Me: *Reading my drafts and getting invested on the story just to realize there’s a cliffhanger*
Me: “Damn, i wonder what happens next. I hope the author updates so-“
Me: *realizes im the author and im the one who has to write what’s next.*
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
RMH
Show & Tell

No title available
dirt enthusiast

Kiana Khansmith
Misplaced Lens Cap

No title available

JVL

Janaina Medeiros
AnasAbdin
i don't do bad sauce passes
ojovivo

#extradirty
YOU ARE THE REASON
h

❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
d e v o n

No title available
almost home
seen from United States

seen from Greece
seen from Germany

seen from United States

seen from Canada

seen from Türkiye

seen from United States

seen from Uruguay

seen from United States

seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Greece

seen from Netherlands

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom

seen from Canada

seen from Australia
seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
@mykki-writes-stuff
Me: *Reading my drafts and getting invested on the story just to realize there’s a cliffhanger*
Me: “Damn, i wonder what happens next. I hope the author updates so-“
Me: *realizes im the author and im the one who has to write what’s next.*
things some people, especially people who are new to ao3 or fandom/fanfic space as a whole, seem to not understand:
archive of our own is an archive. not a social media.
archive of our own was built with the stance that there would be no censorship, because other platforms already had censorship where some things that were taboo were reported/removed. ao3 was built with the purpose that all of these works, that were not allowed on other platforms, would be allowed on ao3.
the archive will house anything that’s considered fanworks. so no, you cannot report this fic because it portrays in explicit details taboo topics about xyz, you cannot report that fic because it romanticizes and glorifies xyz. ao3 will not remove any of those fics, because whether or not you like it, those fics do not go against ao3’s terms of service.
“but these things are not allowed on other platforms” that’s precisely why ao3 was created, to house and give a platform to these things that were censored/banned/removed from other platforms.
if you have a problem with this, you can use other platforms to post and read fanfics
but you should also know that ao3 by far has the best tagging system, meaning you won’t get anything like what ao3 provides on other platforms, meaning it may be a pain in the ass for you to find a fic with the prompts and pairing you’re looking for, meaning you may still get jump scared by things that are triggering to you half way through your reading of what you thought was an innocent fic. because other platforms don’t have tagging systems, where you can find and avoid any character/pairing/tag as you please, like ao3.
i think it's quite harmful to share the mindset that basically anything goes on ao3. yes, tags and filtering are super helpful to avoid your dislikes, but because of how many "taboo topics" are written, it's more challenging to find what i want when i have to scroll past abuse, mental health glorification, etc. i think authors need to really take some time to self evaluate and really come to terms with what they're writiinf and if it's that important to be written.
actually, authors can write whatever they want because they write for themselves. not. for. you.
we don't have to cater to your personal liking or comfort because we fucking write whatever the hell we want for ourselves. we are our main audience and priorities. and we already tag our warnings, it's your job to avoid them.
also if you actually filter out tags about topics you don't like, you won't have to scroll past most of the things you don't like, because every fic that's tagged as such just won't show up on your screen at all
Ah yes, and here we have tumblr user "innocent bean" telling AO3 to abandon the mission they were created for, and fan authors to shut up and conform all of their fic to what "innocent bean" wants to read.
Stop me if you hate the concept: short, fat, hairy lady gets isakai'd into a high fantasy, and instead of "oh look at all these ethereal elves woe for I am but a flawed mortal" routine she lands in Dwarf territory and is immediately revered as the most enchanting and desirable maid in all the land. This immediately becomes a zesty romantic drama. Thoughts
“this fic portrays problematic ship” then don’t read it
“this fic romanticizes bad things” then don’t read it
“this fic makes me uncomfortable and angry” then don’t read it
“this fic about my favorite fictional character goes against everything the character believes in in canon” then don’t read it
all of the problems you have with somebody else’s fanfic can be very easily solved by the act of Not Reading It
scroll past a fic if it’s something you don’t like, filter out tags about things you don’t want to see
no one forces you to read a fic that upsets you. also you can stop reading any fic at any time you want.
harassing real people over fiction will not make you morally superior. it just makes you a bully
