TV FanFiction Thread

[ESS]

How's everyone's writing going?

Mine isn't going well the motivational part that is, but I did write my most likely very last one shot on Gemma/Nero and posted it up recently. I still have my two other mutli chaptered stories on them I'm working on so that's what I'm going to be focused on especially since I want to finish up my biggest Gemma/Nero story I started a few years ago, but I don't think I'll reach my goal of finishing it this year, but maybe next? 🤷‍♀️

[Annber03]

I'm glad you're still getting some fic posted :)! And I'm glad you've got a goal in mind for your bigger Gemma/Nero story - hoping for you to be able to finish it this year like you want, but even if it goes into next year, that's still a great achievement and I hope all goes well with wriiting that :). 

(I do feel you on the motivation issues, though. In my case, I very much want to write, the issue is trying to find the time to do so and finish/write and post all the story ideas running around in my head. I have a longfic idea I'm kinda trying to work out for one of my favorite pairings right now, based around the events of this past season's finale, but it's still in its early stages and even once I get it fleshed out, trying to find the free time to work on it is going to be the main issue. But we'll see how it goes.)

Otherwise, though, my writing is going generally well. I've slowed down on posting new fic in recent months - I was getting rather prolific around the end of last year, but that was because I was involved in a few fic exchanges for my current fandom (the U.S. version of "Ghosts"), so that kept me busy. I've since kind of fallen back to my regular thing of posting someting new every couple months or so. But this past season, notably the finale, has inspired a LOT of fic ideas for me that I want to work on, and I've got other general ideas Ive been working on/kicking around for this fandom, too. Just, like stated above, free time is my main issue. But at least I've got no shortage of fic ideas to keep me busy this summer, so...:D. 

[ESS]

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I'm glad you're still getting some fic posted :)! And I'm glad you've got a goal in mind for your bigger Gemma/Nero story - hoping for you to be able to finish it this year like you want, but even if it goes into next year, that's still a great achievement and I hope all goes well with wriiting that :). 

(I do feel you on the motivation issues, though. In my case, I very much want to write, the issue is trying to find the time to do so and finish/write and post all the story ideas running around in my head. I have a longfic idea I'm kinda trying to work out for one of my favorite pairings right now, based around the events of this past season's finale, but it's still in its early stages and even once I get it fleshed out, trying to find the free time to work on it is going to be the main issue. But we'll see how it goes.)

Otherwise, though, my writing is going generally well. I've slowed down on posting new fic in recent months - I was getting rather prolific around the end of last year, but that was because I was involved in a few fic exchanges for my current fandom (the U.S. version of "Ghosts"), so that kept me busy. I've since kind of fallen back to my regular thing of posting someting new every couple months or so. But this past season, notably the finale, has inspired a LOT of fic ideas for me that I want to work on, and I've got other general ideas Ive been working on/kicking around for this fandom, too. Just, like stated above, free time is my main issue. But at least I've got no shortage of fic ideas to keep me busy this summer, so...:D. 

I'm glad your writing is going well too. As for mine I have all the time in the world to write it's just like I said the encouragment and motivational factors that I can't seem to get over and as I've mentioned to you several times already Gemma/Nero are so hated in the fandom and no one is writing for them at all anymore and if they do it's just one shots and it's like every once and awhile honestly I don't think anyone wants to write about them and I don't think they love them as much as I do, but at the same time even though I want new stories on them I don't like how the majority of the fandom writes them as a couple to me it's not them if that makes sense and if you know what I mean and I also don't like how they write Gemma either they write her like she was a monster and she wasn't at all so I've become very extremely picky about how I think she and Gemma/Nero should be written over the years so it really depends for me on whether I'll read a Gemma/Nero fic nowadays and in my opinion I think my version of Gemma herself and especially Gemma/Nero is the best because I write them how I think they should be written meaning I saw them as just a regular couple (although I have to admit it is hard writing them normally sometimes not gonna lie and I write Gemma as a human being, plus she was different when she was around and with Nero anyway). For Gemma/Nero I've written a few episode fics one shots for them and plus some non post-it episode fics too. I've only found maybe one to two people that I like how they write Gemma and Gemma/Nero (although the second one hasn't really written for them just yet, but appearently is going to) Of course SOA is a dead show now, but in the fanfic world it's still very active, but not how I'd like it to be and I don't think that'll ever change sadly for me. 

Edited June 4 by ESS

[Annber03]

That would be tough, yeah, if you disagree with others in the fandom about your interpretation of how to write certain pairings/characters. I haven't really had that experience in my fandoms thus far - in my case, a lot of the time, my issue is that there's very good writers for my pairings in my fandoms, whose work i love. Just that the writing groups for my favorite pariings tend to be rather small, so it's more just us wanting more people to join us in writing these pairings :p. My current favorite pairing from "Ghosts" that I love to write about s the most popular one on AO3...but the recent finale put them in a rather sad situation, so I sometimes worry that it might kill or dampen the enthusiasm among those who like to write for them. I'm trying to do my part, but yeah, I hope it hasn't put others off from writing about them altogether. Maybe next season will see an uptick again, depending on what happens with them. Who knows. 

As for the show being active, just not in the way you'd like, you never know, maybe down the line things will change in that regard. Fandoms can fluctuate and change even long after the canon has completed, so perhaps in time there'll be new fans who you can vibe with and who enjoy your favorite pairing the way you do. I'm glad you seem to have found a couple people, at least, who you might be able to  connect with in that way - I hope that works out and you're able to have those other fans to chat with about the show and your pairing and whatnot :).

In the meantime, your passion for your favorite pairing and characters is good to see, and I hope that can be channeled into giving you the motivation you want to keep writing for them :). 

[ESS]

9 hours ago, Annber03 said:

That would be tough, yeah, if you disagree with others in the fandom about your interpretation of how to write certain pairings/characters. I haven't really had that experience in my fandoms thus far - in my case, a lot of the time, my issue is that there's very good writers for my pairings in my fandoms, whose work i love. Just that the writing groups for my favorite pariings tend to be rather small, so it's more just us wanting more people to join us in writing these pairings :p. My current favorite pairing from "Ghosts" that I love to write about s the most popular one on AO3...but the recent finale put them in a rather sad situation, so I sometimes worry that it might kill or dampen the enthusiasm among those who like to write for them. I'm trying to do my part, but yeah, I hope it hasn't put others off from writing about them altogether. Maybe next season will see an uptick again, depending on what happens with them. Who knows. 

As for the show being active, just not in the way you'd like, you never know, maybe down the line things will change in that regard. Fandoms can fluctuate and change even long after the canon has completed, so perhaps in time there'll be new fans who you can vibe with and who enjoy your favorite pairing the way you do. I'm glad you seem to have found a couple people, at least, who you might be able to  connect with in that way - I hope that works out and you're able to have those other fans to chat with about the show and your pairing and whatnot :).

In the meantime, your passion for your favorite pairing and characters is good to see, and I hope that can be channeled into giving you the motivation you want to keep writing for them :). 

