Hi there @jennity-blogs,

Hope you're having a great start to the weekend.

First: thank you for having the courage to send your message OFF anon, I really appreciate it and genuinely respect you all the more for it. No joke, I sincerely mean that. That's not me being snarky, or trying to give you some backhanded compliment. I really mean it, because 99.99999999% of people on tumblr are abysmally unprincipled cowards who are incapable of being accountable for the things they ask or say. So, much respect to you for sending your message as an identified user.

Second: I am not the author of Neighborly. The author used to be known as "auntie thelma".

Third: You seem to really adore this au (as I did). Just wondering: did you ever leave the author reviews/comments expressing your love and appreciation for her work when this story was still publicly available?

Fourth: "But yeah, let me know if you want me to take down that podfic and I’ll get that done for you."

I don't know what auntie thelma's feelings were on how her transformative work products were shared/used, so maybe the following doesn't matter - but methinks it might have made more sense to ask the author whether she was comfortable with you recording a pod fic of her story and publicly posting it before doing it... instead of offering to take it down after the fact. Just a little food for thought.

Have a great rest of the weekend,

Hi there @witchymermaid12 ,

Thank you for your message (and for having the courage to send it off anon!)

Hi there anon, that is terrible news 😡. OBVIOUSLY, this horrible transgression is indicative of the fact that this author must be selfish, classist, racist, ableist, transphobic [insert every horrible _____ist under the sun].

If she was "nice" and "kind", she would know that just because she's the only person who put in any actual time and effort into creating her transformative works - that doesn't mean shit.

And it doesn't change the fact that her stories belong to EVERYONE, and therefore she has no right to delete her works from any platform and deprive the silent consumer masses from accessing them for free and doing whatever the hell they want with them. 😤

I mean, honestly. When will these fic authors learn to not be such horrible fascists?!!

It's not rocket science, being a fic author is simple: one just needs to sacrifice endless time and energy to write and post updates round the clock for our entertainment and enjoyment for absolutely nothing in return (because seeking even the barest common courtesy from consumers that costs nothing and takes mere seconds to give is an "entitlement unto itself").

I'm going to take my birklurks "cap" off for this one.

I'm not surprised. It's the reason why I ended my private reader's circle a few years back (I had anons message to let me know that: (1) they got their hands on my fics through someone in the reader's circle, (2) they were emailing them to everyone they knew, and (3) they would never stop doing whatever it takes to make sure that my "racist" and "ableist" "gatekeeping" would “fail”. 🥴

Their reason being: fanworks "belong" to everyone, and I (the sole writer and only person who sacrificed valuable time and effort to create my transformative works) have no right to dictate who accesses my fics and what anyone does with them because the "community" owns them.

This response baffled me at first, but not anymore. Admittedly, it took me a minute to make the connection, but after I did - everything fell into place.

 After all, the idea that private ownership of anything must be eradicated and cannot exist in favor of purely communal ownership of everything is a core Marxist communist tenet. And seeing how so many people on tumblr are self-professed "Marxists" and "communists", this all makes sense now.

Plus, I too have received unsolicited offers from others on Discord for access to fics that I know the respective authors purposefully deleted, like Mizuage by Tintinnabula/Sakura Haru (among others). So, I know it happens.

Of course, that doesn't make it right.

Still, the reality is that anyone can (and most definitely do) disrespect and wholly disregard artist and writer wishes and guidelines regarding their transformative works all they want because there are no consequences at all whatsoever for doing so (and if the communications I’ve had with AO3 staff are any indicator, that is by design).

The bottom line is: my older fics may be passed around by unprincipled people on Discord or elsewhere, but my 3 works in progress (and 2 finished fics that were never published, along with future works that are currently in outlining) will never be shared online unless/until there is a platform for fanworks that actually bothers to take creator concerns into account as well. And that also includes completed fanart that I commissioned for these fics, as well as completed commissioned fanart for stories written by other authors. 

At any rate, thanks for the heads up anon (although, maybe it was intended to be more of an “own” than any kind of useful notice 😂). Either way, hope you have a great start to the week!

Great!

Because of course I have every *right* to endlessly consume, enrich myself with, and fully enjoy, the fruits of everyone else's valuable time and extraordinary labor for ZERO personal effort (not even the occasional exercise of a basic common courtesy that costs nothing to give).

I just wanted to say that I agree with the asker of your last ask, and the tone of your answer was what prompted me to send this.

We've interacted briefly in the past, and I know we've probably not seen eye to eye because of that, but I've followed you and genuinely enjoyed your engagement in the Naruto fandom (even though it's a fandom i tend to lurk on the outskirts of, my main interests lie elsewhere). That being said, it has been saddening to see how bitter you appear to be when discussing the fandom now. Surely this aggressive bitterness isn't sustainable? I do understand the comment debate - and I'll admit I probably don't have much of a stake in it because I live in very small fandoms - and I respect you for sticking to your guns and your beliefs. I wish that this was done with a little less open hostility that at times seems to come across like an attempt at making others feel guilty for how they participate in fandom (whether this is intended or not).

