#a lot like booktok and their obsession with tropes

[hausdellamorte]

please don't jump me for this, mary kirby is a fantastic writer but i have a very glaring issue with lucanis' writing that really makes me cringe every time i think about it and it's the fact that he was very clearly written around the millennial tumblr joke of "running on spite and coffee" and the like and it doesn't really give him a lot more room for more character depth. a lot of veilguards comedy feels a lot like the writers in the writing room tried to predict what memes would be made and created those characters around it, instead of creating fully rounded characters and let the jokes happen naturally

[nikethestatue]

I blame TikTok/BookTok for a lot of things, but one for the biggest disservices that it did to the general reading public was it popularized the idea of 'trope writing'. it's one of the worst things to ever happen in writing, and it's the low hanging fruit for those who have bastardized the whole romance genre. Grumpy and sunshine, age gap, single dad, enemies to lovers...The list is long and...boring.

Trope writing gives a blueprint to unimaginative stories and their proliferation in the romantasy and romance genre is what's making it a joke now. There are so many 'Court of' and any combo of the words of blood, roses', and stars and it's...well, it's this:

The problem with SJM's fandom and the shipwar as a whole is very kind of simple and sad at the same time.

A HUGE number of Gwynriels came from TikTok and learned about SJM on there, and they've been lied to this entire time. Because the thing is, SJM is NOT a trope writer. Sure, there are a few tropes in her books, but they don't drive her narrative. SJM is a STORYTELLER. That's what she is and those who found her before/outside of TikTok were drawn to the story and the characters, not ships.

We didn't read ACOTAR, and then ACOMAF for 'ships'. We read it for the story--we didn't know who'll end up with who and that wasn't the main reason why we read. We loved the actual world of Feyre and Rhys, of Tamlin of Prythian, of the IC and Hybern. It was interesting to read.

TikTok ushered in the 'trope revolution' where talentless and mediocre authors are churning out boring, unoriginal books that fit into these tropes.

SJM doesn't do that. And while I know it's way too late now, I wish Gwynriels understood that early on. I mean, they would've had to read the books actually, and not just look at IG and TikTok videos, but it would've saved them a lot of time and energy if they did. Because what they want is 'grumpy and sunshine' trope with Azriel and Gwyn. 'Friends to lovers'. 'Teacher and student'. That's why they've struggles SO HARD for 4 years to come up with an actual story for their 'Gwynriel book'. They vacillated between 'it's Azriel's book!' and 'it's about healing!' or 'they'll redeem Illyria', and then, when they couldn't really concoct much of anything, they decide to make Gwyn Starborn and they've been obsessing about her paternity.

The 'problem' with SJM is that she has a story FIRST, and then certain tropes fall into that story, but she doesn't start off with a trope and then build a story from there. Which is what GAs want and think she'll do. For Eluciens, the downfall is their belief that 'SJM is a fated mates writer'. They dug themselves into a hole, because 'fated mates' is a trope and it's pretty obvious that this is NOT where SJM is going with Elucien. They'd rather ignore every mention of the Cauldron being wrong, and falsely assume that none of it matters because well, but 'fated mates'!

What they all keep ignoring and dismissing is that Elain has a story of her own. Yes, there is a grumpy/sunshine vibe with Elriel, but that's not the driver of the narrative. The driver is that she is a Seer, and that she is Made, and that the Cauldron WAS WRONG, and that she doesn't like her mate but likes another guy altogether, and that Azriel is a mystery and a Shadowsinger, and we don't know what any of this means, and somehow, he is carrying a Made dagger and he gave it to Elain, and he is in love with her knowing that he shouldn't be, and he said 'i am getting her back' and he got her back....THAT'S the story that SJM is writing. And it's not your basic and boring 'grumpy and sunshine' trope.

I think when Elriels have doubts or see something on TikTok, they should remember this. SJM predates TikTok by over a decade and no matter how people try to spin it, she is NOT a TikTok writer. She is actually a talented and best-selling romantasy writer who wrote this:

“Fireheart. Fireheart, why do you cry?"

"Because I am lost. And I do not know the way." "You have been very brave. You have been very brave, for so very long. But you must be brave a little while longer, my Fireheart. You must be brave a little while longer, and remember..." Her mother placed a phantom hand over Aelins heart. "It is the strength of this that matters. No matter where you are, no matter how far, this will lead you home. It is the strength of this that matters, Aelin. The strength of this. You are my daughter. You were born of two mighty bloodlines. That strength flows through you. Lives in you. You do not yield. You do not yield.”

And she made us cry.

And then she wrote this:

“There you are. I've been looking for you.

His first words to me— not a lie at all, not a threat to keep those faeries away.

And she made us fall in love.

“Even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, I will always love you.”

