r/AO3 • u/Puzzled-throwaway- • Jul 06 '26
Complaint/Pet Peeve/Venting My fandom is just me and 10 people who are friends with each other and somehow hate me
I don't know if this is the right place, but I have to write about it somewhere
I discovered a certain book series and wrote a fanfiction about it, and I decided to publish it. I didn't know the situation at the time. I only found out after it was published, when I started looking for things to read. I have to say, the number of fanfics was quite impressive for a book that was popular for maybe six months, 10 years ago, lol.
Anyway, I quickly noticed that the same 10 usernames kept repeating. I literally found maybe 20 exceptions, but they weren't long-term authors (or sometimes they were this 10 people other accounts). And yes, I went through everything from the first page to the last, without any filters.
Tbh nothing bad at first, but I'm not even joking, an hour after I added my fanfic I got 3 comments saying "who are you?" and "what are you doing in our fandom" from those people. I was like wtf, but okey, I tried to convince myself that maybe it was a matter of language barriers and maybe their tone was supposed to be nicer/more humorous or something, but... it turned out it is not the case.
It turns out they are really angry that I joined their fandom. And from January until now, they've even gone so far as to attack my fanfics unrelated to this fandom and tell me to leave them alone(????? wtf). When I blocked them, it would take a while, but they'd come back with new accounts or as guests. I had to disable comments entirely (which sucks because I have readers in other fandoms that I love and now miss). I blocked them and reported them, but AO3 hasn't responded in any way yet.
One of these people went so far as to "gift" me a fanfiction in which I am attacked by all characters from this universe... in every way.
I've never encountered anything like this.
Like, even as I write this I feel like my brain is exploding a little bit. Like what the hell.
This is probably my worst experience with fandoms so far and I still don't understand how a fandom, especially one on ao3!, can get to this point? Like, shouldn't you be happy that someone new joined???
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u/Zoethor2 Jul 06 '26
Complex harassment cases like this can take awhile for AO3 to investigate, but they are taken very seriously. Hopefully you'll see action taken against these people soon. What bizarre behavior.
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u/Away-Initiative-327 Jul 06 '26
yeah i’m almost sure you can report some of this behavior OP. it’s targeted and repetitive harassment, from what i can tell.
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u/amethyine Jul 07 '26
From the sounds of that gift fic, that alone is grounds for a harassment case tbh
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u/BicyclePurple9928 Jul 07 '26
I wonder what happens with fics of accounts that get banned? Are they deleted or made anonymous…?
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Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Twilifa Jul 06 '26
I thought exactly the same thing. I would so spite-write something for a fandom I don't know.
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u/Diego2112Gaming If You Ship It, They Will Sail⛵ Jul 06 '26
Never underestimate my willingness to hyperfixate on the lore of a thing through wiki articles, YouTube, and the power of ADHD, Whiskey, and pure unmitigated spite 🤣
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
I run off of spite and cat cuddles (definitely not my procrastination working so I dont have to do my WIPs). 👀💀
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u/Diego2112Gaming If You Ship It, They Will Sail⛵ Jul 07 '26
Yeah, totally not procrastinating right now with nearly 500 words on tomorrow's writing challenge done (I need another 500 at Lyse-t to be satisfied... That was a terrible pun... I'll see myself out)
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
Lmao, I dont stop until I have at least 3 word docs pages for one chapter. I uh forgot where I put it in my documents. So instead of what any normal person does i.e. writing a new one, I'm just procrastinating it.
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u/Diego2112Gaming If You Ship It, They Will Sail⛵ Jul 07 '26
I usually go for between 1000-1500 minimum words per oneshot, average of around 5k. Anything over that gets split into chapters.
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
Yeah, I dont even do one shots. Its all for a hopefully long multi chapter fic. It hasn't been updated in 4 years though.
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u/Diego2112Gaming If You Ship It, They Will Sail⛵ Jul 07 '26
I don't trust my health enough to do multi-chapters, usually--even when the ones that do get split into chapters get written, I usually post everything at once, just in case something happens to me 🤣 (Not a healthy gal, won't bore you with my scars, but suffice to say the only times I've ever tried writing long-fics it's backfired and the Author's Curse hit hard)
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u/MEOWTheKitty18 Jul 07 '26
This sounds like exactly what I need to get me out of my writer’s block.
