[fic: guardian] A minor hill to die on

[frith_in_thorns]

I am still REALLY behind on AO3 comment replies. Especially for longer comments, and especially especially for Goblin Fruit. I'm kind of overwhelmed and get stuck in this stress-cycle of "but is my reply ADEQUATE???" and I do know this is silly but I'm having a hard time breaking out of it. If you've left me a comment that I haven't replied to please do know that I 100% LOVE and CHERISH it and it made my day brighter and I WILL reply hopefully before too much longer.

This is probably to do with the fact that real life (especially work) has been hugely overwhelming and stressful at the moment. I don't really want to talk about it even under lock, but argh. /o\

Anyway, I'm still plodding slowly along on writing. Still haven't been able to face editing any of the 5k things sitting around, so I wrote something new instead. (Reading this whole post together, really my executive function is just completely shot at the moment. I want a new one for Christmas.)

Title: A minor hill to die on (Guardian | 镇魂)
Series: Part 6 of The unofficial newsletter of Dragon City University (BioEng Dept)
Word count: 1600 words
Characters/Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Jiajia
Content/Tags: Action, Unexplained ambushes, Shen Wei has terrible priorities, Hurt/Comfort
Summary: Professor Shen's attention snapped back to her. "Jiajia," he said, very quietly. "We need to get inside."

For the "blood loss" square on my hc_bingo card

Comments

[rlyqueer]

Oh man, commenting/replying on AO3 can be a big struggle because of that! I definitely relate, and I think people generally understand that? I mean, I hope they do — I think they do, LOL.

Def sending you good vibes about real life overwhelm! Relating to this too, big time, including the not really wanting to talk about it. Super valid, imo. Hang in there, hope everything turns out okay!

And mmmhmhmmmm "blood loss" h/c square... A siren call.... Time to take a break from work and read! :D

[frith_in_thorns]

<3 <3 <3 It's ridiculous how I'm a pretty fast writer when I'm in the flow but it takes me SO LONG to write comments or comment replies!

[rlyqueer]

<3 !!! And right? I think it's just a Different part of the brain though. Just wish I could poke that part like "hey chill" to open those comment/reply writerly floodgates more easily LOL!

(Also, I'm seconding Ratbones on the whole no pressure and 100% optional response thing. I think comments are meant to be a nice gesture to show appreciation toward the creator, and anything after that is a cherry on top! Not required or expected.)

[bemused_writer]

I wouldn't worry too much about replying to messages on fanfiction. It's a nice thing to do, and I try to keep up with it when people comment on my own stuff, but I don't think most reviewers expect a response. At least when I leave a review I don't. The fact you continue to update is more than enough to make people happy! ^^

[clevermanka]

Best wishes with the new executive function unit. I hope it arrives soon.

[ratbones]

I'm really excited to read the new Jiajia fic when I get a sec! Those tags!

I've had fits of overwhelm over the past couple of weeks myself. Take it easy on yourself and do what you gotta do. Optional permission to literally never respond to my comments on Goblin Fruit granted. I know you appreciate me! :P Most of your other XL commenters probably feel the same way, but I can only speak for me.

[goss]

Just chiming in re. comment replies on AO3:

As a reader, a simple "Thanks!" in acknowledgement of the comment is quite sufficient to me, but absolutely not required. I don't ever expect (or need) any sort of reply when I leave comments on fic at AO3.

[xparrot]

Oh man, I love comments so much, but at the same time yeah replying to them can be overwhelming, like, how am I supposed to be able to express how happy they make me? What am I supposed to be, a writer or something?! 😆

[marycrawford]

Heyyy, sympathies! I am on the opposite side of this hill because I still need to comment on fic I read and really enjoyed, including the ending of Goblin Fruit. But if it helps: you don't owe me a reply in return, at ALL. The way I see it: the story is your gift to fandom, and my comment is saying thank you for the gift.

Any comment I leave, please have my blanket permission to not answer it or answer it a month later or whatever works best for you! Not least because I want new fic more than comment replies, and I am shamefully selfish. Also: I love your Jiajia and I love that she gets to have tea with Zhu Hong. <3