#reader feedback

[destinationtoast]

Hello! I keep hearing that fandom culture has changed, and there are less comments now than there were years ago. Have you noticed this in your analysis? Is the percentage of comments being left today lower than before?

Hey! Thanks for the question -- it prompted me to start collecting data about comments (after procrastinating on it for a while, because I had to write new code to gather comment data). I've also seen other discussions from folks also thinking about how to do this kind of analysis (like in the fandom data projects community) -- hopefully we'll end up with multiple people attacking this from different angles and getting a variety of data about comments!

I'll give a sneak preview that partially addresses your question and contains some good news. If we look at the fraction of AO3 works that get at least one comment (focusing just on one-shots for now), I think things have gotten better over the past decade on AO3*:

In other words, it tentatively looks like more works were getting at least one comment in 2024 than in 2014 (for a variety of time periods). One caveat, though -- if a bunch of works with no comments got deleted in the interim, there will be survivor bias here. I'll try to look into that possibility later. Another caveat: this is based on only like ~100 randomly selected works from each year -- this may all change with more data!

Another interesting tidbit: I still see some of the 2014 works getting comments. In fact, ~30% of works have gotten new comments over 5 years after they were posted, and it looks like ~10% of one-shots posted back in Mar 2014 got a new comment in 10 years later, in 2024.

I'm still doing other analyses; there may be other factors that better match with the discourse around how comment culture has changed. It could be that comment activity peters out faster now than it did back then, for instance. Or the total number of comments left on the popular works is less now than it was back then (though my current methods may not be able to capture that). Edit thanks to quick eagle-eyed readers: it's likely that some of what people are thinking about is ratio of comments to hits -- that is hard to compare in 2014 to 2024, because we don't know which hits came from which years. But I am working on some analyses along those lines. :)

If you have other hypotheses about what's changed in commenting culture, feel free to share! I'll look into what I can.

Some methodology notes:

*I've been tackling this by comparing AO3 one-shots posted in early 2014 to one-shots posted in 2024, and comparing activity in the days/weeks/months immediately after the works were posted. (To start with, I'm only scraping the first page of comments for each work -- meaning the first 20 comment threads -- so there are lots of comments I'm potentially missing for the really popular works. But for many works, this captures all the comments, and I think it may be sufficient for a lot of the analyses I am interested in.)

I'm choosing to focus on 2014 vs. 2024 because 2024 is close to now (but it's been long enough for comments to have settled down a bit), and 2014 was well after AO3 was established (thus it was already a pretty lively time on AO3). I don't want to collect data about every single year because it's too time intensive/too hard on AO3's servers. But if people think that I should be looking at different years, I'm interested in feedback.

Because it's only been ~10 months since March 2024, I am limiting a lot of my analyses to only look at commenting activity the first ~10 months after works were posted in both cases.

[tealin]

Hello! First I just wanted to say WOW I can’t believe my favourite fan artist from what feels like AGES ago (Cabin Pressure!! Discworld!!) is now making a graphic novel of Worst Journey! It’s like going to high school with someone who’s now a worldwide rock star!!! Massive congratulations!!! And good timing too, for the last two years polar and especially Antarctic exploration has been my rabbit hole!

Second, I really do just love your art style! I’m so glad I’m seeing it again and you’ve gotten such recognition!!! Thank you for continuing to inspire me (and others I’m sure!) to keep practicing my art — and now, to keep researching!!

It's always a special day when someone who knew my work from way back happens upon what I'm doing now.

Although, I can guarantee you, I am anything but a worldwide rock star.

Keep drawing! (and researching!)

(If you don't know what anon is talking about, go to worstjourney.com or indeed @worstjourney on this very social media platform.)

[novankenn]

Tenuous Partnership - A Question

A question for those who are enjoying this story. I have an idea that I do want to explore, but I'm not sure if you my readers would find it reasonable to add to this particular story.

Basically it boils down to... do I mutate Jaune. Below are two images of Medusa(Gorgons), now Jaune will still remain male I'm just wondering if I should make him even more monstrous in appearance.

(Images sourced via Google. No rights assumed or claimed)

The FIRST picture is basically how Jaune is now. Human, but with snakes for hair, and some hidden traits.

The SECOND picture is what I'm thinking of having Jaune morph/mutate into. Basically his lower body fuses and becomes that of a large snake.

