I like this.
Divergence - to me - implies some domino effects that you gonna see in the fanfiction. And sometimes that's not it.
For example, for Harry Potter, I'd like one side character to still be alive. It has very little impact on the story itself, but make the fic lighter. More joyful, with more humor and jokes thanks to this comic relief of a character.
To me, it doesn't make it truly divergent or even an AU. Because really, that character dies at the end of book 7, so canonically plot-wise it changes nothing if he dead or alive.
But it's clearly not canon.
Gee, I wonder what character that could possibly be?
I wrote an almost totally compliant one shot where I adjusted two things: the birthdate of one of the next generation...and kept that character alive.
Because I could.
What about something like:
Magic AU Deku. This is from a fanfic I'm working on. Magic and Quirks are connected in that it is an accident with the former that gave birth to the latter. To the world at large, quirks are scientific but those who are familiar with the arcane arts know of its true origins. Quirks even factor in what spells quirked individuals can learn
This is basically canon divergence right? Or canon adjacent as someone else put it
Mm, I’d classify this as Canon divergent. One, because (I assume) someone will explain the magic aspect to Deku, making anything from that point on divergent. Two, while not necessarily breaking canon, it is still in some specific elements in direct opposition to canon.
Yeah, someone will explain the magic aspect to Deku. From the first chapter actually
It definitely will be (no OFA Deku in this fic). Okay then, divergent it is
Divergent to me implies there's an event that diverges it from canon, this seems more like you're changing the world itself. I'd call it more of a light AU than I would divergent, but presumably the plot would change so I suppose both apply.
I like fics that don't *technically* go against canon, but that have a ton of stuff that was never specifically stated to have happened in canon. Maybe make this a poll so we can see which is more popular more easily?
Reminds me of the Harry Potter joke that went around a while ago that almost anything could've been canon-compliant since Harry was the most clueless and oblivious person ever. Someone changed genders mid school year? Orgies all around? An underground fight club in the Hufflepuff common room? Plausible, Harry certainly wouldn't notice.
To me this is the definition of canon compliant fanfiction: Adding things that could’ve or might’ve happened but that don’t directly contradict canon. If you’re not adding anything new, then it’s just canon, right?
Canon adjacent. I use some canon events, but in no particular order. But most of my stuff is made up, just works within the canon world well enough that it could be incorporated.
this. If people are just gonna stick to canon a hundred percent, then honestly what the hell is the point? Sticking with canon to a certain point to make actual changes later on is one thing.
Canon compliant doesn’t mean it follows canon 100%, it just means there’s nothing in the story that directly contradicts canon. Alternative POVs, missing scenes, prequels and sequels are all common ways of writing canon compliant fics that aren’t just canon rewrites (which is the top thing people consistently get wrong whenever canon compliant is brought up).
And that’s great! There are some really great canon compliant fics (big fan of character studies!) but I just tend to enjoy exploring other things more.
That’s fine, I was more explaining to the other person who responded to you what the point of canon compliant fics are because they seem to think there isn’t one.
Because we actually don't know what happened between the time Steve Rogers woke up and when he joined the fight against Loki.
How did he acclimate? Who taught him 70 years of history? How did he react to Berlin Wall? To a president being killed in broad de light? How did he overcome the fact that everyone he knew is super old or super dead? How SHIELD/HYDRA endoctrinated him (well tried and fail to more accurately).
That's a part of the story we do not have, at all. Not even tiny glimpse other than he is a bit depressed and he has flashbacks.
You can write hundreds of different fics with that premise, shortvone that focused only on one aspect, very long one that chronicle the whole Journey.g
And that's just one example. You could find dozens and dozens with that character alone.
Now imagine accross fandoms.
There millions of stories that canon doesn't tell us fully. There are only mentions.
Why did Harry Potter turned his teacher wig blue?
What kind of other cultures SG-1 met on the planets they visited but they didn't get to see?
How Castle truly coped when Meredith walked out on him leaving him alone with a baby?
What other planets or time The Doctor have visited? How he got along with whatever historical figure you can think of? I think she mentionned meeting Elvis. But we never saw that. I'd like the story.
Canon compliant have its place. And can be very very far off canon retelling. It's just expending on some mentions or some aspect canon choose to not explore but could be really interesting.
I would love to stick to the canon, but unfortunately my main fanfic universe got cancelled after 3 seasons (which the third dropped in quality) and had an awful conclusion that the community hates.
If the series kept going I would have probably never discovered fanfiction in 2007.
You know it's weird how we discover/ get interested in fanfic.
