#but it's entirely out of your control

[thisliminalspacedaydreams]

Hits are not the people who read.

This is very important.

What is a hit?Hits are a counter of how many times a work has been accessed. A hit is registered every time a visitor navigates to a work's page, with the following exceptions:

If two visits in a row come from the same IP address, only the first one is registered.

Moving between chapters in a work will only register one hit in total, not one hit per chapter.

If you're logged in, hits are not counted when you visit your own works.

I've been seeing a lot of people being disheartened by the lack of ratio hit/comments but a hit isn't someone who read. It's someone who opened the page of your fic. Maybe they saw the blurb and thought, nah. Maybe they opened 53919381 works and then narrowed down. It's entirely possible that out of the "hits" you get, only a small, small, baby portion actually reads your fic.

Which isn't like, "good news" for you but it DOES mean that your perception is skewed.

I strongly recommend, for your own peace of mind, if that kind of data matters to you, that you focus on the people who are kudoing.

A kudo is most likely someone who DID read your fic.

And you can be sad that your work got 186 kudos and only 3 people left comments, but it's a lot less crazy in terms of stats than 1800 people reading your fic and 3 people leaving comments.

If I make sense.

Your feeling is 100% valid but you can't focus on the hits as a reference number my dear, it's going to crush you.

And I'm going to go further than this but this is all my own personal opinion and I realise not everyone thinks the way I do, so take it with a grain of salt.

Rare are the hobbies that get you interaction at all.

I never get kudos for finishing a puzzle. For bookbinding a project. For doing anything that I consider a hobby.

But I do get kudos for writing a thing and posting it on the internet, which is kind of wild. And by my estimate, the reward I get from writing it is enough. And finding people who write things that I like. And sometimes making friends with them.

AO3 isn't a website meant for validation. It's great when it happens but that's not its first purpose. It's *becoming* that because people are now deciding that AO3 is a social media website, which it isn't.

I'm actually so saddened that people are comparing hits and kudos and comments to others and I realise that it's the human condition (and when I'm weak, I do it too, I'm not better than anyone) but it's such a harsh thing to impose on yourself.

Writing is one of these mediums where you CANNOT COMPARE. Here's why.

Writing is a common hobby.

As a hobby, it has to remain a pleasure, a challenge, something exciting. And that can't be measured by how much people love your work. It has to be measured by how much YOU LOVE YOUR OWN WORK.

The trap of comparison is real, especially in creative fields like writing. But every writer's journey is unique, and no metric can quantify their value.

The moment creativity becomes a competition (even with yourself), the whole thing implodes.

The moment we start weighing our worth by the number of hits, kudos, or comments, we lose sight of why we started writing in the first place.

Feedback is fantastic, but it shouldn't be the sole reason you write.

Not everyone who appreciates your work will leave a kudo or a comment. Some might not know what to say, and some will simply move on, touched by your work but quiet about it. Their silence doesn't diminish the impact your writing might have had.

So, write because you love to write. Appreciate the kudos & the comments but don't let the lack thereof discourage you.

Your worth as a writer isn't determined by public validation. It's determined by the amount of joy you get from it.

not to be That Person but when people are like “why isn’t there a big fandom culture anymore?” umm…

maybe this is why???? That an author can spend hours (if not days or weeks or months) on something, have 1,800 people read it, and only have THREE people willing to take a few extra seconds out of their day to comment. Not even something as simple as “thanks for sharing” or “second kudos” or “❤️”

I’m not the internet police. You decide what you do with your time. Just don’t be surprised if the result is that creators leave your fandoms. I’m not writing to scream into the void. If that’s what I wanted, I wouldn’t bother posting. Fandom is a community. It’s an exchange of enthusiasm over this thing we all love. And who’s gonna keep showing up at your house with a goodie basket if all you do is take the basket, slam the door, and leave them outside to watch through the window while you eat?

