So what are your guilty pleasure fics? Ones that are kinda terrible for one reason or another but you still enjoy reading?

>>2032930
Anything MLP in general. I hate the show, and a large portion of the fandom disgusts me, but the gender ratios, large cast, and progressive fanbase leads to a glut of F/F fics of all types and pairings.

>>2032930
Omegaverse. But I love it so. Also normal AUs for fantasy settings.

>>2032953
My problem with modern AUs for fantasy settings is that they always seem to go full modern and everyone be human with no powers whatsoever. Which really ruins characters for me and makes me feel like authors aren't ambitious enough to shoot for modern fantasy.

omegaverse is pretty good, though I'm biased as I'm a /d/eviant who hangs around /u/ for discussion and fluff

>>2032930
please don't hate me, nee-samas but futa/g!p fics in the glee fandom are my guiltiest pleasure. fuck, I hate myself just saying out loud outside of that, I don't know, coffee shops AU?

>>2032983
>futa/g!p fics in the glee fandom are my guiltiest pleasure
Nothing wrong with a bit of futa. I'm not sure why Glee has so much of it though..

>>2032930

What about writing guilty pleasure fics?

>>2032992
I tried to keep the bar low, but if you like to write stuff I guess you can talk about it.

>>2032996
I can recommend an author who does stuff on the regular for it.

Raedmagdon. She's got like 5 fics on it for LoK/AtLA from what I'v read of her work.

>>2033001
Her and her writing partner really like dicks and realistic sex toys though, going back to at least her Mass Effect fics, so reader beware. I've always enjoyed the more realistic bdsm elements though. I think that's what I generally enjoy about the omegaverse dynamic as well.

>>2033003
My liking for the AU is mostly about having my cake and eating it too as it appeals to my two favorite red board affiliations.

Also I'm only recommending her in direct response to the above anon asking for such things. Purity fags should probably stay clear.

>>2032930
Twilight Belalice stories. For some reason I like vampires.

>>2032952
I hate everything about the fandom that surrounds the show, but the large and admittedly interesting cast make me consider writing about it.

>>2032983
>spoiler
Must you bring that cancer here? Is it that hard to stay on a board-related topic?

>>2033284
Right, there are so many characters that pretty much every major character archetype is represented, and because they're all friends, there aren't any pairings that don't make at least a little sense.

>>2033146
Share some good ones, bonus points if its Bella and one of the other woman from the Twilight Universe. No dickgirls though, fuck that nonsense. Sub/dom is also good too

>>2032930
I dont have any guilty pleasure fics.

I wouldnt read fics if I wasnt super interested in the fandom in the first place and thus com

>>2033757
>I wouldnt read fics if I wasnt super interested in the fandom in the first place and thus com
You're missing a lot of great works then. One of the best things about fan fics is they can take a shitty piece of work and make it interesting. Like OUaT, for instance. The show's a bland fantasy drama, but there are a lot of great fanfics about it.

>>2033146
I really want to get into Twilight, because there are a whole boat load of fanfics about it, but I just can't stand the story. I can't even get through the movie. Is there a cliffnotes version of it somewhere I could read to understand enough to know what's going on in the fanfics, without needing to read the books?

>>2033765
Wikipedia? Often I find half the fun in trying to figure out wtf happened in the source material.

>>2033765
>Is there a cliffnotes version of it

Sparkly vampire and retarded werewolf fight over boring, bitchy human. Vampire wins the bitch-bowl. The end.

>>2033765
rifftrax version

>>2033765
Download the rifftrax of the movies, they are pretty funny.
Also >>2033770

>>2033425
>https://www.fanfiction.net/u/4076010/xDreamlessx
This nigga is pretty insane and she writes with Sub/Dom themes.
Her best fic thou, was her first one simply titled Alice, but she apparently remove it.
I really don't know why considering that All Red, a Bella/Victoria story, is hardcore af.

>>2033857
>Words: 641,176
Fug

>>2034449
>http://pastebin.com/X60Lcr02
>I'm doing this for you
Then don't include the futa. You can keep the futa copy for those that ask for it.

>>2034449
>With male genitalia

Neo /u/ at its best

>>2034464
>neo
Quit that shit, you're just as bad.

>>2034475

I'm not the one recommending futa on /u/

>>2034449
Fuck off.

>>2032952
You're not alone I also enjoy reading mlp stuff.

>>2034449
die forever

Favorite crack story? Real crack, shit that would never be cannon in anyone's wildest dreams.

>>2035789
Kate Beckett/Alexis Castle : http://archiveofourown.org/works/1547339/chapters/3277847

>>2035789
Evil Queen/Snow White: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9841125/1/Snow-White-and-Her-Queen
Despite it not being long or finished it's about the only decent multi-chapter fic out there for the pairing.

>>2032954
I'm okay with no powers if the powers aren't what defined a character. If something about the powers were important but the author was able to translate that to a modern setting so they could keep the character and their relevant history intact without changing the setting much, that's good. Same goes with nonhumans turning into humans. If their being nonhuman was very important to the original setting then that has to translate to something else or their character isn't fully realized.

>>2032930
I can't really think of anything right now, so I'll say that the guilty pleasure fic type that I hate the most would be coffee shop AUs. I'd probably even hate fics centered around a coffee shop setting even if the original setting involved one or something similar.

>>2035858
There is literally nothing wrong with coffee shops

Or fastfood places.

>>2035865
I've never seen a fic that didn't involve love/attraction at first sight and turned the characters into "oh I am so lame/pathetic and IN WALKS AN ANGEL".

The names change but nothing else does. It's such an ugly setting.

>>2035870

There is literally nothing wrong with a low self esteem but secretly pretty individual falling in love at first sight with a stunningly gorgeous goddess while sipping drinks or working the register at a coffee shop.

Or fastfood place.

>>2035875
There is when there's NO variety in that setting, ever, despite it cropping up in dozens of fandoms with all sorts of characters and pairings.

>>2035880
>AtLA/LoK
Yeah I got nothing on that, since that's integral to characters, setting, and story.

>>2035881
And yet people constantly fuck it up in AUs.

>>2035881
It doesn't even have to be about powers, just status. Korra's the daughter of the chief of one of the only 4 major nations on the planet, and has been recognized and trained as the Avatar since she was a little kid. So of course in the AUs she's a nobody working at a coffee shop.

>>2035880
>The thing is that I love a fair number of settings where the powers are crucial to the characters..
Fair enough. There are a lot of stories that can work as a coffee shot AU though. Like Carmilla. You can drop the vampires and ghosts and shit from that pretty easily without losing much.

>>2035895
Only in maybe five out of a thousand cases, I was fine (and impressed) with AUs, so far. I just don't get it, beyond clickbait. Oh well.

>>2032930
Flowershops AU!

Any good Kigo fics?

Anyone reading To the Stars here?

