Normalize leaving unhinged comments on ao3 fics you like. I'm tired of being the only one brave enough to write "I am chewing on this fic" in the comment section. Be weird. Authors will love you for it
I was talking about abandoned unfinished fics on Discord when someone said along the lines "FR bro I don't even read fic if not marked as completed" and that made me scootch my chair out to think a bit.
I think that's a little cruel, refusing to engage with a fic because its not 100% done yet.
Not only are people who do this missing out on great experiences, but its a refusal to engage with the author. It's refusing to acknowledge the author's effort in sharing something they worked a lot of hours on.
Like I get it. Nobody wants to take the cliffhanger or get mad that a fic they let live rent-free in they head disappeared into the ether, never to be updated again.
But that's part of life sometimes man. Sometimes stories are left unfinished. That didn't stop people from loving it as it was and taking inspiration.
Case in point is the manga Berserk. Highly influential series that inspired lots of others (e.g. Dark Souls, Elden Ring, even you guy's favourite Black Butler) amongst other things. The author Kentaro Miura struggled with juggling other projects and his declining health. He died before it was finished. But without this series being read and becoming popular, a lot of things we enjoy would have been really different. FF7 Cloud would have been carrying a little baby Fischer Price sword maybe idk.
So please, I invite you to engage with unfinished fanfic, whether it's one chapter done, or seven out of thirty planned. Give it your time and your comments.
Fanfic writers are not as visible a part of fandom community as artists or cosplayers. When a fic writer posts on social media or TikToks it doesn't make the same numbers as a cosplayer posting part of they fit or an artist posting a WIP.
But boys would cry, scream, throw up, piss they pants, shit and possibly die if Ao3 and FFnet were taken down permanently.
But interacting with the fic as its posted chapter by chapter? That's giving the writer that connection to the community one would give an artist or cosplayer when their work is still cooking.
I don't want this post to make people feel like they're being guilt tripped into participating in reading and commenting on fics. But there's really few ways I can convey how this is vital to the fandom ecosystem. It's like thanking the bus driver or washing your hands. If you don't wash your hands I will curse your crops.
Tl;dr: plz read unfinished fic and comment too thank you
EDIT: Some people gave good additions some had some wacky tobaccy takes so I want to clarify the following:
1 - This applies to fics someone would normally read and enjoy the theoretical fic, but won't because it's unfinished. I'm not telling boys to read every longfic under the sun. If you prefer short fic you can enjoy that.
2 - This is a fandom etiquette thing I wanted to highlight, St Peter won't bar the gates of Heaven if you still do it. The thing about etiquette is that when nobody does it, fandom would be worse off for it and we should strive to be better neighbors in fandom.
3 - Fic adoption is a thing, and don't be shy to ask about it. So is spiritual successor fics, you don't need an author's blessing to continue where an abandoned fic left off as long as you give due credit to the original. Neither are perfect solutions.
4 - Even long abandoned fics are worth your time there is a chance they can get resurrected with enough support. Source: me I'm being bullied by fans who unionised to make posting the next chapter to a fic I started in 2010-12, and haven't posted a chapter for (5) years. That's right this post was an inside job the whole time <- Joke
Ch 689 postcanon. Sasuke comes back to Konoha (to Naruto). Naruto's bed is awesome to sleep. Naruro himself is restless, Kurama wants to eat Sasuke for shit-talk, Gaara threatens him. Menwhile, both Sasuke and Naruto are trying to invest a new cool jutsu...
Aftermath - 58к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Naruto fgot tired of Sasuke leaving, so one day he leaves with him. Roadmovie fic: they bicker and fight, they make peace with each other and come back to Konoha together.
Wonder - 7к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Naruto and Sasuke leave Konoha together.
It’s Warm With You - 45к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Sasuke and Naruto leave on a long mission to a very, very cold place. There's no one around, only kilometres of snow and wind.
come find me when - 27к words
Ch 689 postcanon. They write letters to each other while Sasuke is away. But even when they leave on a travel together, they don't stop writing to each other.
Five Star Hotels - 12к words
Sasuke comes back to Naruto only to find that Naruto is apparently has a girlfriend now?
Tabula Rasa - 40к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Konoha officials let Sasuke stay a free man, but they seal his memories.
All warfare is based on deception - 5к words
Hyuuga family funds a wedding (the strategy is flawless).
Speak Now - 5к words
Sasuke sabotages a wedding between Naruto and Hinata.
Armistice - 14к words
Brt postcanon. NH in divorse, Kurama watches everyone, comments on Naruto's new partner Sasuke and plays a nurse for his children occasionally.
