i have no idea what the movie is about. i think clocks are involved.

[sideways]

Something something an interesting Twitter conversation I eavesdropped on about the evolving nature of (a) fandom: "early fic (at least what i read) was deeply in conversation with the source. even aus were very connected to the canon. now, fic is in conversation with other fic." 

Something something the current Goncharov phenomenon consuming Tumblr, in which an entire landscape of fanfiction is being written about a source that doesn't actually exist. A wonderful mess of fleshy fan creation with nary a skeleton to drape it on but familiar patterns and expectations and tropes.

It's been very amusing to watch from the fringes, and there has been gorgeous meta written about the "yes, and" nature of Tumblr and the creative power of collective fandom. But there is something a little bittersweet in it too, for me, and I think the Twitter conversation touches on why.

Comments

[sideways]

BIG ol' mood on not being that into the desire to remove characters from the core experiences that shaped them. Don't get me wrong, if wild AUs are what's available then I'll read them and sometimes I've had an excellent time, but it's not what I really want and it's almost always more of an issue the bigger a fandom is. Crack open a juggernaut ship like X-Men's Charles/Erik and of the top ten most kudos'd fics, maybe 2.5 aren't some kind of alternate universe. Not even the canon divergent kind. The 'they're a wedding planner' kind. This for two characters whose backgrounds and abilities are critical to their personalities, ideals, and dynamic. There comes a point I just don't think it can be said the author is conversing with canon as much as they are the desire for a good romcom.

I wonder if something like Goncharov could occur with a director and genre type without so many ready, familiar tropes to draw upon, heh. Tumblr Creates A David Lynchian Horrifying Absurdist Piece?

[anneapocalypse]

There comes a point I just don't think it can be said the author is conversing with canon as much as they are the desire for a good romcom.

Okay, I laughed. 😂 I've never been in a fandom as big as Marvel (Dragon Age is probably my biggest) but the way you describe that distinctly reminds me of that era where the RvB fandom was All Tuckington All the Time but weirdly, even though it was their canon interactions in season 11 that really launched that ship, like 90% of the fic was AU. Like there was clearly something in canon that got people going on it, but very few writers seemed to actually want to deal with the characters' canon circumstances.

Tumblr Creates A David Lynchian Horrifying Absurdist Piece?

I'd pay to see it.

[sideways]

Oh interesting! It's funny, I never really delved into RvB fics on AO3, so I mostly saw what my moot-circle of similar taste filtered to me + that sweet, brief time on RvBFics and the forums. (Though in the case of the latter, I do recall a few titantic AUs - the prison one comes to mind.)

Popular ships do seem particularly prone to AUs, and my (unresearched, unproven) theory is because there are so many ready templates for the romcom out there. To write something like Tuckington in canon, you have to commit to the canon: to the tone of the show, the impact of the histories, the holes in the plot :P You have to operate within boundaries. Now, I like trying to decipher and follow the rules of canon, but it's certainly much - well, I was about to say 'easier', but maybe that's rude. It's a different challenge, at least, to shuck all those boundaries and instead scoop together your favourite list of genre tropes and see if you can give it a distinctly Tuckington flavour.

I would also love to know if kinkmemes had anything to do with a rise in AUs as a fanfiction type or if they were just always a popular thing.