Fangirl

Crazy for YouTube ships and Wattpad fanfictions

[plumwildflowers]

I forgot I made a couple of mini vine compilations when they announced the end of vine

[elodieunderglass]

i don’t know how vine so perfectly encapsulated the best of humanity but that was a weird time

[lesbiansitara-moved-deactivated]

I wish that ao3 had an option to filter warnings (and tbh certain authors) out like I will never ever want to read it and just seeing it puts me off so much that often I end up closing my browser because that content upsets me so much lmao

[darcylindbergh]

There is a way to do this but I can’t recall how to do it. it’s something you type into the box for “other filters” or something, I don’t remember. who knows?? It’s not a great option, and I don’t know if you can sort out authors that way, but it’s better than nothing if someone can reblog this with how to do it!

[fordeductions-blog]

Alrighty friends! It takes some specificity, but you can do this. Let me show you how!

So I started with going to the Sherlock (TV) section of Ao3. On the right we find this lovely section! ((I know I’m going over things you already probably know, but I figure this post may go to new Ao3 users, so bear with me.))

Underneath this, I chose sort by Kudos, because that’s a quick way to find most popular fics, for the sake of this demonstration. 

With those filters on, we end up with this being our first two results: 

As you can see, we have Nature and Nurture by earlgreytea68, and The Internet Is Not Just For Porn by cyerus. So what if I am utterly sick of seeing earlgreytea68 on my list? Let’s pretend I’ve read all their fics, or that I just don’t like her, or whatever. I want this author out. I go to this section on the right: 

In “Search within results” I type earlgreytea68 into the bar, with a minus sign in front. This gives me the following page, upon hitting the sort and filter button:

There goes earlgreytea68! But now I’ve decided that Crack is just not my thing, I’m sick of that, too, for heaven’s sake, I want something reasonable in my gay slash fanfiction about detectives that solve crimes about glowing dogs and irish megalomaniacs. Heaven forbid this get ridiculous.

Well, then I add this to my search:

Which gets rid of everything with that tag. My results are now:

Performance in a Leading Role is now my first result!

You can do this as many times as you want; the biggest problem I have is trying to filter out multi-worded tags. For example, “Secret Relationship” is hard to filter. Better to go with authors you dislike or with words like “DubCon”. 

I hope this helps! Also remember that googling site:archiveofourown.org and then adding search terms will mean google searches Ao3 for you, and sometimes that works far better. 

Good luck!

[darcylindbergh]

An excellent in-depth guide! Thank you!!

[eyesofmedusa]

omg changed my whole ao3 rarepair game

[stucky-ficrecs]

An excellent guide to filtering on AO3!

You can filter out phrases by enclosing them in quotes. For example, if ABO and Hydra Trash Party are not your things, try:

-“alpha/beta/omega dynamics” -”hydra trash party”

[possibly-an-obsession]

I have more advice!

Say, you’re in your random fandom- I went with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, since I’ve been reading Iron Man stuff recently. Tony Stark is awesome.

But anyway, you’re on the page, and you see that there are 174,774 works! That is way too many for a casual afternoon’s browsing.

And you see that the first one is Peter Parker/Tony Stark and that is not your jam. It doesn’t work for you, or it squicks you, whatever. Wouldn’t life be easier if you could browse without seeing that pairing (or whatever pairing you don’t like)? You can!

First, click on that pairing tag(You may want to open this in another tab, actually.):

and it’ll take you to the page for that pairing tag. Click this button:

and then look at the address bar! The actual page is unimportant. Copy the numbers located here:

and go back to the original search page! Down on the side, in the same place you can get rid of other tags, type -relationship_ids:”the number you just copied”

Then hit ‘sort and filter’ annnd… magic!

The fics with that pairing are gone! You can also do multiple pairings, get rid of any tags you don’t like, and sort it by date or length or kudos, or whatever.

Enjoy.

[irenkaferalkitty]

I’d just like to add that these sorts of search modifiers ALSO WORK IN GOOGLE AND MOST RESEARCH DATABASES. The more you know.

[itsmajel]

Just a quick reminder that AO3 uses Lucene as a search and index engine.

