Ao3 Community - Blog Posts

Why are fanfic writers so obsessed with giving characters broken ribs or concussions? Come up with a new injury at this point

Well since my hubby(ao3) went to war again , im going to chai😶.

Ao3 is down again😮‍💨

Uh quick question guyss , i've been marking a lot of ao3 works as mark for later and i just realised........ i don't where to find my marked for later😅😳

I just realised ... everyone is runing to post on tumblr the second they realised ao3 is down 😂. Makes me feel happy that there are people like me out there🙃 like we are a community

I wanna know where people have lately gotten the audacity to leave comments on fanfics talking about how much the fanfic sucked and negatively critiquing an author's fic like it's a published book review.

It pisses me off cause I've seen authors abandoned or delete their fics because of this.

You're getting fanfics for FREE! No one asked for your opinion.

I hope y'all know as authors we get email notifications when you comment so we see EVERY comment that's been left.

We also can see the negative reviews you leave when you bookmark our fics

people who leave comments on AO3 I LOVE YOU

I hate this theme. I can’t imagine Carlos is this way ever! He has so much love for TK and I just can’t imagine he’s not home for him more often. Not having dinner with him, spending every second possible with him. One reason I adore Carlos so much is because of how much he loves TK and how he will do anything to make sure the love of his life is happy! Hardly being home for dinner does not show that.

I do understand why people are running with it though. It’s because this is what the writers gave us in season 5. They showed him as distant and not as loving. Yeah he was grieving and had tunnel vision, but personally I do not feel like even in his grief, he would’ve ignored his husband. It’s just not in his character. The final season was their worst and I’m so sad they ended the show with Carlos this way and made TK, more or less, a housewife (not his passion). They changed our boys and took away the things we loved most about them. Season 5 pretty much just does not exist for me.

is it just me or is there this weird theme in future tarlos fics where Carlos is never home for dinner and sees his family for a few waking hours a week. and it’s not because they’re having problems or he’s avoiding them. there’s not even tension with this. he’s just often portrayed as always out of the house and only eating family dinner occasionally and working all the time and an outsider in his own family … for no reason

I’ve been seeing some frustration in the LS fandom lately, and I totally get it!

It’s upsetting how often Carlos is being written as a neglectful workaholic in every new Jonah fic. And honestly, I don’t blame the writers who write him this way - this is what the show gave us. They wanted to portray a distant Carlos, and if people interpreted that as neglect, well, they’re not wrong. And yes, he was grieving and trying to find his dad’s killer but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t neglecting and treating TK like shit. Both opinions are correct.

But what really gets under my skin even more is how TK is being portrayed in so many of these fics - like a housewife. It was already disappointing enough that the show made him quit his job for some made-up reason, but now these stories are doubling down and reducing him to nothing more than that. No passion, no fire, no spark. Just a soft, domestic placeholder for boring, emotional kicks. I don’t read Jonah or kid fics, and I don’t plan to ever - but the way Tarlos is being written lately as this sexless, lifeless pair with no real depth is starting to wear on me. They were never like that. That’s not who they are.

Writers, never forget this: readers bring your stories to life.

If a reader comes back - acknowledge it. That means your words meant something.

If they tell you they liked something - acknowledge it. That connection deserves more than silence or a on emoji.

If they share that they didn’t like something - acknowledge that too. It takes courage to speak honestly.

Don’t ignore your readers. Don’t dismiss their thoughts with angry or vague response.

And above all, don’t attack them in your notes or your blog for simply engaging.

You don’t have to agree with every opinion, but if someone took the time to read your work, feel something, and reach out - you owe them basic respect.

Because without readers, stories are just words on a screen. Readers are the heartbeat of a fandom. Treat them like it.