#helpful post

[lonely-parrot]

A Guide To Searching Fics On AO3

I feel like i've seen a lot of people who didn't know how to search for fics on ao3, so today I'm going to try to make the most efficient guide to AO3

If you too feel like you have trouble searching fics for yourself when it's not a rec you've seen, this guide is for you!

First, how to get on the search page (this one is easy)

Now : this is what you see, and i'm going to detail everything for you guys

(those examples will be centered around my fandom (the marauders, so HP) but it applies for everyone)

Okay, the first thing you see is: any field. This one is for like if you don't remember the name of the story or the author, but you know that there's this one striking tag, well, then you will find all the works with this tag. Of course, you can do a much more precise research, but we'll see that later.

Then Title and Author are pretty self-explanatory, you just have to know the name of either or both, and you'll find it rather easily.

I have to admit I don't use date much, but i think it can be more useful when you're in a small fandom/ or you like rareships, and you've already read everything, you can search. You can search for the exact way to use it with the interrogation point, if you're interested in that kind of feature!

Same goes for completion status. Don't forget loving WIPs is essential for a fandom to live <3 but we all get the urge to just dive and read a good fanfic on one sitting once in a while.

So on the first, you will have both wips and finished stories, the second is for only finished stories, and the last is only for wips :)

Crossovers: for those who don't know, a crossover is when two different fandoms gets mixed up. Maybe you want to see the marauders with other characters from another work of fiction you like: then you put only crossovers. But if you want a fanfiction like CR, it's not a crossover, because the OCs of Suzane Collins aren't there. It's an Alternate Universe - The Hunger Games, and that has to go into the tags field.

Single chapter is rather easy, you check it if you want a one shot

I'm bad with numbers, but word count is to choose the number of words you want. You can check with the little interrogation point and it precises how to find the good number. if you don't know how many words makes what lenghth of a fic, look around at your favourite fics. Crimson Rivers is 800k words, A Black Mass Over Highway Ninety has 250k words, Beneath a Big Blue Sky is 70k.

Language is just... well... language. They propose a whole range of language, but imma be honest, i only ever use english, even tho i'm not native.

Fandom is easy too, if you want a crossover, you put the name of the two fandoms you're interested in.

Then we have Rating and Warning.

Those are two different things.

Rating is more general, these are the five categories you can find:

Not Rated doesn't mean General Audiences. It means the author just doesn't want to rate their works, so look up to the tags to not trigger yourself.

Mature and Explicit kinda slip on the same field, but often, it's when there's hint of sex, or violence, or when they're completely there.

Then, we have the Warnings, which complete the rating, to say why it's rated that way.

Same as last time Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings doesn't mean No Archive Warnings Apply.

The first means the same, author doesn't like ratings, but generally, everything is tagged, so you got to check the tags if you fear being triggered by something.

The others are self explanatories, i think.

Then we have Categories. This one is for the kind of relationship your looking for, F stands for Female, and M for Male.

Gen means the work doesn't have a romantic relationship, or it's really not the main focus, so it's not tagged to not induce in error. And Multi is for if you have multiple relationships in the fic, or if you have a polyamory relationship.

Others is for... if you have other kind of relationship. Might be great for Queer Platonic Relationship, or things like that.

Relationship, now. So, two kinds of relationships are included in that tab, romantic, ofc, but ALSO platonic. And the tags are different depending on that.

If you want something romantic, you're going to write: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin. But if you want something platonic, you're going to write: Sirius Black & Remus Lupin.

Characters it is! easy, you type the name of the blorbo you want to read about, and you click on the propositions given to you!

Additional Tags: and here, you put the themes you want to see in the fic. You need fluff to lift your heart? type fluff and see aaaaaall of the types of fluff tags AO3 has. You're feeling bad and you want to see your favourite blorbo suffer too? Hurt/No Comfort is there for you.

You want a new universe to see your blorbos in? Alternate Universe - and then, look at all the type of AU you can read about!

And to have inspirations for tags, look at the tags of the fics you like to see the same themes :)

Then, last big bite, we have the Work Stats. So those one have the same system of > x number ; < x number, to get the number of hits, kudos, comments or bookmarks that you want.

Maybe, you're new in a fandom and you're searching for things that have been read a lot. Maybe you want to support some things less known, that don't have many interaction. Anyway, the work stats is there for you.

And finally, we're almost done, once you've searched for all the things you want, you got to decide the way the fics will appear on your dash.

Maybe, you want to have them by kudos ascending? so you have the less liked first? maybe, you don't have the time for comments, so you want comments descending, so you don't feel bad for not letting a big one this time.

You've read too much of that them, so you want last updated descending, so you can have the latest news of your favourite theme?

Anyway: an infinity of possibilities to find all the fics of your dreams!

Last word:

Don't forget to leave comments and kudos on the fics you like, it means the absolute world to the authors.

If you don't like, you don't read, and unless the author asked for it, don't say the things you didn't like in it. We understand why you can want to do it, but don't. We write for free and for community, not be reminded of the things we did badly.

