#SUCK IT AMERICA!!!!!

[godisarepublican]

[mathildegremaud]

[dosthoeyevsky]

in light of recent news, one of my favourite tiktokers is here to slap some sense into every american with progressive leanings and a pulse.

[yellowocaballero]

There's a genre of post that I see pretty frequently, which can overall be summed up as, "Modern fandom has a culture problem where fanfic authors are treated as content producers instead of community members and their fanfic is treated as a commodity to be consumed instead of a high-effort labor of love that deserves attention and compliments given directly to the author". I agree with 3/4ths of that. I find the part I disagree with very interesting, the same way I find a lot of writeblr interesting, because it's a perspective that I had to work very hard to actually understand.

Because the posts have such a warped view of what writing is and why we post our writing! They say that fanfic fights against the commodified internet we live in, but all they're doing is changing the currency of payment in this attention economy. Another way you can summarize about 70% of these posts is, "My payment for writing and posting my fanfiction is compliments, and if you do not give me those compliments you are not paying. If you give those compliments behind my back, or talk about them privately without giving them to me as well, then you are stealing from me." I don't want to put it like that, but a lot of these posts use words like 'deprive', as if the reader who enjoys the fic without commenting is withholding something from them that they deserve. They use the word engagement, and they do talk about how part of that engagement is just the joy of talking about AUs and ships with other people, but when people say that comments are their motivation to keep writing, what they mean is that validation is their motivation to keep writing. Which is compliments.

I understand that, because I understand that fanfic writers are not immune to the attention economy. But I don't understand how almost every one of these posts talk about how this lack of attention makes them stop writing - that this act of theft is killing their desire to write. I could understand this if they meant 'desire to POST fic' (I don't post fic I think zero people would read.), but they talk about how lack of payment stops them from writing at all.

IMHO, that is what creates a commodity from fic. People want to treat fic as art, but an artist makes art for themself. Art is made because we want to hold parts of skills and ourselves in our hands. If you won't make art if you get no payment, then you have devalued the art completely.

We think of AO3 as this unique site that's born entirely from passion and is filled with fics written for love of the game. But guilt-tripping posts that shame people for not commenting on a fic they enjoy, and that describe how there's no point in writing fic if it's not getting attention, are directly contributing towards the culture of treating fic like a commodity.

I also really want a fandom culture where the relationship between artist and reader is reciprocal, where it feels like a community, and where I get to talk about my fanfic with people. My favorite part of posting fanfic is rambling about it on my blog, because I can talk about my art all day and I love it when people stop and listen. But I love that because I love my own art. If you love your own art, then it'll always have value.

Also Google your username, just trust me, that's how you find The Secret Discussions. Someone made a TikTok fansong of me once. WHAT?

[demigoddessqueens]

Rest in the most ever loving peace James Earl Jones, you’ve more than earned it and will be missed by all generations 😭💞💕😢💔

[time4hemp]

This is one of the funniest videos I've yet to see - had to share it with you! Please share it if you agree.

[forgotn1]

Every single one of you "I'm going to protest by not voting" cunts is responsible for this. Remember that you are complicit in what happens next.

[godisarepublican]

[teaboot]

if anyone is interested in the current situation on Canadian Healthcare, it is 6:45 in the morning and I am in line for the 8:00 opening of the only walk-in clinic in the city, which takes no appointments, has only one doctor, is full by 8:30, and closes at 1pm.

There are two people ahead of me, and they brought folding chairs from home.

[cowboy-robooty]

this is what i imagine if germany and america were friends like all the fanfictions say (for context they faked their deaths and everyone thinks they died)

[acowardinmordor]

Everyone knows that Wayne knows about and supports his nephew in his various flavors of queer across all fics and headcanons. But I especially enjoy it when Wayne knows and supports him, while Eddie is completely oblivious to the fact that he's not straight.

[avengerscompound]

Chris Evans as Steve Rogers AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

[what-is-my-aesthetic]

How I feel after I respond to people annoyed with my british accent jokes with “don’t get your knickers in a twist bruv”

[kalashnikovlobotomy]

a hotel murder mystery with the most woefully unprepared people leading the investigations

[time4hemp]

Journalist from around the world are disgusted with the propaganda that American NEWS MEDIA outlets like CNN and MSNBC are spewing. Please share this if you agree.