#International Fanworks Day 2017

[tokuvivor]

Thanks for the tag on this one, @shychick-52! (Update: And @writebackatya.)

how many fics do you have on ao3?

12.

what's your total ao3 word count?

69,172.

what are your top five fics by kudos?

The Power of Three

Bridging the Gap

We Could Bring You a Hamburger…

One Night Ultimate Duck (Or Hummingbird, or Parrot)

Duckverse June 2023 Prompts (yes, it’s a story collection, but it still counts)

what fandoms do you write for?

DuckTales 2017, mostly, a bit for Super Sentai, did one for the Netflix show Dash & Lily, and I have a couple ideas of fics relating to other shows.

do you respond to comments? why or why not?

Yes! Someone took time out of their day to read my stuff and leave their input on it, and the least I could do is show my appreciation for it in return, and elaborate on any questions they may have.

what's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Shit, I’m really not good with ending stories on a down note; I try to make the endings as satisfying as possible. But I’d say the closest thing to that is for my 6th Webby Week story, Am I Good Enough? (An Internal Battle). It’s basically just Webby wrestling over being chosen by the Papyrus in her mind. Even though it doesn’t end on an outright fairy tale note, she does recognize that it’s okay to not have something that big figured out immediately, and that it’s good to talk about it with other people if you have trouble processing it.

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That’s a tough one. There are probably certain stories I’ll discuss in later answers, so for this one, I’ll go with We Could Bring You a Hamburger…. I mean, it’s just a sweet, simple story about something that absolutely should’ve been shown in canon (Webby getting her first hamburger). It’s just a good, satisfying, slice of life kinda thing.

do you get hate on your fics?

Well, on the second chapter of The Power of Three, I got somebody telling me that Huey shouldn’t be guilty over going against his general Woodchuck instinct and leaving Violet behind, and that he should be jealous and upset with Violet and Lena for insulting him and making him feel miserable. Jesus.

do you write smut?

No. I honestly don’t think I’d be good at it. Especially regarding a show like DuckTales. If I were to, it’d probably be wayyyyy down the road.

do you write crossovers? what's the craziest one you've ever written?

Not actively; if I write something with multiple fandom tags on AO3, it’s mostly because minor elements of one thing are peppered into my DT story.

have you ever had a fic stolen?

No. Thank god.

have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but that’d be interesting.

have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes; I started working with @sisiwritesfanfics on her Super Sentai Couples One-Shot Collection beginning with the second story. We’re currently trying to work on the third.

what's your all time favorite ship?

I don’t know, probably Fendra? But I generally prefer fanworks of them more, especially when stories go more in-depth regarding their relationship than we got in canon. There are others in DuckTales, and other pieces of media, that I really enjoy, though.

what's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

At the moment, none. But there are a couple idea that I have that I don’t know if I’d ever start.

what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, especially between two characters, and being able to really get into characters’ minds.

what are your writing weaknesses?

Writing full-on angst. I can incorporate bits of angst into stories, especially when it’s introspective, but a full story of it just wouldn’t be my thing (so, way longer than Am I Good Enough?). Also, losing motivation at certain points in time.

thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I’ve done bits of gratuitous Spanish or Latin in my stories before, but no full-on dialogue. But I did provide the translated Spanish dialogue between Fenton, Gosalyn, and Webby in @writebackatya’s story Let’s All Go to the Movies!.

first fandom you wrote for?

Technically speaking, I did a piece based on Wreck-It Ralph back in high school for my creative writing class. So that, I guess.

favorite fic you've ever written?

Massive toss-up for me here. The Power of Three is special because it was my first fic, and it focuses on the budding dynamic between Huey, Violet, and Boyd, which absolutely should have been explored in the show. But my other major early idea for a DuckTales story turned into Bridging the Gap. Gandra isn’t written nearly as often alongside Huey, and we only really got a resolution of her relationship with Fenton (amongst main and major recurring characters) in the show, so I wanted to build on the pieces we got between Gandra and Huey in her episodes, which culminated in what I still think is my absolute favorite scene I’ve written. I think the overall edge goes to Power, but Bridging isn’t far behind in my heart.

Tagging @godfrey-the-chaos-duck and @sparklingspidey

[poeticpains]

Remember that crossover fic I mentioned? Well, it comes out on February 15th (International Fanworks Day) and it's a crossover with everyone's favorite Ghoul Boys, Ryan and Shane from Ghost Files/Buzzfeed Unsolved! (Since it's set in 2017, it would be Buzzfeed Unsolved.) They find Everlock...and get a hell of a lot more than they bargained for.

[ao3fujoshevik]

works cited

general works cited, kept updated, that I've used in research for my fanworks.

[not all of these were fully read, and some I read years ago; I just have a Zotero full of the books, articles, etc. if I ever typed or copied something into my worldbuilding masterdoc]

Mental health and psychology:

Fast, Julie A., and John D. Preston. Loving Someone with Bipolar Disorder: Understanding and Helping Your Partner. 2nd ed. New Harbinger Publications, 2012.

Gartner, John D. The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America. Simon & Schuster, 2011.

Jamison, Kay Renfield. An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness. Reed Business Information, Inc., 1996.

———. Touched with Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament. Reed Business Information, Inc., 1996.

Phelps, M.D., Dr. Jim. “The Basics of Bipolar Treatment.” Psych Education (blog), October 8, 2014.

Rantala, Markus J., Severi Luoto, Javier I. Borráz-León, and Indrikis Krams. “Bipolar Disorder: An Evolutionary Psychoneuroimmunological Approach.” Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews 122 (March 2021): 28–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.12.031.

Wallon, Henry. “The Role of the Other in the Consciousness of the Ego.” In The World of Henri Wallon, translated by Donald Nicholson-Smith. Marxists Internet Archive, 1946.

Wootton, Tom. The Bipolar Advantage, 2005.

For my research on the Ainu history:

Dubreuil, Chisato. “Ainu-e: Instruction Resources for the Study of Japan’s Other People.” Education About Asia, Spring 2004.

Fitzhugh, William W., and Chisato O. Dubreuil, eds. Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. Washington, DC: Arctic Studies Center, 1999.

Isabella, Jude. “How Japan’s Bear-Worshipping Indigenous Group Fought Its Way to Cultural Relevance.” Hakai Magazine, October 18, 2017.

Knight, John. Waiting for Wolves in Japan: An Anthropological Study of People-Wildlife Relations. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2006.

Sakata, Minako. “Possibilities of Reality, Variety of Versions: The Historical Consciousness of Ainu Folktales.” Oral Tradition 26, no. 1 (2011): 175–90.

Siddle, Richard M. Race, Resistance, and the Ainu of Japan. London: Routledge, 1996.

For my research on East and Southeast Asian history, culture, religion, and politics [for worldbuilding]:

Bohnet, Adam. Turning Toward Edification: Foreigners in Choson Korea. University of Hawai’i Press, 2020.

Bossler, Beverly, ed. Gender & Chinese History: Transformative Encounters. University of Washington Press, 2015.

Brook, Timothy. The Troubled Empire: China in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. History of Imperial China 5. Belknap Press, 2013.

Chen, Shangsheng. “The Chinese Tributary System and Traditional International Order in East Asia during the Ming and Qing Dynasties from the Sixteenth to Nineteenth Century.” Journal of Chinese Humanities 5, no. 2 (2020): 171–99. https://doi.org/0.1163/23521341-12340079.

Choi, Hyaeweol. Gender and Mission Encounters in Korea: New Women, Old Ways. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.

