#like it’s it’s not your thing then yeah just don’t read it. dldr is such a valuable tool

[lipglossanon]

hey <3 i seen your posts about the urge to nuke the blog and feeling like an outsider looking in sometimes and i totally fucking get it. writing leon lately feels draining, especially with a certain collection of blogs that act above everyone else. but you have so many people who love and support all of your works (and they aren't doing it to kiss your ass) your writing is amazing, you're amazing to everyone, and nobody can take that from you!! if you ever get to a point where you don't enjoy it anymore or it ruins your mental health, i'll always back you in choosing to leave permanently, temporarily, or to stay. this is supposed to be fun and it's supposed to bring you joy! you are more than your work, and are always far more important than the work. if you even started writing about something other than leon and leon adjacents, i'd read it. if i didn't know the mother fucker, i'd get to know them. hope you are well and i'd reach out more personally if i wasn't an anxious ball of shit <3 (kicking my feet and twirling my hair waiting for your next post)

Howdy anon! 👋

Yeah, which I’m very very lucky in comparison to other blogs when it comes to writing Leon. I’ve not really been singled out or sent death threats or had anything too, too nasty sent to me. Which I still don’t even know why that kinda shit happens when DLDR exists for a reason 🙄 I just hope I’ve blocked all the blogs who think that way.

I’m sorry if you’ve had to go through with that or deal with whichever blogs think they’re better cause I mean no one is and it’s shitty to think that way and then treat others differently.

Anywho, all that being said, thank you so very very much!! 💜 💜 I do enjoy being here for 98% of the time 😝 I love talking to everyone and posting things and just having fun! At times though it’s not all sunshine and rainbows and I need to get it off my chest lol

Aww you’re always welcome to come off anon but I totally understand the anxiety of ‘being seen’ 🥹 thanks again anon! 💜

[exquisiteagony]

idk how to say this without sounding whiny but communication is literally how fanfic thrives. idc if you don’t know how to respond, literally just give a kudos, and if you’ve already left that on a chapter then give like. a heart emoji or send us a dm or ask or something, if you don’t know what to leave as a full comment.

fic lives off of feedback, so if you read a fic and wonder why its updates can be few and far between or maybe the writer moves fandoms or fics frequently without updating the multi chapter you love, it’s probably cuz there isn’t enough feedback! as an author yes we write from our heart, but we put our work out for other people to enjoy!!! if people don’t give any indication that they’re enjoying it then we won’t share it or feel as inclined to share the story we continue!!! it’s as simple as that!!

[lehhoh7822]

maybe i am just a weirdo and am being a Bad Person but like

I feel like banning proship shit and starting to censor other ao3 shit is a realllllllll fucking slippery slope

like- what happens then? do we get a council that starts filtering fics? are we going to get a site split and send those writers away? is this a stepping stone to things like... censoring gore and censoring just general ships?

how do we define proshipping? i don’t want to engage with the discourse, just because then i would just die of like “every single fic I have ever read must make me a bad person ive read smut before ive definitely touched at least one problematic things before i am such a bad person” but even so, i feel like the line is more blurry than we think it is? i get the genuine idea that “proshippers believe that fiction doesn’t impact reality!!!!” but what does that translate to in a shipping part?

i look at ao3 like an archive, instead of a social media site, it’s a record of transformative works, and part of that record will be problematic ships and that type of content if that is part of the fandom, right? its not a social media site, either

i definitely get that problematic fanworks can be used for awful things and have definitely caused hurt, and i get that dldr cant apply all of the time because at all times there is going to be someone who does not tag, there is someone who uses character tags, youre new to the fandom and you don’t know to filter out things, i 100% get it

but i feel like proshipping- like as a concept, harassment does not work, or it does but in like an awful way. i would hate to think that due to one of my moral principles about something on the internet caused someone to want to harm themself, because otherwise, I really doubt that a lot of people who have already got the subcommunity that creates this content are going to be really convinced by comments telling them how morally wrong their interests are is going to change due to this

why would we change this? like... would the impact be that we just alienate this part of fandom? because in that case, if proshipping and problematic content is the worst thing in fandom, isn’t that actually worse? doesn’t that just isolate large swaths of people who might have been, in theory exploited or groomed by these communities? because i can almost 100% guarantee that this would just lead to another website or something else, getting around tags and still posting it there, etc, etc, etc. this content will not stop with suppression, I just think that it would get more isolated. if you leave a community on itself and dont engage with it other than with scorn or mocking (which is what we already do, and look what that does) it will just- there’s no sounding board, and this idea of like... they just hate us, no matter what we do, the other part of this group will just hate us- which is obviously not a good thing

alongside this, doesn’t it make the moral part worse? if you start fandom like this, and then you gotta make that transfer to general fandom, isn’t a large stigma going to develop about being a bad person, making the transition out of these communities harder? is being a proshipper an isolated identity, where if you create or consume problematic content or believe in proshipper ideologies (god that sounds fucked up), you no longer have the same engagement with regular fandom?? 

