Colonizerji

Event
Event:	colonizerji incident, colonizerji threadfic
Participants:
Date(s):	July 27, 2022 - August 1, 2022
Type:	imbroglio, wank
Fandom:	Mo Dao Zu Shi
URL:
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Colonizerji is the name fans use to refer to an imbroglio in Mo Dao Zu Shi fandom that occurred in July 2022 on Twitter.

Twitter threadfic by 3neetee

On July 27, 2022, user 3neetee on Twitter posted a WangXian threadfic. The threadfic was a Wangxian AU in which Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are princes of rival kingdoms, with Lan Wangji as the evil conquering prince. In the last post on the thread, they said that it was inspired by the "history of colonizers conquering via diseases," and they had written it for sweetlolixo, who had wanted Dark Lan Wangji.

3neetee: context: basically, this is inspired by the history of colonizers conquering via diseases. like... they purposely spread that by giving blankets fresh from children who died from smallpox. 🙃 anyway, sally wanted darkji so i wrote colonizerji for tonight's #DarkLanZhan. 😌

sweetlolixo responded positively and with enthusiasm:

sweetlolixo: @3neetee NO LAKSKDK IM TRYNA SAY THAT IF WWX CAUGHT THE THOUSAND FACES DISEASE, only lwj sperm is the cure 😭😭😭😭😭 but I am all for calamityji🫶 he'd go insane.... Then meet wwx again and pretend to be the good guy. Imagine him ruling over heaven just to get to wwx 🫶 like jun wu to xl

However, the threadfic, 3neetee, and sweetlolixo were quickly met with backlash:

wdym colonizerji... say sike right now before i throw up on u lol

People who like "Colonizerji" are litterally people who DONT understand LWJ at all. Hes the light bringer, hanguang-jun, the man who values justice.

"Colonizerji" please you're fucking SICK. Absolutely nothing human or "fiction" about something that killed millions of people. The fact that people praised it & actually enjoyed the "concept" is even worse. Like not just just lwj, this wouldn't be okay with ANY character.

Just to make it clear: if you like, endorse, support any of that Colonizerji rubbish? Unfollow/block me. This is unacceptable. Human rights violations and the trauma associated with them are not fandom tropes to make sexy AUs with. You like that sort of thing? There's the door.

Many people have already said it better than I can but if you think colonizerji and using genocide as inspiration for a "sexy dark fic" is okay, goodbye.

the fact that colonizerji is even a discourse disgusts me to my very core, this shit shouldn’t exist in the first place. nobody in their right mind would even think of it as a concept, much less a plot device for smut. absolutely vile, unhinged and disgusting behavior.

I haven’t read that colonizerji au and IM GLAD for that. But lemme say, what the actual fuck? How tf are we romanticising loss of real human lives? Apparently, genocide and such words are sexy now. Pls write darkji as much as you want but don’t mischaracterise him :))

was wondering what's the context of colonizerji and this is beyond horrifying. native americans still to this very day suffer from the aftermath of colonization. ethnic cleansing is not a trope, ever.

there are lines that should not be crossed. this is one of them. i saw screenshots of the original thread and of this tweet (not cropped) and yeah, it's bad. how in the world do you come up with something like "colonizerji" and think it's okay to put it out there?

I seriously don't know what to say about this colonizerji controversy. The historical reference decimated native population. My home country, although not colonized using the same strategy, still share the same experience. Colonization is a story of struggle

Because the mention of colonization was not revealed until the end, some users who had only read the beginning initially also replied with enthusiasm before quickly backtracking.

That thread actually popped up on my feed when they first started writing it. I read through the first part ‘cause it started off innocently enough. Just LWJ pining after WWX, very typical. Then without warning, colonizerji pops up. I couldn’t close out of the thread fast enough.

I sincerely apologize for my comment. I didn’t think how much at that time. I realize after reading everyone’s explanations it is so fucking sick and not cool for such a historical event to be made a fanfic. I have unfollowed that user and will be reflecting on my actions.