I was following it up until around chapters 33-4 I believe, where I ended up putting it on hold for RL reasons. I was thinking of getting back in it, but the fluffy romance parts were a big draw for me and between the possibility of the MC being asexual leading to things just not working out, and deathflags dropping everywhere, I have a hard time motivating myself to continue in a story that might have bad end on the /u/ side, however shallow that may be (not like I'm gonna be apologetic about that on /u/). Sure I enjoy the rest of it too but that's pretty heavy and serious stuff which is tougher for me to get excited about. How's it looking at the moment?

>>2036085

I haven't read any of her Kigo fics, but I've read some of her original stories and she's good. So you might give these a try:

https://sites.google.com/site/starvinglunaticfiction/kp-tales

>>2036088
Given the most recent development I doubt it'll go anywhere super dark as far as deaths go, if that's what you're asking.

>>2036098
That sounds relieving, but still leaves the other part of my worries. If it just hasn't really been resolved any further that's fine too I guess.

>>2036102
Well, they're still with each other and I doubt Madoka would try to push them into a relationship if she new it would end terribly. Without trying to spoil anything, I think the reason Ryouko thinks about things the way she does is going to end up part of a significant plot element.

>>2036106
Fair enough, doesn't sound so bad then. Now to find some time to read more I suppose...

>>2036105
>only available to registered users
That's a thing?
absolutely disgusting.

Speaking of Ao3 deficiencies, have they added the ability to search by medium yet? Having to wade through two dozen western fics for every animu one is the worst part of that site - a pity because it's otherwise by far the best search for finding yuri stories only.

>>2032930
It's this one incest fanfic in which the little sister is in love with her big sister, but she is scared of confessing, so she self harms and tries to commit suicide once. I don't think this sort of thing fits the character's personality. I've never seen self-harm/suicide done right in fanfics, most of the time it feels too forced.

>>2036112
>by medium
Huh? Do you mean by fandom?

>>2036201
No, on ff.net you can narrow down search results into anime/manga/books/cartoons/movies. It's probably the only manner in which it's superior to AO3.

>>2036112
Have you asked them to add it? Complaining here isn't going to accomplish anything.

>>2036207
Oh, so you mean if a fandom has both a book and a movie, you can search by either instead of the overall fandom?

>>2036211
Not that anon, but I asked once if they could implement an option to alphabetize tags for easier parsing by readers (and organization by authors). Not forced alphabetization, but something you could check off while searching for things, and I was told that they couldn't do that because they saw the order of tags as part of the expression of the author.

I wouldn't be too surprised if they rejected the idea of forced splitting or specificity within tagging fandoms under that same idea, that authorial intent and freedom should remain preserved. Worth a shot, though.

>>2036217
Anon's asking for being able to search f/f restricted to anime.

>>2036217
No, I mean the option to remove certain mediums from a generic F/F (or other combinations but that's the only one I give a shit about) search. So a weaboo could remove all the western categories like movies, TV-shows etc and search would only show results from anime/manga, or vise versa. There's no way to do that ATM, you either have to narrow it down to a single fandom, or you accept ANY F/F fic ever even if it's some shitty genderbent boyband fic.

>>2036218
Oh come on, some of these fuckers could write a whole separate fic with those tag of theirs. The ability to tag should be severly fucking restricted because it's too relaxed imo.

>>2036220
>>2036219
Oh I see, sorry about not getting it.

>>2036221
I don't disagree, just telling you what they told me.

I think there should also be an option to hide the tags, if only so the ones with dozens of chapters of crossovers don't take so long to scroll through.

>>2036225
You can hide user tags. That way you're getting the f/f, pairings, and "Show more"

>>2032930
This: http://archiveofourown.org/works/2263941/chapters/4972236

It could be worse, I could be reading furry/incest/scat, but for a fandom that prides itself for its high creative output this shitfest is its most popular fic. It features: drama for the sake of drama, everyone was abused, everyones dad was an alcoholic, dead, or a dead alcoholic, biphobia, bierasure, abuse dressed up as romance, like the main romance involves an adult Helena emotionally and sexually abusing Myka as a child, godawful OOCness, and all sorts of other shit and I can;t stop fucking reading it.

>>2036840
>this shitfest is its most popular fic
How is it different from any other fandom, exactly?

>>2036843
Its not. I just feel sad that legitimately good and well written fics get so little love.

>>2036846
It is a little disheartening, but for me it makes it all the better when you stumble upon one - it feels more personal then.
Masses will love shit and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Sometimes though a fic is so bad it generates its own gravitational pull and people start mimicking its themes, shitting up fic websites with their masterpieces.

Both Genki Collective and Gray Voice have posted stuff again recently:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10664595/11/Prototype

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11902272/1/Dress-Rehearsal

>>2036871
>https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10664595/11/Prototype

I lost interest in this one around the 4th or 5th chapter. Does it get any better?

>https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11902272/1/Dress-Rehearsal

Yet another schoolgirl story? No, thanks.

>>2036085
Wouldn't be surprised if you've read this one already, but might as well:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2949422/1/Alone-Together

>>2036122
Please share, sibling incest is my favourite thing.

>>2036085
Depends on what you want exactly. The vast majority of fics for the pairing tend to go for redeeming Shego in some way, so if you want your Foe Yay intact, you're probably going to be disappointed.

>>2037040
>Wouldn't be surprised if you've read this one already
Neither would I. Alone Together is pretty much the one big one I see everyone recommending when it comes to Kigo.

>>2037040
>>2037173
Well, the only thing I've seen/read with Kigo was that comic, so I don't really have an opinion. Thought I see what the buzz is about.

>>2033857
Dude... she's become like my heroine now.

>>2037042
Actually I just realized that fanfic got canceled 4 days ago...why this. I know it was far from perfect, but fuck it, I was enjoying it. If you still want it, then:

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11269968/1/Sisters

P-please, don't judge me

>>2036122
>most of the time it feels too forced.

Mostly because anyone who doesn't self harm can't fathom why you'd do that. So it's in there in place of interpersonal drama.

Or so I think, from my perspective, which is exactly that.

>>2037337
>Durr, so sorry that I had to cancel this

Just delete your shit and stop being patronizing. Especially if it's going to be an unfinished, long running narrative.

>>2036871
>https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11902272/1/Dress-Rehearsal
What a surprisingly cliche plot from Genki.

>>2037426
>Story Not Found

>>2037431
What the fuckkkk

Here was the plot:
>Transfer student Gumi has a mad crush on Lily, the class "prince," but she's too shy to do anything about it until classmate and new friend Rin - Lily's cousin - offers to help get them together. But will Rin's unorthodox plan actually work, or will it only complicate things further? Yuri.

The stats:
> Reviews: 6 - Favs: 5 - Follows: 8

The reasoning for deletion:
> 4/24/2016: Due to a lack of reader interest, I've discontinued both The Hope of an Empire and Dress Rehearsal and have deleted both stories from the site.

What 6 reviews and 8 follows is a ton of reader interest for the current late-stage lethargic Vocaloid fandom, especialy with a niche pairing such as Gumi/Rin.

>>2037436
I don't care about the Gumi/Rin. I'm more disappointed that she deleted The Hope of an Empire. That got a collective yawn in this thread when she first published it but I thought it was really interesting and had a lot of potential.

