#every one of those hits - comments - kudos - bookmarks are from me

[downtherabbitholewithlucy]

Hands down, still favorite my fanfic

[zepskies]

What Does "Supporting Writers" Mean? ✍️

Apparently it's Fanfic Writer Appreciation Day! To all my fellow writers, I truly appreciate you for bringing me joy, making me smile on rough days, and giving me my weekly/daily dose of escapism and warm fuzzies. (Shoutouts to you personally below.) 💓💓

But what does it mean "practically" to appreciate your favorite writers, especially on Tumblr?

For example, I know some fanfic authors are starting to block "serial likers": people who'll go through someone's entire masterlist and hit the "like" button on 20-something stories without commenting or basic reblogging.

While I think blocking them is extreme, I understand the authors' frustrations. I've actually been asked if I'll ever leave Tumblr, since many of them have dropped off over the past few months, or even the past few years.

I'm still here for two very important reasons:

I love to write about my favorite characters. I write primarily because I love it, not just for the kudos.

I'm friggin' blessed to have a lot of friends and lovely readers on here and Ao3 who support me immensely on my writing and on this blog in general. I love and appreciate each and every one of you! Which is why I do my best to reply to your comments and reblogs. 💖💖

Of course, there are many reasons why a writer might take a break or stop writing entirely, but one of those reasons is also why the #supportwriters tag exists...

And why you'll see us include banners like this on our posts:

(Credits: cafekitsune, me, inklore)

That being said, here's my own rule of thumb on how I try to support my fellow writers when I read something I enjoy:

If I "liked" something, it means I had the time to read a story all the way through and I enjoyed it! (Or I'm bookmarking it for later in the day lol)

If I have the time to read it, I have the time to leave a comment on what I liked the most about it.

If I have the time to write out a comment (anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes), I typically put that comment in a reblog -- maybe even add a gif or two for ✨razzle dazzle.✨ That way I can share it with the rest of my followers, so they can see it and hopefully enjoy it too...

Why? Because Tumblr isn't TikTok or IG. Reblogging is the best way to help a post gain traction on Tumblr. The algorithm doesn't care much about likes.

But on a more human level, supporting writers is just the basic thing of -- if you enjoyed something you read (that a writer shared for free), just let them know what you liked about it.

Remember that there's a person behind the content you enjoy. They might have been working on that story for weeks or months, or even years before they got the courage to post it.

They might really be putting themselves out there, writing about a topic or subject matter that they're not sure people will even like or engage with.

Maybe they're exploring something new, like a character or trope they've never written before.

Maybe they're expressing part of themselves that they haven't even told another living soul.

Maybe they just wanted to write something fun and smutty or angsty or fluffy and want to share the escapism with you.

Whether they've been writing for years or are just starting out, any and all is valid.

For me, as a writer and a reader, supporting my fellow writers often means supporting my friends. And 9 times out of 10, the way we became friends was by leaving feedback on their work and asking them questions, or responding to their awesome feedback on mine.

If you want a little jumpstart on how to leave feedback, whether encouraging or constructive, here's an awesome post about it (not mine).

Shoutout to some of my favorite writers 💞:

(In no particular order)

@waynes-multiverse @luci-in-trenchcoats @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior @thatonewriter15 @rizlowwritessortof

@waywardxwords @tofics @kaleldobrev @deanbrainrotwritings @deanwritings

@jawritter @deanwinchesterswitch @justagirlinafandomworld @ravengirl94 @waywardxwords

@spnbabe67 @deanwanddamons @ejlovespie @kittenofdoomage @venus-haze

@talltalesandbedtimestories @sam-is-my-safe-word @jacklesbrainworms @artyandink @princessmisery666 (I just starting reading your stories, but I'm continuing with Samnesia soon!) -- and I'm sure many more! 💋

[the-fab-fox]

Okay so this has been something I've been chewing on for a long while. About making this post I mean.

This one is to those who actively ingest fanfiction but seem to think it's okay to just read free fiction that people have put time and thought and crafted prose for your enjoyment and do nothing in return.

All we ever ask for and all we ever want is for y'all to AT THE VERY LEAST hit that kudos button if you like the work. That is the BARE MINIMUM of what you SHOULD be doing. Especially all of you who say you're too nervous to comment or don't wish to be perceived. And if you don't want your account on the list, you can log out and send a guest kudos.

But as I said, BARE MINIMUM. If you loved the fic, if you got something out of it that left you feeling good and energized (or whatever angst does for y'all) then I want to take a moment and strongly urge you to comment, subscribe (if a wip), and bookmark those works. Did you know there's an option to even mark it as a Fic Recommendation? You can put notes in to and say why you liked it and things like that (DO NOT DO A RATING IN PUBLIC BOOKMARKS HOWEVER). And, you can indeed make them private! The writer still gets the number added to their stats but your bookmark we won't see.

Anyway, I now wanna turn your attention to Exhibit A:

This is a list of my best performing fics. Do you see the problem with this? The green highlights are the hits I've received for those fics. The red is the Kudos and comment threads. Now the kudos is obviously right?

Let's look at my number one fic right now, Accidentally in Love (a Malleyuu fic from Twisted Wonderland fandom). It's the seventh fic in a romance series. As you can see, it's doing great as far as hits, right? And I know it's an amazing fic from the comments I have received and just from rereading it myself. Note, I am probably the biggest bully to myself as @sunshineandteddybears and @mellosdrawings and @romantichopelessly can tell you in great detail. So when I am saying it's really damn good, you can probably trust it's gonna be pretty damn good. And yet, a fic that has 4K hits only has 119 kudos. And now to bring your attention to the comment threads. So honestly with how bad readers are on actually commenting (which by the way if you log off you can send anonymously as a guest—you'll have to put in your email address but we authors won't see that)... 107 seems pretty good right? But you guys don't see that. You see what's on the info for the story. Unfortunately, on the fic info at the top of the story, it counts every single comment (including the Author's). (The comment threads is just every single starting comment, i.e. the first comment received from each commenter.)

The thing is, I—and probably quite a few other writers—do respond to every single comment.

So that means where the info on my fic itself says 230 comments, in reality, I'm at half that when I subtract my half of the comments. So that's actually 115 comments from other people. So some people might see that 230 and think oh they got a lot of comments so I don't think they want to hear from me or I can't be fucked and they're already doing good so.

NO. NO. NO. Do not look at the numbers as a guide if a fic is good or not. Do not look at the numbers and think that we don't need or deserve to get any more. And finally WE WANT TO HEAR FROM Y'ALL.

Excuses need to stop.

Speaking of numbers. Here's my over all stats current on AO3.

In the 3 years on this AO3 account (I've had others in the past and accounts on ff.net and live journal. I'm an oldie fanfic writer lol. 21 years of fanfic. My gods. 🤣) It didn't used to be like this guys. Back in the day I'd get 12 plus comments on a chapter and this is on stuff a teenager wrote.

We have got to get back to the point of supporting each other and building each other up. Also while I'm at it, I have a huge beef with the fact that fanartists get so much more positive feedback and replies and comments, but the thing is, even their numbers are skewed. You can go into the notes of a fanart on here that has 10k notes to see they have maybe 100-1K reblogs (if that, I'm being generous) and maybe 10 or so replies (if turned on) and the rest are all likes. EVERYONE has been on here long enough by now to know that likes do nothing to get a post in the algorithm and tags only do so much. Reblogs are the only way their art (or our fanfictions for people who post them on here) gets seen! By sharing!

So y'all gotta get better. Yes, we write for ourselves first, but ultimately a story is meant to be shared with everyone and feedback should not be optional if you're actively reading the fics or viewing the art for free and enjoyed it!

TLDR:

IF YOU FUCKING LIKE A FANFIC. KUDOS AT THE VERY LEAST BUT BE BETTER. COMMENT. BOOKMARK. SUBSCRIBE IF IT'S A WIP YOU LOVE. (Like, comment and reblog if on Tumblr)

IF YOU FUCKING LIKE A FANART ON TUMBLR. COMMENT. LIKE. REBLOG.

DO BETTER AS READERS AND US WRITERS AND ARTISTS WILL GIVE YOU THE WORLD (AND MANY OTHER WORLDS TO BOOT)

That is all. Please reblog the fuck out of this if you agree.

(and tagging my current and last fandoms so this can get in fandom spaces where it needs to be.)

[cooking-with-hailstones]

Statistical analysis of the most popular A:TLA fics on AO3

(All of this is accurate as of May 27 2024)

I like numbers and statistical analysis and for some unfathomable reason I find it calming. So last night I made this spreadsheet!

DISCLAIMER: This is not a judgement of the quality, value, or merits of any of the fics on this list. It's just me being curious about what's popular with the A:TLA fandom on AO3. I was genuinely surprised at some of the results!

