#and leave a comment and kudos if you like it!

[backofthebookshelf]

It's not a controversial take necessarily -- it's just that the particular environment of AO3, where you can see how many times your fic was loaded in a browser window and where the little heart button has a different meaning than it does on every other social media site, is uniquely bad for the human brain.

For the VAST majority of history, both the history of making art generally and the history of writing fanfiction in particular, you did not get to know how many people gave your work a cursory once-over, or how many people checked your book out from the library and never read it, or how many people overheard a line of poetry and thought "huh, neat" and never did anything else. These interactions were, as they should be, completely anonymous and uncountable. Even in the pre-AO3 days of fanfiction, there was an understanding that page hit counters were kind of crap (for one thing, they would count you every time you loaded the page, and you had to load the page to check the counter, so that was incentive not to look at it that much).

Even in other artistic contexts where you do now have page hit counters on everything, they're contextualized through marketing research, not consumed as a raw value. Marketing talks about conversion rate, which is the % of people who saw something who then went on to do the thing you wanted them to do - for a business that's probably buy the thing, for a nonprofit it might be donate or sign up for a volunteer session, for a fanfiction writer it's leave a comment. At work I work with multiple major companies you have definitely heard of who spend half a million dollars and 1-3 full time employees every year on something that increases their conversion rate by 1-2%. They do this because the conversion rate on our emails is 5%, which is INSANELY high.

And yes, leaving a comment doesn't cost money, but it does cost time and energy. Writers overestimate how easy it is for people to write comments--my coworkers are out here using chatgpt to write boilerplate work emails, I can't imagine ANY of them ever leaving a comment on a work of art they enjoyed. Verbally, yes--and "in a friend discord is much closer to verbally than in a comment form--but in writing? Absolutely not.

As for kudos, I can't help but think that the "likes don't do anything, you have to reblog" culture of social media like twitter and tumblr affects that too (and yes, by the latter days of twitter I was seeing people saying that on there, because the algorithm was so broken). Kudos is essentially a like button, and like the like button on twitter that used to be a favorite button before they changed it and some people never stopped treating it like one, it has meanings for people you'll never understand. "It's just a click!" It is a symbol with vague connotations but no specific universally agreed upon meaning; it tells you how many people clicked on that button, and that's all.

So yes, actually, I guess I am saying that as a writer, you are supposed to assume that many more people liked your fic than you will ever hear from or even know about. And that's a good thing! You have the chance to touch someone's life even though they have no idea who you are and don't think of you as a person so much as a semi-mythical figure called "the author". And that's part of the magic, to me, of creating things. You pour yourself into a thing and then you set it loose into the world and you hope it means to someone else as much as it meant to you. Sometimes, very rarely, someone will tell you so, and that's amazing, I'm not going to pretend it's not, but you have to have enough faith in yourself to believe it happens whether you hear about it or not.

I really don't understand how "without getting kudos or comments a fanfiction author is going to assume that people who clicked their fic didn't like it" became a controversial take.

I don't know why some people think an author should imagine, or guess that people who click their fic enjoyed it it when nobody is telling them that.

If you're re-reading a fic constantly, or leaving it up in your tab so that it re-loads every day for a hundred days the author is not going to know that unless you tell them. They'd love to hear it. It would make their day.

And if you don't tell them you liked their fic, there's no reason for them to assume you did.

[angofwords]

How many works do you have on AO3? 44 on AO3. I have some older stuff on ff.net and other places, but I've never brought them over.

What's your total AO3 word count? 574,585

Your Top 5 stories by kudos

A Farewell to Arms: Banana Fish - My one and only fix-it fic, where Ash finds a way to cheat death, but nothing goes quite the way he planned. (2,861 kudos)

In the Closet: Banana Fish - A sexy little first-time romp in the darkroom that Eiji set up in the fancy apartment. (1,474 kudos)

Wishful Thinking: Banana Fish - A misunderstanding causes Ash to reveal far too much about what he's willing to give Eiji. (1,010 kudos)

Bound to You: Lord of the Rings - Wherein Legolas and Gimli go from enemies to lovers to soulmates. (930 kudos)

The Landscape Was the Same on Both Sides: Banana Fish - Ash is upset because Eiji seems to be avoiding his touch. Then he finds out why. (876 kudos)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I love comments. I haven't always responded to all of them--there were periods when my kid was little, especially, when my actions didn't meet my intentions, but nowadays I respond to all of them. I consider fanfiction as my way of engaging with the fandom, with the people who love the same stuff I love, so when someone reaches out to me, that's my best opportunity to connect. I've made a lot of friends in the comments of fanfics. <3

Do you write crossovers?

