#curating your fandom experience

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

ew eruri is disgusting

But I spent 30 minutes last night making this shuffle board for you?

You don’t… you don’t like it? 😭

Look at them they kithin’ they’re so cute and alive and happy *sobs*

That being said you’re so correct I could fuck with Eren and Levi as well. You seem the type to enjoy the unhinged behaviour of my mass murderer king.

Also this is a good time for me to tell my followers that I have created a “harassment tag” which you can filter out if you don’t want to see the mean asks I respond to.

The idea comes from a friend who has seen this in other fandoms (re: an interesting discussion on anon hate I have had with several people this week) and I really like the idea, I think it’s a great take on staying safe and curating your experience friends 🫶🏼🙏🏻

#eruri feels #eruri #snk erwin #snk levi #harassment tag #this is a psa #psa #curating your fandom experience

[tavyliasin]

Navigating Fandom Online

Good timezone, darlings, we are out here again with another little fandom essay around what to expect online and how to curate your experiences in each of those spaces. Whilst I realise it may seem like this is could relate to a number of recent events, it is more that there even are recent events that spur me to thinking on this one, not aiming at any conversation, person, or situation at all.

Curating Your Online Fandom Experience - A Guide/Essay by TavyliaSin (And how to keep each other safe in fandom spaces) ((As well as what to do if we don't feel safe)) (((Also a little around what to expect in each space)))

So the following will be broken down by chapter headings and may discuss, in very vague terms, some heavier topics. So consider this a CW for fandom drama, discussion of what is in CWs and why, and generally an overview of things that many might find difficult to discuss~

What are Online Fandom Spaces and How Are They Different?

Tumblr is just one open online fandom website that many of us use to share and find content and connections with fellow fans. It's far from the only site/app though, and each has a different userbase, different rules, and often a different "vibe" to the space.

We all have limited time and energy, so really we need to choose which spaces are right for us to spend both of those on.

Because each space is unique with the userbase, rules, and tools we can use within them, I'm going to split the conversation by site rather than by topic from here. That might mean some things are repeated, but also makes it easier to see which relates to what site.

In general, our aims in these spaces should be to learn how to find the content we want to see more of, how to keep ourselves safe from potentially triggering content that we don't want to see, how to connect with people who will enhance our lives and experience, and how to handle content we don't want to see without exacerbating the issues or causing more problems along the way.

Tumblr

Let's start right here where we are! Now I'm going to be entirely honest, I still have little idea what I'm doing here, I'm making it up as I go along, but Tumblr is an important fandom space. Fans from certain countries may find Tumblr is one of the few options not blocked when places like Twitter and AO3 are not accessible from where they live. We have a wide userbase and a whole lot of content, so let's get started.

Curating Your Own Works and CWs on Tumblr Tumblr has the fun little "Keep Reading" marker which means you can put your CWs in the top part of the post and indicate that the content will be below the "keep reading" line. You can also use this with others' posts to know if the topic is one you want to read or not. If it isn't? You can scroll on by without seeing the potentially distressing content! For image and video posts there are also the options to mark the content as NSFW in nature too, which will keep it from your feeds.

You have the choice for all NSFW content to be shown, or for it to be blurred with a warning. This will also help you to curate what you see - if you're fine with NSFW content being out in the open you can leave it revealed, or you can keep the blurring and warning tags enabled to choose what you wish to see, or if you don't want to see any of it you can simply have them all hidden from your feeds.

Safety And Connecting With Other Fans The Ask Box can be a fun way to connect, especially with other creatives! Anonymously suggesting a creative idea can be more comfortable for people who aren't as confident having their identity linked to certain content, and opens up for writers and artists (and other creatives) to receive interesting prompts and inspiration for their works. Unfortunately, however, it can also be used in less kind ways. If you find your ask box is being sent anything unpleasant then unfortunately the options boil down to either ignoring/deleting anything unpleasant or turning it off completely in your options. Nobody should have to do the latter, but unfortunately there are times it may be necessary. Connecting to people whose content you like does seem to be a different world here compared to other sites. You can follow blogs you enjoy, and get alerts for their new content, but there's less of a culture of commenting here. I've personally found that directly commenting is a nicer and easier way to get to know the creators you want to talk to, and may lead to DMs or connecting on other socials off-site where you talk more. I adore that, so I certainly shan't be stopping any time soon, though if anyone does feel uncomfortable with comments on their works please do tell me. More often however we use reblogs and the tags on those are how we keep the conversation going, and we may find ourselves sharing similar circles that way.

