fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #3860 ]

[ SECRET POST #3860 ]

⌈ Secret Post #3860 ⌋

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

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 48 secrets from Secret Submission Post #553.
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.

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A fic without focus on shipping (i. e. any couples mentioned would be ones already established in canon), and whatever the genre is, it's not "romance".

I guess any fic where romance isn't the primary plot. Most likely no romance at all, or it's very much pushed to the side, and likely does not involve the protagonist (unless the romance is very much only backstory or minimally important to the story)

Fic where the focus is character or friendship, instead of romance/sex.

romance/shipping/etc does not affect the story beyond what canon has established

Ooh, I like this definition.

This is perfect.

I accidentally answered this in the secret thread, but basically romance/shipping should not be the focus of the fic and any background mention of pairings/romance should only be canon pairings. So that I'm not reading gen and then there is mention of a couple I despise going on a date after they solve the case or something.

When I read gen, it is typically because I want something that feels like the show. So a case file type for a crime show or a monster of the week for Supernatural or a day in the life of superheroes or something like that. Even if the focus isn't on the romance/ship, I would prefer it not to be there at all unless it also would feel like the show, which a non-canon pair wouldn't to me. There are very few pairings that are instant back buttons for me, but I'd be irked to find one (even just casually in there not as the focus) in a fic labeled "gen".

I don't read gen very often--but for me it's a fic where there's no focus on romance at all. Mention of canon relationships is okay, but that's about it.

I've seen fics on AO3 with the gen tag--and there's romance in it--I think some authors get confused about Gen as a category and general as a rating....

I think some authors get confused about Gen as a category and general as a rating....

THIS! Just because your characters don't make out or fuck, doesn't mean it's Gen fic.

Can confirm. I opened up gen prompts and got people requesting shippy fic. I said it was GEN and they replied with well duh, they weren't asking for smut, just kissing and I love yous and other gen stuff.

Hmmm, that's a bit tricky.

On the one hand, I find it frustrating when people tag fics that are mildly shippy as Gen, because that makes me believe my ship isn't interested in each other in the fic, so I skip it. Whereas I will happily read a fic where my ship is interested in each other but the fic just doesn't really go there with them within the course of the story.

Attraction on the back burner does not equal Gen to me.
Characters aren't attracted to each other is Gen to me.

But on the other hand, I think if two characters are canonically together, then juts having them be together in the fic doesn't, in and of itself, make the fic non-gen. Still, if it's the main characters of the fic that are together, then IMO it's best not to tag is as gen, unless there's very little focus on their relationship at all.

I am willing to begrudgingly accept canon pairing if they're not the focus.

For pure though, I prefer nothing but implied canon pairings. If you have Harry Potter, it's implied that James and Lily were a couple. But I'd prefer not to have Tonks and Remus show up being all coupley without mention of 'background Remus/Tonks'

Plus fandom does not always have the best grasp on what counts as canon or not.

No non-canon romance, and while canon pairings can show up if it makes sense (eg. a Harry Potter fic with a few chapters set in the Weasley household doesn't have to dance around the fact that hey, Molly and Arthur are married), they shouldn't have a lot of focus.

IDK, I used to be in some fandoms where a lot of things were labelled gen or pre-slash. Sort of "how you choose to see it." And sometimes they weren't; they just didn't focus on the relationship very much. (I still read most of them.)

Then there was my fics which I fiercely considered gen, but which some people told me were clearly slash.

There's obviously a lot of personal opinion in the mix and how one reads a certain piece.

And then of course there was "smarm." AKA the characters touch each other and maybe even sleep in the same bed but they (and the authors) would say that it was completely non-sexual best friendship.

I loved smarm and I won't be ashamed of it!

I'd generally go with any canonical pairings showing up having less than or equal to their importance in an average episode of canon.

I've seen someone say with apparent sincerity that mentioning only canonical pairings means that gen as a category is homophobic since there are so few canonical same-sex pairings in media.

I once made the mistake of labeling a fic "gen" despite it containing a couple lines of Dean Winchester flirting with a waitress.

Question, if someone included a couple lines of Dean Winchester flirting with a waiter would you still consider it gen?

