YES I’D LIKE TO FILE A FORMAL COMPLAINT AGAINST MY FANFICTION TBR LIST.
You know how normal people have like... a couple of books on their nightstand? Maybe a podcast they haven’t caught up on?
I’ve got FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SEVEN AO3 BOOKMARKS staring at me like the ghosts of Christmas past.
Every time I open that cursed little site I'm like “oh neat, a 300k enemies-to-lovers slowburn with political intrigue and soulmate tattoos, let me just...”
Adds to list knowing DAMN WELL I won’t even glance at it until the year 2072 when civilization has collapsed and I’m reading it by candlelight while foraging for berries. (Not really care about the logistics of how I would have AO3 up into his scenario)
And don’t get me STARTED on the categories. we’ve got:
THE ONES I’M “CURRENTLY READING” (aka abandoned in chapter 12 because another fic seduced me like a raccoon with a shiny object - and yes I do realize Im obsessedwoth raccoons for awhile now, I cant explain, bare with me on this one).
THE FICS I SAVED FOR “WHEN I’M IN THE MOOD TO CRY” (newsflash: when I'm in the mood, I search a new random fic, and my graveyard of bookmarks stays there)
THE 500K WORD EPICS (you’re telling me someone created this whole world and gave me for free? BOOKMARKED!)
AND THE CYCLE OF SHAME™ - or as I like to call my comfort zone... where I reread the same 20k comfort fic for the 14th time instead of touching anything new.
Despite the chaos?? (That’s, let's be honest, it's my own fault) I love my authors. like every single one of you out there writing fics: you’re gods. You’re icons. You’re feeding us banquets for FREE. You are sprinkling joy into my cursed little brain, and I would let you step on me gently. Yes, even you, who is reading this non-sense rant (👀 yes, I mean you, the one reading this who also writes fics... you think I don’t know?? Your words ARE INCREDIBLE. You have personally - PROBABLY - ruined me, and I THANK YOU).
Like y’all sit there crafting masterpieces with themes and plot twists and fully fleshed-out character arcs, and I’m over here with my goldfish attention span, whispering “I’ll read it later” like a liar.
YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN ME.
Also, shoutout to the authors who write 5k pwp because guess what? Sometimes, I don’t have the stamina for a saga, but I WILL consume your filth in one sitting like a feral goblin and then clap politely afterward.
You’re doing the lord’s work, too.
My tbr list is not a list anymore. It’s a hydra. I read one fic and three more sprouts in its place. I'm not beating it. I'm not even TRYING to beat it. I will die buried under a pile of bookmarked royalty aus and coffee shop fics and honestly?
Thank you, authors. Thank you, chaos. Thank you, Ao3. I'll see you all at 3 am, when I ignore my entire list and reread that one enemies-to-lovers fake dating AU for the 7th time.