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So I saw a tweet recently with that fic reader revoke card crap where someone said if you read fics you have to read books or you're missing something and I want to tell you now that is utter bullshit and here's why:
As someone who spent their childhood with their face buried in books it was amazing escaping to new worlds and blocking out everything around me. Unfortunately fanfic wasn't around but now as an adult with trauma related depression and anxiety I struggle to read books.
Concentration is a serious struggle and can become overwhelming, taking in new information can be almost impossible at times. This is the same for people with ADHD and non neurotypical minds. Fanfiction creates a safer environment where you already know the characters.
Claiming that fanfiction reading means you miss out on certain content only shows the lack of research because you can find any and every genre within it. It's easier to interact with content and focus when you're already invested in the people involved.
Fanfiction is often written by someone purely out of enjoyment and with the intention to explore something they have experienced and want to share. It's about connecting not just with themselves but people they have common interests with, it's a whole social experience.
As someone who has loved novels my whole life and can't stop buying books I'll struggle to ever read, there's no elite in reading novels over fanfiction and it's frankly quite ableist to claim that it's a must or you're not doing good enough. Let people consume how they're able.
Not to mention that a HUGE portion of fanfiction explores LGBTQ+ relationships which helps people feel accepted and understood when the only LGBTQ+ content that ends up in the mainstream media is scandalous or sketchy or its viewed as boring.
Mainstream LGBTQ+ content isn't written for the people it's portraying. Let people feel safe within the fictional worlds where everyone is like them. Can you imagine the reaction of the gp to a novel where all the characters are gay? Until people change, fanfic is a safe place.
Disclaimer: I know ff is nowhere near perfect and there's a lot of unsafe spaces within it too so don't think I'm praising it as the all encompassing life saving totem of the neurodiverse and LGBTQ+ community because it's not but compared to books it's much more diverse
