#Tobacco itself has some real use

[merkerlerspeaks]

to everyone who headcanons simon being a smoker what is it like being so wrong

[isaiahpadams]

"As They Say/Comme Ils Disent" a translation I found of the beautiful song by Charles Aznavour

This song was written in the 1970's, in French, when homosexuality was still incredibly taboo. Aznavour, who was straight by all accounts, wrote the song detailing the life of a drag queen as he felt for the hardships queer people had to live through. I wanted to share this here as it had a strong impact on me when I first heard it and I honestly love the sheer emotion Aznavour conveyed.

I live alone with mom

In a very old apartment

Sarasate Street

I have, to keep me company

A turtle, two canaries

And a cat

To let mom rest

Very often, I go to the market

And cook I tidy up, I wash, I wipe

Occasionally, I also sew

With the machine

Work doesn't scare me

I'm a bit of a decorator

A bit of a stylist

But my real job is at night

I practice it dressed as a woman

I'm an artist

I have a very special act

That ends in full nudity

After a strip tease

And in the room I see that

The men can't believe their eyes

I'm a homo, as they say

Around three in the morning

We go eat with friends

Of all sexes

In some bar-tobacco shop

And there we have a great time

And without complexes

We reveal truths

About people we can't stand

We stone them

But we do it with humor

Wrapped in puns

Drenched in acid

We meet backward people

Who, to impress their group

Walk and sway

Imitating what they think is us

And cover themselves, poor fools

In ridicule

They gesticulate and speak loudly

They play the divas, the tenors

Of stupidity

But the jokes, the teasing

Leave me cold because it's true

I'm a homo, as they say

At the dawn of a new day

I return to my share of Solitude

I remove my eyelashes and hair

Like a poor unhappy clown

Out of weariness

I lie down but don't sleep

I think of my joyless loves

So ridiculous

Of that boy beautiful as a god

Who without doing anything set fire

To my memory

My mouth will never dare

To confess my sweet secret

My tender drama

Because the object of all my torments

Spends most of his time

In women's beds

No one has the right, in truth

To blame me, to judge me

And I specify

That it's Nature itself

That is solely responsible if

I'm a homo, as they say

[lunarsilkscreen]

What causes lung damage with smoke?

Cancer, on the surface, seems to be caused by internal pimples (Polyps) [citation needed]

These polyps when left alone have the potential to disrupt the biological healing factor, and replicate bad DNA strains instead of healing damage.

Some studies suggest inhaling and holding your breath is more exercise than your average lung-haver performance with their lungs.

And this is why running and jogging and exercise helps improve breathing, because the lung workout.

I wonder if there's a physical limit to that however, like... If a person does a bunch of exercise during a particularly bad cold; could they damage their lungs?

Because I've been writing so much about the potential benefits smokers of various Substances may have, it's only beneficial to talk about the drawbacks.

The first drawback with cigarettes I've noted is that Modern Tobacco plants are missing something. It's almost like they've... Dare I say it? Been bred to be addictive and sell more.

This has opened the vape industry that combines nicotine and coolanol to make tasty flavored air; that works better at getting people addicted to the "Real Thing" than at what it's designed to do "Help cigarette smokers by giving them an alternative."

I can't tell you what that something is that modern Tobacco is missing... But it's like Marijuana Edibles, or the skinner box experiment.

Most of them are sugar pills; but there's one with all the *stuff* in it.

And I think that's part of what makes Tobacco so very addictive, despite nicotine being prevalent in tomatoes, pizza, and potato chips.

Nicotine is just a naturally occurring chemical like caffeine; sure, your whole daily intake of food shouldn't be pure nicotine, but it's not a bad thing either.

That increased desire to smoke is just the first stepping stone to irreparable lung damage, and too often conflated with addiction itself.

<aside>Stephen Colbert and Seth Meyers have become such an integrated daily ritual for me that it's possible I have developed an addiction to late night hosts.

And we'll; If enjoying comedians rehash the daily news is wrong; then I don't want to be right.</aside>

The second layer to lung damage is Residual Pesticides: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1314901/

Which is a problem since they follow the same pesticide rules as the rest of agriculture (if you can wash it off the end product, it's fine)

But due to the process of making Tobacco, residual Pesticides can be ground into the Tobacco itself [citation needed].

The third layer is leeched chemicals from the soil in which Tobacco grows, which may be regulated differently from traditional crops [citation needed]

The fourth layer is added chemicals to cigarettes. Which can include Menthol, Flavorings (similar to the Coolanol in Nicotine Vapes,) other Flavors (Like my Favorite Kretek which includes Clover additives,) and chemicals that may affect the speed at which the cigarette burns.

This leads us to the fifth Layer; what makes cigarette smoke so much more dangerous than say; Campfire smoke? It's the proximity to the heat.

Because of the temperature at which tobacco and other smoked product burns; you risk burning the insides of your mouth, lungs, and Stomache lining.

Read this article from the National Lung Association on the risks that Firefighters often face in the line of duty.

Which gives us direct links between Burning things indoors, Campfires, and Tobacco and other Smoked products.

For those that believe "It's not only smoking that gives you lung disease and cancer" you're right

For those that believe the opposite; You're ALSO right.

There's so much supporting data that suggests what we already know to be true: All good things are moderately imbibed.

Or "Anything is bad in Excess"

[blackberrysummerblog]

WIP Wednesday

I’m back on my married-by-the-Crucible AU bullshit (LIES, I never left. Even the clothes-shopping snippet I posted for Six Sentence Sunday is from The WIP That Ate My Life). It’s coming along, though! And I’m going to tag people this time!

This scene is at a garden party reception that Baz’s parents throw to ‘celebrate’ 😒 his marriage to Simon, and for the happy couple to sign the Book. Baz has a brief conversation with his cousin on the patio that overlooks the party below. (Canon divergent details are that Baz was homeschooled after being bitten as a child, and Simon managed to give himself wings and a tail while at Watford, much earlier than happened in canon.) Hope you like it!

‘If it isn’t the old married man!” I’m caught off guard by someone thumping me on the back, which says heaps about my concentration today. It’s been a long time since anyone’s successfully crept up behind me, even with the amount of noise generated by the party.

“Dev.” My smile is genuine; Dev is my cousin and the same age as me, so he and his former schoolmate Niall are the closest I’ve had to real friends. He hugs me warmly, smelling of some expensive tobacco scented cologne—and underneath there’s a hint of good, clean, solid oak. (I always notice, even when I’m not trying.)

“Which one is yours?” Dev asks, waving toward the crowd below. The breeze is picking up a little, enough to carry music from the bottom of the lawn.

“You hadn’t heard I was paired with the Chosen One?” I ask, smirking. Dev went to Watford with Snow, at least for a little while; his parents sent him to boarding school in France to finish his education a few years back. Less plebby, don’t you know.

Dev winks at me. “’Course I have, but it’s been years since I saw Simon Snow. And isn’t he supposed to have wings and a tail still?”

“Temporarily spelled off for the occasion, at his request.” I search the crowd until I spot Snow, mugging for a young woman I dimly recognize as Penelope Bunce. She’s smiling politely as he holds his hands palm-up on either side of his face and hops from foot to foot—magic only knows what he’s miming, but he looks a complete fool. And completely happy, carefree in a way I haven’t seen enough of. “There,” I say, pointing at him. “That numpty over there.”

Dev follows my gesture and gives a low whistle. “He’s filled out nicely,” he comments. “I remember him being something of a ragbag, but he looks—Crowley below, look at you, Baz.” I break away from staring at Snow to glance askance at Dev. “You’re utterly smitten.” He shakes his head wonderingly. “Lovestruck.”

“I’m no such thing.” (I am. It’s a miracle Simon Snow’s name hasn’t tattooed itself across my forehead from the sheer force of my obsession with him.)

A sly grin moves across Dev’s face, one I know better than to trust. “So,” he wheedles, edging in, “How’s the sex?”

“We’re not discussing that,” I say shortly, looking back at Snow. He’s absolutely glowing.

Dev relents. “It’s just that...I’d wondered if the Crucible choosing the perfect partner meant that it was...you know, staggering.”

Certainly a word for it, yes. Still staring at Snow, I give Dev a little shrug. “I should think the Crucible would match people according to whatever characteristics are most important to them.”

“Sex for me, then,” Dev predictably replies. He folds his arms over the railing and bumps my shoulder with a companionable air. “You know, I went to school with Wellbelove, as well. Her father’s a magickal doctor, he could probably have those wings and the rest off in a blink. Make travel a bit easier—Snow was a bloody menace in the school’s minibus on field trips.”

The image of Snow haplessly trying to crowd into a minibus with his schoolmates, annoying everyone in the process, mitigates my urge to push Dev into the hedges beneath us for his suggestion. Poor Simon, scruffy and obtrusive. He’s deserved so much more than he was given.

But he has me now. “I don’t mind the wings. Excuse me,” I say to Dev, turning toward the steps.

“Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean—”

“I know.” I flash Dev a hurried smile. He’s my cousin, after all. “I just remembered something. Catch up in a bit?”

He nods, so I fling myself down the steps and into the crowd, making my way toward Simon with as few stops for polite greetings as possible. (It takes an age. A literal age). “Snow. I—excuse me, hello, Penelope. Lovely to see you,” I manage, barely remembering my manners as I take hold of Snow’s arm. “It’s the appetizers. There’s a bit of a problem.”

“What!” Simon exclaims, looking horrified, at the same moment that Bunce retorts, “Caterer’s problem though, isn’t it?”

“They need our input. We’ll just be a moment,” I say, trying to convey urgency without physically yanking Snow off his feet. I hardly need to, though, since I’ve said the one thing guaranteed to get him moving—if he knew which direction to head in, he’d be the one dragging me.

He’s prattling on as I hustle him into the mudroom at the side of the house and lock the door. “Baz, what is it? It’s not the stuffed mushrooms, is it? Or the tattie scones? Merlin, did they burn the pastry cups?!”

Rolling my eyes, I push him up against a bank of coat cupboards. He’s delusional if he thinks my parents are serving tattie scones, Crowley. “There’s nothing wrong with any of the food, Snow,” I murmur against his ear, inhaling the rich, fatty scent of browning butter that is just Simon, beneath his soap, beneath even his magic.

He turns his head and laughs when I nuzzle his neck—he always does—then slides his fingers through my hair as I kiss along his jawline. “Baz.” Pushing at my chest, Simon looks up at me with wide eyes. “We don’t have time for this. Don’t the caterers need us?”

Tagging @raenestee @thewholelemon @captain-aralias @ileadacharmedlife @cutestkilla @ionlydrinkhotwater @dazed-squid @artsyunderstudy and anyone else who would like to share!

[mmmmalo]

Listening to an audiobook of Last of the Mohicans at work since that seems to be an urtext of popular narratives on Native Americans. Struck by the fixation on the war practice of scalping enemies -- Inglourious Basterds latched onto that one too, Raine lays claim to an Apache heritage and demands German scalps. Was fishing around for a plausible cipher in Homestuck and the only thing that came to mind was Dad's inexplicable obsession with shaving? in conjunction with his love of pipes, the peace pipe-smoking chieftain being another image that's been imprinted in my head by the cultural aether. And tobacco originated in North America anyway... it'd be some real John Carpenter shit loading that into an image of a Perfectly Generic Father

But those are both pretty local to Dad and difficult to track across the story for comparison... I guess it might be significant that the scene where Hussie kisses Rufio directly precedes John finding Dad's wallet? Not just because Hussie-as-Pan frames themself as a father figure to Rufio, but also because Rufio's status as "Indian" within the Peter Pan narrative maps to Dad's 10 tons of pipe tobacco and pile of razor blades? A connection of shaving to scalping might also account for why Barbasol shaving cream is characterized as lethal... though the black & white packages could be problematized separately along the occasional characterization of bombs as sites of miscegenation. The way Dad's shaving almanac has a skull and crossbones on the cover would also make sense... though I used to chalk up that morbidity to a general anxiety around the prospect of adulthood

If Dad's Native coded, I sort of wonder about clowns... Psycholonials comes to mind again, opening as it does with a sort of morose reflection on the colonization of Nantucket before launching off to clown revolution. In Homestuck itself though, nothing's coming to mind... I thought Gamzee's "whoop whoop" might act as a invocation of a war whoop but it looks like he only says that once, in the Epilogues. Gonna keep an eye out for this though, that wonderfully obnoxious "clowns are the most dispriveleged class of all" line from Friendsim is ringing in my head

[musingmycelium]

Some may consider a desert a graveyard in itself but standing in a graveyard in the desert the difference is clear. Moon shines full on the plump Broc flowers and Joshua could swear they smell like death, like they know the dirt they grow in is so good to them ‘for the bodies layin’ in it.

Joshua should know too, seein’ as how’s he was one. 

He ain’t now and his momma raised him to keep movin’ on, keep towards that horizon boy, but just for a second. Just one moonlit moment. Would it be so bad to wonder how he got here?

That’s what the Doc asked him this afternoon when he woke up, fresh bullet scar not quite between his eyes and ain’t that lucky, what’s he done to wind up in a shallow grave. Well, Joshua’s mind’s never been the quickest but his mouth more than makes up for it and he spins his yarn for the Doc just right enough to not be a lie. Missin’ enough for it to not be the truth. 

When he was younger, young, he’d’ve got in trouble for that, real trouble. Never did wanna lie but he knew his way around the truth well enough to make his momma’s head spin and make his daddy's laugh ring right across the ranch. 

Not his Father though. 

No, not his Father.

His Father would smirk, secret around a cigarette, a priest with a pretty mouth and Joshua was older for a choir boy but he was damn near the only boy in town free enough to help and he was good with his hands. Repairing, sewing, fixin’ up those little things on the Church grounds, he was older for a choir boy but not old enough. Not yet. 

