#songfic of any kind & crossovers are less popular
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List five of your least-popular fics, as well as when/why you wrote them (tagged by @sixth-light)
Midnight Cabaret (WoT/WoT show, Rand/Ishy/Lanfear and/or LTT/Mierin/Elan) - This was for the 2023 WoT Secret Santa. The premise is kinda 'wouldn't it be fucked up if LTT was already haunting Rand just a little, especially in the World of Dreams?' Also: 'you could totally use the World of Dreams to do a musical episode, and I can prove it.'
Concerning the open Secretarial position in the Andoran Ter'angreal R&D Department (WoT, epistolary, Setalle Anan) - Ah, the first installment of the ATRDD universe! This started out as a joke about how I like writing cover letters, and how working with Elayne and the entire Andoran defense budget to make ter'angreal is my dream job. After I posted it I decided I could totally write at least two multi-chapter stories about Elayne and moral hazard. Spoiler alert: it has been 3 years and I have not done this, but I do have elaborate outlines.
Al'Thor by Asha'mouth (WoT, filk about Rand) - 2022 Wot Secret Santa gift, it's literally just filk of Smash Mouth's All Star but I refined the scansion to within a millimeter of its life. This thing is POLISHED. I had the title in my ideas file for years, and when I got a giftee who I knew liked my filk I had the perfect excuse to actually work on it.
Polar Research (WoT, Aviendha/Elayne) - This was a vignette prompt on tumblr around the end of 2022 from @primeideal: Aviendha at the polar research station. I loved having an excuse to write more in the ATRDD universe and show Aviendha using her Talent of identifying ter'angreal. Also I will never ever miss the opportunity to point out that Shai'tan's workshop is at the North Pole.
A Clothes Encounter (WoT/Les Mis musicalverse, Enjolras and Beslan) - Just checked the original publication date for this crossover on FF.net and it was October 2005! It was in response to an offhand livejournal comment about Enjolras/Beslan. It ended up more E/R but it does provide an origin story for musical!Enjolras's distinctive vest.
Tagging whoever wants to do it! Show us your back catalogue!
#wheel of time#wot fic#tag game#nothing really surprising here except maybe the Avi/Elayne one#songfic of any kind & crossovers are less popular#and very few people want to read fictional cover letters for some reason#sucks for them they're missing out
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AO3 stats project: tags
In this post, we'll discuss tags on the Archive of Our Own! Please note: because the works on the Archive include explicit material, some of the tags discussed in this post may not be appropriate for your workplace.
The Data | Basic Questions | Fandoms | Tags | Correlations | Kudos | Fun Stuff Thanks to @eloiserummaging for beta reading these posts; any remaining errors are my own. Â A Python notebook showing the code I used to make these plots can be found here.
The Archive of Our Own has one of the best tagging systems around. You can read more about it here, here, here, or here. For our purposes, the important part is that users can tag their works however they want, and then a group of people called "tag wranglers" sort those tags, either adding them as synonyms of existing tags or creating new canonical versions for them. What I'll be showing here is the "canonical" version of the tags. For example, a work tagged "flufffffff" or "so fluffy!" would have those two tags assigned to the canonical tag "Fluff", so I will consider both of those tags as being "Fluff" to get the most accurate count.
The other important thing about AO3 tags is that they come in four flavors. The first one is "warnings", the content warnings required by the Archive (plus the default tag indicating you're abstaining from the warnings system). The second flavor is "Characters", tags describing the characters in the work. The third is "Relationships", tags describing the platonic or romantic relationships depicted in the work--typically, "X/Y" indicates a romantic and/or sexual relationship between characters X and Y, while "X&Y" means a platonic relationship, although this usage isn't universal and isn't enforced. The final category is "freeform", aka everything else.