DA
For me it would depend on the context. If it was something he had to do in order to do whatever it is he needed to do for the story (like the waiter had the artifact they needed and he wanted to distract him), I would. If it was Dean flirting with the waiter because he was interested in him, I would not consider it gen. (Whereas if he flirted with a waitress briefly I still would consider it gen.) This is because of what we have seen in canon. We have seen Dean flirt countless times with girls (even waitresses specifically) in canon, so that would feel believable to me as part of a general story. Whereas we have yet to see Dean show romantic interest in a guy. If ever the show had Dean flirt with a guy, then I would consider Dean flirting with a waiter briefly to be okay as part of a gen story.

Trying to think of the best way to say why this puts me on edge and just feels wrong. The best I can say is that if I read a gen fic that made sure and mention current romantic behavior I'd probably backbutton, even if it was canon.

It's sort of like if I read a gen HP fic where Harry and Hermione are friends I wouldn't bat an eye. If I read a HP fic where Ron goes out of his way to mention Harry and Hermione are like brother and sister and trying to picture anything romantic with them would be incestuous and gross I'm go "Ah ha, soooomeone hates Harry/Hermione!"

So it feels like the author briefly getting up on their soapbox and clearing their throat and going "Oh yes, by the way, don't forget in CANON Dean is STRAIGHT! And flirts with WOMEN!"

Falls under "Technically it's not illegal, but it is a dick move."

AYRT
It's sort of like if I read a gen HP fic where Harry and Hermione are friends I wouldn't bat an eye. If I read a HP fic where Ron goes out of his way to mention Harry and Hermione are like brother and sister and trying to picture anything romantic with them would be incestuous and gross I'm go "Ah ha, soooomeone hates Harry/Hermione!"
But that second one wouldn't exist in canon either. The tone of that would be all wrong, and it would be pretty obvious the fanfic author was pushing an agenda. I think the key part for me is "out of the way". In this fic, the author is going out of the way to put something extra in there.

Whereas Dean flirting with a waitress would exist in canon and doesn't seem "going out of the way" to put in. If the fic has Dean and Sam chilling at a bar discussing what to do next with whatever monster of the week they're dealing with and there is a line or two of Dean flirting with the waitress (not making a date for later, not kissing or doing anything remotely romantic, just the general flirty vibe he gets sometime) when she takes their orders or brings them drinks, that would totally feel like a scene in canon. And wouldn't be shippery at all to me, because that is the tone of the show/his character.

So it feels like the author briefly getting up on their soapbox and clearing their throat and going "Oh yes, by the way, don't forget in CANON Dean is STRAIGHT! And flirts with WOMEN!"
I don't understand why it has to mean that. If someone is choosing to headcanon Dean as bi, that is perfectly fine. But that wouldn't preclude him flirting with girls, as he flirts with girls on the show already. If someone is choosing to headcanon Dean as gay, that is perfectly fine. But that also wouldn't preclude him flirting with girls (in this case presumably because he is putting up a hetero front), as again, he flirts with girls on the show already. Having him flirt with a waitress for a line or two is exactly like it is on the show and wouldn't affect any headcanon for Dean if it already exists with what is in canon. I think the difference is that you see "flirting with a waitress briefly" as a romantic declaration, whereas I see it as a character trait that really has nothing to do with his sexuality and doesn't affect his sexuality.

Like if I were reading a House fic, and Thirteen flirted with either a guy or a girl for a line or two while the group was out for drinks discussing something related to the case they were working on, that wouldn't feel at all shippery to me and would be fine in a gen fic. It's not a focus at all on any romance, and is part of the established character of Thirteen that she is flirty with both genders. Whereas if Alex on Supergirl flirted with a waitress, it wouldn't feel right to me, despite her being a lesbian, because she is a very reserved character. (Caveat, I'm only halfway through season 2, so she might have changed in the last half of the season after being in a relationship with Maggie? I doubt it, as her personality has seemed fairly stable, but could happen.) I'm a lesbian. And I love Alex (hearing she came out as a lesbian is why I watched the second season of Supergirl, after having given up on it after season 1 because Cat left; I can be shallow), but it wouldn't feel right to me to see her flirt with anyone other than Maggie (and even that is more private).

I don't know if that makes sense at all?

The Pairings I Like Can Be Mentioned, But The Pairings I Hate Better Not Be

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[ SECRET POST #3860 ]

What is your definition of Gen fic?

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Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

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Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?

Re: What is your definition of Gen fic?