uses of the terms “lemon” and “lime” (apparently there was a difference. lemons were porn but i’m STILL not sure what a lime is. i also have NO idea how “lemon” came to mean “porn”. not sure i want to, tbh.)
soooo many “i do not own please don’t sue me” disclaimers
fics where the whole premise that the whole cast was trapped someplace together and the reviewers would leave questions in their comments and then the characters would answer them in-story. like “ask that guy with the glasses” except shitty and usually self-indulgent towards the author’s preferred ships. (i may have written one of these when i was 12.)
authors who legit updated on a schedule (and stuck to it). some every fucking day. (you still see this on ao3, but not NEARLY as much.)
fanfic authors who basically had a following and fandom of their own. (again, this still happens, but not as much. not sure if that’s a good thing or not.) not bad considering most of them were 13.
“yaoi!!! that means boy kisses!!! don’t like don’t read!!!”
putting “————-” or “xxxxxxx” bc ff.net wouldn’t let you insert a horizontal line to show the end of a section
very long, very rambley author’s notes
some of which had the authors interacting with/talking to the characters in the fic.
fics that weren’t so much stories as they were a chapter-by-chapter detailing of all the cliche plots and tropes used in that fandom’s shitty fanfics. (i actually sorta miss these, tbh)
songfics. no, not fics inspired by songs. fics where the lyrics were put in between every paragraph, with some lyrics altered to fit the characters. it was horrific.
fics that were up-front about the oc being a stand-in for the reader so they can read about themselves getting with their fave character. as in, it was written in second person and the summary outright said the pov character was meant to be the reader.
the forums being used for roleplay before tumblr rp was a “thing”
long, LONG author profiles, filled with things like “copy/paste if you’re a [whatever] shipper!” or obviously fake sickly sweet anecdotes (think chain email levels of bad), or worst of all (in my opinion), a pro-life anti-abortion story from the point of view of a fetus. it was as bad as it sounds, if not worse.
listing all your ships on your author profile page
seeing a title that was all lowercase letters and thinking “lazy” rather than “aesthetic”
“101 one ways to annoy [insert character here]” (voldemort was popular for these things)
it being fucking impossible to find f/f fic that wasn’t porn
writing ships as “characterxcharacter” instead of “character/character”
author’s notes in the middle of the story. literally you would be reading a fanfic and all of a sudden, in between paragraphs… “A/N: awwww isn’t it cute how they’re thinking the same thing!!! XD”
for that matter, author’s notes using the XD emoticon
people FLIPPING THEIR SHIT whenever their fave author (or just a well-established author in the fandom) changed their username. ESPECIALLY if they changed it from something fandom-specific to something more neutral.
“character x/character y. NO CHARACTER X/CHARACTER Z.” bc apparently you think i’d think your fic clearly marked character x/character y would be nothing but character x and character z making out.
trollfics trying to capitalize on my immortal’s infamy. there are still trollfics, of course, but they tend to be more subtle.
for that matter, trying to pass a trollfic off as a legitimate fic rather than just admitting it’s a parody
specifically reading fics for your notp just to bash it in the reviews
people putting replies to reviews for the previous chapter in the author’s notes (this died down a LITTLE once ff.net finally added a reply function, but not much)
the great fanfiction.net purge (ahh yes. history lesson time. basically, back in the olden days of fanfiction, when everyone actually used ff.net, one fateful day, back in biblical times – 2011 – ff.net decided to make MA rated stuff – basically porn – not be allowed on the site anymore. ofc people kept posting it anyway, but then ff.net started deleting stories from the website with no notice to the authors. just poof! gone. the aftermath was HORRIFIC. people were FURIOUS, as a lot of people had no backup and just lost their stories. so ff.net stopped enforcing the rule, but the damage was done. this was when people began to officially leave for ao3, i think.)
lots of harry potter fanfics about the my immortal versions of the characters interacting with the canon characters. some of these were actually quite funny – i think they’re still around, but i don’t see them as much. (i actually wrote one of these stories. it is still, to this day, the most popular story i ever wrote.)
drabbles that were ACTUALLY 100 words long.
fictionpress (a sister site for original fiction. it was like wattpad before wattpad was wattpad. it never really took off. come to think of it, i may still have some stuff on there from when i was 12 i need to take down)
“crackfics” that consisted mainly of “lulz iM SO RanDOm!!!111!!!!!oneone XD cheeeeeeeese!!!!!!” humor
“i suck at summaries”
“this is my first story so please be nice”
“i’ll only update if i get 10 good reviews”
AUs before “AU” was a really widely used term, so the author’s note would have a length explanation for why they had to change things for the story and apologizing over and over instead of just noting the AU in the summary
AUs out of laziness rather than for creative/plot reasons (ie, “luna’s a gryffindor in this fic because i couldn’t find another reason for her to be here”)
authors notes apologizing for late updates
being genuinely shocked when you found a GOOD fanfic
I got an email from a reader earlier. The sender was a lovely young woman who had just re-read my first published fic and wanted to tell me how much she enjoyed it—how it made her feel, how it made her smile, how it made her cry, how it made her excited to get home each night and curl up in bed with it, how it helped ease the pain of a difficult patch in her life, and how much she misses it now that it’s over. It was a beautiful letter, and my reaction to it must have been visible enough to make my saner half take notice from across the room. He shot me a questioning look, and I turned the laptop around and gestured to the screen.
I followed his eyes as they scanned each line, saw his lips tip up in a smile that grew broader as he read, then braced myself for the good natured snark I’ve come to expect when my little literary hobby comes up in conversation.
“Wow.” He said. “That was kind of amazing. How does it feel to be someone’s favorite author?”
“Don’t be a dick,” I said, slapping him on the shoulder.
