#tiktok inspired story

[socalwriterbee]

Little League Chaos

Baseball Season is upon us and I couldn't be more excited! I was sent a hilarious and extremely adorable TikTok, along with an ask, that helped make this short come along.

Check out the TikTok —> ⚾️⚾️⚾️

Choices Book: Open Heart

Characters: Tessa Martinez (MC) x Ethan Ramsey, Introducing Talia Donovan (Martinez) Maya Donovan, Mateo Donovan and Melody Donovan

Rating: Fluff with a dash (very small dash) of angst

Word Count: 2,800 +

Summary: After getting the night off to enjoy her nephews first tee ball game of the season, Tessa can only hope for the game and night to go smoother than what she has come to see during practice.

A/N: Shout out to my sweet friend @txemrn for sharing the video and going back and forth with me on ideas and introducing Tessa's sibling and family.

A/N2: Sorry in advance for any errors in spelling and such.

Some Characters/Settings/Storylines used or mentioned belong to Pixelberry

Enjoy!

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The sun began to disappear over the horizon, taking the warmth of the day with it. The cool spring air nips at her exposed skin. The light jacket paired with a simple black tee and jeans would make the night bearable, hopefully or Tessa would have chattering teeth. 

Taking a deep breath in, the night that was ahead of her was beginning to settle into her bones, her family, well part of her family lived in the same city she did and they were about to enjoy a night free of interruptions. 

Laughter and the sound of feet running up and down the metal bleachers mixing with the sound of baseball bats meeting the waiting ball or the white red laced ball snapping against the leather of a glove. 

Tessa sat with her sister, Talia and nieces, Maya and Melody. With Melody always taking a spot on her lap and playing with the wavy brown tendrils that fell loose from her signature messy bun. Her sister, was in what looked like a deep conversation with her oldest child as they sat in the row in front of her. Mother and daughter were splitting images of each other, the same dark hair and eyes and no one would say that Tessa wasn’t related to them. Tessa could even easily say that Maya was a sister to them, Tessa was just a bit taller than the both of them.

As for Talia’s other children well they took after Tessa’s brother in law. Dirty blonde hair with striking hazel eyes, her brother in law was on the field with her nephew, Mateo, coaching and warming up his baseball team before the start of the game. 

Tessa owed Sienna big time for tonight and she couldn’t forget Tobias. Once more being here felt like a first, she didn’t have to worry about being called into the hospital while out with them or having to cancel because she was working long hours. 

Of course Tessa spent time with her family during the holidays and talking over video calls but this, this was different and it brought a smile to her face. She had family to look forward to seeing after a day at Edenbrook, not that hanging out with her friends wasn’t fun. Or the far and few times she got the Ethan who showed his feelings he felt for her, those moments felt like tonight did. Like home.

“Auntie Tess?” Melody sweet little voice called to her.

“Yes, ladybug.”

“I want popcorn.”

Talia head snaps back towards them. “Melody that is not how you ask for things.”

Rolling her eyes at her older sister, Tessa ignores her. “Yeah, come on lets go get some. You know what else we could get?”

“Tessa, no! Popcorn is just fine.” Talia tells her.

“It’s a ball game Tal, loosen up a little, it’s not gonna hurt them.”

“Your a doctor Tess, you know that stuff is not healthy.”

“In moderation it’s fine. That’s coming from a doctor. Anyway, you want the usual?”

Her sister just nods at her. Tessa gives her a small victorious smile before placing Melody on her feet and standing up herself. “You want to come with us Maya or would you like us to bring you something?”

Her eldest niece looks at her mother and back at her asking in silence if she could join them. Talia nods her permission and Maya makes quick work of the bleacher seats and is waiting for them at the bottom. 

Once Tessa and Melody reach the bottom, both girls at her side they make their way to the concessions stand.

“Sorry.” Maya says.

Tessa catches from the corner of her eye, a tall man with a baseball cap on standing at the back and the voice that comes off him sounding oddly familiar but it mixes with the talkative voice of Melody, she doesn’t think twice about it maybe its her mind playing tricks on her.

“What was that?” Tessa asks Maya.

“Nothing, I walked into him.”

“Be—.”

“I know, be careful next time.”

God pre-teens and their moods. 

After waiting what seemed like forever, especially with a four year old at her side when in reality it was probably like five minutes, the three of them finally reached the front of the line.

An older gentleman calls them up to his open window, donning a well worn Red Sox cap and a smile that went from ear to ear. “Hi, what can I get for you lovely ladies?”