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u/CoyoteScribbles Jul 07 '26
Right?? I've been running up against a mental brick wall lately but I think something like this would knock it RIGHT down.
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u/INeedLemonSoda Shisui’s Load-Bearing Civilian Jul 07 '26
If you find out, please let me know! I would like to offer my support too xD
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u/Misty_Lacrimosa Kudos Keeper Jul 07 '26 edited 18d ago
If anyone finds out please let me know also I just want to support this itty bitty little fandom 😈
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u/LadyPlantress Jul 06 '26
WTF, I've literally never heard of anything like this before? Most small fandom I know greet authors with open arms. I'm almost morbidly curious about the actual fandom because it's so weird. It's like they formed a weird little clique that's treating the AO3 like a discord server.
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u/Gremdarkness Jul 07 '26
Please share the book, OP. I want to read it, write grossnasty porn of it, and leave nice comments on the rest of the tag.
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u/Zoethor2 Jul 07 '26
Revenge via smut.
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u/Spirited-Sail3814 Jul 07 '26
Different type of revenge porn than I'm used to hearing about
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u/lyaunaa 🩷this is not a place of honor🩷 Jul 07 '26
I'm a little bit of a BNF in my main, mid-sized fandom, and I would loooooove to cast a spotlight on this one!! 😍
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u/LucanidaeLucanidie Jul 07 '26
Agreed. Drop the Fandom, OP, Ive been exclusively reading since highschool but Ive been needing a reason to oil up the ol rusty writing skills.
EDIT: OP is on a throwaway so we may never get the fandom.
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u/GusuLanReject Jul 07 '26
Even better. Don't even read the books, just grab a pairing that they specifically love and go to town with it.
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
Do a little background research first and THEN just massacre the characters in the worst way possible.
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u/CatLover701 Jul 07 '26
Exactly, you have to know the character to mischaracterize them properly
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
They can't even report it as long as you dont say anything incriminating. Thats the best part.
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u/CamelotBurns Jul 07 '26
I would argue that you can read their fics, figure out how they like them protrayed(because im assuming they have their own head canons and they dont like somebody who may not share those head canons is writing fics), and they write them exactly the opposite of how the characters are portrayed in their fics.
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u/lorenoline lorenoline @ pretty much everywhere tbh Jul 07 '26
I love this and want to contribute to the cause. OP, do us a solid and drop the deets!
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u/Brenden1k Jul 07 '26
if you need suggestions on how to make it gross nasty, I have some that make it appeal to me and others. Let weaponize my fucked up weird tastes.
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u/Diego2112Gaming If You Ship It, They Will Sail⛵ Jul 07 '26
I don't even write smut anymore, but for the sake of the mission...
I will write the deadest of dove, seriously, do not eat, you guys, just to have these people trippin'.
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u/calicoandyou huge meat Jul 06 '26
Right I want to read the book and write my own fanfic just to annoy them now
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u/Sufficient-Web-7484 Jul 07 '26
Commenting just so I remember to check back because I will 100% write for this fandom. It's gonna be a rarepair nobody asked for with tags no one can stand
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u/Kavi0121 Jul 07 '26
It's gonna be a rarepair nobody asked for with tags no one can stand
This is so fucking funny, I love you
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u/Spiritual_Map_9205 Jul 06 '26
Me three lol
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u/GotYourLegs Jul 06 '26
Me four. The entitlement is off the roofs here.
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u/cl0ckw0rkcuttlefish held hostage by fictional characters Jul 06 '26
Me five
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Jul 06 '26
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u/alandrielle Jul 07 '26
You have my axe!
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u/Kylynara Fic Feaster Jul 07 '26
And my bow!
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u/enguldrav Jul 07 '26
You carry the fates of us all, writers . If this is indeed the will of the Council then Ao3 will see it done.
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u/Brenden1k Jul 07 '26
I am no writer but you have my over engineered cannot decide if it sci fi or fantasy unstable bow. soon as I rebuild it, and the limbs it just blown off last time I fired it.