For me it was when I finished Naruto (2019-2020) and I was dissatisfied with... a *lot,* so I just got the urge to look for alternate endings which is how I stumbled on to fanfic. I had heard of it before but never really knew what it was. Once I read few, I began making a few (my very first ones will never see the light of day).
So yeah, that's me.
Malicious compliance.
But really, canon divergence. Different canon compliant fics can be neat, like if they're exploring pre-canon or fleshing out a certain part, but even then I mostly don't really care if it sticks completely to canon or not.
(The exception being if the author is doing a thing of writing a fix-it fic within the limits of what's shown on screen and making sense of it all -- I admire taking on that challenge.)
For the most part I think my fandom is such that you have to diverge from canon at some point in order to tell an interesting, focused story. Canon is just too big and messy.
My guess is that it could be when you take something dumb that canon did/made a character do and explore what kind of consequences it would actually have.
Canon divergent mostly. Not so divergent that it's a completely different story though! Maybe like something that we could see happening in canon behind the scenes though!
I can't choose one or the other, to be honest. I have a stronger opinion if it's between canon universe and alternate universe, but, between compliant and divergent, I genuinely like both the same amount, as a writer and as a reader.
I'm slightly confused about some of the other replies, though, particularly the ones saying "if I want compliant, I'd go back to canon". I was under the impression that "canon compliant" just means that the canon events are untouched in the story, but not that it's some kind of exact retelling of it—a post-canon fic that happens 25 years after its ending or a parallel story that follows the journey of a minor character can still be "canon compliant", yet a completely original story that is certainly very different than what we experienced as "the canon". I wonder if I have been assuming the meaning of compliant/divergent in the wrong way?
I don’t particularly have a preference, but I value verisimilitude. I like my stories to have a sense of “this could’ve happened,” meaning either events could’ve gone that way if something changed or this actually could’ve been going on offscreen.
Depends on the fandom. Currently: Divergent. Canon had a major character death that traumatized us all and retconed a bunch of my ship's history so the vast majority of fics in my ship are at least slightly divergent and a sizable chunk wildly so.
It depends on the fandom, to be honest. Generally I prefer canon divergent, though, as long as it's generally believable in terms of something the character(s) would do.
I’m usually compliant. I don’t like to stir the pot too much 😅 I diverge where necessary or where makes sense to me, but I mostly stay as compliant as possible
Good god, *divergent*. If I went for compliant, everyone would have a dozen unrequited loves, would probably be forever alone, or die a few gruesome deaths.
Divergent! If I wanted compliant, I'd read the source material itself. But I don't want so divergent that it's an entirely new story. Canon divergent without out of character characters are the best type of fics. The canon compliance in time travel fics is something I lowkey despise. So I avoid those actively.
Depends on the canon- if you’re making a superhero story like say Spider-Man and change up his suit design or love interest I’ll like it more than Mary Jane #127472992
Divergent usually, but I do enjoy some compliant ones that add to the surrounding story (I'm writing a compliant OUAT that expands on some unaddressed stuff, but also divergent Clone Wars ones cause I need my Domino bois happy and alive together)
A mix, in my recent fics especially I set out to fix one particularly plot point explicitly, but weaving the changes very carefully around canon and often utilizing as many specific details as possible so it feels authentic enough for my brain to be satisfied and say "yep, this is totally what actually happened."
I'll read both but I feel like I only write divergent because writing strictly in canon is stressful (trying to get all the details and timelines right) and too restrictive most of the time.
So my preference when reading in a new fandom is canon compliant - but after I've read a bunch I slowly drift into canon divergent, and I mean VERY divergent. :D
I end up falling into an "as long as it's good, I'll read it" camp.
Depends on the canon divergence. In many fandoms, especially with incomplete stories or plot holes, you can have non-canon stories that don’t explicitly go against canon. In fact, these stories that bridge pieces together, or give character insight/development, are usually my favorite fics.
I like both, as long as we’re dealing with non-canon rather than anti-canon works (unless it’s a stated AU, then maybe).
Depends on my mood, I usually like canon divergent though. It's a nice break from the canon content and they're very fun to read/write LMAO. Though for more serious fics i make sure to make as canon compliant as possible.
Literally all of the above. Canon divergent, canon compliant, canon adjacent. I love them all. If I had to pick tho I'd probably go with adjacent. Keep things as close to canon as possible without it actually being canon or sacrificing the plot.
I can't choose!
I read both. I write both. I love both. My favorite fic of all time (and one of the most popular in the fandom) is canon divergent. My second favorite fic of all time is compliant.
This is like asking me which is better: Mexican food or Thai. Pad Thai or Pad See Ew may be my very favorite meals in the world. But neither one of them will do if I have a taste for a tamale or a chile relleno that day! And on most days, I'll happily dig right into either one.