That means you can pretty much use all the Lucene Query Syntax in the “Seach within result” field.

I don’t think AO3 indexes the whole fic for searching but definitely it’s meta data. Combined with Lucenes awesome query syntax you can do pretty much every search you heart desires.

Addtional Lucene Query Syntax that has not been mentioned yet and you might find useful:

Wildcard Searches

You can use wildcard searches within single terms. For a single character wildcard search use the “?” symbol. For a multiple character wildcard search use the “*” symbol.

AND/OR

Lucene allows you to combin terms through logic operators. You’re looking for fics that are either “reunion” or “enemies to lovers”?

Just put in >“reunion” OR “enemies to lovers”< into the field

and you end up with all the stories that are either or but not both.

But wait, now you’re looking for fics that are both “reunion” and “enemies to lovers” at the same time? Now worries Lucene got you covered.

Just change it into >“"reunion” AND “enemies to lovers”“<

and you’ll get all the fics that mention both “reunion” and “enemies to lovers” somewhere in their meta data (note: it’s not just tags. It’s also title, summary …)

Boosting

You can also boost specific terms when doing a multi term search.

You can use the “^” Operator followed by a number to boost a specific term.

Say you’re interested in fics that are either “first kiss” or “bed sharing” but you’re much more interested in “bed sharing” fics and feel they are more relevant.

You can use the search >“first kiss” “bed sharing”^5<

to manipulate the order of your results in a matter that the score of every fic that contains beg sharing is multiplied by 5. Therefore all fics containing that term are given priority and shown at the top of the list.

You can also combine all of the above, target specifc fields (that’s what you did with the “relationsship_id:xxx”) and many more things.

For more info about the Lucene query syntax check out Apache’s Lucene Query doc.

[thefriendlypigeon]

^ sharing this because we all love fanfics and @itsmajel is a freaking nerd 👌

[ruffboi-mags]

I’m not sure why it’s missing, BUT you usually don’t have to do an exclude “search within results” for characters, ships, or popular tags, etc when you’re on a tag? Because of this:

I don’t know if the original guide is old or what, but when you’re sorting within a tag/canon/ship/etc, there is an “include” which you could do to sort for only M or E rated fic with the “Steve Rogers” tag (in marvel, that is), but you can specifically exclude any fics that are, say, “Steve Rogers/Tony Stark” or are tagged with the “non-con” archive warning.

Very important to know.

[saltoftheao3]

Yeah, I think the “exclude” feature is fairly recent (and awesome). Still this is a good guide to database search 101. Also if you don’t want to have to type in all of your squicks and NOTPs everytime you do a search you can bookmark the page with your “exclude” search settings and then modify the rest of the search as needed.

[everythingfox]

What a scary ghost

(via)

[unstablecryptid]

Frank Castle, fashion icon

[mattmurdeaux]

Matt Murdock = Stoic is a MYTH, folks!

[mattmurdeaux]

Matthew Michael Murdock: A Multi-hyphenate Marvel Icon

LAWYER VIGILANTE

GYMNAST BOXER

SPY STRIPPER

PHYSICIAN FAITH HEALER

CATWALK MODEL MUSICIAN

[ap-kinda-lit]

Little Stolas crying 😭

[blairchuck]

daredevil but every time matt murdock jumps michael scott from The Office says Parkour !

[taohun]

seeing the photos from Webb up against photos from Hubble just makes me… I don’t even know like, wow! Look at that!

[birdie-remaking-deactivated2023]

this is the funniest god damn thing ive ever seen

[killerfeelingshere]

Nothing will ever EVER fuck me up as bad as Five’s face seeing his family for the first time again in nearly 50 years:

Then Five’s face as he watches them walk away from him when he’s only been around them for about 3 weeks:

I will never be okay again

[ealeczander]

“You know what they call a superhero who works alone and doesn’t listen to anybody? A villain.”

- Five, a guy who mostly works alone and doesn’t listen to anybody

[fandoms-unite18]

Okay but why did I answer “a vigilante!” with full confidence?