FEEL FREE to offer other ideas in the comments. Thank you for helping me out. I have one from @deserteddanny suggesting just giving Jaune a monstrous transformation.

[scottxlogan]

Friendly Reminder

If you happen to visit AO3 today and read a fic make sure before you leave you give the author a kudos. Trust me they will appreciate it!

Also if you are thinking about going to AO3 and have a favorite author give them a kudos as well to let them know you love what they do. It will make their day!

Plus, if you weren't thinking about AO3 but you might be looking for something fun to read, head on over and give an author a kudos! It will be the best gift you can give for their efforts (aside from a comment if you feel so inclined to do so!)!!!!

Thanks!

[tofics]

I'm on the edge of my seat for the next installment of Broken!!! Spent the afternoon reading what you've posted so far and it's just

Can't wait for Joel to get his hands on that prick!!!

Omg hi!!! 🥹 Ahhhh, that makes me so happy! I’ve started working on chapter 7 a while ago and ngl, this message brought back even more motivation to continue working on it! I’ve changed some things around from my original plan so I’m having some trouble figuring out how to get to my end goal from here, but I think I’m getting there! 🙂‍↕️

And ohohohoooo, you know it. Our boy’s just itching to throw hands.

Thank you so much for reaching out! It makes me so excited to know people are still invested in this story, despite how long it’s taking me to write it 🥰 🫶🏼

Here’s a lil sneak peek for chapter 7:

[TW: violence below cut, mentions of blood]

Joel takes a couple more breaths, his face still distorted into a mask of disgust and fury. It feels like a monumental feat, but he manages to pry his fingers loose from the bastard eventually.

When he steps away, the other guy doesn't move from where Joel shoved him into the wall, just rightens himself slightly. Joel's delighted to see the man's hand come away soiled with blood after he touches it to the back of his head. It puts a grim smile on Joel's face.

He hasn't had much cause for blood-thirst as of late. Not since he rescued Ellie from the Fireflies. He became calmer after that, soothed by the safety Jackson had to offer and all that came with it. It changed him for the better, brought out more of the Joel he had been before the world had gone to shit and Sarah had been ripped from him. Her jarring loss had twisted something inside of him that only Ellie had managed to untangle. She'd made him softer in many ways, rounded out his hard and jagged edges where twenty years of brutal survival had chipped away at him.

But now that bloodlust has been rekindled inside of him, and the flames are licking up his insides, asking to be unleashed. Joel sees fire, and he wants to burn this man to the fucking ground until nothing but ashes are left of him.

[lightthewaybackhome]

"Psyche's job, everyone's job, was to do the hard things that needed doing, trusting that somehow it would be well. It would not be, the Song reminded her, an easy hope. It was not a lazy summer morning hope. It was the sharp cut of ice, the depths of snow, the frozen night sky. It did not mean - it had never meant - that anyone escaped suffering. It had never meant that Psyche could not lose everything she cherished. But it was hope nonetheless. A hope that promised all evil, no matter how twisted, could and would be straightened back to good."

-Stoneheart

Our book is live! This is a dream come true! Here is a book I wrote with my name on it! Thank you, @alana-k-asby making this story more beautiful and joining me on this journey!

[worstjourney]

Just wanted to say I read volume 1 today and did not put it down until I finished reading it AND all of the annotations!!! Absolutely loved it!!!

Thank you anon! This is very kind of you!

If anyone is following who does not know what anon is talking about, may I direct you to worstjourney.com ...

[malecaptions]

Hey! I've been browsing your blog on and off all day and I think your captions are great.

I have to ask though: is this a kink? Or are you a closeted trans man? Or is this a parody? I genuinely can't tell. You also don't have to answer if you don't have one, of course. I'm just trying to figure out what draws you to this genre.

Regardless, I love the way your mind manages to take all these random images from pop culture and turn them into force masculinization scenes. Some are clever, some are funny, and they're all fun to me.

I hope you have a good day today!

This isn't the first time someone's wondered if this is a sexual thing. It isn't anything serious like that, these are just fun ideas that are neat for me to think about sometimes, but I don't want to judge people who have any of that going on themselves.

It feels very rewarding seeing that my captions are fun for other people online too. Thank you for writing to me!

[arrolyn1114]

Why Can't You See What You're Doin' To Me? Taglist Post

Just making myself a taglist post with everyone I've gathered up so far. Existing people: please let me know if I need to make any changes. Hopefully I haven't missed anyone so if I have please let me know. And if anyone who isn't on here yet sees this post and wishes to be added just let me know and it shall be done. Thanks y'all!

