When you just want to look at spoilers

[@natanmaurer3510]

The “can’t remember who the character is but if I look it up I’ll get spoiled” is so real omg

[@aaronputhalath2778]

Flashbacks to when I googled William from Westworld while watching S1 to get the actor's name and I got the whole 'William is the Man in Black" twist spoiled for me lol

[@Trepur349]

Honestly this is why I love eBooks so much. If I can't remember who a character is I can use ctrl+f to find the previous times that name was used and almost always I'm like oh yeah

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

Coppermine is useless to me right now for this reason.

[@thernymous]

​@@Trepur349 and then, if its not used that often, the first page of search results includes later references to the character's death or betrayal 😢

[@deltavictor8369]

@@thernymous first page of results nothing. The autocomplete predictions when you start typing the character's name into the search engine.

[@Xob_Driesestig]

To prevent myself from getting spoiled about book endings, I never read any books.

[@genericallyentertaining]

Only foolproof strategy.

[@inthenebula92]

This is the way

[@Atrulion]

@@inthenebula92 This is the way

[@lightworker2956]

I always read books backwards. That way, I start by knowing the ending, and I'm immune to spoilers.

[@KaioKenneth4]

@@AtrulionThis is the way

[@cara-seyun]

That moment of transcendent joy I feel after turning the last page and being able to finally access the fanart and community

[@MorgottofLeyendell]

Totally

[@ChaosRayZero]

And then you find out _there tragically isn't any_ because it's an obscure book that _apparently nobody cares about._ 😣

[@cara-seyun]

@@ChaosRayZero I’m so glad I read most of those obscure books as a child before learning what fandom was

[@realdragon]

I will do one better, I've been in community for like 9 months before I started reading books

[@cara-seyun]

@@realdragon but then you spoil yourself

[@cloudscovermyflaws]

Going to the wiki because you need some info about a character and then being hit with the “status: deceased” part of their basic info table.

[@killer_queen4062]

nah, i don't even make to the wiki before seeing "*charachter name* death" in the search bar

[@solalabell9674]

Learning he’s safe in the Cognitive realm

[@fortytwo4-2]

Bro fr. I’m currently reading a 9 book long series and I just searched up the name of the character and saw the “status: deceased”

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

Same, brother.

[@tekuraze]

the "i bet the communities are making memes" is so real, i caught up to Stormlight book 4 just so i can fully watch no context Stormlight Archive meme videos

[@SaloCh]

But then you read a book from some other lesser known author and find out the subreddit has only like 5k members and only a few text posts a week

[@maris_molotov]

yo ain't that the one about the kobold paladin

[@nikacomedawn]

@@tekuraze I caught up so I could watch Generic Entertainment's spoiler videos (though mostly because I just love Stormlight).

[@ArcaellusV427]

I wish I just had the physical ability to even catch up with Stormlight. My brain is awful at paying attention to words

[@superpacocaalado7215]

I don't know what is worse, getting spoilers or finishing the book just to go online and realize that nobody is talking about it.

[@SometimesRPG13579]

Well, I usually read books because I got spoiled. So there's that at least.

[@flyguy8814]

At this point I've just stopped caring about spoilers. I've learned avoiding spoilers is worse for me than actually being spoiled

[@catbatrat1760]

SAME!!!!!!!!!

[@LeStrawberryArts]

Fr. I usually get bored of the book if I don’t know something exciting is coming up

[@subaru5332]

You wish to be spoiled because you can’t wait for the good parts. I wish to be spoiled because I lack trust in the author to do justice to their work and fear disappointment over lost potential. We are not the same.

[@SuperSisby]

Reading a recently released book I've been excited for from an author I really like and it's so stressful hoping the book continues to be as enjoyable as it is. The better the story, the more worried I get about its landing.

[@lawrencecalablaster568]

I’ve had Ulysses spoiled for me & it doesn’t even help me to understand it better, if it helps.

[@Atnat57]

I am the guy in my friend group getting everyone into the Cosmere. So whenever they have questions, or want spoilers, I just have them text me and I will give them answers appropriate to where they are in the books.

[@justinhowe3878]

sometimes when i'm reading a book i just can't wait to find out how a scene will end and i find myself glancing at the next page or a few pages later and skimming to see if my guesses are confirmed, and only then can i go back and proceed

[@OmegaTaishu]

I started reading Umineko seriously after being spoiled. No regrets

[@SuperSisby]

Same, though I had extremely different ideas of what the story would be about when going in. Still loved it! Just for completely different reasons.

