Kurahieiritr

that is so true it is always the innocent ones that you have to watch out for : )

Of course there always has to be a bottom and a top... but I think it's kinda kinky to switch it once in a while. Even if you have an extremely effeminate man with a much more masculine man for a pairing (like an obvious uke/seme role), it's interesting to put the stronger dude on the bottom occasionally. I don't think there should be clear 'roles', unless you're just writing a PWP or a short story. Take chapter 9 in my story, 'at least he's hot.' Even though Rufus (from final fantasy seven) is the obvious uke in this story, I give the poor guy an opportunity to screw Reno for once. It just freshens things up. Seriously... how many times can someone take it up the ass before they just say *ENOUGH!*
Ha ha... so yeah. Ukes should get some ass too.
lauren

Personally, I rather like well-written AUs. But I have a thing about no OOC-ness. That completely turns me off whatever I'm reading. So I tend to be picky about what I read and write.
Well. I suppose I should say that I won't write it if I can't see myself keeping it in character. Mind you, I write AUs and cannon stories and have fun with both - and difficulties with both, depending on the situations I put the characters in and the characters' own personalities - and I like to try my hand at rare/odd yaoi pairings if I think I can possibly do them justice. (This has made for a number of...let's be nice and call them insane...drabbles in the Bleach category, but as I and my readers tend to find the things entertaining, that's praise enough.)
There's a wonderful lady on AO3 who goes by blackkat (she's black.k.kat on FFnet) who let me adopt a few of her stories.... One of them is only slightly AU, but the other one (a Bleach story) has the Zanpakuto as dragons. Kat called it a crack story, but either it was really addictive crack or those of us who read that particular one of her 64 Damn Prompts were just completely taken with the notion; I have no few readers who came to my Inconceivable from her Incalculable and enthused that "Someone's continuing Kat's dragon story! Yesss!" She left such a wide area open for expansion that I'm having a blast with it. Zanpakuto personalities as dragons, capable of independent action.... Makes for tons of awesome. Plus the whole world-building thing, since I like to take bits of canon and mix them into the AU plot line.... In one way I guess you could say that doing so is cheating, or makes it easier, but the thing about mixing canon details into an AU story is that first you have to know how much is too much, how much should be discarded. And then you have to figure out how to fit it all together into one story. Complicated and time consuming, but ultimately worth it.
I don't stick only to medieval AUs, either. Took on a challenge from Clara Barton on FFnet; she wanted someone to write a Gundam Wing/Three Musketeers crossover. Normally I can't stand crossovers (because they are so very, very rarely done well), but this idea reeled me in before I knew what was what. So in order to combine the two series and their respective plot lines, I had to make it a futuristic AU - and while I'm only now working on the second half of the prologue, it looks to be insanely entertaining. And after talking it over with Clara and the other wonderful woman who expressed interest in the crossover (and is a friend to both myself and Clara), I decided to draw from the Disney version of The Three Musketeers...on account of I can't do anything without humor and the Disney version is funnier than most. It's an insane and somewhat daunting task (I had to scrap most of the medieval and current societal layouts entirely and create the system I'm using nearly from scratch) but it's so very fun. The first half of the prologue reads like a movie trailer, so Snow and Clara tell me.
Simply put, AUs are wonderful things when done right - but often enough they aren't, so I...dabble.... I read a few chapters if the summary interests me, and if it seems good then I'll run with it. If not, hey, that's fine too. I'll just leave. Why make my eyes and brain suffer through something I'm not enjoying?

I personally only have written two AU stories, my particular fandom being Harry Potter. However I suppose I do cheat in the fact that I use the Marauders, because there is a LOT of room to play around with those particular characters and it is a lot easier to slip them into an Alternate Universe. I have done a Non-magic AU which I am enjoying writing so much, it's a lot of fun to turn them Muggle. It's also fun to turn magical creatures into humans. I have to say though I haven't read an AU fanfiction story, I just enjoy writing them. Also OOC characters annoy me mightily because then it becomes almost an Original story but with someone eles' characters names, in my opinoin if you want to do that then why not just write an original story? Fanfiction, in my mind, is all about keeping the characters as canon as possible...even in an AU setting. It is difficult though, even though I do try my hardest to keep the Marauders as close to canon as possible it's made even harder by the fact that they are such minor characters and their personalities are subject to personal interpretation.

