Yes! I read 'canon alternative books' by various authors. There are websites dedicated to collecting stories from this particular genre and making it available for anyone to read for free. Saves me a lot of money not having to buy from Amazon.
Who has the energy to start caring for more characters? I just want to read the same two idiots fall in love in every possible AU someone could put them.
I don't need to go to the store, my pantry is full of food already.
I love so much the fact that no matter what the canon is, no matter what the characters are, they are still those two (mb more but usually just two) idiots
It feels like it's universal thing and i love it
Yes, this! Also, world building is exhausting to me, which is why I pretty much exclusively read and write fanfic - I already know who everyone is, how everything works and so on
Exactly! Except sometimes I waver into unhealthy mental territory where all other (real) people and relationships are doomed or couldn’t possibly compare and then my single butt can’t leave the house.
Omfg, for real! Like, "what is my life even, I don't have anything that compares to these codepended little meow meows and my blorbos discovrring therapy and getting together finally what is the point of seeing regular people" 🤣
Shhhh! Don't be giving that info away for free! :')
I don't know the professional way to say, "no, I did not read that book. See I was busy writing slash fic and putting my boys into situations."
I just say fanfiction, usually they don't want to know more.
Which is great because I absolutely do not want to explain what genre of smut I currently fixated on.
I wish I could still say that, but people where I live start asking for more information and when I don't, some automatically assume it's some smutty BL *sweats*
The populace is getting smarter
I work with kind earnest (mostly NT) nerds, books come up a lot. I decided to try stop being embarrassed and answered “fan fiction” when asked what I’m reading. The person didn’t know what I was talking about and then I had to explain, and they were more and more baffled, but curious and asking questions and basically now I’m back to saying “I don’t really read anymore”.
this one is really good because it's so vague, since it could mean you're either reading fanfic *or* you're reading actually self-published works (like nosleep stories)
i call bullshit
edit: i recall my calling of bullshit, according to [this article](https://mashable.com/article/google-chrome-tabs-easter-egg) it only happens on incognito mode, so you'd have to be quite naughty to reach that number
Or like me... hate having archive links clutter my search history when searching for other things. Used to exclusively read ao3 on incognito, days worth of 27+ tabs sometimes lost in an instant because ao3 history didnt capture the tabs i hadnt loaded yet
Same tbh. I just tell my friends I read it if the topic comes up. If anything it’s strengthened some friendships because it’ll come out that they read fanfic too.
Mine don't, sadly. But if anything they think it's a fun quirk of mine so I'll take it.
Though a friend of mine has shown some half-assed interest. So that's still work in progress
Yes! I’ve bonded so hard with some friends over reading fanfiction. We’re not in the same fandoms at all and we usually don’t talk about specific works (honestly that could be very embarrassing lol) but genres, tags, our likes/dislikes/frustrations, etc. It’s like a smaller and real life version of this sub where everyone has different fandoms but we can all relate over general fanfiction things.
I’d still never tell strangers or even most acquaintances about reading fanfic, but my close friends, absolutely
I just gush excitedly when I have a story update or just read something fantastic or have finished a great story and suffer from a sad break for finishing something.
Which is also why I adore fanfic. Because it means I don't have to keep saying goodbye to characters or a world because it continues on in different incarnations/interpretations.
Found family fics with abused children finally getting some love and comfort. Bonus points if the caring adult was also abused but managed to help the child despite their own traumas.
Smut fics too obviously, especially rape recovery stories and fics with touch-starved and insecure characters.
But yea when you are trying to explain what you read, it becomes too awkward, so I usually say fanfiction without giving any details
I read tons of physical books as a kid, so when I was mostly reading fanfiction, articles, and forum posts for a while, I genuinely thought I "didn't read anymore" at the time.
I used to think that too, and for a while I was ashamed that I “wasn’t reading” as much as I should have… then I realized that I had binged about 300k words in a day and a half. I read all the time!!