[beebfreeb]

If I saw a nutcracker nobody could stop me

[sakuraluck]

when i said i wanted to understand whatever’s going on in ivan’s head, i didn’t mean like this 😭😭

[mikkeneko]

Don't want to put this on the post itself for risk of derailing it, but that post the other day about Terry Pratchett's early work really stuck in my mind. OP had sent in an ask saying that they heard some of Pratchett's earlier works had problematic elements (not unusual for a male english writer in the 80s) and they weren't sure whether to go ahead with reading the work anyway.

What I really want to ask that person, or indeed all persons who are hesitating over whether or not to read problematic works or works by imperfect authors:

What are you worried about happening, if you read a work with problematic elements?

I'm worried that if I read this art, I will run across hateful images or words that will shock or upset me

I'm worried that I will spend money on a work of art that then financially supports a bad person, and that thought makes me uncomfortable or upset

I'm worried that I will read works of art written by a bad person, and comment or react on them, and other people will see what I am reading and will think less of me because of it, or will assume that I hold the same bad beliefs as the author

I'm worried that I will read works of art written by a bad person, and I will enjoy them, and the author will find out about my enjoyment and feel emboldened to do bad things because of it

I'm worried that I will read works of art written by a bad person, and their badness will contaminate my way of thinking and make me a worse person in turn

Because these are all different answers and some of them are more actionable than others

[asphodeline-lutea]

Toothless's little face fell incredulously. "What do you mean, you don't know who I am?

“I’m T-t-toothless."

[dawnleaf37]

hey yeah i had another bad idea . for eucerin

[gece-misin-nesin]

Do you ever think about how horrible of a title "Batman's Greatest Failure" is? How degrading and dehumanising? Everything you achieved in life is forgotten and reduced to the way it ended.

You aren't a person. You are a failure. Your whole life is pushed aside and made a part of someone else's life story. You never mattered, if it weren't for that person you would have meant nothing at all.

Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad you are remembered as something? Even if that something is just saying your whole existence equals just to a mistake in someone's life? An old page that everyone is so desperate to forget. A lapse in judgement. A regret. The people you saved, the people you loved, what you did in life, none of that matters. All that matters is how another person was affected by your death. That is all you will ever be. Everything you did and didn't do will always be irrevocably tied to that person, for better or worse.

You are unable to exist without that person and the only way for you to exist is through his perception of you. The only way for others to see you is to look at you through his biased interpretations of who you were.

You weren't a child or a hero or a martyr or a son or a victim. All you ever were, and will be, is someone's "Greatest Failure".

[ganondoodle]

Kinda in regards to the Empress & BodyGuard 2-

Is Zaphira (sorry if I spelled her name wrong) an elf or do humans have pointed ears in your universe? If no elves, how do the pointed ears happen? Are there different length of ears and if so do they mean somethin?

Love your art & use of colours!

Thank you! and thank you for asking! (this sketch took me way too long .. and the colors still look washed out on my desktop screen but im not editing a third time ..)

Zaphira is human, there are no elves, as such, in this world, though humans tend to live longer than IRL and have differently shaped ears-

the shapes are rather diverse (example above) and culturally (so far) they have no significance, they are merely a trait just like different nose shapes or fantasy hair colors

the worldbuilding reason is that these are extremely diluted demonic influences- in the past demons were frequently in the human world, though largely in secret/disguised, and long time exposure to demonic presences can have varying effects, the most immediate and common being a longer life or wounds healing faster than normal; there might have been other long time effects but the only trait that stayed even after their disappearance is the ear shapes

(there was a mass extinction event of demons that wiped out all above a certain age, since demons generally dont die of natural causes their life neither depends nor revolves around reproduction so there were extremely few left and those were too young to keep most of their knowledge and culture alive, as they rarely wrote anything down; Shargon is of the current oldest generation and witnessed it happen, just like most now adult demons, Thor and Eadrya are both a bit older than him and thus the oldest living demons, which doesnt mean much considering the technically endless lifespans of them)

and to explain me including Shargon in a human appearance- hes the only demon that spends as much time in the human world as at home, largely to escape the others since they are not interested in going there and would otherwise attack him any chance they get (the human world is rather uncomfortable for demons to be in and they have better things to do than to chase him that far), while hes generally very weak compared to them, something he is very good at is shape shifting, mainly the speed of which, being able to shift between full demon and the smaller more humanoid form extremely quickly, or even mid forms that are a mix of both - even in motion! while for the others it takes them quite a bit and forces them to stop which is the main reason he keeps escaping them not able to keep up with his rapid shape shifting (though it does take its toll .. also a reason hes so skinny)

