Of the fandoms I've written more than one or two fic for, they're usually for a single relationship in that fandom.
Oh yes. For me this is almost always true, unless something exceptionally weird is going on with the way I relate to that particular canon.* I am in it for the romance, and I am an OTPer, so usually it's all about that one couple for me. Unrelated gen will not interest me; unrelated romance will not interest me; romance involving one part of my OTP with someone else is something I avoid the way demons avoid holy water. ;-)
* (I started out saying this is true for me without exception, but then you mentioned Supernatural, and I realized there are borderline cases where I creep into a fandom because I really want there to be an OTP for a character I love, but what's on offer doesn't quite click for me. Like Utena - or like Supernatural! I wrote a bit of Wincest back in the day even though those two are not an OTP for me, just because I loved Dean so much. He needed someone so badly, and Sam was the person Dean loved, but the relationship never really worked for me in the right way; if I'd stayed in the fandom for longer, I'm pretty sure I would have acquired Dean/Castiel as an actual OTP.)
I started out in fandom as a gen only fan but got into slash/romantic shipping mostly because it was a good way to make sure my favorites wouldn't end up with someone else more important to them
Heee, this makes perfect sense to me! Whether it's a gen OTP or a slash OTP, having it broken into by someone else is just awful. I know not all fans are OTPers, but for me it's really heart-breaking when an OTP doesn't work out. For me, it's clear these people need each other, and they will never be truly happy without each other, so it's incredibly sad and depressing to imagine them ending up with anyone else. Even when the author writes it as a completely happy pairing!
one of the reasons I love Shen Wei so much is because he is so wrapped up in Zhao Yunlan that you can't really separate them.
Oh yes! I love the way you put that. :-) Absolutely, they would not be themselves without each other.
Hmmmm... Could your porny ideas perhaps all be about addressing intimacy issues through sex / the physical? Whether it's h/c or comedy, I could see that as a possible common theme. (I love analyzing these things, but please do feel free to stop me! *g*)
Yeah, switching brains would be ideal! :-) And I might very well end up writing the hooker story without sex; I am just stuck on my present WIP(s) a bit, but do want to finish it first.
What about your idea for demi Zhao Yunlan, could that bring in the sex?
Hm, that's a good question! I think it very well might, in a future story. I always write Zhao Yunlan as demi because that's how I see him, but it doesn't really play a noticable part in the stories I'm presently working on (or those I've already written, for that matter). It'd definitely be more of a theme in one of my as-yet unwritten story ideas where they're just embarking on the relationship. Not a central theme, but more present, and so actually noticeable to people who are not me. :-)
Re: writing sex and angst (and being a fannish romancer)
Oh yes. For me this is almost always true, unless something exceptionally weird is going on with the way I relate to that particular canon.* I am in it for the romance, and I am an OTPer, so usually it's all about that one couple for me. Unrelated gen will not interest me; unrelated romance will not interest me; romance involving one part of my OTP with someone else is something I avoid the way demons avoid holy water. ;-)
* (I started out saying this is true for me without exception, but then you mentioned Supernatural, and I realized there are borderline cases where I creep into a fandom because I really want there to be an OTP for a character I love, but what's on offer doesn't quite click for me. Like Utena - or like Supernatural! I wrote a bit of Wincest back in the day even though those two are not an OTP for me, just because I loved Dean so much. He needed someone so badly, and Sam was the person Dean loved, but the relationship never really worked for me in the right way; if I'd stayed in the fandom for longer, I'm pretty sure I would have acquired Dean/Castiel as an actual OTP.)
I started out in fandom as a gen only fan but got into slash/romantic shipping mostly because it was a good way to make sure my favorites wouldn't end up with someone else more important to them
Heee, this makes perfect sense to me! Whether it's a gen OTP or a slash OTP, having it broken into by someone else is just awful. I know not all fans are OTPers, but for me it's really heart-breaking when an OTP doesn't work out. For me, it's clear these people need each other, and they will never be truly happy without each other, so it's incredibly sad and depressing to imagine them ending up with anyone else. Even when the author writes it as a completely happy pairing!
one of the reasons I love Shen Wei so much is because he is so wrapped up in Zhao Yunlan that you can't really separate them.
Oh yes! I love the way you put that. :-) Absolutely, they would not be themselves without each other.
Hmmmm... Could your porny ideas perhaps all be about addressing intimacy issues through sex / the physical? Whether it's h/c or comedy, I could see that as a possible common theme. (I love analyzing these things, but please do feel free to stop me! *g*)
Yeah, switching brains would be ideal! :-) And I might very well end up writing the hooker story without sex; I am just stuck on my present WIP(s) a bit, but do want to finish it first.
What about your idea for demi Zhao Yunlan, could that bring in the sex?
Hm, that's a good question! I think it very well might, in a future story. I always write Zhao Yunlan as demi because that's how I see him, but it doesn't really play a noticable part in the stories I'm presently working on (or those I've already written, for that matter). It'd definitely be more of a theme in one of my as-yet unwritten story ideas where they're just embarking on the relationship. Not a central theme, but more present, and so actually noticeable to people who are not me. :-)