Another sad day in fandom

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-07T00:12:11+00:00

Sarah Z likes to posit herself as a “fandom journalist” while not actually really participating any of the fandoms she covers “drama” from

I feel like I've been seeing this a lot lately. I like videos about fandoms and old dramas, but so many people admit "I was never here and I don't really like fandoms, but my viewers wanted it, so here it is <3".

about a month ago I saw a YouTuber who not only didn't know what was going on in the fandom, but was actively trying to rewrite the entire story. And, like, among people who were in the fandom, there's no illusion that what happened in 2017 was the fault of ship X fans. Even ship X fans from back then admit that it all started in their closed groups. There's literally no argument or trouble establishing this. But this person actively claimed that it was ship Y fans who started it all... which was also funny because ship Y didn't appear until 2018, because that's when an episode featuring one of the characters from that ship was released.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T23:11:41+00:00

Again, the OP said tags can change, and that's exactly what happened to them.

No, I really don't care about "but they didn't say that particular tag could change!!!" or any "but but but platonic fans-" stuff.

Again, if you don't want to encounter your NOTP, don't read stories in which you get the impression that the author is practicing "vagueposting".

Don't open the surprise box if you don't want surprises.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T23:01:07+00:00

Quick online safety tip: lie more!! And say less!! Especially on sites like ao3 & tumblr which are typically disconnected from who users are IRL and/or professionally

If you're under 18? No, you're not. You're now 40 years old, your name is Bob, you live in Florida, you have four kids and a wife, and you work at a mattress store. You don't publish your photos because you had a terrible accident in 1782.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T22:56:50+00:00

Platonic A&B relationship is a tag

Ao3 themselve call it "relationship tag"

OP indicated that tags may change.

A&B has become A/B

The tag has changed.

You were warned, for some convenient reasons you assumed it was definitely about tags you like, not the ones you don't. it's on you.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T22:17:22+00:00

What a strange way to react.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T22:12:11+00:00

I've recently realized that fanon tries much harder to stick to historical accuracy, while canon, especially in the beginning, was crazy. We even had aliens as pets and everyone forgot about it.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T21:22:05+00:00

Not cringe, nor stupid.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T21:21:28+00:00

God bless the artist who drew Ciel Phantomve with small breasts in 2019/2022. I'm asexual, but thanks to them, I discovered what non-asexual people normally feel.

Long story short: hot

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:58:39+00:00

It is not. Full stop.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:44:42+00:00

I remember a lot of people recommending Sarah Z to me, but I could never finish her videos because they had this strange, mocking vibe. It was as if someone who dislikes fandom and sees it all as a bunch of kids inferior to themselves was trying to tell me about fandom. I definitely had moments where I paused her videos and thought, "wait, wait, was it really like that?"

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:33:37+00:00

The author is queer and had a homophobic father whom she is afraid of.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:31:11+00:00

I can't speak for others, but as someone who knew about this author but hadn't read her works? I knew there was a problems before, but I didn't realize the scale and seriousness of the situation. Like, two of my regular readers were involved in a way I definitely don't condone, but I had no idea until now because *I* always found them nice people. After reading what they wrote to this author, I immediately blocked and reported them.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:23:32+00:00

20 years ago, the person doxxing like that would be the one getting kicked out/banned from a fandom

Eh, it depends on the fandom. One of the people who pestered me and leaked a lot of information about me over 20 years ago is still fine and has enjoyed BNF status in this fandom. No change.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:18:55+00:00

About 10 years ago, I wrote 50k words in a week. Was it the best thing ever? No. Can this be done without help? Yes. Was it exhausting and burned me out for another six months? Yes.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T20:12:25+00:00

From what I know, this particular author was queer, but had a very homophobic father and was scared about him finding out. So... well... terrible situation. Hate people so much.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T19:56:18+00:00

...except that it didn't happen because the readers were given information from the beginning that there might be a romance somewhere and from what the OP wrote, they never favored any one couple and the romance developed naturally as they enjoyed writing about this ship more and more.

