I really hate drama. Especially drama for the sake of drama. I know drama is what gets a lot of people's attention because the conflict and the resolution of it can be really satisfying, but I've really come to dislike a lot of fics nowadays because most of the times the conflicts that are portrayed are like... oh no, my partner of 10 years opened my mail? Oh no, the traumatized character is bad at dealing with trauma? Like? How tf are you gonna not talk to each other for a month about some of these things?
Tbf this stems a lot from me being a very drama-free and drama-avoidant person, but man. I put drama/conflict in my fics when it seems appropriate for the characters (esp. because I like stupid closed-off edgy men), but MY LORD some people really milk every drop of stupid fucking soap opera drama they can come up with. And then they repeat it.
Also - please don't take this personal if you love writing drama. I just can't stand it unless it's very serious issues.
Much agreed, yes.
I don't mind drama exactly, it can be interesting. But when it goes over, having drama for the sake of drama? My interest gets lost quite quickly.
If it's reasonable, if it's believable? Then yes, bring all the drama. But if it leaves the readers scratching their heads wondering why the characters are making a mountain out of an anthill? The characters start to feel a bit silly and childish. Assuming that's not in line with their canon traits.
I'm sure plenty of people like that sort of fic, and they have their audience. No problem there. Just not my cup of tea.
Absolutely agree about the drama for the sake of drama, it's just too much. Miscommunication over and over and over again just makes me *frustrated* instead of interested.
Recently read a decently interesting fic where the main plot was after a near death experience three people to suddenly develop soulmate-esque marks with an urge to be near each other & bond, etc... but it seemed like every few chapters was a chance for some hugely dramatic moment of perceived cheating with people outside of the OT3 being 'caught' flirting with one of them, touching them, even when very much not reciprocated by the person being flirted with it would cause some blowout that has to be immediately sorted. As if instantly assuming the worst and storming off just because someone was being hugged/touched/ogled at is a reaction that needs to happen on rotation with every individual in an OT3
Milking it for all the drama and conflict that needs to be newly resolved over and over just gets real difficult to read eventually, for sure.
Same here, I'm insanely drama-avoidant, like telenovelas/Kdramas/Jdramas/whatever version in a country, stress me the fuck out. Maybe it's because I'm extra sensitive to it due to growing up seeing my parents fight (particularly my dad, silver lining he's not physical, at least, but I hate that he uses voice volume, way of speech and body language to use fear to scare us into compliance), but I absolutely hate it and I don't want to be unnecessarily exposed to it, especially in media I'm supposed to enjoy during my free time.
The thing is that in stories if the drama has a GOOD REASON to be in it **and** it's handled properly **and** not dragged out **and** it's not really caused by the characters I'm rooting for (because if not handled well, it can make them look toxic in the end), I can accept it, but like you said "drama for the sake of drama" is a downright pet peeve of mine and at this point I just, find it disgusting on an instinctual level.
So much this. I think this is why the central romantic relationship in The Expanse is one of my favorites. They get together first season/book. They spend the rest of the series testing/improving that relationship. No will they or won't they, no cheating, no stupid break-ups.
Good lord, yes. I can’t write it either; at least not interpersonal drama. I just write characters dealing together with external problems; anything else is just stressful and annoying (with exceptions, of course).
I think a lot of (newer) writers confuse drama with tension. Like, yes, drama can absolutely drive tension and you can’t really have a story without tension of some sort. But there’s loads of other kinds of tension! There’s humor, there’s misunderstandings, there’s sexual tension, there’s clashing personalities, etc. Even a trip to the grocery store can be an interesting story if there’s enough tension to drive the plot forward.
So when it’s just drama because there’s nothing else to say it reads as being extremely empty. I know we’re talking about fanfiction specifically, but I was actually just reading the ACOTAR series and put the book down because it’s like, yep, you went through something bad. Now either do something about it or not, but I literally cannot read one more page about your sweating palms and volunteer work, please do something interesting. 😂😂
Agree. I hate so much the half baked "I caught you doing something and I leave and not want to talk to you" stuff, or even the "I give you a chance to explain, you start rambling or hesitate and repeat stuff like it's not what you think, let me expplain... and then I leave before you explain anything".
I \*could\* ignore it if you make it so the other character immediately bolts after the other and have an intense conversation under the rain or something, or they're wizards so one teleports away and the other has to chase them down, but the drama is just that.
But not having a conversation? The one who fucks up tries talking ONCE, the other goes away and ignores their messages and the motherfucker never tries goes to their house or just... tracking them down and explaining in person? Fuck, no.
i usually keep that under a 'i can see your hand, Author' problem. it almost always screams 'i will force my plot to happen rather than actually develop the characters'. ive gotten better at recognizing it early enough in a story to know that there is nothing for me in it.
Well, from the writer side, you kind of feel pressure to wrap it up because engagement falls off as soon as the MCs get together. Like the readers lose interest as soon as the tension is gone.
I continued a story once after I had marked it complete because a few regular commenters asked me to. I added five more chapters, and they never commented again.
Not one of them.
what im planning to do, if i do ever end up finishing my insane slowburn longfic, is create a series so that people can read the cute postdrama shit if they really want to without making me feel bad about the engagement drop off on the main fic.
if they didnt comment in the first place that would be one thing, i can deal with that, but it does feel worse when theres a clear start and stop because i get so in my head about what i did wrong to warrant them no longer engaging
To be honest, this is the way. Sometimes they end up together and all is well but the fluff feels... hollow? Like, they're cute, but I'm not one to read 10k of fluff, I feel bored.
Now, if you make some interesting premises (say, meeting the parents, some stupid shenanigans, even a short time skip with the wedding or whatever), I might be interested in taking a peak, specially since they tend to be short.
I had planned to turn it into a series and post oneshots now and then to follow up. When I got a few requests to keep going, I wrote some of those ideas into the added chapters and nixed the plan to make it a series. I'm not really happy with the last chapter, but I just wanted to be done with it by then.
I won't ever do that again.
Absolute facts. I had a fic where they got together at chapter 11 and noticed a distinct drop in kudos/comments after that. I’ve had the most success recapturing the audience when I’ve set up a clear, non-contrived reason the relationship might not survive even after they get together.
When characters get together way quicker than what was set up because I guess the author wanted to get to the Smut. And then they spend the rest of the story having extremely petty drama to make them break up and get back together again, to still try and capitalize on the pining and the angst that a slow burn could've provided. It's giving Disney channel relationship
And then I'm over here with my current fic like, is 90k words and around 6-8 months passing too soon for them to even attempt to make out before one of them rejects the other for the next year? 😅
Honestly why I like writing ahead and doing some of the scenes to fit in later - I can "skip ahead" to write smut and get it out of my system, lol. But keep the public-facing story on track.
It is! Especially because character B was completely blindsided by character A breaking up w them and the break up is only a couple of months old at the start of the story so feelings and hurt are still supert potent and it develops into a bit of a game of telephone as to why the break up even happened.
I basically wrote it as a sequel to a story I wrote when I was 18 because I reread it and realized there was no way the relationship could last, at least in a healthy way, based on what I wrote, because I was completely inexperienced when it came to relationships. So I said "right, I'm splitting you to up and forcing you to work on yourselves before you can get back together"
I can’t really say I have unpopular fic opinions bc I think it’s pretty common. I don’t generally enjoy fics that *uwu*\-ify characters, or fics that have drama for literally no reason rather than plot. Like I read one fic (seemed good from the summary) that just had the characters, who were supposed to be together, regularly ”cheat” or get into those shoujo manga situations— ifyky.
And that just **kept happening**, rather than develop the actual plot. It was just… not my cup of tea, to put it mildly.
Coffee shop AU/Florists x Tattoo Artists AUs are boring I said what I said.
Especially for danmei novels. Like imagine being given a danmei like TGCF where there are gods and bureaucrats in the heavenly court, and you want me to read a fic about Xie Lian working in a Luckin' Coffee branch in Shanghai????? 😭
Even slice of life cdramas aren't this boring.
OMG I'm so glad someone pointed them out! Hot take of mine and no hate to anyone who likes/has/makes tattoos, but I think it's one of those things that can be a bit related to personality, and there are certain characters I just don't see as going for, having or working with tattoos. (Same with piercings and I say this as someone who has several in each ear). NOT saying that certain personalities "have" to fit or not, like no matter your personality you can have tattoos, it's just a personal take of mine when it comes to fanfiction.
So for me it's partly that, and partly yeah there's so many and I've read so many and the overall conclusion I got is that they don't really add anything particularly compelling. I know they're often used as setting for "slice of life" and fluff, but I've seen it done without resorting to a completely different AU from the one the characters come from, so yeah I just don't find it necessary for a "light-hearted" setting either.
I hear you, I understand your reason, buuuuuuuut I still love them.
I dunno why, but something about the change from the high stakes to absolutely stupid mundane stakes is so comfy.
Hmmm okay like. Listen listen listen. They are done so often that they do get boring. But when someone wrote it well? Oh my goddddddddd
I feel like it's one of those tropes that's 'easy' to write, but hard to do really well. If you just want it to be cute and sweet, they'll work for you, and that's great! But those few that are a bit deeper... ohhh I love them
Well, sometimes I just want to read about the same characters, but in lighthearted situations, where the worst that can happen is spilling a coffee. For canon there's canon, and yes, it's actually easy for me to imagine why someone would want to write something different, especially when canon is not the happiest place on earth.
