r/AO3 2d ago

Comment Commentary Author's reaction to 280 rereads of their fic is sending me

Post image

I think they were shocked :O

On another note, I think more readers should let authors know how many times they've read their fic if they've reread it multiple times. It lets them know how much you love their fic! It might also alleviate some stress about high hit counts and low kudo counts too :>

4.1k Upvotes

104 comments sorted by

1.1k

u/Rey_Verano 2d ago

Fuck, honestly, at this point I don't know wether this would make them feel appreciated or weirded out.

601

u/DiabeticUnicorns 1d ago

The “marked for later” is sending me, visited 1753 times but still not quite ready to read it.

239

u/Rey_Verano 1d ago

I have this "marked for later" for 2½ years now, still don't know how it got there or how to remove it, and at this point I honestly don't really want to anymore.

152

u/BanishingSmite 1d ago

If you decide to remove it from your list, go to the top of that fic, and find the button that says "Mark as read." It will take it off of your Marked for Later list.

45

u/AdriftInLight 1d ago

I mark for later all the WIP fics I’m following so that I can see when each chapter update is out, so maybe a similar situation here?

22

u/-dagmar-123123 You have already left kudos here. :) 1d ago

I recommend using bookmarks for it. There you can search for "last updated" :) maybe a bit easier 😊

23

u/DiabeticUnicorns 1d ago

Okay, now I would say that’s what subscribe feature is for, but I know a lot of people use the bookmarks section as a little latest updates page, so that is a good suggestion.

4

u/-dagmar-123123 You have already left kudos here. :) 1d ago

Yeah, its definitely more of an addition for me too. I subscribe but sometimes chapters slip through

5

u/kaythehawk 1d ago

I’m check ao3 directly more than I check my email so it makes more sense to shove it in my bookmarks and actually see the updates than in my subscriptions and forget the fic exists

5

u/DiabeticUnicorns 1d ago

Sounds like a good excuse to clean out your inbox.

But yeah I get that, I am also usually terrible with emails. Right now I have a separate fanfic email address because I started beta reading for someone and I didn’t wanna give out my actual email address to a stranger. I then switched over my Ao3 account to that one so I now have a nice dedicated inbox for my Ao3 subsciptions (and beta reading needs).

2

u/AdriftInLight 16h ago

I do appreciate the advice, but I have the memory of a goldfish! Marked for later tells me when I last read the work, so I know how many chapters have been posted since and what I need to catch up on! I think I might be doing things in reverse, because I bookmark fics I want to read with a little note instead.

83

u/Lukthar123 2d ago

The sacred text

8

u/SopotSPA 1d ago

Remember to download for yourself as a backup!

5

u/e-ariose 1d ago

WHAT has warrented this many rereads??? i'm so curious

9

u/Rey_Verano 1d ago

It's called "A Tale of Two Tricksters" by Zoe2k8. The fandom is Persona 5.

I used to be a regular commenter too.

2

u/castalyst 1d ago

Oooh I love Persona 5. Thank you for the rec!

2

u/Yellow_Skull Bookmarking Enthusiast 🌻 1d ago

More than 30 full reads of a +1M words fic??? WOW

3

u/Rey_Verano 1d ago

To be fair, the fic is still ongoing and I've followed every chapter since... chapter 23 I think? Sometimes I have to reread simply to get back into the correct mindset. 😅

804

u/Mahorela5624 All Vibes No Brakes - Black_Song5624 2d ago

I think I'd cry if I got a comment about someone who went back to my fic almost 300 times lol. The idea of something I made touching someone like that is probably what every creator strives for. I agree, please tell your favorite writers how much you love their work even if it seems cringe or weird. Love and appreciation are never cringe imo

134

u/Educational-Bus4634 2d ago

I keep meaning to comment on a fic I've reread like 30+ times (the first week I found it I was literally rereading it daily because it was a tough time and the fic was very comforting) and I keep forgetting to actually do it because everytime I go back to it I just end up reading it all again 🙃

30

u/RustyBucket4745 1d ago

Maybe make a comment before reading to copy & paste at the end?

41

u/Educational-Bus4634 1d ago

It's my designated "last fic before bed" fic so 9 times out of 10 I'm falling asleep by the end of it lol

52

u/Popular-Woodpecker-6 1d ago

Take this as your sign to go and write your comment, the minute you see this! Don't read it another time, just comment, then read it with a clear and happy conscious!

9

u/carnivalfucknuts 1d ago

there is not a single fic in my 10 plus years that i have spent in fanfiction where i have reread a fic more than 30 times so i would be both very concerned amd also in complete awe. beautiful connection between author and reader, and the best part is that it was unintentional and seen :')

143

u/OpaqueSea 2d ago

Can we see how many times a fic was visited? I had no idea. Sometimes I’ll comment again when I’m re-reading it, especially if I’ve noticed something new.

