On Oct 15, I left a comment on pajamagirl/fanystaengoo’s fic and, long story short, let’s just say we agreed to disagree. (Or, rather, she blocked me.) I took no offense to that, and we went our own way. Starting from Oct 16, there were folks who tweeted that I treated other fic writers like robots with no feelings. Well, did I stop being a fic writer simply for disagreeing with other writers' work? Had I turned into Ex Machina’s Ava without my knowing? I was accused of hiding behind AFF crowdfunding to slight others (as if I were the only AFF author to make use of the crowdfund feature). I did collect screenshots of the tweets of wend-rp-l, marchi-rt-n, rvr--k-ec--k-e, 130k-l-m-t-rs (who also admins for one of Wendy’s biggest Twitter fanbases, smh), sengw-nderl-st, jsl--, baeq--, and a couple more as a self-reminder that, why yes, the hive believes we writers should aim for uniformity both in our work and our taste.

That, and my CuriousCat also turned into a daycare for kids who alleged me of disrespect and hiding behind anonymous review when, ironically, they did so by using the anonymous feature on CuriousCat. Time to meet the other Black brothers after Sirius, I guess: say hi to pot and kettle. As of now I’m content with my screenshots for personal archives, but I’m not a fan of humoring takes caterwauled by tiny tots, which to me are as useful as T. Rex’s arms. I do not trust a group of people who pat each other on the back for "taking care of their mental health" while dogpile on others, even more so anonymously and as a hive.

So.

Wherever you are heading, fandom, for better or worse, all things disappointing and eye-opening considered, I wish you safe travel. Most fondly, I thank my crowdfunding patrons, commenters, and readers. No more of this fandom and no more of fic writing for me. Namárië!

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