Just a fun post.
Plotty fics have to be interesting. Summaries have to be interesting.
However, if it was an exciting summary yet it has closely spaced everything, then I won’t read it. I can only read that format on books and ebooks. I just can’t read it on fanfiction. It’s just annoying.
Likewise with large paragraphs but paragraphs that gave nothing to structure or were just not easily seen. Paragraphs that just trail instead of focusing on the intent of the paragraph. That is also a strike for me to not continue.
Fanfiction has to be spaced apart for me to read and enjoy.
If not that, then it's the punctuation and spelling mistakes. I for the life of me can barely read when everything is in lowercase than having proper structure. I could barely read Chris Chan's tweets, the lowercase on everything as opposed to her capitalizing every word is not that much better.
Sometimes, it takes me a while to get to reading some of the more popular fics and even then sometimes it just isn’t to my liking. And that’s okay.
Believe me when I say that these were potentially good fics that could’ve entered my lists of either Marked For Later or Bookmarks but as the story goes on, my enthusiasm dulled and it just never hit the high the fics once gave me.
This isn’t the case for fics I'm watching in those lists and everywhere else. And even then I need to check though Spacebattles has a better record for me to check. Spacebattles only have that luxury because it’s a forum site and forum fanfiction is a need to keep track of it. Archives are that and therefore much easier to track.
Legit, I was resigning myself to a Spirk fic never updated until it was updated out of nowhere hence never checking past the one and a half pages. I was so happy.
As of current, my interest in MHA and Genshin is shot. The only MHA fics I’m only bothering are the Dabihawks Bachelor franchise fic series while the only Genshin fics I’m reading are the Zhongchi transmigration fic series. Even then, it’s because I’m interested in that while the other fics are there for updates. Seriously, for one fic, I’m basically having a less of a second glimpse of a hopeful one uptick of a number. I’m not even going to read it at this point because I’m busy in another fandom but I just to see it go up one number. Largely, my Marked For Later is basically that. I haven’t read more than 90% of the four-page Marked For Later since forever or since it last updated. The other percentage is because I’m interested in the meantime. Technically, being in my Marked For Later is a good thing since there is a chance of Bookmarks but even then one fic managed to not make it into my Bookmarks, only in Marked For Later because there had been critical hits to its score to get into it because unlike This Bites and the flaws with that one, it’s still better as it understands the themes of a certain arc while that fic lost so many points for one scene that is just so bad that there’s no chance in hell it’s gonna be in my Bookmarks.
Hence my surprise to see the Spirk fic update.
I like the details. The more details and exploration, the more I like it. I just like things that build the world around them. My fave fics either have concise details and proper exploration with sometimes the former having lots up to paragraphs.
As an example, a Stranger Things Steddie slow-burn fic I'm reading has so much detail about the characters, development, and worldbuilding of a realistic 80s small-town Americana Hawkins. It's so good to see so much development and details that I knew that this is the Eddie involved since the beginning fic I was looking for so long. We're not even close to the Steddie endgame here but we so far got a gay Eddie in denial about his crush if he's aware of it for the true and growing Steve who does not see Eddie as a potential love interest yet as he's still dating Nancy as of the current timeline. The themes of class, growth, connection, and authority are just so good. It's gonna take a good four years for them to become a couple.
The fewer details and it certainly won’t do.
Worldbuilding or just adding enough detail around like headcanons of a life made by the characters is enough to draw me in. That makes me stay more than I can say than a story that doesn’t have anything to build off of in my head. I need to visualize it; there are initial visuals just because I’m already attached to the characters but I need more to see the scene.
Reading books takes the worldbuilding because fics get a pass of at least the attachment but need more depending on what I’m reading. Getting into my bookmarks and Marked For Later is hard with this requirement because sometimes some fics just don’t tick.
Introspection is a big plus for me.
If it’s done well, an unreliable narrator is a great thing to use.
I don't like darkness for dark's sake with no levity. I can read them but it’s more self-contained than being the overarching narrative where there is no levity. The dark fics you see in my AO3 bookmarks are quite dark but it's a dark that serves a purpose. Same thing with angst and hurt but it needs the other to balance or just the right amount of examination for it to work. I don’t always want needlessly dark tragedies. I understand their place but I just need the other side.
