addressing a puppy-sized elephant in the room

[ratbones]

"You know that Lizzo song that goes like 'Why men great till they gotta be great?' I've been singing a version of that in my head but with different lyrics which go 'The world doesn't need your coronavirus hot take.'" - John Green in the first ten seconds of this video

I've been trying to think of something to say about COVID-19 and the obvious but completely coincidental thematic overlap with the long longfic I finished posting recently, but really, I got nothing. My degree is in astrophysics; I have no relevant expertise here. I have a little bit of experience in how to make a pandemic into an entertaining story, which is the opposite of useful right now. I don't keep up with the news (one might say I generally avoid the news as much as possible and get my coronavirus information from the CDC and WHO websites) so I have gaps in my knowledge of current events. If anyone has thoughts, feel free to think them at me! I just thought I'd better make some kind of note somewhere, since people are picking up on the confluence of events, that I don't have a take, and that All-Consuming is...okay, I wouldn't say it's wholly apolitical, but it's not a specific commentary on any news story.

EDIT 4/22/20, for those coming from the link in the author's note: WELP. The fic still isn't about coronavirus, but, look, this is the world we live in now. The story is permanently entangled with the actual plague that it accidentally presaged. I hope it can be comforting or hopeful in some way. (For what it's worth, I've come around to finding the whole thing kinda funny?) If the fic brings up feelings, I'd be delighted to talk to you about it. <3

Comments

[marycrawford]

I never thought for even a hot second that the two were related other than coincidentally, since your story came out much earlier, but I agree with manka - having a fabulous story that provides catharsis connected to a scary theme that's in the front of people's mind right now is great. I mean, that is part of what fiction is for, right? To tell stories about scary things, but have the good people win despite the odds (unlike IRL where a brave Chinese doctor died after warning people about the virus, alas).

Also, I get a little emotional about fandom sometimes and All-Consuming is one of those moments - it is so GOOD and reading it I feel like, how did I get so lucky? How can I be reading a novel length story about characters I love, that's as tightly paced as anything you could wish for in a pro novel, with a clever action/time travel plot AND a romance that makes me clutch myself and go eeee, and I just...get to read it for free? HOW?

I will be rereading and dropping some actual comments on AO3, so mostly this is just a heads-up for that, and a whole lot of <3 <3 <3 to throw your way.

[ratbones]

I'm really glad that that's your response as well! Yeah, you're right, of course. Stories that let us vicariously defeat the stuff that scares us in reality are perennially popular for a reason. I guess I was just concerned that the horror themes tied directly to a pandemic were not a good look. And with news stories like that one about the doctor who died, I don't want to accidentally push any upsetting buttons for people. But it sounds like mostly that's not the response people have after finishing the fic, so that reassures me.

Also, I get a little emotional about fandom sometimes and All-Consuming is one of those moments - it is so GOOD and reading it I feel like, how did I get so lucky?
ummm...blushy blush, hee. This is so very wonderful to hear? Thank you. I love this fandom really really hard and I am just happy to contribute my efforts, and extra happy that people enjoy them! I'll look forward to any comments. <3