@thatbanditqueen, @be-my-ally, @ellie-24, @whositmcwhatsit, @vintageshanny, @from-memphis-with-love,

@xanatenshi, @karel-in-wonderland, @peskybedtime, @alienelvisobsession, @louisejoy86, @artlover8992, @windsofthesea, @gayforelvis, @notstefaniepresley, @lovininapinkcadillac, @dkayfixates, @jaqueline19997, @presleyenterprise, @crash-and-cure, @literally-just-elvis-fics, @wildhorseinkansas, @tacozebra051, @lookingforrainbows, @spooky-hazex, @powerofelvis, @ashtag6887, @myradiaz, @richardslady121, @elvisrealgf, @genetakovicluvr, @thetaoofzoe, @mydarlingelvis

@j-v-9-2

@mspoisonivey

@aaron57070

@rainyday10-4

@rocknroll50sep

@dream-in-x-dream2

@sasural

@satisfy-the-crave

@velvetelvis

@sillybookmarks

@everythingelvispresley

@elvisgirly

@1dluver13xx

@thedaisymaisy

@amydarcimarie

@p0lksaladannie, @oh-my-front-door, @fallinlovewithurlove, @shantellescrivener, @i-r-i-n-a-a, @stargirllily19, @laura23elvis, @meetmeatyourworst, @rachelljeann222, @precious-lil-scoundrel, @peaceloveelvis, @returntopresley, @tupelomiss, @archival-ep

@pinkcaddyconfessions, @gatheraheart, @rachel-snider19, @tina2345678, @annapresley8 @deniseinmn, @elvispresleywife, @elvispresleysslut, @lovemoonsstuff, @sfull12345

@rosarodrigues, @all-hookedup-on-elvis, @queenheartz

@little-laamb, @pixiedustcosmos, @indiatuck, @sabovanhalen, @obsessionisthecure, @hooked-on-elvis @aprilbluey @laurenoned

@epthedream69 @underthememphissun @presley72elvis @m-s30 @eapep @rjmartin11 @dreamingofep

@vaelzz @atrophyingaphrodite @lola-1013 @atleastpleasetelephone

@that-hotdog @slayingjd @i5uckersblog @alittlemoreelvis @where-are-you-everywhere

@cherrycolaride @ourjoyfulwhisperscollectorworld @fabrygeimsdin

[lilibookverse]

✨ Golden: The Royal Merchant Hunt ✨

🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝

🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝

☀️ Chapter 1

⏳ Word Count: 2k7

🔗 Read it on Wattpad: in English, and in French

It was a typical sunny day when the small ferry approached the dock on the island that held the souvenirs of Camilla's early life. 

The sun blazing in a sky mirrored her father's optimism. Rays of sunlight danced, as they always did in this serene corner of America, but their warmth could not touch the cold knot tightening inside of Camilla’s throat.

The heavy, oppressive heat seemed to cling to her skin, like the weight of her own emotions — an overwhelming sense of dullness, sadness, and a terrible anxiety that left her feeling hollow. 

As they neared the Outer Banks, often called 'Paradise on Earth’, both father and daughter prepared to step ashore. But for Camilla, this place was stitched together with memories of a life she had long tried to forget.

As the large white ferry made its final way towards the coast, Camilla held her breath — something she had not done in what felt like an eternity. 

The small waves, crashing relentlessly against the ship’s hull, seemed to cry out in desperation, pleading with her to turn back. Even the seagulls, soaring high above her head, were mistreated by the brutal wind, their frail wings struggling against the force. The air was thick with unease, each gust of warm air carrying a silent warning. 

A hurricane is about to hit the island, she thought.

Standing tall on the deck, the girl was letting her hair be blown in every way by the same wind that was making it hard for the birds to fly. 

She glanced back at her father, who was sitted on a worn wooden bench, his eyes glued to his work-laptop. His foot tapped the floor in a nervous, rhythmic beat, each tap cutting through the wind with a sharp, irritating sound. He was lost in his work, probably ensuring everything was set in place for tonight, while she wrestled with her rising panic attack, desperately trying to reassure herself that she would survive this new change of life.

When Camilla looked forward again, her heart started pounding even faster, each beat quicker and more erratic. Her big green eyes widened, her breath coming in shallow gasps.  She did not want to be here — she was not supposed to be here.

