Warning about Pairings in Fanfiction

Do readers generally like to be told the pairings that will appear in a fanfiction, even if the pairing is not all there is to the story? Or would this be considered a spoiler? I've read guides on writing fanfiction that brand this (revealing the pairings, that is) as a definite no-no, but some readers in the fandom I write for (Yu-Gi-Oh and Pokémon, typically) might have a severe aversion to the pairing (and...I guess be scarred by the shock of it appearing in a story they were reading?).

I would definitely warn if there were "adult situations." I just wonder if readers generally feel as though a pairing is sprung on them if it's not stated outright in the author's notes. Or if writing a surprise pairing (as a plot twist) is generally a bad idea.

In 'literary' fanfic, which may or may not be a contradiction in terms, they usually don't. In less-serious fics, they usually do. I tend to prefer that they do, but it's a fringe consideration.

I certainly like to be told upfront if there are any pairings in the story.

It's about the journey, not the destination. Otherwise, why would people watch a movie or read a book more than once? It doesn't really spoil anything.

"Surprise" pairings that are sprung on you are generally the sign of writing that doesn't know how to develop characters correctly and instead rushes straight to the get-go.

I can't say I care either way, but I do find it amusing when people decide to announce every slightest hint of a pairing to appear in their story. Do we really need to know that your The Simpsons fanfic has "slight Homer/Marge content"?

Warning about explicit sex, violence or horror is just polite, though.

These days I only post the pairing in the summary if the story is actually about them. Like if it's slice of life or romance or something.

If the pairings included but not central to the story I usually don't bother. It shouldn't be a problem if you do the sub-plot properly; and hey, if their childish enough to quit a goood story over a pairing then that's their problem.

Other than that some people might skip the fic if they see the pairing in the summary. However, some of them might continue on despite it if they get into the story before discovering any pairings you may have in mind.

It's common courtesy to say if you're going to have homosexuality in your story, mostly because it is indeed something people find highly subversive. Unless it's canon, then it's fine.

Actually, yeah, uncanon stuff, mostly.

Well then the reader can damn well find themselves fucking subverted. If a reader is displeased by unexpected presence of teh ghey in one of my stories then they can come complain to me about it. But I think they'll enjoy that experience even less.

(Swallows white hot rage for a moment.)

I would list a pairing only if I wanted to advertise it to draw readers. Otherwise it's nothing anyone needs warning for. If they don't like it then they can stop reading and fuck off a fucking cliff and good riddance.

Edit: Sorry to be so harsh, but the whole "warn for non-hetero content so no one is offended" stance makes me want to punch things. I don't know if that's your stance or not. If it's a romance or pairing fic usually people can see it's yaoi or yuri once they learn what the couple is.

edited 30th Oct '11 11:09:59 AM by MildGuy

I don't mind "non-hetero content" in principle, but I do rather vehemently dislike fics that make fairly clearly straight characters gay just for the sake of it. This is one reason I like having the pairing noted; I don't object to the existence of, say, Naruto/Sasuke fics, but I'm not going to read them, and it's nice to have the equivalent of a don't waste your time warning.

I'm kind of torn on this issue... on the one hand, I don't think that uncanonical gay pairings should be considered more offensive to the reader's sensibilities than uncanonical straight ones. On the other hand, turning a canonically straight character gay (or vice versa, naturally) is messing with the Original Flavor of the work, even though it's not in a massive way.

Meh. I'll just say "I personally am not offended by slash" and leave it at that.

edited 30th Oct '11 11:33:59 AM by DoktorvonEurotrash

Yeah... I prefer if it's stated, partially so I can avoid pairings I don't care for, and partially so it's easier to find the ones I do like.

I don't read much fanfiction anymore, though...

I by far prefer fanfiction without pairings, though I'm fine with them if they're incidental to the main plot.

It's not particularly that gay pairings are more offensive than straight ones, it's that making a character gay (or straight, if they were originally gay, though that's not something you ever particularly see in fanfic) is a much bigger change to that character than pairing them with a different original-orientation love interest.

edited 30th Oct '11 12:24:52 PM by alethiophile

In theory I don't mind them changing the canon sexuality of a character, as long as the story's good and they do better than "their gay because it's hot/I said so". It's the same as any other deviation from canon, put some damn effort into it! Hey, if people can get away with genderbending and what have you...

