a guide by a newbie who knows nothing about code. please feel free to correct me and/or provide your own resources.
so if you're here at all you've likely heard of site skins on AO3. this is going to be your main "modifying medium" and the method that allows you to stay vanilla. the two other things I'll be talking about are bookmarklets, based in your bookmarks, and user scripts which you need an extension and sometimes a different browser to use. (BUT THEY'RE TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!)
I'll be, in order, doing a quick explanation, helpful resources and a list of each kind of add-on. This is made by someone on a tablet, but a combination of common sense and provided resources should make doing this stuff on other devices fairly easy.
IF LIST ITEMS DO NOT HAVE CREDIT LISTED, I EITHER FORGOT, DON'T KNOW THE CREATOR, OR THE LINK IS TO THE CREATOR'S POST/WORK.
LIST ITEMS ARE LINKED ON THE COLORED TEXT
Site Skins!
What are they?
Site skins are the vanilla method of changing how your AO3 looks. Going to your dashboard and then skins [you need an account to use skins], you can see a list of your skins and public ones. The most popular, and likely the only skins you've seen before, primarily change the appearance of AO3. However, there is another kind of site skin that I've decided to call 'functional skins'. Functional skins differ from decorative skins in that they change things beyond font and color. My primary examples are perma-blocking tags, shortening blurb tags and adding a scroll bar, and replacing the (rating, relationships, etc.) icons with writing providing the same information.
To create a functional site skin, simply create a new skin and copy and paste your code below the CSS header! (the skin upon creation should automatically be set to a site skin with the CSS code box.)
To use a functional site skin in conjunction with a decorative site skin, set the F skin as the D's parent skin under "Advanced" in the D skin editor. If it doesn't immediately work, try flipping the parent chain around. If that doesn't work, your decorative skin might somehow block the function. (this is sadly the case with one of my functional skins.)
Resources
The best resources I can give you for site skins are Tumblr users @ao3commentoftheday and @ao3skin ! (sorry for the tag!!) Not only do they have a lot of decorative skins, they also both have functional skins!
The List
- warnings/rating/etc icons in text form
(I never really memorized the icon meanings so this is both easier for me to understand and is still colorful! I did change the text color to be lighter to work with my dark theme, though)
- shortens tag section and adds tag scroller
li.blurb .tags {
max-height: 7.5em;
overflow-y: auto;
}
(genuinely don't know where I found this one nor the link to it so here; very useful in preventing tag walls while browsing)
- perma-blocks tags (you won't have to filter them!)
(SO SOS SO SO SO AWESOME! haven't finished my list yet since it's (in my opinion) a bit tedious but definitely worth it and not all that difficult)
- rainbow text!!!
(very pretty! works with my decorative skin, too!)
- changes the color of links you've visited
(neat, but doesn't work with my deco skin :[ wanna try to figure out why!)
- my current decorative skin :]
(it glowy!!!!! prebby!!!!! need I say more)
Bookmarklets!
What are they?
Bookmarklets are bookmarks! But with javascript and therefore funky functions. Genuinely don't know how to explain them, nor how to free hand but the javascript from my understanding goes certain places in the bookmark's URL.
Resources
Again, I know nothing about javascript and therefore.... can only provide you a couple handy bookmarklets myself!
The List
- replaces y/n with specified name
(what it says on the tin! haven't tried this one out since I don't read y/n docs but it seemed helpful.)
- saved filters
(I should NOT need to explain why this one is awesome. seriously guys it's awesome)
- saved filters specifically filtering out smut tags
(This is my personal use of the last one listed! this is not an exhaustive filtering out but it's that many more that you won't have to type out next time. COPY AND PASTE THE TEXT ABOVE INTO AN EMPTY BOOKMARK'S URL TO USE!)
User Scripts!
What are they?
User scripts are where it gets spicy. They're outside the site, so can modify it beyond appearance, add new features and generally do stuff the other options can't.
To use a user script, you need a script manager extension, and some browsers don't support extensions (cough CHROME cough). Fear not, though! It's easy to download other browsers and find compatible script managers.
Resources
A good basic guide to scripts! Greasy Fork
A good, fairly universal script manager! Tampermonkey (search for downloading on your current browser)
A list of AO3-specific user scripts! Greasy Fork
The List
- adds Marked for Later button to work blurbs while browsing and on the home page/top of the screen
- recommends fics based on certain tag combos in a work
- adds download button to work blurbs while browsing
- allows filtering bookmarks by length
- assigns length to works and compares them to a list of published novels' lengths
- removes kudos button when you've already left kudos
- floaty reviewer box! for writing comments as you read
- when browsing, collapses blurbs of works that are later than part 1 in a series
- rearrange the tag order when editing works and bookmarks
- puts a badge in the menu when you have unread inbox stuff
- easy interface for formatting comments with HTML
- style editor, blacklist, bookmarks that mark your exact place, good all-in-one
(you can disable functions you don't want/need for this one ↑)
- score calculators based on kudos/hits ratio and chapters and a more complicated "engagement score"
(I more use these scores out of curiosity than anything)
Enfin!