Also did not see it was colonizerji until I finished the thread ficz. I am so so sorry and will make sure to finish before I even comment.

There is a boundary and line of what is fanfic and what should not be romanticized. I am not an endorser or support any discrimination, racism, or sexism on this page. I do not believe in such freedom of writing ever. Once again I am so so so sorry and reflect and own up to this.

Just to clear things up I didn’t finish up to the colonizer explaination. I just finished up to a certain point and woke up to all these tweets talking about colonizerji- finished it and immediately took action to unfollow and block. I am 100% very sincerely sorry.

Despite this, other fans came to 3neetee and sweetlolixo's defense, often pointing out that it was just fiction:

Sorry if I'll offend or hurt someone with this but.. can you just.. move on?

The whole colonizerji thing is going insane with public shaming and personal offences. They've tagged the thing under dark themes, so they don't validate such contents! It's called dark for a reason + because it's fucked up and unhinged. People who like to delve into such themes aren't mad or agree with such think! I write/enjoy non con in fiction but will never condone such behaviour in real life! Mute them if you don't like what they took inspiration from. +

Even if I haven't read that thread, I think they've never ever stated anywhere that colonialism was good or positive. I can understand if they're triggered you. Really. But please, do not spread this amount of hate. They're real humans. They didn't make fun of others suffering By validating atrocious history. They've took inspiration from it and used it for a dark theme. So, as the name says itself, it's already a condenmation about the whole setting. I agree it should have been tagged properly. Please do not spread hate. Because internet is terrific + And you don't know how much harm it can do to real living people who made a mistake but didn't really kill anyone.

Please, be kind, even if you're angry.

On July 30, 2022, sweetlolixo posted an apology thread for her response to 3neetee's Twitter threadfic. As she had initially compared the threadfic to a Tian Guan Ci Fu AU, she clarified her responses here:

I need to clarify this screenshot. This was me making a TGCF AU for Wangxian, specifically a Jun Wu take on LWJ. I reference the "human face disease"—a major plot point in TGCF—"CalamityjJi"—Calamity is what they call TGCF ghosts—and mention Wangxian adopting Jun Wu & XL roles.

To give some context to those who don't know, and I apologize for the spoilers, but Jun Su is the antagonist in TGCF and was responsible for the human face disease that brought down Xie Lian's kingdom. He also ascended to Heaven and was the ruler of Heaven, where Xie Lian resided.

Yes I made a light-hearted joke about LWJ cum being the cure to the disease plot in TGCF. It's not funny, but it wasn't also intended for public audiences. I truly assumed I was simply interacting (jokingly) with a mutual. But I know this joke was in bad taste. I'm sorry. I will not make jokes like this again. The reason I was invested in this AU is because I've seen many AUs where FF writers have placed established MXTX couples like BingQiu in Beefleaf scenarios, or even LWJ being a Calamity ghost, etc. I was trying to envision what it would be like if Wangxian took on a darker setting in the TGCF universe much like JunLian. JunLian dynamics aren't healthy, it's dead dove territory, but it was the only thing I was thinking about: fictional characters in a fantasyland in a cross-over setting with no consequences for IRL ppl.

2) I do not support colonizer AUs or condone romanticization of real-life events. I wasn't aware of the indigenous implications of the threadfic. My frame of reference reading it was TGCF's Jun Wu & Xie Lian dynamic. Which is why that is all I talked about in my screenshots.

I am Chinese, my ancestors were colonized, and I come from a country that still feels the effects of white suprmacy to this day.

I wasn't given the opportunity to learn about American history or the indigenous peoples plight of America. I live across the world in Asia, so forgive my ignorance, but my first frame of reference reading the threadfic wasn't indigenous peoples, it was TGCF. My upbringing/education made me none the wiser. I'm sorry.