Chung, Sung-il. “Foreign Relations between Joseon and Japan Seen from State Letters and Sogye in the Late Joseon Period (1600-1870).” Journal of Ming-Qing Historical Studies 52 (2019): 107–42.

Dai, Yuanfang. Transcultural Feminist Philosophy. Feminist Strategies: Flexible Theories and Resilient Practices. Maryland: Lexington Books, 2020.

Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, and Anne Walthall. Pre-Modern East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History, Volume I: To 1800. 3rd ed. Cengage Learning, 2013.

Franceschini, Ivan, and Christian Sorace, eds. Proletarian China: A Century of Chinese Labour. London: Verso, 2022.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching: Transforming Suffering into Peace, Joy, and Liberation. Harmony, 1999.

Hinton, David. Mountain Home: The Wilderness Poetry of Ancient China. New Directions, 2005.

———. The Four Chinese Classics: Tao Te Ching, Analects, Chuang Tzu, Mencius. Counterpoint, 2016.

Hui, Wang. The End of the Revolution: China and the Limits of Modernity. London: Verso, 2009.

Kerr, George. Okinawa: The History of an Island People. Tuttle Publishing, 2018.

Kim, Hyunchul. "The Purification Process of Death: Mortuary Rites in a Japanese Rural Town." Asian Ethnology 71, no.2 (2012): 225-257.

Mair, Victor H., ed. The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2001. [did not read this full thing]

Maltsev, Vladimir. "Lessons from the Japanese ninja: on achieving a higher trade equilibrium under anarchy and private constitutions." Constitutional Political Economy. 33 (2021): 1-12.

Mizoguchi, Yūzō. “The Ming-Qing Transition as Turning Point.” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 17, no. 4 (2016): 526–73.

Ono, Sokyo, and William P. Woodard. Shinto the Kami Way. Tuttle Publishing, 2004.

“Re: ‘Why Was Pyongyang Once Referred to as “Jerusalem of the East”?,’” April 11, 2021. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/mokqsq/why_was_pyongyang_once_referred_to_as_jerusalem/.

Richey, Jeffrey L. Confucius in East Asia: Confucianism’s History in China, Korea, Japan, and Viet Nam. 2nd ed. Key Issues in Asian Studies. Association for Asian Studies, 2022.

Smits, Gregory. Maritime Ryukyu, 1050-1650. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2018.

Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. 3rd ed. W. W. Norton & Company, 2012.

Sung, Sirin, and Gillian Pascall, eds. Gender and Welfare States in East Asia: Confucianism or Gender Equality. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Tham, Chui-Joe. “The Transnational Historiography of a Dynastic Transition: Writing the Ming-Qing Transition in Seventeenth-Century China, Korea, and Japan.” Modern Asian Studies 57, no. 3 (n.d.): 776–807. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0026749X22000245.

Tran, Nhung Tuyet. Familial Properties: Gender, State, and Society in Early Modern Vietnam, 1463–1778. Southeast Asia: Politics, Meaning, and Memory 6. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2018.

u/AsiaExpert. “Re: ‘The Respective Roles of Ninja and Shinobi,’” November 4, 2012. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/12lwoi/comment/c6w7qva/?context=3.

u/EnclavedMicrostate. “Re: ‘As I Understand, It’s Well-Established That Gunpowder and Guns Were Invented in China. Why Didn’t This Lead to a Legacy of Chinese Primacy in Terms of Innovation and Dominance in Firearms Production?,’” October 7, 2022. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/xxsk8r/comment/irdw04c/?context=3.

———. “Re: ‘Were the Ming and Qing Courts Actually Unaware of the Satsuma Invasion of the Ryukyus and Subsequent Japanese Incorporation of the Islands as Vassal States?’” R/AskHistorians, December 18, 2022. reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/zofi5x/were_the_ming_and_qing_courts_actually_unaware_of/j0oyc4k/.

———. “Re: ‘Why Didn’t China Splinter into Different Countries like Europe Did?,’” R/AskHistorians, May 31, 2018. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/8nh0yv/why_didnt_china_splinter_into_different_countries/dzvl249/?context=3.

u/huianxin. “Re: ‘Is There Any Particular Reason Why Korean Queens of the Joseon Dynasty Were Preferred to Be Older than Their Husbands?,’” R/AskHistorians, April 24, 2020. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/g797c7/comment/foi86re/.

u/Iphikrates. “Re: ‘Did Ancient Civilians Get PTSD? What Do We Know of the Psychological Effects of War on Noncombatants, and How They Dealt with Them?’” R/AskHistorians, December 15, 2019. https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/eaupqm/did_ancient_civilians_get_ptsd_what_do_we_know_of/fb01xji/.

u/Julius_Maximus. “Re: ‘In Ming-Qing China, a County Magistrate Was Basically Police Chief/Judge/Jury All Rolled into One. Was There Somewhere Commoners Could Report Abuse of Power or Appeal the Ruling of the County Magistrate?,’” July 12, 2016. reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4sckd6/in_mingqing_china_a_county_magistrate_was/d58ym1r/.

Walthall, Anne, ed. Peasant Uprisings in Japan: A Critical Anthology of Peasant Uprisings. University of Chicago Press, 1991. .

Wang, Tianjun. "Brain in TCM Origin and Short History" in Acupuncture for Brain. Springer, Cham. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54666-3_1.

Yamakage, Motohisa. The Essence of Shinto: Japan’s Spiritual Heart. Kodansha International, 2012.

Philosophy/theory:

Caudwell, Christopher. Pacifism and Violence: A Study in Bourgeois Ethics. Oriole Chapbooks, 1960.

Fanon, Franz. The Wretched of the Earth. Translated by Richard Philcox. New York, NY: Grove Press, 2004.

Lenin, Vladimir Ilyich. Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism: A Popular Outline. Marxists Internet Archive, 2005.

Marx, Karl. Wage Labour and Capital. Edited by Frederick Engels. Marx/Engels Internet Archive, 1999.

Trotsky, Leon. Fascism: What It Is and How to Fight It. Revised. Pioneer Publishers, 1969.

———. The War and the International. Marxists Internet Archive, 1914.

Tuck, Eve, and C. Ree. “A Glossary of Haunting.” In Handbook of Autoethnography, 639–58. Left Coast Press, Inc., 2013.

Tuck, Eve, and K. Wayne Yang. “Decolonization Is Not a Metaphor.” Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education, & Society 1, no. 1 (2012): 1–40.

Zedong, Mao. On Guerrilla Warfare. Marxists Internet Archive, 2000.

Vibes:

Liston, Bonnie Mary. “The Wildness of Girlhood.” Overland (blog), July 2, 2019. https://overland.org.au/2019/07/the-wildness-of-girlhood/.

Peyton. “Notes on ‘Feral.’” The Niche (blog), February 4, 2019. https://the-niche.blog/2019/02/04/notes-on-feral/.

[kingsofeverything]

International Fanworks Day!

It’s the third annual International Fanworks Day and AO3 has this post about it. They’ve got all sorts of stuff going on, so check it out! 

I thought that in our little larrie corner, we could go the extra step today to reblog fic posts and fan art, maybe drop an extra comment or two on AO3, send a message to your favorite author or artist, shout an echoing thank you into the tumblr void, whatever. Anything you can think of to celebrate and say thanks to the people who bring you wonderful fanworks.

[sharkbaitchas]

Assemble

http://archiveofourown.org/works/9776834

My short contribution to International Fanworks Day 2017.

