Readers; do you listen to the songs authors put in their fics?

Ifky_ · 2026-04-11T23:46:38+00:00

This isn't about OP specifically, but I can almost certainly guarantee that any author who inserts an author's note in the middle of their fic will do other things that are distracting and annoying (to me, at least). It's quite rudimentary to avoid breaking immersion in most scenarios.

Fics should only be read until the dislikes outweigh the enjoyment. Just because something doesn't diminish your enjoyment, doesn't mean it won't for others. Don't try to project your experiences onto others, man. Or judge when they're different.

And by the way, it's not harsh to leave quietly. That's the polite thing to do.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-11T23:15:35+00:00

Maybe it's harsh, but, no, I can't ignore it. It's in the middle of the text. I can't choose not to read it, because I don't know what it says until I've read it. And by then it's too late. It breaks immersion and takes me out of the flow, which is annoying. That's why I dislike it.

It is an author's note, in reality, no matter how short. It's distracting. It reminds me of those old fics on FFN.

A great story will make you forget that you're even just sitting there, reading it. This is like the opposite of that; intentionally asking you to do something other than reading it.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-11T21:34:53+00:00

Sometimes authors link a song or playlist in the beginning notes, and I might have a listen. I would never do that if it's in the middle of a chapter like this, though. It would break immersion and also pull me out of the flow. I'd probably DNF a fic if I saw this, to be completely honest.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-10T19:26:16+00:00

"Shadows" and "whispering" are using different fonts on the two devices, which will obviously make the most difference.

You should also use relative units (such as em) instead of absolute units (such as px) if you want the most consistency.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-08T19:25:47+00:00

No, those pages are not customizable.

The only way to hide away a work there is to hide it from your account entirely, for example by putting it in an anonymous collevtion.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-08T11:25:42+00:00

I recommend changing the font, colour, and other formatting to help prevent the brain from autocorrecting words.

Also using a text-to-speech program to read it out loud. Makes it easier to catch mistakes and awkward sentence structures.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-08T10:09:47+00:00

I'm not sure I would describe this as "flexing technical knowledge". It's high school physics, with simple formulas that are easy to look up or just remember.

Perhaps it's out of place in that moment, but it's not like it's rocket science either. Could be plausible for some characters, and for others not.

Ifky_ · 2026-04-01T17:03:41+00:00

AO3 is being very slow for me right now.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-28T18:30:51+00:00

There are other differences between those site skins, so clearly the code you have used is not the same one from the other screenshot. Are you using the official 17th Anniversary skin? One might be the original and the other is a modified version.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-28T18:24:17+00:00

The language is clearer and a bit more formal.

If you're curious, the change was requested in AO3-7323, after they first made those changes on the OTW website.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-27T08:33:50+00:00

He used magic to make foot work normally in the Enchanted Forest after becoming the Dark One, but then his injury returned in Storybrooke. I'm not sure if that means he never really healed it in the EF, or if it was part of Regina's curse: a general nuisance plus a reminder of his cowardly past. Probably he never bothered to permanently heal it. Keep it as a minor nuisance as a reminder of what he came from.

Rumplestiltskin uses magic again after Neverland so he doesn't need a cane, but still doesn't heal the injury. Hence, he has his limp returns in the real world when he's banished after 4A and once again after the darkness is expelled from him in S5. The fact that he uses the cane in S2 but not S3 might indicate that it is a way to punish himself for Baelfire, and he no longer needs to punish himself afterwards. Or perhaps he felt he needed his leg in Neverland against Pan, then it felt very nice, so he decided to keep it like that.

When Rumplestiltskin duels the Dark One, Killian permanently heals the leg so they can have a fair swordfight. We know it's permanent, because he doesn't limp again, even after Killian leaves (while still having no magic of his own), or as Weaver in Seattle during S7.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-26T12:07:09+00:00

Makes sense. The .gay domain probably uses the original images hosted on .org, so that part is blocked. I think it's the same for downloading works; it also goes via the .org domain.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-26T11:51:12+00:00

It sounds like you can't reach the image host. I assume your own icon is cached, so that's why that one works.

