#webserials

[businesstiramisu]

the tool gives me 37/156 but it's doing some math based on assumptions that aren't really representative of how I approach reading these. So instead breaking it down:

13 complete (none later than 2017 for me)

30 that I've given a good try reading. Some of these I don't want to pick back up eventually, but some of them I do

27 more that I recognized the title and have considered checking out. (maybe a quarter to a third of these newer than 2017)

That's still less than half of the list. I guess you could say i'm vaguely paying attention to this scene but not really reading much of it, especially in the past 8 years. I haven't even glanced at Seek or Claw yet, and those are both Wildbow!

what is is that makes these 'canonical?'

Makin/recordcrash (OP of the checklist and this tumblr post) has been the big name reviewer/reccer of webserials (well, ~gestures vaguely~ this kind of webserial) for years now. You can check out his reviews here and aggregated reviews on his Shills List. So, while I'm guessing the answer is just "Makin's personal opinion", his personal opinion carries more weight than most people's.

EDIT: oh yeah -- see the bottom of the page: "Data from RoyalRoad and multiple fiction sites, sorted on vibes, made by Makin"

Other misc observations:

I didn't hear about The Martian or John Dies at the End until they were traditionally published, so I kinda feel like I'm cheating by counting them...

really surprised to see muffinlance on here! I think of her mostly as an ATLA Tumblr BNF and had no idea this crowd knew about her. But Fox's Tongue and Kirin's Bone is OFic (not that Fanfic is entirely excluded: HPMOR, Bavitz's Pokemon fic, at least a couple more are on here) and I'm not surprised that some of these folks like her writing.

oh, i can copy the chart as an image! Why not:

I saw the website Anime Sedai on /a/ the other day. People were using it to share what seasonal anime they watched every year, half bragging, half tracking their own progress.

That gave me an idea. It’s open source, so I’ve made my own, webfic-themed version!

I’m curious how canonical my stats+vibes-based choices actually are, so let me know how your graph looks like—there’s a button at the bottom to export your lists.

Mine looks like this:

[cpericardium]

Mine was 1.7m words (Fallout Equestria: Project Horizons ask me about that sometime, my thoughts on it are mixed) which probably makes Worm the second longest. Pale fandom I guess this is your time to shine.

Reblog for larger sample size!! I'm really interested to see if there are that many wild webserial/fanfic readers

Typo edit: the third-last poll option should be 900k-1.5m and also I forgot 400k-500k

[yardsards]

everything in this life is temporary. except that fandom hyperfixation from when you were 14. that thang will be with you forever there's no escaping.

[hoot-hoot07]

Butterflies 🦋

[emrowene]

pspspsps if you want to write a longer story that doesn't fit the modern multi-novel series structure can I interest you in a (opens my coat to reveal substack and tapas and royalroad and a million talented author sites) webserial?

If you want to write stories and you feel like you're not managing to write the way you want to, maybe you haven’t found your medium yet.

I’m not talking about making money, I’m not talking about getting some agent or publisher to see money in your work. I’m talking about you, writing what you want to write.

I love writing. I do not love writing novels. They hurt me, physically. I have been so much happier since I stopped trying to force myself to write novels and disappeared into my flash fiction and short stories.

Maybe novels aren’t your thing either. And maybe short stories aren’t! Maybe your words want to be poured into poems, or songs, or TTRPG campaings, or drabbles, or podcasts, or anecdotes, or (screen)plays, or something else entirely!

There are so many ways to be a writer, and even more to be a storyteller. You don’t have to let yourself be bullied by a medium that does not suit your creativity.

[francoisl-artblog]

" Cement, Cement, Cement

Make sure to hold your breath

Once you hit the bottom,

a fate way worse than death

Cement, Cement, Cement "

Something slightly different, got this song inside my head for days.

(Or "Béton, Béton, Béton" in french, but it fit a bit less with the music.)

Version without the Smiling dead under the cut.

Gaslight District (C) Glitch Production

Artwork made by me.

[sulietsexual]

On August 20th 2014 the first episode of Carmilla aired on Youtube

[violetwolfraven]

Carmilla (2014-2017) really did have it all huh. Lesbians. Vampires. Cults. Mildly toxic main relationship. Canon nonbinary character. Most of the action happening offscreen. Shitty special effects. One (1) straight character and he was a himbo. Sponsored by a period products brand. Some pretty damn good costuming for that low of a budget. And it was all literally just a college au fanfic of a novel from the 19th century. Truly peak entertainment.

[storycraftcafe]

I should dig up the webserial I was reading that just finished.