Observations and analysis under the cut:

TL:DR, the fandom fucking loves putting Zuko into Situations.

Methodology: I'm including all fics from the first page of results from the most kudos'd, commented, hits, and bookmarks tagged under the Avatar: The Last Airbender (cartoon, 2005) tag on ao3. I am deliberately not including any larger multifandom flash fiction or drabble collections because I don't think they're super relevant. This ended up including 38 fics in total.

I put all the fics into one single spreadsheet in order to compare the differences between fics that are really high on the kudos count but not the hit count, or what has a lot of comments but fewer hits. Basically, I'm throwing a lot of things together to observe what gets engagement and looking at patterns that emerge!

Top 5 most popular fics by hit count:

Salvage - MuffinLance

Fractures - EvieNyx

Embers- Vathara

Towards the Sun - MuffinLance

The Art Of Burning - hella1975

Max: 1,407,170 (Salvage -MuffinLance)

Min: 78,168 (Risking it all - Sreeder)

Average: 349,442

Top 5 most popular fics by kudos count:

Salvage - MuffinLance

The Family You Choose - TunaFishChris

where the stars do not take sides - WitchofEndor

Fractures - EvieNyx

The beginning of a new and brighter birth - aloneintherain

Max: 59,947 (Salvage - MuffinLance)

Min: 3293 (Risking it all - Sreeder)

Average: 19,868

Top 5 most popular fics by number of comments:

The Art Of Burning - hella1975

Salvage - MuffinLance

Fractures - EvieNyx

Towards the Sun - MuffinLance

War Games - Lovely_Elbow_Leech

Max: 13,469 (The Art Of Burning - hella1975)

Min: 358 (Hallowed - Haircrescendo)

Average: 3634

Top 5 most popular fics by number of bookmarks:

absence of heat, excess of destiny - theycallmesuperboy

Salvage - MuffinLance

where the stars do not take sides - WitchofEndor

The Family You Choose - TunaFishChris

The beginning of a new and brighter birth - aloneintherain

Max: 150,317 (absence of heat - theycallmesuperboy)

Min: 430 (Risking it all - Sreeder)

Average: 9297

Highest kudos/hit ratio: Safety First - Haircrescendo (20.36%)

Lowest kudos/hit ratio: My Heart Burns For You - alwaysZutarian (0.89%)

Average kudos/hit ratio: 8.25%

Fic Ratings:

G: 9

T: 18

M: 6

E: 2

Unrated: 3

Popular authors (people who showed up more than once):

Aloneintherain (3)

Haircrescendo (5)

MuffinLance (4)

WitchofEndor (2)

Characters:

Literally all of these fics are Zuko-centric. Not all of them are Zuko-pov but every. single. one. focuses on Zuko as a main character. At least one of the following tags is on every single fic in this list: "The Gaang & Zuko", "Zuko & Zuko's Crew", "Zuko & Iroh" "Zuko & Azula" and "Zuko & [insert gaang member here]"

Relationships:

Ok this is what actually shocked me the most. I fully expected to see more Kataang, Zutara, etc in the top rated fics, but NO! Only 21 out of the 38 fics had any relationship slash tag, and of those, 20/21 were Sokka/Zuko (shoutout to My Heart Burns For You as the token Zutara fic to make it into this list). I did NOT realize Zukka was so popular! Now I'm super curious about what it would be like to run these numbers on FF.net because I know so much A:tla fanfic was written before ao3 existed and most hasn't been cross-posted, and Zukka wasn't a popular ship until more recently.

Other random observations:

There seems to be a pretty even split between post-canon firelord Zuko fics and canon-divergent "Zuko joins the Gaang early" fics.

Only one modern au as far as I could tell! (shoutout to "The Good Vanilla")

We all seem to love a Dadkoda fic

There is a very strong correlation between one-shots and a high kudos/hit ratio.

Seemingly no correlation between word count and number of kudos. The top kudos'd stories were mostly under 10k words, while all the other catergories were dominated by fics in the 100k+ word count.

I didn't really see much correlation between hits, kudos, and comments overall.

There were LOTS of fics that only showed up in one category, which was really interesting! I figured each list would look pretty much the same, and there were several fics that did show up on the front page of every category (Salvage definitely sweeps the board for overall most popular fic), but there was a lot of variation between each list! Some fics had TONS of hits but very few comments, some had truly wild kudos/hit ratios, some were just massively bookmarked.

Thank you for indulging in my nerdiness, and feel free to tell me what I missed or anything you're curious about!

Update: I did it again, this time with Legend of Zelda

[hyperactivewhore]

hi I love your blog we have very much the same opinions in everything except klamille is my favourite klaus ship and klaurora is second

I have been trying to enjoying klaus fics or any tvdu fics on wattpad but every thing I have read so far doenst show the characters accurately which is very annoying

I was hoping and want to request if you could give me some recommendations on fics on wattpad that are good. (Mainly klaus but any love interest would be good)

could you please give a short summary/review so far of any recommendation you give so I don’t waste time starting one only to not like ir

sorry if I am sounding rude English is not my first language but I can read it fully thank I you very much

Don't worry, you're not sounding rude at all, if anything you actually sound really sweet. I'm glad we share some opinions and I'm really honored you came to me for some suggestions.

I haven't read long fanfictions in a while outside works in ao3, I left Wattpad a few time ago but I'll still try my best, tho I'm not very good at giving summaries. Fair warning these are mainly fanfics I've read in Archive of Our Own, not Wattpad, but I hope it's not a problem. If it annoys you, send me an ask and I'll give you some Wattpad recommendations!

Patisserie (ao3, poly Mikaelson siblings x original female character, no incest) by @wickedlyemma:

Stats: (published: 2020-12-29), (completed: 2023-03-12), (words: 154,943), (chapters: 45/45), (comments: 4,385), (kudos: 8,469), (bookmarks: 1,799), (hits: 279,967)

Tags: Polyamory, Sugar Daddy, Self-Indulgent, Explicit Sexual Content, No Incest, Slow Burn, Not Canon Compliant

Summary:

I think we've all read those kind of tvdu fanfics where the main character is a teenager, usually related to the Gilbert or the Forbes, still in high school and who suddenly stops trying to make a life for herself just because she gets dragged into the supernatural world. Well, Patisserie is the opposite of that. For once, the main character isn't a teen but an adult around her twenties, who works at a bakery and is completely unaware of the supernatural world until Klaus decides to change that.

The slow burn is is truly worthy of a chef's kiss, the way the author describes and writes the Mikaelson is just so on point it hurts. Their family dynamic is so entertaining to watch, but it's as fucked up as it is in the show, which it's something not many authors can accomplish. The way they behave around the main character, a simple human, it's so amusing because they truly know nothing despite their age and she's just so easy to relate to, because for once the oc is not ridiculously overpowered.

The way we perceive the Mikaelson and the vampire world from a human pov is truly interesting, how she copes with all of it and eventually learns to love all of them individually while being aware of the danger is so well done. Kol and her, as well as her relationship with Klaus, are particularly interesting to read, especially considering how they all behaved around her at the beginning and especially because both of them are the most dangerous members of their family. They are all selfish creatures, and I love how it shows the more their relationships with her develop.

Apotheosis (ao3, Klaus x original female character) by atriums;

Stats: (published: 2022-01-01), (completed: 2022-12-13), (words: 158,264), (chapters: 31/31), (comments: 606), (kudos: 1,817), (bookmarks: 491), (hits: 69,472)

Tags: POV Alternating, Minor Original Character(s), Minor Character Death, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Sex, Sexual Content, Devoted Reader, Author Rejects Canon and Substitutes It with Their Own, Cannibalistic Werewolf Cults, Nobody Is Good But Also Nobody Is Evil, These Characters are Flawed and Problematic (Probably), This Fic is Not a Bastion for Healthy Characters and Relationships, Reader/OC Especially, Reader/OC can be any ethnicity

Summary;

You know those fanfics who fix (almost) everything problematic in canon? Apotheosis does exactly that. In this story, Klaus isn't a complete irredeemable character for once, but he also isn't half as bad as his canon version, and due to the oc being a werewolf, this fanfic does expand on his werewolf side a little more than The Vampire Diaries or The Originals ever did. His family and him actually have a healthy bond, and Finn gets the recognition he deserves for once.

The story is set in season three of TVD, exactly when Klaus and Stefan are trying to make hybrids for his pack, and in a ironic plot twist, Klaus decides to take you with him when you're still a werewolf after you say you're not worthy to be a hybrid, at least not yet.

Her devotion to him is completely endearing and I absolutely love how Klaus actually cares for his pack, especially because they're all canonical characters who were killed way too quickly. Her relationships with the members of their pack are so well written, and this fanfic it's the perfect mix of humour and seriousness. It has a ongoing sequel, which I just adore. I warn you though, all the characters have several differences from their canon versions.