"I can't believe you're making me do this."

Owen smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "You know you want to."

Zach crossed his arms and looked away. Maybe he was looking forward to it. A little bit. A very tiny little bit. But it was probably just Owen's excitement just rubbing off on him. Yep. That was clearly it.

"Do you know what I had to do to get those tickets?" The San Diego Comic Con was in less than two weeks. Owen had always wanted to go. And he was finally dating someone who he could guilt/trick into going with him.

Zach rolled his eyes and threw up his arms. "I do not want to know."

And they were totally dressing up. Head to toe. And it was going to be awesome. "So... I'm thinking..." Owen looked him up and down slowly and smirked. "You'd make a... hot Spider-Man."

Zach glanced sideways at him. "In a skin-tight costume, huh?"

Owen smiled and crossed his arms.

Zach stepped closer and slowly circled Owen. "You could pull off Captain America. Got the arms."

Owen glanced down at his arms and nodded. "Hawkeye's got nice arms."

Zach shook his head quickly. "No."

"Come on. The Hawk is hot, too."

"No one thinks Hawkeye is hot."

"Strong jaw, pretty eyes, good hair, hot body..." Owen grabbed Zach's hand and pulled the younger man closer. He held Zach against him and spun him around. And then lifted him up.

"O, put me down!"

"Nope." Owen said with a smile. "Not until you admit that Hawkeye is hot."

"No!"

Owen spun them around again and lifted Zach higher off the ground.

"Fine!" Zach snapped after a few more dizzying spins. "You can be Hawkeye. The movie one, not the silly comic one with the goofy purple mask hat thing.

"And?"

Zach rolled his eyes. "You'll be hot." He said. "As Hawkeye." He added softly.

Owen smiled brightly and lowered Zach back to the ground. "You?"

Zach stepped back and nodded. "Yeah, Spider-Man's fine." He turned and started walking away. "With a mask on, no one will know I'm even there."

[tinycutefauna]

Anime is not for the faint-hearted

You can also read this on Ao3 here

Rating: G

Fandom: Servamp, Kuroko’s Basketball, Kuroko no Basuke

Characters: Kuro/Sleepy Ash, Shirota Mahiru, Other Characters Mentioned

Word Count: 411

Summary: Just a drabble for International Fanworks Day 2017. Posted here late.

Oneshot

Kuro was on the couch with various snacks gathered around him, and the house was a mess, when Mahiru got back from groceries. The brunette sighed in resignation as he put away his coat and shoes and called out that he was home. Kuro barely looked up from the anime he was watching as he muttered back a ‘welcome home’. Mahiru frowned at that. For Kuro to ignore him completely was quite rare. He wondered what he was watching that had him so engrossed.

By the time Mahiru returned from the kitchen after putting away the shopping, Kuro had already finished the packet of chips he'd opened when Mahiru had arrived. That was another strange thing-Kuro didn't eat that quickly unless he was very excited. But, because of how engrossed Kuro seemed in whatever he was watching, Mahiru decided to do his homework first and talk to Kuro later.

-

Mahiru ran into the living room when he heard screaming. His broom was already in his hand and his eyes darted about for any signs of suspicious activity. The only he saw though was…Kuro yelling at the TV screen? The bluenette was throwing popcorn at the TV as he shouted obscenities and shrieked, paired with a sudden bout of calm when he just lay back and stared at the TV. Mahiru just stared at him in shock. He had never seen Kuro act like this. “Kuro?” Mahiru whispered to his Servamp. Kuro turned glowing red eyes towards him. “How the hell could Tadatoshi-san do this?! Right after Kuroko had his heart broken by Aomine giving up and Akashi changing completely?!!! Why did Ogiwara have to be affected too? This isn't fair to Kuroko!!! He deserves so much better than this!!! I swear, if they don't fix this mess in the next couple of episodes, I'm going to murder something!”

Mahiru just stared at his Servamp numbly. What had just happened? Kuro, who was passionate about literally nothing, was yelling at him regarding a- Mahiru checked on the TV-an anime? Since when was Kuro so obsessed with anime? And a basketball one that required a lot energy? Kuro suddenly deflated, “You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?” Mahiru shook his head quietly. Kuro sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “Why can't I know someone to scream about anime with?” He asked with sorrow in his voice. Mahiru just looked at the bluenette, wondering if he had always been that crazy.

[molotov-tea-cosies]

Happy International Fanworks Day! So many fandoms and all the creative art and writing that comes out of them have such significance for me. Here’s a Hannigram drawing I did back in December 2016 for the Hannigram Holiday Exchange. The thread-looking things are mycelium. <3 <3 <3

[fffinnagain]

10 Years of Sherlock (TV)  AO3 stats!

Sherlock fans, new and old, click below to read a long list of graphs and comments about our communities fanworks over the last 10 years. I scraped AO3 again and demonstrate that:

More creators are writing longer works in 2020

Readers engaged more as the fandom changed after S4

Top ten new tags per year for the last 10 years

And a lot more. 

PS the code to gather this data and analyse it can be found way over here. 

Activity over 10 years

The last 10 years in the BBC Sherlock fandom have been tumultuous, but this community persists, with engagement from new fans and continued creative output. To commemorate over a decade of squee, I’ve done another scrape of the fandom’s imprint on the Archive of Our Own and will share some insights from the numbers in these plots. A very late update on my post S4 snapshot from 2018.

Note: This analysis is of completed public fanworks only, about 101000 of the 122000 Sherlock (TV) works available at present. This is to remove the late WIP effect, which adds a bulge to the last few months, and out of respect to creators who wish to have their material reserved for other registered AO3 users.

The works are still coming

Counting the number of works posted per day, we can see the peaks associated with each series airing (in UK and US). After that, the number of works continues fairly evenly, 20-30 per day, plus seasonal peaks. This rate is continuing on without a hint of new canon in sight. So who is posting all this work?

Creator-waves, monthly output

Years ago I started plotting creator waves, basically I group fanwork producers by the year they first posted to the fandom and then count how many of this group are active in later time intervals. This lets us get a sense of how long people are contributing and whether new fans are getting the urge to create. 

This plot of the Sherlock (TV) fanworks on AO3 shows the standard shape of plump participation in the first year of any given set of creators, followed by a slowly thinning tail as they because less active over time. Turnover is natural in fandoms, with most only posting a work or two within a fairly limited amount of time, while a precious few persist for years.  The surprise for me here is that the ratio of new creators is higher in 2020 than it was in 2019. Maybe the excuse of lockdown encouraged more folks to take a turn at creating content. 

Another way to look at the output of fan creators on AO3 is to see the total amount of words being shared across all fanworks. The total has been pretty close to 300-400k words per month since 2018! To get a sense of what that means per work, I also plotted the median number of words per fanwork in these monthly sets. The median in higher in the last year than it had been staying for a while. 

Reader behaviour: Hits & Kudos & Comments

Fan creators are only part of the story. Stats on engagement are a bit trick to interpret, I’ve got some plots here that tell us something about how works have been engaged with over time. 

The obvious first to consider is Hits. Above is the total number of Hits given to works published each month. This is the current totals, not a historical snapshot, so we have a very strong bias  towards early works, what we might call the Classics Effect. Works that have been around longer have had the chance to be seen by more people, and in particular those works that become must-read classics in a fandom, extending their exposure through prominence in top ranked works and recommendations. 