Avoiding People And Content You Don't Like Tumblr allows a variety of content which is great for creatives to share what they're making, although this does mean there will be users who you don't get along with and content you don't want to see.

Tag Filters can also keep content off your feed. So, for example, if you don't want to see anything with a specific character or pairing you can put those tags into the filter and it'll keep them out. Similarly with content tags, and as long as people are properly tagging works like they should you can choose exactly what you do and don't want to see with the systems already in place! You can block individual blogs and users, hide them so they don't appear on your feed, but unfortunately there is always the chance that people can easily make new accounts and find their way back to your works. You can also report posts that break the terms of service of the website, but please only use this function for this purpose. Reporting things you personally dislike isn't helpful either to the user or to the system. If someone's works aren't to your taste, blocking them is the easiest way to keep it out of your eyeline. That's your way to say "I do not consent to seeing this" whilst leaving the content there for others who do wish to see it. Other Considerations for Tumblr Honestly I would love other peoples' input on this one. I'm not an expert on this one.

Archive Of Our Own (AO3)

AO3 is one of the widest and most open fandom spaces. It's like a library, and everything is well organised into the proper sections. That also means that there will be works on there that contain content you may be less comfortable with reading, so it's important both to tag your own works and to look at the tags on others' works to know what you want to read or not. For more on content warnings and how to use them, click here for that essay because it is a long topic of its own.

What Should/Shouldn't Be On The Site? Those who know me well here know that although I have a fair little list of characters and topics I will not read or write, I also fully support everyone else's rights to do so if they wish. That's the standard on AO3 too. There are few topics that are fully banned, and the system allows for tagging and filtering of works based on those tags. Aside from the general age ratings that set a tone for the work there are the archive warning tags.

These Archive labels are an explicit indicator of the kind of content in a piece that allow readers to make a decision of informed consent on whether they wish to read. Anything tagged with a specific warning, or with the "chose not to warn" tells a reader that there is content that may be triggering or unwanted. It gives them the choice to read or to find another piece. Nobody is being forced to read heavy topics just by virtue of them existing, and as I mention in the above-linked essay post around CWs, fiction can be a very valid and powerful way for people to process their own traumas in a safe and controlled environment. There are very few things that are fully forbidden from the site, just like how in a library you will find there are books with different content types. The point is not to ban the ones you do not want to read, but to select the ones from the shelves that you do want to read, and to learn how to use the tags like the labels on library books (or the information on the cover) to tell you what you might want to read. It's not like a book shop where the owner is choosing only what they want to sell, or your own personal book shelf where you only keep the books you like. It's a communal space for everyone to share and read their works. You can customise how things appear in your feed too, the Preferences can give you those options to filter what you want to see or not see as you browse the site.

AO3 Community Engagement Commenting and leaving kudos on AO3 is a wonderful way to support writers you like. If you don't like a work at all, I also recommend just leaving without bringing the writer down - unwanted critique doesn't tend to help anyone improve, but it can make them (or even other readers) want to stop writing which would be a terrible shame. If someone asks for critique specifically then of course that is fine, but you should also try to find the things you like within the work as well to show the writer what to do more of and what strengths they can rely on. The best thing for a writer to read from their works on AO3 are comments that specifically pick out favourite lines and say what they like about them. It's a little harder to directly chat, but if there are contact details in peoples' bios you can form more social connections this way, or simply subscribe to your favourite authors to see more of their works and get notified with new releases.

Safety and Security You can block or mute specific users if you find their works are not to your tastes or if they have been unkind in their interactions with your works, or for any reason you wish. These options are on every user's profile on the top right beneath their name.

