#I always wanted to publish my work

[shitpostmontgomery]

My writing style is "lovely idyllic paradise with unspeakable horrors beneath" and it's just my subconscious pulling the veil back on my own traumas but I have no choice. If I want to write, this is what I write. It's awful. It's freeing. I'm gonna go and scar some poor reader for life, and then I'm gonna do it again.

[suntails]

[sharing/rb appreciated 💛]

my silver artbook is FINISHED and will open for preorders on 8/31 at 12pm EST!! it's been almost 3 months of work and i'm so excited to finally be able to share all the art i've worked on, PLUS a small bonus charm!

if u know silver fans,,, tell them

[greenerteacups]

What do you think as Hermione's career would be post battle of Hogwarts? To me her being minister for magic really doesn't make sense. She does not have patience or tact to wade through murky waters of politics 😭😭

So hard to say! The Trio are so, so young when we leave them, I find it almost impossible to project their futures farther than a few years out. The job that suited me at 17 would be radically unsuited to me now. That's why of all the Trio, Ron's ending strikes me as the most realistic — he jumps straight into the save-the-world business again, burns out, realizes he's actually Done The Fuck Enough, Thanks, and pivots into a low-stress career where he gets to see his family a lot. Feels accurate! The others are weirder to me because they do seem to just... pick a lane and stay there.

With Hermione, you could spin her a couple ways. You could say that she leans into her bookish side and does research or teaching, which is not my preference for a couple reasons (namely, I don't think Hermione would like academia as a profession; she finds her classwork interesting and enjoys intellectual validation, but she'd be stifled and wasted in a DPhil program, and she'd be infuriated by the administrative politicking of your average higher-ed faculty). You could say that she gets disaffected with politics and ends up as a barrister or a lobbyist of some kind, but if anything that requires more political finesse, because you don't actually have institutional power, you're just handling the people who make decisions and trying to persuade them of your goals. This is not Hermione's preferred method of influence. She's not even particularly good at persuasion, she just happens to be smart enough (and right often enough) that people take her ideas seriously.

Or you could say her brashness fades with the years into a softened flavor of tell-you-like-it-is honesty, which some politicians actually do successfully trade on; as we see in British politics today, you don't have to be all that charming or clever to get ahead, you just need to be really driven and well-connected (which Hermione completely is; she fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the first postwar Minister and her bestie, the Literal Messiah, runs the Auror Office.) But I don't know if Hermione especially wants to be Minister, after the war. She's just watched years of horrendous bureaucratic incompetence plunge the country into a violent civil conflict. She's had not one, but two Ministers of Magic try to bully or shame her friends into complicity with fascism. Her view of government is... likely extremely dark.

But Hermione also isn't the kind of person who sees her life as a quest for happiness. Babygirl has a savior complex that makes Harry look selfish. (She basically kills her parents — yeah, obliviating is a form of murder, #changemymind — "for their own good," and justifies every batshit, vindictive, mean-spirited move she ever pulls on the grounds that it "helps" one of her friends.) She is a mean, lean, dragon-slaying machine, and she needs a dragon. After Voldemort, the Ministry is the no. 1 threat to muggle-borns and non-wizarding Beings. As a war heroine with basically infinite political capital, I'd be surprised if she didn't try to do something there. That said, Hermione is so vivacious and dynamic that she could potentially grow in a hundred different directions; it's possible that all of this, while true of her at 18, becomes completely inaccurate by 22. That's why I'm not too fussed about any particular fanon interpretation.

[elizabethraywrites]

Just because it's a work in progress doesn't mean I can't share snippets...

[fruityumbrella]

being a grown up w inferiority complex over a hobby nobody gafs about is so so so so utterly ridiculous. and yet.

[lucy-ghoul]

now that i've finished my fist original novel (plus the additional material like the epilogue and the male co-protagonist's letter to the main character, which is a dive into his - very troubled - psyche* and a sign of his atonement...), it'll be difficult to leave it all behind ngl. i grew so fond of the characters, the themes i tried (and probably failed) to explore... i'm going to miss them. thankfully i have other projects to focus on, but still - it'll be hard to turn the page once and for all.