I'm glad you have a popular couple to write for because it beats mine that isn't and the issue of why I don't like how they write Gemma is because she was and is still so hated in the fandom by the majority and I think the reason why that is is because how she was actually written in canon which I hate because to me I saw her as a human being not a moster, yes she did horrible things and she was extremely a lot of the times and for good reasons a lot of the times, but I looked at her from a different perceptive and how most of the people write her is very different from how I actually saw her...basically there was more to her than what we saw in canon and on screen is what I'm trying to say. As for Gemma/Nero again I've only found like maybe 3 writers who i like/love how they've written them as a couple - well two at the moment, but the 1 I like how they have written Gemma so far in their stories and I think I'll like how they write Gemma/Nero as well as soon as they do whenever that is. 

It's really tough writing for Gemma/Nero because well they are hated anyway Gemma as a character and Nero is hated by association so either way I'm really out of luck finding much of anyone who loves them as much as I do or who agrees with me on them much, but yes I have at least find a few, but it's honestly not enough for me, but I'm trying to deal with that as much as I can. I hate the SOA fandom as a whole as well so that's another issue I've never been a fandom that deals with a hated character like they do with Gemma the hate is on another level. I understand hating a character, but they take it more than I've ever seen and I'm still shocked by it. I know they say if a character is hated this much in a fandom that the actor/actress has done their job, but I still hate it and don't think it's right or fair to put all the hate on that one character when all of the characters did horrible things on the show that's what I have a problem with in terms of these Gemma haters because they put all of the horrible names and what she did on her and don't blame any of the other characters for doing stuff and even the same things she did and horrible things to other people it's always her that's thrown under the bus in the fandom, everyone else gets passes, but her no(and I don't even give her passes either, but I also don't deny what she did and who she was and I don't deny the other characters did horrible things like the fandom does and they also spin their own lies about Gemma as well a lot of it isn't even true about her and they also blame her for things that happened when she wasn't even there at that time or didn't know about it, it's horrible how she's treated and that's what I mean I have a problem with) that said it's not so much the hate because I get it even if I don't agree with it, but the fact they take it to another level you know?(see above) I don't think the SOA fandom will ever change the fans are set in their ways for Gemma herself and Gemma/Nero and it's really sad and frustrating for me and the majority of the fandom will always be shipping the two main couples I hate with a passion and always hate Gemma herself as a character I'm still shocked when I find out there are fans of hers and Gemma/Nero, but they are both few and far between in my case, it's like the majority of the fandom wasn't watching the same show as I was. 

Like your couple Gemma/Nero also got a very very sad ending as well so I did a one shot changing that and went a different route because I hated how it ended for her and Gemma/Nero. Plus I wanted to do a plot like that for a while and so I finally did, it helped me cope a little bit what happened in canon so I guess that's something, but I'll never forget what happened. 

I do have a passion to writing for Gemma/Nero it's just...hard and frustrating everyday because I need more inspiration and motivation than I actually get which is barely anything from even the few people in the fandom I talk with and a lot of the times I don't even know what keeps me writing for them. 

Edited June 5 by ESS

[Annber03]

17 hours ago, ESS said:

I'm glad you have a popular couple to write for because it beats mine that isn't and the issue of why I don't like how they write Gemma is because she was and is still so hated in the fandom by the majority and I think the reason why that is is because how she was actually written in canon which I hate because to me I saw her as a human being not a moster, yes she did horrible things and she was extremely a lot of the times and for good reasons a lot of the times, but I looked at her from a different perceptive and how most of the people write her is very different from how I actually saw her...basically there was more to her than what we saw in canon and on screen is what I'm trying to say. .

Oh, I've been there, too. Even with my pairing that I currently write for, which is a m/m pairing, one half is a main character and the other is recurring, and there are people who don't care for the recurring character. I obviously disagree with the reasons why, and I think the fact he is recurring plays a role, because he doesn't get as much screentime, obviously, as a result, and so it's harder for people to see things from his perspective much of the time because of that. I'm interested in exploring beyond canon for him, but not everyone is. *Shrugs* It is what it is. 

And then in another fandom there's a non-canon m/f pairing I like that is VERY unpopular with a lot of the fandom because the woman is married in canon, and the people who don't ship them, it's because they either think they're better as friends/are "like siblings" (I don't see the sibling comparison, but...), or they absolutely dislike her because they think she's "mean" to the male half of the ship and so on. Again, I do not agree with this interpretation, but I share all this to say I know where you're coming from in shipping pairings where people don't like one half of the couple. Like you, I like exploring these characters more in depth beyond what we see in canon, and I feel that makes it easier for me to appreciate them and their role in the ships in question, or within the group of canon characters as a whole. 

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 I hate the SOA fandom as a whole as well so that's another issue I've never been a fandom that deals with a hated character like they do with Gemma the hate is on another level. I understand hating a character, but they take it more than I've ever seen and I'm still shocked by it. I know they say if a character is hated this much in a fandom that the actor/actress has done their job, but I still hate it and don't think it's right or fair to put all the hate on that one character when all of the characters did horrible things on the show that's what I have a problem with.

I honestly have a hard time flat out hating a character, at least, one that isn't already meant to be hated in canon. And even then, it's more in a "love to hate" sort of way for me. I genuinely can't think of any shows I watch where there's a character I despise in a "I never want to see them on my screen again" sort of way. For me, when I watch a show, I have to like and/or be invested in ALL the characters to some degree or another. I just can't fathom watching a show where one or more of the characters bothers me to the point where I have to constanly harp on about how much I don't like them. It just seems like a waste of my time and energy and would suck all the fun out of watching a show for me. 

But yeah, unfortunately that's every fandom, there's always that one character who becomes something of a punching bag for a good part of the fanbase. And never underestimate the fact that there are people that completely miss the point and get OUTRAGED that a morally grey/sketchy/bad character would, y'know, do something bad. Like, yes, congratulations, people, that was the entire point of the story! It's not meant to be a morality play, you know? 

And as we've talked about before, unfortunately, female characters get the brunt of criticism, and will always get raked over the coals for things that people will happily forgive in male characters. It sucks, but it's also sadly not surprising. Women can never seem to win with how they're portrayed on TV, no matter what they do someone's always going to nitpick it. The same can also be said for anything minority characters do compared to straight and white characters. 

(I can also sympathize with getting frustrated with a fandom. My current one is thankfully fairly chill overall, but I have been in others where...I don't hate the fandom as a whole, but there are definitely pockets of it that have me all, "O-kay, gonna avod that corner...". Helps I'm not on social media, either, so I probably miss out on some of the absolute worst takes and behavior that way.)

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Like your couple Gemma/Nero also got a very very sad ending as well so I did a one shot changing that and went a different route because I hated how it ended for her and Gemma/Nero. Plus I wanted to do a plot like that for a while and so I finally did, it helped me cope a little bit what happened in canon so I guess that's something, but I'll never forget what happened. 

Ah, well, thankfully, my pairng's story isn't over for good yet - what they've got planned for them next season (and beyond, depending on how many more seasons the show goes), who knows, but yeah, right now they're not in a great place, no. I sympathize with your reasoning for wriitng a fic about a sad situation, though - I actually wrote a fic inspired by the events of the season finale for my pairing, too, and it was probably the toughest fic I've written thsu far, but also very cathartic. I actually have a LOT of fic ideas around that finale - on the one hand, it ended on a sad note but on the other hand as a writer I'm sitting here like, "...ooh, okay, angsty fic potential..." :p. 