“Hi, can we get Popcorn, three colas, peanuts… oh you know never mind on the peanuts how about the peanut M&M’s. Red Vines and two hotdogs, you wanted a hotdog right Maya?” Tessa looks at her niece who just nods at her. 

With their hands full, the three of them make their way back with plenty of time before the game started. Maybe it was an overkill in snacks at the last minute Tessa added some cotton candy, Talia sure was going to complain about everything they got.

Tessa and the girls were closing in on the bleachers, where family of the players would sit and cheer for the team, the man with the baseball cap was still standing next to said bleacher, away from everybody. Tessa caught his side profile, he was pinching of the bridge of his nose, which definitely reminded her of a certain doctor. 

It couldn’t be, this time she could be certain that her mind wasn’t playing tricks with her. His brown hair sticking out from the back, the way he was standing away from the small crowd. 

Ethan surely wouldn’t remember where Mateo’s game was tonight. He had dropped her off once when she missed The T and she could tell that he really could care less of the many times she brought up Mateo’s tee ball game. 

“You girls go up. I’ll be right there. Maya help your sister before she drops anything.” 

Without questioning or complaining, a first, Maya responds with an ok.

Standing back, Tessa watches as they make their way to their mother, passing the man in the ball cap that she bet a good amount of money on was one Ethan Ramsey.

As she approaches him, the woodsy sent that is uniquely Ethan wafts around her, bringing a smile to her lips. 

“How quickly did Tobias inform you he let me leave early, therefore giving me the rest of the night off?” Tessa asked, afraid to look up at Ethan as she came to stand next to him, she did the only thing she could do and looked out onto the field that was now being illuminated by lights once the sky turned dark above them.

Her heart skipped a beat at the sound that came from him, a laugh, no not a full blown laugh more like a chuckle, a single chuckle nothing more. 

Tessa could feel Ethan’s blue eyes on her before his words hit her ears. “Before you even asked him.”

She finally looked up at him, a small smile on his face, the squint on the corner of his eyes. God, when Ethan looked at her like that she wanted to shake him and knock sense into him. 

“H..how?” 

Ethan ran his hand along the scruffiness of his jawline. “Seems like Dr. Trinh took things into her own hands and asked. Tobias informed me that he was letting you leave early with Sienna covering for you.”

Tessa shook her head as the information settled in. “Ok.” Saying in disbelief. “Why are you here Ethan?” She said being a bit more forward.

“I came to catch a baseball game, and before you say anything I clearly remember you inviting me.”

“I remember but that was before you denied my request. Doesn’t explain why you would show up here.”

Ethan turns and stands in front of her, his hand reaching out, his blue eyes locking in on her features.“Tess, I—.”

“Tessa?” Talia’s voice breaks the spell between her and Ethan. “Everything ok?”

Tessa looks over Ethan shoulder seeing her sister standing at the edge of bleachers. “Yup. I was just talking to Dr. Ramsey.”

“Oh.” Realization hits Talia at the man standing with her sister. “Oh! Dr. Ramsey.”

Tessa watches Ethan turn his attention to Talia, reaching his hand out to introduce himself. “Ethan, please call me Ethan.”

Talia takes his hand in hers. “Right, Ethan. The game is about to start and Mateo’s team is batting first.” She snaps her eyes back to Tessa.

Not the warm greeting Tessa would have hoped for, guess it could have gone worse between Talia and Ethan, she thought. To be fair, Tessa shared with her sister how frustrating Ethan could be. So she would take this as a win.

“Ethan, why don’t you go have a seat I forgot to get something.”

Tessa silently pleads with her sister to play nice, waiting for either of them to say something, anything. Ethan makes the first move by taking a step towards Talia.

“What could you have possibly forgotten, you got the entire concession stand.” Talia says raising an eyebrow at her.

“You like nachos right?” Tessa asks Ethan.

“No.” He answers. 

Tessa ignores him and turns to head back to the concession line but not before calling out. “With extra jalapeños.” 

Well, this night just took an interesting turn.

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“I want to be a doctor like Auntie Tess.” Melody tells Ethan as having now taken her seat on his lap.

That was the scene Tessa walked back to but Melody isn’t only sitting on Ethan’s lap she is trying to feed him her popcorn. 

Tessa fights back a laugh as she watches Ethan moving his mouth away from her hand or gently pushing it down from his face. 

Ethan looks up at her and mouths a no to her. Tessa smiles widens when Melody does get a kernel or two of popcorn into his mouth.

“I got you nachos.”

“Great. Here I was expecting you to come back with a hot dog.”