Not really. I don't read them, either.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, but not often. I love a good romance and even a bit of a build up of tension and kissing and touching, but more often than not, I leave the real smut to the imagination. A notable exception is:

I Get By (With a Little Help From My Friends): Lord of the Rings - Legolas and Gimli seduce Aragorn as a way to distract him from his troubles. (This is the fic I hope my LOTR-loving mom NEVER finds!)

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of? I'd like to think that someone would let me know if that happened.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! I've had a lot of people ask/offer to translate them, but a handful have really been done. I'm super grateful that these lovely people did the work:

Прощай, оружие: a Russian translation (by Fuyu_no_Mafuyu) of A Farewell to Arms

Stars: a Russian translation (by rootofallevil) of Stars

In the Closet: a Mandarin translation (by Voltsliart) of In the Closet

Последняя ошибка: A Russian translation (by Fuyu_no_Mayfuyu) of His Last Mistake

Комета Эша: A Russian translation (by Fuyu_no_Mayfuyu) of Ash's Comet

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I started out in fanfiction by collaborating with my sister on Little Women fanfics that never saw the light of day, and yes, we've also collaborated on a few other stories, too. Namely, a series of Legolas/Gimli fics that are all in the same universe:

The Second Breakfast Club: Lord of the Rings - A high school AU where the fellowship come together in a series of Saturday detention sessions. Co-written by lisafer

Closer: Lord of the Rings - Legolas and Gimli explore their brand new relationship in a way fairly typical of teenagers. Co-written by lisafer

St. Aule's Fire: Lord of the Rings - When Legolas and Gimli move in together, they quickly realize that love isn't enough to keep a relationship strong. Co-written by lisafer

What's your all time favorite ship?

My husband jokes that AshEiji is the primary relationship in my life. I've shipped those two for over 20 years and I don't see any other ship coming anywhere close, honestly.

What's a WIP that you want to finish but probably never will?

I started a novel about Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. I really want to finish it, but I need to learn how to write in a way that works. Right now it's okay, but I need it to sing. The first few chapters are on AO3:

Untouched: Lord of the Rings - the events of the War of the Ring from the point of view of Eowyn of Rohan.

What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I'm good at characterization, dialogue, and conveying emotions. I think I'm good with word choice and adding rhythm to my prose.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm slow. Part of it is that I'm meticulous--I've never learned to draft, so I can't move on from a sentence or a scene until it feels exactly the way I want it to. That has derailed many, many fics over the years. Also, I'm not great with strong endings. I'm working to improve that.

What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet, but want to?

I have SuperBat in my head and heart, but I'm far too scared to write it. I don't know if I can do that ship justice.

What's your favorite fic that you've written?

This is a difficult question, because I tend to love the stuff I've written most recently. But I really like these:

Just Say Yes: Banana Fish - This is an extreme canon-divergence, where Eiji doesn't get to New York until five years after the events of Banana Fish. He's an Olympic medalist in a bit of an identity crisis and ends up in fake marriage to Ash Lynx to get a green card.

Dear Boss (A Confession): Banana Fish - Ash gets a letter from Alex, his second in command, who feels obligated to confess a secret that might get him killed.

The Undying: Lord of the Rings - Gimli helps Legolas finally build the boat that takes him far from Middle Earth.

Triptych: Banana Fish - My one and only exploration of Shorter/Ash/Eiji

Shades of Light: Gundam Wing - Quatre and Heero deal with their shared grief after Trowa is killed on a mission. (This is VERY old and I've outgrown the writing style, but I still love it!)

I tag @localvampirebitch @gioia-writes-and-others @lisafer @roselightfairy

[wilmonsfolklore]

Wilmon fic recs!

my health has been shit lately but at least it's given me the time to read a lot of fics, so I thought I'd rec a few!! of course this is a non-exhaustive list and there is so much other beautiful fic out there. also remember to leave comments and kudos if you enjoy any of these!!

here's some of my favourite WIP's that im obsessed with and that brighten my days with their updates <3

like we've never touched before by nonalovesyou - Post season 1 angst in 2025? I'm so happy it exists. Simon gets assigned to tutor Wille in math and they (in a S2 way) awkwardly, inevitably, try to reconnect. Simon's characterisation is incredible, the angst hurts in the best way, and I'm so excited to see it continue.

Hope And Legacy by @malinowaj - Simon and Wille are both pro figure skaters and Simon gets forced to coach Wille by Kristina. Sports AU's have a special place in my heart and this one is just perfect. The way their relationship slowly and organically develops feels so realistic and is incredibly heartwarming. And it's actually gotten me more interested in figure skating, which is fun!!