Love you and hope this helps!!!! ❤️✨✨✨

[thatonepikminperson]

How to beat the Final Area of Pikmin 3 in One Day (With Pictures!)

Yo guys, random I know, but hey if I can help other players through the most annoying part of the Final Area, then I SHALL! (Spoilers Below!)

Pikmin Set-up

Yes, we have to have one of those. If you are on any other difficulty other than Ultra-Spicy, it should be 10 Reds, 20 Rocks, 20 Yellows (Can be lowered to 10), 20 Winged (At least 8 though), and 30 Blues.

If you are Ultra-Spicy, bring 10 Reds, 10 Rocks (10 Minimum), 10 Yellows, 10 Winged, and 20 Blues

Who to put on the Olimar?

For this strat, for the love of god, don't put the Winged onto Olimar please. Use either Reds or Rocks (If Ultra-Spicy, you can use Blues). Also, don't charge him, throw as fast as possible. Charging will get like 5 on there as the cutscene activates rather quickly, but you can get a few extra on Olimar if you throw.

General Advice

Okay, for starters, don't have Olimar get absorbed. With the loop tip below, it should be easy. If you fail at this, it's okay. Just reset the day and try again. Another thing, it's okay to kill stuff, please do, but know that some enemies (Like the swooping snitch bugs) can be skipped. Also do not undervalue the power of Go-Here! Seriously, it's a life savor.

BIG ONE HERE. When you first enter the Mysterious Life Form's tree, and it gets near Olimar, it will give a fake warning message at first. The messages can help, but sometimes, they... they don't happen. At all.

So, pull out your ears and turn up the game volume because guess what, the most reliable way to figure out if you need to move Brittany is to listen to the music! It never lies to you, and will ALWAYS get more intense if Olimar is in danger. Trust me on this one the music is a L I F E S A V E R !

Example of there being no message that Olimar is in danger, but the music tells me he is!

How to loop the Mysterious Life Form forever :D

No, really, it has TWO LOOPS. AROUND THE SAME AREA TOO.

Loop #1

This is what we'll call Loop 1, or the more reliable loop. It's shorter than Loop two, but as long as you go to the two points when the music gets all intense, you should be fine. There are no real shortcuts for the Plasm Wraith to take, which makes this loop a bit easier than loop 2. SPEAKING OF WHICH

Loop #2

Loop 2 is WAY longer than Loop 1, but requires the bag to be pushed down and more precise locations than Loop 1. The reason for that is that the Plasm Wraith has access to a HUGE shortcut, located here

For me, I don't tend to use this loop, but if you like it, then use it

Dark Room Advice

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT LET BRITTANY IN THIS ROOM UNTIL YOU ARE READY. DO NOT PUT OLIMAR IN THE WATER, THE PLASM WRAITH WILL START TO TARGET THE OTHER TWO CAPTAINS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T LET BRITTANY PAST THIS POINT UNTIL EVERYTHING IS READY!

Okay, we good? We good!

Remember those Blue Pikmin? YEAH USE THEM NOW FOR THE BRIDGE! The Pikmin will have to take multiple trips, but it's faster, trust.

Also, Also, you will have to use your ten Yellows to light up the room three times, the most important one being this one.

After that, gather your Pikmin and get them off of the main route to the end, and have Brittany lure the Wraith where it A. Can’t take any shortcuts and B. Brittany can make a run for it. The corner that we go around slowly in Loop 2 works wonders for this.

Once there, HAVE BRITTANY BOOK IT TO THE END DO NOT STOP RUNNING! You can add more Pikmin to Olimar once they get in the dark room. After that, you should be free as hell.

And Congratulations, you did it! Now beat the hell out of the Wraith with literal parasite rocks and save our lovely man, (and also all of Koppai I guess.)

[kollector-of-stims]

any recommended stim toys? i need some new ones, especially ones that would be discreet at school

Glad you asked this when I was in the mood to organize my stuff! Here are some suggestions I have after careful listening as I used them!

Good fidget/stim toys for school:

1. Sugar balls

There are big, small, and average types of sugar balls. Basically, they're balls filled with clear glue/thick gel and when squished they rise slowly. Also, they're usually soft when squished slowly, and resistant when squished hard. (Definitely the case with nee doh nice cubes and gumdrops. Regular sugar balls are easier to squish in general, in my opinion.)

There can be sounds when your fingers stick to them slightly and are pulled away (honestly not noticable with the slightest background noise so not a big deal probably), but if you put one in your pocket, not only is it hidden, but it's still the same level of satisfying from squishing it!

2: small foam squishies

A classic! Squishies come in all kinds of sizes, including small enough to go on keychains and fit into a pocket with no issue! Super quiet, and if you see them in store, more than likely you can test their firmness and pick which one suits your taste the best!

3: worry stones and the like

A worry stone is basically any object with a smooth surface for sliding your thumb against. For me, a piece of jewelry I found on my grandmas floor has legit no resistance and is super calming to slide my thumb around on. Fidget cubes also have a worry stone side, and sometimes even erasers give the same effect! (To me anyway. Any surface that's calming and small and easy to feel fits, as they show)

OH and fidget cubes have two silent buttons to press, if you enjoy that!

