#TAG YOUR FICS CORRECTLY PLEASE

[eluminium]

i swear to all that is wicked and sullied in the world if i read another fic thats labeled “Boatem Centric” but the fic is basically just Grian, Scar and Mumbo I am going to start spite writing “Boatem Centric” fics that are JUST about Pearl and Impulse because they deserve better then this-

#el ranteth #I MEAN COME THE FUCK ON #TAG YOUR FICS CORRECTLY PLEASE #BOATEM DOESN'T MEAN DESERT DUO PLUS MUMBO #BOATEM IS ALL FIVE #I WONT TOLIRATE THIS IMPULSE AND PEARL ERASSURE #G O D #just tag them!! tag those three #write all about your desert duos and your grumbos and your mumscarian #just don't lead people on thinking they're gonna get something else too! #I don't care if you write about your favourite scrimblos do it all you want I just don't want to read it #personal prefrence! #the day people stop writing Impulse as the boring braincell guy who just exists is the day i can die happy #as you can see this is a rant and i'm not sorry for putting it on your dashboard #anyways eventual rant post about how the prevelence of desert duo has made me tired of them coming 2022 #<- /j

[frownyalfred]

gently grabs you by the chin hey. if an author selects “chose not to use archive warnings” on a fic, they’re allowed. even if you don’t like it or disagree.

#tired of seeing people mad at authors for correctly using the tagging system #if you the reader don’t want to risk seeing a tag that wasn’t warned for #then filter out those fics or use your best judgment #do not yell at the authors #please #as seen on tiktok several times this week #ao3 #ao3 etiquette #don’t like don’t read #archive of our own

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

RRVerse Fandom, Please Hear Me Out...

Message to the wider Riordanverse fandom:

Please correctly tag your fanfics with the correct fandom tags.

I am getting tired of seeing non-Apollo fics cluttering up the Trials of Apollo tag (such as Percy/Annabeth. like. what. they're barely in ToA. why are they there.). If your fanfic does not deal with Apollo, Meg McCaffrey, or the story of ToA or the consequences of it, please do not tag it as such.

I have seen fics tagged as ToA and not even have the MC, Apollo, tagged as part of the cast. So please. I am begging you. Please stop. You have the Percy Jackson & the Olympians - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, AND The Heroes of Olympus tags.

Solangelo writers, you now have the Sun and the Star tag, as well as the All Media Types one. Unless it happens during or alongside something to do with Apollo & his story, please refrain from tagging it as ToA.

And no. I do not think just being Solangelo should qualify all Solangelo fics to be tagged as ToA. If anything, they should be The Sun and The Star tag or even The Heroes of Olympus tag because that's when it all began! However, if, say, it's during The Hidden Oracle or takes place in the ToA timeframe then sure! ToA tag it!

But if it's just like an AU or something that only focuses on Solangelo? Then please don't. It's not ToA then.

This is what the ToA tag looks like btw:

I know, Nico, Will, and Percy are all popular characters, but COME ON. This is Apollo's tag, please give him this! It's so hard to find fics I want to read because it's so cluttered! Apollo's not even in the top three most-tagged characters in his own fandom tag.😒

And look at the gap between the number of fics Apollo's in compared to Percy! A 354 gap! And there's 1,616 gap between Apollo and Nico! And I can say with certainty that not all of those fics Percy - and even Nico and Will - are in are related to ToA.

Meg McCaffrey, the second MC of the series, is not even on the board. And she's a very close second MC.

And trust me. I know a bunch of these fics have nothing to do with ToA. I have scoured the tag many times and have figured that out.

So please, please, please leave The Trials of Apollo tag be unless you are writing for The Trials of Apollo. We are our own fandom and frankly, it's getting annoying having to shuffle through a bunch of fics that have nothing to do with ToA just to find ones we want to read.

Fic authors, it would be such a big help if you could remove the ToA tag from your fic if it doesn't have anything to do with ToA. I know you want your fic to be seen, and use a bunch of tags to do so, but this really inconveniences the ToA fans who just want to read about our favorite loser god and his gremlin adopted sister. ☹️

Sincerely,

A ToA fan who just wants to read fics about her favorite character but can hardly wade through the fics even with the filtering system.

Thank you. It needed to be said.

