(Possibly) Unpopular Opinion: ' [insert ship name here] pls!' Comments

A reader commented on one of my (really) old stories on AFF and because it has been so long since I received such a heartfelt and lengthy comment, I was so touched. It’s not that I don’t receive comments that deal with the content I wrote—I do, I receive them on AO3, and maybe a few rare ones on AFF. It’s a bit saddening when I realized that some readers don’t really care about what I write—they just want their ships.

It’s like how I recently posted a Twice oneshot with the characters Mina, Nayeon, and Jihyo. It’s basically about how Minahyo are dating but Jihyo is cheating on Mina with Nayeon. Nayeon then realizes that she shouldn’t be in an affair with Jihyo after meeting Mina and then she cuts the relationship and by doing so, helps Mina move on. I tagged it Minayeon because I thought Minayeon was central to the story even though they didn’t end up together in the end. It just wasn’t realistic for them to be together. But all I got was comments saying ‘this isn’t minayeon’. (I was kind enough to include the characters Minayeon in there lol.)

I was disappointed because this is the content that I wanted to produce but readers don’t care for the plot or the characters I weaved. All they want is to picture ships in their head and for me to write that their ships got together in the end. (I’m not saying all readers. There are some lovely readers out there whom I love c:) This is why things like pwp are popular lol.

It sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m not. Okay, maybe I lowkey am lol. It’s just disappointing how I put in thought into coming up with the plot and characters, put in effort into actually writing it out and making the story come alive.

Like guys, this is free labour. I am literally producing content for free and my only compensation is comments that don’t even comment on my story :’) Yeah, people are going to say ‘well we ain’t forcing you to write, you could just stop posting stories’. Well, you could also start commenting nice things but we can’t all have what we want right?

Baseline, I’m advocating for comments that are legitimate, not for more comments. Why do I even post my stories? 1.) I just want to share them. People have said they like my stories so why not? I;ve written it, I might as well let people read it. There is no supply without demand. 2.) I want feedback for my writing. I want to improve as a writer. If people say they like a,  b, and c, then I’ll know that hey, I should use more of a, b, and c next time.

I also acknowledge that readers are not obligated to comment. Even as a reader, I don’t comment on every fic I read. That is why I wrote above: I’m advocating for comments that are legitimate, not for more comments. If I have such comments that have nothing to do with the story, I’d rather people not comment. So basically, if you’re going to be like ‘insertshipnamehere pls’, please just don’t comment at all. At least, this is what I personally feel.

I think I might have brought this upon myself by trying to include characters that people want me to write about. I think I’ll just stick to my own ships (my beloved Chungha x Sunmi ship) and just write whatever I want. Thank the lord for AO3 because so far, the people I’ve come across there are great commenters.

Now that I’ve ranted my fill, I do realize that people probably have their own reasons for typing such comments. There is probably another perspective to this debate which I’ve yet to touch on in this blog but I’m coming from the perspective of a (frustrated) writer who has received such comments so do bear that in mind. Feel free to enlighten me if you have other opinions :)

Can I also add that I don’t understand why there are so many genderbender fics out there???? Like are you guys that homophobic that you can’t read/write a femslash fic???? Why is heterouality even a given???? Is it even necessary for the plot/characters????? Please enlighten me, those who read/write genderbender fics!

Other than that, feel free to comment down below and have a great day/night! :)

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nikatsu #1
This is why I don't tag anything that isn't pertinent to the story. That way no one can complain about whatever is in it. True, there will be less views but personally, if it means less complaints and stupid comments, I'm all for it.
bohubear #2
I do agree with receiving comments such as these is a bummer and that they are better left unwritten, but at the same time, I feel like people do have the right to cherry pick the content they desire to read. I too immediately exist a story once I realise it has nothing to do with a particular ship I wanted to read about, even more so when a pairing I dislike is present. It's as simple as that, really: I could enjoy reading something about a ship I care about or continue on torturing myself through this one; this doesn't mean that I will leave a comment regarding it or anything, but I do understand the reasoning behind those comments. I, too, get frustrated when I read a story tagged as something and realise that it's nowhere near what was advertised.

I think you would've been better off had you tagged it a bit more explicitly. I do this to not only remind myself what this story entails, but to also avoid having confused readers. For example, I either write in the description or in the tags when allowed platonic!ship or onesided!ship so people know exactly what they are in for.

I know some fantastic stories that are written about a ship I absolutely dislike and while I respect the work of that writer, I don't go anywhere near them. You'd have to pay good money to spend my time reading that, so I can understand perfectly what those readers were feeling.