You can easily stop seeing the works from anyone at any time without having to do anything further. If they have broken the site rules, of course, that is something to raise with the website's moderation teams and allow them to handle it accordingly, but to be very clear here: It is not ok to send people negative comments because you disagree with them or the topics they write about. We should all be free to create what we want to create as long as it is within the law (and particularly this applies to not sharing NSFW content to those who are not old enough to engage with it) as long as all of our works are appropriately tagged.

You can also control who can see and engage with your works - I personally prefer comment moderation, even though there has never been a single comment I have rejected. You can also turn off guest comments, or only let registered user view your works in the first place. This gives you the option to block people as and when you need to, whilst still allowing engagement. This can be changed on every single work you have and edited at any time. Whilst it might discourage or reduce some engagement, it can give you confidence that negative comments can't pile up whilst you're not looking at your account and remain visible. It's also security for those of us who prefer not to link our government names to our adult content creation, so we know nobody is revealing anything we don't want known to our wider audience.

Twitter/X

I'm going to call it Twitter because that's how most of us still know it and refer to it, as well as other language like Tweet, RT, QRT as needed. (X is a terrible name for a platform and we all know it).

Fandom On Twitter In general this is one of the widest nets of fandom from what I can see. It's also the least moderated space on the internet, and with limited space in tweets it is a lot more common for things to be taken out of context. The spoiler tagging only works on images, so that's also more difficult to curate the content you share yourself. Twitter in general tends to have more of an aggressive culture to it, anonymity and ease of making new accounts leaving it very open to people getting away with saying whatever they like regardless of who it impacts.

Curating Your Twitter Feed This one is largely going to come down to who you follow. Check the bio of users you're thinking about following, and maybe scan a few of their posts, replies, and likes to get an idea of the kind of content they engage with and are likely to share. You can also mute and/or block individual users. This can help to narrow down what you see on your feed, however do be aware you're more likely to see negative content and "fandom drama" go down on Twitter. It's very instant and has a vibe of calling things out immediately, potentially due to the short form of content people aren't spending long thinking about what they want to say or how they want to say it.

Keeping Yourself Safe This one is going to be utilising the mute and block features as needed, but you can also choose to only allow people you follow to respond to your tweets. This is a good way to keep your Twitter experience just to friends and others you share values with, reducing the chance of arguments and issues. However, it is also good to know when to step back, disengage, and stop interacting with content or people who are distressing you.

Keeping Others Safe Having a "minors DNI" rule is a good plan for most (meaning you are openly stating that those under 18 years old "do not interact" with your posts and content as it is more likely to be unsuitable even if you can't easily mark it as adult only content). It is also good to remember that those arguing on Twitter are less likely to listen and change their minds on an issue, so if someone is being unfairly upset by the words and actions of others it is often better to support that person rather than to engage with anyone speaking against them.

Discord

This can be one of your most easy to curate and customise for your social groups, though that means it's harder to connect to newer people and find larger spaces and reach for content. But it's still worth looking at how you choose and interact with spaces.

Joining a New Server Get to know the rules and the people who run the space. Discord servers can all be very different in how they are laid out and the rules they have for their communities. Some might have bans on certain kinds of content like characters or pairings, others may be open to all kinds of content but have it separated into different sections and areas so people know when/where they are engaging with different things. If you feel that the rules or leadership don't match your values, you can leave at any time and don't need to let anyone know unless you wish to keep contacts outside of the server. Many servers are invite only, or will advertise in a limited way through other sites like Twitter and Tumblr (I certainly advertise my own on both, for those who might want to join), but some might also be listed on a site called Disboard which can be a good way to find active fan community servers. I'm actually in some servers that ban certain content, and other servers that explicitly allow that same content. I appreciate both types of space, and knowing what to expect when I visit each of them. Having places that ban certain topics outright is great as a comfortable place for people who don't like it, but equally having places that allow it is also great so the people who do enjoy it can safely indulge without judgement. There are many reasons why people do/don't like content, and I don't believe anyone has to justify that unless they explicitly want to.