[lovelaurs]

my own silly mystreet characters headcanon list!

aphmau:

has the worst "hear me out" takes you'll ever hear. like seriously. she can very much point to a yield sign and say "would" to everyone's dismay.

knows every line in moulin rouge as she is OBSESSED with the film. she and laurance preform the elephant medley as dramaticly as possible whenever they watch it for movie night.

obsessed with pre-endgame marvel movies.

ao3 writer! she writes fics for the nichest of fandoms, so she doesn't get that many reads.

one of the few reliable booktok users you can TRUST will give you a good recommendation to read!

garroth:

obsessed with the movie megamind. like seriously. will talk to you for hours on and WILL defend the "sequel movie" and show because, in fact, they are NOT that bad.

can infodump about a topic he's interested in for hours on end.

actually really smart and kind, but ever since he found out he made zane insecure he tries to tone it down. he used to show off a lot but wants to make sure his brother shines as well.

carries stress balls on him so he doesn't use his strength unnecessarily.

always organizes group movie nights with all his friends.

laurance:

loves to listen to and read AITA (am i the asshole?) reddit posts when bored.

an amazing listener, will listen to someone for hours on end and provide insight when needed (perfect for having a conversation with garroth).

loves gossiping. he has really good hearing so he tends to hear others share secrets nearby. he's like the wine aunt you just KNOW has the most interesting stories to tell.

likes to go on vacations a lot, explaining why he is absent sometimes during big group events.

he sometimes returns home to his family farm to take care of it when his parents are out of town.

he often voluntarily babysits caleb to impress aphmau and garroth with his caretaker skills (he's a showoff).

katelyn:

she loves the show big time rush and watches it in her freetime.

OBSESSED with musical theatre and visits broadway shows often. if the friends she brought along even DARE to suggest skipping the stagedoor? they receive a glare that could kill thousands.

adores singing and often sings in her room when the others aren't home.

continues to play volleyball with her friends after a long day of work (she's a freelance writer).

her music taste can range from alternative music like waterparks to kpop groups like red velvet!

KC:

an ao3 writer as well! she and Aphmau gift eachother fics from time to time! she mostly writes x reader fics for tumblr sexyman.

has taken a liking to cooking outside of baking! she especially likes to grill! she even wears an apron that says "kiss the cook" as well as a hat that says "fish fear me women love me".

watches any and all trending animated shows like tangled the series, adventure time, avatar, etc.

has her own tumblr blog where she writes reviews on shows and posts art! her page is quite popular.

dresses in mainly lolita fashion! she has a flare for the beauty of style and loves to recommend people styles and outfits whenever they go out shopping!

travis:

calls katelyn, zane, and dante hot nonchalantly

has attempted.

dante:

loves to bake and nana teaches him all kinds of recipes to make. he supplies the snacks at movie night.

takes taekwondo lessons. "can never be too careful" he says while living in a pretty standard upper middle class neighborhood. why is he like this.

works at a pet shelter and takes care of the dogs and cats left behind. he adopts any that have been there for years, thus making his house full of many different pets.

the designated driver for whenever they go out to clubs. he doesn't like to drink so he usually takes everyone home by the end of the night.

travis (the actual headcanons):

actually respects others and doesn't harass them like he did early on (that was a weird trope and i HATED it). he's just a flirt and if someone he flirts with flirts back he gets all flustered.

the group gamer. spends hours grinding on all sorts of games just to brag about it on his steam profile. specifically a fan of the spider-man games on playstation.

loves to cosplay! he, aphmau, and nana go to lots of conventions together in group cosplay. their last one was the powerpuff girls! they dragged garroth along and made him mojo jojo.

can recite everything and anything about the ninjago lore. this man is obsessed with any lego product or franchise and has many sets built in his room.

practices talking to himself in the mirror every morning to give him confidence. he has very low self esteem.

aaron:

dream stan.

probably friends with dream.

uhhhh idk probably streams the song "mask" by dream.

minecraft streamer.

dream.

those are all my headcanons! i hope you enjoyed! (slandering mystreet aaron is a passion of mine i'm sorry)

[cherries-in-wine]

My thoughts on Colleen Hoover:

okay hear me out: colleen hoover is for the people who skipped their fan fiction phase.

Hi just a warning this contains spoilers for colleen hoover books and English isn't my first language so I apologise for any mistakes. These are just me sharing my thoughts feel free to disagree just please don't be mean about it.

So I read a few of her books because I love torturing myself and just wanted to feel something (also my cousin was obsessed with her) and honestly I don't regret it because now I have valid reason shit on it. 

Just fyi I'm a teenage girl in high school so I'm definitely in her target audience, and here's what I've gathered:

None of her main characters really have a personality. they feel more like shells that the reader can self insert themselves into. The books aren't really about two people getting to know each other and falling in love it feels more as a bunch of tropes and generic scenarios thrown together. I think this is one of the reason booktok girlies act with Colleen Hoover the way I did when I found out fanfics exists. 

It also just reads like fanfiction? like because there's not much to dwell on and they're so easy to digest you can finish them in just a few hours. plus the main characters just feels like y/n: a shell to self insert yourself into, dead/abusive father, just normal girl who finds herself in these situations etc.

Here's the thing about fan fiction though: the reason why it's so fun to read is because you already know the people/characters in it so you can get right into the scenarios and imagines because they don't really need any background or development. 

But the difference is when you write these books you have to develop these characters and introduce them to the readers otherwise I'm just like "I don't even know these people so why the fuck would I care?"

Comparing her to fanfic is honestly an insult to fanfic writers because at least they have the decency to tag their posts properly (calling the abuse, abuse dark themes, dark themes etc) plus they're just so much better.