he is the first (only?) one that at some point will learn how to shift into a much more human looking one (depicted in the sketch) too, but its rather dangerous since it involves supressing and compressing his demon heart and system... which is what keeps demons alive (its somewhat like holding your breath for way too long) so the only time he would make use of it is in extreme situations, like avoiding detection by maschines that can pick up demonic energy or escaping shackles made of celestial silver (which drains their energy and can scar/hurt them permanently, like silver to vampires(?werewolfs?) in a way)

....the point is that if he shifts into a human form he has very long ears, meaning that is basically the extreme form that doesnt occur in humans and hints at the origins for those ear shapes being demonic exposure in the past

[bitterrobin]

I see a lot of confusion on why calling Damian Wayne "feral" is racist/problematic, so here's a rundown.

There's a difference between calling your child or your younger sibling "feral" and calling a character like Damian "feral." You know your child/sibling/niece/nephew etc. They're real people, and unless they have a problem with it personally, then there's nothing wrong with calling them feral as a joke. It doesn't (shouldn't) affect their perceptions by other people. It doesn't become a label that follows them.

Damian al Ghul-Wayne is a fictional character. A canonically mixed Arab/Chinese/Jewish White character with a history connected to some of the most prominent Arab comic book characters, who themselves also get insanely mischaracterized.

He's constantly whitewashed. He's been written with racist undertones (the suicide bomber vest). He's had his character development and progress backtracked time and time again by DC. DC treats him weirdly most days and completely shitty in the worst stories.

A good majority of fanon hasn't done any better than DC. You cannot pat yourselves on the back for being more inclusive or mental health aware than DC when you call a mixed Arab/Chinese boy "feral". It's constant. You can come up with various titles and nuances for every Bat-character, for every Robin.

Tim can be smart, a skater, a genius, the one holding everyone together, the little brother, the one who needs love. Jason can be cool, morally "right" or "wrong", unstable, PTSD-stricken, the one who was betrayed, the one with Shakespearean tragedies. Dick can be fun, happy, the first one, the prodigal son, the one with complicated history and the big brother.

You give them room for exploration. Love and care and attention and research. Many headcanons. You either comply with canon or you don't, but there's substance to their character.

What does Damian get? He's feral. He's rabid. He's a gremlin. He can't be reasoned with. He has no self-control, he's impulsive. He's hurt others, and you can't forgive it. Sometimes he's homophobic. Or classist. Or plain mean and rude to your favorite boy. He's always carrying a sword. A psychopath with no regard for another's well-being (usually Tim in a lot of fics). He can't be taught what's right.

I've seen people cry that Damian needs to punished or kicked out or treated the same way he's treated others. He needs to be brutalized or talked down to. He can never grow as a person, because he's mean to Tim or Jason, and you need him to exist as the abuser. His first move is always violent.

Fanon compares him to an animal often; he bites, claws, hisses, growls. Bruce or Dick or Jason or Tim have to wrangle him, tame him, civilize him the white man's way in lieu of his brown mother and grandfather who "clearly" raised him wrong. You don't see the issue with that? The issue with always labeling one of the few major brown characters in Batman comics as the unreasonable animal? That the child of color is always the abuser, the instigator, to older characters?

And even if you don't see him this way, you don't write him this way - then are you giving him the care and attention you give for other Bat characters?

Do you know anything else about him other than his "anger"? Because he isn't always angry. In fact, he's typically well-mannered. Quiet even, when he's not being provoked. DC's writing will always vary but whenever Damian lashes out, he's usually written with a reason to act the way he does.

Are you making him intelligent like he should be? A hard believer in redemption? A neglected and abused child who isn't meek or crying or closes himself within? Are you willing to explore that he's always exhibited the "wrong" kind of trauma responses - lashing out, being snippy, ruining relationships, refusing to admit weakness?

