Wellll......

The original tweet summarizes it pretty well. Fanfic tends to be popular among certain types of neurodivergent people (aka people most likely to read excessively as a child, and have burnout as an adult) for the same reasons that we tend to hyperfixate–neurochemical signaling (I hope I’m using that phrase correctly). What I mean is, for people who are really dependent on changes in dopamine/serotonin/neurotransmitter levels, who have low levels or wonky neural reward systems (perhaps the most common types of neurodivergence)…people like us rely on dependable external sources of those neurochemicals. In order to function, we spend a lot of our free time trying to level out our brain chemistry using things that can reliably bring us a steady stream of joyful moments (rewards) without costing too much of the mental effort that is already in short supply. 

significantly: the investment of reading has to be balanced with a steady “return on investment”–and this return has to start fairly quickly. because again, we don’t have a lot of attention/energy to invest on tiring things. we have perpetual “low batteries” in that regard.

that doesn’t mean these stories are “simple,” or that they lack complexity or value–only that the reward has to come in short regular intervals, and it has to have a low “upfront cost.” which is why fanfic stories are so perfectly formulated for neurodivergent readers–they are often beautifully written, but skip a lot of the upfront costs (of introducing new characters, of world-building, of getting the audience emotionally connected to the story elements).

the nature of fanfiction is that the reader has a pre-existing relationship with this world and these characters. that–combined with the shorter average length of fics–means that fan fics very quickly start “rewarding” the reader in a way that traditional fiction struggles to. that’s not a bad thing! and maybe it’s something more traditionally published writers should be paying attention to.

alec is organised chaos. man grew up with three siblings who are all chaotic in their own right. alec's notes are colour coordinated, but he's the only person who knows where in his office the notes from That meeting with That clave member is. he has separate binders for different categories of paperwork but the categories are genuinely ridiculous! one of the binders is just for stuff so boring that finishing the paperwork nearly sent him into a coma. alec's emails (or whatever fancy nephilim alternative they have) are all carefully organised and labelled but the labels are stuff like "???" "would make mom scream" "wish I'd been there" and "everyone involved needs to be in ichor duty".

magnus looks like he'd be the organised chaos guy, but he's Meticulous. he has a separate shame notebook of the rough notes and a notebook that is Acceptable for viewing, even though not a single person is looking. his handwriting is neat and easy to read. he doesn't colour coordinate his notes and paperwork or Work Stuff because there is no colour. none at all. everything has a particular place and the organisation method is easy to keep to and understand.

magnus decides to help alec out at work one day and has to Leave™ way too quickly because he looked for way too long for the minutes from the latest downworld cabinet meeting and alec just pulled it out from under five books about demons native to duduael on the table near the fire. it was there because "that's where i sit after cabinet meetings." the minutes from any other cabinet meeting are Not On That Table. they're in binders in a drawer, and are organised by "who was most angry at the meeting."

magnus loves his husband very much. working in the same office with alec is his nightmare.

Wait says the yellow light, twinkling in between.