For me, guilty pleasures are fics I really should have no business liking as much as I do. Like Lily/Snape, and anything written by cloneserpents.

But even still, I'd definitely object to tossing Swim and Shezza's in the guilty-pleasure pile. Even though elements of the Denarian trilogy piss me off like nothing else, I can acknowledge good writing when I see it. And Swim produces some of the best prose in the entire goddamn fandom.

 

Deprived has updated, again.

I'm sort of disappointed, though - the PoV changes make for clumsy reading, the 'smackdown' was more of a 'let down'.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7402590/7/Deprived

 

I hesitate to jump on the bandwagon here, others have already voiced their opinions pretty well...but swim's my bro, so fuck off. His writing has improved a shit-load from when he first started. Overly dramatic at times, yes, but hell, the level of writing he employs invokes envy from me. Shit.

Silens, too, has come leaps and bounds from when his story first started.

And you mention authors lagging on their updates here. Then toss in watermage, recently updated, swim, ditto, and Shezza...really? Didn't he like complete a whole series?

Guilty pleasure for me is simply something about a fic that captures my interest enough for me to keep reading. An idea done well, with poor prose, or well-done prose with a decent idea. Generally a 2/5 or 3/5 fic.

I'm not sure which fics you read, but all of their stories had both great writing and interesting ideas. Too original you might say, like Joe's, so why don't they try original areas.

Maybe because they're using HP has a crutch, or have become invested in their damned stories to the point they are improving. And yes, a lot of comments in WBA may repeat the word 'awesome' too many times, but each writer here can claim the actual critique they received helped them a lot.

Just look here at the kind of 'help' people get.

/rant. My apologies to others to have to read this, and sorry to the mods and admins for continuing the derailment. I'll give myself a facepalm for it. :facepalm

 

I define guilty pleasure as a fic that is good enough to read only because you are in the mood for HP fiction but all of the actually good stories are not updated.

I don't know what sick world you live in where that would include the Denarian Renegade series, Awaken Sleeper, or Circular Reasoning. The only reason I could cite for saying these weren't paragons of HP fiction is that they are original enough that they could stand on their own/are more Dresden than HP.

 

Not to backseat moderate, but this is the 'Almost Recommendable' thread, not the 'discuss-what-is-or-is-not-a-guilty-pleasure-fic' thread.

Come on, guys. :facepalm

 

Mmm I've heard opinions that Denarian Renegade should not be lauded as much as it actually deserves. Whether that is actual criticism or just an addon to the "DLP IS TEH EVILZ" that prevails in other fanfiction boards.

I've not yet been exposed to the opinion that Awaken Sleeper or Circular Reasoning are guilty pleasures.

In a way I can see Denarian Renegade as a guilty pleasure but only to those who hold Dresden canon on a pedastal and EVERYTHING ELSE IS SACRILEGE AND BLASPHEMY!Oooh Argh Rargh!

 

I said Guilty pleasure fics update more. Sheza, Watermage, Swim are, for me, guilty pleasure.

Not because they write badly- you, as well as lots of others, clearly love their prose.

They are guilty pleasure because there is no real conflict anywhere in them, and everything is orchestrated to have a fun, enjoyable read- not one that really surprise you. It's fun, and it can be awesome, and so on. But, well. It's guilty pleasure.

not sure what you mean.

Hey, it's a good thing.

Having a forum like DSLP really help them keep interest in the famdom. It's not so easy if the only feedback you get are from the ffnet crowd

 

You're making even less sense now. If they qualify as guilty pleasure fics, then there's not one non-guilty HP fic in existence. And your definition of guilty pleasure is extremely aberrant. Not in the individualistic, interesting way, but outright wrong way.

 

...are you fucking high? You don't consider the conflicts between Harry and the rest of, well, EVERYONE legitimate character conflicts? You don't consider the pages upon pages upon PAGES of fighting in Shezza's Denarian series not 'real conflicts'?

I think what you consider 'guilty pleasure' are stories that might follow some established conventions of storytelling - and if that's true and you jerk off with The Tree of Life, I really think you've fundamentally missed the point of some of the best stories of the HP fanfic universe, particularly considering there really isn't any 'artsy' fanfic outside of maybe Cauterize.

Or maybe you're not one to fellate Terrance Mallick and you prefer stories that have a more slap-dash approach to writing, like say, what Perfect Lionheart spews. In that case, I'm going to kindly tell you there's a difference between stories that have structure and stories that can be considered a guilty pleasure. Take cloneserpents 'Crack'd Mirror', a story that's a take on the Mirror Universe hook but rapidly descends into pretty explicit pornography surrounding Harry's cock. By all means, this is a pretty damned shameless story that really balanced a thin line between crack and porn (a line the author has some practice with, considering his work with the Screams stories and Harry Potter & The Hero's Sword, where you replace crack with good-natured adventure fantasy). But I can still enjoy the stories because the jokes are silly and they're well-written enough to be fun. That, if anything, is the definition of a guilty pleasure, at least for me.