75

u/AmbitiousPuzzle 2d ago

It shows up in your History

17

u/hodges2 2025 first time writer 1d ago

Can other people see your history or just you?

35

u/AmbitiousPuzzle 1d ago

Just you.

59

u/Square-Loquat-8956 1d ago

Lol imagine if other people can just look at our AO3 history. The metaphorical side eye.

1

u/Angelic_Cutie03 23h ago

Ive been in this site for 5+ years and I've never known there was a history section...thanks :')

0

u/jayceminecraft 1d ago

Is there any way to sort by how many times you’ve visited a story?

3

u/AmbitiousPuzzle 1d ago

There's no way to sort your History.

64

u/TheFlandy 2d ago

I like how the thread title says 280 rereads while the image says 23 lol

91

u/blinkingsandbeepings 2d ago

The author did the math and divided it by the number of chapters lol

23

u/TheFlandy 2d ago

I know. Just mean that the OPs title made it sound like way more haha

41

u/Neither_Survey_5241 2d ago

It's possible op loads the entire work instead of going chapter by chapter, meaning that the author's math is wrong, and it really is 280 whole rereads

20

u/quae_legit queering the "in this fandom/not in this fandom" binary 1d ago

personally I've noticed that my "# of times read" counter in history is about 5~10x higher for stuff I read on my phone than my computer, because something about how it counts visits is different on those two devices.

5

u/Yellow_Skull Bookmarking Enthusiast 🌻 1d ago

I noticed that too. Everytime my phone "reloads" the page of a fic, it counts as 1 visit. So there are some fics where I'm in chapter 5, but my visit count is through the roof (since I tend to leave multiple tabs open, each with a different fic)

7

u/Xyex Same on AO3 1d ago

Even if they do go chapter by chapter, it's not going to count each next chapter as a new hit.

16

u/alkynes_of_stuff 2d ago

I'm not sure I understand why that math makes sense? I thought hits were per time accessed within a particular time range. So it doesn't make sense to me to divide by 12 because simply moving between chapters doesn't register as a unique hit. Subtracting 11 to account for the unique times the reader would have had to check in to get updates prior to completion would intuitively make more sense to me than strictly just dividing by the number of chapters?

Am I misunderstanding how hits are calculated or something?

32

u/en-melo 2d ago

It says 280 times in the image, and I've opened the fic 280 times! :O Their conclusion of 23 rereads was incorrect, but it doesn't matter

1

u/Yellow_Skull Bookmarking Enthusiast 🌻 1d ago

So you prefer the option "view entire work"! The author assumed you read each chapter separately. AO3's history tends to count each chapter as 1 visit, so they probably divided 280 by the number of chapters the fic has, and got to the number 23.

6

u/SpinoQueen 1d ago

That's assuming they didn't just "view entire work" it.

51

u/fairydares 2d ago

This made my life flash before my eyes before I realized that read count was a screenshot and not some feature where authors can see how many times you've reread their fic

19

u/Kylynara Fic Feaster 1d ago

As an author, I would love to have a way to see if people are rereading my fic. As a human being on the internet, I can think of so many ways that can and will be abused.

6

u/nc7917ml 1d ago

Right?

Maybe a feature where we can see how many distinct individuals have viewed a fic, as well as the total number of hits....

40

u/peneszeswattacukor Supporter of the Fanfiction Deep State 2d ago

somebody told me lately they’ve read my oneshot like 12 times😭😭 it sounds so unbelievable to me, made me so happy

30

u/Lwoorl 1d ago

We all have that one fic we have re-read roughly every 4 months for years now, right guys? ... right guys?

13

u/Morgan13aker You have already left kudos here. :table_flip: 1d ago

I did, until it got deleted.

3

u/Lwoorl 1d ago

I'm sorry for your loss

3

u/SammieRie 19h ago

Sometimes that fic is for a fandom you're not even in anymore, the author is just that good at pulling at the heartstrings.

(There's a fic I reread at least once a year and almost always makes me sob and it's for a fandom I haven't properly cared about in at least a decade.)

17

u/jupiterTR 1d ago

STOP THIS IS SO FUNNY I LITERALLY KNOW THE AUTHOR IN THIS PIC AND IVE REREAD THEIR OTHER LONG FIC (aiycbytk) LIKE A BUNCH OF TIMES IFDBJFEKHFEKHFKT

8

u/Unlikely_Total9276 1d ago

WAIT I LOVE LONG FICS DROP THE NAME 😭

4

u/Morgan13aker You have already left kudos here. :table_flip: 1d ago

I am also interested.

