#authors are evil

[mer-acle]

Me: opens google

MC: please don't

Me: "does drawing blood leave scars"

MC: why would you even want to know that

Me: finds out that repeatedly drawing blood can indeed leave scars

MC: please keep that information away from my veins

Me: typing

MC: stop it

Me: it's perfect

MC: I want you ded even more than the villain

Me: that's two of us. I can offer you to use the torment I just invented for you as comeuppance against the villain in the final fight.

MC:

MC: okay fine

#author #writing #just stab me now #fake quotes #authors are evil #humor

[witchcraftandgeekness]

#kai parker #tvd #meme #authors be like #books #authors are evil #why is this always has to be my favourite character? #favourite character

[secondhandcrazy]

I want to shove my fist into a block of concrete oh my god I fucking love SHELTER.

#shelter webtoon #shelter #wufargia #the best webtoon ever #im so mad #authors are evil #but i am one #the new early access episode is so good #scarlet conlan slander #brock rashn slander #amelie espoir slander #ruka my beloved

[shoezuki]

Guys holy shit there's something going on w SCP shit I just found out thru the reddit scp sub and I'm losing my mind so much I need to report on this OK like.

So there are joke scps. If u don't know. That are jokes. Usually digs at common tropes on scps like the rock that makes u procrastinate is probably the most famous joke scp. Or the one I can't find rn where the researchers in the article are critiquing the scp item for being too tropey.

But. There's a new joke scp. SCP-021-J. It was posted yesterday and it's fighting for its fucking life. It has been slingshotting between bein rated -5 to +12 this whole time. The discussion on it is wild people fucking hate it or love it. Hard-core scp ppl are goin on paragraphs bout how it's not funny, its not even anything it's jus the worst of 'lol random' internet humour. And then there's the enjoyers who are jus like 'lol mfer can't handle it'

And all it is. Is evil water bottle.

This is it. The entire article. Evil :(

And ppl are LOSING IT. the discussion is full of ppl talkin like this is a sign and example of how the scp site has fallen so far, that scps are all shit now and things like this are taking away from Actually Good Scps. That it's disgusting and horrible. Like genuinely here's one dude calling it actually problematic

And this battle in the forum is genuinely the funniest thing bout this article like this exchange shows it perfectly

#i upvoted it i want this thing to live #SCP #mfers cant handle EVIL WATER BOTTLE #also the author has said fuck all bout it which is funnier to me. theres no meaning here. evil :(

[hylianengineer]

A aromantic prince has been turned into a frog

It's a curse only true love can break

So he spends months trying to fall in love, trying to stop being who he is because god dammit he's not a frog either!

After yet another unsuccessful date, he begins to despair for his future which is looking more amphibious by the minute.

A loud noise disturbs his brooding as something comes crashing through the undergrowth. He's barely gotten his little froggy feet underneath him before a tiny (but still quite big if you're a frog!) hand is scooping him into the air.

A little kid sees the frog on the grass.

They grab it before he has the chance to protest and kiss him square on his slimy little head.

He transforms back into a very confused human.

No, this is not a Renesme moment, gross. Not romantic love or even friendship, just the blind joy of a kid who thinks frogs are super cool. The child loves every amphibian she's ever set eyes on, but that doesn't make it any less real. And she grows up to be a biologist who studies frogs, because of course she does. The prince pays her tuition as thanks for returning him to his proper form. She was like 4 years old at the time and doesn't even remember the frog incident - there's just some random rich dude paying for her college because of something she doesn't remember, but she's not complaining because grad school is expensive as heck.

#happy evil author day have this really old ficlet i wrote #hylian writes #hylian writes original work #evil author day #evil author day 2024 #aromantic #aromantic character #aromantic fairytale

[chuuyanakaahara]

i will personally never forgive yenpress for botching the translation because now it's impossible to find chuuya / dazai / yosano takes that do not start with "first off, mori sucks and he's a predator"

mori is the don of the port mafia and has committed several war crimes, but not those ones. yell at him and hate him for the severe psychological manipulation of yosano & for dazai joining the mafia n being his witness. you know, the things he did.

