When I was (much) younger, I used to want my favourite characters to be real.
Now I’m just like “really glad you guys aren’t real and we’re never gonna meet, cause a lot of you could read minds and I don’t want you to know what I’ve been thinking about you”
OTP can stand for One True Pairing… or for One Trash Pairing
the trashiest ship you’re shipping right now, which you hope no one from real life ever finds out about bc you’d really rather not explain why that is slowly turning into (one of) your actual One True Pairing(s)
Me: I care so much about this character, they’re a cinnamon roll, I adore them … there isn’t nearly enough about them in canon though …
Also Me: Reads lots of fanfic where they SUFFER.
I think one of the problems which
fanfiction authors face is the fact we are one of you. We are a fan. We love
the work. We recognise the faults. We want to be a part of the community and
contribute.
Because of this, however, there’s this
mentality that fanfiction authors, who do everything without getting paid and
often without recognition, owe it to people to write things the way they want
it to be written.
Don’t like something in a novel? Put it
down. Walk away. That’s it. That’s the end. (I mean, unless the novel turned
into a craze and then it’s okay because you’re supposed to hate things that are
popular, right?)
Don’t like something in a fanfiction? Let’s
tell the author. In detail. Let’s be condescending
about it. Let’s insult them at the same time. After all, they owe us for
reading.
Not updating fast enough? Complain. Updating
too fast? Complain. Don’t get the exact right details? Complain. Omg, there’s
sex/death/murder and I wasn’t warned? Doesn’t matter that fanfiction gets far
more warning than most. Complain anyway. Don’t want to wait until the chapter’s
released which explains it all? Complain. Omg, these two characters are
underage, they shouldn’t even be kissing let alone having adult conversations
about sex. Complain. Loudly. Call the author a paedophile.
Pick up any novel off the shelf and there’s nothing in terms of who the author is
and what work they put into the story. You pick it up, you read. There’s no
notes in the middle to explain something that people might not get. There’s no
notes saying “Hey, this might not be historically/culturally accurate.” There’s no warnings. It’s fiction. People get that things may not
be the same in the real world. Yes, a story is expected to be at least believably
accurate but it doesn’t have to be.
People don’t seem to understand personal
preference vs facts and interpretation vs critique.
By all means, critique a work. People like
to know if they’re getting grammar wrong, or overusing words, or breaking
rules. People need to know hear “hey, PTSD isn’t quite what you think, would
you like to discuss it?” or “That gunshot wound isn’t realistic, I can help”. But
please understand, people who write fanfiction do so for the love of the work.
A lot aren’t professional and they shouldn’t be expected to be. Do we want to improve? Yes, absolutely we do. Offering
guidance and gently nudging is so much better than; “You got this wrong. You’re
terrible. I don’t like it. Die in a fire.”
You wouldn’t say that to a published author. Why say to a fanfiction one?
We are far more approachable than the
average published author and a lot more fragile. We don’t have publishers and
editors backing up our work. We’re unproven and our egos are often not strong. Authors
are given the benefit of doubt until the book is finished. Why can’t fanfiction
authors be given the same benefit?
/ THIS.
The entitlement mentality people display towards fanfic is absolutely breathtaking, especially since they’re not even paying for it.
As I keep saying, your only rights to fanfic are to read it, or not read it. THAT’S IT.
Sometimes I remember how I used to think up to 2-3 years ago that I would “outgrow” fandom one day. You know, be interested only in serious, grown-up, real-life things. Lol I was so naive
What really happened: I started this blog, the fandom addiction got stronger, I realized it would never stop and I like it… if only I could stop procrastinating
one of the saddest things is when a show you invested so much of your time into and became emotionally attached to seriously fucks up and you are no longer captivated by it whether it’s because of illogical plots with zero substance, ooc characters, sexist writing or because the show kills off and treats minorities horrendously, and all you have left is this bitterness at how things turned out because something that once made you happy now leaves you emotionally and mentally drained.
Thankfully, sometimes fanfiction helps to soothe the pain. Or the books, in the case of GoT.
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