Twisted Obsession (fanfiction.net, Klaus x original female character) by rocket-queen98;

Stats: Originals, M, English, Romance & Angst, chapters: 16, words: 59k+, favs: 1k+, follows: 1k+, updated: May 6, 2023 published: Aug 13, 2016, [Klaus M., OC] Elijah M., Hope M.

Summary;

Lola is one of the most adorable mc I've read. She is human and around nineteen, if I remember correctly, and just a sweet girl and adorable. She's introduced into the supernatural world thanks to baby Hope, who is just the cutest, due to her needing a mother figure now that Hayley wasn't present in her life thanks to the curse placed on her.

Her relationship with Hope is my favorite part of the whole fanfic. She doesn't suddenly turn into her mother, she doesn't intend to either, but rather becomes her best friend and Klaus and her develop a bond thanks to this. The way father and daughter interact is so heartwarming too, the subtle hints of them being werewolves, and seeing a main character having a good relationship with her father for once is a good turn, especially in tvd fanfics.

It's clear Klaus and Lola have something going on, even if they won't admit out loud, but for some reason the people around them give the impression they don't actually want them to date. There is implications something more fucked up than usual is going on with Klaus and his relationships, and I'm pretty sure him and Cami were a thing in this fic too. Surprisingly, Hayley and Cami aren't turned into absolute bitches, but there is Jackson bashing though.

The Girl in the Forest (fanfiction.net, Klaus x original female character) by noblecrescent;

Stats: Originals, T, English, Mystery & Romance, chapters: 30, words: 311k+, favs: 232, follows: 176, updated: Feb 19, 2017 published: Jan 23, 2016, [Klaus M., OC] [Elijah M., Camille O'Connell]

Summary;

This fanfic is a tetralogy of books set in The Originals, I read those fanfics a while ago so forgive me for any mistake. Maleny is a witch who was cursed, if I remember correctly, and was constantly body-jumping every short time.

In one of her lives, she met Klaus and they fell in love, but she died, if I'm not wrong, and they end up meeting again in New Orleans time later where he has a child on the way and a kingdom to conquer.

I can't remember a lot more without giving you spoilers, but it's worth checking it out!

Now, I'll give no more summaries because I honestly don't remember a lot of the next fanfics, but it's your choice if you want to read them;

A Veil Between Love and Hate (fanfiction.net, Klaus x original female character) by MandalorianHybrid;

Stats: Originals, T, English, chapters: 57, words: 200k+, favs: 609, follows: 359, updated: Sep 15, 2019 published: Jan 30, 2014, [Klaus M., OC]

Summary; Another five books set in The Vampire Diaries, with a story that eventually moves to The Originals.

Allure (wattpad, Klaus x oc x Stefan) by @viavolterra;

Stats: 575k Readings, 20,5k Votes, 34 Chapters

Summary;

I just could not not recommend this fanfic. Mia comes to Mystic Falls to seek revenge after Damon kills her best friend Lexi, but she of course gets dragged by the problems in that little town.

The thing I like the most about Via's story is how there is no cliché: no bashing towards Tyler or Elena, Mia actually befriends them, Bonnie gets the recognition and love she deserves, Klaus doesn't suddenly turn into a different person just because he loves the oc, he continues to be a piece of shit, and how sweet and empathetic she is, not like those reused badass mc who are just rude.

I would recommend some more, but it's kinda hard to find fanfics with a good Klaus depiction. I'm pretty sure I left out a lot of amazing fanfics, though.

[bonesandthebees]

Ao3 Wrapped

saw @antimony-medusa do this and I thought it seemed fun especially since I do take screenshots of my ao3 stats on the 1st of every year to see how they change over time, so here's my ao3 wrapped for 2024!

__

Overall stats for 2024!

User Subscriptions: 6,386

Kudos: 234,501

Comment Threads: 26,236

Bookmarks: 69,438

Subscriptions: 28,394

Word Count: 2,537,180

Hits: 4,789,741

so while that might seem like a lot of user subscriptions, I actually started 2024 with 6,815 so I lost nearly 500 user subs over the course of this year, which is understandable given... well, everything that happened in 2024 with this fandom. (Of course that's still a huge number of user subs I'm so grateful for but I just want to point out I actually lost way more than I gained this year which had not happened to me in previous years) My word count also only increased a little over 200k words which is a much smaller amount of growth compared to my previous years which, again, it's been a weird year to be a writer in this fandom especially with my focus so that makes sense for me lol

Fun Stats: 

Fics Published: 10, including a few more I posted on anon that you guys will never get to know about lmao

Number of One-Shots: 4 and all are QSMP fics! idk what it is about QSMP that makes it so easy for me to write one shots but it's very fun

Number of Multi-Chapters: 6 including my two ventures into writing HOTD fic :)

Longest Fic: my ongoing fic under the hanging rose is now sitting at 101,897 words, but if we're talking finished fics then that belongs to ready set detonate at 35,724 words

Shortest Fic: the one shot I wrote for the morningstar zine playing pretend which is sitting at 1,275 words

Most Kudosed Fic: technically my scrap bin but I'm not counting that as part of these stats so it would be under the hanging rose at 1,333 kudos!

Most Viewed Fic: under the hanging rose again at 38,277 hits although I think most of those are from 2023 so from this year exclusively it would be ready set detonate at 7,061 hits

Most Subscribed Fic: andddd under the hanging rose again at 359 subscriptions

Most Bookmarked Fic: surprise surprise under the hanging rose at 286 bookmarks

Most Used Fandom: surprisingly this is actually QSMP with 5 works, although DSMP is at a close second with 4 works

Least Used Fandom: Origins SMP because it's tagged for under the hanging rose, but ignoring that then it would be House of the Dragon at 2 works

Most Used Rating: Teen and Up at 8 works

Least Used Rating: General and Mature are both tied with 1 work lol

Most Written Relationship: Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit and Quackity/Wilbur Soot are both tied with 3 works each which no one is surprised about

Most Used Additional Tag: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting with 4 works which does not surprise me. I'm a girlie who loves writing modern aus

Most Frequently Used Characters: 

Philza (6)

Wilbur (5)

Quackity (4)

TommyInnit (4)

Tubbo (4)

Niki Nihachu (3)

Technoblade (3)

Bagi (3)

Rhaenyra Targaryen (2)

Alicent Hightower (2)

ngl I'm very surprised Phil took top spot this year but at the same time it makes sense he's definitely slowly shifted into being one of my favorite characters to write

hope you guys had fun reading this it was very fun to look back on all my fics from this year even if it was a bit of a mess lmao

[chershare]

Comments

So I've been seeing stuff about commenting lately going around. Reading them and having readers assume that they "bothering" authors or "being weird" about it is blows my mind.

Please bother me??? Be weird??? I am also very weird so please be weird with me about my weird little fanfic???

Where did this "don't interact with the author" thing come from? Where did the "don't talk to other people in comment threads" thing come from?

I routinely go through and reread comments on my fanfic. It reminds me that other people also enjoy the fact that I share my labors of love and occasional silliness. Sometimes it's people yelling at me - or each other - about something I did, but they still interact.

I love repeat commenters! I love seeing the progression of the story through their eyes and words! It's so fun to know that little thing was noticed by at least one person even if it's been years since the original posting or update!

Sometimes I see the Hit counter on Ao3 and notice it jump by a lot, but that I don't get any comments. It's usually on a completed fic that I notice traffic with no interactions. Why don't people comment on completed fic anymore? Why don't people comment at all anymore? I don't care how old it is if you liked it I still wanna know what you thought! I want to know if you liked it! Kudos are great but sometimes people just hit that button automatically and i wanna knoooooow.

Just because it's from years ago doesn't mean I don't remember how much I loved writing it. It doesn't mean I don't still love it. I wrote it for a reason, because I wanted to, the same reason I shared it with you. There's no time limit on love or appreciation, and no one will be mad if you show and communicate your own thoughts.

I would love those thoughts as well. Like, okay, if you thought it was shit just say nothing - and don't put it in your bookmark notes please jesus christ we can read those - and hit the X button. Life is hard enough please don't shit on my labors of love.

Anyway.

Did you like a certain line? Were you angry about a cliffhanger even if you could read the next chapter immediately? Did something confuse you before it was answered later? Was it not answered?

Hell, people don't even seem to Kudos very often anymore. It used to be I'd get a laundry list of Kudos in my email every day. Now I really only get more of them when I update, and only for a few days. (which might be a me problem yikes maybe I'm just not cool in the fandoms anymore (＞﹏＜) ).

Anyway, I love comments and definitely go through and reread them often. Reminding myself of things people liked or found or just felt something about. I reread the incoherent rambling and the quoting of my own sentences back at me. I reread the essays and the screaming. Everything, I reread it.

