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rookthorne · 7 months

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⠄⠂⠁⠁⠂⠄⠄⠂ 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝

Novelties came and went as the years passed — the phases of costumes and trends passed you by with as little care as the last, but not this year. You were determined to make this a surprise that would take Bucky by storm, especially if you reaped the rewards of it.

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 ღ Nurse!Bucky Barnes x F!Reader

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 ღ 3.2k

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 ღ Fluff ჻჻჻ SMUT: Unprotected, clothed and desperate piv, roleplay, clit play, squirting, multiple orgasms, dirty talk to the extreme ჻჻჻ KINKS: Praise, daddy, uniform

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆 ღ This was originally a prompt that @smutconnoisseur gave me many months ago, and I hope I did it justice.

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 ღ Cravin' by Stileto, Kendyle Paige

჻჻჻჻჻჻჻჻ 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 ღ @rookthorne's Fright Night — Masterlist ღ @anyfandomfluffbingo 𝗜𝟯 — Nurse/Patient — Masterlist ღ @mcukinkbingo 𝗡𝟰 — Revealing Clothes — Masterlist

𝐀 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐨 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

If there was one thing you were grateful for during Halloween, it was the ease of access to costumes.

At least, that’s what you thought as you stared at the spread of your choice of costume over the bed covers in front of you. It was a simple fit, if only a little sexy — it was the best you could find that looked even remotely comfortable. The kit that it came with included a flimsy, plastic stethoscope, and a headband that looked utterly ridiculous.

You shook your head and tossed said headband into the waste bin next to the door, and then you eyed the set of thigh high stockings and garters. The lingerie sale had enticed you into getting them and you figured you may as well go all out — it was a treat, why not?

It was only when you were struggling to pull said thigh highs up your legs did you regret the choice to include them at all. “This is ridiculous-” You grunted, yanking the elastic higher and you grimaced at the sound of tearing fabric. “Hard. What the hell, how did women do this on the daily–?”

“Baby?” Bucky called from the living room, just where you had left him. “Are you alright? What’re you doin’?”

“Nothing!” you called back, hopping on one foot to sit on the edge of the mattress. “It’s fine, don’t worry–I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Okay…” He didn’t sound convinced, but you didn’t hear him approaching the bedroom, either.

You blew out a breath of relief and continued on the painstaking task of dressing up. The skirt of the costume flared out from your waist and ended just below your ass – if you stood straight, you were covered, if you bent over, Bucky would learn just how little you were wearing after all.

Forgoing panties was a new, foreign feeling, but it made your heart race in the best way – it felt like you were carrying and concealing a secret that only Bucky would find out and know.

With the stockings and dress in place, you heaved a sigh, panting slightly with the effort. “This better be worth it,” you muttered as you grabbed the small heels from the foot of the bed. In some way, you knew it would be, but you reserved your judgement for when you rounded the corner to face the living room, where Bucky was currently lounging and reading a book.

You looked back at the bed once more to make sure it was neat, and then you slowly padded out of the bedroom, careful to not let the heels click too loudly over the floor. The stethoscope that came with the costume dangled in your hand before you placed it around your neck.

Taking a deep breath, you mustered all of the grace, courage, and sensuality you could manage, and you peeked around the corner.

Bucky was curled up on one end of the couch, legs tucked up and to the side of his body, while he rested the book on his knee. There was a thoughtful frown on his lips, and crease between his brows as his eyes flitted from left to right over the page, and then when he changed the page, the tip of his tongue ran over his lips before that frown would appear once again.

A navy blue henley stretched over his chest and shoulders while the sleeves were rolled to his elbows, revealing his muscled forearms and gentle hands. His thighs were covered in the soft fabric of his favourite (and your favourite) grey sweatpants that hugged his thighs and showed off much more.

Loose strands of hair from the bun at the nape of his neck framed his face, bringing to life just the shadow of stubble he’d let grow over his two days off. The glasses perched on the edge of his nose slipped slightly and you watched, your mouth watering, as his hand moved from the book and pushed the frames back up with his index finger.

He insisted that they were good for reducing strain on his eyes; you insisted they were an aphrodisiac.

While you stared, he licked the tip of his finger and flipped the page once more, completely oblivious to your presence around the corner. It was a battle to keep the small whimper in your throat from escaping at such a small gesture, but your cunt began to throb the more you watched his mouth.

Get it together, you scolded yourself, gritting your teeth slightly in determination.

You stepped forward and rounded the corner, still careful to keep quiet, and you crossed your arms just under your breasts.

Bucky didn’t look up from his book when he said, “Hey, you alright?”

“Fine, babe,” you answered, arching a brow. “How’s the book?”

Not missing a beat, Bucky huffed and replied, “It’s okay–I don’t get what the hype behind it, but what can you do?”

“Right.” The two of you fell back into a comfortable, but charged, silence. “Buck?”

“Yeah?” He still didn’t look up from his book. He bit his lip as he turned the page again and the action made you squeeze your thighs.

Impatience finally stirred you into action, and you cleared your throat.

Only then did Bucky finally glanced upwards, but what he saw didn’t seem to register, because he looked back down at his book.

The spell lasted less than a second.

His head shot back up to stare at you so fast you were worried he would put a crick in his neck, and his mouth fell slack with the shock. Weakly, he uttered, “What the–?”

“Surprise,” you teased, blowing him a kiss. “I think it’s time for your examination.”

Bucky sat stock still for a moment, blinking rapidly as his book fell to the floor, entirely forgotten. “E-Examination?”

“You’ve been a good boy waiting for me, daddy,” you purred, and you beckoned him closer with a crook of your finger. “Come on. I’ll take you back.”

Wordlessly – whether he was too stunned to speak, or unable to even open his mouth to utter anything – Bucky rose from his perch on the couch, his cock already pitching a tent in his sweats. You grinned and grabbed his hand, before you turned and started to walk back to the bedroom.

It was then something seemed to clunk into place in Bucky’s mind, but it was the wrong gear.

“How the fuck do they expect us to do our jobs in that beats me, look, it’s so impractical!” Bucky said in one breath. You stopped and blinked at him for a second before he ploughed on, unable to take in the context that this was a sexy nurse costume. “You can’t bend in that; you can’t check vitals. And where the hell would you keep a damn pen?”

“Uh-”

Bucky scoffed, looking at the stethoscope that rested on your chest. “And that? Good luck gettin’ anything from that.” He looked down at your shoes and raised his brows in disbelief. “What- I swear they’re goin’ to kill me. How in the hell are we gonna do shifts with those?”

You couldn’t believe it. Here Bucky stood, in the middle of the living room with his dick half-mast, ranting and raving over a novelty costume. It took all of your will to not burst into hysterical laughter at the sheer humour of the situation – instead, you let go of Bucky’s hand and crossed your arms, sure to push your breasts up as you turned to fully face him again.

His eyes were drawn to them, and he immediately opened his mouth to speak, but something seemed to click in his mind – this time, the right gear landed in place. “Oh.”

“Yeah. Oh.”

“Fuck.”