Tessa gives him a playful nudge before handing him the plate. “Very funny.”

“You missed the first inning.” Ethan states, brushing his hand over hers as he takes the plate from her. 

“The line was a bit longer than I expected this time around.” Tessa says catching a pair of big beautiful hazel eyes that belonged to the little girl on Ethans lap widen at the sight of the nachos. 

“Did I miss Mateo’s turn at the plate?”

“He’s due up third in the next inning. So far the game is going smoothly.” Talia announces. “So what brings you out tonight Ethan?”

Here we go, Talia’s interrogation. 

“It’s the second inning Tal, we still got four innings to go before we call it a smooth game.” Tessa tells her sister before Ethan can answer her question.

“Am I missing something? It’s baseball, it should be smooth sailing. They know how to play right?” Ethan asks raising an eyebrow at Tessa. “Tess invited me.” He adds at the end.

“They’re five year old boys, nothing is ever smooth.”

“Melody those are not yours!” Talia cries out.

Ethan, Tessa, Talia and Maya all watch Melody going in for the cheese covered round yellow tortilla chip. 

Maya and Tessa laugh that look of horror that washes over Ethan’s face as the little girl who tried shoving popcorn into his mouth, now is taking nachos from him, sitting there oblivious to her surrounding.

“Breathe Ethan. It’s ok, see.” Tessa teases him, winking at him before going for a cheese covered chip of her own. 

The warm smooth liquid cheese meets saltiness as it touches her tastebuds, feeling some remnants of cheese sitting on the corner of her mouth. Ethan reaching over without hesitation and wiping it clean with the pad of his thumb before she had the chance to lick it off.

Tessa feels two sets of eyes on them, staring at the small moment between her and Ethan, making her pull away from him. 

“I find it odd Ethan, that you were invited to my son’s game, came to it and yet you had denied my sister request for the night off.” Talia interrupts.

Ethan brings his thumb up to his mouth cleaning off the cheese before he answers.“Well. I uh— tried to tell Tessa earlier.”

“Tried to tell her what?”

Tessa shots daggers at her sister.  “Tal!” “Mom!” Tessa and Maya call out in unison.

Ethan looks down at the little girl in his lap, covered in cheese as she continues to eat his nachos and then up at her mother. “I tried to make her schedule work so she could have the night off but no matter how I moved things around there was no way around it. Trust me when I tell you that I know how important being here was to her. Her friend beat me to it.”

“Beat you to what Mr. Ramsey?”

Tessa sees Ethan’s eye soften as they land on Maya, pulling Melody closer to him as if he’s done that many times before.

“In covering her shift. I was on my way to the hospital when I got a call that Sienna, Dr. Trinh, was going to cover for her. Word was that I was being unreasonable.”

Tessa’s mouth falls open at his words and watches as Talia and Maya swoon at Ethan’s words. 

Well that didn’t take long for her sister to warm up to him.

“Are you Auntie Tess’s boyfriend?”

Tess cheeks blushed red at Melody’s words. But before any of them could answer, a little boys voice called from the other side of the chained linked fence.

Melody’s question lingers in the air as the crowd cheers when the first two batters in front of Mateo reach base.

“Mom!” Mateo waves enthusiastically at his mother, pushing down his helmet over his dark blonde hair as he steps up to the plate.

“Come on ‘Teo!” Tessa cheers her nephew on. 

“That’s ok. Keep your eye on the ball.” Talia calls out when he misses the first pitch. 

Mateo lets the next ball pass and is saved from having the tee come out when its called a ball. With everyone encouraging him as the next pitch is being delivered, the clink of the metal bat meeting the ball comes from the field. 

Mateo lets go of his bat swinging it behind him, it hits his coach in the shins making the man jump at the contact.

Tessa and Talia stand on their feet cheering and telling Mateo to run to first base.

Their encouraging words quickly turn into correcting the running directions of the little five year old boy. “The other way Mateo.”

With the help of one of the coaches on the field they correct Mateo and have him run to first base. The first two base runners are running from second and first when the ball takes an interesting turn.

Tessa’s hand fly up into her hair as the game in front of them unfolds. The ball that was hit by Mateo is tossed back into the infield but not before missing the glove of the third baseman and hitting him in the face and has him falling to the ground.

“Oh my god!” Tessa whispers.

Two runs score as the opposing team runs towards the ball with both runners tackling other another with excitement at home plate. The opposing team has already started to run off the field before being turned back around by the coaches and parents to finish the inning.