Far in the distance, under an iron porch, she spotted a figure — a tall man in a butler’s uniform, impeccably dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and bow tie. His hair was neatly combed back, not a strand falling out of place. 

Something about him tugged at the edges of her memory, a distant familiarity that strangely seemed to sooth her. 

Yet, at the same time, it reminded her of how real this whole thing was, of how messed up she had left everything behind, and how she would have to eventually face the choices she had made four years prior.  

As the boat pulled into the dock, the blare of its horn reverberated through the air, jarring Camilla from her thoughts. She and her father swiftly walked down the metallic stairs, each step heavy for the girl, the solid ground beneath her feet a reminder that there was no turning back now. 

Her father, always a step ahead, moved quickly to greet the man she had glimpsed earlier, exchanging formalities, and passing over the necessary information. And, before she could even process it, he was climbing into a sleek black SUV, leaving her standing there — speechless and alone.

“Hello Mademoiselle Laurent, pleasure to see you again!”

“The pleasure is mine…” Camilla replied, unsure of the man’s name as he stood before her.

“Andrew Davis, Mademoiselle.” He offered with a slight nod.

“Then pleasure to meet you Monsieur Davis!”

“Please, call me Andrew.” He corrected gently.

Camilla hesitated, then awkwardly extended her hand. Andrew took it after a brief pause, his handshake firm yet very soft, before he moved to load her suitcases into the back of the car.

“Do you know where my father went?” She asked, glancing around. 

“Just business meetings, nothing to worry about, Mademoiselle.” Andrew’s polite smile seemed to hint at something more, but he offered no details.

Camilla sighed, her gaze drifting over the landscape, trying to grasp the familiar amidst the changes. Everything looked both distant and too close all at once.

“Mademoiselle Laurent?” Andrew's voice broke her thoughts.

“Yes, Monsieur — I mean, Andrew?” 

 “As I have to pick up our newest employee, your father asked me to give you some time to reacquaint yourself with the island, if you'd like to take a moment outside.” Camilla’s expression soured.

“It won’t be necessary… I know this island far better than I’d care to.” She sighed again, brushing a strand of windblown hair from her face. “Besides, I really need a good shower. This salty wind is driving me insane.” Andrew nodded with a faint smile. 

“Of course. Right this way, Mademoiselle.” He gestured toward the car, his presence calm but purposeful now. 

He lingered not out of awkwardness, but out of duty — waiting patiently, aware of what this return meant for her, though she had not yet voiced it. And when she seemed ready to go, he started to walk towards the car, while she desperately tried to follow his long strides, without bumping into any passer-by. 

Unfortunately, she could not have change what had already been written, and without even meaning to, she took a step, got harshly pusher by a stranger, and almost fell to the ground. 

Yet, as she was awaiting for her back to violently hit the hard wooden floor, two firm hands wrapped around her small waist, holding her tightly, as a warm, minty breath washed over her overheating face. 

She felt out of place, and weird, and awkward, and when she finally mustered the courage to open her eyes, she met the gaze of a tall, shaggy blonde-haired boy, with the widest grin settled on his thin rosy lips.  His tanned honey like skin was covered in multiple small cuts and bruises, and on his thin nose rested a pair of black sunglasses. 

With so much as a doubt, she immediately recognized him. 

“JJ?” 

“Cami? What are you doing here?” He asked, his voice shaking from seeing the girl, as he put her back on her feet.

The moment felt out of time, as they stayed like that for several minutes, staring into each other’s eyes, reminiscing their past, their history, before they got cut off. 

“Hey Pogue!” A strong voice shouted from behind. “Would you take your dirty hands off of my girl?”

Neither of them had to look up to know who had spoken : Rafe Cameron. And as Camilla realized what situation she had unknowingly set foot in, she shivered. 

She had known Rafe’s ego would be too big to take in the news of their break-up, but she had hoped that four years later, he would have gotten it… Unfortunately she had over-estimated her childhood friend, and after clarifying the situation, an even wider grin appeared on JJ’s lips. 

“Apparently she’s not yours.” He provoked Rafe, taking in such toxic pleasure at seeing the Kook’s face decompose itself. 

“Say that again Pogue?”

“I think you heard me right the first time, or is your audition slowly degrading already?”