Sure, I'm really bad at answering comments, but I still read them. I still want to know what you thought, how you feel.

I write for me but I share for you readers. It's just nice to know I'm sharing for a reason.

[thcscus]

fic author q&a <3

tagged (kinda but i wanted to join bc it looked fun lol) by @zannolin the beloved

why do you write fanfic?

because it's so so so much fun. because i think about the characters too much to just not Do anything with them, you know?

but mostly, it's a case of, "I'm writing this because I want to read this."

which of your posted stories do you think of the most even though the story is "finished"?

i mean, technically, passerine because I have a copy of it sitting above my study desk so every time I look up I think "oh damn yeah i wrote that. insane"

but, creatively, i think about the challengers series a lot because i feel like i have one more story out of me for it but i just don't know What yet

if you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

hmmmm i don't think i have any because my relationship with fic writing now is the same as my relationship to fic writing then. it's all just fun :)

what's your relationship to fic stats?

eh i don't really care about them. i generally don't look at kudos and hits. but comments and the little notes people put on bookmarks? now Those i will refresh for every time

is there a pairing or scenario or friendship that you miss writing? if so, why? if not, why not?

how do i answer this without kicking at a hornet's nest. i guess if you know, you know. That Era really was a great time to be alive as a genfic writer. unfortunately, *waves vaguely*

what motivates you to write?

the fact that when you finish writing, you get to read it. and it's tailor-made for you, with everything you want from a fic, because YOU put it all there!! it's like serving yourself a plate of eggs done just how you like them

also, i look forward to comments every time just to know i'm not the only one going insane over it lol

why do you write for the fandom(s) you write for?

no other reason than i want to, i guess. i love the story. i want to expand on it. and that's how the insanity starts, baby

if you're stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

just put it down. inspiration will find me eventually. i'm not in any rush :)

what do you wish people knew about comments?

when you quote the exact lines that made you feel something. THAT. that could be your entire comment and i'd still be twirling my feet kicking my hair. genuinely when people quote my lines in their comments AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA <- me going crazy

maybe there's a question you wish had been on here. what's that question (and answer)?

The line you're most proud of.

"... to be able to love something enough to also love what grew from its ruins," is still so beloved by me because it was genuinely something i'd felt in my personal life for so long but could only put into words when i was writing it for the fic. it was a lightning bolt of an epiphany that wouldn't have been possible if i hadn't been writing. writing fic saves lives, folks!

tagging literally anyone who sees this because i want to pick at everyone's brain

[comfortlesshurt]

2024 Skyler Wrapped

Little 2024 update because my ass can never get enough statistics! (I enjoy the writing, but I fear my true love is math.)

Anyway, skip this post if it will bother you reading about a year of someone else's achievements! I will totally understand. Literally jerkin' myself off under the cut on this post, my dudes.

This year's new fics (in order of date first posted):

Ratings and TWs can be found at the links. Please check the TWs before reading!

09-Jun-2024: 5 Times Lance Doesn't Matter +1 Time He Finally Does (my first fic after an 18-month break!)

01-Jul-2024: Smiling 'cause you're used to it (a house that's always haunted) (first fic where I truly let myself go wild & write for my own dick & no one else)

03-Jul-2024: Chemicals, chemicals in my brain (where'd you go, where'd you go anyway?) (first time writing the fluffy part & enjoying it)

01-Aug-2024: Nowhere to call home (so I'll pack and run away) (first time completing a writing challenge on time)

10-Sep-2024: What are you wondering? (What do you know?) (I hate this one actually, but I wrote it this year so we'll just give it..... shortest fic I've written in AWHILE)

15-Sep-2024: On it, yes, indeed (on it, watch me bleed) (ugh opposite problem... I loved this one! but there's nothing really standout about it, I guess. just accept that I love it even if it doesn't have a Special Thing)

14-Oct-2024: 5 Times Keith Relies on the Blade +1 Time... (first time creating something to celebrate a fictional character's birthday. also first OCs with more than one line of dialogue, I think)

07-Dec-2024: With talk of love (as I make-pretend) (first work for a gift exchange! whole new scary experience for me!)

22-Dec-2024: Maybe this thing works out (if I'm lying too) (longest thing I have EVER written and shared. the inspiration for this thing is endless, I fear)

Stats I thought were interesting:

I wasn't actually back in fandom until June 3rd, 2024, so all the AO3 stats are based on the difference between my snapshot of that date and my snapshot on December 31st, 2024. Not a huge difference; it's just chopping out all the January through June interaction with my Spider-Man stuff that was already up since the last time I took a stats snapshot before that was 2021.

Published in 2024: 92k words, all VLD!

Written in 2024 but not yet published: 188k words, also all VLD

General new stats in 2024: 128 new work subs (we're so back), 20k new hits, 1.2k new kudos, 94 new comment threads (and i happy screamed at every single one), & 339 new bookmarks (and i crept through every single one with comments or tags attached... like a creep...)

New finished works: 7

New unfinished works: 2

Top artist for title lyrics this year: Those Who Dream at 16 unique titles (1 work title & 15 chapter titles)

Word count range for 2024 published fics: 527 (complete snippet) to 26k (WIP)

Most common additional tags: Keith-centric, POV Keith, Hurt/Comfort (these are surely surprising to you....)

Number of times I used the word 'just' in published & unpublished fics this year: 993 (0.355% of all words I wrote were this word.......)

Other milestones: first time writing someone who was Not My Blorbo and having fun with it, first time writing without it being an escape from something terrible, first shipfic, first time participating in a fandom event where there would be Consequences if I'd backed out, first explicit content posted on my main account, closest I've ever gotten to finishing NaNo* with one single project, first time c*mm*ssioning art for my fics, first time learning you have to censor the word c*mm*ssion to avoid getting scam bots in your tumblr DMs (just a huge milestone year actually)

New word count for this year technically doesn't beat my previous record of 315k in 2021, but 1) I was only employed full-time for 5 months of 2021 so I had way more free time then and 2) I didn't write a single word in 2024 before June 3rd, so 280k in 7 months of 2024 feels like a lot more than 315k in 12 months of 2021.

Also since literally no one IRL cares, some non-writing achievements I'm also proud of for 2024! Going in rough order from earliest in 2024 to latest:

Quit the most abusive job I've ever experienced

And immediately got my first job in my intended career field

Finally coded an AO3 stats tracker after 6 years of having it in the back of my mind

Grew my first ever eggplant (it was very small....)

Paid off my car

First semi-solo business proposal presented with a base price totaling more than all of the bids combined that I supported over 2 years at my last job

Made new friends I love <3

Acquired an unquenchable thirst for vld merch....

Went to my first con

And finally as of today, I'm under 89% of my original mortgage balance & on track to own this thing in half the original loan term! (praying this series of words doesn't wake up the sugar daddy bot again, he LOVES when I discuss my mortgage)

Also, some shoutouts for the year! In order of when we first met:

@zelandiangelo for being one of the few OGs I know still around and always being so nice to talk to and supportive. ;_; In case anyone's forgotten, they're the one who convinced me to write and post my first ever hurt/comfort fic and sucked me right back into fandom after I'd been clean for like... six years at that point.

For the record, there are other OGs and I'm glad to see them around! We're just not as close (but you can change that in 2025 ;) )

@hurtwithabitofcomfort for also being crazy supportive through all the fandoms I've been through. I didn't get to shout 'em out last year since I wasn't active on Tumblr then, but they're the one who kicked off me getting back into writing in 2023. I know I didn't SHARE anything from 2023, but they made me see how much I loved writing again around that time when the rest of my life kinda sucked and I was giving up on everything.

@perpetuallylatetothefandomparty for their incredibly nice comments! Deadass, I probably would've just posted my first one or two fics of this year and disappeared for another year or two if they hadn't been such a constant presence this summer, hyping up all the gen fics I was working on then.

@voltrohgodwhat for being so easy to talk to and being the kind of friend where either of us can like... disappear for a month and still be totally cool with each other. Also for sharing WIPs that still haunt me on a weekly basis because they're so unique and good ;_;

@existwound for being too intimidatingly cool for awhile but STILL hyping me up. If you've liked anything I've posted in the past three months or so, you've probably got Astra to blame for brainstorming it with me, letting me ramble about it, giving me fresh ideas when I'm stuck on something, or hyping it up.

@langst for always yapping to me about Klance and ALSO hyping up my WIPs and letting me ramble about ideas. Also special shoutout to El because she got me back into writing sprints and that is the source of a LOT of this recent word count. There is something so special about getting to stomp people's asses as you write.......

I'm not gonna harass all the writers I like who aren't like... people I talk to regularly, but even though this has been a VERY light reading year for me, there's a whole little list of VLD writers who I read over and over and like... instantly got motivation to write on my own fics afterward. If you've been in any of my 2024 fic rec lists, it's you... you are my motivation....

