#a writer rants

[upontherisers]

would you guys be okay if i posted OC meta it’s okay if not i understand. writing OCs is one thing but analyzing them is insane behavior

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

I am incredibly serious right now when I beg you all, please, and if you have Twitter or Tiktok or whatever to please spread the word: click on an author's profile on Ao3.

You want to know if an author has written more? Want to know if they're still writing? Want to see more from them? Want to know if they've written a trope or kink or sex scenario you enjoy?

Click on their name. And look at their profile.

I cannot tell you how many times in the last six months someone has read a new or newer fic of mine and said they (a new reader who has read nothing else I've done) "can't wait to see what you do next!" I've written 50+ fics and over a million words already.

"I don't know if you're still writing..." click on my profile. I am. I literally wrote a 128k+ fic for that ship last month.

"Would you ever do X?" "Please do Y!" I already did. Click on my name and look at my works.

Archive of our Own is a library. It's an archive. Not social media. It is your responsibility to fight back against the laziness that corporate algorithms have trained into you.

Click my author name. Just click it. Just click it.

Before you demand more, or ask if a writer will do XYZ, or wonder if the author still writing, or anything - click on their profile. Click on the author's profile.

I'm not trying to be mean or condescending or anything like that. I'm just exhausted. It's disheartening and frustrating to repeat myself ad nauseam, because someone couldn't take thirty seconds to do the tiniest bit of work to see if I've written lately, if I've written more for their ship, or scan my works to see if I've written what they're asking for. Please. Please. I'm begging.

Click the author's name, and explore before you ask.

[liesandnights]

Stop shaming people for being passionate about the things that they love. Stop mocking people for having unusual interests. Like, honestly, I’m so tired of feeling embarrassed for being "too much". If being too much means having deep interests that fill my life with romanticism and excitement, then let me be!! I’d much rather listen to anyone ranting about their latest obsession with 16th century swords than have a boring ordinary conversation with those who shame passionate people.

[rollercoasterwords]

the tiktokification of ao3

or: some of you fundamentally misunderstand ao3 and it really, really shows

i was talking about this with a friend a few days ago and since then i've seen multiple posts of various sorts that have just made me think about it more, so. here is me breaking down a disconnect i see particularly with younger members of the marauders fandom (i say marauders specifically just bc that's the only one i'm plugged into):

okay, so i've seen many (usually younger) marauders fans either talking online about how they wish ao3 was more like social media (specifically regarding algorithms) OR talking about ao3/fanfiction/fanfic writers as if they are operating under the same etiquette/guidelines/assumptions they would bring into social media platforms. this ranges from being mildly irritating to genuinely harmful, and i want to talk abt why.

first - you have to understand that social media, in this day and age, exists in a profit economy. and when i say social media here, i'm referring to platforms like tiktok, twitter, instagram, etc. all of these platforms exist in a profit economy where content is a product that can be monetized. this leads to a few important distinctions:

people posting on these social media platforms are generally posting with the intent to get their content seen by as many people as possible, as quickly as possible

they post with this intent because once their content is consumed by enough people, it becomes a product that they can monetize

therefore, if that content gets popular enough, these people can become influencers, where content creation is an actual job and their audience are, in a sort of vague and obscured way, similar to consumers purchasing a product

because of the profit economy surrounding social media, there are certain assumptions + forms of interaction that bleed across almost all social media platforms. the ones relevant to this little essay include:

operating under the assumption that anyone posting anything on the internet wants to go viral, ie. be seen by as many people as possible as quickly as possible in order to grow an "audience"

these influencers are creating content for us, their audience, so they should want to please us. they should also be trying to appeal to the broadest possible audience. therefore, if we dislike their content, we have a right to make that very, very clear.

in that same vein, we have a general right to critique content creators, as they are making a profit and we are the consumers purchasing their product--much like you might feel entitled to a certain standard of service in a restaurant where you are paying for the food.

when you carry these assumptions over to a platform like ao3, it creates problems. why? in a nutshell: because ao3 exists outside the profit economy

ao3 is a non-profit. it does not have an algorithm because it is not trying to sell you anything. this means that the writers posting their work on ao3 are not making a profit. we are not influencers. we are not creating monetized content to sell to a consumer-audience. where consuming content on other social media platforms might be comparable to eating at a restaurant, reading fanfiction on ao3 is more like coming over to someone's house and eating cookies that they made for free. you are in their house. the cookies are free, given as a gift. so what happens when those assumptions outlined above start to bleed over from other social media?

