Some Fan Fiction is shockingly good!
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
A friend introduced me to “Dramione” fan fiction; essentially amateur authors reimagine Harry Potter, in this case with an emphasis on a relationship developing between Hermione and Draco Malfoy.
It sounds ridiculous, but there are some seriously talented authors out there! Two of the most popular ones are “Draco Malfoy and the mortifying ordeal of being in love” which is light and fluffy & “Manacled” which is very heavy. But there is a new one that still has 2 chapters to go (a “work in progress” - the author updates every Sunday- and it is just fantastic! It’s called “Bloody, Slutty and Pathetic” and is completely unhinged and very smutty (so beware). It shocks me that there are such prodigiously talented people out there writing (free!) novel-length books that are more interesting and thought-provoking than professionally edited books. I will put the link below - it’s NOT for kids, has very offensive language, and you have to have at least a passing familiarity with the Harry Potter books. But I am obsessed. Does anyone have any other fanfic recommendations? https://archiveofourown.org/works/52884502/chapters/133769302 |
Anonymous
| God this took me back to my teen days. I lived for Hp fanfic. Frayach is an amazing writer |
Anonymous
|
I love Dramione! My favorites so far:
Amor Vincit Omnia Breathe Mints/Battle Scars Perfectly in Pieces The Trials and Tribulations of Draco Malfoy’s Employment Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love Broom Thighs and Hoodie Highs Also, The Muggle Telephone is a short little piece that’s hysterical. |
Anonymous
|
There are so many authors who are now getting their start there. "Reylo" fan fiction (Star Wars) is another big area. There are ton of bestsellers that are reylo, even though they aren't marketed as such. It's so common that there are lists on goodreads for them:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/168177.Reylo_Fanfics_Turned_Into_Published_Books |
Anonymous
|
God, I wouldn’t admit this if it wasn’t anonymous, but I was heavily into Glee fan fiction back in the day, and I was not young - prob late 20s?
I remember thinking some of it was phenomenal. So well written, creative, and I read a few that were novel length. I remember thinking that they could change a few names and sell it to a publisher and no one would even know it was related to Glee. |
Anonymous
I had a Twilight fan fiction phase 
|
Anonymous
| You might enjoy Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell which is about a girl who writes fan fiction. Her Carry On series which is sort of Harry Potter fan fiction-ish is also quite good. |
Anonymous
Me too and I was 40. |
Anonymous
| Fanfic adjacent and a quick fun read The Dead Romantics. |
Anonymous
|
OP here. Thank you for the recommendations!
It seems that I am a bit too old (mid 50’s) to be into the “origin stories” for a lot of the popular fan fiction (ie Harry Potter, Twilight, Glee), and so I just missed the whole thing. It has been so interesting to find this whole world online. And not sure what it says about either modern publishing houses (or myself?) that I find some fanfic far more compelling than professionally edited and critically lauded novels. |
Anonymous
|
I fell into HP fanfic unexpectedly in 2017 as a mom whose kids were reading HP. I'm just now tiring of it.
Indeed, I have read hundreds of marvelously crafted fanfic. I actually started with Snamione. I moved on to Dramione. I jumped fandoms to try Reylo (also good) and tried to reverse appreciate the Star Wars movies (which did not work at all since the fanfic is much better). I actually read a few of the fics that became published novels before they were optioned. I then started trying other smaller fandoms when I became familiar with the source material. For example, I enjoyed the Japanese anime movie "Your Name". There's a brilliant fanfic that continues on from the film's ambiguous ending that makes for quite a good finale. I also like Zutara fanfic (Avatar) which is rather like Dramione. My analysis is that these fics are mainly written by bright, highly-educated literate women much like their readers. And fic Hermione is the same type...an underestimated, highly-educated and intelligent woman (often a career woman). Rey is also the same...brilliant and underestimated. So I think there's a bit of vicarious identification and wish fulfillment. Plus Dramione usually has satisfying bad boy and redemption tropes usually inspired by Hermione. I really love how fanfiction takes a familiar story and embroiders new material into it in very clever ways. I also enjoy endings that fix what I disliked in certain stories. Trust me, you can read this stuff for years! Reddit is good for recs. There are also Facebook groups and Discord channels. Some famous fics have been removed from the internet or sites were deleted so the only way to find them is to network with fans. The "Mortifying Ideal" fic that you cite is recent and truly one of the best ever in my opinion. Manacled is a phenomenon BUT for me it was too depressing. I'm more of a "Down with Love" (movie) fan than a "Handmaid's Tale" type. I thought about giving you a long list of recs but probably what is best is for you to go to dramioneasks.tumblr.com and poke around. If you are able to access their balky tab system (best on desktop), the mods' "favorites" are a good place to start. Based on "Mortifying Ideal", you may like Thebemoon's work on A03 (you must log in to read it). Also "Ever-Fixed Mark" by ninepiecesofcrait. Possibly "Timeless" by alexandra_emerson (requires login also). "Once More With Feeling" by Kyonomiko. And "Malfoy Shrugged" by uselessenglishmajor. Based on "Manacled", "The Fool, The Emperor, and the Hanged Man" by ianthewaiting. If willing to try a Snamione, "Extinctus amabitur idem" also by ianthewaiting (more of a creepy short story). |
Anonymous
| I read some (not HP) fanfiction as a way to bond with my teenage niece when she was living with us. I was actually kind of surprised by how good some of it is! |
Anonymous
OP here. Yes, I agree that the authors are often highly educated! In the “mortifying ordeal” fanfic, Hermione is a medical researcher, and there are fairly accurate references to immunotherapy and, if I remember correctly, she briefly drops a mention of alu sequences (short stretches of repetitive DNA). It seems that the author must have some background in immunology. In the one I linked to (BSP), Hermione is an ambitious career woman who clashes with the wizarding world leadership in part because they want her to be nicer and more compliant. Draco, on the other hand, likes her ambition, saying at one point: “You should have been sorted into Slytherin,” he said, low and calm. “We don’t tell our women they have to be likeable. I like you mean.” I had a jolt of recognition there, since my husband has said something similar to me in the past (minus the Slytherin part, obviously!). It all probably “speaks” to me because I have a leadership position in medical research - I know the struggle between ambition and drive, while having to seem likable. And immunotherapy has been a real game-changer in oncology! Most that I have read also seem written by younger authors for younger readers (ie 20s or 30s). It captures the feelings and concerns of this age group in a very genuine way, whereas professional authors seem more prone to lapsing into annoying self-indulgent/navel-gazing prose. As an “old lady”, it is fun to remember what it was like to be young. |
Anonymous
|
NP. I go through fanfic phases, too. Pride and Prejudice fanfic tends to be my go too. I once planned a whole vacation to Maine after reading one set in Portland (although I have never admitted that to anyone).
I like fanfic because it feels more raw than a lot of polished, published works (I almost never real published adaptations of P&P). If I’m tired or unable to focus, fanfic is like comfort reading because I already know what to expect. |
Anonymous
|