Spoiler Tagging and CWs on Discord Spoiler tags are very easy to use on Discord, it's one of the best systems as you can spoiler images as well as part or all of the text that you wish to hide. You can then ensure your comment tells people what to expect underneath the spoiler cover. This shows roughly how it works for text.

I would always advise to tell people what is under the spoiler tag, so people know what they're revealing. That way everyone can interact confidently knowing they're not going to uncover content they're uncomfortable with.

Blocking, Banning, and Moderation Discord's blocking is pretty simple - block a user and they can still see your posts but they will not be able to leave reactions on them, and you won't see anything they post. If you're a Moderator or Admin of a server and you ban a user, they will not be able to return on another account unless they're using a VPN as it uses an IP ban. For safeguarding, it can also be helpful to share information with other fandom space moderators if there is a genuinely harmful person in the community. Several Discord servers do this already as far as I know, sharing the full user ID number of people who are not safe to be in the community so they can be prevented from entering.

How To Choose Your Social Spaces

Looking at the options there, each space is set up very differently. The open spaces like Twitter and Tumblr and AO3 are going to take some more care to know when is best to not engage with content you don't like or disagree with, and to know that any post or opinion can risk going viral at any time. Discord is going to have the more closed and specialised communities that will likely have a closer match to personal values and social circles.

Whichever place you're in, it's a good idea to be aware of what kinds of content you're likely to encounter and what to expect with interactions.

If a site or fandom space makes you feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or otherwise unhappy, it is absolutely valid to avoid it. Even if others use it.

In the case of places like Twitter and Tumblr, you might not gain as much reach if you only shout into the void and don't interact with others, but if that's all you feel safe doing because scrolling through content is distressing that is all you need to do. Beyond the terms of service there aren't really rules governing how you use any particular platform. Different spaces have different levels of moderation, so it really is up to us at the end of the day which ones we use to ensure we are looking out for our own safety.

What Should We Do If Something or Someone Isn't Safe?

This is the last big one to look at again. If someone is breaking the rules of a platform, report it to the appropriate places. If someone is suffering because of the content they have seen or the things that have been said to them, put your energy into looking after them rather than going after whoever you feel has wronged them. Revenge doesn't heal anyone, it just spreads more pain elsewhere and makes people more likely to retaliate or worsens the whole situation.

When we fight fire with fire we risk turning everything to ashes. Instead, calming a situation and letting the drama die down is what allows the people who have been hurt to heal rather than raking over the hot coals again and again.

The final point is when it has crossed legal lines, if there is an issue with safeguarding minors or any other law-breaking activity, that's when we need to go further than site/platform moderation and look to the legal options to protect our fandom spaces and the people involved.

You always have a choice what content to look at, what spaces to use, and what kinds of energy you are bringing in to those spaces. Kindness can often spur on more kindness, whereas confrontation mostly just leads to more confrontation. Of course there are times and places where confrontation is necessary, but we should also pick our battles wisely and prioritise caring for those who have been harmed first.

Until next time darlings~ sorry if this one was a long ramble, I've been on and off it all day to try and ensure my thoughts are at least a little organised. Here's hoping all of our experiences with the community can be positive and match the values we want to see within ourselves and each other~

#fandom #fandom essay #fandom community #curating your fandom experience #how to make the most of fandom spaces #twitter #discord #tumblr #ao3 #archive of our own #choose kindness

[ghost-bxrd]

Anon who asked Emmi for the recs here, THANK YOU I have a marked a bunch of them for later :3 I can put the crowbar away now...

(Also yes, ship and let ship ✨️ its easy to just click away when the content isn't for me, so no worries about the smut!!)

We stan this wonderful green flag anon 🟩 💚💚💚💚💚

#ghost talks #I love seeing people encourage ech other #ship and let ship is my new motto ksksks #curating your fandom experience #green flags #💚💚💚

[shima-draws]

Me: Hehe Sanlu!!!!

