#u don't leave a comment just to tell an author whose personal stories (stories they chose to *archive* which u may read

[theoestofocs]

reading a truly excellent fic from a small fandom, that hasn't been updated in ages despite the author promising an epilogue: ah fair enough, hope everything's okay, I'll hit "subscribe" just in case bc i loved what they wrote so i'll comment that i liked it

scrolling absently up through the other 5+ comments and abruptly stumbling on a breathtakingly bad faith criticism of -problematic- elements that weren't even present in the fic:

[rollercoasterwords]

hey guys btw there is actually never a good reason to loudly and publicly talk about how much u dislike a fanfic!! Like. let's break this down for a sec:

i don't like it

ok, understandable. i've dnf'd lots of fics because i didn't like them. but the people writing fanfiction are doing it for free and for fun, and you don't know anything about their lives. they could be a young writer just starting out! they could be an older writer getting back into writing after years of being unable to! they could be someone going through a rough patch whose only source of joy right now is writing their silly little stories! talking about how much you dislike a fanfic literally does nothing except hurt the person writing it. that's it. it is not productive, it is not necessary. even strangers on the internet deserve basic human empathy.

ok but i really don't like it

babe, i feel u! i'm a hater too. rant about it privately. shit on it in private messages or group chats with friends. u can dislike something without dragging its creator into the town square to throw tomatoes at them, yknow?

ok but i really don't like it AND it's popular

ok? shouting about that on the internet doesn't make you cool or special or unique. it just makes you kind of mean and, honestly, bitter. like i said before, this is fanfiction. nobody is paying for it. nobody is profiting. there is no standard that these writers are obligated to meet. clearly, other people like the work. why not let them enjoy it in peace?

no u don't understand it doesn't deserve to be popular there are better fics that deserve it more!!!

talk about those fics then!! post about how much u love them!! uplift those writers!! ur tweet or tiktok or tumblr post is not going to suddenly make a popular fic lose all popularity, no matter how undeserving u perceive it to be. if this is actually coming from a place of frustration because you feel like there are other fics that deserve more attention, then just give those fics attention.

no but it's problematic

mmm ok. let's sit with this one for a second. i want you to ask yourself--is it really, really problematic? is it perpetuating harm against a marginalized group? remember, this is fanfic; it is outside the consumer economy, and the stories it tells will almost never make it to a mainstream audience. so is the story actually hurting people, or is the author just exploring something that you're uncomfortable with? because if you're just uncomfortable, then assuming the work is tagged properly, the best course of action is to just click away. as uncomfortable as it may be, people are allowed to write stories that you might find upsetting or gross or weird, and those stories existing is not inherently harmful in and of itself.

it is actively reinforcing harmful stereotypes/rhetoric/etc

okay! ok. if you are deeply concerned because you feel that this fic is genuinely harmful, then go to the writer. leave a comment. send them a message on tumblr or twitter or tiktok or wherever. explain your situation and see what they say! nine times out of ten, i'd bet that an ao3 writer means no harm and would be willing to listen and address your concerns. in fact, they might even be grateful to you for being kind enough to make them aware of a problem and educate them on it. every ao3 writer i've ever spoken to is an incredibly kind and thoughtful person; you don't need to immediately go on the attack

the writer is unreachable/nonresponsive/not willing to address or change the problematic thing

alright. if you truly feel that this fanfiction is actively harmful and can't reach any kind of conclusion with the writer, and you want to warn others who might read the fic, then do that. do that. make a post that says hey guys btw, x thing in this fic is not a good representation/perpetuates a harmful stereotype/whatever the problem is. and leave it at that! you don't need to go further and insult the writing or the person who wrote it. that is helpful to exactly no one, and if your goal is actually to make the world a better place, then you should learn how to draw attention to an issue in a way that encourages actual dialogue instead of dog-piling and personal attacks.

anyway the next time you feel the desire to post about how bad you think a fic is, feel free to use this as a guide before u do! xoxo

[pink-flame]

hey bestie! just finished another read of wfw and then saw that theres a new fic posted that's a fanfic of it! i know this isnt the first time youve let people write fics about ur fic before but i was wondering how that works? like do u come up with the idea together with the other writer or do they ask u with an idea already in mind?how do u decide what/who u say yes to?

Yes! So the fic you're talking about is Like Strawberries and Sunshine by @xxprettylittletimebombxx which is amazing and everyone should go read it and leave her some love.

In the case of this fic in particular, it was actually written at my request. I mentioned to my friend awhile ago that (as she knows) I'm obsessed with her writing and would love to see WFW Juke through her style. She was nice enough to take me up on that and to send it me when I was having a bit of a rough time so she has my eternal gratitude. She wasn't even 100% planning on posting it but I asked her to so that everyone else could enjoy the magic with me.

You're right though, this isn't the first time I've let (or even encouraged) certain people to write fic of my fic. It helps that most of them have been people I was friendly with and whose writing I already really admired but just in general I'm someone who tends to be more open to the possibility. One of my favorite things about fanfic has always been how it allows us all to take inspiration from someone else's creation and feel empowered to create our own thing. So there is a big part of me that feels flattered and excited when someone expresses that my fic did the same thing for them.

At the end of the day what it comes down is ALWAYS ASKING PERMISSION.

I know that can sound weird since it's not like we ask Netflix permission to write about the JATP characters, but I'm not a corporation. I'm one person doing this for free whenever I can find a spare moment and pouring my heart into it. So please ask first!

When someone does ask, they tell me what their idea is and if it's something I'm ok with I will usually say go for it. I reserve the right to say no if it's something I just don't think I want associated with my versions of the characters or feels too much like just rewriting what I've already done.

Usually though my answer has been yes as long as they make it clear that it is inspired by/based on my fic, link back to the original fic and tag me on tumblr, and use the "inspired by" feature on AO3.

Every author is different and I know there are a lot of people who aren't into other people writing fic of their fic and that's totally valid. I usually really enjoy it and that's valid too. So the moral of the story is always ask nicely, respect the answer you get, and always leave nice comments for @xxprettylittletimebombxx and her masterpieces. 😂

Oh, and this seems like something I shouldn't have to say but...if you haven't left a comment on the original fic probably do that before you ask to write fic for it.

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. 🥰