Even If It's Just Us by queerfrogprince - Wille and Simon reconnect after years to travel Europe together. Wille is grieving, it's messy, it's painful, it hurts, it doesn't shy away from difficult yet important conversations. It's also comforting in a way their relationship kind of inherently is and their natural connection and pull towards each other is so well described. And also, they feel so grounded in every place they visit. I drop everything every time an update comes out.

Change My Mind by @iwouldnevergetintofanfic - Wille comes to Hillerska two years later, Felice wants to date him, and is best friends with Simon. I love Simon and Felice's dynamic in this, and the way Wille keeps subverting Simon's expectations never gets old to me. And Simon finding more of a place at Hillerska is really interesting and fun to read about, it feels really grounded and has those true high school experience-vibes to me. Really excited to see how this one will play out!

come closer and see into the dark by @bigalockwood - Simon and Wille are ghosthunters who work together and care a little bit too much for each other to be professional. There's angst, fluff, hurt/comfort, tension, everything you could ever want. The way their personalities got so perfectly influenced by the world they're in is impeccable and I could talk about it for hours. A masterpiece.

land between our bodies by @phneltwrites - Wille and Simon don't get back together at the end of S3, instead they start to fake date. But this is so, so, much more than that. It explores Simon's character in a way that has made me actually understand him better, the writing is gorgeous, it has one of my favourite OC's of all time, and the way the inevitability and yet the active choice of Wille and Simon's relationship plays into everything here... It hurts and it is so good.

Et c'est le but! by @piebingo - Simon moves across the world to play hockey and live with a host family, Wille's of course. There's only one chapter of this so far but the premise of this is so exciting, and the first Wilmon interaction had me invested already. Really looking forward to reading more of this!

Running With Wolves by @enjoythesilentworld - I'm kind of cheating by putting this one in because I've only read the first chapter but I am already so invested. I never knew the YR fandom needed their own crime novel but this made me realise we so do. Detective Simon, crimeboss Wille, an intricate and incredibly developed plot and so so so much tension. It doesn't get better than that.

And also, because I couldn't bear leaving these out, a few finished works that I really really enjoyed reading!!

Moon go down (do it again) by @skibasyndrome - Wille and Simon in Simon's dorm a few months into meeting and their first uni semester. This has been living in my head since I first read it. The atmosphere, the writing, the quietness of the scene and the loudness of their emotions, the sweetness of the moment. It's so perfectly captured and I want to be in it forever. I'm so happy to have this fic to read whenever I want some comfort.

Take A Punt by @gulliblelemon - Wille and Simon connect in a UK university town. I loved following along as this was posted. It's lighthearted and cute, and it's adorable and fun how Wille is so immediately mesmerised by Simon. But there's also some honest and emotional conversations, and the awkwardness of the transition from accidently spending time together to doing it very much on purpose. Perfect for a pick me up after a tough day.

Never Not You by @pagegirlintraining - Twelve years after the sex tape, Wille and Simon are best friends but have moved on romantically. Or have they?? I was lucky enough to binge this fic when it was finished because oh my god I don't think I could've managed to wait with how invested I was. The fact that this fic had both pov's added so much and puts you right into both of their headspaces. Characterisation is incredible and the dynamic is so Wilmon but has also clearly grown up with them. It's exceptionally painful and messy, but just like with their relationship, it is more than worth it.

[uncannyalien]

The hits only shows that someone clicked on the story. That's basically nothing.

Kudos are great and always appreciated.

But a comment? Fandom is a place for engagement, for conversation, for screaming together in joy and terror. That's what the comments are for.

If I dont see comments, I'm honestly just assuming that people aren't reading. An author can't know how much you love their story if you don't tell them. Two people I know in online spaces casually said that they read my fic and I practically burst into tears. I had no clue they did that and it meant the world to me.

Half of the comments on my fic are from me replying to comments, thanking them for engaging and wanting to keep the ball rolling.

It can be the most minimal thing ever. It can be a keysmash, an emoji, treat it like a text if you must! Any response will fuel that author's creativity and drive to further create.

However. Don't be that asshole who shows up and complains that the story hasn't updated in a while or soon enough for you. Authors take time and effort out of their lives and make a story. For fun. For free. You coming in and immediately shitting on the author feeding you will only result in the author feeling bad about themself, and their work, and then you don't get fed anymore.

If you don't like a fic you can simply leave. If you like and love a fic, please let the author know! We cannot feel the love that we don't know about.

