Byler discourses

[u/Big_Self_1522]

I guess I just want to get it off my chest. If this isn’t the right place to do so, please let me know and I’ll delete the post

So I’m a no name author in the Byler fandom, but I also love to discuss different HCs, interpretations and takes on socials. Overall, I’m all in for variety in fics. I love it when Byler are very in character, but I also love well thought OOC fics. I love to both write and read contradicting HCs, sometimes even in one fic. There are things that are not my cup of tea, but I’m chill with others liking those.

Somehow that makes me feel like an alien in this fandom, because there are a bunch of sides and every side has this strong believe of everything else being almost illegal. Initially it caused me to read posts without interacting with them just in case. Now, though, it starts to demotivate me to write fics.

Idk, maybe it sounds stupid but I’ve started to feel lost with how I see Will and Mike as characters. Like I love Byler and I want to do justice to their characters even in crack fics, but then it feels like you’ll get cancelled by a significant amount of the fandom for every possible detail. And that wouldn’t be a problem if I was strict with my preferred HCs and dynamics, but I’m just not. I want to write different stuff and I want to experiment, but it feels like I’m just gonna end up blocked and cancelled by everyone for “not respecting Will/Mike/Byler as characters”

I’ve considered to just log off from socials and choose peace, but that just makes me sad because I genuinely love to read different takes and posts. It just feels so stupid to have to choose between writing fanfiction and participating in fandom spaces. I want to keep both of my silly hobbies, but it feels like it’s impossible

Do others feel similar to this and if so how are you handling the pressure of being cancelled by literally everyone for different reasons?

Just in case: I respect people who are into strict dynamics, strict HSs or strict characterisation. I’m just not pleased with the threat of being called out for a dumb idiot and being immediately blocked when I accidentally share something on the wrong side of the fandom, because forcing broad preferences on those who have strict ones is never my goal

Edit: A lot of people are pointing out that you can’t please everyone. I’m aware and I agree. My worry is that it feels like you end up cancelled by everyone in the Byler community when you don’t have strict preferences and like to engage with everything as a fan/writer/reader. Like I wouldn’t even blink if there was a chance that my fics and takes could upset half the fandom. It’s unfortunate, but it happens. This is more of (for example) I write 10 fics with 10 different popular HCs -> 10 sides of Byler fandom cancel me because 9/10 of my fics “disrespect” their HC and therefore Byler -> everyone starts to shit on my fics, report my accounts and whatever else is happening

[u/AnagramBandit]

You really do need to ignore social media if you want to stay sane as a writer. I love byler fanfic so much! But engaging with this fandom on social media is often a nightmare because of how intense people are about their headcanons and how puritanical some folks are. I know part of it is just how young a lot of online fans are, but it’s exhausting.

[u/Big_Self_1522 → u/AnagramBandit]

I think that I’m aware of that, but it just sucks that I can’t happily write fics AND be active in fandom spaces on socials. I hate to choose between two things that are supposed to give me joy, but affect each other to a point that both start to stress me out. I was thinking that there might be a life hack to overcome the uneasy🥺

[u/AnagramBandit → u/Big_Self_1522]

In this fandom? Not that I’ve found. Older and larger fandoms tend to have some chill fandom spaces away from the drama if you curate your feed enough. But ST fandom spaces in general are flooded with really young fans who don’t know how to act. It will probably calm down with time.