>>2037436
Reviews favorites and follows aren't a true measure of reader interest. Hits and # of unique visitors are. Only the author knows those numbers.

>>2037448
As a writer I never look at my hits and number of unique visitors. I always assume it's from spambots or something along those lines.

Reviews for me is the biggest marker of reader interest because it necessitates that the reader give back and put a little thought into what they're saying and want to communicate back to the writer.

Favorites and follows I see as equivalent to likes on Instagram though.

>>2037457
The problem is writers banking on, begging for reviews, to continue the story.

>>2037465
>Will post next chapter when this one hits 10 reviews!

>>2037465
Yeah I also hate begging for reviews. I don't ask my readers to review; if you hold your next chapter hostage, it just creates a shitty situation.

>>2037448
As a reader, I'm too shy to send reviews and also I don't know what to write in them. Sometimes I send reviews, but they always come out short and vague, like "really good fanfic, I'm looking forward to see what happens next!". I just suck with words.

>>2037493
That's enough I think. Back when I was just a reader I rermember really wanting to express how much I liked an author's fanfic, but not being sure of what to say other than "Please continue!!!" I think the sentiment is enough.

>>2037431
that's a shame, it had potential and the hope of an empire had some too

>>2037493
same, I am completely incompetent with words

>>2037493
Likewise. I read a lot of fanfics (I think I have about 1300 bookmarked across 3 sites), and even if I narrowed it down to the ones I REALLY liked, that would be a lot of "I really liked this story", or similar empty platitudes.

>>2037493

I think we've just moved away from leaving reviews as a community.

>>2037690
Saying you liked something or want to see more is the opposite of an empty platitude, it's an honest and simple expression showing your appreciation for an author's work.

If you don't want to leave reviews then don't leave reviews, but spare us the rationalizing about why leaving reviews would actually be bad or meaningless.

>>2037690
As an author I can assure you that it's not empty and any review is appreciated.

>>2037436
>Due to a lack of reader interest, I've discontinued both The Hope of an Empire

Aw man. I was really looking forward to reading more.

>>2037717
Seconding this. Most of the time, when you're writing, you feel like you're shouting into the dark. You're not a professional, you're just a fan who wants to add to their fandom, and you want to share it with people. Favorites and follows are nice, but you can't help but wonder why people are interested if you feel your work is poor or, if you feel your work is good, when it inspires little interest you have to wonder where you're going wrong.

A simple "I really like the way you write [Character] because she feels so in character!" helps clear things up a bit and gives you more confidence in your ability to write a character. And it's such an easy, short thing to say. "[Couple's] relationship is so cute/true/powerful/heartwrenching", "You're very descriptive", "Your dialogue feels so lifelike/true to character", "This chapter is so exciting/intriguing": none of these are long winded or complex sentiments, but they ARE specific, and that feedback is exactly what an author needs. I'd much, much rather have a comment like that than "I love this story!" because, well, that's nice, but I'd like to know why.

It's really not that hard to describe one thing that draws you to a story. The words don't run together, you had to have read them, so why should the story and all of its elements blend into some impenetrable "oh I couldn't describe it perfectly so I won't" mess? It doesn't. Pick one thing and talk about it. Every bit of specificity helps.

>>2037493
As a writer, I appreciate constructive criticism. "This was great, but I wish you had included more description of [blank]" or "That seemed really out of character" a lot more than "this is great". Don't be shy. If an author is an asshole about it, then don't review again. However, "this is great" review does mean more than a favorite or bookmark. I write for myself, but I always look for ways to improve.

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>>2037348
Too bad it got canceled. The self-harm/suicide thing aside, the thing in which Noire was going to pretend she loved Uni back just to not upset her, it's just the right amount of drama. And then she would slowly fall in love with Uni (or not), I was looking forward to it.

Hello everyone! I'm looking for a Blood Plus fanfiction named "Bonds Stronger than Blood" by that_fan. I've been itching to reread it but I can't find any traces of it.

>>2037707
>I think we've just moved away from leaving reviews as a community.
No wonder the fanfic scene here died.

>>2037707
Speak for yourself. I still make it a point to review or at least leave a few words on stories I particularly like.

>>2033857
Oh man, all of these were really, really good.

Any more Twilight fics? Im big on Bella/Emse or the Covenant in Alaska the age gap is fun too. Alice/Bella always seems like they're the same age or at least Alice acts Bellas age where I like more mature woman.

>>2038302

But do you do it on every chapter, especially if the review count already isn't particularly high?

>>2038549
If there's anything warranting a review and the author responded with at least a thousand word long essay arguing the points I raised.

>>2033769
>Often I find half the fun in trying to figure out wtf happened in the source material.
Any recommendations to start then? Something that doesn't require I be too familiar with the source material?

>>2038600
I've been reading a lot of A Certain Scientific Railgun fic recently and all I knew going in is that they have powers and the lecherous transporter gets electrocuted a lot.

>>2038600
Harry potter? Twilight's probably the best example since you can several fics that follow the book's path but changed up. Usually in terms of her the humie falls in love with or something.

>>2038603
>transporter

kek

>>2038608
Sorry, I meant recommendations for Twilight fics, not fandoms. Those fics you mentioned sound great, if you have links to any of them.

>>2038603
I know what that's like. I'm a massive fan of OuaT fics, and everything I know about the show comes from fanfiction. I've never watched a single episode, but I probably know all the major plot points and twists

>>2038621
>teleporter*
That's what I get for posting before bed.

>>2038622
I have yet to meet a single person in OuaT fandom who actually watches the show. Me included.

>>2038626
>watches the show.
I have, at least a few episodes. To just get an idea on how the voices are suppose to sound.
>>2038622
>I meant recommendations for Twilight fics
You got any specific couple in mind?

>>2038622
Watching the show is like reading a big fanfiction, though. It comes complete with the inability to have a consistent plot, dropped storylines and ridiculously convenient twists.

>>2038627
>You got any specific couple in mind?
Not really. Like I said, I'm not familiar with the source material.

>>2038627
I watched the first episode, which I think is a long one? And then I couldn't be bothered with anymore.

>>2038639
Yeah that's about my extent of it as well. Well that and finding out how Cora sounds.
>>2038637
Alright then, are you bothered by length or do you not care how long it is as long as it's complete?

>>2038641
>Alright then, are you bothered by length or do you not care how long it is as long as it's complete?
Nope.

>>2038627
>I have, at least a few episodes. To just get an idea on how the voices are suppose to sound.
I basically just mentally replaced most of them with characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Emma's Buffy (obviously), Ruby's Willow, and Regina's kind of a Latina Cordelia. It works for me, even if I know it's all wrong.

I'm looking for Mass Effect and Dragon Age fics if anyone has some good ones. There was one real good one where Shepard becomes a hardass after everyone presumes shes dead and she has to protect her family by being evil. Never finished it but it sounded good.

>>2033001
This author is beyond great, all her work is so good it's even making me read inside fandoms i have no prior knowledge of.

>>2038655
I'm of the opposite opinion. I'm getting really tired of this author's kinks and her presence (and its effect; do you see how many people write fics for her?) in various fandoms.