Little Mateo is jumping and waving at them as Tessa falls back down to her seat hands still in her hair. 

A laugh escapes from Ethan, who fails to cover it up with a cough. “That went—.”

“Ethan.” Tessa mumbles.

“I was going to say uh.. what did you call it earlier, smooth? Second inning in at and that was absolute chaos.”

“It’s Little League.” Tessa tells Ethan. “I’m gonna go check on the third baseman make sure he is ok.”

“Little League Chaos.” Ethan whispers.

“Yeah. Little league chaos!” Melody shouts out loud.

Ethan leans in and whispers something into Melody’s ear making her giggle in his arms. “I’ll go with you.” He says standing up and placing the little girl on the exact same spot where he was sitting.

“What did you tell her Ethan?”

“It’s a secret Auntie Tess.” Melody tells Tessa.

“You’re sharing secrets with my niece now?

Ethan presses his finger against his lips with Melody copying him. “You know, I didn’t thank you for inviting me tonight.”

“You’re welcome. I’m glad you are enjoying this little league chaos.”

Ethan shakes his head with smile spread across his face as he reaches to get a hold of Tessa’s hand as they take a step down. “Come on Dr. Martinez, lets go check on the kid.”

With everything that was and wasn’t going on with her and Ethan, the events at the top of the inning made those boys look like pros, their little league chaos was nothing compared to Tessa and Ethan’s major league chaos.

“Let’s go.”

tags: @openheartfanfics @choicesficwriterscreations @cariantha @issabees @txemrn

[keyotos]

9:35 ⎯ alhaitham

you wake up to the sun shining across your face. you hear birds chirping and if you focus hard enough you could hear the ocean's waves calmly flowing into port ormos. you also wake up to a certain someone's bare chest.

alhaitham sleeps on his back while you curl up into his side. the way you manage your way into the crook of his bicep practically became routine at this point. his arm lays wrapped around your waist, a firm grasp, but not too tight.

you lift your head, propping yourself up on your hand. you are rarely the one who wakes up early. usually, it's alhaitham who rises before you, getting the chance to do things such as make coffee for you or cook a simple breakfast. you think about doing those things, but there is also another opportunity you cannot miss out on.

when alhaitham sleeps, he looks so carefree. his eyes are closed in a peaceful manner, his brows aren't furrowed like when he is awake, and his lips are placed in a gentle pout. he looks adorable.

you couldn't resist tracing your finger over his facial features. your index finger dragged along the slope of his nose, his cheekbones, under his eyes. your thumb caressed the spot underneath his eyebrow (which was the top of his eyelid), the bottom of his lips, and the apple of his cheeks.

normally, he was the one who got to do this to you. you knew that he spent at least ten minutes just admiring you before getting out of bed. and every time before he left, he'd press a loving kiss on the corner of your eyelid.

but this time, you're the one who gets to admire him. you're the one who gets to trace all his features, study him even though you already know all of him, etch his very being into your brain.

and if you plant a kiss on the corner of his lips? well, he doesn't have to know that. and when one kiss develops into two; another planted on his jaw. two gradually turned into four, which then turned into six, and at this point you've stopped counting. alhaitham was just too easy to kiss; too easy to love.

alhaitham started stirring from his sleep ever since the first kiss. he knew you: he knew what your lips felt like on his skin, he knew that you've left the warmth of his arm, and he knew that you were awake right now. but even so, he chose to stay "asleep."

alhaitham chose to break his act when you were about to move towards his lips. right when you were about to press a kiss to his cheek, he moved his head so you could give him a chaste peck on his lips. he smiled, satisfied that he got what he wanted.

you, on the other hand, felt flustered. "alhaitham? did i wake you up?"

alhaitham yawned, one hand covering his mouth while the other secured his grasp on your waist, "i was already awake," he replied nonchalantly.

you raise an eyebrow at that. how long was he awake? hopefully not when you traced his face. "for how long?" you ask, removing your head from your palm and returning to your previous position on alhaitham's bicep.

"probably second kiss," alhaitham hid his smile as he buried his head into your neck. but you could tell he was smiling either way: you heard it in his voice. after all, you knew him as well as he knew you.

you huffed, "why didn't you say anything?"

"and disrupt you while you were perfectly content?" alhaitham sarcastically answered, "i would never impede with your happiness."