the absolute funniest ao3 tag wrangler story i know is that @kalpurna once emailed them and asked for “just the tip” to be canonized so us perverts could filter on it, and they responded back that they didn’t think it was good idea as it’s “rather ambiguous between the sex act and the financial transaction.” i just about lost my mind. who is tagging “just the tip” meaning their characters are working out how to split their dinner bill???
HUGE NEWS. GUESS WHAT'S FINALLY CANONICAL
my other favorite tags that became canonical this year:
Oh. OH. | Italicized Oh Moment
The Mortifying Ordeal of Being Known
Soulmate Goose of Enforcement
Humans are Space Orcs
Monsterfucking | Teratophilia
DILFs | Dads I'd Like to Fuck
I love it when fan fiction writers are like: “ah shit, this was meant to be one part but I started writing it and now it has to be three”. Like the fanfic is happening to them and not being created by them.
Unfortunately all writing is like this
non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc
reblog if you love archive of our own and how they firmly refuse to let censorship have any place on their platform
This isn’t even a love triangle anymore it’s some sort of psychosexual dodecahedron
Normies talking about getting whiplash from recipe blogs. You know nothing
[ID: An AO3 author’s note reading, “Sorry for vanishing, I did a little too much research on cults an coercive control for Damian’s arc, and then realized I was raised in a cult, and THEN I ran away to a fishing town cabin on the other side of the country and had to start learning to be a person in the real world. I also forgot how to write. But I’m learning again, so I’m back now! Have some more.” The “I” in “I was raised in a cult” is emphasized by sparking emojis, and the note is ended with heart emojis. /end ID]
Aaaand THIS is one of the many reasons why it’s not only not a bad thing to portray dark subject matter, but EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to do so!! You can learn a lot when writing, and others can learn a lot when reading! This can save lives, dudes.
I am so proud of the author though. That took multiple kinds of courage at once. Good job, author.
Hi! I’m the original author from ao3!
I want to thank everyone for such hilarious and kind additions/replies/tags on this post, they’ve been so amazing to read. They’ve meant more to me than you guys know. ❤️
I also want to add some information for anyone who wants to know more about recognizing the signs that you might be in a high control group.
High control groups can be small or large, religious or not, clubs, schools, online servers, friend groups, etc.
No human is invulnerable because we all have brains and emotions that can be played like a fiddle. Knowing the red flags can help us all keep ourselves safer!
igotout.org
BITE model of understanding thought and behavior control
International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA)
Crisis Text Line (highly recommend, especially if you’re not in a safe place to discuss things on the phone)
Please always protect yourself as best you can and never be afraid to reach out for help—even if you’re just wondering, even if you’re not sure about something.
No safe group or person will EVER be mad at you for being cautious and taking things slow, or for changing your mind at ANY point. You’re the one who gets to decide whether you join or stay with a group, no matter what they threaten or love-bomb you with.
If you’re not safe, there’s help.
If you feel trapped, there’s help.
If people are being actively hurt, good people want to listen, understand, and help.
We all deserve freedom. I’m grateful every morning I wake up that I get to live it now, even though it’s hard and I have a long way to go. Thank you for walking this journey with me, for one brief moment or for years, and helping me—and others like me—not be alone.
Take care, stay safe, and happy fanfiction reading!
This is what I mean when I say myth literalism is bad. While the gods are individuals, they are also concepts- forces that make up a greater whole. Hades is not just a king, he is cold, is is death, in the most literal of senses. His actions are not the actions of a man, they are the planet turning & the world around us breathing.
All of the above, PLUS....
Myths, with absolutely no exceptions, are created by human beings. The myths of the ancient world were often created to explain natural phenomena. They reflect the culture and time in which they were born, and that is the lens through which we must read them in order to properly understand what we're seeing. The story of Hades and Persephone was not created in response to a literal kidnapping. It was the allegorical lens through which one culture chose to view the natural phenomenon of seasonal change.
Expecting ancient myths to scan when viewed through the morals and values of a cultural viewpoint several millennia removed from the the source material is nothing short of ludicrous.
non-writers will never understand the mental illness of writing an entire conversation in your head while doing dishes and then forgetting every word the second you open a blank doc
"this would be so good if it was good" might just be my favourite sentence to use when analysing any media
because it's not a meaningless thing to say
some things will always be mid at best, but sometimes things that suck could be so good, if only they were good
Censorship, Pro-shipping, and the Limits of Dark Fiction
A looong post about my stances