And goddamn does she get repetitive as fuck.

>>2038665
I think its because she does tend to focus too much on the smut sometimes which really gets annoying unless that is what you are there for.
The whole circlejerk around her does get pretty annoying but good part is that means she has so many collabs they kinda manage to divert the stories into something different.

I do wish she would calm her cock obsession sometimes, does get a little worn out.
How she wrote Opal/Kuvira in bonds of metal tho. Nice. So nice.

>>2038653
Miranda/Shepard: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9913383/1/The-Girl-Crush
Samantha Traynor/Shepard: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/8664129/1/Queen-s-Gambit-Accepted
Miranda/Jack (fluffy oneshots): http://archiveofourown.org/series/37033
Multiple (fluffy porn oneshots): http://archiveofourown.org/series/25567

>>2038646
>Nope.
Alright this took longer than I thought. Apparently I didn't keep a nice clean list of links.

Because of that I can only give a handful of fics that I think may not be the best example of what the conversation topic was about.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4446127/1/Golden-Slumber
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/4453118/1/The-Edge
^Golden slumber is like the set up for The Edge but if I remember right, it kind of picks up in the middle of the first book.

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9015746/1/A-New-Chapter
- This fic picks up int he middle of book 2 and, if I'm not wrong, touches upon the plot of book 3 but kind of nullifies the point of book 4 with the pairing. Which is something of a rare pairing to begin with. The author of this one also has a few Bella/Denali sister fics that are also decent though I think the Tanya one starts off on book 2 and the Kate one starts off at the end of book 3 I think. That or the time in between 3 and 4.

If you're dead set on picking up an idea of the plot through fics, focus on Rosalie/Bella and Alice/Bella fics over more obscure pairings.

>>2038653
>Shepard becomes a hardass after everyone presumes shes dead and she has to protect her family by being evil.
Do you remember the name of it?

>>2038714
Thanks.

>>2038714
No idea what the name is but it's a really, really fun cliche and it's well written at least to me. It's huge too, she's forced to be the Councilors pawn and if she goes out of line they'll kill Liara and or her kids. Theres betrayals left and right, a few plot twist and some just fucking awsome overall.

It's basically Punished FemShep Femslash.

She's also Renegade for the most part, she becomes rage induced easily due to manipulation of her implants and basically goes BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD whenever someone fucks with her, her family or threatens her.

My best reaction through out the entire read is image related even though it's not /u/ related I have no other expression to show from Chapter to Chapter.

>>2037436

I never accepted the "reader disinterest" excuse. If you aren't actually interested enough to complete the story unless your epeen is getting massaged then don't post the story at all. You just screw over the readers who were interested or invested.

I have something like 40k words of fanfic that I haven't put out there because I know I would never finish them and I only publish when I'm done. I write for myself so once I've gotten my enjoyment I move on. Sometimes I finish stuff and it gets posted for others to see. Yeah, it feels good when it's liked but in dying communities like Vocaloid you can only expect so much.

I'm also considering taking up that challenge to make a coffee shop/fast food AU that's different from the norm.

>>2038724
>a coffee shop/fast food AU that's different from the norm.
What if it was OwnerxEmployee type of cawfee shop/FF au?

>>2038723
God that sounds fucking fantastic, do you remember the writer's name? I'm tempted to look it up next time I wanna read something violent. God I want more fics that focus on escalation of power that feature yuri.

>>2038723
>renegade femshep
That's actually kinda amazing.

>>2038724
i hear you m8

write for yourself or don't write at all

>>2038727

I'm thinking Miku and Luka getting fired for fucking in the play place.

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>>2038724
>coffee shop/fast food AU that's different from the norm

The norm is what, two strangers who frequent the same establishment end up falling madly in love?

Make it revolve around business. Say a large firm wants to buy and expand a small local eatery into a regional franchise. At first there is resistance, naturally, because corporations are evil and the local mom&pop shop wants to stay local, right. Then it turns out there's more to the whole thing. That the heir to the business has other dreams of her own and the person the firm assigned to do the negotiation pitch is facing her own set of problems as a young professional in the corporate world.

Can two lesbians who just want to fuck off to a Caribbean vacation find true love while shouldering the responsibilities that capitalism has placed upon them?

>>2038727
>>2038728
I'm looking for it right now. It's basically John Wick if it was a girl, a lesbian and in outer space.

>>2038734
>The norm is what, two strangers who frequent the same establishment end up falling madly in love?
Pretty sure the norm is that only one of the strangers works at the establishment.

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>>2038736
I FOUND IT.

So, before you race to read it, I know how picky people on /u/ can be. This isn't lovey dovey fluff. This is Female John Wick in space with anger issues and angst to a degree. I was on the edge of my seat reading this impressive fic (for me) this maybe a horribly written misspelled nightmare and I wouldn't have seen it because Im shit at spelling and making sentences myself

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10359017/1/Violet-Eyes

>>2038738

I've seen all sorts of combination to be honest. Old employee/new employee, boss/employee, customer/employee, customer/customer, vampire/employee, etc

>>2038724
Why are coffee shop AUs popular? I don't get it.

>>2038743
>tfw there'll never be owner/customer
It's just not fair.

>>2038724
It's also ridiculous that she would delete the story. Just keep it up. Something is better than nothing.

>>2038747
The same reason school stories are popular. It's easy to relate to and doesn't take much thought to write/enjoy.

It's not like you're going to find a fucking dead body carved with religious symbols next to the latte machine one day and end up leading our protagonists onto a global adventure to discover a world shattering truth buried within history.

>>2038742
Damn, will one of the Councillors Shep ends up hunting down tell her to cool it when she finally catches them?

>>2038751
I don't know, I get the feeling most people think about starbucks when they write those stories and I can't relate because there ain't starbucks in my city, I don't know if there is any in the neighbour cities either. So it sounds meh to me. Nothing wrong with who enjoys it though.

>>2038753
Coffee shops and other similar places offer a cozy, warm stop by for people, that's why you see so many of those stories taking place during colder seasons.

Cant recall the last time I read one taking place in the summer, with icey cold drinks, short skirts, and sweaty lady abs.

>>2038752
Do you really want me to spoil it? Lets just say things just CONSTANTLY escalate. They don't stop, it never stops

I can't stop seeing similarities between the set of Hotline Bling and World's End Dancehall. What are these fic ideas. Oh God, what's happening.

>>2038814
What. Hotline Bling is about a prior partner moving on and becoming a party animal. World's End is about suicide or some shit.

Also I have zero faith in the average writer being able to come up with a coherent getting back together plot.

>>2038751
>It's not like you're going to find a fucking dead body carved with religious symbols next to the latte machine one day and end up leading our protagonists onto a global adventure to discover a world shattering truth buried within history.

that sounds like a great idea. under equipped barista trying to fill orders for snarky mcloveinterest and solve a paranormal, satanic mystery on the side that inevitably involves ~mysterious~ love interest. campy as fuck but with a (somewhat) unconventional "demon murder mystery" protag.

