/r/AO3

Photograph via snooOG

An unofficial sub devoted to AO3. The Archive of Our Own (AO3) offers a noncommercial and nonprofit central hosting place for fanworks. We are proactive and innovative in protecting and defending our work from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. We preserve our fannish economy, values, and creative expression by protecting and nurturing our fellow fans, our work, our commentary, our history, and our identity while providing the broadest possible access to fannish activity for all fans.

Celebrating AO3, the OTW, and fandom on Reddit!

This subreddit is dedicated to the website archiveofourown.org (AO3). AO3 is a database project of Organization for Transformative Works that hosts fanworks (fanfiction, podfics, fanart, etc).

Please note: this subreddit is not official or sanctioned by the admin of AO3. Some of the moderators or commentors may be volunteers but anything a volunteer says here is their own and not official. The best place to get official help with AO3 is by contacting the Support team via their form on the bottom of any page.

Feel free to modmail us any suggestions or comments!

Rules:

  • Flairs Required - Every post has to have a correct flair. Report posts with incorrect flairs and we’ll fix the flair. Correct flair helps with searching/sorting/only seeing the kinds of posts you are interested in.

  • Use the Megathreads - We have megathreads for Self-promotion/Reccomendations, Invite requests, and sometimes other special topics or events. Please keep these topics to their respective megathreads. We won't be allowing individual posts on these topics.

  • Personally Identifying Information - Please do not include personally identifying information (usernames, titles, photos of a person's face, etc) in your posts or comments outside of a work finding request or recommendation.

  • Don't search for works from here - Please do not try to find works mentioned in the subreddit (outside of work search posts of course) using the limited details in the posts. This is a form of brigading and keeps causing harassment issues and/or mass reporting problems. If someone breaks this rule by commenting on the work on AO3, please report it via modmail, not by reporting the post that lead to it with the report system. (We won't ask how you found out about said comment) Obviously doesn't apply to promo/exchange threads.

  • Commercial Promotion/Solicitation Rule - It's generally not allowed but some kinds of discussions are. See this post for the actual details.

  • Fic/Work Search Rule - Please make your own post to look for a fic/work. Do not comment to ask people to help you find a fic/work on another person's post. It clutters things and makes it harder for everyone.

  • Spam Comment/Webnovel Posts Moratorium We are imposing a ban on making posts sharing that you got one of the webnovel spam comments. We are not banning posts asking about them though. This is just a ban on the posts where the OP clearly knows about the issue already and is just posting that they got one.

  • Moratorium on AI posts/comments - Only posts about actual updates related to AI (either affecting AO3 or things like copyright law) and posts about novel subjects that we haven't seen in the subreddit before will be allowed for the time being. Please search the subreddit before posting anything related to AI.

  • Have you checked the pinned posts? - If you can't make a post, check the pinned posts before sending us modmail. We aren't going to enforce this 'rule', it's just informational to help direct people to the likely relevant information without having to go through modmail and wait for one of us to respond.

  • Don't fake report things that should be modmail - Don't report something to make a suggestion or a complaint about the sub on a sub-wide scale. Don't report something to ask us to change things. The correct thing to do in those situations is to send us modmail. If you don't know how to do that, please check this mod post for instructions.

  • Research Studies are allowed - Research Studies are allowed to be posted here and you do not need to ask prior to posting. All posts are subject to normal sub rules. Please use the 'Research Studies' flair for all studies and/or results. Studies must be related to something fandom, literature, or sexuality/gender, etc. in some way. If you have questions, feel free to send modmail.

  • Moderator Discretion - We are very open to what kinds of things can be posted here but we leave most things up to moderator discretion. The mod team discusses most changes and moderating decisions and ultimately everything is on a case-by-case basis. There are too many edge-cases to account for every situation. If something becomes a continual issue we will make a written rule about it.

Official AO3 presence on social media:

  • Twitter: @AO3org; status update twitter is @AO3_Status.
  • Tumblr: ao3org
  • Tag Wrangling Specific Twitter: @ao3_wranglers; Updates on certain tags that will be experiencing changes, and occasionally answers to questions about Tag Wrangling.

