Weres Wanna Know: Do You Read Fanfiction?

Weres Wanna Know is a new discussion feature where we share a topic that's been on our minds and invite you to share your thoughts as well.

 

I recently read the The Raven Cycle books and The Captive Prince Trilogy and I've quickly obsessed with both of them. Like super obsessed. I wasn't ready to leave these worlds and characters behind but I had run out of books and I wanted new stories. So I did something that I haven't done since college. Hello, my name is Rose Red and I am not ashamed to say that I read fanfiction.

Do You Read Fanfiction?

I started reading fanfiction in high school when my best friend showed me that there was this online community writing Harry Potter fiction. I think a lot of my generation got introduced to fanfiction through the Harry Potter fandom, to be honest. It was amazing! I got to read stories that had Ron declaring his feelings for Hermione way before it happened in the series. Things just expanded from there to my other fandoms and I'm pretty sure it set the foundation that my love of reading online short fiction stands on. *waves at Fireside Fiction*

Fanfiction provided a way for me to consume new stories that I wouldn't have had. My family didn't have a lot of extra money for books and I grew up in a small rural town in Idaho that had an itty bitty library. Fanfiction gave me something to read when I had run out of printed stories and I was obssessed and consumed everything related to my fandoms I could get my hands on. *hides the Legolas/Gimli slash fic*

I fell off the bandwagon in my last couple of years in college because of lack of time so I haven't read or felt the need to read fanfiction for years now. That all changed when I marathoned The Raven Cycle books in February. Since then I've easily read over 500,000 words of TRC fanfiction and it has reminded me how much I loved this before. There are cheesy fluff pieces, smut, alternate endings, and future fic. I'm really, REALLY enjoying reading TRC future fic where everybody survives and my OTPs get together. Granted, there are still terribly written pieces, pieces that were abandoned and will never be finished, weird OTPs (I read a Luna/Draco fanfic once), and of course, there's the stories that have me hitting the back button so fast that I've probably given my iPad whiplash. Overall, reading fanfic in the TRC and Captive Prince fandoms has been addicting and has satisfied my need for more time with these characters I love. It's been amazing rediscovering how much I love the fanfic community.

The experience has made me want to go back and find all of my old favorites. Sadly, some of the sites I used to read fanfic on are gone since my high school and college days were way before Tumblr was a thing. There are some great new sites though! Archive of our Own is a beautiful place that I wish I had had before and they even let you download ebook versions of your favorite pieces!

Do you read fanfiction? Why or why not? 

If you do, what's your favorite fandom to read? Or site to use? Let's discuss!

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