But yeah, legitimate comments should come before anything else. I feel like the issue has gotten worse on AFF with all the 'treats' that come with leaving a comment.
TheChoding #3
i feel u~~
rainbowfluff #4
it saddens me that people are like that
they don't appreciates you for your work. if they gonna be like that they just don't read it anymore. you should just do what your have plan n if they don't like it then so be it. you're doing it out of your own goodness of your heart not for their sakes. they can go elsewhere with that mess. hwaiting author nim, don't let them get to you n your amazing work (^_-)
DancingMoguri1195 #5
This post is one of the most accurate things I've read. I love writing, and even without the comments I would keep writing as it is something that I couldn't give up if i tried. I don't think people realise how much a simple comment about the plot lines we put so much thought into, or the character developments or even just the writing in general motivates us. Every time I see a notification for a comment, i get legitimately excited to read it but i can't help but be disappointed when i go in and see 'update plz'. The same goes for when people comment asking for something like different ships, that would effectively change the whole story line. I don't think it is hard just to leave an honest comment about the story itself even if it is criticism of some form, and truthfully i find myself more likely to post updates if i see someone actually enjoying the story for what it is a commenting as such.

Thanks for this post! It is nice to see that other people feel the same.
MissMinew #6
Uh! Uh! I write genderbender fics so I shall comment on that.
Because - behold - I write femslash genderbend! (As in - I turn a gay couple into a lesbian couple).
Okay, so ... first off; I write SHINee and EXO who are obviously male, so when I write genderbend it's either to get a lesbian couple or a straight couple (or - in rare cases; to have trans-characters or genderfluid characters where using their genderbended version is so much easier than creating an OC for the fem!version, it's weird.)

I understand, although I'm not really a part of the girl-group-genderbend-community, that most of the time genderbending is used to create het!couples because God forbid they were lesbians. Which is super homophobic and disgustingly heteronormative, and I'm not fond of that use of genderbending either. I see no reason for it when it is used only for that.
But I have also written straight couples, not to be homophobic, but because I actually liked the dynamic of a straight couple in that fic. And I think that's key point.
If the writer whose fic is genderbended only writes straight fics, then - yes, it's a problem. However, if you look through and find multiple fics with all kinds of pairings, I think it's safe to assume that the author just thought a straight pairing was better for that fic - and no harm done in that, really. (Sometimes, especially when writing pregnancies, straight couples can be really awesome to deal with. Also - straight leaves a looooooot to offer currently, there are not a lot of good straight writers out there, ho boy).

And to be fair, sometimes having a cast that isn't all gay is really really refreshing as a writer. (Or all straight, of course, it goes both ways). And you know, having a character have a best friend of the opposite gender is great and if you're not into other bands, then genderbending is easy.
Is it even necessary for the plot/characters? Hell yeah, sometimes it is. And sometimes it's really really worth it.

That said; one day I would love to see a lesbian ship turned into a gay ship. (I mean, if we can turn our male idols into lesbians, why can't we do it the other way?)
Sorry it turned into a rant of my own. >.<

(What I don't understand is , like what's the point? Please do enlighten me on that.)
IncognitoShark #7
*slowly clap it out*
Correct. People don't seem to realise comments like that will make you want to do quite the opposite of what they're asking o.o One of my first stories on here, I haven't updated in 84 years simply because all the comments are "Update pls"... Like, is it really so hard, if you are going to post a comment anyway, to include sth actual meaningful? Blergh.

I guess all writers feel the smae about this issue (and related issues), sadly I don't think there'll be any change soon. aff is obviously trying to make a difference (With the comment streak, the upvotes you can give comments, ...) but it's just not helping. It's pretty sad.

Either way, all I can say is: write what you want for YOU. I know it rings hollow because duh, we all like some positive feedback, but at the end of the day it's you that should enjoy writing them. Don't let those commenters bring you down. Simply redirect them to another Mina/Nayeon story lol.
BlackFeather_2 #8
Very rightly said friend! There sure is a lack of legitimate, good critical comments here on this site. Like I rarely get comments which review my story, tell me how I am doing as a writer. It's disheartening. And does no one notice foreshadowing I do in my fics? Or anyone's fics? That's one bone I have to settle.
Ahhh yes, the genderbender fics. God I hate them. Why on earth do ppl write them? Futa is OK....but changing the whole gender? Why what's wrong with femslash? If you guys want a that bad then just write Futa! Genderbent fanfics just show that you are either homophobic or have some reallt close attachment with heterouality. But that's my opinion. If ppl like genderbent then power to you sir/madame.
And yes, thank God for the AO3 ;)
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