u/No-Acanthisitta7086

Idk if I’m just absolutely terrible at using the tagging system or if there genuinely aren’t enough fics with this premise 😭 because every time I look for needy/crybaby bottom Bruce Wayne omegaverse with soft dom Clark Kent I find like NOTHINGGG.

There are plenty of Omega Bruce fics but somehow he’s always a power bottom like bro I need Bruce who’s the big scary boss in the streets but a soft, needy crybaby in the sheets IF YOU KNOW YOU KNOW like PLEASEEE where are the fics I’m beggingggg (At this point it doesn’t even have to be ABO 😭 even a little light dom/sub dynamic would work lol I’m desperate at this pointttt)

Mostly looking for something steamy where Bruce is secretly SO down bad for Clark but refuses to show it until some plot-thickening moment happens and suddenly the floodgates open like all that pent-up yearning finally comes crashing down.

Thankyou in advance:)

Posting this because I keep seeing people confused about why some AO3 users and authors are nervous about the influx of Wattpad users. And before anyone assumes I’m just being an elitist: I WAS A WATTPAD USER. 😭 That’s literally where I started.
I went Wattpad → manga → anime → FanFiction.net → AO3, and the difference in fandom culture was VERY noticeable.
When I was younger, Wattpad was mostly Y/N, romance, and pretty tame stories. If there was smut, it was usually pretty vanilla. Then I got older and discovered AO3, where fandom was MUCH broader. Niche interests, darker themes, kink, complicated dynamics, morally questionable characters, longfic, etc.

And that’s fine. That’s literally what AO3 is for.
What worries people isn’t “Wattpad users existing.” It’s seeing some of the behavior that already happens in fandom spaces and wondering what happens when that becomes more common on AO3.
Because I’ve seen it myself. On TikTok especially, people constantly make posts about how “AO3 is disgusting” or “AO3 users are gross” because they found some absolutely insane fic, and then suddenly millions of users are being lumped together with whoever wrote it.
But genuinely…

HOW TF ARE YOU FINDING THESE FICS??? 😭

AO3 isn’t TikTok. It isn’t randomly putting a 2011 fic on your FYP. Half the time the examples people are posting are literally 10+ years old.
So you had to get there somehow.
You searched the fandom.
You searched the tags.
You searched the ship.
You clicked through pages.
You found it through bookmarks or recommendations.
Like babe, you didn’t accidentally trip and fall into a 2010 non-con fic. 😭
And I’m not even saying genuinely illegal content doesn’t exist or shouldn’t be dealt with. Obviously that’s a completely different conversation.

I’m talking about people finding the most extreme example possible, then going “SEE??? AO3 USERS ARE ALL DISGUSTING.”
Meanwhile I’ve been using AO3 for years, know how to filter, and there is SO much stuff I literally never encounter.
Which brings me to another thing I keep seeing:
“I only filtered out non-con and now my fandom has four fics.”
Buddy… I genuinely don’t think that’s an AO3 problem. 😭
If removing ONE tag makes your fandom go from thousands of fics to four, maybe that’s a fandom problem.

And if you’re constantly stumbling across stuff you supposedly don’t want to see, either you genuinely don’t know how to use AO3’s filters or your fandom is just freaky as hell. 💀
Because fandoms like Naruto , Supernatural ,Harry Potter , Marvel, DC, etc. have an absolutely ridiculous amount of fic.
Want fluff? Tag it.
Want slow burn? Tag it.
Want longfic instead of one-shots? Filter by word count.
Want hurt/comfort, romance, established relationship, whatever? Search for it.
AO3 literally gives you the tools to curate your own experience.
And when I was younger, if I clicked on something that wasn’t for me, I went:
“Oh absolutely not 💀**” → click out → find something else.**

I didn’t mass-report the author. I didn’t go into their comments calling them a freak. I didn’t ship-shame them. I didn’t decide that everyone who enjoyed the fictional thing must secretly support it IRL.
I just didn’t read it.

That’s the part I’ve personally seen that makes people nervous: ship-shaming, authors getting attacked for fictional dynamics, people throwing random labels at other users, and this increasingly common idea that if YOU personally find something uncomfortable, nobody should be allowed to enjoy it.

And yes, I’ve seen this stuff specifically from people on TikTok complaining about AO3. I’m not saying every Wattpad user acts this way. Obviously they don’t. I was literally one of them.

I’m saying I’ve seen enough of this behavior that I understand why some AO3 users are worried about a culture shift.
Because AO3 isn’t supposed to be a website where every fic has to pass everyone’s personal morality test.
You don’t like a ship? Don’t read it.
You don’t like a kink? Filter it.
You hate a character? Block the tag.
You found something uncomfortable? Close the tab.

You are allowed to curate your experience without trying to curate everybody else’s.
And honestly, I think that’s the biggest difference people need to understand.
I’m not asking Wattpad users to stay away from AO3. I’m asking people to understand what kind of space they’re walking into before demanding that the space change around them.