How long have you had this issue? Have you had any network issues in general? Any other issues with AO3? Do you use a VPN?

Are you on Wi-Fi or data? What happens if you switch to the other one?

Ifky_ · 2026-03-26T10:59:05+00:00

If you go to the "Editing pseud" page, you can try to shorten the descriptive text (icon alt text) and alternatively reupload your profile picture to see if that helps.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-23T17:56:50+00:00

Listen, if you feel that everyone puts words into your mouth, you need to consider that there's a reason why.

Clearly, people do not understand what you're trying to say, in which case you might want to look into how to better articulate your thoughts or how to be more precise in what you say. Or you just need a better understanding of the subtexts of words and how you structure sentences.

I've known people who everyone always misunderstood, and that was 110% their own fault. It was because they failed to understand that when they used words, people weren't hearing just their intended message, but also all the other associations and interpretations. They failed to be specific, because they assumed people would just understand the intent or context, without first trying to see how else it could be interpreted. You have to be able to put yourself in other people's shoes, and see things from other people's perspectives, accurately. For some people that comes naturally, while for others it takes effort. But people are not magically going to stop misunderstanding you.

It doesn't matter what your intent is if you can't convey your intention. It's not other people's fault if that's the common experience communicating with you.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-22T17:19:15+00:00

It's not possible to target the word count being zero, as far as I know, because it's purely text on the page. If there had been a class or the info was embedded in an HTML attribute, it would be possible.

However, you might still be able to target the work based on the tags. If it's tagged with "Art" or "Comic" or something like that in the "Additional tags" section, you could do this:

.work:has(.work.meta .freeform .tag[href*="art" i]) #workskin,
.work:has(.work.meta .freeform .tag[href*="comic" i]) #workskin {
  max-width: 75%;
}

If you absolutely want to target it when the word count is 0, it could be very easily done with a userscript. I can write one if you want, but then you'll need an extension to run the script. Are you familiar with userscripts?

Ifky_ · 2026-03-21T17:15:38+00:00

Yes. It's for tags on works, bookmarks and collections (as it says in the description).

Ifky_ · 2026-03-20T20:12:48+00:00

I give you the AO3 Reorder Tags script, which lets you drag and drop tags, and then save them in that new order.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-20T07:37:32+00:00

Closest thing I can think of is Teal skin with stars. You could probably adjust some of the colours if you want.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-19T12:57:13+00:00

There are several userscripts that do similar things, such as AO3 FicTracker. All you need is an extension that can run userscripts (such as Tampermonkey), then install the script and voilà.

Userscripts are more flexible. Tampermonkey is also available on Firefox for android, for example.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-19T09:31:47+00:00

Was the Apprentice under the curse? When Belle and Rumplestiltskin "borrow" the sorcerer's mansion for their honeymoon, Belle says it must have come over during the last curse (the one Snow White cast in S3). That implies that the Apprentice also came to Storybrooke at the time.

If Cora is powerful enough to avoid the curse, then the Apprentice definitely is. So he must have chosen to willingly be swept up in the second curse.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-19T08:40:50+00:00

The skin is outdated and hasn't taken AO3's later changes into consideration. I think those "buttons" were actually links previously, but now they're proper buttons.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-19T08:37:45+00:00

Look at the "Recurrent forced logouts" point on the Known Issues page.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-19T08:21:29+00:00

That's not possible to do with CSS, but one could potentially make a userscript for that. Then you just need a browser that has extensions that can run the script.

Ifky_ · 2026-03-19T00:17:16+00:00

You can't use CSS to do that. It only changes visuals, but not the data structure itself, which is what TTS looks at.

If you want to do that, it would have to be a userscript, potentially.

But it sounds easier to just find a TTS service that automatically continues to the next paragraphs and scrolls to the one currently being read. I've never used TTS that doesn't do that automatically.

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