Before you could even point out that it was a bit of fun, Bucky launched forward and claimed your lips with his, bodily forcing you back against the wall where you squeaked into his mouth at the impact. “Fuckin’ hell, baby–what made you think a’this?” His voice was raspy and deep with need, and it only made you whine in reply. “I need to fuck you–need it so bad, Sugar, please.”

“Fuck me, daddy,” you whispered against his lips, gripping the back of his neck. He went willingly when you guided him to your throat, eagerly mouthing and nipping at the skin. There was brush of pressure over your costume and you gasped sharply when you realised his hips were stuttering – fucking the air in his desperation. “Need your cock, please.”

Bucky groaned and sucked harshly over your pulse point.

Your movements were clumsy as you stumbled into the bedroom, pulling Bucky along when he refused to let go of your body and cease his attack on your neck with his tongue and lips. He was breathing heavily as he moved his hands over your waist, roaming over your body until his palms brushed the tops of your thighs.

The lack of fabric or lace where your panties would have been seemed to make him pause. “You’re not–there’s- Fuck,” he rasped, moving his hands to cup your bare ass.

You moaned and fisted a hand in his hair, jostling the bun and his hair fell from the updo. “Wanted to be bare for you, daddy. Fill me up, c’mon.”

“I’ll do more than that, baby,” Bucky growled, and you shrieked in shock as he forced you down onto the bed, and he followed you, crawling up to your face and settling his still clothed crotch over your bare cunt. “You think you can tease me like this an’ get away with it?”

His forearms bracketed your shoulders as he grinded down into your heat, ignorant of the slick that now covered his crotch. “You’re gonna take my cock like a good girl, and you’re gonna beg for me to stop, sweetheart.”

“Yes,” you moaned, and you fumbled with the elastic of his sweats and briefs, while his mouth continued the attack over your neck, going as far as your collarbone. “Give it to me–so ready for it.”

“That’s my good girl,” he murmured against your skin.

You felt the hitch in his breath rather than hearing it when you pulled his cock free from his boxers – it was heavy and hot in your hands, and for such a short window of arousal, it was already red and purpling over the head.

“Fuck,” Bucky moaned, and his hips shuddered as you pumped him with your fist, spreading the precum that had leaked down his shaft. You moved your other hand to trace over his head until he whimpered. “Baby–baby, shit. Please-”

In a blind urge of desperation, and with your hands occupied with his cock, you moved your feet to push down his sweats and boxers off all the way, but he gripped your ankle in his hand.

“No,” Bucky growled low in his throat. “Can’t wait, honey. Need your pussy, an’ I need it now. Don’t keep her from me.”

Heady arousal flushed your system and a wave of dizziness made you gasp.

“Fuck–yes, come on,” you begged, and you groaned loudly as he slowly forced his cock into your cunt, the stretch of it on the right side of painful. “Yes! Don’t stop, don’t stop–please!”

“Take it, baby,” Bucky moaned, his lips hovering over yours. “Such a good girl, only a bit to go–c’mon, open up for daddy-” The litany of praises was cut off with a harsh grunt when he finally bottomed out. “That’s it, good girl–good fuckin’ girl. Oh my god, fuck yes.”

Your breath turned laboured with him fully seated in your cunt, and you couldn’t stop the flutters that pulsed around him, making the slight jolts of his hips even harder to breathe through. “You feel s’good–so big, daddy.”

“I know, honey, baby,” Bucky murmured, kissing you softly. He rocked his hips slowly, teasingly, and each stroke made you whimper in your throat. “But you take me so well, jus’ like you were made for my cock, huh? Perfect fuckhole for daddy.”

“Hnng- Yeah, yeah, ‘m perfect,” you mumbled, dizzy with the pleasure of his words.

“Yeah, you are,” Bucky cooed. “Think you can take more, baby?” Your hair shook out from behind you with the eagerness of your nod, and he chuckled lowly before pecking your nose. “Alright, sweetheart. Let’s see if you can get daddy to do his cardio for the day–need to keep ‘im in shape, yeah?”

Bucky’s hips surged forward and fucked into you with abandon – each thrust punched the air from your lungs with a huff and you gripped his shoulders, bunching the fabric of his shirt in your hands. “Ah–fuck! Yes, daddy!”

“Fuck,” he breathed, and he ducked his head to mouth at your throat. His hips drove forward with such ferocity you were pushed up the mattress. “You feel like heaven, honey–this pussy s’all mine. Mine.”

You couldn’t speak around the litany of squeaks and moans falling from your lips, but Bucky continued anyway. “Seein’ you in this pretty little outfit–shit, baby. You’re gonna kill me.”

“Worth- Oh! It–so worth it!”

“Fuckin’ agree with you, baby,” Bucky huffed. “Now you’ve got me needin’ to fuck this tight pussy so good she’ll be gaping when ‘m done–y’know that right, baby girl?”

Breathlessly, you shuddered and moaned a quiet, “Yes.”

“Good girl. Now take it.” Bucky’s thrusts became impossibly fast and you were sure your thighs would be bruised by the end of this tryst.

When the coil low in your stomach began to tighten, Bucky moved an arm from next to your shoulder and he whispered, “Want you to cum for me, baby. Need to feel you squeeze my cock.” His fingers brushed over your sternum. “Over, and over.” You could feel the pads of his fingers dance over your hips, and you whimpered when he leaned in close, his lips now right next to your ear. “And over, sweetheart.”

The pad of his index and ring fingers thrummed over your bundle of nerves with such speed you couldn’t draw breath from the onslaught of pleasure.

“That’s it, that’s it!” he called over your whines, and he fucked you harder – the strokes of his cock long and deep. “Oh, fuck–sweetheart, give it to me, give it to daddy. C’mon.”

Your climax roared through your body like a wildfire, bright and hot in its destruction; back bowed to the ceiling, you could feel the heat from Bucky’s chest over your middle while he continued to move his hips in a circular grind.

“Oh, fuck–shit, daddy,” you gasped finally, the waves now settling deep in your core again. “Fuck.”

Bucky chuckled, still rocking his hips. “I know you got one more in you, sweetheart,” he purred, and he nuzzled your neck, kissing it softly. “Let’s see just how hard I can get my nurse to cum for me.”

“Bu- Ah! Ah–fuck!” You gasped as Bucky fucked you up the mattress, his knees planted firmly to give him more leverage. The faster he fucked into you, the faster the feeling of another climax crested. This one felt different; more intense. “Oh, fuck–something- Different,” you hicupped, grabbing his biceps.

You could feel his grin against your throat. “I know, honey–you’re already squeezin’ me. Do you hear that?” The slick sounds of his cock fucking into you was loud over your pants for air, and you nodded weakly. You felt slick and cum run down your thighs and ass as he moved in and out of your heat. “I think you might even squirt for me this time, baby. You’re so fuckin’ wet–a fuckin’ mess for me.”

A shuddered moan fell from your lips before you could clamp your mouth shut. “Daddy–”

“That’s it, call me,” Bucky grunted, and he pulled away from your neck, balancing himself on his forearms to look down at you, watching your face as it contorted with the pleasure that he was giving you. “Call me, baby–I wanna hear my name on your lips when you fuckin’ squeeze my cock when you cum.”