[chimeracreates]

four / do not try to prove your / what is the word / humanity — Turing Test_Love by Franny Choi

[pastafossa]

hey pasta! I don’t know if someone has asked this already but is TRT gonna go into Born Again or end at season 3?

So that's where I'm not sure! The current outline is as such:

All Major Arcs (including Cyrus James/Project Beagle fallout arc and psychic abilities arcs): scheduled to wrap up a bit after the end of S3 so that Matt and Jane's arcs/development neatly dovetail together. This will mark the official end of TRT's main fic.

Special Additional Arcs (chaptered fics not attached to main fic but still TRT canon, taking place after end of main fic) in no particular order: Endgame/The Snap arc, Spider-Man: NWH arc, Spoiler Removed arc, tentative She Hulk Shenanigans arc.

Oneshot Arcs: various domestic fluff arcs, interactions with major MCU events, a 'What Their Life Is Like When Old Cause GD It They're Going To Live To Old Age And Will Have Rocking Chairs' arc, a SINGLE take it or leave it 'What If?' fic of something funny with a possible daughter cause damn I had this idea for a hilarious scene and it won't leave me alone

Now, those are what are planned in the outline, and the main event with Project Beagle tie-ins and plotlines and all of that is something I'm still planning to end just after S3 because I really do want to have a finish line for that, and I feel like dragging that all out for Born Again wouldn't work for the... events that are going to happen, without saying too much. Once that's wrapped up, that's when you're going to see TRT finally marked as 'complete' on AO3, though there'll be more fics set in that universe (see special additional arcs and oneshot arcs) that I'll mark as in the Devil and Hound series along with drabbles on tumblr.

Once we're past that official endpoint and those special arcs, though, things get fluid and murky since when I was outlining all the major plotlines, there was no Daredevil: Born Again, nor was Matt even in the MCU officially (which is why Spider-Man pops in way sooner in TRT than he meets Matt in the MCU) and I specifically set up Jane's plotline to bookend with Matt's so their growth twined together and they both finally found peace around the same time. Outside that, I'd planned some shorter chaptered stories in the series post-mainline TRT like the Snap arc that I may now adjust (since it sure is looking like Matt was left behind for the snap) but nothing on the level of TRT's main plotline which is absolutely massive and took me years to fully outline and construct before coming back from hiatus in 2021 and pumping out chapters (Happy six year anniversary to TRT on Sept 15!).

ALL THAT BEING SAID.

I do have plans to write stuff for TRT's take on Born Again because I'm 100% married to writing for Matt at this point and there's no possible way I won't want to do something once I'm being fed Charlie!Matt scenes again. I'm not sure what those plans are just yet - I kinda wanna wait and see what happens in Born Again in case it sparks something. But I also want to make sure that no matter what I do, there's some sort of strong original plotline so that, much like mainline TRT, we'll be able to weave in and out of canonical events (especially since things like the Snap or a wedding or Jane and Matt's friendship with Peter will alter canon). I don't think I'm going to do something quite as huge as TRT's main plotline again, mostly because it takes a TON of time and work, and I'm planning to take the original TRT elements and morph them into an original series fit for publishing (different enough that I can leave TRT up for everyone to read, cause at this point the fic's part of DD fandom culture and I have no plans to take that away) which will also take a ton of time. But I'm definitely rattling my brain around, looking at different plotlines I could do knowing what I know about the ending, hunting for loose ends or canonical threads that I can weave in with TRT's world and create something new!

Then again, I never would have said I'd make something as massive as TRT before I started, either, so who knows.

So in short: YES, there will be TRT events for Born Again even if it's not as elaborate as TRT! I just have no idea what those will be yet. Fortunately, TRT mainline's only a little over halfway done so I've got time to plan!

[aquitainequeen]

Applicants for the Editorial Assistant position: I love reading and literature! I spend a lot of time on BookTok! I'm passionate about exciting narratives!

Me, alternating between assessing candidates and scrutinizing a manuscript to make sure there are no nasty permission surprises: Oh, you are applying to the wrong department, my friend.