#cherri.txt #please please i just want to see chuuya takes that do not have to do with 'mori is the greatest evil in the bsd 'verse' #because he is Not. #and i genuinely do not think that asagiri would write a well-respected author who had a close relationship w irl yosano as a #child predator. that'd be so disrespectful and these are influential authors. #and i think that mori's character is Meant to be confusing and a little uncomfortable bc guess #what book got banned because of what it explored? vita sexualis! the book that mori's ability is named after! #hate my dude but for What He Did #bsd #bungou stray dogs #mori ougai

[frances-and-the-moon]

I put together some ao3 tags that I found here and the last one omg

#ao3 #ao3 tags #authors #writing #archive of our own #now I want these works for beyond evil #beyond evil #jwds #gahan #the devil judge #evilive #the worst of evil #the merciless #strangers from hell #merciless evil devil from hell #homoerotic antagonism #made by me

[alxndryngs]

A Day Off

A/N: Since I am in desperate need of comfort/fluff, I came up with this. Enjoy!

———

Alcina’s favourite maid has a bad day.

———

Alcina, sitting in her atelier, was focused on her newest art piece. She only recently had gotten back into painting, and upon her new oil paints arriving, she had pushed work aside for once and hid away in her art room.

She even asked for her daughters to stay by themselves for the day, and put Bela in charge. Alcina wanted to dedicate herself to the work in process fully, without distractions.

The smell of fresh paint and sounds of birds chirping outside had fully consumed her, and hours passed without her noticing.

It was only when the feeling of hunger clawed at her throat that she noticed how much time had passed. Alcina called out, loud enough for the maids to hear.

“Yes, my lady.” Ingrid asked upon entering, her hands folded behind her back.

“Let y/n know I’m in desperate need of a glass of wine, and perhaps a small snack. She’ll know what to make me.”

Y/n had been her personal maid for almost three years at this point, having proven herself more than capable and worthy. Alcina took a liking to the girl, despite her wanting to admit it. She acted with grace, was humble and kind. Everything Alcina thought she herself was not, despite acting with grace.

The maid had left soon after, nodding before dismissal.

“Thank you, my-“ Alcina’s words ceased once her head turned and she was met by the image of Helena, and not y/n. “I asked for y/n, if I’m not mistaken.” Her tone now had a sharp edge to it, already feeling the annoyance bubbling up inside of her.

“Yes, my lady, I’m aware. But I was available, y/n isn’t feeling well today.”

Alcina paused, the paint covered brush slowly being lowered before placed down. It had surprised her that her little maid was feeling ill. In the years y/n had worked at the castle she might have fallen ill three times in total. Nothing could shake her, not even the freezing temperatures of the winter. Instead of freezing and sitting in front of her fireplace, she insisted on Alcina’s daughters receiving her firewood. ‘She didn’t need it’ she said.

“Well, send her the castle nurse. She will fix a remedy for whatever it is that is causing her to feel ill.” Alcina nodded, convinced this idea would be the solution. As the maid stood still, her mouth opening and closing to fish for an answer, Alcina snapped.

“Stop gawking at me like a dying bubble eye fish and do as I said! What am I paying you for?”

The maids mouth now stood agape in fear, and she stuttered for an answer. “I’m- my lady. I’m ever so sorry. A remedy from the nurse won’t help her. She’s just.. not feeling well mentally today.”

The maid paused, then adding in a panicked tone. “I apologise. I’m not sure if I was allowed to share that with you, Lady Dimitre-“

“I’m your employer, you’ll share with me when you last bled if I wish for you to.” Alcina growled, now standing and pushing the maid aside as she left her atelier.

As she strut through the castle, an anxious feeling overcame her. Y/n had always been collected and happy, and it seemed out of order for her to put work on hold. She had seen people die and burn because of Alcina’s wrath. People burning and screaming, being gutted, and managed to sleep like a baby. It confused Alcina.

She had slowed once entering the hallway leading towards the maidens rooms. Her heels thudded against the carpet, ceasing once having approached y/n’s room.

“Y/n?” Alcina called out, waiting for a response before gently knocking on the door with her knuckle. “Y/n, darling. I’ve heard that-“

Alcina stopped herself as the door opened. She fought the smile threatening to spread across her lips when y/n looked back at her.

