![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
i haven't talked about this before. i have very strong feelings about this, and i don't even really know the whole story, but sometimes i find myself shaking with anger over the situation and i just--i finally have to let it all out.
a while ago, a good fandom friend of mine, 8ways, decided to bow out of fandom. she deleted her journal and froze her tumblr, and has since disappeared off the face of the map.
there were people in the Glee fandom bullying her to no end over a story she wrote for the Kurt/Blaine holiday exchange (almost six months ago now). these people bothered her relentlessly over it, making her fic into a running joke. i know it upset her. i won't pretend to know if this was her reason for leaving; there may have been real-life demands that required her to step away from fandom, but i have my suspicions that at least part of that decision was related to the treatment she received from certain parts of fandom.
and it pisses me the fuck off.
8ways was my friend. she supported me when i was completely new to the Glee fandom, always commenting so sweetly on my stories. she herself wrote wonderful stories. as a matter of fact, she was actually writing a remix based off of one of my stories; a bit of glee and bliss i carried with me during low-points in my life and writing process. she was going to write a story that i will in all likelihood never get to read, and i know she had so many other stories to share with the fandom, stories that we are going to miss out on. that fact? it destroys me whenever i think about it.
i hate that some enormous, anonymous asshats within fandom--for a show that is filled with joy and fucking glee!--might have driven a friend of mine out of it through the very behaviour that is so obviously present and abhorrent in the very show we claim to love. i hate that i might not ever get to speak to her again. the very fact that i cannot credit her properly in this post, because her journal has been deleted, absolutely pisses me off.
even if her reasons for bowing out are completely separate to this issue, it still pisses me off. that behaviour was ridiculous, and she should never have had to endure it. but i suspect that this ordeal was an enormous factor in her decision, since she basically deleted herself from Kurt/Blaine history. if you search the Kurt/Blaine community for her username now, you can't find her stories. i can't read her stories ever again.
i hate it.
8ways, my darling, if you ever read this: please, please come back. you are wonderful. your stories were wonderful.
i miss you all the fucking time.
a while ago, a good fandom friend of mine, 8ways, decided to bow out of fandom. she deleted her journal and froze her tumblr, and has since disappeared off the face of the map.
there were people in the Glee fandom bullying her to no end over a story she wrote for the Kurt/Blaine holiday exchange (almost six months ago now). these people bothered her relentlessly over it, making her fic into a running joke. i know it upset her. i won't pretend to know if this was her reason for leaving; there may have been real-life demands that required her to step away from fandom, but i have my suspicions that at least part of that decision was related to the treatment she received from certain parts of fandom.
and it pisses me the fuck off.
8ways was my friend. she supported me when i was completely new to the Glee fandom, always commenting so sweetly on my stories. she herself wrote wonderful stories. as a matter of fact, she was actually writing a remix based off of one of my stories; a bit of glee and bliss i carried with me during low-points in my life and writing process. she was going to write a story that i will in all likelihood never get to read, and i know she had so many other stories to share with the fandom, stories that we are going to miss out on. that fact? it destroys me whenever i think about it.
i hate that some enormous, anonymous asshats within fandom--for a show that is filled with joy and fucking glee!--might have driven a friend of mine out of it through the very behaviour that is so obviously present and abhorrent in the very show we claim to love. i hate that i might not ever get to speak to her again. the very fact that i cannot credit her properly in this post, because her journal has been deleted, absolutely pisses me off.
even if her reasons for bowing out are completely separate to this issue, it still pisses me off. that behaviour was ridiculous, and she should never have had to endure it. but i suspect that this ordeal was an enormous factor in her decision, since she basically deleted herself from Kurt/Blaine history. if you search the Kurt/Blaine community for her username now, you can't find her stories. i can't read her stories ever again.
i hate it.
8ways, my darling, if you ever read this: please, please come back. you are wonderful. your stories were wonderful.
i miss you all the fucking time.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-15 02:57 am (UTC)8ways, if you're seeing this, I know we didn't know each other but if you ever come back my door is always open.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-15 03:33 am (UTC)And yeah, it's definitely something that happens in just about every fandom, but for Glee? A show that celebrates joy and love? So ridiculous.
I just wish I could email 8ways, you know? But I don't even have that! I have no way of contacting her, and it's just so heartbreaking to me. I miss her so much.
Incidentally, I did not know you'd joined the Glee fandom!! Are you venturing into Kurt/Blaine territory? Very good people hang out there, you should definitely be one of them if you're interested!
♥
no subject
Date: 2011-06-15 04:25 am (UTC)Some real douchebaggery goes on in this fandom, it's so stupid- a show that's meant to bring joy into people's lives pretty much just causes everyone to fight and abuse each other over ships and shit like that. Everyone's always so ANGRY, grrrrdsklgjasdl;gk!
I hope she comes back, it'd be such a shame to lose someone as awesome as her because of a few idiots.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 01:29 am (UTC)I hope she comes back, too. I miss her so much!
no subject
Date: 2011-06-15 06:17 am (UTC)On of the reasons I post in the comm instead of to my journal is because it's moderated, and I figure abuse is less likely. I'm sorry to hear that someone wasted their energy tearing down her talent rather than creating their own stories. I'm sorry you miss your friend. I'm sorry she felt bad. It is very unsettling when people disappear like that.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 01:35 am (UTC)Thanks for commenting about this, bb. It's a matter really close to my heart, and I continue to hope that she'll return. It's very unsettling that I might not ever be able to talk to her again. I appreciate you taking the time to commiserate with me.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-15 07:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-16 03:08 am (UTC)I'm sorry that you lost a friend. :(
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 01:28 am (UTC)I'm sorry, too, and thanks for the commiseration ♥
no subject
Date: 2011-06-16 07:13 pm (UTC)This is why fandom should be taken in doses. Unfortunately.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 01:27 am (UTC)I also remember one particular time when the girls of skintightsocks commented on one of her stories and she literally went ballistic with happiness.
I remember that! It was so great :D
I miss her :(
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 12:12 am (UTC)Thank you for sharing this story, I know it must have been hard to. It's a good example of why we need to think before we speak. :(
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 01:25 am (UTC)In any case, I'm glad other people remember and liked her, and I definitely think it's always good to consider that the usernames we're leaving comments about are connected to real people with real feelings. So, even though we can't actually see them, they still deserve our respect and kindness. And I'm sure I've been unkind in the past, but I've learned a lot from this situation.
I just miss her. She was so awesome.
Hey, thank you for reading this. I really appreciate it!