#ao3 data

[ao3demographicssurvey2024]

The AO3 Demographics Survey 2024 was an unofficial demographics survey of 16,131 AO3 users conducted in January 2024. We have just finished posting our initial results, so here is just a taste of the graphs and data you can check out now over on AO3!

The anonymised dataset from this survey is now available for researchers.

A full list of the survey questions with links to the relevant data is below the cut!

Demographics

How old are you?

Do you identify as LGBTQ+ in any form?

What is your gender identity?

Do you identify as any of the following? (LGBTQ+ related identities)

What is your sexual orientation?

What is your romantic orientation?

What is your race?

Is English your native language?

Which geographic region best describes your current place of residence?

Which religious or spiritual tradition(s) do you believe?

Do you experience the following? (Disability, Neurodivergence, and Health Conditions)

Usage of AO3

Which of the following AO3 activities have you done in the last twelve months?

How frequently do you use the following methods to find works on AO3?

In a typical week, how long do you spend on AO3 or reading downloaded AO3 works?

When did you begin using AO3, with or without an account?

When did you create your first AO3 account?

What languages do you use for reading and posting on AO3?

Works You Post On AO3

Which of the following types of works do you post on AO3? (Media)

Of the works you post on AO3, how often do you post works with the following ratings?

Of the works you post on AO3, how often do you post works focused on the following types of relationships?

Of the works you post on AO3, how often do you post works in the following genres/tags?

Of the works you post on AO3, how often do you post the following types of works? (Format & Miscellaneous)

Works You Consume On AO3

Which of the following types of works do you consume on AO3? (Media)

How much do you enjoy works with the following ratings on AO3?

How much do you enjoy works focused on the following types of relationships on AO3?

How much do you enjoy works in the following genres/tags on AO3?

How much do you enjoy the following types of works on AO3? (Format & Miscellaneous)

Fandom Beyond AO3

Which of the following types of fanworks have you consumed in the last year?

Which of the following types of fandom activity have you done in the last year?

Which of the following websites or apps do you currently use for fandom activities at least once a month?

Which of the following websites or apps have you previously used for fandom activities, but no longer regularly use?

When did you first begin participating in fandom?

How many fandoms have you considered yourself a part of in the last five years?

Which of the following types of media do you participate in fandoms for?

[mandj-data]

Are you an AO3 enjoyer?

Are you interested in participating in a study about how AO3 readers and creators use additional (freeform) tags?

Hello! We are M and J, two students pursuing a Master's in Library Information Science, and we have just the survey for you!

AO3 Additional Tag Use Survey

Hello! We are M and J, two students pursuing a Master's in Library Information Science. The purpose of this study is to analyze changes in t

We even have a special section about YOU, tumblr user! (Because we believe tumblr might have had a unique influence on AO3 tagging)

So don't delay, take our survey today!

[lilac-hecox]

Smosh AO3 End of Year Data

So, majority of the fics in the Smosh fandom are teen followed by gen, then explicit, then mature, and not rated. I think the line between mature and explicit is thin and up to author's discretion! I am surprised that teen and gen fic tops the fandom but then again the difference between gen fic and explicit is only about 20 fics so!

By far we have fics where warnings don't apply but then secondly the author choosing not to use warnings which I never really thought about. The graphic violence tag isn't too surprising considering the amount of various aus that crop up including stuff like Mob, Crime, Hunger Games, etc.

*shame free zone for the bottom two tags because at least the author appropriately tagged it and therefore you can avoid it!

So, we have a majority male/male fics in the fandom and f/m is not too far behind that. F/F is actually close to catching up with F/M and I feel could potentially overtake it in 2026.

This I think is so cool because now we have Spud Hut as a fandom tag in the fandoms category! Like, enough people tagged it that AO3 tag wranglers made a tag of it. I am hoping that Dread / We're All Gonna Die / Maw Meadows pops up eventually!

Characters kind of surprises me that Shayne is at the top but also not because he is dynamic enough to end up in multiple fics in multiple ships in the main pairing but also as a supporting character.