Helpful Stuff:

Useful Websites

  • Down For Everyone or Just Me? Determine whether a website is down or if it's just your faulty connection. Also @AO3_Status on twitter gives site status updates.

  • AO3 Tag of the Day - tumblr blog. Cataloguing some of the most hilarious fic tags on AO3 on a daily basis. Also AO3 Comment of the Day features a lot of great tips & info. (Run by an AO3 Volunteer but is an unofficial blog). Lastly, AO3skin A collection of site skins and tips for making them, for use on AO3


Browser Extensions


Userscripts

Full list of AO3 userscripts available on greasemonkey here)

  • AO3 Savior is a script that allows you to permanently blacklist tags from your search results. Here's a solid tutorial on how to install/use it.

  • AO3 Crossover Savior is a script that allows you to hide fics in your search results that contain too many (you set the number) fandoms.

  • aooonewcrap: Highlight titles of new fics in a search results page (since the last time you visited it). Credit to /u/slash_arr_slash, who made this script due to a thread here in /r/AO3!


Bots


Unofficial Mobile Apps

  • This used to be a list of links to unofficial mobile apps. This is now a reminder that there is no official AO3 app and likely never will be. If you have downloaded a 3rd party app, we likely cannot help you with troubleshooting, and AO3's support definitely cannot. You will likely have to reach out to the app developer for any help with any unofficial app you may have.

Software

  • Calibre, free and extremely customizable e-book manager.

Related Subreddits:

/r/AO3

186,535 Subscribers

273

Crisis Lockdown

Hey everyone. We're going on an emergency full lockdown into read-only mode for a few days. We will be back by Monday. We're sorry for the short notice but between real life issues and the election results, our lives are all a bit too chaotic to handle being on Reddit at the moment in any capacity. We'll also do some maintenance and clean things up on our end while we are locked down to help us out in the future. If you send us modmail while we are locked down, you will get an auto-response from a bot and only get a human response if necessary so please hold off on contacting us unless necessary. If something important happens with AO3, we will be sure to make a post about it.

Have a good few days and stay safe,

The Mod Team

0 Comments
2024/11/06
16:34 UTC

9

How long was the longest hiatus you or another writer you know were on?

Today officially marks one year since the last update of a fanfic I really, really wanna see updated. Yes, I know the author has their own life, and I'm not forcing them to update but it still tears me apart inside. It said 4/5 chapters were written, though I can't see how the story will end with just one more chapter useless it's much longer than the previous ones.

This is the longest period of time between each previous chapter posted for this fic. I'm worried the author has left the fandom but they kudosed one of my works back in August (which made my day!) and I still have hope.

So, to give me even more hope, what's the longest hiatus you or someone else has been on? And I mean a hiatus that's over.

(Also, did I use the correct flair? It says non-question but this isn't a question on how to use the site. If not please tell me how to flair this post correctly! Thank you!)

6 Comments
2024/11/06
16:17 UTC

0

Mistagging or alright??

Alright so I recently was searching through a specific smut tag and found a fic that called itself an original work/no fandom. No problem.

I start reading and realize pretty immediately that it's RPF. I watch one of the creators so I recognized some of the slang he used in-fic. The characters have the same names/descriptions as the creator & another creator he has on his channel frequently.

I'm unsure what to do here - should I just leave it be?? I understand there's a lot of controversy behind RPF, especially smut, so I assume they did this to hide it. But it is technically part of the fandom, and they're not the authors original characters???

I probably won't report it cus I don't want to cause work for the Ao3 team, but I'm curious on your thoughts.

2 Comments
2024/11/06
16:10 UTC

78

Really wish you could block tags

Like it would honestly be one of the best features on the site. Beause the amount of tags I come across that I would really rather avoid is getting bigger and I get -1000 physic damage lol

It would just be useful yknow. Idk if a feature like this would ever exist but still

18 Comments
2024/11/06
15:39 UTC

42

Obsessively Checking Your Stats After Posting A Chapter?