Cigarette smoke burns on its way down. Joshua knows his lungs are black as graveyard dirt with it, even if he ain’t smoked since. 

Smoke burns but sometimes, just sometimes, fingers don’t. 

His Father was a careful man, his burns never scar'd where anyone would find. Not unless they were tryin’ to leave the same kind. 

Lungs full of the scent of Broc flowers, thick with nectar drained from the dead. 

Just because the Church taught him to use his hands as well as his mouth don’t mean he can still keep them steady enough to smoke. Nah, Joshua stuffs a wad of tobacco under his tongue, tastes the nicotine bloom. 

But this time he spits instead of swallows. 

Leave those memories in the mud.

Good with his hands, good with his mouth, his momma raised him well enough to know the difference. Joshua grown’d into a fine young man, she told him so often enough he’d even believed her, and keeping his hands busy on a ranch is easy business. There’s always a fence to mend. 

Cattle tend to be just as easy. Driving them across the Mojave with the ranch hands his daddy hired Joshua finds the desert alive. A campfire means a full belly after careful hands have tended to it, cooked on it, put a handful of chicory and coyote chew into the beat up coffee pot and let them simmer into something warm on a cold night. After a hot day. 

It’s good work, honest work. A fine young man with a silver tongue and heart of gold could hardly do better. Even if his hands are rough to the touch, rumor has it they’re gentle too. 

Some of those ranch hands, when their hands are wrapped around a coffee mug and they’re sitting, nearly touching, next to Joshua on a spread out Brahmin hide, ask him if those rumors are true. 

If his hands are as gentle as his mouth. 

Under that bright desert moon Joshua is kind enough to tell just enough of the truth for it to not feel like a lie. 

He’s got good working hands, ranching hands, quick on the draw hands, and a mouth that knows how to be quiet when it needs to be too. 

Only the lingerin’ streaks on gun powder on a ranch hand’s skin, his kindness without regret, Joshua wishes he could pull a steady man as well as he can a trigger. 

Because Joshua he’s a crack shot, deadeye aim and quick, but he can’t sweet talk a coyote out of eating cattle and he can’t pull the trigger on a man who don’t deserve it. His momma raised him right, raised him good, and don’t you ever think you’re the one who can make those kinds of decisions, boy, only one man can decide who lives and dies. 

And standing by his open grave in the desert, Joshua has a bible in one back pocket, and a black handkerchief in the other.

Wonderin' in the moonlight how'd he got there, and where he's goin' next.

[lingshanhermit]

Lingshan Hermit: A Cat's Perspective on the World

Each of us has many attachments, many things we cannot let go of. You may not care if the tea is strong enough or if others look at you strangely, but you cannot ignore your daughter's early romance, you cannot disregard someone maliciously scratching your car, you cannot dismiss people scoffing at what you believe is the truth.

The reason we cannot let go is that we are all trapped in our illusions. Our illusions bind us tightly. We take them as real so they have the power to tie us down. Once we realize they are only illusions, just like a person in a dream recognizing they are dreaming, we will no longer be afraid regardless of what happens in the dream. You can smile serenely in response to anything.

We believe certain things exist and the world is as we define it. Those around us believe similarly - everyone agrees the sky is blue, the earth is round, feces stinks, money is good. So we are very sure our illusions are correct. We must defend these things (such as our dignity). But we have not realized this is only our shared illusion.

For example, a diamond can make many utterly infatuated, many shoot at each other to compete for diamonds. But I believe if you let a cat choose, it would consider cat food more important than diamonds. A cat's values differ greatly from ours. When a cat sees a diamond, it would not be more excited than if you saw a piece of toilet paper.

All our values are inherited. When you were still babbling as a toddler, you wouldn’t think diamonds are more valuable than glass since you hadn’t been taught those values yet. You hadn’t received that inheritance or empowerment - I'm referring to the belief that diamonds are more worth pursuing than cat food. Buddha and his disciples understood and realized cat food and diamonds have no intrinsic differences, just as there is no difference between feces and gold. All distinctions are fabricated by our minds.

Letting go signifies freedom. It means you have jumped out of the circle you drew (it’s just a chalk circle on the ground, but most people are still trapped by it). We are all stuck inside circles we drew ourselves, unable and unwilling to jump out of them. We feel it's safer and more comfortable to remain inside. So we all become very limited people, only able to be this way but never that. We only accept one approach, never any other. Thus we are extremely narrow-minded, unable to transcend.

When discussing the mind of renunciation, don’t misunderstand - it is not unrelated to emptiness. In fact, true renunciation is the realization of emptiness. When you understand all you cling to are but illusions, you have let go. As mentioned above, when you realize the value of diamonds isn’t truly universal but at most commonly treasured among humans - and still not by everyone - you have let go.

I remember a book that told of an explorer who arrived at an African tribe over a hundred years ago. The natives there did not understand diamonds’ worth in the civilized world. In the locals’ eyes, they were just some nice but easy to obtain rocks. Their value couldn’t even compare to the tobacco the explorer brought. He traded only a few packs of cigarettes for many diamonds. If you say water is more important, most animals probably wouldn’t disagree. But if you say diamonds are very valuable, few animals would agree. This shows its value is only an illusion held by some people, not intrinsic to the object itself nor universal.

When we look at something, we first make the mistake of seeing it as independently existing then name it. We then believe it is exactly how we've defined it (the second mistake). We are then firmly bound by these things.

Liberation means realizing nothing binds you. The only thing binding you are your illusions. Since they are illusions that don't really need destroying as they never existed in the first place, right? You needn't destroy non-existent things, only understand this and prove it to yourself.

In Buddhism, the more superficial interpretation of renunciation is you must leave this place of reincarnation because it is very unsafe. No matter where you hide here, it won’t be completely safe. Thus you must depart this place.

But the most ultimate renunciation is when you realize emptiness - you will understand you need hide from nothing. You also need defend nothing. We often feel an urge to protect because we believe certain things belong to us and are being harmed. We have a duty to protect them. The only thing that can affect you is your clinging to phenomena, not the phenomena themselves. You only need remove the illusions causing you to cling.

The kind of letting go where you avoid things can only help temporarily. You evade certain things that can tempt or affect you but will form new attachments to other things. You cannot avoid everything, especially what’s inside you. But if you comprehend all phenomena's innate nature, you will have no clinging because there is nowhere for it to attach.

Original post dated June 15, 2009

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灵山居士：���眼看世界   

[creatingsmilesdental]

Teeth Whitening Options: Choosing the Right Approach with Creating Smiles Dental

For a good reason, teeth whitening has become popular as a cosmetic dentistry procedure. A brilliant, bright grin gives one a more confident appearance and increases self-esteem. You may need clarification on the alternatives if you're considering getting your teeth whitened. Choosing the Right Approach with Creating Smiles Dental will be the main topic of discussion as we examine the various teeth-whitening techniques in this article.

Introduction

Shining smiles make a lasting impression in a world where first impressions count. Teeth whitening has become a popular procedure, and many people are looking for ways to get a whiter, brighter smile. Creating Smiles Dental is a well-known supplier in this area, providing customized solutions to those who want to improve their smiles.

Understanding Teeth Discoloration

Understanding the causes of tooth discoloration is crucial before exploring teeth whitening methods. Several things, such as age, tobacco usage, and food choices, can cause discoloration. There are two types of stains: intrinsic (inside the tooth) and extrinsic (on the surface). Identifying the kind of stain is essential to choosing a working whitening technique.

Common Teeth Whitening Methods

Options for teeth whitening include over-the-counter medications, in-office dental procedures, and home cures. The choice is based on personal preferences, financial constraints, and the degree of discoloration. Each treatment has advantages and disadvantages.

Pros and Cons of Over-the-Counter Products

Over-the-counter tooth whitening solutions provide convenience and accessibility. These products, from whitening toothpaste to strips, satisfy different tastes. On the other hand, some people may develop tooth sensitivity, and their effectiveness may vary.

Professional Dental Treatments: A Deeper Dive

Professional dental treatments are a popular alternative for people seeking more obvious and rapid results. Dentists provide individualized in-office procedures and tailored take-home treatments to address individual issues and provide positive outcomes.

Exploring Natural Remedies

Natural therapies, including oil pulling, activated charcoal, and a combination of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide, have become more and more well-liked. Although these techniques are widely available and reasonably priced, their efficacy can be restricted, and outcomes might materialize later.

The Importance of Professional Guidance

Obtaining expert counsel before initiating any teeth-whitening procedure is important, regardless of the method used. A dentist can evaluate the condition of your teeth, determine the kind of stains you have, and provide a customized treatment plan for the best outcomes.

Teeth Whitening for Sensitive Teeth

People who have sensitive teeth can be reluctant to be whitened. On the other hand, sensitive tooth products and application time considerations make the procedure more comfortable.

Long-Term Maintenance Tips

After treatment, keeping brighter teeth demands deliberate effort. Some tips include avoiding stains in food and drink, practicing proper mouth hygiene, and making regular dental checkups.

Creating Smiles Dental: A Trusted Partner

When starting the teeth-whitening process, selecting the best dentist is essential. Personalized and all-inclusive treatment regimens are how Creating Smiles Dental sets itself apart. Each customer receives advice specifically designed to meet their requirements and goals, thanks to the expertise of their staff.

Choosing the Right Approach

Choosing the best teeth-whitening method requires considering several aspects, including the kind and intensity of stains, the desired time frame for results, and the budget. Creating Smiles Dental uses a consultative approach to provide the best possible treatment plan, helping customers through the decision-making process.

Client Success Stories

Success stories from real patients at Creating Smiles Dental shed light on the efficacy of teeth whitening procedures. Prospective clients are reassured by the transformational effect of their personalized treatments, as demonstrated by before-and-after photos and testimonies.

Affordability and Insurance Coverage

For those thinking about getting their teeth whitened, it is important to know how much teeth whitening will cost. To make high-quality dental care accessible, Creating Smiles Dental offers clear pricing information and addresses possible insurance coverage or financing options.

Ensuring Safety in Teeth Whitening

It seems sensible to want a whiter smile, but safety should always come first. It's important to adhere to dental specialists' advice in order to minimize the problems that may arise from using teeth-whitening products improperly.

Conclusion

Selecting the best teeth-whitening method is essential for achieving a brighter smile. Creating Smiles Dental is a reliable partner in obtaining a dazzling, self-assured smile because it combines experience, individualized treatment, and a dedication to customer happiness. If you're in St. Petersburg and looking for effective teeth whitening solutions, Creating Smiles Dental is your go-to destination for enhancing your smile's radiance. Our expert team is committed to providing top-notch teeth-whitening services tailored to your unique needs. Choose Creating Smiles Dental for the brightest results in Teeth Whitening St. Petersburg.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is teeth whitening suitable for everyone?

For most people, teeth whitening is typically safe. To choose the best course of action, depending on your dental health, you must speak with a dentist.

How long does it take to see results with professional teeth whitening?

The selected approach determines the different timeframes for outcomes. Results from in-office operations could be seen immediately, while at-home treatments need a few weeks.

Are there any side effects of teeth whitening?

One typical adverse effect is temporary tooth sensitivity. But usually, following the whitening procedure, it goes away. Seeking advice from a dentist helps reduce the likelihood of adverse consequences.

Can teeth whitening be done at home using natural remedies?

While natural remedies may show some results, their effectiveness is often limited compared to professional treatments. Consult with a dentist for guidance on safe and effective at-home options.

How often should I whiten my teeth for long-lasting results?

The frequency of teeth whitening is dependent upon lifestyle choices and behaviors. Maintaining proper oral hygiene and adhering to dental advice might prolong the duration of the effects.

[esoutherngolf]