But yeah, if that was how their story ended for good, or if their ending was a particularly tragic one, I would probably be a lot more upset about it, the way you feel with your pairing. It's one thing if it's something that can be fixed in future seasons, but if that's how things end in canon...well, that's why fix-it fics are so very popular in fanfic communiteis, huh? 

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I do have a passion to writing for Gemma/Nero it's just...hard and frustrating everyday because I need more inspiration and motivation than I actually get which is barely anything from even the few people in the fandom I talk with and a lot of the times I don't even know what keeps me writing for them. 

 

That's where the love of the pairng comes in. I know it may not seem like much, but unfortunately with as fragmented and toxic and isolated and whatnot so many fandom spaces are nowadays, that seems to be the most consistent thing that can fuel someone's desire to write for a pairing. No matter what else is going on in fandom, how crazy everything else is, one's love for the charactres and/or pairings they write for can be the main thing keeping them going. And hopefully, along the way, they find others who will share in that love and appreciation. 

[ESS]

46 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Oh, I've been there, too. Even with my pairing that I currently write for, which is a m/m pairing, one half is a main character and the other is recurring, and there are people who don't care for the recurring character. I obviously disagree with the reasons why, and I think the fact he is recurring plays a role, because he doesn't get as much screentime, obviously, as a result, and so it's harder for people to see things from his perspective much of the time because of that. I'm interested in exploring beyond canon for him, but not everyone is. *Shrugs* It is what it is. 

And then in another fandom there's a non-canon m/f pairing I like that is VERY unpopular with a lot of the fandom because the woman is married in canon, and the people who don't ship them, it's because they either think they're better as friends/are "like siblings" (I don't see the sibling comparison, but...), or they absolutely dislike her because they think she's "mean" to the male half of the ship and so on. Again, I do not agree with this interpretation, but I share all this to say I know where you're coming from in shipping pairings where people don't like one half of the couple. Like you, I like exploring these characters more in depth beyond what we see in canon, and I feel that makes it easier for me to appreciate them and their role in the ships in question, or within the group of canon characters as a whole. 

Ouch that has to suck about your pairings!! What's also tough for me is that SOA has been off the air for basically 10 years now. Yeah Gemma was married as well, but that's not why she's so hated though it's basically because of the things she did in canon and her personality and Nero is hated by association because of his involvement with Gemma so that's why I'm pretty sure they are hated for. Gemma/Nero as I've probably mentioned before are a couple canon, but just barely because they were treated like total dirt.

46 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I honestly have a hard time flat out hating a character, at least, one that isn't already meant to be hated in canon. And even then, it's more in a "love to hate" sort of way for me. I genuinely can't think of any shows I watch where there's a character I despise in a "I never want to see them on my screen again" sort of way. For me, when I watch a show, I have to like and/or be invested in ALL the characters to some degree or another. I just can't fathom watching a show where one or more of the characters bothers me to the point where I have to constanly harp on about how much I don't like them. It just seems like a waste of my time and energy and would suck all the fun out of watching a show for me. 

Well I do hate these two couples in SOA - one is the main couple and the other is the secondary main couple and it's because they are/were both toxic couples and I can't stand couples like that and plus they are popular and I'm one that doesn't really graviate towards couples like that. I also don't tend to love the popular characters either I tend to hate them as well. I know that sounds horrible, but it's how I feel, but I get your point.

But yeah, unfortunately that's every fandom, there's always that one character who becomes something of a punching bag for a good part of the fanbase. And never underestimate the fact that there are people that completely miss the point and get OUTRAGED that a morally grey/sketchy/bad character would, y'know, do something bad. Like, yes, congratulations, people, that was the entire point of the story! It's not meant to be a morality play, you know? 

And as we've talked about before, unfortunately, female characters get the brunt of criticism, and will always get raked over the coals for things that people will happily forgive in male characters. It sucks, but it's also sadly not surprising. Women can never seem to win with how they're portrayed on TV, no matter what they do someone's always going to nitpick it. The same can also be said for anything minority characters do compared to straight and white characters. 

(I can also sympathize with getting frustrated with a fandom. My current one is thankfully fairly chill overall, but I have been in others where...I don't hate the fandom as a whole, but there are definitely pockets of it that have me all, "O-kay, gonna avod that corner...". Helps I'm not on social media, either, so I probably miss out on some of the absolute worst takes and behavior that way.)

Yeah I'm not exactly on social media either much and you're not missing anything really.

Ah, well, thankfully, my pairng's story isn't over for good yet - what they've got planned for them next season (and beyond, depending on how many more seasons the show goes), who knows, but yeah, right now they're not in a great place, no. I sympathize with your reasoning for wriitng a fic about a sad situation, though - I actually wrote a fic inspired by the events of the season finale for my pairing, too, and it was probably the toughest fic I've written thsu far, but also very cathartic. I actually have a LOT of fic ideas around that finale - on the one hand, it ended on a sad note but on the other hand as a writer I'm sitting here like, "...ooh, okay, angsty fic potential..." :p. 

But yeah, if that was how their story ended for good, or if their ending was a particularly tragic one, I would probably be a lot more upset about it, the way you feel with your pairing. It's one thing if it's something that can be fixed in future seasons, but if that's how things end in canon...well, that's why fix-it fics are so very popular in fanfic communiteis, huh? 

You're lucky your pairing still gets some stuff on screen. Gemma/Nero barely got anything and that's why I have end up right for them, but then SOA wasn't exactly a romantic type of show, but I still ship and fell in love with them so much. 

That's where the love of the pairng comes in. I know it may not seem like much, but unfortunately with as fragmented and toxic and isolated and whatnot so many fandom spaces are nowadays, that seems to be the most consistent thing that can fuel someone's desire to write for a pairing. No matter what else is going on in fandom, how crazy everything else is, one's love for the charactres and/or pairings they write for can be the main thing keeping them going. And hopefully, along the way, they find others who will share in that love and appreciation. 

I guess that's true, but like I've said it's still frustrating for me I wish it wasn't because it's not fair nor right how these two were treated as a couple.

Edited June 6 by ESS

[ESS]

Does anyone have a case where they love/ship a couple/pairing, but they can't read fanfics about them? I have this issue with a couple I love and ship in a fandom and it's so weird because this has never happened to me before. I've tried reading several fics on these two and I just can't get through them and I usually end up just reading the comments people leave. 

Edited June 8 by ESS

[Annber03]

I honestly don't think I've had a moment like that thus far, no - I'm a multi-shipper sort, so maybe that's part of why, at least in my case (I have pairings I'm particularly fond of and which I'll read about/write for most often, but I'm also open to most, if not all, the ships in my fandoms and will read pretty much anything that looks interesting).

