Meet Lucile! Known as ‘Lecrit,’ she is a 25-year-old fanfiction author from France.
How long have you been writing?
More or less, 10 years. I started writing when I was about 14. I stopped for a while and picked it up again around 20.
How did you get involved in the Shadowhunters fandom?
I had read the books a while back and seen the movie, but I had never gotten overly involved in the fandom until the show started. I saw some gifs on my Tumblr dashboard, decided to give the show a try and I was hooked pretty quickly. Malec is what made me stick around though.
What is the appeal of fanfiction to you?
I think it mostly comes from re-discovering characters we already love. Through the imagination of fanfiction writers, we see a new side of our favorite characters, in a whole new setting – or not, if the author sticks to the canon universe, but I mostly write them in alternate universes.
It’s also a way to go beyond the books or the show, too. Every media support is limited in time, shape, and place. Fanfiction kind of transgresses that. You want your favorite character to work in a coffee shop? You write that, and if you can’t write, you’ll probably find someone who did. You want them to face issues that weren’t dealt with in the books? You’d rather see that specific character with someone else? You’re probably not the only one, and you’ll probably find a fanfiction for that.
There’s also a part of control, although I’m not sure it’s the right word. We’ve all seen a movie or read a book and thought, ‘It could be so much better if this happened.’
Most importantly though, fanfiction is born out of love for the characters you want to see more of, for the original story you didn’t want to end. We don’t get paid, and yet, it demands hours of hard work. Fanfiction happens when you love so much that you decide to write about it, for free, in your spare time, just for the hell of it.
Overall, it’s a great way to express yourself. Fanfiction allows a certain freedom and a wide range of possibilities that the original support doesn’t.
What character or aspect of the Shadowhunters world makes you want to write?
Magnus first. There is something raw about Magnus, about the way he remains kind in spite of everything he’s been through, that speaks to me.
Then Alec. I think his struggles are probably the more relatable out of all the characters because they are very much real. It’s hard to compare your struggles with Clary’s when she’s thrown into a life where she’s suddenly killing demons on a daily basis, or even with Simon’s when he has to come to terms with becoming a vampire. Those are valid struggles, but I can’t relate to them, whereas Alec’s struggles are human ones: facing his own fears, facing his fear of disappointing his entourage, facing a society that discriminates people like him. Alec is probably the most relatable character of the show.
I took interest in the other characters later, to be honest. I love them all, but not the same way I love Magnus and Alec. As for the Shadowhunters world, I mostly write AUs, so I’m not sure I’m the best person to answer that. I’m here for the characters.
What emotion do you most like to write and why?
I like to think I write about what makes us human, if that makes sense. Love, in all its aspects, grief, pain, friendship, loss, etc. I guess I mostly broach quite dark topics, especially in my multi-chaptered works, but I try to stay as realistic as possible, at least in the way I write emotions.
What is your favorite fanfiction trope?
I’m a sucker for enemies to friends to lovers. The line between hate to love can be incredibly thin, but so easily intertwined and complex, and I think it’s one of the most interesting things to write about. As a reader, I’m all for fics that include kids. I just love kids a lot. Also, I’ll pretty much read anything that has a historical setting or involves politics in some way.
What ships do you ship, and why do you love them so much?
Malec, but I think that was obvious from my previous answers! My other ships are all over the place. I can pretty much ship anyone with anyone as long as it stays in the realm of a healthy relationship. Except for Magnus and Alec, because they belong together. First rule of the Shadowhunters fandom. (Also, don’t ship Alec with girls.)
What has been the best part of your fandom experience so far?
I gain friends, which is always pretty great. And definitely the amazing response I got on my writing. My readers have been incredibly supportive and overly kind to me, and I’m thankful I joined this fandom, if only for them.
Like what you see? You can read Lecrit’s fanfiction on Archive of Our Own, or follow her on Tumblr and Twitter.
