A writer friend told me something that broke my heart a little bit today; they're going to quit publishing their fanfic.

My instant thought was that they had been trolled or attacked or that something terrible had happened in their life because this person is so passionate about their writing. It wasn't any of that. Engagement with their works has been going down, as it has for many of us. Comments are like gold dust a lot of the time, and just looking through the historical comment counts on old fics on ao3 demonstrates this trend very clearly. It was not simply the comments dropping off which caused them to decide to stop posting, however.

My friend came across a discord server for their fandom (I should point out here that their fandom interest and mine diverged a couple of years ago, we stay in touch but don't currently read each other's posts because I'm not into their fandom and they would rather gouge their eyes out with a wooden spoon than read anything Star Wars) and specifically to share fic in that fandom. They joined, because we all love a good fic rec, only to discover that their latest multichapter fic, which has almost no comments and very few kudos, is being hotly discussed in this server as one of the best stories ever. Not one of these people has bothered to say this to them on the fic. When they asked, none of participants could see the point in telling the author of the fic they apparently loved so much that they love it.

This discovery has absolutely destroyed my friend's love of sharing fic. They share because they love seeing other people's enjoyment, and fic writers do that through comments and kudos/reblogs/likes because we don't get paid. There is no literary critic writing a blog post/article about how amazing the story is for us to copy and keep/frame. There is no money from royalties. All we have are the words of the people reading our works.

Those people on that server could have taken five minutes of the time they spent gushing about how amazing my friend's story was to other people and used it to tell the one person guaranteed to want to hear that praise how much they loved it. They could have taken a moment to express their opinion to the person who spent hours upon hours plotting, writing, editing, and posting those chapters. Instead, they deprived my friend of thing that keeps them sharing their writing, and in the process have killed their love of it. My friend now feels used and unmotivated.

I won't be sharing a link to their fic, they said I could share their experience but not their identity. I know they plan to post one final chapter. I know they intend to express their hurt at being excluded from the praise for the thing they created, and I know they intend to announce that as a consequence they will not be posting for a long while, if at all.

So please, I beg you, don't hide your love of a story from the writer. It's just about the only thing we have.

Here I thought it was just me seeing the decline, oof. I've been all over the place with ship and fandom, so I chalked it up to that.

If I write just for the joy of creating, I think people don't realize that I can also just keep it to myself. I don't need to share, and neither does anyone else. What's the point of a creative community if you won't support the people who make it happen? C'mon, people.

this happens all the time to art and i do wonder about the thinking behind it too.

if you really enjoyed eg a fic and then didn't comment, would you mind sharing your reason/s why?

'i'm shy' and 'i don't think my comment is worthwhile' are reasons i see most often.

what then would make you more likely to comment and share your joy with a creator?

if you're feeling powerless right now—and god knows I am—here's a reminder you can donate to the National Network of Abortion Funds, the Trans Law Center, Gaza Soup Kitchen, the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, and hundreds of other charities that will work to mitigate the damage that has been and will continue to be inflicted

life continues. we still have the capacity to do good, important work. that matters

SLOW WORSHIP

✰ — lee seokmin x readeer
✷ — summary: a study in the worship of lee seokmin.
✰ — wc is approx. 1.3k
✷ — genre: smut, stand-alone, no plot only porn
✰ — warnings: blowjobs, cum swallowing, cumming-on-face, repeated use of the word embarrassing.
✷ — rating: 18+
✰ — note: spur of the moment fic written in an hour lmao! the result of seokmin's new photoshoot!!! everyone can thank @onlymingyus for alerting me to the existence of these photos lol.

you drop to your knees like it's the easiest fucking thing in the world to do.

seokmin gets embarrassed at how you look up at him in awe. then his dick hardens further in his boxers, and he can feel wetness leak from the tip and he gets embarrassed further.

he feels ridiculous.

the robe they've put him into is faux fur, soft to the touch and in a deep brown. his pants are white and unbuttoned, pulled down low enough to expose the grey band of his boxers with red lettering.

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Lilac Wine

pairing: ljh x afab!reader
genre: angst, smut (MINORS DNI!!!!!) | wc: 2.7k
warnings: infidelity, unprotective sex (wrap it before u tap it kids), crying
a/n: loosely based on melt by josef salvat // i’m dedicating this to link @choism (who also made the banner, love u) // huge thanks to maren @wooahaeproductions for beta-ing (your comments always give me life)!

In the dark, Jihoon learns how to break you apart and build you back together, piece by piece.

It begins slowly; a movie night where you drift off to sleep on his shoulder, after having cried yourself hoarse. Jihoon learns that night that he absolutely hates your boyfriend. He also learns that he could love you so much better, if you'd only give him the chance.

Jihoon sits frozen in the dimly lit room, his eyes locked on your sleeping form. He takes in the small details, the curve of your lips and the flutter of your eyelashes as you breathe. He can see the rise and fall of your chest with each breath, the way your hair falls delicately over your face, and the scattered constellations of moles that decorate your skin. He takes in every detail, committing it to memory with an unwavering gaze.

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