PLEASE COMMENT YOUR LOVE FOR FICS

"Ao3 should allow multiple kudos" "I want to be able to leave more than one kudos"

COMMENT ON THE FUCKING FIC

I SWEAR TO GOD NO ONE COMMENTS MUCH NOW WHEN THE ONLY WAY TO SHOW APPRECIATION FOR A SINGLE CHAPTER IS COMMENTING AND I AM NOT HAVING THIS BULLSHIT BE LIKE TIKTOK WHERE NO ONE EVER COMMENTS POSITIVITY

FOR FUCKS SAKE JUST COMMENT ON THE FUCKING FIC YOU DON'T NEED A MULTIPLE KUDOS BUTTON YOU NEED ACTUAL WORDS

TRUST ME ON ANY WEBSITE OR APP I POST COMMENTS AND WORDS ARE 10X BETTER THAN ANY PLAIN LIKE AND WORDLESS REBLOG IF YOU LIKE SOMETHING LEAVE WORDS

COMMENT

ON

THE

FUCKING

FICS

[irithiadourden]

Your love speaks, your hands love

Well, here we go. This is my one-shot to the @sjmprideweek!

I chose prompt 6: Love Language.

Pairing: AzrielxEris

All comments and reblogs are appreciated and you can also go follow me on ao3 and leave kudos if you liked this! I have some more Azris coming soon. Also, please excuse any typos, english isn't my first language.

Divider by @tsunami-of-tears

Tags: @applerubyy @constantsins

They had always walked the fine line between being enemies and something else, but that line had become more and more distorted with every year that passed between secret meetings and whispered moans.

At first it had been something small, a simple detail like Eris putting a cup of his favorite tea in front of him in the morning, when they stopped leaving each other's house right after sex. It was no surprise that he knew Azriel preferred green tea, since the fireling was too smart, always observing everything around him.

Then came the Winter Solstice, and after drinking and celebrating, away from the world in Eris's private cabin, Eris had placed a carefully wrapped package on Azriel's hands. The Shadowsinger was stunned when he opened it: they were leather gloves that felt slightly warm to the touch, as if some small part of Autumn's magic had enchanted them to always protect his fingers from the cold.

"Don't let Cassian and Rhysand know, or they'll say you're cheating," had been his complicit comment, with a smile that for some reason made Azriel forget whatever it was he was going to say and kiss him until his lungs ached from lack of air, and maybe a little more after that.

Several years had passed and much had happened since then. Azriel had rescued him from the clutches of Koschei; Eris was no longer the Crown Prince, but the High Lord of the Court of Autumn, and in this new reality, to which they had adjusted as easily as if it had been like this all their lives, their meetings were no longer hidden in the darkest hours of the night. Azriel had taken Eris to Velaris and to every corner of the city he loved, even showing him the best bakery on the bank of the Sidra. Eris, for his part, had ordered a larger bed, one that would comfortably accommodate the wings of an Illyrian —and the occasional smokehound that had the audacity to sneak in with them while they slept— knowing that his partner had often ended up with stiff muscles after resting on an ordinary mattress.

And now that they existed in a calm, unhurried state, Eris had decided that he was tired of Azriel stealing his favorite shirts and of him having only one outfit to change into, since they spent practically every day together. Besides, if Azriel had more clothes, he could just rip them off when it was inconvenient, when his fingers weren't fast enough to undress him.

"You spend more time here than at your home, it's the least I can do." That was all he said before showing him his modification to the wardrobe, which he had made twice as large, with one part clearly designated for the Shadowsinger.

On the other hand, Azriel might as well have continued to wear the clothes he kept in a drawer. But Eris had cared enough to give him practically a whole damn closet in his own room. Azriel's side of that dresser was full of the typical clothes he used to wear: dark tunics and pants, Illyrian leather pieces, and even...

A dark blue coat in the style of Autumn's court, but carefully designed so that he could wear it despite his wings. No, not despite, the entire garment was made specifically for a Fae with huge wings like his.

Azriel was speechless, staring at the garment as if it could disappear if he took his attention away for just a second. The next thing Eris felt was the jolt of lips that pulled him far away from reason. It was a kiss loaded with so many words he would have needed hours to classify them —love, gratitude, awe— only he didn't need to, he knew it, deep in his chest where his heart was beating wildly. Azriel embraced him without holding back even a little bit of his strength, perhaps even stealing his air away, or that is the reason the High Lord chose as an excuse for not being able to breathe, so intertwined that it was impossible to discern where one began and the other ended.

Eris smiled against his mouth and reached up to caress his cheek, arranging a lock of black hair. Azriel always has been better with his body than with words.

*******

Since Eris had become High Lord, there was not so much time for lazy mornings spent tangled in the sheets, chatting quietly as if that could keep the sun at bay, prevent it from finally peeking over the horizon and forcing them to wake up from this space between dreams they had woven for themselves. And that, oh that was a serious loss, but one they made up for whenever they had the chance.