“My lady.” She greeted, the same smile as always on the girls lips.

Alcina stood confused, licking her lips to moist them before pushing a smile back.

“Do you need me to wash your dress?”

Alcina’s brows furrowed “Pardon?”

“Your dress, my lady. It’s covered in paint.”

Alcina didn’t bother looking down at herself. Instead she shook her head and began to lean down, moving to step into the room as y/n stepped back to allow her to.

“I heard you were ill.” The stutter in y/n’s heart didn’t miss her. Alcina turned to look at her, waiting until she had closed the door before speaking again, her tone softer this time.

“You have always been by my side, ever since you came to Castle Dimitrescu. You’ve listened to me rant about my incompetent brother, complain over my business and daughters. You even dried my tears and blood for me. It is my turn to return the favour, my dear. Sit, and speak to me. What’s causing your little heart to beat this way?”

Alcina lowered herself onto the bed as she spoke. Y/n wasn’t sure if she had ever seen the kindness in Alcina’s eyes like there was now. It was inviting, comforting.

She obeyed, taking a seat next to her lady. It didn’t take long for the words to pool out of her, and all of a sudden, she had displayed the world to Alcina. Every single one of her concerns and problems laid splayed out before her, for her to look at and judge.

But instead, Alcina remained silent the whole time. Not once had she budged in to ask a question, even though there were multiple that burned on the tip of her tongue.

For comfort, Alcina removed the cream coloured handkerchief from her pocket. The Dimitrescu sigil was stitched into the corner.

Carefully, she had dried the maids tears. Her large hand cupped her cheek, and with the other she dried her tears.

Y/n cried, her face flush because of it and the embarrassment of crying in front of someone like Alcina. A wave of guilt overcame her for so freely unloading her problems onto Alcina.

“I’m sorry, my lady. I shouldn’t have burdened you with my problems, I-“

“Shush.” Alcina snapped, her voice immediately softening after. For a moment she hesitated, but then gently pulled her into her lap. She had to lift her slightly to her height to give her a proper hug. Alcinas gloved fingers ran through her hair, holding her close enough to feel her heartbeat against her own chest.

“Don’t ever say that. You are not a burden, or burdening me by speaking about your feelings. Your feelings are more than valid, especially in topics like the ones you have shared with me just now. I am beyond proud that you shared your concerns. It takes courage to speak up about one’s concerns. And from what I can tell, this has bothered you for a long time.”

Alcina gently peeled the maid off of her, only enough so she could look at her. Y/n had leaned on her only after moments, quietly crying into the woman’s shoulder.

Her hands cupped her small face, and Alcina spoke quietly.

“I want you to know that I always will be someone you can trust, and confine in. I’m here, and I’m listening. Do you hear me?”

A small sob bubbled out of her, and she nodded. Y/n’s eyes closed as Alcina pressed the most gentle kiss to her forehead, letting it linger enough for both of them to have time to relish in it before pulling away.

Her lips had left behind a red mark which she would make sure to remove later on. But for now, she was returning the hug y/n had given her. She had thrown her arms around the older woman, holding on tight as her walls began to fully break down and crumble beneath them both.

Alcina closed her eyes, holding her close as she swayed them from side to side. Whispering sweet nothings calmed y/n after a few minutes, and Alcina made sure to show her appreciation of the girl for the rest of the day.

“I started a new art piece.. would you like to join me in the atelier for the rest of the day?” Alcina offered with a smile which intensified upon seeing y/n smile at the suggestion.

She wondered if the girl would notice that it was her Alcina was painting. Taking a stroll through the Dimitrescu garden at midnight, the moon shining down on her.