To cut down on the advantage of the classics, we can also consider median hits per work for each month. As most works get a lot attention when they are first posted and then fade out of sight, the median number of hits reflects instead the ratio of readers to creators, basically how many eyeballs are around to look at the latest work, regardless of status. The median plot shows how the hyper-visibility of the few work available before 2012, and then a more steady curve once the fandom had gotten established on the platform after Series 2. Amazingly, the hit rate for the median work was steady through the big bumps in activity with later series, a 1000 hits for median works between 2013 and 2018, followed by a slow decline. I’d expect the 2020 works to continue gaining for a few months yet, but the median is probably 50-60% of what is was when the show was in production.

Kudos counts and medians show a similar story to hits, but there is a dip down around 2013 for kudos reflects the frenzy of productivity that saw the fandom grow during the Series 2 hiatus. Readers were getting spoiled! From the airing of Series 3 (2014) until a year following Series 4 (2018), the median work received an even 60ish kudos and 1000 hits, a niche audience that decreased to 50/750 through 2018-2019. The numbers of 2020 suggest a smaller community of readers again, though these numbers may still rise a bit in the next few months before the median works are forgotten. 

The statistic that tells a different story is Comments. Looking at the total comments counts, there isn’t a drop after Series 3 (2014). Instead, the fandom compensated for changing numbers with more feedback and discussion attached to works. This is reflected in the median comment rate as well, which shows seasonal variation but doesn’t really drop off until 2020.

It’s remarkable that without fresh canon we continue to have new creators contributing to the fandom, and while that may be outpacing the readership somewhat, the standard of engagement has been very high. One could say the fandom is chugging along quite nicely!

What about Tags

So, with all that turnover and shifting population, is there a change in the kinds of works being posted? We can look at tags, all tags and freeform tags, to see if there were any meaningful trends. 

First up, I did a creator-wave like analysis of works just for tags, to see how tags continue to be used after being introduced. Unlike the creators, tags clearly persist for years. After 2015, it looks like the core tag set has been established, with very few tags persisting in usage per  subsequent year.

This graph reports numbers over time that are not proportional to the number of works or creators active. Instead, works on AO3 have been getting more and more tags over the years, with the average steadily growing from 5 in 2011 to 15 in 2020, with freeform tags (not characters or ships) from 2 to 8.

To get a sense of fic and tagging culture changes over time, I counted the most popular NEW tags of each year (wave). Note: this analysis is using exact matches, not the networked associations of tag meanings wrangled into AO3 today, so some things that pop up aren’t new concepts but instead newly popular TAGs for whatever they represent. 

2011: 2752 (First year, so all solid stuff, tags that continue to be popular forever)

Angst                 323

Fluff                 232

Humor                 216

Hurt/Comfort          188

Romance               168

Friendship            168

Crossover             138

Crack                 121

Alternate Universe    119

First Time            106

2012: 11637 (still early, first references to Series 2)

Fluff and Angst                           145

Episode: s02e03 The Reichenbach Fall       97

Kid Sherlock                               54

Puppies                                    50

Sad                                        48

Episode: s02e01 A Scandal in Belgravia     47

Mathematics                                42

Season 2 spoilers                          38

Omega Verse                                38

Feels                                      38

2013: 16176 (Omegaverse nomenclature is growing, Top/Bottom terminology, new challenges)

Alpha Sherlock                               65

Omega John                                   61

30 Day OTP Challenge                         59

Tumblr: letswritesherlock                    56

Top John                                     49

Sherlock Holmes Returns after Reichenbach    44

Bottom Sherlock                              40

Reichenbach Angst                            30

Don't copy work to another site              29

Age Regression/De-Aging                      27

2014: 19256 (Mostly Series 3 related

Episode: s03e03 His Last Vow         249

Episode: s03e02 The Sign of Three    167

Post-His Last Vow                    149

His Last Vow Spoilers                142

Sherlock Series 3 Spoilers           128

2000 AU                              100

The Sign of Three Spoilers            74

Fatlock                               72

Post-The Sign of Three                66

Post-Season/Series 03                 57

2015: 14272 (New challenges, new prominent Sherlolly tags)

Chats                                      47

International Fanworks Day 2015            34

Watson's Woes July Writing Prompts 2015    27

S3 referenced                              25

Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper Kissing       22

English Accent                             22

Sound cloud                                19

Eventual Sherlock Holmes/Molly Hooper      19

Protective John Watson                     18

but not that kind of graphic               17

2016: 13517 (New stylistic tagging, TAB references, a lot of epilepsy?)

Slowwww burn                         92

John Watson Loves Sherlock Holmes    37

Sherlock Holmes Loves John Watson    33

post-tab                             30

JME                                  27

Post TAB                             25

Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy          23

Sherlolly Appreciation Week 2016     19

epileptic                            19

fraternal love                       17

2017: 15067 (Series 4 tags and challenges)

Episode: s04e02 The Lying Detective         133

Episode: s04e01 The Six Thatchers            93

Post TFP                                     73

Sherlock Series 4 Spoilers                   69

Episode: s04e03 The Final Problem            60

Post-Episode: s04e02 The Lying Detective     55

Sherlolly Appreciation Week 2017             50

Post S4                                      48

Sherstrade Month 2017                        44

31 Days of Porn Challenge 2017               41

2018: 10733 (Lost of new challenges, seasonal and weekly)

Towel Day 2018                       64

Mystrade Valentines Calendar 2018    25

Kinktober 2018                       23

Pregnant Molly Hooper                23

Soft Smut Sunday                     23

Tom Robbins                          23

Sherlolly Appreciation Week 2018     21

Inktober 2018                        20

established universe                 16

Always1895                           16

2019: 7785 (More prompts, and character attitudes)

Sherlolly Appreciation Week 2019    25

221B Autumn Challenge               21

A-Z Christmas Prompt                19

KatsJohnlockXmas2019                16

Whumptober                          11

Poor Greg Lestrade                  11

Kinktober 2019                      10

Dissonance                          10

John Watson is a Good Friend         9

Sleepy Sherlock Holmes               8

2020: 8074 (Not all COVID related, thank heavens)

Mystrade Monday                           59

COVID-19                                  48

Coronavirus                               46

Mystrade Monday Prompts                   40

Whumptober 2020                           36

warning for a covid-19 setting            33

Flufftober prompts 2020                   24

Do Not Translate                          24

they're all right they're just at home    23

Granada Sherlolly                         21

A little note from looking across all freeform tags, not just the new ones, we see a curious pattern with regards to two actions: First Kiss and Anal Sex. They appear amongst the most common tags as of 2014, neck in neck for two years, than Anal Sex drops off the top ten in 2016. From there out, First Kiss stays in the top 5 from that point on, while anal sex appears at rank 9 from 2017-2019 and is gone again in 2020. This probably says something about the fandom, somehow. 

Bravo for making it to the end and thank you for reading! 

Questions/comments welcome.

[olderthannetfic]

It’s International Fanworks Day and also the 30th and final post in this series. If you follow my tumblr, you know that my true fandom isn’t buddy cops or Highlander or any of those things. No, my true fandom is...

WANK

No matter which bitchy piece of fujo-course nonsense you’re looking at on tumblr, no matter which debate about WNGWJLEO or women in slash or fanfiction vs. media you're reblogging, your grandma was having that fight in a zine somewhere in 1985 and at Escapade in the 90s.