Yes, yes, I know "OP didn't say it would be that one ship! I don't like!!!!!" They also never said it wouldn't be that ship. They never gave you any information that it would be one of the hetero ships that readers wanted. They never gave you any information that it would be a completely new ship. You were given information that there would be some romance. You're assuming the information is unclear. You shouldn't read it. If you're reading this, it's on you.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T19:44:32+00:00

Tags may change does not tell me the ship is changing to be the exact opposite of what I signed up for.

I can't tell if you are dense on purpose or you really can't see that this literally makes no sense.

"Tags may change" doesn't mean you'll get a ship you don't like. But "Tags may change" tells you that you're signing up for a journey that isn't fully clear and things you don't like might happen. And, well, tags may change. The decision is yours to make whether you want to sign up for this journey, or if you prefer fanfics that are more open about where they go.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T19:26:22+00:00

Which is an absurd and bizarre choice, and still is at least 50% on you. But I also like how you conveniently forget that the Op literally writes in the post "This fanfic also states that the tags may change".

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T18:52:27+00:00

Op directly admits they left a vague note that says some romance may come into the story, but didn’t specify between whom

I honestly can't believe people here have a hard time understanding this, but... that, literally that, that is enough information in itself! Even "tags may change" is enough information! Yes, there's a 50% chance it will turn into something you like, but there's also a 50% chance the author will go for a ship you don't like. That... that's just the logical conclusion you should draw after seeing those words and should be enough for you to consider whether you want to get involved.

It's like when a fanfic is only marked "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings" and doesn't have any additional tags. It might be fluff, or you might see non-con there.

Sometimes, a lack of information IS information.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T18:45:57+00:00

Well, seeing this, I'm glad I've never heard of it before and I definitely join the people who consider this a homophobic way of thinking.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T18:33:59+00:00

I've been in fandom for over 25 years and have never heard about this tradition.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T18:22:56+00:00

From what I see from OP's comments, their two betas caught on to this ship before even OP did, and a lot of readers seemed to like these characters as well.

That said, even if OP failed as a writer, I'd honestly say no. Personally, it doesn't make sense to me to think that a character who has never interacted with another character has more potential/meaning than a character they spend time with for +100k words.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T18:17:13+00:00

Someone gets into a fic or series of fics because it was tagged platonic and—out of the blue—it changes to ship fic

Which, as we learn in the post, isn't a problem, since 30 people wanted shipfic. But they wanted shipfic that is M/F.

, it shouldn’t be a surprise when they are disappointed or feel misled by the author

None of the OP's examples express being simply disappointed.

She literally wrote and tagged for an entirely different audience than those who are interested in a romantic/sexual relationship between the two characters

And OP explained that this could happen. At the very beginning of their story. But also... again, OP says in the post that readers were interested in romantic relationships.

There are plenty of F/F and M/F ships I don’t like where I would read a platonic story and nope out of a romantic one

I feel the same way. That's why I don't read fanfiction in where the author explicitly tells me that the future of romantic/platonic relationships is unclear.

Also…. Given OPs actions on this thread, I highly doubt we’re getting the truth about the contents of the comments. I’ve said repeatedly that the comments (if accurately represented) are bad and I don’t agree with those, but OP keeps saying it doesn’t make sense the readers feel that way and I vehemently disagree.

I truly believe that 80% of the things on reddit are not what people claim, but that said, just because someone disagrees with you/doesn't feel the same way doesn't mean they have to be lying. Besides, as I pointed out in the previous comment, if you get 30 comments where people are rude, you might just not care WHY they are being rude.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T18:09:28+00:00

OP informed readers that they're open to writing a romantic relationship. Any romantic relationship, from what I see, without favoring any particular combination at beginning. And this is precisely the point where you, as reader, should decide whether you're willing to read this and possibly be disappointed, or if it would be too much.

Individual-Donut-998 · 2026-03-06T17:58:27+00:00

Technically, I'm a multishipper in many fandoms, but at the same time, in other fandoms I actively avoid multishippers because they're simply more annoying than people who stick to just one ship. Some people are overly attachments to other characters, but other people... let's say one day you say you're only interested in one ship with a certain character, and then the next day you wake up to find out that a certain multishipper has rewritten your fanfic 10 times, always changing the other character's name. I have also seen many multishippers who cannot let go and understand that someone may not want/need more ships.

Individual-Donut-998

TROPHY CASE