I'm truly sorry if someone has at one point made you feel like the way you engage in fandom is wrong. I really am.

Hi there @temporary-dysphoria​ 👋🏻,

Yes, of course I remember you! 🤗

You are the person who wrote this post based on your... whimsical, interpretation and application of “copyright law” (which was actually rife with unsubstantiated fear mongering hyperbole and misinformation 🥴).

BUT, I genuinely (no joke) have to hand it to you - when I respectfully reached out to ask you for citations to back up your fanciful claims, at least you were honest enough to admit that:

"The original post was done in 10 minutes based on my memory alone and a quick google search". 

So, kudos to you for that! Although, you also said you would get back to me about my request for weighted authorities and substantiation... (which of course, you never did... probably because they don't exist 😬). 

So unfortunately, you're batting a 0% average here when it comes to credibility.

That being said, I never assess any person based on a one-off interaction. So, let's see what you have to say. 😊

(Birk reading... scrolling... reading some more..... DONE.)

_________________________________________

Ahhh, so this is another one of "those" asks.

To start, the thing that never ceases to surprise me about people on Tumblr is how singularly focused they are on "tone" or how something is “framed” rather than the actual SUBSTANCE of what is being said. Which I know is silly, because the reason for this is excruciatingly obvious: 

In the context of fandom, folks send me asks like this (making lackluster attempts to try and spin my posts as indicative of some sort of degenerative “bitterness” that is supposedly “saddening”), because they cannot honestly, competently, and rationally address what is really going on without acknowledging the ridiculous, rude, and highly inconsiderate nature of the behavior I am unabashedly mimicking without any “uwu” sugar coating.

I mean honestly, what about my tone really prompted you to send this ask? 

Does one person plainly stating the glaringly obvious (albeit, quiet) parts out loud, and holding up a mirror to the realities of silent lurkership make you that uncomfortable?? 

And most importantly - why can you freely lurk, but not me??

“I wish that this was done with a little less open hostility that at times seems to come across like an attempt at making others feel guilty for how they participate in fandom (whether this is intended or not).”

This is genuinely puzzling.... “open hostility”?? 

Are you serious? 😦

All I’ve ever done over the past 5 months is hold up a mirror to the glorious nature of voracious silent lurkership for what it objectively, FACTUALLY is. 

I am an “equitable” silent lurker now. I get everything I want, when I want it, how I want it, and as much as I want it at the expense of everyone else’s extraordinary labor, sacrifice of time and effort… for absolutely nothing in return. 

That is just a fact.

If you think the statement (or mere reflection) of a glaringly obvious fact = “open hostility”, I seriously question how you could possibly communicate in any context with other rational adults (in any setting other than a carefully hyper-curated 100000000% validating internet echo chamber).

As for my posts coming across as “an attempt to make others feel guilty” - huh??

Why is that on me?? All I’m doing is holding up a plain 1:1 mirror here. 

If people feel guilty or uncomfortable by what they see in that mirror, maybe they should think about why that is. That’s on them.

Because I sure as hell don’t feel guilty. Far from it. Why should I, when fandom has unequivocally taught me that nobody owes anyone anything??

So of course I’m having a ball!! As a fellow lurker - aren’t you??! 💃🏻🥂✨

As for this odd blurb:  

“I'm truly sorry if someone has at one point made you feel like the way you engage in fandom is wrong. I really am.”

What a weird (and frankly, inapplicable) sentiment to express to someone who is just existing and having the time of her life enjoying the endless benefits of effortless silent lurkership no differently than you do. 🤔

But you know what - if sending me thinly veiled, patronizing fake platitudes make you feel better, then by all means go to town, I guess.🤷🏻‍♀️

Wow @fifi-la-fumeuse, I'm confused.

Bitter? Who's bitter?? 🤔

I'm having the time of my LIFE. The number of fanworks I've ripped through over the past 5 months is INSANE and I haven't lifted a finger or otherwise done a damn thing to access any of it for FREE.

Which is no different than the way the vast majority of consumers here consume fanfics and fanart. Not to mention the limitless AO3 downloading sprees I've been enjoying for the first time ever!!

Why is it okay for everyone else to silently lurk, but not me??

Especially now that I know consumer engagement has never really been a thing. Plus, didn't you know that the "healthiest and most satisfied creators” 🤡 create for themselves and they'll keep doing this until the end of time whether anyone engages with their work or not?? (Except, apparently, all of the beloved writers we know who left fandom and deleted all of their works on the way out. yeah just ignore those folks they don’t count because reasons.🥴)

"You're not accomplishing anything useful"

That’s funny, I wasn't aware that I was supposed to be "accomplishing" anything for anyone else’s sake by “participating” in fandom.