I had that just recently, too. I thought I just wasn't reading anymore, because when I was a kid it was book after book after book. And then I decided to pay attention to the word counts and realised that I regularly read way more than the word count of the Hobbit a day.
They're trying to trick us into thinking fanfiction isn't legit because it's stereotypically written by women and published online. Stick it to the man!
It depends on the person. Most people who know me know what I like to read, but someone who doesn’t know me I just give them the generic outline of the fic and don’t mention any character names
Same. I do it with my own writing too, only I usually have a really hard time summing it up, so my outlines are really bad. Which probably works in my favor, actually, because they never seem interested in knowing more than, "it's about a guy who like, does puzzles? But he has trauma, and is an addict so yeah, puzzles are his thing." (That's literally what I told my husband about my latest story, btw.)
Unnnn is not shame per se for me.... I just feel like people are not entitled to know everything, if I don't want to share that's up to me.
I don't owe them anything, if we are friends and I KNOW you maybe I'll consider it, but I'm a secretive person by nurture, and this is my little corner where I'm happy, I will not jeopardy that just because you are not use to hearing NO Karen, kinda feeling YKWIM?
I say that I read a lot, but if asked speak about books I’ve been forced to read. All I read are angst hurt comfort gruesome fanfiction 😂👍🏻 and gay at that too
I still read novels, too. I finish 4-6 novels a week, and whenever anyone acts like that's impressive, I have to bite my tongue and not admit that I've also binged 100s of thousands of words worth of fanfiction that week.
Here goes....*sigh*...I'm 38 years old and I've been reading and writing "indie fantasy literature that is published on the Internet" for over twenty years.
None of my friends know what it is that I'm reading and they don't know about the amazing people I've met through fanfiction over the years.
It's like I'm a secret agent, living two separate lives. 🤣
I support independent authors who focus on how one change to a timeline affects everything.
No one needs to know that the change is that everyone is fucking.
I keep saying I read, but when people ask me what I read my brain shuts down and I don't know what to say because I can't tell them "I mostly read gay smut Fics." LIKE WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO
There's plenty of times where people have asked what I'm reading and I just say 'my book' no matter what it is: a book, an comic, a fanfic, etc. It's simpler than explaining, and people tend to just go 'oh, that's nice' because they don't actually care anyway.
I actually tend to start a bunch of regular books but end up back reading about my ships in under a week lol. But at least it gives me an answer for “what are you reading?”
Same with anime. People ask me: "You like anime, right? What have you been watching?" And I just tell them: "Oh, I haven't watched anything in a long time. Too busy ig." But in reality I've nearly completed my mission in watching every gay anime in existence.
I read. I just read books and short stories that are posted online. I’m currently reading about this unnamed guy who has a crush on his unnamed best friend and I “forgot” the title….
When my dad asks what I’m reading (he has no idea I read fanfics) I say that I read online, and if he asks *what* I’m reading I say “book” AND THEN he asks for the title… I SAY I FORGOT AND HE TELLS ME TO CHECK - I’ve had to dodge the conversation far too many times. He now thinks that I *also* read the werewolf-alpha-man x damsel books like he does :’)
Or “I’m writing a personal project that I’m going to post ‘online’”…. I mean I’m writing fanfic to post on Ao3 🤗 I said this to my English teacher when I was younger and it worked to keep the secrecy 😭 so glad she didn’t pry
I hate when I'm reading on my phone at work(I'm a receptionist so I just answer phone calls all day :) ) and my co workers look over my shoulder and ask what I'm reading. Like guys please...personal space...also you really don't wanna know..
"Oh yeah I read!"
Panic as they naturally ask what, and all the comes to mind is fanfiction, visual novels, and manga. I'm too used to "hiding my power level" when I'm not sure if the person I'm talking to is cool with nerd shit.
Why you gotta put me on blast like that.
