Happy Monday!

[emmagrant01]

I've been stuck in a hotel room with a sick child for a week. At least I've got some writing done, eh?

I have some questions and would love to hear your answers. This is part of some research I'm doing for an upcoming slashcast segment, so thanks in advance!

1. What is the most romantic fanfic you’ve ever read?
2. Which fandoms and/or pairings tend to generate the most romance fic?
3. Which writers (in any fandom) do you think write the best romance fic?

Comments

[sorion.livejournal.com]

This is going to sound odd... but I can never find the type of "plain" romances I like to read. Either it's a good love story that isn't primarily romantic (I'm fine with that, and I always read it), or it's a romantic story with relationship drama (I am decidedly not fine with that; it bores/annoys me to shreds XD), or it's nothing but soppy (which is another thing I'm not fine with; I can take a lot in terms of romantic scenes, but ridiculously kitschy is out).
If I just want romance with character interaction/dialogue and no drama... I usually end up writing it, myself :X

So, I really can't answer those questions. Then again, I'm perhaps a bit odd when it comes to romance in fiction XD


ETA:
If you were asking about the first type of story, then I couldn't possibly pick one ^-^'''

ETA2: And, apparently, I can't even type, anymore. Jeez. (That'll prove my point... XDDD)

[amanuensis1.livejournal.com]

Urgh, I am so sorry your epic trip has started off with Kid Grant being ill! Well, I suppose this will set your expectations for the rest of the trip so that you won't get too distressed at future illness events, sigh. Hope he's better soon!

1. I'm gonna reserve the right to come back to this one. I might say Transfigurations by Resonant? Because it's epic length and has time to develop the romance (and is just that darn good, too).

2. The answer to this is always "MY FANDOM!" and "MY OTP!" Seriously, I don't think that's something that can be measured. Whatever you like, that's what makes you swoon, is the most romantic thing. I suppose you could try for an objective measure, but you'd have to have someone who liked all fandoms equally and had no particular pre-love of the characters who would read all the "Most Romantic Story" nominations from each fandom and would then try to judge based on story quality. Where you gonna find that person?

3. Can't choose this easily either. I could pick "Favorite authors," but those wouldn't necessarily reflect romance. I think you could pick an author who writes a lot of romance fic preferentially and is a good author and set them in a class of "good romance writers, but I despair of picking a best one, just like in my answer to #2 above.

*sticks with default icon, 'cos Lucius demanded it*

[oakstone730.livejournal.com]

Interesting question, My answers will just be from the Harry Potter fandom since it is all that I read...

For me Romance is found in the slow build stories where you see the relationship developing over time. Foundation!Verse stories and Turn by Sara's Girl are the two that first leap to mind, followed closely by her Salt on the Western Wind. Bond by Anna Fugazzi, is equally lovely and romantic in its own way.

[connorblond.livejournal.com]

One story I always seem to come back to is the Identical series by Lanning. So I think it would fit question no 1.

I think it all depends on how you define romantic. I very much enjoyed the Harry Potter fandom, tbh, and for some reason Harry/Draco has always peaked my interest. (for no 2) Mostly because it's such an unlikely pairing. :)

As for writers. I have no idea how to choose. And once again it depends on how you define romance. For me the ideal romance fic was Underwater Light by Maya, because both Harry and Draco were wonderfully jaded. And yet found their way to each other, in a completely non-conventional way that made a strange kind of sense. I really like stuff like that :)

[katieupsidedown.livejournal.com]

1. Right now the fic of my heart is actually a Teen Wolf fic, even though I have seen ONE EPISODE of Teen Wolf. Anyway, it's Sacred in the Ordinary by idyll. Because there is a lot of casual touching and slow-build and puppy piles.

2. I... have no idea actually. Out of my historical fandoms, the ones I think were most prolific have been Harry Potter, Avengers, and actually... The X-Files. A lot of the X-Files fic tends to be stuff that was good in 2002 but wouldn't be considered good today, but there was a LOT of more romance fic rather than just PWP porn.

3. I have no idea. I actually rarely pay attention to author names. My friends IRL will ask me "Did you read that new fic, 'Title' by Author?" and I just sit there... and then if they describe it I usually did read it, I just don't pay any attention to author names or titles of things usually. Which is probably why BNF stuff always goes over my head.

[froggie.livejournal.com]

1) "Eclipse" by Aja is the one that pops to mind for me, first. I read it when I was much younger (like, 15 or 16 or so?) and it just made an impression amongst all the fucked-up smut I was also reading at the time.

(It's interesting to see things framed as "romance" fic. I guess a lot of what I read is romance, but I either think of it as smut, smut with character study, or smut interludes, or delightfully-messed-up-filth, or fuck-it-everyone-is-awful-let's-be-in-this-together-and-have-desperate-fuckings fic.

...It's easier to frame it that way than thinking about how much romantic shit I read to block out...other things. Aw yiss.)

2) Slashfic, or regular? I only really read slashfic because 2 dudes= better than just 1. I will come back to this later.

3) I will come back to this later.

[itsjustgwen.livejournal.com]

I read more for angst than romance, but the best writers have some of both.

Tiranog and Keira Marcos come to mind as great romance writers in several fandoms.

Of the 7 fandoms I've been in, J2 (SPN RPS) generated the most romance, but much of it was terrible. McShep had the most well-written romance.

Oldenuf2nb definitely writes the best romance in Harry Potter. Her "What Do You Do With Your Life (After the Hero Kills the Batshit Crazy Bastard)' is one of the most romantic Drarrys I can think of.

