Delayed reaction rant-of-DOOM.
So I got a review from a reader the other day concerning The Dead. It wasn't a bad review, necessarily, and at the time, I treated it like I'd treat any other review--I politely corrected the reviewer's notions as to the content of the fic.
But the more I thought about it, the more it irritated me. Especially after reading this reviewer's profile page (because yes, I do that with every reviewer who logs in, unless I know you already or remember you).
Now, I understand that people dislike some pairings and would rather not read stories containing them--I have my dislikes same as anyone else, so I can't bitch and complain if someone says they don't like the same pairing I do. I can respect someone else's preferences if I'm allowed the same courtesy, and so far folks've been pretty good about it, at least when it comes to the people who are reviewing what I've posted on ff.net. But there are some intolerant souls on there who hate certain pairings, and do stupid shit like announce this fact to everyone. Newsflash, you self-centered fucktards: NO ONE GIVES A SHIT WHAT PAIRINGS YOU LIKE. So shut the fuck up. I care what pairings I like, not which ones you like, and by the way, since I'm nice enough to let you have your likes in peace I'd appreciate the same fucking courtesy. I don't have to defend why I like a certain pairing to you or anyone. If you ask nicely and I feel like explaining why, that's a different story; but once you start being a DOUCHEBAG about it, the story changes.
And DON'T give me that lame "But they don't even like each other/aren't even aware of each other/other generic asshole defense here!" line. I'm aware of that already you dumb shit. But the great thing about fanfiction is that you can think up an idea and then put it down and share it with other people who might also get a kick out of it--IT'S CALLED THINKING OUTSIDE THE FUCKING BOX HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE IT A TRY. The other great thing about fanfiction is that if you don't like one story YOU CAN NOT READ IT EVER AGAIN, and rather than make IGNORANT ASS COMMENTS, you could better spend your time looking for a piece of fanfiction THAT SUITS YOU.
(That was a combination of reading over the reviewer's profile after reading the review and about 3 or so years' worth of annoyance built up from reading "WHY DO YOU PEOPLE KEEP PUTTING SO-AND-SO AND WHAT'S-HER-FACE TOGETHER!!!! THEY HATE EACH OTHER!!!!!! YOU GUYS ARE STUPID FOR LIKING THAT PAIRING BECAUSE IT'S STUPID!!!!!" I hate ignorant people. I hate them even more whan they have an outlet to communicate that ignorance.)
But I digress; the thing about the review itself that actually irritated me was this: this person assumed I was sailing a particular ship, and I wasn't. I clearly wasn't, since the genre options I have listed for The Dead are "General" and "Angst" respectively. Dead is NOT a romantic story; if it was, I would have made a note of the pairing in the summary the way I've done for every single other story I've posted at ff.net that featured a romantic relationship in addition to actually listing the "Romance" genre option instead of leaving it at "General." I do it as a courtesy, because I'm a reader too and I hate it when I click on a story expecting one pairing and get one I don't like when that could have been prevented by a simple little note on the part of the author.
The part about this that most irritates me is that this person is someone familiar with my RK stuff. As in, my SaitouTokio stuff. As in, the stuff that I've labeled with both pairing and "Romance" ("Coffee" aside, since "Romance" didn't quite fit, at least for me).
Maybe this is just me blowing something tiny out of proportion because I'm on the rag and more easily annoyed. I don't care, though; I didn't like the review and I'm not especially fond of the reviewer now either.
But the more I thought about it, the more it irritated me. Especially after reading this reviewer's profile page (because yes, I do that with every reviewer who logs in, unless I know you already or remember you).
Now, I understand that people dislike some pairings and would rather not read stories containing them--I have my dislikes same as anyone else, so I can't bitch and complain if someone says they don't like the same pairing I do. I can respect someone else's preferences if I'm allowed the same courtesy, and so far folks've been pretty good about it, at least when it comes to the people who are reviewing what I've posted on ff.net. But there are some intolerant souls on there who hate certain pairings, and do stupid shit like announce this fact to everyone. Newsflash, you self-centered fucktards: NO ONE GIVES A SHIT WHAT PAIRINGS YOU LIKE. So shut the fuck up. I care what pairings I like, not which ones you like, and by the way, since I'm nice enough to let you have your likes in peace I'd appreciate the same fucking courtesy. I don't have to defend why I like a certain pairing to you or anyone. If you ask nicely and I feel like explaining why, that's a different story; but once you start being a DOUCHEBAG about it, the story changes.
And DON'T give me that lame "But they don't even like each other/aren't even aware of each other/other generic asshole defense here!" line. I'm aware of that already you dumb shit. But the great thing about fanfiction is that you can think up an idea and then put it down and share it with other people who might also get a kick out of it--IT'S CALLED THINKING OUTSIDE THE FUCKING BOX HOW ABOUT YOU GIVE IT A TRY. The other great thing about fanfiction is that if you don't like one story YOU CAN NOT READ IT EVER AGAIN, and rather than make IGNORANT ASS COMMENTS, you could better spend your time looking for a piece of fanfiction THAT SUITS YOU.
(That was a combination of reading over the reviewer's profile after reading the review and about 3 or so years' worth of annoyance built up from reading "WHY DO YOU PEOPLE KEEP PUTTING SO-AND-SO AND WHAT'S-HER-FACE TOGETHER!!!! THEY HATE EACH OTHER!!!!!! YOU GUYS ARE STUPID FOR LIKING THAT PAIRING BECAUSE IT'S STUPID!!!!!" I hate ignorant people. I hate them even more whan they have an outlet to communicate that ignorance.)
But I digress; the thing about the review itself that actually irritated me was this: this person assumed I was sailing a particular ship, and I wasn't. I clearly wasn't, since the genre options I have listed for The Dead are "General" and "Angst" respectively. Dead is NOT a romantic story; if it was, I would have made a note of the pairing in the summary the way I've done for every single other story I've posted at ff.net that featured a romantic relationship in addition to actually listing the "Romance" genre option instead of leaving it at "General." I do it as a courtesy, because I'm a reader too and I hate it when I click on a story expecting one pairing and get one I don't like when that could have been prevented by a simple little note on the part of the author.
The part about this that most irritates me is that this person is someone familiar with my RK stuff. As in, my SaitouTokio stuff. As in, the stuff that I've labeled with both pairing and "Romance" ("Coffee" aside, since "Romance" didn't quite fit, at least for me).
Maybe this is just me blowing something tiny out of proportion because I'm on the rag and more easily annoyed. I don't care, though; I didn't like the review and I'm not especially fond of the reviewer now either.