#rhin reply

[frantically flipping through a dictionary] I'm too old for this - dub like a voiceover? Like something dubious? Maybe this how the kids say someone's throwing shade...?

sure seems hypocritical to not want your stuff reposted like you didn't claim it's free game the moment the art hits the internet lol. be fair + yours don't deserve exclusive treatment + we're just having fun, right?

gasp...... the haters...... ur right bro I guess I'm a huge hypocrite and should be flayed on main

Thank you for writing all of that.

Heck yeah, dude! I get the sense that folks who are used to transactional internet culture are extremely nervous about putting themselves out there, even when prompted, so the key to encouraging interaction is to encourage it repeatedly, and everywhere you can.

Personally, I headline all my AO3 fics with, "Comments, critiques, and keysmashes are always welcome and encouraged!" If you're in a smaller fandom, writing about a more commonly-beloathed ship/concept, or just get the sense your readerbase might be especially young or shy (or both), then adding reassurances like, "I'm a super chill person, I love when people go feral in the comments, long strings of AAAAAAAA are fantastic, I promise I'll be thanking you if you point out spelling mistakes, etc" will go a long way.

(Honestly, the text you've sent me is already great! "I love when my readers are weird on main; some of my best fic comments ever have been keysmashes and screaming. Please come at me with your most unhinged commentary! And chill commentary too lol. Both are good."

Tangential thought: you could probably do like the social media scrubs do and give your readers a prompt. "If you made it to the end of the chapter without crying drop a comfort food emoji in the comments for all the rest of the readers who did!🍪" Feels a little less personal to me, but also we gotta adapt-overcome-innovate, and this kind of familiar language / scripting might make it easier for younger readers to involve themselves.)

Also! Reply to comments! When I first started writing on AO3 I was leery of messing with the stats on my fic listings, but frankly, making your comment section a fun place to be is so much more important than the numbers. If you make an effort to reply even to the comments that are just single emoji, you earn reader trust. Folks can get a sense of your personality and vibe by reading through the comment section, and start to believe you want them there, when even their "<3" gets a "Hey [name], good to see you again! Thanks for showing your love!"

POB Bitty would like to offer you some nice eggs in this trying time

(Don’t worry, the hens at base are laying more than enough to share and Uncle Raph is holding 90% of the weight for him, Bitty just wants to feel strong)

(This is just for funsies, no pressure to reply <3)

Tomoe is my favorite favorite favorite favorite character ever I would kill for her I would die for her but most importantly DO YOU HAVE A REFERENCE FOR THE PRETTY CALICO VERSION YOU HAVE MADE OF HER BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO DRAW IT PLEASE AND THANK YOU!!!

GASP WHAT IS UP DUDE I'mma be real with you I kinda just make up character features on the fly so I didn't have an immediate visual for Tomoe besides "fluffy, badass, no human hair" so uhhhh feel free to tweak this general idea to your preference! (I am SO hyped to see what you make!!! ueueueueuue I'm emotions)

I'm realizing that the monochrome isn't all that helpful as a reference; the grey patches would actually be orange. Standard fluffy calico kinda markings. Her name's written out (to the best of my understanding of how kanji naming conventions work) as 雨 (Ame for "rain") and 知 (Chi for "wisdom, to govern") 永 (Ei for "long lasting, limitless").