I think the same for Ian as he is easy to slide in there if it's set in a Smosh company type fic.

I was surprised by the difference in Amanda and Angela's numbers but then I thought about fics where Angela is shipped or with other people platonically or otherwise whereas Amanda has a little bit less of that.

I think unfortunately majority of Chanse's appearances are supporting character though more fics of him as the main pairing have cropped up! Whereas I think Tommy's is more because of more ships!

Relationship wise fics Amangela took over the Shaymien spot back in like October. I think by far there are more Amangela fics being written right now than other ships though Ianthony has been kicking lately because of the amount of content they have been in.

Shaymien is holding strong and managed to pass 500 fics! I am curious to see if they keep gaining fics or if they fall under Shourtney in 2026.

The gap between Shourtney and Damangela is pretty wide but again, like Amangela, Damangela pops up a lot too! They are very close to 200 fics and depending on what happens in 2026 I can see them continuing to grow.

Spommy has cooled a bit but is also close to 200 fics and has a dedicated amount of shippers so I can see them hanging in there and hopefully Smosh actually gives us some damn spommy content in 2026 because it's just such a classic pairing.

The platonic pairings at the bottom are all extremely close in numbers and bounce around a little. If I remember, Damien/Reader / Damien/You is the pairing that could break into the top 10 and overtake platonic Shourtney.

I think last time I checked Shayncer was also close to being able to breach the top 10 but I think it's a good ways away.

Tags wise Fluff has the most fic which is fun and nice because it's easy to read and does feel good and we could all use that. Angst is also pretty high and I like that because tbh sometimes angst just hits.

Friends to lovers and established relationships make sense for this fandom because of the type of real life relationships they have.

Love AU's we need more AU's!!!

In doing the @fanfic-reading-challenge I realized how many types of fics that the Smosh fandom is missing!

--

Anyway, that's it for the data! I will probably post something like this again in June (someone remind me) so we can look at what has changed in the half-year.

I love you Smosh peeps and hopefully someone else finds this interesting? Would love to know other people's takes!

[centrumlumina]

Did your ship make the top 10?

The new AO3 Ship Stats are now available to view on my AO3.

[luna-the-cretar]

It is FINALLY done! After lord knows how many hours, here is an expansive Legends of Avantris ao3 ship spreadsheet

Keep in mind that this may not be 100% accurate. Some relationships may be added later, and of course the amount of fics each pairing has constantly changes (especially the ouaw ones), but this should give you a good idea of not only the sheer amount of ships there are, but also what ships are more popular based on their respective campaigns :)

Legends of Avantris ao3 ship data

The end results have genuinely surprised me (pleasantly or otherwise). Also, the Gricko & Frost one is an error that I am just now catching, and hopefully it shows the edit lol

[fantasticcolordaze]

Can you do f/f ships the way you did m/m please?

Okay excluding where they are background ships, the most written f/f ships of 2025 so far

1 Caitlyn/Vi (League of Legends) (550)

2 Agatha Harkness/Rio Vidal (217)

3 Elphaba Thropp/Galinda Upland (117)

4 Original Female Character(s)/Original Female Character(s) (100)

5 Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor (42)

6 Carla Connor/Lisa Swain (39)

7 Kim Minjeong | Winter/Yu Jimin | Karina (37)

8 Maya Bishop/Carina DeLuca (36)

9 Wednesday Addams/Enid Sinclair (33)

10 Alicent Hightower/Rhaenyra Targaryen (29)

[sparrowrising]

For the data nerds:

[daisiesonafield-blog]

The Top AO3 Ships 2023

Harry and Louis at minute mark 23.

Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson, up 16 spots from last year (way to go fic writers!) is tied at #69 with a Minecraft ship. There were 1,712 new fics written in the last year (August 4 2022 - August 7 2023), for a total of 39,028 fics!

For Top Ships Of All Time: Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson is top 9, down one spot from last year.

You can view the spreadsheets yourself here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/491...