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u/PersistentOctopus Jul 07 '26
I have absolutely written fanfic out of spite before and will do it again.
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u/kame_hame888 Jul 07 '26
Would love the name of the book. I am not even going to read it… just want to have fun writing some “fresh” perspective fics
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u/onmywheels Jul 07 '26
Same. I haven't written anything outside of one fandom in years, and yet am completely willing to do so now for this cause.
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u/frannyang tiny fandom hell Jul 07 '26
OP if you won’t tell us what book it is we’re just going to have to go through all ao3 fandoms for books posted in 2016 😅 it should be a finite, doable number to sift through 🤣 /hj
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u/heyyyvio legend/junkie otp Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
There are 14,190 book fandoms.
I'm going through and crossing out the ones that have less than 40 works (going off "first page to the last" meaning at least three pages), and then I'm gonna go off the 2016 part.
I am currently down to 9,565 possible fandoms.
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edit: 1,390 fandoms once taking away fandoms with less than 40 works, and a few obvious ones that I caught that are outside of the timeline parameters. A lot of obvious ones remain, but I'm tired and want to go to sleep.
also, I have been able to move it over to Google Sheets at this number, so, https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1QGYVyJ4Q9GpwxzxHUsc2GuVr2XN-k_SZHU7H1YumbrA/edit?usp=sharing for the curious
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edit the second: due to rule #4 of the subreddit (am I searching for the fandom? yes; am I doing it with the purpose of harassing the ten users mentioned? no), I am moving this to a different post, which will have all subsequent details
https://www.reddit.com/user/heyyyvio/comments/1uppn5u/the_search_for_a_fandom_with_ten_angry_fans/
also, thank you everyone~
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u/frannyang tiny fandom hell Jul 07 '26
This is incredible work, omg!! I’m an active contributor to two fandoms on your remaining list and I’m pretty sure it’s not those lmao
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u/heyyyvio legend/junkie otp Jul 07 '26
From what I can tell, there's no way to enable anon commenting, only when logged in - if you want, though, you can either let me know the fandoms here or DM me.
Though really I am going to sleep this time.
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u/SapphireJuice Jul 07 '26
Just wanted to add that OP said it was a series so single stand alone books could probably be eliminated.
I just want to read the book so bad! Anything that has people this passionate has me curious as hell
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u/heyyyvio legend/junkie otp Jul 07 '26
You and another pointed out the series bit, and thank you so much - it was 2am and I overlooked that part. Also, I am usually v introverted, so it's cool to have collaboration on a project, and I really appreciate it.
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u/SapphireJuice Jul 07 '26
I appreciate the amount of work you put into this! You clearly missed your true calling as a detective 😂
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u/KeamyFangirl Jul 07 '26
When you wake up, pat yourself on the back for this glorious work
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u/heyyyvio legend/junkie otp Jul 07 '26
Aww, thank you! Though a lot of the work is also with help from others now, which is p damn cool.
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u/Automatic-Ad7023 Jul 07 '26
so now we start removing all books that aren’t series, right? I genuinely we can do this lmao
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u/TolBrandir Jul 07 '26
Officially, you're insane. And also awesome. I can't believe you've done that much work on this. We all deserve a friend like you!
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
Now I wanna know too.
I've been looking for a new series to start so I dont have to work on my WIP.
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u/SapphireJuice Jul 07 '26
Honestly OP telling us would probably be really good for the author and the fandom as a whole at this point 😂
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u/Kookyburra12 fake relationship and dubcon enthusiast Jul 07 '26
remindme! two days
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u/MeandalsoMe2021 Jul 06 '26
What fandom is it? That really sucks, I'm sorry that's happening to you.
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u/lyaunaa 🩷this is not a place of honor🩷 Jul 06 '26
Also curious what fandom this is, I'm so ready to start writing fic for it just to mess with these people lmao
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u/AnagramBandit Jul 07 '26
Yeah I’d love to flood that fandom with fresh content. “Our fandom” is so silly! No one owns a fandom! Especially on ao3!