Fandom: Oh but Zoro? Where's Zoro? What about Zoro? Including Zoro in this. Adding Zoro here because. Zoro tho

Me: KICKING YOU IN THE SHINS STOP THAT

#NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO BE ZOSAN!!! I'M BITING YOU!!!! #Some Zosan shippers out here are REALLY making me start to hate the ship #Bc they're everywhere. Like a fungus. I can't get rid of them #Remember that comic I drew where Luffy was flirting with Sanji and Nami was like :000000 #ALL of the IG comments were like '🤓 Ackshually he was talking about Zoro' SHUT UP. SHUT UP I'M GONNA GET YOU #Me: How could you all have misinterpreted it THIS badly. Luffy LITERALLY says how cute he thinks Sanji is #Me: AND Y'ALL THINK THIS IS A ZOSAN POST?? OUT. #Can't I just ship Sanlu in peace without Zosan shippers busting down my door #If you want Zosan there are THOUSANDS of artists out there drawing them RIGHT NOW. JUST FOR YOU!! #If you want me to draw Zosan you can pay me. :) #Shima speaks #One Piece #Hahhhh man. Curate your own fandom experience Shima...don't get drawn into the toxic circles Shima... #Sanlu #Lusan

[orionsangel86]

Content Filters - Your New Best Friend!

I dont think we take advantage of content filters enough. So I'm putting together a little tutorial in case anyone isn't aware of them.

Now we may all be aware of tag filters, both via tumblr saviour and also tumblrs in built tag filtration system.

But that still runs into issues as some people just dont tag their posts, and therefore some posts will still find their way to the dashboards of people that dont want to see certain content that they have blocked.

If you are in a small fandom, sometimes popular content that you arent interested in can become quite prevailent and unavoidable even if you have tags blocked. But there IS a way to avoid that content regardless of whether people are tagging their posts or not

CONTENT FILTERS.

Content filters work by blocking certain words that appear in posts. If there is a certain thing that you really want to avoid, you can just block that word or phrase and boom! You'll never have to see it and everyone will be happier for it. If you don't know where the content filters are, I can show you. On tumblr mobile go to account settings:

Then scroll down to "content you see":

Here you will find the filtered tags:

And if you're anything like me you'll have a nice long list of blocked tags to curate your feed.

However if you just scroll down to the bottom of your blocked tags list, you'll find this:

Here is where you add words you wanna block. You can block trigger words, you can block things like "blood" if thats not your jam, you can block "omegaverse" if that gives you a squick, and you can also block ship names and names of whole fandoms if you find them annoying (blocking Supernatural may help with your mental health lmao).

It can be overzealous, so its best to block phrases more than random words as those words can be used in many contexts after all (which is why its excellent for blocking fandom ships as those are usually portmanteaus that wont appear in regular language). Blocking the word "omega" may be a bit too wide a net for instance, but blocking something like "omega Dream" will work wonders and calm those buldging temple veins.

Now this is just a tumblr app tutorial but I believe the content filters are in the same place on desktop. Its not hard to find them and I strongly suggest everyone uses them.

We all want to have a peaceful pleasant fandom experience, and as always, the best way to do that is to CURATE YOUR OWN SPACE. I'm someone who loves searching in the fandom tags, so I dont rely on following/unfollowing to curate my feed. I often expose myself to things in the tags i may prefer to avoid, or maybe I follow people for some content but dont wanna see other content they reblog. Either way, the content filters protect me from triggers, things that squick me out, and content I just find annoying.

Whilst we can all ask that people tag appropriately, it is never the OPs fault if you have seen something you don't want to see. You have all the tools available to you to avoid everything you dont like. Use them.

#tumblr etiquette #content filters #tagging systems #the sandman #fandom #fandom problems #curate your experience #no shade towards anyone here #but please stop with the drama #its not necessary

[phoenixiancrystallist]

It never ceases to amuse me when I check out a new follower to make sure they're not a pornbot and in either their description or their pinned post they have "proshippers DNI." You interacted first, my guy. This shit goes both ways.

