Don't Like Don't Read

I was reflecting, earlier, on a particular footnote that I always liked.

The argument I've seen for fanfic - one I honestly agree with - is 'if you don't like it, the close box is right there'. I remember being more spiteful at one point, but now...honestly, let people write what they want to write. Some things are short and silly, some cover serious topics, some might prefer ships or tropes I really don't like, some might be written in a style I can't parse - it's out there, it's writing, and not everything is going to be for me.

And that's fine. I am not the centre of the fandom universe; some fics are not going to be to my tastes, but they still get to exist. No ifs, ands, or buts.

But I promised a footnote. So there's this one author who summed it up really well, in my opinion. One of these prolific multi-fandom authors, with a fair few stories that went over pretty well. I think some bits of fanon that got accepted or inspired their own fics, even. Not really a fan of author's notes per se, but perfectly willing to have a character occasionally break the fourth wall to comment on something.

So the footnote was really one of those meta-bits from one character at the end of the story, but it embodies this attitude. If you didn't like the story, then you can just walk away and pretend you never read it. If you want to leave a comment about some point, the author might try to answer - but generally, kudos if you liked it and take it easy if you didn't. Words to live by, and they're under the cut.
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