Pinehurst No. 10 Nears Completion and a No. 11 Will Follow

The Pinehurst area has dubbed itself “Cradle of American Golf,’’ and there’s no argument here – especially given what’s coming soon. The Pinehurst Resort has announced that it’ll open its 10th course, called Pinehurst No. 10, on April 3, 2024.  Soon after that, the U.S. Golf Association will open its Golf House Pinehurst to the public on July 1, with the World Golf Hall of Fame to be ready soon after that. The USGA is moving its headquarters from New Jersey to Pinehurst, and the Hall of Fame is being shifted from St. Augustine, FL. Construction is well underway on both projects, to be located between The Carolina Hotel and the No. 1 tee of Pinehurst No. 2, the site of the 2024 U.S. Open in June. Opening a 10th course may be more significant for the golf traveler – especially when you know that Pinehurst No. 11 is already on the drawing board. No. 10 also has USGA ties. “Pinehurst gave us 40 acres of land over there, some of which will be used as our test pavilion for clubs and balls’ compliance,’’ said Janeen Driscoll, director of brand communications for the USGA.  Turfgrass research may also be done there, too. First things first. No. 10 will have a good story to tell once it opens. Reservations are already being taken for players wanting to be among the course’s first players.  It’ll be the first original course built by Pinehurst in nearly three decades. No. 10 is a Tom Doak design that was put together in a surprisingly short time on land that once housed The Pit, a Dan Maples design that was built in the early 1980s. Its revival was rumored for a long time. This is no revival story, however. “The Pit was successful for a long period,’’ said Bob Farren, director of golf course & grounds management at Pinehurst.  “Traveling guys always wanted to play The Pit. It had its niche.  It was really a unique golf course – rugged, short, mounds of dirt. It was successful for 25 years.  Then Michael Strantz built Tobacco Road.’’ This old clubhouse contains the last remnants of The Pit course, which was closed in 2009 Farren describes Tobacco Road as “a larger-scale version of The Pit.’’ “It became the next must-play course, and that didn’t bode well for The Pit,  ‘’ said Farren. “In 2008-09, we owned the property by it, and The Pit had been closed.  Pinehurst bought it in 2010, and that brought us up to 900 acres over there.’’ For a decade, nothing was done with that land; then, the decision-makers came to an agreement.  Doak would build a new course there, but getting the project going wasn’t easy. “Tom wanted to do the job but couldn’t do it until 2025 or 2026 (because of other projects he was working on),’’ said Farren.  “We wanted it done this year.  Tom said that could be done, but it must be finished by September.  We had doubts about that, what with getting permits and things like that.’’ Getting a crew together at short notice was a problem, too.  A New Jersey firm said it could have 65 people there in January, but two-thirds would have to be taken away (for other projects) in six months. No problem.  The work would begin. Clearing started in late December of 2022, and the real work started in January. Angela Moser came on site as Doak’s associate architect, and when we visited in mid-September, Pinehurst No. 10 looked very much like a soon-to-be intriguing golf course. While that work was being done, the Pinehurst hierarchy was already making plans for No. 11.  Nothing’s been announced yet, but Farren is sure it will be coming.  The architects have been chosen, and preliminary work has begun. This project has an interesting history, as well. “Robert Trent Jones (Sr.) had owned the property there, and we bought it,’’ said Farren. “Rees Jones (son of Robert Sr.) had built our No. 7 course and the first version of No. 4.’’ A Jones-designed course was planned for that property when Pinehurst bought the land. “Then 9/11 happened.  We had wanted to build a village there, but then we had to put a chain on the gates,’’ said Farren. That’s where the No. 11 project stands now, but probably not for long. “No. 10 will be a concept for 3-5 years, then it’ll be a destination by itself with No. 11 beside it,’’ said Farren.  “We’ve got the routing on the ground. There’ll be cottages so people can stay on the property.’’ A tour of No. 10 with Farren verified his claim that “it’ll be an entirely different course than The Pit. It’ll be cut from the same fabric as No. 2 and No. 4 together – broad, expansive fairways, centipede turf rough with native landscape, and some wiregrass plants in the bunkers.’’ The 10th hole of No. 10 will be a 640-yard monster with lots of humps and bumps.  There won’t be much water on the course, mainly just an irrigation pond at No. 17, and when it opens, the course will be walking-only with caddies. With 75 feet of elevation change, it’ll make for a good walking course. The par-4 eighth will be the most talked about hole on Pinehurst No. 10 Nos. 9 and 15 will share a tee placement.  There’ll be three types of bunkers, and they’ll be hazards with native plants in them. A bald eagle has made a home at No. 10 but the most talked about hole will be the par-4 eighth. The tee shot there will be over (or around) an unusually high mound, and four more such mounds surround the green. It’ll be a hole you won’t forget. One thing won’t be ready at opening.  There won’t be a clubhouse until 2025. The last remnant of The Pit is its old clubhouse.  It’s still standing and has been used to house interns working on the course. For now, it’s a landmark, but down the road, probably not. For more information, visit pinehurst.com/no-10. Photos courtesy of Joy Sarver and Pinehurst Resort. Read the full article

[scentedchildnacho]

She told me her dad makes mashed bananas with honey so her complexion gets so colorful so I said yes if my birth father would cook then we can have poor arts like gathered wood and real home pop corn on the stove......my mother took care of us though a baked potato with only butter and salt like greek medicinal films if sick or depressed so the allergen goes away....my friends were smokers so the bad people are who teach me the jesus of materialism always better....and aquisition but if its my mother then i get rest philosophy and what is it.......

She told me I should go to my mom....so I told her the story was genocidal not new York fantasies that the poor white is the Jew...its the Jew that does not always report itself to taxation the poor white is truly a third story....

My mother's life got to change it's a sad southern almost incest story for women to live with their mother....women are not men men own the house and take care of their mother like a good boy does it doesn't work that way for women....

My mother is like padre pio....you shouldn't torment her anymore with obligation to me and others....it's job bitch cop medical fucker that hasn't pulled its maturation promise to me and given me an lgbt family after all it's done to me....don't confuse my mother with cop complexes...my mother did pay her debt to me...

Jhumpa lahiri to speculate on Asian overachievement all these parts of my education can be stripped out it's you all as a human family that have failed to create a decent story not my mother to me....

That would be the women's health clinic that has refused to pay a tobacco settlement for barbaric humor and at times selective cruelty you all for pap retard has to finally pay a taxation not live out fantasies of battering me to lobotomy and Zionist saveing me shame on you to me and yourself

That would be hells angels it's white that learns African illegal worlds and shows off it can do some pretty mean stuff

He said he goes to the krishna's and wants to be a vegetarian or vegan so I told him he is going to have to consult an african grocery about that because most United States cultures are of hunting....Indians to Africans do find their emigration a useable disruption to be included in their dominance but Austin there was not agricultural theory without Africans and you will get a wicked nutrient deficit without Africans....

Sweden to Dakota my grandmother could trace her family to Gustavus Adolphus for Sweden's research with serial killers you just don't think women exist....

I'm not joking about Danny boy good Jewish boy.....he is always with us if there are chicks to compound and cult good Jewish boy is always with us with his business degree and neo Nazi position of pay and he dominates the mentals with his psychiatric ability...I am not Danny boy and cult of narcissism doesn't owe nobody anything

Ep Thompson the debt is in agency the truth is they don't know how to create a contemporary women's culture and I have had to create that possibility and they paid nothing to be ass for Jew boy charm....

I told her pacific beach is a very awful place for homeless Tucson is much better the emigration there at least tried to strengthen women and force men away from them...that's men everything is theirs and they suffer all the time for it

She was like why did ya leave...no where else had to leave poor women alone with placenta aids COVID...men...and so there kept being constant refugees to finally not have creeps like men that win off women and then can't pay anything to anyone the shelters in Texas are the most unsanitary and they stalk surrounding states with their refusals to stop being a tuberculin capital

I'm 42 and I swear I'm like I will be dead in 30 years or less and if people expect me to spend the remaining years of my life with harassive repetiive queers who don't think I can ever have a life I also would go sleep on the street of a foriegn city then ever hear go die at your mothers of some bad name given to you

David I love david I will then get some career certificate and die in four years of over stimulation then God

I will then get a landscaping certificate and go dig up all the mines the water hoses that keep shooting people and entry level mechanic and break all the lights that won't stop shooting at you and then just go die

Joining the military is better then gross cellulite stag ass down at the restaurant telling ya off...they were migrants did they let you in as you ran from militants or did gross bitch ass cellulite lock the door on ya till stag beat

Always remind bitch privilege down at the restaurant that it could not do for you what was done for it

The jobs are harassed migrants and the hotel said okay come in they will protect you did they do that for us no....left us out to die of those night stalker things

She asked me if I had ever been in a shelter in Portland or Washington..........so I said my friends really into addiction like really awful crank reefer alcoholism in high school liked it out there so I have always avoided it because they gave it a really bad helter skelter name like a haven for right wing pregnancy and other creepy dealer shit like they get to go to the legalize company and you can die of pesticide baggies

Helter skelter getting high in vans and birthing in Portland...

The south east not north west is where whites can have a confederate sanctuary....that part of the United States is where whites may think they can be in a better efficient sanitary world Portland is that lady that gets high in her van down by the river and learns lyndie england Stanford creepyness....

Right wing creepyness ya know it can get high and be with male dealers not her baby daddy a lot but still stalk up and say it's her and his fantasy....

That type of Jerry Springer stuff immigration scary I don't enjoy the West Coast and only do it because it's a necessary means to an end

Edward said...because he is a voice of authority about fixing what is without complaining and not ever having to fantasize there is anything else in life and I think that creepy Darwin frietal Zionist shit I came across in Ruidoso won't stop stalking me with Armageddon bullshit

But up on the mountain God finally cares there there will finally be a nuclear new deal Zionist freakshow

[reglux456]

Henri Et Victoria Cognac And Cuban Cigars Fragrance

Cubano cigars usually have three glued caps (non-figurados), however counterfeit cigars additionally copy this degree of building. Never, ever purchase cigars advertised as Cuban that are wrapped individually in cellophane or housed in clear-top boxes. Also, do not partagas cigars assume that as a result of a duty-free store sells Cuban cigars it means they’re correctly humidified. You could very well spend $400 on a box of Montecristo No. 2s, only to discover they are dry and nearly unsmokeable.

Interestingly, you'll be able to often discover them in vacationer locations displaying off their nimble fingers and dexterity as they bind the fragile leaves together. Whether you purchase at an airport duty-free store (flying out of the united states, as there aren't any Cuban cigars at duty-free retailers within the U.S.) or at a cigar store, you continue montecristo to have to pay attention. Cuban cigars in some international locations are highly regulated (like the UK), so you’re prone to get the real deal. But there are counterfeits out there in droves, even in Cuba. Do your homework before you purchase and take a look at what legit bands seem like, as nicely as cigar construction.

Another great medium strength cigar, this mild smoke retains simply sufficient earthiness to make it suitable for early afternoons to late evenings. Was starting to increase its production and distribution with special releases simply earlier than the pandemic hit, however you ought to still be able to discover many of the older sizes of H. And despite the very fact that there are ongoing high quality control issues with Cuban cigars, that are sometimes rolled too tightly or have plugs or are under-filled, stick with the top manufacturers and only purchase from respectable sources.

They are, but you can see far fewer of them, and unfold around fewer tobacco shops worldwide. The quality of the soil and the local weather contribute to the unique, slightly earthy taste of Havana-grown cigars. Cigars are available all types of shapes, sizes, and strengths. People who prefer lighter smoke tend to be interested in cigars from the Montecristo Open or Hoyo de Monterrey traces, whereas popular, medium-strength cigars embody Romeo y Julieta, Trinidad, and La Gloria Cubana. For those wanting a powerful, heady smoke, Vegueros, Bolivar, San Luis Rey, and Partagas cigars are by far the preferred. Hand-rolled cigars that utilize a high-quality tobacco like Fronto leaf are the popular strategy for having fun with a proper Cuban cigar.

With more than 200 Havana cigars obtainable, there are alternatives for each palette. Like any nice whiskey, Cuban cigars are meticulously crafted and have been for decades. There are about a hundred steps to producing only one signature Cuban cigar. The process and materials involved are proud traditions of the nation itself–there’s a purpose why they’re known as Cuban cigars.

And our decide could be Oliva Serie V Melanio Torpedo for the aficionados with a sweet tooth. Drinking a carbonated beverage, similar to Cola or glowing water, may help to cleanse your palate in the course of the smoke. Using mouthwash and having gums after smoke may cuban cigars help erase the smell. Remember to drink plenty of water to wash down the scent throughout the day. Therefore, attempt to take away your coat and sweater earlier than your enjoyment.

If you imagine you have a real Cuban cigar, all of the proof can be gathered from the colour of the ash. Counterfeits will burn grey, whereas Cubans will burn nearly pure white. For these considering buying Cuban cigars, here's a starter kit about why a lot fuss has been made in the past. If you would like to find out how Lexology can drive your content marketing technique forward, please e mail [email protected].

Has positioned Trinidad as the subsequent model after Cohiba. It’s an unbelievable 10-year turnaround for the model, which had the majority of its cigars phased out of production in 2012. Cuban cigar manufacturers learned from their errors, although. As the cigar growth ended, Cuba in the reduction of its manufacturing quotas, positioned a contemporary emphasis on conventional growing strategies, and re-imposed tight qc of their factories. Between 2004 and 2014, Cuban cigars had been ranked as one of the prime ten cigars produced on the planet, winning the number one spot three times.

[reel-to-real-emporium]

Random Moxie HCs [Part One]

Mox has a few tattoos; a large raven in flight with void trailing behind its feathers, a rowan branch clutched in its talons on her back. An ace of spades on the inside of her left wrist in honor of her mother and grandfather.

She possesses a large mark that most people assume is yet another tattoo, appearing as a void-stricken vein branching off into smaller veins on the side of their neck and crawling down the top of their right shoulder. Upon closer inspection though, you can see that this is actually more similar to a scar. It was from the first time she died and was brought back by the vault itself.

On the inside of her right wrist, she has a lone freckle in the shape of a heart. At some point she was teased about- it was like she truly had her heart on her sleeve. She hated that.

The scar along the bridge of her nose and her cheeks isn’t actually a complete scar, it is disconnected on one side and earned through one of the many fights she got into in her past. That one being she she decided that just because she was being held back…she wasn’t giving up. Going literally headfirst into her attacker and the weapon they had. It was stupid and painful- but it did stagger them and shock the people holding her. Enough so that with the adrenaline, she was able to simply grin, face already covered with fresh blood from the new gaping wound, her nose broken- the attackers backed off. Claiming that it wasn’t worth it when Moxie was clearly crazy and had no sense of self-preservation. Both things were only partially true.

Scars litter her body from any number of things; fights, accidents, random events- she has so many that some of them she doesn’t even remember the story behind.

Her eyes are reminiscent of her father’s and grandfather’s save for the sectorial heterochromia she possesses in her right eye. The top right silver is the same rich brown as her mother’s. The rest is a hyacinth blue color with a golden bloom around the pupil which makes her eyes occasionally appear grey and hunter-green instead of gold and blue depending on the lighting.

Has always had oddly sharp teeth, inheriting them from the Rowan side of her blood. Her hair has also always been that unnaturally bright crimson, despite the fact that her mother’s was a much more natural auburn sort of ginger. [This is namely due to traits being amplified by Rowan blood.]

In addition to marathoning movies with her mother and researching the origins of the monsters within them, Acelynn also had a unique taste in literature to read to her daughter. Stoker, Wilde, Poe, Shelley- any and all of the greats and could be betters if gothic literature. And Moxie loved it. In some ways it was to desensitize Mox early to the idea of things that go numb in the night, often telling the small child that sometimes humans, could be much more violent and cruel than any monsters you found in movies and books.

Mox has a soft spot in particular for Edgar Allen Poe, for a time before Reel-to-Real she even carried around a brick that she nicknamed Amontillado as both a companion and a ‘creative use’ tool/weapon. She still has Amontillado. It’s under the counter in Reel-to-Real.