@Kurahieiritr,
First, you can delete any review on your story - whether logged-in or not
Second, if you ever get reviews like that, notify a staff member, please. That way we can document. I assure you, as soon as we've documented, we'll let you know so you can delete if DG doesn't delete it herself. We Hall of Shame aresholes.

I've noticed that there are some pretty fanatical ideals of pairings that are and are not acceptable in several fandoms. I'm personally sick of standard cannon Yaoi pairings so turn them all on their heads in my fandom writing. Some people like it, and others don't. A truly fresh approach can get review results. I think it comes down to how genuine to the character the cannons remain if you want to get reviews, pro or con.

Okay, yeah. I read the first and second books. I see the fourth posted but I won't read it until I read the third. Where is the third? I haven't reviewed yet, because I've been just barrelling through. So, sorry about lack of feedback. I'll get there eventually when I reread from the beginning. It's sort of like the way you describe their intimacy. I can't take my time on the first round, too stimulated. Heh, heh. General impression, though, is that I like it. Otherwise, I wouldn't be reading it steady and daydreaming about the pair.

Wiping tears from my eyes as I read all of these great typo terror moments. My contribution came from several reviews I have collected over the years.
#1 { in my opinion, detrimental to the writing style and injures the flow of the story. } When I read this, I wondered how typed words could get physically injured.
#2{ But, I have just joined so I can not really say anything at all good job! }
For the first week I pondered whether they were saying my writing style sucked, or that they were so new to reviewing stories they were not doing a good job. Considering how many coherent good jobs I received, I decided they were probably saying the same.
#3{I still get the same thought wot happened when tak finished work and wot is kts idea of a first date.}
It took me 5 minutes to stop seeing light bulbs in my head over the "wot" shorthand. Not certain as to why that happens. However wot looks to me as if it should be spell checked into the genuine word "watt" for some reason.
#4 {when do u plan to update this chapi check it just about everyday but no luck. and thank u for putting in the missing parts so one can only gather what the next story will be like compelete }
The story this child (?) or ditzy bad joke variety Blond (?) was reviewing was already marked completed in big bold letters. I ended the number one novel's final page with the obligatory Author's Note stating that the "Next story is Alternate Tracks, Sequel to A Rivalry Revealed."
Is it only me, or do people not comprehend straight forward English in this day and age? Something has gone seriously wrong within the education system in place for American children I fear.
And the grand Finale that had me twitching when I saw it two years ago: #5 {and i see

it's a YAOI

and YESH! i love YAOI!

i wonder who'll be the pair

would be be my fave

ahhaha

i wonder why people don't review in this}
I have yet to decide if the reviewer was high on crack, another illegal substance, or suffering from acute insomnia exacerbated by caffeine overdose and too much sugar when they sent their review.

*snickers* Did some research, and yes, AOHell still has a browser of sorts, and yes it doesn't like java. Soooo not surprised at that. Because it doesn't like java, java dependent sites, which are MOST of 'em (as Ajax is ALSO java) that means most interactive sites, whether minimal, or more; will give your friend issues.

Sorry to sidetrack this thread. Buuuuut ... I'm still gonna.
Hey, thanks for the clarification. Although, I watched the series before I read this post, so I figured out my error pretty quick. Since I'm so into Bleach (and know you've seen it), I made a parallel between KT and Grimmjow's attitudes. But Takumi just takes the cake! I totally agree with "cute little prude". There was this one subbed line that described him as "clueless" and that's him in a nutshell. I love that about him.

Oh my Gods! I laughed so hard. I don't know "wot" was intended for the words "tak" or "kts" but I loved the word, "wot". I think I'm going to be seeing that spelling in my head every time I say the word from now on. It makes sense to me if I hear a British accent when I read it.