[shadowfireflame.livejournal.com]

1. To me right now, the best romance fic has got to be Lanning's 26 Pieces, in the Sherlock fandom. I know, I know--graphic violence and action/adventure and torture, how can that be the most romantic fic ever to me? But romance has the potential for a lot of genre crossover: hurt/comfort goes well with it, fluff works well, mystery and action/adventure can cross over well. The heart of romance, to me, at least, is a kind of unquestioning love, loyalty, and dedication to the relationship, no matter what trials may occur. In that story, both Sherlock and John are willing to be tortured in order to spare the other pain, and that's just a ridiculously romantic notion to me, executed flawlessly.

2. I think the answers to this will tend to be extremely subjective. ("The ones I write/read!") But I would venture to guess that it would be the fandoms where the main pairing is not necessarily based on enemies-become-friends. (My theory is contradicted by the Harry/Draco ship, which has a ton of delicious romance, but I feel that the author has to explain how they got together in the first place. I'd expect fewer established-relationship fics and more first-time fics in that ship. Which is more romantic? To me, established relationships are more romantic, but other readers may find the opposite. And in my definition of romance, fluff is fine, but it's easier for love to emerge when there is some sort of trial or problem for the participants to overcome. "Fire exposes our priorities," for example. (Well, Harry did save Draco on his broomstick, so...) I like my romance with a bit (or a lot!) of plot.

3. Again, super subjective. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking coloredink, greywash, lotherington, ivyblossom. :)

[maladroitoracle.livejournal.com]

I don't have answers for 1. and 3. but I have to agree with the commenter above who said that McShep has/had a lot of really good romance fics, especially AUs.

It would also be interesting to know what people consider to be "romance fics" because that very likely varies a lot!

[nenne.livejournal.com]

I hope sich child is better now.

You ask difficult questions, but to me the most romantic fics comes where there are obstacles to overcome. My OTP is like Romeo and Juliet in that regard. Everything and everyone separates them and very little (on the surface that is) joins them. They fall in love in spite of and not because of.

I'm not active in many fandoms, so I can't compare really.

[starduchess.livejournal.com]

Wow, those can be hard questions to pin down.

1) I have several that come to mind, one from each major fandom I'm in.
A) HP - Snarry - The Interrupted Kiss: a Fairy-Tale" by emynn. What could be more romantic than a rewritten Cinderella story? It's soooooo lovely!
B) Legend of Zelda - Link/Sheik - Soul Mates by andrhats. Very long and plotty fic, with lots of action. The romance is slow and quiet, but very nice for all of that.
C) Voltron - Allura/OMC Life After Death by Jonah Mark. This is a sad fic for all that it becomes romantic. The original hero, Keith, is dead and Allura gets married off to Prince Gabriel. It is a long journey of her recovery from grief and eventual discovery of love with her husband.
D) Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets - Ken/Joe - A Reason to Live (series) by Lori McDonald. This series spans many years throughout the war and onward past Ken's death. It's touching and sad and heart-warming and all things lovely.

2) At first I was going to say Zelda, but I don't really think there is just one. They all can be.

3) For Voltron it's definitely Mertz (on FF.net), for Gatchaman I'd probably say TransmuteJun (on FF.net and Gatchaman Fiction Archive), and for HP - Snarry (that's the big pairing I read) I would say alisanne, emynn, abrae, atanvarne_lj and suitesamba who are all current writers.

[tarajw.livejournal.com]

What is the most romantic fanfic you’ve ever read?
The very first fic that popped in my head was Per solum lacuna. I think the slow buildup does it for me. Seeing the struggles to get to something explosive apparently defines "romantic" for me. There are tons though. That is just my first thought.


Which fandoms and/or pairings tend to generate the most romance fic? I only read Harry Potter (Harry/Draco) and Sherlock (Sherlock/John, Mycroft/Greg) so I have a limited vote. I'm going to vote Harry/Draco out of my very limited span. The passion between enemies. *swoon*



Which writers (in any fandom) do you think write the best romance fic?

Calanthe, Frayach, Faithwood, leo_draconis, maya (I miss her), oldenuf2nb, SailorChibi

Romance Fiction

[grizziesmom-95.livejournal.com]

1. The most romantic fanfiction I think I have ever read is a story in the Stargate SG-1 fandom (old, I know, but hey, I am, too!) It was surprisingly an AU, but it was wonderfully written and was definitely an epic fic that took its time establishing the romance between the two main characters. I honestly cannot find the name of it anywhere at the moment, but when I do, I will add it to this comment.

2. I honestly think that of the fandoms, current and past, probably the biggest fandom is Supernatural with Dean and Castiel (Destiel). However, that being said, I have not seen as many sites dedicated to the Destiel(or even Wincest) pairing as I have Jack/Sam from Stargate SG-1. Since it is no longer a running show, the fandom for SG-1 has slowly started to die out and the SPN groups are growing...but SPN is about done as well...so we'll see where it develops from there. I truly think Sherlock/Johnlock should grow in the same way if some of the Americans I know personally would get off their thumbs and watch our beloved Sherlock. Both Stargate and Supernatural have the "advantage" of being American shows that can be streamed on Hulu or DVR'd on regular TV. Unfortunately, the bulk of the American populace does not have access to BBC (America). Of course, of those who do watch the shows but don't really subscribe to the fiction/ships, there's not much we can do...for now...

3. I'm going to say you...does that give me brownie points anywhere??? And then, a close second would be...ME! (LOL) But in all actuality, I am finding very few romance writers that I really enjoy EVERY time they put something up. I do have you on my favorites list as well as alwaysbringingback-up (Castle writer) and cliffrose-acetone (Sherlock/Johnlock writer) from FanFiction.net. The problem with most romance writers is they don't really know how to write romance...they think they might, but it usually sucks. Romance is filled with joy, anger, angst, hurt/comfort, sex and cuddles. Good romance really does incorporate ALL of those in some way or another...k...stepping off my soap box now...