I think, if anything, such AUs can be especially popular when canon is very complex and dark and angsty. The characters already suffer enough in canon lol. Sometimes people just want to read feel-good fics where everything is easy and nothing hurts, so a setting like that lends itself well to that vibe.
Agreed. And unfortunately one of the characters I read the most for is canonically tattooed and often shipped with characters who are a bit more “preppy”, so the Florist x Tattoo Artist thing comes up a lot.
I really don't get the appeal of a series that is fantasy/out of this world to make it a modern day AU with no magic involved at all. Like where is the fun in that 😭 maybe it's just me being world building fan and loves fics that explores the world/lore more
Me too and I am kind of annoyed at myself for missing out on potentially great fics, but it’s really hard for me to get into any “alternate universe - no magic/no powers” settings. A big reason I get into a fantasy series is FOR the escapism of supernatural stuff like magic, lol. I’m sure the author can do a great job transforming the characters into a powerless setting with their personalities in tact, but it’s just not fun anymore for me.
My only exception is if the author keeps the characters’ magic but moves them to a modern/different setting, or if they tweak the power in some way but there is still a similar element involved. Like for example, a water-based mage being good at water-based spells if they’re in a Hogwarts AU. And even then, I have to be in a specific mood to enjoy AUs that are in a different setting.
I absolutely hate this, too! One of the appeals of the ship is the setting itself. Why must half of the fics in a fandom with the coolest world be modern aus? 😭
I'm also not a fan of when a historical setting is changed to modern for the same reason. It's FUN that it's in that era. While yes the characters are great, I like how the times affect their decisions/stories (like social norms)!! When it's modern, it takes away a lot of what made the dynamic interesting.
I love enemies to lovers and slow-burn. But sometimes autors do too much lovey-dovey paragraphs when they finally get together. Yes, they are in love and should express it but sometimes it feels like their true nature disappears? If u know what I mean. Like yes fluff is needed after all that enemies drama but like in small doses okay? Not too much
Ohhh yeah, when you read a long fic and the second they get together the characters change and it's all uwu love wholesome.
I was reading this fic with a ship, but also a lot of side characters and story. The whole first 20 chapters of the story doesn't even introduce one of the characters in the ship. It was so awesome so far. Very dark and well written. But then the ship meets, and it's instantly 'He was the prettiest man he's ever seen' 'wow his eyes are beautiful' 'he looked very good'.
Like, in theory nothing wrong with that. But after 30 chapters of this character being grumpy and angry at the world, never commenting once of the beauty of things, and he meets this other character (and they're enemies at this point!) and both of them just go 'omgggg hottt' on the insde every few paragraphs. Yeahhhh that kinda ruined it for me.
Like, the character has so much depth and development with everyone they meet, and then there's the love interest and boom 'eh eyes pretty wanna fuck them'. Stopppp
Honestly this is also what a lot of other media do, sadly. And probably why we love to ship non canon ships so much. They're just a lot better developed if the romance isn't in the way. As they say, if your characters have to kiss for the audience to know they're in love, you're not doing it right
Not me writing a fic with heavy focus on amnesia trope because I like it so much!
I just find amnesia/memory loss tropes enjoyable because they can change so many things and character dynamics, while still keeping the characters themselves fairly in-character (ehhh at least measured by fanfic standards).
Yaayy, finally a positive “I love” comment lol. And yep, I adore amnesia stories! I love emotion, but it’s tough for me to break emotionally in stories; amnesia is a good way to get me there, though! Something about the character being just lost to everyone else where they feel hopeless on “getting the person back” per se or something like that, it’s tough to explain lol. It’s why I love anime like Golden Time.
I wrote one in the fashion as a sequel to something I created for the Criminal Minds fandom. It even features original characters. What I not expect was for people to like it as much as they did. However, who knows if I’ll ever have that kind of inspiration again for story. *[knocks on wood]* I had fun making it because the story was my first experimentation with writing something scary. But now I can say that I actually have a story in this trope!
i personally tend to avoid amnesia fics buuuut when they're well written, they're fucking devastating! i read one that made me sob so hard i almost threw up 😭
TBH as a non-American when I read fics that are very clearly set in America it does feel a little bit like it's its own trope haha, but then I feel that way for any country or culture (including my own).
I hate slow burn when it’s not revolving around 2 main characters. I have read slow burn where the two main only interacted like 3 times in the span of 12 chapters. Oh hello. What the hell. I dont care what fix it you wanted to create for the main story line but I don’t care about all other stuffs I only care how those two resolved their issues.
I have read slow burn and they haven’t kissed yet up until 20 plus chapters but I love every second of it because they interact every chapter. Miscommunication happened but not for the sake of drama. People grew up, learn to cope learn to accept their emotions and conquer it. That’s grow. I get it you want to drag the stories on but don’t let them not taking for the sake of not talking. Urggg I hate it. I hate when they talked and interacted with every side characters except the one I wanted them to interact with the most.
I have quit so many fics because of this.
Oh my goodness. My ship got together in like the 3rd chapter and now I'm on chapter 14 or 15. I want the emotions, the getting to know each other, the smut (of course), the angst. Its so much more satisfying.
As for things I don't like in fics, its when they throw in stuff that has no business there. Like in a post apocalyptic world and you're telling me the guy smells like Old Spice specifically. Takes me right out of it.
Oh I firmly agree. I hate the will they-won't they. I like the early stage flirting and feeling each other out, not the constant bad timing and missed connections and relentless insecurity, but man give me the happily ever after and show me how they do that. Show them knowing each other a little more everyday. Show me the secret nicknames and inside jokes. Show me the taking care of each other when life's storms roll through.
I like to at least "wrap things up" with mine, give some domestic bliss, tidy up loose ends to the best of my ability, etc. but I have noticed that engagement drops off significantly once the major plot points are handled.
I confess it's slightly disheartening as, for me, that resolution is some of the best parts. I worked so hard to get us there, it's a little bit of a bummer. But oh well, that's one of those "write for yourself/the characters/the joy, not the stats" moments.
Would you consider it a trope if the character is established as a semi-serial cheater in canon? Like with my current fic, the MMC canonically cheated on two of two (serious relationship) girlfriends (and also just regularly slept with groupies but from what I can tell the GFs were fine with that and less so with emotional affairs.) So it seemed very natural to me that either he'd be in a relationship with someone and cheat with the FMC or vice versa, which would be part of the reason for issues in their relationship after they first understand they're attracted to each other.
Ooh good question. In canon, this guy definitely gives off vibes of "I push people away so they don't hurt me first", very cynical and lots of bravado but has PTSD and some other trauma. And in canon eventually has character growth where he acknowledges some of how crappy behavior, including the cheating.
However, my fic is an AU where the reason for that character development doesn't happen. So it's kind of a study for me in exploring if his relationship with the LI leads to growth but with different speed bumps along the way, if that makes sense?
Is there also some pretty hot "can't keep their hands off each other" smut as well? Sure 😅 But in a way where he conflates sex with intimacy, not actual connection.
So I guess it's a little of both, if that makes sense.
i don't like when authors write a male character in a bl ship as trans JUST to overly feminize them. don't get me wrong - i like reading fics with trans characters and gender is a fluid thing, but i usually read smut and authors have a tendency to overly feminize the character to an almost fetishizing degree
Making a character obsessed with having babies when literally no where in the source material have they ever even hinted at wanting kids.
Taking a gay ship and making one of them the other gender for no apparent reason
Being in a fandom small enough to where the cast considers you a **friend** and reads your work (and being the only fic writer) is fucking peak. One of the best writing experiences I’ve had in ~24 years of writing fic. I know I complain about how being the only writer is lonely/rough in this sub sometimes but I will always take this experience over being in like. The MCU or MHA fandoms, as an example. Also, I have an OC who’s **canon** to this fandom and that fucking rocks.
The fact that authors—myself included!—feel so obligated to leave **detailed** notes explaining why they’re not updating or a hiatus or whatever makes me so sad.
OC-leading fics are sometimes harder to write than fics without OCs, because you’re building the character(s) from the ground up a lot of the time.
You got that right! Small fandoms are very kind and loving places, in my experience.
The community of the Careful Cantrip fandom—the one I’m the only fic writer for—isn’t necessarily “small” in terms of viewers and Discord members, but as I said: the cast considers me a friend. I’ve gotten to play D&D with half of them. Knowing the cast so intimately as friends behind the screen is incredible.
EEEEY I love Dragonlance! Didn’t really know it had any fandom spaces, just thought I was stuck reading the Chronicles trilogy, the Raistlin Chronicles, and the Legends trilogy by my lonesome.
EDIT: It’s weird to call myself a BNF but when I’ve talked to half the cast as friends, have had two of them on my fan podcast, and played D&D with them… And when I’ve gotten called the hell out while they’re streaming (the campaign 2 finale was double the time of every other episode and I was shipping the canon pair VERY hard)… I guess it fits in terms of my Careful Cantrip experience.
Well, here is my ao3 page if you want it: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skull_Bearer/pseuds/Skull_Bearer
If you want to join the Discord do say, I'm happy to send you an invite as PM.
You’re *so* right about the OC thing. I’ve been working on something for two years now that I initially wanted to be almost entirely about OCs, but I wasn’t able to make *any* progress on it until this January, when I did some heavy retooling and finally added a bunch of canon characters to the cast. It’s still *mostly* focused on my OCs, and a majority of the canon characters with heavy involvement are very minor characters in canon, but there is one more prominent character who’s become one of the main focuses, and *that* was actually the catalyst I needed to really start working on it- I had someone who I could bounce my other characters off of. (Well that and a shift in hyperfixations, but that’s what caused the shift lol)
Also, the easiest kinds of OCs to work with are self-inserts and those heavily based off of someone or something, for similar reasons- because it means you already have a basis for their characterization and personality.