Do you write anything about him without making his mother and grandfather comically abusive and violent? Will you give him the supporting cast/friends he actually has? Can you write his dad/siblings interacting with him without making them white saviors or therapy pets? Can you write him without a ship or his love for animals or being vegetarian overshadowing everything?

Is he a character to you at all other than a glorified plot device with a sharp tongue and the convenience of being violent?

[aroaceleovaldez]

it is so extremely underutilized that Nico is heavily implied to have powers of just. anything ghosts are reportedly able to do.

we know canonically that he can drop temperatures to freezing/to the point where it creates frost, and does so involuntarily or unknowingly at times. We know he can project emotions and memories out onto others, just in general and with physical force - both his own memories/emotions and general emotions as well, such as radiating an aura onto his enemies so that they would fear him more. We know it's heavily implied he can straight up create illusions and inflict madness upon others. We know he's eerily silent when he moves and seems to just appear in places. We know he can control/walk through/mess with dreams. We know he can become intangible and pass through solid objects and terrain without even realizing it.

like, that alone is so much! but the fact that it's implied that's not it? there's MORE?

Where's Nico fucking with EVPs and speaking through radios or static or TV. Throwing his voice. Nico remotely setting things on and off, or draining batteries, or making cell service fuzz out. Nico totally turning invisible (also a Hades' Helm of Darkness thing, so double reason for Nico to be able to do that). Where's Nico inflicting sleep paralysis. Where's Nico straight up making the walls bleed. Let him do more ghost stuff!

[captainkirkk]

When I started writing 'lessons in tea making', I set out to make it a longfic that following ATLA Book 2 and 3 in its entirety but now its been almost 5 years and I'm realising that I'm probably never going to get around to finishing this monster of a wip

HOWEVER, I do have around 15k of chapter 2 collecting dust in my google drive so.... what's everyone's opinion on authors uploading (signposted) unfinished chapters....

[seagreenstardust]

What matters is controlling your heart.

[direpunk]

this dude has been girlbossed by at least 10 women, children, and dolls multiple times. i like him a completely normal amount and do not spend a lot of time analyzing his character and rant about how much he means to me

[littlenastieswewhispered]

sorry i’m on my bullshit again but i CANNOT imagine taking the line “i loved him” —past tense lol—and making that the basis of proof for my endgame ship.

like yeah “loved him more than i will ever love anything” blah blah. she’s clearly saying it in an extremely emotional moment trying to appeal to her friend who also loved someone a lot. (not to mention dawn the sister she sacrificed herself for instead of put a sword through to save the world is RIGHT THERE.)

still past tense! still “loved” as in not love presently.

still ends her own story saying “i love you” —meaning actively right now loves— someone else directly to his face.

[halfratsalready]

Since people are talking about it, I’m going to throw it out there that I will NOT be deleting any of my fics! I put a lot of time and effort into them and I like to think that they were enjoyed by many people, and even if JD decides to make it canon that the Traveler is Jack’s father, I’m not allowing that current revelation to affect the things I worked hard on in the past.

I do also plan on continuing my current unfinished projects because they were obviously created without the concept of the Traveler being Jack’s father in mind, and I won’t let the direction the game goes in make me waste things that I’m proud of and excited to put out into the world.

As for the future, should they go down this route, be prepared to be absolutely showered in besties Jack and Brezziana content because I don’t really have any other ships I’m huge enough on in this fandom to write about, so the Best Friends Forever Jack and Brezziana Club is about to be replacing a Wanderrose-shaped hole in my heart.

Obviously it’s totally fine for people to choose not to continue their works, to choose not to read any future works, etc, but I encourage everyone to at least find some kind of closure for the works they’ve poured their heart into for so long now, and if that means slapping a “canon divergence” tag onto your works to finish them, know that I’ll be there to read the remainders of any of the incredible Wanderrose works that are out there right now!

[arom-antix]

@fishshit I consider your post canon so I made it

Edit: I FOUND IT

Edit 2: Yakov trauma

Edit 3: I lied, here's the design rant

Edit 4: Updated design!