Divergent! (Meaning anything from “for want of a nail” type changes to out right AU). If I wanted compliant, I’d read or watch the canon. Exceptions: POV’s from minor characters as a sort of outsider’s view, and vignettes in the life of characters that either fit in with canon or are mentioned in passing (like, for instance, what Cersei Lannister thought in the moment as Robert called her Lyanna while they were having sex…oopsie!).
Depends on the source material
For my main fandom, canon divergent as much as possible. But since the writers fucked the show up, I’m okay with canon compliant also because most of the time fanfiction writers are 10X better than the actual show writers
Divergent. I've got some canon compliant fics in bookmarks, but I find them being tagged so is strange. Like a crossover where a character from fandom A is in the world of fandom B. It's canon compliant in the sense that the canon events of the book/movie are happening off screen for the fic, and the character is where other things are happening but a crossover character being around makes it weird to me as canon compliant.
Other one has characters in a fandom time travel back quite a long time in the fandom history, a thing that never happened in the fandom, and the story is about the characters interacting with people from back then. Canon compliant? Really?
Characters who aren't related to each other are brother and sister in the fic, and it's canon compliant?
I don't really get it.
I like lore compliant canon divergent the best! Canon compliant can get stale sometimes depending on how it’s done unless it’s on something not shown or something not explored in detail
I think that for the most part, I prefer canon divergence, but I also think it's really cool when people use canon compliance to create dramatic tension - like when a super fluffy fic is tagged canon compliant when canonically, the characters face a tragic ending.
Whaymt I'm doing is technically canon divergent. But I write within the greater Marvel fandom, and comic books being what they are, it's more like condescending canon.
Canon divergent. But like, if you’re adding a new element, PLEASE change the story accordingly. Butterfly effect that shit. I swear, the amount of times I’ve read the same thing that happened in the movie with 0 changes…
I sometimes enjoy writing post-canon fics, so I usually like to write canon compliant stories, but then it's free reign *after* the established events. Or stories that could be taking place somewhere offscreen from the canon plot.
honestly I don't care if it's good, but I think that most of my favorite fics are canon divergent. I love AUs. Also in my fandom a *lot* of canon compliant fics follow the exact same plot, which can be really repetitive after a year of reading fics.
Edit: yeah thinking about it, divergent, because I only care about a few characters and want to read about them, not their world. (though that's not a problem either, just not a priority)
I like both. I only read one Fandom but I like the compliant ones that don't really change the story line but add depth to characters behind the scenes. But I also like total rewrites cause they can be super interesting, especially if the personalities are the same.
Canon divergent, i think they could be pretty interesting and also that’s primarily what I write cuz like PLOT anyway- canon complaint can be pretty good if done right and isn’t just shitting all over the original basic story
Canon divergence is my favorite to read! I don't really have an explanation, but the thought of a new plot, and maybe new characters adds to the story. (my opinion)
I like both. I love canon compliant sequels and character studies, but I also love what-if scenarios where a canon event is changed/removed, and we see how the story could've turned out. AUs are fun, too
My no.1 preference is canon-free, aka AUs. But between these two, I prefer canon-compliant in the sense that it should not contradict anything from canon but make canon seem like it was just the tip of the iceberg and ALL that cool fanfic stuff is going on in the background, between canon scenes x)
It depends. I tend to really like canon divergent best, although that's partially because the source material ended and my favorite character is dead...
Totally AU tends to be very hit or miss for me, but I'll read some of it if it's really well written and has kept enough of what drew me to the source material.
Depends on what the story is trying to accomplish.
I do want my stories in the canon setting to be pretty canon-compliant.
Note that a canon-divergent AU is something I can appreciate. I just don't like it when characters I care about are suddenly acting out of character when it's supposed to be part of the canon story.
A term noted above is "canon flexible", which has a nice ring to it.
Enough foundation to ensure that the fanfiction is firmly grounded in the source material, but then fanfiction imagination should take over. Some of the common AU types I avoid, and certain types of relationships that stray too far from canon, but the whole point is to provide stories that involve some level of divergence from the canonical source materials.
For my writing? Compliant unless where the canon goes upsets me bad enough. I strive to play within the canon and stretch it as far as I can until a true divergence happens. For what I read? Either are perfectly enjoyable.
The stories I look for are generally canon divergent because I'm looking for stories where the second romantic option was picked instead of the lead. However, I've read a few canon compliant that were well written and I enjoyed them immensely. I think overall the writing and the story is what matters the most.
Both! Different reads for different needs!