Colleen Hoover fans will say that she brings up difficult topics in her books in order to defend her but here's the thing: writing about difficult topics doesn't exactly exempt you from criticism + she doesn't even write about them?? they just feel like lazy add ons to spice up the story and add some drama. if you're gonna write about difficult topics you need to discuss and write them properly not just use them to further the plot.

I don't like any of the love interests either. 99% of them are just abusive, piece of shit bland boiled chicken ass people with the unsexiest names I've ever heard of.

Also a lot of these have very much women hating women undertones? I feel like it's the author's misogyny being reflected in her books (extra heart breaking coming from a woman herself). It's very much "you're not like the other girls you're different" kinda themes.

I thought maybe people just enjoyed it because of the smut but the smut is SO BAD oh my god I wanted to kms.

My thoughts are a little all over the place right now (they always are) but maybe i'll update if I remember any more points

thank you so much for reading mwah <33

[blankcest]

just dropping into your inbox to tell you that i read happy pills bc of your endless (delightful and VERY correct) posting about how hot andy is. i feel like you should get an award for being the number one propagandaist for this fic bc man. man. your love for it is contagious.

why is andy so goddamn hot tho. like. i mean stan is always so goddamn hot but this is next level. it's not fair <3

Join me in the madness... Btw I LOVE being the Happy Pills [REDACTED] like I am CRAZY about Frog's writing. I highly suggest their other work too, Say What You Mean! It's what made me obsessed with 30s era Stans and Sex-Worker Stanley like it's a fucking classic to me. I will also give a obligatory DevilsPedicure Mention because THEIR fics are also deeply wonderful and classics to me. If you want a easy one of theirs to digest I suggest Tu sei il mio tramonto ! I love their use of the temperature metaphors and their use of locations always wow me. OKAY, ENOUGH FIC RECS. I GOT THEORIES DAMNIT !! I've literally been walking around my house trying to figure out how to answer this ask because I have Theories about why Andy is so hot. I PROMISE, I am also figuring out that Character Analysis Essay SO THIS IS JUST A LITTLE TASTE OF THAT. Analysis under the cut

SO, Grunkle Stan is attractive. Like that's already well established and I assume a lot of stancesties have similar tastes as me when it comes to what Makes Stan attractive. Stan is attractive for multiple reasons. The writing of Gravity Falls did extremely well when it came to writing his character both on a surface level and on a deeper level. On the surface hes a grumpy old Crook who's willing to do anything for a buck, but when you get to know him deeper. When you actually understand his motivations, that persona becomes charming in of itself. The core of Stan's character, to me at least, is his kindness and relatability. That is what is endearing and in turn, attractive about him. His genuine love for people he considers family, his willingness to do anything for them, his relatability when it comes to his struggles and even dedication to the people around him. I could go on for why Stan is attractive, this is JUST the main idea. By extension, this also applies to Andy. So, what is the actual difference between Andrew and Stanley? You'd think I'd say their outward charm right? However, I am not convinced that's what's actually different. Because like, look at Cannon Stan. He's run multiple successful cons (to be any kind of sales person takes the genuine ability to charm people, I should know I lived with a sales person for my entire life lol), the citizens of gravity falls goes to all his events (which could be small town syndrome, but also why does everyone still hang out there when they Know Stan? Cause they like him! Ignore the memory gun for the love of god), and so on. Like! He's genuinely endearing to people when he isn't trying super hard. So, AGAIN, i ask, what is actually different? It's ruthlessness.

Andrew is kind, but its more selective. He is genuinely willing to ruin people's lives if it means he gets what he wants. He has soft spots, but it's protected. Less on his sleeve when compared to Stanley. And it's because he is willing to actually hurt people if it means success. Time and Time again we see Stan be willing to bend his rules if it means allowing the people in his circle to be happy. Andrew is well, Not willing to bend. He is willing to be the worst of mankind if it means he gets to be successful. If it means he gets to live as he wants. And that my friend, is what makes him so attractive. You can see a similar pattern of how Ruthlessness, and in a softer version ambition, is attractive in fictional characters. Like take the Dark Fiction of Booktok. Often times it follows the trope of "Super powerful/Dangerous man is really really really into the main character", and Andy fits right into that. He has all the things that make Stan interesting and enjoyable, on top of fulfilling the fanatasy of someone who is Willing to kill for a single person. Willing to do the worst things known to man for a single human being and will do it again if it means keeping that person happy and safe. He loves Ford, obsessed with him even, and the idea of putting that onto yourself? The idea of being the center of the world of a Man who will kill and harm anyone who dares even looks at you wrong. Yeah, that's hot!

[guys-in-distress-database]

Random thought:

With Disney's current obsession over challenging their old tropes and more active heroines who take control of their destiny, why haven't we had a role-reversal fairy tale from them yet?

You know, like a heroic princess who saves a young man from an evil villain. Disney has a LOT of dudes in distress, no doubt, but not any who are rescued in the traditional "damsel" sense by their love interest. They always either rescue themselves or are helped by their sidekick or both. The closest is MAYBE Return to Neverland, but that's stretching the idea. I'm honestly surprised they have yet to make a movie that completely swaps the roles.

Hey! People obsessed with rewriting their favourite childhood movies and tropes as fantasy romance fiction on booktok! Get on it!