(Also, I am OLD and don't have my incredible teenage memory anymore, so if you see me add someone to the shoutouts later, no you didn't and I'm SORRY for not remembering in the first place.)

And final thing! Goals for 2025!

500k written in 2025: Just a little above my daily average in 2024 when you account for the 5 months I wasn't writing this year. The goal is to keep up the pace I've had since June 2024, but extend it through the full 12 months of 2025. Might be a bit of a reach but hey, I'll be happy to get anywhere near 500k in a year, so it works!

Start posting In Love and Death by the end of 2025: I'm running SO behind on where I thought I'd be with this project when I started, but there is no excuse for this to not be close enough to finished to start posting by the end of next year. Mark my words.......

Continue posting work I love: I fell out of habitually writing the last time because I was writing based on what I thought other people wanted to read and holy shit, it is so much easier to write what I want to read. So I'm gonna keep doing that in 2025. In 2024 we moved between gen whump, semi-shippy whump, and shippy non-whump, and I enjoyed them all because that was what I felt like writing at the time. I'll slide between them all as I feel like it again in 2025.

Prioritize my mental health online: I've mostly gotten through it fine, but every burst of bad mental health that affected my writing this year was a direct result of continuing to follow people who are just plain assholes and ruining my mood for no good reason when I'm trying to enjoy scrolling my dash. In 2025, I'll be reminding myself more often that no one is talented enough to make up for being a dick, and I will be more brutal with the unfollow and block buttons for anyone who's making my fandom experience worse.

[fangirl-erdariel]

How long after posting do people comment on fics?

No, really, I'm curious, what's everyone's experience on this?

I just started thinking because like, okay, I try not to get too caught up on how popular my fics become, and especially I try not to compare them a whole lot. If I worried about popularity I'd just never write anything, probably. But I do glance at the ao3 stats page every once in a while, out of curiosity

And like. I have one fic that's a massive outlier popularity-wise to literally anything else I have ever written. Not through any merit of mine, not really, I just kind of lucked out; i wouldn't say it's my best writing by really any metric, but it's not like, bad, and it is a formulaic hurt-comfort fic centered on a popular character, so that immediately gives it better chances to get popular anyway. But more than that, there's the fact that I wrote and posted it right at a time when the fandom was enjoying a massive resurgence overall, getting both an influx of new fans and a renewed interest from a number of old fans, so there were a lot more people reading fic, creating rec lists (this is the only fic of mine i know for a fact has ever been included on a rec list, though it is of course possible that other fics of mine have been on rec lists that i just never became aware of), all of that, and therefore more people that had the chance to find and read it before it became buried. And of course when something gets popular, it creates a certain momentum for it, it has an easier time finding more readers. So this fic, it's nearly three years old, and it still tends to get a kudos once or twice a week, just by a brief look through my kudos emails, so people are still finding it and reading it and liking it on a regular basis

It is by and far my most popular fic by almost any metric, whether that be hits (which, yes, i know, are not a very accurate metric for measuring how many people actually read the thing through, let alone liked it, but still, including it here for the sake of my point)

...or kudos

...or bookmarks

or technically even subscriptions, though the numbers are much much smaller here anyway, despite the fact that it's a one-shot while two of the others on the list are multi-chapter (admittedly just 3 and 2 chapters long, but still, more than one chapter)

but comments? well, it's still the most popular, but by a far slimmer margin, with a difference of only three comment threads more than the next most commented-on fic i've written

the four most commented-on fics after that first one were all published within the same year with the most popular one, btw. they're all i think a little newer, but only by a matter of months. I guess 2022 was a good year for me fic-writing-wise

and like. looking at the amount of comments on this most popular one - 20 comment threads, 40 comments total because i like talking with people so i try to reply to all comments i get - it's just... well, it feels so weird. when by all other metrics ao3 provides, it is so massively more popular than anything else i've written. and then the number of comments is not really in proportion with that popularity, is really not significantly higher than on the next most popular fics

and out of curiosity i looked through the comments. and of those 20 comments on the fic - 8 were written within about a week of its posting in february 2022. 5 were written throughout the entire rest of 2022 (most of them in the summer, one in the fall), 5 through all of 2023, and then 2 in 2024. The 2024 ones were both early in the year, one in January and one in March. since then, no new comments at all.

and like. it's not that i'm ungrateful for the comments i've gotten. it's not that i necessarily think i *deserve* more or whatever, deserving is fake and twenty is still way more than i ever get on most of my fics! No, like, I am incredibly grateful to everyone who did take the time to write a comment on it, and I genuinely treasure all of those comments

but it just is strange, how disproportionately more kudos and bookmarks than comments the fic has compared to any of my other fics. like obviously more people will always leave a kudos than will comment, but like. the difference is so visible here. I can see that clearly people are still regularly reading the fic and presumably enjoying it, since it keeps getting kudos. And I find it hard to believe that all of those hundreds of people who've left kudos but not commented, either are people who simply never comment, or felt that they had nothing at all to say about the fic. So really the only conclusion I can come is that at least some of those people haven't commented because the fic isn't brand new. Which is a shame, honestly, I just like getting to talk with people and i'd love to hear what people thought abt it

But. I don't know. I'm curious to hear other writers' experience. Do people comment on your older fics a lot, or a little, or not at all? If there is a cut-off point after which you feel that people don't comment, how long after posting is that for you? How do you feel about people commenting or not commenting on old fic?

And for readers, does the age of the fic you read affect how likely you are to comment, and if it does, why? No judgement btw, i'm genuinely curious to hear!

[writingnocturne]

.⋆｡ﾟ 2024 Writing Wrap-Up! ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆

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˚₊‧⁺˖ Top fic of 2024 overall...

Our Little Secret

Twilight Princess | Canon-Compliant Zelink | Telma POV | Rated T | 2,791 Words

Subscriptions: 1

Hits: 643

Kudos: 97

Comment Threads: 7

Bookmarks: 26

This is the most Kudos I've gotten on a fic ever! It's always the low-effort TP Zelink one shuts... I'm still quite happy people enjoyed it, though! I never wrote Telma before this and it was a blast.

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See more of this year's stats below!

˖⁺‧₊˚ Top fics of 2024 by Kudos!

Our Little Secret | 97 | TP

Telma is going through the motions of running her tavern, as usual, and finds a familiar customer. This familiar customer, however, has brought an unexpected guest… And she just can’t figure them out!

Oats | 57 | BOTW

Link surprises Zelda with something familiar.

Remnant | 54 | TOTK

Link is instructed to step aside from the Ganondorf investigation temporarily. Unbeknownst to him, someone else is drawn to the same place he intends to visit.

First Snow | 49 | BOTW

Hateno Village is known for its string of snowstorms every winter. Its newest resident, Princess Zelda, anticipates the first one she's seen in a long time.

The Setting Sun | 38 | OOT/TP

Link and Zelda have at last defeated Ganondorf. With this, a lingering memory in their soul may finally move on and live anew.

˖⁺‧₊˚ Top by hits:

Forget Me Not | 809

Even when adventure and war comes to an end, some are unable to find peace. Link sets out on the sea in hopes of grasping it; but the fleeting dreams of a life he never lived only served as a vibrantly-colored mirror.

˖⁺‧₊˚ Top by comment threads:

The Princess's Heart | 805

A fairytale told in Hyrule, set in a forgotten age of the golden queendom. Passed by word of mouth from queen to princess, it is a tale of sacrificial love, hope, and determination.

Our Little Secret | 648

Listed above.

The Princess's Heart | 46

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Listed above.

˖⁺‧₊˚ Top by comment threads:

The Princess's Heart | 37,230

Listed above.

˖⁺‧₊˚ Fics I wish would have done better:

Dearly Departed

Zelda contemplates her stolen mortality.

Dreaming of You | Across Time Zine

As the sun sets over Koholint Island, Link wonders if it rises over Hyrule. Marin reminds him of someone he knows, and she finds that "someone" is still on his mind.

Promise

Misfortune dooms the fates of a goddess and her first love.

Still Life

Link and Zelda head out to Lake Hylia.

˚₊‧⁺˖ Latest fic, unaccounted for:

Spin for Style!

Echoes of Wisdom | Canon-Compliant Zelink | Link POV | Rated G | 3,911 Words

Zelda has taken to roaming Hyrule to help all of those formerly affected by the rifts, but she's found the royal vestments to be getting worn… She seeks Link's help on finding something new until she can get them fixed!