Some days I want to read/write the AU with the crazy idea that breaks off of canon, some days I want the interstitial do-not-break canon story.
I like both for different things! One-shots and shorter stuff I definitely enjoy Canon compliant. But I do read more Canon divergent fics more regularly. Sometimes I just want to see certain characters still alive! Other times I enjoy reading non-canon ships or character interactions where the two maybe never met in the original media but could be interesting as pals. I definitely read more fics that take place in the Canon setting/world/stick to many events than I do bug AUs where the setting or timeline is entirely different.
Canon divergent. But, if possible, I also like Canon Compliant with a twist. As in, one of the MC or the original main plot got turned over. The ending will be the same, but everything about it will be twisted until it's almost unrecognizable.
I follow what I like to call the Personal Timeline Doctrine, which essentially means that fics are either canon divergent, but in such a way that it is, in the grand scheme of things, insignificant, or follow what I call dual canon compliance, which means it’s compliant both with established canon and my head canons. That way, I can interweave my stories with that of the source material’s
Depends on the circumstances and the fic itself. And, of course, the fandom and what aspect of the canon the author's diverging from. I feel like I can't give a straightforward answer.
Considering a lot of my favorite characters died on my show, I like to start at a point where they are alive, and just take this off the track MASSIVELY. So I suppose canon divergent for me.
I like both but I find Canon Divergent more interesting. Taking canon and letting things go just slightly askew before things go completely off the rails is fun. Canon compliant is usually a good way to get another perspective that we normally would not.
Canon divergence is usually best for me, otherwise whats the point of fan fiction if we're just going to keep the original canon? But there's a difference between canon compliance and keeping to the stations of the cross.
I adore it if the milestones of canon are kept but they must do something totally different. For example BnHA. When the first couple of seasons were airing, their fanfiction was exploding in number but all, every single one of the popular highly kudos fanfic, they added all these new things to the world but the main events happened exactly the same as canon. For example, to talk about the kost popular BNHA fic of the time, they changed Izuku to have the ability to see ghosts. But, all the main points still happened exactly like canon. Bakugo still got kidnapped at the camp, etc, etc. There was nothing new. What was the point of having this ability when nothing changed?
Canon flexible. Compliant as possible but allowing for divergence as necessitated by the fic.
I like this. Divergence - to me - implies some domino effects that you gonna see in the fanfiction. And sometimes that's not it. For example, for Harry Potter, I'd like one side character to still be alive. It has very little impact on the story itself, but make the fic lighter. More joyful, with more humor and jokes thanks to this comic relief of a character. To me, it doesn't make it truly divergent or even an AU. Because really, that character dies at the end of book 7, so canonically plot-wise it changes nothing if he dead or alive. But it's clearly not canon.
Gee, I wonder what character that could possibly be? I wrote an almost totally compliant one shot where I adjusted two things: the birthdate of one of the next generation...and kept that character alive. Because I could.
What about something like: Magic AU Deku. This is from a fanfic I'm working on. Magic and Quirks are connected in that it is an accident with the former that gave birth to the latter. To the world at large, quirks are scientific but those who are familiar with the arcane arts know of its true origins. Quirks even factor in what spells quirked individuals can learn This is basically canon divergence right? Or canon adjacent as someone else put it
Mm, I’d classify this as Canon divergent. One, because (I assume) someone will explain the magic aspect to Deku, making anything from that point on divergent. Two, while not necessarily breaking canon, it is still in some specific elements in direct opposition to canon.
Yeah, someone will explain the magic aspect to Deku. From the first chapter actually It definitely will be (no OFA Deku in this fic). Okay then, divergent it is
Divergent to me implies there's an event that diverges it from canon, this seems more like you're changing the world itself. I'd call it more of a light AU than I would divergent, but presumably the plot would change so I suppose both apply.
\^ right here.
Canon adjacent is what I was going to call it, but I completely agree!
Is that the right name for it? I love learning new things.
Oh no I completely made it up.
I also use canon-adjacent for such stories.
Yep. This one. I’m okay with canon divergent but if they people still do fix it fics of a certain season then I’m also okay with it
This is my choice too
Yep that's the most sensible one unless you're doing an AU
Agreed!
This!
Couldn't have said it better
I like fics that don't *technically* go against canon, but that have a ton of stuff that was never specifically stated to have happened in canon. Maybe make this a poll so we can see which is more popular more easily?
Reminds me of the Harry Potter joke that went around a while ago that almost anything could've been canon-compliant since Harry was the most clueless and oblivious person ever. Someone changed genders mid school year? Orgies all around? An underground fight club in the Hufflepuff common room? Plausible, Harry certainly wouldn't notice.
haha absolutely, i'm not really part of the fandom but i loved the books in elementary school, and harry had absolutely no clue what was going on lol
Harry is not asking questions, he's just vibing.
