hi. this is going to sound like actually insane but i gotta say it. your hardenshipping fic from 2015 (may and the world) like permanently changed the course of my life forever and im not even kidding.
i was probably like 10 when i read it the first time (IN 2015 lol), and it was because my older sister (at the time 13) had told me about it... she was a major tumblr user and also insanely passionate hardenshipping fan, so she was a big fan of yours back then. she showed me how to use ao3, then tumblr, and i've had an account (not the same one always, but an account) since.
without your writing, without knowing of online queer spaces and art in general, it would've probably taken me much much longer to ever come to the conclusion i was trans.
i would've probably still perpetually felt like the weird little girl sitting in the corner of the 5th grade computer lab class reading fanfiction about queer love and yearning to have that. to be that.
now, i get to say i look back on those memories fondly. i don't feel like the weird friendless little girl anymore. she is always in my heart, but she'd probably ask me some stupid shit like "why aren't you taller?" and then say something more profound like "i'm glad you get to be a boy"
she'd probably then proceed to ask another stupid ass question. "have you found your maxie yet 🙏"
and then i'd cry laughing i think. i'd cry laughing and tell her that there are many things i have, many many things, and there are many more things we both should look forward to, together.
i hope you know how impactful your writing has been on my life. i hope you realize how much it touched my heart when i was an autistic little girl who was outcast by almost everyone for behaving differently than them.
and i hope you realize i'm crying right now as i write this ask and reminisce on the art you so wonderfully created. it might not mean much coming from just one person, but your work truly did change my life.
so thank you. thank you for creating, and being brave enough to put your creations out there. you have touched the lives of more people than you would've ever thought.
Hi! Oh my goodness I feel like I should apologize for taking so long to reply to this. It's been sitting in my inbox for a while now because I was just struggling to come up with the right words to say. And I mean... where could I even begin when this message is so heartfelt and profound and just, reading it over and over and processing like the actual meaning of the words on my screen has given me so much to think about?
just the idea that my lil fanfiction that I started ages ago, when I wasnt even in college yet and it felt like my grasp on the English language and my own writing skills were being put to the test every time posted a new chapter, the idea that this impacted someone to this extent leaves me speechless. Like thats just incredible to me and to feel like I actually contributed to something like this is beyond my wildest dreams. It really does make it feel like what I was doing (and still do) is worth it if it helped even only one person find themselves.
I'm so sorry I never finished the story properly. I had (and still have!) so many ideas of plot events and character development arcs I wanted to do, and I still think about these characters fondly. There's absolutely stuff that I would do differently looking back on things, but there's also so much I still feel so happy I was able to share with the world. I can't promise I will complete the story in the ways I just described as it's a far more ambitious task than I have time and energy for these days, but your message might just make me take the plunge and do a little something to tie it all up.
Again, thank you so much for taking the time to reach out and share with me. I'll carry this message with me forever to remind myself of what really matters the most when creating <3