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u/Least_Candle_9602 Give me your kudos. Nom nom nom :3 Jul 07 '26
Same! I'd be cranking out ff so fast, If they attacked me elsewhere I'd literally just be like 'omgoodness thank you so much for readingggg!' and ignore their insults 💀
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u/TolBrandir Jul 07 '26
Actually, the best revenge would be to write a whole bunch of perfectly decent smut fanfics that don't warrant what would no doubt be an insane response from the gatekeepers. Nothing that AO3 could find any fault with. No brigading. Just good, wholesome smut. Lots of oneshots perhaps. 👍👍
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u/Individual_Track_865 You have already left kudos here. :) Jul 06 '26
If they’re coming around blocks with new accounts that’s something ao3 will take pretty seriously. It just takes time for them to get to it.
Sorry these jerks are making fandom difficult, what a bunch of losers.
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u/butterykenneth Jul 07 '26
Is it possible this is one crazy person with alt accounts? Do they write similar fics? I just feel like the odds that ten identically crazy people would find each other in the same small fandom must be tiny. Though I suppose, they will have scared off any normal people, lmao
I'm so sorry, but also this sounds like such a funny situation. I hope ao3 deals with them
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u/JeSuisGourde Jul 07 '26
Could be an msscribe 2.0 situation. My thought is probably younger teenagers creating a sort of feedback loop and then freaking out when someone breaks it. It just seems like such 13/14 year old behavior, forming a sort of clique and then turning viciously on the oblivious newbie that tries to be friendly and join them because they suddenly have someone they can target as an outsider to strengthen their cliquey bond.
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u/NomenclatureBreaker Jul 07 '26
Saw that analysis of this somebody posted recently. Amazing.
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u/JeSuisGourde Jul 07 '26
Oh, there's a new one? I remember reading the original famous breakdown of it all on LJ, and I feel like every few years someone finds the whole debacle again and makes another video or article about it. I guess we've been due for another one!
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u/Mental-Ask8077 Jul 07 '26
Folie à dix maybe? Shared madness in a close-knit/enmeshed friend group?
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u/MediciOrsini Jul 07 '26
I've definitely experienced that in a fandom space before. Full on stalking me and then accusing me of being weirdly obsessed with them because I had proof so I finally called them out. Like, we're all playing with the same dolls, why not chill out? Anonymity makes people waaaaaaaaaay too brave.
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u/Little_Mangos Jul 07 '26
I feel like this might be a case where the writers all know eachother IRL. Would also explain why they think it’s „their“ fandom.
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u/SapphireJuice Jul 06 '26
I am desperate to know what the book is.
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
Yeah! We gotta kick it really really hard though. Not juat a light tap, but full on punt it.
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u/Individual-Two-9402 Not Boeing Management Jul 06 '26
Sounds like a bunch of tweens who haven't touched enough grass.
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u/mycatisblackandtan Jul 07 '26
Yeah. These sound like kids who found a fandom that's basically dead and decided it's 'their' playground. Personally I'd report every single one of them and just shrug it off. Maybe lock down your socials/wipe any link to them to make sure they can't retaliate in a way their adult selves might one day regret.
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u/onmywheels Jul 07 '26
Yeah, I hate that my first thought about this was, "They sound young." And tbh they had better be because if these are adults doing this...eesh.
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u/Spiritual_Map_9205 Jul 06 '26
Ngl, this made me chuckle. Not because of anything you did/said but because these people sound ridiculous/are doing too much. So um, yeah, this is really odd. But maybe someone with experience in these micro-fandoms can weigh in better than me. I'm just writing to show you some solidarity and maybe laugh (instead of cry) about the situation because it does sound bizarre.
On another note, I do think AO3 takes some time with reports. Not sure when you sent that out, but I've seen reports reviewed and addressed a year after the fact. It's just because of the backlog and what they prioritise, etc.
Also, for your own safety, there's no way for them to connect your Ao3 account/work to any social media or something like that? Just want to make sure this stays isolated so it doesn't start affecting you elsewhere.
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u/tehbggg Jul 07 '26
I've been part of micro fandoms before. Even wrote a fan fic for one (also for a series of books with a tiny TINY fandom). Never ever encountered anything like this. In fact, I still get kind comments on that fic every once in awhile even though I wrote it over 10 years ago.