Here’s a vid review from 2002:

"History Repeating," [...] was an Amanda vid. In-fucking-credible. Who knew? Who knew I could like Amanda? Who knew there were fresh HL clips I hadn't seen a thousand times before in HL vids? (Of course, as someone pointed out, she had her own spin-off.) This rocked--sharp, fast cutting and pretty, pretty shots, with a hot bisexy vibe running through it. And, you know, people like to say that there's all this self-hating misogyny in fans--you know, that women hate shows about women, hate women characters breaking up the OTP, etc. But when you see a femme-centric vid like this bring down the house, you really have to wonder. Is it misogyny, really, or is just that we usually see a bunch of crap representations of women in media and resist them?

So on the theme of There Is Nothing New Under The Sun, here is a selection of past Escapade panels on gender, representation, and problematicness:

1993 - Anti-Feminism in Slash Fandom (Or, how 'it was never this good with a woman' syndrome... where are the women, and why do we care?)

1995 - Why Lesbians Read Slash - (What's the attraction? Why do they care? Why do they write it?)

1996 - Character Bisexuality: Convenient fiction or character trait? (Is this a good compromise between "We're not gay, we just love each other" and "I was gay all along and just faking it with women"? Or is this too easy? Special mention for the stereotypical bisexual villian who's evil, sexy, and can come on to everyone.)

1996 - Female Heroes: Female Empowerment, or male power in women's bodies? (Give a woman a gun and make her really tough. Wow, cool! yes, or no? Are we celebrating women, or are we merely putting breasts on male action heroes? Heroines under discussion may include (but not be limited to) Sara Connor, Ripley, Vasquez, Thelma & Louise.)

1997 - Gender Astigmatism (The Gender Continuum: in what we read, in what we write, and what we are, there is always a connection with a point on the gender continuum. How do our definitions of "feminine" and "masculine" influence our creativity? Where do bisexual characters fit in? (besides there, you dirty-minded person!)

1998 - Xena: Does Girl-Slash Get Us Going? (Xena is the first show with a feminine couple to be really popular. What kind of slash fans are interested? Does gender orientation matter? Or do slash fans love slashy couples regardless of their gender? Can m/m fans be 'converted' to f/f fans?)

1998 - Bastards & the Women Who Love Them (When Methos says, "you live to serve me," any normal '90s woman says, "I don't think so!... or does she? A happy contemplation on the virtues of handsome thugs.)

1998 - Slash: a Continuation of Women's Writing, led by Constance Penley (In case you didn't know, in her recent book NASA/TREK (yes, the slash is intentional), she addressed slash as a continuum of women's writing, combining women's romance, and the male quest romance. Join her for a discussion of slash -- where it was, where it is, where it might be going.)

1998 - The Trauma of Slash Fans in Het Fandoms (Or, what to do when find women doing all that cool, tough-guy stuff you love.)

1999 - Male Slash Fans - Welcome Voice, or Infringement? (Slash is written by women for women — or is it? The Internet has attracted new fans, including the "male slash fan". Who is he? What does he think of what "we" do? Do we care?)

2002 - Femslash (General discussion on female/female slash fiction. If Buffy wanted something cold and hard between her legs, why didn't she just choose silicon?)

2003 - Slash: Feminist political act or really good porn?

2005 - Where have all the lesbians gone? (When some slash lists explicitly state m/m only, where do you go for femslash? Are there any hot femslash couples? Pimp your femslash fandom here, or bemoan the lack of strung female characters in the current conservative social climate.)

2007 - Femslash: The Other Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name (Femslash. It's a work that makes some of our hearts leap for joy and inspires complete and total disinterset—or even dislike and disdain—in others. Where can we find the good stuff? What makes it good? And what's up with the haters?)

2007 - SGA: The Women of Atlantis (What do we like about how the women of SGA are written and portrayed, and what makes us wince? What do we think about how their issues are being woven into the show's narrative?)

2008 - Gay is Not Slash (...even though slash is sometimes gay. The current argument about m/m romances by women as taking recognition *away* from male gay writers, depends on m/m writing being intended as gay lit. And slash, for one, isn't, even if there can be overlap. What overlaps? What doesn't? What examples do fans like?

2009 - Female Character Stories: Halfamoon, Full Moon or Just Moony (F/f slash, and other stories centered on female characters, are gaining visibility in fandom. Are there things fens will write about women that we won't about men? (Given MPreg, *are* there?) Should f/f be like m/m, or is it unavoidably different?)

2011 - My ***** is Not Ideologically Driven, But is it Homophobic (Slash fandom often sees itself as a mostly liberal community. IDIC, right? But recently there's been a slash backlash: it's anti-feminist, a 'symptom' of internalized misogyny. We're 'erasing' the women characters after all. Is slash homophobic? Does slash fandom appropriate gay culture? Is it awesome and ennobling as it makes us happy in our panties, or is all that self-hatred bubbling just beneath the surface of our porn?)

2012 - Natural Woman (We've lamented the lack of strong, believable female characters (who dress appropriately). But now we have them: Gemma Teller and Audrey Parker; Salt and Haywire; we've got Bechdel-passing women who look like they can throw a punch. Still, most of them are in the sci-fi or action genre, so are we really seeing progress? And what are we doing with them, as fans?)

2012 - Don't Call It a Bromance (It's Just Canon) (TPTB are increasingly aware of slash, and bromance is regular fare on TV canon these days. Does overt bromance make the fic and art hotter or just vanilla? Is there an anti-slash backlash in our shows? Is the emphasis on men's relationships making women disappear? Inquiring minds want to know. If you have answers, theories, or just want to squee, join in the fun!)

2014 - (The End of?) Ladybashing in Slashfic (Slashfic used to regularly feature bashing of female characters. Now, blatant bashing seems less fashionable. If you recognize this trend, let's talk! Were most ladybashing fics ones for juggernaut pairings in megafandoms, or were they everywhere? What's causing the change: more women in leading roles/ensemble casts, fic writers being more conscious to avoid bashing ladies even if they're not their favorites, more willingness to blame show writers' bad writing (instead of the character being just bad/evil/stupid) for bad female characters, or something else entirely?)

2015 - Fifty Shades of Fandom (Fifty Shades of Grey has become the representation of fan fiction in mainstream culture. It’s bad fan fiction, and it’s being used to ridicule women while making millions off women readers and viewers. Can we connect with these women: proto-fans who would love to read, and maybe write, great fan fiction if they found it? Can we use the FSoG phenomenon to expand our community? Does keeping our doors closed and our mouths shut perpetuate both monetization of our fan culture and misogynist scorn?)

2016 - Who Are We? (How do we define ourselves in this age of so many OT3s and team orgy pairings? Does m/m/f count as "slash"? Is slash-only space slipping away? (And would that be bad?) Do m/m and f/f belong together more than they do with m/f? Is "Media Fandom" a valid term any longer? Who are we if we start shipping het?)

2016 - Ladies Loving Ladies. (There would seem to be enough queer women in fandom to write/want more f/f. Do lesbians write f/f, m/m? Both? Do straight women? Or are we still missing the iconic female characters and relationships that create a great slash fandom? Did they figure out the answer to this question at TGIF/F and if so, what is it?)

2016 - By Us For Us (Fic, even kinky slash, is practically mainstream these days. The ebook revolution puts publishing within reach of almost anyone. Sundance hits have been filmed on iPhones. So why aren't fangirls making more media? Or is it happening right under our noses? Is this a place where our women's gift economy does our community a disservice? Discuss what's out there, what we'd like to see, and what's holding us back.)

2017 - LGBTQIA+ in Slash Fandom (Queer fans have always been here. In a subculture often defined as "for" straight women, what do we as fans have to say about non-straight, non-cis, and non-conventional sexuality and gender in fanfiction, in fandom, and in the larger culture?)