I have heard about some fans feeling that way with certain pairings they like, though, yeah, so you're definitely not alone in that situation. Maybe they're satisfied with the way canon wrote them and feel they don't need to turn to fanfic, maybe they feel the fic doesn't capture what they like about that pairing, maybe it's a pairing they like but it's just not one they're fannish about in that way, there's all sorts of reasons. I don't know what the particular reason might be for your situation, but yeah, it is for sure a thing. 

I like to read the comments on fics, too :). It's interesting to see what all people have to say about a fic/the characters/pairing involved. 

[ESS]

13 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I honestly don't think I've had a moment like that thus far, no - I'm a multi-shipper sort, so maybe that's part of why, at least in my case (I have pairings I'm particularly fond of and which I'll read about/write for most often, but I'm also open to most, if not all, the ships in my fandoms and will read pretty much anything that looks interesting).

I have heard about some fans feeling that way with certain pairings they like, though, yeah, so you're definitely not alone in that situation. Maybe they're satisfied with the way canon wrote them and feel they don't need to turn to fanfic, maybe they feel the fic doesn't capture what they like about that pairing, maybe it's a pairing they like but it's just not one they're fannish about in that way, there's all sorts of reasons. I don't know what the particular reason might be for your situation, but yeah, it is for sure a thing. 

I like to read the comments on fics, too :). It's interesting to see what all people have to say about a fic/the characters/pairing involved. 

Well I'm a multi fandom shipper as well and yes your statement is probably why I feel this way about everything for this couple happening so there's really nothing to write about in fanfics which is basically true for them, but I didn't realize that at first and why I felt this way after trying to read some stories on them although I do still think it's still kind of weird because I've never had this happen to me ever before now, but the more I thought about it, the more I think that's definitely it. Now I have the filters on the couple on ao3 ready if ever wanted to read fics on this couple, but that's about it. 🤷‍♀️

 

[JustHereForFood]

On 6/8/2024 at 8:53 PM, ESS said:

Does anyone have a case where they love/ship a couple/pairing, but they can't read fanfics about them? I have this issue with a couple I love and ship in a fandom and it's so weird because this has never happened to me before. I've tried reading several fics on these two and I just can't get through them and I usually end up just reading the comments people leave. 

I can't think of any, but I've had a sort of opposite situation: a couple I very much don't ship romantically in canon, I love their platonic relationship and shipping them seems incestuous and even creepy to me. But I've had this weird fascination once that I just had to read several fics that shipped them romantically. And some of them were even really well written. Still didn't make me ship them and I still find that ship creepy, but I don't think of my time as wasted, it was an interesting experience, lol.

[BlackberryJam]

I’m a big reader of Jaime/Brienne fanfiction from Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire. The fandom is of course struggling because the show is off the air, Winds of Winter is not forthcoming and the pair got a shit ending on the show. So I’m grateful we are still getting fic.

Very grateful.

Unfortunately, some of my favorite writers seem to have taken a step back or moved on to different fandoms. There are a lot of unfinished stories out there which seem abandoned. It makes me sad.

 

[Annber03]

Aw, yeah, it's tough when writers get into new fandoms and move on. I totally get it, of course, you go where the inspiration is, and I've got many fandoms I'm into as well. But still, it is tough when they stop writing completely. I may be heavily focused on "Ghosts" right now, but I do have fics for other fandoms I'm in that I would like to finish and post at some point. 

I'm glad that your ship is still getting some fic. That's another tough thing, when the canon is done and there's not any new material to keep people going. There's only so many times people can go over the same canon events, after al. Doesn't help that fandom in general is so fragmented nowadays and the delays between any new canon that does come along can be so lengthy, either. It's easier when you've got a centralized place for fans to gather and discuss and bounce ideas around and whatnot. 

5 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

I can't think of any, but I've had a sort of opposite situation: a couple I very much don't ship romantically in canon, I love their platonic relationship and shipping them seems incestuous and even creepy to me. But I've had this weird fascination once that I just had to read several fics that shipped them romantically. And some of them were even really well written. Still didn't make me ship them and I still find that ship creepy, but I don't think of my time as wasted, it was an interesting experience, lol.

LOL, I get this. That's an intersting phenomenon, but it makes sense. Sometimes you just gotta satisfy that curiosity and see why this pairing has the following it does :D. I'm glad that you were still able to appreciate the fics in and of themselves, even if they ddin't get you to ship the pairing in question. 

13 hours ago, ESS said:

Well I'm a multi fandom shipper as well and yes your statement is probably why I feel this way about everything for this couple happening so there's really nothing to write about in fanfics which is basically true for them, but I didn't realize that at first and why I felt this way after trying to read some stories on them although I do still think it's still kind of weird because I've never had this happen to me ever before now, but the more I thought about it, the more I think that's definitely it. Now I have the filters on the couple on ao3 ready if ever wanted to read fics on this couple, but that's about it. 🤷‍♀️

Yeah, like I said, that was my theory for why that's not happened to me, but I'm glad that that seemed to answer the question for you as well. Sometimes it can also take a while for a pairing to click, too - maybe you just need the right fic to draw you in, who knows? 

[ESS]

2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Yeah, like I said, that was my theory for why that's not happened to me, but I'm glad that that seemed to answer the question for you as well. Sometimes it can also take a while for a pairing to click, too - maybe you just need the right fic to draw you in, who knows? 

I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable reading fics on them becuase they have it all in canon- got married, have fun, go on vacations, and they have their own family together and so on..

2 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Aw, yeah, it's tough when writers get into new fandoms and move on. I totally get it, of course, you go where the inspiration is, and I've got many fandoms I'm into as well. But still, it is tough when they stop writing completely. 

This is my problem along with my other show being off the air although the fandom itself isn't dead especially in fanfics, but my couple itself is basically dead and really always has been although like I've said I'm writing them, but it's not easy shipping/love rare pairs all the time that's all I've gotta say. 

[Annber03]

43 minutes ago, ESS said:

I don't know if I'll ever feel comfortable reading fics on them becuase they have it all in canon- got married, have fun, go on vacations, and they have their own family together and so on..

Aw. Well, I'm glad they've got some happiness in canon. Which couple is this :)?

Quote

This is my problem along with my other show being off the air although the fandom itself isn't dead especially in fanfics, but my couple itself is basically dead and really always has been although like I've said I'm writing them, but it's not easy shipping/love rare pairs all the time that's all I've gotta say. 

Yeah, it's so weird what pairings will keep going long after their respective canons end and what ones seem to kind of die out when the canon stops, or at least have a long lull until new fans come on board. And yes, rare pairs are tough enough to get off the ground when the canon is current and active, even more so when the canon is completed. It seems weird that with the internet being what it is nowadays it can be so hard to find good spaces to keep things active, but that fragmentation is both a blessing and a curse. You get to cultivate your fandom experience, which is great, but it also means you risk having a very small space for your particular corner of fandom, which doesn't allow for much growth. 

[ESS]

57 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Aw. Well, I'm glad they've got some happiness in canon. Which couple is this :)?

