After (One Direction story)

After is a three part series of RPF fanfiction. It is a college AU and was written in installments on Wattpad over a period of one year. Sections of the series contain approximately 100-200 "chapters" although each is chapter quite short. It is considered a Dark Harry work, a trope in 1D fandom in which Harry has a dark side, in contrast with his general persona.
The work was extremely popular. By June 2014, the series had been read over 400 million times and gathered 3.5 million comments. The author and her readers interacted on a daily basis with readers reacting to and commenting on each chapter. Several fan trailers were made. During the writing of the story, the author would often post a list of songs she had been listening to while writing each chapter. When the number of comments were low on a few chapters, she announced she would not update the story until at least 1,000 comments had been posted - that number was met within a few hours.
The name of the primary pairing of Harry and Tessa is known as Hessa.
The work became even more well-known and notorious when Anna Todd sold the rights and received a book deal to have the work professionally published. Todd Filed Off The Serial Numbers for mainstream publication, changing the name "Harry Styles" name to "Hardin Scott."
After was adapted as a new adult romance film in 2019.
==Summaries==
* After (part 1) summary by author: "Tessa Young is an 18 year old college student with a simple life, excellent grades, and a sweet boyfriend. She always has things planned out ahead of time, until she meets a rude boy named Harry, with too many tattoos and piercings who shatters her plans."Wattpad stats: 201,208,503 reads; 2,027,073 votes; 507,217 comments (accessed June 11, 2014).
* After (part 2) summary by author: "This is the sequel (continuation) of After. Harry and Tessa's relationship will be tested in ways she never expected, but he knew of all along."
Wattpad stats: 193,075,902 reads; 3,045,365 votes; 1,044,713 comments (accessed June 11, 2014).
* After (part 3) summary by author: "The passionate story of Tessa and Harry continues as family secrets, deep betrayals, and career opportunities threaten to tear them apart."
Wattpad stats: 460,130,738 reads; 4,089,383 votes; 2,046,756 comments (accessed June 11, 2014).
==Publication Contract==
The book was on the verge of being completed when the author negotiated a publication contract and sold the movie rights to Simon and Shuster, a publishing house, for a six figure sum. She also announced a line of jewelry based on the book.Jewelry line is located here: http://www.jewlr.com/after. In her next to last chapter she wrote:
In the published version, the lead male character's name was changed from Harry Styles to Hardin Scott.https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/krishrach/a-fanfic-about-harry-styles-has-been-made-into-a-film
==Sample Reactions==
With over 3 million comments, it is impossible to offer a representative sample. Here are a few of the Wattpad comments accessed on June 11, 2014:
On Goodreads, a reader review website, the comments are often longer:
==Controversy==
Like other RPF fan stories that have been turned into published books, concerns were raised about the use of celebrities in fan fiction and the commercialization of fanfiction. (See also: Filing off the serial numbers)
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Like with Fifty Shades of Grey, there were worries that the story promoted emotional abuse:
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Others disagree, pointing out that the main character, Harry, does learn to modify some of his behavior towards the end:
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Another point of contention is some readers believe the sex scenes minimize female pleasure during the act of intercourse:
However, the published version of the story has received criticism for its writing on Goodreads:
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At least one reader began to spork the series, while also noting how its popularity is derided because it appeals to young female readers:
A month after beginning, the reviewer stopped recapping the book because:
Despite these criticisms, millions of fans love and adore the relationship as depicted in the story. They celebrate how each reader has helped contribute to the commercial success of the series:
Another reader, however, began to spork the series, noting that it shares the same flaws as Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey and is similar in its romanticization of abuse:
===Hashtag Campaign===
Some fans on Twitter were so offended by Harry's characterization that they started a hashtag campaign (#suspendAnnaTodd) sometime on or before August 8, 2014The earliest tweet user:aethel could find was at 10:06PM 7 Aug 2014 (EDT) by AnnaTBeLike.(Accessed 19 August 2014.) to prevent the book from getting published. The tweets included threats of arson, gendered insults against the author, arguments that fanfic should never be published, and fears that Harry Styles would cry on camera again, interspersed with comments about the nature of the Harry/Tess relationship in the fic. The hashtag was immediately reported in the British tabloid The Daily Mirror.Katy Forrester. One Direction fans campaign to stop writer Anna Todd from publishing fan fiction after signing six figure deal. Daily Mirror online, posted Aug 08, 2014 13:05.
In 2015 Billboard reported:
==Fan Communities==
==Fanworks Inspired by the Series==
Several fan vids have been created for the books using footage from One Direction's music videos, concerts and interviews and unrelated movies and TV shows. These fan vids are called "trailers" and often lack vidder credits. The author showcased a few of the trailers on Wattpad.
* "After | Wattpad Book Trailer" by iH3artCooki3 (Youtube link)
* "After 2 Trailer" by Gillian O'Grady (Youtube link)
* Say Something" - an After 3 trailer by dalmuss97 (Youtube link)
A few fans have written alternate endings or edited chapters to focus on a single character's point of view.