Like now. A ray of light sneaking through the window made Eris frown, unwilling to wake. Azriel chuckled softly and moved closer until he was on top of him, sitting between his legs. His journey began on milky thighs, leaving kisses like butterfly flutters, a touch so subtle it could only come from a lover's mouth. When he was satisfied with every inch covered by his lips, he moved to the stomach, his hands tracing meaningless patterns on either side of the chest he was worshipping. Eris' freckles were a story he never tired of retelling.

Azriel finally finished the tour in his mouth and then kissed him without haste. The Illyrian was a strategist and therefore had planned carefully. His litany of kisses was his master plan to convince Eris to stay in bed with him for a while longer. If he could make him forget the rest of the world for a few minutes, the strategy had worked.

"I have to get up and you know it..."

Of course, he wasn't above employing dirtier maneuvers, which were valid in desperate times. So Azriel used his agility and strength to invert their positions, leaving the fireling on top of him, leaning against the expanse of his chest, and used his arms to hold him in an embrace that allowed no buts or exceptions.

Music in the form of Eris' laughter was his reward. By the cauldron, how he wished he could record that melody. It was like the sound of leaves dancing in the wind, the birds singing above the great maples that surrounded the Forest House and the warm crackle of a log in the fireplace. He had no precise words to describe it, he was just certain that it made him happy in a way he had never experienced before. When Eris laughed, Azriel's whole life lit up and the shadows danced happily around the flames of this fire of life and passion that was the man above him.

"I have excellent reasons to dissuade you from getting up." The illyrian sought his eyes, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Eris settled against his chest and sighed, feigning annoyance but making no real effort to escape from between his arms.

"And what are those reasons, Shadowsinger?" he asked, raising a copper eyebrow. His hands unconsciously stroked Azriel's shoulders. A reflex.

Azriel's smile widened, his eyes dancing full with a mischievous gleam that Eris caught too late, and he really wanted to protest, he wanted to tell him that there was a long list of things to do, but the objection died on his tongue as Azriel, in another precise movement, shifted them both so that they were now sitting on the bed.

Like moved by instinct, Eris's legs wrapped around his waist so he wouldn't lose his balance. Azriel didn't miss the opportunity to hug him tightly, hiding his head in the space between Eris's neck and shoulder, breathing in the familiar scent of wood, cinnamon, and petrichor. Being so close that their chests touched, Azriel allowed himself a moment to savor the intimacy, noticing how their hearts pounded to the same rhythm, a tune just for the two of them.

Eris instantly relaxed. The High Lord had apparently been persuaded enough by the arguments of the illyrian warrior.

*******

The light of the golden hour illuminated the temple through the large windows, tinting everything with an orange hue, along with the hundreds of candles lit around the altar. As was the tradition of the Autumn Court, a mating ceremony began with the first blush of twilight. There was a special aura in the air, as if the combination of this sacred hour, the inherent reverence of the ceremony, and the wild magic of the High Lord had made it all ethereal.

The High Priestess smiled in deep affection as Eris and Azriel approached to stand before her, both dressed in their finest formal attire. Azriel wore a suit of the Night Court's typical cut, a blue so deep it almost looked black. His jacket was embroidered with delicate silver thread and autumn motifs. Eris also wore a similar outfit, but it was garnet, except for the collar of his overcoat, where star patterns woven in gold stood out.

Eris took a deep breath to calm his pulse. After so many years, he had seen this male in more situations than he could count. Angry, covered in blood and ready to attack any threat head on, scared like the time he had saved him from Koschei, happy, excited... smiling in such a beautiful way that Eris could have spent hours watching him, studying every little wrinkle around his hazel eyes or memorizing the dimple that only formed on the left side of his cheek when he laughed truthfully. Probably an eternity would not be enough to soften the desperation to hold him in his arms, to listen to him breathe and press him against his chest as if they could melt in an embrace.

The sound of the priestess speaking brought him out of his thoughts as she began the ceremony, giving a short speech about love. How it was the Mother's blessing, the intertwining of two souls that were both parts of a whole, and the complement of each other. And there was no doubt that if their souls could find the way to each other after what they had been through together, it was impossible to question fate.

Azriel's grip on Eris tightened slightly when it was time to exchange their vows, his nerves on edge. He had never been good with words, they tended to be unnecessary when his hands could show so much more, when his mouth on Eris' was a statement in itself. But this time was different. He needed to say it, to push the words into existence.

"If I ever dared to wish for anything, watching the stars at the foot of Ramiel, it was to have a mate." His voice sounded strange to his own ears. It was too full of emotion for him to contain. "My highest honor is that that person is you, Eris. My greatest blessing is to know that you are a part of me as I am a part of you. And I will love you until Carynth bathes the sky with her light for the last time, and even after that, in the eternity of this life or the next."