Please I wouldn’t like the Soukoku “Love” series made by dgalerab if it weren’t for the fact the couple is trying and the love that shines through these assholes. It’s dark yet the dark served a purpose.
My preferred ships are those with so many complications that its wonders fanfic writers managed to work. If there isn't pain in the ship, then why am I here?
Narrative foils with so many complications are preferable.
Not that it’s unusual. Foils are primarily the popular ships. Again, just look at my previous post about shipping in general.
Honestly for a fic to even get past the History page and into the Mark For Later page, there’s a threshold depending. Sometimes it depends on other fics the author has or there just aren’t enough details to pass currently.
I’m very hard to impress.
It took This Bites until the penultimate chapter to finally be in my bookmarks. It’s good but it took that long.
I can trust Love_Psycho as I can easily bookmark her Icarus series when I read it even without the R2 section.
I haven’t seen other outings or if the fic does pass the threshold itself. I won’t bookmark willy-nilly. I just need to see more.
More writing be it other fics or future chapters is required so that I can accurately know. Sometimes it takes a series or if there's a WIP that is looking interesting at the moment, I will hold off on any fics till the fic more or less proves itself.
Please, one Dabihawks is on the really good line right now. It's just I need to see that one fic continue and more to see.
For gen fics, it’s even harder than ships since that has different expectations.
Very different based on canon or AU.
If nothing else, it just has to stick close or analogous to canon for it to work.
Canon rewrites and divergences have to be very good even if most of the time it won’t go that easily into my lists. I think this suffered more or just as AUs.
Sure there are fun gen fics but there’ll be a nagging feeling that this never fits the themes of the series it was based on.
Seriously, I have seen one fanfic that basically goes against the themes while never once considering that Horikoshi never excused the crimes and the blood in their hands; it’s a fun fic but so bad in its understanding of the series’ themes when a P5 crossover that fucking understand what the series was going for when the foils for Dabihawks aren’t there and the stupidity of putting ATLA in the Todofam and Hawks storyline which the canon story ain’t aiming for in that way, get that out of my face. Yeah, I’m not fucking letting that go when the fic should allow that story to be its own thing instead of taking too much from something radically different that has its own story. Yeah, there is no way the fic is going into my Bookmarks for that mistake. I don’t hate the fic but that section killed a good amount of my interest in the fic and destroyed whatever hopes it has to get in my Bookmarks. It’s not the first time a fic had done that but it’s still disappointing. It’s bad enough I've seen comparisons between Azula and Zuko to Touya and Shouto but they have different stories they are trying to tell and I just wish to see the ATLA Zuko comparisons stop at this point because it’s detracting from the story Horikoshi is trying to tell with the Todofam and Hawks. It’s a holdover of my frustration but the fic does not help at all with the general fanon stuff including taking Hawks’ mask at face value and Hawks’ BFF status with Mirko. For that status, there are requirements for that to work because they sure as hell aren’t BFFs much less friends in canon. I don’t mind seeing certain fics have that because sometimes it could be fun but in others, it meant Miruko have to know on some level what Hawks is doing to himself. That he can be selfish for once in his fucking life and that he can be his true self without killing his humanity and vulnerability for the mission he held for over 15 years. Like, that bit is important. If only Miruko’s potential was used in any way other than fighting, maiming, or a terrible fanservice combo. Any contemplation or parallels with Bakugou? No, okay…
I’m sorry about that. I don’t hate the former fic but hoo boy does it show a lack of understanding of the themes. I know that for that fic, canon is a suggestion but it still shows that for all the fun, it was still on the ‘good motive, still, murder/bullying’ when Horikoshi made it clear that he’s not excusing the blood based on the humanizing backstory. The point was to humanize the villains, to show them kindness and empathy from all the dehumanization they get from society so the heroes can take them in easily and escape the abuses of power consequences. That Bakugou is as much a victim as a perpetrator of the system. I mean it was never going into my Bookmarks but at least the other fic had a chance but blew it.
