i’m going to say something that might make me seem ungrateful, but i think it’s true of many fic writers:

we want you to leave comments ON ao3.

we’re not angry or disappointed or anything like that when you leave qrts or lots of tags on our fic posts, not at all. we don’t NOT want you to message us to tell us how a fic touched you. but in addition to that, please consider just copying those words and posting them on ao3 as a comment.

why?

the reason is simple: leaving commentary in other places is ephemeral. story posts get pushed down. chats get pushed down in the list of chats, or worse, pushed up in lists of messages as the conversation continues. but comments on ao3 are easily accessible. and this is important because writers read and reread these comments regularly.

writing, especially writing longfics, is exhausting and drains your confidence over time. having a collection of people who enjoyed your past work at your fingertips is an excellent way to build yourself up when you’re feeling down. fic writers need this a lot.

i know over the past few years there’s this trend to be very descriptive with what is an “acceptable” comment. that’s all nonsense, as long as you’re not being an asshole, just say what’s on your heart.

but post it on ao3. please.

Also something I see a lot: people gushing to their friends in discord about a fic but not commenting on it to the author themselves. It's reassuring to find out secondhand that people gushed about your creation, but it's so much better when someone tells you directly! Reaching out directly on AO3 also helps to curb any lingering doubt of like... Is this something they'd only admit to in private but don't want their name connected to mine on AO3? Since there's a lot of weirdness around who someone associates with in fandom these days

I will say also that some of my FAVORITE comments I have EVER gotten were copy-and-paste Discord conversations, like that is PURE! JOY!!! If you ever find yourself gushing about a fic in a server and everyone else in the conversation is cool with it, PLEASE copy and past that into an AO3 comment, you will make an author's YEAR.

oh i've never had anyone copy-paste a discord chat but that sounds really lovely!! what a great thing to read!

I will always stand by this - as a writer and as a reader!

You know you’ve lost the plot when you feel threatened by a fictional character or characters for that matter.

I mean... Why?! Why are e/riels this way?

fun fact: the reason that the plural of goose is geese but the plural of moose is not meese is because goose derives from an ancient germanic word undergoing strong declension, in the pattern of foot/feet and tooth/teeth, wherein oo is mutated to ee. however ‘moose’ is a native american word added to the english lexicon only ~400 years ago, and lacks the etymological reason to be pluralized in that way.

Oh baby.  Keep talking dirty to me.

Headcanon: Nyx’s favorite “uncle” is Eris (he’s used to taking care of younger siblings and pets, the guys got a secret soft side). Eris doesn’t know how this happened. It pisses off the entire inner circle. Lucien is highly amused.

I accept

CHOCOLATE MAN MADE A LOVE POTION

It's that fucking chocolate guy again

Me: Oh! some chocolate hearts for valentine’s day!

Me, two seconds later; I RECOGNIZE THOSE SLEEVES

I shall never not reblog our friendly neighbourhood chocolate guy

okay but nesta asking this because she grew up mortal where women are married off young and just have babies and tea parties - but mor acting like it's a deadly insult

then when they return from the battle in summer court and mor still has a stick up her ass

So upset this attitude didn't get addressed in Acosf... I needed one scene..just one! Where Cassian said " If I'm important to you , you have to be nice to Nesta because she's important to me."

Oh, do shut the fuck up people. You’re acting as if Nesta requested three muscled, naked, oiled up, male sex workers come to her table and feed her whipped cream with their dicks. She ordered fucking food and drinks for fuck’s sake. The horror! You’re building a fifth mansion, you can afford to pick up the tab you cunts, especially after she fought your fucking war for you. Boo fucking hoo.

Now, what the actual fuck is this grown ass woman crying about? Bitch, pull your melodramatic self together. You’re acting as if Nesta made the front page of the local newspaper for being a serial killer. Calm the fuck down. Your husband is reading you a fucking bar’s bill, for crying out loud. A private bill, that was available only for you to see, until your toddler of a partner decided to let everyone know about it. Like, the only acceptable reason for you to shed a tear is realising you’re shackled to this piece of shit for eternity.

Yes, because we all know that the only two ways of helping a traumatised person are either leaving them completely alone with their self destructive tendencies and excluding them from our lives (not a single painting of Nesta in Feyre’s home, pity job offers from Rhys, just superficial attempts of Feyre inviting Nesta to witness her perfect new life and house but no true attempts at connecting with her) or stripping them off of every bit of freedom and forcing them to do unpaid physical labour. Now every hope is obviously lost!

Cassian, for the millionth time, I hope someone throws your hypocritical ass in a deep fryer as soon as possible. Looking forward to Elain’s prophecy coming true.

Rhysand, you sly, manipulative snake, you. You never fail to disgust me. Aiming to break your own fucking wife apart so that she, in her vulnerability, goes along with your pre-prepared schemes, while simultaneously acting as if you’re her shoulder to cry on when you’re in fact the reason she’s crying, is actually nauseating. And I thought Tamlin was the beast! Rhysand is the worst thing that ever happened to Feyre. At the very best, they deserve each other. And that’s me being generous.

She's not real , I know it. But I still really want to smuggle her out of Night Court and hide her far far far away. Possibly in Midgard. Or Erilea.

need Elain to be like “I choose you. In this life. In the next. Beyond the mating bond, I choose you.” to Lucien in a dire situation after hundreds of pages of angst & buildup mhm mhm walk with me.

The key shortcut of "windows key" and "." held together has changed my life

like

emoji access? supremely powerful 🙂💖

But

Kaomoji ?

The year is 2013 and I am unstoppable ヾ(•ω•`)o o(*￣▽￣*)ブo(*°▽°*)o

mac equivalent is Comand-Control-Space for my fellow mac users out there

🚨IMPORTANT🚨

How do I make the Kaomojis that just straight up look like hellish nightmares?

yeah, you definitely want to make a lighthearted remark

I realized the joke after a whole day since I first saw this

I hate to Ammit it, but that’s a good joke

Honestly, I Ma'at be getting a bit too used to these puns.

FIVE YEARS IT TOOK ME

GOD DAMMIT

Light-hearted comedy is the way to go.

The Toilet Theft

Written for @throneofglassmicrofics, prompt ‘Thief’

HAPPY SUPER LATE BIRTHDAY FOR AELIN!

Sorry about the delay for this one!

Words: 816

Warnings: unforgivable crimes (a small theft)

Happy Birthday Aelin! loved it!

The Toilet Theft

Written for @throneofglassmicrofics, prompt ‘Thief’

HAPPY SUPER LATE BIRTHDAY FOR AELIN!

Sorry about the delay for this one!

Words: 816

Warnings: unforgivable crimes (a small theft)

“Oh well Elain looking bad in black doesn’t have to mean anything! She can just have colors that look bad on her! I look bad in pink / yellow / orange—“

Are you a fictional character an author is using to tell a story? No, you’re not. Is your life filled with literary devices? No. You’re not in a book, you’re in the real world. You looking shit in orange or yellow might not mean anything but when an author is writing something like that about a fictional character and they attach it to other discussions like trying to belong, etc….they’re doing it for a reason.

Color symbolism is a very popular literary device and it does not apply to the yellow sundress you had to return to Shein.