[hezuart]

Hello Hensuneutral my name is Zintle. I am one of your new subscribers. I noticed how good you are at analysing stories and characters. I also noticed how you want to make alternate universes of television shows like Tangled the series for example.

So I was thinking how about you join wattpad? In case you are wondering Wattpad is a self publishing website where you can publish your own stories. You can also read stories based on the genres you choose. You can also search for the stories you want to read.

I also really what to see what stories you come up with. But in the end it's your decision. I hope you have a nice day / Afternoon / evening. Bye. 😁

Hi there! This is very sweet and wholesome. But I also want you to know, this is the funniest ask I've gotten in the past year.

[lemongogo]

[vincess-princess]

in darkness shall you be reborn

Chapter 14.

Word count: 3090 Warnings: some manhandling on Nikki's part A/N: this is just as unexpected to me as it is to you. i just had nothing to do in class lol

“Damn it,” Tommy laughed hoarsely, his chest trembling. “I swear I could have got you this time.”

“You couldn’t, but it was a praiseworthy try.” Nikki sheathed his rapier, stretched out his hand and helped Tommy up. Vince caught a grimace of pain flashing across the first mate’s face. The masterful, almost effortless disarming must have been less pleasant to experience than watch. Although Tommy should be thankful to get out of this death match practically unscathed.

“See?” Mick said. “All ended well. There was no need to annoy me about it. And don’t look at me all pissed. You needed to hear that, and better from me than from Nikki.”

Vince wanted to tell him a lot of things, the majority of which would definitely lose him whatever amiability Mick still harbored towards him. A few more seconds, and it would surely spill. And if there was anything Vince had learned on the “Shout”, it was that letting out emotions only made matters worse. Every time, without fail.

So he said nothing - only glared at Mick and stormed off to the galley. His fists itched to punch something; Mick himself was off limits, but his pillow seemed like a good alternative. Vince had a lot of other, more creative ideas, but even his mind clouded with anger understood the harm that would be done wouldn’t be worth the harm Vince would get inflicted upon himself in return.

He was halfway there when a hand landed on his shoulder. Vince couldn’t help but flinch. Did Nikki notice his presence, after all?

”Hey, blondie, hold your horses!” No, that wasn’t Nikki. Vince turned around and met eyes with Slash. He was the closest to them when Vince was so carelessly criticizing Nikki’s skill. Mick’s warning immediately came to mind; his stomach sank. Did Slash hear their conversation? What was he going to do about it?

“What?” Vince asked sharply. Too sharply, apparently, because Slash was clearly taken aback.

“Wow, why are you so pissed? I ain’t done you no wrong.”

Yet, Vince wanted to add, but held it back. He still didn’t know what Slash wanted.

“Don’t call me that,” he said in a softer tone.

“Well, I still don’t know your name,” Slash shrugged. “Gotta get by somehow.”

“It’s Vince. Now you no longer have that excuse.”

“Really?” Slash raised his eyebrow. “I expected something posher.”

“It’s a very simple version of my actual name,” Vince said dryly. “That’s all you’re getting. I’m not giving you any more reasons to mock me.”

“Man, you really taking that to heart?” Slash seemed genuinely surprised. How could someone not take that to heart? “C’mon, we were just messing around. We do that a lot - it gets boring here.” He patted Vince on the shoulder condescendingly. “Vince it be then. You know, I’ve overheard you and Mick chatting-“

“I was just joking around,” Vince interrupted him, his heart beginning to race. “Didn’t mean anything by that.”

“Really?” Slash’s face dropped. “Damn, and I was thinking you were onto something there. I practice the way the captain tells me to but I ain’t getting nowhere. And he always says I ain’t trying hard enough. But if you just made it all up…”

Vince couldn’t believe his ears. Was Slash actually… taking him seriously? After all Nikki did to crush any semblance of respect the crew could still have towards him?

“You know, every joke has a grain of truth in it,” he said hastily. “It won’t hurt to try, anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Slash nodded. “You got any specific suggestions? Some moves I could try, maybe?”

