Actually I'm of the opinion that slash fic, or any pairing, CAN be well done if you satisfy certain criteria for me- Have the characters meet in canon and actually interact in said canon (no random crossovers), have the pairing make some sort of in-universe sense (so no pedophilia, no incest, no characters paired up that don't like eachother for X canonical reasons, and the characters have to have established personalities), build it up nice and slow so it's believable (I'm all for love at first sight, but there has to be more than just that after the lovers lock eyes because that's eventually going to wear off) though that's good advice for any relationship otherwise we question "Why are they together/friends?" and have some sort of conflict that keeps the relationship from the perfect answer to everything in the world (I'm not saying stuff like Romeo and Juliet, but like say, "Let's go save the world first, THEN we'll get married, okay?"). Oh, and if the characters are already in relationships, don't bash their SOs and turn them evil just so your pairing can be together.
And even then, there's actually only, like, three stories about Graham and Achaka as a couple, and only one of them is badly written (because the setup/setting was weird and awkward, there was no explanation given as to why and how Achaka survived and there wasn't much to the story besides that.) One of them is a oneshot called "The Dragon's Cave" and that story was very subtle and slow about it, (no declarations of love, no sudden sexy times, no kisses, just a couple points in the story when things are calmer where one thinks the other is good looking and Achaka staying by Graham's bedside holding his hand until he wakes up) and dealt moreso with them trying to get out of the cave than them getting together which I liked. The other is a planned series (I think it's just called "Achaka Lives AU") that's more recent called "To Be A Knight" and again, is more slow and easy about it and there's definitely more substance to the story than just them getting together (which hasn't even happened yet and Graham is actually bi in this story) and it's more focused on characters in general and how the world changes in this timeline because Achaka survived. Like for instance, Manny is actually redeemed.
But of course, just because I don't ship them (as you can probably tell, I'm more of a Graham/Neese shipper) doesn't mean I can't recommend these stories. But I still get what you mean, as sometimes people are very insistent on shipping EVERYONE even when it doesn't make sense. Sometimes it's a little excessive! I can understand your point against it, because a lot of stories aren't well done at all, but there are good ones if you dig.
Still can't say I blame people for doing that, since the charactization in-game is pretty well done and it can be feasible if done right. Plus, Achaka has some very good looking legs!
Personally I think Mary Sues are worse than any slash fic. Kinda surprised that there aren't any in the KQ fandom.
You mean Graham's not going to be like how he was in that DeviantART picture you showed me where he vowed to kill everything that got in his way like an uncivilized barbarian?
;p I love that sarcasm of yours. Thanks for that, I needed a good laugh!
Ideas 1, 5 and 10 sound pretty complicated, so you'd better hold off on those until you've got more experience under your belt. Write some of the other ones first, the simple, short and sweet ones so that you're properly prepared.
I know, yeah, some of those probably will be oneshots. I had another written down but I've already completed that one, so that's one down (it's called "Going Home" and deals with Graham outright quitting after Achaka's death, not listening to Manny as he tries to stop him, not my greatest work but not my worst either, and I do think I should go back to it someday and redo it here and there). And you can tell the "Lovesick Graham" one was written down pre-chapter three anyway.
But still, unless you mean experience as in this specific world setting, I've been writing fanfic for over a decade now, but it's only been the past 3-4 years where I can look back on stuff I've written and not cringe. And because I actually accept concrit, I can only get better as time goes on.
Oh yeah, another idea I had was a genderswap universe which really is kind of obvious what that is- either characters are replaced by their partners or just switched genders, so while Graham is a girl (Giselle? What would be the female version of the name Graham, I wonder?), instead of meeting Wente in town, she'd meet Bramble instead.