I believe this is relevant:

Laughing so hard as I catch up on this thread right now. I took all of several years worth of reviews from the two sites I posted on, the good, bad, and ugly. Now I am completely revamping a whole series at the moment and moving them to this site in the Initial D archive section.
Looks like I must warn everyone that I helped a dear friend who is a reading fanatic to get onto this site. She doesn't write, but she will review anything that catches her eyes. Every single chapter . . . Not even kidding here. She and I met when I was an active Urbis contributing writer who royally sucked at the time.
For 10 years, any site I start posting on, she starts combing through looking for gems to entertain herself. She's partially paralyzed and something of a shut in so she does have plenty of time. The reason she has stuck with me for so many years is she likes my way of turning phrases. She has helped me get even better at finding new ways with words.
Please be nice to OldOwl if she does review your work. She's one incredible asset if you look at her review with an eye for "maybe I can fix that little problem" mindset. She tells me every single typo and every grammar problem, and I absolutely love her for it. She's helped me improve my writing greatly over 10 years. Sometimes she goes on character kicks, and sometimes she's a grammar Nazi, but OldOwl is one of the greatest assets any writer could ever befriend.
She broke me of the horrific bad habit of not being well versed in which character was talking to the other. Now I have that trait down pat. She is the reason I learned to use idioms, catch phrases, and other tricks like stuttering and other personality keying factors to make the character personalities clear through the way they spoke to each other. I can assure everyone she is worth listening to when she does tackle a project. After all, I'm pig headed and she tackled me and won me over. ROFL.
Frankly, this is the first time she has reviewed any of my work without growling that she should have known which character was talking without the proverbial Character 1 said and Character 2 replied tags.

Wiping tears from my eyes as I read all of these great typo terror moments. My contribution came from several reviews I have collected over the years.
#1 { in my opinion, detrimental to the writing style and injures the flow of the story. } When I read this, I wondered how typed words could get physically injured.
#2{ But, I have just joined so I can not really say anything at all good job! }
For the first week I pondered whether they were saying my writing style sucked, or that they were so new to reviewing stories they were not doing a good job. Considering how many coherent good jobs I received, I decided they were probably saying the same.
#3{I still get the same thought wot happened when tak finished work and wot is kts idea of a first date.}
It took me 5 minutes to stop seeing light bulbs in my head over the "wot" shorthand. Not certain as to why that happens. However wot looks to me as if it should be spell checked into the genuine word "watt" for some reason.
#4 {when do u plan to update this chapi check it just about everyday but no luck. and thank u for putting in the missing parts so one can only gather what the next story will be like compelete }
The story this child (?) or ditzy bad joke variety Blond (?) was reviewing was already marked completed in big bold letters. I ended the number one novel's final page with the obligatory Author's Note stating that the "Next story is Alternate Tracks, Sequel to A Rivalry Revealed."
Is it only me, or do people not comprehend straight forward English in this day and age? Something has gone seriously wrong within the education system in place for American children I fear.
And the grand Finale that had me twitching when I saw it two years ago: #5 {and i see

it's a YAOI

and YESH! i love YAOI!

i wonder who'll be the pair

would be be my fave

ahhaha

i wonder why people don't review in this}
I have yet to decide if the reviewer was high on crack, another illegal substance, or suffering from acute insomnia exacerbated by caffeine overdose and too much sugar when they sent their review.