Rafe took a step closer to JJ; his fists tightening, ready to throw a punch, whereas Camilla – who was not willing to see them fight – put a gentle hand on JJ’s arm to calm him down and push him back, increasing the space between them. 

The tension lowered when a car honked in the distance. A window rolled down and a voice she had so dearly missed, raised in the distance. 

“Rafe! Camilla! Come, we have a party to attend!”

The girl turned around seeking approval from Andrew, and with a small nod from him, she took a run towards her cousin’s car. There was Topper, sitting in the driver’s seat with his sunglasses put on his head, a cocky grin on his lips. 

“I call shotgun!” The girl said, opening the door to the passenger seat.

“Hey Rafe!” Topper shouted, as Camilla’s arms enveloped him in a warm hug. “Get your ass in the car.”

“I’m coming!” He shouted back before looking at JJ. 

“Don’t get too close to her, or else it might not get pretty.” He said holding up his fist.

“It was good to see you too Rafe.” The blond shouted out to the Rafe, who was already opening the door to his friend’s car. 

He sent the Pogue one last annoyed glance, anger still bubbling in his veins, as JJ smiled arrogantly, surely very proud of him.

And once the car took off, JJ turned around to see Andrew glaring him down, judging him from every angle. He had tried to make an effort to dress for his first day, but judging by the look he had just received, his faded t-shirt and favorite pair of shorts were way too underdressed for this job. 

The old man was not quite sure how this felon had gotten hired by the most well-known lawyer of the Island, when he knew exactly where JJ came from. 

“Monsieur Maybank, it is now time to head back to the house. I suppose you did not take time to read the documents we sent you, so I will explain what your work consists of on the way there. Please follow me.”

The boy hesitated for a moment, his eyes widening as he took in the sleek lines and polished chrome of the vehicle before him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen up close, a stark contrast to the dusty old van his best friend drove. With a mixture of awe and trepidation, he climbed into the car.

As the engine purred to life, JJ could not help but run his fingers along the soft leather seats, marveling at the luxury that surrounded him. He thought of Monsieur Laurent's car, which had departed just minutes ago — even grander than this one — and felt a twinge of something between envy and discomfort. 

The journey home unfolded in near silence, the outside world muted by the car's impeccable insulation. The only noise that penetrated the cocoon-like interior was the soft, rhythmic sound of Andrew's hands as they glided over the steering wheel. 

In this bubble of luxury, JJ found himself adrift, caught between two worlds—the familiar comfort of his own life and the glittering promise of Camilla's.

“Do not touch this please.” Andrew scolded, swatting away JJ’s hand as he reached for something sitting on the console. 

“Alright relax, it’s nothing….”

“It isn’t. This is private information. I suppose you have never worked for someone like Monsieur Laurent?”

“Why do you keep calling him like that ?”

“I will take that as a no.” He said with a tight-lipped grimace. “Stop trying to touch everything!” He lectured the boy once again. 

“Alright sorry, I won’t touch anything.” 

“How did you even get the job?” He rhetorically asked as he turned the car to get to Figure 8. “Anyway, working in this type of family is a life on its own. You have to be present and ready to help at all times.”

“Even in the night?”

“If they ask, yes.”

“That’s interesting actually…”

“Stop. You must know to never interrupt your superiors or else they have all the right to fire you at any given time.”

“And who’s my superior?”

“Me.”

“Oh shit.”

“No bad words… And you will have to wear this on your work shifts.”

At a red light, he turned around to grab a small black duffel bag and handed it to the boy. It was simple and basic, yet the material was something so soft against his touch that he wondered if it was not made out of a cloud. 

Inside was a perfectly folded uniform, similar to the one Andrew was wearing, that is to say, a black suit with a white shirt, a little bow tie and a toiletry kit with a pack of breath mints, a deodorant, and a comb. 

“Really?” JJ asked while holding it up for Andrew to see.

“Believe me, they would never let you in wearing this and smelling like you do not know what a shower is. Now let’s begin with the rules, shall we?” Andrew said excited as it had been long since he had to form a new member. 

He might have looked like he despised JJ, but deep down the blonde reminded him a lot of his young self, when he had first started to work for the Laurent family. 

He had been in the exact same situation, desperate to get a job that would pay enough money for him to live, to buy food, to have a roof over his head; and Camilla’s grandfather had done just that : give him an opportunity. Just like Hugo had done for JJ. 