#alcina dimitrescu #resident evil #lady dimitrescu #ao3 author #ladydimitrescu #re8 lords #alcina dimitriscu x reader #alcina x reader #re8 #ao3fic #lady alcina dimitrescu #re8 alcina #alcina x female reader #lady alcina #resident evil alcina #alcina x y/n #alcina x maiden #re8 daniela #re8 oc #lady dimitrescu x reader #re village #resident evil village #resident evil 8 #fluff #comfort #Spotify

[lord-squiggletits]

I think the key component to my personal reading of post-Delphi Pharma is that he's trying to be a horrible person on purpose. Not "on purpose" in the way that people have free will to exercise their own choices, but in that Pharma's "mad doctor" persona is a performance he puts on to deliberately embrace how much everyone else hates him. Basically, if people already think you're a "bad Autobot" and a horrible doctor who just kills his patients for fun, why try to prove otherwise to people who have already made up their minds about you? Just fully embrace the fact that people see you as an asshole. Don't try to change their minds. Don't plead for their forgiveness or understanding. Just stop caring. If you're going to be remembered as a monster, you might as well be a memorable monster, and eke as much pleasure and hedonism as you can out of it before karma catches up to you and you inevitably crash and burn.

I mean, I guess you could just go the route of "Oh, Pharma was always a fucked up creepy guy and Delphi was just him taking the mask off," but I really don't like that interpretation because, for one, it feels really wrong to take a character like Pharma becoming evil under duress and going, "Oh well clearly he did the things he did because he was evil all along," as if somehow Pharma breaking under blackmail/torture/threat of horrible death was a sign of him having poor moral character. As opposed to, you know, suffering under the very real threat of horrible death for himself and everyone he cares about while being manipulated by a guy who specializes in psychological torture.

The second reason is that it just doesn't make sense to write Pharma as having been evil all along. I mean...

Occam's Razor says that the best argument is the one with the simplest explanation. Doesn't it make way more sense to take Pharma's appearances in flashbacks, his friendship with Ratchet, his stunning medical accomplishments, and the few we see of him speaking kindly/sympathetically (or in the least charitable interpretation, at least professionally) towards his patients and conclude "This guy was just a normal person, if exceptionally talented." Taking all of these flashback appearances at face value and assuming Pharma was being genuine/honest is a way simpler and more logical explanation than trying to argue that Pharma for the past 4 million years was just faking being a good doctor/person. I mean, it's possible within the realm of headcanon, but the fact is Pharma's appearances in the story are so brief that there simply wasn't room in the story for there to be some sort of secret conspiracy/hidden manipulation behind why Pharma acted the way he did in the past.

I just can't help but look at things like Pharma's friendship with Ratchet (himself a good person and usually a fine judge of character) and the fact that even post-Delphi, pretty much every single mention of Pharma comes with some mention of "He was a good doctor for most of his life" or "He was making major headways in research [before he started killing patients]" which implies that even the Autobots themselves see Pharma's villainy as a recent turn in his life compared to how for "most of his life" he "used to be" a good doctor.

And although Pharma doesn't know this, we as the readers (and even other characters like Rung) know about Aequitas technology and the fact that it actually works, so... if Pharma really was an unrepentant murderer, why couldn't he get through the forcefield too? The Aequitas forcefield doesn't require that a person be completely morally pure and free of wrongdoing or else how could Tyrest get through, just that they feel a sense of inner peace and lack feelings of guilt. Pharma has murdered and tortured people by this point, and put on quite a campy and theatrical show of how much he sees it as a fun game, so why then can he not get through?

It circles back to my headcanon at the start of this post that the "mad doctor" persona is just that-- a persona. Delphi/post-Delphi Pharma's laughing madman personality is just so far removed from every flashback we saw of him and everything we can infer based on how other people see/saw him before that, to me, the mad doctor act is (at least in large part, if not fully) a persona that Pharma puts on to put his villainy in the forefront.

To avoid an overly simplistic/ableist take, I don't think Tarn tortured Pharma into turning crazy. To me, it's more like the constant pressure of death by horrific torture, the feeling of martyrdom as Pharma kept secret that he was the only one standing between Delphi and annihilation, the physical isolation of Messatine as well as the emotional separation from Ratchet, being forced to violate his medical oaths (pretty much the only thing Pharma's entire life has been about), etc. All of that combined traumatized Pharma to the point that the only way he could avoid cracking was to just stop caring about all of it. Because at least then, even if he's still murdering patients to save Delphi from a group of sadistic freaks, Pharma doesn't have to feel guilty and sick about doing it. As opposed to the alternatives, which were probably either going off the deep end and killing himself to escape, or confessing to what he did and getting jailed for it.