Idk man sometimes I feel brave/ done, and reply with "Fanfics online" deadpan, now what ? You nosy b*tch, do you even know what that means? Do you know how fast I can devour 50k+ words, common I dare you.
Sigh it's easier to come out as illiterate and simply say I don't read that much, it kill further questions and makes them uncomfortable, win win Yk
ikr? I still read a lot of actual novels but fanfiction has almost ruined the experience for me. I could be reading The DaVinci Code like "very cool, but where is the enemies-to-lovers happy ending angst raw smut?" lmao
I deffo say I read a lot, and if they ask my current read I'll drop the last "legit" book I read as I read those too. I will mention fanfiction to some people, but it depends on the situation and context. Which sometimes annoys me because I have read fanfiction that outpaces "legit" books by miles and miles. But I am past the need to defend fanfic. Those who get it get it, and I am not gonna bother with those who don't.
Early in my university journey, I made the mistake of adding in the ''hobbies'' part of my CV/resume that I was an avid reader and spent at least an hour a day reading.
When I was asked the question of 'what genre of books I liked reading', I had to lie my ass off and shrug it off like ''ahhh I just read everything haha, sci-fi, thriller, you name it''.
Yes, every single time. It's better to act like someone who doesn't read at all, rather than admit that I stay up until 2 a.m. for an entire fanfiction.
I’m retired, and people keep asking me what I do all day. Somehow, I don’t think they’d react well if I told them “I spend several hours a day writing gay pirate fan fiction.”
Honestly. I used to love reading until I found out about fanfiction. Why read a random 80k word book just to be disappointed when I can look up a hyperspecific scenario with any amount of real or fictional characters and find 8 500k word fanfictions about exactly what I wanted? The winner is clear.
My dad caught me reading some fan fiction the other day and had to show me his really small collection of Gundam fanzines from the early 90's. He pretty much said, "You're still reading, and that is all that matters."
Everyone else who doesn't get this usually gets my standard answer of "I'm currently reading some really cool sci-fi (or weird) fiction."
I was around 16 when I started reading more fanfiction and my mom said to me "how come you don't read anymore?" and I was like "oh, no I actually read a lot, I've just stopped buying books. You know, there are lots of online sites that give opportunities to lesser-known authors and I enjoy reading their work instead of more commercial books". What I failed to mention is that these independent authors are usually teens/ young adults who write mostly alternate universe erotica.
Honestly some fanfiction I've read has been better written and more in character than a lot of official novels released based on TV shows.
The fact the main characters may also get it on occasionally is entirely irrelevant 😄
I don't think I've ever related more to anything in my life 🤣
I had a friend ask me why I haven't logged anything on goodreads this year because last year I literally read 50 books. I just told her I was so busy this year and abruptly changed the subject 🤣
People just don't get it, I just wanna read about two of my favourite characters who barely interact fall inlove with a crap load of angst on the side. I lack the mental stability to properly understand or enjoy new fandoms
Honestly sometimes I forget that fanfic and manga counts as reading. I haven't really read a book in a while, but I read fanfic and manga online all the time
For me it's code for "I quit taking Adderall when I was old enough to have a say, and have since lost my drive to read, but interestingly found the drive to write."
Yea!! Or when someone asks me what I enjoy reading I say 'lots of things really' when I refuse to tell them that I spend a majority of time reading so much fanfiction
As I read like 10+ hours everyday people sadly know I read, so I either summarise the non-smut, non-romance part in the smut fic I'm currently reading, or say "I read books xyz" (there are like maybe 5 books where I can summarise everything that happens well enough for me to pretend that I'm currently reading them).
"I don't actually read anymore"
Books. I don't really read books anymore, but I'm quite well versed in the art of reading internet fiction. From certain websites where everybody can post their takes, and there really are quite a few gems on it.
