attempt at a reply below, it grew way too long ↓

it's not a silly sentiment but i think it lacks perspective, maybe? i find the reply mildly dismissive too; you shouldn't have to write dozens or even hundreds of comments to find the community and connection you're looking for. i'm simply not convinced ao3 itself is a platform that encourages and allows for community-building between readers and writers specifically, as much as i wish it did.

an ao3 account can feel more like a portfolio, to a degree, something to link to from where the community is being built—see e.g. how comment counts deemed too low or high quickly raise suspicion about a work. some might also have reservations about disclosing personal details on ao3. and frankly: the longer comment threads become, the less readable they are.

so there is hesitance around conversation via ao3 comments. if you're looking to enter a dialogue, with the goal of making friends, i genuinely think any other way to contact a writer directly (via askboxes or dms, or by replying to their tweets) is the favourable approach.

and this might be anecdotal and an experience exclusive to my ficdom, but i've never made an acquaintance in the comment section (neither as a writer nor reader). establishing a personal connection happens on twitter. and with twitter becoming a less hospitable environment by the day, and general ficdom culture dying on there (i haven't seen creators talking au ideas in ages, and that used to be a staple, a daily occurrence for my first years in fandom), i understand why pressure to receive replies to comments would mount!

regarding acknowledgement: please remember that writers have full control over comments. if we don't want them, we can turn them off; your standard assumption should be: if you can comment, the writer receives an email, or otherwise checks comments regularly. ao3 makes it easy for readers to acknowledge fic (kudos button); sadly we don't have this option with comments.

depending on your comment, and the number of comments a writer receives in general plus their backlog, it might also turn into a repetitive chore to respond—to short, erring on the side of impersonal/vague comments especially. longer, heartfelt comments pose the opposite problem: responding to those takes time and effort, or can feel like an impossible task because of how wonderful of a comment it is. receiving a mere 'thank you' to a comment that took two hours to write would also be seen as unappreciative, regardless of it technically being a reply and acknowledgement, no?

personally, i can only say i want to respond to all comments sincerely and with care. this, and declining mental health, led to my not replying to comments for almost three years (and around two years before that). the threshold of 'if i reply now, the reader might not even recall the fic' is passed at a couple months, at best ;; (i experience the added difficulty of a memory so bad i need to reread my fics before responding, and depending on my mood rereading can ruin a fic and day for me, so it's a balance act in that regard, too.)

and, more importantly: whenever i do reply to comments, any time and energy i could spend writing that day goes exclusively towards replying.

what you as a reader who comments still can do is adapt your behaviour, and adjust or redirect your expectations.

try to think of comments as the missing piece that completes the fic—the work is done, on everyone's side; anything beyond that is indulgence.

what makes a comment reply rewarding, and why? maybe a 'thank you' is all a writer can muster at that point in their life, and yes, this 'thank you' is likely silent—or it's silent because it's a new chapter, or a new fic. sometimes, the connection is less obvious and runs deeper than you'd think.

what kinds of comments do you leave? leave ones that make responding interesting. ask questions, present theories, ponder motivations, share thoughts on what a character is up to after the fic ended, bring up a song or situation in your life you were reminded of—something that absolves the writer of having to think of ways to rephrase their 'thank you'.

keep in mind we have lives and issues to deal with outside of writing, and sometimes writing is the only thing we find time and energy for.

if you like to talk in the comments, skim comment sections before reading and find writers who reply frequently. with others who don't reply, find different avenues to establish contact elsewhere.

whatever you do, please don't give up on commenting ;-; i understand your frustration; however, many writers are in the same boat with receiving comments in the first place. pouring one's heart and often what amounts to many years of work and dedication into writing only to be told that we're ungrateful or neglectful of readers or our connection to them for not responding to comments is incredibly frustrating as well.

Dear Mr Comment Skeleton, I have a confession to make. As a reader, I feel a little discouraged at leaving comments on AO3 because a lot of the time, authors don't really bother to respond to them or even acknowledge their existence to begin with. Of course, we readers aren't entitled to author responses but it sure does make leaving comments not very rewarding for readers, you know? Reader and author interaction is so good and so rewarding yet...it seems rare now? Or at least it seems rare to me? Am I being silly, comment skeleton? What words of wisdom do you have for us who feel this way?

THE AUTHOR WROTE A WHOLE FIC FOR YOU!!! THEY SPENT THEIR TIME AND ENERGY COMPOSING A FIC THAT YOU ADORED!!!

WE THANK THEM FOR THIS TIME AND EFFORT AND DEDICATION BY LEAVING A COMMENT TO BRING THE AUTHOR THE SAME JOY THEY BROUGHT TO US WITH THEIR FIC!!!