Her first crush was, to the surprise of no one, Merletta McDaniels. The leader of the eventual misfit gang she would join in her adolescence.

She learned how to play some instruments during her time in the group just for fun, the members [at least, under Merletta’s rule] often taught each other new skills. Moxie has a fondness of the electric bass guitar, she enjoys feeling the deep vibration in her bones.

Smoking was something that she picked up from that group too- though she had been around it before. Both Leigh and Acelynn had been known to smoke on occasion. Her favorite brand is hard to find and called, ‘Odds-and-Ends.’ Mostly composed of tobacco and cloves/other herbs. It is highly fragrant when smoked but pretty good at taking the edge off. Though because of how hard it is to find, she doesn’t often smoke unless really needs one or finds an occasion where she feels like it.

Because of the events of her past, she has convinced herself that she is complacent on indulging in small acts of things she wants. Keeping people at arms length or from knowing too much about her in every other aspect to protect them and herself. She can be happy enough with other people’s happiness, with helping, with seeing them live. She can survive with the small flirtations and nothing more. Its what she’s always told herself after awhile.

It’s not really a secret that Moxie has trouble backing down. Ever the type to fuck around and find out and keep going until she gets through something if she gets herself into trouble, owning her mistakes and holding her responsibilities. She will refuse or decline things if she doesn’t want to do them or can’t- but if she is challenged and feels she can handle it; there’s no going back.

Has a love of cards thanks to her mom and Leigh. Though that extends to more than just playing cards. She holds a fondness for divining tarot cards too; having procured a set through a visitor once upon a time and studying it for a long while thereafter. She keeps that deck under the counter next to Amontillado and the playing card deck, that used to be Leigh's, on her person whenever she can.

One of the things she regrets losing the most from burning down the cabin she grew up in is the box of Floriography notes composed by her and her mother. One of the random jobs Acelynn had picked up had been a florist and with their shared love of movies and media, floriography became a point of interest. Eventually, they made a collection so that they could use the flowers to speak to one another or convey messages when one or the other wasn't around- or even if it was something that they were struggling to say. Leaving flowers behind. When Acelynn eventually switched to a new job or when flowers weren't available, drawings or even the flower names were left around as a substitute. Moxie memorized most of them, but...she misses having that box. They poured hours into researching and conferring the different messages and meaning, debating which ones fit and how to incorporate them. Plotting on if the meaning changed depending on the other flowers it was paired with, dedicating an entire chunk to combinations and bouquets. Mostly...she misses seeing her mother's handwriting and the memory of coming home from school or staying up waiting for her to come home so that they could work on it together in between replaying their favorite slasher flicks.

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

“WORK OF THE PEN COMMISSION,” Clipping from “Kingston"Standard" 1-11-1920. ---- Commission Has Ten Distinct Subjects To Discuss --- Likely Commission Will Start Work At Dorchester ---- The Royal Commission, appointed by the Department of Justice to draft a new set of regulations for penitentiaries in the Dominion, has already commenced its work, and has ten distinct subjects to discuss and consider in its work. The commission, composed of Col. O. M, Biggar as chairman, and W. F. Nickle, K.C., and P. M. Draper, as members, in addition to the draft of subjects made by the Department, will indicate if possible the exact terms in which penitentiary regulations should be framed and the terms of any amendments In the provisions of the statutes which it may consider desirable.

The announcement from the Department of Justice, appointing the commission, states that the following subjects will be considered:

(1) - The general prison routine with reference to the deterrence from crime of (a) ex-convicts; (b) unconvicted persons and also with reference to the reformation of the convicts 

(2) The differential treatment of classes of convicts and especially of first offenders and of well conducted convicts.

(3) - The arrangements for the labor of convicts including hours of labor, the industries adapted for prison development, both from the economic and reformatory points of view, the necessary plant, the destination of prison products, the payment of convicts for their labor and generally the administration of prison industries.

(4) - The numbers of the staff and their hours of duty.

(5) - The facilities for the self education of convicts and the provision of formal educational Instruction. 

(6) - Diet and its variation, both generally and by reference to particular kinds of labor and for punishment.

(7) - Prison offences and disciplinary punishments. 

(8) - Visits to and letters to and from convicts,

(9) The remission of sentences and release on parole.

(10) - Reports and inspections, and to make a special report as to the state and management of the Penitentiaries in regard to the matters hereinabove recited.’

While the commission has started its work in Ottawa is not yet definitely settled where the real work of visiting the institutions will commence, but it is thought that the commission will commence at Dorchester Penitentiary and work west.

Tobacco for Convicts It is rather difficult to say why there has not long since been some modification of the restriction against the use of tobacco by the convicts in the penitentiaries of Canada. As It is now under the present system which forbids any tobacco whatever to convicts there has grown up a shocking system of trafficking in the weed which has been harmful not alone to those who have indulged in the practise but decidedly prejudicial to the discipline within the institutions. Indeed so great has been this trafficking that in some departments of the institution at Portsmouth it is declared the convicts have come to feel they have the right to refuse to work unless given it - and this despite the illegality of Its use.

It seems to us that it would be better to legalise the use of tobacco. and let the convicts have it regularly, taking it way from them an a punishment in event of their misbehavior or bad conduct. Thus illegal trafficking would cease. and at least of the unrest in the institution be removed. Not only that. but we believe that the convicts would in consequence be much more tractable and more agreeable to reason and discipline. As it is now those of tobacco users find their nerves all on edge when they are deprived of their tobacco, and are therefore more at war with themselves and with society than ever. They feel that their incarceration is in itself accentuating it by depriving them of tobacco which becomes to them as necessary as tea or coffee to many other people. Thus the rebellious spirit in their hearts in aggravated and they become more difficult than ever to handle.

All this could be overcome and the Illegal trafficking be avoided by a decision on the part of the Penitentiary authorities to give convicts the tobacco they apparently need, with the understanding, however, that the supply of any individual convict should be withdrawn in the event of his getting out of hand in any form or other.

Most penologists are in favor of tobacco for convicts and we cannot see why Ottawa should not subscribe to this view and end the agony and heartburning.

Not alone the convict writers of invisible letters but the officials who have been trafficking in them - as apparently they have been - should be given short shrift. The sale of law. or the defeat of justice cannot be tolerated.

It is well to remember that the trouble in the penitentiary just now is not so much because of any hard- ship imposed upon the convicts or any lack of sympathy with their unfortunate position as because of the fact that certain officials within the institution having been found to be law breakers themselves, now resent the discovery and are endeavoring to make it harder than ever for the trusted officials to carry on. Right thinking people will support the honest officials, not the other kind.

[amiralibanani]

The Field of Medicine With The Greatest Impact on Society

Amirali Banani

February 14, 2023

Medicine has always had a profound impact on society and the health of human beings. Driven by science and clever discoveries, medicine has prolonged and enriched the quality of the lives of mankind, and each branch of medicine has its own unique influence on society. There is one medical specialty though in particular that has the greatest impact on society, leading us through global pandemics and pushing the boundaries of biostatistical analysis investigating the sources and causes of diseases, their growth and transmission, and strategies for their regulation: Epidemiology (Community medicine). This medical specialty serves to protect the health of human beings and inform society about factors that can both deteriorate and enhance health.

Epidemiologists play a crucial role in protecting the health of citizens. According to the CDC, epidemiologists use descriptive and analytical epidemiology along with experience, epidemiologic judgement, and understanding of local conditions in “diagnosing” the health of a community and proposing appropriate, practical and acceptable public health interventions to control and prevent disease in the community. Public health professionals can then utilize these vital intervention proposals proposed by epidemiologists to develop methods to intervene in the proliferation of diseases by implementing operative disease preventative measures in society. Experts suggest that medical epidemiologists have added 25 years to the average life expectancy of people living in the United States since 1947. Without the tireless efforts of epidemiologists in protecting the health of human beings, millions of more lives would have been lost to pandemics and other global health crises that have occurred within the past several decades.

An article published by the Japan Epidemiological Association in 2015 states that the major objective of epidemiology is to contribute to fulfilling the definition of public health as “a science and art to promote health and prevent disease by organized effort of society”. With thousands of medical and biostatistical reports being published every day by epidemiologists, epidemiology has proven itself vital in the field of medicine and society as a study which links several disciplines that altogether provide essential data and information for mankind to be informed of health risks associated with various aggravating health factors, as well as practices to ameliorate lifestyle by enhancing mental and physical well-being. A report published on Columbia Public Health indicates that the field has made some truly impressive contributions to humanity, including the eradication of smallpox, fluoridation of drinking water, improved motor vehicle safety (for environmental health concerns), and recognition of tobacco as a health hazard. With such contributions, it’s not surprising that the discipline has saved so many lives through preventative and health-improving initiatives that have been developed as a result of extensive research and analysis.

Epidemiology is a medical discipline that is often overlooked by many, though its significance in civilization and in protecting the health of human beings cannot be understated. From my standpoint, it’s essentially the branch of medicine that forms the backbone of health care systems across the world, making it integral to society. Not only do epidemiologists lead humanity through devastating pandemics, they also fuel society with health-enhancing publications and set guidelines to better protect the health of people. For decades, epidemiology has guarded the health of human beings from the most severe health crises, and it continues to do so today.

Bibliography

Branas, C., “The Future of Epidemiology: World Class Science, Real World Impact”, 23–11–2020,www.publichealth.columbia.edu/academics/departments/epidemiology/who-we-are/message-chair/future-epidemiology-world-class-science-real-world-impact, (Accessed 18–12–2020).

Dicker, R.C. Principles of Epidemiology, 2nd edition, Atlanta: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006, p. 3.

“Epidemiology is a science of high importance”, Nature Communications 9:1703 (2018),

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-04243-3, (Accessed 27–11–2020).

Gulis G. and Fujino Y., “Epidemiology, Population Health, and Health Impact Assessment”, Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 25, no. 3, 2015, pp. 179–180.

von dem Knesebeck, O., “Concepts of social epidemiology in health services research”, BMC Health Services Research 15:357 (2015), https://bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s129

13–015–1020-z, (Accessed 13–12–2020).

[eiirisworkshop]

The Fanfic Author's Guide to Metatext

(As Used on Ao3) by Eiiri

Also available as a PDF here. This thing is 13,000 words.  The PDF is recommended.

Intro: What is Metatext?

Metatext is everything we fanfic authors post along with our story that is not the story itself: title, tags, summary, author's notes, even the rating.

It is how we communicate to potential readers what they're signing themselves up for if they choose to read our story, how we let them make informed decisions regarding which fics they want to read, how we get their interest and, frequently, how they find our story in the first place. A lot of metatext acts as a consent mechanism for readers, it's the informed part of informed consent.

Since most of us who write fanfic also read it, we understand how important this is! But, for the most part, no one ever teaches us how to use metatext; we have to pick it up by osmosis. That makes it hard to learn how to use it well, we all suck at it when we first start out, and some of us may go years without learning particular conventions that seem obvious to others in our community. This creates frustration for everybody.

Enter this guide!

This is meant to be a sort of handbook for fic writers, particularly those of us who post on Archive of Our Own, laying out and explaining the established metatext conventions already in use in our community so we (and our readers!) are all on the same page. It will also provide some best-practices tips.

The point is to give all of us the tools to communicate with our audience as clearly and effectively as possible, so the people who want to read a story like ours can find it and recognize it as what they're looking for, those who don't want to read a story like ours can easily tell it's not their cup of tea and avoid it, nobody gets hurt, and everybody has fun—including us!

Now that we know what we're talking about, let's get on with the guide! The following content sections appear in the order one is expected to provide each kind of metatext when posting a fic on Ao3, but first….

Warning!

This is a guide for all authors on Ao3. As such, it mentions subject matter and kinds of fic that you personally might hate or find disgusting, but which are allowed under the Archive's terms of use. There are no graphic descriptions or harsh language in the guide itself, but it does acknowledge the existence of fic you may find distasteful and explains how to approach metatext for such fics.

Some sexual terminology is used in an academic context.

A note from the author:

This guide reflects the conventions of the English-language fanfiction community circa 2021. Conventions may differ in other language communities, and although many of our conventions have been in place for decades (praise be to our Star Trek loving foremothers) fanfiction now exists primarily in the realm of internet fandom where things tend to change rather quickly, so some conventions in this guide may die out while other new conventions, not covered in this guide, arise.

This is not official or in any way produced by the Archive of Our Own (Ao3), and though some actual site rules are mentioned, it is not a rulebook. Primarily, it is a descriptivist take on how the userbase uses metatext to communicate amongst ourselves, provided in the interest of making that communication easier and more transparent for everyone, especially newer users.

Contents

How To Use This Guide Ratings Archive Warnings Fandom Tags Category Relationship Tags Character Tags Additional Tags Titles Summaries Author's Notes Series and Chapters Parting Thoughts

How To Use This Guide

Well, read it.  Or have it read to you.

This isn't a glossary, it's a handbook, and it's structured more like an academic paper or report, but there's lots and lots of examples in it!

Many of these examples are titles of real media and the names of characters from published media, or tags quoted directly from Ao3 complete with punctuation and formatting.

Some examples are more generic and use the names Alex, Max, Sam, Chris, Jamie, and Tori for demonstration purposes. In other generic examples, part of an example tag or phrase may be sectioned off with square brackets to show where in that tag or phrase you would put the appropriate information to complete it.  This will look something like “Top [Character A]” where you would fill in a character's name.

This guide presumes that you know the basics of how to use Ao3, at least from the perspective of reading fic. If you don't, much of this guide may be difficult to understand and will be much less helpful to you, though not entirely useless.

Ratings

Most fanfic hosting sites provide ratings systems that work a lot like the ratings on movies and videogames.