He reached up to the High Lord's face to wipe away with his fingertips a single tear that had just rolled down the pale cheek. He hadn't realized at what point he had started to cry himself, the emotion tightening around his neck. But a look into those eyes, like two pieces of shimmering amber, made him smile and breathe again. Eris smiled back before he started to speak.

"There was a time when I thought I was unworthy of a mate, but the Mother, in a gesture of divine grace, made it so that not only did I have one, but that it was you." The complicit chuckle between the two helped Eris calm his heart enough to continue. "There's not a single thing I wouldn't live through again, good or bad, as long as I knew you were the reward for every sacrifice. I love you, Azriel. With the intensity of a fire that will never stop burning, with the certainty that I would do anything to keep that flame alive."

Both of their families watched them in silence with the exception of a few small, tearful weeps. Every person there loved them and had supported them from the beginning, when their escapades were nothing more than a stolen sigh at midnight and a lonely morning. Now they had the honor of witnessing their union.

The High fae officiating began the ceremony by wrapping their hands, as was the tradition of the Night rites, with a ribbon threaded with the colors of both courts, burgundy, gold, black, and silver, a beautiful contrast. And as Autumn's custom dictated, the ribbon burned in a bright reddish flame, scorching the fabric but not burning them. A tingle of magic crackled on their forearms, as if responding with joy.

Next came the mating promise, which they both spoke with such clarity and certainty, as if the words came not from their lips but from their hearts, from some instinctive corner beyond consciousness.

I promise you the first taste of my wine,

the first bite of my hunts,

I promise you every night,

and even the last of my days.

I shall be a shield for your back

as you are for mine,

and my body and spirit are yours,

I place them in your hands.

I promise you every beat of my heart,

until my horizon turns dark.

The kiss Azriel gave him when they finished talking could have brought him to his knees. And his mate smiled at him, the happiness in his body too much to contain, because finally, after so many years, everything felt right.

I'm so happy to have finished this piece! It was a long time since I've writed something more than a drabble so this feels special. Also my love language is acts of service too so it was a delight to write that.

[slytherinbangchan]

SlytheringBangchan's reads you can't find on tumblr

First of all, hi! In case there's someone reading this who doesn't follow me. I've been writing for Skz and Nct since 2018💕 I used to write for other groups too, though~ This post is mostly Nct cause I feel like I've yet to reach the Nctzen side of tumblr (which is why I mostly post these on Ao3) but if some of my followers are Czennies please take a look and share~

My works on Ao3~ Inked Dreams (🔞🍆💕)

(Tattoo!Artist Au//College!Au):

Probably one of my fave works in general~ A NCT Dream Tattooist!Au where the Dreamies are college's heartthrobs and most likely will steal your heart whenever you less expect it. Pairings: 7Dream x diff fem readers.

It's focused in a different reader x member/members per Arc but EVERYTHING is connected since they're all in the same AU~ if you started readind this here, you may be aware that I stopped posting it on tumblr for lack of interaction but know that there're a lot more chapters posted on Ao3❣ (Currently 28 chapters)

<<Inked Dreams link here>> (Don't read the tags on ao3 if you don't want spoilers)

The Summer We All Turned Pretty(🔞🍆💕)

Summer!Au // Childhood friends to lovers!Au You've spent your every summer in a huge house at the beach with a bunch of guys you've been friends with since you were a baby. After some years not being able to get everyone in the summer house due to "schedule incompatibilities", you finally get to see all of the guys together again this year. Will partying with the neighbors bring up some old affairs?

It's completed. I'll be posting an epilogue at some point but that's all. Read the notes in last chapter (9) for more details on the epilogue and possible extras💕 It's a reverse harem type of fic most of the time. I'm not stating the members in the harem to avoid spoilers but the main characters are: Fem reader, Lee Haechan, Park Jisung, Mark Lee, Lee Taeyong, Kim Doyoung, Byun Baekhyun, Bangchan, Kim Seungmin, Hwang Hyunjin, Lee Felix, Yang Jeongin, Seo Changbin. I know it may sound like a weird mix, but please trust me on this and give it a chance💕 (Inspired by Jenny Han's "The Summer I Turned Pretty") <<The Summer We all Turned Pretty link>>

São Paulo. (Fuckboy Haechan🔞🍆💕)

Named after The Weeknd's "São Paulo" song. It is an Au where Haechan could be considered a fuckboy, but it's not your typical fuckboy!Au

This is a new fic I've been working on and I'm really excited to share it so I'd be eternally grateful if you'd read it and leave some comments/kudos💕

It'll have 3-4 chapters probably and I'll be posting chap2 soon~

The main character/reader is a chubby girl. There's no specific plot around the reader being chubby, I just felt like writing for this type of body this time💕

<<São Paulo Link>> Double Kill (🔞🍆💕)

You and Baekhyun have been friends since your college days. After some ugly relationships you both decided back then to stop thinking about dating and just going out and have fun every chance you got with anyone you'd fancy. Now, years later and still pretty much afraid of commitment, your ritual remains the same. Then one night, someone special caught your eye...