[itmeblog]

My obsession with "clean" books: an explanation

My obsession with books that self-ID as clean has to do with the fact that I think there's some language fuckery going on right now. And I mostly started to suspect this when I started clicking through like the accounts of books that do this because like

THIS is sorta weird. A sizeable part of the feed's like this. And in the two videos I don't circle it's literally just the screen shot, when you click the first thing you're greeted with is "Clean Fantasy" AND THERE ARE A LOT OF ACCOUNTS LIKE THIS. (At least a lot of accounts in the corner of Youtube I've been thrust into)

But in most literature clean is defined as

Clean reads are stories without graphic violence, explicit sexuality, or strong profanity. They may or may not also have religious content.

But like he instantly compares it to PERCY GODDAMN JACKSON. PERCY JACKSON!!

PERCY WHO IN LIKE THE FIRST 2 CHAPTERS STABS A WOMAN IN THE HEART! (And Harry Potter which also violent! Avatar the Last Airbender also violent! Straight up murder on screen!! Zuko hitting Aang with that lightening bolt is a core memory of my childhood)

So I started reading reviews and it's not just this guy, but several of the books that try to self-categorize like this contain a lot of violence varying from explicit to extremely graphic and I'm sitting here like...

Why are these authors using this category specifically? Why are they pushing so hard to indicate that a YA book (the ones I've come across tend to be YA) doesn't have sex? And like a considerable portion is pushing it to the point of absurdity?? Uh, for example, I've come across something that roughly went like this:

Author: Do you want to read my YA fantasy about how a boy and his autistic brother survive the apocalypse together? (I do not suggest this book from the reviews it's sorta giving Autism Speaks vibes) BookTok Reader: Does it have spice (sex scenes)? Author: Well , no but- BookTok Reader: Then I'm not interested!

And like in what fucking world would someone hear about a book about 2 brothers and immediately ask if there's a sex scene?? LIKE BETWEEN WHO?? THE BROTHERS???

So not only are they pushing that their books have no smut, but they're doing it in increasingly like straw man heavy ways?? So obviously, I've become obsessed.

That's when I started wondering if there was something else going on. Why make a straw man to fit a category where you will almost primarily pride yourself on defining your book on what it doesn't offer while sorta simultaneously disparaging books that do have smut.

Like I've followed other authors! I see how they sell books! Iron Widow's author right now is real obsessed with pegging but that's not all their feed is about, they also talk about the world, their inspirations, their successes, their process, their regrets, their experience in the industry, they make jokes and do behind the scenes things. Dainsdreth's Assassin's author follows something similar (moderately devout) but she's more interested in talking about world building and tropes and research (and very occasionally faith)!

But then I went further and started reading more reviews, I realized while not all of these authors fall into the category a Good Strong Portion of them are Christian! Christian authors!! Writing moderately violent fantasy and labeling them as clean!

So now my hypothesis is that this is a new sort of identifier! It's a way to signal to others in the know that you are indeed a good reputable Christian Author and perhaps your piece is somehow related to God and his teachings in a fantasy setting! BUT what's happening is that a lot of people are also tired of smut violence.

For a variety of reasons! Parents are wary, there's been a lot of push back against "deviant" behaviors in terms of LGBTQ+ stuff, and politically aware books. A lot of those BookTok books are straight up bad (looking at you 4th wing and Chasing Adeline). There's a purity culture wave going through America right now!

So what might be happening is that people (mostly YA readers but also some parents) looking for age appropriate books that are clean in the traditional way or parents trying to coax their kids to read, are stumbling on this specific definition of clean on BookTok and BookTube and are knowingly/unknowingly exposing themselves/or their children to radicalized christian/purity culture talking points! And honestly? This can happen to anyone trying to find "clean/sex-free" books if the terminology has been co-opted! It could happen to adults who favor romance!

And there's nothing specifically anything wrong with this (I mean... there's the whole tithe thing but I sorta forgot about that... sooo, like just know if you buy a book by like Brandon Sanderson a portion of his proceeds will likely go to the Mormon church because he is a full fledged member and it's sort of a requirement) if you are aware of what you're reading and know how to interact with it. I just know that at YA age I didn't and I wasn't and boy oh boy was I reading a lot of Mormon fantasy books and losing a fucking battle with purity culture like you wouldn't believe. Like I have receipts in my own fantasy writing and it is baaaaaddd.

(Disclaimer: Sometimes someone who loves the church just writes a book, okay? Not all authors who are aligned with Christianity are trying to do something, but if they're using straw man arguments and shit to prove a point about some sort of perceived purity or seem a little too obsessed with the fact that their underage characters aren't banging sloppy on the page, you might want to think about which brand of Christianity they're preaching)

[kyliafanfiction]

Lol this is a slight confession to make, but I just found your blog and when I find a HP blog I always first things first search "dramione" in there because people are so weird about dramione as a concept, and it's so refreshing to see a person who is actually not lost in the dramione sauce (is not constantly regurgitating the same 10 tiktok fics reccing them ad nauseum) and is also defending the ship from all the stupid bullshit people spew on it.

I left the community and the ship actually because it felt like both reader and writers changed in those years. Readers especially with their awful entitlement, but that also changed the writers too who became very metric obsessed.