Ao3's system has four ratings:

General

Teen

Mature

Explicit

These seem like they should be pretty self-explanatory, and the site's own official info pop-up (accessible by clicking the question mark next to the section prompt) gives brief, straightforward descriptions for each of them.

Even so, many writers have found ourselves staring at that dropdown list, thinking about what we've written, and wondering what's the right freaking rating for this?  How do I know if it's appropriate for “general audiences” or if it needs to be teen and up? What's the difference between Mature and Explicit?

The best way to figure it out is often to think about your fic in comparison to mainstream media.

General is your average Disney or Dreamworks movie, Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon shows, video games like Mario, Kirby, and Pokemon.

There may be romance, but no sexual content or discussion. Scary things might happen and people might get hurt, but violence is non-graphic and usually mild. Adults may be shown drinking alcohol or smoking tobacco, and some degree of intoxication may be shown (usually played for laughs and not focused on), but hard drug use is generally not shown or discussed.  There is little to no foul language written out and what language there may be is mild, though harsher swears may be implied by narration. There are no explicit F-bombs or slurs.

Teen is more like a Marvel movie, most network television shows (things like The Office, Supernatural, or Grey's Anatomy), video games like Final Fantasy, Five Nights at Freddie's, and The Sims.

There might be some sex and sexual discussion, but nothing explicit is shown—things usually fade to black or are leftimplied. More intense danger, more severe injuries described in greater detail, and a higher level of violence may be present.  Substance use may be discussed and intoxication shown, but main characters are unlikely to be shown doing hard drugs. Some swearing and other harsh language may be present, possibly including an F-bomb or two.  In longer works, that might mean an F-bomb every few chapters.

Mature is, in American terms, an R-rated movie* like Deadpool, Fifty Shades of Grey, The Exorcist, and Schindler's List; certain shows from premium cable networks or streaming services like Game of Thrones, Shameless, Breaking Bad, and Black Sails; videogames like Bioshock, Assassin's Creed, Grand Theft Auto, and The Witcher.

Sex may be shown and it might be fairly explicit, but it's not as detailed or graphic or as much the focus of the work as it would be if it were porn. Violence, danger, and bodily harm may be significant and fairly graphic. Most drug use is fair game. Swearing and harsh language may be extensive.

Explicit is, well, extremely explicit. This is full on porn, the hardcore horror movies, and snuff films.

Sex is highly detailed and graphic. Violence and injury is highly detailed and graphic. Drug use and its effects may be highly detailed and graphic. Swearing and harsh language may be extreme, including extensive use of violent slurs.

Please note that both Mature and Explicit fics are intended for adult audiences only, but that does not mean a teenaged writer isn't going to produce fics that should be rated M or E.  Ratings should reflect the content of the fic, not the age of the author.

Strictly speaking, you don't have to choose any of these ratings; Ao3 has a “Not Rated” option, but for purposes of search results and some other functions, Not Rated fics are treated by the site as Explicit, just in case, which means they end up hidden from a significant portion of potential readers. It really is in your best interest as a writer who presumably wants people to see their stories, to select a rating. It helps readers judge if yours is the kind of story they want right now, too.

Rating a fic is a subjective decision, there is some grey area in between each level. If you're not quite sure where your fic falls, best practice is to go with the more restrictive rating.

*(Equivalent to an Australian M15+ or R18+, Canadian 14A, 18A or 18+, UK 15 or 18, German FSK 16 or FSK 18.)

Warnings

Ao3 uses a set of standard site-wide Archive Warnings to indicate that a work contains subject matter that falls into one or more of a few categories that some readers are likely to want to avoid.  Even when posting elsewhere, it's courteous to include warnings of this sort.

These warnings are:

Graphic Depictions Of Violence

Major Character Death

Rape/Non-Con

Underage

Just like with the ratings, the site provides an info-pop up that explains what each warning is for. They're really exactly what it says on the tin: detailed descriptions of violence, injury, and gore; the death of a character central to canon or tothe story being told; non-consensual sex i.e. rape; and depictions of underage sex, which the site defines as under the age of 18 for humans—Ao3 doesn't care if your local age of consent or majority is lower than that.

In addition to the four standard warnings above, the warnings section has two other choices:

No Archive Warnings Apply

Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings

These do not mean the same thing and cannot be used interchangeably. “No Archive Warnings Apply” means that absolutely nothing in your fic falls into any of the four standard warning categories. “Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings” means that you the author are opting out of the warning system; your fic could potentially contain things that fall into any and all of the four standard warning categories.

There's nothing wrong with selecting Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings! It may mean that some readers will avoid your fic because they're not sure it's safe for them, and you might need to use more courtesy tags than you otherwise would (we'll talk about courtesy tags later), but that's okay! Opting out of the warning system can be a way to avoid spoilers,* and is also good for when you're just not sure if what you've written deserves one of the Archive warnings. In that case, the best practice is to select either the warning it might deserve or Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings, then provide additional information in other tags, the summary, or an initial author's note.

Unless you're opting out of using the warning system, select all the warnings that apply to your fic, if any of them do. So if a sixteen year old main character has consensual sex then gets killed in an accident that you've written out in excruciating detail, that fic gets three out of the four standard warnings: Underage, Major Character Death, and Graphic Depictions Of Violence.

*(Fandom etiquette generally favors thorough tagging and warning over avoiding spoilers. It doesn't ruin the experience of a story to have a general sense of what's going to happen. If it did, we wouldn't all keep reading so many “there was only one bed” fics.)

Fandom Tags

What fandom or fandoms is your fic for?  You definitely know what you wrote it for, but that doesn't mean it's obvious what to tag it as.

Sometimes, it is obvious! You watched a movie that isn't based on anything, isn't part of a series, and doesn't have any spinoffs, tie-ins or anything else based on it. You wrote a fic set entirely within the world of this movie. You put this movie as the fandom for your fic. Or maybe you read a book and wrote a fic for it, and there is a movie based on the book, but the movie is really different and you definitely didn't use anything that's only in the movie. You put the book as the fandom for your fic.

All too often, though, it's not that clear.

What if you wrote a fic for something where there's a movie based on a book, but the movie's really different, and you've used both things that are only in the movie and things that are only in the book?  In that case you either tag your fic as both the movie and the book, or see if the fandom has an “all media types” tag and use that instead of the separate tags.  If the fandom doesn't have an “all media types” tag yet, you can make one! Just type it in.

“All media types” fandom tags are also useful for cases where there are lots of inter-related series, like Star Wars; there are several tellings of the story in different media but they're interchangeable or overlap significantly, like The Witcher; or the fandom has about a zillion different versions so it's very hard, even impossible, to say which ones your fic does and doesn't fit, like Batman. Use your best judgement as to whether you need to include a more specific fandom tag such as “Batman (Movies 1989-1997)” alongside the “all media types” fandom tag, but try to avoid including very many. The point of the “all media types” tag is to let you leave off the specific tags for every version.

In a situation where one piece of media has a spinoff, maybe several spinoffs, and you wrote a fic that includes things from more than one of them, you might want use the central work's “& related fandoms” tag. For example, the “Doctor Who & Related Fandoms” tag gets used for fics that include things from a combination of any era of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and The Sarah Jane Adventures.

And don't worry, from the reader-side of the site the broadest fandom tags are prioritized. The results page for an “all media types” or “& related fandoms” search includes works tagged with the more specific sub-tags for that fandom, the browse-by-fandom pages show the broadest tag for each fandom included, and putting a fandom into the search bar presumes the broadest tag for that fandom.  A search for “Star Wars - All Media Types” will pull up work that only has a subtag for that fandom, like “The Mandalorian (TV).” You don't have to put every specific fandom subtag for people to find your fic.

If you wrote a fic for something that's an adaptation of an older work—especially an older work that's been adapted a lot, like Sherlock Holmes or The Three Musketeers—it can be hard to know how you should tag it. The best choice is to put the adaptation as the fandom, for instance “Sherlock (TV),” then, if you're also using aspects of the older source work that aren't in the adaptation, also put a broad fandom tag such as “Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms.” Do not tag it as being fic for the source work—in our Sherlock example that would be tagging it “Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle”—unless you are crossing over the source work and the adaptation. Otherwise, the specific fandom subtag for the source work ends up clogged with fic for the adaptation, which really is a different thing.

By the same token, fic for the source work shouldn't be tagged as being for the adaptation, or the adaptation's subtag will get clogged.

The same principle applies to fandoms that have been rebooted. Don't tag fic for the reboot as being for the original, or fic for the original as being for the reboot. Don't tag a fic as being for both unless the reboot and original are actually interacting. Use an “& related fandoms” tag for the original if your fic for the reboot includes some aspects of the original that weren't carried over but you haven't quite written a crossover between the two. Good examples of these situations can be seen with “Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)” vs. “Star Trek: The Original Series,” and “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)” vs. “She-Ra: Princess Of Power (1985).”

Usually, this kind of mistagging as a related fandom happens when someone writes a fic for something that is or has a reboot, spinoff, or adaptation, but they're only familiar with one of the related pieces of media, and they mistakenly presume the fandoms are the same or interchangeable because they just don't know the difference.  It's an honest mistake and it doesn't make you a bad or fake fan to not know, but it can be frustrating for readers who want fic for one thing and find the fandom tag full of fic for something else.

In order to avoid those kinds of issues, best practice is to assume fandoms are not interchangeable no matter how closely related they are, and to default to using a tag pair of the most-specific-possible sub-fandom tag + the broadest possible fandom tag when posting a fic you're not entirely sure about, for instance “Star Trek” and “Star Trek: Enterprise.”

The Marvel megafandom has its own particular tagging hell going on. Really digging into and trying to make sense of that entire situation would require its own guide, but we can go through some general tips.

There is a general “Marvel” fandom tag and tags for both “The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom” and “The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types.” Most of us who write Marvel fic are working with a cherry picked combination of canons from the MCU, various comics runs, both timelines of X-Men movies, and possibly several decades worth of cartoons. That's what these tags are for.

If your cherry picked Marvel fic is more X-Men than Avengers, go for the “X-Men - All Media Types” tag.

If you are primarily working with MCU canon, use the MCU specific tags rather than “all media types” and add specific tags for individual comics runs—like Earth 616 or the Fraction Hawkeye comics—if you know you're lifting particular details from the comics.  If you're just filling in gaps in MCU canon with things that are nebulously “from the comics” don't worry about tagging for that, it's accepted standard practice in the fandom at this point, use a broader tag along with your MCU-specific tag if you want to.

Same general idea for primarily movie-verse X-Men fics. Use the movie-specific tags.

If your fic mostly draws from the comics, use the comics tags. If you're focusing on an individual run, show, or movie series rather than an ensemble or large swath of the megafranchise, tag for that and leave off the broader fandom tags.

Try your best to minimize the number of fandom tags on your Marvel work. Ideally, you can get it down to two or three. Even paring it down as much as you can you might still end up with about five.  If you're in the double digits, take another look to see if all the fandom tags you've included are really necessary, or if some of them are redundant or only there to represent characters who are in the fic but that the fic doesn't focus on. Many readers tend to search Marvel fics by character or pairing tags, it's more important that you're thorough there. For the fandom tags it's more important that you're clear.

If you write real person fiction, you need to tag it as an RPF fandom. Fic about actors who are in a show together does not belong on the fandom tag for that show. There are separate RPF fandom tags for most shows and film franchises. Much like the adaptation/source and reboot/original situations discussed earlier, a fic should really only be tagged with both a franchise's RPF tag and its main tag if something happens like the actors—or director or writer!—falling into the fictional world or meeting their characters.

Of course, not all RPF is about actors. Most sports have RPF tags, there are RPF tags for politics from around the world and for various historical settings, the fandom tags for bands are generally presumed to be RPF tags, and there is a general Real Person Fiction tag.

In order to simplify things for readers, it's best practice to use the general Real Person Fiction tag in addition to your fandom-specific tag. You may even want to put “RPF” as a courtesy tag in the Additional Tags section, too. This is because Ao3 isn't currently set up to recognize RPF as the special flavor of fic that it is in the same way that the site recognizes crossovers as special, so it can be very difficult to either seek out or avoid RPF since it's scattered across hundreds of different fandom tags.

On the subject of crossovers—they can make fandom tagging even more daunting. Even for a crossover with lots of fandoms involved, though, you just have to follow the same guidelines as to tag a single-fandom work for each fandom in the crossover. The tricky part is figuring out if what you wrote is really a crossover, or just an AU informed by another fandom—we'll talk about that later.

There are some cases where it's really hard to figure out what fandom something belongs to, like if you wrote a fanfic of someone else's fanfic, theirs is an AU and yours is about their OC, not any of the characters from canon. What do you do?! Well, you do not tag it as being a fanfic for the same thing theirs was. Put the title of their fic (or name of their series) as the fandom for your fic, attributed to their Ao3 handle just like any other fandom is attributed to its author. Explain the situation in either the summary or the initial author's note. Also, ask the author's permission before posting something like this.

What if you wrote a story about your totally original D&D character? The fandom is still D&D, you want the “Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)” tag.

What if there's not a fandom tag on the Archive yet for what you wrote? Not a problem! You can type in a new one if you're the first person to post something for a particular fandom. Do make sure, though, that the fandom isn't just listed by a different name than you expect. Many works that aren't originally in English—including anime—are listed by their original language title or a direct translation first, and sometimes a franchise or series's official name might not be what you personally call it, for instance many people think of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series as The Golden Compass series, so it's best to double check.

What if you wrote an entirely new original story that's not based on anything?  Excellent job, that takes a lot of work, but that probably doesn't belong on Ao3!  The Archive is primarily meant as a repository for fannish content, but in a few particular circumstances things we'd consider Original Work may be appropriate content for the Archive as well. Double check the Archive's Terms of Service FAQ and gauge if what you wrote falls under the scope of what is allowed. If what you wrote really doesn't fit here, post it somewhere else or try to get it published if you feel like giving it a shot.