"shut up," you say, sheepish and slightly exasperated with his tone, then let your head fall into his chest.

alhaitham only laughs in response. his laugh his small, light, and airy. you're one of the very few people that get to hear it. "if it consoles you, i had a dream about you last night."

this gets your attention, your head rising up to look at his turquoise eyes, "really? pray tell."

alhaitham looked up at the ceiling as a way to pretend as if he was in deep thought, "well, you were there. but you were a fish. and you had a hat. then you were swallowed by a bigger fish, who took your hat. and then you were swallowed by the big fish, who had the hat before everyone else fought him for it," alhaitham explained with a straight face.

"wow," you deadpanned, "not helping your case, bud," alhaitham frowned at the nickname. something so cruel, so early. you continued, "looks like your subconscious isn't very fond of me. want to tell me anything?"

alhaitham shrugged, "you're very easy to hate." he knows it's the complete opposite. loving you has to be the most easiest thing alhaitham has ever done. it's easy to memorize you: your favorite things, your routine, your body, your mind; loving you was like an accomplishment.

you mock-gasp, swatting him away from you, "i see how it is then. you were in my dream too, if you wanted to know. except, you were a toad. a very ugly one. and dehya was there. so was candace. kaveh too. oh! and i can't forget the general mahamatra," you added cyno in to tease alhaitham. truthfully, instead of cyno, your coworker that owed you a cup of coffee appeared in the dream.

"you guys were all animals, and there was a long drought, so you all banded up to confront the rain god for rain. then, when you went to the rain god's temple, you guys planned a sneak attack and won a battle. and then you got rain," if you thought alhaitham's dream was complicated, alhaitham was absolutely dumbfounded by yours.

alhaitham pulled you closer into him, hands caressing the sides of your body, "my dream was definitely better. mostly because it had only you in it, and not the general mahamatra. or kaveh," your boyfriend lightly scoffed at the mention of the two men. you could only shake your head.

"i was only in there for a short second. before i was, y'know, eaten," you nudged his chest, only for alhaitham to rest his head atop of yours. but then you perked up, "hey. are you jealous of my subconscious? is it cause i dreamed of other people?" you smirked.

"why would you say that?" alhaitham peered down at you.

"well, you did get a little sullen at the mentions of cyno and kaveh," you pointed out, even poking a finger into his chest, separating you from him.

alhaitham only trailed his fingers underneath your shirt, creating shapes on your skin as he leaned in closer to you, "i'm not jealous," he pouted, "i did only dream of you though. proves i'm loyal."

you sigh. he was jealous of your subconscious. oh well. maybe that will teach his subconscious to not dream about your demise, "oh, yet i still died in your dream, so maybe not so much," you mocked, smile brimming your lips, "maybe our dreams are connected. me dreaming about other people probably reflected on your negligence to keep me alive," you teased.

"okay," alhaitham pressed his forehead up against yours, "i did not fail to keep you alive. that was all the circle of life."

"tomato, tomayto. i'm leaving," you only make your way to the edge of the bed before alhaitham pulls you back into him. your back lands into his chest with a 'thump!'

"wait. i'm sorry for my subconscious wanting to kill you. from now on i'll only think of you. as long as you stay in bed with me," alhaitham whispered into your skin, right next to your earlobe.

you let out a small laugh, "you pouting right now, haitham?" you turn to face him, brushing some small hairs out of his face.

"no. will you stay in bed with me?" he presses a kiss onto your jaw and interlocks your fingers underneath the blanket. how could you say no?

"hm. i don't know," you tease, looking around the room to delay your answer, "do i want to stay in bed with an ugly toad?"

alhaitham's fingers poke you in the side, making you squirm, "maybe i should've stayed with cyno. doubt he would've dreamt about my death."

"well, you're in bed with me. not the general mahamatra," alhaitham made sure to hold you close, as if your little dream would make you escape from his hold. yeah, no way would he ever let that happen. not when he loves you more than anything else, regardless of what his subconscious was trying to tell him. you are a routine he would never get rid of. you are a light he would never let die out. you are a fish he would always look after.

"yeah, i suppose," you wrap your arms around alhaitham's torso and rest your head on the pillow next to his, "hopefully i made the right decision," you nestle closer into alhaitham's warmth, body instantly relaxing in his proximity.

when alhaitham kisses the crown of your head without saying anything, you know that you did.

can anyone tell me if it's alhaitham or al-haitham? idk which one is correct so if any of y'all would like to inform me that'd be very much appreciated! ty!!

[gods-favorite-autistic]

Percy: Hey Wise Girl, did you know that I have a YouTube Series? The Mysterious-

Annabeth: The Mysterious Disappearances of Percy Jackson, I’ve seen it

Percy: Really?

