In this case, I think it's a combination of things. It's a small fandom and this is a rarepair, so there aren't that many fics about them. I know I sometimes read fics more because of the characters than the tags. And these commenters who have read and liked other fics I have written, so presumably, they already knew they liked my general writing style. And they have written fics I have commented on, so I guess all of this made it easier for them to read something they normally wouldn't. :)