I wish dramione wasn't exposed to so many people because I feel like most of the writers utterly don't understand what the ship is about and the readers welp they don't care they see a rec on tiktok and read the fic like it's an enemies to lovers book from booktok.

Its sad really.

Sorry for yelling into your askbox randomly about this.

I don't spend a lot of time in Dramione spaces, and I go through spurts of actually focusing on Dramione fics to the exclusion of other stuff and then not touching Dramione for months for a while, so I can't really speak to this.

I'm aware a lot of recent popular romance stuff is written by former Dramione writers, but Reylo and Bella/Edward and so many other ships have had that happen too, so it's hardly a Dramione issue.

Nor, in the last time I read recent Dramione fic, had I felt like there was a lot of 'metric driven' stuff or 'not understanding the ship'. Certainly there are people whose take on the ship or their dynamic does not line up with mine - a lot of newer Dramione fans do have a different take on the ship and on Draco than an older class, and the older class has changed over time, but I'd hesitate to call it wrong, and it's hard to articulate exactly what the difference is.

Dramione, like any popular ship, does suffer from an overly tropifying of the characters, and overuse of archetypes and too many fusion/genre AUs where characters are wedged into roles, but that happens. You filter through and read the stuff you like.

Which is one reason I like the sheer size of the fanficdom, because there's always something good to find, and even if it's a less common trope (like Hermione topping Draco, or better yet, her pegging him) there's still a decent amount of it out there.

I do appreciate that it can be annoying to have a shipdom wildly disagree with your interpretations, or keep seeing the same 'ten tiktok recs', but I can't really relate to that experience. That said, your experience is valid, and I'm always up for hearing about other people's POVs.

[prpfz]

── 🗡 a little about me » (21F writer. gmt tmz. experienced writer.). hello!! i'm an experienced, adv.lit–novella writer (with replies spanning to multiple discord messages), currently on the look out for other 18+ writers that may want to collaborate in a dark romance 1x1 rp featuring a variety of darker themes and tropes, with some booktok inspirations mixed in!! oc x oc ships only!!

── current tastes » i am dying to write oc x oc rps inspired by some booktok favourites, especially booktok college dark romance picks. DEVILS NIGHT by pen douglas and LEGACY OF GODS by rina kent are two of my favourite series, and i would die if plots similar to these series were utilised!! additionally, i love the vibes that OUTER BANKS, elite, and EUPHORIA give off, alongside enjoying the movie CULPA MIA and some KDRAMAS energy. it's not necessary to have read either or watched any of these, i am open to just describing the plots & providing snippets of my favourite scenes, but i do need to reiterate that these books (especially) have the exact vibes that i'm looking for within an rp & i will be geeking out heavily over them as i provide plot ideas/inspiration.

── plot energy interests » dark romance, college setting, dark academia, gothic vibes, characters ranging from 18 to earlier 20s. bullying/torment, mind games/mindbreaking & gaslighting, rich kids gone wild, small town with a clear hierarchy, heavy into revenge plotlines. tropes of: enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends, revenge, bully romance, step siblings/half-siblings, brother's best friend, love triangle / reverse harem, blackmailed into a relationship, arranged marriage – these are all currently very appealing to me.

── other notes »

– fellow ramblers, this ad is aimed at you !! i can go off about a plot, oc, or a pairing for entire lenghy messages of content, and i love people who have that same level of enthusiasm, or at least appreciate and give some of the same energy back. if you're one of those people whose default response is one-word-replies, then we likely won't get along. i need you to feed my soul and muse, i want us to be mutually sick from brainrot and obsessed over our characters, pairing, and plot !!

– a little cliche, but as of now, i'd prefer playing F roles in *mxf rp* and writing with other F/non-cis-male writers. need to note that i'm not a fast rp replier at all (nor do i require you to be fast and prefer a more lax energy with replies), but i'm quick with OOC and enjoy text/semi-lit threads to bridge the time between lengthier novella replies. plus, i engage in lots of headcanoning and planning for rps, including sharing aesthetics & tiktoks. just don't be dry, contribute, and we'll get on well!

– i am fine with dead-dove & darker themes, so come at me with your dark, complex, twisted ocs, and i might also write some darker twisted ocs against them, or ones that may be slowly corrupted by them. honestly, i'm open to writing most dead dove themes & darker kinks (albeit the ones utilised depend on the oc that i plan to use & develop) and am open to some taboo themes such as incest/stepcest (i do need to quickly mention that i do NOT enjoy large age gaps that exceed +5 years). we can discuss limits and triggers in dms.

give a like and anon will get back to you

[novella-writers]

── 🗡 a little about me » (21F writer. gmt tmz. experienced writer.). hello!! i'm an experienced, adv.lit–novella writer (with replies spanning to multiple discord messages), currently on the look out for other 18+ writers that may want to collaborate in a dark romance 1x1 rp featuring a variety of darker themes and tropes, with some booktok inspirations mixed in!! oc x oc ships only!!