* ENDING After fanfiction by imaginator 1d (Tessa's POV) by carolineex
* After 2 Niall Horan Revised - After Part 2 told from Niall Horan's POV
Combining favorite quotes from the books with images is popular among tumblr readers, particularly quotes with emotionally dramatic or romantic themes:
File:Tumblr after quote.jpg |This image from afteraddicts reads: "Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same."' Many fans of the series are unaware that this is a line lifted from Emily Brontë's "Wuthering Heights." Both "Pride and Prejudice" and "Wuthering heights" are referenced by the characters multiple times in the series.Wayback machine link."
File:Tumblr n6716eBokp1s3a0dgo1 500.png|This quote offers a handy link at the bottom to where the reader can find the story. The quote is sometimes offered as an explanation for why Tessa decides to stay with Harry: "Just because he can't love you the way you want him to doesn't mean he doesn't love you with everything he has." Image by: livelovelaugh-with-varshajain.tumblr post dated June 2014; WayBack Machine link.
File:After tumblr sorry.jpg|This uncredited gif quotes Tessa who is speaking to Harry: "I am sorry i couldn't fix you," I tell him while softy stroking his damp hair." "Me too," he cries against my legs."
File:Weheartitlarge.jpg|Some fan artists do not shy away from the darker aspects of the series. In this uncredited image Harry is saying: "You are too needy all the damn time! What do you want Tessa, do you want me to go out and buy a fucking ring and bow down to you asking you to spend the rest of your life with me? Do you want me to tell you I will never leave you and that we will grow old together and have children and live happily ever after? Because I can't fucking do that, nor do I even want to!"
File:After-fanfiction-hessa-quotes1.jpg|In this uncredited icon, the quote from Tessa illuminates the title of the series: "My life before him was so simple and decided, now after him it is just....After."
File:Livelovelaugh-with-varshajain tumblr com post.png|Sometimes only quoted text is used. This tumblr post reads: "Sometimes it is better to be kept in the dark than to be blinded by the light." and again refers to Tessa's decision to stay with Harry.tumbr post dated June 2014; WayBack Machine link.
File:Tumblr after lizzy829.jpg|The story has also found its way into popular Internet memes. tumblr gif by lizzy829 bemoaning the end of the seriestumblr post dated June 1, 2014; WayBack machine link.
File:After dreamcast.jpg|Fancasting is popular as well. tumblr gif by noemydirectioner
File:After fanmix.jpg|Fanmixes are also popular, often based on the songs that the author listed at the beginning of each chapter. This uncredited fanmix was found on pinterest.
File:After word colage.jpg|a fan created word collage that touches on many of the themes of the book. The creator tweeted to the author: "@imaginator1dx please notice my edit! It's everything that hessa have been through, I tried to include everything." Artist: bexalicious1D
File:Mydreamisnear.tumblr.png|This fan art drawing by Mydreamisnear seems to touch on fandom's belief that Tessa's love can heal Harry and allow him to change.
File:Aftersnark.jpg|Some fans are able to maintain a sense of humor about the stormy relationship between Harry and Tessa. In this fake tweet from Harry, he demands that Tessa choose between him and going to bathroom. Image is uncredited at the pinterest source.
others reblog their thoughts with their own words:
==After and Booktube==
Around 2018 to 2019, attention to the controversy about after was revived in the Booktube community when it became popular to read the book and make videos of negative reviews of the book. Booktubers generally read the published version of the book, but some read the original fanfic version as well. This interest was partly motivated by the news of the film adaptation. The videos generally mocked the book's cliched tropes, such as the "bad boy" love interest, and poor writing. At times fanfiction in general, or pulled to publish fanfiction, was the subject of ridicule. When the movie came out, both booktubers and less genre-specific youtubers made reviews, generally concluding that the movie had failed to fix any problems of the book.
===Book Reviews===
* after | a rant review by paperbackdreams, April 2019
* WHY ANNA TODD’S “AFTER” IS SO PROBLEMATIC // THE FANFIC HOUR by bellexelle, December 2019: "Belle decides to finally read the notorious One Direction fanfic "After" now that the trailer's come out, and...she realizes that it's way more problematic than she ever thought possible. Why is Hessa such a beloved ship, anyway??"
* This is the Worst Book I've Ever Read l "After" Review/RANT by Miss Mady, February 2019
* "After" by Anna Todd RANT Review (Clare has a breakdown) by claresgotbooks, November 2018
* THIS BOOK AINT IT CHIEF | AFTER WE COLLIDED BY ANNA TODD RANT REVIEW by myonna reads, November 2018
===Film Reviews===
* WHY IS NOBODY TALKING IN "AFTER" by Dylan Is In Trouble, June 2019
* After is Bad by Caleb Joseph/Insane Reader, May 2019
* AFTER is the dumbest movie I've ever seen... by Alex Meyers, August 2019
==Additional Reading==
[Note: additional fandom meta posts and in depth discussions welcomed to help balance this section]
Fandom Meta:
* Why I Strongly Dislike “After” By Anna Todd aka imaginator1D tumblr post by 5sos-aumemes dated June 8, 2014
* After: The Six Figure FanFic, discussion on Fail Fandomanon, June 14, 2014.
External Meta:
* This One Direction erotica has been read by more people than live in the U.S. And its author just scored a huge book deal. - a Washington Post article
* , a Time magazine article (June 4, 2014)
* by Elizabeth Minkel (June 24, 2014)
==References==
Category:Het Fanfiction
Category:2013 Fanfiction‎
Category:2014 Fanfiction
Category:Scandals