ALSO, YOU CAN'T GET AUTHOR INTERACTION IF YOU DON'T LEAVE COMMENTS!! BUILDING COMMUNITY TAKES TIME!!!! LEAVE A THOUSAND COMMENTS AND IF ONE AUTHOR RESPONDS THAT'S A BRICK LAID IN THE FOUNDATION OF THIS HOUSE WE CALL A FAN COMMUNITY!!

KEEP ON COMMENTING MY SKELLY FRIENDS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTION!!!

okay guys so i made a xiusoo doodle, for the xiusoo fans:)

💙

two years apart but it is the same apartment ;-;

xiusoo practising baseball behind the car in the hear me out mv, also a fundamentally xiusoo moment 😭

everyone but minseok talking to kyungsoo during chen fm,,, my xiusoos are nothing if not consistent 😢

look what i found

had to do this again since there's been a major shift in pairings for me lately, and while i usually just go with the tides of affection this one feels. different. i'm not sure if it's depression dulling my feelings or anything (this is how i survived rover era being sukai era) but i don't feel as fondly towards my handful of favourite pairings and one eclipsed them all to become my otp now? i don't even know. the intensity is scary, as is change itself, and while i'm also usually not bothered by it too much, knowing that a pairing rarely makes it back up in the fondness ranks once they dropped below a certain point... scary.

anyway, behold the changes—otp drama aside it doesn't look all that different? first version from september 2021, the one below is from today:

[image id: screenshot of a tiermaker ranking of ot9 exo pairings. the ranks are as follows: god tier: xiusoo, xiuho, kyungmyeon, chensoo perfect: sukai, suchen, chenkai, sechen, seho, sesoo great: empty row good: xingsoo, xingkai, sebaek, subaek, sexing, sulay average: xiuhun, sekai, cbx, baekchen, xiulay, xiubaek, chankai, baekxing, baeksoo, xiuyeol, kaibaek, xiukai, suyeol, sechan, chanxing, chanchen, sekaiyeol notp: kaisoo, chanbaek, xiuchen, chansoo. end image id]

[image id: screenshot of a tiermaker ranking of ot9 exo pairings. the ranks are as follows: 💘💖: chenkai 🤧💛🌟: xiusoo, xiuho, kyungmyeon fondness,,,: xiuhun, sukai, suchen, sesoo, chensoo fine: cbx, sebaek, xiubaek, suyeol, xiulay, sechen, baekxing, chanchen, xingsoo, xiukai, kaibaek, xingkai, subaek, sexing, sulay not for me: sekai, chansoo, chankai, sekaiyeol, baeksoo, sechan, chanxing, seho, chanchen i just don't get them :/: xiuchen, chanbaek, kaisoo, baekchen. end image id]

renamed categories aside it's relatively consistent given that i didn't look at the first one to make the second one? chenkai and xiuhun rose up the ranks, chensoo and seho dropped, that much was obvious to me before, and the middle field was always vast and somewhere between briefly fond phases and shoulder shrug but wouldn't say no as either a writer or reader of them. so much for this ranking nonsense ;;

Skip Google for Research

As Google has worked to overtake the internet, its search algorithm has not just gotten worse.  It has been designed to prioritize advertisers and popular pages often times excluding pages and content that better matches your search terms 

As a writer in need of information for my stories, I find this unacceptable.  As a proponent of availability of information so the populace can actually educate itself, it is unforgivable.

Below is a concise list of useful research sites compiled by Edward Clark over on Facebook. I was familiar with some, but not all of these.

⁂

Google is so powerful that it “hides” other search systems from us. We just don’t know the existence of most of them. Meanwhile, there are still a huge number of excellent searchers in the world who specialize in books, science, other smart information. Keep a list of sites you never heard of.

www.refseek.com - Academic Resource Search. More than a billion sources: encyclopedia, monographies, magazines.

www.worldcat.org - a search for the contents of 20 thousand worldwide libraries. Find out where lies the nearest rare book you need.

https://link.springer.com - access to more than 10 million scientific documents: books, articles, research protocols.

www.bioline.org.br is a library of scientific bioscience journals published in developing countries.

http://repec.org - volunteers from 102 countries have collected almost 4 million publications on economics and related science.

www.science.gov is an American state search engine on 2200+ scientific sites. More than 200 million articles are indexed.

www.pdfdrive.com is the largest website for free download of books in PDF format. Claiming over 225 million names.

www.base-search.net is one of the most powerful researches on academic studies texts. More than 100 million scientific documents, 70% of them are free

2022 End of year fanfic writer wrap-up

Couldn't find one that was not about AO3 stats; hopefully the questions are fun prompts for others too. Be kind to yourself while answering these 🖊️💌

Crossposted to twitter. Feel free to repost to whichever platform you're on! List of questions under the read more.

