Plei, by "polypairdom," do you mean that there isn't a fandom-wide leaning towards one or two canonical (or fanonical) pairings?

Plei, by "polypairdom," do you mean that there isn't a fandom-wide leaning towards one or two canonical (or fanonical) pairings?

Yeah, basically. This could be the writers I know or just me reading between the lines at BBF whenever the subject comes up, but it seems that pairings in the 'verse are more mutable than in other fandoms, or so some people have complained.

They're complaining about this? Ye cats and little fishes! But... but... but multiple pairing possibilities means more story possibilities. I'm assuming that many of the complainers are also hoping that BtVS ends Spuffily Ever After or on a BufyNANgle4EVAH!!!!!1! note, right?

Yerp. Got it in one.

Plei- I liked the rest of the Gunn/Wes story.

Danke. I'm still debating attempting to smooth the last couple of chapters or letting them stand. Hrrm.

(caugh)

So, this here be a beta call. Needs a quicky.

FayJay is me. And mine. And mmm.

I mean, hell, The Sick Rose and its two little prequels comprise a novella-length swashbuckling epic of plottiness, in which the canonical, heterosexual Spike/Dru romance is absolutely the most important thing, but in which Dru is offstage for maybe half or 3/4 of the story, and in which the only sex to be described is m/m or f/f. So what the hell is that supposed to be?

An hella amazing piece of work?

They're complaining about this? Ye cats and little fishes! But... but... but multiple pairing possibilities means more story possibilities.

It's funny the different takes and agendas people bring to fanfic, isn't it? Some people after the stories, some people after the pairings... I mean, the first fanfic I read, I read because my BtVS lovin' was out of control and I'd watched all the UK stuff, and I didn't have cable, and there were months and months to wait before the next season. I did buy one of the books (short stories set after Season One), and it fed my story-craving, but it wasn't nearly enough. But I was still sheepish about buying the books, and books are expensive, damn it....and then I found the fanfic, and Rheanna and Yahtzee's Angel stories - and I was all "Woohoo!" And I also found you folks, and laughed my ass off at the filkage, and followed links to other stories, and was all "wooohoo" some more.

And I do remember initially being deeply embarrassed and cringing at the realisation that there were porny fanfic stories out there. I think it was a magazine article or newspaper article that alerted me to the fact, actually, 'cause I followed a link to a site (whilst at work) and was pole-axed by the array of pairings. I read part of an Angel/Spike story in a spirit of "OhMyGodThisIsDeeplyEmbarrassing". I'd forgotten that. Huh. That was months, maybe a year, before I got into the whole fanfic thing. Hmm. So my perspective has clearly shifted with time. I have been seduced over to the dark side of the force.

But I don't have any OTP in the Buffyverse - I used to be well-disposed to B/A and assume they'd wind up together, but then the whole of Angel has pretty well undermined that - and I love what they did with Darla's character, and the light that shone on the Buffy/Angel relationship. (Er, and I liked Kate too, fwiw.) I'm fond of Buffy/Spike, and I like Spike as a character, but I'm not emotionally invested in them having to get a happily ever after. In fact I'll read pretty much an pairing in the Jossverse, provided it's well done, and I'm very happy to read pairingless plotty fiction too.

My only OTP is Clark/Lex - because, man, TheirLoveIsSoTrue. And messed up. And angsty. And pretty. And epic. And tragic. But, much as I like reading it as a romance, I'm actually equally happy with it as a fraternal and platonic love. It's all about the love, baby, not the bumping of uglies. It's just more satisfying to have it be eros as well as agape. But then, I'll happily read either of them paired up with other people. I mean, I'm interested in the stories.

Conversely I've sucked my formerlynonficreadingfriend into fanfic, with Calico's LotR RPS. Um. She cut her teeth on an NC17 RPS orgy. Um. Hey, man, I tried to woo her into plotty or saucy BtVS and SV and so forth, but it wasn't her bag at all. And then she read the Calico stuff, and now she's a complete LotR RPS crack ho and knows all about the actors and we're going to Milton Keynes to try to meet Billy Boyd and Andy Serkis at this geeky conventiony thing. (She's lovely, and deeply unscary, and has met quite a lot of famous people in a random way - I figure this is no weirder than going to a Martin Amis book signing and chatting with him. She isn't going to ask him if he's shagged Elijah, or show him scary porn. She's just going to be all "Mate! You rule! Go you!") And she started out reading stories with one particular pairing, and then broadened the scope to a couple of pairings, and then to all manner of other pairings. And she's gone from reading the NC17 stuff to reading PG13 and PG stuff too, plotty stuff.

And you know the weird thing? From my perspective, at least? She finds the idea of fanfic about fictional characters kind of squicky. But about real people, not. Go figure.

edited, because I am Columbo, with his pretending-to-have-finished-but-then-going-back thing.

An hella amazing piece of work?

Bwah!

Also blush.