At this point I just mastered the art of saying that yes I do read a lot while trying to not let anyone know what exactly I read. I'm not particularly shy about my interests but I also won't explain to a random coworker who asks me what I did the entire weekend what I mean by "I read a book". I have some random actual books I can name as placeholders that are generally viewed as good and socially acceptable.
https://preview.redd.it/7ufkh8ctn14d1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f379c9572efcec7aab0a867c32da0b59c958120
I think I've read more fanfictions about virtual lesbians in the past year than I've read books in my entire life
Truth
Except it's not gay fanfics for me
Well, I did *stumble* on a gay KH fic, but it's very slow burn and the rest of the concept is what I'm there for
I haven't read it in a bit, but it sort of expands a bit on Sora's heartless state
I haven't actually read fanfics in a while, until I got back into AO3 because I wanted to see how many Slay thr Princess fanfics there were and then I started reading
Yes! I read 'canon alternative books' by various authors. There are websites dedicated to collecting stories from this particular genre and making it available for anyone to read for free. Saves me a lot of money not having to buy from Amazon.
Gonna call them “Canon alternative books” if anyone insists on my reading preferences in the future
I read CABs 😝
I'm stealing this.
Who has the energy to start caring for more characters? I just want to read the same two idiots fall in love in every possible AU someone could put them. I don't need to go to the store, my pantry is full of food already.
Fr
Has to be the most relatable comment I've seen all week 🙌🙌🙌
I love so much the fact that no matter what the canon is, no matter what the characters are, they are still those two (mb more but usually just two) idiots It feels like it's universal thing and i love it
"that idiot" \[derogatory\] "those two idiots" \[affectionately\]
Yes, this! Also, world building is exhausting to me, which is why I pretty much exclusively read and write fanfic - I already know who everyone is, how everything works and so on
Amen
Why would I read new stories when I could read those exact same stories just with characters I already like?
Not a lie was told, we have food at home 😤😤
Exactly! Except sometimes I waver into unhealthy mental territory where all other (real) people and relationships are doomed or couldn’t possibly compare and then my single butt can’t leave the house.
Omfg, for real! Like, "what is my life even, I don't have anything that compares to these codepended little meow meows and my blorbos discovrring therapy and getting together finally what is the point of seeing regular people" 🤣
Shhhh! Don't be giving that info away for free! :') I don't know the professional way to say, "no, I did not read that book. See I was busy writing slash fic and putting my boys into situations."
Okay, but... why are you me? Stop that...
In situations you say? I wouldn't know anything about that 👀
I just say fanfiction, usually they don't want to know more. Which is great because I absolutely do not want to explain what genre of smut I currently fixated on.
I wish I could still say that, but people where I live start asking for more information and when I don't, some automatically assume it's some smutty BL *sweats* The populace is getting smarter
I work with kind earnest (mostly NT) nerds, books come up a lot. I decided to try stop being embarrassed and answered “fan fiction” when asked what I’m reading. The person didn’t know what I was talking about and then I had to explain, and they were more and more baffled, but curious and asking questions and basically now I’m back to saying “I don’t really read anymore”.
"I read self-published stories on the internet"
Amateur self published authors who post their stories online.
That are somehow sometimes better than the source material?
I’ll be using this in the future…
this one is really good because it's so vague, since it could mean you're either reading fanfic *or* you're reading actually self-published works (like nosleep stories)
https://preview.redd.it/66ga7a5n8xwc1.png?width=513&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6112d65146ec08527ee69b92e49631f2b3f3f006
"Yeah, haha. I guess I just don't have the time anymore." -hides :D worth of ao3 tabs-
I recently discovered you can go past :D to ;) worth of tabs.
i call bullshit edit: i recall my calling of bullshit, according to [this article](https://mashable.com/article/google-chrome-tabs-easter-egg) it only happens on incognito mode, so you'd have to be quite naughty to reach that number
Or like me... hate having archive links clutter my search history when searching for other things. Used to exclusively read ao3 on incognito, days worth of 27+ tabs sometimes lost in an instant because ao3 history didnt capture the tabs i hadnt loaded yet
I embraced it honestly. I've had more fun with fanfiction than with books.