2018 - Confronting the Tensions Between Slash and Queer Representation (Slash fandom thrives on homoerotic subtext. Many queer fans are unwilling to settle for this quasi-representation. Part of every slash fandom seems loudly invested in their ship becoming canon. Some are queer fans who want actual textual representation in their favorite shows, and some are fans using queer politics to fight ship wars. Then the “slash is not activism” posts make the rounds. Is slash activism? Is advocating for slash ships in canon the same thing as advocating for queer representation?)

2018 - Representing Slashers (What does "representation" in the media mean to us? We know what more gay or POC representation means, but what about slash fandom, which is largely female and focused on bodies that don't resemble our own? Would better female characters in media better represent us? Or male characters written for a female audience? Come talk about the intersection of slash, personal identity, and media representation.)

2018 - Anonymity in Slash Fandom: Choosing to Hide (Why do the majority of slash fans hide their hobby? Is it fear of blackmail? Embarrassment? Fear of losing employment? How does this affect your happiness? How does this affect your security? What would an ideal world look like? Who would/have you told about your interest in slash? Who would you never, ever, tell?)

2019 - Fandom Post-Slash? (In an era of "ships" and #pairing #tags on Tumblr and AO3, has the "slash" label lost its meaning? Same-gender pairings are as popular as ever and fans still ID pairings with a virgule between the names, but how many fans still call m/m and f/f slash or femslash? How many fans identify as "slashers?" Het and slash were opposing binaries which few fans crossed. Are these barriers breaking down? What purpose has the term "slash" served? Has fandom moved

past it and, if so, what does that mean?)

[kira-ani-mcgrath]

I am redeemed You set me free So I'll shake off these heavy chains And wipe away every stain Now I'm not who I used to be I am redeemed

"Redeemed" by Big Daddy Weave

I drew this picture specifically to go with the personal story below the cut. Thank you in advance if you take the time to read it, but no worries if you don't. Either way, have a wonderful day.

Late December 2018 was when the Frozen II calendar leak began circulating. Included in the leak was information on the Russian caption for the page, translated to be a vague movie summary. This plot teaser stated that the group (Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven) would be heading north into the forest due to some Arendelle-related mystery.

This was a bit of a let-down for me. You see, since my initial introduction to Frozen in 2013, I have been hoping and praying that the inevitable sequel would include Hans' redemption as part of the narrative (for various reasons that are too lengthy to detail here). Such a plot thread would be easier to accomplish if Frozen II involved travel to some other kingdom (or multiple kingdoms), especially the Southern Isles. With the information revealed in the plot spoiler, it was harder to picture a scenario where Hans would join the rest of the gang for an adventure. Yes, it could be done, but it would be more convoluted, possibly to the point of not being an option altogether. Perhaps I was being too pessimistic, but there was no denying the fact that I was feeling rather down about Frozen II.

A few days later, I was driving home with the radio on, but I wasn't paying attention to it. Instead, I was once again mulling over various ways Hans could be redeemed in Frozen II. Yet the more I considered possible scenarios, the more it seemed that the movie's revealed plot would make Hans' redemption an unrealistic feat. I reached the end of my train of thought, and, feeling disheartened, mentally chided myself, "I should just give up. Hans isn't going to be redeemed in Frozen 2."

At that precise moment, the opening notes of "Redeemed" began to play on the radio. Being quite familiar with the song, I immediately laughed and pointed an index finger to the sky. Not only was the title of the song the exact word my mind had just used, but I have long associated this song with Hans (one of many songs, but also one of my favorites). I had no doubt this was the Lord confirming something to me, as this was not the first time such a "coincidental" occurrence has happened.

It's important to know that, in the years since Frozen, I have created (and am still creating) multiple fanworks that posit different takes on how a Hans redemption could come about (and that's not including all the ideas I've had that aren't developed enough for full-fledged works). There have been several times when I've questioned the value of creating such things, only to have affirmation of my work come from unexpected sources at just the right time. Additionally, I have had many such question-and-confirmation experiences in my life, as well as a noticeable increase in the quantity of such instances within the past several months (albeit unrelated to Frozen and instead dealing with various other matters, such as my faith, my most recent pregnancy, and random everyday life things). Thus, when this specific incident occurred, I immediately recognized it as yet another such moment.

Since that night in December, I'd been internally debating sharing this anecdote with the world. Every few days or so my mind would recall the incident and I'd consider posting about it, but I'd always end up deciding against it. After all, it is highly personal, and it takes quite a bit of explaining to impart the importance of this experience (and I'm still leaving out personal details which make it much more powerful to me). This went on for some time. In mid-late February, I was once again musing upon the occurrence and whether or not I should share it. I jokingly thought to God: "If I hear 'Redeemed' on the radio this morning I'll take it as a sign I'm supposed to share this." And, since you are reading this post, you must know where this is going. I already had the radio on, and after getting back in my vehicle after child drop-off, I flicked through my presets to find a song I wanted to listen to. And, lo and behold, my second-to-last preset was playing the first verse of "Redeemed." (Granted, all of my presets are Christian radio stations, so that does put the odds more in favor of my "wager" coming true. On the other hand, the song is from 2012. That means it's 7 years old, and I honestly didn’t hear the song very often at the time, as more recent songs get played much more frequently. In my mind, the proposition was a joke, but I suppose I should have known better, since a lot of my recent question-and-confirmation experiences have been me joking and God proceeding to do the thing.) And thus, here we are. The large time gap between the second occurrence and this post is because 1) I take a while to get my thoughts out and refine them into something fit for public eyes, especially in a personal case such as this one, 2) it seemed appropriate to do some art to go with this, since I've been lacking in productivity in the creative departments for some time, and 3) life things requiring my attention.

On an interesting side note, I had three additional confirmations of this post while I was working on it.

#1) When I said, "There have been several times when I've questioned the value of creating such things, only to have affirmation of my work come from unexpected sources at just the right time," there's a particular incident that sticks out to me. One night in 2016, I stayed up late finishing chapter nine of my fanfiction, Frozen: Sacrifice and Forgiveness. Even though I posted the chapter, I was really depressed about it. Thoughts such as, "Is this really something I should be investing so much time in?" and "Does God actually want me to write this story?" weighed heavily on my mind, though I kept them to myself. After some internal arguing, I directed an unspoken question to the Lord: "Is this really what I should be doing?" Not much later, before going to bed, I checked my phone and saw an email from FF.net saying I had a comment on the latest F:SaF chapter. The comment was from a fellow Christian who had read through the posted chapters and was very encouraging about my story. It was just the right kind of affirmation at precisely the right time. Fast-forward to Wednesday, February 27th, 2019. I checked my phone in the morning and saw an email from AO3 that someone has left a comment on the last posted chapter of F:SaF. This was quite surprising, as I haven't updated the fic since September 21st, 2017. The comment was very positive, and it immediately reminded me of this post, which was a WIP in a computer document at the time. Not only did the new comment correlate to the aforementioned unexpected sources of encouragement, but F:SaF has been on my mind recently in terms of working on it again. Then, as the cherry on top, I was listening to the daily scripture reading on the radio while driving to work that morning, and the song that came on immediately afterward was "Redeemed".

