#fandom issue

also, those same people are refusing to understand that characters ≠ real people and that sometimes trans people can be pieces of shit. yes, even trans women. it’s not inherently transmisogynistic for a transfem or transfem-coded character to be abusive. if the author is a transphobic piece of shit like jk rowling that’s different but gooseworx herself is a trans woman. i am not saying that trans women can’t be transphobic or transmisogynistic. i am saying that jax being a transfem and an abuser isn’t transmisogynistic of gooseworx to write because again, abusers come from all walks of life. trans, cis, male, female, white, poc, rich, poor, abled, disabled, NT, neurodivergent, etc, etc. there is absolutely no exclusive category of person that 100 times out of 100 turns out to be an abuser.

do not twist my words. if you are angry over this post i want you to reread it four more times and if you are still angry then you are probably a TRF, TERF or aligned with their beliefs so i’d like you to block me instead of attacking me or putting death threats in my inbox. have a good day.

A ship that isn’t your thing is valid. A ship that gives you ewwww vibes is still valid. That one crack ship that only one person wrote about, posted on AO3, and has 23 views in four years—also valid.

What isn’t valid is spending more time hating a ship than enjoying your own—and ruining it for others with negativity. I don’t understand the point of putting more effort into tearing down a ship than its actual shippers do building it up. At this point, if that’s your thing, your OTP isn’t your OTP—it’s hating a ship, making sure the boat you don’t even like sinks.

Ship what you love. Ignore what you don’t. Write fanfics, make art, memes and moodboards, record podfics, make fan videos and craft, daydream up your headcanons. Whatever keeps your boat afloat, as long as it’s not ruining someone else’s fun.

The Tumblr Algorithm is Killing FanFiction Creativity and Visibility

^The readers are too

​1. The "Rich Get Richer" Cycle

​Tumblr’s "For You" feed prioritize posts that already have high engagement. This creates a Domino Effect: popular writers are pushed to the top while newer, talented writers stay buried. Because readers only see mainstream tropes and the same repetitive characterizations, they assume that’s all that exists. This fuels the exact discourse I’m tired of hearing—people complaining about a "lack of variety" when they’re simply not being shown the full picture.

​2. The Death of the "Recent/Latest" Tab

​Tumblr used to be purely chronological, but now it’s trying to mimic the "infinite scroll" of Instagram or TikTok.

​The Glitchy Gatekeeper: The "Latest" tab is often broken or hidden, meaning smaller writers rely 100% on reblogs to be seen.

​The Social Tax: If you aren’t part of the popular clique, your work stays buried. Without reblogs from big creators, your stories never leave your dashboard. This turns writing into a social competition where visibility depends on who you know rather than what you write, making the community feel like an exclusive club instead of a creative space. The algorithm doesn't help you; only other people can, and people are often picky about who they "endorse" with a reblog.

​3. "Just Use the Tags"—Except Tags are Broken

​To tie in with the last point: Tumblr has changed. As @umber-cinders noted, tags used to be the go-to search option. Now, the search engine prioritizes keywords within the post or specific "top" results. If you aren't using the exact SEO-friendly words the algorithm wants, your story stays invisible.

​4. Tumblr Was Never Built for Fanfiction

​Unlike AO3 (Archive of Our Own), which functions as a library, Tumblr is a micro-blogging site.

​No Real Search: Trying to find a specific niche—like a Black Reader story with a specific personality—can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. Even if you use the right tags, the search function is awful.

​The Interaction Trap: On AO3, you search for tags; on Tumblr, you follow personalities. This shifts the focus from the story to the creator. Have you noticed how bigger creators rarely support smaller writers? They often only reblog their mutuals, creating a closed loop that keeps outsiders out.

​No "Slow Burn" Discovery: On AO3, a story from 2015 can still get hits today because people search by specific tags. On Tumblr, once a post is a week old, it is effectively "dead" unless someone happens to reblog it again.

