#I have blacklisted ships that are very well loved but this would be even funnier

[tarashima]

Dear Vrains Fandom, I’m tired

I want to start somewhat positive and say that this fandom is great in so many ways. Following people’s thoughts and headcanons and speculations, reading fanfics and indulging in fanart, reacting over the weekly episodes together, is such a nice thing to do and be a part of. 

We also seem to be having a sort of fissure when it comes to two things: 

Datastormshipping/the relationship between Yuusaku and Ryouken

Ryouken/Revolver himself. 

I can’t say that this has been going on ever since the series began but it has been happening ever since season 2 started, and gotten worse for every episode. Every time Ryouken has made an appearance, no matter how brief, there has always been posts where the op has stated just how unexcited they are about it, that the fandom is annoying and obnoxious for being happy about “literally anything”, and that datastormshipping is a terribly unhealthy pairing that no one should ship, etc. More than once has the question “am I the only one who doesn’t like datastormshipping/Revolver?” been posted in the tags, causing reactions from shippers as well as non-shippers and arguments between those groups, especially when the negative posts end up in the shipping tag. 

And this constantly reoccurring drama is pointless in every single way and I’m getting tired of seeing it happen over and over and over again. 

I see people being frustrated with all the datastorm/Ryouken-content that erupts after an episode where there’s been a “moment”, and that’s totally reasonable. If your interest is in something completely different then why wouldn’t you be annoyed when all you see is content you don’t want? It’s understandable and nothing surprising. 

But, under no circumstances, does that give anyone the right to let that frustration turn into salty passive-aggressive venting posts. 

“Am I not allowed to voice my opinions anymore?”

Of course you’re allowed to voice your opinions and no one should try and tell you otherwise! But what people haven’t seemed to realize in these specific cases is that there are times, places and words for everything, and depending on the purpose of the posts, they have different consequences. 

Letting frustrated thoughts like “gaah does these datastormshippers/Ryouken-fans have to be everywhere? I’m tired of seeing this content all the time, do they even care about anything else?” turn into venting posts with little to no difference in wording might be an outlet for you and people who feel the same way. But the feelings you inject in datastormshippers/Ryouken-fans will not be pleasant ones. The only thing you do is make them feel ashamed for upsetting people with something they love and are excited about, being ashamed of talking about it too much (and every amount feels to be too much), and ashamed for existing overall. 

Making vent posts about how obnoxious the fanbase is for just having fun is not sharing an opinion, it’s bullying. When it has come so far that we have datastormshippers being ashamed of voicing their love, or even admit that they ship Yuusaku and Ryouken, we have a serious problem. And vent posts are not the same thing as criticism. 

“I’m not trying to make people stop shipping it, that’s not my purpose! I don’t hate the ship/character, I’m just tired of seeing content with it!”

A valid feeling, especially if there’s little to no content for the things you love, and you get little to no response for your own content featuring the things you love. 

You all have to realize though that when this is worded poorly, the shippers/fans will feel attacked because they will never be able to do this right. It’ll only turn into a sad circle where shippers/fans feel restricted and hesitate to share their love, which in many cases will turn into frustration over not being allowed to express their love together. 

Sit down and think for a moment, what is it that you want? More content about everything else that doesn’t circulate around datastormshipping and Ryouken? That’s understandable. Do you want datastormshippers/Ryouken-fans to produce less content? Do you perhaps want fewer shippers/fans? Do you want the shippers/fans to stop loving datastorm and/or Ryouken altogether? No?

Then why are you voicing your “opinion” if it’s only gonna come out as bullying and rudeness? 

“I’m not bullying anyone!”

Yes, you are if you keep on making people feel bad and upset when they do absolutely nothing but being happy and produce content from that happiness. If you don’t want to be a bully, then think another time about how you say something, or if you should say something at all. And if you get called out, be responsible and apologise. Passive-aggressiveness is bullying when it’s aimed towards people. 

There are lots of easy ways to get along in the fandom without this drama happening over and over. 

For all datastormshippers, tag your content. I haven’t really seen any misses in that regard but be aware of it. Blacklisting is there for a reason and it’s a wonderful feature for everyone when tagging is used correctly. “Agree to disagree” is great when people have their own happy corners to stay, so don’t invade others’ with content they don’t want to take part in.

