Fandom is not an obligation.
It is not a job. It is not school. It is not a contract. Participation in fandom is voluntary and it is not binding (commissions and paid work aside).
Yes, within fandom you should be bound by some sense of ethics or general decency: don’t steal art and fic, don’t willfully deceive people, don’t be a jerk or a garbage human, and so on and so forth. But everything else? The writing fic and the doing and the participation? It is voluntary.
So if you are writing a fic and you’re seven chapters in and you have eight chapters to go and you’re just tired and you don’t want to do it any more? You can stop. If you’ve been running a blog and writing about every single episode of every new anime show that’s come out and you can’t for three weeks? Don’t. If you told your 5 billion followers you were gonna post a piece of fanart and you’re just sick of it and you don’t want to do it any more? Give it up.
Sure, people will be disappointed and upset and some will complain. But life is disappointing and upsetting sometimes, and it goes on, and no one can sue you for not finishing a fic that they were enjoying the hell out of for free. No one can accuse you of not living up to the terms of your contract when you don’t post that fanart you mentioned three weeks ago. Because fandom is voluntary. It’s something that you participate in because it’s fun or fulfilling or important to you, and when it stops being those things, you should stop, too.
You are not bound by the asks in your inbox. You are not bound by comments on a fic or a piece of art. You are not bound, in fandom, by other people’s disappointments or their expectations.
Fandom is voluntary. Don’t let people pressure you into thinking that it is anything else.
gotta love the 70s
kids remind me, often, of the things i've taught myself out of.
i have a big dog. he looks like a deer. he is taller than most young children. while we were on a trail the other day, a boy coming our direction saw us and froze. he took a step back and said: "i'm feeling nervous. your - your dog is kind of big."
goblin and i both stopped walking immediately. "he is kind of a big dog," i admitted. "he's called a greyhound. they are gentle but they are pretty tall, which is kind of scary, you're right. their legs are so long because they are made for running fast. i am sorry we scared you. would you like us to stand still while you move past us, or would you feel more safe in your body if we move and you stay still?'
"oh. i didn't know that about - greyhounds. i think i ... i want to stay still," he said. at this point, his adult had caught up to us. "i'm nervous about the dog," he told her, "so i'm - i'm gonna stay still." she didn't argue. she didn't make fun of him. she just smiled at him and at me and held his hand while goblin and i, with as wide of a berth as we could make, crept our way through.
behind us, i heard him exhale a deep breath and kind of laugh - "he was really big, huh? she said it's because greyhounds have to go fast."
"he was big," she said. "i understand why that could have made you a little scared."
"yeah. next time i - next time do you think i could maybe ask to touch him? when - i mean, next time, maybe, if i'm not nervous."
later, going to a work event, in the big city, i stood outside, trembling. my social anxiety as a caught bird in my chest. i took a deep breath and turned to my coworker. she's not even really my friend yet. i told her: "i feel nervous about this. i am not used to meeting new people, ever since covid."
she laughed, but not in a mean way. she said she was nervous too. she reached her hand out and held mine, and we both took another deep breath and walked in like that, interlinked. a few people asked us - together? - and i told the truth: i feel nervous, and she's helping. over and over i watched people relax too, admitting i feel really kind of shy lately actually, thank you for saying that.
the next time i go to an event, and i feel a little scared, i ask right away: wanna hold hands? this feels a little dangerous. i hesitate less. i don't hide it as much. i watch for other people who are also nervous and say - it's kinda hard, huh?
i know, logically, i'm not good at asking for help. but i am also not good at noticing when i need help. i've trained myself out of asking completely, but i've also trained myself to never accept my own fears or excuses. i have trained myself to tamp down every anxiety and just-push-through. i don't know what i'm protecting myself from - just that i never think to admit it to anyone.
but every person on earth occasionally needs comfort. every person on earth occasionally needs connection. many of us were taught independence is the same thing as never needing anything.
each of us should have had an adult who heard - i feel nervous and held our hand and asked us how we could be helped to feel safe. no judgement, and no chiding. many of us did not. many of us were punished for the ways that we seemed "weak".
but here is something: i am an adult now. and i get nervous a lot, actually. and if you are an adult and you are feeling a little nervous - come talk to me. we can hold hands and figure out what will help us feel safe in our bodies. and maybe, next time, if we're brave, we can pet the dog that's passing.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
literally if you’re new to tumblr: reblog shit
“it wont fit my aesthetic” make a sideblog. reblog to it.
“i hate tagging” don’t tag then. reblog it anyway.
“but my likes are public” ppl here dont fucking look at your likes. they dont do anything anyway. reblog it.
“you just want attention” jokes on you, I dont make shit anymore. I’m talking about other artists.
“it’s embarrassing” tumblr is an anonymous platform. make a sideblog if you’re too cowardly
“but on twitter its fine to have lurk accounts” well they suck ass here and are assumed to be bots. reblog.
When you see it, you will think it strange and pitiful, but you will flee all the same Because it stares And flight has always served you well before. You will run for awhile, and it will be gone so you will return to your business.
When you see it again, you will think it foolish. How can it be so optimistic? But you will flee again, as before Because it still stares and Because running is easy for you.
You will run fast this time, and far. You will run until you are tired, and think Surely that is all. And you will return to your business You may even forget, for awhile.
But there it is, again And it stares, again. So you run, again. And run. And run.
You run until you have run farther than you’ve ever run. You run until your blood is fire And you cannot take another step. You cannot know, how could you? You were doomed from the moment it saw you.
hey everyone 👋 take my uquiz i finished and then forgot about for months. it's 28 questions with 15 results and there's no lyrics or pop culture references so it should be friendly to non-americans and people like me who are just out of touch
Writing is first and foremost about having fun.
Write the story you want to write, no matter how cliché or overdone of a concept it might be. You are allowed to write your story, even if it's filled with billions of things we've already seen before.
As long as you enjoy what you're doing, and you're passionate and excited about your project, that's what matters.
And don't give too much thought into what other people are trying to tell you. There's an audience for everything. Some people do actively search to consume stories about ''washed up'' concepts.
Art by John Stone