#i really wish ao3 had a 'sort by kudos' option in your bookmarks

[ancientstone]

Fic Rec List (A Tag Game!)

I was tagged by @iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid - Thank you!!

Rules: Post links (Ao3, ff.net, etc.); specify fandom/pairing/etc; don’t answer the same fic twice - spread the appreciation; tag other people; you don’t have to answer all the questions, but leave them in the list so the next person can answer if they want.

Fandoms mentioned are: Transformers, The Umbrella Academy, M*A*S*H, Over The Garden Wall, TMNT, Good Omens, Sherlock, Ducktales (2017)

(I’m going to cheat a little and ignore the *this month* parts because we’re only 2 days into 2020!)

1. Favourite complete fic you’ve read this month (multiple chapters/parts):

Transformers: Auf Nimmerwiedersehen by @morethanmeetstheass I love everything about this story (and series) and you know a fic is good when all you want to do is shake some brain cells into the characters *side eyes Blitzwing and Ratchet*. I often come back and reread this!

2. Favourite complete fic you’ve read this month (one-shot):

The Umbrella Academy: little white lies by @in-tua-deep because I adore everything they write and this one made my entire week when it was published! Just...A* Five analysis! Brilliant writing!! Great pacing!!! I love all of it! Also Klaus deserves extra kudos for being The Best sibling to his complex gremlin of a brother

3. Favourite WIP you’ve read this month:

The Umbrella Academy: If That’s Love by cylikkious Just...oof. So much oof. Major oof. Amazing character and relationship analysis between Five and Dolores and a take on them which you don’t see all that often. It’s simply *chefs kiss* Also drunk Five is always fun to read (and by fun I mean gut-wrenching!)

4. One fic/series you’ve read which you keep coming back to again and again:

Sherlock: The Elephant In The Room by flawedamythyst This is the fist fic I ever bookmarked back in 2013 and it feels like it only gets better each time I revisit it. Super writing, great at capturing the characters, and a good mix of sweet, tender moments and pure, painful angst!

5. Most underrated fic you’ve read this year:

M*A*S*H: The Very Model by the_aleator Yep, I cried when reading this. The pain. The angst. The tears. It just hits you right where it hurts and OW be prepared to be thinking about it for the rest of the day! Great writing and pacing as well!

6. Most underrated fic you’ve read EVER:

Over The Garden Wall: Secret Santa by skimmingthesurface Basically all of their otgw fics are awesome, but this one? Amazing, spectacular, incredibly winter-y and Christmas-y and festive! I love how they write Greg, and his relationship with his brother as well as Sara and all of Wirt’s other friends.

7. Favourite whump/angst fic of the year:

The Umbrella Academy: And Then There Was Five by maremote Five and Klaus running a plant shop? It’s more painful then you’d think! I love the way they write the brothers, and the brothers’ relationship with the plants, and all the pent up emotions Five has throughout. Another fic I’ve constantly come back to!

8. Favourite hurt/comfort fic of the year:

The Umbrella Academy: The Moons Laughs by @ladyorigami Me?? Crying constantly over this fic?? Nope, it’s just people cutting onions I don’t know what you’re talking about. I certainly don’t think about this fic every night, and how much Five needs a hug. Nope. Not me. Must be someone else.

9. Favourite fluff fic of the year:

Ducktales (2017): Peace and Quiet by DrummerGirl231 It wouldn’t be a fluff fic without some feels, but Scrooge is the best in this and I love him with his tiny niece and nephew. I recommend all of DrummerGirl’s Ducktales fics, because they’re excellently written and deserve to be swamped with kudos!

10. Favourite gen fic of the year:

TMNT: Hanging By A Turtle by @camsthisky Soft turtle bros? Check. Brotherly moments? Check. Hurt/comfort? Check. This fic has everything I’d ever want! I love Donnie’s p.o.v. and the way the feels. just. keep. hitting. It’s perfect, and I’ve read it so many times now that I’ve lost count!

11. Favourite smut fic of the year:

Nope, not my thing!

12. Favourite fix-it fic of the year/ever:

The Umbrella Academy: Contagious Hope by @tripleforte This will never not make me sad and the ending’s so bittersweet but that’s exactly how I like my fics so I’m actually happy through the tears! I love the alternative lives of the siblings, and how Five just?? Plonks down in the middle of all of it?? Like come on guys let’s become a family?? Perfect!

