Archiving: Operation Mustache

[razielim]

I'm trying to figure out the best way to post a bunch of old fanfics on Ao3 without alerting all the people who have subscribed to my account?

I'm finally thinking of reversing my decision to delete all Supernatural fics (and oh god I just remembered I also deleted all the Teen wolf ones. Fine. Supernatural and Teen Wolf, jfc).

Here's the thing - I didn't know you could subscribe to people, so way back when, prior to deleting them, my initial approach was to consolidate them into chapters of a single fic, one fic per ship - a fic with all Wincest ficlets, a fic with all Drowley ficlets, etc.

Cue one of my mutuals sending me an ask on tumblr like "Gabriel, you gave me a heart attack seeing so many update emails."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

NO.

Not doing that again. I finally figured out how to look it up, and there are 500 people who would get notifications if I simply posted and backdated new fics. I would die. Of guilt or something.

So. I have two options I'm considering.

• One. Create a new account. Post old fics to new account. Add my main account retroactively. Abandon the fics from the new account, leaving only my main. This seems like something a crazy person would do, but it should work. I think.
• Two. Create a false identity. Affix a fake mustach-oijgojgoijg I'm kidding.
• Two. Post them as part of a hidden collection and "reveal" later. Do people get notifications about reveals by people they subscribe to? I don't know. Sounds dangerous, if you're into that sort of thing.

Anyone happen to know the best approach? Because otherwise I'm going to start drafting the weirdest fucking request to Ao3 Support.

Comments

[dreamersdare]

I mean... I'm not sure I'm unhappy with that idea. But I eye my subscriber numbers with a degree of suspiscion when I remember they exist. Like, why are you here, subscribers? I write the randomest mix of crap known to man, surely you don't genuinely want that much spam in your inbox? I am deeply sceptical that all of my subscribers are interested in all the fandoms I post for.

I think I might basically saying that I want to hide my fic in the bowels of AO3, so that it's technically there if you go looking but no-one notices it *laughs*

[razielim]

I feel the same way about tumblr followers. Before porn was banned I would regularly post the most fucked up art I could come up with to chase away anyone who wasn't COMMITTED and watch the follower count plummet as the unsavory fair-weather kids got shaken loose. Nowadays just anyone can follow me because they happened to like a few nice pictures I made. Where's the justice in that?

Accumulated Ao3 subscribers on the other hand, I assume, are hardy and reliable in the ways that count. I'm hesitant to stress-test them in the ways that don't count.

[dreamersdare]

See, this is the problem they don't talk about with censorahip. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW IF YOU'RE READY FOR ME?!?!

I am just perpetually bemused by mine. I mean, I figure some of them will leave if the randomness really starts to irk them?