Yeah, it's so weird what pairings will keep going long after their respective canons end and what ones seem to kind of die out when the canon stops, or at least have a long lull until new fans come on board. And yes, rare pairs are tough enough to get off the ground when the canon is current and active, even more so when the canon is completed. It seems weird that with the internet being what it is nowadays it can be so hard to find good spaces to keep things active, but that fragmentation is both a blessing and a curse. You get to cultivate your fandom experience, which is great, but it also means you risk having a very small space for your particular corner of fandom, which doesn't allow for much growth. 

The fandom is 9-1-1 and the couple is Bobby & Athena 

As for the second things yeah that's exactly right...

[Annber03]

10 minutes ago, ESS said:

The fandom is 9-1-1 and the couple is Bobby & Athena 

Oh, nice! I've heard of them and that show, yeah - I'm glad they seem so steady in canon, it's nice when there are couples on shows that are going strong and remain stable mo matter what. 

[ESS]

5 hours ago, Annber03 said:

Oh, nice! I've heard of them and that show, yeah - I'm glad they seem so steady in canon, it's nice when there are couples on shows that are going strong and remain stable mo matter what. 

Yeah I watched for them and still do. They are a strong couple they've been through a lot in canon, but they also are treated quite good, but it probably helps that both actors who play them are basically executive producers on the show so I think they have a bit of says in what their characters do and stuff like that. I'm not saying they don't have any issues in their relationship, they do, but they definitely aren't Gemma/Nero who got treated like total dirt where as Bobby & Athena were basically a first couple (they were paired together in s1 and went on from there) so with them it's...better and they are more popular especially in fanfics at first they weren't, but over the years they've slowly gotten to that point honestly I can't help, but be jealous and wanted that type of thing for Gemma/Nero because they got the opposite in everyway sadly and unfortunately. It's really shocking and amazing just how different couples can be on shows/in canon and how different of treatment they can get. 

Edited June 10 by ESS

[BlackberryJam]

In my fandom, Jaime Lannister had 7 TV show seasons and five books of character development tossed out the window for a super shitty ending, while Brienne was left to pine for his memory. It SUCKED. The fandom though is mostly supportive. The larger GoT/ASoIaF fandom has a lot of gatekeepers (mostly male) who pretty much ignore everything the author has said about Jaime and Brienne. They devalue the individual characters and mock the ship. I’ve learned to avoid those fandom spaces. 

Rarepairs, those are rough, because it’s hard to find fandom friends. Especially when your fandom has no new canon material being produced.

I realize I’m lucky. GoT/ASoIaF has almost 100k fics and JB has over 10k of those. JB is the #1 ship in the fandom. Which is a little crazy because they didn’t even get together until the mid-point of the last season. 

Anyway, I’ve taken to re-reading old fics that I love. 

[JustHereForFood]

As far as ASoIaF goes, Jamie/Brienne are a pretty good ship. They are not related and nothing unconsensual ever happened between them as far as I remember. I haven't read any fics about them, but good for you to have so many to choose from. I have ventured into ASoIaF fics some years ago, but I can't really remember anything special, other than The North Remembers, which was a doorstopper of a fic that basically covered books 6 and 7 and was IMO very faithful to how the characters were written in the books. I think Jamie and Brienne had a rather good but tragic conclusion there. Other than that, I've read some Dany/Jorah fics, because I'm creepy like that, but there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy, IMO.

[ESS]

48 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said:

Rarepairs, those are rough, because it’s hard to find fandom friends. Especially when your fandom has no new canon material being produced.

You aren't kidding about that and not only that it's even worse when the couple you love is hated in the fandom and by the majority and that's my other problem with my top rare pair couple I love so much. 

[Annber03]

18 hours ago, ESS said:

Yeah I watched for them and still do. They are a strong couple they've been through a lot in canon, but they also are treated quite good, but it probably helps that both actors who play them are basically executive producers on the show so I think they have a bit of says in what their characters do and stuff like that.. 

Ooh, yes, that certainly helps, for sure. And even in shows where the actors don't have that kind of BTS power, some of them still seem to have more input over things. I've heard about how, on "The Office", the actors who play Jim and Pam shot down a plotline where Jim would cheat on Pam, I believe it was. And rightly so, 'cause yeah, that would've sucked. 

It's tough with shows like "Game of Thrones" or "Sons of Anarchy", 'cause just going off what I do know about both those shows, they're darker in nature, so on that level it makes sense that some of the pairings might have a darker/tragic end as a result. But there's also a difference between a dark/tragic ending that works for the show/characters and one that's just edgy drama for the sake of edgy drama. Not having watched those shows, save for occasional bits of "Sons" here and there, I can't speak to their endings, myself, but I'll take the word of those of you who've watched them, in regards to the sucky endings the characters/pairings in question got. 

("Bates Motel" was a perfect example of a show where a dark/tragic ending for characters/a pairing worked for the show. It was a prequel to a very well-known movie, so I knew going in that the couple I liked were not going to have a happy ending, and  I think they handled the moments when their characters did sutffer their tragic fates very well, and they worked with how the storyline played out and were still very emotional, despite the fact that you knew the tragic ending was coming. More dark dramatic series should take notes from that series in that regard.)

I've been really lucky in that the canon pairings I've been into have had happy endings thus far. I'm hoping that'll be the case with my favorite canon pairing for my current fandom, too - but luckily, since this is a lighthearted comedy series, I'm not too worried about that. The only way I could see that not panning out is if one of the actors were to ever leave the show for some reaosn or another. 

But yeah, I do feel for those of you who've had a rough go of it with your favorite pairings. Especially when the canon actively screws them over. Sure, that's what makes fanfic so fun, getting to fix what canon screwed up, but even then, it can sometimes make it tough to rewatch the canon, I'd imagine. 

5 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

In my fandom, Jaime Lannister had 7 TV show seasons and five books of character development tossed out the window for a super shitty ending, while Brienne was left to pine for his memory. It SUCKED. The fandom though is mostly supportive. The larger GoT/ASoIaF fandom has a lot of gatekeepers (mostly male) who pretty much ignore everything the author has said about Jaime and Brienne. They devalue the individual characters and mock the ship. I’ve learned to avoid those fandom spaces. 

Ugh, gatekeepers suck. As do people who dump on the characters/pairings that fans love. There's very few pairings in any of my fandoms that I just don't care for (and even then, it's more in a, "Eh, it's not my thing" way than outright HATING them), but I would never dream of going into fan spaces for those pairings and dunking on them and making the fans who like them feel like crap. I've got better things to do with my time. Plus, I've been there with people dunking on pairings I like, too. It sucks. 

Quote

Anyway, I’ve taken to re-reading old fics that I love. 

I like doing that :D. Any particular standouts you can recall/are enjoying going back and reading? 

[ESS]

 

 

It's tough with shows like "Game of Thrones" or "Sons of Anarchy", 'cause just going off what I do know about both those shows, they're darker in nature, so on that level it makes sense that some of the pairings might have a darker/tragic end as a result. But there's also a difference between a dark/tragic ending that works for the show/characters and one that's just edgy drama for the sake of edgy drama. Not having watched those shows, save for occasional bits of "Sons" here and there, I can't speak to their endings, myself, but I'll take the word of those of you who've watched them, in regards to the sucky endings the characters/pairings in question got. 