── current tastes » i am dying to write oc x oc rps inspired by some booktok favourites, especially booktok college dark romance picks. DEVILS NIGHT by pen douglas and LEGACY OF GODS by rina kent are two of my favourite series, and i would die if plots similar to these series were utilised!! additionally, i love the vibes that OUTER BANKS, elite, and EUPHORIA give off, alongside enjoying the movie CULPA MIA and some KDRAMAS energy. it's not necessary to have read either or watched any of these, i am open to just describing the plots & providing snippets of my favourite scenes, but i do need to reiterate that these books (especially) have the exact vibes that i'm looking for within an rp & i will be geeking out heavily over them as i provide plot ideas/inspiration.

── plot energy interests » dark romance, college setting, dark academia, gothic vibes, characters ranging from 18 to earlier 20s. bullying/torment, mind games/mindbreaking & gaslighting, rich kids gone wild, small town with a clear hierarchy, heavy into revenge plotlines. tropes of: enemies-to-lovers, childhood friends, revenge, bully romance, step siblings/half-siblings, brother's best friend, love triangle / reverse harem, blackmailed into a relationship, arranged marriage – these are all currently very appealing to me.

── other notes »

– fellow ramblers, this ad is aimed at you !! i can go off about a plot, oc, or a pairing for entire lenghy messages of content, and i love people who have that same level of enthusiasm, or at least appreciate and give some of the same energy back. if you're one of those people whose default response is one-word-replies, then we likely won't get along. i need you to feed my soul and muse, i want us to be mutually sick from brainrot and obsessed over our characters, pairing, and plot !!

– a little cliche, but as of now, i'd prefer playing F roles in *mxf rp* and writing with other F/non-cis-male writers. need to note that i'm not a fast rp replier at all (nor do i require you to be fast and prefer a more lax energy with replies), but i'm quick with OOC and enjoy text/semi-lit threads to bridge the time between lengthier novella replies. plus, i engage in lots of headcanoning and planning for rps, including sharing aesthetics & tiktoks. just don't be dry, contribute, and we'll get on well!

– i am fine with dead-dove & darker themes, so come at me with your dark, complex, twisted ocs, and i might also write some darker twisted ocs against them, or ones that may be slowly corrupted by them. honestly, i'm open to writing most dead dove themes & darker kinks (albeit the ones utilised depend on the oc that i plan to use & develop) and am open to some taboo themes such as incest/stepcest (i do need to quickly mention that i do NOT enjoy large age gaps that exceed +5 years). we can discuss limits and triggers in dms.

Like if interested!

[findroleplay]

hello everyone ! i'm on the lookout for a couple of 18+ writers who may be up for writing oc x oc rps within the dark romance genre, which may or may not heavily favour booktok vibes for rp inspiration (ifykyk 🫡). yours truly is an adv.lit–novella writer (this means i'll max out the discord message limits multiple times per reply and i would like that reciprocated to some extent though i will adjust to your general length and shift my lengths according to what the scene needs. though 2 messages is my minimum, and my max is untested as of yet, so bring all the details and pretty prose to me because i'll devour it like the cookie monster 🍽). and to provide some info on me, i'm a twenty+, she/her writer who favours the third person perspective and has a hard-on for writing f characters in mxf, with an additional preference towards writing with other f writers (so mdni) and for everyone else be rest reassured that my f characters are far from typical, my girls are often dark, twisted and obsessive in their own ways and will send your boys on the ride of a lifetime, scouts honour to that.

i might write a lot, but i do also reply slowly and am a very understanding partner, so an average of 1 reply per week is very brilliant per my standards and all i'll truly require is for the space between replies to be bridged with ooc planning and sharing of headcanons, plot dev, using tuppers for small text ideas, etc. on this note, if you can not communicate effectively or hold a conversation with equal effort to what i'm putting in, then i'm likely not the writer for you. your girl is a certified and proud yapper who has an undying love for analysing our ocs, plots, and dynamics !! i'm a huge sucker for collaboration regarding the plot and i will push for brainstorming headcanons and plotlines before we start the rp, for sharing pinboards, tiktok vibes, music and media that remind us of the ocs, and i sincerely need this interaction to upkeep my interest so please give it to me !!

for tropes, i'd love to explore ones like possessiveness**, obsession**, rich kids gone wild**, step-siblings** (plsplspls), toxic x toxic, power imbalances, killer x stalker, dark side of the entertainment industry (music, acting, hollywood or kpop/jrock), modern aristocracy, old money v new money, dark academia, sports, arranged marriages and more.

and a side note here, but i'm mainly interested in writing ocs between the ages of 18 – and 26 as of now (flashbacks to younger ages are fine) and i do NOT enjoy large age gaps so please come at me with oc ideas within this same age range. i also need to leave a note that i have a preference for model fcs or lesser-known actor fcs– the only exception for popular actors would be if they're foreign such as kdrama actors or if you ask for suggestions and i mention it but otherwise, i'm not interested in the common fcs and am fine with using no fcs too. i'm totally with writing smut, cool with darker kinks too or doing fade-to-black based on your preference. but dear god, i need our ocs to be villainous and toxic and just a little problematic.

if this ad appeals to you, then hit the post with a like, and i'll get back to you asap.