Sorry but it’s just so bad against what the series was trying to say.
Just thank Godoka it’s fanfiction albeit a popular one. Other popular fanfiction can counteract it by actually understanding the themes.
Anyways, I read porn with a stone face. Fluff I blush.
It’s not because fluff is bad; I have seen some post posits this when no, fluff makes me giggle and blush because it’s so cute.
It took me a while for me to not blush and eventually stone-faced. I can read the hottest smut and read the details of love that the couple shares.
NSFW fics aren’t everyone’s couple of tea. It took me some time to read explicit NSFW to be stone-faced.
While there are arguments for porn with a plot and porn without a plot, I prefer my smut self-contained in a single narrative. If you want any reaction from me, get feelings in there. I love porn in which characters are having emotions. It was not just the sexual gratification, the emotions of talking to their partner, and the small gestures of love that made the activity worthwhile. Sometimes, funny stuff too such as the crack taken seriously Battlesleep fic I love so much.
In the end, if I just want porn, I just look at porn. If I want porn with feelings that I have in actual porn, I have to search for the cream of the crop. It’s just hard to search for the latter when I don’t use porn that often, preferring fanfiction porn. At least that’s easily accessed as I know how to search for the best porn. I know my way around AO3 enough to know the best porn.
I saw porn that is just okay or just doesn’t hit the right kind of porn for me. There is porn that bores me on AO3.
It’s not that I hate porn for the sake of porn. If I want something titillating, I know where to look. Often fanart porn fills that purpose for me more than fanfiction.
Usually, I just want good fanfiction than something titillating.
Fluff is exactly that. It's all gooey and cute.
I prefer my fluff in a variety of ways: mixed with angst; unfiltered; after an angst fest…
Pure angst and violence aren’t my things. At least porn serves a purpose. Those just serve to hurt. Fictional angst and violence are great catharses as well as a good medium for that than actual violence. We can tell stories about violence and violence in general with all the exploration there is about it. The world is desensitized to it.
I just want those to be explored. Not that the kinks in those can’t be used to get off. Knowing someone has a rape kink but does not condone rape is better. Hey, no kink-shaming here. You do you.
I can technically read any kink if written well.
Though my squicks are very telling and I avoid those because it sounds disgusting and that won’t get me in the mood for the porn I wanted.
While I can read sex happily, I don’t read it that often. It’s not even my go-to. My go-to feel-good fics are Pokemon crossovers.
Crossovers are really difficult to pull off if the writer knows what they are doing. I’m following a Pokemon and One Piece crossover right now and it’s interesting considering Pokemon is inconsistent with power scaling throughout the franchise. I don’t like power scaling in fandoms but it has to happen. Another crossover I’m following is a Gundam and Star Wars fic.
I know when I see a good crossover. Bad crossovers are like rotten food in the fridge.
Garbage fics stink but crossovers are my love so it’s understandable why it stinks, even more, when it’s a bad one.
I’m not the biggest fan of self-inserts. This Bites is the exception but only because it was so original.
RPF isn’t for me either. It’s only fun if it’s fictional and that’s it. BJYX is the only exception though.
I’m really hard to impress, much more so when it comes to gen fics.
Perhaps it’s because my books are like that. Like fanfics, I need recommendations. That’s how it became my backlog of books.
Just I need good books over bad ones obviously. Colleen Hoover and JKR’s new book are horrible. I’m just disappointed in the latter, but since she showed her true colors, the writing has gone downhill to oblivion. Cursed Child was just a foreshadowing of the future downhill.
Believe me when I say this about BTS-written books and articles. With the help of ARMYs, I was able to parse which books to read. Even if I’m admittedly disappointed in one section of a book that featured a writer who didn’t give BE the listen or even a look at the lyrics and the translations the album deserves. Looking at you, Jeff Benjamin, with the wrath of a thousand gods. I mean K-pop western coverage was always wrong with the fluff and lack of research but music reviews are especially egregious. Not even Anthony Fantano and D’Angelo Wallace are exempt from this.
I just want good books. Is that too much to ask?
Just as I want good fanfics, I want good books.
