Hux opened his door, scattering those thoughts as he circled the car to stand beside Ben, peering up at the blinking neon sign proclaiming their destination as Joe’s Breakfast Shack. The lights behind the S had burned out, a dubious portent for the little diner.
Thunder pealed overhead, the wind picking up, flinging pieces of a discarded newspaper off a nearby bench. Hux tucked his hands in his armpits.
“Is this a date, Ben Solo?” he dared to ask, raising an eyebrow with a smile that felt more hopeful on his lips than taunting.
Ben didn’t take his bait, and instead shrugged out of his black letter jacket. He’d draped it around Hux’s narrow shoulders before Hux realized what was happening.
Hux belatedly tried to sidestep away, but Ben didn’t let go of the lapels. “I’m fine,” Hux insisted.
“You’re shivering,” Ben countered, brow furrowed as he met Hux’s eyes. There was something protective about his gaze.
a scene from chapter 4 of @kyluxtrashcompactor’s fic i can see through you (see to the real you)! please go take a read; it’s an amazing story about “bad boy” Hux and good student Ben and how they meet each other halfway and I love it! PS. thanks to all who came to my first official stream and watched me draw💕 [background image]
readers can be shy, too. They worry about commenting the same way that writers worry about posting fic. Replying lets them know they “did it right”
readers feel as overjoyed when they get replies as writers feel when they get comments
you can have a lot of fun and maybe even make a new friend
you can’t give kudos to comments, and there are some comments that really deserve it
just to say “thanks” – because not all readers comment and you appreciate the ones who do
I have three very close friends—one is my best—because we first met over comments they left on my fic or I left on theirs.
I answer every comment and sometimes I don’t have time but I’ve learned to make it because in the end it’s been worth every single moment I’ve given it.
I see this post, or a version of it, come around constantly. I’d like to chime in on how this kind of “call out” post / passive aggressive post is not really all that encouraging to the people that are writing your free fic.
It’s super presumptuous to assume that an author chooses not to reply to a comment because they don’t care. Writing is a solitary experience, in a lot of cases. Some of us write because we can’t get our own thoughts and feelings across in one-on-one interactions. While a comment may be treasured, it can still feel like interaction we aren’t comfortable with.
Some of us don’t know how to handle praise. I’m one of those. I feel really uncomfortable with it, and with my low self esteem never feel I’m worthy of it. When trying to respond I feel false or like I’m gloating. I bet I’m not the only one.
I see stuff in the comments on this post that say “I don’t comment on the fic if the author doesn’t respond.” It’s pretty tragic, considering the author provided free entertainment, so what do they actually OWE you? It’s wonderful to get comments, and I know every author appreciates it, but how did we get into the culture here on social media where people that are offering praise for something they’ve consumed and enjoyed feel they are due praise for their appreciation?
Yes, there are a lot of great things about communicating in comments. I’ve met a lot of great people that way, but please don’t just assume stuff about the writers that don’t respond. They aren’t just being assholes and it’s not that they don’t care, and stuff like this is toxic.
You should leave a comment on a fic because you’re grateful that someone put their heart and soul into providing you free entertainment, not because you want someone to feel obligated to thank you for appreciating their work. Sometimes those comments that sit in our inbox keep us going when we’re depressed and anxious, when we’d like to reach out but can’t, and withholding that for a reason like this is really nothing but discouraging.