so, yeahhh. while the board changes, i think that that would be fucked up and bad, i think that would be a bad change because it would just make the problems that exist in theory worse! you have the isolated content problem and the “how?? where is the line of proshipper content” problem (ive met different people who draw the line differently so) yeah

uh not a good idea

if my language feels too neutral here, it’s because I don’t know enough about either communities to be like: oh okay this is exactly how i feel, these are the exceptions, etc, and I know enough about problematic discourse for some fandoms and thats what ive based this post on

if you want to critique and shit go for it but like there isnt really proshipper stuff i care too much about, and i dont want to do genuine discourse, this just was like opinion vomit so yeah

if thats block worthy for you (not really caring about proshippers) go for it

[nikkigrand]

i saw that you've been reblogging posts and stuff, but you dont update, which is totally fine! no pressure!! but i've noticed that you're such a loner in fandom and barely talk to anyone, and disappear alot??? can i ask why?? we all love your work and would love to be more involved with you

I wanna start by saying thank you for reading and supporting my work. It gives me the fuzzies to know that people like the things I put out. 

Now, on to your question! I guess this will be a long one lol. 

I’ve been a part of the Naruto fandom for about 15 years now - as a silent lurker and as a contributor. That’s a large part of my life. 

When I first started, fandom was this thing where you could unleash your creativity upon the world and people’s comments were either constructive criticisms (such as spelling, grammar, plot, character development, etc.) or praise for your work. 

There were flames, of course, but i can’t remember if these flames were personally incendiary or along the spectrum of, “your character is a Mary Sue, and this is terrible and I hate it.”

There were dark!fics, squik!fics, fetish!fics, all types of fics that were creative in a way that would challenge the author and the reader. And we all knew that just because they liked writing about it, it didn’t mean that they did these things in real life. 

In fact, fanfiction.net hadn’t even been around for a decade when I first logged on. I only created an account 5 years after finding it. I remember when character slots were being updated each time a new Shippuden chapter was released.  

Don’t get me wrong, these were also the days of active character bashing. I guess things in that respect haven’t changed, but back then, if you didn’t like a character or a pairing, you just didn’t read or actively search for it. This is where the term “Don’t like, don’t read” or “DLDR” came from. 

Now, you’ll have people who disagree with what you contribute to the point where they’ll actually dox you. That was simply unheard of back in the early 2000s and 2010′s. For some, fandom is a secret part of their lives - a guilty pleasure, something they don’t want others to know about. That’s why usernames exist. 

A lot of us write erotica, and some of us don’t want people knowing that - i sure don’t. 

And now, because users are becoming more guarded, they feel protective over their work, who they share it with, and who they allow into their circles. Which is fine for them, I guess, that’s their prerogative. But, I miss the days where fandom was all inclusive. 

For example, I tried joining a server for a pairing I really enjoyed and was excited because I could talk about this thing that brought me joy with other people who would also be excited to share what they thought. Except, I was told I could not join because my content “made them uncomfortable” and I need more recommendations from other users.

Being told I could essentially “not sit with them,” was a Mean Girl way of saying I did not fit into their mold and their ideals of what fandom should be. Their 2020 definition of a fandom “safe space” is not the same as it was back then.

And that absolutely blew my mind. That I would be excluded from an environment that used to be so inclusive that I could theoretically write a story about a tailed beast orgy and no one would have batted an eye. 

I mean, what is this? An exclusive club I need recommendation letters to join? The hell? Is this college? A corporate job? The Illuminati???

Since when was that even a THING in fandom??

So now, I keep to myself. 

I disappear often because this is just a hobby. If I want to write, I will write. If I don’t, I don’t. Once I feel like this is a job, it is no longer enjoyable for me. I am under no obligation to post anything I write, I only do so because I want to share. 

I have never been a writer who updates based on reviews or kudos. I have stories with over 30k words that have 8 reviews, and I don’t care. I have stories with 10k words with 100 reviews, and I still don’t care. Why? Because I write for ME. Because it makes ME feel better. And if you enjoy what makes me feel better, then that is simply a bonus for me. (this doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate reviews, they’re just not necessary for me.)

Bashing does not affect me, I couldn’t care less what losers who have nothing better to do have to say. Like, how weird do you have to be to attack someone over fictional characters? I mean, there’s weird and then there’s fucking weird. 

