I like to think of fandom as a shiny happy fun place, but sometimes I forget how dangerous it can be. Like, for me, it has been largely shiny happy fun--I've kept out of wank, stayed on people's good sides, and gathered a large group of LJ-friends whom I love dearly.

However. I've dealt with pressure before, and it is part of a list of things that wrecked what was at that time the longest friendship I'd ever had. And it sucked, and I still cry about it, and I still blame myself. I wouldn't give in to pressure, and that's when things started to break down between that person and me. This post of yours is helping to remind me that I was within my rights to refuse and that it wasn't my fault things fell apart when I did. Fandom-related bullying exists--it wasn't just me--and I have as much right to stand up to it as I do real-life bullying. Thank you.