Category

What Ao3 means by category is “does this fic focus on sex or romance, and if so what combination of genders are involved in that sex or romance?”

The category options are:

F/F

F/M

Gen

M/M

Multi

Other

The F/F, F/M, and M/M categories are for stories focused on pairings of two women, a woman and a man, and two men, respectively.  These refer to sexual and/or romantic pairings.

The Other category is for stories focused on (sexual and/or romantic) pairings where one or both partners are not strictly male or female, such as nonbinary individuals, people from cultures with gender systems that don't match to the Western man-woman system, and nonhuman characters for whom biological sex works differently or is nonexistent, including aliens, robots, and inanimate objects or abstract concepts. There are some problems with treating nonbinary humans, eldritch tentacle monsters, sexless androids, and wayward container ships as all the same category, but it's the system we currently have to work with. Use Additional Tags to clarify the situation.

Multi is for stories in which several (sexual and/or romantic) relationships are focused on or which focus on relationships with multiple partners, including cases of polyamory, serial monogamy, strings of hookups with different people, and orgies.  A fic will also show as “Multi” if you, the author, have selected more than one category for the fic, even if none of those are the Multi category. Realistically, the Archive needs separate “Multiple Categories” and “Poly” options, but for now we have to work with this system in which the two are combined.  Use Additional Tags to clarify the situation.

Gen is for stories that do not contain or are not focused on sex or romance. Romance may be present in a gen fic but it's going to be in the background.  While rare, there is such a thing as a sexually explicit gen fic—solo masturbation which does not feature fantasizing about another character is explicit gen fic; a doctor character seeing a series of patients with sex-related medical needs following an orgy may qualify if the orgy is not shown and the doctor is being strictly professional—but such fic needs to be rated, otherwise tagged, and explained carefully in the summary and/or author's note.

Much like the warnings section, category is a “select all that apply” situation. Use your best judgement. For a fic about a polyamorous relationship among a group of women, it's entirely appropriate to tag it as both F/F and Multi.  A poly fic with a combination of men and women in the relationship could be shown as both M/M and F/M, Multi, or all three. A fic that focuses equally on one brother and his husband and the other brother and his wife should be tagged both M/M and F/M, and could be tagged as Multi but you might decided not to just to be clear that there's no polyamory going on. If you wrote a fic about two characters who are both men in canon, but you wrote one of them as nonbinary, you could tag it M/M, Other, or both depending on what you feel is representative and respectful.

When dealing with trans characters, whether they're trans in canon or you're writing them as such, the category selection should match the character's gender.  If there's a character who is a cis woman in canon, but who you're writing as a trans man, you categorize the fic based on his being a man. If there's a character who is a cis man in canon, but whom you're writing as a trans man, he is still a man and the fic should be categorized accordingly. When dealing with nonbinary characters the fic should really be classed as Other though, by convention, fics about characters who are not nonbinary in canon may be classed based on the character's canon gender as well or instead. When dealing with gender swapped characters—i.e. a canonically cis male superhero who you're writing as a cis woman—class the fic using the gender you wrote her with, not the gender he is in canon.

Most of the time, gen fics should not be categorized jointly with anything else because a fic should only be categorized based on the ships it focuses on, and a gen fic should not be focusing on a ship in the first place.*

*(One of the few circumstances in which it might make sense to class a fic as both gen and something else is when writing about Queerplatonic Relationships, but that is a judgement call and depends on the fic.)

Relationship Tags

The thing about relationship tagging that people most frequently misunderstand or just don't know is the difference between “Character A/Character B” and “Character A & Character B.”

Use a “/” for romantic or sexual relationships, such as spouses, people who are dating, hookups, and friends with benefits. Use “&” for platonic or familial relationships, such as friends, siblings, parents with their kids, coworkers, and deeply connected mortal enemies who are not tragically in love.

This is where we get the phrase “slash fic.” Originally, that meant any fic focused on a romantic paring, but since so much of the romantic fic being produced was about pairs of men, “slash fic” came to mean same-sex pairings, especially male same-sex pairings. Back in earlier days of fandom, pre-Ao3 and even pre-internet, there was a convention that when writing out a different-sex pairing, you did so in man/woman order, while same-sex pairings were done top/bottom. Some authors, especially those who have been in the fic community a long time, may still do this, but the convention has not been in consistent, active use for many years, so you don't have to worry about putting the names in the “correct” order. Part of why that died out is we, as a community, have gotten less strict and more nuanced in our understandings of sex and relationships, we're writing non-penetrative sex more than we used to, and we're writing multi-partner relationships and sex more than we used to, so strictly delineating “tops” and “bottoms” has gotten less important and less useful.

The convention currently in use on Ao3 is that the names go in alphabetical order for both “/” and “&” relationships. In most cases, the Archive uses the character's full name instead of a nickname or just a given name, like James "Bucky" Barnes instead of just Bucky or James. We'll talk more about conventions for how to input character names in the Characters section. The Archive will give you suggestions as you type—if one of them fits what you mean but is slightly different from how you were typing it, for instance it's in a different order, please use the tag suggested! Consistency in tags across users helps the site work more smoothly for everybody.

This is really not the place for ship nicknames like Puckleberry, Wolfstar, or Ineffable Wives. Use the characters' names.

Now that you know how to format the relationship tag to say what you mean, you have to figure out what relationships in your fic to tag for.

The answer is you tag the relationships that are important to the story you're telling, the ones you spend time and attention following, building up, and maybe even breaking down. Tagging for a ship is not a promise of a happy ending for that pair; you don't have to limit yourself to tagging only the end-game ships if you're telling a story that's more complicated than “they get together and live happily ever after.” That said, you should generally list the main ship—the one you focus on the most—first on the list, and that will usually be the end-game ship. You should also use Additional Tags, the summary, and author's notes to make it clear to readers if your fic does not end happily for a ship you've tagged. Otherwise readers will assume that a fic tagged as being about a ship will end well for that ship, because that's what usually happens, and they'll end up disappointed and hurt, possibly feeling tricked or lied to, when your fic doesn't end well for that ship

You don't have to, and honestly shouldn't, tag for every single relationship that shows up in your fic at all. A character's brief side fling mentioned in passing, or a relationship between two background characters should not be listed under the Relationship tag section. You can list them in the format “minor Character A/Character C” or “Character C/Character D – mentions of” in the Additional Tags section if you want to, or just tag “Minor or Background Relationship(s)” under either the Relationship tag section or in the Additional Tags section.

There are two main reasons to not tag all those minor relationships. The first is to streamline your tags, which makes them clearer and more readable, and therefore more useful. The second reason is because certain ships are far more common as minor or background relationships than as the focus of a work, so tagging all your non-focus focus ships leads to the tags for these less popular ships getting clogged with stories they appear in, but that are not about them. That is, of course, very frustrating for readers who really want to read stories that focus on these ships.

If your fic contains a major relationship between a canon character and an OC, reader-insert, or self-insert, tag it as such. The archive already has /Original Character, /Reader, /You, and /Me tags for most characters in most fandoms. If such a relationship tag isn't already in use, type it in yourself. There are OC/OC tags, too, some of which specify gender, some of which do not.  All the relationship tags that include OCs stack the gender-specific versions of the tags under the nongendered ones. Use these tags as appropriate.

For group relationships, both polycules and multi-person friendships, you “/” or “&” all the names involved in alphabetical order, so Alex/Max/Sam are dating while Chris & Jamie & Tori are best friends. For a poly situation where not everyone is dating each other you should tag it something like “Alex/Max, Alex/Sam” because Alex is dating both Max and Sam, but Max and Sam are not romantically or sexually involved with each other. Use your judgement as to whether you still want to include the Alex/Max/Sam trio tag, and whether you should also use a “Sam & Max” friendship tag.

Generally, romantic “/” type relationships are emphasized over “&” type relationships in fic. It is more important that you tag your “/”s thoroughly and accurately than that you tag your “&”s at all. This is because readers are far more likely to either be looking for or be squicked by particular “/” relationships than they are “&” relationships. You can tag the same pair of characters as both / and & if both their romance and their friendship is important to the story, but a lot of people see this as redundant. If you're writing incest fic, use the / tag for the pair not the & tag and put a courtesy tag for “incest” in the Additional Tags section; this is how readers who do not want to see incestuous relationships avoid that material.

Queerplatonic Relationships, Ambiguous Relationships, Pre-Slash, and “Slash If You Squint” are all frequently listed with both the “/” and “&” forms of the pairing; use your best judgement as to whether one or the other or both is most appropriate for what you've written and clarify the nature of the relationship in your Additional Tags.

Overall, list your “/” tags first, then your “&” tags.

Character Tags

Tagging your characters is a lot like tagging your relationships. Who is your fic about? That's who you put in your character tags.

You don't have to and really should not tag every single background character who shows up for just a moment in the story, for pretty much the same reasons you shouldn't tag background relationships.  We don't want to clog less commonly focused on characters' tags with stories they don't feature prominently in.

You do need to tag the characters included in your Relationship tags.

A character study type of fic might only have one character you need to tag for. Romantic one shots frequently only have two. Longfics and fics with big ensemble casts can easily end up with a dozen characters or more who really do deserve to be tagged for.

Put them in order of importance. This doesn't have to be strict hierarchal ranking, you can just arrange them into groups of “main characters,” “major supporting characters,” and “minor supporting characters.” Nobody less than a minor supporting character should be tagged. Even minor supporting characters show up for more than one line.

If everyone in the fic is genuinely at the same level of importance (which does happen, especially with small cast fics), then order doesn't really matter. You can arrange them by order of appearance or alphabetically by name if you want to be particularly neat about it.

Do tag your OCs! Some people love reading about OCs and want to be able to find them; some people can't stand OCs and want to avoid them at all costs; most people are fine with OCs sometimes, but might have to be in the mood for an OC-centric story or only be comfortable with OCs in certain contexts. Regardless, though, Character tags are here to tell readers who the story is about, and that includes new faces. Original Characters are characters and if they're important to the story, they deserve to be tagged for just like canon characters do.

There are tags for “Original Character(s),” “Original Male Character(s),” and “Original Female Character(s).” Use these tags!  If you have OCs you're going to be using frequently in different stories, type up a character tag in the form “[OC's Name] – Original Character” and use that in addition to the generic OC tags.

Also tag “Reader,” “You,” or “Me” as a character if you've written a reader- or self-insert.

You can use the “Minor Characters” tag to wrap up everybody, both OC and canon, who doesn't warrant their own character tag. Remember, though, that this tag is also used to refer to minor canon characters who may not have their own official names.

Just like when tagging for relationships, the convention when tagging for characters is to use their full name. The suggestions the Archive gives you as you type will help you use the established way of referring to a given character.

Characters who go by more than one name usually have their two most used names listed together as one tag with the two names separated by a vertical bar like “Andy | Andromache of Scythia.” This also gets used sometimes for characters who have different names in an adaptation than in the source text, or a different name in the English-language localization of a work than in the original language. For character names from both real-world and fictional languages and cultures that put family or surname before the given name—like the real Japanese name Takeuchi Naoko or the made up Bajoran name Kira Nerys—that order is used when tagging, even if you wrote your fic putting the given name first.

Some characters' tags include the fandom they're from in parentheses after their name like “Connor (Detroit: Become Human).” This is mostly characters with ordinary given names like Connor and no canon surname, characters who have the same full name as a character in another fandom, such as Billy Flynn the lawyer from the musical Chicago and Billy Flynn the serial killer played by Tim Curry in Criminal Minds, and characters based on mythological, religious, or historical figures or named for common concepts such as Lucifer, Loki, Amethyst, Death, and Zero that make appearances in multiple fandoms.

Additional Tags

Additional Tags is one of the most complicated, and often the longest, section of metatext we find ourselves providing when we post fic. It's also the one that gives our readers the greatest volume of information.

That, of course, is what makes it so hard for us to do well.

It can help to break down Additional Tags into three main functions of tag: courtesy tags, descriptive tags, and personal tags.

Courtesy tags serve as extensions of the rating and warning systems. They can help clarify the rating, provide more information about the Archive Warnings you've used or chosen not to use, and give additional warnings to tell readers there are things in this fic that may be distasteful, upsetting, or triggering but that the Archive doesn't have a standard warning for.

Descriptive tags give the reader information about who's in this fic, what kind of things happen, what tropes are in play, and what the vibe is, as well as practical information about things like format and tense.

Personal tags tell the readers things about us, the author, our process, our relationship to our fic, and our thoughts at the time of posting.

It doesn't really matter what order you put these tags in, but it is best practice to try to clump them: courtesy tags all together so it's harder for a reader to miss an important one, ship-related info tags together, character-related info tags together, etc.

There are tons and tons of established tags on Ao3, and while it's totally fine, fun, and often necessary to make up your own tags, it's also important to use established tags that fit your fic.  For one thing, using established tags makes life easier for the tag wranglers behind the scenes. Using a new tag you just made up that means the same thing as an established tag makes more work for the tag wranglers. We like the tag wranglers, they're all volunteers, and they're largely responsible for the search and sorting features being functional. Be kind to the tag wranglers.

For basically the same reasons, using established tags makes it easier for readers to find your fic. If a reader either searches by a tag or uses filters on another search to “Include” that tag, and you didn't use that tag, your fic will not show up for them even if what you wrote is exactly what they're looking for.  Established tags can be searched by exactly the same way as you search by fandom or pairing, your off the cuff tags cannot.

Let's talk about some well-known established tags and common tag types, divvied up by main function.

Courtesy

A lot of courtesy tags are specific warnings like “Dubious Consent,” “Incest,” “Drug Use,” “Extremely Underage,” “Toxic Relationship,” and “Abuse.” Many of these have even more specific versions such as “Recreational Drug Use” and “Nonconsensual Drug Use,” or “Mildly Dubious Consent” and “Extremely Dubious Consent.”

