#i frequently hit the word limit on tags like daily tumblr

[gemsofthegalaxy]

I posted 18,168 times in 2022

2,429 posts created (13%)

15,739 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@/rabbitindisguise

@/tharacelehar

@/the-cosmic-alexolotl

@arsenicandnewlace

@/dammithawke

I tagged 7,977 of my posts in 2022

#acofaf - 1,091 posts

#ofmd - 863 posts

#acofaf spoilers - 571 posts

#ml - 480 posts

#gems watch - 438 posts

#ml spoilers - 294 posts

#tlovm - 279 posts

#wwdits - 227 posts

#loz - 209 posts

#toh - 208 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#like she states her desire is for glory partially or fully because shes honed these skills that make her useful and worthy of pride. & love

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

no but it's Keyleth softly rejecting Vax only to BLUSH INTENSELY at his sister complimenting her 5 minutes later for me

402 notes - Posted February 17, 2022

#4

i don't want or need a sequel at all, in fact, i feel like they nailed the ending even with the time crunch. i feel like it is a wonderful, grand closed book and i don't want them to try to pull, like, a 20 episode arc out of what is a beautiful complete story

however i WOULD take an epilogue that is just the Pack of Pixies doing the RueHob wedding and whatever blissful chaos THAT would entail. i'd take a one or two shot of that, for sure

702 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

#3

I cant Believe Laszlo and Guillermo are divorced. Like, they were never married but by god are they separated parents raising a child

893 notes - Posted July 20, 2022

#2

PSA: Vox Machina New Blood

I, and like one other person (@acepalindrome), have decided that, for those of us who have not seen Critical Role but are joining the fandom with the The Legend of Vox Machina cartoon, it might be wise to have a separate tag so we can post our reactions/thoughts/theories with lower chances of running into spoilers!

thus, the hashtag #vmnb or Vox Machina New Blood was born

if you're entering the Critical Role fandom through the cartoon, use this tag and we can check out each others' posts and live safe from spoilers.

**if something like this already exists somehow, uh, oops & please direct me to that tag. if it doesn't, consider spreading the word for us? thanks lol

1,150 notes - Posted January 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

a number of people have asked "vexleth nation how we doing" and i am here to say..... amazing thank you

2,956 notes - Posted February 17, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[shmisolo]

Some recommendations for showing your appreciation for fic

I never know how to make this post, largely because I write fic and so I don’t want it to come across as a “do this for me.”  But I see my peers and friends routinely stating that they don’t know how their fics are being recieved and feel as though they are shouting their fic into a void and that it is wildly disheartening.  

So since I had time on my hands this morning, I’m writing up some suggestions for you.  This is long.  I’m not putting it under a cut for Reasons. 

Tumblr

Reblog fic.

That’s the biggest one.  Hitting like feels great.  I, as your fic writer, enjoy it when my fic is liked.  I, as an author, get really excited when someone is recommending my fic.  

Reblogging is not just showing your appreciation; it is recommending it to the people who follow you.  It’s a double whammy.  

Most fic readers like fic recommendations.  There’s a lot of fic out there, and so someone saying “Hi, I liked this and enjoy it, you might too” is really appreciated as a reader who is trying to figure out what to do.

Comment on fic.

Commenting is a great way to show support for a fic and an author.  It’s talking to them and showing your appreciation for their work.  It can be finger mashing, it can be something longer.  Tumblr comment culture tends to rely on sending shorter notes, but I’ve never seen an author complain about getting a long comment ever in my life.

Tag Commentaries - One of the things I like about tumblr is that tag culture has turned, over the years, into a way to add some subtle commentary while reblogging.  So you can tag things functionally (#fic is my functional reblogged fic tag), and then add anything you want in the tags.  Adding a simple “I loved this” in the tags makes an author feel great and might motivate them to write more.

Replies - Replying to the fic is another great way to show an author you liked their story.  The author (and the person you might be getting the reblog from) will get a notification of what you are saying on their post.  So even if you don’t follow the author, you can still say you appreciate their work.

Reblog additions - You can also add your own commentary to the caption of the fic as you see fit!  Different fandoms have different conventions on this, and authors have different preferences.  Similar to replies, the author will get a notification in their activity feed that you’ve said something and be able to check it out.

Sending asks or DMs - This is another way to reach out to an author and let them know you liked their story.  It’s more private and personal, which means it happens rarely.   But especially if you’re shy, sending a nice anon (especially when most people’s associations with anons are p r e t t y   n a s t y, can be really a day-brightener).

Some general recommendations

Commenting is hard, especially when you don’t know what to say but have a lot of good feelings about a fic.  

Things not to do:  “When are you going to update?” / “More please!” - Sometimes this can be well recieved; other times it can have the opposite effect.  Some authors might take it well, others might take it as demanding and it might kill the joy they have in their story and so, far from getting the update you want, you won’t get anything at all. Recommended alternatives: saying what you liked to make you want more from the story.

Tone is a tricky thing to navigate generally online.  Something that might sound right in your head might be read very differently by the reader, so sometimes comments that are well-meant can come across as sarcastic/caustic and thus insulting when the author is reading them.  Be mindful and aware--we know you don’t mean that, but that doesn’t mean your words don’t hurt unintentionally.

Didn’t like something?  Or something grated you?  The author got canon wrong?  Take a deep breath.  It’s just fanfiction and you are not entitled to their work.  If they are not asking for critical feedback, your providing some unsolicited is crossing lines in an editorial process that you might not be aware of as a non-writer.  Just take a deep breath and keep scrolling.

Something as simple as a “this was great!” can go a long way.  If you want to go even further than that, pick a line you liked or a moment and say that you liked it.

Like fic.

