U can grieve and still live life. U can miss loving someone and love others. You can hold onto the good moments and simultaneously the bad moments. You can take the learning from a person you let go off and use it for the better. You can love someone and they may not be the right person. You can wish someone the best and love them from a distance. You can think fondly of someone and never talk to them again.. mysteries of the world…
Wish ao3 had an algorithm? Wish it would recommend you the best of the best? Ao3 can’t, but your fellow fans can all through the magic of the bookmark search. How is this done?
Find your tag of choice (fandom/ship/character/trope). The default search is by works. Set it to bookmarks.
2. Add filters like normal. Check ‘rec’ and ‘has notes’ near the bottom. Sort.
And viola. Now everything listed comes with positive reviews for your perusal.
Sit back on your divan and let your servants feed you grapes knowing that other brave souls went before you to bring you these gems for your illustrious inspection.
Side Notes:
Authors do see bookmark comments. Do not be an ass to people sharing their art for free.
This method is biased towards older works. Try not to use this search method exclusively or you’ll miss out on hidden gems.