Annabeth: Yeah, you’ve got several, but we’ve all got one. I was Rockabye Runaway

Percy: All of us?

Annabeth: Yep

Percy:

Percy: So Nico-

Annabeth: His is “Nico Di Angelo: Boy Lost In Time or Dangerous Fraud?,” comes from a conspiracy channel called TimeTravelersRUs

Jason: What about-

Annabeth: Whatever Happened to the Grace Family by Famous Family Misfortune, they also have one on Piper called Piper McLean: American Darling or American Criminal?

Leo: Ooh, do I have one?

Annabeth: Yeah, yours is “The Boy Who Set His World On Fire: The True Story of Leo Valdez” by Baby Criminals Dot Com, they are convinced that you’ve committed serial arson

Percy: Hazel and Frank?

Annabeth: another TimeTravelersRUs vid called The Girl Made Of Diamonds and a video by someone called True Stories From Around The Globe called Canadian Terror: The Frank Zhang Story. They both spent the entire time mispronouncing their last names

Piper: Hey I think I remember someone asking about that at school-

Percy: WAIT IS THAT WHY SOMEONE ASKED IF I WAS IN A CULT LAST WEEK?!

Leo: Hey someone asked you that too? Nice!

Frank: *sighs* I’ll talk to Chiron

Nico: How did you even let these things get on YouTube anyways?

Annabeth: In my defense, we aren’t even allowed to use technology

Hazel: I’m still confused on what a YouTube is

[smute]

honestly the problem with booktok (and bookstagram) is not YA lit. it's not about people enjoying books that some might consider "low-brow" or whatever.

imo booktok is the culmination of several problems:

firstly, there's the homogeneity of algorithmic recommendations and the enormous influence those recommendations have on the publishing market. booktok recs tend to be of a very similar style and subject matter. they're easily digestible, easily bingeable titles that arent overly complex. booktok favors stories written by white women, often featuring characters with traumatic backstories and focusing on themes like overcoming adversity and the pursuit of romantic love. they are also usually very anglo-/americentric. none of this is necessarily bad, and none of it is by design, but it's not a coincidence either. it's the result of the constraints of short-form content on the one hand, and on the other, of an algorithm that amplifies, in broad strokes, the preferences of the core demographic of any given group of users.

secondly, it's about the commodification, not of reading, but of being Someone Who Reads Books (TM), which i think is just a particularly obvious symptom of online peer pressure and social-media-driven self-presentation. booktok doesn't encourage you to read, for example, sally rooney. it encourages the cultivation of one's own identity as someone who reads sally rooney. the problem here is not that sally rooney is a shit writer whose work has nothing of note to say. quite the opposite. sally rooney's work is relevant and interesting. in fact, it's being studied by scholars, and even if it wasn't, people can and should be allowed to enjoy some light reading, and yes, even Problematic (TM) fictional characters.

the real problem is the fact that the very nature of how booktok works actively discourages the critical discussion of the stories that it circulates. the problem is not millions of teenagers reading colleen hoover's slop (i love me some slop) – it's millions of teenagers encouraging each other to read and internalize – UNCRITICALLY – hoover's particularly romanticized depiction of abuse. tiktok's algorithm does not foster diversity of opinion. it doesn't foster diversity PERIOD. it doesn't foster slow, in-depth discussion. its only function is *make line go up* – line go up = clicks, views, engagement, money.

due to tiktok's popularity, booktok also has an enormous influence on marketing-related and (apparently, to some extent) editorial decision-making in the publishing industry. this is not just the fault of booktok, goodreads is part of the same problem. i mean, booktok has managed to turn colleen hoover's 'it ends with us' into a bestseller FIVE YEARS after it was originally published. it has also led to publishers dropping authors or DELAYING THE RELEASE of new titles after booktokers flooded the goodreads pages of unpublished books with one star reviews.

as i said, the underlying issue here is not unique to booktok. it's the same homogenization that plagues the movie industry, the tv industry, streaming services, etc. the publishing industry is just particularly vulnerable to such manipulations of public opinion. in the end, tiktok is not a social media app. it's an entertainment app and its content is focused on brevity. the biggest booktokers aren't simply avid readers. they don't post actual reviews of books they enjoyed. they're influencers who receive boxes of books from publishing houses to show off in haul videos like "have you guys heard of squarespace?" and that's it. the level of engagement with the texts themselves is like reading a blurb on the dustjacket, and unfortunately that is reflected in the selection of titles that become popular. if it can't be sold to you in 3 sentences, the algorithm will bury it.