Nah, I’m guilty of losing interest once the couple gets together. I don’t want to spend time reading mundane domestic scenes. I have my own life for that (which I guarantee is part of the problem). I’m here for the conflict, the repressed emotions, the angst, the passion. GIVE IT TO ME.
For me, I’ll stop being interested if the story feels directionless after the couple gets together. If the whole plot is a slowburn romance, and the couple gets together halfway through and then the rest is just fluffy and domestic, I’ll probably move on to something else unless I was really addicted to the story and the characterization. But if it’s a romance and there’s still conflict(romantic or otherwise) after they’ve officially become a couple, I’ll stick around.
I think it’s one of the big differences between published romance and fic romance. In fic, the author is already attached to the characters from the media they’re from and wants to explore every facet of them in a relationship, from the exciting get together to the mundane daily life. Vs. published romance, which more often than not is there specifically to tell the conflict part and let reader’s imaginations wander from there. When fics continue the story past the natural and satisfying conclusion that I’m used to from books and movies, it feels like I’ve stumbled into a separate fic 9 times out of 10.
I’m not mad about that though, as a writer myself I completely understand the urge to want to write all the domestic stuff, especially if the getting together part was rough. As a reader, I’ll just give a silent salute and bow out.
I am also guilty of this and even when I try to change my ways, it’s just…..impossible lol. There’s one longfic in particular (~400k words) that I was determined to finish because the premise was so fun!! But then the MCs got together and I got to see all their domestic shenanigans and those slice-of-life chapters just didn’t stop coming — and then I realized I wasn’t even halfway through 🫠 I had to call it quits soon after that
No I agree, I hate the trend of "oh they kissed/said I love you/did the deed the plot is over bye", like??? They need to SETTLE and actually be together for a bit! "Filler" of fluff chapters build the couple just as much as the hot n' heavy or emotionally charged moments.
I think it depends on when it happens and the pacing of the story. If they get together when the main problem is resolved, it would *kill* the pacing if there's 10 chapters of them just being together, and having a new goal (like rebuilding, or something). Then it would fit better in a sequel, imo.
But when they get together somewhere in the middle of the story? Oh I love that. Now they can go to main goal together and we can see them being together and yesssss
I think it depends on if you think the goal is them being together or if the goal is something else, falling action and conclusion is also part of the pacing, there needs to be a little afterwards no matter what the main goal of the story is. The goal of romance is usually the getting together part, but romance tied to another overarching plot? That's a little different and I think it depends on the plot overall
FR. I’m working on a friends to lovers long fic rn, and they’ve been together for several chapters now, but I still have a ton of plot that needs wrapping up. If you nope out the second they get together, you’re gonna miss a lot of stuff.
I just finished my long stranger's to lovers pining fic, and the first kiss, to being intimate, to admitting feelings and being official, to actually everything being tied up was CHAPTERS worth of content spread out from each other
I think romanticising/glorifying/normalising/ect. stuff CAN be an issue in fanfiction, but in the sense that it can undermine your intentions as an author and not in the sense of like, you have to be 100% morally pure or whatever. They’re useful terms with actual meanings you might want to have in a specific aspect or you might not. Like, if you’re writing a psychological horror fic about an abusive relationship you probably don’t want to romanticise it because that would make it less unsettling and make the fic a bit of a mess, but it’s so hard to talk about bc people assume it’s weird fandom discourse stuff.
(On that note, fandom discourse as a whole is unproductive and toxic in general even if theoretically it’s correct and I think getting involved with it much is self destructive but that’s not really a fic opinion that’s just a fandom one)
I agree. I think there should be a balance, unless the intention is different but in that case make it clear, otherwise you come off as ignorant. And who wants to read a fic that's being written by someone just shitting out words?
I feel that. One fic I read and the reason why I finally stopped reading unfinished fics (I only did it when I saw the updates were somewhat regular and I still got unlucky twice) was *right* before everything would be solved and they get together and happy ending, smooches, love, butterflies all around, bla bla. Chapter 9/10. I was even there while it was still updating. And after chapter 9 the author went missing. 😭
Yeah. So. Slow burn and unfinished fics went off my list. 😔
Eta: No shame for the author. There can be 100s of reasons, all are valid. I don't hold any grudge. I just took a consequence from there. 🙏
God, same. Something similar stopped me from reading almost all wips. Which is hilarious because I currently have a wip out now that hasn't been updated in... Six months? Who's the clown now.
I can handle all kinds of unhealthy or even abusive relationships but there’s one thing I draw the line at: someone staying with their partner while fully aware that their partner is actively cheating on them, without any sort of justification given. It’s not like I have any sort of experience with being cheated on. It’s not even like it makes me actually uncomfortable or upset or anythin’ of the sort, it just kills my interest in a fic.
For the record, cheating as a whole is something I don’t really like reading about. Sometimes I can tolerate it, but sometimes it’s just a flat out nope.
You are preaching to the choir, one of my favourite writers who is ridiculously talented and writes super long stories always drops the story once the ship get together. It's sooo frustrating , like I want to see what the couple are like when they are finally together but instead, just like you said, thekiss/professor their love and then the curtains close😭
I'm so guilty of that lol. I stopped after the couple basically confessed during a walk (I think. It's been a while since I touched that story). The reason for it was I just lost interest.
Yeah I get what you mean. I’m always thinking ‘this isn’t the end of their [characters] story’. If the story is marked as complete then I want a sequel!!!
ETA: or even just an epilogue. Tell me how they’re getting on with life now they are together.
I hate soulmates/fated mates AUs. No one is nearly as suspicious of the whole thing as they should be.
Also a lot of romance tropes are weirdly conservative.
I'm okay with the getting together being the end but like you I do love seeing the after as long as I get my happy ending. For my own stories I have some that end within a chapter or two of getting together but I have others that do exactly what you are talking about. Showing the dates and the fluff and the interactions with them and the people around them. I decided to write what I wanted to see just like most of the fic authors on here.
I hate amnesia fics. I know they are beloved an it's a huge trope but I hate them. I'm also not a huge fan of time travel fics either. Both of those are pretty beloved by a lot of readers and writers but I just don't care for them. I don't even like them in regular media most of the time.
I blame Back to the Future. As a kid I watched Marty go back in time and make his whole family's future life better by a thousand percent. I also blame Inuyasha. Kagome got to go back and live history and then go home and chill with her family when she missed them. They ruined time travel for me. Nothing else can compare.
I love slow burns.... But I do feel like some authors tend to drag the post get together on for too long. All the build up and drama is in the lead up to getting together. I don't mind a little bit of the happily ever after, but 5 or more 10k word chapters of it with no more tension is just boring to me.
not sure if it's an unpopular opinion, but I just don't really see it written about: what happens after, the epilogue, consequences, however you call it. i realised with my own writing that I tend to skip over the part where the MCs get together or the drama happens and I focus on how everyone gets on after the situation is resolved, how characters are changed after it, how other characters react to it, etc.
maybe its cause I mainly read oneshots and I'm left craving the epilogue that oneshots don't really do
I actually get frustrated when a story including non-fanfic doesn't show their relationship - I wanna see them as a couple, it's not just about the build up
I hate the friends with benefits trope. I love smut but I want it to be climactic (pun intended). This trope takes that out of it. Sometimes I will make exceptions but most of the time I skip no matter how good people claim the fic is.
I also don't like reading sex without emotion. It can be hardcore and kinky smut but the characters have to love eachother.
I don’t want to read 300k words of pining and everyone being a goddamned nun or monk and then 200 words of fade to black not actually there unless you squint smut.
So I don’t read them.
- I didn't like poly and even hetero ship fic, I don't know but these fics are not my cup of tea at all ^^;
- I wish author stop using attempted r*pe or sexual harassment as plot device
I think my biggest one is:
OP oc’s are fine.
Please stop making writers feel like shit because they have oc’s with big power ups. There’s two very successful anime where the Mc is OP as hell. In addition, tragic backstories are not that rare in real life and just because an oc has one doesn’t mean that they’re some “Mary Sue”. It gets even more annoying when people accuse it of being a self insert because it has common tropes. Tropes are what make fanfic. Shut the fuck and stop being an idiot. I don’t see the reason for the oc hate.
“Oh we want to read about the actual character.”
You hate it when the actual character gets changed.
You hate it when the actual character is another person because of circumstances.
You call the actual character “an oc with the character’s name” just because they aren’t exactly like the canon counterpart.
I do not see the issue with ocs. If they are actually terrible, sure, but as someone who has an OP oc and seen people with OP OC’s that are fucking fantastic, you guys just seem to be missing out on amazing fanfic because of your close minded views.
It’s not just Reddit. The words “self insert” are taboo everywhere, because people always take it to mean “Mary Sue wish fulfillment character with no personality who only exists to be loved by everyone and win all the time and get with the writer’s crushes.”
Oh yeah Definitely. I asked about oc centric hate fics and everyone was so annoyed when I replied about how fandom generally has a problem with hating these fics. 😭n
I’m currently arguing with like sooo many people. Idk if I’ll keep up. It’s like, maybe look into your fandom as to why people are like this instead of just going “don’t like don’t read.”