#plunged into the toa ao3 tag #and returned annoyed and frustrated #so hard to find my boy #so hard to find fics for toa IN THE TOA TAG #like. please. please. i am begging you. please properly tag your fics. #proper tagging also means NOT tagging fandoms that have NOTHING TO DO with your fic #when i write my fics i tag them All Media Types and ToA #because they are about Apollo and the wider rrverse #but i've seen fics tagged as toa and NOTHING from toa shows up in them #NOTHING #no apollo. no meg. nothing. #and really apollo should be the main selling point #if he's not an important character in the fic than honestly the fic's not toa #exceptions are meg-centric fics or a character who debuts in toa #like lavinia or crest or emmie and jo or- #you get my meaning #so i've decided to throw this out there #please please please tag fics correctly. please. i know i'm not alone in this the toa fandom has a hard enough time okay do us this favor #AND YES. i know. “use the filter” and I HAVE been doing that BUT EVEN SO it's STILL difficult to find toa-centric fics! #i'm just. frustrated. it'll be a big help if ao3 writers would do this for us. please. i know i'm not alone in this #please and thank you #percy jackon and the olympians #the heros of olympus #the trials of apollo #pjo hoo toa #heros of olympus #heroes of olympus #trials of apollo #percy jackson #rick riordan

[messrsbyler]

it’s tough out there.

#byler #byler tumblr #byler ao3 #i just wanna read mike wheeler and will byers kissing please #tag your stuff correctly i’ve had enough #mike wheeler #will byers #stranger things #byler fic #byler fic rec #byler fanfic #byler meme #byler memes

[nogenderblender9358]

hi Yellowjackets fandom

Could someone tell me why the top post in the Van Palmer x reader post isn’t about Van

As well as the latest post which is also tagged van Palmer x reader

🤨🤔😑

please tags your posts correctly, miss tagging just makes it harder to find fics/posts about the actual character in the tag.

read the tags 😑

#yellowjackets x reader #yellowjackets #Yellowjackets fandom #van palmer #van palmer x reader #Please tag your fics correctly for fucks sake #That’s what the tags are for #If you use tags incorrectly there is no reason for tags #If I wanted to read about Lottie or Natalie I would go into their tag #Not targeted because I have seen a lot of people do it #you know who you are because it’s done on purpose

[robinbuckleyluvr]

To all Steve/Eddie writers:

Incorrectly tagging your STEVE/EDDIE fics as “Robin x Reader” or “Nancy x Reader” won’t make us want to read it! some of us don’t want to read about steve or eddie!

we scroll through the robin/nancy tag for content ABOUT THEM! NOT ABOUT EDDIE OR STEVE!

#robin buckley x reader #robin buckley #reader insert #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson x reader #robin buckley imagine #eddie the freak munson #eddie munson oneshot #eddie munson smut #eddie munson stranger things #stranger things #please tag your fics correctly #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington angst #steve harrington fanart #fruity four #dustin henderson #nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler x reader

[this-aint-massachusetts]

Me when I’m half way through a fic to read that reader is female because SOME writers don’t tag shit correctly

#cory rambles #cory thoughts #‘oh I don’t know what to tag’ #HOW ABOUT #I DONT KNOW #THE CONTENTS OF YOUR FIC?! #please notice that I put some not all #sorry for the ramble I’m just sick of people just assuming everyone in the fandom who simps for a character is female #like #TAG YOUR FICS CORRECTLY #RAAAAAAHHHHH

[broken-synchronicity]

Something that came up recently in discord with @/shuuenmei and @/klonoadreams and friends

And it has occurred to a lot of us older writers, especially now with the prominent use of the AO3 tagging system, is that younger writers seem to have trouble grasping the difference between the kinds of 'insert' fanfics.

So, as someone who has written all the variations there off, I've decided to try and write a reference sheet for what the differences between an OC-insert, a Self-insert, and a Reader-insert.

The OC-Insert

"I have created a character and will put them in a situation."

Everyone has an OC or a dozen, whether or not you've done anything with them. It's a right of passage of sorts for young artists and writers to create their cringe angsty OP character for their favorite show/game. We've ALL done it, it's how we learn how to make better characters for later projects, or practice new ideas.

In writing, the OC-insert fanfic will often have hallmarks of:

Wish fulfillment often in the form of a fix-it of some form, expansion of Canon, or the proposition of a Canon divergence idea (especially in the case of the OC being related to a Canon Character)

The OC having very little to no (known) traits shared with the author, and is often heavily described or even given a character reference sheet

The OC often is already a part of the world they're made for with taylor made powers or skills, or, in the case of a particular kind of wish fulfillment often seen in younger writers, an OP OC meant to allow the author to do what they want

However, the OC is often still limited in knowledge of events as with the rest of the characters, even if they might find out faster than in canon

Often written in the Third Person (he/she/it/they), occasionally in First Person, and almost never in Second Person

The OC-insert is the creation of a character to allow the author to present their idea. OCs are often ways to practice writing traits or scenes a writer isn't used to writing with a character they know 100% about in a world they mostly know.