[fandoms-unite18]

Okay look, I very much enjoyed S3 of TUA. Many of the scenes warmed my black heart and other scenes hurt it. Viktor coming out, Five having some moments with his brothers, Klaus getting his powers down, etc. All in all, it was a rollercoaster I’d love to ride again and experience for the first time.

That being said…

FUCK THE SHOW FOR TRIGGERING MY TRYPOPHOBIA BECAUSE I BASICALLY RECOILED BACK IN FEAR/DISGUST WHEN I SAW HIS NASTY ASS FACE! I BROKE INTO GOOSEBUMPS THAT ENTIRE TIME EVEN AFTER IT WAS COVERED, FUCK YOU WRITERS WHYYYY?!!?

[whattheplot]

Three months ago I pitched an idea for a party game. Today, ‘WHAT THE PLOT?!™’ is a real game and available for pre-order! I am so excited. Thank you everyone for your support!

[whattheplot]

Click on a picture for higher quality! Tumblr compresses pictures so they might look a bit blurry!

[whattheplot]

What The Plot?!™ is now available for pre-order on planet Earth until January 1st! Definitely check it out; it’s pretty-ducking-epic thanks to your feedback and input!

https://creators.teespring.com/what-the-plot

[johnnyishereforever]

omg they actually did it!!

[cyhyryth-deactivated20210905]

guys ive been waiting for this. If I get it will you guys play? @folklorefairyqueen @moonxchaos

[folklorefairyqueen]

YES OMG I WANNA PLAY THIS RIGHT NOW @cyhyryth

[moonfireroulette]

this by itself already makes me wanna play this game 😂😂😂

[whattheplot]

UPDATE: Friday 27, March, 2020

It’s a real game now! The manufacturer sent us 5 copies! The quality is amazing! Thank you all for making this game a reality! The games are currently being shipped from Poland to a fulfillment center in the US and the Czech Republic. If you preordered the game, you can expect to have it in your hands at the end of April (so far, the pandemic has not been impeding our schedule).

The print quality of the cards is superb. The photos don’t do it justice! The text is a bit blurry in the pictures, but it’s crystal clear!

If you want to get notified when the next pre-order round drops - click here!

[golemgold]

This actually looks so good! I will definitely be getting this!

[justamemeyboy]

@whattheplot are you ever gunna bring this back?

[whattheplot]

What The Plot?!™ is now available in our online store!

Get it here

[simplysolo]

finally ordered mine!! can’t wait to get my hands on it :>

[candlesandink]

i want this so bad.

[bixisarusher]

I have it - it’s fun! 10/10 would recommend.

[dyannehs]

I own it!  Super fun, 5 stars.  Buy it today!

[rheevalka]

@hufflepuffhuggles I WANT IT

[pansexualcupcake-deactivated202]

I can see why! I mean…this sounds like the most entertaining chaos i can imagine!

[misscrawfords]

I spontaneously just ordered this wtf

[buzz-buzz-bish]

@music2muse @alegitamentblogiswear I bought this for us! We have to play!

[imawitchybitch]

I’ve reblogged this like seven times already, but I got mine late last year and oh! My! God! It’s so wonderful; my friends and I love to get drunk/hug and play. The creative opportunities are endless

[pandas-cant-fly-ks]

I also got this game!! It’s super good!! Definitely recommend :)

[shippingallthetime]

I am definitely gonna get this!!!

[terminallycagey]

Bought it because it looked like a fun party game, and oh man was it ever, even if you’re a little nervous. 10 Stars!!!!!

[micistired]

i need this now

[genderoftheday]

Today’s gender of the day is: Death Note Spoiler

[claimingkeladry]

This is such a… specific joke, I have to reblog.

[the-cumberbatchs-stupid-penwing]

Thank you for everything, Una.

