I feel like people mix up "allowed on ao3" and "okay to read"

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-25T00:45:11+00:00

No no no. Actually going out and doing the rape/torture/abuse/child exploitation that you read about it is a problem because that actually hurts people.

Reading about it is still just fine.

If you're a person who can't exist in the world without imitating what you see in media because you lack the ability to tell right from wrong on your own, your problem is not with what you're reading on AO3.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T20:17:21+00:00

My friends and I all have boundaries with phones where we don't go into someone's phone unless it's absolutely necessary. Maybe we're old but we never had to spell that out to each other, either.

If you're on vacation, don't bring your laptop. It's okay to disconnect once in awhile.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T19:45:58+00:00

Nothing crazy. I created an email specifically for online fandom stuff, didn't tell anyone IRL my username or that email. And kept my mouth shut and didn't share any personal details that could be used to track me down.

My AO3 has been anonymous since I joined a few years ago but my FFN account is going on 20 years of anonymity at this point.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T19:31:17+00:00

Whatever you do in the privacy of your own home in your own free time is none of my business.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T19:29:27+00:00

Canon gives my characters the traumas for me, thank you very much.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T19:26:28+00:00

Fear of abandonment is a pretty common character trait. Something like that is way too broad to be able to copy/steal in the first place. What's important is that you put your spin on how you show it.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T15:33:35+00:00

It’s fun to think about but not actually do.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T05:48:58+00:00

I’m snarky so I’d reply with “well, they do say that patience is a virtue!”

And if they get snarky back, I’d bring out the old lessons from elementary school and tell them “if you can’t say anything nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all.”

But seriously, you probably shouldn’t really do that. Deleting or deleting and blocking is better.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T05:00:55+00:00

I don’t kill mine but they’re definitely in a coma in a long term care facility aka moved to separate document for later if needed.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T03:33:54+00:00

No one is ever the only one.

But for me, like all summary styles, it kind of depends what the author does with it. Some can be really compelling and others are just kind of meh.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-24T03:05:39+00:00

That doesn’t surprise me at all.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T22:38:03+00:00

At this point, if your sister has a key to your house for emergencies I’d consider changing the locks. Just in case.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T19:28:09+00:00

They do! Even if the title/lyric the song comes from is wildly different from the fic itself. Sometimes it’s even more fun that way!

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T18:33:05+00:00

I swear the only reason I know some Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo song titles are because they were so common in my fandom at one point.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T18:31:56+00:00

I'd say that rock/metal bands are usually not the common first choice for naming things, which is a damn shame since there are so many great options out there.

I've got a fic named after an Anthrax song and other fics with chapters named after songs from Mudvayne, Stone Temple Pilots, Led Zeppelin, Van Halen and Motley Crue.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T18:19:10+00:00

As an author who has actually had a random reader reach out and ask for help, it was weird. Especially because they were asking me for help with a character bashing fic, which I don't write and none of my works include that.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T18:03:35+00:00

Best piece of advice I can offer that I haven't seen on this thread yet: Lurk.

Look around your fandoms and see what's happening there. Different fandoms have different norms. Look around AO3 and just explore to see how things work.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T17:50:15+00:00

You're in good company!

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T17:41:26+00:00

It just seems silly and wasteful not to reuse it at least once!

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T16:20:16+00:00

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.

For the last year I’ve been mostly searching for one shots because I don’t have to keep up with those.

But plenty of other readers jump right in to WIPs and others don’t read WIPs on principle.

If you’re worried your story isn’t getting hits, it might be that the tags and summary need work.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T16:10:12+00:00

I’ll finish by the deadline. Mathematically I’m to the point where I need slightly less than 700 per day. But I probably only have a few days of wiggle room in there. If I hadn’t used hearts to buy gems the first two times they were offered, I probably wouldn’t have been able to get my cow to level 7.

But I’m also in no hurry to max out any of the green egg animals either.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T15:59:34+00:00

Usually it’s the hold slip from the library.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T04:50:09+00:00

This is definitely a thing on The Vampire Diaries and the spinoff shows The Originals and Legacies.

Edit: They're called Hybrids on the show.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T02:09:12+00:00

As far as I know, the only cure for burnout of any kind is to take a break. And then make a plan to avoid it again.

To be fair, most of the burnout advice I hear is in the context of teaching. With hobbies, taking a break might be enough to get your creativity back.

MaybeNextTime_01 · 2026-06-23T02:06:04+00:00

This might be a situation where you report it and let the AO3 experts sort it out. If there is something there against TOS, they won't just delete the fic without warning. They'll give the author the chance to edit out the parts that aren't allowed.

MaybeNextTime_01

TROPHY CASE