3) I did not request for the threadfic. The idea was not contributed by me in any way. I had mentioned in passing that I needed more "darkji" content, and so OP wrote the threadfic as a gift of sorts, that's why they named me. I was excited to interact with it bc it was a gift. I jumped to my own conclusions about what the threadfic is about (TGCF AU, as you see in my screenshots) and I didn't even consider that it was based on real-world events re: indigenous people, simply because it wasn't part of my worldview. Like I said, I understand colonization and would never request for such a thing. Where I come from, natives haven't been wiped out because of diseases. I truly did not have that frame of reference. For my ignorance, I am sorry.

4) I will never interact or make jokes/AUs based on IRL settings like this ever again, because I don't want to make it seem like I'm condoning it. This incident happened because I was caught unaware, jumped to my own conclusions too quickly, worked with a limited frame of reference, and when people started using that tweet as evidence I was into colonization AUs, I didn't know how to react. This was wrong, I was wrong, I just hope you understand why I tweeted what I did back then.

I will work on educating myself on issues on the indigenous community worldwide, and be more careful in the future. But I hope you can find it in your heart to believe that I truly did not make those tweets maliciously. Thank you for hearing my side of the story.

Shortly after posting her apology, sweetlolixo also told a user defending her that she did not appreciate it:

Hey, I get you trying to defend me, but this comment isn't cool—targeting a Native American for sharing their POV on how the issue affected them personally. There are better ways to show solidarity, & this isn't it. Please delete your comment & refrain from making more—thank you.

Many users were not happy with her apology; some went as far as to say that the only thing she was sorry for was "getting caught." Despite the sentiment of her apology, users also took issue with the way she apologized.^{[citation needed]}

After her apology, sweetlolixo did not publicly speak on the issue any further. 3neetee had also locked their account, but unlocked at some point afterward. Some fans discovered in 2024 that they had not deleted the "colonizerji" threadfic in that time.

AO3 fic by now_thats_what_i_call_fandom_wank

On July 30 (possibly after sweetlolixo's twitter apology but with time zone differences it's hard to say) a Twitter user under a sockpuppet account named fandomwankparty tweeted a link to a fic they had just posted to AO3 under the username now_thats_what_i_call_fandom_wank:

savage!wwx / colonizer!bottomji;

5000 words and Rated E....
find your copy on ao3:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/40674630

#darklanzhan #darkwwx #deaddove

The fic's title was "Most shocking!!! After attempting genocide and failing, the Emperor’s ignorant right hand man Lan Wangji got his light-bringing bussy colonized by the most savage Wei Wuxian in an attempt to teach him an unforgettable lesson!!!", and if the author's name wasn't already clear enough, they stated in the notes that it was a spitefic in response to the backlash received by sweetlolixo and 3neetee:

If you've been on twitter in the last week or so, you know what this is about. Just your average "how dare you write porn about problematic history" response fic. I can't fucking believe I had to write a spite fic lol. I'd say "be gentle" but honestly, I don't think anyone will be. And also I'm too old to care about what anyone else thinks about the kind of shit I write, so go ham in the comments if you want lol. I don't even usually fuck with this kind of dark lan wangji shit, I really just go here for the double dragon dicks lol, but going angry mob-like on a philipino writer for writing fic inspired by things that happened in actual history and then defaulting to the argument that she must be white and condoning this kinda shit IRL left a really bad taste in my mouth. What the fuck people. None of y'all should be on ao3 if you're incapable of telling apart real life and fiction. The livejournal strike-through flashbacks are fucking real...:

The fic got attention on Twitter after user fiercynonym drew attention to it.

After being criticized by multiple users for the use of "savage," which is regarded by many indigenous Americans as a racial slur, the title got changed to "Most shocking!!! After attempting genocide and failing, the Emperor’s ignorant right hand man Lan Wangji got his light-bringing bussy colonized by the most [redacted] Wei Wuxian in an attempt to teach him an unforgettable lesson!!!"