>>2038758
sounds like you need a gym juice and protein shake bar AU. like 99% sure there's a dedicated subset of ice cream shop/snowcone stand AUs out there tho.

>>2038751
>It's not like you're going to find a fucking dead body carved with religious symbols next to the latte machine one day and end up leading our protagonists onto a global adventure to discover a world shattering truth buried within history.
I'd read that.

>>2038747
Because they're cute and comfy, why else?
What I would personally like to see more are quiet, bookish library AU fics. Now that is some comfy shit.
>>2038750
Yeah, unless you write some really questionable shit and are at risk of people finding out about it there's really no point deleting. That kids these days don't know shit about how to conduct their business online privately might have somethings to do with it, too.

>>2038881
>>2038949

You know that's the plot of The Da Vinci Code right

>>2038814
>I can't stop seeing similarities between the set of Hotline Bling and World's End Dancehall. What are these fic ideas. Oh God, what's happening.
I can't see it, what are the fic ideas?

>>2038818
I said the set, not the plot.

>>2038742
shepard x liara not intetested

Hey, kids. I only participate perfunctorily nowadays but I used to drop more batch rec posts a few years ago. I'm trying to be more organized about the fic I like, but that's a ways to go. Still, wanted to rec this yuletide entry from, of all things, Dune. A few typos but no major errors. Some passing knowledge of Dune politics would help but it's not crucial, just paying attention and context should be enough.
http://archiveofourown.org/collections/yuletide2015/works/5426117

>>2039170

Who else is relevant enough from the beginning to the end?

>>2039796
Dune yuri, amazing.

>>2039796
I thought I was the only one who wrote a Dune femslash fic.

>>2040641
Nobody else is relevant in cannon, but if we only stuck to cannon, we wouldn't have three fourths the stories we do.

>>2040764

Well, the Normandy is more known for its stealth than its big guns.

>>2040641
idk but i am not a fan of liara

Been half a year since Inter Nos updated. I'm going through withdrawal again. How do you feel about this fic, what is your prediction for the plot, do you wish for something to happen, or is there anything you wish had been different?

For me, this is one of the best piece of literary I've ever read, no longer confined within the realm of fanfiction. The sheer beauty of intelligence in the proses, dialogue, rhetoric battles and humour, and the clever politic and military strategies, are something I've never seen before. Not to this degree. And especially not in a fiction featuring such prominent romance. I freaking love how in-character and delightful everyone is, and how it features characters from other yuri series such as KnM, Stopani and Marimite. Shizuma's journey into Nagisa's panties is currently the subplot I'm looking forward to the most.

As for prediction, there's no doubt that Shizuru will conquer the Mentulae, but I'm pretty certain she'll also destroy the Hime Republic, turn it into an empire just so she could marry Natsuki. But since Shizuru is modeled after Ceasar, I have this nagging feeling that Shizuru and Natsuki will die just on the brink of success, and Chikane or Urumi will be the first Empress of Hime Empire. Seriously, if Shizuru'd ever adopt Urumi, her fate would be sealed as it basically follows real history. I would be equally excited for this tragic ending, or a generic happy ending.

What I'm wishing for right now: Satou Sei, Elsa, Anna, Fate, Nanoha to be characters. I don't know if ethnewinter is into NanoFate, but I know for a fact she's a Sei and Elsanna fan. This wish will probably never be realized though.

The only complaint I have about this fic is the physical description of Shizuru. She sounds nothing like canon design (except for the face), and is basically a giant Amazonian butch. I can accept muscles and scars (canon Shizuru is also guaranteed to be hella toned), but is the extreme height/big feet really necessary?

>>2040962
I loved Inter Nos when I first read it. Of course, I was about 19 then and my tastes have changed since then, but I still think it's quite good despite my minor annoyances with the story and cast.

Honestly though the large cast and boatload of terms and places just really does not mesh with the enormous gaps between updates, and the fic is also so enormous that re-reading every year or so (i.e. every update or maybe every other update if we're lucky) isn't feasible at all. Because of this I started procrastinating instead of reading new chapters because it started feeling daunting, and eventually I decided to just put off reading new chapters until a few built up. If they ever do.

>>2041001
Yeah, I haven't read it in about 2 years either because I can't remember most of what happened in it and it's literally over a million words now.

>>2040962
>a million words
It's too big.

>>2040962
>How do you feel about this fic,

Started out strong, meandered a lot (don't remember if it was inane or set-up meandering), then I read somewhere that it headed for a direction I had no liking for. That was when I was around 500k words "behind". Didn't want to slog through that much to find out if I liked the direction or not.

It does have some interesting things and if it was a little more distilled, I'd try again. Alas, it ain't.

>>2041010
What direction was that, anon?

>>2041018
Nothing of importance to anyone, just personal opinions.

>>2040962
Too many words. Part of being a good writer is knowing what not to write. 95% of the words in that story could be cut without impacting much of anything in the plot... In fact, we might be moving somewhere.

>>2041025
But the words were exactly what's appealing about this fic. I'm a serious purple prose hater, and I must say Inter Nos has none, despite seeming otherwise. The author knew exactly what to write, and how to write it with an unparalleled ability of rhetoric. I was really startled to discover her.

>>2041021
But now I'm curious.

>>2041025

The whole fucking point of Inter Nos is that reading it is like level grinding in an old MMO.

Most fics today in comparison are more like quick play modes catered toward the casual market. Be it Vocaloid, Frozen or whatever. Both are valid and both are needed.

>>2041035
>>2041098
A story should have a start, middle, climax, and ending in less than 200k words. Even more prolific writers of good fiction can do that, and those prolific writers (excepting the obvious) keep those words relevant to the plot.

Again, 95% of the words and descriptions of Inter Nos are unnecessary and do nothing to advance the plot. The writing style is fine, if not good--and yes, pretty "purple" in some places.

>>2041108
I don't even like to start fics with less than 200k words...give me 500k+ any day.

Almost done the "different" fast food AU. Miku and Luka work at Chick fil a. I'm having trouble picking a title. Any suggestions? All of my thoughts are shitty or cliche but I've never been good with titles.

It's sort of about daily work life, friendship, and has Christian themes.

>>2041138

kek

Of all the restaurant chains you could have picked

>>2041138
At last. Post it post it post it. Although friendship and Christian themes? Are Miku and Luka gay in this?

>>2041141
Considering they're working at a Chick Fil A's, I'm guessing the plot has to do with them hiding their gayness, since it's notoriously anti-LGBT.

>>2041123
you are very uhhhh, dedicated?

for comparison, wikipedia's list of longest novels starts around 500k words.

>>2041188
I think fanfiction can afford to be longer because of its serial nature. Reading all of it consecutively can be jarring, but when a new chapter comes out so rarely theres plenty of time to absorb it.

>>2041206
I miss the days of following multiple fics/authors in active, thriving fandoms, especially when the actual series were still ongoing. Every week there were something, whether it was a fresh chapter or something brand new.

And once summer rolled around, oh baby. Feels like it's been almost a decade since those days.