I thought the only point was to squeeze maximum enjoyment for MYSELF out of fanworks (that other people create) whilst personally expending ZERO effort.

Why must I "accomplish" anything through my consumer habits??

Can't I just silently enjoy my fanfics and fanart without any aim other than to endlessly enrich myself at the expense of everyone else's hard work?? 

Isn't the perpetuation of MY personal (effortless and limitless) enjoyment a "perfectly fine reason" not to bother engaging with the fanworks I consume?? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you're trying to get across here artist-san, but this was frankly a weird ask.

Talk about "not accomplishing anything useful".

Hey there anon, she sure did (a while back, actually).

Who knows why, but either way - she must not be a "good" person because HOW DARE she delete all of her fics when they belong to EVERYONE?!! 😡

Hi there anon, you're not imagining it but I only lurk now when it comes to fandom.

Happy new year,

Hi there anon 👋🏻,

I'm guessing you're referring to this. If so, why is that petty??

I exclusively lurk now, remember??

And beyond that - people need to make up their fucking minds.

Isn't this what fandom has always wanted??

For YEARS now I have routinely fielded complaints about how it was “wrong” to show "favoritism" to some people and not others; how it's "not fair" that "big authors" get all of the attention and newer writers/ "hidden gems" don't get the same treatment from me (which is dead stupid wrong and wildly inaccurate, but whatever).

People have accused me of seeking “clout” by reblogging/promoting only "well-known" writers and being "selectively" supportive to only “my friends” and commissioning fics and fanart from the "same group" of "popular" content creators, and that it was “unfair" to commission more than one work of fanart for the same story or the same author.

(Yes, for anyone who happens to see this - you read that correctly. I've had asshats tell me, a total stranger, how I should spend my personal post-tax discretionary hobby budget 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡 ).

And of course, who can forget this charming moron and others like him/her who’ve railed at me for the “unfair” way I used to budget my monthly ko-fi contributions, because apparently - it “isn’t right” to contribute to some creator ko-fi’s and not others. 🤬

It took me a few years to finally figure this crap out, but now I understand that the message has always been PAINFULLY OBVIOUS:

“I don’t get the attention I think I deserve, so no one else should get attention, either.”

So, their insecure, salty and pathetic selves finally win. They are, at long last, getting their “righteous” way.

I’m an “equitable” lurker now, and won’t be promoting or featuring or boosting any specific fic or work of art on my blog. This way, no story or fanart gets featured, and puts every content creator in the exact same position (= now they all get NOTHING from me!! 🥳)

Because “EQUITY” requires us to force equal outcomes for everyone.

It’s the only way to make things “fair”, right?? 🥴

Hi there anon 👋🏻,

Sorry I missed (what I’m assuming) is a follow-up to an earlier ask. (If it’s not, and you’re a different person, please scratch that~)

"I just don’t understand what the endgame is”

What do you mean “endgame”?? I already secured the mother of all “endgames”.

In the past, engaging with the art and fics I enjoyed cost zero money and was comically low-effort, but now I literally don’t do anything, and I still get to fully enjoy the extraordinary benefits of everyone else’s labor, time and effort.

What could possibly be a better “endgame” than getting everything I want, when I want it, as much as I want it, and exactly how I want it for absolutely NOTHING?? It’s how the vast majority of consumers in our fandom do it, so why can’t I?? 

Especially now that I know that commenting has never really been a thing in the history of fandom, that the “healthiest and most satisfied creators” 🥴 (i.e., the *good* ones) write for themselves, that lack of reader engagement won’t stop writers from writing, and we can treat these concerns for what they *actually* are: whining that can be taken with a “grain of salt”.

Do I want that “author to apologize and take back what she said”?? No, of course not. Why the hell would I?!?!?!!?

She generously took time out of her busy schedule to impart her history and valuable knowledge on the ways of fandom to me, and in doing so made my experience as a consumer first and foremost a trillion times more convenient than it already was. And for that, I am eternally grateful.

There is no reason why my lurkership should ruffle any feathers or cause confusion in any way. What I do now is no different than how the vast majority of consumers in our fandom enjoy fanart and fanfics - and in my case, I actually have the sage words of a bonafide fandom veteran to justify and legitimize my endless voracious silent consumption. 😇

All of our fandom writers who whine about feeling demoralized, unseen, and unappreciated should follow the shining example of this kind, selfless and truly virtuous author and stop expecting anything they value for their extraordinary efforts. 😠

Instead of being entitled, problematic and wasting their time complaining about baseless nonsense, they should be writing even more free content for deserving silent consumers like me. 😤   

CHOP CHOP, WRITERS!!