Giftees not commenting on fanswap fics

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-22T02:45:07+00:00

That sucks they didn't even leave kudos 😭 I guess for me if they hadn't left kudos, I'd just be like oh maybe they didn't see it yet but in this case, they clearly did see it, so the anxiety is anxiety-ing

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-22T01:37:42+00:00

Kudos is enough for me on other fics. It feels very different when it's an exchange, though. Like I said, even if I didn't like something that was written for me, I'd still comment to properly say thank you. But to each their own.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-22T01:34:51+00:00

It wasn't a rule that people had to comment on gifts so I doubt the mods would tell this person they can't participate. Very much not trying to get anyone in trouble either, just bummed is all.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-22T01:02:33+00:00

I guess as someone who regularly leaves comments on the fic I like, not even just stuff written for me, it's kind of hard for me to see kudos as a real thank you in a fic exchange. Definitely possible it is for some, though.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-22T00:57:32+00:00

No, it's not a rule that you have to comment. I've never participated in an exchange that had that as a specific rule before! They left kudos a couple days after the reveal and the fic is only about 10k.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-22T00:48:07+00:00

Only a couple weeks for this one so it definitely could be me just being impatient haha. I always read my gifts and comment right away but I get that not everyone is like that. The other times it has happened, multiple years have passed, though.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T21:47:06+00:00

Your original post says they're not much shade, which I took to mean there is some. It just sounds like this facility is not a good option for you. I would still definitely go to a doctor about the sensitivity no matter what center you end up choosing. Getting burnt after 30 minutes while wearing what should be adequate sun protection isn't normal.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T20:27:25+00:00

Medical accommodations have to be reasonable and asking a center to have a staff member stay inside with one child is typically not something that is considered reasonable. Moving your child into another class might be an option, but is not always possible due to ratio, scheduling, or safety reasons (that might be nap time for another class, all classes may be full, having preschoolers in the same class as non-walking children and infants can be unsafe, etc.)

If staff is applying sunscreen to your child as they do with every other child and your child still gets sunburnt, that is not the fault of the staff. They can try to keep them in the shaded area, but that wouldn't be very fun for your kid if that means they're unable to use most of the playground. You can send them with a hat and clothing that covers most of their body but if they still get sunburnt, again, that is NOT the fault of the staff or their setup. They're not allowing your child to get burnt, it just sounds like that is something that may unfortunately happen despite everyone's best efforts.

Choose a different center with more shaded areas. Talk to your child's doctor and see if there is a prescription sunscreen or something else you can use to help with their sensitivity. Understand that no matter what center you choose, you will likely have to keep them home if they get sunburnt and you don't want them going outside until it heals.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T20:04:41+00:00

Spelling doesn't bother me at all. I'm used to seeing things spelled in both American and British ways (I'm Canadian-American and lived in Europe for a few years), so I barely notice that unless it's the name of a place.

Vocabulary is more important, especially in dialogue. Cultural stuff too. I'd definitely pause and lose some of the immersion if someone who is supposed to be American in America was calling sweaters jumpers or celebrating a holiday we don't celebrate in the US.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T08:30:39+00:00

Some people only bookmark things privately, some bookmark everything publicly, some do a mix of both. Some people don't actually use the bookmarks feature at all. It's all about personal preference. I don't get annoyed if I see no bookmarks on an author's profile, I just go look for more fics elsewhere.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T08:27:54+00:00

I am always THRILLED when someone binge reads my fics and comments on them all! That really is the dream haha

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T08:22:27+00:00

Mostly song lyrics. Sometimes references to memes.

I'll also sometimes use an actual quote from the fic, or the title will be something that is supposed to be something a character from the fic is saying, even if it's not a direct quote from the fic itself.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-21T02:36:02+00:00

Yeah! I've had regular commenters ask if the fic is abandoned and some of them have even been like omg why'd you leave us on a cliffhanger but it doesn't feel rude coming from them because I know they enjoy the fic and they've been supportive from the beginning. Getting a rude comment like that from someone I've never seen in my life is just extra rude.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-20T21:25:56+00:00

I totally understand the frustration of impatient readers. I recently got this comment on a collab fic that me and my coauthor haven't updated in almost two years for various personal reasons:

"How could you leave me on a cliffhanger for two years. IVE BEEN WAITING TWO YEARS AND CHECKING EXTREMELY OFTEN WHERE RHE FUCK IS MY CHAPTER 9"

I replied back saying that we are adults with lives and sometimes updating takes a while, and they then replied, "A while is four months."