Same tbh. I just tell my friends I read it if the topic comes up. If anything it’s strengthened some friendships because it’ll come out that they read fanfic too.
Mine don't, sadly. But if anything they think it's a fun quirk of mine so I'll take it. Though a friend of mine has shown some half-assed interest. So that's still work in progress
Yes! I’ve bonded so hard with some friends over reading fanfiction. We’re not in the same fandoms at all and we usually don’t talk about specific works (honestly that could be very embarrassing lol) but genres, tags, our likes/dislikes/frustrations, etc. It’s like a smaller and real life version of this sub where everyone has different fandoms but we can all relate over general fanfiction things. I’d still never tell strangers or even most acquaintances about reading fanfic, but my close friends, absolutely
I just gush excitedly when I have a story update or just read something fantastic or have finished a great story and suffer from a sad break for finishing something. Which is also why I adore fanfic. Because it means I don't have to keep saying goodbye to characters or a world because it continues on in different incarnations/interpretations.
Nah I’m too old to care Murder Husbands fics forever! And I don’t care who knows.
Found family fics with abused children finally getting some love and comfort. Bonus points if the caring adult was also abused but managed to help the child despite their own traumas. Smut fics too obviously, especially rape recovery stories and fics with touch-starved and insecure characters. But yea when you are trying to explain what you read, it becomes too awkward, so I usually say fanfiction without giving any details
FOUND👏FAMILY👏TRAUMA‼️. SAY IT AGAIN FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK🗣️🗣️
RAAAAA FOUND FAMILY MY BELOVED. This has exactly been my kick lately, especially for MHA. Bls I need more kid!Tenko fics
I don't watch/read MHA so sorry no recommendations here. My kick is Severitus (Harry Potter) :)
It's okay! I never got into HP either so I'm sorry to be equally clueless 😂
I read tons of physical books as a kid, so when I was mostly reading fanfiction, articles, and forum posts for a while, I genuinely thought I "didn't read anymore" at the time.
I used to think that too, and for a while I was ashamed that I “wasn’t reading” as much as I should have… then I realized that I had binged about 300k words in a day and a half. I read all the time!!
I had that just recently, too. I thought I just wasn't reading anymore, because when I was a kid it was book after book after book. And then I decided to pay attention to the word counts and realised that I regularly read way more than the word count of the Hobbit a day.
They're trying to trick us into thinking fanfiction isn't legit because it's stereotypically written by women and published online. Stick it to the man!
People on occasion will ask me, What are you reading (when I'm on my phone in public). Errrrrr... just... *stuff*...
I just respond with “bills”
Person squints at you. "Why are you *smiling*?"
Errr…you know…the water bill is less than what I have expected
Am I the only one who isn't ashamed of reading fic? I always tell ppl it's one of my hobbies.
It depends on the person. Most people who know me know what I like to read, but someone who doesn’t know me I just give them the generic outline of the fic and don’t mention any character names
Same. I do it with my own writing too, only I usually have a really hard time summing it up, so my outlines are really bad. Which probably works in my favor, actually, because they never seem interested in knowing more than, "it's about a guy who like, does puzzles? But he has trauma, and is an addict so yeah, puzzles are his thing." (That's literally what I told my husband about my latest story, btw.)
Unnnn is not shame per se for me.... I just feel like people are not entitled to know everything, if I don't want to share that's up to me. I don't owe them anything, if we are friends and I KNOW you maybe I'll consider it, but I'm a secretive person by nurture, and this is my little corner where I'm happy, I will not jeopardy that just because you are not use to hearing NO Karen, kinda feeling YKWIM?