01. Recommend three 2022 fics—one of your own, two by other writers: 02. A topic your work reflected this year: 03. A trope/tag you discovered for yourself: 04. Five words you won't get tired of anytime soon: 05. Your most favourite character you wrote: 06. Something strange/fun/remarkable you learned while researching: 07. Feedback you received that changed how you feel/think about your work: 08. An inspiration you're currently feeding on: 09. An idea you lived in and wrote absolutely nothing down for: 10. Something you've never written but would like to try: 11. An underrated tag you want to become a canon AO3 tag: 12. A snack that helped you through the worst of it: 13. A work you finished against all odds: 14. Something you (intentionally or not) improved on: 15. One writerly self-criticism you did let go of for your peace of mind: 16. Something you impressed yourself with: 17. A realisation you had about writing: 18. A coping strategy you developed for something that doesn't come easy to you: 19. A reader interaction you wish happened more often: 20. A book/poem/movie/game that has a similar vibe to your work: 21. Three fanfic writers you discovered this year: 22. Praise your writing like you would someone else's work: 23. Something you want to do less of, and something you want to do more of next year: 24. A last writerly regret or grievance for 2022: 25. What do you think will AI-generated writing lead to?

520 326 | do not edit.

520 326 | do not edit.

just wrapped up this thread of fics i didn't write in 2022 (and never might); might repost it here later!

this week's fic recs

new: blood with benefits by 131bbh8 (sebaek, 1.2k) sehun offering himself as a donor of fresh blood to his local vampire... life goals. adorable and sweet and perfectly snack-sized!

a fic i can't talk about yet :( if i could i'd never shut up about it; please anticipate the shining onwards fics, one of my most favourite fics that will have been posted this year is among them! (and there might be more; haven't gotten to read all of them yet)

this week's fic recs

reread: dust to flowers by bbaegi (subaek, 99k) damaged goods, the fic. lavishly indulgent slice of life, with a plot that could be summed up in two sentences, and i love it for that. neighbours to lovers is one of my most favourite tropes, and isolated, depressed junmyeon who goes from struggling with everything, from helplessness, feeling adrift—and watching, listening to the same happening to his neighbour baekhyun—to somewhat grounded and tethered and hopeful, he's everything. being with him all the way, tracing his every thought and gesture is a gift if you like fic so slow it's like watching clouds on a windless day. junmyeon in this loves wholeheartedly, if at times helplessly, and this fic is an ode to the imperfect. (romance aside: bffs xiuho will always have a special place in my heart; as evident by one particular scene i screenshotted both during my first and second read without realising.) if i was mouse presented with a big baguette, i imagine this is what eating your way through it would feel like. and: never has smoking been this romantic.

new: constellation by okamiwind (seho, 9k) this fic has so much contrasting visual texture, not sure i can explain it.

sechen time travel/soulmates au based on this prompt:

Pairing: Jongdae/Sehun AU: soulmates Setting: time machine + 🕶️ Sentence: Why are you so casual about this?

separated by centuries, jongdae somehow aware, writing in a desperate attempt to leave a trace that'll reach sehun if he himself can't.. sehun in the future coming across it by a sheer stroke of luck, but time travel like once space travel is reserved for the rich, the powerful, the elite among the educated. sehun struggling his way to a position within one of the companies offering time travels, as a nurse maybe, and starting to smuggle messages onto each time traveller going to the past. if jongdae could take the place of one of the travellers, they could meet in sehun's time... jongdae receiving one of the messages, a folded piece of paper falling out of someone's jacket pocket at his waiter day job, and proof of sehun being out there sending his life into turmoil; he's grown used to and fond of the longing, never quite convinced himself it was more than a strange preoccupation, cannot quite grasp that there's actually someone sometime in the future quoting his own writing back to him, along with cryptic instructions.

(sorry idk how to get to this point but) at some point their efforts somehow align but instead of one of them travelling to the other they're both yanked out of their time and stranded somewhere in between 😔 sehun initially being very cool about it.. but wait until he finds out jongdae is so much more than his writing (and that they have to build the intimacy sehun felt reading it, and it's nothing alike) all while trying to fit and settle into a time that's unfamiliar to them both.

I got the prompt “Minseok and Junmyeon share hopes on pool floaties on their first date” and i couldn’t not draw it uwu

This is for the wonderful @shine-on-fest ! Please go see the other entries, they are amazing !

(Is this a spin off to my hurdle-suho comic ? maybe~)

everyone but minseok talking to kyungsoo during chen fm,,, my xiusoos are nothing if not consistent 😢

shipping meme

I can’t find a meme I really like, so I compiled some of my favorite questions and added some of my own! (feel free to use this anyone)

send me a pairing and I’ll tell you who:

falls asleep on the couch

makes friends with the neighbors

is the adventurous eater

hogs the covers at night

forgets to do the dishes

tries to surprise their partner more often

leaves dirty laundry on the floor

stays up til 2 AM reading

sings in the shower

takes the selfies

plans date night

I somehow got motivated to do Mermay with EXO 0.0

Tell me which fishes you think they are :D