Page 29 of A Very Snowed In New Year
“I still like to read,” she explains, “but for the past year or so it’s been more fun for me to write for myself. I haven’t started submitting my stories yet, but I read and comment on stuff in a lot of fandoms.”
“Fandoms, huh?”
“Yeah.”
I wish I could prevent myself from asking this question, but I just can’t. “Are there fanfic stories aboutRiders of Storm and Fire?”
She snort-laughs. “What do you think?! It’s one of the most popular categories on FictionAxis. Which is surprising, since it’s relatively new. The most popular ones are stillSupernatural, MCU, DCU,HP,Star Wars,LOTR, Sherlock Holmes. There’s tons of RPF now and stuff about K-pop bands. ”
She keeps listing fandoms, but I’m stuck on Sherlock.
“Anyway,” she says. “Most of the fanfic is inspired by the books. There are self-insert stories inspired by the movie and a certain actor, and I would rather drink eggnog every day for the rest of my life than try to read one of those.” She makes a gagging sound.
“I hear you.”
“But one of the top stories in theROSAFbook fandom is a romantic-comedy version with a meet-cute between Zephyr and Ember, and it’s so fun! You should read it.”
“No thanks.”
“It was written by someone with the handle PiperThanFiction, and I went down a rabbit hole. She has a lot of stories on there, but she hasn’t shared anything in a couple of years.” She makes a sad trombone sound.
“Wait. PiperThanFiction is the handle of the person who wrote the fanfic? On FactionPixel?”
“FictionAxis! Yeah. She has tons of followers, but I guess she got bored of fanfic or got a boyfriend or something.”
I wonder.
Why does that fill me with melancholy all of a sudden?
My phone buzzes, and since we’re still several blocks from the apartment, I check my messages.
There’s a new message from Shay on Backroom.
“Who are you flexting with?” my sister asks. “Is it an LA person?”
“Sort of.” I put my phone back into my pocket. “Not at the moment, though. She’s on vacation in Sedona.”
“Where’s Sedona? Sounds like the kind of place young actresses go to get their buttholes bleached.”
“Rory!”
She can’t stop laughing. “I’m not wrong!”
“It’s in Arizona, and it’s the opposite of that kind of place. I think.”
“But I’m right about theyoung actresspart.”
“Her name is Shay. We’re just getting to know each other.”
“Ew. Not ShayNicholls!?”
“Why? What have you heard?”
“Ugh. I haven’t heard anything, I just hate her pointy face. There’s a reason she’s always playing shallow B-Faces.”
“What did I tell you about making assumptions like that about actors?”
Rory’s eyes instantly well up with tears and her lower lip starts quivering. “I can’t believe you’re defending her!”