>>2041188
I read fics purely to get immersed in the stories/relationships and I hate if they come and go in what feels like the blink of an eye. I will read stories that are 50k+ if they really interest me, too. But that still generally feels too short for me.

Thing is, I don't read 'real' literature and fanfics for the same thing. For example I love The Old Man and The Sea because I find Hemmingway's writing quite pleasant, and the story is nicely told and would just be wasted if it was made twice as long - there's just nothing more to the story. Most fics have really basic prose at best, awful at worst, and I would never read them for that. I read them purely for sugary self-indulgent romance-porn* where every extra sentence of fluff about how one girl things the other has pretty hair or whatever is a plus. Certainly fics can get caught up in a monotonous same-ness if they go on too long like that too, but as long as Things are happening I'm actually here for the author 10k words describing the MC feeding the LI cutely at a picnic or whatever. It's the opposite of filler. Sure it has no place in a serious story but I'm not trawling Ao3 for a fulfilling story.


*As an aside, I've gotten really fucking sick of actual smutty fics in the past year or so. They all feel incredibly shallow, and most longer ones also really feel like fetish-focused porn more than romantic fiction.

>>2041234
>summer
Also know as 'update fiesta'.

>>2041241
>*As an aside, I've gotten really fucking sick of actual smutty fics in the past year or so. They all feel incredibly shallow, and most longer ones also really feel like fetish-focused porn more than romantic fiction.
Yeah, I can relate to that. I think smut is best when it's short and written so as to point out one facet of a relationship, preferably in a lighthearted way.

With longer stories I actually prefer the sex scenes to be fade-to-black, unless there's something plot-relevant about what happens during them.

Does anyone know of any good Hibike fics with Kumiko/Reina? I just read two that were posted on /a/ and now I want more.

>>2041206
i fell out of the habit of trying to follow fics for long periods of time due to frustration with stories getting dropped. serial updates are enjoyable, but i only kept up with one story in the last year. i commend anyone that can actually write a massive fic over the course of multiple years, taking on a project like that and sticking with it is impressive. reading it is also impressive, because i would struggle to even reconcile the time commitment.

also, i go through periods of reading fic before bed, and usually it's just easier to find something short in the first couple search pages than going and digging for something that's lengthly and won't make me regret spending time reading it.

>>2041241
curious, when did you first start reading fic? your preferences are wildly different than mine, and i'm wondering if it's at all related to when we got started. i think i was maybe 2003 or 2004?

>>2041542
Doesn't matter if you are writing or reading, the problem always seems to be sticking to the fandom for me. There simply isn't a fandom active enough to quell all my fanfiction needs and I quickly grow bored with the repetitiveness in how the characters are perceived.

I recently started my own "long" fanfiction but already I feel myself drawn to other fandoms. Staying engaged enough to write the same story is a chore and I haven't even seen the start of it because I am only 7 chapters in, and not very long ones at that.
Sigh.
Any tips for a fresh author on how to stay engaged with the story you are writing? I really don't want to become that girl who started a long ass storyline and ended it before it even began.

>>2041542
Hmm, I think I started around 2007 or so. My fic-reading heyday was definitely around 2008-9. At that time I devoured most interesting stuff from series that caught my eye though I still preferred longer stories even then. Around 2011 or so I kinda reached fic oversaturation and eventually I almost completely stopped reading them, mostly due to finishing trawling through the archives of any big yuri fandoms I had interest in. I got back into fics more last year, though since then I've found precious few that actually satisfies enough of my pretty strict demands to bother reading.

>>2041550
That's an interesting perspective. My journey as a fic-reader started very fandom-focused, sometimes because I was hugely into the show or whatever and sometimes just because there was an overwhelming amount of fiction out there and narrowing it down somewhat by focusing on one series helped.

Nowadays, I generally prefer my fics from low-popularity fandoms, though of course that means it's nearly impossible to find anything worthwhile. There are a lot of reasons for that. First is the simple fact I already went through tons and tons of fics from any big fandoms that caught my interest and the character interactions and relationships get stale after a while. Second is that most bigger fandoms these days like Vocaloid, Love Live or western stuff doesn't remotely interest me, and old stuff I've both kinda grown out of and they're mostly inactive now. Third reason is, I find that surprisingly, larger fics in less popular fandoms (not just less popular for /u/, but in general) tends to be remarkably better written and more original than the big, popular fics in large fandoms, that almost all seem to be trite high-school or coffee-shop AUs, or re-treading the same ground as the show but gayer.

>>2041550
Do you have an outline to stick to?

>>2041559
What if outlines just never clicked for you?

>>2041561
Then I have no idea.
I just think it's easier to know what to write about before writing it. Less margin for meandering, and you get a bird's eye view on things.

>>2041559
I have an overall end game, after I wrote that whiny post there I immediately outlined the rest of the story and found that if I chose to wrap the story up instead of expanding on it, I could be nearly half way through (Which means that I am about 1/3 through if I know myself).
I am not trying to just end it quickly I noted all my loose ends and I intend to wrap them up.

I have written with outlines before and they do work pretty well for me if I ignore whatever doesn't end up fitting in the story.

>>2041577
Well, outlines don't have to be set in stone. They're just a tool that can help get stuff done quicker.

>>2041555
I agree about the smaller fandoms, that or those focusing on unusual ships.

My problem is often that the smaller fandoms are very good at wrapping up their stories and don't offer the same extensive world building that really allows for a lot of stories to be told within it.

Maybe it is also because I often find that many AU's try very hard to shoehorn characters from this show or another into the mold they want, when really they would be better off with original characters.
Curse us for falling in love with characters so we just HAVE to write about those instead of making shit up ourselves.

>>2041579

Indeed, I realized that when I considered how quickly my outlined (unpublished) work progressed compared to the more tedious "I got a feeling where this is going" stuff.
With some luck it will be done before my exams begin.

>>2041542
>>2041551
I've been reading fic more or less constantly since '99/'00, often instead of any other leisure activity and hampered only by whether or not I've already read everything available to me so far. Half the reason I got into anime was because I'd exhausted all the western stuff I was interested in and had started reading anime fic and needed to know what the fuck was going on. I've spent the last 2 days rereading Stargate fic I haven't read in years. I feel old.

>>2041580

This is why I find myself going back to Vocaloid all the time. Every story can be an original idea with new characters. The girls are just skins with vague characteristics.

I struggle to write for things with established characters I love because I'm always worried about doing them wrong. It's why I haven't successfully written a Nanofate fic in the five or six times I've tried or why I abandoned my Symphogear attempt at 10k despite having a full outline that would take it to novel length.

It's probably the main reason why I never publish those. I don't want to be called out on screwing up characters I care about like best friends.

>>2041687
If you find it comforting, I actually rarely see people criticising characterisation in a fic, even when it's utterly terrible. They generally go for the low hanging fruit of the mechanics of writing. Especially in smaller fandoms where people are just happy to get anything at all.

>>2041690
U wot m8? People complain about OOC all the time. It's one of the most complained flaw, if not the most, among fanfic discussions/review.