13. Favourite crack-fic fic of the year:

I searched around with the ‘tags to include’ bar on my bookmarks and according to that no fics I bookmarked this year had that tag, so I’ll leave this one be

14. Favourite sick-fic this year:

The Umbrella Academy: Get Me Out Of My Head by UnrememberedSkies Poor Five suffers in this fic and I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to hug a non-existent person more? Also give them some medicine. And a blanket. And a pillow. This fic deserves more love and I think it’s been pretty overlooked, so please check this one out because it 100% deserves it!

15. Favourite kid-fic this year:

The Umbrella Academy: Something Domestic by @gentlemenpaws Teeny, tiny, adorable Five being cared for by a Who-Let-Me-Care-For-An-Infant Klaus? I’m in. Klaus’ panic is so sweet and he just?? Wants to do his best?? And also has several heart attacks because of Five’s powers?? Poor guy. I’ve read this enough to know parts from memory!

16. Fic this year which you didn’t expect to love as much as you do: 

The Umbrella Academy: It Comes and Goes (In Waves) by hujwernoo Not to say I thought I wouldn’t like it, but going into this I didn’t realise how much I would adore this series. It’s so amazing and I have to pace myself reading it otherwise I start skipping lines in an effort to read it all at once. if you haven’t already checked it out, do!

17. Fic which convinced you to ship a pairing:

Guardians of the Galaxy: Blue on White by @bluesocksandfluff I honestly can’t remember when about I boarded the Yondu/Kraglin train, but I’m pretty sure it started with this fic! The hurt/comfort is A* and small Peter is everything, and Yondu is a grumpy grump to can’t admit he has a heart and I love him for it! This is another fic I’ve read to the point of remembering lines!

18. Favourite AU you’ve read this year:

The Umbrella Academy: the ballad of but first, coffee by deerie I was loving this fic anyway as I was reading it but what completely sold me was how they did Grace, and Five’s interactions with her. Just...Don’t mind me, crying in the corner because FEELS HAPPENED. Also Klaus being part of a knitting group? 10/10 if it doesn’t happen in season 2 I’ll riot

19. Longest fic/series you’ve read this year:

Good Omens: Inverse Omens by @amuseoffyre This series is so sweet and sad and lovely and painful and heartwarming and goddamn it Aziraphale sort out your panicking boyfriend!! I look forward to every update, and I love all the little historical moments and tidbits of information! Also the author updates super fast and I need to know what writing deity they made a sacrifice to and if that deity will accept a can of Dr Pepper and Walker’s crisps because that’s all I’ve got

20. The last fic you’ve read:

The Umbrella Academy: a life still permanent by @iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid By complete coincidence I am halfway through rereading this fic and I’m kicking myself for forgetting how goddamn good it is. I adore Claire and anyone who lays a finger on her head will face my wrath, and Allison’s siblings being awesome aunts and uncles? Yeeeeeeessss!!

21. Wildcard fic you haven’t mentioned but deserves a shout-out + why:

The Umbrella Academy: Beyond the Fire by DenDragon14 Soft Luther? Five dealing with his trauma? A setting we haven’t seen before with these characters? Klaus taking a picture he totally won’t use for blackmail later? Yep, this is my kind of fic! It’s just SO. SOFT.

Tagging: As long as you want to, all the authors I mentioned!!

[bigphatpussylips]

AO3 Fic Finding Strategies: Notes from a fanfic enjoyer

I've been actively reading fanfiction for a long time now and I noticed some of the different ways I choose to browse my preferred fanfiction platform, Ao3, and have given them silly names.

The Author Stalker- Take that author whose work you liked and go though every available work/bookmark/collection/tumblr ect. You can find. 

I find most of my "diamond in the ruff" fics this way. I don't know how many amazing fics I would have never found if I didn't click on someone else's bookmark simply because I thought they had good taste based on their writing. 

My preferred method of fic finding on most days.

Fresh Fish- Sort by "date updated". Refresh obsessively.

I use this when I'm searching for the serotonin that comes with an update notification in my email. Really good for those looking for active authors/fics. Makes me feel vaguely passive in a way, like a bear trying to catch a salmon by standing still with their mouth open. 