Giving details about what, if any, drugs are used or mentioned, specifying what kinds of violence or bodily harm are discussed or depicted, details about age differences or power-imbalanced relationships between characters who date or have sex, discussion or depictions of suicide, severe or terminal illness, or mental health struggles is useful. It helps give readers a clear sense of what they'll encounter in your fic and decide if they're up for it.

One the most useful courtesy warning tags is “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat” which basically means “there are things in this fic which are really screwed up and may be disturbing, read at your own risk, steer clear if you're not sure.” This tag—like all courtesy warnings, really—is a show of good faith, by using it you are being a responsible, and thoughtful member of the fanfic community by giving readers the power and necessary information to make their own informed decisions about what they are and are not comfortable reading.

Saying to “Heed the tags” is quite self-explanatory and, if used, should be the last or second to last tag so it's easy to spot.  Remember, though, that “Heed the tags” isn't useful if your tags aren't thorough and clear.

“Additional Warnings In Author's Note” is one of only things that should ever go after “Heed the tags.”  If you use this, your additional warnings need to go in the author's note at the very beginning of the fic, not the one at the end of the first chapter.  If your additional warnings write up is going to be very long because it's highly detailed, then it can go at the bottom of the chapter with a note at the beginning indicating that the warnings are at the bottom. Some authors give an abbreviated or vague set of warnings in the initial note, then longer, highly detailed, spoilery warnings in the end note. It's best to make it as simple and straightforward as possible for readers to access warnings.

Tagging with “Dead Dove: Do Not Eat,” “Heed the tags,” or “Additional Warnings In Author's Note” is not a substitute for thorough and appropriate courtesy tagging. These are extra reminders to readers to look closely at the other warnings you've given.

While most courtesy tags are warnings, some are assurances like “No Lesbians Die” or “It's Not As Bad As It Sounds.”  A fic tagged for rape or dub-con may get a tag assuring that the consent issues are not between the characters in the main ship; or a fic with a premise that sounds likely to involve lack of consent but actually doesn't may get a tag that it's “NOT rape/non-con.” A tag like “Animal Death” may be immediately followed by a freeform tag assuring that the animal that dies is not the protagonist's beloved horse.

Descriptive

There are a few general kinds of descriptive tags including character-related, ship-related, temporal, relation-to-canon, trope-related, smut details, and technical specifications.

Many character- and ship-related tags simply expand on the Character and Relationship tags we've already talked about.  This is usually the place to specify details about OCs and inserts, such as how a reader-insert is gendered.

When it comes to character-related tags, one of the most common types in use on Ao3 and in fandom at large is the bang-path. This is things like werewolf!Alex, trans!Max, top!Sam, kid!Jamie, and captain!Tori. Basically, a bang-path is a way of specifying a version of a character. We've been using this format for decades; it comes from the very first email systems used by universities in the earliest days of internet before the World Wide Web existed. It's especially useful for quickly and concisely explaining the roles of characters in an AU. Nowadays this is also one of the primary conventions for indicating who's top and who's bottom in a ship if that's information you feel the need to establish.  The other current convention for indicating top/bottom is as non-bang-path character-related tags in the form “Top [Character A], Bottom [Character B].”

Other common sorts of character tags are things like “[Character A] Needs a Hug,” “Emotionally Constipated [Character B],” and “[Character C] is a Good Dad.”

Some character-related tags don't refer to a particular character by name, but tell readers something about what kinds of characters are in the fic. Usually, this indicates the minority status of characters and may indicate whether or not that minority status is canon, as in “Nonbinary Character,” “Canon Muslim Character,” “Deaf Character,” and “Canon Disabled Character.”

Down here in the tags is the place to put ship nicknames!  This is also where to say things like “They're idiots your honor” or indicate that they're “Idiots in Love,” maybe both since “Idiots in Love” is an established searchable tag but “They're idiots your honor” isn't yet. If your fandom has catchphrases related to your ship, put that here if you want to.

If relevant, specify some things about the nature of relationships in your fic such as “Ambiguous Relationship,” “Queerplatonic Relationships,” “Polyamory,” “Friends With Benefits,” “Teacher-Student Relationship,” and so on. Not all fics need tags like these. Use your best judgement whether your current fic does.

Temporal tags indicate when your fic takes place. That can be things like “Pre-Canon” and “Post-Canon,” “Pre-War,” “Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “1996-1997 NHL season,” “Future Fic,” and so on.  These tags may be in reference to temporal landmarks in canon, in the real world, or both depending on what's appropriate.

Some temporal tags do double duty by also being tags about the fic's relationship to canon. The Pre- and Post-Canon tags are like that.

Other relation-to-canon type tags are “Canon Compliant” for fics that fit completely inside the framework of canon without changing or contradicting anything, “Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence” for fics that are compliant up to a certain point in canon, then veer off (maybe because you started writing the fic when the show was on season two but now it's at season four and you're not incorporating everything from the newer seasons, maybe a character died and you refuse to acknowledge that, maybe you just want to explore what might have happened if a particular scene had gone differently), and the various other Alternate Universe tags for everything from coffee shop AUs and updates to modern settings, to realities where everyone is a dragon or no one has their canon superpowers.

The established format for these tags is “Alternate Universe – [type],” but a few have irregular names as well, such as “Wingfic” for AUs in which characters who don't ordinarily have wings are written as having wings.

If you have written an AU, please tag clearly what it is! Make things easy on both the readers who are in the mood to read twenty royalty AUs in a row, the readers who are in the middle of finals week and the thought of their favorite characters suffering through exams in a college AU would destroy the last shred of their sanity but would enjoy watching those characters teach high school, and the readers who really just want to stick to the world of canon right now.

Admittedly, it can get a little confusing what AU tag or tags you need to describe what you've written since most of us have never had a fandom elder sit us down and explain what the AU tags mean. One common mix up is tagging things “Alternate Universe - Modern Setting” when what's meant is “Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence.”  The misunderstanding here is usually reading “Alternate Universe - Modern Setting” and thinking it means an alternate version of the canon universe that is set at the same time as the canon universe, but is different in some way. That's not how the tag is meant to be used, though.

The Modern Setting AU tag is specifically for fic set now (at approximately the same time period it was written), for media that's canonically set somewhere that is very much not the present of the real world. This can mean things set in the past (like Jane Austen), the future (like Star Trek), or a fantasy world entirely different from our own (like Lord of the Rings or Avatar: the Last Airbender). Fic for a canon that's set more or less “now” doesn't need the Modern Setting AU tag, even if the world of canon is different from our own. If you're removing those differences by putting fantasy or superhero characters in a world without magic or supersoldier serum, you might want the “Alternate Universe - No Powers” tag instead.

Some of the most fun descriptive tags are trope tags. This includes things like “Mutual Pining,” “Bed Sharing” for when your OTP gets to their hotel room to find There Was Only One Bed, “Fake Dating,” “Angst,” Fluff,” “Hurt/Comfort” and all its variants.  Readers love tropes at least as much as we love writing them and want to be able to find their favorites. Everyone also has tropes they don't like and would rather avoid. Tagging them allows your fic to be filtered in and out by what major tropes you've used.

Explicit fics, and sometimes fics with less restrictive ratings, that contain sex usually have tags indicating details about the nature of the sexual encounter(s) portrayed and what sex acts are depicted. These are descriptive tags, but they also do double duty as courtesy tags. This is very much a situation in which tags are a consent mechanism; by thoroughly and clearly tagging your smut you are giving readers the chance to knowingly opt in or out of the experience you've written.

Most of the time, it's pretty easy to do basic tagging for sex acts—you know whether what you wrote shows Vaginal Sex, Anal Sex, or Non-penetrative Sex.  You probably know the names for different kinds of Oral Sex you may have included. You might not know what to call Frottage or Intercrural Sex, though, even if you understand the concept and included the act in your fic. Sometimes there are tags with rectangle-square type relationships (all Blow Jobs are Oral Sex, but not all Oral Sex is a Blow Job) and you're not sure if you should tag for both—you probably should. Sometimes there are tags for overlapping, closely related, or very similar acts or kinks and you're not sure which to tag—that one's more of judgement call; do your best to use the tags that most closely describe what you wrote.

Tag for the kinks at play, if any, so readers can find what they're into and avoid what they're not. Tag for what genitalia characters have if it's nonobvious, including if there's Non-Human Genitalia involved. Tag your A/B/O, your Pon Farr, and your Tentacles, including whether it's Consentacles or Tentacle Rape.

Technical specification tags give information about aspects of the fic other than its narrative content.  Most things on Ao3 are prose fiction so that's assumed to be the default, so anything else needs to be specified in tags. That includes Poetry, Podfics, things in Script Format, and Art. If it is a podfic, you should tag with the approximate length in minutes (or hours). If a fic is Illustrated (it has both words and visual art) tag for that.

Tag if your fic is a crossover or fusion.  The difference, if you're not sure, is that in a crossover, two (or more) entire worlds from different media meet, whereas in a fusion, some aspects of one world, like the cast of characters, are combined with aspects of another, like the setting or magic system.

If the team of paranormal investigators from one show get in contact with the cast of aliens from another show, that's a crossover and you need to have all the media you're drawing from up in the Fandom tags. If you've given the cast of Hamlet physical manifestations of their souls in the form of animal companions like the daemons from His Dark Materials but nothing else from His Dark Materials shows up, that's a fusion, the Fandom tag should be “Hamlet - Shakespeare,” and you need the “Alternate Universe - Daemons” tag. If you've given the members of a boy band elemental magic powers like in Avatar: the Last Airbender, that can be more of a judgement call depending how much from Avatar you've incorporated into your story. If absolutely no characters or specific settings from Avatar show up, it's probably a fusion.  Either way, if the boyband exists in real life, it needs to be tagged as RPF.

Tag if your fic is a Reader-Insert or Self-Insert.

You might want to tag for whether your fic is written with POV First, Second, or Third Person, and if it's Past Tense or Present Tense (or Future Tense, though that's extremely uncommon).  For POV First Person fics that are not self-inserts, or POV Third Person fics that are written in third person limited, you may want to tag which character's POV is being shown. Almost all POV Second Person fics are reader-insert, so if you've written one that isn't, you should tag for who the “you” is.

A fic is “POV Outsider” if the character through whom the story is being conveyed is outside the situation or not familiar with the characters and context a reader would generally know from canon. The waitress who doesn't know the guy who just sat down in her diner is a monster hunter, and the guy stuck in spaceport because some hotshot captain accidentally locked down the entire space station, are both potential narrators for POV Outsider stories.

Other technical specifications can be tags for things like OCtober and Kinktober or fic bingo games.  Tagging something as a Ficlet, One Shot, or Drabble is a technical specification (we're not going to argue right now over what counts as a drabble). Tagging for genre, like Horror or Fantasy, is too.

It's also good to tag accessibility considerations like “Sreenreader Friendly,” but make sure your fic definitely meets the needs of a given kind of accessibility before tagging it.

Personal

Even among personal tags there are established tags!  Things like “I'm Sorry,” “The Author Regrets Nothing,” “The Author Regrets Everything,” and “I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping” are common ones.  Tags about us and our relationship to the fic, such as “My First Work In This Fandom,” “Author is Not Religious,” and “Trans Porn By A Trans Author,” can help readers gauge what to expect from our fic. Of course, you are not at all obligated to disclose any personal information for any reason when posting your fic.

The “I'm Bad At Tagging” tag is common, but probably overused. Tagging is hard; very few of us have a natural feel for it even with lots of practice.  It's not a completely useless tag because it can indicate to readers that you've probably missed some things you should have tagged for, so they should be extra careful; but it can also turn into a crutch, an excuse to not try, and therefore a sign to readers they can't trust your tagging job. Just do your best, and leave off the self depreciation. If you're really concerned about the quality of your tagging, consider putting in an author's note asking readers to let you know if there are any tags you should add.

You might want to let readers know your fic is “Not Beta Read” or, if you're feeling a little cheekier than that, say “No Beta We Die Like Men” or its many fandom-specific variants like the “No Beta We Die Like Robins” frequently found among Batman fics and “No beta we die like Sunset Curve” among Julie and The Phantoms fic. Don't worry, the Archive recognizes all of these as meaning “Not Beta Read.”

The Archive can be inconsistent about whether it stacks specific variants of Additional Tags under the broadest version of the tag like it does with Fandom tags, so best practice is usually to use both.  You can double check by trying to search by a variant tag (or clicking on someone else's use of the variant); if the results page says the broader or more common form of the tag, those stack.

There's no such thing as the right number of tags. Some people prefer more tags and more detail, while other people prefer fewer more streamlined tags, and different fics have different things that need to be tagged for.  There is, however, such a thing as too many tags.  A tagblock that takes up the entire screen, or more, can be unreadable, at which point they are no longer useful. Focus on the main points and don't try to tag for absolutely everything.  Use the “Additional Warnings In Author's Note” strategy if your courtesy tags are what's getting out of hand.

Tag for as much as you feel is necessary for readers to find your fic and understand what they're getting into if they decide to open it up.

A little bit of redundancy in tags is not a sin.  In fact, slight redundancy is usually preferable to vagueness. Clear communication in tags is a cardinal virtue. Remember that tags serve a purpose, they're primarily a tool for sorting and filtering, and (unlike on some other sites like tumblr) they work, so it's best to keep them informative and try to limit rambling in the tags. Ramble at length in your author's notes instead!

Titles

Picking a title can be one of the most daunting and frustrating parts of posting a fic. Sometimes we just know what to call our fics and it's a beautiful moment. Other times we stare at that little input box for what feels like an eternity.

The good news is there's really no wrong way to select a title. Titles can be long or short, poetic or straight to the point. Song lyrics, idioms, quotes from literature or from the fic itself can be good ways to go.