-

[findyourrp]

hello everyone ! i'm on the lookout for a couple of 18+ writers who may be up for writing oc x oc rps within the dark romance genre, which may or may not heavily favour booktok vibes for rp inspiration (ifykyk 🫡). yours truly is an adv.lit–novella writer (this means i'll max out the discord message limits multiple times per reply and i would like that reciprocated to some extent though i will adjust to your general length and shift my lengths according to what the scene needs. though 2 messages is my minimum, and my max is untested as of yet, so bring all the details and pretty prose to me because i'll devour it like the cookie monster 🍽). and to provide some info on me, i'm a twenty+, she/her writer who favours the third person perspective and has a hard-on for writing f characters in mxf, with an additional preference towards writing with other f writers (so mdni) and for everyone else be reassured that my f characters are far from typical, my girls are often dark, twisted and obsessive in their own ways and will send your boys on the ride of a lifetime, scouts honour to that.

i might write a lot, but i do also reply slowly and am a very understanding partner, so an average of 1 reply per week is very brilliant per my standards and all i'll truly require is for the space between replies to be bridged with ooc planning and sharing of headcanons, plot dev, using tuppers for small text ideas, etc. on this note, if you can not communicate effectively or hold a conversation with equal effort to what i'm putting in, then i'm likely not the writer for you. your girl is a certified and proud yapper who has an undying love for analysing our ocs, plots, and dynamics !! i'm a huge sucker for collaboration regarding the plot and i will push for brainstorming headcanons and plotlines before we start the rp, for sharing pinboards, tiktok vibes, music and media that remind us of the ocs, and i sincerely need this interaction to upkeep my interest so please give it to me !!

for tropes, i'd love to explore ones like possessiveness**, obsession**, rich kids gone wild**, step-siblings** (plsplspls), toxic x toxic, power imbalances, killer x stalker, dark side of the entertainment industry (music, acting, hollywood or kpop/jrock), modern aristocracy, old money v new money, dark academia, sports, arranged marriages and more.

and a side note here, but i'm mainly interested in writing ocs between the ages of 18 – and 26 as of now (flashbacks to younger ages are fine) and i do NOT enjoy large age gaps so please come at me with oc ideas within this same age range. i also need to leave a note that i have a preference for model fcs or lesser-known actor fcs– the only exception for popular actors would be if they're foreign such as kdrama actors or if you ask for suggestions and i mention it but otherwise, i'm not interested in the common fcs and am fine with using no fcs too. i'm totally with writing smut, cool with darker kinks too or doing fade-to-black based on your preference. but dear god, i need our ocs to be villainous and toxic and just a little problematic.

if this ad appeals to you, then hit the post with a like, and i'll get back to you asap.

.

[3terna15unshin3]

hi!! as ”miss este”, so to speak, do you have any recs of romantic books?? Some that are about young adults who fall in love and all that and that make u feel the same way as fanfics do sorta…. i’m taking up reading again (honestly….. a lot to do with reading your fic - it was amazing) but i’ve not found a lot of romantic books that arent like super cheesy or for way older women or children. i want them in their 20s!!! so yes i noticed your books of ’23 and thought maybe you were the right person to ask??

this is like the best message ever to get���💖 i love that you’re taking up reading again!!!

i’m so honored to be part of that and that you thought of me but honestly i haven’t been much into romance this year! most of my pile was either nonfiction or literary fiction but not much romance. i agree - most romance nowadays is sooo cheesy which is why i don’t really dabble much. i find that most of the ‘BookTok’ resurgence of reading is very millennial, i’ve tried to get into a few recommendations from there and the writing just is not great🥲🥲

i have loved Emily Henry’s books tho - Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation are ones by her i read back in 2021. they’re not technically in the romance category they’re just shelved in general fiction so they’re not overly cheesy. very reminiscent to fanfiction, plenty of tropes that i love are in them! she has two more books and i’ve heard great stuff about them too, you should check those out! Beach Read is sort of enemies to lovers and PWMOV is friends to lovers :)))) i was kicking my feet and giggling when reading them.

otherwise, for something a bit different - i really love Persuasion by Jane Austen which is a classic and has a ton of pining! it is a bit hard to get into tho just bc Jane Austen can be a bit old timey and wordy but i listened to the audiobook on Spotify as i read back in 2021 as well and that made it way easier.

any other romance-adjacent i’ve read recently have been queer because i’m Gay hahaha. i read one called Body Grammar by Jules Ohman which is a queer coming of age book, there’s a long time best friends to lovers pipeline that runs through the whole thing that was sooo amazing to read. i was obsessed when i first finished it hahah thread of gold which is my second matty fic is sort of based off of it💀 (if you’re not opposed to queer stories I read another called Sirens & Muses which was amazing too. another coming of age artsy pretentious college love ish story drama!)

