLs are given more grace.

An FL can do almost everything wrong in a relationship known to man: make emotionally driven decisions, ghost the ML and disappear for years, hurt the ML physically, make flawed and misinformed choices, miscommunicate, push the ML away—yet sa mata ng mga nagbabasa ✨they are just a girl✨ or ✌️what a poor baby✌️ who deserves to be understood and be given a pass. Despite everything na pagdadaanan ni ML, deserve pa rin ng mga FL ng good treatment and unconditional love from the ML, and si FL pa din ang pinaka-deserving maging endgame ni ML regardless.

But an ML does the same things, it becomes a completely different story. One mistake, one wrong choice of word, one bad move, one wrong or misinformed decision, one lapse in judgment—red flag na agad si ML at hindi na agad deserving. End of discussion. Lalo na kung nung nagkamali at nakasakit si ML ay may 2nd lead na nakaalalay kay FL? Mas deserving na agad si 2nd lead.

• Nang-ghost si FL? Nadala lang siya sa pain. She needed space, she was hurting.
• Nang ghost si ML? He should’ve known better. Buti pa si 2nd lead, never iniwan si FL.

• Nakipag-break si FL kay ML dahil sa nakita niya without communicating first? Understandable. Nasaktan siya sa nakita niya. Affected decision-making niya.
• Nakipag-break si ML kay FL dahil sa nakita niya without communicating first? Invalid. Immature. Impulsive. Bakit hindi muna nakipag-usap? Nagpapadala sa emosyon.

• Avoidant si FL? Trauma response. Baka sa family issues growing up.
• Avoidant si ML? Deserve kung i-gghost ni FL sa susunod, mas matagal pa.

There’s a noticeable difference talaga in how people respond to flawed characters depending kung lalaki or babae.

And sadly, dahil sobrang taas ng expectations ng maraming readers (na mostly babae) sa MLs, parang wala na talagang mahahanap ngayon na hindi lang basta “accessories” ng FLs, but actual characters na may sariling goals and depth.