Kapamilya star Kathryn Bernardo expressed her delight to the author of a long Twitter thread that tells a fictional love story between her and Daniel Padilla that made rounds on the platform.
Based on a report, the Twitter thread called “Along España: A Kathniel Social Serye” was written by a fan named Gwy Saludes and posted by user @frostfambam.
Bernardo thanked Saludes in a video clip captured by her close friend Juan Miguel Severo, a spoken word artist, who also praised the narrative.
Hello. Kathryn has already read Along España. pic.twitter.com/KAgzZJoFoQ
— Juan Miguel Severo (@TheRainBro) February 18, 2019
“Binasa ko siya habang traffic and naaliw ako so thank you!” she said. The video also showed actress Ria Atayde, whose photos were also used in the storyline, and gave a thumbs up to the author.
“Excited na kong mabasa yung next na mangyayari. Goodluck and galingan mo,” Bernardo added.
Severo first noticed the thread on February 17 and shared how amazed he was with it.
“It still amazes me how we always find new ways to tell stories and how we utilize these new available platforms to share them,” he said on Twitter.
It still amazes me how we always find new ways to tell stories and how we utilize these new available platforms to share them. Nakakakilig 'to! ❤️ https://t.co/LB3KlAJxwY
— Juan Miguel Severo (@TheRainBro) February 17, 2019
Saludes told Star Cinema that Bernardo’s message for her greatly motivated her to continue writing stories such as this one.
“Last month, I was questioning my capability to write. Kathryn’s video message motivated me to continue writing and exploring. Hindi niya siguro alam pero sobra-sobra ‘yung epekto niya sa akin kahit sa simpleng ganoon lang. I love her. Isa siya sa mga inspirasyon ko,” she said.
She also thanked Severo for being an inspiration to her as well.
“Thank you so much kay Juan Miguel Severo. He really knows how to motivate a writer,” she said.
Twitter user @frostfambam posted the thread on February 10 and quickly gained traction days after.
— Along España —
a kn social serye where Red desperately needs to interview famous vloggers for research like Avery, the woman he ghosted 2 years ago, just to pass the semester. pic.twitter.com/w0muqXH0iS
—  (@frostfambam) February 10, 2019
The posts portrayed Padilla as Red, a student from the University of Santo Tomas, and Bernardo as Avery, a vlogger from De La Salle University, whom Red left unceremoniously or “ghosted.”
Based on the last update on February 16, Avery and Red eventually got back together.
Saludes showed fictitious conversations using photos of popular personalities to create the story.
Social media in fan culture
Fan-made stories or fan fiction of local love teams are commonplace among Filipinos online.
Fans of the relationship of Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, in particular, often have dedicated social accounts to publish their own spins of their characters on Twitter, Facebook and often via the online storytelling platform Wattpad.
The culture of fandoms or communities of fans of public figures or fictional characters greatly changed with the advent of social media, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Wroclaw in Poland found that the Internet made it easier for people with similar interests and passions to bond and interact with each other regardless of age, race and gender.
With social media, fans nowadays also don’t just consume “cultural products,” they make something new out of it.
“The tools of creation are now widely accessible and we can see the so-called immaterial labor, which means that the production of cultural goods takes place in the ‘social factory,’ rather than in a secluded enterprise’s factory oriented for economic success only. Unlike such a factory, that provides things, the social factory provides ideas and thoughts,” they said.