[tarotmantic]

i will never justify why i like deh bc i don’t have to actually. i can just like it no qualifier needed

[cuubism]

If you don't mind me asking - what do you think Dream's attitude/reaction towards Tolkien's works (including the legendarium!) would be? (I'm asking a lot of Sandman bloggers this, because I'm extremely curious regarding your takes on this.)

oh! hang on i gotta brush up on my tolkien because i haven't actually read any of the books since like. 2011.

i guess my main thought would be about how dream missed like, 95% of his work when he was stuck in his Jar. my understanding (read: google search) is that tolkien was building up the mythology for his stories before 1916 (when dream was captured), but most of it was not finished/published until a while after.

(this became an insane and mostly unrelated rant i am so so sorry)

i think a lot about how much of his own... area of work and power dream missed when he was trapped. the 20th century, generally speaking, was a time of rapid growth in storytelling methods and media more generally. dream missed almost all of radio, particularly radio as it became a medium for stories. radio was invented in the late 1890s but didn't see a proper rise into a storytelling medium, rather than mainly a direct communication one, until around the 30s. so dream missed the creation and growth of the first, i guess you would call it, networked storytelling, and technological storytelling, and what was... probably? the biggest return to an auditory type of storytelling since the original oral tradition, folk tales, great epics etc, for radio at its peak of cultural relevance (at least in the US and probably the ""West"" more generally, alas i can't speak as knowledgeably for other parts of the world, obviously plenty of other parts of the world had radio in the early 20th century and onward, but i don't know much about its use as a fictional storytelling medium versus for news and government broadcasts. something to look into! part of why radio became such a medium in the usa was because of our rampant capitalism and commercialism lol, so less capitalistic places might have approached it differently - here, advertisers wanted to figure out a way to monetize radio better, but obviously people aren't going to just listen to hours of ads, so they packaged them around stories, live music performances, and variety shows. that's where soap operas as a form come from -- they were originally sponsored by soap companies! also serials, though of course books have also been serialized in the past. and sponsored radio programs also birthed the sort of episodic comedies that eventually evolved into the half hour TV comedies we know today)

which also means - as a direct result of missing radio, dream also missed the rise of television as a medium - it grew directly out of radio, even the big networks we know today, CBS, NBC, and ABC were originally radio networks. television has ended up being a huge change in visual storytelling, not only in its inception, but especially in its more recent years - it's probably the only long-form audiovisual storytelling medium, which is something that didn't really exist before. huge shift in storytelling possibilities. he also missed the development of comic books, and the internet, and the resulting increased accessibility of art and storytelling to both artists and art lovers. he missed an absolutely huge, HUGE shift in the democratization of art and the ability to share it. and, once again, the development of totally new methods of storytelling in the form of internet video! not to even mention the accessibility of MUSIC, music recording and sharing was still in its infancy when dream was imprisoned and now you can get, and make, and share pretty much any music imaginable! and the new genres! and the intermediality of everything and the cross-cultural awareness!

this is not even getting into the new ease of photography, or film, which was also relatively new in 1916. imagine going into a coma when there were only silent films, and waking up to everyone and their mother making tiktoks. the last film you saw was one of chaplin's or something and then you come back and see interstellar in imax 3d. i think i'd explode. (dream would love film, too, it's very dreamlike)

dream returning to the waking world in 2022 and immediately having the entirety of tiktok beamed directly into his head:

(another thing i think about a lot but won't get into because i'm already rambling - hob witnessing the entire development of accessible writing from the printing press to fucking social media. insanity. i want to pick his brain on it

what pushed hob over the edge, do you think. what's the one thing he saw written online that briefly made him regret ever getting involved in printing at all and wish everyone was illiterate again. it was not porn, btw, mr. monsterfucker gadling can handle anything, ok. no, it was something much worse...)

anyway. rambling over. this is all to say that i am not a tolkien expert and haven't read much of his stuff anywhere recently - though i was quite obsessed with it in middle/high school - so my main thought is in relation to dream getting cut off from all of these great stories. it must have been like, to put it flippantly, your favorite tv show getting cancelled halfway through after a cliffhanger XD. he has all these stories from great storytellers - tolkien included - storytellers who are building their whole own worlds in his realm, storytellers he's nurturing and supporting in his own way - and gets ripped away from them. and when he returns, they're all gone.

here's hoping someone who knows more about tolkien can give you an answer more specifically relevant to that. that's all i got for now 😂

[circadianaa]

commander cad watches the sky fall.