“Uh,” Vince recalled his training sessions. Back then he was irritated that a significant part of them was dedicated to solitary practice and exercise, bemoaning that it took time away from actual sparring, but the pirates had just demonstrated how the lack of the former inherently undermined the latter. He scrambled to bring to his memory the exercises his teacher made him do. A few seemed helpful for Slash’s problem. “I think so. You’ve got good reaction and speed to match, but your precision and distance perception lack. You should practice on your own first so you can pay very close attention to muscle movements-“

“Really? How’s that gonna be helpful?” Slash wrinkled his nose skeptically. “What’s the point of just waving the sword around? I ain’t gonna fight a spirit.”

“It ain’t, I mean isn’t, just waving it around,” Vince began explaining patiently. “You’ve got to build your muscle memory before sparring. What’s the point of it if you don’t know what to do? You should become familiar with your body first, how fast it can move, how strongly it can strike, how long it can hold on in a fight. When you don’t know your own limitations, you turn them into weaknesses, which the enemy can – and will – exploit. You don’t need to get rid of them completely – I doubt it’s even possible – but you can plan your strategy around them.”

“The guys are gonna think I drank too much rum fighting air.”

“Are you so afraid of looking stupid you’d rather get gutted in a real fight?” Vince bristled. “I’m not forcing you to do it. It’s you who came to me for advice. If you don’t like it, you can fuck right off.”

To his surprise, Slash grinned wide, baring an unexpectedly complete collection of white teeth.

“Huh, you’re adapting quick. Fine, fine, I guess I gotta try it out. What do I do?”

“There are a couple moves you can start with. Basic ones. I’ll show you.” Vince walked to the stack of wooden swords in a sack, pulled one out and gave it a test swing. The handle, polished by countless hands to the point of shining, spun readily in his palm. The prop was just a little bit lighter than a real weapon, and the familiar heaviness of a blade in his hand pricked his heart with wistfulness. He shook it off.

“Alright, here’s what you can do…” Vince replicated the first exercise to the best of his ability, surprised to find that the familiar muscle strain it provoked was quite enjoyable. It did disturb his healing shoulder, but the pain wasn’t serious enough to put his arm out of action. Slash watched attentively, then picked up another sword and tried to copy him.

“Not bad.” Vince adjusted his elbows. “Now do the swing. Yes, it’s hard to control both your arms and footwork at the same time. That’s the point. When it stops being hard and starts feeling like second nature, you can try the next one. Look here.”

He assumed the position again and swung his arm back. Suddenly Slash’s gaze shifted on something behind him, his eyes widening, and the next second pain exploded in Vince’s wrist as it was twisted viciously, the wooden sword hitting the deck with a bang. Vince couldn’t hold back a cry of pain when his arm was locked into a painful hammerlock, forcing him to bend forward.

“Slash, you are on nightguard for the next week.” Nikki’s voice was simmering with barely contained rage. “And if I ever see you, or anyone else, let the slave touch the weapons – real, wooden, doesn’t matter – they won’t get away with it as easily. Is that clear?”

“But captain, you never said-“ Slash began.

“Do I have to tell you not to piss in the water barrels too? Because that’s just as obvious. As the first warning, you’re only getting a week. Keep bitching, and that’ll turn into a month. Was that clear?”

Slash’s eyes sparked with indignation from underneath his hair, lips parted as if he was on a verge of snapping back, and Vince waited with bated breath for him to do it, to point out how unfair Nikki was. As if reading his mind, Nikki pressed harder on Vince’s wrist, making him drop his head and gasp in pain, and that tipped the scales.

“Yes, captain,” Slash said through gritted teeth. “It won’t happen again.”

“Very well.” Nikki slightly eased the pressure but didn’t let Vince go. Looked like only crewmates were getting off this easy, Vince realized with dismay as Nikki pushed him in the direction of his cabin. If he wanted to just beat him, he would do it right there and then.

“Don’t be too hard on him, captain,” Slash said suddenly. “I asked him for it.”

“And he knew there would be consequences to doing it. I’ll handle him as I see fit, Slash. You get down to work.” Nikki sped up, dragging Vince with him. Vince caught a glimpse of Slash behind them, his expression helpless.