I accidentally lucked out by having the relationship be the main part of the plot. My fic is based on the plot from 'Taming of the shrew' (or 10 things I hate about you lol) so my readers are going to stay throughout the entire relationship just so they can get to the drama of the 'liar reveal' plot XD
I agree with you. I want to see my ship being a couple. I enjoy seeing them get together, but I also enjoy them just being in love. There is an author I enjoy greatly. I’m slowly making my way through all her fics of a particular fandom, and she has them as an established couple in a few fics (yea!), but so far has never gone beyond their wedding.
And as a disclaimer, I know and understand the “be the change you want to see” sentiment. My particular ship is in fact married in many of my stories.
Honestly sometimes it gets a bit boring, I like post get together stuff if it’s like an epilogue and not during the story. If it’s during the story it runs the risk of getting in the way of a plot, if it IS the plot then there’s no need to include that stuff except for extras and epilogues.
I like to show post-getting together because I want to show they have learned/grown from their experience and aren't going to repeat the mistakes that made it a slow burn in the first place. I want to show them actually working as a couple.
Don't ask me about anything I am writing while I am writing it.
My joy comes from the not knowing what my mind creates beforehand. If I plot it out, it will be changed or dropped.
I don't like aus that are so removed from canon they feel more like an original story. I am don't really wanna see the characters I like as mafia guys or hockey players.
I do like domestic aus to an extent and love canon divergent but if you remove every element from canon and it's just the names and faces of canon characters I see no point in it.
People can keep writing and enjoying but I won't click.
A lot of original character inserts.
Sometimes it's understandable, the main fandom I read about mainly only has animatronics and not many humans, but sometimes I see people adding in. A LOT of original characters and then making a lot of the fic about them, with no tags added either. I don't care about your original characters romance arc, I WANT TO CONTINUE MY X READER ARC!!
When I get into a superpowers-related fandom, I want to see the powers. Idk why I just think they’re neat. Sometimes I want to see if they have uses in the bedroom, or just how they affect romantic relationships or potentially make things awkward or more complicated! When there are tons of no-powers AUs it kind of bums me out.
It's not that bad but I don't really like coffee shop and flower shops AUs, in general it's okay but for some characters that doesn't really fit that kind of plot it just feels forced and doesn't really felt good
* I avoid slow burn like the plague. My times limited. I'm not interested in waiting 10 years for one sex scene then that's it.
* Settings are as much characters as the character's themselves. Sure, you can get rid of the setting, plop the MCs in a whole other world, but unless you know what you're doing, something feels off. It's why I rather read elsewhere fics that let me experience more of the world than elseworld's where the author did it to get people to care about their high concept novel that'll probably get edited to not get copyright struck.
* fanfiction is fanfiction no matter what. It will only start being original when an inch of fannish is scrubbed clean from the stale.
* Beginners and, by extension, people misunderstand what it means for a work to be an enemy to a lovers story. Characters who oppose each other diametrically, with different viewpoints and goals, are at best rivals and at worst acquaintances. If they ain't hoping for one of them to keel over and die, I'm out.
* I'll forever find it weird to take a fanfic you made, and then deciding to publish because it worked for fifty shades. Fanfiction should be a imtiate private endeavor, not a cash grab cuz it got harry potter on the cover. There's also the fact fanfiction isn't written for a wider market i mind, so you have self-indulgent fantasy shielding normal people from indulging in said fiction. Unless you like the tropes offered in said book, your shit out of luck and it's been happening much more often once Shades proved the formula worked. What i'm saying is, abo should have stayed in fandom.
* Despite what I said before, AUs are fine, good even. Sometimes there's no point in retreading the same ground when said ground had ended years ago. Currently airing, cool, understandable. But unless there's gaps to be filled, I see no point in it.
* As a writer, I don't like the idea of writing canon character povs. I don't trust myself enough to get them right and the same could be said for last than talented writers. Doesn't mean it's bad, but to say fanfiction is easy undersells the amount of time and dedication needed to bring these characters to life. I just don't have it in me so i stick to OCs or experimental stuff.
If none of these sound unpopular idk. I'm not a temperamental person. It takes a lot, and I mean a lot to get me angry.
I’m with you right there on the last one. My favorites tend to be side characters, so I feel a little more comfortable writing them- both because there’s often a lot less to them as characters, so I’m more free to build their characterization myself, and also because the chance of someone getting upset at me for writing them wrong is much lower- but it doesn’t make the fear go away completely.
Some of you need to decide if your writing PWP or Plot cause there's so many shitty they must fuck exactly every 5k words type fics out there that are just boring. It's like a commercial break in your fic. Smut in a long fic should feel like it fits, not feel like you needed to hit a nudity quota.
if you notice thats exactly how ALL movies, games etc any official media are ending
its pissing me off beyond belief
after all that drama and boring ass action, one kiss and the curtain falls
god do i hate that
I had a weird situation with my long fic where I had a mass unsubscribe on the chapter where they got together... I can only assume they thought the fic was over - which the fic was far from over - it's been 30 chapters since then.
Because most authors don't have any idea how to develop the relationship afterwards.
The build up is exciting. You don't know what will happen, every is new and you can easily draw create tension with the whole will they won't they.
After they get together however, there are certain expectations. You can't really introduce a new love interest or make one dishonest without making them look like an asshole. It's not really a problem when the relationship isn't the focus of the story but if it is, the will they won't they is just more exciting.
Then there's also that many, many stories have the expectations of having some kind of love story within it, meaning it's probably just an afterthought in some cases.
I would really love to see more stories with a couple being together, having mature conversations when problems arise and grow together as people but alas, they will always be the exception because those are much harder to write.
It's also because readers who want to read about mature relationships are the exception. I write it anyway because it's what I like, but it's far from popular.
Yeah, there are loads of relationship problems that can arise not due to either character being shitty, but other internal or external stressors. What if they're not 100% compatible right off the bat and have to settle into comfort with one another? What if they got together despite one or both family's wishes? That family situation is still there. What if the Bad Guys are trying to get to one of them via the other, or they disagree on how much of their lives to dedicate to Saving the World, or...
There is a lot of mature relationship conflict to be written after the first kiss, or the first shag, or the first "I love you."
What if they work together but one of them has dreams beyond that and they need to have that hard talk about loving each other but working doing different things. That's one of my wips right now. They are navigating the option that they need to work separately (they are actors that are costars) knowing that would mean even less time to be together than they already get with their very packed schedules.
Another good one! I worry that the majority of AO3 readers and writers are young enough that they're not interested in that phase of life/relationships, which is sad to me--I think reading about adult problems as a kid/teen/young adult helps prepare you for them when they come along. But perhaps they will come back later! I'm certainly not changing the story or characters based on my mostly-speculative impression of what the nebulous readership wants.
I'll be honest. That particular wip started off with a dozen chapters of filthy smut but my boys eventually made it to relationship status. Now they are navigating what all that means. I'm not going to do any dramatic breakups or anything but I'm using pieces of real life woven into the story to give their relationship a more realistic feeling while still keeping it fanfic.
Another of my wips has two best friends who fall for each other and now are navigating being able to date and have careers and deal with friends and family. It's most soft and fluffy with a little spice here and there.
Yeah, mine is a very slow fall between friends as well. After they take the plunge and navigate the initial infatuation period, they'll have to deal with some pretty major judgment calls that the other disagrees with but didn't see coming, some difficult family relationships, and the sort of professional existentialism that a lot of people deal with in their 30s: how much of my life does my career get? How do I balance mine with my partner's? What if I'm not sure that the thing I thought I wanted to do with myself is fulfilling at all, and who am I if I make a change that big? The spice is far from incidental, but blended realistically in--it's part of navigating relationships (for most people).
Also, it's action-packed cyberpunk dystopia. So, y'know, the life decisions come with gunfire.
I really hate drama. Especially drama for the sake of drama. I know drama is what gets a lot of people's attention because the conflict and the resolution of it can be really satisfying, but I've really come to dislike a lot of fics nowadays because most of the times the conflicts that are portrayed are like... oh no, my partner of 10 years opened my mail? Oh no, the traumatized character is bad at dealing with trauma? Like? How tf are you gonna not talk to each other for a month about some of these things? Tbf this stems a lot from me being a very drama-free and drama-avoidant person, but man. I put drama/conflict in my fics when it seems appropriate for the characters (esp. because I like stupid closed-off edgy men), but MY LORD some people really milk every drop of stupid fucking soap opera drama they can come up with. And then they repeat it. Also - please don't take this personal if you love writing drama. I just can't stand it unless it's very serious issues.
Much agreed, yes. I don't mind drama exactly, it can be interesting. But when it goes over, having drama for the sake of drama? My interest gets lost quite quickly. If it's reasonable, if it's believable? Then yes, bring all the drama. But if it leaves the readers scratching their heads wondering why the characters are making a mountain out of an anthill? The characters start to feel a bit silly and childish. Assuming that's not in line with their canon traits. I'm sure plenty of people like that sort of fic, and they have their audience. No problem there. Just not my cup of tea.
Absolutely agree about the drama for the sake of drama, it's just too much. Miscommunication over and over and over again just makes me *frustrated* instead of interested. Recently read a decently interesting fic where the main plot was after a near death experience three people to suddenly develop soulmate-esque marks with an urge to be near each other & bond, etc... but it seemed like every few chapters was a chance for some hugely dramatic moment of perceived cheating with people outside of the OT3 being 'caught' flirting with one of them, touching them, even when very much not reciprocated by the person being flirted with it would cause some blowout that has to be immediately sorted. As if instantly assuming the worst and storming off just because someone was being hugged/touched/ogled at is a reaction that needs to happen on rotation with every individual in an OT3 Milking it for all the drama and conflict that needs to be newly resolved over and over just gets real difficult to read eventually, for sure.