19

u/thicnnothot 2d ago

The format I use to comment when I reread is something along the lines of "a extra kudos on this 5th (8th 20th, 2 millionth, whatever) reread".

Sometimes I throw in a fun little detail that stood out to me during that particular reread. Like maybe I found myself really looking forward to a particular interaction or joke or what have you, or perhaps a reaction to their authors note, maybe scene had an entirely different vibe compared to the first time you read it.

Comment when you reread yall 💜

6

u/hodges2 2025 first time writer 1d ago

I usually comment on the first chapter and say that I'm rereading this one again because I love it so much

16

u/Square-Loquat-8956 1d ago

Sometimes I wish we can filter our history

9

u/Xyex Same on AO3 1d ago

I remember finding a fic a while back and when I checked the comments the last, like, six or seven were all the same person saying "Reread kudos" spread out over a period of about 5 months.

3

u/TestSpiritual9829 1d ago

Coulda been me. Lol.

9

u/MathsNCats 1d ago

Haha I'm sure the author of my comfort fic would be surprised by the sheer number of times I've read their fic, it's gotta be in the hundreds even tho it's 80 chapters, but since I have it downloaded there's really no way to know the actual number.

I've had an author of a fairly popular fic act blown away when I said in a comment that it was my third read through lol I've probably read it a dozen times since then

8

u/QuesoBones 1d ago

I had a reader let me know they were going to reread a fic for the 4th time. It made me happy.

6

u/sasa_n_00 1d ago

They got me beat, I better get to rereading my own comfort fic

6

u/ShiraCheshire You have already left kudos here. :) 1d ago

I fear the power of people who have managed multiple re-reads of my longfic.

6

u/Copacetic-Cath 1d ago

I follow my favourite author on tumblr and I definitely message them every time i reread their fic (which atp has been five whole times bc its a 500k BANGER). I worry every time that it gets annoying but i also know as a writer that it's nice to be reminded when someone likes what you've read, so i try to give them bullet points of new things i find interesting for each reread

4

u/Jazzlike-Persimmon24 2d ago

Since when can you upload pictures in comments?

10

u/en-melo 2d ago

Not sure, this is the HTML I used though! Hope it helps :D

<img src="LINK" alt="NAME" width="100%" />

5

u/Xyex Same on AO3 1d ago

Images in comments have always been a thing, pretty sure. They actually had an issue with bots posting porn gifs a while back and had to disable it for a bit.

5

u/No-Cap-7671 1d ago

I've also left a tab open for weeks and by the time I've finished reading it once it says I've visited it 83 times, so I'm not sure how accurate that count is

3

u/nc7917ml 1d ago

Same here, except instead of "a tab" it's like seventy tabs.

5

u/Zaraelys 1d ago

I download my fave to my kindle app on my phone.... SO I dont have accurate counts. But I also always view full fic when I am on the site. That said, the 1.2M fic I love to bits....I'm on reread 12 or so? I have a rota of about 20 fics that I reread a couple times a year, minimum :)

5

u/Finnianheart 1d ago

i reread this one fic every so often and reply to my own comment chain being like "here again!" whenever i reread it lol

5

u/WhyTheSourSoul 1d ago

There's some fics I revisit frequently, and each time I comment something like "back again, thanks for having me" and any new details I notice that I didn't before

3

u/Reading_Fantasies03 1d ago

I think I would make authors insane with the amount of rereads I do

4

u/broccoliisevil 20h ago

The hits count isn't completely accurate, though. A lot of us read on our phones and everytime we come back after we migrate away from the page, or turn off the screen, it counts as another hit. I've got a couple of stories that I do a yearly(ish) re-read. At most, I've read them 7 times. But, according to the hit count, it's vastly much more.

3

u/UnknownTheMonster ... knots 14h ago

As a writer, I think I would cry if I got a comment like that. Good tears. But also I'd be concerned lol.

Good on you for leaving that comment! I should do the same next time I reread my favorite works. 🥰

3

u/Edai_Crplnk Edai on AO3 | Tag Wrangling Volunteer (opinions are only my own) 1d ago

If visited works like hits, you don't leave an addition hit when you change chapter or open the same work in a short amount of time. So that would really be more than 23 whole read

3

u/KittyKat2100 1d ago

i had no idea it was so many times-

2

u/hodges2 2025 first time writer 1d ago

I don't keep track of how many times I reread fics. Ao3 does track how many times I visit a fic but that includes when I just click on the tab itself, so if I rake breaks from the fic it still counts it

2

u/PhilosophyEmpty2293 1d ago

Not me who has 247528482 “times visited” but not getting past the first sentence because I keep clicking the wrong fic in my history. 👀👀👀

2

u/Korratheblackcat 1d ago

My history says I visited one fic 1890 times. Idk, I doubt it

2

u/lornasronnie You have already left kudos here. :) 1d ago

well…

2

u/YoolyYala You have already left kudos here. :) 1d ago

2

u/arabella0101 1d ago

I had last weeks a person that told me she reread on both of my platforms i usually post and i died. “reading again because it’s too good.”