Do y’all also obsessively check your stats after you post a chapter? 😂 Idk why I’m like this, but I swear I get nervous for a full 24 hours after posting a new chapter (especially if something big happens in it) and I go look at my stats what feels like every 15 minutes. 😬😂 I really just need to learn to chill out.

4 Comments
2024/11/06
15:38 UTC

27

Morning Feeling

3 Comments
2024/11/06
15:35 UTC

0

Any consensual Futa on male/femboy on female stories?

All the ones I found so far have weird abusive to rapey undertones and I’m really not into that. Romance would also be appreciated.

1 Comment
2024/11/06
15:33 UTC

0

Completed works

Hi yall, so I when looking for new fics I like to use the filter to only look for completed fics. But lately everytime I search most of the fics that come up arnt completed, is this just happening to me or the Percy Jackson community?(thats kinda all I've been interested in reading) or is everyone having this issue? What's going on?

2 Comments
2024/11/06
15:28 UTC

3

Looking for shipfics where one MC turns into an animal and has to interact with love interest like that

I'm currently writing a fic right now with the premise of a character turning into a dragon without his lover knowing and they find him but he is unable to communicate with them.

I'm trying to understand the best way to approach an MC transforming into an animal/creature with no verbal way of communication and I'm looking for fics with this type of dynamic to see how others have done it.

My problem im having is that because I cannot include dialogue for the transformed MC, it feels like they don't have much scene presence and im not sure how to fix it.

I'll read any fandom, fandom blind is preferred!

4 Comments
2024/11/06
15:28 UTC

68

What is something you learned about yourself through fanfic?

Just as an example, I figured out I was asexual (and that asexuality existed) through a Power Rangers fic.

30 Comments
2024/11/06
15:27 UTC

685

AAAHH!!!

I just got a kudos from an author I read!!! AAAHHH!!!

8 Comments
2024/11/06
15:02 UTC

1

Any way to make fractional chapters?

I have an extra chapter of sorts. It's disconnected from the main story but I ant to include it kind of like <chapter_number>.5. Is there any way to do this on the site?

6 Comments
2024/11/06
12:48 UTC

0

Newer to this

So I haven’t written in awhile due to recently adjusting to my onset arthritis. But due to a lucky pair of gloves, I can continue. I haven’t felt very confident in my work since and I feel like not only do my plot chat layouts feel dry and dull but i can’t even find it to enjoy making the story anymore. I honestly just need a tid bit of help getting back into it, and maybe some advice from more veteran writers on a plot chat?

1 Comment
2024/11/06
12:26 UTC

92

Fandoms you got into either because of fanfiction or to read fanfiction?

I got into My Hero Academia just because there was so much fanfiction of it. The three medium-sized fandoms I was following at the time, I kind of ran out of fics to read in them, so I read a couple MHA crossover fics, then started reading pure MHA fics, then got into MHA itself. I probably won't run out of MHA fics in the near future, although I've probably read the majority of the "big" ones by now.

80 Comments
2024/11/06
12:25 UTC

914

me when I'm not liking something in canon

26 Comments
2024/11/06
12:21 UTC

2

What was the worst first writting mistake you made?

What was your worst writting mistakes?mine was me not planning characters,and character names,because i focused on inclusitivity,i ended up being incredibly racist and sterotypical,with names like:mei-mei jueng,kim-yung soo,antonio ferdinandez…(i also didn’t plan out normal names,,so i had characters called yolkov oritika uritika,tiffiny wioming,sarah texas…trent alabama.chandelier wioming…i was really..inexperienced,you can ask me where that went.)

22 Comments
2024/11/06
12:14 UTC

8

A03 Writers, what do you do whenever you're struggling to write something?

So, I'm getting back into writing but I'm struggling a bit. Not for any major reason, but mainly because I haven't thought out a plot yet (which would be a smart thing to figure out first, ay? XD). But this got me thinking about what other people do whenever they're struggling with the beginning phases of their story. So, tell me writers of A03 what do you do whenever struggling with your own story and what do you go about overcoming that problem? Is it as simple as stepping back and taking a look, or is it some Rube Goldbergian way of getting out of the mud?