Fan reactions were overwhelmingly critical of the fic. Many noted that the motivation behind it was clearly racist.

The fact that you took the time to write several thousand words out of spite because people were upset that an author said that they were inspired by smallpox blankets to write porn extremely sad. This is spiteful, pathetic, callous, insensitive, but most of all it's just flat out racist. I'm not going to respond from an anonymous account because I don't think I'm saying anything shameful or even really that harsh. You claim to be old enough to remember livejournal strikethroughs but you're out here acting like a petulant child.

And allow me to provide actual context for people in the comments who aren't aware (because op is not going to do so lol):

The person who was being "attacked" stated "basically, this is inspired by the history of colonizers conquering via diseases. like... they purposely spread that by giving blankets fresh from children who died from smallpox", while writing a fic where a character is rejected romantically by another one and responds by committing the aforementioned "inspired by history" act.

This isn't just being inspired by "problematic history". First of all, calling the deliberate systematic genocide of indigenous people "problematic" (as if we're discussing ship dynamics or celebrity drama) is unspeakably disrespectful. This wasn't "problematic". It was an act of brutal violent cruelty rooted in white supremacist colonialism. But I digress.

The issue here isn't being "inspired by problematic history". The issue is the fact that the author in question felt entitled to indigenous pain and bodies and used them as fodder for porn. To be frank, responding to that piece of history with anything other than horror, sorrow, and righteous anger speaks to an unspeakable lack of empathy for indigenous suffering.

To reiterate: the author used white colonizers giving indigenous people smallpox blankets as a set up for porn.

The author openly admitted to using the specific historical atrocity wherein white colonizers murdered indigenous people by deliberately infecting them with one of the most painful deadly diseases of the time.

I cannot emphasize this enough.

Conflating this act of entitlement and callous cruelty with "writing problematic dead dove content" is a complete joke.

It's racist. You are commiting a racist act.

(Not to mention the fact that "Savage" is literally a racial slur but...)

Anyway I hope you and those cheering you on do some introspection. I'm not holding out very much hope but hey at least I've done my part by taking the time to hold your hand and explain the issue. The rest is on you. Ball is in your court. Will you roll your eyes and dismiss this or will you develop a sense of empathy for indigenous people?

Thanks

I'll be honest, despite your long explanations about your motivations behind writing this, I genuinely don't know what you expect to accomplish besides sparking more outrage. As a matter of fact, if your goal was to take heat off of the initial author I don't imagine this would do that--if anything it's more than likely to make this topic of discussion last even longer and draw even more attention to them. If the intention was purely to give the middle finger to those who were offended by the twitter thread that sparked this, then you have accomplished that goal. But I think I disagree with your interpretation of the issue at hand.

I write darker content--many people in the MDZS fandom do--and there are events in the MXTX novels that can be compared to real life atrocities. Bai Wuxiang's actions towards Xianle could be considered a genocide in TGCF. The cultivation clans in MDZS actively engage in what would be considered war crimes and crimes against humanity in the modern context. And from what I understand (I did not read the fic in question, but witnessed the reaction on social media following the author's comment about smallpox blankets) the reaction was about the culturally tone deaf explanation for a writing choice, and the playful use of the term "colonizer" by those in the comments. The initial content from what I understand was not the issue that drew attention to the fic. As a matter of fact, before that comment was made, the reception seemed to be positive.

But I'm not commenting on that person's story, I'm commenting on yours. Frankly, given that you have openly admitted that this is a story written purely out of spite, it would be difficult for me to look past that and see the story for what it is. In any case, it's intentionally provocative, as you have stated, and I find it to be written in bad faith. But I'm far more concerned with your author's notes, and your selection of a title.