The Indecisive Girlfriend-  Load any and all tags/filters ect. you know you don't want into that handy exclude box. I often add more as I encounter them while I browse. 

Ever ask someone where they want to eat and they say "anything", but every restaurant you suggest gets turned down? Yeah. Sometimes you have to use (and abuse) the process of elimination. Can be exceedingly laborious depending on the amount of tags you wish to avoid that day. Often well worth it though.

The Tall Order - An opposite to The Indecisive Girlfriend method. For when you know exactly what kind of fic you want to read. Add every possible tag/filter/archive warning ect you can think of for your hypothetical fic. If you don't get any results the first time remove tags until you do! 

While not always successful, I usually find something similar enough for the effort to be worth it. Akin to going to Starbucks and ordering the most cracked sounding drink you can think of just to see if they'd actually make it. 

Rainy Day Fund- Going through your Marked for Later folder.

I often send fics to the "marked for later" folder for a variety of reasons. Either the fiction wasn't what I was looking for but sounded interesting or it sounded promising but I wasn't sure. Regardless, I often let this collection of fics accumulate until I'm having a dry spell and re-reading my bookmarks isn't doing it for me. This has saved my poor, dopamine starved, ADHD-riddled brain from content starvation on many occasions. 

Tag jumping- Exploring the fandom specific tags. 

I don't ever start out browsing this way but I end up doing it often enough. Clicking through fun looking tags leads to some weird rabbit holes but I find the BEST au's this way. 

Testing Murky Waters- Giving previously passed over fics a second chance.

For when I'm feeling brave. Or I've just passed over this particular fic a hundred times already and I'm curious. 

The Catalog- I sort by kudos but you can use any sorting option. Exclude any triggering tags. Start on "page one" and scroll through every fic till you reach the end. I call this strategy the catalog because I'll write down what "page" I'm on so I can pick up where I left off.

I only do this if I intend to sort through every fic I can get my hands on for a specific fandom tag. Hyperfixations baby. 

Does anybody else do shit like this? How do you find you fav fanfic?

[iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid]

Fic Rec List (A Tag Game!)

Rules: Post links (Ao3, ff.net, etc.); specify fandom/pairing/etc; don’t answer the same fic twice - spread the appreciation; tag other people; you don’t have to answer all the questions, but leave them in the list so the next person can answer if they want.

i was tagged by @aninfinitenumberofmonkeys, who is also listed below because they’re a banging author and i love love love their work. ALSO i tried to tag the author’s tumblr where i could find it, but if i forgot or i totally fucked up and tagged you for a fic you didn’t write please let me know 😅

Fandoms mentioned are MCU, Stephen King’s It, The Umbrella Academy, Shazam!, Welcome to Night Vale

1. Favourite complete fic you’ve read this month (multiple chapters/parts): and i will not remember that i ever felt the pain by Fluffifullness @fluffifullness (It) -- it’s about the longing! it’s about grief and love and how they’re connected! it’s about the angst! but most importantly it’s about eddie 👏 getting 👏 all 👏 the 👏 hugs 👏👏👏

2. Favourite complete fic you’ve read this month (one-shot): we'll laugh and we'll cry until there's no more tears by knewwellenough @transfinnpoe (It) -- what’s better than this? coupla guys bein’ dudes, coupla dudes cryin’ and huggin’, coupla guys bein’ gay. ugh god i’m still weeping over this reunion hug, like, yeah there’s smut eventually but guys the hUG--

3. Favourite WIP you’ve read this month: hold on i still need you by QueenWithABeeThrone (It) because @viciousmaukeries is both a master of the written word and a genie specializing in granting my very specific fic wishes before i’ve even thought to wish them, so please, go read this tam lin au i’m still losing my whole mind over it

4. One fic/series you’ve read which you keep coming back to again and again:  hoping to be found by eddiespaghetti (foxwatson) @eddykaspbraks (It) -- *blows a kiss in the general direction of NYC* for eddie kaspbrak getting the healing he deserves

5. Most underrated fic you’ve read this year: did you know there’s no option to sort your bookmarks by kudos wtf anyway let’s go with some by virtue fall by StarryCleric (Umbrella Academy) because WHY are all my favorite five character studies so criminally underappreciated

6. Most underrated fic you’ve read EVER: trade all my tomorrows by tombenough_and_continent (Umbrella Academy) because again, why are all my favorite five character studies so underappreciated, wtf where’s the LOVE for my sad traumatized old man assassin, huh??? where???

