If you're reading this, chances are good that you've read one or more of my fanfics on a site like AO3. I wanted to let all of my fanfic readers know what my plans are for future fanfic, as certain fandoms are not as welcoming as ... well, as fandoms for the most part used to be.
I have a tendency to sometimes accidentally end up writing things that other people find controversial. I don't intend this; it just happens that some people find my plots or character portrayals offensive for one reason or another. It used to be that it was considered rude to flame a fanfic you didn't like just because you didn't like it. These days, readers are much more likely to lob abuse at you simply because they don't like your take on something. Sure, there were 'shipping wars', but there weren't people saying that "if you don't ship this one ship we've all agreed we like, you're morally wrong and should be ashamed of yourself." Times have changed.
While there are many fandoms I would like to write fics in (I still have plans to continue stories I have in Harry Potter and Twilight), the one that I've been writing in most currently is Miraculous. And that fandom, on the whole, has become increasingly toxic, abusive, and intolerant over the years. I started writing a story about an accidental mate-bite in a world where everyone's a werewolf, and someone called me a rape apologist. I wrote about the world being conquered by an alien race of lizard people and someone called me antisemitic (seriously, WTF?). I get comments regularly about how 'uncomfortable' people are that I sometimes write straight ships involving characters that the fandom has decided are gay (and even if the show makes it canon that they are gay, people have been writing slash fic with straight characters for decades; saying the opposite is not allowed is an intollerant BS double standard that, IMO, has no place in fandom).
While there are many wonderful readers on AO3 who've appreciated even my accidentally controversial stories, the loud, abusive readers are making it difficult to enjoy this hobby that I do for fun. They've taken over the fandom and claim to be its sole representatives who are allowed to speak on what is or is not allowed in this fandom. And that's some BS, but I'm past the point in my life where I care anything at all about what's going on in 'fandom'. I did that in my twenties. I'm now in my forties. I just want to write my stories and enjoy exploring my own take on things. I literally could not care less what 'the fandom' agrees is true or right or appropriate.
But, that doesn't mean I have to put my work where it isn't wanted. "Don't throw your pearls before swine," as the saying goes. As an author, finding our audience is as much about turning off the wrong readers as it is about attracting the right ones.
The TL;DR of all this is that I plan to keep posting fics that I figure probably won't end up being accidentally controversial on AO3. But there are other fics I've already started or have plans to write which are probably not a great fit for the general (current) Miraculous fandom audience. Those, I plan to post on Ream (a serial fiction site). I'll likely post these as something for followers (which means that they'll be free, but you'll have to have a Ream account and 'follow' me to see them). My goal with that is to ensure that the people reading them are more likely inclined to already like my writing and avoid the drive-by haters who only read fics to see if there's something they can get offended by.
I also wanted to note that even though I keep writing fanfic, that doesn't mean I keep up with canon or incorporate new canon. For example, for any future Harry Potter fic I write, I'll only take the seven books and not any of the other stuff that came out after (including statements by the author, the supplementary books, prequel films, etc.) unless I choose to include something I particularly liked on a case-by-case basis. For Miraculous specifically, I've only watched through season three and don't intend to watch further--at least not for the foreseeable future. I've seen glimpses of some spoilers, and I don't care for a lot of the directions the show is taking. Honestly, that started in season three, which has multiple episodes I mostly ignore. (Such as the about-face on Chloe's positive character development in the finale and doubling-down on Lila's whole deal.) So my Miraculous fanfic will most likely continue to exist in the world (or an AU based on the world) in season three or prior, where Fu is guardian, most identities are still secret, and Hawk Moth is Hawk Moth, without regard for any new canon created or revealed post-season-three. I'll also default to not having Lila in the world unless I have some use for her, just because I think she's an awful character whose presence brings the show down. I'll also use some different choices for things that I know have already been addressed in post-season-three canon, such as powers of Miraculouses not seen by that point. If you continue to read my fics, just know that that's where I'll be coming from. Please avoid any post-season-three spoilers in the comments to my fics.
To sum up:
Some of my fics in the future will continue to be available on AO3. These are likely to be shorter ones, like more 'what if' stories and such. https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShawnaCanon/works
Some of my stories (mostly longer ones, so maybe in the 30k+ word range) will keep going up on my website as downloadable ebooks: https://www.shawnacanon.com/fanfic
All of my fanfics going forward (until/unless this needs to change at some point) will be going up on my Ream (serial platform that I control). Longer fics as 'stories' and short one-shots probably as community posts. In order to read these, please follow me on Ream (you'll still get to read them for free; ignore the paid tiers and just click 'follow'): https://reamstories.com/shawnacanon/public
If you're unfamiliar with Ream, it's a new serial fiction platform that's built for and by authors, so it's designed for fiction reading. You can read on the web or on a phone app (download from their website, not the app store). Here's their info page for readers: https://ream.tawk.help/category/readers
If you've actually read this far, you're probably someone who really enjoys my stories, so I want to thank you sincerely for your support, I hope you understand where I'm coming from with all this, and I hope you'll check out my Ream and keep reading my fanfics there.