Sharp, white hot pleasure tore through your body, from head to toe, and you keened as Bucky forced his cock deeper. “You’re pushin’ me out, honey–lemme in, need to feel it,” he moaned. “Fuck, you’re so pretty; that’s it, that- Fuck!”

You felt the dampness of your thighs before you could comprehend the heightened pleasure, and you glanced down to watch Bucky’s lower half become soaked from your climax. “Oh-”

“Fuck, that was hot,” Bucky breathed, and before you could answer, he crashed his lips to yours and forced his tongue into your mouth, fucking it languidly while his hips stuttered in their rhythm. You panted as Bucky pulled back, his breath fanning over your spit-slick lips. “I need t’a cum, baby,” he pleaded, thrusting deeper. “Please, please–lemme cum in-”

“Yes,” you rasped, nodding. The fabric in your fists was damp with sweat, and you suspected your costume was thoroughly ruined, but with the fucked out expression on his face, it was well worth it. “I want you to cum in me, daddy–give it to me, I need it.”

Bucky groaned and shuddered. He lowered his head to your shoulder and rested his forehead on your collarbone. You could hear him panting over the slapping of skin and slick noises of his cock in your cunt, and you fisted his hair. “Fuck me, daddy. Use my pussy–fuck it hard.”

“Oh, fuck,” he rasped. Each thrust sent a shock of pleasure curling up your spine, but you brushed it off, intent on making Bucky cum – you squeezed around him and scratched his scalp, pulling the strands between your fingers. “Yeah–yes, oh shit, baby!”

You grinned and fisted his hair tight, forcing his head up and over yours so you could watch his face. “Cum for me.” Bucky blinked and gritted his teeth as his hips faltered, then his mouth opened in a moan that sent a shiver down your spine. “That’s it–give it to me, daddy,” you cooed, cupping his face in your hands. Warmth bloomed in your cunt, and you moaned with him.

The slow, rocking rhythm Bucky set with his hips soothed you, bringing you slowly down from your high while he descended from his. “Fuckin’ hell, Sugar,” he murmured, and he kissed you on the lips, then the forehead.

“Do you think your cardio is done for the day?” you teased, and you bit your lip as you ran your hands down his chest, admiring the way the henley was soaked with his sweat. “You worked real hard, daddy.”

Bucky grinned and barked a laugh. “Nah, baby girl. ‘M not done with you yet.” He lowered himself and wriggled his arms behind your back to hug you, trapping you in place. “But I do need a minute. Fuck.”

The damp strands of his hair stuck to your fingers as you combed through his hair, content to wait a moment for him to catch his breath. “I think we should get you to do a stress test, too–just to be sure.”

You giggled as Bucky’s shoulder’s shook from quiet laughter, and then he moved to look down at you. “You know, you didn’t do a very thorough exam, nurse. I think you need to be taught how to do it properly.”

“Deal.”

The two of you laid there in one another’s arms, breathing and enjoying the closeness. It was then you decided you truly did love Halloween – especially for the costumes.

ha, yeah I am dead.

⠈⠂⠄ 𝐢𝐧𝐛𝐨𝐱 | 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 | 𝐚𝐨𝟑 ⠄⠂⠁

⠈⠂⠄ 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 | 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 ⠄⠂⠁

#bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x f!reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x female reader #bucky x f!reader #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes oneshot #bucky barnes fluff #rookthorne's works

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iaminsideyourwalls · 1 year

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Sorry for the ask so soon after my first one, but really, I would love to hear about any head canons you'd like to share! :O Do you have a favorite merc?

Don’t apologize for asks, I love asks! I even put it in my bio.

You couldn’t ask a parent to pick a favorite child could you??? ;_; (although I do think about sniper every day.) I’ll give you a headcanon for all of them then.

Scout

he retained some French from when he was little. He’s not good at it in general but is a lot better at understanding it than speaking it. He can eavesdrop on Spy but can’t conjugate être. I also like versions of Scout that speak Spanish when people hc his mom as Latina.

Sniper

one of my all time favorite headcanons is Māori Sniper. Also, if you’ve seen this blog you’ll know i believe he’s an autistic king.

Engineer

I know a lot of people tend to portray him as a tender, kind, empathetic guy but I genuinely don’t think he’s ever felt empathy or genuine compassion in his life. Sure he knows how to act sweet and polite and soft and nonthreatening all the time but no matter how long you’ve known him, if you get in his way he’s already designing a new machine in his head to blow you away into the last century.

Demoman

Objectum Demoman is one of my all-time favorites. For real. I will genuinely ship him with eyelander, idgaf.

Soldier

I really love trans soldier headcanons. His transmasc swag is off the charts. It’s hard to come up with hcs for Soldier because he’s so fucking wild you could put him in any situation and it could be true. Lived in a diving bell for two years? Sure. Favorite food is un-husked kernels of wheat? Absolutely. Replaced his dick with his big toe so he could use it to walk? I could go on.

Heavy

during and after he obtained his phd in Russian literature he published a number of fiction books under a pen name. They’re all tasteful romances with subplots of political intrigue. They gained high critical praise and are still moderately popular in bookstores in Russia and some neighboring countries. all the royalties from sales go to his family. He’s also an autistic king.

Pyro

I don’t have many headcanons for pyro because I like keeping the whole mystery. I don’t wonder what’s under the mask or come up with possible names because I think the whole of the character is that mystery. But I will say that as great as unicorns and rainbows and cupcakes are, there’s really nothing Pyro loves more than hanging out with Engie in his workshop and pretending to help.

Medic

as far as my own headcanons, I have a lot. Here’s some. He does not have a driver’s license—he taught himself to drive by stealing a car. He’s insecure about his voice but he talks too much to really care. He’s always wanted a motorcycle. He puts drugs in his morning coffee. He doesn’t like classical music, he listens to the top 40s on the radio and sings along. The peppier the better.

One of my favorite Medic headcanons I ever heard was that he only has medical training as a veterinarian and I think that’s hilarious because it could absolutely be real.

Spy

He’s smart but he’s not as highly educated as he wants people to think. He never went to a university and maybe never even finished school. Just like Scout, he’s so damn good at what he does that he can afford to be more concerned with appearance and showing off than anything else. They’re both committed to making people see what they want them to see and nothing deeper.

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no-where-new-hero · 5 months

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✣ Blake Wrapped: 5 Star Reads 📖

The first half of this post can be found HERE, and these were my 5-star reads for the second half of the year (in rough order). Tagging @batrachised, who was interested in recommendations!

Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh I posted a lot about this when I read it because in my opinion it’s one of the best SFF novels I’ve come across in a while. It reminded me of DWJ’s Hexwood, which is already high praise, but it’s a fabulous character study with incredible dynamics. It’s another new book with truly horrible marketing, imo—the whole “queer sci-fi” angle gives the impression of a Gideon the Ninth rip-off, but there’s much more political and social commentary with fabulous world-building. Highly, highly recommend this one.