In that light, Pharma becoming a mad doctor makes sense. It avoids the bad writing tropes of "oh this character who was good his entire life was actually just evil and really good at hiding it" as well as "oh he got tortured and went crazy that's why he's so random and silly and killing people, he's crazy" and instead frames Pharma's evil as something he was forced into, to the point where in order to avoid a full psychological breakdown and keep defending Delphi, he just had to stop caring about the sanctity of life or about what other people might think of him.

Then, of course, the actual Delphi episode happens, and Pharma's own lifelong best friend Ratchet basically spits in his face and sees him as nothing more than a crazy murderer who went rogue from being a good Autobot. Then Pharma gets his hands cut off and left to die on Messatine. At that point, Pharma has not only been mentally/emotionally broken into losing his feelings of compassion, he's received the message loud and clear: He is alone. Everyone hates him. Not even his own best friend likes him any more. No one even cared enough about him to check if he actually died or not. He will only ever be remembered as a doctor who went insane and killed his patients.

So in the light of 1. Having all of your redeeming qualities be squeezed out of you one by one for the sake of survival and 2. Having your reputation and all of your positive relationships be destroyed and 3. People only know/care about you as "that doctor who became evil and killed his patients" rather than the millions of years of good service that came before.

What else is there to do but internalize the fact that you'll forever be seen as a monster and a freak, and embrace it? People already see you as a murderer for that blackmail deal you did, so why not become an actual murderer and just start killing people on a whim? People already see you as an irredeemable monster who puts a stain on the Autobot name, so why beg for their forgiveness when you could just shun them back? You've already become a murderer, a traitor, and a horrible doctor, so what's a few more evil acts added to the pile? It's not like anyone will ever forgive you or love you ever again.

Why care? Why try to hold on to your principles of compassion, kindness, medical ethics, when an entire lifetime of being a good person did nothing to save you from blackmail and then abandonment? Why put yourself through the emotional agony of feeling lonely, guilty, miserable, when you could just... stop caring, and not hurt any more?

#squiggposting #pharma apologism #i'm sure the doylist reason for the writing is just that pharma was a designated villain #so since he's a villain and 'crazy' it's fine for everyone even the good guys to treat him like complete trash #i just think from a watsonian perspective taking a sympathetic approach is way more interesting and logically consistent #what i mean is like. from a meta perspective one of the best ways to show that a character is super evil and not worth saving #is when even the good guy heroes. the ones who are supposed to be kind and compassionate and wise. see him as dirt #and this is also kind of a necessity in most plots bc TF is the kind of series that just needs action villains and long-term antagonists #so not every villain is written or has a plot to be made redeemable. and pharma is one of these bc he's not important or a legacy character #so from a doylist (meta) perspective you could read the autobots' disregard of pharma as a sign of #'this guy is not meant to have your sympathy as a reader. pay no attention to him' #but from a watsonian (in universe) perspective it paints a miserable picture of pharma being utterly forsaken by the ppl he served alongsid #and like yeah i'm super autistic about pharma so of course i view him with sympathy but like #the idea of being a loyal and good person for years only to be subjected to a Torment Nexus of #being blackmailed into breaking all of the oaths you held sacred. under threat of you and all your comrades dying horrible torturous deaths #then when your comrades find out about it they focus solely on the 'harvesting organs' and not on the 'blackmail' part #and then you get literally left for dead by your comrades and best friend hating your guts #and then you get rescued by a guy who uses you as a test subject for his evil machine #this is a fucking nightmare scenario like pharma could hardly be suffering more if the author TRIED to make him suffer #and for me it's like. the evil pharma did can't be decontextualized to what drove him to that. as well as the question of like #how easily ppl can write someone off as evil and turn a blind eye to (or even find satisfaction in) their suffering bc theyre evil #and either brought it on themselves or it's just karma paying a visit #like. i feel like if pharma WERE a shitty doctor and a terrible person his whole life then the delphi situation would feel like karma #but the way it's written and the lore retroactively put in makes it feel more pharma getting thrown in a torture carousel #and THEN becoming evil. but then being treated as if he was always evil or was some sort of bad apple #bc like i'm not opposed to LOLing when a villain gets a karmic torture/death related to the wrongs they committed #but in pharma's case it feels less like karma and more like endless torture + being abandoned by ppl who should have been more loyal

[mayasaura]

Going into Alecto, I think it's important to expect that the series won't conclude with a clear lesson. Either about morality—what makes a good person, evil getting their just desserts, ect—or a thesis on decolonization. It's not that kind of story.