Maybe try one myself inbetween novel work.

Seriously though, get some free reads! Engage with the writers!

Webserials and Why You Should Read Them

Welcome to a short primer on webserials! The concept behind them is pretty simple: webserials, also called webnovels or webfiction, are serialized online novels. If you read long fanfics OR webcomics, you're probably already familiar with the concept. Authors release new chapters on a fixed basis, usually one chapter a week (but sometimes more, sometimes less).

You can find webserials in several places: on big platforms like tapas and royalroad, on individual authors' websites or patreons, or on newsletter platforms like substack.

So now we know what webserials are, but why should we support them?

Because webserials are fun. Because webserial authors are sharing amazing works online for free! Because the publishing industry is disproportionately hard to get into for queer and marginalized folks, and those are the people writing webserials.

To climb a little higher onto my soapbox, I believe webserials are the future of accessible and diverse publishing. There's been more and more discussion about the problems with traditional publishing: how publishers are turning it into a "fast fashion" industry, spitting out books while overall book quality decreases. Regardless of whether you believe that, it's true that the industry prioritizes "marketability" over anything else. Experimental books, passion projects, books that have a lot of heart but no pithy "tropes" -- they stand little chance in the world of traditional publishing, and self-publishing is incredibly inaccessible for most of us. It's expensive, but more than that, it takes an incredible amount of time and effort. It's a business, and at the end of the day, some of just want to share the stories we love with people we hope will love them too. And that's the beauty of webserials!

One complaint I've seen about webserials is that "you never know what the quality will be like" - and I've seen this from people who regularly read fanfiction! Like fanfiction writers, we have our beta readers, we have our editors, we pour our hearts into developing our stories. So give us a try!!

Some recs and places to get started under the cut:

My webserials:

Fractured Magic - A queer epic fantasy series about a broken hero’s hunt for redemption and an elven prince’s quest to rescue his kidnapped king. The two estranged friends are racing against time - and dead gods - to achieve their goals. Will they make up and work together before it’s too late? (This story is currently ongoing)

The Case Files of Sheridan Bell - An old-school detective mystery set in Tamarley, a fantastical city with magical murders and doors to other worlds. Basically (queer, autistic) Sherlock Holmes but with more faeries. The first mystery is complete; the second will be published soon!

Some other webserials I follow/followed from start to finish:

What Manner of Man by @stjohnstarling - a queer gothic romance novel about a priest and a vampire.

The Warthog Report by @warthogreporter- this substack contains a selection of nonfiction writing, misc. fiction writings, and Battles Beneath The Stars, a serialized story about a tournament in a fantasy world, styled like a fighting game script/walkthrough.

Kiss it Better by DogshitJay - A (definitely 18+) queer adult romance about the messy endings and messier beginnings of love.

Warrior of Hearts by Beau Van Dalen - a queer slice of life romance following an online friendship that blossoms into something more. (Beau has lots of other great webserials as well!)

More places to look:

Tapas (Community novels page)

Royalroad (mostly known for its litrpg scene, but you can find other novels and genres here as well!)

The ao3 "Original Works" tag!

[goldenmotive]

SQUEALER KART. MOVER 12. WILDBOW RACING.

dreaming of the tie-in racing game that this franchise deserves

[p0ssumkingdom]

interesting idea...

[decay-1]

Soldier!Ena makes me so gay, can I please ask for another imagine of her being domineering and where she maybe calls reader cute? 🥺🙏✨️

Here you go! I mixed in 2 requests in this one; hopefully you guys like the way I went with writing this!

I'm way 2 lazy to continue editing, so it's probably kinda ass, but yea, I'd love feedback!

“Not even a fool would leave your side, my dear.”

You would’ve been killed had she not come in at the last second, blowing a shot into your enemy’s guts and rendering them dead. 

Yet… She continued firing, no matter how much you told her to stop. It kept going, bullet after bullet, blood spill after blood spill, until the entity was ultimately unrecognizable. The blood filled the dirt, seeping into the cracks caused by the war and seeping under Ena’s feet. 

The blood rippled disgustingly with each shot ringing in the air.

“It’s DEAD, Ena!”

You ran over and grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her. Your warm touch seems to have woken her up from her dissociative state.

Her stare felt off. Her actions were so… unlike her; she’s never lost her cool this much to start wasting bullets on a nobody.

You were about to ask if she was injured, but she had thrown the gun onto the dirt and practically jumped onto you. She wrapped her arms around you, firmly, as if you would slip from her fingers at any moment. One hand was firmly wrapped around your waist, pushing you into her, and the other was behind your head. 