#bobbi's being weird again #and is forever salty at the hypocrisy of antis #DNIs are useless anyway just block people #which is precisely what I did bc I don't need any more death threats for thinking fictional characters should smooch #how did they even find me we don't share any fandoms #... anyway #curate your experience #it's good for you #pro ship #proship #proshipping #pro shipping #anti censorship #anti harassment

[twopoppies]

I truthly think most of this fandom problems are caused because people don't curate their experience better. I was guilty of this too because there was a time I wanted to know everything. So these are some things that I do that had helped me to have a better fandom experience

1. The block bottom is there for a reason, if someone is annoying you you can just block them and the problem is gone.

2. Mute every topic you don't want to know about, I don't care what's being said about the kid even if it's Louis saying it so I just mute EVERYTHING.

3. No one in the fandom is referring to them by the full names so mute their government names and the gp opinions about them are automatically gone.

4. You don't need to follow every update account, just follow the ones that you know talk about things you want to know and block the others.

5. Follow accounts that think similar to you and if they don't make sure the things you don't agree on aren't things that upsate you.

6. Don't engage with the trolls, like there's nothing you can do to convince they're wrong so why botter?

7. Don't follow tabloids and pop culture magazines, like I know sometimes their teams use them to push out narratives but 99% of the times they're only talking about things they know will bring them clicks and not because their PR teams tell them to do it.

I know people don't like to do this things because they thing they're gonna miss on important things but let me assure you that if something is REALLY important is gonna make it to your tl no matter what

All great advice. Thank you!

#fandom dynamics #curate your experience

[mamawasatesttube]

i have to admit the phrase "curate your experience!" is kind of a pet peeve to me at this point. like i agree with the sentiment i LOVE the block button she is like a wife to me. and don't even get me started on tag exclusion my sweet darling. however the people who say "ummm just block people and tags sweaty :)" every time someone complains they dislike something are so . like. sorry you guys don't understand that sometimes bitching about stuff on your own personal blog is a way to process negative emotions and move on. sorry you guys don't understand the noble art of haterism or whatever. get well soon

#rimi talks #it just seems so condescending imo like. yeah dude we all know about the block button. sorry the world isnt sunshine and rainbows 24/7 #this isnt even about anyone on one of my posts i just glanced at the notes of that ''enjoying fandom w/o reading the source material--'' #''--is like saying you love a hangover not partying'' post and. some people are so Fucking annoying i think #the most pedantic part of me wants to be like. @ those guys. curate YOUR experiences. #stop telling op and other people who dislike stuff to get over it and shut up (in politer terms but isnt that the sentiment) #its just funny bc i DO agree that you should block people you dislike and take steps to avoid seeing stuff you hate #but the way some people talk about that is sooooo. blocks them blocks them blocks them

[equal-shipping]

Kaishin Reveal and What It Means For You

Okay I need everyone to keep their shit together because I think this is being blown out of proportion. What follows is a quick rant about what the hell is going in the DCMK fandom and what is going on in fandom in general cause I don’t know why I’m seeing so many people lose their shit over something that was most likely going to happen followed by a quick lesson by a ‘fandom elder’ on how to ignore canon and make a ship your own. 

Spoilers ahead and whatnot. 

April 11th the DCMK 27 movie came out and information was revealed about how Kaito Kuroba and Shinichi Kudou are now cousins. Twitter lost its mind, Tumblr lost its mind, Discord servers are being created and now everyone is wondering what the hell should they do. 

I’m going to be honest, if you are a creator for KaiShin, please don’t delete your work. 

Either archive it or orphan it but please don’t delete it.

You put time and effort into this, into something you love, and just because the mangaka is so SO set in his ways of every single ship being friends to lovers does not mean you have to follow the same format. This doesn’t make you an incest shipper or whatever, it doesn’t make you a person who you don’t want to be, it’s just something that you had no idea of knowing was going to happen and I hope that you can look back at it fondly. 

Anyways, for those enjoying Kaishin on the sidelines all I’m going to say is Pick a Lane. 

Ignore Canon 

If you are an old time shipper then this may not be new for you. I mean Gosho literally had another ship that turned out to be cousins like at this point it’s ‘who is my cousin’ being played in the entire Detective Conan manga. You either already guessed it, are an active incest shipper (hi, hello, tis a me) or you are used to your favourites dying. This situation is no fucking different. 