He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan I loved the first book in this duology, but this one was exquisite to new heights. Even though it was never that overt, it did a lot of great meta-commentary work on the chosen one trope vs the doomed by the narrative trope, especially their intersection with gender expectations. The prose was simply gorgeous, occasionally philosophical, always sure-handed. I recommend the whole duology, though mostly so that you can get to this one.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson I picked this up in my library’s for sale room, and it was the best choice I made this year. I can’t believe I had been missing out on Jackson for so long. It’s a ghost story and a Gothic novel and a girl book and feels a bit like the shadow side of an LM Montgomery story. The language and characters are rich and strange and is so thoroughly a Blake Book of all time. I want to be able to write something like this someday.

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang The reports of its readability are true—I went through this in three hours. I get why people complain about certain elements in this, but it also lives up to the hype, in my opinion. I might be the target audience as an aspiring author (who got throughly traumatized by the portrayal of terminally online author culture lmao) but I do think those dynamics and circumstances are its strength, more so than the social commentaries on Asian American tokenization, etc.

How Long ’Til Black Future Month? by N. K. Jemisin I don’t often read short fiction, but I was in the mood for some good SFF shorts to learn from, so picked this up. Jemisin is a master of form—her ability to depict a world in such a brief span, to make such deep characters with such clever scenarios is unmatched. Certainly, there are some better examples than others, but the best makes me wish there were a whole novel set in that world.

Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson This one is a slight cheat because it’s not Jackson’s best, but it’s also a Blake Book of all time, so how could I not give it five stars? I wish I had discovered it in college, if just to be able to be insufferable and call myself “irl Natalie Waite” everywhere. It’s such a Tumblr book too—the veiled queerness, the Plath vibes, the dark academia setting, the unhinged vibes. The prose is gorgeous and unsettling and is such a good portrayal of a character.

#bookblr #book review #book recommendations #reading recommendations #some desperate glory #he who drowned the world #hangsaman #the haunting of hill house #yellowface #how long til black future month #nk jemisin #rf kuang #emily tesh #shirley jackson #shelley parker chan #blake's last braincell #immortal poets society #blake wrapped

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yangsgirlfriend69 · 2 years

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I made it onto the Indie Bestseller list by posting on TikTok. Don’t do what I did.

IDK how to use tumblr but here are some thoughts

Maybe I should wait to write this, to have a little distance from publishing my book. When I see authors who are at the same place I am — a week and a day out from publication — their captions often sing the praises of their publishers. They’ll mention how grateful they are that all their hard work paid off, that the years of writing and editing and blood, sweat, tears, or whatever other bodily fluids they put into their manuscript were worth it for the moment the book came out.

For me, it wasn’t.

The writing process for How to Excavate a Heart was liberating. I came up with the idea while driving to a Long Island Panera (where all good ideas are formed), and started outlining it while eating their dubiously-sourced mac-and-cheese.

I then proceeded to, as I texted verbatim to at least three close friends, “fart out the novel.” I wrote it in about six weeks while on a train trip visiting family and friends, and I cherished every moment of the process.

That was in late 2019/early 2020, and it was the last time my feelings about the book were purely positive.

How to Excavate a Heart (HTEAH) sold in the late summer of 2020, to be published in Fall 2022. I was more focused on my debut novel, Almost Flying, that was slated to come out in the summer of 2021. Which it did, though if you didn’t know it existed you certainly wouldn’t be alone. It earned a Stonewall Honor from the American Library Association, and I think the week that happened it crested to a new high of 20 copies nation-wide or something depressing like that.

Needless to say, I was frustrated by what I saw as lack of support from my publisher, and was determined to not let the same fate befall HTEAH. I was already fairly active on TikTok after originating the Laura Dern Sitting Challenge (my one true claim to fame), but I had heard that TikTok was generally not a fruitful platform for authors, or that, even if authors were popular, it didn’t translate to book sales.

So of course my first thought was, “Why don’t I push this boulder uphill and see what happens?”

So I posted my first TikTok about HTEAH in February of 2022. It flopped in an expected way, but I continued to post about it consistently, and, over time, amassed a small following. The HTEAH hashtag grew (almost all the videos on it were are still are my own), and I was thrilled that people were hearing about my book.

At the time of writing this, the hashtag has over two million views, and I can directly trace over 1,000 individual sales/preorders of my book to TikTok and TikTok alone.

Here’s the price I paid: My girlfriend has watched my mental health slowly deteriorate over this time. She’s seen me quit writing to focus on promoting this book, for the small chance that, I don’t know, someone might care. And now some people do! Hooray.

I spent nine months promoting a book to get it to the sales that it might’ve gotten if my publisher had supported it. Or maybe not — I have no way of knowing. All I know is that if I hadn’t posted about the book on TikTok, you wouldn’t be reading this. It wouldn’t have gotten on the Indie Bestseller list. It wouldn’t have made the Indie Next list. It wouldn’t be a book box pick.

And I wouldn’t be so burnt out I can barely get up from the couch. I wouldn’t be depressed from staring at my phone all day.

Maybe if I hadn’t done all this, I’d be able to write again, to turn in work on time. To live each day without the fear that I’m not doing enough because if I don’t post a TikTok my book will sell horribly like my last one and then that’s it, I’ll be a failed author before my 25th birthday.

What a healthy mindset, huh?

So sure, if you post consistently on TikTok for nine months before your book comes out, enough people will buy your book that you might make it onto a list. But please, I beg of you, don’t. If your publisher doesn’t support you enough to give you marketing, don’t do it yourself. You cannot be an entire team. You cannot be your own publicist.

I am one person. And now I’m done.

Anyway, you can buy my book at excavateyourheart.com and you cannot find me on social media anymore (except maybe tumblr apparently). Stream Loneliest Time by CRJ.

#sorry everyone

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somemydayy · 2 years

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Diluc is madly in love with a maid at his estate

Warning: suggestive, Uniform fetishism (maid fetish), alcohol consumption, and Diluc being a bit of a simp and Kaeya being a flirtatious idiot

— At first Diluc tried to resist the way you looked in your maid outfit, the way your knee length socks laid across your legs and up your thighs, the way your hips swayed as you reached for a document at the top of his book shelve in his office, the way you spoke in a elegant manner as you exclamation about the high rise in profits for the young master. Unlike anyone else, diluc became entranced with just a single look, a simple whiff of your dandelion perfume, the slick cast of a crimson fire cast across your cheeks as you proudly proclaimed the rise within this week’s sales of wine.

— Many knew of the beautiful handmaiden always at the vineyard owner’s side. Praise and admiration adorned the citizens of the city of freedom when they would see her about. Picking up documents for the young master, busy buying ingredients for dinner, or other nicknacks she fancied. She was beautiful. Blessed by the archons with wisdom, grace and of course beauty. Unknown to many, the stoic and cold diluc would always break out in a scorching crimson almost as vibrant and furious as his locks of his hair whenever he saw you.

— The young Master of the Ragnvindr family had many secrets, but the most dangerous one was of how he came to harbor feelings toward you. The way you would smile at him, and the gleeful laugh you would let out around the other servants, but most of all the feel of your body pressed up against his when he caught you as you fell from the ladder as you cleaned the top shelve of his studies’ bookcase.