Quite a lively debate going on here. Some of it on topic and some off topic. I believe that Adultfanfiction net is about the freedom of expression first and foremost. I think I will use an illustration or two to tackle this specific topic. Three things stand out about this forum. Everyone loves to voice their own likes and dislikes. Some here seem to wish to see their dislikes removed.
I took psychology courses back in the age of dinosaurs. (for those in the 20's age range to understand this is coming for your mom's peer age) Back in the era of T-Rex, learning a lot about history's significance on modern cultures etc was mandatory. Here's the rub, . . . Let's look at the end of World War One; Germany. The rise of Political Correct politeness was being government enforced through legislation. PC Nazi ethics have been directly linked to the creation of Concentration Camps and Jewish genocide during World War Two. That is a well documented historical fact, not a fictitious wishful thinking statement. When we embrace Political Correctness, we are censoring freedom of speech. To be PC, you have to censor yourself. The more afraid you are to speak your truth, the easier it is for the government to control you and your friends in the end. IT is the beginning of a shift toward victimization prone thin skinned individuals who refuse to try and improve their lives because P.C. has historically made others into villains instead of teaching personal self responsibility.
Go to China and check out their lifestyle. P.C. is a law nobody dares argue. In fact for those too young to recall China's Tienanmen Square, crack your history books and learn how abusive Government becomes once it silences free speech. Learn the truth about Political Correctness and how it removes responsibility from the individual who often is already too lazy to stand up and raise their own children and worse. Free speech, even that which is rude, or infantile, gives human beings their number one emotional venting system. Remove the venting system, and the human being begins an unstoppable slow simmering emotional boiling of resentments. It has turned into genocidal tendencies at it's worst breaching points that humanity can never deny. Shut down the venting system, and the steam backs up.
Ever heard of a steam engine? That is how emotions eventually work in a sense. Forcing steam to build to set levels of pressure to make a train that weighs several tons to move forward at very fast speeds is the same as forcing people to keep their resentments and fancies to themselves. Just like the steam engine will self destruct if the steam is not vented correctly, so will the individual's emotions blow up after P.C. fears can no longer restrain the pressure of resentments.
This site has many diverse written formats for a reason. It is a venting system that can prevent the pressure build up from turning into destructive reality. Whether Cathartic or to simply needle those with holier than thou agendas, it has a place that should be respected by all. Removing topics that are uncomfortable for a set group is about breaking down the ability to vent emotions positive or negative that need a place to go. Shut off any taboo form writing and those who read and write them have less pressure release options to slow the explosion rate is my very well educated theory.
Don't like the content? How about trying the do not read it rule? Allow those who need to vent such ideals room to contain their emotions through a non violent format. Those who act on such pressurized emotions are a different beast entirely. They require damage control measures because those are perpetrating harmful or even exceedingly violent crimes. If this site can help prevent even one such violent explosion by giving a person a place to write it out, or read it, kudos and congrats. It worked to relieve the building emotional pressure in an individual somewhere. Otherwise that individual backed into a pressurized emotional corner would have committed an atrocity.

Personally, I love to get reviews like that. When I do, I'm delighted. I won't improve without knowing what works and what doesn't. I also don't have a beta reader, so I sometimes miss an error like a wrong tense (has/had) where spell check doesn't pick it up. Knowing about those little errors is also very helpful, so I can go in and fix them.
Then again, I treat my writing seriously, so I welcome serious concrit. A publisher's editorial staff isn't there to pet authors and make them feel good, either. Me, I'd be delighted to have her input.

Muchrooms: n. slang A term referring to the excessively loose morals of an individual. i.e., She's such a muchrooms! Did you see her with the whole football team last night?

On a side note: I hate the phrase "grammar Nazi" - it marginalizes a series of events that cost over 10 million people their lives, and nearly destroyed several nations as well as introducing a terrifying amount of power into play that shaped the formation of politics and world events for the next sixty years (and continues to do so). I'm not a fascist because I think someone should respect the language in which they write and attempt to communicate effectively in it in order to tell their story.
I know that's off topic for the thread, but semantics generate reviews, accuracy generates reviews, and the ability to effectively communicate generates reviews.
And now, back to your regularly scheduled discussion.

Laughing so hard as I catch up on this thread right now. I took all of several years worth of reviews from the two sites I posted on, the good, bad, and ugly. Now I am completely revamping a whole series at the moment and moving them to this site in the Initial D archive section.
Looks like I must warn everyone that I helped a dear friend who is a reading fanatic to get onto this site. She doesn't write, but she will review anything that catches her eyes. Every single chapter . . . Not even kidding here. She and I met when I was an active Urbis contributing writer who royally sucked at the time.
For 10 years, any site I start posting on, she starts combing through looking for gems to entertain herself. She's partially paralyzed and something of a shut in so she does have plenty of time. The reason she has stuck with me for so many years is she likes my way of turning phrases. She has helped me get even better at finding new ways with words.
Please be nice to OldOwl if she does review your work. She's one incredible asset if you look at her review with an eye for "maybe I can fix that little problem" mindset. She tells me every single typo and every grammar problem, and I absolutely love her for it. She's helped me improve my writing greatly over 10 years. Sometimes she goes on character kicks, and sometimes she's a grammar Nazi, but OldOwl is one of the greatest assets any writer could ever befriend.
She broke me of the horrific bad habit of not being well versed in which character was talking to the other. Now I have that trait down pat. She is the reason I learned to use idioms, catch phrases, and other tricks like stuttering and other personality keying factors to make the character personalities clear through the way they spoke to each other. I can assure everyone she is worth listening to when she does tackle a project. After all, I'm pig headed and she tackled me and won me over. ROFL.
Frankly, this is the first time she has reviewed any of my work without growling that she should have known which character was talking without the proverbial Character 1 said and Character 2 replied tags.