When they reached the cabin, Nikki threw open the door and pushed Vince inside with such force he landed on his knees and skidded forward on them at least half a foot, shredding the fabric on his knees and scraping off the top layer of skin. Amid the sharp pain came a bang of a door slammed shut, and then a hand grabbed his hair and pulled it up violently, and a new pain drowned out the other, fogged up his vision. He grasped at the hand in his hair, fruitlessly trying to unclench the fingers, but no scratching and pulling could weaken Nikki’s iron grip.

His cheek felt the coolness of the wood of the cabin wall, but not for long – Nikki gripped his shoulder and turned him around, his face now mere inches away, and it was so disfigured with the pure, uncontained rage Vince shuddered.

“Who do you think you are?” he hissed, fingers digging into Vince’s shoulder, making him wince in pain – because, of course, Nikki chose the wounded one. “Who the hell do you think you are, you little piece of shit?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong!” Vince tried to protest, but was promptly silences with a slap on the face so powerful his vision went white for a second, his hair falling onto his face. After a second’s lag the skin there began to burn. He didn’t get any more time to recover, as Nikki once again pulled his hair to bring Vince’s face close to his. If the captain went on with that, a thought flashed past, Vince would soon have no hair left. “You never said I couldn’t touch the weapons!”

“I was pretty explicit you weren’t welcome at the training, weren’t I?” Nikki’s pupils were so dilated they covered almost his whole irises, giving his eyes a sinister look. “You came anyway. Don’t act so surprised now.”

The pain in Vince’s shoulder grew stronger; he could feel hot blood starting to pool under the bandage. He semi-consciously reached for Nikki’s hand, but his wrist was caught halfway and pinned to the wall above his head. Immobilized this way, with Nikki’s knee between his thighs, Vince was completely defenseless.

Nikki leaned closer, his hot breath brushing Vince’s face. “If I ever see you touch – no, even look in a direction of a weapon, any weapon, I will break your fucking fingers. One by one, on both hands. You don’t need them to serve your real purpose anyway. Is that clear now? Am I being convincing enough?”

He was damn convincing, that was for sure. The icy fear coiling in Vince’s guts almost completely put out the burning flame of indignation at the injustice. But he still wanted to know how Nikki would explain that. Surely such a strong reaction didn’t come from just the fear of being criticized. Or, if it did, Nikki’s authority on the ship was much more fragile than it initially seemed.

“But why? I can’t really hurt you - any of you - and you know it!”

Nikki tilted his head, looking at him silently. His expression shifted ever so slightly, sending another array of goosebumps down Vince’s back, but for a different reason now. The anger was still there, but it… calcified, lost its dynamics. Vince recalled a time he felt the same uneasiness – when looking at a death mask of his late uncle. Only Nikki wasn’t dead, and there had to be something underneath it.

Finally, he spoke.

“Yes, you can’t really hurt us, not by a long shot.” His voice was the same unnatural kind of menacing as his face. “You’re not equal to us in any respect either, though. The crew, especially Mick, are being lenient to you in that – you eat with them, you talk to them, you might even joke around a bit – but you’re not one of them and never will be. All of them earned their place here, be that their skill, bravery, intelligence or hardness. You, on the other hand,” Nikki released Vince’s shoulder only to hook his finger under the collar and pull on it, “you have none of that. You’re a whiny, spoiled, ungrateful brat. You’re only good for one thing, and that is what you’re going to do while on the Shout, whether you want it or not. You seem to forget what it is. Do you want me to remind you?”

“No,” Vince murmured, already knowing that his answer would not change anything.

“See,” Nikki pulled harder on the collar, and now their faces almost touched, “you’re doing that again. Shirking, slacking off. Counting on preferential treatment that you’ve been getting your whole life. I have bad news for you: here you have to earn every little bit of food you’re getting, every sip of beer you’re drinking. And do you know how are you gonna do that?” Nikki smiled an unnatural, toothy smile. “By spreading your legs in front of me and anyone who I give my permission to use you. By doing what I tell you to, whenever and wherever I want. By being a good, obedient, docile little whore. And a whore doesn’t need a weapon. Did I answer your question?”