— It was after that particular insistent that he dreamed of bending your delicate body over his desk and pounding in between your legs as you loudly proclaimed him as the only man you knew could ever be capable of satisfying you, and stuffing your dripping hole full with his seed.

— He was beside himself with guilt, plus all the unholy thoughts of, and towards you. And it didn’t get any better when his brother would come over unannounced. He would often feel his chest restrict in scorching heat as he would hear you offer Kaeya tea or coffee only to have the said male ruffle his fingers within his hair as the dubious man proclaimed to want to enjoy some wine with a obnoxious laugh. The endless hours of Kaeya prolonging his visit was horrendous and very painful for the crimson haired man. As if taunting him, he would often complement you with a cheeky grin.

— His brother, Kaeya often visited the estate and would converse with the beautiful maiden, going as far as proclaiming that his brother was one awful bastard to keep you shut away at the manor away from wondering eyes, almost as if holding a princess captive. Kaeya would only let out a mischievous chuckle as you would turn a blushing mess, and simply state you served your master with much consideration and admiration for it was your upmost duty. For Kaeya knew, you perceived the master diluc as you so proudly proclaimed a wonderful person. But who was he to not have a little fun, he thoroughly enjoyed the look of murderous intent behind his brother’s gaze of fiery.

— But on more than one occasion it wasn’t just Kaeya but the various visitors from afar who would stop to have a drink at his bar or visit the vineyard that would often irked him to no end. The way, those merchants would speak with lewd innuendos, and tauntingly stick out their disgusting hands to try to graze your behind as you served tables. It disgusted him to his core, and so on more than various occasions did he make you stay behind the bar counter while he waitered the bar’s tables. It his way of protecting you, it was mostly for his peace of mind though. But your safety was of the upmost importance, and even if he didn’t like it he would often then not ask Kaeya to look after you when he went out of town on business.

— And if he caught word of anyone else making a pass at you while he was gone, may the archons have mercy on them. For they were in for a word of pain once he returned.

— Diluc might have a bit of a obsession with the newest hire at his estate. The pang in his chest, his sweaty palms, and the words caught in his throat but especially his clouded mind maybe it’s the weather? It’s the weather he proudly proclaimed even if he obviously knew otherwise.

#drabble #image #scenario #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact diluc #diluc ragnivindr x reader #master diluc #master diluc x reader #maid outfit #maid x diluc

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misiwrites · 1 year

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Mayblade Day 4

[previous: chapter 1 & 2 | chapter 3]

CHAPTER 4 prompt: sci-fi characters: hiromi, emily, ayaka, kyouju, max, mao pairings: ---

Just to please Emily, Hiromi had agreed to go check out the tennis club. She made no promises of joining, but they headed out to the courts together nevertheless. For being a relatively small school, Bey High had a surprisingly extensive sports park, and the club catalogue boasted everything from cycling to swimming and indoor surfing, somehow.

In the course of one afternoon of following her friend around, Hiromi had been introduced to Emily’s acquaintances in the baseball, basketball, and football clubs, all of whom felt it necessary to give her a robust sales pitch about their respective sports and club activities (each of which was the best, according to them). She’d done a bit of basketball in middle school but certainly didn’t have the confidence to jump in to play with the likes of Eddy and Rick – there was no separate team for girls, as there were none in their club – so she let them all politely know she wasn’t interested.

“How do you know all those guys, anyway?” she asked once she and Emily were back at the tennis courts. “I didn’t know you’re the type to hang out with… well… jocks like that.”

“We’re all in the enhancement program. We usually hang out when the tests are being taken.”

“Oh, that weird science stuff?”

Emily shot her a dangerous look. “It’s not weird! It’s very good. We get a lot of useful information out of it. The program has already helped me improve my training habits.”

Hiromi vividly remembered Emily herself calling it weird, back when the physics professor had pitched the state-funded, science-based enhancement program in the beginning of the semester. The name alone was fishy as hell.

“Are you sure you’re not on track to steroids or something?” she asked.

“Oh please, we’re not doing drugs or anything,” Emily huffed. “It’s about collecting performance data. I would trust Mrs. Judy with my life – she’s a remarkable scientist.”

Emily rarely praised the teaching staff, so this was borderline alarming behavior from her. Hiromi side-eyed the ginger but said nothing more.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. With the void in her daily life left by the astrology club, Hiromi ended up taking Ayaka’s offer to go check out the engineering club.

Having witnessed the sports club facilities and now this, she had to admit that Emily had been on to something with her hints about their lack of proper clubbing spaces. The engineering club operated in the electronics laboratory and had full access to all its resources, resulting in the room looking like the research floor of some hi-tech facility. Hiromi hadn’t had any idea the other clubs had such lavish surroundings.

The members present were working in pairs by the lab tables. One pair, Hiromi recognized as friends of Salima and Kane, a couple of boys from 1-B whose names she’d never bothered to catch. The other pair, in the very back of the room, also had familiar voices that she couldn’t quite place as she walked closer, following in Ayaka’s footsteps.

“And these two are the real sci-fi boys,” Ayaka presented. “I don’t know what they think they’re making, but it sure is something.”

So it seemed; the lab table was littered with equipment and evidently 3D printed mockups that Hiromi couldn’t even begin to describe, as well as three computer screens flashing with graphs, code editors, and something that had to do with the measurement equipment plugged in with half a dozen cables crisscrossing across the table. They really were actually creating something, not just sitting around reading books like she’d been doing all semester.

The boys – who even wore lab coats, for immersion, she assumed – were roused out of focus by Ayaka’s announcement and wheeled around in their chairs to look at their interrupters. It was only then, Hiromi realized, that she’d seen these people around because they were Takao’s friends; the shorter one who now lifted his enormous, round glasses to his forehead, Saien Manabu who didn’t live too many blocks away from her house; and the other, a blond boy with a thoroughly goofy face and a pale nose covered in freckles, turned to study Hiromi with curiosity.

“Hey there,” the blond gave a cheery greeting. “Another friend of Aya?”

Hiromi, troubled as to how exactly answer this, was saved by Ayaka: “Tachibana came to take a look at our club. Now’s your chance to give the pitch of your life and get someone uninterested to join, Max.”

“Well, I’m not going to force anyone, if she really isn’t interested. I’m Max and that’s Professor.” He nodded at the shorter boy.

“You are in Takao’s class, are you not?” Manabu – or, apparently, Professor – immediately surveyed.

“Um, yes I am. So what are you working on? Looks complex.” She was eager to not let the conversation steer towards him.

“Oh, just a little something… It is for an innovation contest so we cannot reveal too much.”

“Don’t want anybody stealing our secrets,” Max added with a finger over his goofy mouth.

All the parts were out in the open here, though. Not that they made much sense to Hiromi like this, scattered across the table; there were several octagon-shaped pieces with a hole in the middle, as if frames to something. Judging by the breadboard and electronics measurement equipment, they were working on something powered by electricity.

