okay we need to have an intervention.
i've noticed that people don't leave the same kind of unhinged compliments under fanfics that visual artists usually receive (eg, "i want to eat your art"), so i've come up with a list that you need to start employing when your friends send you their WIPs and when your favorites update on ao3 but you're having a hard time commenting something that sounds intelligent and you still want to support them
- "you're like if [famos author] (eg, Victor Hugo if the fic is angst) was into [fandom]"
- "well THIS has been added to my pre-sleep daydream schedule"
- "this fic invaded my mind and consumed my brain like a spore"
- "I'M LOSING SLEEP OVER THIS ONE, FOLKS"
- "yOu'Ve AlReAdY lEfT kUdOs HeRe"
- "this fic has me scratching at my yellow wallpaper, it's so good"
- "this fic has me checking under my floorboards for the heart of a kind man i murdered, it's so good"
- "i'm making my parents read this"
- "i know only one chapter is out so far, but i'm going to print this out, staple it together, and put it on my bookshelf next to the canon material"
- "this fic gave me another mental illness"
- (you can only do this one once) "i made an ao3 account specifically to bookmark this"
- "i'm going to print this out so i can eat the words on the paper"
and a couple that are just nice (without the feral nature):
- "i made a custom playlist to listen to while i read this fic"
- "this fic reminds me of [song]"
- "i really liked the part where [x], it really stuck with me"
- "i really liked this line, [quote the line,] it was so well-written!"
- artists: draw fanart of the fic!! it doesn't matter if you think your art skills are good and it doesnt matter if it's just a sketch!! let the author see it!!
- make a moodboard!! for the fic!! let the author see it!!