assuming that anyone posting fanfiction online wants their work to go viral -- i've seen this with popular fic writers getting questions like, "are you worried x isn't going to be as popular as y?" those questions are usually not ill-intended, but they demonstrate a fundamental lack of understanding about why writers post work on ao3. it's not to go viral. it's not to build any sort of online following. most of us who post on ao3 have jobs or schoolwork or other commitments, and writing fanfiction is something done for fun, out of a love for writing. those sharing their work online might be seeking community, but that is fundamentally different from seeking an audience, and in no way involves internet virality. if someone is posting fanfic on ao3 with the hope that it'll "go viral," then they likely either won't continue writing fanfic for long or will reach a point where they have to re-evalute their motivations, because seeking joy and validation by turning your art into a product for consumption just isn't very sustainable.

influencers are creating content for us, so we have a right to let them know if we don't like it -- nope!! fic writers are not influencers. yes, even the popular ones. no matter how much other people might blow their work up on social media, fic writers are still outside the profit economy. they are not creating content for an audience. they are not creating content for you. they are writing because they love it, and they are generously sharing it. if you don't like it, don't interact with it. you are never entitled to loudly and publicly proclaim how much you dislike a fic. i talk about this more here

we have a general right to critique fic writers, the same way we do with content creators/influencers -- again, no. you should not be treating fic writers the way you would treat an influencer on another social media platform, no matter how popular they may be. this is not to say fic writers are beyond all reproach; rather, it is a call-in to check your entitlement. fic writers are not little jesters entertaining in your court. they are not subject to your whims. they do not have to do things for you. they do not have to write things you like. in that post i linked on point 2, i talk about what etiquette might look like if you're really concerned that a fic writer is doing something harmful, but that is not what i'm talking about here. i am talking about the proliferation of negativity i have seen, especially on twitter and tiktok, where people essentially just talk shit about fics or fic writers as though they are entitled to have those fic writers working to please them. this is gross, and it needs to stop. you wouldn't go over to someone's house, eat the cookies they baked to share, and then spit those cookies back in their face and start shouting about what a shitty baker they are. or maybe you would--in which case, congratulations! you are Not A Good Person.

anyway, at the end of the day, a lot of this can be boiled down to: Because ao3 exists outside the profit economy, fic writers are not influencers, and you should never be treating them as though they are. i think i see this disconnect largely with younger people just because they've maybe only ever really understood social media within this sort of influencer-consumer-culture economy, and genuinely don't understand how to interact differently with the internet. so, consider this post a call-in to reevaluate the way you interact with fic writers and the etiquette you use when it comes to engaging with fanfic on ao3! i promise that ao3 being different from social media is a very, very good thing, and also a very, very rare thing, so let's treasure it and focus on fostering community rather than trying to morph it to fit the mould of influencer-audience dynamics that we see almost everywhere else <3

[thatstolenpayal]

ngl but if i were a boy i would have been the best boyfriend

[ravenelyx]

And somehow I'm both

[definitelyamyyy]

late replies shouldn't be considered a red flag, instead, it should be normalize. when a person replies late, it's either they're busy or they simply don't have the energy to talk. they are either sorting out their priorities and obligations, or dealing with something mentally. be matured enough to understand.

[llamasofchaos]

I just saw a video saying that while op adored Percy and annabeth she couldn't forgive them for ruining so many lives on their quest for a happy ending?????

She was claiming that because they got to be happy they ruined, Rayna and her sisters life, Bianca and Nico's life, screwed over Calypso, and apparently every other character in the books with an unhappy life.

Like next time just say you didn't understand the story instead of trying to justify weird reasons to not like the main characters.

Because it was not Percy or Annabeth's fault that the choice they made to try and survive quests given to them when they were teenagers by the gods were one of the many things that led to bad circumstances for other characters.

Circe was a bad person and just because working for her was okay right then doesn't mean it would have stayed like that. But also it's incredibly stupid to say that Percy and Annabeth ruined the sisters lives when they were 13 and just trying to survive and find grover.

Calypso wasn't Percy's responsibility. He owed her nothing, it was out of kindness and a desire to make things better that he asked that the gods release her from her punishment. He had no idea that the gods would be petty and not tell her she was free. His not going back to get her because he was "so distracted being with Annabeth" isn't a bad thing because once again he didn't owe Calypso anything, he didn't promise her anything. Stop saying that she's an innocent victim because she was on the island for a reason and it is only due to Percy trying to make things better that Leo could swoop in like a knight in shining armor.

Nico and Bianca. This is probably going to make a lot of Nico fans mad but Percy held no responsibility for what happened to Bianca or Nico . Yes he promised to try and protect her however she made a choice that made it impossible for anyone to help her. She knew that and she still made that choice, something Nico does throughout the main and sequel series. Percy once again owes Nico nothing, he did his best to save Bianca, he tried to help Nico even when he wanted Percy dead, he doesn't owe him anything even if Nico liked him.