EDIT: in fact, why don't you say which fics you don't consider a guilty pleasure, so I can get a pin down on how fucked up your perspective really is?

 

No real conflict?

Oh lawl!

Know how I know you haven't read the stories in question?

 

If you think Swim's story has no real conflict, then you're probably 10 years old.

 

I would have to define guilty pleasure as a story that I know isn't very good, but I still enjoy reading it. It could be because of bad grammar, an overused plot, or just an abundance of cliches. For me the perfect example of guilty pleasure would be Jeconais.

Arkeus, I would be very curious to see what stories you don't think are guilty pleasures.

 

Spoken like someone who has never truly read the stories you're dissing. Theres been conflict galore in Awake Sleeper for ages. It revolves around Harry being in the body of his Mirror Universe counterpart. A counterpart, I add, who still has his parents alive. James is ready to cut his fucking throat. Mab's gonna lay a fucking hellacious smackdown on his ass for Jack Frost. Approved or not, Titania is going to fucking devour him for killing her daughter.

The only one might be close to having no conflict would be Shezza's Denarian, but thats only because Harry Fucking Potter has Meciel to help rape everythnig and everyone dumb enough to challenge him.

Something you should consider, before running your mouth off and looking like an idiot: Conflict is not always physical or life threatening. In fact, its often more interesting to have a conflict you can't resolve by way of fists or fire.

I'd much rather read about Harry being frustrated out of his mind because of something along the lines of Umbridge in book five. As much as you want to see him punch the fuck out of her, you know its not possible, and is actually counterproductive.

What I would consider a guilty pleasure, on the other hand, is something with no conflict. Or that's just fucking balls in your mother's mouth insane. MPD!Potter going out of his mind and cutting bitches into steaks and ribs and selling it at a meat store. Or Dresden saying fuck it, knocking Marcone off, and taking over the Mob in Chicago.

Because instinctively, you know its a fucking horrible story, and should feel ashamed for reading it. But fuck that, cause Im gonna read it and fuck you if you dont like it you can blow me.

That is a guilty pleasure. The fuck thinks those things about god damned anything Watermage writes, with the exception of that one Dresden/Inari!Lash TGYH fic? Cuase if you do, get checked into a mental home. You aint right.

 

Guilty pleasures are fairly simple. Shit you read that you know people would give you shit for, if they find out. Everyone has a kind of fic that tickle their fancy. I have a special place for Daphne Greengrass, yet most of the fics that involve her are guilty pleasures at best and garbage at worst. I also like stories that focus on the little, unshown details of magical society, such as 'out of the night' and 'on the wings of a phoenix'. It could be genre's too, some people secretly like heir!Harry fics, and they would be a guilty pleasure for that person, because we all know they are garbage.

Also, the Denarian trilogy and Browncoat Greeneyes both hold a special place in my heart, because they both introduced me to new fandoms. They both have their plethora of problems, but they are definitely better than a mere 'guilty pleasure'. Also, Harry/Meciel, Harry/River, 'nuff said.

 

Vote Player:arkeus
Had to be done.

Anyways, a guilty pleasure is what you like reading but wouldn't admit to usually lik Life Happens by ColorOfAngels on FFN for me. I love that and reread what there is frequently. You see it's the first Potter fanfic I ever read.

As far as what Vash has been saying, it's true, we need more quality. I'd rather not end up like Taure, reading guilty pleasures more than truly good things just because they are escapes from normality, and wish-fulfillment.

Silens, I think you mean Sword of Gryffindor, and why didn't you mention the ridiculously dark "Not Go Gentle" his opus in my opinion...

EDIT: Anarchy and Vash both posted while I was writing, and anarchy said it better/before but eh

Oh and Bluer than Indigo, one of my favorites, even though that prick who wrote it, (forget his name) abandoned it.

 

Guilty pleasures for me are stories you know are bad and not really worth your time, but there's something about them, maybe a badass Harry or plot device you don't see very often, that keeps you reading. Sometimes I feel like a bad person after realizing how many hours I've wasted reading crappy fanfiction, but I can't stop.

Help me. >_>

 

Aye. I'm a sucker for Harry/Luna stories, even though most are average at best. I might've read the summary and realized it is recycled material and all but I can't resist checking it out.

Oh and, @Taure:
Perhaps you should spend less time reading and more time writing, good sir.
Just sayin'.

 

Oruma, I love Harry/Luna fics, and read so many despite how awful they are.
Contemplating Clouds was the best romance story I've read, probably ever, and I've been searching through mounds of shit to find similar Harry/Luna stories to try to scratch the itch.

Unfortunately I just can't reach it. I think, sadly enough, the second best Harry/Luna story I've read (discounting Bungle/Loose because there wasn't much romance there) is Blood Tipped Feather. Now that is a guilty pleasure.

 

Try Luna's Year, I rather enjoyed that one.

A Lot of H/Hr stuff is my guilty pleasure, specifically stuff by chem prof. It isn't really very good, but I read it anyway.

 

You know what Luna I like? Renegade Cause Luna.

She's my favorite portrayal of Luna lately.