I know I’m terrible at being around here (mostly because Tumblr has stopped sending me emails when I get asks on this blog), but I wanted to take a minute to address some asks I’ve gotten regarding authors from different fandoms that “might be TMF”.
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with speculating among friends if So and So from XYZ fandom is actually TMF with a new username, but I don’t really think it’s appropriate for me to publish/facilitate such discussion on this public (although decidedly niche) blog.
I have a couple reasons for this.
First, it’s a known fact that TMF was relatively polarizing within the Glee fandom. Even though that never made much sense to me, it’s still true. It’s also a known fact that people from her previous fandom, Skins, found her again solely to harass her during her active time with Glee. Given this and the fact that fandom is generally a much less forgiving place now than it was back then, in the event that anyone suspected to be TMF actual were her, I would hate to invite the same negativity and harassment that drove her from public fandom participation in the first place back into her life.
Second, TMF left fandom for several different reasons, but I think chiefly she did so to reclaim her life from a toxic dynamic/environment. She often talked about how frustrating it was to spend hours on fic edits away from her real life only to receive hate or complaints about her work in return. Something that was supposed to be fun became a source of stress and anxiety for her. So bearing that in mind, if she wants to anonymously dip her toes back into the fandom space, I feel that I should allow her to do that without enabling any additional scrutiny.
....which sounds like an overly serious response to some messages that I know were sent by excited TMF fans. Ughhhhhhh. Anyways! She may be out there, she may not be. Either way, I hope she’s having a good time!