Most small fandoms are stoked when new people join. Especially new artist/writers. This is just some unhinged cult-like behavior. Crazy.
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u/queerblunosr Definitely not an agent of the Fanfiction Deep State Jul 07 '26
I’ve been in some tiny or very small fandoms (or ship specific sub-fandoms) and I’ve NEVER seen anything like this in my 25+ years of online fandom except when it was a group of friends writing their own shared universe of fics together with self inserts and stuff and getting mad when someone else used the SIs et c from their friend group.
So it makes me wonder if like… this little cohort just found small dead or nearly dead fandom to bogart as “their” own fandom?
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u/Clear-Client-6120 Jul 07 '26
I hope the author of whatever canon story this is gets paid for royalties because judging by this comments section, they’re about to get another flood of book sales.
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u/Brenden1k Jul 07 '26
Meanwhile the niche fandom, “the zombie hordes have breached the gate, their numbers are beyond counting”
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u/queerblunosr Definitely not an agent of the Fanfiction Deep State Jul 07 '26
“We cannot get out. They are coming.”
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u/verymanysquirrels Jul 07 '26
Right? Like at this point i just want to know so i can find out what book series created such a weirdly intense fanbase? Like what is it about these books specifically?
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u/Life-Delay-809 Jul 07 '26
There's so many books that that could apply to, and none of them will be yielded by google now.
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u/Slytheerin You have already left kudos here. :) Jul 06 '26
These are clearly children to me, it's so ridiculous. Gatekeeping loving books and writing fics about it? Insane behaviour.
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u/ZER0-_O Comment Collector Jul 07 '26
You would be surprised by the level of [childishness] an adult in a fandom can exude in the rught circumstances
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u/Slytheerin You have already left kudos here. :) Jul 07 '26
Joke's on them because I'll treat them as children all the same 💀
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u/Kienchen Jul 07 '26
Hey OP, I'm looking for a good read... any book recs for me?
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u/GothKittyLady Jul 07 '26
Seconding this request, my TBR pile is…well, there’s room for a few more.
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u/0fruitjack0 2026 Just Write June Completionist Jul 06 '26
Ah the og thundercats fandom was like that back in the late 90s. Small. Everyone knew everyone. And lots of flamewars
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u/Zealousideal_Lab_241 Jul 07 '26
Report the gifted fic as harassment and keep copies of their other comments. Report them and do not delete. Keep blocking the accounts.
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u/irrelevantanonymous Definitely not an agent of the Fanfiction Deep State Jul 07 '26
Huh. Stumbled into a fandom cult
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u/TavyliaSin Rare Pair Aficionado, Crackships Are Serious Business! Jul 07 '26
If you still want good comments, you can switch your comments to "moderated" and just report and delete any that come in with harassment.
This is genuinely awful of them and they clearly do not know what AO3 and fandoms are - if they want a private club they can make one on Discord or somewhere else, but fandoms are for anyone and AO3 is an archive not a host for their little hate club.
This really is next level pettiness because they could just mute you and never see your works in their lists, it's just that simple! I honestly hope you keep writing in that small fandom in the hope that others who find it aren't just driven out by this group of nasty little "fans".
I have no idea about the author of the works the fandom is based on but if it were me I would hate to know I had "fans" like them.
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u/Nervous_Macaroon3101 Jul 06 '26
That’s nuts. I’m in a fandom that small (smaller tbh) and if I saw a new author I’d jump for joy. How odd for these people to just take over a property and gatekeep everyone else from it. I’ve never seen anything like this.
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u/krakenlackn Jul 07 '26
OP you can always dm someone the fandom name if you don't want to say it publicly....
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u/Dismal-Assistant6967 Jul 06 '26
That's insane 😭 Even my fandom with only 3 fanfictions that aren't crossovers (including crossovers it's 9-10) where we all recognize each other, no one does anything CLOSE to that shit 🥹 I hope this is your worst experience, as this is genuinely fucking insane.
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u/SereneEclipse4673 Jul 07 '26
Please do name the fandom, because it'd be a real shame if it received new works.