“Ena—? this isn’t the time nor place—”

“No matter—are you okay? Injured? Did anything get its hands on you?” She shouted breathlessly over the missiles, pulling back and putting her hands all over your person to check for injuries.

You could feel her tremble, and the slight stutter in her voice was hard to ignore. It gave you a bad feeling in your chest, specifically the left side, for some… strange reason.

“No—! no, I’m alright—” You dropped your gun to grab her shaky hands, halting her frantic search. Feeling just how shaky her hands were broke you all the more. “I’m okay thanks to you… But are you okay, Ena?” 

She froze at your question, her wide eyes looking into your worried ones, as if searching for something. Her mouth hung open, yet nothing came out, and she struggled to form a single thought. She looks down at her bloodied shoes for a moment. Your warm hands over hers calms her down, knowing that you’re still there with her.

Taking a much-needed, deep inhale and exhale, she looks up at you, a serene feel surrounding her. Her hands have stopped their trembling; she seemed confident now. And she smirks. 

Seeing her back to her usual self made you nearly start to form a smile of your own.

Her hands carefully rose up to your face; she gently rubbed your cheeks as a way to comfort both you and her. A building crashing down a while away made her hair flow. Beautifully, should you add. 

Wait, what? 

Stepping closer, she spoke smoothly. 

And suddenly you forget about the war raging behind you; you forget the ash and debris falling down like rain everywhere and into your lungs.

"I am by my lover’s side now, aren't I?"

Now it was your turn to be breathless. Did she just…? The area was already as blazing hot as it could be, yet she somehow managed to make you feel even warmer. That can’t be possible, can it? What the hell is she doing to you and…and your heart? The sound of it beating restlessly took over your senses. Was that normal? Is this an enemy attack? Are you dying?!

She chuckles at your state, swiftly snapping you out of your thoughts. 

She's going to be the death of you someday, 

“God, you’re so cute,” she hums, her nose a hair away from yours.

and somehow, you’re not against it.

You sweat-dropped from all the warm feelings bubbling up in your chest. Trying to think of something—anything— to say, you then remembered something:

“Hey—wait—aren’t you supposed to be on the other side?”

She tilted her head and spoke as if it was obvious.

“Not even a fool would think of leaving your side, my dear.”

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Hallo haaalloooo halloo!!!! Ur writing is lovely! I too miss series ENA so can we get some fluff HCs of her with a human partner trying to explain that humans need to sleep? I don’t think enas need sleep so it’s a bit of a silly idea to me. It’s like “ARE YOU DEAD” “wgat”

Most Enas don't require sleep.

You had no idea until Blue-Yellow Ena, who wanted to spend the night at your place, asked why you're dressed in cozy clothing and engaging in a "peculiar routine", as she called it.

The last thing you expected was for her to be confused by the words "getting ready for bed".

"What do you mean? What are we getting the bed ready for?" She asks innocently. "A special occasion?"

As someone from the human world, you thought sleep was a universal experience for all living beings--but apparently for Ena's species, that wasn't the case, judging by her growing curiosity on why you need this "sleep".

Maybe the reason for her dysregulated emotions was that a proper sleep cycle was never programmed into her biology/code(?).

That could also be why other entities in this world didn't like her so much. They sleep, and she doesn't.

Either way, no matter how carefully you explain it, you're gonna be shaken awake by Sad Ena several minutes after you drift off to sleep, assuming you died when you suddenly stopped responding to her.

"NO, NO, NO!!! YOU CAN'T BE DEAD!! HOW CAN I GO ON WITHOUT YOU????"

".....girl wha...?"

"..o-oh! You're okay...?"

You end up letting her cuddle with you, in which your girlfriend returns to normal and feels bad for waking you.

She might not 100% understand the concept of sleep, but....she'll try her best to imitate it.

You've conformed to the "rules" of her strange world, so she could try to conform to yours and your human experiences if it helps you feel more comfortable.

But it's hard when she's still worried about whether you're dead or not, so she remains awake most of the night, keeping her head near your chest to make sure you're breathing.

When Moony hears about this "experience", she'll tease Ena about being a "creep" and a "total weirdo" for watching you sleep.

You roll your eyes to the sky, but Ena just smiles and assures the moon that you're safe and had a restful slumber thanks to her efforts.

[ukulelekatie]

“Naive, provincial girl. Entirely too tightly wound. Such a cliché. I oughta know better…”

Happy 10th anniversary Carmilla 🖤

[factoryfollies]

do do dodo do :o)