“Are you looking for a club to join?” Professor then inquired. For such a tiny guy, he had an awfully mature and formal appearance, sporting a shirt-and-tie attire under the oversized lab coat.

“Not really… or, kind of.” Was she? She could as well have been.

“If you like comics or games more than building things, I am the president of a couple of those. They are very laid-back clubs, you can come over to read or play something as you wish, if you join that is.”

“Thanks…” She did like some comics and games… but the idea of going to a clubroom to do one among strangers instead of in the safety of her own room, not so much.

Hiromi did give it a minute of serious consideration, however, until a shouting voice cut right through her train of thought and left her perplexed.

“Aaaaayyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Something very pink had just emerged into the electronics lab. A girl with bright pink hair and baby pink clothes barreled herself in Ayaka’s direction, which also happened to be Hiromi’s general direction.

“You’re early,” Ayaka commented, her cool demeanor the opposite of this bubblegum pink burst of energy.

“Hi, Mao,” Max greeted the new girl, though with more politeness than cheer, Hiromi noted. Professor had slipped his glasses back on and was back to work already in silence.

“Hi, mayo boy. Eh, I’m like, ten minutes early – so what? I can see you’re not doing anything, anyway.”

“I was showing our club to Tachibana.” Ayaka gestured at Hiromi, and she was quickly beginning to feel like a test subject presented to each human in turns. “She’s looking for one to join.”

“Please, just call me Hiromi,” she managed to rectify, finally.

Mao gave her a scrutinizing look from head to toe. Or, at least, it felt scrutinizing to Hiromi, who felt so very plain compared to this eccentric girl with a cat ear hairtie in her head. “I see! So, you thinking of joining the engineering club?”

“Erm… Probably not. I don’t think this is my thing…”

“Well, if you wanna try something completely different, I’m in the wushu club.” Mao must have noted the thinly veiled horror on Hiromi’s face, for she added: “Oh, don’t worry, there’re no requirements for joining – if you’re a total beginner, we’ll teach you the basics of whatever art interests you. It’s fun! And you’ll learn it fast, I promise. Anyway, Aya, I’m starving! Let’s get going already!”

With that, the pink whirlwind grabbed the short-haired girl, and then they were both gone.

#mayblade #mayblade 2023 #my writing #fic update

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brianbrianbrain · 4 months

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hi hi i'm 君たちはどう生きるか posting again! anyways this is mostly plugging the book (to myself also because i haven't read it yet, haha) by going through cool facts on Wikipedia.

following IDs are all screenshots of text from the Wikipedia article for How Do You Live?

ID. After the conclusion of World War II, the book underwent several changes such as vocabulary and was republished in 1945 by Mira-sha Publishers.[5] In practice, that meant removing mentions of imperialism, criticism of capitalism, unpatriotic behaviour, and references to the problems of class.[6] The English translation from 2021 is based on the original. End ID.

idk about you but nothing excites me more than when i get to read something that they wanted to remove "mentions of imperialism, criticism of capitalism, unpatriotic behaviour, and references to the problems of class" from.

ID. This book is one of the "Nihon Shoukokumin Bunko" series that intended to convey knowledge and ideas of free and progressive culture to school children in Japan (Shoukokumin literally means younger citizens). However, many of the works were discouraged by the rise of Japanese militarism in 1930s.[5]

Political scientist Masao Maruyama praised the composition in which a child named Koperu observes reality and naturally portrays the process of discovering various things. He also commends how this complements the main character's discoveries, which are conveyed in the form of letters from the child's uncle. Moreover, the question "How Do You Live?" which is also the title of this book is not only the ethical problem of "how to live", but also about the kind of social scientific awareness to live. It is evaluating the problem of existing.[9]

According to author Yoshino Genzaburō, How Do You Live? was not originally conceived as a literary work, but was intended as a book on ethics. However, according to Takada Riko, this book is also a liberal arts theory written for students of former junior high school during the height of culturalism. Takada focused on the privileged family environment and the "high" social class of the heroes. Those were drawn by the author, who was inspired by the people during his time at Takashi Associated Junior High School (now a high school attached to the University of Tsukuba). He mentioned that this book is intended to resonate with educated boys, which, during that era, was a limited number of privileged citizens.[10]. End ID.

very fancy, very cool. free and progressive culture!! idk what culturalism is lol. evidently Miyazaki was also writing from the "privileged family environment."

ID. Legacy: The novel appears in one of the scenes of the Studio Ghibli animated film also titled How Do You Live?, but titled internationally as The Boy and the Heron (2023). Although the novel appears in-universe and serves as a major plot point, the film is otherwise not connected to the novel and is not an adaptation.[13] The release of the film led to increased sales and reprints of the book in Japan. It was sold in large quantities in the Mercari marketplace app. Iwanami Shoten announced that the total circulation of the book reached 1.8 million copies, making it the number one book on Iwanami Bunko.[14] End ID.

i've heard that obviously the plots are very different but that there are still tons of parallels! definitely not expecting a straight adaptation, they are in very different settings and mediums.

other random thoughts: i should learn japanese lol. and read the original original. fuck hey where do i find this anyways. idk i'll figure it out. do you think the library has this

ok but yes i'm genuinely considering... i got a calendar in mandarin from my mom for christmas... i should brush up my mandarin + my spanish by doing translations... start learning japanese and practice with more translations... to round it out to 5 languages i should also get on russian like i said i would a while ago... i do know the korean alphabet but i can't do the words...

#book recs #reminder to finish the rb of other random thoughts #君たちはどう生きるか #ghibli #the boy and the heron #how do you live #image described

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anti-katsuki-lounge · 1 year

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MHA came to be because of the events made in the past decade that made it popular. MHA become popular because it was a Japanese version of the Superhero genre that was lighthearted with some serious moments. What really helped was that the Superhero genre was becoming popular due to the yearly Marvel movies that were kinda lighter in tone and not as gritty as the Superman and Batman movies in the 00s. Likewise, during these these prior to the Marvel movie series that we got a lot of now, the most popular superhero genre that I can like of are X-Men, Batman and Justice League cartoon series, all of which are of American origin. The general tone of superheroes of the time were dark and realistic but not enough light-toned stories that you can shut your brain off.

MHA is in the Goldilocks zone of being in a Superhero genre that isn't too lighthearted but also not too gritty and edgy. It being a Shounen series means that it can appeal to all ages like Naruto and One Piece in the past. It being of Japanese origin instead of American origin made it exotic for its foreign origin, and manga sales were going to overtake Comic book sales. Yes, it is a high school series like X-Men, but there isn't any need to angst about secret identities and the problems of being a minority that would face death. It's a everyone gets superpowers and how potentially a superhero society comes from it.

Looking dark is very cool but actually thinking about it is too much on the brain that wants to sleep. It's probably the reason why people complain about the simple good vs evil and coming-of-age stories for being too simple and praised complicated stories despite that the writing is bad to is too hard to get into. Yes, Horikoshi does have his bad and good moments in MHA, like Bakugo's plot armor, but I don't think it shouldn't detract the fact that on the surface level, it's easy and pleasing to the eye to understand. It's a basic coming of age story in a Superhero genre that has both serious and lighthearted points in a teenager setting instead of being filled with angst all of the time.

