sociallyawkwardfoxwriter

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Normalize leaving unhinged comments on ao3 fics you like. I'm tired of being the only one brave enough to write "I am chewing on this fic" in the comment section. Be weird. Authors will love you for it

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Pink Calcite from chenzhou prefecture Hunan province China

Photo: Future Mineral

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

COMMUNITY || “Remedial Chaos Theory” 3.04

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

I was reading this post over on the Ao3 subreddit this evening and I think it brings up a lot of good points about how fandom, as a community, has been shifting in its treatment towards fanfic writers.

Fanfic is more popular than ever, which means there are more works "competing" for the readers' attention, who take on a passive approach that treats fanworks not as a means to talk to people with similar interests, but as content, as products. [...] Gift cultures thrive not on monetary exchanges, but on the expectation that the gifts freely given will be returned in an unspecified future through emotional and relational means. This used to set fandom apart, but it's slowly being absorbed into the mainstream way capitalism operates. Where does that leave us?

And it's demotivating to see the responses authors get when expressing their grievances with this state of affairs, or how they feel underappreciated. Being called entitled, told to write for themselves, or to promote their work as if writing and posting isn't enough. I write for myself, I post for the community. There are things I want to say about the source material and characters, and I do through storytelling. And I'm grateful about each of the comments I got, no matter how short. It's just that it doesn't feel like there's a community out there when no one talks back. Writers aren't just expected to write, but to do it for the "right reasons", and to also be as pleasant about it as possible, lest they'll be criticized by more people than the amount that's offering them support.

I've seen posts going around on tumblr that have approached this topic as well--that fanworks (particularly fanfic) should be created from the perspective of a perfect vessel that can pour, pour, pour out and never needs to be poured into. You should do it for the "right reasons" and not complain because "no one owes you interaction". But what is fandom if not interaction?

Writing fanfic is one of the most time-consuming labors of love that makes up a fandom. (That's not to say other fanworks aren't labors, time-consuming, or made with love. We're talking about fanfic). Your 300k+ enemies to lovers slowburn porn-with-plot fic that has reshaped the entire way you approach a specific pairing or media has been made with time, effort, for free, with the intention to be shared with you.

And in the state of current fandom, it has been made with the expectation to receive nothing back. Is that fair? Maybe. Silent readers exist and a kudos on Ao3 is at least an acknowledgment that some people read and enjoyed. But does it hurt to leave a comment? Even a heart emoji or an "I loved this, thank you for sharing!" is enough to at least start a dialogue, a conversation, form a connection.

That's not even to mention the isolation of fandom interactions to private Discords; time after time I've heard from fanfic authors who found out that there have been discord servers or twitter groupchats where their fanfic has been discussed, loved, and lauded at length--but never once was the author told this! Ao3 has comments for a reason. Many authors link their tumblr profiles or emails in their bio for people to reach out to them.

It's just a sorry state to see it go.

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

an old lady I was serving today saw my "don't die wondering" pin and said she really liked it, and I was about to be like "oh? old fruit?" but then she started talking about how she dreads dying in the middle of a book, because then she'll never know the end which is, like, an equally valid interpretation of the message tbh. I told her it's a good reason to come back as a ghost and she lit up saying she thinks she'd be really good at haunting. kind of an icon tbh. i hope she dies at the end of her book, or that she comes and haunts the library so she can read to her heart's content.

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

wuuhhhbuuhhwauuyh😭😭

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Night time smithing thoughts 💭

At what point in adventure do you think Thorin figured out his feelings?

I feel like I'm almost there with the style, but some more work needs to be done yet.

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Ludinus Da'leth, the ultimate villain of everything we've seen from Exandria so far, in a meeting with Essek: "you're a bitch, caring about people"

Essek Thelyss, who learned about the power of friendship Yesterday: "and you're a friendless loser"

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Apparently, my decision to be silly and make fanart of someone's writing (because I genuinely enjoy the story the person is writing and I was struck with inspiration upon reading a particular scene) has benevolent and wildly unforeseen consequences.

I apparently gained a bit of control of the canon because said writer really loved the art and decided what I drew/draw is canon.

2. Writer put said artwork into the document of his story right below the scene, so now it's IN the story where people who read the story will see it (with a link to me)

3. He sent the artwork to all his friends and people he knows because he was so excited

Wholesome interaction and I watched him do all that in real time, good stuff. However...there are two more consequences I was notified of today...nearly a full week after I gave the artwork.

Seeing the artwork caused his friends to become interested in reading and hearing about his story, which means more people are reading what he's writing and giving him critique on the story (which he actively asks for).

Apparently, upon seeing the art, his writer friends got a sudden second wind to pick back up writing they'd abandoned for a few months. Because, I quote, "seeing that someone enjoyed {his} writing enough to take the time to make art of it gave them the motivation that maybe THEY can write something that will inspire someone to also create something." I have accidentally caused a writing frenzy among his writer friends and my silly idea to make art for someone has had a butterfly effect for people who I don't even know.

Uhh...I'm pretty sure there's a moral here but I am tired and have a great deal of emotions about this.

[sociallyawkwardfoxwriter]

Fictional villains: my motivation involves a complex backstory around lost love and a deep yearning to be understood

Real life villains: being cruel makes me feel like a big strong man