Think D&D, you make a character and make them react to situations they are presented with. This is the OC-insert.

The Self-insert

"I am putting myself in a situation."

The Self-insert happens nearly as frequently as the OC-insert, if not more. It is the Author placing themself, or in the case of the SIOC, a very close apprximation of themself, into the show/game of their liking.

The hallmarks of a Self-insert fic include:

Also often wish fulfillment, but in the form of escapism and occasionally power fantasies. Often fix-its when in regards to canon story.

The Author proxy usually enters the world from our own via any sort of means. Reincarnation after death, magic, making deals with deities/demons, anything.

The proxy usually has most of the knowledge of the world they are entering, or on the rare occasion, very little to none. There is often no in between.

The proxy may or may not gain skills or power native to the world. In the case of SIOC, the proxy may already have some minor helpful skills. The proxy can become OP, but doesn't often start like that.

Self-inserts are often more realistic looks into the world they are inserted into, expanding on many issues and hidden scenes that might have occurred in canon

Most often written in First Person (I, Me, My), occasionally in other povs. I personally write Kal in Second Person as a stylistic choice.

The Self-insert is for the Author, to show how they personally would have reacted, or helped, or gone about something. It is a catharsis for some authors in some ways, a way to deal with emotions or situations that they can't IRL.

Think games with player inserts, particularly RPGs with branching paths, or old Pick your Adventure type stories where you pick an answer at the end of the part and then go to the corresponding page of that answer. These are how you, the author, are reacting and choosing.

Most fanfics that follow the story for games/shows like Twst are one of the above two; LiT, for instance, is an SIOC.

The Reader-Insert

"I am putting you, the reader, in a situation."

Reader-inserts are all over, but they most frequent in places where there is a high level of Fandom interaction, like here on Tumblr. Reader-inserts are generally very short, and often only about how canon characters react to presented situation. These are your "x reader" blogs and tags.

Reader-inserts often have hallmarks of:

Almost always prompt based wish fulfillment of the highest order. 98% of all reader-inserts are simply for readers to love on a character of their choosing without consequence

Most have no basis in canon, or only have canon as a setting and are very minorly reactionary to Canon events

There are very, very few reader insert fics that are well written to follow along with a Canon story, and even then, the "reader" character will gain definite traits and can break immersion and even eventually be considered an OC

The "reader" will almost never be described unless it's part of the prompt to help with immersion, and may occasionally be referred to by a nickname of some kind, but otherwise will have a blank space ("____") or (Y/N) to show where your own name may be placed, or any other traits in some case.

It is also often headcanon central, with a lot of authors' ideas as to how a Canon Character will react to a given prompt.

Almost always written in Second Person (You), very, very rarely anything else.

Reader-inserts are often.... poor quality, as stated, because they are wish fulfillment and do not often undergo any rigorous editing like a story based fic. But they can be used to practice how an author can write their idea of a particular character or a specific (often romantic) scenario.

Think otome games and imagine blogs here on tumblr. Most of the time, it's less you, the player reacting and them the characters reacting to your choices.

None of the above things are bad to write. Hell, I was a mod for an imagine blog for years, and it did indeed help with how I write. They all have ways to help a writer grow, but they are all very different forms of fics. You can't look at a self-insert and call it a reader-insert because it's not you, the reader being inserted, it's the Author. It's not an OCxCharacter story if it's the reader who's supposed to fill in the details.

So PLEASE, for the love of god, tag your fics correctly.

#writing tips #writing #insert fics #how to tag your fics correctly #sync being random #PLEASE P L E A S E TAG YOUR SHIT CORRECTLY #I HATE FINDING READER INSERTS IN THE OC TAGS WHEN THERE ISN'T A SINGLE OC

[unityrain24]

I! FUCKING! HATE! WHEN PEOPLE! ON AO3! TAG THEIR FICS! AS ALL THE PAIRINGS! JUST TO TRY GETTING MORE READS!!

STOP FLOODING THE f/f TAGS WITH m/f!!!!

SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK

#PLEASE TAG YOUR FUCKING FICS CORRECTLY #I AM SICK OF TRYING TO FIND QUEER FICS AND HAVING THEN ALL BE STRAIGHT RELATIONSHIPS #I HATE THIS #ao3 #ao3 tagging #wlw #nblw #lesbian #unityrain.txt

[starlightvld]

So, I'm just going to throw this out there because I've noticed some new authors may be confused about AO3 tagging and ratings. These are important to the structure and usability of the site, so I encourage all new authors to do these things for every fic so we can keep AO3 running smoothly!

Please rate your fics and rate them appropriately. The choices are (G)eneral, (T)een and Up, (M)ature, and (E)xplicit. Note that these are NOT only for sexual content. A fic with a graphic torture scene but no sex needs an E tag in the same way a fic with a graphic sex scene does. The site does allow you to not rate your fic, of course, but if you choose not to use a rating, just know that a lot of people will filter out or skip over your fic purely out of an abundance of caution.

Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings (The author chose not to warn for content, or Archive Warnings could apply, but the author has chosen not to specify them) and No Archive Warnings Apply (what it says on the tin, there is nothing in the fic that warrants a warning) are VERY different. Please don't use one when you mean the other. Again, people will filter fics based on this, so if you're warning is wrong, you may be losing out on your intended audience.

When tagging, you can and should use fic-specific tagging to describe your fic, but please ALSO use general tagging. For example, if you have the tag "character name likes X kink," please also use the "x kink" tag on its own. This is because the general tag can be filtered whereas the character-specific tag likely can't. And it should go without saying that you should be tagging dark, sexual, violent or similar content with general tags so people can filter them.

Other things to mention that can get your fics a wider audience:

Additional Note on Tagging: Tag all the things! This helps people find your fics. People can and do filter for general tags. If you're not sure how, search the internet for "commonly used AO3 tags" for great lists that can help you get started with appropriate tagging.

Always write a summary or include a key excerpt (or both!)

Don't be self deprecating or negative in your tags or summary - people want to like your stuff, so let them!

Use the summary section for your fic summary; use the notes sections for your Author's Thoughts™️.

Post your fic links on your socials! Canva is a free option for making cute graphics for your fics, too, if you want to spice things up.

Hopefully this will help any new writers out there (or even old writers who still struggle with tagging) to get more of the right eyes on their fics. Happy Writing!

#fan fic #ao3 #ao3 tagging #fan fiction #writing #helpful hints #please tag your fics correctly! #fandom writing #OG Starlight

[departednightmare]

Picture this:

You've just joined a new fandom. You spent your last few days finishing the source material while struggling to resist the urge to go read fanfic about your favourite pairing. That's now over, and you can bathe in the ocean of shippy fanfic without fear of spoilers!

And you know it'll be an ocean; you checked AO3 and FFN a few days ago to see how much fanfic the series has. It's a five-figure number on both sites, and obviously at least half of that will be your favourite pairing, because it's so cute! How could anyone resist it?

The day has come. You filter for the tag on AO3. 1,200 fics.

Well, that's not so bad, right? It's still a lot of fic compared to your last favourite! So you start looking.

You've gone through the entire first page. Every fic was:

A) a smut one-shot

B) a smut one-shot where the characters have a threesome (or more) with other characters who don't do anything for you

C) a collection of smut one-shots from about 80 different fandoms.

D) a story where the protag just happens to fuck their shipped partner once in chapter 80 and then the partner is relegated to the background again.

E) a "love-triangle" story where the protag can't choose between your fav and the fandom's fav. Both are lusting for her. Both possess only their best or worst traits (spoiler: your fav is the asshole in this fic's universe). Everyone in the fic wants protag to get with fandom fav -- and she does. Your fav faces some kind of cruel punishment for daring to lust after someone above his station.

F) a story about someone else. The pairing (or even just the characters) is mentioned once in the background and the author is a dick who tags ships you don't actually see in the fic.

G) a tale where protag leaves your fav for the fandom fav (again with the gross oversimplification of LI personalities; your fav is some kind of pervert or rapist here).

H) about the actual ship and isn't smut (mostly), but the author has forgotten to give the characters personality beyond "owo dat person sexy must kissy wissy".

I) it's about the ship, but the author has a boner for the wrong character and you don't get to read about the hotness of the one you totally don't have a crush on.

J) in Russian. You do not understand Russian.

K) some good fucking fic (in a language you understand).