Blood flushed to Vince’s cheeks; his throat closed up. Not that he didn’t know any of that, but he was still clinging to Nikki’s vague promise of rising in the ranks if Vince proved himself worthy even without realizing that, even knowing it was never going to happen. This was it, though; this was the last straw. There was nothing for Vince in the future, just more pain and humiliation, as if what he already had got was not enough.

Another slap, this time unexpected, again blinded him. What was that for, to drive the lesson home?

“I don’t tolerate when my questions are ignored,” Nikki explained when he caught Vince’s confused gaze. “Once again. Did I answer your question?”

Never before had a nod seemed this challenging. As Vince tilted his head forward, his tongue tasted metallic.

“Good.” Nikki finally released him and stepped back. Vince’s knees were so weak he could barely stand and had to lean onto the wall for a moment. This surely wasn’t the end of it, he thought, watching Nikki warily. There had to be more coming, something that would warrant dragging him to the cabin when all the things so far said and done to him would be much easier and more effective to do outside, in front of the whole crew. Nikki was just messing with him, giving him an inkling of hope only to later step on it. And he still hadn’t demanded Vince follow up on his promise.

But seconds passed, and Nikki wasn’t making the next move. What’s more, he didn’t even pay any more attention to Vince, lighting up a cigarette and settling in his chair with his back turned to him instead. But he didn’t give him a permission to leave either, and after what just happened Vince wouldn’t hurry to treat a lack of explicit prohibition as one.

Things were getting really awkward, and Nikki didn’t seem to care one bit. Vince began to slowly move along the wall in the direction of the door. No response from the captain.

Oh, damn this motherfucker. “Sir?” Vince called, his voice trembling. “Can I go?”

Nikki turned his head slowly and looked Vince over from head to toe. Vince couldn’t handle the smug look on his face, so he looked above his shoulder instead.

“Huh, you’re learning.” He let out a cloud of smoke. “Yes, you can.”

Vince took solace in slamming the door of the cabin behind him so hard the whole ship seemed to vibrate at the impact. That was probably the reason why all the pirates followed him with their gazes while he was hurrying across the deck to the hatch that led to the galley, but he still couldn’t shake off the feeling of filth smeared all over his body, invisible to him but clear to everyone else. At one point he caught a glimpse of Slash’s mane in the corner of his eye, but didn’t even turn his head.

Vince wanted to slam the door to the galley behind himself as well, but at the last moment chickened out and softened the push. Still, the sound was louder than usual, prompting Mick, who was chopping something up on the kitchen counter, to turn around.

“Oh,” he said, looking Vince over. “Lemme guess: you did what I explicitly told you not to do?”

“Shut up,” Vince grumbled, pushing past him and plopping down onto his blanket.

“You did,” Mick concluded with a sigh. “You should probably drop by Izzy’s place.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.” Vince rolled over to face the wall and pulled a blanket over himself. His knees burned like they’ve been sanded off, the shoulder wound throbbed under the wet bandage and the ringing of slaps in the face still echoed in his ears, but overall it could be much worse. He wasn’t going to come crying to the surgeon with every scratch.

“I see.” Mick’s voice hardened. “Well, I’ve got bad news for you: you will do what I tell you to-“

Vince flinched, his tongue again tasting blood.

“-because I’m your boss down here. Now, if you don’t need a doctor, you’re good enough to get your ass up and peel those potatoes. C’mon, c’mon.”

The tapping of the knife on the cutting board resumed. Vince sat up, slowly unwrapped the blanket, picked up the knife sent in his direction and settled at the counter without a word.

It was a good thing he had to stand with his back towards Mick when working. The cook still saw later how badly the potatoes were peeled, though.

[jutsuuu]

girl help I’m experiencing

[mermaidsirennikita]

The dichotomy between what's popular according to booktok (from what I've see) from the most blandest books imaginable to the most taboo erotica you can think of is kinda wild.

I think that what gets me with taboo books recommended by BookTok is that they're usually very poorly written. And if the writing is poor, you're not really getting the full "shock" value.

Like, when you read Sierra Simone's Thornchapel series, the scenes read as really intense because Sierra is an excellent writer. In contrast, a book like Hooked (that one dark romance~ modern Captain Hook book, a concept I was very open to and wanted to like, for the record) is very badly written. There's taboo content and a horrible hero, but like... It just reads juvenile.