The thing is that in smaller fandoms, fics generally are not long, and thus it's much harder for OOC to rear its head. This is because short fics only give enough space for the characters to express their superficial canon character traits, such as eyes/hair colour or tsundere/yandere/genki antics.

>>2041801
If you go looking for it, but rarely in reviews actually left on works.

>>2041801
I think people who are willing to read fics in the first place are also willing to do enough mental gymnastic to rationalize how the characters could possibly act in certain ways.

I mean, if I'm sending the K-On's to war, you can't tell me exactly how they'll act based on their canon personalities. Exploring the possibilities, no matter how far fetched, is part of the fun as long as you make enough references, no matter how shallow, back to the canon material to remind people it's still those characters.

>>2041816
If you watch the show carefully, it's pretty clear Mio's going to have an ear necklace within two weeks.

>>2041550
Stick to your story and give yourself a quota of words to write per day. Outline, as another anon said.

>>2041550
Don't write long storis.

Wrap up in ten chapters at the most.

Anyone remember Stars Fall at Dawn by kanzaki? I managed to acquire chapters 1-8 due to a shoujoai forum archive I found but I'm unable to grab the other chapters. It's been killing me!

https://nullroute.eu.org/mirrors/shoujoai.com/

>>2041816
Yes, when you put a given character in an entirely different situation than their canon show or give them a different part, you obviously need to explore how different their course of action would be. But that does not mean that you can write whatever the hell you want, slap on some superficial canon traits, and expect most people to think it's in-character.

Keeping a character faithful to canon is an art in itself. For example, let's not even talk about AU, what if one of the K-Ons got involved in an accidence and died in a post-canonverse fic? How will their friends deal with it? Or if an author decide to write dramatic angst of the canon timeline? You see, the most important part is to skillfully convince your readers that a certain interpretation is the most plausible. It's the job of the writer to pursuade the readers of this, not on the readers's part to force themselves to do mental gymnastics.

>>2042118
>important part is to skillfully convince your readers that a certain interpretation is the most plausible

That's the point though. There is rarely a clear right or wrong answer when you dramatically shift the setting. It's about how you convince people into thinking how believable the paths you've chosen for the characters are, which circles back to my original point about how willing fanfic readers are to be convinced.

>>2042123
What I wanted to argue about your original point was that it's pointless in the discussion. The majority, if not all, of fanfic readers are always openminded about letting a capable writer guide them through an alternate setting/atmosphere. If you decide to write a psychological horror fic of K-On, or put them in a war or Lovecraft verse, practically nobody will complain "how dare you put these SoL carefree girls in such a stressful situation? how OOC!" The thing people criticize is how OOC/in-character your characterization is in that given setting.

Willingness to read an AU =/= low standard for canon characterization.

>>2042143
How can you have low or high standards for something that has no standard.

As long as your character development progresses in a natural and logical way within the AU, it shouldn't matter where they eventually end up. You could very well turn a docile sheep into a rampaging monster and have your readers cheer for it.

>>2042101
Gonna be tough to find more I think, fics aren't often archived without reason really, and they're fairly old too. Only idea I have is seeing if the wayback machine works, but you'd have to know the URL it was posted to.

>>2042101
>>2042101
I have up to Chapter 12 here
http://www.mediafire.com/download/iah6zig5dn4ni9m/Stars_Fall_at_Dawn.doc
A couple of people were asking for this last year so I've kept the link handy

>>2039796
you. you are a good person. I would never have imagined Chani/Irulan, but it was excellent. Any more recs?

>>2042145
I feel like we're never on the same page of what we're talking about.

To expanse on "willingness to read an AU =/= low standard for characterization": a person who is interested in only reading canonverse fics, in canon genre of the source material (comedy, drama, action, etc) do not necessarily mean they have high need for everything to be remotely in-character. They could fall in love with a fic despite admitting many are intentionally OOC: feminine girls act all grumpy and butchy, vile villians become the most selfless bro. So much so that they may have been writing original characters who simply have physical appearance identical to the canon ones. The readers who love these kinds of fic never had any problem saying it's OOC.

Vice versa, a person who is interested in AUs, or wanted a different genre of the source material (tragic fic for a SoL anime, or ronance comedy fic for an angsty anime), do not necessarily mean they're ok with OOC. Most people will immediately notice if the writer is incapable of writing in-character (this is most easy to notice if a fic is longer than 8k words), whether they voice it in a review or not. They will drop it or call it shit if your characters are OOC.

There's no hard and fast rule in how you should a fanfiction, aside from keeping proper grammar and spellings. You can intentionally write an OOC character (i.e. without any justification) in order to tell an essentially original fic, or you can try to explore an AU and convince the readers that a certain line of thinking/course of action are in fact very plausible and hence in-character, because it's the same canon person albeit a different side to them.

Telling a writer to ignore characterization is very wrong, as the readers do care, and it's always in their forefront mind. It takes skill to write an intentional OOC, it also takes skill to write an in-character person who act radically different from their canon self only due to the new circumstance.

>>2042237
I wrote a short Ghanima/Irulan one, not great but it's Dune femslash. It's on ffnet or ao3.

>>2042248
>it also takes skill to write an in-character person who act radically different from their canon self only due to the new circumstance.

Yeah. I like some AU fanfics that are very different from the source material and I understand that it is hard to write a character from a SoL anime in a war setting, so I'm willing to forgive a few OOC-ness. I don't know where I draw the line, it depends on my mood and how the writer did it, but I don't like it when the character is too OOC. Even if it's a different setting, I believe that specific character would not behave like that.

It never ceases to amaze me that some of the most intelligent and civil conversations on 4chan are found in the fanfiction thread on the cartoon lesbians board.

Fics getting abandoned or cancelled is really even more terrible than when a yuri manga or novel gets cancelled due to marketing and money reasons.

Because in the latter, the creator has little say in it, but the fanfic writer really has all the say in whether they continue.

>>2042423
>read comments like these
>feel more and more like shit
>increasing anxiety makes for an easy excuse yet again

It's hard being topic of a tumblr post. I'm so sorry. I haven't abandoned! ;_;

>>2042427
I was not referring to anyone in particular.
I stopped expecting fics to finish in general after Hear my Song was cancelled for no reason at all

>>2042430
>I was not referring to anyone in particular.

I know. Didn't take it as that.

>>2042430

To be fair, that was getting stupid enough that Kuugen wanted to nuke the whole thing and rewrite it. I'm still waiting. It lost me with the Korean incest rape shed stuff.

>>2042423
So what are your suggestions to prevent fics from getting abandoned/cancelled? Authors should write shorter fics? They should only publish when they have the whole thing finished?

>>2042506
How the fuck did that shit happen to begin with?

Also i don't think she's gonna write anything but Neptunia for a while. She's even put her 600,000 word precure fic on hiatus.

>>2042526
They should think long and hard about what franchise they want to write for and also plan their scope accordingly.

>>2042526
>They should only publish when they have the whole thing finished?

That would be a good start. It'd mean they will try out what it means to commit (especially free time) to writing something, especially if it's long.