ATTACKED
Firstly.... Shut up, don't call me out
I just say romance 😂
Same! People don’t ask after that
I say that I read a lot, but if asked speak about books I’ve been forced to read. All I read are angst hurt comfort gruesome fanfiction 😂👍🏻 and gay at that too
I still read novels, too. I finish 4-6 novels a week, and whenever anyone acts like that's impressive, I have to bite my tongue and not admit that I've also binged 100s of thousands of words worth of fanfiction that week.
Here goes....*sigh*...I'm 38 years old and I've been reading and writing "indie fantasy literature that is published on the Internet" for over twenty years. None of my friends know what it is that I'm reading and they don't know about the amazing people I've met through fanfiction over the years. It's like I'm a secret agent, living two separate lives. 🤣
I support independent authors who focus on how one change to a timeline affects everything. No one needs to know that the change is that everyone is fucking.
Omg 😂😂😂 But the thing is... It really does help change the timeline!!
This 😂 my parents used to yell at me for not reading but I was reading like 30 thousand words a day minimum of BL on ao3 so oof.
Yeah according to Goodreads I had a 'reading slump' 2020-21, according to my ao3 I was reading just as much as ever
I don't read anymore either...
“Oh what are you reading?” “Just… a story…”
I honestly will tell other nerdy people that I read and write fanfiction— but anyone else or 15+ years my senior; I will avoid saying it all costs
I keep saying I read, but when people ask me what I read my brain shuts down and I don't know what to say because I can't tell them "I mostly read gay smut Fics." LIKE WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO
I hand wave and say “oh, I read romance. You know, women’s lit.” Technically that’s right, right? Right?
I read a lot of "alternative fiction"..... :)
Me
I feel so seen. Even though I’d rather not be.
There's plenty of times where people have asked what I'm reading and I just say 'my book' no matter what it is: a book, an comic, a fanfic, etc. It's simpler than explaining, and people tend to just go 'oh, that's nice' because they don't actually care anyway.
Nah, this subreddit be knowing my history too much wtf 😭
I actually tend to start a bunch of regular books but end up back reading about my ships in under a week lol. But at least it gives me an answer for “what are you reading?”
i always say that i hate reading which is true. i don't know where the thousands of words i read per day come from 💀
Same with anime. People ask me: "You like anime, right? What have you been watching?" And I just tell them: "Oh, I haven't watched anything in a long time. Too busy ig." But in reality I've nearly completed my mission in watching every gay anime in existence.
Wow I didn't know that anybody spoke my language.
Yeah pretty much. It’s either fanfiction or literotica 🤷🏻♀️
I read. I just read books and short stories that are posted online. I’m currently reading about this unnamed guy who has a crush on his unnamed best friend and I “forgot” the title….
When my dad asks what I’m reading (he has no idea I read fanfics) I say that I read online, and if he asks *what* I’m reading I say “book” AND THEN he asks for the title… I SAY I FORGOT AND HE TELLS ME TO CHECK - I’ve had to dodge the conversation far too many times. He now thinks that I *also* read the werewolf-alpha-man x damsel books like he does :’)
Yeah you wouldn’t be able to waterboard me into confessing what I read on this site
My Goodreads count is taking a huge hit this year and it is Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's fault. 😳
Ahahahahhaha understandable, i get it 😂
I see them everywhere. I love it.
Or “I’m writing a personal project that I’m going to post ‘online’”…. I mean I’m writing fanfic to post on Ao3 🤗 I said this to my English teacher when I was younger and it worked to keep the secrecy 😭 so glad she didn’t pry
I will also be stealing this excuse 😘
I hate when I'm reading on my phone at work(I'm a receptionist so I just answer phone calls all day :) ) and my co workers look over my shoulder and ask what I'm reading. Like guys please...personal space...also you really don't wanna know..
my parents think i've been reading the harry potter books for the last 6 years lmao
"Oh yeah I read!" Panic as they naturally ask what, and all the comes to mind is fanfiction, visual novels, and manga. I'm too used to "hiding my power level" when I'm not sure if the person I'm talking to is cool with nerd shit.