Speaking of that, and one would think that it should be common knowledge but I’ll say it anyway: hate/vent posts where the op states how they don’t like datastormshipping/Ryouken do not belong in the datastormshipping tag. It’s a tag specifically for datastormshippers and non-shippers have no business in it. In fact, those posts don’t belong in the main tags either. Why? Because negativity does nothing but ruins the mood completely. The mindset “if I’m not happy then no one else should be either” is harmful to everyone and is not how fandom works, or should work.

This is also very specific, but if you’ve made yourself known for being a disliker of datastormshipping, the most popular ship in Vrains, or a disliker of Ryouken, one of the most popular characters, or even worse; a disliker of the shippers and/or fans, everyone but people sharing your mindset will hesitate to some level to interact with you. The “agree to disagree” mindset will then fall flat completely since it doesn’t seem to be about the ship or character, but rather the shippers or fans. And you’ll feel even more alone.

It’s not rude to not like datastormshipping and/or Ryouken, and there are very few people who think that. It is rude, however, to try and change people’s opinions when they’ve very deliberately (and politely) explained why they like something. And being called out for that is not hate-attacks. Be responsible and think about how you say things, or if you should say things and where those words belong, and if you hurt people, apologise.

In all honesty, is getting upset about how popular a ship/character is really worth the time and energy? I know the frustration when content barely exists (I do love less popular characters myself and I have rarepairs as well), but I rather spend the energy producing and trying to find content for what I love than being upset with things I don’t like. Life gets funnier that way, and isn’t that something we all want? Fun?

This is getting long enough, so I’m adding a few last things: 

- Datastormshipping does not, and has never, qualified for being a case of Stockholm Syndrome, and it’s a term that shouldn’t be thrown around lightly. Stop people. 

- Every character in Vrains, or the whole YGO-franchise, can be as deep or as shallow as you want them to be, it all depends on your own attitude. 

- A bad attitude doesn’t belong in any of the tags, and if you still put it there, you have to realize that there will be a backlash for spreading that bad attitude around when people just want to have fun. 

And with this wall of text, I’m letting Yuusaku end the post: 

[notinkbutagoldensplash]

I have taken about 84 years to get around to this, but thank you to @agent-hayley for the tag! <3 I think we could all still do with a little AOS positivity on our dashes haha 

1). Favorite Season(s)?

Honestly even with all the Fandom Drama (which may I say I have managed to navigate super well - blacklisting is not a bad thing guys, it is your friend and will help immensely) it has to be Season 5! I loved loved loved the space arc

2). What’s your favorite aos related memory?

Oh god um I think it was when The Singularity aired - I couldn’t watch on time and had to wait an hour or two for a stream to appear, but I had my dash open with spoiler shields on and the sheer number of posts hidden from my dash was ridiculous; in that moment I knew there was some Good Shit™ coming haha

3). Favorite ship? Favoritebrotp?

Fitzsimmons (of course) and Fitz/Hunter

4). What your favorite creation you’ve made for the show (fic, graphic, gifset, video, ect.)?

Probably the universe themed gifs I made during E v. B - my first and only foray into the world of giffing haha I’m very much more of a reblog and shitpost girl

5). What do you love most about the show?

I love how much the cast love each other, and I think that the respect they have for each other and their happiness about working on this show is absolutely reflected in the high quality TV we get each week 

6). Favorite character(s) and why?

Leopold James Fitz will always have my heart. I related to him so much as the awkward lil nerd who failed his field qualifications, and the glow up to the badass he is now is what I aspire to haha 

7). What’s been your favorite storyline?

Possibly controversial but the LMD arc was fantastic and the cast performances were unreal 

8). Tell me your favorite scenes!

Every single scene of ‘Spacetime’. That episode is probably my favourite of the whole show. And of course, The Singularity/The Team Fitzsimmons moments, the wedding, and any time we get any Bus Kids. 

9). Favorite quote/one liner?

“Maybe some things are inevitable”. My heart swelled so much with that line I thought it would burst. 

10). And, finally, favorite cast moment?

Hands-down it’s the Churro Incident of SDCC 2016. I’m not sure what makes it funnier, that it was over food, or that Tom Holland was probably still standing there!

Again, extremely late to the party, but if the positivity train is something you want to get aboard, consider this your invitation :)