I want to preface this by saying I'm writing from a completely neutral place. There's no anger or bitterness behind these words. For 99% of you, this post isn't about you at all. But for the 1% it does apply to, I think it's worth saying:
I am not here to validate your headcanons; I am here to explore my own.
This is something that's been quietly bubbling away in my mind for a long time. It's not something that's come up often enough in a way that's made me feel the need to address it, but lately I've had more time to sit with my thoughts. As engagement naturally ebbs and flows (the state of the internet, not a complaint as I always write because I love writing), I've found myself wondering about a particular kind of comment.
It makes me wonder, but it seems almost as if tagging a story as "Post-Canon" makes some readers expect a story to eventually arrive at their headcanon, something that was never part of canon to begin with, as if it's some natural conclusion.
The only reason I bring it up is because it unintentionally shuts down the kind of feedback I genuinely love receiving. Tell me if something didn't land. Tell me if a character's voice felt off. Tell me if you think I missed an opportunity or could have written something better. Give me ideas and I will expand on them! Hearing from you all is what has given me some of my best ideas! I always want to improve and I genuinely appreciate thoughtful critique, but when you assume a popular fandom headcanon is going to happen, I feel as if you're setting yourself up for failure. My stories exist to persuade you of my interpretation of these characters. They aren't written to fulfill preexisting fan notions. The joy of writing, for me, is exploring where I think these characters will go.
When I get comments like that, it doesn't make me feel as though I've failed to convince someone. It feels more like we're reading with two different goals. I'm inviting you into my interpretation, while you're waiting for yours to manifest.
None of this is meant as a complaint or an angry plea. I'm still incredibly grateful for every comment, every reader, and everyone who spends time with my work. This is really just me putting words to something I've been thinking about for a while. Maybe it will resonate with someone else and what is that if not why we write at all?