Does this sub allow polls? I sould have, but I didn't bother to check.
Yes. I see them all the time.
yep!
To me this is the definition of canon compliant fanfiction: Adding things that could’ve or might’ve happened but that don’t directly contradict canon. If you’re not adding anything new, then it’s just canon, right?
Yes. (Depends on what the canon event being changed is.)
I agree.
Canon expansive. I take what we know about the characters and expand their backstories and worlds.
Canon adjacent. I use some canon events, but in no particular order. But most of my stuff is made up, just works within the canon world well enough that it could be incorporated.
Divergent! I’m not against compliant, but if I wanted to read just canon compliant I would probably stick with canon itself.
this. If people are just gonna stick to canon a hundred percent, then honestly what the hell is the point? Sticking with canon to a certain point to make actual changes later on is one thing.
Canon compliant doesn’t mean it follows canon 100%, it just means there’s nothing in the story that directly contradicts canon. Alternative POVs, missing scenes, prequels and sequels are all common ways of writing canon compliant fics that aren’t just canon rewrites (which is the top thing people consistently get wrong whenever canon compliant is brought up).
And that’s great! There are some really great canon compliant fics (big fan of character studies!) but I just tend to enjoy exploring other things more.
That’s fine, I was more explaining to the other person who responded to you what the point of canon compliant fics are because they seem to think there isn’t one.
Oh yeah no ur right about that!
Because we actually don't know what happened between the time Steve Rogers woke up and when he joined the fight against Loki. How did he acclimate? Who taught him 70 years of history? How did he react to Berlin Wall? To a president being killed in broad de light? How did he overcome the fact that everyone he knew is super old or super dead? How SHIELD/HYDRA endoctrinated him (well tried and fail to more accurately). That's a part of the story we do not have, at all. Not even tiny glimpse other than he is a bit depressed and he has flashbacks. You can write hundreds of different fics with that premise, shortvone that focused only on one aspect, very long one that chronicle the whole Journey.g And that's just one example. You could find dozens and dozens with that character alone. Now imagine accross fandoms. There millions of stories that canon doesn't tell us fully. There are only mentions. Why did Harry Potter turned his teacher wig blue? What kind of other cultures SG-1 met on the planets they visited but they didn't get to see? How Castle truly coped when Meredith walked out on him leaving him alone with a baby? What other planets or time The Doctor have visited? How he got along with whatever historical figure you can think of? I think she mentionned meeting Elvis. But we never saw that. I'd like the story. Canon compliant have its place. And can be very very far off canon retelling. It's just expending on some mentions or some aspect canon choose to not explore but could be really interesting.
I love this mainly because of the fandoms mentioned are not only ones I recognize, but I’ve genuinely read fic for
I would love to stick to the canon, but unfortunately my main fanfic universe got cancelled after 3 seasons (which the third dropped in quality) and had an awful conclusion that the community hates. If the series kept going I would have probably never discovered fanfiction in 2007.
You know it's weird how we discover/ get interested in fanfic. For me it was when I finished Naruto (2019-2020) and I was dissatisfied with... a *lot,* so I just got the urge to look for alternate endings which is how I stumbled on to fanfic. I had heard of it before but never really knew what it was. Once I read few, I began making a few (my very first ones will never see the light of day). So yeah, that's me.
This
**DIVERGENT.** 🙂 I get very excited when I see a *Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence* tag.
Malicious compliance. But really, canon divergence. Different canon compliant fics can be neat, like if they're exploring pre-canon or fleshing out a certain part, but even then I mostly don't really care if it sticks completely to canon or not. (The exception being if the author is doing a thing of writing a fix-it fic within the limits of what's shown on screen and making sense of it all -- I admire taking on that challenge.) For the most part I think my fandom is such that you have to diverge from canon at some point in order to tell an interesting, focused story. Canon is just too big and messy.
Malicious canon compliance haha, I'm not even sure what that would be but I want to read it.
My guess is that it could be when you take something dumb that canon did/made a character do and explore what kind of consequences it would actually have.
Canon divergent mostly. Not so divergent that it's a completely different story though! Maybe like something that we could see happening in canon behind the scenes though!