>>2042526
I mean
>They should only publish when they have the whole thing finished?
this is what I do. Unless I'm writing an ongoing slice-of-life thing with no definite plot arc, I don't publish a single chapter until I've written the entire story, beginning to end. It might not work for 500k+ word monstrosities, but for most stuff, it's nice if you can.

Writing shorter fics is definitely a good idea starting out, though. I personally found it really hard to make anything above 10k words coherent when I started writing. Writing my first novel-length fic felt like I was juggling flaming torches while falling down a flight of stairs. By my second one, I had a much better idea of how to approach a plot that long.

>>2042558
>>2042546
While that guarantees your fic will be complete it also runs a really high risk of nobody ever going to proofread it beside yourself. There is also a huge risk of the whole thing going completely off the rails because there is nobody to content check you or give you feedback.
And then we have the issue of very huge fics with 200,000+ words. Imagine you stumble upon a new story that has 200,000 chapters get-go and zero reviews, zero favorites, zero follows. I for one would just assume that it's really bad because nobody wants to read through it.

>>2042526
Having at the very least a rough first draft ready before beginning to publish. I'm also a firm believer in the value of shorter fics.

>>2042561
That's why there are summaries.
They're the advertisements for fics. If a summary is bad, the fic is most likely too.

>>2042526
If every author waited until they had the whole thing finished, the number of fics would drop by a large margin. Most authors are just starting out, and the encouragement and ideas they get from posting chapters can help them on their way to completion in a way that writing alone and with no one to advise them but themselves does not.

>>2042567
Large margin doesn't come close.
If only completed fics were posted, we would lose about 95% of all fics that aren't one-shots.

>>2042561
>I for one would just assume that it's really bad because nobody wants to read through it.

Well, the circumstances would be different then, wouldn't they. Besides, personally, I don't read reviews before getting into a story. I'll read the beginning (say 2-3 chapters) and pretty quickly decide if I'm going to stick around or not. IF the fic THEN loses steam later, oh well.

>>2042567
>>2042570
If authors would have to actually finish their stories, wouldn't that force them to focus on what's imporant?

>>2042573
But "Good chapter, pls update" is important.

>>2042573
Plenty of authors finish stories that they haven't completed before they post their first chapter(s).

And yes, that's one possibility. Another is that they never finish their work, so they never get good feedback and encouragement, so they stop writing because they can't get over the biggest hurdle, which is posting something they made in the first place.

If the startup costs for becoming a fanfiction author are much higher due to the demand that only fully completed stories or oneshots should be posted, then far fewer people will try and far fewer people will achieve that much higher bar.

>>2042573
Most would just give up halfway during writing
Keep in mind that fanfics are not paid. If you spend weeks and months writing something and nobody reads it because you're required to finish it, you either start cutting corners or give up. There is also the issue that this whole "finish the fic" would be often circumvented by just making it episodic, like cartoons, or mini-arcs, 2-3 chapters worth.

>>2042574
I don't know what shit you read but the stories I read get actual meaningful reviews.

>>2042575
The whole "finish before you post" also creates a singular work on the current level of your ability. Without feedback, you won't grow. So if you write a long fic and you have some bad habits or lack knowledge, the entire fic will suffer from those instead of just one or a few chapters.

>>2042572
In a fandom with hundreds or thousands of fics, or for a pairing with the same number, do you really skim through all of the opening chapters or the summaries of these before you settle on something to read? Chances are, most people will order them by rank, first, since there are far too many to sift through individually. The story that updates frequently and is ongoing will inspire more discussion outside of the fanfiction site and produce more reviews and favorites than the story that is fully completed and posted once in its entirety. Only if the latter is significantly better than the former, or its author very well established, does the repeated advertising of the former result in less interest than the quality of the latter.

>>2042575
I just hope people would have at least some idea of what they're doing before they begin to type 300k words of crossover AU that only makes a slight bit of sense in the author's own head.

>>2042581
Yes, which is where outlines help. But readers can offer good insights and criticisms, and they inspire a writer who has become fatigued.

>>2042580
You're treating it as a race towards the highest view count, but it's not so for all authors.

>>2042580
>do you really skim through all of the opening chapters or the summaries of these before you settle on something to read?

If need be. But, really, most are easy to dismiss at a glance. Aka horrible writing or instantaneous turn-offs (lots of "fuck" where it doesn't belong). Even the descriptions go a long way, though most people seem to dismiss them, for not being an indicator. I've tried enough fics to know (for myself!) that I'm not missing anything.

>>2042579
Yeah, the fact that authors aren't paid is a big one. Professional authors get money; fanfiction authors get attention. If they didn't want attention, just wanted to write a story, why would they share it?

>>2042585
Or maybe it's about achieving a certain level of attention, not maximizing attention. Someone who works hard to make a good product doesn't need the world bowing at their feet but they would like at least SOMETHING. Five reviews that are varieties of "that was good thanks" aren't the same as twenty that explain things they enjoyed and why as well as gave critiquing comments about how to improve things in the future. There are levels in between no interest and everyone's interest, and many authors would be happy with reviewers who were more involved in their feedback.

>>2042586
>most people seem to dismiss them, for not being an indicator
That's awfully ignorant. They're a pretty good bloom filter ("possibly good" vs "definitely not good") in deciding what to read.

>>2042591
Just saying it seems that way. Not that I'm anywhere near certain.

>>2042586
>If they didn't want attention, just wanted to write a story, why would they share it?

Because they thought someone out there might enjoy it? Besides, if you don't actually enjoy the tedious grind of writing, why would you write?

>>2042593
>>2042590
fug

>>2042593
I said "why would they SHARE it".

If you write to write, then you don't need to post.

>>2042580
Many yuri fandoms don't have hundreds, let alone thousands, of fics for different pairings though, so it's not overly difficult to speedread summaries. Generally I check out the first few pages for most recent fics, then on AO3 rank by kudos and work my way back.

>>2042596
Because why the fuck not.

>>2042581
To give a really good example here by using Kuugen -
No planning at all: Hear my Song
Stated as planning beginning and end and making up the in-between as she goes: Overheat
And you can tell Overheat has a far more coherent if sometimes overly complex plot.

>>2042593
Very few people want to put in hundreds of hours of work if not thousands of hours for some far-off possibility of people enjoying it and that being the payoff.

>>2042597
What about stuff that's not on AO3?

>>2042599
Answering "why not?" immediately puts us back to the original question, which is "why?" It's not an answer, when posting takes up more time and effort than not posting.

>>2042596
"There's fuck all stories in this fandom, maybe someone else might like to read this thing I wrote."
I actually find attention oppressive. I dump and never look back.

>>2042600
I just work from new to old on ff.net. I find it less tedious because the ui is more concise.

>>2042605
That's one reason and attitude, but it's hardly common.

>>2042600
>Very few people want to put in hundreds of hours of work if not thousands of hours for some far-off possibility of people enjoying it and that being the payoff.
Then let those people do so. They're propably the ones who end writing the most in the end.

>>2042602
Does it, really? If you've written something that's not fit to be published, have you really managed to write anything at all?

>>2042608
I would say that few people who write well only do it for attention though. Stories written just to get views tend to be tripe.