When the man finally stopped the car in front of the splendid mansion, JJ could not help but feel the weight of the world shift. The sprawling mansion stood in stark contrast to everything he knew — opulence against the simplicity of his life. 

Andrew handed him a piece of paper detailing the house’s meticulous rules, followed by a small plastic badge with his name printed neatly. JJ turned it over in his hands, unsure whether to feel important or insignificant, as Andrew nodded toward the small employee door. 

“Do not put it over your heart. It is considered disrespectful.” Andrew stated matter-of-factly. 

“It’s also totally useless…” 

“You will only need it for a few weeks, time for Monsieur Laurent to remember your name.” JJ stifled a laugh. 

“As if he doesn’t already know it.” The blond mumbled, but Andrew’s sharp gaze cut the chuckle short. 

JJ swallowed his humor and stepped out of the car. 

His eyes skimmed over the paper filled with what seemed like ridiculous rules: never zone out when Monsieur or Mademoiselle speak, never let humor get the best of you, never eat or drink in their presence, do not go around in the house during night… The list went on and on, each rule more stupid than the previous; and finally his eyes stumbled over the last hand-written rule scrawled in ink at the bottom of the page.

Never, under any circumstance, do or say anything that could tarnish my daughter’s reputation in this world.

This note had been written by Hugo Laurent himself, willing to be a chilling reminder of the good old days. 

“Now, I will show you around, and your day will begin. You will work on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday to start. If you follow the rules and prove yourself, we will keep you. If you fail—you're gone. Understand?” 

“Yeah, yeah.”

Meanwhile, Andrew was showing JJ around the estate, explaining every detail of the place where he would now spend his working days. Camilla, on the other hand, was busy digging through her wardrobe, determined to find the perfect outfit for tonight’s welcome ceremony. 

Her father had made his expectations clear — he wanted her in a formal, knee-length dress with a slash neck — but the more she thought about it, the more she entertained the idea of showing up in the complete opposite, just to see the look on his face. 

“The plum one is cute.” Topper commented, lounging on her bed. 

Rafe sat next to him, both of them watching as Camilla displayed her many options. 

“The plum one? Are you serious? It’s a winter dress, I’ll die in that heat.” 

“Then what about the pink one?” Topper asked again. 

“Hell no. Too sheer.”

“I don’t see the problem with that.” Rafe smirked, as Camilla shot him a glare. 

“First, don’t call me ‘babe’. Second, I don’t want to get murdered in my sleep by You-Know-Who…” She smirked all the while rummaging through her many dresses, searching for something that would both stand out and fit the occasion. 

She had one dress in mind — a long black tulle gown with delicate floral embroidery. It was special, a keepsake from her mother, who had worn it during her own proposal. Camilla used to parade around in it as a child, pretending she was a princess. 

When she grew older, her mom had passed it down to her, a gesture filled with love and memory. 

“Found it!” She called out, holding the dress up like a prize, as Topper clapped his hands. 

“Oh Lord, Camilla, we’ve found the one!”

🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝

📢 Taglist: @lomahdu

🌻 Reblog & share if you enjoy! Your support means the world!

🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝 ✦ Written by: @lilibookverse ✦ All rights reserved – do not copy, repost, or claim as your own 🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝💛🌻☀️✨🍯🐝

[destinationtoast]

Hi Toasty! Forgive an older person for asking an overly simple question, but I've been struggling to look this up on your blog. Have you ever done any stats on chapter length/number and kudos/hits? I understand that adding another variable aside from ratings may make things too complicated, but I found myself wondering how that might relate to your previous results.

I haven't looked much at chapters rather than overall fanwork length, so I probably don't have exactly what you're after. But perhaps someone who reads my blog will have done relevant analyses looking at length/rating/popularity, and they can reply with links to their work!

(Also, no apologies needed at all; my fandom stats are not all that easy to search through when it comes to some topics -- even I have trouble sometimes. :) )

Here are my most relevant bits of data analysis & meta:

Do longer fanworks get more hits on AO3? - Back in 2013, I found that multi-chapter works got more hits on average than single-chapter works... but then I dug in further and found that actually, the underlying effect was that LONGER works got more hits than shorter works, regardless of whether they have one chapter or multiple chapters. (Because multi-chapter works tend to have a higher word count than single-chapter ones, they appear to get more hits on average. But once you control for word count, that difference goes away.) Caveats: I haven't checked this again since 2013. And I didn't break down "multi-chapter" by actual number of chapters.