Although sometimes the whole heteronormative thing comes into play. You know, if a characters sexuality is never revealed in the actual work everyone assumes they're straight and if a fanfic author writes them as gay people see it as going against canon. This happens even when evidence and subtext points towards them being gay, even if the original creator never makes it clear.

Granted, but statistically that's a decent assumption. It's fashionable and politically correct to decry anything 'heteronormative', but if you actually look at reality heterosexuality is, in fact, what is, well, normal.

I rarely if ever tell because there's no point to it. Canonical behavior holds sway before the story begins, development after, and no romantic plot is ever truly planned. (It does however happen, but as a natural extension of things going on in the story.) I don't need retards coming in complaining about pairings, but people who will watch it develop and offer useful criticism about the process.

edited 30th Oct '11 1:38:31 PM by Night

Maybe. But real-life statistics don't have an awful lot to do with fiction, given that a character will be whatever the hell the author wants them to be.

And I'm not saying it's unreasonable to make the characters straight or anything in your fic. If their sexuality is never mentioned in canon then it doesn't really matter if you make them straight or gay, you're not really deviating from the source material.

My grief, such as it was, was with people who believe their assumption is canon despite the fact that the subject is never brought up in the work itself. Likewise, their are still a lot of people who will insist that a character is not gay even if the only evidence to their sexuality is subtext that suggests otherwise.

On a similar note, I've found it's sometimes actually quite hard to imply a romantic relationship between two characters of the same sex. Even if you use the same amount of symbolism and what have you that would basically secure a solid fanbase for a hetero couple it sometimes doesn't work for a gay couple. Sometimes it doesn't you actually make it explicit, like having them make-out or declare on-screen that they're lovers.

edited 30th Oct '11 1:42:40 PM by PhoenixAct

I'd note that if all you have to imply sexuality is subtext, saying they're not whatever the subtext is is still a valid possibility. It may not be very likely (witness Nanoha and Fate's never-quite-stated relationship from Lyrical Nanoha) but it's still possible. Only textual reference can truly resolve the issue.

I agree. I was merely complaining about people who cry canon defilement when you have sufficient proof back up your claims.

Canon defilement? Proof? Hmm. I don't care about any of that when I write fanfiction. I don't care if a pairing never happened and probably never could or would happen in canon.

I wouldn't call declaring the pairing (heh, that rhymes) a spoiler, any more than saying "Star Trek is about Captain Kirk" is a spoiler. Now, if you give more detail, it could become a spoiler, but it's not immediately a spoiler.

As for if you want it to be stated beforehand or not, it depends why you're reading the story. If you're looking for stories revolving around a certain pairing, then obviously you'd want to know, but if you're interested in the story for another reason knowing the pairing isn't really necessary. Unless, of course, you can't stand that pairing. And if you know a lot of people don't like that pairing, telling them beforehand means your less likely to get reviews that say "You ship them? What is wrong with you?"

Personally, I like knowing what the pairing is, but that's mostly because I'm a sentimental sap. I also like declaring what the pairing is for the reasons mentioned above. Reasons that apply to any pairing.

I personally dislike this just because it reinforces the "fanfiction is for shipping" mentality, to be honest.

I would say that's not so much a mentality as a de facto truth about fanfiction in general. It's not all shipping, but a lot of it is, and if you're writing fanfiction specifically about a pairing, than 'reinforcing that mentality' is a moot point because it's writing the fic that contributes to that viewpoint, not declaring the pairing.

To be honest, though, how many different stories can one write or read if they're all just fluffy shipping pieces? If you've seen one you've pretty much seen them all. They can be entertaining to read, and I admit that I enjoy them, but for a fanfic to really impress me (or really impress anyone with any amount of literary taste), there has to be more involved, especially if it's a long piece. I like short fluffy shipping pieces, but I really don't have any interest to read a 50-chapter behemoth that's ONLY about a pairing.

What I meant is that putting in a "this is Alice/Bob" disclaimer when writing a long, Original Flavor work that has a romantic subplot or something equally minor carries, to me, the implication that you're buying into the "fanfiction is for shipping" mentality by mentioning it prominently even if it's just a very minor part of the actual story you're writing.

Fanfiction is for porn, you silly fools.

Heh. But is there, really, a difference?