Laughing so hard as I catch up on this thread right now. I took all of several years worth of reviews from the two sites I posted on, the good, bad, and ugly. Now I am completely revamping a whole series at the moment and moving them to this site in the Initial D archive section.
Looks like I must warn everyone that I helped a dear friend who is a reading fanatic to get onto this site. She doesn't write, but she will review anything that catches her eyes. Every single chapter . . . Not even kidding here. She and I met when I was an active Urbis contributing writer who royally sucked at the time.
For 10 years, any site I start posting on, she starts combing through looking for gems to entertain herself. She's partially paralyzed and something of a shut in so she does have plenty of time. The reason she has stuck with me for so many years is she likes my way of turning phrases. She has helped me get even better at finding new ways with words.
Please be nice to OldOwl if she does review your work. She's one incredible asset if you look at her review with an eye for "maybe I can fix that little problem" mindset. She tells me every single typo and every grammar problem, and I absolutely love her for it. She's helped me improve my writing greatly over 10 years. Sometimes she goes on character kicks, and sometimes she's a grammar Nazi, but OldOwl is one of the greatest assets any writer could ever befriend.
She broke me of the horrific bad habit of not being well versed in which character was talking to the other. Now I have that trait down pat. She is the reason I learned to use idioms, catch phrases, and other tricks like stuttering and other personality keying factors to make the character personalities clear through the way they spoke to each other. I can assure everyone she is worth listening to when she does tackle a project. After all, I'm pig headed and she tackled me and won me over. ROFL.
Frankly, this is the first time she has reviewed any of my work without growling that she should have known which character was talking without the proverbial Character 1 said and Character 2 replied tags.

I'm going to say this honestly... if you are here to get reviews, get out now. This isn't the place to do that. Some fandoms, especially those that cater to younger beings, get those no matter what craptastic, unreadable BS you put up but most of the fandoms don't get the kind of thing you are looking for, especially the older ones. Some stories, ones that have gone on forever, do get such things but newer ones from authors people don't know tend to not get the mega-hits or review counts. However, though reviews might be scarce as hen's teeth, that doesn't mean what you do get doesn't mean anything. Hell, I have a multitude of stories on this site that have been up for years that have no reviews. A few even came down to be published, and I don't mean self-published either, though they had no reviews on this site. Lack of reviews means nothing. It means that people aren't reviewing for their own reasons. You also need to take into account the concept of review karma, meaning the more YOU review, the more apt you are to get them in return. It does tend to work that way.
Reviews are an odd thing. As so many have pointed out, many stories that get mega hits, reviews and rates aren't worth it and you wonder if those that did that read the same one you did while really good ones don't get such things. It just goes that way on all sites I've seen.
In closing, I'll say this... if you like what you're doing and do it for your own reason, what difference do reviews make to you anyway?