4: silly putty/thinking putty

Depending on how its played with, putty can be super quiet and also not a big distraction as long as there isnt tons of it. (maybe more dull colors are better for class?) But, if you play with it with enough energy to cause bubbles, those bubbles will pop when its pinched or squished in a certain way. A good alternative though: KNEADED ERASERS. They're like putty but a slightly different texture and should be more fine for class.

5: hedge balls

Hedge balls (this one very firm with a good thick, solid center) when squeezed, apply pressure to your skin with their little prickles. This pressure can help people, and I do believe people can also pick at the prickles! They arent for everyone, but who knows? If someone didnt know what they were, maybe they now think they need one!

If you want me to try suggesting more, lemme know! Also, anyone can reblog this with more suggestions as well! Helping people with class stims seems IMPORTANT!!

EDIT: I LEFT OUT MARBLE MESH FIDGETS:

Small enough for most pockets, and moving the marble back and forth makes no noise!

[xblacksheepsx]

Helpful Muse post dividers so you can tell who’s who ~

Lorna

Dutch

Ranael

Feiri

Peter

{ Bucky -Cherub muse coming soon}

[mega-gaymer-party]

[fantasylandbitch]

Helpful Products

I'm not sponsored or anything, however, if you guys have anxiety or get overstimulated here are two products that I use.

Below is a Fidget Ring something Y/n uses in "A Love so Understanding" Scream series and it helps me from picking my nails or rubbing my pants out of anxiety and nervousness.

ETURNAL

Link here as well: More Fidget Rings Here

Loop

The other product I use is from a company called Loop and they have different one for kids and adults and their prices for the most part seems pretty reasonable. You can also get this on Amazon as well if you prefer to buy through that app.

I've only used this product for places like going grocery shopping, going to David and Busters or Arcade places, GOD most likely for family gatherings. Everyone is so loud a girl can't think. It's because with loud noises I get tired, and my social battery runs low very quickly from being overstimulated.

The product above is called: Experience Solstice

There are many different versions of this product as well as uses and they usually have different descriptions to help cater to you.

[muldur]

a ramification is when a ram headbutts a giant drum and a repercussion is the sound it makes

[izzydizzy13]

FAMOUS - Well known, usually in a positive way :D

INFAMOUS - Well known, but like in a BAD WAY

The sheer quantity of tiktoks I see about someone testing out an "infamous product", so I spend the whole time squinting trying to figure out what's wrong with it only to realize it was, in fact, just regular famous and enjoyed by all

IT’S NOT ‘PEEKED’ MY INTEREST

OR ‘PEAKED’

BUT PIQUED

‘PIQUED MY INTEREST’

THIS HAS BEEN A CAPSLOCK PSA

[maskenjager]

I can't unsee this

[bluismie]

This is my love letter to the most beautiful ship I witnessed this year. Cheers to us Jayvik nation 💫

[ohulancutash]

Fighting ADHD to cling on to my 'learning how to make clothes' plans and this seems like it could be a really helpful resource for things like finding patterns and searching for tips.

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[juno-infernal]

sometimes the tragedy of distance is very simple. i want to get groceries with you

[benjaminallhope-fulltimemind]

just a handy little info chart on the spectrums of sexuality.

/Edit: I forgot to give credit this is a screenshot from a video made by a content creator called Lily Orchard you should check her channel out it's amazing

[flame-shadow]

hey did you know??? that if you stop stretching and maintaining mobility in your body then it goes away?? things get tight and you can't move the way that you used to??? and when you decide to try getting a stretch routine going that the first week fucking sucks because you keep going 'damn i used to be able to do this no problem' and then you have to switch gears and be kind to yourself and just focus on getting better from here instead of berating yourself for dropping the good habits in the first place??? and your body never stops aging so you gotta keep taking care of it and sometimes you gotta take care of it extra in certain areas because of things that happened when you were younger and it's boring and sometimes hurts but it's so necessary???

i am yelling this at myself right now i am going through An Experience (trying to get into a routine of body maintenance again for my physical and mental health)

[etherealspacejelly]

sometimes you just have to let yourself be a bit neurodivergent.

i hate going out, it gives me a lot of anxiety and sensory input that i dont like, and i am often forced to talk to people.

so i do this thing on more difficult days, or sometimes just for fun, where i "bring a fictional character with me". i walk and imagine Fictional Character walking next to me. they talk to me, reassure me, hype me up, whatever i need them to do.

today dean winchester came christmas shopping with me. he went over the list with me of stuff i needed to get, told me i was doing a good job every time i finished in a certain shop, reminded me to take a deep breath when i got a little overwhelmed.

and yea. its kinda silly. and i know its just me talking to myself in a different voice, but it Works! especially since all of my special interests/hyperfixations tend to be tv/movie related.

so do what you gotta do to Get Shit Done. stop holding yourself to neurotypical standards. if you need Fictional Character to tell you you're doing a good job, do it! if you need Favourite Singer to walk you to school, do it! yea it might feel silly but you're literally fighting against your own brain to get stuff done every single day. you can have a little self indulgent daydream, as a treat.