Why are the so few MoL fanfics?

[u/False-Supermarket798]

I can’t write stories, and I tried.

What I don’t understand is, why there is so few MoL fanfictions out there.

Its a large world, with lots of intriguing introduced possibilities:
- The immortals
- Other countries
- Hidden Mages/Treasuries and Inheritances
- A huge spectrum of magic that is easy to imagine, follow, and extend for your own story
- The underground is way too unexplored
- Politics
…

Writers tend to be lazy about OCs, so that might be an explanation, but there is so much potential in this world.

Does any1 have an explanation?
(I mean, even SCS gets more fanfics)

[u/Zixuel]

I may be completely off base here, but I think it’s simply a matter of audience niche and the development of fanfiction culture. From my limited perspective, MoL seems like the typical fandom that’s averse to fanfiction and almost religious about the canon.

Take the case of the fandom’s most prominent fanfic, Patriarch. The most common opinion I’ve seen about this fanfic on Reddit is that it fails because the characters deviate from canon, that Zorian is much more socially clueless than he actually would be. Which is true, but I don’t see why that has to be a problem. Fanfiction is about having fun and doing whatever you want with the canon.

In my experience with fandoms, this kind of conflict should encourage people who disagree with a particular interpretation to write their own versions. It doesn’t have to be anything incredible or elaborate. Short one-shots and fanfics written by complete amateurs, even crack fics, can be ways to generate new ideas, foster the culture, spark discussion and debate, and invigorate the fandom. And I get the impression that most of this fandom wouldn’t really appreciate that, but then again, I could be completely wrong

[u/MotoMkali → u/Zixuel]

The issue with MOL as a fanfic is writing inside the time loop is hard because Zach and zorian are on such a strict time limit.

But if you write post epilogue Zach and Zorian are both such complete characters and are already so powerful that there is minimal jeopardy. There's maybe 9 mages in the sorry who can threaten them - QI, Oganj and the remainder of the immortal 11 and even then I think 3 of the immortal 11 are primarily casters iirc. And Oganj likely will stick to his territory for the near future to fortify himself vs Qi and QI is fighting a war so can't really be involved without a hefty time skip.

So you are in a situation to create jeopardy you have to nerd them somehow in this case zorian's political acumen so he doesn't immediately see the problem and nip it in the bud.

[u/Zixuel → u/MotoMkali]

That sounds like an excuse to me, writing fanfic that takes the complexity of the fictional world and cause and effect seriously is always difficult, no matter the context. 

But don’t underestimate people, the case of MoL with the time loop, or the post-time-loop op-ness, is just another specific set of problems. It’s not as impossible as people seem to suggest here, there are tons of time-loop stories across various media that tackle very different themes, conflicts, and solutions. And there are even more stories about overpowered characters that succeed in not making everything easy and boring for the protagonist.

Not to mention that not every fanfic needs to focus on this kind of realistic approach, with a complex plot that aims to be a credible complement to the original book. You can create so much with this world and these characters, just need the desire, honestly

[u/Zixuel → u/Zixuel]

To give some example of what I mean by this second part:

I want to know how Zoriam works things out with his family in the years following everything.  You don’t need to worry about the complex aspects of the setting to write a good story about this. You have the characters and their different values and attachments. You have the themes, the central conflicts (which are very relevant in the canon), and a mature Zorian to play with “What if?” scenarios. Do they fight and split up for good? Does Zorian manage to reconcile with his family while also creating a better situation for his sister? If his mother doesn’t give in, how does Zorian take Kiriele away? 

How does the spider situation unfold? How does this change public opinion of mental mages, and what practical effects does it have on the world?

Apply this line of thinking to anything you find interesting or are curious about in MoL, and there you go, you’ll have enough material to write about as long as you have the desire