Hey all.

So, it's gonna be a while till i post again. Yes I am still in university, and given some unfortunate scheduling conflicts with courses and some courses only being offered every OTHER year... I am going to continue to be in uni until 2024-2025. And that is just undergrad. But it's fine. The university I go to is very loose on a lot of things, including when I can take courses. Example, I don't have to take all my first year courses in first year unless they are prerequisites, and I can take a reduced course load but still be a full time student. It's awesome! And some classes have two or three different times for lectures, practicals, etc. Also no class starts before 8am, but 90% of classes start after 10am. And none start later than 7pm, but the majority are done before 5pm. Honestly they feel more like a college than a university!

I also have this absolute GEM to share with you guys. So a while back a user (not an author as they have no posted stories), contacted me. They were curious about if I would write a Beast Wars story at some point. If you don't know what Beast Wars is, it's an old 3D transformers cartoon from the 90s (a little cheesy, but enjoyable). I have posted a few transformers stories as it was one of the first series I was introduced to as a kid (along with other gems like Super Friends which led to Justice League, He-Man and She-Ra, the Batman and Superman Animated Series, and just a lot of other 80s and 90s cartoons. Keep in mind I'm only a GenZ!).

Anyways, I answered honestly, saying that currently I am very busy, I am writing in another series right now, and that i may have the time in either December or April to write one. I've actually never been approached to write a story before so I was curious. However they just asked almost the same thing again, only about when, which kinda confused me but I answered back the same. I did inquire if they had read my previous reply, and informed them that I am busy, but if they'd like they can leave their idea for me and I can write it when (if) I have the time.

Came back today to find out that they blocked PMs from me! I felt so confused... until I dug up and read their profile. I kid you not, word for word:

"dont follow or send me emails/private messages if you

1.dont write stuff that interests me

2.block me on this site (me: ????)

3.haven't brainstormed any ideas regarding my fanfic requests"

So... yeah. Number 2 really confused me. You can't follow or message someone you blocked! And number 3... I'm sorry, (and this is for that user and everyone in general, as this isn't my first rodeo and it's really, really annoying) but if you request a fanfic from an author, you need to understand a few things:

1. We have an actual life outside of writing. We can't just snap our fingers and make a story appear. It'll take time, effort, a decent plot bunny, AND avoiding writers block as best as possible. If nothing is being posted/updated, it's likely because a) we're busy, b) we have writer's block, or c)...WE DON'T HAVE THE MOTIVATION. Read that a few times. Authors need MOTIVATION to write. No motivation, no nothing. If an author gives you a timeline that they are living by, and it doesn't suit you, move on. There are plenty of fish in the sea (or authors on the web), for you to contact. No need to get hissy just because authors have a life.

2. If you want us authors to chose the story, let us know. Most fanfic requests are from users who want to see one of their favourite authors bring their (as in the requester's) story brought to life. If we haven't written it yet, either a) we never had time, or b) never thought up the idea. We authors cannot read minds. Unless we are told, we'll have no idea what requesters want.

3. We can write whatever the frick we want. There is a Mature rating for a reason, there are MILLIONS of fandoms, and MILLIONS of authors. Out there is bound to be something similar to what you want to read IF the community is big enough. But don't expect authors to bend to your will. The world has NEVER revolved around you. Also, a lot of good authors take a long time to post. But that's because we're usually a one-person writing team. We need to write, edit, re-edit, plan, modify, re-re-edit, re-organize, get some input if really stuck, re-write, re-re-re-edit, and so on until we are finally satisfied that the chapter is to our individual standards. As well, anything we write we need to see if it's copyrighted/trademarked, then in the disclaimer acknowledge that. And if something we want to put in is unavailable to use, that involves more re-re-writing. Unless we want a lawsuit on our hands, authors need to tread lightly and acknowledge what someone else "owns" through trademark or copyright. Like how LEGO owns Bionicle, or Hasbro (for Americans) and TakaraTomy (for Japanese) owns Transformers. We have to acknowledge the companies, as that also acknowledges the writers, producers, designers, animators, and basically everyone who made the series exist in the first place. In the case of the live-action Transformers, we also need to acknowledge Paramount Pictures for producing the movies. Now of course Disney is taking a cut at the rights (according to online sources), so they also need to be acknowledged for anything that they create in the fandom from now on (unless it is an older series, like G1, unless I am wrong). [Edit. I cannot confirm that Disney has rights outside of one website, and further reading made me realize it was likely more of a joke on Disney based on the company constantly trying to acquire rights to more series. But this can serve as an example of how we need to devote time to find the ACTUAL owners/right holders/etc. I could've been in trouble if I sourced Disney on anything that hasn't been confirmed that they have the rights to. This is a slippery slope y'all]