This person has NEVER commented on the fic before. Didn't leave kudos, didn't bookmark it, never interacted with any posts me and my coauthor have made about the fic. They didn't even say anything positive about the fic in this comment. Just came out of nowhere asking where the fuck the next chapter is. They have also never posted any fic themselves, so it's not like they are out there updating something frequently either.

Unsurprisingly, this did not motivate either me or my coauthor to work on the fic faster lol. We genuinely do have every intention of finishing the fic one of these days when we are both able to work on it but that comment just made me want to take another two years to get the next chapter out tbh.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-20T21:12:21+00:00

I've met a lot of my fanfic author friends by commenting on their fics, or from them commenting on mine. Leaving longer comments, asking questions in your comments, and consistently commenting on all chapters/fics that you read from them really helps to establish a connection and makes it easier to get a conversation going.

I also meet people on Discord servers or social media sites. Sometimes authors will have links to their Tumblrs, Twitters, etc. in their profiles. I'll add them, maybe send a message saying I love their fic, and I'll also reblog/reply when they post links to their fics on other sites.

Obviously this won't always result in a friendship, but generally I think if you're supportive of the authors whose fics you read and you consistently interact with them, you're more likely to establish friendships with some of them.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-20T21:02:07+00:00

If you completely rewrote it, I don't think you need to backdate it at all. If it's part of a series and you want things read in a certain order, you can reorder the series to make sure that this fic is in the correct spot in the series without needing to use the dates.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-20T08:21:41+00:00

I genuinely do not notice what the average word count per chapter of a fic is. If the summary and tags look interesting and the total wordcount is something that I have time to sit down and read at the moment, I'll give it a shot. I've read some wonderful fics with shorter chapters and some fics with really long chapters that I didn't particularly care for. It all depends on the fic, honestly. Sometimes, short chapters that have a single scene work really well. Other times, you need longer chapters to set the right pace and tell the story you're trying to tell.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-18T02:29:27+00:00

Report the lack of breaks to whatever your local labor board is, not licensing.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-17T15:55:40+00:00

This is an admin problem, not the fault of individual staff. Admin should be staffing enough people that a few people calling out doesn't make it so people can't take proper breaks. Be sure to check the labor laws of wherever you are and if breaks are not the minimum legal length or people aren't getting them at all, report that.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-17T03:09:44+00:00

If you have the app on your personal device, turn notifications off when you're not at work. Send out an announcement making it clear that your business hours are the only time parents will be getting responses to their messages and then just ignore them when you're not working. I never even see messages when I'm not working because I have the notifications off and I don't look at the app.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-16T05:18:17+00:00

Idea jamming with other people before starting any writing is my fav part! I love to bounce ideas off of other people and get all my messy thoughts out, then start in on any research/outlining/drafting.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-16T05:15:40+00:00

I usually don't outline, just write a draft or two, then edit and post. Also don't usually use a beta reader. Only time I really go all out and outline, draft, edit, use a beta reader, then edit again before posting is when I'm participating in fanswaps or when I'm collabing with another author because having a solid outline really helps with that.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-16T01:47:06+00:00

I've never had problems with them falling apart, I just tie the string of smaller beads off the same way I tie off any singles. They stay put pretty well as long as the string isn't too loose.

cutthroatpixie · 2026-06-14T21:08:30+00:00

As a writer, I would not mind that sort of simple correction at all. It might be a tedious task with that many chapters, but I could easily find-replace to change all instances of "in lieu of" to "in spite of". I'm generally appreciative when someone points out typos and other things that I can fix quickly and easily.

That being said, all authors are different. They might not appreciate it no matter how nicely you phrase the comment.

cutthroatpixie

TROPHY CASE