Pretty much all of this. MHA’s popularity is due to the story checking all the right boxes for such a story to be popular. It’s a superhero story so it’s going to attract those who love superheroes. It’s an anime/manga that’s published by Shonan Jump, so it’s going to attract fans of both. Its story is easy to digest yet aims to tackle problems people can relate to (coming of age, corruption in the government/those in power, etc.), which has a huge audience. The story sits in an area where it gets dark, but isn’t a complete slog fest of angst and depression like Batman vs Superman. It’s got enough goofy, flashy fun that you can turn off your brain but it also asks you to think as well, making it accessible to both types of people.

Now, one can definitely argue that MHA may check these boxes, but doesn’t do so well, which I completely agree with. The story’s tone is inconsistent between being needlessly edgy and just plain dumb, the fact that its writing flaws are super noticeable once you think about them, and how there are so many lose ends and missed potential in terms of character.

The thing is though that MHA is still ultimately very accessible to an insane range of people and makes a very good impression on people from the get-go. Sure, you’ve got Katsuki’s character that you still have to deal with, but when you get things like Izuku punching out the Zero Pointer, All Might’s fight against the Nomu, Izuku vs Shoto, and the entire Stain Arc, you find it easy to overlook the flaws and allow the story to take you places. When I first got into MHA, I was willing to overlook Katsuki’s character just because of how much I loved the moments I spoke about more. Yes, Katsuki was annoying af, but I wasn’t thinking about MHA critically because on the surface level it ticked all the boxes of things I was interested in (superheroes, coming of age story, anime/manga). Sadly when Katsuki pushed himself to the forefront during Kacchan vs Deku 2, that’s when I had my first real instance of “what the fuck is going on” that caused me to look back at things with a more critical eye and realize how flawed the writing is. Then after the Culture Festival Arc the writing took a nosedive which made it harder to simply enjoy it.

In conclusion, MHA ticks all the right boxes for attracting audiences and has a very solid beginning, which is why it’s so insanely popular to this day. It also appeals to teenagers, which is a target audience that is very impressionable and will stick with something if they like it. It may not be written well, but its popularity is understandable given the climate of today’s entertainment industry.

#mha critical

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rainbowbarnacle · 6 months

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Ooooh I got tagged! :D

Relation Status: In a LDR with the wonderful @mercurialmalcontent. <3

Favorite Color: ALL OF THEM. But lately I've been wearing lots of purples and oranges and yellows.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Sweets: chocolate, red bean paste, apple-based pastries, and anything with poppyseeds. Spicy: I like it! Spicy coconut soups and eggs with hot sauce and spicyhot v8 juice and warming extra-gingery chais. Savory: yes pleeease, I am particularly fond of miso soup, lox, peppered beef jerky, and anything with mushrooms in it for savory things.

Three ships:

oh gooood just three?

Karlach and Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3. I'm digging the dynamic of Touch Starved Tiefling and Touched Out Vampire Figure Stuff Out Together. There is something so lovely about someone just flat out, unquestionably ADORING someone who has spent 200 years spouting so much automatic false praise at people that any compliment directed at him sounds like a lie. I don't care if they're friends or lovers or married, all of it is good, just please let these two hang out, they are hilarious and wonderful together.

Roland Deschain and Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns from the Dark Tower. Friends, lovers, both, everything rocks. They are traumatized cowboys who grew up in a constantly changing eldritch hellscape together and they can still joke around and they know each other so perfectly and I love them. Could they just all travel to New York so I can watch them lose their minds the first time they eat at a buffet restaurant, thankee-sai.

Ryne and Gaia from FFXIV. These two have been through so much horror and I just want them to be happy together. At first glance it's Hopelessly Cheerful Optimist beaming happy rays at the Snooty Goth Who's Learning To Smile Sometimes, but occasionally you get little scenes where Gaia perks Ryne up like high quality coffee. <3

First ever ship:

I dunno, I didn't really come up with ships on my own for a really long time--I just kinda went with what was there. I remember eventually learning how to do otherwise, I just don't remember who it was.

Last Song:

youtube

Last Film: I thiiiink it was One Piece Film: Red? Either way, WHAT A WILD RIDE, I think it might be my favorite One Piece film. A pop diva with creation magic covers up MASSIVE TRAUMA with glittery rainbow everythings, WHOO <3 Also, a banging soundtrack.

Last thing I Googled: The One Piece Film: Red trailer

Currently Reading: NOTHING. :O But that's only because I just finished editing someone's novel and my brain needs a rest.

Currently Watching: Rurouni Kenshin! I'm digging it a lot so far--I can tell the current voice actor admires the voice actor from the original series a lot. <3

Currently Consuming: Nothing yet. I drank all the cold brew coffee and now I have no cold brew coffee. :(

Currently Craving: Coffee. And these chickpea burrito things I found on sale, I should have bought twelve more.

Currently Working On: That Thing I did for Nano, a FFXIV fic and a Baldur's Gate fic

Current Obsession(s): Baldur's Gate 3, FFXIV, One Piece, that book I edited a few days ago (IT'S REALLY GOOD)

Aaaand all done, phew! Thank you for tagging me, that was fun! I tag: anybody else who wants to.

#Youtube

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writingquestionsanswered · 2 years

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Thoughts on Experience and Being an Author

I don't want to spend too much mental energy on this today, but there are some things in Anon's diatribe that I think are worth looking at more closely.

"I'm not sure how qualified you are to give out advice on these things when you're only a self-published writer of like one book."

Imagine walking into a painter's studio, seeing easel after easel of painted canvases, seeing them leaning against the walls, seeing years worth of paint covering a floor tarp, and years worth of dried paint layering old paint pallets, and then telling them they don't know anything about painting because they've only ever sold one piece of their art.

Experience and knowledge aren't gained through publication or sale of your work, but through the years of effort put into learning your craft. I've been writing fiction since I was in grade school, but I've been writing it seriously (as in with the intention of entertaining others) since I was in high-school, so more than 30 years. And in that time I've written fan-fiction for numerous shows, countless original short stories, stories for writing classes and workshops, stories for contests and collections, lots of bad poetry (mostly when I was younger), and several as-of-yet unpublished novels. I've collaborated with other writers. My work has been read and received feedback from others (alpha readers, beta readers, critique partners, writing groups, sensitivity readers, other writers, editors, and readers.) I've alpha read, beta read, and critiqued others' work. I have and still have longtime critique partners. Many years after it was published, people still tell me how much they enjoyed my book.

"How are people supposed to take advice from you about their writing seriously if your own writing barely gets any attention or praise?"

If you're self-published, you know that book marketing is hard. After an initial push when my book launched, I opted not to worry too much about it. Still, my book has been read and enjoyed by dozens and dozens of people, which is good enough for me. But, like I said, my book isn't the only thing I've written. My writing has received lots of praise from lots of different people, some of them professionals. The writing I've chosen to share has received more attention than I ever dreamed possible, and I'm pretty happy with that.

"You're giving tips about an industry you're not even apart of."

