comments on fanfics

I thought about writing this post for a long time and decided, fuck it, I'm gonna write this.

All over my dash I see people being disappointed because nobody is leaving comments on ao3 anymore/rebloging things on tumblr.

And the only thing I can think about this is: it's so true.

Two weeks ago I posted the epilog of my 60k words fanfic (I've been writing on it for almost a year and got some positive feedback on it) and I got ZERO comments, or kudos on the epilog.

I can see that people kicked on it, but I have no idea whether they liked it or not. (And I used to get a comment on my story now and then)

Last week I posted the first extra chapter (I planned three of these) and also got no reaction.

No I'm just sitting here, wondering if my writing is just true shit.

This is also the reason I was hesitate to post this. Maybe it's not the people and just that shithole of a story I've been writing.

Things like are just running around my head now and must say that the motivation to even finish those extra chapters is gone.

GUYS, IF YOU LIKE A FANFIC PLEASE LET THE AUTHOR KNOW, IT MEANS SO MUCH TO THEM.

So if you read a good story, not some bullshit like mine, write that comment.

no offence but the reason tumblr is “dying” is, well, yes, of course the cursed like/reblog ratio and the change in user behaviour (because of people being used to how instagram and tiktok work) BUT also the lack of weekly shows. i say it with my whole chest, they don't produce captivating and engaging stupid weekly tv shows anymore because streaming killed that so you have spikes of activity here when Something happens in general fandom or up to three days after a new season of whatever drops and then it's a wasteland. this is obviously an old woman yelling at a cloud missing supernatural and the vampire diaries and pretty little liars and all these other shows type of post but honestly give me back weekly tv shows where i have something to watch for 40 minutes almost every day of the week after work so then i can read and reblog it on tumblr give it back for the sake of my sanity

No one reblogs on tumblr anymore.

No one leaves comments on Ao3 anymore.

Seriously people the lack of fandom interaction these days makes me genuinely depressed, it never used to be like this, makes me wonder what's the point of coming online to do anything anymore.

Reblog a post so other people can see it.

Leave a comment so the author doesn't feel like giving up.

Fandom cannot live on Likes or Kudos alone.

You don’t have to interact with every piece of fanwork that you come across, but you do have to interact with fanwork. That’s how it works. Fanwork is not ‘free dlc’ for your favorite media, and it isn’t meant to be passively consumed. Art is communication and fandom is a conversation. Join in! Join in!

It wasn't so long ago that I saw enthusiastic readers organize writing fests, or art prompt events and make extensive rec lists of fics, or resources or meta posts, actively shaping the environment of their fandom. Readers who found an active place in a community and got so much satisfaction from that.

Now the main load falls to those who are creators. Make the thing, promote the thing, get it out to people, then read the stuff of your friends, look around for more and find new artists and writers while working on your next wip, have an offline life and feel bad about not being able to keep up with the series of your friends because, damn, you know they have been kinda down about feeling irrelevant and ignored.

Fandom as a concept and form of community holds so many possibilities and chances because it's full of people creating for creations sake, out of love for something and not for cold profits.

Do you actually understand how special that is?

Creating in a community like that doesn't have to come in the form of fics or art but can also be the creation of events and fandom structures, of inspiration and motivation and... everything you fucking want.

I want to add because this isn't an element that I ever see on these posts: you may have to train/retrain your brain to enjoy and value these types of interactions, and it might feel a little bit like work to do so. Our brains are becoming so trained on quick hits and content that 'expires.' We're also increasingly on an internet that elevates just flat out being mean, which makes interacting scary even though fandom spaces (while not without drama) are generally inviting, esp for those surface level interactions like comments/reblogs. Commenting and interacting with things is supposed to be fun and joyful and community-building, but it might not FEEL like it at first if you aren't used to it or have gotten out of the habit. It might feel tiring or even a little scary. All that to say, you might have to make it a point to comment more and to build those muscles and prove to your brain that it's actually not so bad and is, in fact, kinda nice. You might have to build up to it. "I'll comment on 1/10 fics I read, even if it's just 10 whole characters of a comment." And then you can up the number of comments and experiment with the types of commenting you like to do, until it feels more normal and natural. Until you know you are the type to yell incoherently or the type to comment a string of emoji or the type to leave whole analysis essays using floaty review box. (Maybe you're all depending on the day.) There will still be times you don't feel like it and that's okay. There's times I don't feel like it and I'm an author. There isn't a quota or a requirement. Just joy to be spread and to be had.

yknow ever since people realized tumblr isnt dead and have decided to flock here from twitter and tiktok ive seen a huge influx of people in fandom spaces who dont reblog anything. at all.

like, i used to have an art blog with 340 followers. not a ton but not a small amount either given how this website works with creators. and in my experience back then even the ones who only left likes still reblogged other things or at least posted their own stuff. literally the only empty blogs were clearly bots.

but on this New art blog, i've had so many people with fandom-specific headers and icons with actual usernames as urls and some kind of title or description, but have. Nothing. no posts. all they do is like things. and it's always public, too. their following list and their likes list.

and honestly all it makes me think is that these people are New and also don't know how tumblr works. how likes don't give exposure. not even in a "oh, i know it doesn't give exposure, but i'm still going to reblog anyways" way, but in a genuine honest to god straight up doesn't realize tumblr likes don't work like twitter's.