Again, the tagging system is freeform and optional. In particular, I'll note that "character" tags and "relationship" tags don't necessarily imply each other: you can have a work tagged "Sherlock Holmes/John Watson" that only features Mycroft Holmes, or that features John and Sherlock but doesn't tag them as characters, only as the relationship. So remember that--while it's pretty good on average, because people tag their works so readers/viewers can find them--the number of uses of a character tag isn't the same as the number of works that feature that character, for example.
Okay! So what are the most popular freeform tags on the Archive? If you read a lot of fanfiction, I doubt you will be surprised by anything on this list. Left column is the top 15 tags by number of uses, while right column is the top 15 tags by the cumulative hit count on every work tagged with that tag.
Are these tags consistently popular over time? For reasons of space, Iâll just plot the top 10 by number of works:
If you look back at the works vs time plot in the second post, you'll see that yes, the shape of these trends is similar to the total number of works, so trends in fannish tastes havenât changed much over the time the AO3 has been in existence. (These show a little more bumpiness because there are fewer works in each plot.) Some of these have gained a little more recent popularity vs earlier works--smut, fluff, and the two specific alternate universes are a little more weighted towards later times, while humor and general AUs are falling a little behind--but the differences arenât as large as we saw for fandom trends in the previous post.
I'm sure you're curious about characters and relationships. Here are the top character tags, omitting the catchall character tags of âOriginal Character(s)â, âOriginal Male Character(s)â, âOriginal Female Character(s)â, and âReaderâ (all of which would otherwise appear in the top 15). Also, remember this is missing some of the data from 2018 and 2019, as described in the first post, so BTS characters should probably be higher:
And here are the top relationship tags (again, excluding the catchall âMinor or Background Relationship(s)â):
And in particular, here are the top characters of color (excluding works with fictionalized race/ethnicity power systems--um, more than modern-day Western societyâs power systems are made up--and characters from Voltron Legendary Defender, since I wasnât able to find enough information on them):
Park Jimin (BTS)
Min Yoongi | Suga
Jeon Jungkook
Kim Taehyung | V
Kim Namjoon | Rm
Jung Hoseok | J-Hope
Kim Seokjin | Jin
Zayn Malik
Katsuki Yuuri
Sam Wilson (Marvel)
Magnus Bane
Nick Fury
Midoriya Izuku
Bakugou Katsuki
Erica Reyes
And here are the top relationships that are not M/M:
Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin
Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov
Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Kylo Ren/Rey
Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper
Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Allison Argent/Scott McCall
James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Here are the top ten freeform tags for the top ten fandoms. Different fandoms seem to produce different kinds of fanworks--which you'd expect, based on the variety in the source material.
AU = alternate universe, AU - CD = Alternate universe - canon divergence, AU - C/U = alternate universe - college/university, AU - HS = alternate universe - high school, BJs = blow jobs, ER = established relationship, H/C = hurt/comfort, PWP = plot what plot/porn without plot, RPF = real person fiction, SPN = supernatural.
Finally, for fun, here's the top 200 tags of all kinds, sorted against each other. You can find a lot of fun things on this list. Some of my favorites:
Supernatural is so big, and so focused on so few characters, that Dean Winchester is the sixth most popular tag on the entire AO3.
Clint Barton is way higher than I would have expected.
Sherlock Holmes is slightly less popular than anal sex.
Original female characters are more popular than anal sex.
Similarly, cuddling is more popular than A/B/O.
Harry Styles is less popular than 3/7ths of BTS (at least as of sometime in 2018); Louis Tomlinson barely tops Draco Malfoy.
Alcohol comes between Katsuki Yuuri and Viktor Nikiforov.
Leonard McCoy is below songfic. Please join me in picturing how pissed off heâd be.
The one-two punch of âSpankingâ and âIâm Sorryâ is pretty amusing.
If I had put up the top 201 tags, 200 and 201 would have been âFlirtingâ and âMurderâ, so Hannibal is almost on this list.