[@geordiejones5618]

I spoiled Santa for myself at age 5 when I recognized my mom's handwriting and I've been unbothered by spoilers since. They either help me not waste my time or confirm that my time is being well spent. I spoiled a big chunk of ASOIF and Malazan, which helped me choose which one to sink my time into (Malazan ofc).

[@nikacomedawn]

Being spoilerproof was the only thing that made finishing stormlight tolerable. Now I'm reading Mistborn!

[@thatonewhiteguy991]

Very true. Once I finish a piece of media I get excited that I can wade into all the memes and discussion about it without getting spoiled.

[@TheoVorster]

I often look up a general Wikipedia summary of a story (if it's not like specifically a mystery story and/or a super long serial) before starting it proper helps me enjoy said story more, that way I can focus more on how the story is being told than just focusing on the what.

[@noseo_narug]

Years ago I was having trouble visualizing a character, so I did a google image search. Naturally, the top result was fanart of their graphic death scene. I have not tried this again.

[@scientistbird]

I wish for many works there was like a "you're in the process of experiencing the work" character overview. Like a Worm Novel Character List with art that expands with each chapter you've finished for example.

[@WasatchWind]

LOL the clock from don't hug me I'm scared

[@YourLocalPlushAddict]

I always love this guy becoming William Shakespeare in the first part and just staring into my soul

[@smorrow]

When you want the TV Tropes of something you've watched, but it's a series

[@bigboy4137]

Bro is worried abt spoilers for Ulysses 💀

[@dalkbrolne]

I love the goblin face thumbnail

[@mazreadssometimes]

not the "don't hug me, I'm scared" clock lmao

[@hockey1973]

I feel attacked. . . .

[@ic236]

When you want to confirm the ages and instead of telling you their starting age, itll say deceased or 20 in the epilogue

[@TheZetaKai]

*Finish book* "Off to TV Tropes!"

[@roxygaming5968]

This isn't a problem for me because I just spoil myself inadvertently before I consume the media thinking I'll never consume it for myself

[@Yesica1993]

I used to be a crazy person who would read the last paragraph/page of a book, first. Then I did that with Sophie's Choice. It ruined me. Now I hide from spoilers like my life depends on it. I will even read the final page with a bookmark or something, just so my eyes don't scan ahead!

[@MorgottofLeyendell]

I had the lack of foresight to look at Mistborn memes and spoiled the end of Hero of the Ages.

[@yokaiwatcher8500]

Yeah I feel this. I accidentally had a REALLY good plot twist spoiled in a favorite game of mine because of a sticker I saw on Redbubble

[@calmkat9032]

I... think you hit the nail on the head of why I hated Wheel of Time until I came back from my hiatus. Too much "I heard the last book in this series is the best ever!" Not enough "you know, I really am enjoying this horn plotline." Months of that would drive anyone crazy

[@nubby3050]

If a story is good, spoilers will not ruin it, if it is bad, not spoiling will not make it better, if someone wants to look as spoilers they shouldn’t feel guilty about it. However, don’t spoil stuff for people without their consent.

[@nisc2001]

me trying to forget the major spoiler i found on a book series i didn't finish yet own, many maaaany years ago....i still remember that there's some kind of time skip but i think waiting out my memory of the spoiler has paid off and i might actually read the series xD

[@WorldhopperSterbb]

The trick is to look up spoilers before, so that you can freely go through r/cremposting

[@LeStrawberryArts]

What’s even worse is when you just finished a good book and go to see fanart and posts about/of your favorite character only to see thousands of posts that say how that character sucks-

[@ladyethyme]

Good thing is I don't mind being spoiled for a book. 😂

[@hyzmarie]

Yeah… when I first read Wings of Fire, I read the first book and immediately searched for fanart of my favorite character, Starflight… that was a mistake. So was searching Queen Scarlet fanart.

[@maborxshi]

I skip the book reading step and just read everything about the book instead.

[@madotsuki_mk1]

Ah yes, the school literature class strat.

[@georgevelis4651]

"I bet there's so much fanart out there. I bet there's entire communities about people just making memes about this book" and then you finish the book and go online and find out only like 5 people have read this book and nobody has talked about it in years

[@MB20128]

Bro got that DHMIS clock 💀

[@tarvoc746]

