#i've been going through writers block anyway so it rlly sucks

[renniis]

hey guys i forgot to say i think i'll be taking a small break from writing since i have alot going on at the moment because im moving back to england soon <33

ill be right back :)

[phaltu]

zan, i wanted to ask you something - and i hope you don't mind the lengthy ask, but i'm gonna split this into two (or three). i wanted to ask you this because you are one of my favorite writers in danmei, and i wanted to get your two cents on this. so. if there's one thing that i've noticed in danmei fandom, it's that there seems to be two groups of ppl - i'll call them A & B. A are those who don't necessarily create, who are more there to rlly digest and meta the texts. if they do create 1/

- then they're most likely to be canon compliant, e.g. following mxtx's rules of no switching, no separating. B is what i would call the transformative one, who aren't rlly canon compliant and who break those "rules", so they switch up dynamics or separate the main cp. personally i'm not inclined to switch or separate, but even so, if it's not done because bottoming is seen as "weak", which is another thing altogether, then i think it's all good? and my ask is - 2/

- i've seen ppl in group A diss ppl in group B, calling them stupid for shipping character a of main cp with side character b (regardless of whether or not they want that ship to be canon, which is not usually the case), and even outright saying that ao3 sucks (which is okay, warranted, giving that ao3 lacks in the blocking/reporting feature), but generally i'm just a little.. surprised because i come from fandoms where practices in group B were the norm, ppl would go ham with canon 3/

- and altho both groups are not mutually exclusive, you can have someone who is very canon compliant in their own fics but reads more transformative works, i just. i guess i'm confused (and paranoid) because i don't know what should be, or is the right "approach" re: fandom. on the one hand, i like canon compliant, and do write canon compliant, but on the other, i would also like the wiggle room to create freely. i don't want to be cancelled by group A for having OOC characterization 4/

or get called out for "writing OCs with the characters' faces just pasted onto them". and i know, i get the irony, why am i, a fully grown-adult (ha!) so concerned abt what other ppl on the internet think abt me and my whims? a few years back i was worried i wasn't wild enough with my fics, because i was very canon-compliant, and a few years later i'm worried i'm not canon enough. just - may i ask what is your approach to fandom, in general and in danmei? i know i said only 2-3 asks but ;_; end/

----------------------------

Honestly I think it's all about who you follow! I follow a wide variety of folks and funnily enough, people I mutual'd from one danmei are rigid with canon and people I mutualed from others are WAY more open to being like group B. Both have their pros and cons-- the former, I have to end up seeing ships and concepts and pairings I loathe untagged, and with the latter, I can't run blockchain on their insane friends that rant like they and the author because then I'll accidentally block people I actually like talking with.

anyways my approach in fandom has really...always been to just do my own thing. compared to how I was when I participated in Voltron, I don't really get involved in discussions about characterizations and meta and critical analysis or what not. First, because I like to put that energy towards writing personally, and while others get joy out of it, I don't particularly personally, and second, I pretty much have only 2, 3 friends I talk about the danmei I consume with when it comes to actual headcanons because we're on the same page when it comes to how we interpret texts, so it's fun.

I love making things for fandom and I like consuming things and I love fandom community that way. I love the what-ifs and the horny ideas and what not. But critical analysis and head canons and meta in general is just not my shtick. anything i have to say about the character, i say it through fic which brings me to my last part in this rambling answer which is that as long as the fic feels right to me, it's going to go up.

I've written some OOC stuff myself but as long as you have the confidence in what you're writing, people are going to be really forgiving. Sometimes when I doubt myself, I think about all the people tweeting wildly incorrect meta with their whole chest talking about how you need reading comprehension if you don't see it their way, and channel the same inner confidence, as misguided as theirs may be.

if someone was to rip me for my characterizations I'd feel hurt for sure but I don't pre-emptively think about it when I'm posting something. If I do, it's kind of a "well if it sucks it sucks I guess" which is part in due to me just getting slapped so much irl that fandom is low on the list of things to spend time having a crisis about

also if you're following anyone that says ao3 sucks just unfollow them. mute them. get rid of them. if they're mutuals mute them. so many mutuals have to cycle through the mute bin for my own sanity and in some cases, our friendship

ANYWAYSSSSSSSSSSSSS long rant over just post that fic!! do it!!!