Yeah Sons has been off the air officially for almost 10 years now(December of this year It'll be 10 years, it ended in 2014) and it's been off TV for like 2 years I think maybe 3 max and I think a lot of the fandom doesn't seem to have the DVD's either that or they've forgotten about a lot of what happened and a lot of spaces for the show aren't as active as they once were either, but I don't really go into a lot of the discussion spaces because of the Gemma hate and more personal issues that I won't get into on here. That all said I realize Sons isn't exactly a romantic type of show, but I can't help that I got into the couple I did (Gemma/Nero) and that they are a rare pairing (I really wish they weren't) just for the simple of the hate they get in the fandom it just sucks for me because I'm the only that seems to love them so much and is trying to keep them alive especially now. I got into Sons about 5 years after it went off the air so that didn't help any honestly, but the hate for Gemma herself is still so strong that I'm still shocked by it and I have to admit the hate for Gemma/Nero I'll never understand because they are and were a beautiful and great couple that had everything in their relationship, communication, love, stability, passion and mad real chemistry it was so real to me that I forgot they were just acting and it's rare to get that type of chemistry and passion from a TV couple like that in my experience. The only good thing I guess for Gemma/Nero is that they became canon, but it also wasn't fast enough for me and once they did well they were doomed from then on although even before that they had too much stacked them so in reality from the begining of their relationship to the end (I'll never believe they broke up though I meant the end of the show) They are my top couple I ship/love and I think out of all of the couples I love/ship and I have a lot of them Gemma/Nero have had it the worst. 

Edited June 11 by ESS

[BlackberryJam]

On 6/11/2024 at 1:42 AM, Annber03 said:

 

I like doing that :D. Any particular standouts you can recall/are enjoying going back and reading? 

Life has its own angst so I've been re-reading the funny, Mod AU fics. There is a fantasy football one that is 9 fics in a series that still makes me laugh 10 years later.

There are some great Hallmark movie style fics too.

[Annber03]

9 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Life has its own angst so I've been re-reading the funny, Mod AU fics. There is a fantasy football one that is 9 fics in a series that still makes me laugh 10 years later.

There are some great Hallmark movie style fics too.

The idea of GOT having Hallmark-movie style fics is hilariously entertaining to me XD. I love that. That's great. That fantasy football one has me curious, too - and I don't even follow fantasy football :D. But if it still makes you laugh all this time later, then it must be a good read.

Yeah, I've noticed a lot of fantasy-oriented series will have a bunch of AUs, usually modern ones. I don't know if it's because the authors feel intimidated trying to write within the fantasy worldbuilding of canon or if they just enjoy imagining what the characters would look like in a non-fantasy setting or what, but it is interesting how common they tend to be. 

Mind, I totally get the appeal - I've always liked reading AUs in my fandoms, but most of them were already set in the real/modern world, so the AUs for those fandoms did tend to be more fantasy/supernatural type stuff a lot of the time as a result. And since I'm not super well versed in those genres, I would read AUs in that setting, but never thought to write one of my own, 'cause I wasn't sure I could pull it off as well. 

But with my current fandom? I'm still happily writing canon-compliant stuff and will continue to do so, but I do also have some AU fic ideas for the characters that I want to play around with, too. So I understand where the AU writers are coming from - fanfiction is all about the "what if?", after all, and AUs are a perfect example of that in action. 

[BlackberryJam]

18 hours ago, Annber03 said:

The idea of GOT having Hallmark-movie style fics is hilariously entertaining to me XD. I love that. That's great. That fantasy football one has me curious, too - and I don't even follow fantasy football :D. But if it still makes you laugh all this time later, then it must be a good read.

Yeah, I've noticed a lot of fantasy-oriented series will have a bunch of AUs, usually modern ones. I don't know if it's because the authors feel intimidated trying to write within the fantasy worldbuilding of canon or if they just enjoy imagining what the characters would look like in a non-fantasy setting or what, but it is interesting how common they tend to be. 

 

Jaime and Brienne have many rom-com tropes! Enemies to friends. Stuck together in a road trip. Beauty and the Beast. Inverted Beauty and the Beast. Dreaming of each other. Insulting nicknames. Jaime cracks the jaw of a guy who speaks ill of Brienne. 

Jaime jumps in a bear pit, unarmed, to save Brienne. When she asks why he did it, his answer, “I dreamed of you.” That’s some romance.

The ASoIaF canon is so damn dark and depressing. There is only so much that can be done within it, and it’s unfinished. How many takes on Lady Stoneheart can there be? (Answer, a LOT.) 

Not that I’ve done a study or a poll, but it seems to be the JB authors start with canon and then find it restrictive and move into different AUs. There are some fantastic regency AUs. There is a great baseball AU. A The Americans AU. A Remington Steele AU. I could go on. There is a fandom joke that absolutely anything can be made into a Jaime and Brienne story.

The fantasy football one, Stannis is the league commissioner and they are all vying for the Iron Throne trophy. It’s done in like a discord chat and has around 2 dozen characters who all manage to have their own story threads.  One line that cracks me up every time is Ned is asked by someone about why Catelyn’s sister doesn’t like him, and he answers that they bottle fed their kids. (iykyk) It’s so perfect and reads so deadpan. 

In the fandom, I also think the AUs give the writers a chance for closure of the Jaime and Brienne story without having to tackle the nightmare that is ASoIaF Endgame. I mean, even George Martin is too intimidated by Endgame to finish his own damn series. 

There are some insanely high quality writers. I’m just braggin’ on them. 

[Annber03]

As well you should! Those all sound AMAZING and I'm genuinely curious to read some of them despite not being at all familiar with this canon or the pairing :D. I love the creativity and fun people can have with that sort of thing. 

11 hours ago, BlackberryJam said:

Jaime and Brienne have many rom-com tropes! Enemies to friends. Stuck together in a road trip. Beauty and the Beast. Inverted Beauty and the Beast. Dreaming of each other. Insulting nicknames. Jaime cracks the jaw of a guy who speaks ill of Brienne. 

Jaime jumps in a bear pit, unarmed, to save Brienne. When she asks why he did it, his answer, “I dreamed of you.” That’s some romance.

Aw. That sounds lovely. And ha, yeah, a lot of my favorite pairings fit a lot of tropes, too. Enemies to lovers is a thing for my current canon one - though sometimes I wonder if it's not so much enemies to lovers as it is rivals to lovers, 'cause even though they were on opposite sides of a war, there's never really been an indication they've ever seen each other as the enemy. 

Quote

The ASoIaF canon is so damn dark and depressing. There is only so much that can be done within it, and it’s unfinished. How many takes on Lady Stoneheart can there be? (Answer, a LOT.) 

It's so weird how some canons handle that sort of thing. "Criminal Minds" is dark and depressing, too, and yet so much of the fic seems to mirror the canon in that regard (apparently a LOT of fic writers feel that the amount of suffering Reid experienced in canon wasn't enough and they up it by, like, a hundred in fic :p. He is THE poster child for the definition of a "fandom woobie"). And a lot of sitcom fandoms, like the one I'm currently in, will have some angsty fic as well. Not necessarily super dark, but still, angstier than the canon material. 