7. Favourite whump/angst fic of the year: Next time, hire a nanny by TheArchaeologist @ancientstone (Umbrella Academy) i am counting this as whump/angst because my dude gets real hurt in this, but tbh it’s the ACTION i love this fic for, just nonstop heart pumping adrenaline and worry for my favorite time traveling (retired) assassin and his adorable little niece, and some amazingly soft hurt/comfort at the end

8. Favourite hurt/comfort fic of the year: If Either Way's The Hard Road by altschmerzes @altschmerzes (Shazam!) -- brothers being soft! my soft spot for kids played by jack dylan grazer strikes again! ahhh! good shit!

9. Favourite fluff fic of the year: Everybody Comes A-Running by Infinite_Monkeys @aninfinitenumberofmonkeys (MCU, GotG) -- listen, i KNOW i’m biased! i know! but this is still SO SO GOOD. the image of loki falling asleep while the guardians doodle on his leg cast is a gift i never knew i needed and it’s fantastic

11. Favourite smut fic of the year: Things That Happens After Eddie Lives (It) by IfItHollers @tthael is not, strictly speaking, a “smut fic,” it’s a fix-it that just happens to have some E-rated scenes, and it would have fit fine in #4′s slot because i’ve reread the whole thing so many times, but listen, this fic’s sex scenes are like the only sex scenes i’ve ever read and liked. talk about keeping in character, man! top fucking notch! plus there’s a line in there like “eddie knows exactly what oxygen does to fire but he breathes in anyway” while richie’s going down on him and, really, that line alone gives it this position on the list SO

10. Favourite gen fic of the year: the only soul I've ever saved by valkyrisms @valkyrisms (MCU, Thor, Spider-man) -- i just had the absolute pleasure of rereading this because it’s been months and i forgot so much of it, GOD if there’s a perfect way to write the unlikely friendship of loki and peter parker, it is unequivocally this

12. Favourite fix-it fic of the year/ever: An Eye For An Eye by dgalerab @dgalerab (Umbrella Academy) because it is no secret at all that this is my favorite fic, and series, bar none. season 2 will not live up to this, i’ve already accepted it, i’m alright with it, because i can always come back and read this after, y’know?

13. Favourite crack-fic fic of the year: 

14. Favourite sick-fic this year: 

15. Favourite kid-fic this year: kith and kin by penhaligon @arthurpenhaligons (Umbrella Academy) i know i’ve flailed over this on tumblr before but, guys, c’mon, UNCLE FIVE. what else do i need to say? i still cry every time i reach five saying “i don’t want to do this anymore” even though i’ve reread this several times, i just....... five ;_;

15. Fic this year which you didn’t expect to love as much as you do: Mostly Void, Partially Stars by Infinite_Monkeys @aninfinitenumberofmonkeys (MCU, Thor, Welcome to Night Vale) because who writes an mcu night vale crossover and makes it work? oh my god how, this was so good, it’s a mark of superb writing when i actually bark laugh while reading it, like, what a concept, what execution, what a fic, take all my kudos just take em

16. Fic which convinced you to ship a pairing: 

17. Favourite AU you’ve read this year: Who You Gonna Call..? by lesbuchanan @lesbuchanan (Umbrella Academy) -- why is river consistently the most galaxy brained person on this site? i have no words but *chef’s kiss*

18. Longest fic/series you’ve read this year: Keep the Car Running (MCU, GotG) starmora! woo! literally 300k+ of starmora and i did not regret a single second of the entire week it took me to read it

19. The last fic you’ve read: all good things by Fluffifullness @fluffifullness (It) -- pleASE someone for the love of god go read this fic and come scream about it with me, it’s just. so good. so so good. the losers defeat pennywise but don’t manage to prevent all those eggs from hatching, resulting in an apocalypse au that so far is MINDBLOWINGLY good and i’m dying over here just thinking about it