Deep down, this series is two drunk girls bearing their souls in a dark corner of the bar. An hours-long conversation that wheels wildly through pop culture, past trauma, theoretical physics, dreams and aspirations, global warming, hairstyling, friends, family, gender, personal insecurities, world history, favorite foods. It has a lot to say, and a lot of it profound, but it's not trying to teach anything. At the end of the night, the point was how fucking cool that girl was, and the potent electric potential for something lgbt to happen

#the locked tomb #alecto the ninth #ofc this is just my perspective #but I've been thinking of how the author said that the way she stays true to her story is by giving herself permission to not be a teacher #and that one of the driving forces behind her writing is the rpgs she played as a kid #and how everyone online made fun of the girl characters like they were weak and not good for anything #when she had played the game levelling them up and properly equipping them and beat the boss with them #and how she wants to be able to tell those stories where girls are just really fucking cool and get to have the adventures #so I'm kind of nervous about the idea that tlt is about the evils of colonisation or about taking on God as a symbol of the patriarchy #bc.... I think it might be exploring all that while really being about how girls are really fucking cool #and I'm worried about the potential fallout if a large portion of the fandom goes into the finale expecting those priorities to be reversed

[jeweled-blue-eyes]

Misery AU where Yoichi is the author of the Captain Hero comics and AFO throws him into the vault when he discovers that Yoichi is planning to kill off the Demon Lord

#yoichi wrote the comic to make the public more sympathic towards metahumans #but it has the opposite effect AFO has found a way to use it as inspiration for evil regardless #when Yoichi continues to refuse to rewrite the story AFO just starts uploading his fanfiction under Yoichi's pen name #his fans grow more and more concerned by the villain apologism and assume that the real author has died and was replaced with a ghostwriter #second is a diehard fan who believes in the conspiration theory that the real author is being held hostage #and forced to change the story at gunpoint #they break into Yoichi's mansion #yoichi shigaraki #afo #concepts #my hero academia #afo funded his villain career with yoichi's money

[ash-and-starlight]

the original comment doesn’t exist anymore but luckily i took a screenshot so. proof of mx parker chan being Thee big titty esen supporter

(this was all in response to this art. for booby context)

#a moment most pleasing to me in my career #twitter is a wretched cesspool except for when this happens #anyway ESEN BREASTING BOOBILY IN THE BATTLEFIELD IS AUTHOR APPROVED #do with this what you will #use this knowledge for evil #hi spec thank you for making this happen. your contribution to the world is priceless #the radiant emperor #send post #he who drowned the world #she who became the sun

[oautincorrectquotes]

Regina: No more making fun of me when i misuse dated cultural references, alright? Are we cowabunga on this?

Henry sighing: Fine, We're cowabunga..

#regina mills #ouat regina #regina the evil queen #the evil queen #lana parrilla #jared gilmore #henry ouat #henry mills #ouat henry #the author #regina x henry #regal believer #evil regals #storybrooke #the enchanted forest #incorrect quotes #swan mills family #ouat #once upon a time #ouat humor #ouat incorrect quotes #ouat fandom #incorrect ouat quotes #ouat headcanon #ouat headcanons #ouat crack #funny ouat #ouat characters

[firbolgfriend]

Im just yapping but there is this fic on fimficton called Discord of Tomorrow that’s about s2 evil discord traveling forward in time right before he can be turned to stone to switch places with the version of himself (reformed discord) that exists when the elements of harmony are gone, so reformed discord gets stuck in the past and has had to snap away and hide the elements of harmony from the mane 6 so he can focus on trying to get back to the future without getting turned to stone, all while dealing with the moral dilemma of him realizing how easy it was to take the elements and how easy it would be to seriously just take Equestria over again vs being worried about what evil discord is currently doing to his friends in present time. It’s only like three chapters but I think the plot is so funny and the author didn’t even get to the part where evil discord is in the future and the mane 6 is trying to figure out wtf his problem is, thinking he has amnesia or something. I want to make a comic expanding on it so bad I’m like seriously obsessed with it I can’t stop thinking about it

