An Open Letter from a Fanfiction Lover

Category: General Audience (with a slight case of the nuts and bananas)

Fandoms: Fanfictions

Relationships: reader x the world, author x fanfictions, reader x fanfictions

Characters: reader, fanfiction, the world, elsa, thanos, jack frost, darth vader (don't ask)

Language: English

Additional Tags: The plot is somewhere…. probably, Definitely not what I planned, Oops! I did it again, It’s all downhill from here, No plot just vibes

Word Count: 1422

Warnings: May cause existential crises about your own reading habits, accidental identification with y/n, sudden bursts of laughter, the overwhelming desire to start writing fanfiction (but probably won’t), excessive use of tags and tattoos (they’re not the same, I swear), dramatic snowball fights, and characters yeeting themselves into uncharted tropes.

You got my attention, what happens next then?

Author: FanficFanatic

Summary:

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It all started one summer evening. The weather was sweltering, the pigeons were pooping, and y/n was ready to make questionable life choices. She had heard of AO3, Archive of Our Own, from friends in school and grew curious. We know curiosity killed that cat. But in y/n’s case, curiosity threw y/n in a potato sack, and shipped her off to the land of no return, the land of fanfictions.

Or, where y/n reads a fanfiction and it makes all the difference in the world.

Alternatively titled, y/n’s story of how she fell in love and in a ditch (in that specific order).

Notes:

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Chaotic trumpet noises and Jazz hands!

Hey guys, Welcome to the Wingless Dreamer Blog!

Cue excited screams!

It was your regular Tuesday, I was thinking about what fanfictions mean to me and BAM! This tiny monster was born. I hold this monster very close to my heart, so if you have nothing nice to say, please don’t say anything and if you wanna gush about how you also learnt about the world by reading fanfictions, post a comment! I am jobless so I read (and respond) to all of them! 

The title is a line from the song Someday by Milo Manheim and Meg Donnelly from the movie Zombies. If you haven’t watched the movie or heard that song, what are you still doing here? Go give it what it’s due!

Glossary for first time readers:

• y/n : your name - Insert your name where it says y/n! (if you want) or just read it as Why-enne, that's what I do.

• a/n : author’s notes - If I wanna talk to you in the middle of the story, I use this to say hi :)

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Why Y/N Got Into Fanfiction

In retrospect, y/n should have known that opening AO3 would change her life forever. For better or for worse was still up for debate. It all started one summer evening. The weather was sweltering, the pigeons were pooping, and y/n was ready to make questionable life choices. She had heard of AO3, Archive of Our Own from friends in school and grew curious. We know curiosity killed that cat. But in y/n’s case, curiosity threw y/n into a rabbit hole of fanfictions, locked the door, and threw away the key.

You see, fanfiction wasn’t like the other books. It didn’t come with hard bound spines and unique publishing numbers (so, not the best books to bring back home to meet your family), it came with the one thing y/n craved the most. It came with tattoos and without price tags. 

Why Fanfiction Is Unique

Just kidding! (At least the part regarding the price tags)

While not having to pay had its upsides, y/n loved fanfictions because they weren’t limited by the standards imposed upon commercial books by publishing houses. Fanfictions could talk about the most absurd, farfetched,  and tabooed topics and ideas without having to worry about whether they would sell. 

While the publishing industry was struggling and hesitating to create a market for romance novels with LGBTQ+ couples, the fanfiction community was thriving. In fact, LGBTQ+ couples and characters are the epicenter of fanfictions. Most of these works are also written by people of the LGBTQ+ community, making the works personal, raw and up to a certain level, reflections of the real world. 

This also makes fanfictions a good source to learn about and engage with unfamiliar and unexplored ideas, as opposed to mainstream content which is often riddled with stereotypes and caters to a certain set of audience. Most fanfiction are self indulgent and written purely for the pleasure of the author, which aids in making the works flow more smoothly, naturally and retains the creative freedom of the author in its entirety, without the pressure and burden of having to satisfy an audience.

Struggles Of A Fanfiction Reader

Then why is y/n so bitter about being privy to such a community?  There are many (read as: two (2)) reasons.

1. Firstly, the quantity of content is low. Fanfictions are not a popular form of media, and most often, a form of content that is looked upon as cringe worthy. So, y/n’s pool of content is extremely limited, which is sad as it is, but the next point really adds the icing to the cake.

2. Reading a book, watching a TV show or movie is just not enough anymore. After y/n finishes a new show on Netflix, she needs to hop onto AO3 and see what the community has to say about the show. This extra responsibility wears y/n down but she has to stay true to her duties. 

Benefits Of Reading Fanfiction

Jokes aside, y/n truly enjoys reading fan interpretations. They provide insights into plot holes missed by the original creators, alternate interpretation of canon events and character reactions, and also serve as a source/material that expands on the existing work.

What if Darth Vader was actually just really bad at expressing love? His heavy breathing? Just trying to calm down from the anxiety of meeting Luke. The Empire? A misguided attempt at creating a "family business."

What if Frozen's Elsa wasn’t so kind-hearted? 

“Let it go? No, I’ll freeze this entire kingdom out of spite.”