#2) On Friday, March 1st, I had finished this post to my general satisfaction (as I knew it still required minor edits, plus I still had to finish my drawing) before getting ready for work. Upon entering my vehicle, I thought, "Wouldn't it be funny if 'Redeemed' played on the radio again?" I then instantly berated myself: "That's dumb. You don't need to be looking for confirmation of things all the time." I then flicked through my presets, and the first verse of "Redeemed" was playing on my second-to-last preset — the same song position and the same preset as when I was debating whether or not to make this post.

#3) On Friday, March 8th, I thought to myself as I was getting ready for work, “I really need to finish that post.” When I started my car, the radio was on, but I didn’t care for the song it was playing, so I jumped to my first preset. “Redeemed” was playing, starting from the very first word of the first verse.

Now, the question is: what was being confirmed to me with the original occurrence in December? The most straightforward answer is Hans' redemption in Frozen II. Mind you, not a redemption based on worldly methods such as "cleaning yourself up" and "earning it," but rooted in the Christian standard of unconditional love, mercy, grace, and faith. I'll admit, it seems far-fetched, given the fact that Disney is not a Christian company and the creative team has no Christians on it (AFAIK). Then again, "What is impossible with man is possible with God." Still, I have thought of other meanings for this incident. Perhaps it was simply a reminder to not get so depressed over a fictional character. Perhaps it was merely encouragement to keep going with my various fan projects, despite Frozen II looming in the distance. Perhaps it was a nudge that the sequel would contain a small hint of a future Hans redemption. Of course, that all sounds like me trying to talk myself out of trusting God for something amazing, as I am prone to doing. It's a struggle to wait on the Lord (especially for someone like me who hates surprises and wants to know things ASAP), but the truth of this incident will be revealed when the time is right.

One may wonder why God would care about a fictional character or a fictional story. It's not that He cares about those things in and of themselves, it's that He cares about His children and the salvation of humanity. My prayers (which are mostly just God-directed thoughts as I go about my day) regarding Hans' redemption were always something along the lines of, "Hey, God, it'd be really awesome if Hans gets redeemed in a way that reflects how Jesus saved us." Then I would mentally argue with myself about even making such a request, and always end at a variation of "Whatever is best, Lord." Though a fictional character's redemption is trivial in the grand scheme of things, God can use the most unexpected means to reach someone regarding a matter of eternal importance. He knows that, for me, this isn't just about a fictional character — it's about using that character's story to connect real people with the hope of the Gospel. Frozen was a movie with weak morals and a character that is looked down upon as irredeemable by the majority of viewers. If, by the grace of God, the sequel displays true love and redemption, then perhaps one soul out there will see the truth: anyone can be saved because Jesus can save anyone.

Feel free to message me if you aren't comfortable utilizing public replies or reblogs. Thank you for reading, and God bless you.

Update (Sept. 4th, 2019): So I’ve been lurking on a few Discord servers for a while now in addition to my Tumblr lurking, and overall there is a very negative attitude regarding Hans returning in F2. It’s coming from all directions: antis/haters who don’t want him in it, neutral parties who don’t see an available role for him to play, and fans who have lost hope due to lack of news. Last night I had an unpleasant dream on the subject. While the specifics are hazy, I know it involved the fandom discussing Hans’ absence in the movie. When I was going about my business this morning, I thought about the dream, this post, and the incident that brought this post into being. I mentally argued with myself, as I often do, about the situation. Lately, I too have been feeling disheartened on this matter. As I said, the fandom as a whole has been negative about this, so it was starting to get to me. In addition to that, as new leaks reveal more of the story, the chances of Hans appearing in any meaningful fashion get slimmer. However, no matter how bleak the outlook, I was given a supernatural sign to keep hope in a Hans redemption. Still, there was always the possibility I had interpreted the incident incorrectly, and adding in the other factors at play, this morning I was once again questioning God. I wanted another sign or some kind of spoiler-type proof, then scolded myself for being greedy and for seeking worldly validation of what God has said (instead of trusting Him to fulfill His promises). I had the radio on KLOVE as I was driving, and one of my “Hans songs” came on. It was a “lower tier” one (a.k.a. one I don’t like quite as much as others), so as I listened to it I thought, “It’d be nice if the next song after this was another good song, but one of the top-tier ones. It’d make me feel better about this whole thing.” Of course, I then chided myself, thinking, “Why are you always asking for stuff? Isn’t what you have already enough?” The song came to an end, and the next song began to play. It was “Redeemed.”

[witcheryen]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The West Wing Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: C. J. Cregg, Jed Bartlet, Charlie Young, Sam Seaborn, Toby Ziegler, Josh Lyman Additional Tags: International Fanworks Day, International Fanworks Day 2017, Hamilton References, Drabble Summary:

In which the West Wing geeks out over Hamilton.

[angelholme]

Teaser Trailer 2017 - coming soon to AO3

[musicbooksdragons-blog]

Percival wasn't sure which was stranger: the fact that this was happening, or the fact that he was loving it.

[writteninvisibly]

I’m!!!! So excited that it’s almost February (kind of)!!!! I can’t wait to write this year’s Valentine’s and IFD fics!!! Hell yeah!!!

PS: I’m taking ideas for ships to use for this year’s Valentine’s Day fic! So far I’ve written one in 2016, two in 2017, and two in 2018

I’ll also take prompts for this year’s International Fanworks Day fic. I’ve written four of those so far. 2015 (this is my very first published work) 2016 (See also: Valentine’s Day fic circa 2016 lmao) 2017 (Not some of my best work, I’ll admit) 2018 (This one’s actually hilarious)

@hell-yeah-writing @ellfewritings @wannaseemypoetry

[laxiflorum]

Aaaaahhhhh, it’s International Fanworks Day!!!!!!! I’ve been really busy and basically dropped off the grid for about half a year now but since I first celebrated IFD back in 2016, I’ve always tried to make time for it. Good thing it’s half term then, eh?

So this year’s theme is classic fanworks so here’s a list of fandom classics. I think I’ll probably do them in rough chronological order I’ve read/seen them and by fandom.

My Little Pony (MLP)

Lullaby for a Princess (Animation) by WarpOut, (technically scored by Ponyphonic) Pretty sure everyone’s cried watching this for the first time. The artwork is absolutely stunning: the detail in the background is beautiful, the characters’ movements are nice and smooth, and the dynamics of the fight scene were incredible. And how the colours just kind of bled into her hair as we were coming down from the climax; I saw somebody’s interpretation of that moment comparing it to someone’s hair going white due to stress from a traumatic event and yes. Imagine, in the far future when everypony admires her rainbow mane when to her, it’s just a reminder of her greatest failure. Ponyphonic is probably one of if not the most talented musician(s) in this fandom, the sheer emotion in Christina’s voice brings you to tears and his work was brought to sight so masterfully here.

Children of the Night and The Moon Rises by Duo Cartoonist These two fan-animations were the most well-known of this animation duo’s works. Everyone from way back when must have watched these. The first one, Children of the Night, emulates the show’s art style so well, if I didn’t know otherwise, I would’ve thought it was from the show. The Moon Rises was posted three years later and was apparently animated with the same program for the film that came out in 2017? From what I remember, there was more depth than Children of the Night which was rather 2D so some growth there.

Snowdrop by Silly Filly Studios I cried when I watched this and I am not ashamed to admit it. The animation style looks just like the show’s so that’s great but really it’s the storyline that got me. Snowdrop realising her self-worth and that moment she had with Luna. The parallels between winter and the night. I know their friendship was only really implied but at the end when Luna’s back and she never got to say goodbye to her friend because she was still sealed away in the moon… 😭😭😭. Those last lines from Luna though, so moving and I’ve only just realised that the last snowflake she ever made was actually that first one she presented to the princesses so there’s that full circle feeling. Heartwarming with a slightly bittersweet ending.