I'm someone with the eerie ability to predict plot twists ahead of time. For example, I predicted something like the Red Wedding was going to happen in ASoIaF around the time Jeyne Westerling was introduced, for example, and I was certain what exactly would happen (up to which of the main characters would die, it's eerie and I don't even completely understand how I do it) the moment Robb and Cat started talking about returning to the Twins. Different example: I also predicted Vader in Star Wars being Luke's dad after the first movie, and I was like twelve or so when I watched that. Over the decades, I've come to the conclusion that for me, a genuinely great story can't be ruined by spoilers, because it's not just about what happens, it's also about the themes and characters and how they're being explored and developed. There is one exception, that of the Whodunnit crime genre - which is incidentally where the notion of "spoilers" originates from, and in my opinion where it pretty much exclusively belongs. In pretty much *any* other medium, if you rely on cheap twists over theme and characters, you're a hack writer. There's a reason why M. Night Shyamalan is ridiculed for his movies, or why the Game of Thrones ending is rightly hated by millions. Ask yourself: If someone spoilered the ending of Macbeth to you, or of Pride and Prejudice, or of 1984, would that really diminish the story for you? Of course not. Too much of today's media relies on flashy twists instead of themes and genuine character work. It's how we get shit like "Somehow Palpatine has returned". We've come full circle in a way: Once again, spoilers don't matter. But this time, not because the story's value derives from exploration of theme and character, but because the twists have become so forced and nonsensical that no one gives a shit anymore.

[@clementgoh9270]

Me halfway through oathbringer and going on cremposting: Hmm yes, HVAC very funny

[@pai1327]

This is exactly, like, exactly me right now

[@crawfy48]

When I read an ebook, I turn off the page counter/progress bar to avoid being spoiled how far the ending is

[@c_karis_1]

Yeah I kinda was that... Couldn't finish any books or other media for that matter because I always restarted. I took longer breaks and I didn't want to ruin plot twists for myself because a I though a lot didn't stick to my memory.

[@colinsingleton3810]

I have to confess my ultimate shame that I looked up spoilers for both WoK and WoR while halfway through Way of Kings.

[@lilpenn7516]

Looked up fan art of a character recently because I forget what he looked like and found out he lost an arm. This videos to real.

[@milesmonacothesequel2294]

This has to be a sign that I must remain strong

[@PoppyHapalopus]

Me reading The Goblin Emperor. I eventually relented and getting snippets of spoilers made the book a million times better. The best books are the ones that get better every time you reread them

[@Vanbedda]

While reading WoT for the first time after the end of each book I treated myself by going throueh the reddit "Memeing every chapter of Wheel of Time" archive for the corresponding book. Were some things spoiled? Yes. Do I regret it? Slightly. Was I going through a really stressful and isolating time in my life and I just really needed the feeling of community and laughs? Absolutely.

[@silverstar4505]

Gimmie the art, gimmie the memes

[@thekiss2083]

Time is important, and I am a clock!

[@vincenttavani6380]

Being shown a tantalizing clip from a movie that is definitely bad makes me read its Wikipedia article with a vengeful glee.

[@MrPF]

Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine But eventually everyone runs out of Time

[@LordJazzly]

I never really got the thing with spoilers, unless there's some huge twist that totally changes and recontextualises everything that goes before it, because: If I'm not sure whether or not I want to read a book, part of the process of deciding that is to flip _straight to the end_ and see what it looks like. I even have categories for it! They are, in order of interest level, 'Disorganised and flat', 'Open-ended', 'Clear resolution', 'Clear non-resolution', 'Clearly unhinged', 'I have no idea what that was supposed to be', and 'Ooh stop reading that, this book has major twists in'. It's not even so much about knowing the specific trajectory of a story, as being reassured that it's going to _have_ a trajectory. Not that trajectory is everything; some of my favourite books are meanders, but they are more effort to follow and if you don't _love_ them... (the narration was then resumed by a side character who writes in a different style and follows up on almost none of the previous plot threads) Just spoil yourself a little, it's fine; most story structures are complex enough that it doesn't impact the experience much. (Don't do it with mysteries though.)

[@LordJazzly]

