Fan fiction! (Recs, favorites, meta, /, tags, etc.)

[Hadilly]

Inspired by recent chat about fan fiction in the journal section, I thought it might be fun to start a thread about it. I would love to hear about people's favorite authors, specific stories, thoughts. I like to read but have never written any.

I'll throw out a few of my favorite authors and a really ugly link to an amazing speech about fan fiction and online community

http://idlewords.com/talks/fan_is_a_tool_using_animal.htm

Authors:
Seperis
Astolat
Waldorph
lazulisong
Owlet

Who do you like? Why do you read fan fiction? Do you have any stories you love and reread?

Edited to add: Maybe it seems weird to talk about fan fiction here at MMM, but free stuff is certainly mustachian, as is doing things out of one's own volition, rather than at an employer' behest.

[MustachianAccountant]

I don't read/write fanfic, but the seminar transcript you linked there was pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing!

[Lis]

The more people talk about FF the more normalized it'll get. I'm so happy you brought it up!

There are only two people I know in real life who know I write fanfiction, and one of them doesn't realize I'm still writing. Writing ff and playing around with a world that already exists has let me train my skills so that I'm getting confident in venturing out in creating my own world and characters. I think a lot of people think of fanfiction as poorly written crap that tends to get dragged into the media (looking at you, Sherlock community), but I think a lot of people who don't read or write fanfiction don't realize that there are incredible novel length works that are just as amazing as the original works, and can offer insight to underdeveloped characters, or behind the scenes moments that don't fit into a main plot. In college I wrote a paper for my consumer behavior course regarding the Harry Potter fandom, and a large chunk of it had to do with fanfiction. It was an extremely interesting thing to research.

I've written for -
- Harry Potter (books) (not in years though)
- NCIS (television show)
- Sherlock (BBC television show)
- Dragon Age (video game)

Two authors that I can think of off the top of my head who I think have written wonderful works are -
- Sashile (NCIS) had a series of novel length stories. I remember not being able to stop reading anything she wrote, and when one story was in progress, I would wait eagerly for an email notification that she published a new chapter. She also published her own non related fiction book that I meant to look into but never did. Something I'll have to remember to do soon.
- Dasque (Dragon Age Origins) has a couple of phenomenal shorts and completed long works about life after Origins (before or unrelated to 2), but my favorite of her's is (unfortunately) an abandoned work based on the main story of DA:O.

[meerkat]

Posting to follow.

[acepedro45]

This pokes gentle fun at fan fiction in a positively brilliant way....

http://www.michaelkelly.artofeurope.com/karl.htm

Ulrich Haarbürste (who I'm pretty sure is the online pseudonym of Michael Kelly, though he absolutely never breaks character) gained a cult following with tales of Roy Orbison Wrapped in Cling Film. I absolutely adored this site back in the day and have just been checking it out again recently.

[Footsore Rambler]

I got a little bit addicted to fanfic when I was working on my graduate thesis, because I felt too guilty to read anything that could be called 'proper' literature, and many fanfics are short!  One that is not at all short, but which many Mustachians might enjoy, is 'Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality' (http://www.hpmor.com/) -- it's a pretty seriously awesome read, with a lot of good material to think about, and I think the concepts in it dovetail with the kind of optimizational (shut up, I am calling this a word) thinking of the folks on this site.

I got into fanfic at the same time I was introduced to 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer', and so I've read a lot of Buffy fanfic.  One of my favorites is 'Counts of Blood' (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3224332/1/Counts-of-Blood), which is a Buffy/Sesame Street crossover.  No, really!


 

[dropspindl]

Seconding Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

If you like that, there's a whole set of rational!fic, including Unsong which is like Kabbalah humor fanfic (http://unsongbook.com/ ).

[ptobest]

Ooh, how have I never heard of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality? Anyhow, I downloaded it, can't wait to read it and be transported back, for a brief while, to the days of new Harry Potter books.

Don't have much to recommend, as all the fan fiction I've been exposed to has either been awful or x-rated (sometimes both!). However, I totally recommend reading the novel "Fangirl" by Rainbow Rowell, along with its fan fictionesque spinoff, "Carry On". Also, "Harry Potter & the 10 Years Later" is a highly entertaining video series.

[availablelight]

Seconding Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality.

If you like that, there's a whole set of rational!fic, including Unsong which is like Kabbalah humor fanfic (http://unsongbook.com/ ).

Been meaning to go back and finish Unsong, though I wouldn't have thought of it as fanfic.

Here's one of the best fanfics I've ever read, first in a series of modern-day stories based on The Lord of the Rings: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/977316/1/The-Patient

The last one in the series was on hiatus for years.  I would still check back in every now and then, after I'd largely stopped being interested in fanfic.  (I know 90% of everything is crap, but with the complete lack of filter in fanfic, I find 90% of the remaining 10% is also crap.  And 50% of the remaining 1% gets abandoned.)  Made my week when it was finally completed, 11 years after it was started.

[Footsore Rambler]

Ooh, how have I never heard of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality? Anyhow, I downloaded it, can't wait to read it and be transported back, for a brief while, to the days of new Harry Potter books.

Did you read it?  Whad'ja think?

[ptobest]

Ooh, how have I never heard of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality? Anyhow, I downloaded it, can't wait to read it and be transported back, for a brief while, to the days of new Harry Potter books.

Did you read it?  Whad'ja think?

I really enjoyed it! There were parts that ended up being a tad longwinded and it could use some editing, buuut it's fanfiction so that's how it is. I did greatly enjoy Draco's character and how he evolved in the story.

[Footsore Rambler]

Ooh, how have I never heard of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality? Anyhow, I downloaded it, can't wait to read it and be transported back, for a brief while, to the days of new Harry Potter books.

Did you read it?  Whad'ja think?

I really enjoyed it! There were parts that ended up being a tad longwinded and it could use some editing, buuut it's fanfiction so that's how it is. I did greatly enjoy Draco's character and how he evolved in the story.

Yep, some judicious editing would improve it.  I agree that Draco's character arc was well done.  I also really liked Dumbledore's characterization. 

[jengod]

Posting to follow. Read and write intermittently; Game of Thrones mostly and lately "Greek mythology fanfic" which is apparently a thing. :D

[Kitsune]

Posting to follow, because I have no guilt or shame and love reading. :)