I had the lightning rod realization why The Discourse about fiction feels so alien to me
It’s because 99% of the arguments boil down to denying an individual’s agency
Fiction is one of the safest ways to exercise your right to choose - especially fanfic, which comes with an entire culture of tagging and content warning etiquette
If you go seeking fanfic on AO3, you can try new things with a fairly good understanding of what you’re getting yourself into
And if you get in over your head - you can close the window and walk away with no regrets
No real people were hurt in the production of words on a page - you aren’t sitting there thinking “gosh, I hope those people in this YouTube video survived that fall”
Fiction gives you the right to try on all kinds of ideas
Which is why I get so indignant when I see stuff like “XYZ content could be bad for some people, therefore it shouldn’t exist”
Or “what if minors clicked on porn for ABC fandom uwu”
The truth is, you have agency
My god, but you have agency
If you are old enough to be poking around these sites without parental supervision, you are old enough to start reading the warning labels on what you consume
And if that isn’t true for you? Then ask someone in your real life for help
(I have some pals who do ask me to screen fics for things that might trigger them)
But seriously, with fiction, you can choose what to access, and learn (in private) what you can handle
Don’t let anyone take your power
jimmyeatworldofficial
germansingergirl
areudirty
romaincrisis
pixelskylines