Multiple pairings: Fem reader x Lee Haechan / Byun Baekhyun / Mark lee. Byun Baekhyun x ten / Taeyong.

<<Double Kill Link>>

agapē (🔞🍆💕) (Fallen Angel Lee Taeyong)

Believe it or not, I wrote this inspired by the Señorita dance cover Taeyong did a long time ago~ It's a one shot, kinda steamy, full of feelings too. Keep either red haired Taeyong or pink haired Taeyong on your head while you read it, hahah💘 <<agapē Link>>

That's all for now! Of course comments/kudos are highly appreciated on all of my works, same as reblogs and likes here~

In Other News:

SKZ Projects I want to bring to Ao3 apart from the ones that are already there: SKZ Tattoo Artist!Au (Rewritten for ao3) SKZ Benders!Au. Ryuusei (Rewritten for Ao3)

[windybreeze12]

Keith was on autopilot. He knew he was fighting the bot and he was able to avoid every single strike, but his eyes always wandered to Lance. His bot was still on the far end of the room and advancing rapidly as Lance struggled to fire in a straight line. If anyone knew anything about Lance, it was that one of the things he’s most proud of is his aim, straight and true and never misses.

Well, until today it would seem.

His bot was growing dangerously close and Lance had begun to show panic, eyes wide and teeth pressed tightly as he whispered a string of curses and kept missing.

Closer…

Closer…

Shit.

[stiffyck]

Giving all fanfic authors a smooch on the forehead <3

And also giving a little flower to everyone who comments on their fics <3

[xiaokuer-schmetterling]

saw somebody saying they don't post comments bc they don't want the author to reply? WTF is author dni??? I LOVE IT WHEN THE AUTHOR REPLIES TO ME THAT SHIT IS AMAZING it's like we're sending fandom themed postcards to each other it's like we're pen pals IT GIVES ME SO MUCH SEROTONIN i don't understand that mentality I WANT THE AUTHOR TO KNOW HOW THEY HAVE AFFECTED ME and then pat me on the head and tell me i'm a good reader

me @ me: bc i want a good grade in fanfic reader which is both normal to want and possible to achieve

ps authors owe me nothing btw if your energy is split btwn replying to comments or posting a new thing I will always support your efforts towards new thing. or yk taking a break for self care bc that's important too

[echo-stimmingrose]

I know most people don't wanna hear it, but AO3 doesn't need an extra kudos button, that's what the comments are for.

[kl-writes]

Switching to reblog since this is a great discussion and I'm not sure if my reply would fit (I hope you don't mind! Your post got me thinking - I only agree with you on some points, but I think it's good discussion)

I'm not sure how controversial this take is, TBH I've seen this sentiment a lot, that kudos/hits/etc. isn't useful for determining whether a fic is good or not. I don't know about you, but I don't enjoy fics based on whether the author uses "said" too much, or spells words right, or has good action/narration/dialogue balance in their scenes (well, maybe a little the last bit). High kudos does not mean "this author has mastered pacing and word choice."

While I agree that a fic with high kudos is not necessarily a fic that you will enjoy, I think that fics with high kudos/bookmarks/comments in general will be better than fics selected somewhat randomly (e.g., leaving as default sort "last updated" or the semi-random alphabetical "author name" sort).

I will agree that public stats can create a sense of insecurity in authors, since many people will conflate fic quality with enjoyability. (for example, I follow a few folks who only enjoy fanfic of characters where the characters match pretty closely with early canon, and dislike a lot of the fanon built up around those characters even if the fanon interpretations tend to be more popular to write about.) I also agree that the target audience of any fandom writing should first and foremost be yourself, and everyone else comes after. I don't write fix-its for stuff that I like in canon but everyone else dislikes, after all...

I also think that the summary/first chapter/tags/etc. is king when it comes to determining whether or not I will like a fic. This is my main way of determining whether or not I try out a fic, and I am always a bit crestfallen when I find a fantastic fic that the author had tagged one character in and left a one-sentence summary, since I usually only find those fics on accident - for a bit of context, I mostly read Transformers fanfic these days, and it recently went over 70,000 fics on AO3 - it's just not viable for me to read through everything, so I have to be sorting well. Some fandoms that I've read fics in have only a few hundred fics (sometimes a few dozen), so in those cases there's not much point in tagging.

