The website header says Archive of Our Own and below that is a list of items, each of which has a title, author, a few to a dozen tags, a brief synopsis, and some stats. And my name is all over every single one.
“What are those?” I demand.
“Oh …” Jenna sets down her coffee and angles her laptop away from me but I grab her wrist.
“Jenna. What are those?”
She grimaces. “I’m sorry. I heard this was a thing and I wanted to see if it was true. It’s …” she reluctantly turns the screen back to where I can see it. “Fan fiction.”
I scan the titles, most of which are puns on my songs. Then the tags show my name in several formats: Harmony Sonora,Harmony Sonora (Musician), Harmony Sonora romance, Harmony Sonora fanfic, and Harmony Sonora/Riff Hurley or Riff Vs Harm.
“What do you mean ‘fan fiction’? I thought that was for book and movie characters, not real people.” My stomach lurches.
“I know. It usually is, I think. I don’t know. I’m not really into this sort of thing but some of my friends are, so I’ve heard about it.”
“People write stories that reimagine the events of popular fiction,” I state, as though this is law. “Right? Like for Twilight. Fans who were Team Jacob can write their own version of the story and make Bella end up with the werewolf instead?”
“Well, yes, but sometimes they’ll change the setting too. That’s how we gotFifty Shades of Grey, because E.L. James was like, ‘What if Bella and Edward were adults, and instead of living in a small town they lived in Seattle, and instead of Edward being a vampire he was a wealthy businessman who liked BDSM?’ Or you’ll see something likeStar Warscharacters, but inourworld, with jobs in academia—which is how we gotThe Love Hypothesis. I don’t know if either of those were ever on AO3, but the majority aren’t very good. It’s just writers messing around, mostly.”
I get my own laptop and go to the site and search my own name. When I see the number of results that come up, my jaw drops.
With eager and fearful eyes, I scan them, read the synopses, click into a few to see the extent of these stories.
Some of them are fairly innocent, like this one that takes place at a high school:
Brightly Yearningbysonorific123
TEEN+|M/F ROMANCE|CONTENT WARNINGS: NO|COMPLETED WORK
Harmony Sonora (Musician),Riff Hurley (Musician),Real Person Fiction,Hate to Love,Alternate Universe,Sweet Romance,Harmony Sonora/Riff Hurley,Glee
When high school senior rodeo champ Riff Hurley breaks his wrist during a routine, he gets sidelined from the rodeo club for the rest of the season. Still in need of extracurriculars for his college application—and with an unlikely knack for music—he’s forced to join the glee club, where his uptight classmate Harmony Sonora is always the star of the show. At first there is nothing but tension between them, especially as the glee club advisor makes them perform duets and becomes aware of their undeniable vocal chemistry. But Harmony doesn’t want to share the spotlight, and Riff doesn’t want to be there in the first place. Will they learn to *harmonize*—and perhaps fall for each other in the process?
Language: EnglishWords: 12,712Chapters: 22Comments: 4Kudos: 65Bookmarks: 5Hits: 2,123
It’s kind of a fun concept and not written well enough to truly remind me of Riff or myself—other than the use of our actual names, of course.
But other fics take even more liberties with our backstories and personalities, and are much less innocent.
Before I Can BlinkbyNikkiWritesFikkies
MATURE | M/F ROMANCE | CONTENT WARNINGS: YES | COMPLETED WORK
Riff Hurley (Musician),Harmony Sonora (Musician),Alternate Universe,Spicy Romance,Real PersonFiction,Flapper Era,1920s,Romantic Rivalry,Open-Door Scenes
In 1920s NYC, night club singer Harmony Sonora seems to have it all: glitz and glamor, loyal fans, and men vying for her attention—until another performer, Riff Hurley, takes the stage and wows patrons with his charming presence and smooth voice, drawing new crowds. Harmony and Riff become bitter rivals. Week after week they fight for the right to headline. But loathing turns to tense desire, and before they can get their wits about them, they find themselves tangled up in a torrid romance, pleasuring each other wherever they can: in the dressing rooms, backstage, behind parked town cars. Hatred makes the sex hotter, and these two are on fire.
Language: EnglishWords: 9,432Chapters: 15Comments: 87Kudos: 121Bookmarks: 75Hits: 10,444
There are others that imply similar levels of spice, but in different settings, as Jenna mentioned.
Like with a suburban single-dad version of Riff who, after some good old fashioned pride and prejudice, falls for “me” (his daughter’s voice coach) and shows his affection by going down on me after an argument turns into an abrupt confession of feelings.
Or with me and Riff as co-workers at a corporate office competing for the same promotion, only to end up having sex on the desk while working late after everyone else has gone home.
Then, there’s this:
*Grinding* My GearsbyHeather_Madingle
