fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2846 ]

[ SECRET POST #2846 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2846 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.

__________________________________________________

02.

__________________________________________________

03.

__________________________________________________

04.

__________________________________________________

05.

__________________________________________________

06.

__________________________________________________

07.

__________________________________________________

08.

Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 050 secrets from Secret Submission Post #407.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm unamused by how many 'cutesy' fic I see popping up in my various fandoms, particularly when they're so OOC. I hate fluff, and the only purpose I see it serving is to make the angst that much crueler.

I have no idea why it's a trend, but I think it might have to do with the sort of people who complained about Dean's consent being violated when he was turned into a demon populating fandom (or whatever happened... I don't even watch that show, just heard about it via fandom osmosis; I was just amused by how many people flipped their shits about OH MY GOD BAD THINGS HAPPENED TO A CHARACTER IN A SHOW WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTERS CHRONICALLY SUFFER FROM BAD THINGS HAPPENING TO THEM!!!!!)

Edited 2014-10-18 20:51 (UTC)

Oh come on. I get not being into fluff, but if you ARE into it, it doesn't automatically mean that you don't see the line between canon and fanon and can't handle the canonical angst.

My bias against fluff notwithstanding, I don't believe everyone's like that. I have, however, seen a lot of people who are into the "self care uwu" trend on Tumblr apply that sort of thing to fictional situations (and then things like I mentioned above, too), and I guess they then go on to write fic about it. For all I know, it's just an annoying trend, but this is still where I'm putting my money, at least partially.

Yeah, I can see where you're coming from, though it does depend on the fandom. I guess my first reaction was due to the fact that none of the fandoms I'm in contain fluff that was written for the reasons you've mentioned. But SPN probably does have fic like this, and I've certainly glimpsed the tendency in the Sherlock fandom, so.

eta: oh, and out of curiosity, why are you biased against fluff? Is it just one of those things, or do you have serious objections?

Edited 2014-10-18 21:12 (UTC)

I've seen it mostly in the Marvel fandom, and to an extent the Teen Wolf fandom, where everyone tries to be super PC, and not in the way where they're trying to genuinely be respectful. Not sure how to describe it other than that it sometimes feels like people try to write or make headcanons as if things were ideal and clear-cut rather than taking into account how the people in question actually work.

My objections to fluff are mostly just a personal preference. I don't like it, I find it to be cheesy, and most of the time I find it to be rather plotless and a bit dull. If other people like it, fine, whatever, to each their own, but personally I don't get anything out of it. It just bores me. I also find it pretty jarring to find cutesy things written about certain characters, since a lot of times it ends up coming across as a bit awkward and out of character. I'm not 100% against lighter moments in a huge story, since that's realistic; even in bleak times there are some nice things, like I said.

I'm also just not a fluffy person. In real life I'm painfully awkward whenever people do nice things for me, to the point where it's almost funny, so traditionally fluffy things make me a bit ???

(I do, however, like h/c, which can sometimes be considered fluff, I guess.)

Edited 2014-10-18 21:30 (UTC)

That must be annoying.

>people try to write or make headcanons as if things were ideal and clear-cut rather than taking into account how the people in question actually work.

I've seen this, in particular, in the Lewis fandom, too. The soulmate AU is just... a bit weird because I can't imagine Lewis and Hathaway sharing their personal space to this extent without getting horribly hurt.

And I understand not being a fluffy sort of person, too. I was brought up in a culture where having a stiff upper lip is the norm, and I was the same not two years ago. Ta for the explanation :)

Also, hell yes h/c!

I don't think I've ever seen a soulmate AU I could really get behind, mostly for all these reasons, but that's probably something to file away for another discussion.

Admittedly, one plot point I sometimes enjoy is people being unsure how to receive affection, especially if it's in that awkward 'I like this, but feel a bit guilty/embarrassed/etc' stage.

H/C is my fanfic lifeblood, I swear.

Its because it is too easy to fling something on AO3 that it happens. If they put another couple of layers of difficulty into how to post then it would probably discourage the kids that write them.

Eh, probably. What sort of extra layers would they have to be? Don't you have to apply to AO3 and such? IIRC, it used to be because of that that the fic there was said to be better than fanfiction.net (but for all I know, that's not actually the case, seems I was out of the fic-part of fandom for a while.)

Yeah, I'm with you. I don't mind fluffy fic upon occasion, but a lot of it is just cookie-cutter and pointless. And it spreads so fast.

