Wow. That's the first thing that comes to mind when I think on this story. The second is what, the third is why - no, seriously, why? That's explainable, though, just give me time.
We'll start off with the "good" stuff, so to speak. This story came way farther than I ever expected. The last time I wrote about its progress, it looked a little like this:
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Now, as I write this foreword, Warmth has over 31,000 reads. It's almost overwhelming seeing how many people have even looked at this story of mine, let alone those who commented and voted. Nearly all of the comments I get about the story itself (we're not even delving into all the wonderful puns some of you have made) are supportive (and slightly emotional). I don't quite understand that, but you've all brought me a generous amount of joy since this story's creation.
Moving on, though, to the point of this foreword, there's a lot I don't like about the story. It's become very successful, though, so I decided not to bin it entirely. Allow me to explain where I'm headed.
I began this story when I was around twelve years old, ended it by thirteen. That year was indescribably difficult. Though life has gotten far more difficult and complex for me since then, I've learned something important that I didn't know then: You can't just write anything.
I have always dealt with difficulties by writing; I can't form sentences in speaking to do so otherwise. The thing is, there is writing that can be shared everywhere and there is writing that must be protected. I wrote things that should've had protection, but I treated them like things that could be shared everywhere.
I know the reason for that is mainly that back then, I didn't know what content warnings were. I'd never seen them and all the fanfiction back then was filled with the same things I was writing and nobody else thought twice about content warnings, so how would new writers know to use them?
I had no regard for the impact of my actions. As the years went on, I realised that words have impact, even when they're not aimed at the person reading them. I've become a bit ashamed of this story, to be honest. But all the readers seemed to love it so, and I couldn't just remove it like it never happened. So instead, I'm getting rid of author's notes at the end in favour of content warnings at the beginning. I will not erase the mistakes I made in using the subjects I did. Instead, I will attempt to atone for them, in that respect. It is very important not to hide from one's past, but to learn from it and apply those lessons in one's future. Perhaps some of the next generation of fanfiction writers will find themselves here, and perhaps they'll learn from this to make their works a bit of a safer place. Perhaps then, fanfiction could be emjoyed by all fans, without need to worry about whether or not it'll cause a breakdown.
I think I've taken enough of your time here, so I'll move aside. Bearing this foreword in mind, I give you Warmth.
