#there's fanfic for that

[theindiscreetbookworm]

Look.

I didn't like season 2, okay? I think I've been very clear about that. I didn't like the way it didn't give anyone proper character development, I didn't like where it left Ed and Stede, and I certainly didn't like what it did to Izzy. I wasn't attached to a season 3. Let's be honest, I probably would've watched it. (Okay, I definitely would've, I'm not proud.) But I wasn't, shall we say, optimistic.

HOWEVER

I want to talk about why I'm sad anyway. Because this show changed my life. Truly. I mean it. I know I'm not nearly the first person to say that, I know it's a common experience. And that makes it all the more special.

I found OFMD in February 2023. Nearly one year ago. I'd been hearing things about it, but I hadn't sat down to watch it because I was, it turns out, horrifically depressed. I shied away from things, and tv shows especially, that I knew would make me feel things. And then, three weeks before I watched it, I finally went on meds. And then, finally, I watched season 1. I watched it in two sittings. And it lit me up like nothing had in a very long time, if ever. I thought the part of me that cared about things this way was long dead. I felt like a new person.

A lot happened all at the same time. OFMD came to me right when I was ready for it. It helped me begin to explore non-binary womanhood. It got me writing again, after a very very long time, and in ways I'd never been able to access before. It woke my mind up, and connected it back to my heart.

I'll never be able to be grateful enough for that. We can quibble over the details (and, believe me, I intend to continue to do so), but the show struck some kind of lightning. The right people were behind pens, and drawing boards, and characters. The right people made it onto that screen.

I'm still writing. It's slower now, that initial feverish pitch I felt having been significantly tempered. But I'll offer up the characters I love for you, again and again and again, long after the lights have come down.

I don't think any of us could've dreamt this queer magic, we tiny queer weirdos desperately reaching out for the smallest morsels for so, so long but, for a moment, we had it, and it showed us that it's possible. I hope to see what's coming next.

[rudamaruda520]

me as a writer

[tenderwatches]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[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.

[honeybee2807]

Was scrolling through AO3 and found this gem

Enemy to parent is a trope we have to popularise lmao

[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 👏

[theaftersundown]

the holy grail types of fanfic

[fanonical]

spin this wheel of fanfic tags. this will be the theme of your day tomorrow.

[mi1kw33d-2]

ao3 is crazy because you'll read the most gut-wrenching 200k word slowburn that leaves you sobbing into your sweater at four in the morning and the author will be applejacksmonstercock

[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.

[frownyalfred]

the fact that I’ve actually had this happen multiple times when I’ve entered a new fandom is hilarious like what do you MEAN

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[i-used-to-be-a-spy]

"you should be at the club" I should be working on my fanfic

[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