Stop blaming Annabeth and Percy for every bad thing that has happened in the Percy Jackson universe. Percy and Annabeth did not go on quests for years, fight two wars and suffer trying to save the world while losing friends and family just for you to say that other characters had it worse and it's their fault.

[upontherisers]

we need more love for unhinged AUs. we should have an unhinged AU day. rb with your most out there AUs

[buggoblin2]

Alright bloodmoon lovers lets make a deal

You get:

A full re-write and completion of Blood and Healing, a book about bloodmoon experiencing a redemption arc that was started during the october takeover

I get:

Lots of notes so my brain is happy

[rule-masochism]

we all love our gagged whumpees, but the way im automatically won over is when the tiny process of whumpee being gagged is described in very careful detail.

pushing the tangled hair out of their face so you can slide the straps under it. maybe it's coated with sweat.

if whumpee is defiant, i love seeing how they toss their head back and how you have to force their mouth open. maybe they bite a few times? very annoying for whumper. but shoving their head back towards you, gripping onto their hair and telling them to cut that shit out...ooh, that's fun.

obedient whumpees are just as fun because they'll just open up for whumper. stick that pretty tongue out and remain still as you clip it behind their head. maybe you can even stroke their hair a little. throw in a 'good boy/girl' for good measure 🙏🙏🙏

then theres the look!! i wanna know what they eyes are doing!! are they glaring straight ahead to avoid looking at whumper, or shooting daggers at them anyway? do they stare at the ground? or is it all listless if they've done this many times before?

and when you're done... i wanna know the result. what kind of gag is it (personally im a sucker for open-mouth) and how does it make em look? are they drooling already? what does whumper have to say about this?

i dont care how unnecessarily long you think you made your gagging scene, we're whump writers we're all here to indulge!! give your whumpee's mouths some love 🫶🫶

[liesandnights]

The mortifying ordeal of admitting you do want to be loved vs the mortifying ordeal of not wanting people to pity you or feel bad for you vs the mortifying ordeal of wanting to reciprocate affection but being useless vs the mortifying ordeal of being careless with others and actually feeling bad vs the mortifying ordeal of being perceived as vulnerable at all.

[crwn-nrth]

I need the motivation, and i honestly don't think anyone is going to see this, so for every note, i will write 500 words of VH wip.

in fact, If i get enough notes, i will share one line of what I've written for every 1000 words i write.

[silvercat-s]

"of course Aemond removed Alicent from the council, she raised him to be a misogynist!!!" For fucks sake, not everything is about misogyny, or at least, not only about that. It's a medieval society, EVERYONE is a misogynist at some level.

But the scene itself has a lot more to do with the relationship between the characters. Or are you saying Aegon, being who he is, is progressive and a feminist icon because he gladly welcomed his mom at the council and sought her advice? No, because it isn't about that.

Season 1 Aemond would have probably been happy to have Alicent at the council, but their relationship deteriorated. He resents her for icing him out after what happened to Luke and still defending Rhaenyra, he doesn't trust her to have his back or the crown's best interests in mind anymore.

Things are just more interesting if you try to think beyond "patriarchy bad!!!!" and try to understand the characters personal feelings and motivations instead.

Also, the way the fandom blames Alicent for apparently inventing misogyny is getting really annoying. She was not a good mom, but she just raised them in the Westerosi culture, which she didn't fucking invent.

[treasure-goblin]

^ THIS

THESE TAGS HERE

THESE TAGS ARE EXACTLY WHY I DO WHAT I DO

WHY I SPAM REBLOG

WHY I MAKE ART OF PEOPLE'S OCS

WHY I LEAVE TAGS WHEN I HAVE THE SPOONS AND JUST REBLOG A LOT WHEN I DONT

WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR SMALL CREATORS BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE RISK LOSING THE BUDDING CREATIVE TALENT!!!!!

Reblog. Like. Comment. Send asks. Engage any way you can. We need to stop collectively killing the creativity of smaller creators by letting them believe we don't care. Because yeah, you can say all you want that the likes and reblogs and engagement don't matter as long as you like what you make, but that's a fucking lonely place to be. That's a cold, friendless, discouraging, lonely place to be, and I hate that anyone has to go through that.

Show our smaller creators some love, let them know that we see them and care about what they make, what they do, what they love, and that it's not all for nothing. That they're not doomed to fail.

[raetttriestowrite]

Me, an author, side eyeing my WIP: you're not going to do anything weird, are you? We've discussed this. There's a plan. We're going to stick to the plan, aren't we?

The WIP: *presents subplot, presents additional conflicts, presents character development, laughs in my fucking face*