So while we can write what we want, there are still things authors need to be aware of when writing. Especially product uses. Turns out Apple has this thing where they can legitimately file a lawsuit if any of their products are used by a bad guy in series (which is why most use generic or unlabelled products), because Apple wants their brand to come across as related to the good guys. So when writing a bad guy authors need to keep in mind "don't have them use an Apple product". Overall, it takes time to find all that out for ANYTHING brand name, trademarked, and copywrited. And then to protect our own work each author needs to ad in which parts of the plot, which original characters, which items, and so on is theirs, otherwise either unknowing fledgling authors or just cheaters will come along, and use those plot points/characters/items without crediting the original author... which sucks. It gets worse if they take credit first and then the one who originally wrote it need to either fight back or worst case go back and completely re-write EVERYTHING after that point, or just have to cite the stealer to save face. I nearly did that in my early years of writing, which is why I am doing a re-re-write of this series! And why I acknowledge MakutaMutran the author as he is currently letting me use the canon he posted as a basis for me to write with because I don't have access to the novels and all that. Just the movies, some comics, and that's about it. Having him give me permission was great and I acknowledge him as my source, but i also acknowledge lego as the OG source. Writers, be they fiction or non-fiction, always need to cite their sources and anything they do not own/did not create. It's the law and plain and simple. So yes, we need lots of time to make sure we cite everything correctly and acknowledge those who originally created the main series that we are writing/reading fanfics of.

4. Don't expect us to read your profiles. If you have specific issues/ideas/requests, then tell it upfront. No one really reads profiles nowadays unless either prompted or if they're curious.

And 5. If an author is currently writing mostly for one series, don't expect them to just suddenly jump into a different fandom just for you right then and there. I have seen this with a lot of other wonderful authors, and am currently doing this myself. Most authors have one main story they are writing, followed by one or two secondary stories for whenever they get stuck on their main, a potential tertiary story/stories and/or one-shots if they are stuck on their secondary story/stories, and etc. For me, my main right now is my Bionicle series, my secondary is a Gundam story (that I am also rewriting), and my current tertiaries are my one-shots. If I am not posting on any of those, I am either busy or stuck on all. It happens. Sometimes (especially during university), our brains get drained dry and we just need time to recharge. For me, I game and read. Gaming to wake my mind up, read to wind down. And most authors stick to either one fandom entirely for their writing, while others have maybe two or three different ones. Everyone does things differently. So if you see an author who has a fandom you're into, but say it's over a year old/hasn't been updated in some time, or the author is presently posting in another fandom, the likelihood of them being able to write something for you in your fandom is slim.

Oh, and 6. WE AIN'T BEING PAID TO WRITE. We aren't being paid to do this. This is something we do for the fun of it, at least for the majority. So we don't have that monetary incentive to write for a requester right then and there. Why? Well we aren't gaining anything, so there's nothing for us to lose by saying no. This isn't Deviantart after all. I mean the whole reason FFNET started hosting ads is to keep the site free for us because, haha, the site costs money. They need to pay for servers, server maintenance, electricity from said servers, etc. That's why a lot of sites have ads (and why reader view was invented!). (And yes, I am sick of people complaining about the ads. Yes. They are annoying. But would you rather them or would you rather have to pay to use the site? I mean the app was invented to keep up with mobile, so if you hate the ads either download the app (which is free but gives the site revenue) or just use reader view. Most of the ads are pretty generic anyways and not even close to offensive. I'd take having ads break up stories over having to pay money to use a once free site. After all, nothing in life is free).

So, that is my response to this whole thing (as well as something else that just bugs me). I have no idea what's going on in this user's head (and just out of sheer politeness and likely site policy I am not naming them here), but if they continue to go through life with that mindset... they won't last long.

To just wrap this up, there's my update for you. I am maybe 40% written on my next chapter, so I may not post until December unless I decide to cut the chapter shorter than planned. It all depends.

Also, you who contacted then blocked me, if you are reading this, I am willing to talk with you about this. But please understand that I do have a life, and I am looking at other fandoms right now. That does not mean that I am not open to any plot ideas you have to motivate me, but it will take some time. Unless you want a really cruddy story. I take my time because rushing is where things get yucky, and I am not one to post yucky stuff. Yucky leads to confusion which leads to a mess and that is the last thing any author wants to deal with. That stuff can make or break an author's reputation. So I apologize that I cannot write in the Beast Wars fandom currently, but I may have time and potentially motivation in the future.

Also I am writing this at 4 am so I apologize for any errors or weird vibes this gives. I am really tired but if I don't write now I never will and this needs to be said.

Thank you all, and until next time.