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⋆｡ﾟ☁︎ ｡⋆ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ °｡ ⋆ ｡ ﾟ. ﾟ ｡⋆ My Ao3 .⋆ ｡ﾟ ｡ﾟ ☁︎ ｡⋆

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This year has been a little more hectic than I would have liked (I got a lot more ideas than I did motivation to execute them), but I know I've improved over the past year for sure! I've received so many positive words over the past year (especially the past couple of months), and it's been a huge help. :) Thank you to those who have been reading my work and helping me improve! ♡

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Be on the lookout for The Mage's Lantern: Chapter 7!

[die-schwanenkoenigin]

AO3 Wrapped 2024

I was tagged by @lilolilyr to post my AO3 stats for 2024. Thank you!! <3

Please note that all titles/words highlighted in colors are clickable!

Works published: 19 total, 13 of which were for Hacks, and six of which were for The Devil Wears Prada.

Word count: 96,568. Shame I didn't reach 100k I guess (I was SO close, too), but oh well.

Kudos: 3,427 as of Jan 6, 2025

Hits: 67,797

Bookmarks: 445

Subsciptions: 401

Most popular by kudos: Partners, at 601. Oh, hey, it's reached 600 kudos since I last checked!!! The first fic of mine to go over that threshold :')

Most hits: the joys of spring, at a whopping 18,445! The hit count is so high that it's even closing in on my second most popular Camren fic (19,463 hits). Still, it'll be a long way to go to get to the top spot, where my most popular Camren fic currently sits at 27,821 hits. At the same time, it's been less than a year for this one, and seven for the others, soooo... who knows what'll happen!

Longest: Once again, the answer is the joys of spring! the joys of spring has exactly 30,000 words in 30 chapters. (My greatest accomplishment in 2024 tbh lol.)

Shortest: Well, technically speaking, it's Exclusive at 50 words. It's not a fic, though. It's a manip, and the article I wrote to go along with it is just... an afterthought. Which is why I'm going to go with That's not very in love with me of you at 500 words.

Most comments: the joys of spring once again, which got 145 comment threads.

Favorite comment: This one from @prozac-shaped-urn, hands down.

Wow!! I never thought I'd see the day where someone would give me a run for my money in the smut department, but you absolutely have!!! I'm highly impressed! The em dashes really add a heightened level of anticipation to the scene, and I like the hyperfocus on internal senses. The imagery of galaxies behind Ava's eyes speaks to the full-body domino effect of pleasure. It's very well executed. I'm over here taking deep breaths and consciously unclenching my jaw. Ya got me hot and bothered, ngl. Ava swallows. Blood rushes to her head, and she knows without a doubt that her face is red. She’s hot, burning hot, and she can’t pay attention long enough to hear the rest of what Deborah is saying. Not shaming, then. Accusing? Is Deborah accusing her of— Ava stares ahead and licks her lips. It’s all she can do to try not to be too obvious about the absolute state of her underwear. She’s so fucking—why is this not turning her off? Why is being scolded by Deborah doing it for her? “Come.” “Huh?” The way I also had the 'Huh?' reaction to reading 'Come' skldjfalkdjsf It spreads from her core to her stomach, to her thighs. And then to her heart, and to her arms, to her legs and head and her everything. / Ava swears something bursts behind her eyes. It might be a firework. It might be a meteor. It might be an entire fucking galaxy. / The galaxy behind her eyes explodes into a wall of white while her body pulses, her stomach contracting along with those pulses. This focus on internal senses is what I wish everyone would include in their smut. But writing erotica is a skill! It takes time to learn how to meld senses together to create an immersive reading experience, and I think you've done that well. Consider me a fan! <3

I didn't reply to it for days on end when I got it, I just wanted to read it over and over again. And I'm still not over it. Like. I'm deserving of this much praise????? Me???? Ahhsbjhdsvjcjdhb!!!!!

Fics that made me cry: The one fic that had any angst in it, Shattered Remains. Writing it felt really good. I loved it. But it did also make me very emotional.

Fics that made me smile: I don't really remember anything but the one fic that literally cracked me up every single time I attempted to read or edit it. Keepin' You Hangin' On The Telephone. My fiancée and I (jokingly, at first) tried coming up with absolutely ridiculous euphemisms for the vulva and vagina and after telling @wilfriede about it, they made me keep every single one of them. Without tagging the fic as crack, or warning people about it. And, honestly? It was kind of a blast. People liked it despite the horrendous euphemisms, and we three got a huge kick out of it and laughed about it for ages lol.

Gifts: Five! That's all the gifts I've ever received! :))) I got two Hacks fics from @lilolilyr, and three podfics from @wilfriede! Two of those were my own works, which made the gifts even more exciting! Like. Their Podfic of Bitte bitte mich is literally perfect. It's exactly how I imagined it and how I would have read it myself. (And you should totally listen to it.)

Collaborations: One! My first collaboration ever, in fact! Dare Me to Tell You the Truth was written by me, recorded by @wilfriede and me, and edited by @wilfriede for Pod Together 2024! As well as my first collab, this was also my first ever podfic. For either of those, I couldn't have asked for a better person to work with, honestly. @wilfriede -- thank you for your enthusiasm, your excitement, and your patience! You're awesome! (As are all of your podfics!)

Events: As mentioned above, Pod Together 2024. My first (and only) event :)

Word count read: I didn't read much, and I also don't keep track of my read fics. Probably somewhere between 150k and 250k, if that.

Bookmarks: I've added eight this year, making it a grand total of 27.

Once again, thank you very much to @lilolilyr for tagging me :)

I'm going to go ahead now and tag @prozac-shaped-urn, @wilfriede, @nic-writes-sometimes and @nachdenklich-tj. I can't think of anyone else who's a writer!!!!! If you see this and want to post your stats, though, go right ahead!! <3

[the-starry-lycan]

Starry’s Fanfic Year In Review!!!!!

got tagged by @smaller-comfort and I'm gonna tag @boltslutters @lostsoulofdragon @neoyi-backstreetback for this, as well as anyone who wants to pawticipate!!!

Number of stories posted to ao3: 35, holy bones!!! Given this is my first year ever posting, this is an awesome number!

Word count posted for last year: 124,187… so dang, not bad!! I wrote quite a lot, it seems.. at least in my own opinion. There’s also my unpublished fic, which adds to that number significantly.

Fandoms I wrote for: Sea of Stars, The Messenger, Subnautica, Transformers (several continuities), Trigun, and Honkai Star Rail.

Pairings: VashWood, MegOp, ProwlBee, Reshorul, RatioRine, Al-An/Robin.

Stories with the most kudos, bookmarks, comments/threads: Wise Man’s Folly, and your patience a virtue are two of the really famous ones in terms of most kudos and hits. Chrysopoeia is one that’s had a lot of comment interaction, same with A Glass Golem’s Adventures in Throwability.. but a certain octoberfic I have on anon takes the cake for comment threads! And thank you to all those who interacted on that one :3 it gives me a lot courage to keep writing!

Work I’m most proud of and why: I think I’m most proud of Wise Man’s Folly, because I feel like I really wrote well the trauma that some of the characters experience, get the storyline going, and got that tasteful, emotional smut to hit just right. The love’s strong with that one!

Work I’m least proud of and why: I.. might actually think Chrysopoeia. I’m a little insecure about how I portray Aephorul there, and I feel like the fic’s too long, like it dawdles on it’s purpose. Hope to finish it soon and be done!

Share or describe a favorite review you received: There’s a good several pawfuls on my sabo sexyfic that I really loved, but one I’d like to reminisce on was from Wise Man’s Folly, where this sweet person gave me such a wonderful review on both chapters! I go back and read the comments I get pretty often, so thank you to everyone who comments on my work!!

A time when writing was really, really hard: Christmas was tough because I didn’t really have any time to write undisturbed, as I’m kind of a secret writer to my family.. but finals and uni admissions earlier in spring was also a very tough time because of the sheer amount of stress on me.

A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:  I have really enjoyed writing Ninja, from the Messenger, as I feel like I can write him well AND convey that which I want to. He’s a fun character, what can I say!

A favourite excerpt of your writing: I have a couple, hehe, but here're the ones I happen to like a lot.

"Your beautiful smile, that one that seemed so genuine when you were drunk and when I bundled you up? As though you cherished to be held for every moment? You wanted so badly for me to sleep with you.. ..but was it simply that closeness you craved?"

"...as though Aephorul wanted to draw Resh'an into the depths of himself, absorb him until the two were one, silent and writhing and perfect."

How did you grow as a writer last year: I've honestly gotten a LOT of bravery as a writer, pushing boundaries to discover what I like and to write more of what I already do enjoy! In fact, sharing my work was a biiiiig step in my growth as a writer, and I am really proud of this.. not to mention happy for all the support I've gotten from my readers!

Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): I've had a lot of positive influences from my friends, both online and irl, as well as my readers and the Sabotage Studio fandom as a whole! A particular friend has helped me with ideas and some bravery with my transformers fic, so thank you!!

Anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: Very probably? I know I definitely put in my fics some of the stuff I learn from uni and that I'm generally passionate in, like my biology and chemistry stuff... psychology, too, but that's just 'cause I like psych! (and it's on the MCAT..)

Any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: I really do wanna finish up certain unfinished fic from last year, namely ones like Chrysopoeia and the sabo sexyfic, just so I can tie up all my loose ends. Cell Block Tango's a fun one and I do wanna write for that just because it's a fic I'm excited to write for!

As for new stuff, I am planning a LOT of transformers fic for this year, ranging from my empurata!Prowl AU to some variegated TF fics of all continuities! I also have a couple of Hellboy (comic & movie) fics I wanna get out, and some Ace Attorney and Trigun things while I'm at it. So.... LOTS of things for the new year!

[the-fab-fox]

Okay. So Imma just come out and say it.

Y'all who read fanfic. You. Need. To. Start. Commenting. On. Fics.

I have been told I'm a great writer. I've been told I'm spot-on with characterization. I've been told I'm great at making readers feel and experience what the characters are feeling and experiencing. Been told it's like the reader is in the room as everything plays out.

However, when I see that my fics have upwards of 1K hits and maybe 100-300 comments and maybe 40-100 kudos and not even hitting triple digits in the bookmarks/subscriptions to a fic... Well, what would you think in my shoes?

Most likely, if you're like me, you're thinking all kinds of negative things (especially if you have mental illness/ADHD/neurodivergency of some kind). Stuff like... Oh, those other people are just being nice (not fair to them so I try not to think this way but negative self talk doesn't play nice with me).

Or I think... Okay so they checked it out. They had to click on the fic for it to even register the hit, right? So why don't I at the very least have more kudos? That's the easiest option on there (though it's like a like on here; if you are gonna leave kudos please also leave a comment), right? So what was wrong with my fic that I don't have more kudos at least.

But then I get on here and see so many comments and reblogs on FANART (still not enough for them either though lbr). THE POINT IS... If you read a fic. If you read it and liked it, you all really need to start commenting.

It doesn't even have to be long paragraphs or quoting or any of the ✨ big comments ✨ stuff. You could leave an emoji that be showing me what my fic or update got you feeling. You can do keyboard smash. If the author asks for it, you can leave constructive criticism (but only if the author has actively asked for it; if they haven't or given you permission, then don't). You can absolutely do big comment things too.

One of my favorite type of comments to get are the quoting ones. You just copy/paste and then say what you liked about it or what it made you feel or your reaction to it. Things like that. I love when my readers tell me their fave parts in an update. Or quote a line and tell me their thoughts and feels. Just yes.

We are far too advanced in this day and age and fanfiction and fandom are wholly more accepting than it used to be but for some reason, comments and reactions have become almost non-existent compared to when I was 15. And I was... Pretty cringy in my writing back then but I can admit that. But every chapter I'd get at least 8-10 comments. A chapter!

Even earlier in my Twst series I was getting A LOT more comments and with every fic it seems to have dropped significantly.

To me, to my brain, that tells me that my writing is suddenly sucky or I lost my talent or I'm not actually as great a writer as I was told because then why aren't more people commenting.

You might try to argue and say you're shy. Do you comment on order things? Do you tack onto a reblog to put out some addition to the original post? Do you chat with people in the fandom? Do you comment on fanart?

Then what makes a fanfic any different? (This is not including smut fics because I get but necessarily wanting it tied back to you. But if you open ao3 in a browser you aren't logged into ao3 on, you can (as long as the author has allowed it) post a comment anonymously. Yeah!)

You might say oh well I don't have time to comment right now. But you had time to read the fic? You had time to reblog that shit post? You had time to comment on the tags on a fanart you really loved? Thing is, unless you want to write a long one, comments do not take that long to leave. They really don't.

If you're worried the author doesn't want to hear from you—I'll stop you right there. The author ABSOLUTELY wants to hear from you.

So now is the time to stop making excuses to be lazy. You are reading really great fan literature for free. The least you can do as a thank you and to show support is to COMMENT. ON. THE. FIC.

And if you wanna really make an author's day and help support them and their work, REC the fic. REC the Author's work list. You can do that to friends you know would like it or even better, make a post about the fics and link your recs.

It's really not that hard and we should not have to beg. Realize the blessing you have that fics you would enjoy exist for free and do your part. COMMENT.

[burins]

2024 WRITING REVIEW

tagged by @vechter !! thank you so much for the tag i will try not to be tremendously maudlin in response! idk if @timetoboldlygo @rolameny or @try-set-me-on-fire did a fic year in review already. Also if you see this and would like to do it genuinely consider yourself tagged I would love to see your thoughts!

number of stories posted to ao3: 7! although two of those and almost all of another were written in 2023. let's say 4.75.

word counted posted for last year: 27k (minus 8k for estate and 3k for unsent letters, so 16k. Which is frankly, a miracle)

fandoms i wrote for: fatt, dc comics, hxh

pairings: superbat, leopika, dinahbabs, alyarr. I also wrote a relatively high proportion of gen fic this year! 

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: everybody loved how cleanly, how quietly (the tim has friends actually manifesto) which is good because i also love how cleanly, how quietly. 

work i’m most proud of (and why): literally anything i got out this year was the product of blood sweat and tears for reasons i will get into later! I’m probably most proud of the silliest fic i published, my love sits patiently, the leopika chair fetish fic. this sprang out of a joke with some friends and rapidly became ungovernable. I’m always nervous writing for a new fandom about whether i have a good handle on the characters, but the entire process of writing this was just me sitting at the keyboard going teeheehee what if! and then putting that into the fic. I think the comedy hits and the prose is good and i managed not to make it too sad (always a danger) while still keeping the leopika sauce in there!

work i’m least proud of (and why): genuinely i don’t publish things I’m not proud of! the really id shit languishes either in my brain, my dms, or in my notes app. so I’m going to cheat by saying a fic i wrote in 2023 but only put up on ao3 in april. it’s estate, not because i don’t think it’s good-- i think it’s really good!! I gave myself a hell of a challenge in writing it (“oh i want to write a shirley jackson pastiche, from the POV of a character I’ve never written before, and also he is a child” <- words spoken by a fool, and a dingus. No one made me do this!) and I think I mostly succeeded. But because it was for a zine I had a strict word count limit, which meant i had to trim down the prose a fair amount and I think it did lose some of its effectiveness in that process. Someday maybe i’ll go through my gdocs and try to resurrect some of the bits I tightened farther than they should have gone. 

share or describe a favorite review you received: i got a lot of really, really thoughtful and lovely comments this year! I feel immensely lucky every time i write something and people like it enough to tell me so. Especially because writing was such a thorny thing for me it was deeply helpful to have people in my inbox going hey, i loved this. sometimes they did literary analysis! incredible shit!!! there are too many to have a particular favorite but someone just told me that they read to the morning come, the post-utrh superbat, a week into their DC comics journey. Which is crazy because that fic obliquely references the time the Joker was the Iranian ambassador, perhaps one of the stupidest storylines in comics. (In hindsight I could probably have come up with a different reason why Clark doesn't let Bruce kill the Joker.) I hope this person has a great time, and also I’m very sorry. 

a time when writing was really, really hard: ha. well. I don’t think this is what the question was intended to get at but for 90% of the year it was physically painful for me to write! my nerve pain came roaring back in december of 2023 and I spent months and months only able to pick at stuff a couple dozen words at a time on my phone, or trying to do bits in voice to text via a truly wild phone to computer situation, or just full of ideas rattling about that I couldn’t do very much with. I try to let it be what it is but it has been a fucking rough year and many many times it made me want to bite. I have ups and downs and I’ll probably keep having ups and downs! i hope this isn’t forever because i really miss getting to lose myself in prose. but at the end of the day we are all just working within the limits of the form and sometimes that has to be more literal than i’d like.  

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: i was originally writing my love sits patiently leaning more heavily on the jokes. But i realized that it is much funnier and also much sweeter if leorio genuinely gives himself a chair thing because he is so horny and emotional about kurapika, so then i had to write them having sex where the chair was integral while not, myself, being into furniture in that way. (i respect our kink warriors it just isn’t For Me!) 

a favourite excerpt of your writing: i’m so pleased with all of the prose in unsent letters from the end of the world, yet another alyarr epistolary fic, but i’m particularly fond of the conclusion. I rattled around a little trying to figure out how alyosha’s voice should sound in these letters after everything he’s gone through. I was thinking a little bit of Leonard Cohen’s final letter to Marianne Ihlen-- there’s a particular certainty that comes with age, and I wanted to allow alyosha some bitterness while still acknowledging that of the various tragedies he’s witnessed, everything with arrell is probably not the top of the list. And also i wanted to stay true to the ending tone of spring in hieron, which is a story about the end of the world and the lives we make for ourselves anyway. 

