my ao3 extension/plugin/downloady thing recs:
as i use ao3 primarily on my laptop, i have a number of super helpful things installed to make life easier. some of them are about accessibility, but most of them are just for making my reading and writing experience smoother
1. ao3 enhancements:
this one is an absolute must have for me. it combines a lot of the userscripts you can find on greasyfork and the like. unlike those scripts, though, this is a chrome extension, so it's easier to install (and can also be installed in opera gx!!). it allows you to set a reading speed (which is very handy when you're trying to find a quick fic to read before sleeping at 2am), hide works with too many fandoms, input tags so that works containing those tags are automatically hidden, and decrease the width of the work (which is great on larger screens). there's other things, as well, that it does!!
2. coloured tags
i have a lot of Issues with my eyes and chronic migraines so ao3's normal tags are a nightmare for me. the coloured tags are an absolute godsend though. the script also changes the fonts so everything's a bit nicer and easier to look at. there are two scripts to install: the original one, and the one that allows it to work on dark themes. they both need to be installed together for the dark mode one to work
note: these scripts are a few years old now so they can be a bit finicky. however, just install the two into tampermonkey, and then install the one for lightmode into stylus. that fixed any problems for me
light mode | dark mode
me, using my own fic as an example? it's more likely than you think
3. other userscripts:
note: these all require tampermonkey or something similar to work
tracking: lets you track specific tags and collections and whatever else
clone subscribe button: just adds an extra subscribe button at the end of a work. it doesn't work on fics that you're looking at in a collection, but you can easily just alter the url
download buttons: adds download buttons to works on index pages
links to first and last chapter: adds an extra button on works that takes to straight to the aforementioned chapters. very handy for quick navigation
hide images: hides images in a work. i don't always have this one active, but if a fic is already long and taking 1000 years to load, hiding any images can speed things up
4. extension of our own:
this one is more of an honourable mention, because using it too often breaks the website. it basically sorts out your subscriptions and orders them by update date. unfortunately, using it and clicking on more than one work upsets the site and locks you out for a few mins, so it's usually not worth it. if anyone knows of any other extensions or scripts that deal with subscriptions, pls tell me!!
5. offline reading:
i like to download fics to read offline, either for convenience or for travel purposes. for this, i have a couple of apps:
freda: this is the best ebook reader i've come across. it has a lot of customisation options and you can sync your library with onedrive so you can have it on multiple devices. there's technically a free version and a paid version, but there's absolutely no difference between them other than a banner ad on the free one on the library screen. when reading, the screen is clear of ads, and the only extra thing you get by paying is removing the ads. everything else is available in the free version
calibre: this is technically another ebook reader, but i like to use it for its library management and plugins, particularly fanficfare (which lets you download fics straight into calibre) and epubmerge (which lets you merge multiple works into a single ebook - handy for an ao3 series that you want to compile or smth). at first it wants to automatically open all ebooks in its own reader, but you can change that setting in the preferences. you can also save the calibre library to onedrive, so it syncs across multiple devices