L) PLOT TWIST: the good fucking fic was abandoned three years ago right when things were getting interesting and now you're sitting there all frustrated.

Anyway, that was my experience with Inquisitor/Blackwall two years ago. Every time I'm starved for good Blackwall content, I find myself reminded of this experience.

So I thought I'd remind others of their own unfortunate fanfic memories because I'm mean. Merry Friday! :)

#fanfiction #dragon age #blackwall #thom rainier #jk i actually just want validation #like everyone else on this website #also shame on those who have committed points D E F or G #tag and label your fics correctly please i beg you

[ashercries23]

sort of a vent/rant: for the sake of everyone on this app, if you are writing x readers, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE put which gender(s) you are writing for!!! fem, masc, gn. any of them would work. please just please i’m begging you just use your fingers to add that little extra bit of information. 😭 and if you’re writing a gn fic, please actually have it be gender neutral. i don’t care how over the top this sounds, i just want people to be able to read more comfortable, myself included 🫶 so often i see thinks like “jjk x reader” but with no gender on it, and it’s almost ALWAYS fem. i understand most people think only fem people read fanfics or whatever, but other people read them too. please just tag/mention of accordingly.

#gn reader #masc reader #male reader #fem reader #x readers #please tag your fics correctly #i promise it’s not that hard

[ghostoftheyear]

*taking a deep breath*

*screaming from the back of the room*

DRAMATICAL MURDER IS AN ACTUAL PIECE OF MEDIA AND NOT A GENERAL DESCRIPTION TO USE FOR YOUR SHITTY ASS ORIGINAL WORK

*deep heaving breaths*

PLEASE FUCKING STOP TAGGING DMMD IN YOUR WRITING ON AO3 UNLESS IT’S ACTUALLY ABOUT DMMD YOU GODDAMN ASSHOLES

*more deep heaving breaths, shoves face underwater and screaming, comes back up again*

I know I am being unreasonably upset about this but my fucking god, people need to stop using the DRAMAtical Murder fandom tag on AO3 as if it were a genre description. Their “writing” (I hesitate to even call it that tbh) may have drama and murder involved, but it is not actually connected to the actual goddamn visual novel produced in 2012 by Nitro+Chiral and if I see one more goddamn so-called work using the tag incorrectly I’m going to lose my mind

#please tag your fic correctly #that's all i ask #i feel like that's not too much to ask #there's too little fic anymore as it is #i just want to read some decent dmmd fic

[polktd]

sobbing bc the gn! reader tag for frank castle is flooded with fem reader. what have i done to deserve this?

#PLEASE TAG YOUR FICS CORRECTLY #frank castle x gn!reader #:(

[indynerdgirl]

It's so frustrating when people don't tag relationships correctly on AO3.

Was reading a really interesting fic when one of my notps came out of nowhere. And it's not a background ship in this fic, it's one of the main ships.

And yes, I have that ship filtered out of my search results, but if people don't tag their fics correctly, it's not going to get filtered out!

I'd much rather a fic be over-tagged, than under-tagged. And I don't know if it's just an issue in this one particular fandom, or it's something weird with younger fic writers, but lately, I've been seeing more fics on AO3 with absolutely zero tags besides rating, the general relationships/pairings/orientations, and content warnings.

#fanfiction #fanfic #fan fiction #fan fic #ao3 #archive of our own #tagging #PLEASE TAG YOUR FICS #the filtering system only works if you actually tag your fics #and tag them correctly #fandom #notp #notps

[that-was-anticlimactic]

say what you will about zukka shippers, but i think that one of the best things about us is that we don’t tag any post we make that even remotely mentions zuko or sokka with “zukka”

#at least. the people i follow don’t lol #i saw SO MUCH bad tagging today it was ridiculous lol #like i was finding more art for e.scanor and m.eliodas’ birthdays and so much was tagged with them that they weren’t even In #people were tagging them and then not even the character in the art??? #and i just saw a post that seemed pretty good then i saw op’s url and went ‘five bucks says they tagged this post with z.tata even tho zuko #isn’t even Mentioned’ aND I WAS RIGHT SKDBEKBDJDBEJRBJENDKAHSKE #okay this is kind of a mean post but like. just tag correctly??? stop filling tags with stuff that isn’t even about them #i get you want people to see and interact with your work but like. i didn’t tag my n.obamaki fic with i.tafushi or g.ojo because i knew that #would get more people to see it like… bESTIE pLEASE #anyways yeah no this is mean i might delete this later lol