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4dself · 2 years ago

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Chronicles of a Fandom Luminary: My Journey as a Renowned Fan Fiction Writer. (and an obsessed fan)

Journey into Fandom: I've been in a few fandoms throughout but I believe this was the first fandom that was probably the deepest I'd ever been. And when I say deep I mean deep. I most definitely won't be dropping any specific names but I'm sure you'll be able to pick up along the way some hints here and there about what I'm talking about.

I was on YouTube in 2016 or 2017 and had come across a few videos on YouTube, then couldn't get enough and was watching reactions of other groups reacting to other groups. I'm sure you get it by now. lol.

My memory from this time is a bit foggy about how I got into this fandom exactly but this is how I discovered them.

There were two within the group and I really loved their dynamic with one another; along with the other thousands of people. I loved how they interacted, talked, and were cool with one another. I was obsessed. I watched YouTube compilation videos that others had made of them and it garnered lots of views, I loved everything about their bond and was genuinely obsessed to an insane amount.

I realized I had too much love for them and an overwhelming affection for the two especially one of them. My entire being literally overflowed with love and obsession and I needed an outlet for all this. This is when I came across Wattpad.

Discovering Fanfiction

I had used Wattpad in the past to read normal/regular stories from authors--never actually using the app as an author myself, but mainly as a reader.

I saw that the fandom I was in had specific tags and names for my OTP. I saw that the tags/names would be paired with drawings, vdeos, etc. I then realized I could use those same names/hashtags to search for content on other platforms. So I searched on wp andd I was surprised but filled with happiness and excitement as I saw that my otp had so many stories written about them. I added these books to my library and read and read and read. I would read until 3AM just engulfing myself into their universe of love.

It wasn't long until I had a favourite dynamic of who was the top and who was the bottom; then only reading and enjoying that specific dynamic. I was mainly obsessed with one of them though and read every single thing related to him. him x the others, it didn't matter because it was him. Though my favourite otp above all the rest was him x the other guy.

I was very, very happy with the authors I followed and supported and all, as so many of them created so much amazing and good content. I had so many stories in my library saved and I had read all of them more than 20 times. (no joke). I had two absolute favourite authors and I was more than obsessed with their works as they only ever posted about the otp and did so beautifully. it was clear they were just as obsessed. One of them did eventually went mia for a while due to some things happening, and she came back a year later with an update to one of the stories and was more than active. the other favourite author went mia until their account eventually got deleted. She was my #1 writer and me and the other 15k+ followers were more than obsessed with everything she released.

It also wasn't long for me to start getting into writing the stories myself. I remember writing my first ever story of my otp and finishing it at 4AM on a school night. I was filled with joy and adrenaline because I was simply so happy to be writing things about them and obsessing over them.

I shared the story with my best friend and she helped me edit it, read it over for me, gave me suggestions etc. before finally publishing it. That story did extraordinarily well on the platform and it wasn't long before I started pumping out more work. Every work I shared and finished did better than the next. I had gained over 1.2k followers in a span of 2 months and it only continued to grow from there. Engagements were high, everyone was active, it was more than amazing.

I realized I loved writing my otp because I was in complete control of the story. I could write about absolutely anything and could feed the hunger within me that was so obsessed with them. I had so many ideas and fantasies that I was able to publish and it seemed there were just as many people waiting for it as those stories did extrodinarily well. I wasn't only obsessed with my otp but again with him and so many of my stories consisted of him x xyz in the group simply because I loved the dynamic he had with the others as well; and also watched content regarding any of his ships.

I had published so many stories until the point I stopped reading on wattpad and became a main author myself on that platform when it came to the otp. I was starving for some new content about my otp, something fresh, something clean and brand new that I had never seen before but it came to a point where wattpad simply did not have what I was looking for. The quality I wanted, I could not find on wattpad. I had eventually slowed down my writing and barely published new works; but updated chapters here and there times.

Twitter and AO3

I craved some new content really bad but didn't know where to look. I went to wattpad to try to fill parts of the cravings but it did not work anymore. I got bored of reading the same thing over and over but couldn't go a day without not indulging.

I'm not sure how I stumbled upon twitter, but this was also the very first time I was introduced to stan twitter. My wp handle and twitter handle were the same. I updated my followers on wp that I now had a twitter account and told them I would be more active there. Quickly I found content regarding my otp and his numerous ships, and the dynamic I enjoyed. I followed accounts that also loved and were obsessed with him and his other ships as well. The community was huge.