And then there's fandoms like yours, where some fans want to give their favorite characters a break 'cause canon put them through the ringer enough. It's just fascinating how that sort of thing works. 

I can also udnerstand the difficulty with an unfinished canon such as that one, too. On the one hand, much potential for speculative fic, but on the other hand, that can be pretty intimidating in its own right, 'cause what if canon ever does wind up tossing the fic speculation out the window? 

Quote

Not that I’ve done a study or a poll, but it seems to be the JB authors start with canon and then find it restrictive and move into different AUs.  

There's a writer for my current ship (whose work I very much enjoy) who says the same thing. They're like that in all the fandoms they've been in, they start with canon and then just needs to break into AU 'cause they feel they've done everything they can with the canon universe. And with this one it makes some sense, because while there is indeed a lot of fun fic potential in the fact that 80% of the main characters are ghosts and have powers, at the same time, they're also very limited in what they can do with those powers and where they can go (for the most part) and so on, so it does tend to put a few limits on things in that regard. With AUs, all of that goes away and the possibilties open up. 

[JustHereForFood]

I usually prefer stories that are close to canon, but I like some AUs that are like, what if that happened differently, what if the character that appeared in season 3 was there from the start, or another character didn't die when they did, etc. But AUs that are completely different setting, like high school instead of fantasy world, pirates instead of current time, coffeeshop AU, etc., I just don't get the appeal. The setting is usually a huge part of why I like the canon story. But good for people who get to explore their creativity this way.

[Annber03]

For me, reading those kinds of AUs tends to depend a lot on if I like the writer's work in general or like their take on a popular trope of that sort or whatnot. I'm not against writing one of those kinds of AUs myself - I actually do have a modern one I've been kicking around in my head for my current ship, but that was inspired by a fun conversation in a fandom group I'm in, so...:p. 

But yeah, if I am going to do AUs, I think I'd generally be more likely to do the sort you mention, with the "what if canon had gone this way instead?" type of premise, or things of that sort. I think one big reason I like staying in or close to canon is because it helps me get more comfortable writing the characters. I'm very character-focused in my work, so things like character studies or missing scene/post episode fic is a great way for me to explore the characters and their dynamics/interactions further, whether familial, platonic, or romantic. 

[Cloud9Shopper]

Glad to see this thread still active! 

I started writing for the 9-1-1 fandom a couple months ago, and it’s nice to be writing in an active, newer fandom. It’s given me the boost I needed to feel motivated about writing again, and it’s nice to see my stories gain traction.

I still have the ER fandom as the one I’ve written the most fics for, but I’m not as into it as I was a couple of years ago when I still had the boost and high of nostalgia going. Plus after being basically bullied out of the fandom and not being able to make many fandom friends, that also caused some of my enthusiasm to fizzle. I guess it makes sense in a way that 15 years after a show ends, most people do move on and you may not mesh with the ones who are left. Besides, as far as canon goes, from now on I’ll just watch until Mark dies and then pick up the last season.

I have eight fics to go until I’ve written 200 (lots of oneshots) and did write my first 100,000 word fic last year so that was pretty cool. 

[Annber03]

2 minutes ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I started writing for the 9-1-1 fandom a couple months ago, and it’s nice to be writing in an active, newer fandom. It’s given me the boost I needed to feel motivated about writing again, and it’s nice to see my stories gain traction.

I haven't seen that show, but there's some people in my current fandom who are big fans of it so I hear things about it through them, and it sounds like there's been some really interesting developments on that show of late, and the fandom's just gotten even more active since then, so I'm glad that you've got so much to delve into there, both with reading and writing fic. I'm sorry your last fandom expereince turned out shitty - here's to hoping this fandom is much better for you in that regarrd. 

[wallflower75]

On 6/17/2024 at 12:11 PM, BlackberryJam said:

Jaime and Brienne have many rom-com tropes! Enemies to friends. Stuck together in a road trip. Beauty and the Beast. Inverted Beauty and the Beast. Dreaming of each other. Insulting nicknames. Jaime cracks the jaw of a guy who speaks ill of Brienne. 

Jaime jumps in a bear pit, unarmed, to save Brienne. When she asks why he did it, his answer, “I dreamed of you.” That’s some romance.

The ASoIaF canon is so damn dark and depressing. There is only so much that can be done within it, and it’s unfinished. How many takes on Lady Stoneheart can there be? (Answer, a LOT.) ...[snip]

In the fandom, I also think the AUs give the writers a chance for closure of the Jaime and Brienne story without having to tackle the nightmare that is ASoIaF Endgame. I mean, even George Martin is too intimidated by Endgame to finish his own damn series. 

There are some insanely high quality writers. I’m just braggin’ on them. 

I'm just catching up on this thread (it's been a while!)--but first, I agree that the end of the show combined with GRRM still not releasing Winds has led to the decrease in stories as well as the loss of retention in writers.  I keep hoping that some of the writers will return if/when Winds gets released (latest rumor is that he might announce something at Worldcon in August, but then, there have been rumors about when that book will come out since at least 2012, so take it with a ton of salt).  The good news is that there is another fic exchange coming, which I wasn't sure there would be, so there will be more stories coming in the fall!

I've only written a couple of canon-set fics, and those have been set after the endgame (which both Jaime and Brienne survive, of course, because it's my story) for the very reason you mention--there's just too much going on for me to figure out exactly how it should end, and the show didn't help because of how much I think those idiots got wrong combined with my uncertainty about that because they were told the basics of George's ending.  I'll stick with AUs, thanks.  (Which isn't to say that I won't read the heck out of canon-set fics--especially when they're well written.  And despite my aggravation at the show, I'll still read a good fix-it fic.  I just can't write them.)

Edited June 23 by wallflower75

[Annber03]

15 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

And despite my aggravation at the show, I'll still read a good fix-it fic.  I just can't write them.)

I can't really write them, either - but in my case, I think it's because I never think of things in terms of a "fix it" attitude with my shows. I might watch a storyline and think, "I would've written that differently", but even then I never treat it as a "fix it" when I do write my version of how the story could've gone. It's more a speculative "what if" for me instead of "This is how things SHOULD have gone."

[ESS]

It’s so hard writing for myself honestly when I know the few people who seem to love my couple (Gemma/Nero) doesn’t write for them at all and doesn’t at least to me feel like they love the couple as much as I do and I have really nothing to inspire me to write more or nothing much to really drawl off of. Sometimes it’s like why even bother writing anymore. 😭

On that note I did write and post up a new one shot today I wrote for Gemma/Nero which will most likely be my last one for them in terms of one shots for real, but no comments at all....figures it's so frustating and disappointing 😭

Edited July 11 by ESS

[Laina]

It's been slow going for me with my writing the last few months. I've been watching lots of TV shows and finding new (for me) ships. But I haven't been writing as much as I usually do. I started watching and writing for: Chesapeake Shores, Sullivan's Crossing, Wildfire, and Bitten.

