we're bad men, but we ain't them

i have writer friends who have poured their entire soul into their fan work, writing almost novel-length fics on their own personal time, for people to just hit "like" and send an ask saying "update?". they're treated like machines, or (even worse) like disney+, hbo, netflix, etc. who have entire teams/departments dedicated to creating. they're expected to pump out as much fan content as quickly as possible to "keep up" with the current fast-paced fandom that is taking over this site.

i also have seen (and experienced personally) writers who are absolutely obsessed with note count, to the point they ignore the readers that do take the time to comment and consistently follow up on their fic. it's discouraging, as a mutual and a friend, to reblog a work with all of the parts that stuck out to me and reasons "why" i loved it, only to see that same author be discouraged about the note count and not notice the quality of the comments they do have.

it's gotten to the point where i feel like everyone is burnt out. ive seen friends become so discouraged that they didn't get 100+ notes on a fic in the first few days of posting it, to the point that it affected their mental health because they thought it wasn't good enough. ive seen friends become overwhelmed because they can't keep up, and are weeks/months behind on reading their moots' fics just because of life circumstances. in both scenarios, people end up leaving.

smooches between;

people who are in love

people who think they’re in love

family

rivals

compañeros

idiots, dumbasses & fools

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This nonsense is inspired by there being too many bugs outside this year, and me doing what John is doing in the first panel every time I try to enjoy the outdoors. 

you want to know a secret?