Fluff
Angst
Alternate Universe
Romance
Hurt/Comfort
Dean Winchester
Humor
Established Relationship
Smut
Sam Winchester
Steve Rogers
Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Alternate Universe - Modern Setting
Tony Stark
Friendship
Original Female Character(s)
Anal Sex
Drabble
Original Characters
Sherlock Holmes
Fluff And Angst
Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot
Castiel/Dean Winchester
One Shot
John Watson
Stiles Stilinski
Castiel
Harry Potter
Oral Sex
James "Bucky" Barnes
Natasha Romanov
Blow Jobs
Clint Barton
Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Drama
Derek Hale
Reader
Slow Burn
Original Male Character(s)
Sherlock Holmes/John Watson
First Time
Alternate Universe - College/University
Kissing
Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
First Kiss
Angst With A Happy Ending
Light Angst
Violence
Family
Park Jimin (BTS)
Min Yoongi | Suga
Jeon Jungkook
Crossover
Harry Styles
Crack
Friends To Lovers
Love
Fluff And Smut
Kim Taehyung | V
Louis Tomlinson
Other Additional Tags To Be Added
Draco Malfoy
Alternate Universe - High School
Explicit Sexual Content
Masturbation
Hermione Granger
Pining
Bruce Banner
Anal Fingering
Kim Namjoon | RM
Canon Compliant
Thor (Marvel)
Domestic Fluff
Jung Hoseok | J-Hope
Keith (Voltron)
Kim Seokjin | Jin
Depression
Character Death
Sexual Content
Happy Ending
Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson
Canon-Typical Violence
James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Lance (Voltron)
Cuddling & Snuggling
Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics
Dirty Talk
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Post-Canon
Loki (Marvel)
Christmas
Hand Jobs
Scott Mccall
Niall Horan
Sex
Mycroft Holmes
Blood
Shiro (Voltron)
Liam Payne
Rimming
Rough Sex
Zayn Malik
Cute
Original Character(s)
Original Character
Castiel (Supernatural)
Dubious Consent
Phil Coulson
Severus Snape
Ron Weasley
Character Study
Mpreg
Lydia Martin
Explicit Language
Slash
Grief/Mourning
Polyamory
Future Fic
Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Minor Character Death
Greg Lestrade
Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Peter Parker
Mutual Pining
Swearing
Eventual Smut
Sirius Black
Dom/Sub
Pre-Slash
Sad
Love Confessions
Unrequited Love
Alternate Universe - Soulmates
Remus Lupin
Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester
Falling In Love
Jealousy
Spanking
I'm Sorry
Pepper Potts
Death
Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Spoilers
James T. Kirk
Hunk (Voltron)
Sans (Undertale)
Emma Swan
Gabriel (Supernatural)
Fluff And Humor
Magic
Torture
Alternate Universe - Human
Bruce Wayne
Isaac Lahey
Levi (Shingeki No Kyojin)
Eren Yeager
Clarke Griffin
Self-Harm
Slow Build
Victor Nikiforov
Alcohol
Katsuki Yuuri
Suicidal Thoughts
Implied Sexual Content
BDSM
Nightmares
Canonical Character Death
Action/Adventure
Sam Wilson (Marvel)
Developing Relationship
Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Bondage
Friendship/Love
Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Dark
Sheriff Stilinski
Mental Health Issues
Allison Argent
Reader-Insert
Slice Of Life
Allura (Voltron)
Kurt Hummel
Getting Together
Kidnapping
Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov
Dick Grayson
Merlin (Merlin)
Panic Attacks
Heavy Angst
Comfort
Alec Lightwood
Pre-Canon
Ficlet
Kid Fic
Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir
Implied/Referenced Character Death
Songfic
Leonard Mccoy
First Meetings
Flirting
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RPC Elitism and Fanfic Community Elitism: A Study
Now, most of this could have only been observed in the fanfic community if you were part of a forum or blogging community. You know, like remember how Live Journal had group blogs or whatever they were called? And if you were a member of it, you could post in it. Something like that? Leave me alone. Itâs been over a decade and a lot of booze and pot since then. Anyway, Iâm here to say a lot of the drama and petty bullshit in the RPC has less to do with the internet and people being crazy and more to do with well...itâs kinda always been this way. Part of it is what tends to happen when you get a bunch of writers together and the rest is just well...Fandom is a labour or passion and love. Some people can watch a show or movie and think, âoh that was really goodâ and move on with their lives. Other people, fandom people, (special people?) fall in love with characters and stories, want to write about them, draw them, talk discourse about them. Unfortunately, when you add the social aspect of it, things start happening, it becomes not just about the characters or the story but the people who talk about them. This is why some of us never get into certain things even if they might interest us. âBecause the fandom is insaneâ. I guess what Iâm trying to say is this is nothing new and itâs almost comforting. The only thing that worries the shit out of me about the elitism is that it ushers in a communityâs death. Now I donât think itâs going to mean death for the RPC at large, but it does mean that the more elitism there is in a particular fandom, the more likely it will die or become an incestuous clusterfuck of a handful of muns writing a whole bunch of characters for it and sniffing their own farts because theyâve scared off the fresh blood.