I'm about to start season 4 of Chesapeake Shores, and will be finishing the show in a few days. It helps that I'm only watching Trace/Abby scenes, and once Trace leaves, I'll give Robert Buckley as Evan Kincade a try. I've been a fan of Robert since his OTH and iZombie days, so I have a feeling I'm gonna end up shipping Evan and Abby, too.

[Annber03]

Glad you're finding some new ships to enjoy :)! That's always fun, stumbling upon a new pairing to gush about. Hopefullyl they inspire you with your writing as time goes on. 

I also appreciate that you're willing to give the new guy a chance, both as a character and as part of a ship. Not often you see that in fandoms - I totally get it, I can be, and have been, the same way myself, but yeah, it's not common. Helps to like the actor, though, for sure :D. 

[wallflower75]

I'm participating in this year's Jaime/Brienne (GoT/ASOIAF) fic exchange.  And by "participating" I mean "pulling my hair out by the roots because the deadline's approaching, dear God why do I do this to myself every year??????"

Edited September 19 by wallflower75

[Annber03]

LOL, I know that feeling. I've got a bunch of WIPs I'm working on for the "Ghosts" fandom, but there's also this bingo card thing going until the season premiere next month that I'm planning to write something for, and if we do another fic exchange this year, I know I will absolutely sign up for that, too :p. 

Oddly, as stressful as the deadlines for fic exchanges can definitely be, I do think they help keep me a lot more focused and buckled down. But yeah, I totally get the panic all the same. 

I hope all goes well with the fic exchange. Is this one where you know who you're writing for, or is it a surprise? I've done fic exchanges involving both and there's upsides and downsides to both options. Do you like the prompt you're working with? 

[wallflower75]

On 9/18/2024 at 10:53 PM, Annber03 said:

I hope all goes well with the fic exchange. Is this one where you know who you're writing for, or is it a surprise? I've done fic exchanges involving both and there's upsides and downsides to both options. Do you like the prompt you're working with? 

I know who I'm writing for--but I don't know who got my prompts.  I've never been in one where I haven't known who I was writing for, though--that would be interesting!

As for what I was working on at the time--yes, I really liked the prompt!  I've been pretty lucky in exchanges with the prompts I've received.  My problem this year was in finding time to write and complicating things with the idea I came up with for the prompt, which I tend to do a lot! 

[Annber03]

4 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

I know who I'm writing for--but I don't know who got my prompts.  I've never been in one where I haven't known who I was writing for, though--that would be interesting!

As for what I was working on at the time--yes, I really liked the prompt!  I've been pretty lucky in exchanges with the prompts I've received.  My problem this year was in finding time to write and complicating things with the idea I came up with for the prompt, which I tend to do a lot! 

It was interesting, yeah! On the one hand it felt a little more freeing, but of course, on the other hand, knowing who you're wrting for does make it a little easier in terms of knowing how to tailor the fic to their preferences. 

Mind, it also helped that in my case, this was a fic exchange in a fandom Discord that I'm a part of, and that Discord has just enough people to keep things active, but it's not so many that it's overwhelming and hard to keep up. It's still got this kind of cozy small fandom feel to it as well. So while I didn't know who specifically I'd be writing for, based off the prompt and pairing I got, that did make it a little easier for me to narrow down my list of potential recipients :D. 

I'm glad you liked the prompt you got ,and have had good success with exchanges in general. I have, too, it is really fun getting to write a fic for someone else, and it's also a good way to branch out and get a chance to write something a little outside your comfort zone as well, depending on the prompt. 

But ha, yes, I completely sympathize with your issue of trying to find time to write, and complicating an idea. It's tough. Especially the time management part. So many fic ideas, so little free time :p. 

[Affogato]

My main problem with fanfiction is that it is romance based. Not only that the pairings are prominent, but the themes are, an characters are changed to make the pairings work with romance type tropes and endings. I guess this means it mostly isn’t for me. 

[Annber03]

Eh, it can be, for sure - shipping and romance is a very big part of fanfic. But there are people who write fic that isn't centered around romance ,too. I've written both types of fics, myself. Even with my favorite ships, I'll still write fics focusing solely on their friendship. 

But yeah. People just like them some shipping. 

 

And yes, sometimes characters will be dramatically changed from canon, but that can happen whether a fic is romantic or not. There's all sorts of reasons as to why that happens, but that's a big part of the appeal of fanfic for some people, being able to do things that are wildly different from canon. 

On the note of fanfic being romance-based, I came across this thread earlier about why romance is so common in fanfic, and there's some interesting theories and explanations brought up in there:

 

[Cloud9Shopper]

I’ve written both types of fics as well. Some of my favorite stories I’ve written are about a mother and daughter dynamic. But I also love to write about my favorite ships and put them in different situations.

For me, being able to do things differently from canon and try different things with characters is part of the appeal of fic. If I had to stick to canon events only, I’d be bored quick. 

I’m actually taking a break from writing right now though. I haven’t felt as interested in it lately and have had other things going on in my life that make fic take a backseat. Someday I hope I can get back to it. 

[JustHereForFood]

On 11/24/2024 at 1:58 AM, Annber03 said:

On the note of fanfic being romance-based, I came across this thread earlier about why romance is so common in fanfic, and there's some interesting theories and explanations brought up in there:

That was pretty interesting. I feel for the OP there (and God, there were some unkind replies, ouch), I have some favorite ships, but I definitely think that romance is overused compared to all other types of relationships, but in all media, not just in fanfiction. Fanfic probably just reflects the rest.

Which is one reason why I grew to like AO3 despite having some problems with it. People there understand the difference between tagging the story with "Character A & Character B" for non-romantic relationships and "Character A / Character B" for romantic. So if you like a relationship that is very much platonic in canon and want to read more of that, not any shipping between them thank you very much, it is generally easy to filter that (or at least in fandoms that I read). Before, when I was reading fanfic on fanfiction.net, it was more complicated, because they have only few filter options. So if you filtered two characters, you ended up with everything and even if you skipped fics with Romance as a genre there were still many that were shipping those characters, even if you selected Friendship or Family as genre.

[Annber03]

I have heard some stories of some people not realizing the difference between "Character A & Character B" and "Character A/Character B" - there's been quite a few discussions in some fanfic communities about mistagging at times, either unintentionally or intentionally. 

But yeah, ,it is nice to have that distinction there all the same for those who prefer one type of fic over another. I defintiely remember the early years of online fanfic communities where there was very little advertising as to what you'd get in a fic - you'd get the summary, the characters, and the ship in question, if there was one. And that was about it. Also a warning for slash if that were part of the fic, which, thankfully, doesn't have to be a thing anymore. 

I like romance stories myself, be it in canon or in fic, but I'm also happy to read (or watch, depending on the canon) any type of stories. I've got my ships on my favorite shows that I love and root for and want to write about and all that good stuff, but I've no problem writing and reading fics featuring friendships and family bonds and such as well. I'm very character-focused with my interests in both canon and in fanfiction, so as long as I get to read or watch my favorite characters interact, in any form, I'm happy. 

2 hours ago, JustHereForFood said:

That was pretty interesting. I feel for the OP there (and God, there were some unkind replies, ouch)

Yeah, that's Reddit for ya :/. Sometimes the conversations there can be good, other times...oof.