"it's just fanfiction" — rant bc i'm salty af today

*heads up, this is literally a rant that i typed up last minute and you may or may not agree with my stand here but i'm hella triggered and it's basically the accumlation of  events and i can't take it therefore have my irrevlevant in this blog ignore the typos what is spelling??? also prob not gonna do much but if you agree with this you can repost or smtg* 

 

I’ve stopped doing rant blogs because I’m a salty person and therefore there are always a lot of things to rant about, but it’s been a pileup of many things happening that’s really triggered me so welcome to me being triggered :’) 

 

As you can probably tell from the title, I kind of want to talk about the issue of people justifying writing both immoral and obviously incorrect, terribly portrayed themes with the excuse that “it’s just a fanfiction.” 

 

I see this a lot, I really do. Normally person A gets critiqued by person B in a less than ideal fashion (and more often than not, person A is someone who’s been praised constantly by her readers for wonderful writing, wonderful plotting (and lets be honest, a “hot” male lead who’s not actually hot but extremely problematic), and because of that constant praising, has a hard time accepting the fact that her writing is, surprise surprise, not as good as the one line comments of “I LOVE THIS STORY!” seem to tell her), person A comes back with the defence of “so? It’s just a fanfiction. It’s not like I’m really publishing, I’m just writing for my own fun.” Most of the time, it’s an excuse to a) not have to do proper research, b) tackle a topic properly without the research it requires and c) just another getaway from poor writing and plotting. Because most of us aren’t professional writers, are we? Therefore, there’s no point in doing any of that stuff, right? Isn’t it plain stupid for someone to speak to us because they think our writing has points that are problematic? It’s just a story, it doesn’t have to be real or logical, right? 

 

Wrong. If you’re writing on here, if you’re posting on here, if you have your comments open, if you have your story for people to see, and mostly if your stories contains sensitive topics or plot holes or any of that—you’re most likely to get some sort of critical response to that. Even more so if your story is popular. And more often than not, the author gets mad about being told that their writing isn’t as good as they thought it was, dismiss such critique as people who hate and are jealous instead of realizing that maybe, just maybe, there’s something wrong with their story. News flash, because apparently everyone who disagrees is called a hater (given that you’re even relevant enough to have people dedicated to hating on you): there’s bound to be people who disagree, and maybe not in the most friendliest of terms—if you can’t even deal with that, you’re going to have quite a hard time in the future, where it won’t just be “on a fanfiction website." You may pretend that you're somehow different in real life, but believe it or not, behavior reflects. Chances are, if you can't deal with disagreement on a fanfiction website, you're going to have an even harder time doing so in real life. 

 

It’s not just a fanfiction, and that’s the worst possible excuse you can come up with. You do not say “it’s just a fanfiction” to justify glorifying . If it’s not acceptable in real life, then why is it acceptable just because it’s posted on a fanfiction website? Just because it’s fanfiction, does abuse and -shaming and possessiveness magically become an attractive trait or a “hot” scene? If your answer to that is no, as it should be, then it should be plain obvious that “it’s just a fanfiction” doesn’t cut it. 

 

It might seem clear put like this, but when it comes to writing, the line is apparently extremely vague. Authors who’ve had their egos boosted that they can’t see any fault in their own writing are quick to defend themselves. It’s just a fanfic, why do you care if I’m handling these topics wrong? It’s just a fanfiction, why can’t I write my fantasies even if it’s obviously morally wrong? Sometimes readers, too, are quick to defend an author they like without taking a step back and trying to see from the viewpoint of the critique and ask themselves why there’s an issue there. 

 

There’s also the fact that IF you’re posting your fanfic on a public website where everyone will see, you MUST be responsible for what you post. There are, for a fact, younger people on here who might not have drawn the distinctions between some of these things properly, and believe it or not, stories do influence and impact people greatly. 

 

So long story short: no, it’s not “just a fanfiction.” That is not a justifiable excuse to get away with writing whatever you want, to ignore criticism, to pretend that morals don’t exist and you have no responsibility of what you write. 

