[ SECRET POST #6256 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #6256 ⌋

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


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02.
[Ruby Sunday, Doctor Who]



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03.
[Deadpool/MCU]



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08.
[The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy At All]

































Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 14 secrets from Secret Submission Post #894.
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.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

How do you define Gen then?

[(Anonymous)]

It’s just gen. It isn’t about couples or shipping. That doesn’t mean one should automatically exclude couples, particularly canon couples. They can be characters in the fic without the fic being about their relationship or even mentioning it.

[(Anonymous)]

So you can have couples being characters, you just don't think genfic should be about being a couple? Like a Steve/Bucky fic can be gen as long as the focus is not on their relationship?

(I hope this isn't coming off as confrontational, I'm genuinely asking. I like discussion and seeing how different people view things.)

[(Anonymous)]

DA but, yes, this is absolutely what I think

[(Anonymous)]

DA - I'm getting into semantics here, but I'd say that to be called a Steve/Bucky fic, it would have to focus on the relationship at least somewhat and wouldn't be gen. But, an Avengers fic about them going back in time to fix things so Natasha doesn't have to go splat to save the world could feature Steve/Bucky and Bruce/Betty as background couples and as long as the focus isn't on their relationships it would still be gen.

One of the reasons that people still tag the fics with the pairings is to keep people from getting disappointed or upset that the shipping is not going the way they wanted it to. Let's say you ship Bruce/Natasha. If you're going into this fic with no tags, even if it's gen you might be thinking that it's leading to eventual Bruce/Natasha and then be upset or angry when it turns out that your ship got shot down. (This happened a lot in ST AOS fic after the first movie. If a fic wasn't tagged with Spock/Uhura, and the author didn't break them up for the fic, readers got... angry. Even if they weren't doing anything in the fic other than existing as a canon couple.)

Sorry for the wall of text, but there you go.

[(Anonymous)]

AYRT

Personally I don’t think fanon ships should be included. I can see gen applying to fanon ships on someone’s tumblr, especially if the fic falls within a fanon universe that the author created or takes part in.

But I can also see the argument being made to include fanon ships the same as canon. The relationship exists and it’s just there but has no bearing on the plot or how the characters behave.

[(Anonymous)]

Yes to this.

[(Anonymous)]

But if it isn't a fic revolving around a couple's romantic relationship, and you categorize it as Gen, then you shouldn't tag the pairings. This is starting to become more common in my fandom. I've been muting authors for doing this because it's hard enough to find Gen without this confusing bullshit.

[(Anonymous)]

So to take an example, if you're writing an X-Files case fic where Mulder and Scully are in an established relationship from before the start of the story, I think it could be appropriate to tag both Gen and the pairing.

You want to tag Gen because the story focuses on the casefic aspect and not their relationship. You want to tag the pairing because the pairing is together in the story.

[(Anonymous)]

+1

[(Anonymous)]

Not Gen unless it takes place during the seasons they were an official couple.

[(Anonymous)]

DA

Yes gen. They said established relationship from before the start of the fic, fic focuses on the case. That's a gen fic. Gen fic with background relationships aren't restricted to canon - that brings us right back around to the homophobia.

[(Anonymous)]

How are Mulder and Scully in homosexual relationship?

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, a baby fan. You don't remember that this has already been fought before. To wit, from a comment below:

I remember this argument from 20 years ago - it was mostly aimed at slash pairings, saying any background canonical couple or a background het couple (like a character's parents) can be gen because that's "normal", but a background m/m or f/f pairing can't. I have a lot of genfic from that time with background gay parents out of spite!