Flock of Birds - 8к words
Naruto is under a powerful jutsu that makes him a 6-year old kid. Everyone's around him is big and scary and he doesn't understand why everyone's kind to him.
Homecoming - 4к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Naruto said Sasuke he loves him, but the other just went away. SO now Naruto makes himself Sasuke from his own clones. For hugs.
Killing It - 9к words
Ch 689 postcanon. After Jiraya's death someone 's still piublishing book under his name. But plots suddely change.
heart in your hands - 33к words
Postcanon Ch 689. Sasuke and Naruto start too live together and try to get used to each other. Naruto tries to live with panic attacks and gets overwhelmed that Sasuke even lets him touch him. Sasuke, on the other side is overwhelmed by everything.
One Bed - 8к слов
Ch 689 postcanon. After war Sasuke moves in with Sasuke. There's only one bed and Sasuke doesn't want to get a separate bed.
Rapids - 7к words
Ch 689 postcanon. After war their emotional bond only grows.
The Bond Between Us - 19к words
Another post Ch 689 and emotional bond is as strong. Sasuke comes back to Naruto, Kurama watches him and Naruto... well, he's just happy to be with Sasuke.
Rebuilding - 25к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Naruto becoms a Hokage, but still tries to do everything all at once. Sasuke comes back to chek on him and sees this mess - he's not happy. Time to change this.
Team Meeting - 6к words
Naruto/Sasuke/Naruto. And another one is watching.
a loosened tongue - 4к words
Sasuke eats wrong berries, they work as a truth serum. He needs Naruto immidiately.
The Guardian of the Moon - 175к words
Sasuke comes back to Konoha. Naruto personally vouches for him and they move into a house that's built specially for him on Nara territory.
The sun within me - 339к words
Sasuke and Naruto transgress into an alternative universe where Charasuke and Menma live. Suddenly, everyone around there is convinced they're boyfriends. Itachi and Obito are alive. With extras.
This Will Be Easy - 24к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Sasuke and Naruto move into one apartment, but Sasuke gets on Naruto's nverves very quickly (he starts to walk around the apartmen without pants).
Unburied & Examined - 16к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Sasuke gets tired to stay in friendzone.
Here Comes The Sun - 108к words
Naruto wakes up in his 12 year old body. Kakashi and Itachi greet him and tell him that they fixed everything. Uchihas are alive.
Guess Who’s Under the Mistletoe? - 3к words
AU. Uchihas are alive. Madara is just a grumpy old man. The whole family wants to know who's Sasuke's boyfriend.
A question of Lust (a question of trust) - 46k words
Fantasy AU. Uzushio's prince Naruto has to choose a hiusband. Different men will fight for him on a tournament. Konoha sent two contestants: Neji - who wanted to go; and Sasuke - who had to.
Hold me at the break of everything - 11k words
AU. Charasuke has a special mission: he has to help Sasuke and Naruto to accept their feelings for each other. If he fails, the world will end. There's bits of NH dates and Charasuke fooling with Sasuke.
The Divine Glitch - 38k words
AU. Sasuke is an Angel of Death and Naruto is a baby who has to die. An ordinary job goes wrong.
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My own fics:
Ignite - 2,5k words
F1 AU. Itachi is a huge F1 fan and especially Kitsune's pilot - Naruto Uzumaki. His younger brother Sasuke will suffer with him when Itachi wants to visit one of F1 races.
If there is love, there’s peace - 2к words
Ch 689 postcanon. Sasuke and Naruto plan a wedding and Naruto wants Sasuke to be his best man... except he's his future husband. Wedding AU.
Blinding Light Right Where Your Heart Is - 16k words
Sasuke is lost in the past and has to care for young baby Naruto. Ah, guilt, old friend.
One Funeral and Two Weddings - 15k words
AU. Madara is an ex-mob boss. Uchihas are alive, Makoto is his daughter, he loves Itachi hike a son and Sasuke is his favorite grandson. Most rebellious one, likes to stir shit. HashiMada + SNS.
ao3 is still down and everyone is acting like their lover's have gone to war and will never come back (it's me, i'm everyone. i can't take another 2023 shutdown)
It's been a long and challenging road, but after about 44 hours of work, I've finally finished this painting of Bucky, and I'm incredibly proud of the result.
I hope you can feel the gravitas of the emotional moment I was trying to capture. It feels like I leveled-up with this piece and I hope you like it! ❤
Hey, anyone else remember the days when all us fanfic writers had to worry about was the original authors of whatever we were writing fanfic for would open a court case against us? Or maybe someone posting one of our pieces on a different site and claiming they wrote it?
I remember.
I remember writing ANs requesting no one send law-ninjas after me.
I did not think I would miss those days, but here we are.