Being part of the publishing industry is about more than churning out books. Yes, I only have one published book, but I'm working on publishing another one. I'm a member of a globally recognized organization for independent writers, I stay relatively up-to-date on industry news--both in terms of self-publishing and traditional publishing, I am active in promoting books written by fellow indie authors, I'm active in reading and reviewing books written by other authors, I help writer friends with publication--including helping them write query letters, blurbs, and giving them pep talks when they feel frustrated or ready to give up. I'm an active member in several writing communities. I've run a writing advice blog for almost 10 years that has 10k followers, including followers who have gone on to both self-publish and traditionally publish.

"There's a difference between being a writer and actually being an author."

You're right! Being a writer means that you write. Being an author means that you're published. I have one published book, a published zine story, and a few published articles. That's what makes me an author. :)

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bcacstuff · 2 years

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A well known VF article exposed the scam behind the NYT best sellers rankings. Numbers are inflated and bought by publishers often with unchecked and over reported bulk sales. Do not believe for a second Sam's book made it that high with the current competition of releases in the non-fiction, biography and memoir section, even with mommies purchasing multiple copies. Bookshops may have ordered in large bulk, without person to person sakes yet, to made it appear as sales are high

Everyone knows the term 'bestseller' has been invented by marketeers to advertise a product! I remember the Dutch author Rutger Bregman was once praised in a Dutch talkshow for being a NYT bestseller author (twice). He laughed and said; 'it doesn't take much to have your book on the NYT bestseller list. The percentage of book readers in the US is very low, you don't have to sell that many copies to get on the list'.

Anyway, bestseller or not, it's not going to convince me to buy a book, any book (same as with the multiple award winning booze). I'll still read the book flap or the sample pages in apple books to decide if I'm interested and want to buy a book to read. I said already a number of times how I couldn't get past chapter 2 of CL, and I read the sample pages of CLA but was turned off quickly. Didn't even read all the sample pages. Main cause, the constant booze talk, all the time making it sound as if it is cool to get drunk, pissed, wasted and having a hangover. Not my jam, bestseller or not!

We used to have an early evening talkshow here in the Netherlands that had a monthly item called 'the book table'. They invited a number of bookshop owners who all brought their 'book of the month'. They all got a set time to tell about the book, what it is about and what made it stand out for them. One of the books was always chosen to present in an animation created by a student of an art academy. At the end of the show the final 'book of the month' was chosen out of all the books that were presented.

I loved that way to learn about books, always watched it. Sadly it doesn't exist anymore, but to me it was one of the items of the talkshow that always was interesting and informative in a good way.

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m1d-45 · 1 year

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ALL OF UR "DERAILS" ARE COMPLETE GOLD IN MY EYES, I LOVE UR THOUGHTS AN IDEAS ABOUT THIS AU DONT EVER APOLOGIZE KING

and omg what u wrote about the corrupted!archons with their limited control and how they hold themself back how their mind and body are disconnected and how they want more of your light but the opacity is down and it feels like their wandering complete darkness with only alternate!creator

I also read this as the alternate creater is reader alternative btw

who do u think in this scenario would help the reader out, if where imagining this as an imposter reader scenario. I like to think that the wanderer or tighnari or maybe Lisa bc id feel like she'd read her books to figure out what's wrong with alternate!creator or why she feels like somethings off (thinking about that maybe alhaitham & cyno too)

speaking about this au, WHAT ABOUT THE TRAVELER AND PAIMON? I mean their the prime vessel so would they be fooled too? or would they help us? is this like a completely worse case scenario with no way out or is their any hope of saving teyvat and it's people?

- 🍄 (I'm sorry if I'm sending too much asks btw, also @ teddy anon sorry for taking ur prompt and running with it, I hope u get back here and talk more with us. also midas your ideas/writings are literally liquid gold their so good pls don't ever apologize for taking inspiration and thinking, I love everything you have brought into this conversation)

1) never apologize for sending asks this is the most fun i’ve had all week 2) rip teddy anon hope you enjoy how we’ve taken it 3) i will always apologize for thinking, it’s kinda my brand /hj

anyway:

i think that, as i said at… some point- that it depends on the fundamentals of the persons faith, at least in this au.

people like cyno, alhaitham, rosaria, candace….. maybe collei but definitely tighnari (don’t ask why there’s so many sumeru characters) are all people i can see praising and praying for the actions of their god. people who pray for the results and not the process, and people i think would be freest of the corruption and most likely to help the reader.

on the flip side, barbara, jean, nahida, and notably keqing would be lore susceptible. they pray for more direct things? almost? idk how to describe it but like- they’re more “please grant us wisdom” or “allow us the strength” or anything that directly relies on the alternate!god, and hence opening their heart to the alternates.

like i… i can’t put it into words quite well, but like- ningguang is one who prays for profits, ganyu is the one who prays for divine guidance, you know? and hence ganyu would fall quicker.

it’s obviously a spectrum, but those closer to the first groups side are more likely to break through and help the reader.

i think…. not solely for plot reasons, but definitely influenced enough by them that i’m mentioning it… kaeya falls solidly in the second group, whilst diluc is firmly in the first.

diluc is the one that prays for a good harvest, for high sales, for the patience to deal with the damned hard in his tavern. kaeya prays for strategic wisdom, for their guidance, for answers when he’s lost and confused and the acting grand master isn’t behaving like she should.

..hopefully that made at least some sense. i’m kinda just wingin it here.

re: the traveller…. i honestly think they’d be treated the same as the archons. if the archons are corrupted, they will be too if the archons are replaced, they will be too. due to the traveller’s relationship with both the archons and the creator, i think the alternate!creator’s hand is a bit forced there. same can be extended to paimon BUT you could have paimon escape since she can pop into a different dimension. and/or they can both live in the teapot as like. vigilantes. idk.

i think that if this were to be written (100% by somebody more knowledgeable about the catalogue than i am) then a pov from one of the archons would be incredibly necessary. either to showcase the sheer power the alternates hold, that they have replaced literal gods, or to shed light on why the archons act as they do, and maybe influence the reader(meta reader, not character reader) and their opinion on them. seeing a blank slate suddenly become full of life at the sight of their savior…. or the archons trapped in some cell, chained down and miserable, lamenting over their mistakes. how foolish they were to trust the one with eyes colder than iron and a grip nearly as strong. how foolish to pray when their soul cried to stop. how foolish, how foolish, how foolish.

and as they sit, maybe one of them begins to pray, unwillingly feeding into the beast that trapped them there.

“o holy creator, maker of light and extinguisher of darkness, the foundation of the earth… please, deliver us from this evil.”

the false god smiles.

WAIT WAIT WAIT ME FROM THE FUTURE HERE:

ADAM DIDNT KNOW HE WAS AN ALTERNATE.

WHAT IF THE FALSE GOD DOESNT KNOW EITHER?

#m1d : [chats]#m1d : [secrets]#🍄 anon #alternate!au #re: point three: i ramble so much without meaning to that i have no idea if i completely ignored some big point or implication you made.#that’s what that was meant to be. btw. just. so you knew.

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