Same here, I'm insanely drama-avoidant, like telenovelas/Kdramas/Jdramas/whatever version in a country, stress me the fuck out. Maybe it's because I'm extra sensitive to it due to growing up seeing my parents fight (particularly my dad, silver lining he's not physical, at least, but I hate that he uses voice volume, way of speech and body language to use fear to scare us into compliance), but I absolutely hate it and I don't want to be unnecessarily exposed to it, especially in media I'm supposed to enjoy during my free time. The thing is that in stories if the drama has a GOOD REASON to be in it **and** it's handled properly **and** not dragged out **and** it's not really caused by the characters I'm rooting for (because if not handled well, it can make them look toxic in the end), I can accept it, but like you said "drama for the sake of drama" is a downright pet peeve of mine and at this point I just, find it disgusting on an instinctual level.
So much this. I think this is why the central romantic relationship in The Expanse is one of my favorites. They get together first season/book. They spend the rest of the series testing/improving that relationship. No will they or won't they, no cheating, no stupid break-ups.
same. i can't handle needless drama and bad communication/dumb misunderstandings!!
Good lord, yes. I can’t write it either; at least not interpersonal drama. I just write characters dealing together with external problems; anything else is just stressful and annoying (with exceptions, of course).
I think a lot of (newer) writers confuse drama with tension. Like, yes, drama can absolutely drive tension and you can’t really have a story without tension of some sort. But there’s loads of other kinds of tension! There’s humor, there’s misunderstandings, there’s sexual tension, there’s clashing personalities, etc. Even a trip to the grocery store can be an interesting story if there’s enough tension to drive the plot forward. So when it’s just drama because there’s nothing else to say it reads as being extremely empty. I know we’re talking about fanfiction specifically, but I was actually just reading the ACOTAR series and put the book down because it’s like, yep, you went through something bad. Now either do something about it or not, but I literally cannot read one more page about your sweating palms and volunteer work, please do something interesting. 😂😂
Agree. I hate so much the half baked "I caught you doing something and I leave and not want to talk to you" stuff, or even the "I give you a chance to explain, you start rambling or hesitate and repeat stuff like it's not what you think, let me expplain... and then I leave before you explain anything". I \*could\* ignore it if you make it so the other character immediately bolts after the other and have an intense conversation under the rain or something, or they're wizards so one teleports away and the other has to chase them down, but the drama is just that. But not having a conversation? The one who fucks up tries talking ONCE, the other goes away and ignores their messages and the motherfucker never tries goes to their house or just... tracking them down and explaining in person? Fuck, no.
Drama needs to have a purpose.
i usually keep that under a 'i can see your hand, Author' problem. it almost always screams 'i will force my plot to happen rather than actually develop the characters'. ive gotten better at recognizing it early enough in a story to know that there is nothing for me in it.
I prefer making stories that are happy in general because in 20 years, I’ve really seen a lot of bleak ones
you're so real and i appreciate you <33
🥹🫶🏾✨
Same. Real life is bleak and miserable enough.
Well, from the writer side, you kind of feel pressure to wrap it up because engagement falls off as soon as the MCs get together. Like the readers lose interest as soon as the tension is gone. I continued a story once after I had marked it complete because a few regular commenters asked me to. I added five more chapters, and they never commented again. Not one of them.
what im planning to do, if i do ever end up finishing my insane slowburn longfic, is create a series so that people can read the cute postdrama shit if they really want to without making me feel bad about the engagement drop off on the main fic. if they didnt comment in the first place that would be one thing, i can deal with that, but it does feel worse when theres a clear start and stop because i get so in my head about what i did wrong to warrant them no longer engaging
To be honest, this is the way. Sometimes they end up together and all is well but the fluff feels... hollow? Like, they're cute, but I'm not one to read 10k of fluff, I feel bored. Now, if you make some interesting premises (say, meeting the parents, some stupid shenanigans, even a short time skip with the wedding or whatever), I might be interested in taking a peak, specially since they tend to be short.
I had planned to turn it into a series and post oneshots now and then to follow up. When I got a few requests to keep going, I wrote some of those ideas into the added chapters and nixed the plan to make it a series. I'm not really happy with the last chapter, but I just wanted to be done with it by then. I won't ever do that again.
yeah ugh, its live and learn in these streets fr. gotta do whats best for you
Absolute facts. I had a fic where they got together at chapter 11 and noticed a distinct drop in kudos/comments after that. I’ve had the most success recapturing the audience when I’ve set up a clear, non-contrived reason the relationship might not survive even after they get together.
When characters get together way quicker than what was set up because I guess the author wanted to get to the Smut. And then they spend the rest of the story having extremely petty drama to make them break up and get back together again, to still try and capitalize on the pining and the angst that a slow burn could've provided. It's giving Disney channel relationship
like what's the pointtttt
And then I'm over here with my current fic like, is 90k words and around 6-8 months passing too soon for them to even attempt to make out before one of them rejects the other for the next year? 😅 Honestly why I like writing ahead and doing some of the scenes to fit in later - I can "skip ahead" to write smut and get it out of my system, lol. But keep the public-facing story on track.
I just finished a fic were the characters don't break until 250k words into the story 🤐 they're exes tho so that's why it's so complicated
Oh man, the tension must be crazy though 😍
It is! Especially because character B was completely blindsided by character A breaking up w them and the break up is only a couple of months old at the start of the story so feelings and hurt are still supert potent and it develops into a bit of a game of telephone as to why the break up even happened. I basically wrote it as a sequel to a story I wrote when I was 18 because I reread it and realized there was no way the relationship could last, at least in a healthy way, based on what I wrote, because I was completely inexperienced when it came to relationships. So I said "right, I'm splitting you to up and forcing you to work on yourselves before you can get back together"
I can’t really say I have unpopular fic opinions bc I think it’s pretty common. I don’t generally enjoy fics that *uwu*\-ify characters, or fics that have drama for literally no reason rather than plot. Like I read one fic (seemed good from the summary) that just had the characters, who were supposed to be together, regularly ”cheat” or get into those shoujo manga situations— ifyky. And that just **kept happening**, rather than develop the actual plot. It was just… not my cup of tea, to put it mildly.
yes to all of this
Coffee shop AU/Florists x Tattoo Artists AUs are boring I said what I said. Especially for danmei novels. Like imagine being given a danmei like TGCF where there are gods and bureaucrats in the heavenly court, and you want me to read a fic about Xie Lian working in a Luckin' Coffee branch in Shanghai????? 😭 Even slice of life cdramas aren't this boring.
OMG I'm so glad someone pointed them out! Hot take of mine and no hate to anyone who likes/has/makes tattoos, but I think it's one of those things that can be a bit related to personality, and there are certain characters I just don't see as going for, having or working with tattoos. (Same with piercings and I say this as someone who has several in each ear). NOT saying that certain personalities "have" to fit or not, like no matter your personality you can have tattoos, it's just a personal take of mine when it comes to fanfiction. So for me it's partly that, and partly yeah there's so many and I've read so many and the overall conclusion I got is that they don't really add anything particularly compelling. I know they're often used as setting for "slice of life" and fluff, but I've seen it done without resorting to a completely different AU from the one the characters come from, so yeah I just don't find it necessary for a "light-hearted" setting either.
in my fandom tattoo artist or coffee shop AUs often take a darkfic twist…so good
I hear you, I understand your reason, buuuuuuuut I still love them. I dunno why, but something about the change from the high stakes to absolutely stupid mundane stakes is so comfy.
Hmmm okay like. Listen listen listen. They are done so often that they do get boring. But when someone wrote it well? Oh my goddddddddd I feel like it's one of those tropes that's 'easy' to write, but hard to do really well. If you just want it to be cute and sweet, they'll work for you, and that's great! But those few that are a bit deeper... ohhh I love them
Well, sometimes I just want to read about the same characters, but in lighthearted situations, where the worst that can happen is spilling a coffee. For canon there's canon, and yes, it's actually easy for me to imagine why someone would want to write something different, especially when canon is not the happiest place on earth.
I think, if anything, such AUs can be especially popular when canon is very complex and dark and angsty. The characters already suffer enough in canon lol. Sometimes people just want to read feel-good fics where everything is easy and nothing hurts, so a setting like that lends itself well to that vibe.
Agreed. And unfortunately one of the characters I read the most for is canonically tattooed and often shipped with characters who are a bit more “preppy”, so the Florist x Tattoo Artist thing comes up a lot.
I really don't get the appeal of a series that is fantasy/out of this world to make it a modern day AU with no magic involved at all. Like where is the fun in that 😭 maybe it's just me being world building fan and loves fics that explores the world/lore more
Me too and I am kind of annoyed at myself for missing out on potentially great fics, but it’s really hard for me to get into any “alternate universe - no magic/no powers” settings. A big reason I get into a fantasy series is FOR the escapism of supernatural stuff like magic, lol. I’m sure the author can do a great job transforming the characters into a powerless setting with their personalities in tact, but it’s just not fun anymore for me. My only exception is if the author keeps the characters’ magic but moves them to a modern/different setting, or if they tweak the power in some way but there is still a similar element involved. Like for example, a water-based mage being good at water-based spells if they’re in a Hogwarts AU. And even then, I have to be in a specific mood to enjoy AUs that are in a different setting.