If you wanted to just advocate for the freedom to write dark content, you simply could have posted this fic without the title or the author's notes. But those two things drew attention, which from what I can fathom is the only thing you actually intended to accomplish. I admit that I'm an adult, but I'm also not old enough to be conversant in terms like "fandom wank," so maybe there's some magical context to that term that would make this seem less vindictive, but it's lost on me. (And the presumed target audience of this story, those who were angry about this mess to begin with.)

I cannot think of a reasonable intention for including an indigenous slur in the title other than to spark outrage. I cannot think of a reason for this entire exercise other than engaging in what is, whether this was your intention or an exceptional lack of self awareness, an act of "f*ck your feelings liberal snowflakes" that we often see from the radical right. You saw a group of people who were offended by an ongoing generational trauma being discussed in a lighthearted, inappropriate way, and decided that wasn't valid. Then, you proceeded to write and post thousands of words with the intention of spitting in their faces.

I also believe in freedom of fiction. I believe you had every right to create this (aside from the title, which I believe should be considered hate speech). But I also think it reflects very poorly on you, and that is the consequence of writing and posting on the internet with spiteful disregard for the feelings and experiences of those you disagree with. Simply because you think you can and therefore should. The person who wrote the original story that created this debacle is still free to write what they want. They simply aren't free from criticism, and neither are you.

I am genuinely disappointed and frustrated with how some older people in fandom have in many ways taken blatant advantage of the anti vs. pro-fiction movement and used it as a means to be inflammatory and malicious for the sake of it. This is worse than useless, it's asinine and hateful.

Wayback Machine shows that AO3 user now_thats_what_i_call_fandom_wank had posted only one fic, the spitefic in question. The fic was then deleted a day after being posted. Both the "fandomwankparty" Twitter account and "now_thats_what_i_call_fandom_wank" AO3 account were soon deleted.

A few days later Stitch Media Mix made a blog post covering both the Twitter threadfic and the AO3 spitefic incidents.

2024 Intertwined Fates Zine Controversy

In 2024, during the Intertwined Fates controversy, a screenshot of sweetlolixo talking in a Discord server was leaked. The screenshot allegedly took place shortly after the "colonizerji" incident and her apology.

empress sally: No but you really made me realize I been thru hell damn

empress sally: But you also made me realize that only botjis hate me 😂

Yeah I went from 24.9k followers to 24.6k but does it really matter in the grand scheme of things. [redacted] ik its 1/5 of your followers but this ain't a loss for me, it was the botji trash taking themselves out 💙

An investigative document released by the MDZS Wedding Zine claimed that there is no date on the screenshot, and thus is unable to say for certain that it took place during the colonizerji incident. However, on February 2, 2024, user anaphoricae on Twitter said that the original screenshot was sent to them, and took place on August 2, 2022, three days after sweetlolixo's apology:

Firstly, I want to talk about this screenshot, because I was the one this was sent to at the time by someone who has since deactivated their account. I can't see the message anymore. The people from the zine statement said there was no date in the screenshots...

But since it was sent to me, I can tell you it was August 2nd, 2 days after sweetlolixo twitted the apology thats in this statement. Here is a screenshot of the message that was sent to me, and me sharing it with one of my friends on that date (DD/MM)

Of course, people can still find fault in this, so I encourage someone who can to take another screenshot of this server messages with their dates and prove me wrong. As it stands, this is when it was sent to me. Do with that information what you will.

the "clearly insincere apology" the person is referring to is the apology that was made about the colonizerji threadfic. This person at the time was also being bullied and they have since been driven off the fandom by comments that were made about them in this server.

Because of that, and because of other fandom problems, I have always taken apologies with a grain of salt. To me, this screenshot indicates the only reason sweetlolixo made this apology was because they were losing followers.

This led to users questioning if sweetlolixo's apology was genuine in the first place.

3neetee has since deleted their twitter account. Users within the fandom continue to post about how both 3neetee and sweetlolixo are supporters of colonization because of this incident.

Further Reading

• Intertwined Fates
• Race and Fandom
• Reality vs. Fiction Discussion
• Callout Culture