to tell your favorite creator that their work means something to you.
Especially if they're quiet. If they seem distant. If they come across as a little intimidating, a little snobbish, or awkward whenever someone compliments them.
There's a good chance that their work is simply their primary language.
Some people pour most of their energy into creating rather than communicating. Into learning, experimenting, refining, and trying to capture a feeling exactly the way they imagined it. They speak through stories, shots, paintings, edits, music, or words.
And many of them never really had the chance to learn how to accept praise in the first place.
But that doesn't mean they don't remember it.
Most of them remember far more than they let on.
And more often than not, they answer in the language they know best: by creating something new.
Something more thoughtful. More ambitious. More beautiful than the last piece.
Not because they feel obligated to repay kindness, but because genuine support has a remarkable way of making people want to keep creating. In fact, many creators remember kind words for years.
A comment left under a post. A message sent on a random afternoon. A repost with a thoughtful note attached.
Most people never realize how much those things matter.
I've been lucky enough to know creators like that, both inside and outside this fandom. They're often quiet, self-contained people who spend countless hours improving their craft, learning from the strangest places, collecting knowledge one tiny piece at a time.
And I've also been lucky enough to know incredibly kind people who regularly remind me (often against my will😅) that artists tend to be much harsher on themselves than anyone else ever could.
Lately, I've watched more and more creators quietly drift into the background.
Maybe the fandom is getting older.
Maybe people are simply tired, busy, or dealing with things outside the internet.
Most likely, it's a combination of all of those things.
Does that person know they inspired you?
Do they know that their work brightened difficult days, made you smile, gave you ideas, or helped you love a character even more?
You'd be surprised how many people have absolutely no idea that they did.
So perhaps today is as good a day as any to remind them🖤
