Behave Yourselves - Tumblr Posts
I keep seeing this happening to people. Tough love and then bright side.
Look, no one owes you anything about a FREE. Stop hurling vitriol at content creators. Sure, you’re sad that your favorite fic or WIP was archived/deleted/never updated again. That’s okay. Feelings are valid, but the thing is that they are not necessarily true. Don’t make other people (especially people who are gifting you their talent, their time, and their craft) responsible for your emotions. Because you are not entitled to their art or labor. They have gifted you with that, and if you don’t like those terms, then maybe consuming fanfic isn’t for you, or stick to only finished fics (which are both valid strategies). Fic authors are not responsible for your emotions, let alone how you act on them. You are.
Besides, that makes it kind of magical still, because you now have the power to have YOUR head canon about a FREE fic that someone was NICE enough to post on the internet. For instance, I have a favorite fic in a mostly dead fandom. The author stopped updating (as was their right!). I’m pretty certain they stopped writing entirely, probably because of entitled behavior such as this. But guess what? Now I have SO many headcanons for that world, and I can change the ending in my brain however I want. Be grateful for the gift of content you were given rather than insulting people. Above all, be kind.
Ooof okay.
I didn't realize AO3 was gonna out me like it did. I'm REALLY sorry for everyone who got an email and even more sorry if it was your favorite fic on that list that's archived.
This is my hobby and I think I'm allowed to set boundaries around what I want consumed or if I want something out when I know I'm not going to finish it. I appreciate everyone's kind words so much AND I just don't want to write those fics anymore, for a variety of reasons. I shouldn't have to. No one pays me to write them, it's not my job.
I understand if people are upset. There are other writers. As some of you have said in the past, better writers, even. You don't have to read anything I write. I still have 70 works up on AO3.