OK, I found the thread I was looking for. Just earlier tonight I was very depressed, seeing the large number of hits my 5 day-old story got compared to its lack of reviews, & to be honest I just wanted to delete my whole AFF account & leave. I'm still doubting my desire to post anything else, which I would have to type directly here for nothing. I get more support, guidance & encouragement on my personal fanfic blog where not nearly that many people read my stuff, who are not at all obliged to encourage me but still do. I also see fics that have been here for ages (excellent ones) boasting thousands of hits and (maybe) 1 or 2 reviews. WTH?
Yes, I can definitely see the bitterness & frustration of those who leave the (asked-for) reviews & then get chewed out &/or reported for their honest concrit & no longer wish to deal with that. Authors who behave like that instead of honestly considering what the reviewer said & using that advice to improve their writing are immature, unprofessional, & ruin it for those of us who would be thrilled with some honest reviews, pointing out both the positive & negative points of our writing. If the author doesn't want honest opinions, why do they publish their work to begin with instead of just keeping it to themselves? A writer who writes to have their ego stroked is doing so for a very poor reason & misses the point entirely. I don't agree with what the person who directed me here said about the cause being my older, less popular fandom, because those who read it in the first place are part of that fandom. So, cutting to the chase, I can clearly see both POVs. Isn't there some system that could be put into place where the author must indicate & take responsability for whether or not they want honest feedback so that both authors and readers can share the stories, advice & opinions that are an important part of the art of any type of writing? Just being 18 y.o. or + does not mean 'adult' in my eyes. The 'Adult' part of 'Adult FanFiction' should not only signify graphic sex & violence, but the maturity that must accompany it. To quote one of the heros of my own fandom, humility means sacrificing one's pride to keep one's dignity. If something is worth doing, is it not worth doing well? Unfortunately, on our archived stories we have no way of letting readers see the difference. No one is telepathic, & as the poll shows, I have a hard time believing that writers don't care that they don't get reviews. A writer who can't take criticism has no place in a public writing site, what else can be said? I must say that I'm finding my experience here very disappointing, and am beginning to doubt that I'll stick around.

I have to say, I had one reviewer elsewhere who did the good, the bad and the ugly when he reviewed. He was harsh, exacting, and almost universally hated, and the first time he left me a review I read it twice, re-read my chapter and PM'd him to discuss some of what he'd said because it was utterly valid.
I wound up actually enjoying verbally fencing with him, and while there were times I disagreed with his critiques as being purely opinion and therefore inherently a matter of personal bias, he made me think and grow as a writer. He could have been nicer, and he wasn't nearly as good a writer as he was a reviewer, but there was gold in his criticism.
So, if I got a review like the one above, I'd re-read my chapter or story, and try to see it from the perspective of the reviewer. Even if I didn't agree fully, I can almost bet there'd be something in that review that would help me improve. Then again, I'm serious about writing, and I'm serious about improving my writing.
But the idea of sandwiching concrit between layers of positive comments is a good one as a general rule of thumb. People are always more receptive if they don't feel defensive, and criticism tends to make us defensive, doesn't it?

I'll be perfectly honest. I have had the oh-so-delightful experience of being attacked personally for my role as a moderator. It's stupid, and childish, and not what I expected from people on this site, but I tend to give people more credit than they deserve, it seems. Apparently, not only did these bullies never bother to actually read the Terms of Service and Content Guidelines that they agreed to when making their account, they find it unreasonable for us to expect them to actually comply with it.
Although we now use a separate moderator account for our work here, I don't think I'm alone in remaining reluctant to expose myself to the bullshit of retaliation reviews. While I'm intelligent enough not to take the content to heart, I'm also hampered in how I can respond because I am a mod for the site, and even in my "personal" role, what I do and say reflects on the site as a whole. I know that standing up to bullies works, but I can't do that, and silence only encourages that particular form of vermin, whereas I'd rather hold up a mirror and force them to confront their own blindingly evident inadequacies.
Even worse, they help to alienate readers and authors who would otherwise leave reviews that were meaningful and contained useful concrit. I enjoy being told what worked, but even more so, I want to know what doesn't work. I will never improve if I don't know where I'm lacking, and I'm not delusional enough to think I don't have vast room for improvement. I particularly resent losing the gorgeous and invaluable concrit from ShadowKnight, and the blunter but no less cherished concrit from wanderingaddict. They kept me going when I started writing here, and I've taken their advice to heart, to my great benefit.
The utter nadir, though, is seeing writers with talent and potential crushed by bullies who unleash the full fury of their minions on someone who dares to leave a less than fanpoodling review. It's not in my scope of authority, but I'd cheerfully ban those bullies without a moment's hesitation. I never permitted my children to throw tantrums in public and if certain users want to behave like children, I'm more than happy to administer swift parental response. Being an adult comprises more than just having reached a certain chronological benchmark.