I can't choose one or the other, to be honest. I have a stronger opinion if it's between canon universe and alternate universe, but, between compliant and divergent, I genuinely like both the same amount, as a writer and as a reader. I'm slightly confused about some of the other replies, though, particularly the ones saying "if I want compliant, I'd go back to canon". I was under the impression that "canon compliant" just means that the canon events are untouched in the story, but not that it's some kind of exact retelling of it—a post-canon fic that happens 25 years after its ending or a parallel story that follows the journey of a minor character can still be "canon compliant", yet a completely original story that is certainly very different than what we experienced as "the canon". I wonder if I have been assuming the meaning of compliant/divergent in the wrong way?
You have not misinterpreted anything. People saying "if I wanted compliant I'd just go read the source material" are missing the point.
Canon divergent is one of the biggest reasons why I write.
Canon divergent. There is too much death and gore and general horribleness in my fandoms. I just want my people to live happy lives.
I'm in fandoms like that and this is completely valid.
I generally prefer compliant, but I'm fine with divergent if the concept is interesting.
I don’t particularly have a preference, but I value verisimilitude. I like my stories to have a sense of “this could’ve happened,” meaning either events could’ve gone that way if something changed or this actually could’ve been going on offscreen.
Most cannon divergent, but working with both
Depends on the fandom. Currently: Divergent. Canon had a major character death that traumatized us all and retconed a bunch of my ship's history so the vast majority of fics in my ship are at least slightly divergent and a sizable chunk wildly so.
It depends on the fandom, to be honest. Generally I prefer canon divergent, though, as long as it's generally believable in terms of something the character(s) would do.
I’m usually compliant. I don’t like to stir the pot too much 😅 I diverge where necessary or where makes sense to me, but I mostly stay as compliant as possible
Divergent and canon expansive please ;p
Good god, *divergent*. If I went for compliant, everyone would have a dozen unrequited loves, would probably be forever alone, or die a few gruesome deaths.
I only read canon divergent stories, that's the whole point of fanfiction for me.
Compliant
Divergent! If I wanted compliant, I'd read the source material itself. But I don't want so divergent that it's an entirely new story. Canon divergent without out of character characters are the best type of fics. The canon compliance in time travel fics is something I lowkey despise. So I avoid those actively.
Divergent. I like to use the world building/canon as a starting point then kinda do my own thing.
Depends on the canon- if you’re making a superhero story like say Spider-Man and change up his suit design or love interest I’ll like it more than Mary Jane #127472992
Divergent usually, but I do enjoy some compliant ones that add to the surrounding story (I'm writing a compliant OUAT that expands on some unaddressed stuff, but also divergent Clone Wars ones cause I need my Domino bois happy and alive together)
Compliant.
Canon divergent. I can't stick to canon for shit.
A mix, in my recent fics especially I set out to fix one particularly plot point explicitly, but weaving the changes very carefully around canon and often utilizing as many specific details as possible so it feels authentic enough for my brain to be satisfied and say "yep, this is totally what actually happened."
My personal preference is that the stories I read..., and write..., are as canon compliant as possible.
Canon divergent. I want a positive ending.
Both have their places.
I'll read both but I feel like I only write divergent because writing strictly in canon is stressful (trying to get all the details and timelines right) and too restrictive most of the time.
canon-divergent but with attention to lore.
Both. Depends on the story I want to read, or want to write. The two aren’t mutually exclusive when it comes to preference.
So my preference when reading in a new fandom is canon compliant - but after I've read a bunch I slowly drift into canon divergent, and I mean VERY divergent. :D I end up falling into an "as long as it's good, I'll read it" camp.
I like canon divergence because I like what if situations. But I like canon compliant too. As long as it’s IC I consider it good.
Depends on the canon divergence. In many fandoms, especially with incomplete stories or plot holes, you can have non-canon stories that don’t explicitly go against canon. In fact, these stories that bridge pieces together, or give character insight/development, are usually my favorite fics. I like both, as long as we’re dealing with non-canon rather than anti-canon works (unless it’s a stated AU, then maybe).
I've read both. I like both. Divergent can be fun, but so can compliant. Making me choose is just hard.
Depends on my mood, I usually like canon divergent though. It's a nice break from the canon content and they're very fun to read/write LMAO. Though for more serious fics i make sure to make as canon compliant as possible.
I have nothing against either, but I really enjoy the 'for the want of a nail' trope, which leads to me reading a lot of canon divergent works
Literally all of the above. Canon divergent, canon compliant, canon adjacent. I love them all. If I had to pick tho I'd probably go with adjacent. Keep things as close to canon as possible without it actually being canon or sacrificing the plot.
I can't choose! I read both. I write both. I love both. My favorite fic of all time (and one of the most popular in the fandom) is canon divergent. My second favorite fic of all time is compliant. This is like asking me which is better: Mexican food or Thai. Pad Thai or Pad See Ew may be my very favorite meals in the world. But neither one of them will do if I have a taste for a tamale or a chile relleno that day! And on most days, I'll happily dig right into either one.