Wolfwood is dead, in my head he is alive and well and treating his Plant husband right. 

Sora is missing, not in my head where he is kissing Roxas and Riku and Kairi and whoever else wants to get at the sunshine of the KH universe. 

Ben is dead, NOT IN MY REYLO FANFICTION. 

If you are a person who actively kept up with the manga or actively kept up with the show it is possible to ignore canon because they do not suddenly go super deep into being cousins and knowing about each other. They both don’t know if they are cousins or else the jig would be up immediately and the manga would be finished. You CAN ignore canon and if Kaishin is a ship that brings you joy and just serotonin production I implore you guys to choose this lane if you still want to enjoy Kaishin. 

It’s by far the healthiest option and teaches you how to curate your own fandom experience. 

Alternate Universes and You 

I was in the Hannibal fandom for a while and I clearly remember the ‘Hannibal is not a Cannibal’ tag on AO3. I thought it was hilarious but I would never dare to make fun of it because that is a prime example of CURATING YOUR FANDOM EXPERIENCE. 

Here are some examples on how you can start tagging: 

Not Cousins AU

Kaito and Shinichi aren’t family 

No Family Relation AU 

Pre Kaishin reveal 

Or just make a quick blurb of how you mean this drawing/fic to be perceived. Again, this is your experience and you get to make the space you want to make. It’s up to you to make/interact with the content that makes you most comfortable. Again, if you want to delve into AU’s then that is up to you and I think it’s a pretty good lane for those who just feel weird about the whole reveal. 

Stepping Away

Your moral values are your own, people, and I am in no position or even want to judge them. If you feel uncomfortable about this now, see your love for Kaishin diminishing because of the reveal or just don’t see yourself shipping Kaishin in the future then you are more than capable of measuring your response and stepping away from the ship entirely for your own health. 

Is it going to be sad? Yes, but they are fictional and I recommend having an idea of what you have in your life outside of fandom that makes you happy that you can focus on as you go through this. College, work, whatever hobbies you may have taken up–hell put all your eggs into another ship that you know also brings you joy! 

Do not let this dictate your day or your month or your year. This is just fandom, you don’t have to make a big statement unless asked about it, you do not have to justify your decision to anybody, curate.your.fandom.experience. 

I’m going to end this with a repeat of what I just said. 

This is all fictional. We are playing in a fictional sandbox where we can all make whatever we want in any capacity and as long as it is tagged correctly then nobody’s lines have to be crossed. If you just started enjoying Kaishin, find out how you still want to enjoy it or step away. If you have shipped Kaishin for a while, do the same fucking thing! The east side of the fandom is having a field day with the movie, why can’t the west have some fun too?! 

I’m going to ship Kaishin (however all my reblogs will be moved to my other blog for incest-y stuff and just other content people may not vibe with in general) and hell I might just join the Kaishin Big Bang for the hell of it because I have been shipping this ship since I was 15 years old and I’m about to be 30 so….I’m staying fucking seated cause you aren’t getting me out of this chair, Aoyama, you aren’t getting me to ship Aoko with anyone other an Akako so suck on that. 

Be safe, be smart and curate y’all.

#dcmk #kaishin #literally all I will say in the matter after this im going quiet again #curate your fandom experience people #BE SMART

[betty-bourgeoisie]

My favorite criticisms of the Hetalia fandom are the ones clearly written by people who haven't interacted with it since 2015

#like don't get me wrong #there is A LOT to criticize #but sometimes I see a hot take #and I'm just like #that's your take now? in 2023? #or idk maybe I just curate my fandom experience too much to notice #Hetalia

[thepeacefulgarden]

#self care #social media #curate your experience #boundaries #fandom #mental health

[star-x-shine]

i think that the stranger things fandom could use several lessons on multishipping, canon vs. non-canon, and just manners

