me

@funnier-as-a-system

[ID: a news headline from Hot Shot that reads: Woman is Living her Best life. But Like In Her Head / end ID]

a few days ago a coworker asked me to explain Hanukkah and I asked her if she knew what a menorah was. She said, “like the Northern Lights?”

I’m simultaneously haunted by and wild about this concept now. instead of aurora borealis, menorah borealis. menorah borealis

i’m not Jewish but now i’m also captivated by the concept of a menorah borealis, and I didn’t see anyone else drawing it. Hope you like it & hope everyone who celebrates has a lovely Hanukah. <3

Localized entirely within your windowsill?

Is leaving kudos on fanfics not common courtesy anymore?

Something I've noticed on AO3 in the last two years is the lack of kudos and comments left on fanfics.

Fanfics have an increasing number of hits, but their kudos and comments remain minimal.

I understand that leaving comments is daunting, but kudos is the easiest thing you can do to show support and appreciation for an author.

Part of me wants to blame BookTok and the commercialized consumption of books.

Readers are more demanding and impatient for content, but they're quick to move on once a book is published. It's a constant demand for 'More, more, more' without appreciating and/or supporting authors. And these readers are now getting into fanfic.

I don't want to complain because it's not productive. But if you're new and getting into fanfic: Support writers.

Support means leaving kudos on AO3, and if you're able, leaving a comment. It's simple courtesy.

It’s weird. I used to get email alerts every day and now it’s almost nothing.

I don’t want to sound entitled or like I’m complaining. I’m just baffled as to what changed. Are my fic really worth kudos? Does anyone reading them actually like what they’ve read? I don’t get comments after I finish posting—did they like the ending?

I don’t know.

It's demoralising for newer writers especially. I have multiple friends who have written great fics, but have gotten next to nothing back from their readers - and silence doesn't feel very good. No wonder so many of them have given up posting their stories. Why bother creating when silence is your reward?

I think these kinds of posts should be boosted far and wide. There's an "etiquette" to interacting with fanworks on AO3 and people often don't know, because they think in social media terms. Why "like" someone's 5 year old photo? That's creepy, after all.

But AO3 isn't social media, it's an archive and it's perfectly acceptable to kudos/comment on old works, or small fandoms, or to comment on every single thing an author posts and on every new update. Unfortunately, unless one is active in fandom communities on tumblr or reddit, or has writer friends, they'll hardly ever come across the unwritten "rules" about giving kudos, leaving comments or when/how to provide constructive criticism. And they'll just default to "social media behavior". I know I did, before I learned better.

I've been in this space for about 2 years now and the difference in how I interacted with ao3 writers at first, as compared to now, is stark! I've gone from radio silence to pretty much leaving kudos to almost everything I read, and I comment most of the time (though that is dependent on whether I follow a series' updates regularly or whether I batch-read chapters - even readers take a hiatus sometimes).

I've had authors reply that they pushed out an extra chapter because of a kind comment I made, or that I made them laugh/smile/grin. I've subscribed to "dead" fics only to find out (via automated notification and to my absolute delight) that their writers came back months or years after hiatus. Every interaction mattered, in a small insignificant way, but it always felt to me that it mattered more than my standard upvote, like, retweet, because fics themselves (usually) matter more to their authors than a hasty vacation pic on one's social media does. Fics take time and effort, they take commitment, they take something personal from us every time.

Be generous, people. This isn't social media, kudos are not a "seal of approval" that you need to carefully curate. Nice and/or thoughtful comments make someone's day. Be generous and I guarantee that you won't regret it.

That little ♥️ means so much to creators! It takes a lot of effort to create something and share it with you. We are real people, not AI. When you read a fic or enjoy an artwork, please take a moment to tap that little kudos/like button and you might just impact someone in a positive way more than you could imagine. Spread the love!

I have to agree with everything above. I'm not saying the fic that made me want to stop writing was just because only 1.75% of hits got kudos, but I'd be lying if I didn't say how much that hurt, especially for imo one of the best fics I've ever written that I was already barely able to write due to such small kudos to hits ratios lately. I get that it might not have been something everyone was into, but damn. It made me feel like shit. I'm so grateful for everyone who has supported me over the last few years - especially those who have created art for my fics and read and left kudos on everything - but I think the sting of having my writing be unliked by so many people has been really hard to get over. It shot my confidence and I've had trouble writing ever since. And over the years, I have known several writers who have stopped writing altogether because of this, and even left the fandom because of it. I do not plan to do either, but to be honest, it has been a struggle not to be able to do something I really love doing because it just made me feel so bad to do it.

I wish so much that readers didn't use kudos as a measure of how much they like something. I wish so much that it meant, "Hey, it's so cool that you worked so hard on this so I could devour more content about my favorite ship without paying for it," rather than, "This was amazing, one of the most amazing things I've ever read, so I'm going to reward you with the coveted heart of approval I only use to let the most special of writers know they're the best because they deserve it more than everyone else." This can create competition amongst writers when there really shouldn't be. And more than anything, I wish I could just turn kudos off altogether, but I can't because every single kudo I get lifts my spirits just a little, and that's a really hard feeling to walk away from, even though I suspect most of them come from "guest" bots.