[saintchaser]

she rubbed alice’s hand. “i remember when you caught marlene, lily and i sneaking out of the dorm. you told us to run off before someone sees us; i appreciated it, especially since, you know, you were the head girl, you could have just given us detention.”

alice was looking somewhere, at a certain spot on the wall, a slight smile on her face, almost as if, through a haze, she could remember.

“and then, right after we graduated, you and frank invited us to your wedding. lily almost didn’t come, her parents didn’t want to let her, because they thought it would be dangerous, but you and frank came over and told them that you’re aurors, and that we’d be safe. augusta wore that tacky hat again.” mary rolled her eyes. “has no one told her that it’s out of date?”

alice chuckled, looking over to the bed in which her husband was, and nodded.

“and you had a huge cake and lots of guests and even moody was laughing!” mary exclaimed, letting out a chuckle. “i think it was the only time i ever saw him laugh, really. you had s knack for bringing the best out of people, did you know that?”

the other woman looked at her, and smiled. mary knew that she didn’t remember anything of what she said, but there was something in her, maybe her own delusions, that felt that, deep within her, somewhere inaccessible, alice might have a few of the memories tucked away.

“you were our role model in school, but i don’t think you knew that. we looked up to you a lot, as younger girls. we wanted to be cool like you, with short, choppy hair and wide smiles and something that seemed to be genuine happiness. i’m gonna tell you a secret; sometimes, i wished i was your younger sister.”

mary smiled at alice one last time, then got up. she pressed a kiss to the woman’s forehead, then winked at frank, who had, in the meantime, gotten up and started listening, with interest, to mary’s story.

“your turn next time, frankie.” she waved, closing the door behind her, both of the patients giving her a serene, warm smile.

mary left st. mungo’s feeling hollow as ever, but there was a small, flickering light that had started burning in her.

[spinningtusk]

Guilt (comic wip)

[propheciesanddreams]

“Sirius?” Remus asks cautiously as he enters the living room. He’d left Sirius there a half hour ago and from the looks of it, he hadn’t moved an inch.

“Yes?” Sirius replies without looking up. He’s far too distracted on what he’s working on.

“What are you doing?” Remus tries again, he bites his lower lip to keep a chuckle from escaping.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Asks Sirius, irritated now.

“See that’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Remus keeps his voice nice and calm.

“I’m playing with my godson, you dolt.”

“Right… right. And uh where is this godson?”

Sirius looks up and meets Remus’ eyes then looks around the room.

“I—he was right here. Oh shit Remus! Where’s Harry!” Sirius is so frantic that Remus actually pities him for a second before he doubles over in laughter. He tries to catch his breath enough to explain that Harry is all tucked in bed where he has been for several minutes.

The block creation Sirius had been working on crumbles around him as he takes in this information and stops searching around for Harry.

“Oh.” His expression unamused and then, “Will you help me rebuild Padfootville?”

Remus chuckles and in a few small steps he’s in front of Sirius. He kisses him gently before he replies,

“Only if we can change the name.”

[beck-nightengale]

Yet another ending sequence for my Let's Roleplay series that I had a little way too much fun with so I wanted to share on its own.

Just another day of Jade Enderal: Bisexual Disaster - getting rejected even by the local manwhore.

[a-shakespearean-in-paris]

I find it frustrating how books are marketed these days. marketing is based around tropes and not the story itself or the characters. I understand that might be a harder sell than “enemies to lovers romance/fantasy” but as someone who will read (almost) every trope if the story is good and I like the characters…I just find it unsettling. Especially as a writer.

[holocene-sims]

next // previous

july 3, 2021 9:00 a.m. myshuno cafe

[onmyliteraturebullshitagain]

Not Midwest Bi Disaster Zukka, but I've got a new random story up now inspired by TikTok and sorryi'mabitanxious. Still a modern AU but of the sort-of not so cute meet cute between a lawyer and a duck thief :) Enjoy!

"Lawyers, Duck Stealing, and Other Ways to Pick Up a Hot Guy at a Park"

[paintedpawz]

Oh my, how sweet! Resident darling of this dark and spooky little cul-de-sac wants to go trick 'r treat with you. Just beware, neighbor... not all the residents are as friendly as he is. 😈

Little quick redesign of Imp Wally inspired by @killertoons design, since my old design just wasn't as cute and I personally feel I've gotten better at drawing Wally! I had to of course add Home, or rather Monster House inspired home and I had a lot of fun experimenting with a more detailed background in a doodle that turned into a thought out sketch. My reference actually, was this piece of Sam merch I WANT SO BAD......