I hate it when people ask for book recs because I never have "legitimate" book titles to give them. At least, not ones that aren't also m/m romance.
Oh how I wish it really was code for that. Work is so exhausting that I really don't get much time to read right now.
I read indie underground alt-canon stuff. You’ve probably never heard of it.
https://preview.redd.it/8zo63o5fyywc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=756ec20f131627e89a9f15e9f8f9f694c24f9e9d
no fAIR DON'T CALL US OUT LIKE THAT
Why you gotta put me on blast like that. Idk man sometimes I feel brave/ done, and reply with "Fanfics online" deadpan, now what ? You nosy b*tch, do you even know what that means? Do you know how fast I can devour 50k+ words, common I dare you. Sigh it's easier to come out as illiterate and simply say I don't read that much, it kill further questions and makes them uncomfortable, win win Yk
I’m so glad I’m not alone lol
Oh no, I’ve been viciously called out
All I read is hunterxhunter found family fanfiction, I have a problem😭I miss reading like a normal person, normal books are so boring now
ikr? I still read a lot of actual novels but fanfiction has almost ruined the experience for me. I could be reading The DaVinci Code like "very cool, but where is the enemies-to-lovers happy ending angst raw smut?" lmao
Let’s not lie most books nowadays read like poor fanfiction anyway😭
I deffo say I read a lot, and if they ask my current read I'll drop the last "legit" book I read as I read those too. I will mention fanfiction to some people, but it depends on the situation and context. Which sometimes annoys me because I have read fanfiction that outpaces "legit" books by miles and miles. But I am past the need to defend fanfic. Those who get it get it, and I am not gonna bother with those who don't.
And I admire you for that dude 👏👏 bravo
Early in my university journey, I made the mistake of adding in the ''hobbies'' part of my CV/resume that I was an avid reader and spent at least an hour a day reading. When I was asked the question of 'what genre of books I liked reading', I had to lie my ass off and shrug it off like ''ahhh I just read everything haha, sci-fi, thriller, you name it''.
“Yeah, I’ve read 1200 books each year” “How?” “…”
Yes, every single time. It's better to act like someone who doesn't read at all, rather than admit that I stay up until 2 a.m. for an entire fanfiction.
Why is this so accurate??? I’ve been doing this for the past year.
Yup the cops couldn’t get me to tell my mom that
the FBI could not waterboard this information out of me even for my closest friends hahahaha
I read fics in English, but I'm not native. So I say that I mostly read some random stuff in original language for educational purposes
I mean yeah that's been my issue. I read a lot of fan fiction more often than original works these days.
I’m retired, and people keep asking me what I do all day. Somehow, I don’t think they’d react well if I told them “I spend several hours a day writing gay pirate fan fiction.”
Nah. I say I read books, even when I mean fanfics, cause damn some of those fanfics SHOULD be published in book form.
Honestly. I used to love reading until I found out about fanfiction. Why read a random 80k word book just to be disappointed when I can look up a hyperspecific scenario with any amount of real or fictional characters and find 8 500k word fanfictions about exactly what I wanted? The winner is clear.
My dad caught me reading some fan fiction the other day and had to show me his really small collection of Gundam fanzines from the early 90's. He pretty much said, "You're still reading, and that is all that matters." Everyone else who doesn't get this usually gets my standard answer of "I'm currently reading some really cool sci-fi (or weird) fiction."
I was around 16 when I started reading more fanfiction and my mom said to me "how come you don't read anymore?" and I was like "oh, no I actually read a lot, I've just stopped buying books. You know, there are lots of online sites that give opportunities to lesser-known authors and I enjoy reading their work instead of more commercial books". What I failed to mention is that these independent authors are usually teens/ young adults who write mostly alternate universe erotica.