I think there’s this weird debate about censorship of dark topics, and as someone who fiercely hates some of the things I read online (because I find them immoral and awful/encouraging bad behavior), these are my thoughts (please read it all before commenting):
Content Warning: Discussions of written SA/rap3, p3dophilia, abus3, violenc3 (all in reference to dark fiction and if it should be allowed)
Erasing fiction under the guise of morality risks more than it prevents—it removes a safe outlet, punishes curiosity, and forces people to process complex feelings in unsafe ways.
This was so incredibly nuanced and well-written. Please take some time to read through the whole thing and absorb it.
I'm a proud Agnes Shipper.
That's not a typo, because I'm a multishipper and would/could write/ship her with anyone.
In my fanon (the W.O.W. drabbles), Agnes is such a big Wednesday Addams stalker because they share a birthday, not just because she saved the school. She had already been smitten/fascinated/had a huge girlcrush on Wednesday because of her uniqueness. I write from experience, since I had a weird ass stalker like that in high school too (but obviously not to the caricaturish degree).
Agnes Demille is slightly coded as a "freshman". Freshman and Juniors have one year between them [Sophomore], but are two years in age apart. Generally (and tightly speaking), in American schools:
You turn 15 during your Freshman Year.
You turn 16 during your Soph Year.
You turn 17 during your Junior Year.
You turn 18 during your Senior Year.
That would make her only two years apart from her and you are lying off your asses if you've never heard of a freshman dating a junior. I wrote this in the Invisible Girls post, but apparently I have to say it again:
There is no uniform manner in which adolescents are socialized, especially in fiction. FICTION.
And fiction is the safest place for you to explore the dynamic, especially since fear has been driven into your skulls about what you should and shouldn't be doing offline. Vermont's laws in particular give younger people the freedom to be with who they want, within age and reason (anyone less than 19 years old). Not that we should even care about that, we're writing in a world full of supernatural shit. A world FULL of supernatural shit that I don't fucking see anyone considering when it comes to sex. Mention #Thingclair on TikTok and you get a bunch of Gen Z stares who don't understand why you'd ship a hand with a sixteen year old girl.
Agnes is an Invisible Girl. She's seen much more than you're giving her credit for, and she and Enid click, since Agnes is the kinder version of Wednesday who's open to colorful clothing and being there for her. And while Wednesday mainly sees her from a utilitarian point of view (and as a lowkey threat, given her powers), Enid was the first real bond of a classmate seeing her.
And the reality:
No one at all is shipping Evie with Emma (and if they are, they're degenerates). That is precisely what scares Emma into going so hard against the fictional ship, because she is a victim of Jemma/people who ship her with Jenna. She doesn't want the same thing to happen to her and Evie, but again: We're not doing that. I would never.
And I, unlike a whole swath of fandom, have a GOOD GRIP on reality and fully comprehend the difference between an actor and their role. I honestly can't believe I even have to try to beat that concept into your heads, since we have seen the effects of treating actors like their fictional characters, and it never ends well for the actors. We're seeing it right now with the cast of The Summer I Turned Pretty
I don't know how y'all kids are doing this, but the line between fantasy and reality MUST be repainted into a thick, solid line.
Stop treating actors like their characters. It's a role. A JOB. They're doing because they enjoy the job and like to entertain the public, but shit like this ruins everything, and that's what concerns Myers re: Agnid shipping, since she's been through and is still going through that Hell with Ortega.
Imma repeat it in all the fonts:
Stop treating actors like their characters.
Stop treating actors like their characters.
Stop treating actors like their characters.
Stop treating actors like their characters.
Stop treating actors like their characters.
Stop treating actors like their characters.
Stop treating actors like their characters.
You all have to get the Hell out of that smoke and back into your lane.
“Uuugh 1984 is so gross and misogynistic the main character objectifies women and it makes me so uncomfortable”
That is literally the point. Winston is not an aspirational figure he is just some fucking guy who has been suppressed and emotionally manipulated by the intense thought control of a totalitarian government his entire life to the point that he cannot connect to other human beings as a result of that system. The suppression of language and thought has effected people in this world so deeply that they cannot understand and communicate with other people at a base level. This intentional degradation has led people to not view each other as human.
some of the fandom has been stressing me out recently so i wanted to recommend some things
Offered by University of Pennsylvania. Welcome to English for Media Literacy, a course created by the University of Pennsylvania, and ... E
Being nice makes people feel good and paves the way for good relationships!