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ConfusedYixing #1
Here is my stand on this: Indeed, it's "just" fanfiction can be used properly if it stays that way, such as the author being entirely different in real life and not actually about to do some very much morally wrong actions. The reason why most of these genres even exist on the internet is for people to release their wildest fantasies, guilty pleasures they cannot stand in real life and probably crush themselves for it. Now, that's understandable; there are some things that one really cannot just stuff in their head no matter how wrong it is, they'll have to release it at this point no matter how people view them. However, glorifying it or worshipping these acts and thinking these are perfectly fine is what irks me. If you're perfectly aware of what in the actual godforsaken hell are you doing, have done research and how the content you are publishing is simply bothersome for the conscience and know what extent it will come to, then go ahead. It's your choice, it's your guilty pleasure. But what is really worrying is when people aren't actually aware of the wrongness of what they are creating, and that is when it is concerning.
I personally disagree with "just a fanfiction" though. It's not just that. The human brain is complex. Generally it is easily swayed and there are people who have trouble seeing the distinct border of "too much" and "enough". People get impacted on what they read and start thinking that ual assault/child is a very attractive characteristic and the author should be aware of what they are proposing then and the risky chances of what they might influence their readers on.
charlislekim #2
I agree with you! Fanfiction becomes a site where and abuse is ok here! They purposely use these sites to write their stories. Although, they might not agree with it, they, nonetheless, by continuing to write about it, they still promote and let it spread.
ZaFrosto #3
I think dear you took the words out of my mouth. I dont write such cool stories as my abilites at the moment are very poor indeed. ButbIve always asked for critique because writing is about that as well. I think all that u stated above happens only because people enjoy thouse kind of stories and give them support when so much disturbing things are going on with the writing style. Just my opinion though
vanillasushi #4
I feel a little guilty and somewhat attacked, because of some genres that I write (e.g. consensual ). I always say I write it but I don't condone it, because I write stories as an outlet for my fantasies and imagination. It's like how people like Deadpool but when they hear someone irl actually going out to kill someone without a care that they might injure a thousand others, they get angry and disgusted. It's the same thing with me.

That genre is the only one that I see as "just a fantasy". I have included many other genres of writing in my stories, like and mental disorders. ((Also shaming but that's role play for and I personally don't think it is bad because ACTUAL shaming is rude and disgusting) But I have never once brushed it off like it was nothing (maybe in HDS but i'm not proud of that entire fic, i hate it). I, too, don't think it is acceptable for authors to go "it's just a fanfiction" when they're touching on sensitive topics like that. If anything, they should properly address the issue, not simply trigger their readers and then leave them with an open wound caused by their story.

BUT who am I to talk, I feel like a hypocrite bc some of what i write IS morally wrong. I know that, which is why I always tick boxes like "triggered warning", "subscribers only", etc to make sure not just the general public reads it. I don't want to make it seem like I'm making up excuses for myself, or writers who writer such genres so I'll just put write this comment and leave it here.
starmyst #5
Yup on all these points. They need to take responsibility for what they write. And they can't just brush it off with that whole justification too.

Also speaking of criticism, the fact some authors have their heads up in the cloud so far the fact they can't really listen sometimes? Like, especially if its valid points? Its messy ugh.
fs1919 #6
YESSSSSSS I AGREE WITH ALL OF THIS AND "it's just fanfiction" is said SO much about so many different kinds of topics from to ia and it's just :/. honestly, i was reading this whole thing and going ooooo go off lol
but on a serious note, i really do wish there was a way to report fics that glorify and romanticize topics that shouldn't be romanticized or glorified because like you said stories influence people, especially the young impressionable people on this site who'll read a fanfiction that glorifies topics like abuse and and makes them think that's how real relationships should be. i've heard people use that excuse for actual published books before, too, and it's just so FRUSTRATING and awful
Jumpdiva #7
At the end of the day, though, it IS just fanfiction. It's your own personal choice to get puffed up over some creepy things someone chooses to write. Just like how there's , , murder, violence, underaged ual content in movies, what makes written stories any different. Yes, I agree, it's gross that gets glorified and I don't agree with it, but it's your choice if you read it or not.