It is a dark truth, and writers aren't really allowed to talk about this because we are supposed to be so grateful for every single heart, and talking about this makes us come across as entitled. We provide a free service for our readers, and I consider a kudo to be a way to acknowledge that, and it costs readers absolutely nothing! In the US, we leave money in tip jars for practically everything. Kudos are tips you don't have to pay for. And it's not like anyone's keeping track and judging readers for leaving hearts for fics that might not be the pinnacle of greatness in their opinion. That's what bookmarks are for, and they can be made private. However, people do judge fics for not having that many kudos and some will skip over fics if the kudos-to-hits ratio is too low. So instead of rewarding only the very best fics with kudos, not leaving kudos actually hurts writers. Not to mention the very personal cost of putting ourselves out there and making ourselves completely vulnerable for everyone to judge us against our fellow writers. Many writers write about very personal things, and tbh, not getting kudos can feel like it's not just our writing being rejected, but ourselves.

So if anyone wants to accuse writers of feeling entitled for being upset about not getting enough kudos, please consider how entitled readers who don't leave kudos are for reading our free labor and not clicking a freaking button (that costs them absolutely nothing) in acknowledgment of the service we happily provide, and how ungrateful they are for not appreciating what we do. We don't have to post our writing. We could just "write for ourselves," but we don't; we share what we write with our readers because that give and take relationship should be rewarding for both writers and readers. But not getting kudos does more to discourage writers from writing altogether than to encourage them to provide more content. You wouldn't pay for a fancy coffee or overpriced cocktail drink without leaving a dollar in the tip jar, would you?

So at the very least, I wish people would stop making writers feel guilty for feeling this way, and I wish writers wouldn't buy into this way of thinking rather than valuing all of our hard work and countless hours that go into writing fanfic. Our feelings are valid; we're allowed to feel like shit when our hard work and vulnerability go unacknowledged for the mere reason that it was judged against someone else's work and found wanting. Wouldn't most readers feel that way if it was the other way around?

DEFEND YOUR FUTURE.

Fandom: Frozen (Disney Movies) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Anna/Kristoff, Kristoff & Sven, Ryder Nattura/Sven Characters: Kristoff, Anna, Transfemme!Sven, Ryder Nattura Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Retail, Flirting, Second Chances, Father-Daughter Relationship, Teen Romance, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Female Character, Queer Themes, Gender Dysphoria, gender euphoria, Single dad Kristoff, Kristoff Lets Down His Guard, Pansexual Ryder Nattura, Ryder Nattura is a Sweetheart, Mild Transphobic Bullying Summary:

Kristoff goes to Oaken's Bath & Sauna Works to buy a gender-affirming Valentine's Day gift for his 14-year-old daughter Stephanie (trans femme!Sven), who's barely spoken since her crush broke her heart and humiliated her in front of the whole school. He's lost until a salesperson named Anna helps him find his way around the store.

What's the harm in a little flirtation? She's only being nice so he'll spend more money, anyway. It's all good fun until a candle gets involved.

All Chapters + Bonus Chapter Now Posted on AO3!

Super cute fan art of Stephanie and Ryder created by @99goosebumps

It's happening! And sign-ups open soon, so mark your calendars.

Sign-Ups Open: Friday 9/13 (if not sooner)

Sign-Ups Close: Monday 10/7

Assignments Out: 10/8 (or as sooner)

Assignments Due: Monday 12/23

For those who don't know, the Yuletide Exchange is an annual event for Frozen and Beauty & the Beast fans to create and gift fan works to fellow Frozen and/or BATB creators. This means writers, artists, mood board enthusiasts, etc. How it works: everyone who would like to create/receive a fan work will sign up on AO3, stating what kind of gift you'd like to receive and what kind of work you'd like to create. More details to come!

❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹❄️🌹

I know it seems early considering it's only September, but we wanted to give the creators time to work on their creations. Fall is a busy time, what with October festivities and Nanowrimo, so we hope it will be enough time so more people are able to sign up. We're also not going to be hosting any other fall events this year, though @firawren is hosting a BATB event this month, so please message her for more details if you're interested. (BATB Week)

PLEASE REBLOG SO EVERYONE CAN GET READY TO PARTICIPATE!!! Please and thank you :)

DM me or co-mod @paigebstorey if you have any questions.

Beautiful banner made by @sunflowers-and-sandwiches!

I know, I know, it's only August! But we're trying to plan ahead for this year's Yuletide event. But first, we wanted to see if anyone is interested so creators will have enough time to work on their gifts.

Awesome! If you have any questions, please feel free to send and ask or DM to me or co-mod @paigebstorey.

I know, I know, it's only August! But we're trying to plan ahead for this year's Yuletide event. But first, we wanted to see if anyone is interested so creators will have enough time to work on their gifts.