9 Comments
2024/11/06
12:11 UTC

169

Ao3 out of context #76

3 Comments
2024/11/06
11:39 UTC

35

what pieces of media do you wish had a fanfic in AO3 (or a fanfic at all)? I'll go first..

30 Comments
2024/11/06
11:11 UTC

0

Good program for downloading stories that have pictures?

If the worst should happen, I’d like to have good back up copies of my work. The most difficult one is my longest fic/series, which features a character struggling to come to terms with several past traumas and the fact he’s bi. With a side of a background bi poly throuple, a lesbian couple and a straight woman who admits frankly she is not willing to ever be pregnant and has her tubes tied. Future of the series was her marrying the bi main character and they mentored/adopted a trans kid who would go on to be in a relationship with a character who canonically had a spontaneous gender change due to a heart defect (long story) and is from a planet where people can just do that on purpose with pills, too.

Plus there’s an AU where my aforementioned married couple met years earlier and she was underage by American law (they’re in England).

I’ve downloaded it, before, but the problem is, I have a lot of photo edits and fake text messages inserted. They didn’t make it to the PDF.

6 Comments
2024/11/06
10:38 UTC

0

My fanfic goes up more than a hundred hits per chapter, but only has 70 kudos

I think I understand what's happening, I just want more perspective on it.

So I'm writing a long-form slow burn fanfiction with eventual smut. Nothing erotic has happened yet, the relationship is clearly going to form but hasn't started yet, and I'm nine chapters in.

It implies to me at nine chapters that people are more than clicking in and clicking off, but I'm confused that with so many people that seem to like it why they aren't leaving kudos? Is it just everyone holding off on leaving kudos until I get to what they're all looking for?

The current stats are Subscriptions: 24 Hits: 1,290 Kudos: 75 Comment Threads: 6 Bookmarks: 15

12 Comments
2024/11/06
10:15 UTC

32

What's a random, unassuming comment that you still think about to this day?

One time someone left a string of about 7 different comments on one of my works each containing some variation of "AHDHJWHDJQKXJJWJXJD IM SCREAMING". I dearly love and appreciate whenever someone takes the time out of their day to give a long, thoughtful review of my fic - but I can also relate to the feeling of not knowing how to express appreciation for a fic through words and so resorting to aggressive keyboard smashes, so alongside the few beautiful essay-like comments I've received in my time that have each brought me to tears of gratitude and joy at knowing someone genuinely liked my writing - there sits someone's 7 keyboard smashes that they've probably forgotten about now, making my heart feel warm every time I think about it.

How about you?

17 Comments
2024/11/06
09:33 UTC

610

Lmao…what?

I can’t tell if I’ve somehow misunderstood this comment or if this person clicked into my fic blind. I really don’t understand how it could’ve been clearer that the mcs have sex. Maybe they’re mad that it’s not specifically tagged as underage? I mean I was going to change cntw to underage anyway because it’s my preference to be specific, but it is a high school au so…..

Has anyone else got a comment like this? Do some people just not read tags? This is the first complaint I’ve gotten and honestly I don’t know how to react lol.

30 Comments
2024/11/06
09:21 UTC

1,128

Is AO3 in danger following the results of the US elections ?

Hello. Sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker, and I live in Europe.

I've seen the results of the US elections, and I learned a little more about the "Project 2025" law. I don't know how probable it is for it to actually pass (like I said, I'm a foreigner, so I'm not as informed), but if it does pass, will AO3 be in danger ? I've read that P.2025 will forbid pornographic/LGBT content which, let's be honest, is a massive part of AO3.

What would happen? I've seen some people say that AO3 might switch servers, but would that make it "legal" if they did ? If not, what else can the AO3 people do ?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm just... Really worried, for the US people, and for the Internet as a whole.

231 Comments
2024/11/06
08:53 UTC

61

Best Comments

comments like these are what makes being an ao3 author so worth it 😌👅

0 Comments
2024/11/06
08:51 UTC

Back To Top