Additionally, fanfictions engage in a mix and match of characters, themes/settings (or even source material) from multiple fandoms. This provides a window into how different characters (modified or otherwise) would react in different situations, not only giving us more insights into the personality of the characters and the complexities of a circumstance, but also offering fresh perspectives on familiar storylines and the potential for exploring unexpected interactions and dynamics between characters from different worlds.

What if Elsa (Frozen) and Jack Frost (Rise of the Guardians) had an enemies-to-lovers arc?

Elsa: “Stop freezing everything, you reckless fool.”

Jack: “Stop singing to yourself in your ice castle.”

Cue the dramatic snowball fight that turns into an awkward first kiss.

What if Thanos joined the Bachelorette? 

“I’m just looking for someone who completes me...or at least balances the universe.”

Cue half the contestants mysteriously vanishing after every rose ceremony.

These examples/possibilities seem silly and laughable (and up to a certain extent, they are) but their essence is rooted in reality. If people (or in the case of fanfictions, characters) were to be dropped into outlandish situations, how would they react? Fanfictions are allowed to explore these what-ifs that official media often leaves unexplored. 

Fanfic writers aren’t just trying to create amusing crossovers or improbable scenarios for fun (though that’s definitely a huge part of it). They’re exploring the vulnerabilities of characters by stripping them from their usual settings and putting them into worlds where they can’t rely on their usual strengths, at least, not in the ways they could in the source material. Reading the reactions of characters that are put against backdrops that are unfamiliar to them reveals new or hidden layers of their personalities. 

Benefits Of Writing Fanfiction

Even in the case of a fanfiction writer, having to sit with characters and think about their personalities, their experiences and then extrapolate their reactions to a certain situation based off of their personalities and experiences forces them to examine human nature and explore relationships and dynamics in various nuanced settings.

How does Elsa, known for her self-control and grace, cope with being thrown into a relationship dynamic that pushes her boundaries, when she is suddenly forced to face a reckless, free-spirited character like Jack Frost? Similarly, how does Jack Frost, someone who thrives in chaos, react to someone as calculated as Elsa?

How does one explore the darker, more selfish side of a character, like Elsa turning bitter and vengeful? Does she become obsessed with control, determined to freeze everything out of spite, refusing to accept the imperfections around her. Wouldn’t that force her to confront aspects of herself she’s always denied? Maybe she will struggle with her own loneliness, her powers being both a gift and a curse—something she can no longer simply let go.

Benefits Of Tags

Y/n, for sure, doesn’t know. She sticks exclusively to reading fanfictions, not writing them, so not her problem to solve. She’ll open her mouth obediently and impatiently for fanfiction writers to spoon feed her content. She doesn’t wish to be part of the solution by increasing the number of fanfictions out there. 

She will sit in her bed and complain, thank you very much, while scrolling through fanfictions with tags like Plot? Never heard of her, Tropes? What are those?, Plot twist: There’s no plot, Too many idiots and not enough brain cells— Oh!

Did y/n mention that fanfictions have tattoos- TAGS! Tags! Her family would never approve of her bringing someone with tattoos home. 

Fanfictions have tags (not tattoos, thank god!) allowing readers to pick and choose the permutations and combinations of the tropes they’d like to delve into. Giving them the autonomy to choose exactly what they are comfortable reading (or not reading). 

This also enables readers to find works on similar tropes and note what the authors did differently. Tags also make it easier for readers to find hidden gems that may not be as popular but fit their exact tastes. Readers might even discover new themes or tropes they never thought they’d be interested in. It’s a way to explore not only different kinds of stories but also aspects of oneself as a reader.

How Is Y/N Doing

So, for y/n it all started one summer evening. The weather was sweltering, the pigeons were pooping, and y/n was ready to make questionable life choices. She had heard of AO3, Archive of Our Own from friends in school and grew curious. And curiosity didn’t just throw her into a potato sack and ship her off—it wrapped her in a soft blanket and transported her to worlds she'd never imagined, and quietly left her there to figure out what came next.

Curiosity, as it turns out, wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

Curiosity taught y/n that fanfiction is more than just storytelling; it's an immersive experience where readers become part of the narrative, engaging with tropes, alternate universes (AUs), and character-driven plots that mainstream publishing often overlooks.

Y/n's crush in school got a girlfriend and her family rejects boys with tattoos (good thing fanfiction doesn't have any). But fanfiction, sweet nuanced fanfiction always welcomed y/n without price tags and with open arms full of tatto—tags! Ta—

The End

Notes:

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Soooooooooo… What do we think?

The ending did get away from me a bit, but I hope you enjoyed reading it anyway.

Give this fanfiction a kudos if you like it. It serves no purpose whatsoever, other than letting me know that there are more people like me out there in the world (and the world is doomed for it).

Have you ever read a fanfiction that changed the way you viewed a story? Drop your wildest fanfic discovery in the comments!

And if this post inspires you to dive into fanfictions, proceed with caution (or don’t—y/n didn’t).

I look forward to reading your comments, and until next time!

Leaves with a procession of trumpets and jazz hands.