[storybookprincess]

i see posts sometimes that say things like “wouldn’t it be cool if ao3 would recommend you fics similar to the one you just read?” or “wouldn’t it be cool if ao3 had a function similar to spotify wrapped that showed you your fic reading habits over the year?” etc. and while on one hand, yes, i can see how these functions might be neat & fun & helpful, i think the fact that ao3 *doesn’t* do any of these typical media website things is actually utterly spectacular

like, i enjoy looking at my spotify wrapped as much as the next person, but when you start to think about that, it is honestly pretty horrifying that spotify collects & stores all this data about its users & can produce it at a moment’s notice.  and netflix is not recommending you shows because it actually cares that you watch something you enjoy.  it’s recommending them because in the digital age, attention is money & every website is fighting for as much of yours as it can get.

the fact that a website hosting as much media as ao3 doesn’t try to analyze or predict or manipulate your content consumption in any way is truly an oasis in a landscape where user data is the most valuable commodity around.  ao3 gives all of the agency to its users & i don’t think we realize just how rare that is.  you go looking for the content you want.  you sort and filter based on your preferences.  you subscribe to the story or author updates you’d like to see.  so on and so forth.  nothing is recommended for you.  no algorithm is trying to maximize the time you spend on the website.  you engage with it completely on your own terms.  and given the way most media websites choose to operate, that is nothing short of a miracle.

[dynazty-deactivated20220106]

I THINK ABOUT THIS ALL THE TIME

after watching “the social network” a couple of weeks ago (which i highly urge you to do!!) it got me thinking about how incredibly lucky we are to have ao3. part of why a lot of people don’t use wattpad is because it’s extremely hard to search and filter things that fit your exact preferences without sifting through piles of “recommended for you” works that don’t actually meet your interests. algorithms that recommend things to you (like on facebook, instagram, tumblr, pinterest, spotify, netflix, youtube, etc) are all collecting and harvesting hoards & hoards personal data just so they can sell it to advertisers and make a profit. that’s literally the only reason. 

it’s also lot harder to control what you consume on a social media that has a “recommended for you” function, and because of that you can end up reading/watching things that are inappropriate, triggering, or just plain uninteresting. the number one piece of advice that was given in “the social network” was to only consume media that you seek out, not media that is handed to you. of course, this is much easier said than done, but not with ao3!! 

ao3 is the pinnacle of purity when it comes to consuming media. it’s essentially an online version of a huge, never-ending library that has designated sections and filters so you can choose where exactly you want to browse, and that’s so so so awesome. there are no bloodthirsty advertisements, no evil algorithms, no “recommended for you” section. there’s only content.

and you know what we have in place of that all evil stuff? fandom blogs! fic reccers! moderated fandom fests! chat rooms! ao3 is not a social media, yet it has prompted me to socialize/interact with people via fandom more than instagram or facebook ever has — all because of the absence of an algorithm. in the age of technology, that’s a beautiful thing.

tl;dr: the volunteers who run ao3 are angels and they deserve our utmost gratitude. give your local volunteer a big sloppy kiss on the cheek — they deserve it. 

[sirladysketch]

This keeps popping up on my radar so I thought I’d add my two cents:

If you guys want fic recs based on stuff you’ve read, there are multiple ways you can get recs for fics of a similar nature! These include but are not limited to:

Leave a comment for the author, saying what you liked about the fic and asking if they know of other fics of a similar vibe. They might not have anything specific, they might not even answer you, but if you liked what they wrote, chances are you’ll like some of the same fics they likes, too. Dig through their bookmarks and see if they have recs and notes– I’ve found some gems this way!

Check out writing groups on Tumblr in the fandom you wanna read for. I know there used to be Dragon Age writing group, and authors I followed had fic rec posts where they had links to stories they enjoyed (and sometimes mentioned what they liked about them, too!)

Similarly, there may be Discord groups or Twitters for your fandom where people talk about writing, but, more importantly, have links to fic recs. I know of two Kingdom Hearts accounts in particular that are ship-specific and give you a brief description of what the fics are like.

Click on the tags in the fic, see what else surfaces. You never know what you’ll find!

Honestly, just asking other fans in the community it one of the best ways to find tailored fic recs, because I’ve had fandom friends dm at 4 in the morning saying “OMG I READ THIS FIC YOU NEED TO TOO.”

You wouldn’t scream that in a library though– there are other fandom spaces where you can and *should* do that.