#jabber #there is zero info on where to find the writer the fic is like 8 years old #I wish I could find the author so bad #drawing mlp Is like so easy that I’m getting comic hungry #the idea of past discord being like god past me was so stupid I could have permanently his the elements and #skipped that whole song and dance with the riddle and the labyrinth #. he like hides out in fluttershys cottage while the mane 6 are at twilights freaking out about how evil discord #got away and reformed discord snapping the elements off their necks #and he is messing around and wearing the elements around his torso going on about how easy it is to take them #I want to draw that specifically #then later flutter shy shows up at her cottage and is freaked to find him there but tries to fake nice with him to get him to stay so #the mane 6 have time to arrive but discord has to come to his senses and realize she’s not being sincere and feels bad so he leaves #ughhh #and then the fic was never updated again #I’m so close to taking the torch I can’t stop thinking about this #discord of tomorrow

[originalaccountname]

I am a simple fanfic reader. I see any variation of "Creepy Mori Ougai", "Mori Ougai is his own warning", or "Bad Person Mori Ougai", and I just scroll past

#i am having a bad time looking for skk angst can you tell #free my man he did none of that #he did a bunch of other things though #keep tagging it because i will still leave anyway at the first hint of that you will not gain a reader #this is valid for any tag that targets mori's ~evilness~ or the author stressing their dislike of him in particular #yes i am trying to filter all of those out and yet tonight i've encountered 5 fics in a row that had custom ''fuck mori'' tags #I JUST WANT SOME SKK HURT/COMFORT PLEASE 😭 #apparently i talk sometimes

[rosellemoon]

Well, I read Soman's post, and I have a few things to say.

First of all, fanfiction.

I'm not surprised to see another published author look down upon fanfiction, treating it as if all it's good for is providing new writers with training wheels. (Never mind the fact that writing someone else's characters is its own unique challenge!)

Fanfiction isn't just someone else's sandbox in which to hone your skills. It's expanding established lore. It's giving more voices and more life to pre-existing characters and worlds. Originality isn't just making something entirely your own, it's also putting your own spin on things, sharing your perspective through fiction that speaks to you and brings you joy on some level. Art is meant to be shared and engaged with and built upon. Art is a collaboration between you and others, and this has been the case for most of human history! I don't mean to offend, but belittling the power and importance of transformative works is just plain ignorance.

The obsession with originality can do more harm than good. Granted, I'm currently working on a novel that has a handful of inspirations yet seemingly no real comps, but that's not why I'm writing it! However, if someone does manage to find an actual comp, I won't care because I'm not writing to be original. That isn't why I write at all!

The real question writers should be asking themselves is: why do you want to be original?

Do you want to feel more special than others? Do you think being original increases your chances of notability? Do you want to go down in history as the Most Original Author of All Time™? These can be valid reasons, but let's be honest with ourselves. Honesty is good. We should embrace that more, even if it makes some of us look egomaniacal.

I'm afraid this emphasis on originality only feeds the stigma around fanfiction and ruins the true joy of writing. It's great to want to do something different because you're bored of the same plots and messages, or you don't find yourself or your perspective represented enough. But that shouldn't require you to give up the tropes or settings you love just because they're familiar.

I also want to address the common disregard for people with aphantasia like me. I don't have full-blown aphantasia, but it's enough that I can hardly visualize my own characters and worlds without external references. I've found my strength lies in "creativity outside the self," as Elaine Sturtevant put it. I'm most creative with things that don't come from within. I love mixing and matching (which especially shows in my digital collages) and seeing where that takes me.

So, fellow writers, ask yourselves: why do you write? What do you want to say? Could it be expressed through fanfiction rather than original fiction? Is being totally original more important than conveying your message/exploring creative what-ifs/simply enjoying the act of creation?

#the school for good and evil #putting this in the tag bc i feel it's important for readers of soman's blog to see this #as a reminder to NOT stress about originality!! #since i'm sure there are aspiring authors in this fandom #roselle rambles #long post