There are strange and frightening places on the Internet, hidden in its darkest corners. One should probably think twice before venturing there. In these corners lay teenage girls’ versions of Twilight and bloody takes on children’s cartoons. That is also where 50 Shades of Grey was born. Fanfiction websites. But what do they have to do with London, you ask? It is a preferred ‘location’ for many fanfics, including those of books or films, whose original storyline takes place on a different planet.
When browsing through a popular fanfiction website, the only city that seems to compete with London’s popularity is New York. But while many Hollywood films are already set in NY, it is harder to determine what the particular appeal of the UK capital is. One is definitely Harry Potter cross-over fanfics. Cross-over fanfictions take two or more stories and put their characters in one setting, blending events and storylines. Like Harry Potter‘s Draco Malfoy chased around the streets of London by True Blood’s vampire Eric Northman.
This, however, is only the beginning of ‘intriguing’ stories set in the old city. A Thor/Captain America cross-over fic is not set in Asgard, nor in America. The action takes place in Peckham instead, where Captain America is looking for his mutant granddaughter.
“They were in Peckham (south London) Looking for a girl who supposedly lived in the rough looking estate… (There) were young children and teenagers running wild, bottles of booze and cigarette packs on the floor. Music was blaring from one block of flats and some girls were dancing to it in the park opposite.”
It seems that in this case, London and more specifically Peckham, is used as a setting because of the dangers of the big city. The idea is a bit of a cliché and the description a little over the top. On the other hand, the author has not bothered to explain why mutants would live there.
And of course, no matter how much we want to escape from Twilight fanfiction, it is impossible. One might think that Queen of the Damned’s legends of vampire bars in London might have interested Twilight readers. And you would be wrong. AU, which stands for alternative universe sets this fanfic, thousands of miles away from the state of Washington. Bella moves to her dad’s place in London, which according to her, is not only ‘gloomy’ but the ‘dreariest’ city in the UK.
“I detested London. I loved Brighton. London was filled with city and havoc whilst Brighton was carefree.”
“I knew that if I’d never gone to London, I would not have been facing death now.”
So depressing and boring, you would die. That’s London for you, according to Twilight fangirls. It will probably get more interesting if Edward arrives out of nowhere to save Bella from getting run over by a Central line train during the rush hour.
Nevertheless, London is often perceived as mysterious and scary, thanks to ghost myths and stories of Jack the Ripper. Fanfic writers take advantage of that. TV show Supernatural fans are the perfect example. However, a children’s show about card games has more gory fics set in London than Supernatural – the Japanese anime Yu Gi Oh. Some of these stories are creepier than any fanfiction based on shows for adults. Just an example:
“In the number of dead bodies found by the London metropolitan police annually, the occasional occult murder is often unnoticed.”
Death seems to be the predominant theme. At least in this case, it is not of boredom. It seems that no matter how much time one spends looking for fanfiction that describes London in a positive manner, there just isn’t any.
“It’s been raining whole day and night. Countless rain drops are pounding all over the windows, creating such a noise that one could easily have it mistaken for a machine gun fire.”
Lastly, if you haven’t had enough of these wonderful London stories, there still are slash fanfics set in the city. These usually have a same sex pairing and are explicit. Just like this AU Final Fantasy story:
“Victorian soap opera starring Reno and Rufus. As the story opens Reno is making a living as a prostitute and Rufus is the only son of a wealthy industrialist.”
So, in summary, it is always raining in London. It is boring, dreary and you will possibly be murdered by an occult group there. This is London, according to fanfiction. However, we still advise you to give the real London a try; or maybe write your own story that portrays the city in a positive light.
By Suzana Dalul
Photo by Suzana Dalul