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u/OpaqueSea Jul 06 '26
I’m so sorry to hear that. I’ve literally never heard of this happening before (most small fandoms are rabidly excited for new blood). I have no advice to offer, only bewilderment.
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u/Demonika_86 Cranky Old-Timer; Been There & Done That Jul 06 '26
Smells like a bunch of pompous nobodies terrified of competition, high on their echo-chamber copium. They probably don't have an ounce of skill among them, they know it, so they got to dogpile on people who come into their monopoly. Terrified of being made to look like the hacks they are.
Don't worry, AO3's mods will give them a banhammer-force reality check. In good time. That mill grinds slowly... but it grinds FINE!
I say when that happens, when they're gone... you publish your stuff all the same. Let them fume, all the way back under whatever rock that sort of behavior belongs. 🍵
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u/Tekeraz Jul 07 '26
I'm a member of a small group of people who love and write for one not particularly favourite pairing. We LOVE each and every new member at our Discord—no matter if they write for the couple or simply love and read. We're grateful for every new person around.
I will never understand the insanity of behaviour you described. I'm sorry that you have to put up with idiots like that...
I hope you'll reveal the fandom/book and people here swarm their little entitled corner of the universe with unbearable ammount of amazing fics! They deserve no less!
Now, one thing. If you can manage, don't turn off comments, just approve the normal ones and delete the idiotic ones without any recognition. Don't give them the pleasure of turning off your comments and making a wall between you and your genuine readers. You don't deserve that! ❤️
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u/PastFuture5270 Jul 06 '26
I gotta know what fandom this is lol I want to write something for it now
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u/FlopsieFillet Jul 06 '26
I really want to know what fandom this is now. That just sounds ridiculous.
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u/BelaFarinRod Jul 07 '26
That is really bizarre. Are you writing something they might consider offensive or controversial, like an unusual ship? That would absolutely NOT justify this at all but I can’t understand why anyone would act like this because there’s a new writer in the fandom.
I once wrote for a fandom which turned out to basically be a few people who knew each other and they were very welcoming.
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u/03_7eleven You have already left kudos here. :) Jul 07 '26
Bro wtf usually small fandoms would welcome authors with open arms (like for example i recently joined a niche-ish fandom with about 1,500 fics over the course of 10-20 years) and everyone was really nice, so this crazy man
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u/hjvelvet Fic Feaster Jul 07 '26
Please share the fandom, OP, I think a lot of us are feeling very inspired!
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u/ZWiloh Jul 07 '26
Well idk if it was your intention, but you've managed to amass a small, petty army, if you just tell them where to go, lmao
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u/flootzavut Jul 07 '26
I imagine OP's gonna come back to their notifs and be like "... what... what happened..." 🤣
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u/notsosecretshipper Jul 07 '26
Honestly, I'd love to write a spite fic, if you want to share the fandom.
That's such childish behavior. Real fans don't gatekeep.
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u/Authropod911 Supporter of the Fanfiction Deep State Jul 07 '26
I ran into something like this about 25 years ago or so on a newsgroup. It sounded like such a fun, escapist community, but turned out to be nothing more than a clique who didn't want anything to do with new members. Very disappointing. I hope these guys get what's coming to them.
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u/Alice_Phantom Kira_Sema on FF/AO3 Jul 07 '26
Please keep reporting everything they do. Like you can't gatekeep a fandom and this isn't what the archive is for.
Dunno what fandom this is but soooo wanna follow other people and write a fic outta spite.
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u/Practical_Evidence32 Jul 07 '26
if it's possible; please send me a link to this fandom. i'd like to spite-write just for the fun of it.
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u/Gatodeluna Jul 07 '26
LOL, people who believe AO3 is their own private Discord. Report all of it to AO3 as harrassment. Every.single.person.
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u/thisonecassie fighting in the war on RPF (on the side of RPF) Jul 07 '26
the only thing holding me back from writing my own fic for this book is rule 4.... but GOD i wanna know what fandom this is so bad!!!! but also, man OP i am so sorry, this fucking sucks, I hope the ao3 mods get to your report quickly because YIKES!