I believe this was when I came across AO3. I'm not sure exactly how I found it but I was in love. AO3 was levels above wattpad. It was and still is in a leauge of it's own. The writing quality was absolutely beautiful, the mountains of stories and stories regarding my ships and especially my otp made my mouth water. I was amazed and in awe that such a platform existed and it was only now that I came across it. I believe my friend knew about it long before I did and helped me get use to the platform. I quickly created an AO3 account which had the same handle as my wp and twt.

It did not take long for me at all to start publishing. My first work and gained many kudos and love from so many, so many comments I received were written in paragraphs; it's as if they wrote an entire story in my comments. Quickly, my following on twitter grew exponentially. I loved writing so much and loved that there was a large community for all of this. I soon found other writers on twitter and fanartists and what not, and I read all their content and reposted it all too. It was amazing. I couldn't ask for anything better. Everyday there was something new for me to induldge in regarding my otp and any of his ships. I truly couldn't believe it. Even if it was in another language I would find a translation for it.

It was interesting to learn that there were people more obsessed than I was on an entirely different level.

I published more content and gained lots of exposure--even becoming twitter mutuals with one of my all time favourite writers of my otp. She was very well known for her works about the otp and I was so excited that she loved my stories just as much. I had moved from wp to twitter and AO3. I would receive so many dms of people saying they loved my works and how thankful they were about me and the content and ideas I would produce. People also dm'd me suggestions about what to write and a story line they would love to see and of course I took so many things into consideration and would publish them. My best friend even helped me work on some stories together, we brainstormed and wrote it together, it was very fun. She wasn't in the fandom or anything like that but liked helping me out fomr time to time or whenever I needed it.

Eventually, not only did I publish fics but started posting fanart as well. (I used to be an artist until it no longer interested me) I posted lots of otp art, and it gained lots of traction as well.

I even participated in kinktober (for fanfics) and wrote something every single day and published it. It did well of course. I never wanted to do it again as it was also draining.

Things could only go up from there. I was well known within the community, my works were being shared amongst others and were included in threads regarding reccomendations. Every single day there was new content regarding my otp and any of his ships, the fan art from fanartists was of insane and highest quality, writing from writers was of amazing and highest quality it was just an amazing sight. I was even surprised my favourite fanartist had a twitter as well since I only found her on tumblr, and of course her following was just as grand on both platforms. I would go through all the art she published everyday as it was just too good. She was and is still very popular.

I literally could not go a day without my otp. Every day I was indulging in anything and everything about them and was utterly obsessed. It legitamatly was one of the main things that brought me happiness (lol).

I also realized much later on that I only cared about my otp and his other ships. If it was any other ships that included someone in my main otp in their ship, I wouldn't even engage with it or bother to acknowledge it but it brought me annoyance. Yes, this literally would drop my mood down and make me upset. So, to lighten my mood again I would go back and simply engage with my otp content. I realized that majority of the community did not like that other communties otp as they would harass us as they solely wanted their otp to be the main one. It was out of some sort of jealousy since our otp announced many things together, worked together in duo projects, and always paired together in everything.

Curious cat

Moving forward, I had eventually created a curious cat as I had seen it was something a lot of content creators within stan twitter had. I would recieve hundreads of anonymous messages everyday and would respond to them. 98% of it was very, very posititve and had nice things to say about my writing and etc. the other 2% were low lifes, bottom of the barrel individuals who sent odd things about the otp and my writing because they wanted me to write about their otp. I made it clear that if they were that upset, they should go write it on their own. I would even get dt because some people were that upset.

Majority of the community was on my side when it came to any rude messages from anonymous', and would defend me.

It was fun but eventually I closed down my curious cat due to receiving too many messages on a daily bases and not being able to respond to them at once.

Closing Twitter

Twitter was very toxic in general. Even amongst the main group fandom it was just weird. I loved the community and everything having to do with our otp but twitter was just not the vibe for me. Despite having many devout followers, I didn't like being on the platform anymore; so I closed my account down and remained only on AO3. Of course people were very upset about my account closing as I had lots of content on my account that many would revisit daily, and it wasn't on AO3.

I still regined without a twitter account. I published and eveyrone was content and just glad that I was still active.

Present

I am no longer obsessed. Though, I did publish something this October since I hadn't published something in a very long time and of course it's doing numbers.

I skipped quite a few things in this story since I don't consider them to be too relevent to this story. I have many more stories to tell regarding stan twitter and being a solo at one point but those are stories for another day.

I'm wondering if anyone knows the ship. I don't think I said anything specific at all; the information provided is so broad.

#fanfic #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #fanfiction #stan twitter #storytime #short story #fanart #fandoms #twitter #ao3 #wattpad

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