PLEASE please if you're from tiktok or twitter or whatever please reblog people's art both fandom and original if you like it!! and maybe actually pad out your blog's content in some way so people won't potentially see you as a bot and block you.

REBLOG ARTIST'S WORK. THIS IS THE ONLY WAY THEY GET ANY ATTENTION ON THIS WEBSITE OH MY GOD. PLEASE. I BEG of you

^^^^^^

Sometimes one person will reblog a fic I posted a while ago and it'll lead to many new people finding my blog and following and also reblogging some fics themselves too

it just is this wonderful cycle of people enjoying my fics, reblogging it and sharing it with more people and thus supporting me at the same time.

-Likes don't do that, reblogs do.

(And please go sicko mode in your tags if the content made you foam at the mouth like a racoon. It gives us a sense of accomplishment)

-So : Reblog your fav fics/art to share them with someone else who might like them and support the author/artist at the same time.

Because reblogs are how people find their fav fics, authors artists and theorists; likes aren't helping the post reach anyone since likes are just heart-shaped bookmarks on tumblr.

it's how the hellsite works lol

Also- leave comments too!! And send asks! You can be anonymous and still support your fav blogs!! Those are what make tumblr special!

Something I found on Twitter that really puts things in perspective as a creator.

Decided to move my ‘Rise of the Guardians’ fics to AO3 from Fanfiction.net

Not to be a cliché but that movie was one of my first online fandoms and the first thing I ever wrote fanfic for 🙂

I probably missed out on a lot not being on Tumblr at the time LOL

Literal years ago (as in when I was still posting it on Fanfiction.net), I started writing a Captain America X Loki fanfic

Today I uploaded the next chapter on AO3 after last updating in 2018.

Not sure how interested people are in it (given I made my bones writing Gotham fics) but thought I would post an update anyway because I decided to continue the fic after some recent messages/comments popped up asking about it.

So to those lovely people (you know who you are), thank you: you are proof that feedback can bring fics back from the dead!

Thanks for reading 🙂

The link to the prequel is below if anybody wants to check it out. Not necessary to be honest but good to have the full context. I know it’s an unorthodox pairing but nothing about Steve Rogers or Loki is orthodox anyway 😉

if you’re a new tumblr user from tiktok or IG or something and only like posts and dont reblog them yeah people will think you’re a bot and block you but you will also make this website actively worse. they want “algorithmic” users like you, served recommended posts through likes, not people who just follow each other and respond to the direct chronological feed. there is a reason this website is still better than the rest, even with all its problems, do not ruin this

ok i need to make this clearer: if you do not reblog posts and only like them you are contributing to this site actively getting worse and becoming like all the apps you hate. keep likes to things you just wanna keep off your blog. reblog everything else. ESPECIALLY fanart, which always needs a reblog.

and FYI: what i’m saying here is backed up by tumblr themselves. they admit this publicly.

if you want a good RECENT (as of the end of February 2022) overview of what is going on behind the scenes at tumblr, it is basically what i’ve been saying for years: the core staff is tiny, constantly not being listened to when they advocate for us, the community, and working there is a nightmare:

Reblogging to encourage people instead of only liking is really not that fucking hard if you dont want people to be discouraged cuz their stuff get zero interactions and 99% useless likes and be driven off the Platform.

Thank yall for this! I thought reblogging wasnt good because that it just puts stuff out there that is already out there, but now i am going to reblog bc I learned and stuff ig. IDK what i was going to say

ig thanks bc now im not scared to reblog out of fear of hate

also recommend making multiple blogs if you like multiple things!!!!!!! i have many different sideblogs for aesthetics + stuff. And this blog is a sideblog too! Enjoy blogging! do whatever you want!! :D forever!!!!

oh my god… i love you free playable disco elysium gameboy demake on itch.io 🥹

The Umbrella Academy x Gotham crossover!

I just finished the show and just wanna see if Five could jump to another universe like Gotham. damn Oswald does look like Reggie in S5 finale, that would be fun 

holy shit lmao

I know a ton of people have said this before but for the love everything PLEASE stop treating AO3 like instagram. It is NOT cringe to comment on an old story. It’s an archive old stories are still meant to be found and read. Please think about interacting with the fic you read: at least kudos if you read it, a comment would be ideal. The authors will be over the moon. I guarantee you not a single author is going to ask why someone is commenting on an older fic.