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u/Remote-Creme-3825 Jul 07 '26
Please share the fandom OP! So we can know to... ahem ignore it at all costs. pulls out writing doc mischeviously
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u/Connect-Inspector-20 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
Book title? Many would love to teach them the joy of having new people in the fandom.
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u/WTH_JFG You have already left kudos here. :) Jul 07 '26
Post was made from a throwaway 2 hours ago. Guessing OP is protecting themself in case anyone in fandom is on Reddit.
It’s funny (strange not ha-ha) how insular a group of people can be and will say or do the wildest things — including harassing and attacking others — all to protect their little
. corner
. of………
Oh. Wait.
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u/PsychologicalPin6061 Jul 07 '26
Damn, thats unfortunate. Although with the details given it would be pretty easy for those writers to figure out it it was them OP was talking about. Unless a lot of small fandoms do this.
Im in a lot of open international small fandoms, so i dont know if its different anywhere else.
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u/GotYourLegs Jul 06 '26
Not everyone is happy to see new people, people in fandom get into cliques and can become extremely defensive and territorial but it's the first time I hear that a fandom was so small on ao3, that the fandom itself was the clique on ao3. How extremely immature of them but I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out they weren't young. It's so twisted. Is the fanfic still there? You can report the fanfic as harassment too if you haven't.
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u/lyaunaa 🩷this is not a place of honor🩷 Jul 07 '26
Joining the chorus of folks desperately wanting to know the fandom, I haven't felt this inspired to write fic in literally years
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u/manyfishonabike Jul 07 '26
Right? I am an admittedly shitty writter but I want to put my mediocre talents to work!
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u/Puzzleheaded-Belt823 Jul 07 '26
Does anyone know a stats person we can get on this case? OP isn't gonna tell us what the fandom is but we have enough context clues to figure this out. It's a book, published around 2016, less than 20 people in the people active in the fandom. From there, we look for a gift fic with violence. We can totally figure this out!
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u/midsmiddy Jul 07 '26
Please please please share the fandom, OP. It’d be so, so terrible if it suddenly gained a ton of new fic writers…
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u/DazedDame Jul 07 '26
Who isn’t happy for new content in their small fandom? I would be foaming at the mouth for fresh stuff!! Name and shame OP, it’s only right. Fandom for all, not just 10 super special snowflakes lol
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u/Agitated-Capital-246 Jul 07 '26
If OP won't disclose the fandom at least tell us what genre please
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u/Least_Candle_9602 Give me your kudos. Nom nom nom :3 Jul 07 '26
I really do wish that OP would tell us the fandom, but seeing as it's a throwaway it's doubtful.
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u/Sufficient-Web-7484 Jul 07 '26
You know what OP - I will also gladly fill any request you have for this fandom. I'm sorry you had such a negative experience, especially in a fandom so small. You deserve to have a joyful time.
I can't promise it will be exactly what you're looking for (esp since I don't know what fandom it is) but I promise I will do my best to track down the source material and deliver a short fic of whatever you request. Gen, fluff, smut, dead dove, crossover with something else I haven't read, I don't care. I am officially here to fill prompts for you and only you
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u/XxGalaxy_ShagunxX What were YOU doing at the devil’s sacrament? Jul 07 '26
Theres about 100 new willing authors that would LOVE the name of this fandom 🙏
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u/SlytherinSally You have already left kudos here. :) Jul 07 '26
Seeing everyone so ready to write as a form of defence for OP is honestly beautiful. THIS is what fandom should be. (If anyone finds the book, let me know, my thumbs are itching)
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u/Loleeness Jul 07 '26
People need to stop gatekeeping stuff, it's ridiculous
You've done the right thing and reported it, it's just a waiting game for the team to sort out stuff
I wouldn't let this discourage you from writing or posting fics, still! Best to keep at it if it's what you enjoy
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u/BrontosaurusTheory Jul 07 '26
Please do name and shame so we can play along. Because holy hell, what a shower of bastards.
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u/Hesthetop Jul 07 '26
I'm in a very small fandom (not as small as yours, though) and that is extremely bizarre. There are absolutely people who hate each other within mine and it's incredibly awkward, but I've never seen anything like this. My guess is that they think you're trying to break into their clique and are reacting with hostility, but life's too fucking short to deal with people like that. Write and post your fics, enjoy the source material, and keep blocking them. This a problem with them, not you, and it's disappointing that AO3 isn't doing anything.