Normal People by Sally Rooney is also an all time fav of mine - devastatingly sad but definitely a story of two people falling in love. highly recommend!!!!

anyway sorry for rambling and i apologize that i don’t have many good romance recs but i hope these will suffice x

[welllpthisishappening]

i hope you never get tired of talking about blue line because that fic seriously changed the trajectory of my life and i love it so much! i read it during covid and it was my first introduction to hockey and now i’m obsessed with it and the rangers (i’m not even american mind you, i was already into deep with the blue line rangers, so really this is your fault). anyways i got really into hockey and wanted to read more hockey romances and it turns out there’s a whole section of that exact thing on tiktok, except they’re not really about hockey at all as i’ve come to find out (my old man hockey take is god these authors have never watched a hockey game in their lives!). i’m rambling, sorry. what i’m trying to say is that blue line helped me through a really tough time in my life and even long after because it introduced me to something that got me through every tough time since (even though sometimes i think the rangers exist solely to infuriate me). thank you thank you thank you for that and if ever in the near (or far) future, you decide (or have time) to come back to that universe, i will be the first in line to read it!

ps. if you have a recommendation for a hockey romance book that also include the hockey (or any sport at all really, it turns out i’m just a huge sports nerd waiting to be unlocked) part, please tell me! (i think this was why i wrote this in the first place)

x

Anon, please feel free to come here and ramble to me about hockey and hockey romances and the Rangers at all times. And then maybe forgive me because this has been sitting in the previously discussed inbox for weeks????? It's crossover season, anon. I am very tired.

Thank you for saying such nice things and ensuring that my heart grows 47 sizes and some day, maybe, possibly, I will have time to write the hockey romcom of my dreams and not just make another Spotify playlist. (I made another Spotify playlist today. Seriously, I am very tired.)

But! If you are looking for BookTok hockey reccs, whooooof you have come to the right place. I read... a lot of BookTok books. And then enjoy few things more than explaining the plot of those books to my former hockey player husband and the Division I college athletics department I work in. Some of my more-recent faves of which I cannot guarantee overall goodness, but they also didn't make me actively cringe because some do:

The Game Changer by Lana Ferguson: Fake dating! PINING! She bakes! He goes on her baking show! They grew up together! It got... vaguely filthy as it went along! Like. FILTHY.

Power Play by Chelsea Curto: Accidentally married! He was giving her lessons in intimacy! Good banter! The sports-ness was only slightly wrong in how team structure works and reporting, but I also wrote Blue Line the way I did. So.

Hockey Boy by Brittanee Nicole: Another part of a series which has some...let's call them interesting premises (the one before this was about the goalie and his best friend fake dating because she'd been secretly dating his UNCLE and found out that said uncle was married. I have no shame, really, anymore.) but this one was so good with the most DELIGHTFUL hero. He was down bad. BAD. FILTHY BAD. Also second-chance romance is my JAM.

The Wingman by Stephanie Archer: I've read everything Stephanie Archer has written. All of it. Friends to lovers! Inexplicably more lessons which is a trope I don't know I'm totally into yet, but keep reading??? (The Fake Out, book two in this series, is also top-tier)

Unsteady by Peyton Corinne: I LOVED THIS ONE. College, so take that for what it's worth, but also probably the most grounded hockey romance I've read. #TorturedSadBoi who fell for one (1) girl and let her fix his entire life.

The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy: I love the Off-Campus series and I will feel no guilt about that whatosever. This is the spin-off about Garrett's daughter. It's absurd, ridiculous and I adored it more than I can say. HE DROVE TO HER APARTMENT TO KISS HER.

[koreandragon]

imo it's not so much an ml's simp-y traits per se that i hate, i actually usually enjoy those IF they're balanced well with other personality traits (this is my personal opinion but i think we did get quite a few mls like this recently) and not seen as the main attraction of the character. you can have a character that's down bad for their SO, and daon very much qualifies for that but he's so much more than just a "loser in love"!! i really hate that these days people feel this necessity to box characters in red flag / green flag boxes and all these labels without even considering them as fully fleshed people first and how their positive and negative traits function in the story. this ties in directly with the whole media literacy crisis and booktok phenomena of people obsessing over books that are basically just a checklist of popular tropes without the actual good writing to back it up (and romance book / romance kdrama audiences overlap a lot i'm sure)

i was watching a drama recently where the ml did fit into this "loser in love" label but was still a fleshed out character with flaws despite it and all i saw was people hyping up his green flag behavior towards the fl when he had so much else to his personality that didn't relate to the fl at all.

so i do agree that recently there has been this influx of simp male leads that'd do everything for the fl in a heartbeat and sure they're not all the most well written or multi faceted but also i feel like a lot of it is the audience that only sees this aspect of the characters and only focuses on that.

and the more the industry recognizes that people only care about those things the less well balanced characters we'll get when atm we're already kinda on thin ice

IM SORRY THIS GOT SO LONG LMAO anyways but i'll still try being optimistic and just hope next year will be better (and get more well written female leads)!! 🤞🏻

no you're so right like we do love a loser in love but like is that all there is to these characters now? or just straight up people only choose to highlight these parts of the characters? just a walking trope they can make edits of for tiktok

even with when the phone rings, now he's a loser in love because he's been in love with her for years now but he hasn't said a thing! and now he's trying to make up for it and uwu they're both just losers in love with each other but they don't know!! like i'm getting sick of this now

[jeevesreads]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ REVIEW: Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey

Pretty sure this quick and spicy novella was carefully crafted with all of the buzziest Booktok tropes, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t deliver. Hockey romance, teammate’s sister, boy obsessed, black cat/golden retriever, marriage of convenience, lots of “my wife” moments… it’s all there. It feels like a Tessa Bailey book stripped down to the bare essentials, complete with a sweet hero who is…