Silver/Lyra killed my parents, dammit.

[shamanicshaymin]

The internet, especially tumblr, needs to learn the difference between a trigger and a berserk button.

This is what triggers do.

War veterans have triggers. Domestic abuse survivors have triggers. People recovering from eating disorders have triggers.

A pairing that you don't like is NOT a trigger.

Unless a pairing specifically gives you panic attacks, remind you of a specific phobia, or any of the symptoms described in the article above, a NOTP is not a trigger. It's a berserk button.

Berserk buttons are things that piss you off or make you uncomfortable. Like triggers, they can be blocked via Tumblr Savior. But that's where the similarities end.

I'll give you examples of berserk buttons by telling you mine. 50 Shades of Grey is a berserk button, and I bring up the trilogy as little as possible to avoid rampaging across town. Certain Pokemon movies are also berserk buttons, because I'm sick and tired of ranting about everything that bothers me in those movies over and over again, and it reminds me of past shameful fandom experiences I've participated in. "White tears" and "cisgendered problems" and similar tags are blacklisted on my tumblr. My boyfriend avoids anything to do with "Repo! The Genetic Opera" because it reminds him of an abusive ex who adored it.

I respect the right to not discuss ships you don't like. That's easy. There's a billion other things in the world we could talk about. But if you fly off the handle at someone because you can't stand Sonic/Amy, Kyousuke/Sayaka or Kain/Rosa (three of my personal NOTPs, so don't think I don't know what it's like to not stand a ship) and consider it a trigger rather than a berserk button, then you have a problem with overreacting, anger issues, and/or basic human decency, and you need to grow up.

Comments

[swordianmaster]

The problem really boils down to the fact that some peoples' berserk buttons can be other peoples' triggers, and yet many people refuse to realize that different people have different experiences. As an example, you mentioned 50 Shades, which I feel could be incredibly triggering to someone who had recently managed to break free of a toxic, abusive relationship. Your boyfriend's situation with Repo sounds like it's a potential trigger, as well.

The thing is, people who legitimately have triggers will typically never approach something they feel is triggering - if there is a specific ship in a franchise, and that ship has nothing to do with triggering actions (example: abusive/manipulative ships could have triggering material) then generally being legitimately triggered by "that ship" due to emotional connections to a third party would more likely cause someone to avoid the entire fandom, not just one ship.

This is a whole bunch of confusing words in order for me to say "I more or less agree, but remember that everyone experiences things differently".

[shamanicshaymin]

Fair enough. My anger is directed toward the people who just throw around the word "trigger" willy-nilly, as opposed to those who actually DO feel triggering content from their NOTPs.