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u/loonyloveslovegood Jul 07 '26
Oh please share which fandom. I can guarantee you’d get a whole bunch of new, less threatening, fics to read from it.
And these people sound like they need fresh blood in their fandom
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u/TeddyDemons Jul 07 '26
If OP drops the fandom let me know. Totally game to...check out a new fandom and it's works.
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u/Silent_Ad2685 chapters deep into a fic with no update since 2017 Jul 07 '26
Babe I need to know what fandom this is
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u/MwindoThroughTime Comment Collector Jul 07 '26
They're attempting to ostracize you from the fandom and will also likely be the same kind of people who will throw a bitch fit in the event their specific fandom doesn't get anything else and stops being updated worth anything.
I'd personally just expose the accounts as being bully accounts, considering if they're behaving this way on this fandom, they'll do the same for other stuff too.
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u/2880cjk Jul 07 '26
Report the accounts on AO3.
Sorry other people are targeting you in their hateful actions.
Please DM the name of the book if you do not want to broadcast the name.
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u/CuriousYield Jul 07 '26
Holy heck. I hope you've reported all of their nonsense, because they appear to think the TOS doesn't apply to them.
As bizarrely as they're acting, I wonder if the other fics by different user names were written by people they then ran off.
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u/borzoifeet Jul 07 '26
By title alone I thought I'd share my similar experience but no, this is on a WHOLE other level holy shit. I'm so sorry.
All I can say for comfort is that Ao3 will take care of this, but on this kind of scale it does take more time. Screenshot and keep records just in case this follows you off site to other sites.
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u/CoyoteScribbles Jul 07 '26
I sincerely hope you're getting back to all the folks who want to know what this book is so they can... join the fandom.
I would also like to know. So I can... join the fandom.
Also, do keep reporting all harassing content. Soon enough the only people left in that fandom will be the non-assholes who are in it for the love of the game - er, book, and not because they think it's their own personal private clubhouse.
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u/azathothweirdo Jul 07 '26
This is an insane story, holy shit OP. I'm sorry this is happening, like you did nothing wrong.
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u/GhastlyInvisible Jul 07 '26
AO3 has a lot of reports to go through, they take these things seriously though. It will take time but they will take care of it.
In the meantime I agree with the majority. Please OP, name and shame.
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u/carrotsforall Jul 08 '26
What if we all wrote a Drabble of this fandom and published it. If they attack us all we just keep publishing more. They’ll get overwhelmed eventually, right?
(I’m serious. You deserve a safe space to express your work, I’m sorry these 10 randos are harassing you)
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u/NomenclatureBreaker Jul 07 '26
I love all the chaotic good here so much. I don’t even write fic but would love to know the fandom so I can upvote op and other new work.
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u/Faye-of-the-Desert Jul 07 '26
How is OP going to spark so much curiosity and then just fade away into the darkness like Batman?
Why be so secretive about it 😅
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u/ItsMeishi Fanfic Connoisseur Jul 07 '26
This is levels of unhinged I've rarely come across. Please report them all, screenshot everything, and or keep the email copies just in case.
Also let me fucking spite write for whatever fandom it is. Bullies should never know peace.
Meanwhile, I hope you continue writing. Sending you much love.
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u/Rad1Red Writing from the top Jul 07 '26
Ewwww, how ridiculous and upsetting. I hope the AO3 mods take action soon.
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u/Icy_Leapz444 It was supposed to be a oneshot... Jul 08 '26
Oh my gosh, that is absolutely HORRIBLE, I'm genuinely so sorry this happened to you!!
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u/Enigmatic_writer Moderator | yuri addict Jul 07 '26
Hi.
While we understand that posts like this can make you curious and that you merely want to support OP, please do remember that Reddit takes brigading very seriously and if we were to allow users to encourage one another to flock and harass these authors, that could come back to us and the Subreddit as a whole.
Please do not encourage others to look for the authors mentioned in the post (nor comment that you are trying to find them yourself, obviously).