“I’m serious,” he replied, gesturing to the screen. "That’s what she said—right there: You’re my favorite author.”
“I think she means favorite fic author. Not real author.”
“Is there a difference?” He asked.
“Yes,” I said, rolling my eyes. ”Of course there is.”
“Why?”
“Because, as someone in this room who isn’t ME is fond of pointing out, self published gay mystery romance novels aren’t exactly eligible for the pulitzer.” I said, turning the computer back around.
“So what?” he shrugged, “Something you wrote inspired a stranger to sit down write what it meant to them and send it to you. A lot of total strangers, as a matter of fact. You write, people read it and react. That makes you an author.”
“Huh.” I said, very eloquently, then got up and went into the kitchen to start dinner.
Hours later, sitting down to reply to the letter in question I find myself writing this post instead. Because here’s the thing: That wonderfully crazy man who lives in my house is right. (But please don’t tell him I said that)
From the moment I realized that letters made up words and words made up sentences and sentences made up worlds that were mine to explore any time I wanted to I’ve been a reader. I have fallen in love with perfect phrases and epic stories and countless characters pressed between the pages of the thousands of books I’ve read in my life so far—and sitting down to string together those same 26 letters into tens of thousands of words of stories I felt needed telling? That makes me an author.
I have adored the work of countless authors in numerous genres, and the world of fan fic is no exception. I have admired and cherished and savored the words of talented writers whose work is no less legitimate for the fact that their names include random keyboard characters and their words don’t live on bound paper on a shelf.
It’s not JUST fan fic. It’s literature. It’s published. It’s read. It’s loved.
It matters.
Thanks to all of my favorite authors for every word on every page on every screen that I’ve ever loved.
Re: canon or AU, I’m not sure if you’re looking for fanfic or published fic. As far as published fic, tbh I don’t really read other vampire series than VC 😛 I used to read Christopher Pike and Poppy Z. Brite but I barely remember them now. I never actually read Dracula (the h0Rr0r! I am a terrible vampire fan) but from what I understand, it would have the atmosphere you want but may have characters that turn into passive, thoughtless pawns devoid of personality. I think that may be why I’ve struggled to get myself to read it, that’s not my thing, either.
As far as fanfic I mostly read VC fanfic, and I can’t say that any of the fics I’ve read do that to our characters… in canon we do have some vampires who go into a kind of sleep/vegetative states for periods of time (called “going to ground,” and sometimes involves them actually burying themselves and staying underground for years), and one might say that fledgling!Nicolas was a passive, thoughtless pawn devoid of personality when he was first turned, but he snapped out of it when given the right stimulation. So I think sometimes that state is temporary if it’s incorporated into fic.
I also struggle to pick out authors of fanfic bc I can’t think of one that has both the atmosphere and the vampire romance… I feel like most of my fave authors spend SOME time on atmosphere but more time on the characters’ interaction, dialogue, the plot, etc. Our series is pretty heavy with purple prose so we tend to use it sparingly in fanfic.
IF YOU REALLY WANT THAT ATMOSPHERE YOU’LL HAVE TO GO OUR SOURCE. I’d suggest that you read Interview with the Vampire or The Vampire Lestat and JOoooooOOoooooOIN US! ❤ [Me: attempts to steal a very talented fic writer from their fandom into ours]
^It’s a movie but worth mentioning bc I think you’d like it: Only Lovers Left Aliveis, in my opinion, an example of an atmospheric vampire romance without shoving the romance down your throat; it’s subtle, but it’s there. Also:
Although the characters are pretty sedate most of the time, neither character in the central ship turns into a passive, thoughtless pawn devoid of personality.
I think this would appeal to you bc there’s a lot of tenderness, with a good dose of silliness, too.
It’s got a good mix of spooky + pretty aesthetic, being set in crumbling Detroit, it shows the beauty of things that might look run-down and of little value at first glance.
BONUS: It stars Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston as the main ship and they are A++++
^Similarly, there are two adaptations of novel Let the Right One In. I didn’t read the novel, but have heard great things about it, although it is darker and scarier in nature than the adaptations. The first of the 2 adaptaions has the same title as the novel and I think it’s the better of the two. The second one, the American version, is called Let Me In.
While it’s not a romance between ADULTS, it’s got atmospheric vampire action and I would say that it might fall under a YA kind of romance feeling. I’ve read some of your fic and I really think you’d like this bc it has a lot to say about giving/receiving care, being vulnerable, and those first feelings we get about “I love my friend so much and I am afraid of scaring them off by letting them know, I want to be closer to them but not at the cost of hurting them.”
I hope that helps, again, anyone is welcome to comment/reblog with reccs for @radiatorfromspace!
This might come as a surprise but it’s ok to not like a ship, or even hate it viciously for no real reason. You don’t need to come up with reasons why it’s morally inferior to what you like, or call anyone who likes it a criminal or anything like it. Not everything you hate is “evil”, sometimes you just plain don’t like a thing and that’s ok
Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Vampire Chronicles – Anne Rice Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armand/Daniel Molloy Characters: Armand (Vampire Chronicles), Daniel Molloy, Marius de Romanus, Lestat de Lioncourt Series: Part 1 of In Smaller Realms Summary:
After reading Prince Lestat & the Realms of Atlantis, I’m absolutely fascinated with what happened in between Armand and Marius’s apparent ‘dreadful quarrel’, and Armand and Daniel getting back together. Here’s my attempt to fill in the gaps.
me reading about them being around each other after all this fucking time
preparing for reading this fic like it’s a romantic evening in, I’m making a special meal in the actual oven and I’m gonna wear my favourite outfit (my pyjamas) and dim the lights and put on music I might even pour a glass of wine
someone’s getting laid this evening and it’s my favourite fictional character
I-want-my-IWTV 