I'm about 65% through A Kiss at Midnight by Anne Stuart, a historical romance that is QUITE dark, but the writing is frankly fabulous. Because Stuart can write, the darkness (which is not like, the corny "oh he's so bad he's in a motorcycle gang" torture sequence stuff--it's TRULY intense and pretty accurate for the era) is balanced out by emotional progression and honestly? A very dry, at times dark humor. If a lesser writer handled this plotline, it would just seem like shock factor after shock factor layered on just to get people talking. Very 2edgy4me.

And I'm gonna be really real here. Some fanfic authors are made to transition to actual published books. I think Ali Hazelwood writes a really solid contemporary romance. I really enjoyed You, Again by Kate Goldbeck, and that's based on a fic I actually read. The Hurricane Wars works as a book. (And mind you, let's not take away from the work the editors and authors did to rework fics into actual books here.)

Some fic authors are meant to stay fic authors and to excel at that. I personally think that one of the reasons why we have so many blaaand romance novels right now is that a) some of them are written by less-equipped fic authors trying to write real books and b) some of the authors have read less actual books than they have fics.

There are some tensely plotted, exciting fics out there. But personally? I think the standout nature of those fics--fics like Manacled, which... I think.... is not.... for me. However, bland it is not lol--makes people think that is the NORM for fic, when it's not. The norm for fic, and what I think a lot of more casual fic consumers and people who read more fic than they do books (compared to a lot of romance readers who turn to fic to supplement their reading habits) is very plotless slice of life stuff.

And that's not meant to be derogatory. It works, especially when you're writing about characters a lot of people know and love and are PROGRAMMED to know and love. Even if it's AU and they're basically other people, if you're writing a modern, sedate romcom about Katniss and Peeta and she mentions going to archery classes and Peeta being a baker, people are like aawwwww and they enjoy the nicely written scenes that are just people being people.

That.... ultimately creates a bland story when you're writing a book about original characters nobody has a preexisting investment in.

[mishkakagehishka]

Idc anymore i think i'm a good enough writer that i can say that when i noticed the pattern in what exactly makes a book "good" on booktok (and, bc of that, what makes it popular and top bestseller lists), it feels almost demeaning and denigrating to the entire craft. Idk if i should blame the way tiktok-esque social media has utterly rotted everyone's ability to concentrate and read more than three sentences, but literally none of those books are objectively good.

(Yes, yes, art is subjective. HOWEVER. Art is subjective when you look at style, at themes, at motifs, at plots and characters. Art is still a craft, it still requires skill. I've seen beyond the tiktok quotes of these books. Not even their editors are good given the amount of typos/spelling mistakes. That is not something that you should find in a traditionally published book.)

You look at these books, and you know the only reason for their existence is to make money. I cannot and will not accept that as art.

(I'm on Tumblr, of course I have to explain every point. Artists who make money off their art =/= people who only create art meant to be profitable. There is a difference between an artist who hopes to monetise doing what they love, who creates what they wish to see more of and who happens to then create something that other people wish to see more of, and a person who looks at what's trending and decides that making an unholy frankenstein's monster of a book that mashes all those trending tropes and motifs together would get them rich quick. The fact that a lot of these booktok books become popular because of nepotism is just the cherry on top. It's soulless.)

And to finally say what I wanted to say, it's because none of these books have any deeper message or even artistic value to them. You will find a few out of context quotes or paragraphs, ones written specifically so they'd look deep and beautiful when taken out of context, so that people would post them, so that people would buy the books. Entire books written just so those few lines could become viral and make cash. It cannot even be compared to a hook line writers would post to get people interested in their works, because in booktok's case, those are the only lines of quality and in the context itself, they are often out of place and forced.

I just hate booktok, i hate what modern social media has done to art. It's all created to be quickly consumed, for the few ☆aesthetic☆ glances, and then discarded. Just to make more money for those who are already nepo babies. As if artists needed more obstacles to jump over.

[fruityumbrella]

kicking my feet up n giggling n all that bc i wrote 2k last night we are so back baby