​The Bottom Line: Tumblr's algorithm doesn't care about quality or diversity—it cares about momentum.

​5. "Visibility" and Status Symbols

​People treat notes like a status symbol rather than a measure of quality. When people complain that "all Black reader fics are the same," they are admitting they only follow the most popular accounts and haven't put in the work to find smaller creators. They blame writers for a "lack of diversity," but the blame actually lies with the algorithm and lazy consumption habits. If you aren't reblogging, commenting, or digging past the "Top" feed, you are part of the problem.

On Tumblr, a like is just a private bookmark, but a reblog is an act of community support. Writers rely entirely on their readers to act as the distribution system. When you like a post without reblogging it, you are essentially telling the writer, "I enjoyed this, but I don’t want anyone else to see it." Reblogging is the only way to break through the 'cliques' and the broken search tags to help smaller, more diverse creators find an audience. If you want to see more stories that feature Black women with substance, or characters that don't fit a single mold, you have to be the one to push those stories onto other people's dashboards. Visibility isn't a gift the algorithm gives us; it's something we have to build for each other.

​Support your writers. Find different platforms. And most importantly: Write.

This kind of language is often an attempt to shut down discussion before it can really start. I wonder if that’s because some fans see any debate about ships as an attack on their perception of the characters, rather than a way for everyone to engage with the story in their own way.

In some cases, it’s also a way to virtue signal or feel morally superior for liking the “good ship.”One of the clearest symptoms is assuming things about people’s character based solely on who they ship. For example, I recently watched a TikTok video about The Summer I Turned Pretty. The poster believed that women who prefer Conrad over Jeremiah are male-centered. She claimed that Conrad fans don’t care about Belly’s perspective or feelings and that the real reason they dislike Jeremiah is because they think Belly “belongs” to Conrad.

She even implied that this preference is rooted in purity culture, assigning moral beliefs to people based on a fictional ship. Not only did she decide why Conrad shippers feel the way they do, but she also assumed that every single one of them thinks exactly the same.

Fans with this kind of attitude are often dismissive when others explain why they like a certain ship. They might hear, “I like Zuko and Katara because I feel they are on equal footing and understand one another,” and respond, “No, you just think Zuko’s hot and Katara is a self-insert,” or even accuse Zutarra shippers of being pro-colonialism.

Even if a ship does include a problematic element, it doesn’t mean fans who enjoy it endorse the behavior in real life. People can enjoy engaging with tension, character flaws, or growth arcs without condoning harmful actions.

This hostility also shows up in other situations. Some people feel especially threatened by queer ships—probably because it makes them uncomfortable to think about characters they like through that lens. They’ll claim it “ruins the show,” even though other people shipping these characters doesn’t change canon. Others dismiss the ship by insisting people only like it because it’s a same-sex pairing, ignoring the actual reasons people might connect with the ship.

Instead of simply accepting that there’s more than one way to interpret a story, they try to cheapen other people’s perspectives and disqualify any opinions that differ from their own. The truth is, no two people perceive a story in the exact same way. Each reader or viewer brings their own experiences, values, and imagination to a story, so trying to shove people into a box or force everyone to conform to a single “truth” about a narrative is not only impossible—it undermines the way fandom works.

I think part of why some fans react so defensively is that their interpretation of a story feels deeply personal to them. People often tie ships or characters to their identity, so disagreement feels like criticism and they want to turn it around on the other person. On the other hand, some people probably just struggle to accept that multiple readings of a narrative can coexist. But what they don’t realize is that recognizing everyone experiences stories differently doesn’t mean you have to like or agree with every ship.

Approaching ships with curiosity rather than hostility allows fans to share insights, debate respectfully, and appreciate perspectives they might not have considered. It also means you can enjoy your favorite pairings without feeling the need to defend them as the only correct way to experience the story. Fandom works best when it’s a space for creativity and connection!

Some youtube videos on fandom culture if you’re interested: