There should be a story, then nothing....

[W_L]

Anyone have this happen: A guilty pleasure, looking for a gay fanfic, came up with no results.

I thought it would be really simple: Harry Potter and Colin Creevey, I mean there's canonical hero-worship already starting from book 2, the age gap is fine (Harry and Ginny are 1 year apart too), and my gaydar is buzzing with the idea of a young photojournalist wizard with a sense for adventure. 

Might need to look harder, but seems like an interesting untested pairing. Otherwise, I might just have to use my own imagination and write up a story

But this raises the point, do people ever find some pairings in fanfics that seem obvious to you, but not to anyone else?

 

[CassieQ]

Actually no.  I can usually find something, so I guess my pairing preferences are pretty conventional.

But your predicament reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:  If there's a book you want to read,  but it  hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. 

Go for it.   

[Jason Rimbaud]

2 hours ago, CassieQ said:

Actually no.  I can usually find something, so I guess my pairing preferences are pretty conventional.

But your predicament reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:  If there's a book you want to read,  but it  hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. 

Go for it.   

If I lived my life by that rule I'd never get anything done. I'm spread thin enough as it is. 

[CassieQ]

2 hours ago, Jason Rimbaud said:

If I lived my life by that rule I'd never get anything done. I'm spread thin enough as it is. 

I like it.  It reminds me to write what I like.

[Jason Rimbaud]

3 hours ago, CassieQ said:

I like it.  It reminds me to write what I like.

That works for you because everyone loves what you right, myself included. 

J

Edited October 2, 2025 by Jason Rimbaud
Mis-spelled word I didn't correct

[Krista]

7 hours ago, W_L said:

Anyone have this happen: A guilty pleasure, looking for a gay fanfic, came up with no results.

I thought it would be really simple: Harry Potter and Colin Creevey, I mean there's canonical hero-worship already starting from book 2, the age gap is fine (Harry and Ginny are 1 year apart too), and my gaydar is buzzing with the idea of a young photojournalist wizard with a sense for adventure. 

Might need to look harder, but seems like an interesting untested pairing. Otherwise, I might just have to use my own imagination and write up a story

But this raises the point, do people ever find some pairings in fanfics that seem obvious to you, but not to anyone else?

 

Not that I can remember a lot about the books since it has been decades since I read them. I've also not watched the films for about that long as well.  But, I do remember him being 'a lot' of annoyance and kind of treated like a gnat or a mosquito. So, that's likely the reason. If there was a lot more depth to him that made him worthwhile, more people would look that direction. Also, his character would be completely overshadowed by the "golden trio" and the bigger characters around them. If there is more depth to Creevey, I can't remember it. 

But, that is how I approach fanfictions. I want to write a story about a character that has depth, but was kept in the periphery. We are invested enough to remember them, but we also don't know them to the point where we 'have' to follow so much depth that it doesn't feel like the character or the motives fit the world state created.

For example: The Hunger Games: Despite being a bit of a villain the Career tributes were an interesting bunch. They have some depth, and their motives were more on paper... but you had the freedom to create 'more' than just 'surviving to win.' Especially if you show some kind of true humanity with them, which only one of the characters had any hint of at all. 

 

Edited October 2, 2025 by Krista

[W_L]

48 minutes ago, Krista said:

Not that I can remember a lot about the books since it has been decades since I read them. I've also not watched the films for about that long as well.  But, I do remember him being 'a lot' of annoyance and kind of treated like a gnat or a mosquito. So, that's likely the reason. If there was a lot more depth to him that made him worthwhile, more people would look that direction. Also, his character would be completely overshadowed by the "golden trio" and the bigger characters around them. If there is more depth to Creevey, I can't remember it. 

Yeah, his biggest characteristics were his hero-worship of Harry (annoying, especially when his little brother joined in), his camera work, and of course, his death in the final Battle of Hogwarts as a member of the DA, fighting for Harry's cause. Muggle-born wizard, who started out annoying and became a well-meaning background character. He's a third-tier character, unlike Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan who would be second-tier characters, closer to the core trio.

With fanfics, I like the periphery characters like you said, they can be expanded a lot more and have potential for good plots since they're not as explored. 

[Krista]

20 minutes ago, W_L said:

Yeah, his biggest characteristics were his hero-worship of Harry (annoying, especially when his little brother joined in), his camera work, and of course, his death in the final Battle of Hogwarts as a member of the DA, fighting for Harry's cause. Muggle-born wizard, who started out annoying and became a well-meaning background character. He's a third-tier character, unlike Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnigan who would be second-tier characters, closer to the core trio.

With fanfics, I like the periphery characters like you said, they can be expanded a lot more and have potential for good plots since they're not as explored. 

Overall though, my views on fanfictions in general have changed. I'm more invested in creating original characters and putting them into the world state of the time/setting alongside the characters within the world I want to write in. When I first started reading them I was all about the character dynamics and "shipping" pairs. I can read both, although admittedly I've not read or dabbled in writing fanfiction for years. I think my last one was my failed Twilight attempt. Sparkling vampires, even if I created a world without them, but still used Meyer's writing as a backdrop, I don't think I could manage.

But I'm not in a creative mindset at all, zero.. nothing, an icky funk of a feeling that I can't stand.  

[Ron]

4 hours ago, CassieQ said:

It reminds me to write what I like.

Exactly, why it is that some writers find the need to glom onto the created characters of others only to subvert their entire reason for existence boggles me — it isn’t complimentary, which might otherwise offer an excuse for doing it.

[W_L]

14 hours ago, Krista said:

Overall though, my views on fanfictions in general have changed. I'm more invested in creating original characters and putting them into the world state of the time/setting alongside the characters within the world I want to write in. When I first started reading them I was all about the character dynamics and "shipping" pairs. I can read both, although admittedly I've not read or dabbled in writing fanfiction for years. I think my last one was my failed Twilight attempt. Sparkling vampires, even if I created a world without them, but still used Meyer's writing as a backdrop, I don't think I could manage.

But I'm not in a creative mindset at all, zero.. nothing, an icky funk of a feeling that I can't stand.  

For me, it's a guilty pleasure, I know most fanfics are not good or original, but I like exploring those stories for the what-if factors. I've read enough HP fanfics over the years to get the general feel of the slash/ship elements, some pretty good and others just awful except the X-rated stuff (I'm a fan for mid-air activities, no judgments)   This one to me seemed like an obvious idea, but I guess it's just my taste (people don't like the idea of hero-worship-to-lovers anymore, but FYI Hercules/Ioalus from the 90's campy TV series had tons that I can't find anymore).

To get out of the funk, maybe searching for something to read that you enjoy can help. I am annoyed I can't find it, so I might take @CassieQ up on the idea of writing my own.

12 hours ago, Ron said:

Exactly, why it is that some writers find the need to glom onto the created characters of others only to subvert their entire reason for existence boggles me — it isn’t complimentary, which might otherwise offer an excuse for doing it.

That's one of those things with slash/shipping fics that rarely ever rise beyond "okay I guess". Writers get stuck in the universe that was created before and don't explore new aspects for the AU/alternate universe and relationships that it spawns. New characters or new interactions spice up the experience. Compared to slash fics in HP universe, the best received fanfics like ones where Neville is the chosen one to defeat Voldemort makes narrative sense and introduce new perspectives for what we knew, putting a different kind of character in the lead that we both know and don't know as well. Most fans like those especially, even the author if you believe JK's posts due to the complimentary nature.

[W_L]

@CassieQ I took your advice and just wrote my own story. I just couldn't find a good romance story with Colin and Harry in it where Colin seemed like a real person.

-----------

The Boy Behind the Lens

I left it open-ended with the potential to write a long story at the end. Even if no story comes out of it, I wanted to express some of the stuff I can't find in HP fanfics. Colin isn't openly outed in canon as gay/bi, but he's always had a fixation on Harry and never had a girlfriend/female love interest, so I wanted to give such a character some depth from the perspective of a gay author, whose had a few unrequited loves. To me, such a character is rich with potential.

Edited October 4, 2025 by W_L

[Krista]

19 minutes ago, W_L said:

@CassieQ I took your advice and just wrote my own story. I just couldn't find a good romance story with Colin and Harry in it where Colin seemed like a real person.

-----------

The Boy Behind the Lens

I left it open-ended with the potential to write a long story at the end. Even if no story comes out of it, I wanted to express some of the stuff I can't find in HP fanfics. Colin isn't openly outed in canon as gay/bi, but he's always had a fixation on Harry and never had a girlfriend/female love interest, so I wanted to give such a character some depth from the perspective of a gay author, whose had a few unrequited loves. To me, such a character is rich with potential.

Damn that was quick... my goodness.  

[W_L]

21 minutes ago, Krista said:

Damn that was quick... my goodness.  

This is what happens when you get a gay author, who can't find his guilty pleasure fix in fanfiction.