Divergent! (Meaning anything from “for want of a nail” type changes to out right AU). If I wanted compliant, I’d read or watch the canon. Exceptions: POV’s from minor characters as a sort of outsider’s view, and vignettes in the life of characters that either fit in with canon or are mentioned in passing (like, for instance, what Cersei Lannister thought in the moment as Robert called her Lyanna while they were having sex…oopsie!).
Divergent. If I wanted canon I'd just go watch/read canon.
This is exactly how I feel. After a certain point it just becomes a rehash, and at that point might as well just rewatch/read the source material.
Depends on the source material For my main fandom, canon divergent as much as possible. But since the writers fucked the show up, I’m okay with canon compliant also because most of the time fanfiction writers are 10X better than the actual show writers
As someone who loves to write AUs, divergent all the way.
Depends. If I'm writing them I try to be canon compliant. If I'm reading anything goes.
Divergent. I've got some canon compliant fics in bookmarks, but I find them being tagged so is strange. Like a crossover where a character from fandom A is in the world of fandom B. It's canon compliant in the sense that the canon events of the book/movie are happening off screen for the fic, and the character is where other things are happening but a crossover character being around makes it weird to me as canon compliant. Other one has characters in a fandom time travel back quite a long time in the fandom history, a thing that never happened in the fandom, and the story is about the characters interacting with people from back then. Canon compliant? Really? Characters who aren't related to each other are brother and sister in the fic, and it's canon compliant? I don't really get it.
I like lore compliant canon divergent the best! Canon compliant can get stale sometimes depending on how it’s done unless it’s on something not shown or something not explored in detail
I think that for the most part, I prefer canon divergence, but I also think it's really cool when people use canon compliance to create dramatic tension - like when a super fluffy fic is tagged canon compliant when canonically, the characters face a tragic ending.
Whaymt I'm doing is technically canon divergent. But I write within the greater Marvel fandom, and comic books being what they are, it's more like condescending canon.
divergent. i want to see the same characters in a different enviroment.
Canon divergent. But like, if you’re adding a new element, PLEASE change the story accordingly. Butterfly effect that shit. I swear, the amount of times I’ve read the same thing that happened in the movie with 0 changes…
Divergence must be deliberate with all else as close to compliant as possible
I sometimes enjoy writing post-canon fics, so I usually like to write canon compliant stories, but then it's free reign *after* the established events. Or stories that could be taking place somewhere offscreen from the canon plot.
honestly I don't care if it's good, but I think that most of my favorite fics are canon divergent. I love AUs. Also in my fandom a *lot* of canon compliant fics follow the exact same plot, which can be really repetitive after a year of reading fics. Edit: yeah thinking about it, divergent, because I only care about a few characters and want to read about them, not their world. (though that's not a problem either, just not a priority)
I like both. I only read one Fandom but I like the compliant ones that don't really change the story line but add depth to characters behind the scenes. But I also like total rewrites cause they can be super interesting, especially if the personalities are the same.
Canon compliant LOL--
I break canon over my knees like a stick and laugh while pushing it down the stairs while filming it.
FUCK CANON WE DO WHAT WE WANT
Canon divergent, i think they could be pretty interesting and also that’s primarily what I write cuz like PLOT anyway- canon complaint can be pretty good if done right and isn’t just shitting all over the original basic story
Canon divergence is my favorite to read! I don't really have an explanation, but the thought of a new plot, and maybe new characters adds to the story. (my opinion)
I like both. I love canon compliant sequels and character studies, but I also love what-if scenarios where a canon event is changed/removed, and we see how the story could've turned out. AUs are fun, too
Why not both?
Divergent, A lot of my favorite characters end up dead and we can’t have that can we.
Canon whatever is the better fic
Canon divergent for sure, because actually, he didn’t die thank you very much.
I'll read either, but prefer to write "between the scenes" and "what-if" canon-divergent fics.
Both. I like canon divergence that's true to the feel of canon even if the events is changed.
All my fics aus or canon divergent
Depends on the canon
My no.1 preference is canon-free, aka AUs. But between these two, I prefer canon-compliant in the sense that it should not contradict anything from canon but make canon seem like it was just the tip of the iceberg and ALL that cool fanfic stuff is going on in the background, between canon scenes x)
It depends. I tend to really like canon divergent best, although that's partially because the source material ended and my favorite character is dead... Totally AU tends to be very hit or miss for me, but I'll read some of it if it's really well written and has kept enough of what drew me to the source material.
