TheLindenPapers

Turns out it’s herding cats. Half of them are on fire, and the other half are narrative choices I don’t remember making.

I walked up to the person, asked them why they're eating so much sugar. Their answer: "blood sugar too low". They were self-medicating a hypo. They knew what they were doing. I hung around a bit to make sure they were okay and watched them monitor their own blood sugar by the book.

Please folks, talk to people before you assume that you know better. People with disabilities. People with psychosis, mania or hallucinations. Neuroatypical people who communicate through cards or writing tools. Try to communicate before jumping to conclusions. Most people understand more than you think about their own needs.

Don't just go to a medic or other form of help behind someones back. That's really not okay and can get people in real trouble. Bypassing someone's autonomy like that is a huge call to make. It shouldn't be the first thing you do.

EDIT: For the record, for the people in the notes: I later had a conversation with the people who came up to me and learned that they were not ignorant about how diabetes works. They knew what a hypo was, they knew that medicating it involves eating sugary foods. If the person had not had a cognitive disability, they probably would have interpreted the situation correctly.

But because the person had a cognitive disability, they saw them drinking pure lemonade syrup and assumed that this person was ignorantly putting their own life in danger. They did not see self-medication because they assumed the person wasn't capable of self-medication. And worse, they then assumed that there would be no point communicating with that person about it and talked to me instead.

See the link below. 👇🏼

BeTheGustoArt on Etsy

zacharyiswackary

In 2026, Ilia Malinin made headlines for landing a backflip at the Winter Olympics after the move was officially re-approved under updated competition rules.

But this moment did not come out of nowhere.

In 1998, Black Olympic skater Surya Bonaly executed a one-foot backflip at the Nagano Winter Olympics, officials had deemed the move unacceptable at the time. She completed it, on one blade, in an iconic defiance of standards that repeatedly limited her innovation and expression.

What governing bodies labeled as “not allowed” in 1998 is now celebrated as history-making in 2026.

Bonaly’s backflip wasn’t a mistake or a gimmick. It was skill, athleticism, and vision, long before the sport was willing to reward it. And while rules may change, her contribution should not be erased or reframed as an afterthought.

This moment isn’t about taking anything away from today’s athletes.

While Ilia Malinin is being credited with making Olympic history in 2026, the truth is that Surya Bonaly made that history in 1998.

AO3 is not goodreads. It is not the NYT bestseller list.

You paid no money to read these stories. They are, in fact, a labor of love, done on the off time in the off hours of people who are writing for the joy of writing and the joy of the story.

Your ratings are not appreciated. Not by other readers, who don't know you from adam. Not by fandom-savvy passerby.

And not, in fact, by the author. Who again: Wrote this for fun. In their spare time - around work, around family and friend commitments. Around the rest of their lives. Fandom clout almost never "pays off" in any monetary gains, in any form of physical or financial security.

So please stop "rating" us on something we do for joy.

Today, a fellow fanauthor shared this with me. It was not on any story of my own, but they understandably needed a moment to go "wtf" and process it all. With their permission, I now share this with you.

You won't find this comment on AO3 anymore, by the by.

I have... a lot of issues with this. First of all being something that would be a C-grade in any US school system is not a "Good Rating" for most folks, but many of my issues would be the same even in this commenter had rated this a 10/10.

It boils down to this:

Why are you grading us on something we all are here to do solely for fun and personal enjoyment? Why does it have to be good?

Why can't it just be a labor of love and of joy to be good enough for you, dear commenter?

Do I, as a fanauthor, want to write well? Sure! I do want to write good stories. But I didn't ask random readers to grade me on them. Not in bookmarks that I can easily check, and certainly not in my comments section. And I never will want them to. Every author I've talked to agrees. Is there someone out there who might want this? Sure. Most likely, even! The human experience and desires are broad and varied. But in my experience, if they do exist in Fandom, they're the vast minority. So please:

YOU DO NOT GET TO RATE A GIFT!!!!

Fan fiction is a gift to the community. You do not get to give any gift a rating out of anything

IT’S FUCKING RUDE AND ABSOLUTELY APPALLING MANNERS!!!!

WHO RAISED YOU IF YOU THINK THAT IS IN ANY WAY APPROPRIATE?!?

Just don't comment.

If it sucked, close the fic. It's called bad luck - sometimes the tags seem promising but the author has a style you don't like, or a the story takes a turn that makes you cringe. Thats part of the experience - fanfic is kind of a "blind box" situation, you dont know if you'll get what you want until you read it.

"Waah, but if it sucked i should get to complain, right?"

Yeah thats how it is when you order a meal at a restaurant, or you buy a product at a store. You paid a professional, you should get your end of the deal. However, unlike in those scenarios,

You got your fanfic for ~free~ from someone who does it as a ~hobby~

They dont owe you professional quality or a product tailor made for your taste because this is not their job. And you don't get to complain because you didn't pay for any of this.

If a friend knits you a plushie and gifts it to you, does not request an honest criticism of it, do you tell them its a 7/10 job?

No, because that's how you lose friends. No, because that would be rude to someone who spent a week weaving thread into a little creature just for you. No, because you aren't their knitting teacher.

The kudos button is for saying you liked a fic. The comments section is for expanding i why you liked it, or thanking the author for their work of passion, or for keysmashing out of joy.

What is the button for when you dislike a fic or find it only 7/10?

they could just treat you better now.

and you should never trust someone who, by default, needs to be convinced to stop doing things that hurt people.

most people who have an interest in not hurting those they care about are able to be told "hey could you stop doing that? it hurts me" without needing a debate, a doctor's note, or throwing a huge fucking tantrum.