So, yeah, I keep to myself because the Naruto fandom has become toxic and I like keeping my blog a drama free zone. This has always been my own version of a safe space. This blog is still in the 2000s days of fandom. Back when it was FUN. I talk about what I want, post what I want, and do what I want.

Some people may see me as cut throat and a hard ass, but I don’t believe in bowing down to people I don’t know over the internet lol. I have thick enough skin to ignore weirdos.

Don’t get me wrong, any of my readers can message me and talk to me and ask me anything without fear. I believe in respect, kindness, and courtesy. I have NOT ONCE ever treated one of my followers like they were beneath me, or like they should be grateful for what I’ve shared with them. 

Because for me, that is not what fandom is about. 

[sirenalpha]

the thing people are not acknowledging when they try to criticize purity culture in fandom is that they’re completely ignoring the genuinely crap shit in fandom that actually is extremely unethical and does real harm

like this isn’t about wanting to get rid of cringe in fandom, this isn’t about wanting every fic to be morally black and white and flatten complexity

this is talking about fic that actually promote and legitimize or normalize bad things, I like pointing out the number of porn with no plot fics of incestuous ships because that one’s really easy to see as bad especially with actual victims of incest calling it out, this is the easiest possible version of bad or unethical fanworks for a person to spot

I genuinely think that being a good person means not participating in harmful trends and discussing them when you see them and it’s certainly not censorship or policing to do so (you need to look up what censorship and policing is if you don’t agree)

there is also an overzealous purity culture not just in fandom you see it in other online spaces spilling out into the real world (I haven’t seen it in fandom personally because I do curate who I follow but like saying people are racist and not poc based on which ships they ship is bananas) and yeah I think it can also be criticized

but that doesn’t exclude the possibility of actually bad things happening or being written about in fandom, like if you’re writing fic that can be used by a pedophile or abuser as grooming material that’s genuinely bad, like if you would criticize a brony for it you shouldn’t do it either

how do you tell what’s overzealous purity culture and what’s actually bad? you’re a person with a brain you should use it and figure it out for yourself that’s literally your job as a well behaving adult in public spaces which is what the internet is if you can’t work it out maybe don’t go on the internet or in other public spaces until you can

I don’t think saying authors should have no responsibility or accountability for what they write is a good counterargument for overzealous purity culture, all stories have themes that tell the reader a message and if authors use that ability to say something terrible like incest is ok you actually should have a problem with that work and that author

like I’m not even saying you can’t write incest which would be closer to censorship, but when someone writes incest in a way that promotes it or creates grooming material that can and should be criticized and not just be left to cause harm as dldr because who do you think likes to read that? do you want the people who like that in your fandom? I don’t

[ohmightydevviepuu]

Fic reader asks: 19, 20, 24, and 30.

Have you ever stopped reading a fic? Why or why not?

yes.  absolutely.  i am totally here for a quiet, polite, don’t-like-don’t-read attitude.  i’ll stop if a fic doesn’t fit my mood or if it doesn’t fit with what i thought it was about or if the author and i just aren’t on the same vibe stylistically.  i think we all do!  but that is why the back button exists.  it’s on me, not the writer.  also.  there’s just some stuff where you’re like–this is Not For Me.  

i am not here remotely for shitty commenting, though.  

Have you ever read a fic more than once? What is it about that fic that made you read it again?

i am a COMPULSIVE re-reader of things.  i am still in that five-year-old mindset where yeah, ok, let’s watch wreck it ralph 10 times today, why not?  i’ll read for the Feelings, for the way the fic made me feel.  i’ll read again for the sense of escape or to recreate a time or a place where reading that specific fic made me feel peaceful and relaxed.  i’ll read over and over and over again for a fucking good story with a complicated plot or a great twist/angle.

What do you wish more fic authors would stop doing?

wow you and @katie-dub really coming at me with knives.

listen.  again, with the whole DLDR caveat, and the kink tomato caveat, i wish that more of us would have respect for our fellow writers that a story can end when it is time to end.  like, as a writer, i want to respect my characters enough to end the story when it’s time to end, even if my reader brain is like BUT I WANT MOAR.  and as a reader, i think more of us should look at our favorite writers and trust them, let them judge that a story is over and that they told us the bits they’re ready to tell.  

my favorite screenwriter john rogers always says–it’s not about what the audience wants.  it’s about what the audience needs.  and a good writer focuses on the latter, not the former.  even when we, your readers, just look at your fic and scream BUT MOAR.

Tell me something else about your fic reading! Anything you want!

 i love it, give it to me, put it into my grabby grabby hands

but ALSO, like, my needs are very simple but my list of dislikes is long and comprehensive and inexplicable and occasionally indefensible.