Thank you for reading my guide! I don't usually do stuff like this but I suspect I'm hyperfixated. I'm very tired, worked pretty hard on this and it's currently past midnight for me so if this was helpful please share it!!!! All credit due to the respective creators in here.
thinking about poisonous tang bo hc and how it was revealed in the side story that he used to mix poison in w his alcohol to get even more intoxicated.. there is seriously no doubt in my mind he is poisonous down to his bones, even if he lacks all the indicators of being so.. his blood? corrosive. sweat? toxic. saliva? virulent..
not that its even very useful, its not like his enemies have ever gotten close enough to bite him but i think its very funny to think about how tang bo unintentionally developed a defensive adaptation similar to poisonous prey animals to ward off predators and, instead of heeding any of those warnings, chung myung makes it a competition to see how long he can make out w tang bo before he passes out
To me, this is the thesis of Alien Stage. For each duo and in more ways than one.
For Ivantill, Till might never have loved Ivan romantically, though we do have indications he may have. Either way, he didn’t love Ivan the same way Ivan loved Till. He didn’t obsess over Ivan the way Ivan did Till. He didn’t want to accept Ivan’s sacrifice the way Mizi accepted Sua’s sacrifice, but Ivan forced it on him. Till’s love was different from Ivan’s, but does that really matter? It was love, too.
Interestingly enough, Luka has both Hyuna and Hyunwoo’s hearts. Despite everything, Luka lived. Hyunwoo initiated the fight between them, and Luka reacted violently, which led to Hyunwoo’s death. Luka was shot at, and Hyuna took the bullet, killing her. Luka has lived in spite of everything because of their deaths. Hyuna loved Luka, but her sacrifice was one made partially out of revenge. Luka may have loved Hyunwoo when they were friends as kids, but he still killed him. He may have loved Hyuna, but he still hurt her. But it was love. Nonetheless, it was love.
And, of course, Mizisua. Mizi didn’t love Sua in a way that propelled her to sacrifice herself for Sua. Sua’s love was the kind that made it impossible for Sua to live without Mizi. If you recall their mental strengths, Sua’s is extremely low while Mizi’s is strong. Mizi knew Sua couldn’t handle if Mizi died. Mizi underestimated just how much Sua’s death would ruin her, but she was willing to bear it so Sua didn’t have to bear losing her. She might not have been willing to die for Sua, but she gave Sua a gift, too. She let Sua give Mizi her sacrifice. And that’s love. That was love.
Even Mizi’s monologue about Hyuna is riddled with the weight of this theme.
Mizi is bitter because Hyuna fought for so long for humanity—a wider concept than Mizi can perhaps even comprehend, having lived isolated and then in ANAKT her whole life. She fought for something that seemed to mean so much, and then she threw it all away for Luka, a man who Mizi seems to loathe and whom she thought Hyuna loathed too.
Mizi is angry because Hyuna’s love, Hyuna’s sense of justice, required sacrifice. For humans, and for Luka. Mizi’s lingering bitterness over Sua’s decision transfers to Hyuna, because why? Why does your love demand you to die for it for nothing?
But it wasn’t for nothing.
Because even though Sua sacrificed herself for Mizi, and Hyuna risked her life to save her and then died for Luka only ended in Mizi’s death by her own hand—Luka either dying and being replaced or continuing to be imprisoned by the aliens for entertainment—
Even if Hyuna’s love for humanity and belief in their freedom only led to children in museum displays rather than stages—
It mattered.
Mizi still destroyed the competition that ruined her and Sua. She still cemented Ivan’s sacrifice by saving Till.
Hyuna still got her justice. She stopped running. Even if Luka remains trapped, his life still means something.
They all loved each other and the world differently, but it was love too. And it’s never for nothing.
Do you ever think about how Hyuna and Till, despite never really knowing each other, have essentially lived the same life?
They have few canon interactions, sure, and those are only present in side content.
We know they weren’t close. And yet…
They both had boys who loved them childishly. Immaturely.
Those boys hurt them badly, even if they didn’t mean to.
They loved boldly and beautifully, without restraint, and fought to be themselves in the face of an oppressive industry that sought to use their rebellion for entertainment. They used their genuine and brilliant love for music to rebel rather than be complacent.
They were grievously injured before gaining their freedom—disabled, based on Hyuna’s prosthetic leg and Till’s theorized loss of his voice.
And then they were both taken in by Isaac. Mentored, accepted as a friend (as I assume Isaac accepted Till).
They’re rebels. Freedom fighters.
They both went back for the kids. They both found their happiness and independence.
Only, Till has the chance to do what Hyuna wasn’t able to. He has the chance to finish what she started.
She tried to go back for the kids with one leg. She couldn’t do it. But Till gets to save the kids.
Hyuna could never truly grieve the past and continue on with her life. Now, Till gets that chance. When Hyuna sees or thinks of Luka, she spirals. When Till sees the Ivanmizi child, he doesn’t freak out—he smiles.
Hyuna willingly gave up her place when she took the bullet for Luka, and in her place, Till continues her work.
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