Gremdark On AO3

* typo along the lines of a spelling error, the wrong your/you're or there/their/they're used, etc. ** in this scenario, a comment is the only way to get in touch with the fic author, no social media dm option

🍽️ 2026 Schedule 🍽️

Prompting Opens: 04 March

Prompting Closes/Fills Open: 11 March

Works Revealed: 15 April

Creators Revealed: 22 April

The option to fill remains open indefinitely!

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/RareKinkBuffet2026/profile

NOTE: I am not a mod, I'm just an enthusiastic participant who is more on tumblr than they are.

Mini FAQ from the mods below!

🍽️ 2026 Schedule 🍽️

Prompting Opens: 04 March

Prompting Closes/Fills Open: 11 March

Works Revealed: 15 April

Creators Revealed: 22 April

The option to fill remains open indefinitely!

https://archiveofourown.org/collections/RareKinkBuffet2026/profile

NOTE: I am not a mod, I'm just an enthusiastic participant who is more on tumblr than they are.

Mini FAQ from the mods below!

and the old buses looked something like this, hence the shoe design!

Eric Chapman and Antigone Funn have been dating now for just over a year. Neither of them can exactly pinpoint how it's going. Antigone makes a decision, and Eric has a lot of thinking to do. Or: Eric is aroace and doesn't know it, Antigone sees something's off, isn't sure what, but has to do something, and they break up. Meanwhile, Rudyard is feeling insecure.

Join the challenge on AO3!

There are some more details on AO3 but generally this is an open challenge to test your writing skills and make something fun for April Fools this year - all pieces will be revealed on 1st April 2026 and the collection will remain open for late finishers until the end of April so you don't have to panic if you miss the main date!

Under the cut, I’ve listed some characters I could write for this. Shoot me an ask if you see a combo that interests you! If you include an AO3 name I’ll gift you the result.

The age old question: what do I say about “the sex”?

There are a few routes you can take with this one, anon, and I think it comes down to a combination of the type of smut it is and how comfortable you are talking about it. 

1) some version of: this was hot!

You can use the same short phrases you’d use on other stories, like “I loved this!” or “awesome :)” etc. and leave it at that. Sometimes general is better than specific when dealing with sensitive topics.

2) comment on the relationship rather than on the physicality

If it’s romantic smut or friends-who-bang smut or strangers-who-have-a-connection smut, there’s always some type of relationship there. You can talk about the conversations they have before/during/after or the feelings expressed for example. 

3) comment on the tone or the writing style

Just like you can on other writing, you can look at things from a more technical perspective. This is especially possible on smut set in a particular genre or time.

4) comment on the characters or characterization

If someone seems really in-character, you’d make an author’s day by pointing that out. Maybe they’ve given you a new headcanon, in which case a simple “headcanon accepted” is enough too :)

5) when in doubt, reaction gif

This one’s always a favourite:

Be honest.  How many of you are reading smut for the plot?  (Okay, besides the people reading my smut, but we all know I’m not in the majority here.)  Most of you are reading the smut for the smutty smut.  Please, don’t be afraid to tell us it was good smut, or that it was hot.  Tell us the kinks you enjoyed and maybe we’ll write something else with those same kinks.

Honestly, posting smut is IMO the most nerve racking thing, whether it’s a smutty moment in an epic, or a oneshot where everyone is naked from beginning to end. Writing smut is fun, but posting it still scares the shit out of me, tbqh, and I say that as someone who has nearly 50 stories of some flavour of smut, MM, FM, and FF posted (which I’m sure isn’t a record, but I’m hardly a newbie at this point), and loads waiting to be posted that I’ve tried out on friends.

I still get nervous, I’m still paranoid until someone comments (and sometimes even after). I am still terrified when I post for a new pairing or just when I post something I haven’t posted before. It feels like you’re taking something very personal and making it public, and it’s a relief when people comment and say it works. Conversely, if no one comments, there’s a little voice in my head saying “They hate it” or worse, “They hate you/think you’re weird/twisted/oh my God, no one else thinks this is hot/sexy/sweet/romantic.”

I know it can feel weird commenting on smut, but for similar reasons, that’s when your pet fic writer really, really needs your feedback and will be relieved by it. I don’t suppose everyone is as paranoid as me 😉 but otoh, I am sure I’m not the only one who has to resist the temptation to bite my nails to the quick until someone comments, or who reloads and checks my mail compulsively, hoping for comments or at least kudos. However strange you might feel saying “It was really hot when…” the writer feels a hundred times more exposed and awkward, and your comments mean a hell of a lot.

NB: That doesn’t mean you have to (or even should) be explicit. Say something works; you don’t have to tell me it made your genitals tingle… just to be clear!

So yeah. Honestly, much as I adore the people who write coherent reviews, trust me, a gif, a keysmash, a “holy hell that was hot”/“I’ll be in my bunk”/“I was reading in public and had to close to page” type review? I treasure ‘em. I think we all do. Any of those is an absolutely perfect response to smut which will reassure the writer and let us know we… um… hit the spot. God, everything I write here will sound wrong so imma stop while I’m not quite in the gutter.

Examples: