Hello readers. I'm sure you're wondering, why an update on a story that's complete? I finished reading this ages ago, what's with the sudden reappearance?

I have something to tell all of you, and I want everyone to get the notifications and emails. It's important. Please read to the end, it will only take a few minutes. Surely you can spare that.

I have added (or rather, expanded) a very important author's note at the end of Chapter 2. I am copying my additions here, so that you can read it more easily, and doing some more explanation for total clarity. I will admit, I'm rather upset about the whole thing, so if my writing comes off as harsh, I apologize. I'm human just like the rest of you, but I promise I am doing my best to be better.

"boys CAN sing and boys CAN act like "girls" so yea how about not being so heteronormative and shitty"

"Um, sorry for nitpicking but i just would like to point out that in real life its not actually that simple to say that boys act in this way and girls act in that way. It is not black and white."

"These sexist attitudes (yes, that's what they are) that you seem take for granted makes me worry a little bit and it just makes me feel that you are just trying to make sure that everyone knows that even though Averil is male version of Ariel, he still is masculine and not some sissy merman."

These are just a few of the reviews I've received since writing Fathoms Below. While I do understand why they happened (failure to communicate on my part) it still hurts to read them. I'm here to explain why I wrote the way I wrote, and to clear up a few things before they accidentally hurt someone else.

The new authors note reads as follows:

In my original author's note for this chapter, I tried to keep my explanations brief and concise regarding my choices here with "Part of Your World". My short version of why Averil doesn't sing like Ariel does was "boys don't sing, not the way girls do". CLEARLY that was not enough of an explanation, because I got a ton of hate reviews for being sexist. So you kids don't get all up on your high horse just yet, let me explain a little more fully and clearly what I meant by that.

I didn't mean "boys don't sing" as in "boys can't sing because they are too masculine for that". What I meant was "Most boys don't sing as a result of their experiences as adolescent males, which is different from the experiences of adolescent females".

I can't keep you from feeling offended that I didn't have Averil sing the way Ariel did, if that's what you really want to do. Fine, be upset. I'm not saying boys CAN'T sing, or that any boy who sings is somehow less masculine than others, I'm simply saying that in my personal experience of boys (straight, gay, trans, you name it!) it is simply LESS LIKELY that Averil would be the type of guy to have singing as a knee-jerk reaction to express how he feels. Averil has spent enough time trying to keep from being "the overly sensitive baby brother that everyone laughs at", it is something he avoids at all costs. His brothers will pick on him for literally anything. His avoidance to singing is based on his EXPERIENCE, not his gender. This is a very common scenario in many households with brothers, not to mention how the general populace of boys in this generation do make fun of each other for doing stereotypically feminine activities. Like, for example, singing. I'm not trying to make this a "perfect world" story, this is meant to be realistic. A realistic Averil would have good reason not to spontaneously burst into song.

Are you happy now? I'm not a sexist pig, I'm just a writer who didn't think I needed to write all of you a freaking novel to explain my fanfiction. Apparently I did.

I needed something about Erryn to make Averil love her, besides the fact that she's human, and it made much more sense to have him pick up that song from her. Also, I know Erryn is coming off as a bit more main character-ish than the original Eric did- a lot of that has to do with circumstances. I'm trying very hard not to change the personality, but with that comes having to deal with the circumstances as they come. It happens. I'm doing my best.

I hope none of this has put anyone off as a reader. It's just very frustrating to be told you sound like a sexist when you just didn't explain yourself clearly enough. I'm annoyed at myself more than you all, believe me. Oh well, we live and we learn. As usual, read and review please!

Now I am well aware that it seems silly to do a whole chapter update for a note about reviews. It truly isn't just because I'm butthurt over someone saying something mean. Yes it hurts, but there's more at play here.

The gender spectrum is a major point of contention these days, all over the world. Young people are fighting to find what is real, and they're having to deal with scrutiny and scorn every step of the way. It's not a coincidence that young people also make up the majority of the fanfiction-reading world. So I think it's important that I a) acknowledge my communication mistake, and b) clarify by intent in my writing, because representation is important, and we all have to work together to keep moving forward as a society.

How many people were turned off of my story in Chapter 2, just because I appeared to be ignorant, rude, or even hostile toward the gender spectrum, versus the out-of-date and illogical gender binary? How many people got all excited for a fun story, and then got hurt when they saw an author who didn't seem to care if she wrote rude, sexist things? What we read and see in the media plays an important role in how we see the world. I refuse to be, unintentionally or otherwise, a part of the stagnant, old-world ignorance that prevents forward motion.

At the end of the day, this is fanfiction. It's hardly a New York Times bestseller, the majority of the world will never read it. I don't care. Even if it's the tiniest ripple in the tiniest fanfiction pond, I'm going to do everything I can with it.

Averil is one character, in one story. He can't represent everyone on the planet, and it's silly to think he could. Also, because of the kind of story I was writing, I did have some restrictions on what I could or couldn't realistically do with him. That said, I want be very clear that while THIS character isn't a perfect person who represents everyone on the planet, that does not mean that there aren't boys and girls and men and women all over the world who do things differently. I choose to follow some stereotypes, because as I writer I believe that some stereotypes have a basis in truth, and I try to be a realistic as I can. That's my choice as an author. I don't follow every stereotype, and I try to steer clear of those that are offensive, but no one is perfect.

I got hurt when I read a bunch of reviews telling me I was a mean, sexist person. And you know what? I'm glad. I will never just rashly write out a quick reasoning like that again, and for that I'm a better writer. So if you see things like that in other fanfictions, please do exactly what you did to me. CALL THEM OUT! You may not mean to hurt someone, but if you do hurt someone, it's your responsibility as a person to own up to it, apologize, and do better.

I'm sorry my failure to communicate may have hurt some people. I apologize profusely. In the future, I will endeavor to write more clearly, and to always remember my representation.

I hope my fellow writers will do the same.

Always yours,

Auryn Rei Evroren