20. Wildcard fic you haven’t mentioned but deserves a shout-out + why:  In Our Bones by scullyseviltwin @scullyseviltwin (It) because it made me CRY and then it made me cry AGAIN and i LOVED EVERY SECOND OF IT

EDIT I WAS SUPPOSED TO TAG PEOPLE AKJHSKJFHAKJFH WHOOPS uhhh okay how bout if i tagged you as an author consider yourself tagged? yeah let’s go with that, but like, no pressure you know the drill just do it if you feel like it or if you’re like me and you’re using this as an excuse to procrastinate other things

EDIT #2 also just like. do this. if you feel like it, regardless of whether you’re tagged or not, just like........ pretend i tagged you aiight

[flightfoot]

Fanfiction.net VS. ArchiveOfOurOwn

Advantages for Fanfiction.net:

          *Easy to search for fanfics that are appropriate for younger teens and kids due to the K-K+ and K-T filters: K-T filter is automatic.

          *The limited number of tags that can be used forces authors to choose only the most important genres and characters to highlight. It makes it easy to find good stories that star your favorite character.

          *The “Following* system makes it easy to check which stories you follow have updated recently, rather than risking an update email being lost in your inbox or spam filter. Also you can search by fandom, which makes things MUCH easier when you’re in the mood to reread old stories you liked a long time ago.

          *This is more personal experience than anything, but the number of favorites a work has on FFN tends to be a better indicator of the quality of a work than the number of bookmarks or kudos something might get on AO3. I suspect that’s due to the limited number of tags allowed on FFN, since a work with a bazillion tags on AO3 is likely to get a lot of people looking at it simply because it’s shown up in their search results enough times that they’ve given into curiosity. Or Stockholm Syndrome. FFN works are on a FAR more even playing field, so favorites are a more accurate judgement of a work’s quality.

          *The filtering-by-tags system is simpler and more intuitive on FFN, since there are limited numbers of pre-set tags.

Advantages for ArchiveOfOurOwn.org:

          *Advanced Searches are WAY easier and more specific on AO3 than FFN; plus, on AO3, you can sort by kudos in the advanced search, which isn’t the sort of thing you can do on FFN. On FFN you can search for a keyword and then narrow it down using some tags, but you can’t choose the order in which the fanfics are displayed.

          *You can subscribe to series of fanfics on AO3. This makes it easier to find fanfic works that are part of the same series than it is on FFN and give you alerts on when they update. This is better than on FFN which relies on you just going through the summaries of fics in order to tell whether they’re related. On FFN, if you want to alert your followers that a sequel’s been posted, you have to post a new chapter that basically just says that the sequel’s up. This is technically against the rules, btw, but I don’t think anyone’s ever been punished for using that work-around.

          *You can search for works using way more specific and varied tags than on FFN, such as “Canon-Divergent”, for example. It also provides a good way to warn people of anything in the fic that might not be their cup of tea. I think everyone can think of good examples here that have spent any amount of time on AO3.

          *You can list all characters, genres, fandoms, tags, etc., that you feel are important. This can also be a negative of course (see the fanfiction.net list), but it has its place.

          *AO3 is very much against purging and censorship, so you can pretty much write what you like. For instance, you can post extremely graphic material, or things that might run into some copyright problems, like “Reading the Books” type fics. This can also be a negative, as there are generally REASONS why many of these are not allowed on FFN, but it is still something I’d generally see as an advantage.

From my time on both FFN and AO3 (I’ve spent a LOT longer on FFN though; partly because AO3 didn’t even EXIST when I first started reading fanfiction) I’d say that FFN is generally better for younger audiences (I would NOT have wanted to have started by reading fanfiction on AO3, even if it HAD been an option; I was WAY too innocent when I was 12), people who aren’t super familiar with fanfiction, and for people who just want to find the best overall fics in a fandom. AO3 is generally better for creators and fanfic veterans, boasting wider protections and tools to work with for creators, and more advanced search settings, for those who know how to use them. That being said, I’d still say it’s better to use both. Each of them have their place, and some features are both negative and positive, such as FFN’s restricted tagging system and allowing nothing over a Mature rating. That being said, I DO wish that FFN would adopt AO3′s series system and its ability to alter the sort direction in searches by things like update date and favorites. Those are really only boons.