Because some of us came to AO3 specifically BECAUSE it wasn’t Wattpad. 😭

Okay y’all I genuinely need someone to tell me if I’m tweaking 😭😭
I recently got back into podfics and I found this one that I started listening to, but I clicked off because I was confused about the relationship dynamic and was like hmm… let me come back to this later 💀
ANYWAY, fast forward and I’m browsing fics later, click on this fic because the tags looked interesting, start reading, and I get to

“Heart thudding a little faster than before, he clicked onto the guy’s profile.
Castiel Novak, 33 5 miles away
6’0” | Blue eyes | Coffee addict
Occupation: Yes.
Interests: Long drives, thunderstorms, old books, night swims.
“Looking for something real, or at least something that doesn’t waste my time.”
That was it. No bullshit. No over-the-top bio or desperate attempts to be funny. Just a handful of words that felt sharp and deliberate, like the guy knew exactly who he was and didn’t care about impressing anyone.
Dean smirked, re-reading it twice. Occupation: Yes. It was so deadpan that it almost made him laugh. He liked that too.
Intrigue coiled low in his gut as he locked his phone and tossed it onto the nightstand.
If this guy swiped right back… things were about to get interesting.
***
The rhythmic sound of typing filled Castiel’s dimly lit apartment, the only other source of light coming from his desk lamp and the faint glow of the city skyline through his window. His fingers moved quickly over the keyboard, the soft click-click-click filling the quiet room as he worked through his latest report. It wasn’t thrilling work, but it was something to focus on. Something to fill the empty space between long nights and restless thoughts.
Then, a soft ping from his phone broke the monotony.
Castiel exhaled through his nose, reaching for the device out of habit. A Tinder notification.
He hadn’t been actively looking—hadn’t even checked the app in a few days—but curiosity got the better of him. He swiped open the screen, his eyes scanning the notification. Someone had matched with him.
The moment he saw the profile picture, he paused.
Green eyes—striking, warm, alive—stared back at him through the screen, framed by long, dark lashes that seemed almost unfair on a man. A dusting of freckles stretched across the stranger’s nose and cheeks, scattered like tiny constellations over lightly tanned skin. His lips, slightly parted, were plush enough to make Castiel’s fingers twitch. His face was all sharp angles and softness in the right places, a contradiction that made Castiel blink, momentarily caught off guard.
His thumb hovered over the screen, contemplating.
It had been a while since anyone caught his attention like this. He wasn’t actively looking for anything—or anyone. And the others who had swiped right on him? They never intrigued him enough to bother.
But this one…
Castiel let out a quiet breath and swiped right. Why the fuck not?
His gaze flickered down to the man’s profile.
Dean Winchester, 26  5 miles away
5’11” | Green eyes | Mechanic
Interests: Classic cars, rock music, whiskey, road trips.
"Not here for hookups, but also not here to get married next week. If you can hold a conversation and don’t mind a little sarcasm, we’ll get along just fine. Bonus points if you know how to make a damn good burger.
Castiel smirked faintly, biting the inside of his bottom lip as he re-read it. A bit longer than his own profile, but something about it kept him reading. It was blunt, casual—confident without trying too hard. There was something realabout it, something unpolished and honest that he found strangely appealing.
And not here for hookups? Interesting.”
(Fic name BAD HABIT WRITTEN BY ZEPHYRHEARTS all credits to author none of it is written by me )

and my brain literally goes:
“Bruh. We’ve been here before.”
I SWEAR I remember hearing this exact fic as a podfic. Not just “oh this sounds familiar” familiar. I mean I have a whole ass memory of LISTENING TO IT. 😭
So I messaged the author asking if their fic had ever been made into a podfic, because surely I was finally about to solve this mystery.
They said no.
?????????????
HELLO???
So now I’m wondering if I somehow found the podfic FIRST, clicked off it because all the hashtags weren’t there and later accidentally found the actual fic… OR if I listened to a completely different fic with a similar enough plot and my brain just mashed the two together like a bootleg multiverse crossover.
Because I swear I remember this. I remember the scene. I remember hearing it. I have the auditory receipts. 😭
So PLEASE, if this sounds familiar to anyone, help me find this damn podfic. If it actually exists somewhere, I genuinely think the author should know about it too because apparently they don’t know it exists.
And if we search high and low and find absolutely nothing…
Well.
I fear I have Mandela Effected myself with a fanfic. 💀

I’m desperate for a fic where Dean and Cas are down horrendous for each other but neither of them actually gives in for a long time. I don’t want them sleeping together in the first few chapters I want the tension to hurt. Give me all the longing, pining, denial, stolen glances, almost-confessions, jealousy, unresolved feelings… I want to be screaming at my screen.Or getting second hand embarrassment just go through a roller coaster of emotions (nothing too angsty)
I’m totally okay with A/B/O and D/s (sub Dean/dom Cas is definitely a favorite), but honestly the emotional buildup is what I’m after. I want it to feel incredibly rewarding when Dean finally lets himself have what he wants.
Bonus points for lots of sweet pet names like sweetheart, darling, honey, etc. 😭 And if Dean is secretly praise-starved and absolutely melts from praise and affection… even better.
Before anyone says “just search the tags” I promise I have. 😭 I’ve tried every combination of Slow Burn, Yearning, Mutual Pining, Sexual Tension, Idiots in Love, etc., and I feel like I’ve read everything. Or I’ll find a fic that looks promising, then they hook up almost immediately and the tension is basically over. I’m really looking for that delicious, drawn-out build where the payoff feels completely earned.
Long fics are preferred, but I’ll take anything that’s exceptionally well-written!

I’m lowkey so sad seeing how many Drarry fics are getting flagged. 😭 It genuinely has me wondering where people draw the line.
Like… how do we know it’s not also flagging things like a beta reader’s edits that were copied and pasted back into the fic? Or someone using ChatGPT or Claude only to catch typos or grammar? Is that really the same thing as having AI write the entire fic?
Most spell checkers, autocorrect, and grammar tools already use AI or machine learning in some way anyway, so where do people actually draw the line?
I feel like proofreading, editing, and AI-generated writing are all getting lumped together, and I’m curious what everyone else thinks.