I also agree that looking at hits/kudos ratio is useless, especially since I have a preference for long fics. If a fic has 100 chapters, someone might leave 1 kudos and visit the fic every time it updates, leading to 100 hits. It might be closer to 200 if the fic updates slow, too!

The reason why I think sorting by the number of kudos/comments/bookmarks can be useful (though not by hits or kudos/hit ratio) is because a few months back I went through the first 100 fics that you get on each sorting method, and I looked at how many I had read, which ones I liked, etc. I also checked the first 100 fics under "recently updated" to see which ones were appealing (since I hadn't read most of them). For me, I came up with the following:

Sort by kudos (no filters) - liked 33, disliked 3, hadn't read 64

Sort by comments (no filters) - liked 27, disliked 10, hadn't read 63

Sort by bookmarks (no filters) - liked 40, disliked 5, hadn't read 55

Before I did this, I had been mostly sorting by kudos/comments (purpose of sorting by comments is to "weight" long fics higher, but in practice it looked like that wasn't helpful). After this, sorting by bookmarks was the most useful- technically the like/dislike ratio was "worse", but I typically don't read stuff that has tags/summary indicating that I will not enjoy the fic (or that I don't enjoy from reading the first few paragraphs).

As a control, I also checked the first 100 fics under "recently updated" to see which ones were appealing (since I hadn't read most of them).

No filters - 85 looked appealing, 15 did not look appealing

With my usual filters (not explicit, word count over 1000, no crossovers, no michael bay) - I had read/enjoyed 2, 18 looked appealing, and 80 did not look appealing.

So at least for me, it looks like sorting by kudos/comments/bookmarks could be a good way of finding fics. However, I will admit that it isn't foolproof, and if I were to start looking at the top 1000 or top 10,000 for each method the like/dislike ratio may drop.

To be clear, this could all just be my own taste. There's certainly enough michael bay movie enjoyers out there writing fics that they will enjoy and I will not. However, if you have similar problems to me (too many fics - not that bad a problem, but still), I would encourage you to try one of these methods to see if it works. Sorting is, to be fair, probably pointless in fandoms with less than 200 or so fics.

To conclude: you are absolutely correct that high kudos/comments/bookmarks/etc. does not mean that a fic is good, and authors should not be judging the quality of their writing based on this. However, for a reader, sorting by these can be a useful way to find a fic that is enjoyable.

Strangely, though, I think I agree with your conclusion of why AO3 should implement private stats: AO3 should prioritize writers over readers in things like this. Certainly, sorting by kudos/bookmarks/comments is useful for me to discover new fics, but it's not the only method I use (e.g., looking at other fics an author has made, looking at a good author's bookmarks, looking at the bookmarks of people who have kudos'ed my fics, etc.). And maybe I, personally, don't care if my fic only gets 2 kudos and others have 200, but if it's impacting folks' mental health then maybe that is a problem, since AO3 isn't really *about* getting higher numbers.

This might be a controversial take, but as much as I love Ao3 and consider it superior to other fanfiction sites out there, there is one thing that FFnet did better. Public vs. private stats. I love how the hit count isn't public, only comments, favs, and follows are. And, I love kudos on Ao3, but imo they shouldn't be public either.

[quinloki]

You know, fair. Fair. But the :) is just rude.

[phoenixyfriend]

Unrelated to anything: being blocked on AO3 hurts way more than being blocked on Tumblr

[holyfreaks]

I love me after you - a samjack fic

words: 2k

summary: Sam gets hit with a curse from a witch while on a hunt with Jack. Jack is willing to do anything to save him.

[waitineedaname]

the experience of writing fic for svsss has been absolutely insane so far. I posted a fic less than 24 hours ago and it already has twenty comments. I have been in so many fandoms where you have to BEG to get comments, where you'd be lucky to get more than ten comments and the ratio between hits and kudos/comments/bookmarks was vast, but so far the scum villain fandom has been super responsive! The hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks ratios have been super tight, even on my fics which have all been oneshots under 10k!

And it's not just me! I regularly see fanart for svsss fics, which was a rare sight in a lot of other fandoms I've been in. People reblog minifics that get posts to tumblr and leave tags and replies on them. I've written for a lot of fandoms in my time, and this a shocking amount of fic engagement compared to many other fandoms I've been in!!

I can't help but wonder if it's because of the nature of scum villain itself? Other people have talked about how the story uniquely appeals to writers, and it ultimately is about the relationship between a writer and reader, especially in a fan space. I can't help but wonder if the combination of this being a fandom with a high density of writers and it being a story about engaging with writing encourages a fandom culture that is super engaged with fanfiction!

[multifariousmayhem]

new chapter! no idea why is not showing like before when i insert the link here?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61816408/chapters/161366806

i really like this one and the next one, next one is gonna be great. dont miss it