Fandoms. Shippers. Fics. These are some of the new age lingos which any teen knows. As the world is opening itself to accept all 63 genders as a norm, fanfiction and it’s ships are playing a crucial part in helping their readers and specially teens relate to and identify with them.
What are Ships and Fanfics?
Ships are basically a short form of relationship. Similarly, fanfic refers to works of fan fiction. They are stories which are written based on TV Shows and movies and their respective characters. The two are usually independent of the canon( story line) and help readers to explore many different universes which are created by the fic writes. These writers are un-edited and unpublished creative geniuses. Inspiration from shows/films and then based on them creating unique stories the size of ‘War and Peace’ is no easy feat. Some stories may suspend reality and some give in depth analysis which further explore a moment which was shown on screen and adds their own interpretation to it. Just wow!
Where can you read them?
There are many different portals in which you can read fan fiction to your heart’s content. All you need to do is visit any one of the sites mentioned below and enter your ship. Be prepared that once you start reading, there is nothing that can motivate you to stop at one. They are that addictive.
- Archive of our Own:
Archive of our Own or AO3 as it is commonly known as by its users is probably the best site for all type of fictions. The user friendly interface helps new users to easily navigate and browse through the millions of stories that they host. AO3 offers many different skins that you can adjust according your preference. With a mobile version available on Chrome, you can easily access the stories when on the move. Currently it has more than 2,000,000 users and is available in 29 different languages. They have hosted about 3 million and counting stories. Here is a quick trivia, it’s most popular ship is Destiel! To know more about the ship and many others you can visit them here.
- Fan Fiction:
The Big Daddy of fan fiction hosting, Fanfiction.Net had been probably the most used fiction portal at its time. There are die hard followers who still visit it on a regular basis. It is the go to place every time we want to access a fic which is regarded as our respective fandom favorite. Fanfiction is very easy to navigate and has been offering their services since 1998. It hosts on 30+ languages and has close to 2.5 million registered users. It offers its users a wide range of forums that we can join and be a part of and wide range stories to choose from. From Anime/Manga to cult TV Shows. Here is a bit a of trivia. It’s most popular fandom is Harry Potter. Visit them here.
- Live Journal:
Live Journal is the granddaddy of them all. It started out as a blog, journal entry portal and soon developed into an social networking community. There are many who started out their fiction writing and reading with LJ. it offers it users a message board which has a drop down bulletin board through which conversations can be carried out easily. It had an invite only policy in regards to allowing new subscribers. Now, all are welcome. Live journal’s most popular community is Oh no! They didn’t. A celebrity spotting and reaction group. You can check them out here.
- Wattapad:
Wattapad is a decade old entrant in this field. Based in Canada, it offers its users a portal which gives them the freedom to express themselves without having to censor or worry about judgement. This site is very popular with teen demographic. It allows them to create a community around every story published. It offers its users 50 + languages, due to which a lot of posts are translations of the original content in other languages. They also host a lot of contests annnually. Majority of which are to further boost an upcoming writer or to celebrate the most popular story of the year. It has reached unprecedented heights in the Philippines where many of the stories are adapted in to telenovelas and few in to full length motion picture. Its most popular fandom is One Direction. Visit them here.
- Quotev:
Quotev started out as a quiz hosting site about multiple fandoms. Slowly, it not only changed its name from Quizzaz to Quotev but also transformed itself to a social portal where in fanfiction stories could be shared and then uploaded. They still offer quizzes but are more focused on launching amature writers via their site. Predominantly catering to early teens, it follows strict guidelines to filter content and offer options on topics related to violence or gore. Its most accessed fandom is Anime related. You can visit them here.
There you have it folks! Settle down with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate for company. We bet you shall read on till the chocolate goes cold and the blanket warm.