As examples: - Disorganised and flat: 'But then they decided to get married anyway, and the kingdom rejoiced. Everyone was happy.' - Open-ended: 'As for what became of the Princess and the stable-boy - well, that's too much to get into here; our story is ending, but theirs was only just beginning' - Clear resolution: 'And the young Duke, having discovered his lost inheritance, stood before the Princess and asked her for her hand - and they were married in the spring; and they lived a rich and happy life, but never forgot that first meeting by the stables - and all the humble people of the realm prospered for their remembering it' - Clear non-resolution: 'And so, the Princess and the stable-boy were married in the spring - though, not to one another, as such a union would not be possible in their times (or indeed for many years to come). The stable-boy wedded sweet Anne, from the village over the hill; the rest of their tale is lost to history. The Princess - having shown in no uncertain terms that she could not be brought under another's will - assented to marry with the young Duke of Lausenbing-Burgholtz, gentle of disposition, and with personal stakes in a great many key imports for the kingdom.' - Clearly unhinged: 'The Prince-Of-Stables, having shocked the realm at the discovery of his true heritage, decided to shock the realm yet again by laying a proposal of marriage before the Princess; they were wed in the summer, and the fame and infamy of the new King and his glorious and terrible sister-wife Queen only grew and grew, shaking the very foundations of civilised society on the continent with their passion and aggression, in politics and in love.' - I have no idea: 'The delegation from the frog-people having departed a week prior, the old pirate crew took stock with each other. Was it time to return to the kingdom? Or perhaps there was some truth in that old rumour of the lost treasure of the Space Amazons... and who was better positioned to find out, with their blend of psychedelic scrying and hyper-dance-fighting' - Oops, huge twists: 'The armies of the Duke - his estranged father - stood arrayed before the erstwhile stable-boy, across the river, awaiting battle. Beside him stood his comerade-in-arms, his beauty, his love, his outlaw Prince; they'd defied greater odds than this and succeeded, so what was one more battle? Together, they drew swords. They roared for battle. And charged.'

[@snowdrop9810]

imagine not enjoying spoilers

[@higztv1166]

"spoilers" more like improvers

[@MidnightEkaki]

Sane people

[@teenage_socialist_edgelord]

That was me reading stormlight for the first time lol

[@slair_i]

This video spoils Ulysses! Is what I would've said if I was able to understand any of the passages that were just shown

[@ZacDover]

I don't know if there is any way to spoil Oxen of the Sun. I've been reading it for twenty-eight years, and only now do the first two paragraphs really make any sense.

[@BladedEdge]

Sometimes I appreciate the book a lot better on the second read because I can focus on details more, being already familiar with the gist of the story. Neuromancer, for example, was "pretty good" on first read but "mindblowing" on the second. So... spoiling yourself is good? Or: just accept you have no idea what's going on and if you like the book, read it again.

[@looniemoonie5955]

Me when ADHD kicks in again

[@DmanDmythDlegend]

I don’t know if your a manga fan but I just read through all of Bleach and this happened a few times 😅. Like I wanted to know why Ichigo was capable of using Hollow powers and the mystery of his parents history and I just forced myself to not look up the answer till I got it in the story.

[@antonpogorevici]

Look at me I am so smaaart I am reading Ulysses, talk to us when you finish the wake.

[@genericallyentertaining]

@@antonpogorevici I'm not actually reading it; just thought it would be funny to use for the video, lol.

[@MrDowntemp0]

I want that clock

[@lazyken6468]

Not the dhmis clock😂

[@Joshua-w5hJ77]

I need that clock

[@justinhowe3878]

the fact that it's ulysses lmao

[@RelativelyBest]

I recall a study that indicated that having a story spoiled can actually make you enjoy it better. The idea is that anticipation is a mild form of stress that can be distracting, and not being concerned with where the plot may be going lets you relax and focus more on what's going on in the story at the moment. At some point I just decided to not let spoilers bother me and I honestly think this has made me an over-all happier person. Surprises are nice but there's a lot more to storytelling that just that, and I think a lot of people take the whole thing a bit too seriously: At the point where you treat any information about the story as a spoiler - even if it's something innocuous without any real relevance to the plot - it starts to seem a bit unhealthy, verging in neurotic thinking.

[@humanperson0798]

I think it depends on the spoiler. Some can make the story more enjoyable, but some can make it less. For example, there was a series I read that, upon starting the last (currently released) book, I was spoiled about the death of a favorite character. It made the book a lot more stressful, as any time he did anything, I could only see it as foreshadowing to his death. Like I said though, some spoilers can be fun, as they can add a little extra mystery sometimes. Like if you know a character gets a thing, but you've no idea how they get it.

[@AzemZuberov]

Started reading A Game of Thrones almost a year ago, I go' curious and watched a timeline of Robert's Rebellion *and I got spoiled for the identity of the mother of Jon 0_0* So I started binging GoT after that

[@oleksandrbyelyenko435]

And so I crave spoilers

[@ThatPash]

the pain........

[@jaspervanheycop9722]

Hot take: if the story can be ruined by spoilers, it's not all that good to begin with.

[@severe_case_of_multistan]

I read books backwards. Because I am gigachad, and I don't care.

[@joshuaw8873]

Is that stock footage or do you just have the DHMIS clock?

[@feelswriter]

Done know watcha got till it's gone

[@LucasTF]

Tony the clock :D

[@Shadow-jm9ei]

living as someone who doesn't give a fuck about spoilers is so good

[@Superstormpie11]

i like the man carrying thing vibes, epic

[@glonx639]

happy to not relate lmao