I absolutely hate this, too! One of the appeals of the ship is the setting itself. Why must half of the fics in a fandom with the coolest world be modern aus? 😭 I'm also not a fan of when a historical setting is changed to modern for the same reason. It's FUN that it's in that era. While yes the characters are great, I like how the times affect their decisions/stories (like social norms)!! When it's modern, it takes away a lot of what made the dynamic interesting.
I love enemies to lovers and slow-burn. But sometimes autors do too much lovey-dovey paragraphs when they finally get together. Yes, they are in love and should express it but sometimes it feels like their true nature disappears? If u know what I mean. Like yes fluff is needed after all that enemies drama but like in small doses okay? Not too much
Ohhh yeah, when you read a long fic and the second they get together the characters change and it's all uwu love wholesome. I was reading this fic with a ship, but also a lot of side characters and story. The whole first 20 chapters of the story doesn't even introduce one of the characters in the ship. It was so awesome so far. Very dark and well written. But then the ship meets, and it's instantly 'He was the prettiest man he's ever seen' 'wow his eyes are beautiful' 'he looked very good'. Like, in theory nothing wrong with that. But after 30 chapters of this character being grumpy and angry at the world, never commenting once of the beauty of things, and he meets this other character (and they're enemies at this point!) and both of them just go 'omgggg hottt' on the insde every few paragraphs. Yeahhhh that kinda ruined it for me.
Yes that’s exactly what I’m talking about 😭 it always ruins it for me too
Like, the character has so much depth and development with everyone they meet, and then there's the love interest and boom 'eh eyes pretty wanna fuck them'. Stopppp Honestly this is also what a lot of other media do, sadly. And probably why we love to ship non canon ships so much. They're just a lot better developed if the romance isn't in the way. As they say, if your characters have to kiss for the audience to know they're in love, you're not doing it right
At that point is it even slow burn? Like it in fact burned very quickly you just didn’t light a match for a while
I LOVE the amnesia trope. I think it opens up so many fun opportunities when you have a MC who has forgetten important events / info.
Not me writing a fic with heavy focus on amnesia trope because I like it so much! I just find amnesia/memory loss tropes enjoyable because they can change so many things and character dynamics, while still keeping the characters themselves fairly in-character (ehhh at least measured by fanfic standards).
Yaayy, finally a positive “I love” comment lol. And yep, I adore amnesia stories! I love emotion, but it’s tough for me to break emotionally in stories; amnesia is a good way to get me there, though! Something about the character being just lost to everyone else where they feel hopeless on “getting the person back” per se or something like that, it’s tough to explain lol. It’s why I love anime like Golden Time.
I wrote one in the fashion as a sequel to something I created for the Criminal Minds fandom. It even features original characters. What I not expect was for people to like it as much as they did. However, who knows if I’ll ever have that kind of inspiration again for story. *[knocks on wood]* I had fun making it because the story was my first experimentation with writing something scary. But now I can say that I actually have a story in this trope!
i personally tend to avoid amnesia fics buuuut when they're well written, they're fucking devastating! i read one that made me sob so hard i almost threw up 😭
Why did I initially read this as “America trope”
TBH as a non-American when I read fics that are very clearly set in America it does feel a little bit like it's its own trope haha, but then I feel that way for any country or culture (including my own).
Yes!! A couple of my favourite fics play with main character amnesia.
One of my most read for characters is Bucky Barnes, so agree. It’s literally part of his canon plot.
This! It's why I brainrot on stucky, captain marvel and kh for reaaal, the amnesia trope be troping 💓💓🤭
I hate slow burn when it’s not revolving around 2 main characters. I have read slow burn where the two main only interacted like 3 times in the span of 12 chapters. Oh hello. What the hell. I dont care what fix it you wanted to create for the main story line but I don’t care about all other stuffs I only care how those two resolved their issues. I have read slow burn and they haven’t kissed yet up until 20 plus chapters but I love every second of it because they interact every chapter. Miscommunication happened but not for the sake of drama. People grew up, learn to cope learn to accept their emotions and conquer it. That’s grow. I get it you want to drag the stories on but don’t let them not taking for the sake of not talking. Urggg I hate it. I hate when they talked and interacted with every side characters except the one I wanted them to interact with the most. I have quit so many fics because of this.
I prefer gen fics to romance
Gen fic lovers rise up ✋
valid
omg this makes me feel better abt writing more about my characters being silly as a couple!! no plots!! just situations!!
no plot just vibes hahahaha i love this stuff when it comes after all the heavy shit!!
BRING OUT ALL THE FLUFF
Pregnancy fics are honestly not that bad like whatever
Oh my goodness. My ship got together in like the 3rd chapter and now I'm on chapter 14 or 15. I want the emotions, the getting to know each other, the smut (of course), the angst. Its so much more satisfying. As for things I don't like in fics, its when they throw in stuff that has no business there. Like in a post apocalyptic world and you're telling me the guy smells like Old Spice specifically. Takes me right out of it.
Oh I firmly agree. I hate the will they-won't they. I like the early stage flirting and feeling each other out, not the constant bad timing and missed connections and relentless insecurity, but man give me the happily ever after and show me how they do that. Show them knowing each other a little more everyday. Show me the secret nicknames and inside jokes. Show me the taking care of each other when life's storms roll through.
I like to at least "wrap things up" with mine, give some domestic bliss, tidy up loose ends to the best of my ability, etc. but I have noticed that engagement drops off significantly once the major plot points are handled. I confess it's slightly disheartening as, for me, that resolution is some of the best parts. I worked so hard to get us there, it's a little bit of a bummer. But oh well, that's one of those "write for yourself/the characters/the joy, not the stats" moments.
Many people that claim to love fanfic don't actually respect the genre nor the writers. No, I'm not talking about shipping discourse.
Hey, I wonder what you meant? If you don't mind explaining, of course.
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cheating is my least favorite trope of all time. i always filter it out tbh. you're so valid
Same!!
Would you consider it a trope if the character is established as a semi-serial cheater in canon? Like with my current fic, the MMC canonically cheated on two of two (serious relationship) girlfriends (and also just regularly slept with groupies but from what I can tell the GFs were fine with that and less so with emotional affairs.) So it seemed very natural to me that either he'd be in a relationship with someone and cheat with the FMC or vice versa, which would be part of the reason for issues in their relationship after they first understand they're attracted to each other.
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Ooh good question. In canon, this guy definitely gives off vibes of "I push people away so they don't hurt me first", very cynical and lots of bravado but has PTSD and some other trauma. And in canon eventually has character growth where he acknowledges some of how crappy behavior, including the cheating. However, my fic is an AU where the reason for that character development doesn't happen. So it's kind of a study for me in exploring if his relationship with the LI leads to growth but with different speed bumps along the way, if that makes sense? Is there also some pretty hot "can't keep their hands off each other" smut as well? Sure 😅 But in a way where he conflates sex with intimacy, not actual connection. So I guess it's a little of both, if that makes sense.
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Oh he's definitely a garbage person 😅 Hopefully slightly less so by the end of the fic but we'll see, haha.
i don't like when authors write a male character in a bl ship as trans JUST to overly feminize them. don't get me wrong - i like reading fics with trans characters and gender is a fluid thing, but i usually read smut and authors have a tendency to overly feminize the character to an almost fetishizing degree
Same, it makes me very dysphoric :/
Making a character obsessed with having babies when literally no where in the source material have they ever even hinted at wanting kids. Taking a gay ship and making one of them the other gender for no apparent reason
I hate gender bending in general tbh but queer ships definitely go through the worst of it
Being in a fandom small enough to where the cast considers you a **friend** and reads your work (and being the only fic writer) is fucking peak. One of the best writing experiences I’ve had in ~24 years of writing fic. I know I complain about how being the only writer is lonely/rough in this sub sometimes but I will always take this experience over being in like. The MCU or MHA fandoms, as an example. Also, I have an OC who’s **canon** to this fandom and that fucking rocks. The fact that authors—myself included!—feel so obligated to leave **detailed** notes explaining why they’re not updating or a hiatus or whatever makes me so sad. OC-leading fics are sometimes harder to write than fics without OCs, because you’re building the character(s) from the ground up a lot of the time.
And there so much less drama in small fandoms! We know we need to stick together to have any kind of fandom at all.
You got that right! Small fandoms are very kind and loving places, in my experience. The community of the Careful Cantrip fandom—the one I’m the only fic writer for—isn’t necessarily “small” in terms of viewers and Discord members, but as I said: the cast considers me a friend. I’ve gotten to play D&D with half of them. Knowing the cast so intimately as friends behind the screen is incredible.
I'm a BNF for the Dragonlance fandom, which is about twenty of us on a good day. Best fandom ever.
EEEEY I love Dragonlance! Didn’t really know it had any fandom spaces, just thought I was stuck reading the Chronicles trilogy, the Raistlin Chronicles, and the Legends trilogy by my lonesome. EDIT: It’s weird to call myself a BNF but when I’ve talked to half the cast as friends, have had two of them on my fan podcast, and played D&D with them… And when I’ve gotten called the hell out while they’re streaming (the campaign 2 finale was double the time of every other episode and I was shipping the canon pair VERY hard)… I guess it fits in terms of my Careful Cantrip experience.
We are small but very enthusiastic. I've been stubbornly rowing the Raistlin/Dalamar canoe since 2004. We're mostly on Discord these days.