What I mean to say, in a rather roundabout way for which you are no longer around to chide me, is that I write you to tell myself a story, to determine my own thoughts by writing them down. To make a story, step by meandering step. I did not begin at the beginning, and I have not ended at the end, but I have, I think, come to the conclusion anyway. I loved a false god, and I will never know what, if anything, He loved. And I loved you, Tutor, and you loved me, and it was not enough. But I also loved the world. I loved it enough to change it. I thought there should be something instead of nothing, and I made it so. I hope I was not wrong to do so. From my window I can see children playing, swinging from branch to branch. I do not think I was.

how did you grow as a writer last year: i would like to say that i learned to accept my own limitations and celebrated my victories (getting a fic out for multiple events, getting to a place where I could write almost all of my love sits patiently by sitting down at a keyboard!!!) but that is a Work In Progress. 

how do you hope to grow this year: i really do not want to jinx anything so i will just say i would like to be able to write sustainably, whatever that means for me this year. I suspect it will mean a variety of different things because what counts as sustainable changes from day to day! 

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): really truly cannot say enough kind things about @suedeuxnim beloved friend beta cheerleader etc. thank you for cheering me on in my dms and keeping me supplied with cat pictures. also, separately, my wonderful spouse. this is a tumblr post, not the oscar acceptance speech, and i suspect they would find it embarrassing if i went on a lot but it makes every aspect of life easier to have a partner in crime. 

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: funnily enough the chronic pain duo fics were actually written BEFORE the big chronic pain resurgence, and also they’re from 2023. (this has actually happened to me twice, and while i’m not going to stop writing about chronic pain it does feel like maybe i am a little bit cursed.) I wrote two fics about bruce’s parenting choices and their effects on his kids and I think you can do the math! No one gets deeply into batman comics because they’re normal about fathers. Oh, in more fun things, Tim’s calendar from how cleanly, how quietly is based on the very real Daikonic Moments calendar from Omega Mart, which was our 2024 calendar. If anyone has suggestions for a 2025 calendar lmk because we got one for Christmas but it’s all bad mullets and we are not hanging it up.  

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: i spent a non-zero amount of this year feeling bummed that i couldn’t write as much as I wanted, both because writing is one of my main hobbies and also because despite my cool and untouchable image (citation needed) it is hard not to compare myself to others who are able to write much, much, much more than me! But that is silly because I am me and they are them. There have been times in my life when i was the demon of productivity and times in my life when i wrote nothing publishable all year. So my wisdom (still working on the implementation part!!!) is to celebrate what you are able to do and not what you don’t manage. And also, write for yourself and your circle of freaks and you can’t go wrong. 

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: anything i can finish is a win! I have a lot of projects in the hopper from almost two years ago; who knows what will happen. I did sign up for secret samol so there will be a fatt fic forthcoming, and I also signed up for another secret project (no longer secret! I'm gonna be in the Bruce Wayne pinup zine) so there’ll be something else probably in early summer. I would love to finish my jaydick injury fic. i have a second chapter of dinahbabs handler sex, but that one involves a lot of disability feelings and i’ve been putting it off because i want to do it justice. maybe superbat amnesia will happen at some point but that’s so long (and has a Real Plot) so the likelihood is slim. I have a LOT of ideas about how leopika can have sex mistakes I’d love to turn into fics but also they’re just fun to rotate. we’ll see!

[androxys]

2024 Writing Review

I was tagged in this by @vechter!

number of stories posted to ao3: I posted 2 works this year, which was a marked decrease from 2023's 7 fics. I guess I needed a break! The two were Hello World, It's Me Again (the first chapter) and I'd Teach My Feet to Fly (a one-shot).

word counted posted for last year: 17,163 words!

fandoms i wrote for: Oh, it was Batman. Because I'm dabbling in a few continuities for Barbara and playing it a little looser, HWIMA got an AMT tag. ITMFTF is very strictly comics-informed, though, so it got some (comics) tags for Batman, Checkmate, and Outsiders.

pairings: No ships this year! Just Sasha Bordeaux & Bruce Wayne; Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne; Sasha Bordeaux & Dick Grayson. All three were from ITMFTF.

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: That's Hello World. It's a bigger fic, with more for people to bite into, and with the benefit of not having been posted in the last week!

work i’m most proud of (and why): Agh, picking children! Nah. I'm more proud of Hello World. It's a bigger project, drawing on a lot of different threads and trying to be my personal love letter to one of my favorite characters of all time.

work i’m least proud of (and why): I'd Teach is one of those fics where nothing happens, and I'm like 95% okay with how it landed... but that 5% is still missing. But, part of the process is making slightly misshapen things to keep working the writing muscle.

share or describe a favorite review you received: I feel like I hold every comment I've ever received dear to my heart, but this one by @scintillyyy really touched me.

A lot of the comments addressed my central goal of this fic--working on giving Oracle's Year One a modern lift and giving Barbara space to experience more messy ups and downs of recovery--and reassured that yes, I was hitting what I wanted to. But I was fully ready for the SCI research I did to kind of slip away unnoticed, so I really appreciated having that called out too.

a time when writing was really, really hard: Most of the year lmao. 2024 was the year of higher education, which left less fic time than I would have liked. But as soon as this degree is in hand and I can go back to full time work, I've got a backlog of writing to jump on.

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I talked about this a little with vechter in the comments of I'd Teach, but the Bludhaven scene in I'd Teach My Feet to Fly came about kind of unexpectedly. Everything about that fic kind of took the reins from me.

a favourite excerpt of your writing:

“Details are still coming out,” Barbara says, lying like an artist. That’s all this job ever was, lying in the service of what you hope is higher meaning. “But it was overseas. Ethiopia. The funeral will be tomorrow. Mr. Wayne… Bruce… wanted to let me know. Invite me to come, since I knew him.” “That’s… God, Babs. That’s awful.” He shakes his head, unsure what to say. His hand brushes back his ever-greying hair, his other reaching for his pipe. He gets it lit and takes a few puffs, his head tilting back as the soothing smoke drifts from his mouth. “God,” he repeats. “He was young.” “Yeah.” “Are you going to go?” She doesn’t want to. She knows she will. She owes it to him.

I like this sequence because it illustrates the fic's general premise: take a canon moment, expand it a little, and then focus in a little harder on Babs.

how did you grow as a writer last year: I don't know how much I grew this year, honestly. All writing is growth, and doing it is the hardest part. I think HWIMA is some of my best prose, and it's certainly shaping up to be my longest work yet. I think I'm continuously getting more comfortable with larger projects, but I'm also trying to develop more comfort with fics that just compare scenes and have some commentary around them. One of my favorite things to do as a fan is to just hold two different moments in time together, and I have to remind myself that the literary equivalent of that is still a worthwhile fan activity.

how do you hope to grow this year: I want to keep working on different types and formats of fic! I have two fics that I've been meaning to podfic forever, and the majority of a longfic that I started podficcing and then fell way off track with. (@ididloveyou I promise I have not forgotten about you! One of these days I promise I'm going to get back 😭). Otherwise, I'm working on my Wonder Woman fic that's going to end up as a poem, which is a new frontier for me. But largely, I just want to finish some WIPs. I owe a certain dear fandom friend a certain sequel 😉

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): Oh lord, all of y'all. Can I just say that? It takes a village, and I feel like so many folks in my ecosystem help influence me and my writing for the better. In no particular order, @havendance and @mintchocochipsposts and @zahri-melitor and @tevya-fandom, you've all been in my comments or my DMs or on discord, and are my subsequent MVPs of 2024. Jinx, I'm not sure where to find you but you're getting a shout-out too. Thank you for all your help and kind words over the year.

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: Someone in the process of getting their MLS, writing about someone getting their MLS? It's more likely than you think!

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: Never be afraid to put something in a bracket and come back later! I bullet point my fics and write them from there, and sometimes I skip a bullet or describe the action (something like [Barbara looks at the mirror, isn't happy, fixes it]) and just write the next thing. Don't let something break your momentum. The other best writing wisdom I've ever received is that if you feel absolutely stuck when writing, go back about six sentences and see if the problem actually started there. I write myself into corners all the time, and have to retrace myself to solve clunky dialogue or a bad movement rather than trying to brute force my way out.

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: Definitely HWIMA. Ken and Barbie. The Wonder Woman poem. Those are the big three. After that, I want to get back into podfic and do that for a bit. And then we'll see where we go!

I tagged a lot of people in gratitude through this post (and all of y'all should consider this your tag to participate if you want!), but I'm also going to tag @cuephrase, @themyscirah, @sl-walker, and @clearbluewaters for my due diligence. Here's to a lovely 2025, everybody.