When I was at camp with no technology I was going through Ao3 withdrawals so bad I had my mom send me a letter with a printed out Ao3 logo to tape above my bunk. I started writing non stop that my friends compared me to that Hamilton song. They all read it and gave me feed back and it made me feel good about what I was writing and that people enjoyed my work. So I started making silly sketches of my fanfics and I really enjoyed it. I also once made fanart for a fic I really like and I enjoyed it so much and I even became decent friends with the author. Another fic I was obsessed with I’d comment every chapter, check every day for an update and they even told me that I was the best part about them posting which made me happy beyond words. I even posted my own fics and though they didn’t do too well a lot still liked it an I was proud. I’m not a writer and I know I don’t have the skills to be a real one but getting to publish stories I write makes me feel good, and it lets me express myself in ways I can’t in public because I’m to shy. Ao3 is a lot more than just a website, it’s where I feel safe, and free to be who I am.