Then again I've noticed that in general the number of fics with 'generic' characterization seems to have risen...

Also I subscribe to your angst+full=more angst theory :3 I do the same thing myself.

What do you mean 'generic' characterization? If you mean picking a few main traits of a character and not looking at the bigger picture, then yeah, I agree.

If there were an actual plot, I wouldn't mind some fluff. In fact, like I said somewhere else, I don't mind fluff if it's well placed and there's actual plot going on in the background, and the fluff doesn't become overpowering. I've pretty much given up on finding anything like that, though.

Yeah, that kind of thing. Or characterization that if you deleted the names, you wouldn't necessarily be able to tell who the fanfic was originally about.

I think that in general the number of fics with actual plot is a lot lower than people think. For example, when it comes to romance fic, I only want to read fics that have a plot alongside the romance plot, as opposed to the romance being the entire plot. But very few romance fics have that, which makes the whole thing kind of spiral into nothing but meaningless drama where the characters mostly avoid ironing out issues or communicating.

Yeah, well-placed fluff I enjoy, but normally if a fic seems to have nothing but fluff to it I wouldn't click.

Fair enough. Even if there's not a plot, I still like to see some point of substance rather than just snippets or scenes with no over-reaching theme (unless that's the point, but even then).

Admittedly I've written a few super self-indulgent things, but I at least try to throw in some structure so that there's some point to what I'm writing. You feel me?

haha, don't worry, I'm not judging. I mean everybody should write what they enjoy! This is just my personal taste.
As it happens, I usually overcomplicate everything, plotwise. Most of my romance fics have at least two simultaneous plotlines (my rule of thumb is, if I delete the romance bits, is there still a plot?). But it does make for more difficult writing.
Then again, I'm stupidly picky XD

The thing I'm struggling with right now is how difficult it is for me to get things written in a reasonable word limit. Like, I'm trying to write a series of unrelated one-shots and I'm having difficulty fitting everything in. Same problem with this angsty h/c fill I'm doing for a kink meme. It wasn't meant to be this long, and while that's not usually a bad thing, I worry that I'm dragging it out too long.

And yeah, I feel you with the romance. With some things, I have this idea for some relationships (romantic or otherwise), and I have trouble crafting it into a proper story.

Hmm. Well, the word limit thing is an issue for me too, sometimes, because more plot=more wordage.
I would say, maybe consider your scenes carefully? Sometimes stories get padded with stuff that doesn't actually have to be there for the story to happen, or I find myself getting bogged down describing things that I realize don't need that level of attention.
On the other hand, some stories just need more time to get told, and that's ok. You should try to look at it objectively and ask yourself if you really feel it's dragging, or if you just feel like you should feel it's dragging, if that makes sense.

In cases like that, with the romance, I sometimes try to combine the relationship-plot with some other plotbunny kicking around my brain, and then voila! It's a multi-plotted romance story. Or just ask myself, but what are they DOING? and see where it takes me...

I've pretty much accepted that being wordy is just my lot in life. I'm trying to trim the fat, so to speak, but sometimes there just needs to be a lot of things. Extra scenes are the bane of my existence, but that's just something I need to work on.

And yeah, I do that. In particular I've got two characters who I finally managed to fit into a plot, which mostly involves shoving them into another plot. They fit well. Finally, a home for my poor, orphaned characters.

Nothing really wrong with being wordy :)

Btw, I should probably clarify - I don't think lack of multiple plotlines is a big deal in oneshots. Up to 7-8k I could run with something conceptual and just romance. But I've seen 50k fics with no plot! idgi...

What fandoms do you write for, out of curiosity?

Yeah, I figured that's what you meant. I mentioned once on a secret about how the OP didn't like romance fic after they finally got together that a big reason for that was probably because the whole plot was either constructed around getting them together, or as background material - once they were actually together, everything else falls apart.

Mostly I write for The Walking Dead, as it's my main fandom. I write a lot of original things as well. On occasion I write fanfic for one of my friend's original works, which is pretty nice of him to let me do. I'd like to get into writing for other fandoms: John Dies at the End springs to mind, as does Pacific Rim.

I'd define it as the traits are so generic that the only way you know who these people are supposed to be is because it's listed as a fandom. You could put the words into anyone's mouth (if you can get the comically oversized cock out of it first).

Exactly. Ugh, that drives me up the wall.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2846 ]

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot

Re: The AO3 Source Plot