Why don’t we see more Runeterra fanfics focused on lore (instead of just smut)? ?

[Hannah4Chan]

Hey everyone! ?
I’ve been writing a fanfic set in the League of Legends / Runeterra universe, and I noticed something interesting: whenever you search for LoL fanfics on places like AO3, most of them are… smut. ? Nothing against it, but it makes me wonder: where are the stories that actually dive into the lore, the regions, the cultures, the politics, the wars, the sheer vastness of this world?

Runeterra is insanely rich as a setting: Piltover/Zaun with its industrial revolution, Ionia with spiritual traditions and civil wars, Noxus with its philosophy of strength, Shurima with divine ascensions, Freljord torn by prophecies… And yet, it feels like not many people explore these possibilities.

So I wanted to open this up for discussion:

Why do you think the LoL fandom doesn’t produce many “lore-focused” fanfics?

Is it because the game itself isn’t a traditional narrative, so people connect more with the characters than the worldbuilding?

Or maybe because the LoL fanfic audience tends to lean more towards ships and romance?


Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts! ?
(And of course, if anyone here writes/reads or wants to see more Runeterra lore-driven stories, let’s exchange ideas ?).

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

My honest first thought when I read this is;

What is Runeterra?

I played LoL when it was still just a map on SC2 servers, iv never played the actual stand alone game.

My guess is that many authors are not aware of this world, or the ones that are, are more focused on either their OG works or fanfics of other more well known stories.

I love writing things in less used settings (final fantasy 6 and 7, and the anime - The Great Cleric to name a few) but I would have to know about a world to write about it.

 

[RepresentingWrath]

Because that's how fanfics writers work. They don't care about original work, they simply want cheap fame and money.

 

[Dec]

Because that's how fanfics writers work. They don't care about original work, they simply want cheap fame and money.

Also porn sells better than lore fixes.

 

[DireBadger]

Also porn sells better than lore fixes.

This.

People don't read Harry Potter fanfic because they love Harry. They read it because it has Hermione getting railed by Ron, Harry, and Valdemort. That's the audience.

And, if the website didn't cater to that demographic, it would have separate categories for original fiction and fanfiction, instead of making the original fiction fight for release views with 'Harry bangs all the girls from Pitch Perfect"