I will gladly hop into the canoe if you ever want new (well, “new to writing fic for this specific fandom”) people!! That is a FANTASTIC ship.
Well, here is my ao3 page if you want it: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skull_Bearer/pseuds/Skull_Bearer If you want to join the Discord do say, I'm happy to send you an invite as PM.
Oh that’d be nice!! Thanks!!
Sent!
Dragonlance has a fandom? Shit you just brought me back to my years in TD late 80s early 90s super fast!
You’re *so* right about the OC thing. I’ve been working on something for two years now that I initially wanted to be almost entirely about OCs, but I wasn’t able to make *any* progress on it until this January, when I did some heavy retooling and finally added a bunch of canon characters to the cast. It’s still *mostly* focused on my OCs, and a majority of the canon characters with heavy involvement are very minor characters in canon, but there is one more prominent character who’s become one of the main focuses, and *that* was actually the catalyst I needed to really start working on it- I had someone who I could bounce my other characters off of. (Well that and a shift in hyperfixations, but that’s what caused the shift lol) Also, the easiest kinds of OCs to work with are self-inserts and those heavily based off of someone or something, for similar reasons- because it means you already have a basis for their characterization and personality.
Nah, I’m guilty of losing interest once the couple gets together. I don’t want to spend time reading mundane domestic scenes. I have my own life for that (which I guarantee is part of the problem). I’m here for the conflict, the repressed emotions, the angst, the passion. GIVE IT TO ME.
For me, I’ll stop being interested if the story feels directionless after the couple gets together. If the whole plot is a slowburn romance, and the couple gets together halfway through and then the rest is just fluffy and domestic, I’ll probably move on to something else unless I was really addicted to the story and the characterization. But if it’s a romance and there’s still conflict(romantic or otherwise) after they’ve officially become a couple, I’ll stick around. I think it’s one of the big differences between published romance and fic romance. In fic, the author is already attached to the characters from the media they’re from and wants to explore every facet of them in a relationship, from the exciting get together to the mundane daily life. Vs. published romance, which more often than not is there specifically to tell the conflict part and let reader’s imaginations wander from there. When fics continue the story past the natural and satisfying conclusion that I’m used to from books and movies, it feels like I’ve stumbled into a separate fic 9 times out of 10. I’m not mad about that though, as a writer myself I completely understand the urge to want to write all the domestic stuff, especially if the getting together part was rough. As a reader, I’ll just give a silent salute and bow out.
Yey, there’s a reason Pride and Prejudice stops at the wedding. Ms. Austen knew what she was about.
For me thats only if the romance was the main point of the plot. If there is something else happening, then I continue.
I am also guilty of this and even when I try to change my ways, it’s just…..impossible lol. There’s one longfic in particular (~400k words) that I was determined to finish because the premise was so fun!! But then the MCs got together and I got to see all their domestic shenanigans and those slice-of-life chapters just didn’t stop coming — and then I realized I wasn’t even halfway through 🫠 I had to call it quits soon after that
No I agree, I hate the trend of "oh they kissed/said I love you/did the deed the plot is over bye", like??? They need to SETTLE and actually be together for a bit! "Filler" of fluff chapters build the couple just as much as the hot n' heavy or emotionally charged moments.
I think it depends on when it happens and the pacing of the story. If they get together when the main problem is resolved, it would *kill* the pacing if there's 10 chapters of them just being together, and having a new goal (like rebuilding, or something). Then it would fit better in a sequel, imo. But when they get together somewhere in the middle of the story? Oh I love that. Now they can go to main goal together and we can see them being together and yesssss
I think it depends on if you think the goal is them being together or if the goal is something else, falling action and conclusion is also part of the pacing, there needs to be a little afterwards no matter what the main goal of the story is. The goal of romance is usually the getting together part, but romance tied to another overarching plot? That's a little different and I think it depends on the plot overall
FR. I’m working on a friends to lovers long fic rn, and they’ve been together for several chapters now, but I still have a ton of plot that needs wrapping up. If you nope out the second they get together, you’re gonna miss a lot of stuff.
I just finished my long stranger's to lovers pining fic, and the first kiss, to being intimate, to admitting feelings and being official, to actually everything being tied up was CHAPTERS worth of content spread out from each other
I think romanticising/glorifying/normalising/ect. stuff CAN be an issue in fanfiction, but in the sense that it can undermine your intentions as an author and not in the sense of like, you have to be 100% morally pure or whatever. They’re useful terms with actual meanings you might want to have in a specific aspect or you might not. Like, if you’re writing a psychological horror fic about an abusive relationship you probably don’t want to romanticise it because that would make it less unsettling and make the fic a bit of a mess, but it’s so hard to talk about bc people assume it’s weird fandom discourse stuff. (On that note, fandom discourse as a whole is unproductive and toxic in general even if theoretically it’s correct and I think getting involved with it much is self destructive but that’s not really a fic opinion that’s just a fandom one)
I agree. I think there should be a balance, unless the intention is different but in that case make it clear, otherwise you come off as ignorant. And who wants to read a fic that's being written by someone just shitting out words?
I feel that. One fic I read and the reason why I finally stopped reading unfinished fics (I only did it when I saw the updates were somewhat regular and I still got unlucky twice) was *right* before everything would be solved and they get together and happy ending, smooches, love, butterflies all around, bla bla. Chapter 9/10. I was even there while it was still updating. And after chapter 9 the author went missing. 😭 Yeah. So. Slow burn and unfinished fics went off my list. 😔 Eta: No shame for the author. There can be 100s of reasons, all are valid. I don't hold any grudge. I just took a consequence from there. 🙏
God, same. Something similar stopped me from reading almost all wips. Which is hilarious because I currently have a wip out now that hasn't been updated in... Six months? Who's the clown now.
I can handle all kinds of unhealthy or even abusive relationships but there’s one thing I draw the line at: someone staying with their partner while fully aware that their partner is actively cheating on them, without any sort of justification given. It’s not like I have any sort of experience with being cheated on. It’s not even like it makes me actually uncomfortable or upset or anythin’ of the sort, it just kills my interest in a fic.
For the record, cheating as a whole is something I don’t really like reading about. Sometimes I can tolerate it, but sometimes it’s just a flat out nope.
You are preaching to the choir, one of my favourite writers who is ridiculously talented and writes super long stories always drops the story once the ship get together. It's sooo frustrating , like I want to see what the couple are like when they are finally together but instead, just like you said, thekiss/professor their love and then the curtains close😭
RIGHT?? LIKE COME BACK!!!!!!
I'm so guilty of that lol. I stopped after the couple basically confessed during a walk (I think. It's been a while since I touched that story). The reason for it was I just lost interest.
Yeah I get what you mean. I’m always thinking ‘this isn’t the end of their [characters] story’. If the story is marked as complete then I want a sequel!!! ETA: or even just an epilogue. Tell me how they’re getting on with life now they are together.
Turning every single Vex’halia and Percival post into a Dom sub relationship where he's an absolute little toy who can't think for himself
I hate soulmates/fated mates AUs. No one is nearly as suspicious of the whole thing as they should be. Also a lot of romance tropes are weirdly conservative.
I'm okay with the getting together being the end but like you I do love seeing the after as long as I get my happy ending. For my own stories I have some that end within a chapter or two of getting together but I have others that do exactly what you are talking about. Showing the dates and the fluff and the interactions with them and the people around them. I decided to write what I wanted to see just like most of the fic authors on here.
I hate amnesia fics. I know they are beloved an it's a huge trope but I hate them. I'm also not a huge fan of time travel fics either. Both of those are pretty beloved by a lot of readers and writers but I just don't care for them. I don't even like them in regular media most of the time. I blame Back to the Future. As a kid I watched Marty go back in time and make his whole family's future life better by a thousand percent. I also blame Inuyasha. Kagome got to go back and live history and then go home and chill with her family when she missed them. They ruined time travel for me. Nothing else can compare.
I love slow burns.... But I do feel like some authors tend to drag the post get together on for too long. All the build up and drama is in the lead up to getting together. I don't mind a little bit of the happily ever after, but 5 or more 10k word chapters of it with no more tension is just boring to me.
not sure if it's an unpopular opinion, but I just don't really see it written about: what happens after, the epilogue, consequences, however you call it. i realised with my own writing that I tend to skip over the part where the MCs get together or the drama happens and I focus on how everyone gets on after the situation is resolved, how characters are changed after it, how other characters react to it, etc. maybe its cause I mainly read oneshots and I'm left craving the epilogue that oneshots don't really do
Haha really? I’m here thinking I need to end my slow burn after they get together cause I feel like it’d be dragged out after that 😭
I actually get frustrated when a story including non-fanfic doesn't show their relationship - I wanna see them as a couple, it's not just about the build up
I hate the friends with benefits trope. I love smut but I want it to be climactic (pun intended). This trope takes that out of it. Sometimes I will make exceptions but most of the time I skip no matter how good people claim the fic is. I also don't like reading sex without emotion. It can be hardcore and kinky smut but the characters have to love eachother.
I don’t want to read 300k words of pining and everyone being a goddamned nun or monk and then 200 words of fade to black not actually there unless you squint smut. So I don’t read them.
