Phil watched as Melinda took a step forward, advancing on him.

“Did you really eat the last cinnamon doughnut?” she asks, and Phil can feel the force of her stare.

“If I say no, I don’t think you’ll believe me,” he replies, and that at least pulls an amused noise from her as she takes another step closer. “I didn’t realize you wanted another one.”

“They’re my favorite,” she says, emphasizing the word, and Phil knows he’s done for as Melinda presses him against the counter, torso to torso.

Skip Beat! Make Me Choose:

Numaire asked:  Demon Lord Ren or Emperor of the Night Ren

I’m going with Emperor of the Night Ren. Kyoko’s reaction to both are great, but I love to see her think about that side of Ren :3

wanted to draw some expressions.

There’s been a fair bit of discussion on this, but no conclusions drawn that I know of. Basically the main suggestions/points being raised by this are:

if you just want to know for your own information, the stats page counts by comment threads rather than individual comments

sorting by comments to find a fic isn’t the most common method (sorting by kudos is much more common)

if you decide not to reply to comments, it’s nice to put an author’s note at the end thanking readers for their comments in some way

there is a subset of readers who might stop commenting if they don’t receive replies, so that’s something to keep in mind

most commenters appreciate replies by don’t expect/require them

most people seem to halve the comments on a fic out of habit, assuming that the author is replying so you might be misrepresenting yourself in the other direction (something to think about if it’s a concern for you)

I’ve seen a fair number of people talk about “comment inflation” and “falsifying stats” and things like that, but I still haven’t got a firm grasp on what the problem there is. If it’s about readers searching by comments, I don’t know that it’s really something to worry about. If it’s about comparing yourself to other authors, I’m not sure you can do that either if the other author does reply. 

Take a breather. Make yourself some tea and sit in silence. Close your eyes and listen to your heart beat. That is power, your power. It is strong and vibrant, it is a powerhouse and burning sun. You are better than your enemies and your demons.