Ratings on AO3: how do they relate to popularity and word count? - I was once again looking at this back in 2013. At the time, I found that the higher the rating, the more hits and kudos a work gets. However, this is partly because the more explicit the fanworks, the longer it tends to be -- and as we saw above, longer works get more hits on average. Once you compare works of equal length, there is a smaller correlation between ratings and kudos, and it mostly is driven by longer works (10K+ words). Although "Explicit" fanworks get substantially more hits/kudos on average than the other ratings, for every word count. Caveats: here I wasn't looking at number of chapters at all -- just word count. Also, like I said, not updated since 2013.

Also, just in case you meant "have you looked at the rate of kudos per hits" rather than "have you looked at either kudos or hits" -- I talk in How can you tell if a fanwork is popular on AO3? about many reasons why kudos/hits is an unreliable metric of popularity.

I also have a few other analyses looking at how hits and kudos relate to other things in my Popularity Metrics collection. One takeaway from this series is that both the fandom you're in and the platform you're posting fanworks to (e.g., AO3, FFNet, Wattpad) make a BIG difference to the average amount of reader response. Another takeaway is that the majority of fanworks don't get very much reader response (hits, kudos, comments) at all. That's not unique to AO3, though -- anywhere that people post a ton of content, there is likely to be a whole bunch of stuff that very few people have discovered yet. (There are some fandom challenges encouraging folks to seek out and leave feedback for such undiscovered fanworks, which I think is lovely.)

Hope some of this helps a bit -- and as I said, I hope others will chip in with related works!

[novankenn]

Question... What Folklore/Monster should I turn Jaune into Next?

So thinking back on my stories, I've made Jaune into quite a few different monsters here on Tumblr. So what type of creature should I play with next? (I really have fun doing these and trying to keep Jaune close to cannon (at least I hope I do)).

For Reference these are the ones I've already done...

Gorgon/Medusa - Tenuous Partnership

Sime(Girl) - Secretly Rare

Wendigo - Ravenous Familiae

Demon Possessed Serial Killer - Unnatural

Fae (Fairy) - Things Best Left... Alone

Generic Malevolent Entity - Sweet Dreams

Zombie (sort of) - Corpse Queen

Machine Doll/Golem - Unbreakable Machine Arcs

Genie (sort of) - One & 1/2 Heroes

Mime - Power of the... Mime!!!

Angel - Coco's Search for a WAIFU or The Purgatory of Jaune

DeathKnight - All we have... is now..

I wish to avoid the more popular ones like Werewolf, and Vampire, as other authors have done excellent versions of that Jaune.

So I have collected a few monsters/spirits that I think could be fun to play with. But feel free to add others in the comments if you wish. Yes I know most of these are "traditionally female"... but I'm more interested in the abilities/motivations than the appearance.

As always feel free to add to this through the comments sections. This is to give me an idea what types of "creatures" you would like to see. Multiple pulls from this list are going to happen.

(A/N - Can't believe I forgot to include my most recent Monster!Jaune story in the examples list. Duh!)

[i-prefer-base-twelve]

Jsyk the mention in NITW to Squall typing like a homestuck is like. Getting clobbered over the head by a snowball your ex threw in the middle of August. No matter where I go I never escape it.

ahahahaha I'm so sorry But listen - the story is set in 2014 or 2015 (I forget now. But I think it's 2014). We're lucky Homestuck doesn't get more than a passing reference.

[grounded-gryphon]

A reader just compared my writing to Ursula leGuin and I am SO stoked!

(Specifically said that Planting Life feels 'LeGuinian' to them.)

[fixomnia-scribble]

On Ao3 Hits

Like other animals, human writers have a variety of motivations. Food, pets, et cetera. If you are a human writer who is motivated by hit:kudos ratios, this is your reminder that:

ONE HIT ≠ ONE READER

Ao3 calculates a single hit as "any number of page or chapter views from a single IP within a single day".

If someone refreshes a page, or switches devices, that will add another hit.

If someone comes back after that day, that'll be another hit.

There may be other fine-tunings, like cookie dumps etc, but I haven't confirmed those. Feel free to elaborate in notes.

So, if you are feeling bummed by the ratio, in this era of much reduced feedback, remember a rise in hits with no kudos can mean a bunch of people coming back to re-read who have already left kudos, or have switched devices. Which can account for a lot.