Awesome! If you have any questions, please feel free to send and ask or DM to me or co-mod @paigebstorey.

I know, I know, it's only August! But we're trying to plan ahead for this year's Yuletide event. But first, we wanted to see if anyone is interested so creators will have enough time to work on their gifts.

Awesome! If you have any questions, please feel free to send and ask or DM to me or co-mod @paigebstorey.

Shout-out to systems who mistook their system hood for other disorders. Shout-out to systems who struggled to find an answer that felt right. Shout-out to systems who thought they found the reason for their symptoms but turned out to be wrong. Shout-out to systems who are currently or formerly misdiagnosed with something else. Shout-out to systems who didn't know they were systems before.

A friendly reminder that (P)DID and OSDD are not mental impairments and are not evil. They just happen when a kid had a rough time. For us, we denied that we even had trauma until January. And we still don't know exactly what trauma we had before age 9; The only ones we remember were more recent than that. Hooray for traumagenic amnesia! (painful laugh)

• Overbaring parents/guardians are trauma enough

• Bullies in school are trauma enough

• Absentee parents/guardians are trauma enough

• Frequent moving house is trauma enough

• Divorce or loss of family is trauma enough

• Your pain is trauma enough

And you don't need to be a broken child to be plural! Endogenic systems are real and valid plural systems!

On top of this, plurality is not a rare occurrence. DID alone is diagnosed in 1-3 percent of adults. Thats up to 80 MILLION people worldwide; about as many as have ginger hair!

If you are curious about the possibility that you might be part of a system, I encourage you to do some self-exploration. System life is a very different way to be a human, but IMO it's a lot cooler lol. And there are soo many plural people out there that truly understand what you're going through. You don't have to be scared. And more than that, you don't have to pursue a diagnosis if you don't want to! There are people like us who will love you for who you are, regardless of what the mental institutions and the haters have to say ❤️

Stay safe, and stay strong 💪

We can get through this, together 🫶

Apparently back in the day lighthouse keepers HAD to have a wife to get the job so they wouldn’t be too lonely and go insane. So what I’m saying is

Fake dating au where they pretend to be married so one of them can get a job as a lighthouse keeper.

They both like solitude. It's the way they met in the first place, and the whole reason why he wants the job. But the lighthouse owner won't let him have it without a wife to keep him company out there, no matter how much he tells them he doesn't need one.

He finds her at the tide pools below the cliff, where he always does. She's never happy to be found, and she's definitely not happy with his idea that they get married. But he explains in his quiet patient way that it won't be real, just a way for them both to have their solitude. She'll be able to devote all her time to studying those little sea creatures she likes so much, without having to worry about meeting her father's expectations for cooking and taking care of the mean old man's house. The lighthouse keeper won't ask that of her. He'd rather do it himself. He likes his solitude after all.

The first couple months of their marriage are fine. They stay out of each other's way. There's a little room, probably meant as a nursery, that she stays in. He calls her Salty, because of how she's always crusted in it from working out at the tide pools, and because of the less-than-demure way she speaks to him. She doesn't call him anything.

When the rain starts in the fall, they're suddenly stuck in the tiny house together a lot. He plays guitar and sings to himself. It's not so bad being stuck with him then. She wonders if he did this during the summertime too, and she just never was around to see it. She wonders what else she's been missing.

He's up all night during the first really big storm, fighting to keep the light going. When he stumbles back into the house at dawn, soaked and shaking so hard his teeth clack together, she's already awake and has a big fire going and hot coffee made. She doesn't tell him that she stayed up all night too.

Turns out nights like this aren't that unusual at the lighthouse. He doesn't complain. It's the job. But one frigid morning, even the fire and the coffee can't seem to warm him up again. Salty comes into his bedroom complaining that she can hear him shivering from out in the living room and climbs under the blankets and wraps her body around him tight. They don't talk, and he soon stops shivering, and she leaves.

That night, she barges back into his room, complaining about having to make sure he's still warm enough. He doesn't protest when she wraps him up again. He doesn't protest when she's still there in the morning, looking so peaceful in her sleep.

The next night, she doesn't even make an excuse, just comes in again, giving him a look that he knows means don't you dare say anything. He obeys.

The night after that, he's the one who wraps her up in his arms.

It's easy to finally kiss one night when it's so dark in the bed they can't even see the other's nose in front of them. It's easy to keep kissing until the kisses become so much more, until they're both wrapped up in each other.

It's still a long time before they kiss in the day, in the light. That feels like crossing the final line. Neither one of them know if the other one wants it. They both like their solitude, after all, and they're not big on talking, especially the lighthouse keeper. Salty would say that it's the fault of the first warmth of spring and the stupid sunshine that makes her go silly and grab his shirt and kiss him while he's planting their little garden. But she's smiling at him when they finish the kiss, dirt on her cheeks from his hands, salt in her wild hair, and he's sure he looks just as flushed and undone and luminously happy as she does.

Beautiful 😍