#not every ship is gonna be canon and i think that people need to realize that #it's okay if your faves don't end up together!! #but it's not okay to harass people for liking one ship over the other #like fan content extsts for a reason #not everything is gonna be canon #and there's no reason to harass random people on the internet because of it #please curate your experiences/block people you don't agree with and move on #fandom is supposed to be fun and i feel like a lot of people forget it #stranger things #mileven #byler #steddie #stancy #stonathan #lumax #elmax #stoncy

[punkeropercyjackson]

i KNOW there's a huge wave of Annabeth and Leah hate coupled with Luke/Percy bullshit that's just gonna be a second wave of what Reylos did to Finn and John only this time even worse because it's gonna be what's basically child abuse since Leahbeth is fucking 14.I am fucking sick and tired of black characters and even black actors existing next to white faves being seen as inherently 'problematic' but grown ass white men who're fascists and into people way too young for them being seen as 'womanly fantasies' and 'gay love stories'

#'if you don't wanna see luk*rcy then curate your experience!!!'this is a fandom for children's media you can't call shit here.LEAVE!!!!!!!!! #annabeth chase #rebelfinn #antilukercy #anti reylo #leah jeffries #john boyega #leah is our annabeth #leahbeth #pro annabeth chase #pro finn #rey of jakku #anti kylo ren #anti luke castellan #sw #pjo #hoo #pjo disney+ #pjo tv #the force awakens #the last jedi #rise of the skywalker #antiblackness #misogynoir #percy jackson #daisy ridley #walker scobell #child abuse cw #bullying cw #summerposting

[violetdisasterzone]

it's kind of sad to say but sometimes I think I'm not cut out for fandom. I've always been more of a lurker than a contributor anyway, but even then I feel like I might just be too much of a canon purist to really be part of them. so much of being on the internet is about curating your own experience, but fanon (mis)interpretations/characterizations are so rampant in some spaces, treated as canon to such an extent that some people literally believe they ARE, that they're often hard to avoid completely.

the point of fandom isn't supposed to be nitpicking every little thing for accuracy, obviously. I like talking with people about my favorite things, and seeing how my thoughts and interpretations match up with theirs. I don't expect everyone's experience with whatever media to be the same. but I think a lot of people view canon as something separate, as something they get to play around with and take the parts they like and change what they don't. and that's fine, but I don't really get it, not entirely. I like playing around with hypotheticals and what-ifs and stuff, but to me canon is always going to be superior/unchangeable. and it's even worse when people will try to use canon to explain that their blatantly fanon-based interpretations are, in fact, canon somehow. and it gets even WORSE when it turns into actual discourse, and suddenly people are claiming that not following their fanon interpretation means something about your real-life values.

it's just kind of exhausting sometimes. I love a lot of y'all on here and it can be so fun to be a part of things, even mostly from the sidelines. but sometimes all I want is to close social media forever and reread my novels in peace

#this is something I've had a hard time with for a while tbh #I'm never quite sure how to put it into words but I was v annoyed earlier so here this is #and you may be thinking #'vi it's not that deep just close the app if you want to leave' #which yes. but also can't a person complain a bit!! #I think curating your fandom experience is also kind of hard if you're more of a part-time lurker #than if you have a bunch of mutuals who you regularly talk to outside of post interactions lol #which could definitely be part of my problem. unless it's just a ME problem #I want to know if this is a me problem or if others experience this #but I also don't really want my shitty vent post to be reblogged lmao

[squuote]

tbh I always wanna just say this at random but like, sometimes a fandom can just be you and your mutuals and maybe a handful of other chill people. and you can just block out the rest because sometimes that can be enough, especially in bigger fandoms or fandoms that are growing

#crow thoughts #sorry I’ve been seeing like a few people say this in the parable fandom #and it’s like that sucks fr but if ur constantly seeing stuff that makes you uncomfortable #or upsets you to that degree you gotta just block people sometimes #or blacklist certain tags or you can even filter out urls if you rlly don’t wanna block people #it isn’t bad to curate your experience especially if it’s something you rlly enjoy #I was gonna go more into blocking and filtering and curating ur own experience on this post #but I am too fucking scared that some gross people are gonna come on this post so. not doing that >___>