It's like parents who protest video games because they 'make people violent', when that's not even the case. You either play the game or you don't, but just because you feel strongly against something doesn't mean that that's the case. It's JUST a video game. It's JUST a movie. It's JUST a story. It's JUST a videogame. Point blank.
Seimaa #8
Bless you. I couldn't agree more, I wish there was a function to report sections of stories or whole stories that depict abuse, , and so on as fine. That way aff could review it and if there is something wrong, some sort of warning could be sent or the story taken down. That way there's none of this foolishness from authors because they have to face the truth. They'd have to set something up so that the function isn't abused, though.

But honestly I can't get over how authors justify this. It really is dangerous for younger audiences who haven't developed their opinions entirely. Not to mention how it could mess with people that have been through this stuff, bringing up bad memories or sending them into a panic.

It is because of the subject of your rant that I've stopped reading off of the popular page (though it does get it right occasionally, like with your stories) and I just follow authors that I like and look at different recommended fanfic lists.
PrincessVivi #9
hooooooly wait someone's trying to use the "its just fanfic!!" line to justifyfics??? i honestly can't lmaooooooooo. i will preface my mini-rant with the point that if you're writing fics w/ abuse to demonstrate a point/show how terrible abuse is from an outside, objective perspective ("Act of Obsession" is a classic example), I understand and appreciate that. but anyway

literally i wish some of the authors on here would stop taking themselves so seriously. like the same excuse of "it's just fanfiction" can be applied to them too. it's just fanfiction- why are they getting SO butthurt when ppl give them criticism. nothing on this site is real. none of us are professional authors. everyone's just writing for fun.

personally, i don't comment when authors aren't that great at writing/have incorrect grammar/mediocre plots, bc i know everyone improves with time and english isn't everyone's first language. but when someone writes some problematic glorifying abuse i will definitely be calling them out. they are literally on crack if they wanna try using the "its just fanfic >:(((" excuse to justify their plots.
Kai-chan #10
Sadly this also applies for some published books. PUBLISHED. It's just sickening tbh to see people normalizing possessiveness and finding some jerk traits y ugh
nyamnyamnyam #11
Yesssss agreed! Claiming that it's "just a story" or "just a fanfiction" is frankly not a valid argument. People are impacted by what they read. People are touched by what they read. People are influenced by what they read in their thoughts and actions, whether or not they actively recognize it. No one would bother reading anything otherwise.

What especially bothers me is when authors use something like as a plot device, acknowledge rather superficially that it was morally wrong to fend off any angry critics, and then have the assailant grovel and then BOOM! Everything's forgiven because big bad hot male lead said he was sorry and felt bad and therefore that's totally not glorifying , right? (Judith McNaught and other bodice ripper writers, I'm looking at you).

I think AFF suffers even worse from this because writers' true names and identities aren't usually attached to their usernames. Some people just don't realize that even if they make an alias for themselves online and build a community of followers without involving their real-life identities, the content they publish still affects real-life people.

Also, I wish more writers would treasure the value of criticism. Unless it's just a troll sending ridiculous flames or outright inaccurate, there's at least some truth in every critique, and the fact the person bothered to leave a comment pointing out issues with a story should be appreciated. Ignoring critical comments is just... sad.
paintedDaisy #12
I agree to a few points. Like some stories aren't even that good but if the author is popular you can't say anything cause then their butthurt readers are gonna come for you. Like it's a crime now to voice your opinions
Andreacnushin #13
I’ve long realized that bad plots, poor grammar and spelling as well as having no freaking clue what you’re about is how bestsellers are born! (If this website and the whole Fifty shades of Grey series are the ones we can base success on) then of course all of these issues mean nothing. No matter that some amazing authors are getting passed up; if there’s a BTS or EXO pairing, you’re in no matter what! I love both groups but honestly guys, you can’t seriously enjoy reading some of the crap that pops up on the popular page. It’s hella disappointing that I take my fics so seriously and want to put out the best product possible but others don’t feel the same.
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