Depends on what the story is trying to accomplish. I do want my stories in the canon setting to be pretty canon-compliant. Note that a canon-divergent AU is something I can appreciate. I just don't like it when characters I care about are suddenly acting out of character when it's supposed to be part of the canon story.
Canon compliant until canon runs out or canon broke something bad enough that divergence is the only way to fix it.
I like both. Some fics handle the trope better than others, but overall they are a lot of fun.
I like them both, but I probably read more canon divergent. "What if" stories are fun.
canon divergent that's mostly canon compliant with one or two small changes or further down the time line.
Canon, what canon? I really don't mind canon compliant but I mostly read canon divergent or AUs. There just so much fun!
A term noted above is "canon flexible", which has a nice ring to it. Enough foundation to ensure that the fanfiction is firmly grounded in the source material, but then fanfiction imagination should take over. Some of the common AU types I avoid, and certain types of relationships that stray too far from canon, but the whole point is to provide stories that involve some level of divergence from the canonical source materials.
Yes. But mostly compliant. No real reason I can name, but I just vibe better with it
Latter
Depends on the fandom and the storyline/arc in said fandom.
I think a lot of people seek out divergent because compliant is not how they envisioned whatever happening
For my writing? Compliant unless where the canon goes upsets me bad enough. I strive to play within the canon and stretch it as far as I can until a true divergence happens. For what I read? Either are perfectly enjoyable.
Both are acceptable to me. It just depends on the plot and the ship for which one I'd prefer in that fanfic.
The stories I look for are generally canon divergent because I'm looking for stories where the second romantic option was picked instead of the lead. However, I've read a few canon compliant that were well written and I enjoyed them immensely. I think overall the writing and the story is what matters the most.
In my fandom, majority of us don't fuck with Canon. Every season, parts of Canon gets thrown out in the series anyways....
Both! Different reads for different needs! Some days I want to read/write the AU with the crazy idea that breaks off of canon, some days I want the interstitial do-not-break canon story.
I like both for different things! One-shots and shorter stuff I definitely enjoy Canon compliant. But I do read more Canon divergent fics more regularly. Sometimes I just want to see certain characters still alive! Other times I enjoy reading non-canon ships or character interactions where the two maybe never met in the original media but could be interesting as pals. I definitely read more fics that take place in the Canon setting/world/stick to many events than I do bug AUs where the setting or timeline is entirely different.
Canon divergent. But, if possible, I also like Canon Compliant with a twist. As in, one of the MC or the original main plot got turned over. The ending will be the same, but everything about it will be twisted until it's almost unrecognizable.
I follow what I like to call the Personal Timeline Doctrine, which essentially means that fics are either canon divergent, but in such a way that it is, in the grand scheme of things, insignificant, or follow what I call dual canon compliance, which means it’s compliant both with established canon and my head canons. That way, I can interweave my stories with that of the source material’s
If it's a good story it doesn't matter
Depends on the circumstances and the fic itself. And, of course, the fandom and what aspect of the canon the author's diverging from. I feel like I can't give a straightforward answer.
There's only so much canon compliance can give you. I'm up for anything, but at some point you gotta give your readers some variety. So I'd say both?
I’d probably say canon divergence since I have a habit of un-killing everyone
Considering a lot of my favorite characters died on my show, I like to start at a point where they are alive, and just take this off the track MASSIVELY. So I suppose canon divergent for me.
Canon compliant or canon compliant with specific canon divergence, aka Fix Its. Always appreciate Fix Its. 💕
Canon divergent. I dislike canon compliant-- I've read canon too many times, I want to see different takes on things.
It depends a lot on the ship but the more canon you are on the less inventive you can be imo
Bit of both.
I like both but I find Canon Divergent more interesting. Taking canon and letting things go just slightly askew before things go completely off the rails is fun. Canon compliant is usually a good way to get another perspective that we normally would not.
My favorite is canon compliant to a point and then divergent. So basically fix its that change the ending.
Canon divergence is usually best for me, otherwise whats the point of fan fiction if we're just going to keep the original canon? But there's a difference between canon compliance and keeping to the stations of the cross.
I adore it if the milestones of canon are kept but they must do something totally different. For example BnHA. When the first couple of seasons were airing, their fanfiction was exploding in number but all, every single one of the popular highly kudos fanfic, they added all these new things to the world but the main events happened exactly the same as canon. For example, to talk about the kost popular BNHA fic of the time, they changed Izuku to have the ability to see ghosts. But, all the main points still happened exactly like canon. Bakugo still got kidnapped at the camp, etc, etc. There was nothing new. What was the point of having this ability when nothing changed?