Although the visual aspect of RPC is unique to it (all the âqualityâ blogs have great themes and icons and aesthetic/mood boards, and promos), Iâm reminded of my time on message boards that allowed you to have elaborate âsignaturesâ to you posts. Some people, particularly long time or popular members always had really fancy banners. Of course really good writers were always respected in the fanfic communities. I say that honestly as being among the more respected members (though hardly would I ever had called myself a Big Name Fanfic Author. Who knows. Maybe I was. Anyone remember Iggy Lovechild? lmao). There isnât wrong with any of that so long as the writer doesnât get pushy within the fandom. I knew of one who used to accuse other writers within the fandom of ripping off her stories or characters (she had a ton of OC children of canon characters and antagonists). There was a massive controversy when a teen fan of this writer penned fanfic based on her stories (thatâs right, she was that highly regarded), and the Big Name author flipped her lid and basically called for this poor kid to be crucified. Writing styles and genres were held higher over others. Canon ships as well. I will give the RPC credit for being much more open to non-canon, rare, and crossover ships. Back when I was writing fanfic I never wrote crossovers. Now thatâs all I write with John, although thatâs partially due to there being few to no Vertigo comic canon characters to write with, though if I had them all, I still think Iâd be writing these crossovers. Anyway.  Script style and songfics (remember those lmao) were considered lazy and amateurish. Longer fics were generally considered more worthwhile, romance and smut was looked down on, though romance without explicit sex scenes were considered better than a fanfic with them. Erotica writers, however, could make headway in respect, but you had to be vocal and talented. Even if you were, the general feeling that people only wrote smut for the sake of âpopularityâ often left you feeling like you were constantly on the defense. Certain portrayals of characters and head canons were considered more legit than others. AUs were fraught with trepidation. Original characters in fanfic were...predominately maligned. They were called self-inserts, Mary Sues/Gary Stus, and while some of them were, the communityâs hostility toward them deterred writing them unless they were in small roles. It was made quite clear that their place in fanfic were on the side lines. Any of this sounding familiar yet? Itâs probably why I either seem more bitter about certain issues or nonplussed. Frankly, Iâve seen it all before. The cliquish behaviour, the elitism, I guess I just want everyone to know this. It isnât you! You are not the problem! Itâs just..itâs just a fandom thing, I guess. You could probably find this behaviour mirrored in every kind of fandom community.
Anyway, uh thatâs it. I feel like I should be able to wrap this up better. Just you know -- Iâve been more content in the RPC the more insular Iâve become. I know who my partners are and who values me as a writer. It does make me feel for people breaking into it. I remember the first few months was slow going, even with a popular canon muse. Donât give up. If you love this form of writing, just be patient. Eventually youâll find like minded people. Stay sexy and donât let the frustration and drama get to you.
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