[ SECRET POST #2988 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2988 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 050 secrets from Secret Submission Post #427.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 1 2 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

13. http://i.imgur.com/CWIcnEu.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

There's a few writers in my main fandom that are like that. They're praised all over the place, but they just come off so damn smug/condescending that I can't read all of their stuff.

[(Anonymous)]

There are a few I know of, too.

Actually, their FIC isn't smug, but their replies to comments and their tumblr are so...patronizing that I'm put off their fic, too.

[(Anonymous)]

I think you're projecting your own insecurities in it, specially if you can't put your finger on what caused that impression.

[(Anonymous)]

Well, no. Plenty of readers can detect something in a text, but not be able to articulate what or why that is. That's why so many people like a thing, but they might not be the type of person to do an in depth analysis of its themes and tropes. Or you might dislike a thing, and not be able to break down the specific details of why it rubs you the wrong way.

[(Anonymous)]

Nah, anon, I know exactly what you mean. I have totally read authors who fit that description. Usually the ones who are gifted authors who come off as being so in love with their own style that they sometimes sacrifice characterisation to it. It's difficult to describe how I mean (mostly cause it's 1am and I'm about to hit the hay) and I don't want to name the authors I'm thinking of cause it seems petty to name names when they can't defend themselves.

[(Anonymous)]

Ooh yes, I know exactly what you mean there.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I've known people like that. Writers who think very highly of themselves and their work tend to radiate smugness, and their work usually doesn't deserve that level of arrogance.

Unpopular Opinion

[(Anonymous)]

i think sometimes we have a natural aversion to big name fans and their work, (i include myself here) out of jealousy that they're so popular in fandom. I know I can't bear to read the big fic in my current fandom and I can admit it's just out of jealousy. Nothing wrong with it, we're all human.

Re: Unpopular Opinion

[(Anonymous)]

Same here. There are still multi fandom BNFs I have an aversion to because they're a big deal in fandom and either I feel they're overplayed or I resent that they get so much attention.

Re: Unpopular Opinion

[kallanda_lee]

i could run with this theory.

Re: Unpopular Opinion

[praetorian_guard]

I definitely think this is possible. On the other hand, I also find a lot of BNFs in fandom tend to write the same thing even in different fandoms. They all also have (at least to me) seem to have the same writing style, so it's not one you're interested in, then you probably won't be interested in any other BNF's work either.

Re: Unpopular Opinion

[(Anonymous)]

I do get jealous of BNFs, but I've found that mostly it just makes me extra critical of their works. There are a lot of mistakes that I don't mind when little fish make them, but I expect BNFs' work to be of a lot higher quality.

Re: Unpopular Opinion

[(Anonymous)]

I definitely think that I don't read a known BNFs' work in the same way as I would a writer who might not have the same exposure.

If a work's been hyped up to that extent, then your expectations of it will naturally be higher. To warrant that much attention then you presume it's going to be good, if not better than most of the other things the fandom has to offer.

And 99 times out of 100 it's really not, and that dichotomy can present as jealousy (or at least resentment) because it makes no sense that something that isn't very good gets that much devout attention.

It's about uncoupling the automatic correlation between "popular" and "good," which is a complete fallacy.

Re: Unpopular Opinion

[(Anonymous)]

When a fic is recced all over the place it's human nature to develop high expectations which often lead to disappointment. Same with movies, TV, or anything.

It wouldn't explain getting a feeling of smugness from a particular writer. That's a very specific emotion. Unless the op regularly finds other people smug so that it was their go to insult for anything they disliked, and I'm not getting that impression.

[a_potato]

Maybe it's how they're weaving in the bits that they've researched? Facts about setting/time period/etc can be revealed in a way that definitely comes across as, "look how much I know!"

[(Anonymous)]

*cough*rageprufrock*cough*

[(Anonymous)]

OMG that was exactly the first name that came to mind.

[(Anonymous)]

There are millions of fics out there, OP. We live in a blessed age. No need to read any fic you don't like, ever, no matter for whatever reason.

[(Anonymous)]

Check your active fandom/mainstream OTP privilege! ;)

[cenobitic_anchorite]

I know I'm not even close to being a BNF, but I'm always terrified this is me.

[(Anonymous)]

There's one in my fandom too. I liked the fic at first, but after a while it started to grate on me. It's just... very didactic? Like it wants to educate the plebian reader more than it wants to entertain.

[(Anonymous)]

I know this feeling, but I also figured out the main cause of why I feel this way: it's characters knowing and saying things they shouldn't. It's Tony Stark calling someone demisexual, it's the whitest cast of all time complaining about all-white textbook authors in a college AU, it's Dean from Supernatural knowing about kink negotiation, it's an average American teenager knowing everything about sex, it's a quirky babysitter lecturing a father about their trans son. Some of it may be right, but it always feels out of place and like someone wants brownie points, and those are just in the social justice category. Authors do it all the time with random asides in the fic, like we're just supposed to bow down to how clever they are.

Transcript

[(Anonymous)]

Image: There’s this BNF author who obviously puts in a lot of effort researching and crafting their fic. I respect and admire that.

But I didn’t enjoy reading their fic because I kept thinking:

“Everything sounds too smug.”

And I CAN’T put my finger on why. I can’t say anything in particular is smug, not in the fic, not in the author’s notes or their profile. But I’m avoiding their work.

[(Anonymous)]

For me, when a fic author says that they only want to write but not read fic, that's kind of telling to me that they think their writing is holier-than-thou. And I stay the fuck away.