The A03 Hit Count Meme

[osprey_archer]

My top ten stories at AO3, in terms of hit count, accompanied by commentary and squee, because I am absolutely lacking in becoming modesty about my beloved stories. (Most of them, anyway. There are a couple on this list that I don't like so much.)

Most of these were written for Yuletide - hence the inflated hit/kudos counts. (Yuletiders are very liberal with their praise.) As a heartening side note, I note that my top three fics are all works focusing on characters of color, and the top fic - twice as many hits as anything else! - is also female-centric. There's clearly a huge untapped desire for these things.

1. Five Times Jess & Jules Kissed in Public, Bend It Like Beckham, 2872 hits, 88 kudos (Yuletide 2010)

This is a story for everyone who thought that Joe was merely a distraction from the real love story in Bend It Like Beckham, which was obviously Jess & Jules - which, judging by the hit count, describes A LOT of people. I love this fic so much, because it's awesome and exhilarating and giggly and frightening and fun, just like being young and in love .

2. Mr. Yunioshi's Photographs, Breakfast at Tiffany's, 1404 hits, 2 kudos (but 32 comments! I don't know why there are so few kudos) (Yuletide 2009)

I love Breakfast at Tiffany's and can't stand the portrayal of Mr. Yunioshi, Holly Golightly's Japanese landlord. He's played by Mickey Rooney in the broadest and most stereotypical "lecherous Oriental" way possible. This fic is an attempt to humanize him.

3. Troy & Abed in the Yuletide, Community, 1308 hits, 118 kudos (Yuletide 2011)

This fic is cute, fluffy, and fairly forgettable; I think its popularity stems from the fact that Community is a huge fandom (seriously, how was it Yuletide eligible last year?), Troy/Abed is huge within Community fandom, and Yuletide meta fics always do well.

4. Thirty-Three Kisses and Counting, Gordon Korman - Macdonald Hall series, 661 hits, 86 kudos (Yuletide 2011)

In two words: ridiculously adorable, with an emphasis on the ridiculous. I'm boggled that it's so high on the list, not because I don't love it (I do, I do, I do), but because I didn't realize Macdonald Hall had enough fans to generate this kind of hit count.

5. The King's Guard, Megan Whalen Turner - Queen's Thief series, 641 hits, 26 kudos (Yuletide 2010)

HEARTS IN MY EYES. This is one of the fandoms of my heart, and lots of people commented that I caught the voice and the spirit of the series well, which gave me INFINITE JOY. I love this story with a gleeful, sinful love. (It's Gen/Costis, but in a canon-compliant way: Attolia really steals the show.)

6. Sealskin, Fairy Tales (selkies! OMG SELKIES!), 618 hits, 39 kudos (Yuletide 2010. I wrote all the best stories for Yuletide 2010.)

And not just selkies - femslash selkies. This is a peculiar story for me: long on scenery and atmosphere and short on dialogue. It begins as it goes on: On Michaelmas Catherine first saw the selkie, who stood naked on the black wave-licked rocks at the bottom of the cliffs.

7. Covetous, 101 Dalmations (1961 movie), 534 hits, 26 kudos. (Yuletide 2010)

This is one of those stories I never would have written without Yuletide - I didn't even sign up for this fandom - but I'm so glad Yuletide gave me the chance. It's about Anita and Cruella's first meeting as schoolgirls, and Cruella's doomed quest to acquire Anita's hair for her very own.

8. Tell All the Truth (But Tell It Slant), Glee, 291 Hits, 17 kudos. (This story, shockingly, is not for any Yuletide at all)

I always forget that I've written this story, which is probably not a good sign.

9. When It Alteration Finds, Isobelle Carmody - Obernewtyn Chronicles, 286 hits, 1 kudos (but 7 comments. I'm noticing a pattern here: the stories from the first Yuletide after the move to AO3 have lots of comments but no kudos.) (Yuletide 2009)

This is a tiny, tiny fandom - this story has the most hits of the Obernewtyn fics on A03 - but it's one of the fandoms of my heart, and I love this story, because it's bittersweet and sad and fierce.

10. Half-sick of Shadows, Shadow Unit, 157 hits, 7 kudos (Yuletide 2011)

This story is for the tiny, tiny fandom Shadow Unit. I have a tortured relationship with both the fandom (well, not the fandom as such; with the canon) and this story, because I don't think it quite works and I'm darned if I know why.

Comments

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Wow, you have written *lots*--and you've had lots of readers! I'm super impressed--I was already impressed by your writing, but now I'm in awe of your readership!

[osprey-archer.livejournal.com]

They're mostly Yuletide stories, which raises the readership considerably!

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Don't care! (said the way Little Springtime would say it, so it sounds like "don't krrrr!") It's still awesome!