Grovelfic

Grovelfic (or grovel!fic) is a type of fanfic in which character A realizes that they have treated character B unfairly or not appreciated them enough, and "reforms" or apologizes profusely (i.e. "grovels"), usually because the author favors character B and sides strongly with their viewpoint in conflicts or events that happened in canon. It is often a fix-it story for a particular episode, but can also grow out of a more long term dissatisfaction with character dynamics in canon.
Grovelfic is usually not a self-applied label, but used by others who feel the characters are mischaracterized in a story.
Grovelfic is very closely related to apologyfic. Another related genre is the accusation fic. However, these genres are more concerned with seeing a hated character punished for their misdeeds than with obtaining justice for the favorite.
== Origins ==
The terms grovelfic and apologyfic (originally written Grovel!fic and Apology!fic) were both coined by Rachael Sabotini, in her 1999 essay You Big Bully! Sabotini's essay defined grovelfic as follows:
The essay pointed to three sets of slash couples upon whom these tropes mainly centre: Duncan/Methos from Highlander, Blake/Avon from Blake's 7, and Jim/Blair from The Sentinel. Sabotini wrote that these particular pairings are examples of a "hero/sidekick" relationship dynamic, which has an "ambiguous set of power dynamics". 
Sabotini explained that this active/passive relationship dynamic persisted and was even exaggerated by fans in fanfiction, even "while the fans cry out against it". Fans exaggerated the "masculine" traits of the active character and "feminine" traits of the passive character, leading to a wildly disproportionate power imbalance between the two. These fannish headcanons and characterizations then coloured fans' interpretations of certain events in canon:
This then necessitates the creation of grovelfic by fan writers in order to redress the power imbalance:
Over time, "Grovel!fic" dropped the ! to be written simply as "grovel fic" or "grovelfic". The term seems to have been popular in 2000s LiveJournal and Dreamwidth fan circles, but has seen little to no usage on Tumblr.Performed searches on 4 December 2017: Tumblr yielded no results, and Dreamwidth yielded 15+ results, mostly from posts imported from LiveJournal. ETA: A search for "grovel!fic" on Tumblr returns one result, of a Criminal Minds Reader Insert fic: https://www.tumblr.com/search/grovel!fic (Search performed on 20 Jan 2018).
==Examples of Grovelfic==
*In Stargate Atlantis fandom, the Post-Trinity Phenomenon thematic list compiled by iibnf includes many examples of grovelfic that focus on a bullied or shunned Rodney McKay. Two examples are Sandstorms and Of Duty, Atonement, and Redemption.
*In Starsky & Hutch fandom, post-'Starsky vs. Hutch' grovelfic in which Hutch begs for Starsky's forgiveness for sleeping with Starsky's girlfriend are extremely common. Unusually, several of these do not take place after the episode, but in the gap between the third act and the tag, where it is clear that Starsky and Hutch have reconciled offscreen but there is no canon mention of what the reconciliation entailed. These also are usually more substantial than your standard grovelfic, as most of them also contain an explanation for what led Hutch to commit an act many fans considered OOC and with inadequately explained motives in the episode.
*There are many grovelfics in The Sentinel fandom with Jim as the groveler and Blair as the grovelee (see image), usually with reference to a few specific canon incidents.
**The fic "The End of Time" by Lisa, Duncan's Twin is described by Sandy Hereld as "the most classic version of grovelfic I have seen in quite a while.July 2, 2002 post to Prospect-L by Sandy Hereld, quoted with permission"
* In fanfic for the 2012 Marvel's The Avengers movie, grovelfic with nearly every possible permutation of the six main characters (and occasionally Nick Fury or various supporting characters too) as groveler/grovelee apologizing and taking blame for one of the many, many arguments and misunderstandings in the film abounded on the avengerkink kink meme, to the point of irritating many members.
* A good chunk of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fanfics based on the second season finale, A Canterlot Wedding, has the main character's friends and family apologize to her for dismissing her concerns towards an evil queen disguised as her future sister-in-law.
* Common in Xander-centric Buffy fanfic based on the episode "The Zeppo," in which Xander is excluded from the apparent main plot but stumbles into and deals with another crisis; in canon nobody else ever knows, in fanfic everyone else usually finds out and feels compelled to make a grovelling apology. Usually combined with Buffy-bashing.
* Voltron: Legendary Defender has Keith as either the one groveling or being groveled to, usually taking place after S7E6 "The Journey Within" or relating to the flashback in S7E1 "A Little Adventure." Demand for such fics with Shiro doing the groveling exploded after the final season, from angry Sheith fans who felt Shiro had "abandoned" and "hurt" Keith by not being attached to him at the hip and ultimately marrying someone else.
==Fan Comments on Grovelfic==
In a 2003 LiveJournal post, LJ user seperis made some comments on a meta essay by Smallville fan Liviapenn, entitled, 'Quit Fucking With Lex! The Grovelfic Rant'. While the original essay is sadly not publicly available, seperis uses it as a basis to muse about characterization in grovelfic, and how grovelfic is (to them) the "PWP of pain".
In 2014, a user submitted a rant to the Fandom Secrets Dreamwidth blog about their dislike of grovelfic (using the Sentinel fanart by PeeJ featuring Jim and Blair as a backdrop), which read as follows:
In a discussion thread below the post, some commenters agreed with the OP, likening grovelfic to character-bashing or self-inserts, whereas others maintained that they enjoyed it, or that it was appropriate depending on the canon source material.
==Meta/Further Reading==
* by Martha W (posted 04/16/05, about Hercules: The Legendary Journeys fic)
== References ==
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