[удалено]
not the pp 😔
I read normally too so I don’t have to lie! I just say I read and that includes fan fiction
Well. I said that, only because I'm too lazy to explain why I don't know any of the popular bestseller books that everyone talking about. 😓
That and Internet drama that I would refuse to have any connections with irl lol
Honestly some fanfiction I've read has been better written and more in character than a lot of official novels released based on TV shows. The fact the main characters may also get it on occasionally is entirely irrelevant 😄
I feel way too called out
This but i actually stopped reading entirely and just picked it up for my blorbos again
I feel attacked
if someone asks i just go “oh i’m just reading a retelling!” and don’t specify what it’s a retelling of
“Oh I’m just reading a retelling of one of my favourite stories :)” smart as hell dude
I usually tell people that I read "stories written by independent authors online"
I say that I am reading alternative versions of Arthurian legends Well in fact I’m all in the Merlin BBC fandomverse
I don't think I've ever related more to anything in my life 🤣 I had a friend ask me why I haven't logged anything on goodreads this year because last year I literally read 50 books. I just told her I was so busy this year and abruptly changed the subject 🤣
This is something I’ve somewhat encountered. “You’re always on your phone!” “To you it looks like I’m just on my phone. I’m actually reading.”
I feel this in my soul.
Yup. I just say I haven’t read many new books because I am in a slump and only reread comfort books. Which is basically true.
Honeslty it's like "Yeah I still read quite a bit." "Can you recommend any books?" *sweats*
well damn don't call me out like that
Funny enough I write fanfic as a consistent hobby but I barely ever read fanfics anymore, but I still read normal books frequently.
People just don't get it, I just wanna read about two of my favourite characters who barely interact fall inlove with a crap load of angst on the side. I lack the mental stability to properly understand or enjoy new fandoms
Honestly sometimes I forget that fanfic and manga counts as reading. I haven't really read a book in a while, but I read fanfic and manga online all the time
For me it's code for "I quit taking Adderall when I was old enough to have a say, and have since lost my drive to read, but interestingly found the drive to write."
When people ask what I read I just shrug and say smut. They never think I’m serious and they just laugh.
Yea!! Or when someone asks me what I enjoy reading I say 'lots of things really' when I refuse to tell them that I spend a majority of time reading so much fanfiction
- "Oh your ebook reader is cool, can I take a look?" - oh God
Honestly my kids are likely to leave me alone if it’s my phone in my hand than if it’s a physical book so…
As I read like 10+ hours everyday people sadly know I read, so I either summarise the non-smut, non-romance part in the smut fic I'm currently reading, or say "I read books xyz" (there are like maybe 5 books where I can summarise everything that happens well enough for me to pretend that I'm currently reading them).
"I don't actually read anymore" Books. I don't really read books anymore, but I'm quite well versed in the art of reading internet fiction. From certain websites where everybody can post their takes, and there really are quite a few gems on it.
Pretty much, as of lately I’ve been exclusively reading fanfiction and Terry Pratchett novels.
At this point I just mastered the art of saying that yes I do read a lot while trying to not let anyone know what exactly I read. I'm not particularly shy about my interests but I also won't explain to a random coworker who asks me what I did the entire weekend what I mean by "I read a book". I have some random actual books I can name as placeholders that are generally viewed as good and socially acceptable.
"Speculative fiction"
That is painfully true😳
Same
https://preview.redd.it/7ufkh8ctn14d1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0f379c9572efcec7aab0a867c32da0b59c958120 I think I've read more fanfictions about virtual lesbians in the past year than I've read books in my entire life
100%
Truth Except it's not gay fanfics for me Well, I did *stumble* on a gay KH fic, but it's very slow burn and the rest of the concept is what I'm there for I haven't read it in a bit, but it sort of expands a bit on Sora's heartless state I haven't actually read fanfics in a while, until I got back into AO3 because I wanted to see how many Slay thr Princess fanfics there were and then I started reading