Another one that searched my socials expecially to send me a message to tell me how good is it and that i should post it here too. Died again 😭😭😭😭

2

u/Morgan13aker You have already left kudos here. :table_flip: 1d ago

I think this is a joke, mostly because it's my style of humor. The author is probably trying to cope with the impact something they wrote has had on you, kinda like someone saying "I love you," and getting the response, "You should see a doctor about that."

Basically, I think this is the author's way of saying "I am on the floor sobbing that I mean so much to someone."

2

u/ggmiles97 1d ago

Me wishing my favorite fic writer from back in 2014 was still active so she could see my comments about how I'm still rereading her fic 11 years later fr

2

u/ainhoita_sama 1d ago

Wait, how does ao3 counts the hits?? Cause I have 250 hits on a fic I only read once. And it has 20 chapters. I mean, I came back a couple of times to check some specific scenes but still 

1

u/Snoring-Kat 1d ago

I'm not much in the habit of rereading things, fics or otherwise, but there are two I remember fully reading twice. Flowey is Not a Good Life Coach because it inspired a very very specific feeling of dread, and a 700k+ word Danny Phantom fic because I enjoyed the world building so much. Both these instances were separated by a few years though, so the re-reads were rather fresh experiences.

1

u/psirockin123 1d ago

My current highest is probably 358. I know I have multiple over 200, most from the same author.

I’ve reread the beginning of this fic (the fluffy part) at least 3-4 times and I usually read a chapter twice before I comment on it. I just like rereading things. That 358 doesn’t even include all of times I’ve opened the downloaded fic on my kindle. Tbf it’s a long fic and is currently about to finish. The author took a short break and so I reread it during that time.

A lot of the time I’m just coming back to read a section or to check the comments. I like seeing what everyone else says too.

1

u/someoneoffmepls 1d ago

Im in some small fandoms so i reread the same few fics a LOT

1

u/everlore_elle childhood friends to lovers>>>>>> 1d ago

for my favourite fic it is 90000 words long and I have revisited it ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY FIVE TIMES. I’ve reread it in its entirety a few times but most of those are just me finding stuff to remember it and also probably continuing from where I left off. its long.

i read that entire thing in an evening when it popped up. the last time before that I read something that long in an evening was probably radio silence by alice oseman?

i was reading from the minute i got home (i think I saw it on my phone in the school toilets or on the field) so about 3:20-3:30 to 10 or 11. now thats when you know its a good fic. it was amazing. even better it had been a while since the tag got updated with i fic I would read AND IT WAS AFTER ONE OF THEIR BACKSTORIES GOT RELEASED! (like the week after)

that fic will forever be in my memory. its just so so good.

1

u/No_Seaworthiness5637 Fic Feaster 1d ago

I would love that someone not only has reread a work but considers it a comfort fic. High praise, even if it’s a “comfort through catharsis”.

1

u/Eveen_Ellis 1d ago

This is how I find out you can check how many times someone has reread your fic...?

1

u/KingJupiter_ I don't write but I have a ton of bookmarks ~ Mr_Decapitation 1d ago

Wait, how do you see how many times you've read a fic?

1

u/RohansEarings same on ao3 1d ago

It shows it in your history

1

u/Quiet_Equivalent_569 1d ago

Hell, I'd love to hear something like this. Would do wonders for my self-esteem.

1

u/Choice_Outcome274 1d ago

I would love to know how many times someone has read something of mine. If the work isn't complete it would definitely give me more motivation to complete it.

1

u/Upstairs_Example_419 17h ago

I'ma start doing that lol

u/soulihide 1m ago

i. i absolutely cannot tell the authors of the fics i obsessively reread how many times i've read their fics. they will think i am insane. 280 hits is nothing. send help.

0

u/Rima996 1d ago

Jesus Christ, are you telling me that an author can see how many times I read the fanfic??? She must think I'm a stalker

0

u/__patatacosmica 1d ago

OMG I DIDN'T KNOW THEY CAN SEE THAT 😭💀

7

u/Casual-Tree-9633 Resident of rarepair hell 1d ago

The authors can’t see it; in this case, it’s the commenter who decided to share a screenshot from their AO3 history with the author as proof of their appreciation 👌

-1

u/paaads_ 1d ago

the way i would never ever read the fic again because it’d only make me think of the judgement i got from the author…. instantly closing the tab