If you’re not going to reblog fic but you enjoy it, I strongly recommend hitting the like button.  Not everyone uses the like button on this website the same way.  (I use tumblr across multiple devices and so I hit like on most posts I reblog just to remember that I’ve already seen the post; I know not everyone does this though.)  But if you’re someone who uses the like button fairly liberally, this is a strong move.

Following.

Obviously--you get to choose who you follow.  But if you like a fic, check out the author’s blog, and consider giving them a follow.  

There are also frequently fic-amassing blogs within larger fandoms.  Those are good ones to check out too!

AO3(/FF.N/Other Platforms)

These are mostly recommendations based on AO3, though some may apply to other fic publishing platforms.

Comments

I’m not going to type all that up again.  I’d say the suggestions I made in the tumblr comment section apply across all platforms.

@longlivefeedback​ has a comment builder tool if you want help with writing a longer comment.

The only other point I’d say is there’s not time-limit on when to give a comment.  Someone posted the fic three years ago?  Five years ago?  Drop a note!  I’ve never seen an author complain about getting a comment on an old fic.  On the contrary, most of them are thrilled when it happens.

Kudos

Kudos are not like the tumblr like function.  They aren’t a way to save a fic you like--they are an easy way to show appreciation for a fic you’ve read.  If you liked it, and don’t regret the time spent reading, I recommend hitting the kudos button.  Most authors have daily emails turned on with Kudos updates from fics on AO3 and will get a note saying a fic got a kudos.  That feels good: some read their fic and enjoyed reading their fic.

Bookmarks

You can have both private and public bookmarks on AO3.  

Private is good for things you....might want to keep private (like that kinky fucking porn that you really enjoyed and might...want to...find....again later....) (Or whatever else you want to keep private.)

Public will appear on your AO3 profile.  If someone is checking out your profile, they might see bookmarks as recommendations of good fic they might enjoy.  Since AO3 doesn’t have a reblog function, this is as close as you can get to having a catered fic recs section on that platform.

You can add additional tags and commentaries to your bookmarks as you’re saving them, allowing you to organize as you see fit.  Additional commentaries are something the author can also see and which might make their day in the way a comment might.

Cross-Platform

A lot of authors have multiple platforms they engage with.  Some will post directly to AO3 (or another platform), some will post to both tumblr and AO3.

If you find something on AO3 that you enjoy, a good number of authors will link--either in their profile or in their fics--how you can find them on tumblr.  If you want to spread an AO3 fic you find to your followers, see if the author has an original post they made about the fic that you can reblog--that way the author knows what traction their fic is getting, and where it’s coming from.  (We like to know that shit.  Trust me.)

If the author doesn’t have a post you can find, I strongly recommend @-mentioning them here on tumblr so they get a notification and know that they’re getting recommended.

If you’re making a post that lists out AO3 recs and you put the AO3 author handle--but know that the author has a tumblr, please also @-mention their tumblr.  They love knowing they’re getting recommended.

If you see an author you follow is posting a lot of tumblr fic, check out their AO3--they might have more!  If you don’t see a link for their profile on their blog, ask after it!  Chances are you’ll make them feel warm and fuzzy because that’s an ask that says “I love your writing.  Is there more of it I can check out?”   Even if they don’t have an account on AO3, you might get links to more fic for you to check out.

Some Notes for Authors

I read (and reblogged) a post a while back that talks about social media and fic writing.  The thing that’s hard about all this is that, even if AO3 doesn’t feel like a social media (we all know that Tumblr is one, for better and for worse) that doesn’t mean it’s not still beholden to some of the same laws that affect all web platforms, regardless of content or purpose.

I’m gonna quote the first post that I linked above (thank you @obotligtnyfiken for adding info to that post):

1 % are very active. They are the fans. They create their own content (hello, fanfic!), they cheer you on, they protest. 9 % may respond when you ask them to do something, but they will not take initiative. And they will not engage every time. 90 % will never engage, whatever you do.

Let me first say: it sucks to think about your fic in terms of marketing standards when you might not have any experience in marketing.  Considering what a success rate is based on what social media success is considered to be rather than the more nuanced forms of “I got a bunch of reviews and they were heartening” sucks.  But if you’re looking at hit counts and kudos counts, the above is important to bear in mind: most of your readers might enjoy but not engage because that’s how internet users engage with internet content across the board.  (Think about all that stuff you see on Facebook because you follow a page.  You might see it.  You might even appreciate the information.  You might not hit the like button.)  It sucks that the same is true of fic but...the same is true of fic.  

Readers: You’re reading this.  You see what authors are balancing when they’re posting their fic online.  Please be mindful.  And I encourage you to engage with things you like.  Don’t be that silent 90%!

Because of this, bearing in mind that if you have a 10% kudos:hit ratio on your fic, that’s doing pretty well.  

@longlivefeedback​ has a good breakdown of how the AO3 hit counter works.  I recommend checking it out since it was more protective of authors than I had initially thought.  

People are engaging with your fic, despite the fact that 90% of people don’t necessarily engage with content on the internet that they might still enjoy.  If you’re writing a chaptered fic, that number might get skewed so the percentage seems even lower.  

That being said, there are still ways that a hit:kudos ratio might get skewed in ways that might actually be kinder to your fic than you think: let’s say that someone goes back and rereads your fic after a few weeks or months or years (or days tbh).  You’ll get fresh hits from that.  They might not necessarily say anything--they left a kudos and a comment last time.  They gave their feedback.  But you’re still getting hits from them.

Readers: authors welcome “I’m rereading this and still love it” reviews.  If you’re reading through this section and want to support your authors, be aware of all the different feedback inputs they’re contending with, and what seem like happy fun fic time to you might come across as “no one likes my stuff,” to them which could be flatly untrue.