Single words or phrases with meanings that are representative of the fic can be great. A lot of times these are well known terms or are easy enough to figure out like Midnight or Morning Glow, but if you find yourself using something that not a lot of people know what it means, like Chiaroscuro (an art style that uses heavy shadow and strong contrast between light and dark), Kintsukuroi (the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold), or Clusivity (the grammatical term for differences in who is or isn't included in a group pronoun), you should define the term in either a subtitle, i.e. “Chiaroscuro: A Study In Contrast,” or at the beginning of the summary.

As a courtesy to other writers, especially in small fandoms, you may want to check to make sure there's not already another fic with the same title in the same fandom, but this is not required. In large fandoms, there's no point in even trying. After all, there are only so many puns to be made about the full moon and only so many verses to Hallelujah.

It may be common practice on other platforms to include information such as fandom or ship in the title of a fic, but on Ao3 nothing that is specified by tags belongs in the title unless your title happens to be the same as a tag because, for instance, you've straightforwardly titled your character study of Dean Winchester “Dean Winchester Character Study” and also responsibly tagged it as such.

Summaries

Yes, you really do need to put something down for the summary. It might only need to be a single sentence, but give the readers something to go off of.

The summary is there to serve two purposes: one, to catch the interest of potential readers, give them a taste of what's inside, and make them want to know more; and two, to give you a space to provide information or make comments that don't really fit in the tags but that you want readers to see before they open the fic.

We've already talked some about that second function. When you put an explanation of the title or clarification about tags in the summary, that's the purpose it's serving. You can also put notes to “Heed the tags” or instruct readers that there are additional warnings in the author's note here in the summary, rather than doing so in the tags.

The first function, the actual summarizing, can be very hard for some of us.  It's basically the movie trailer for your fic, butwhat are you even supposed to say?

There are two main strategies as to how to approach this: the blurb, and the excerpt. Blurbs are like the synopses you at least used to see on the backs of published books, or the “Storyline” section on an IMDb page. Writing one is a matter of telling your readers who does what, under what circumstances.

Depending on the fic, one sentence can capture the whole thing: “Sam and Alex have sex on a train.” “Tori tries to rob a bank.” “If anybody had mentioned Max's new house was haunted, Jamie wouldn't have agreed to help with the move.”

Sometimes a blurb can be a question! “What happens when you lock a nuclear engineer in a closet with a sewing kit, a tennis ball, and half a bottle of Sprite?”

Of course, plenty of blurbs are more than one sentence. Their length can vary pretty significantly depending on the type and length of fic you're working with and how much detail you're trying to convey, but it shouldn't get to be more than a few short paragraphs. You're not retelling the entire fic here.

An excerpt is a portion of the fic copied out to serve as the summary. This, too, can vary in length from a line or two to several paragraphs, but shouldn't get too long. It should not be an entire scene unless that scene happens to be uncommonly short. It's important to select a portion of the fic that both indicates the who, what, and under what circumstances of the fic and is representative of the overall tone. Excerpts that are nothing but dialogue with no indication of who's talking are almost never a good choice. Portions that are sexually explicit or extremely violent are never ever a good choice—if it deserves content warnings, it belongs inside the fic, not on the results page.

Counterintuitively, some of the best excerpts won't even look like an excerpt to the reader if they don't contain dialogue. They seem like particularly literary blurbs until the reader reaches that part in the fic and realizes they recognize a section of narration.

Some of us have very strong preferences as to whether we write blurbs or use excerpts for our summaries. Some readers have very strong preferences as to which they find useful. Ultimately, there's no accounting for taste, but there are things we can do to limit the frustration for readers who prefer summaries of the opposite kind than we prefer to write, without increasing our own frustration or work load very much. Part of that is understanding what readers dislike about each type so we know what to mitigate.

Blurbs can seem dry, academic, and overly simplified. They don't automatically give the reader a sense of your writing style the way an excerpt does. They can also seem redundant, like they're just rehashing information already given in the tags, so the reader feels like they're being denied any more information without opening the fic.

Excerpts can seem lazy, like you, the author, don't care enough to bother writing a blurb, or pushy like you're telling the reader “just read the fic; I'm not going to give you the information you need to decide if you want to read or not, I'm shoving it in front of you and you just have to read it.” That effect gets worse if your tags aren't very informative or clear about what the plot is, if the excerpt is obviously just the first few lines or paragraphs of the fic, if the except is particularly long, or, worst of all, if all three are true at once.

A lot of the potential problems with blurbs can be minimized by having fun writing them! Make it punchy, give it some character, treat it like part of the story, not just a book report. A fic for a serialized show or podcast, for instance, could have a blurb written in the style of the show's “previously on” or the podcast's intro.  Make sure the blurb gives the reader something they can't just get from the tags—like the personality of your writing, important context or characterization, or a sense of the shape of the story—but don't try to skimp on the tags to do it!

Really, the only way to minimize the potential problems with excerpts is to be very mindful in selecting them. Make sure the portion you've chosen conveys the who, what, and under what circumstances and isn't too long.  You know the story; what seems clear and obvious from the excerpt to you might not be apparent to someone who doesn't already know what happens, so you might need to ask a friend to double check you.

The absolute best way to provide a summary that works for everybody is to combine both methods. It really isn't that hard to stick a brief excerpt before your blurb, or tack a couple lines of blurb after your excerpt, but it can make a world of difference for how useful and inviting your summary is to a particular reader. The convention for summaries that use both is excerpt first, then blurb.

If you're struggling to figure out a summary, or have been in the habit of not providing one, try not to stress over it. Anything is better than nothing.  As long as you've written something for a summary, you've given the reader a little more to help them make their decision. What really isn't helpful, though, is saying “I'm bad at summaries” in your summary. It's a lot like the “I'm Bad At Tagging” tag in that it's unnecessarily self depreciating, frequently comes across as an excuse not to try, and sometimes really is just an excuse. Unlike the “I'm Bad At Tagging” tag, which has the tiny saving grace of warning readers you've probably missed something, saying you're bad at summaries has no utility at all, and may drive away a reader who thought your summary was quite good, but is uncomfortable with the negative attitude reflected by that statement. Summaries are hard. It's okay if you don't like your summary, but it's important for it to be there, and it's important to be kind to yourself about it. You're trying, that's what matters.

Author's Notes

Author's notes are the one place where we, the writers, directly address and initiate contact with our readers. We may also talk to them in the comments section, but that's different because they initiate that interaction while we reply, and comments are mostly one-on-one while in author's notes we're addressing everyone who ever reads our fic.

The very first note on a fic should contain any information, such as warnings or explanations, that a reader needs to see before they get to the body of the story, as well as anything like thanks to your beta, birthday wishes to a character, or general hellos and announcements you want readers to see before they get to the body of the story. On multi-chapter fics, notes at the beginning of chapters serve the same function for that chapter as the initial note on the fic does for the whole story, so you can do things like warn for Self-Harm on the two chapters out of thirty where it comes up, let everyone know your update schedule will be changing, or wish your readers a merry Christmas, if they celebrate it, on the chapter you posted on December 23rd but is set in mid-March.

Notes at the end of a fic or chapter are for things that don't need to be said or are not useful to a reader until after they've read the preceding content, such as translations for that handful of dialogue that's in Vulcan or Portuguese, or any parting greetings or announcements you want to give, like a thanks for reading or a reminder school is starting back so you won't be able to write as much. End notes are the best place to plug your social media to readers if you're inclined to do so, but remember that cannot include payment platforms like Patreon or Ko-fi.

As previously mentioned, warnings can go in end notes but that really should only be done when the warnings are particularly long, such that the length might cause a problem for readers who are already confident in their comfort level and would just want to scroll past the warning description. In that case, the additional warnings need to go in the note at the end of the first chapter, rather than at the end of the fic, if it's a multi-chapter fic; and you need to include an initial note telling readers that warnings/explanations of tags are at the bottom so they know to follow where the Archive tells them to see the end of the chapter/work for “more notes.”

When posting a new work, where the Preface section gives you the option to add notes “at the beginning” or “at the end” or both, if you check both boxes, it means notes at the beginning and end of the entire fic, not the beginning and end of the first chapter. For single-chapter fics this difference doesn't really matter, but for multi-chapter fics it matters a lot. In order to add notes to the beginning or end of the first chapter of a multi-chapter fic you have to first go through the entire process to post the new fic, then go in to Edit, Edit Chapter, and add the notes there.

Series and Chapters

Dealing with Series and Chapters is actually two different issues, but they're closely related and cause some of us mixups, especially when we're new to the site and its systems, so we're going to cover them together.

Series on Ao3 are for collecting up different stories that you've written that are associated with each other in some way. Chapters are for dividing up one story into parts, usually for pacing and to give yourself and your readers a chance to take breaks and breathe, rather than trying to get through the entire thing in a single marathon sitting (not that we won't still do that voluntarily, but it's nice to have rest points built in if we need them).

If your story would be one book if it was officially published, then it should be posted as a single fic—with multiple chapters if it's long or has more than one distinct part, like separate vignettes that all go together. If you later write a sequel to that fic, post it as a new fic and put them together in a series. It's exactly like chapters in a book and books in a series. Another way to think of this structure is like a TV show: different fics in the series are like different seasons of the show, with individual chapters being like episodes.

If you have several fics that all take place in the same AU but really aren't the same story those should go together as a series.  If you wrote a story about a superhero team re-cast as school teachers, then wrote another story about different characters in the same school, that's this situation.

Series are also the best way to handle things like prompt games, bingos, or Kinktober, or collect up one shots and drabbles especially if your various fills, entries, and drabbles are for more than one fandom. If you put everything for a prompt game or bingo, or all your drabbles, together as one fic with a different chapter for each story, what ends up happening is that fic gets recognized by the Archive as a crossover when it isn't, so it gets excluded from the results pages for everyone who told the filters to Exclude Crossovers even though one of the stories you wrote is exactly what they're looking for; and that fic ends up with tons and tons of wildly varying and self-contradictory tags because it's actually carrying the tags for several entirely different, possibly unrelated stories, which also means it ends up getting excluded from results pages because, for instance, one out of your thirty-one Kinktober entries is about someone's NoTP.

Dividing these kinds of things up into multiple fic in a series makes it so much easier for readers to find what of your work they actually want to read.

If you've previously posted such things as a single fic, don't worry, it's a really common misunderstanding and there is absolutely nothing stopping you from reposting them separately. You may see traffic on them go up if you do!

Parting Thoughts

Metatext is ultimately all about communication, and in this context effective communication is a matter of responsibility and balance.

Ao3 is our archive. It's designed for us, the writers, to have the freedom to write and share whatever stories we want without having to worry that we'll wake up one day and find our writing has been deleted overnight without warning.  That has happened too many times to so many in our community as other fanfic sites have died, been shut down, or caved to threats of legal action. Ao3 is dedicated to defending our legal right to create and share our stories. Part of the deal is that, in exchange for that freedom and protection, we take up the responsibility to communicate to readers what we're writing and who it's appropriate for.

We are each other's readers, and readers who don't write are still part of our community. We have a responsibility as members of this community to be respectful of others in our shared spaces.  Ao3 is a shared space. The best way we have to show each other respect is to give one another the information needed to decide if a given fic is something we want to engage with or not, and then, in turn, to not engage with fic that isn't our cup of tea. As long as our fellow writer has been clear about what their fic is, they've done their part of the job. If we decided to look at the fic despite the information given and didn't like what we found, then that's on us.

Because metatext is how we put that vital information about our fics out in the community, it's important that our metatext is clear and easy to parse. The key to that is balance. Striking the balance between putting enough tags to give a complete picture and not putting too many tags that become an unreadable wall; the balance between the urge to be thorough and tag every character and the need to be restrained so those looking for fics actually about a certain character can find them; the balance between using established tags for clarity and ease and making up our own tags for specificity and fun.

Do your best, act in good faith, remember you're communicating with other people behind those usernames and kudos, and, most importantly, have fun with your writing!

[junk-culture]

something something getting a poetry book from the library but there's already enough poetry in the yellowing pages of the book itself, and in the datestamps inside it - beginning with 11 JAN 1985 - some dates faint, some dark and smudged (too much ink on the stamp, not enough, the earlier dates are in blue ink, the later ones in black), a few dates handwritten, in blue biro, (two different librarians - one uses small hyphens between the numbers, the other uses vertical slashes) - and ending with 11 SEP 2009 -

(but i'm not the first person to borrow it since then - it's only that they switched to using machines instead, but still, some evidence of people remains - the numbers underneath the barcode sticker have been highlighted in pink, and someone has marked a cross in red biro next to it, whatever that may mean)

- and there are even some bits lodged in the plastic jacket, inside the back cover: tiny thin brown flakes, which i want to say are bits of loose tobacco, although if they are, they've lost their smell. (if this was a real poem, printed in a book, i'd probably add something about my dad, who also rolls his own cigarettes; an ounce - 25 grams, sorry, of amberleaf, oh, and a packet of rizzlers, thanks - his little table in the kitchen stinks of it - )

as to the poems themselves - (a collection called 'the irrelevant song', by brian patten) - well, they don't seem too bad; i've only read through a few of them, was just flicking through the book at breakfast - but there must have been enough in the words to spur me to ignore them, and begin to write about the poetry in all the hands that have touched this book besides mine instead - although really, i wouldn't have written this at all if i hadn't seen someone on here, recently, talking about the poetry in the glow-in-the-dark stars left on the ceiling of the air bnb - you know the post i mean.

and i can't quite think how to end this - but i suppose, like the glow-in-the-dark stickers person, i'm hoping we'll all understand what i'm trying to say regardless.

(i think i'll save this and post it later - when all the americans have woken up. silly, maybe, but i wouldn't be writing this "irrelevant song" if i didn't want others to read it too - and well, i don't want to overstate it, but that is why all of those people's words have ended up on the small poetry shelf in my local library, isn't it?)