#is this fanfiction???

[fishsouper]

on graduation night, todd sees neil in a dream. it’s not the first time, but it is the only instance where neil isn’t simply part of a plot. he just…stands there. and todd knows. he knows this is as close as he will ever get to saying goodbye.

and yet, neil does not speak. it’s strange, the usually bubbly boy doesn’t say a word. and todd screams, and pleads, “i love you, i love you, say anything, please”

and when todd has yelled himself hoarse, he sits. and neil sits. and todd stares, and whispers.

“i’m sorry”

and finally, neil raises his head.

“why?”

todd laughs, rough and wet.

“i’m sorry that i wasn’t enough to keep you here.”

and he knows. he knows it’s just a dream. but oh god, when neil cups his cheek, he can feel it. he can feel the warmth and the rough fingertips and the indent of the small mole on neil’s inner arm.

“todd. todd, my love. this was never your fault”

and todd is angry. angry at himself, because he believes this dream-ghost-hallucination neil. he trusts him. because how could he not?

“i am proud of you. i am proud of everything about you. i am proud of who you are becoming.

i love you, todd anderson. do you know that?”

todd wakes with a start, and for a minute, he is confused. where is neil? why isn’t he there, in the bed beside him?

and it hits him. and he cries. as he has cried every night, and will cry every night. sobs shake his body, doubled over in bed.

15 years later, in the dedication of todd anderson’s first published book of poetry, there is a dedication.

to neil- i have never doubted your love. not once. i miss you every day

[rudamaruda520]

me as a writer

[knebellindemann]

[trekscribbles]

This week, I read a fic that was around 20 years old, which had originally been posted on the author's personal website and which she added to AO3 a few years ago. She listed her email address with the fic, so after I finished reading, I sent her an email saying how much I enjoyed the story, how much I appreciated the work and effort she obviously put into it, and thanked her for uploading it to AO3. She responded the next day and thanked me for my message, then said she had a few more stories in the same series that she hadn't gotten around to uploading. I checked this morning--she added a 35,000 word novella and thanked me in the summary.

👏 comment 👏 on 👏 old 👏 fics 👏

[izzythedemigod]

I just found the funniest font ever

Like. What is this. Why is this. Who is the target audience of this?

[purplezeldana]

Readers, make sure you have all your favourite Ao3 fics downloaded.

Writers, make sure you have copies of all the fics you have posted on Ao3.

I don’t want to be alarming, but things could get really bad really fast. OTW shared this today on Twitter, and I'm a bit worried about it ����

Ao3 is a non-profit organisation. If they have to start paying taxes, I have no idea what will happen.

Edit: I didn’t expect my post to go viral 🤯

I saw OTW's tweet and shared it here to warn my 25 followers (who are fic writers & readers) about it. I thought people from the US already knew this was happening, as the bill was been voted the day I made my post.

I'm not from the US, and I'm glad people are explaining the problem and how it will affect all non-profits in the quotes. I had no idea what the bill really entailed.

[willgrahamscock]

just saw a fanfic on ao3 have a dedication for chatgpt... that section is meant for your horny perverted mutual who proofread your work, you violated sacred law and you will be torn apart and laid bare btw

[honeybee2807]

Was scrolling through AO3 and found this gem

Enemy to parent is a trope we have to popularise lmao

[jandjsalmon]

Fun Story to Share.

I got my (now 18-year-old) daughter into Ao3 back in 2021. I taught her she should always comment - even if the fic looks old or abandoned or whatever. She did.

Well - she got this email this morning:

The fic was written in 2014 and essentially abandoned.

Bethy read and reviewed in 2021 (and was actually the only person who had commented at all).

Today in 2025 - the final chapter was posted by the author and this was her reply to Bethy’s comment.

———

Never question whether a fic is too old to comment on.

[queer-here-and-in-fear]

BTW i see these posts all the time like "ohhh i dont know what to comment on fics.." and every response is "keysmashes! or hearts!! anything works :3" and thats GREAT!! thats helpful!!

but: consider. if u genuinely like analyzing writing.. do u know ur just allowed to go through and quote your favorite parts and ramble abt what they mean to u and the author will LOSE IT WITH HYPE?

genuinely. i felt SO WEIRD the first time i did it.. but like. holy shit authors love it. its crack for authors. the first time i did it, it was on a fic that hadnt updated in half a year, give or take, and the author made 3 updates that month BECAUSE OF MY COMMENT.

LIKE. as an author every comment is INCREDIBLE!!! but also, dont feel like your comment has to be short or otherwise ur invasive or smth!! authors ADORE long comments more than ANYTHING.

[lesbianpoetess]

ao3 turns 15 today

reblog if youre older than ao3

(there's a lot of people asking about this, but the legal age to use social media is 13, except in few countries. so yes, there are people here under 15)

[chastainromanova]

ai does not belong in creative spaces. period.

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[strawberrus0da]

I tried to leave Kudos on a fic that was already deleted (i had the tab open) and I was expecting it to just bug out or not work but this is so much more unsettling

[mmelete]

i wish ao3 allowed people to give kudos per each chapter. These 100k word NOVELS need more love than 200 tiny digital hearts ☹️