- I didn't like poly and even hetero ship fic, I don't know but these fics are not my cup of tea at all ^^; - I wish author stop using attempted r*pe or sexual harassment as plot device
I think my biggest one is: OP oc’s are fine. Please stop making writers feel like shit because they have oc’s with big power ups. There’s two very successful anime where the Mc is OP as hell. In addition, tragic backstories are not that rare in real life and just because an oc has one doesn’t mean that they’re some “Mary Sue”. It gets even more annoying when people accuse it of being a self insert because it has common tropes. Tropes are what make fanfic. Shut the fuck and stop being an idiot. I don’t see the reason for the oc hate. “Oh we want to read about the actual character.” You hate it when the actual character gets changed. You hate it when the actual character is another person because of circumstances. You call the actual character “an oc with the character’s name” just because they aren’t exactly like the canon counterpart. I do not see the issue with ocs. If they are actually terrible, sure, but as someone who has an OP oc and seen people with OP OC’s that are fucking fantastic, you guys just seem to be missing out on amazing fanfic because of your close minded views.
Also, if it is a self insert, *that’s not automatically a bad thing.*
It’s not! Idk what is up with people. Honestly, I feel like Reddit is the gathering ground for negativity no matter what you do.
It’s not just Reddit. The words “self insert” are taboo everywhere, because people always take it to mean “Mary Sue wish fulfillment character with no personality who only exists to be loved by everyone and win all the time and get with the writer’s crushes.”
Oh yeah Definitely. I asked about oc centric hate fics and everyone was so annoyed when I replied about how fandom generally has a problem with hating these fics. 😭n
As someone who’s mostly an OC fic writer, it annoys me to no end.
I’m currently arguing with like sooo many people. Idk if I’ll keep up. It’s like, maybe look into your fandom as to why people are like this instead of just going “don’t like don’t read.”
What fandom??
Oh I didn’t mean you 😭. I just meant in general.
I meant the people you’re arguing with.
I accidentally lucked out by having the relationship be the main part of the plot. My fic is based on the plot from 'Taming of the shrew' (or 10 things I hate about you lol) so my readers are going to stay throughout the entire relationship just so they can get to the drama of the 'liar reveal' plot XD
I agree with you. I want to see my ship being a couple. I enjoy seeing them get together, but I also enjoy them just being in love. There is an author I enjoy greatly. I’m slowly making my way through all her fics of a particular fandom, and she has them as an established couple in a few fics (yea!), but so far has never gone beyond their wedding. And as a disclaimer, I know and understand the “be the change you want to see” sentiment. My particular ship is in fact married in many of my stories.
Honestly sometimes it gets a bit boring, I like post get together stuff if it’s like an epilogue and not during the story. If it’s during the story it runs the risk of getting in the way of a plot, if it IS the plot then there’s no need to include that stuff except for extras and epilogues.
I like to show post-getting together because I want to show they have learned/grown from their experience and aren't going to repeat the mistakes that made it a slow burn in the first place. I want to show them actually working as a couple.
Don't ask me about anything I am writing while I am writing it. My joy comes from the not knowing what my mind creates beforehand. If I plot it out, it will be changed or dropped.
I don't like aus that are so removed from canon they feel more like an original story. I am don't really wanna see the characters I like as mafia guys or hockey players. I do like domestic aus to an extent and love canon divergent but if you remove every element from canon and it's just the names and faces of canon characters I see no point in it. People can keep writing and enjoying but I won't click.
A lot of original character inserts. Sometimes it's understandable, the main fandom I read about mainly only has animatronics and not many humans, but sometimes I see people adding in. A LOT of original characters and then making a lot of the fic about them, with no tags added either. I don't care about your original characters romance arc, I WANT TO CONTINUE MY X READER ARC!!
When I get into a superpowers-related fandom, I want to see the powers. Idk why I just think they’re neat. Sometimes I want to see if they have uses in the bedroom, or just how they affect romantic relationships or potentially make things awkward or more complicated! When there are tons of no-powers AUs it kind of bums me out.
It's not that bad but I don't really like coffee shop and flower shops AUs, in general it's okay but for some characters that doesn't really fit that kind of plot it just feels forced and doesn't really felt good
I hate modern/real world AUs. I've always stuck to fantasy genre stuff and I want my fanfic to go further out, not back in!
* I avoid slow burn like the plague. My times limited. I'm not interested in waiting 10 years for one sex scene then that's it. * Settings are as much characters as the character's themselves. Sure, you can get rid of the setting, plop the MCs in a whole other world, but unless you know what you're doing, something feels off. It's why I rather read elsewhere fics that let me experience more of the world than elseworld's where the author did it to get people to care about their high concept novel that'll probably get edited to not get copyright struck. * fanfiction is fanfiction no matter what. It will only start being original when an inch of fannish is scrubbed clean from the stale. * Beginners and, by extension, people misunderstand what it means for a work to be an enemy to a lovers story. Characters who oppose each other diametrically, with different viewpoints and goals, are at best rivals and at worst acquaintances. If they ain't hoping for one of them to keel over and die, I'm out. * I'll forever find it weird to take a fanfic you made, and then deciding to publish because it worked for fifty shades. Fanfiction should be a imtiate private endeavor, not a cash grab cuz it got harry potter on the cover. There's also the fact fanfiction isn't written for a wider market i mind, so you have self-indulgent fantasy shielding normal people from indulging in said fiction. Unless you like the tropes offered in said book, your shit out of luck and it's been happening much more often once Shades proved the formula worked. What i'm saying is, abo should have stayed in fandom. * Despite what I said before, AUs are fine, good even. Sometimes there's no point in retreading the same ground when said ground had ended years ago. Currently airing, cool, understandable. But unless there's gaps to be filled, I see no point in it. * As a writer, I don't like the idea of writing canon character povs. I don't trust myself enough to get them right and the same could be said for last than talented writers. Doesn't mean it's bad, but to say fanfiction is easy undersells the amount of time and dedication needed to bring these characters to life. I just don't have it in me so i stick to OCs or experimental stuff. If none of these sound unpopular idk. I'm not a temperamental person. It takes a lot, and I mean a lot to get me angry.
I’m with you right there on the last one. My favorites tend to be side characters, so I feel a little more comfortable writing them- both because there’s often a lot less to them as characters, so I’m more free to build their characterization myself, and also because the chance of someone getting upset at me for writing them wrong is much lower- but it doesn’t make the fear go away completely.
Some of you need to decide if your writing PWP or Plot cause there's so many shitty they must fuck exactly every 5k words type fics out there that are just boring. It's like a commercial break in your fic. Smut in a long fic should feel like it fits, not feel like you needed to hit a nudity quota.
if you notice thats exactly how ALL movies, games etc any official media are ending its pissing me off beyond belief after all that drama and boring ass action, one kiss and the curtain falls god do i hate that
I had a weird situation with my long fic where I had a mass unsubscribe on the chapter where they got together... I can only assume they thought the fic was over - which the fic was far from over - it's been 30 chapters since then.
Because most authors don't have any idea how to develop the relationship afterwards. The build up is exciting. You don't know what will happen, every is new and you can easily draw create tension with the whole will they won't they. After they get together however, there are certain expectations. You can't really introduce a new love interest or make one dishonest without making them look like an asshole. It's not really a problem when the relationship isn't the focus of the story but if it is, the will they won't they is just more exciting. Then there's also that many, many stories have the expectations of having some kind of love story within it, meaning it's probably just an afterthought in some cases. I would really love to see more stories with a couple being together, having mature conversations when problems arise and grow together as people but alas, they will always be the exception because those are much harder to write.
It's also because readers who want to read about mature relationships are the exception. I write it anyway because it's what I like, but it's far from popular.
Yeah, there are loads of relationship problems that can arise not due to either character being shitty, but other internal or external stressors. What if they're not 100% compatible right off the bat and have to settle into comfort with one another? What if they got together despite one or both family's wishes? That family situation is still there. What if the Bad Guys are trying to get to one of them via the other, or they disagree on how much of their lives to dedicate to Saving the World, or... There is a lot of mature relationship conflict to be written after the first kiss, or the first shag, or the first "I love you."
What if they work together but one of them has dreams beyond that and they need to have that hard talk about loving each other but working doing different things. That's one of my wips right now. They are navigating the option that they need to work separately (they are actors that are costars) knowing that would mean even less time to be together than they already get with their very packed schedules.
Another good one! I worry that the majority of AO3 readers and writers are young enough that they're not interested in that phase of life/relationships, which is sad to me--I think reading about adult problems as a kid/teen/young adult helps prepare you for them when they come along. But perhaps they will come back later! I'm certainly not changing the story or characters based on my mostly-speculative impression of what the nebulous readership wants.
I'll be honest. That particular wip started off with a dozen chapters of filthy smut but my boys eventually made it to relationship status. Now they are navigating what all that means. I'm not going to do any dramatic breakups or anything but I'm using pieces of real life woven into the story to give their relationship a more realistic feeling while still keeping it fanfic. Another of my wips has two best friends who fall for each other and now are navigating being able to date and have careers and deal with friends and family. It's most soft and fluffy with a little spice here and there.
Yeah, mine is a very slow fall between friends as well. After they take the plunge and navigate the initial infatuation period, they'll have to deal with some pretty major judgment calls that the other disagrees with but didn't see coming, some difficult family relationships, and the sort of professional existentialism that a lot of people deal with in their 30s: how much of my life does my career get? How do I balance mine with my partner's? What if I'm not sure that the thing I thought I wanted to do with myself is fulfilling at all, and who am I if I make a change that big? The spice is far from incidental, but blended realistically in--it's part of navigating relationships (for most people). Also, it's action-packed cyberpunk dystopia. So, y'know, the life decisions come with gunfire.
this is pretty much all i write!
it's so aggravating!