Past Sins by Pen Stroke, Batty Gloom This is probably the first fic I’ve ever read in my entire life. I was very young when I read this and I didn’t even know what fandom was at the time. From what I remember, it was alright. Nice mother-daughter relationship in there and a decent character arc, I think; I’m pretty sure I read the revised version so I got to skip most of those initial concerns people had or whatever.

Undertale (UT)

Undertale: The Musical by Man on the Internet A whole goddamn musical! God, I remember going through the whole playlist and then watching the whole production. I actually used to know the whole soundtrack by heart and sing along. The art, the lyrics, the playthrough footage, the cast!!! Those voices are pretty much how I imagine all the characters sound like (not that I had really any pre-existing concept beforehand). The amount of time, love and care put into this makes it a brilliant four-hours-or-so of a masterpiece.

AUs by Various This fandom is all about the AUs. Afaik, they’ve been the backbone of a large amount, probably a majority of the content produced by the fandom as a whole. From the top of my head, we’ve got Inktale, Dreamtale, Aftertale/Errortale, Underswap, Underfell, Horrortale, Reapertale? And the list goes on… AUs upon AUs upon AUs, so much so that there are crossovers between AUs now. Imagine how the recursion of all those recursive works, well, works. It’s insane.

Miraculous Ladybug (ML)

You Don’t Know Me by Ferisae Okay, so this was the first ML fic I’d ever read and it was amazing! Literally, what with Feri having actually gone on to work at ZAG, I think everybody knows this fic.

Always a Hero, No Matter the Miraculous by imthepunchlord I know this is technically a series, but it’s the kwami swap fics of kwami swap fics! ‘Lucky Fox Paradox’, I feel has got that old fandom classic vibe, but ‘Rise of Mariposa’, I think still stands the test of time. Just checked (10/02/22) since I’ve not been active in ML for years and it’s been rearranged? Like, I could’ve sworn Caught in a Cycle used to be in here.

Under Lock and Key by EdenDaphne, Maerynn This is probably one of the most well-known multimedia collabs from the earlier days. The art is amazing as always, courtesy of EdenDaphne and Maerynn’s prose still stands the test of time. I don’t think I read anymore past the point around when Maerynn passed away as I had basically phased out of ML years ago but it’s since been completed by Eden so I’m definitely going back to finish reading it one day.

Alex Rider (AR)

Hell Is Other People by amitai The origin of the Brecon Beacons fic. This completely changed the fandom at the time, it was completely crazy. I’ve already made a post about this so really, no need to go on.

In Loco Parentis by amitai The origin of the K-Unit guardianship fic. Ah, the nostalgia of these days. Wolf and Alex’s dynamics are brilliant here (to be fair, amitai’s characterisations are always spot on so no surprise there) and really, you know you just want to keep reading.

An Object Lesson by amitai The origin of the SCORPIA attacks Brookland fic. Only a true genius could come up with three fandom-specific tropes. Wolf and Alex’s budding partnership – again, characterisation and dynamics never disappoint.

The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by pongnosis I’m going be honest and confess that I’ve not actually read this but it is still one of this fandom’s classic works so I felt it should have a place here. Thankfully, I don’t need to even try to wax lyrical about it because that’s what everyone else in this fandom is for.

Fran Bow

The Thin Line Betwixt Light and Dark by ShadowHeart405 The series that made me change my mind about Remor. In the spirit of honesty, once again I must confess I didn’t really like him at all at first. That may or may not be because he used to give me nightmares. Even now, I actually cannot look at canon artwork of him without getting freaked out – fanart is fine; canon art, no. But Thin Line has caused me to consider that perhaps, I shouldn’t just tar him with the brush of the first impression. So thank you, ShadowHeart, for the deeper thinking.

[whatsthedraw]

What’s the Draw: Internet Fandoms, Chatrooms, and Teenage to Young Adult Fans of Cartoons

The Discord Universe server, first established in 2017 and linked to Discord through an /r stevenuniverse Reddit page, has nearly 1000 members as of 2021 and dozens of different channels dedicated to art, writing, fan-discussions, and general socializing. The userbase is aged 13 and older, and mainly comprised of cartoon fans from teenage years to their late 20s, and a minority in their 30s.

[The Discord Universe link page.]

Although the stigma of adults enjoying “overly optimistic, cutesy and one-dimensional” animation like Disney and Cartoon Network shows seems to persist past the 80s and 90s, and into present day, the size of the server and similar online spaces is a testament to the growing popularity of all-ages cartoons among older teen and adult audiences. [1] According to Den of Geek, cartoon shows such as Steven Universe, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power were among the top-searched fandoms in 2020. [2]

Thanks to the Internet, rapid connection with other fans can yield thriving communities like Discord Universe. However, some researchers point out that the internet medium itself affects areas like participation and social relationships and is unlike real-life meetups. [3][4] Still, fans have embraced the internet as a social platform and perhaps unknowingly adapted their communities around its functions.

By examining theory in fan-studies, the factor of the online medium, and the public perception of cartoons, one might gain a small insight into the ways in which the teen to young adult cartoon fans in Discord Universe define their relationship to the media they interact with.

1. Heckleton, Jeff. “The Double Edged Stigma Faced By Western Animation.” The Artifice, Oct 27, 2017. https://the-artifice.com/stigma-western-animation/

2. Burt, Kayti. “Tumblr’s Top Fandoms of 2020.” Den of Geek, December 7, 2020. https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/tumblrs-top-fandoms-of-2020/

3. Barak, Azy., and Blau, Ina. "How Do Personality, Synchronous Media, and Discussion Topic Affect Participation?" Journal of Educational Technology & Society 15, no. 2 (2012): 13-15, 22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.15.2.12.

4. Islam, Gazi. "Virtual Speakers, Virtual Audiences: Agency, Audience and Constraint in an Online Chat Community." Dialectical Anthropology 30, no. 1/2 (2006): 74-78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29790755.

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Many authors describe fandom not as a strictly consumer culture, but a transformative culture. Fans absorb material, construct their own meaning, and use this outlet to voice societal concerns through fanworks or community, including those concerns present in the source. In other words, by emphasizing what they do and don’t like through discussion or creations, this is a “patchwork” reflection of personal and societal values. Some, like Henry Jenkins, frame this in an idealistic manner, claiming that it reflects the hopes and dreams of the community. [5] Another view asserts that fandom is like a ‘shadow economy’, parallel to capitalist society, in which fan-works and source knowledge function as the ‘capital’. [6] Like Jenkins’ idea, fans then rework certain values in the outer society, reflected in their fan works. Others yet, like Nicolle Lamerichs, claim that emotional connection primarily drives fandom as an ‘extension of personal elements', not just fan-creation, and that it’s a way of making sense of the world through felt and shared experiences. [7]

[A typical show-centered discussion, as seen in the server.]

In the case of the Discord Universe community, fandom seems to exhibit all three ideas. The existence of an entire column of art-channels with different works, lively show-discussions that are rewarded with conversation, and plenty of commentary on social issues all are regular happenings. However, there’s no telling if another group, especially on a different platform than Discord, might influence what counts as participation in fandom. 

[The many different channels filed under the ‘discussion’ and ‘creative’ categories in Discord Universe.]

Five different participants in the Discord Universe server were interviewed with loose guidelines regarding their favorite cartoons, the age they started watching, and if they felt any significant impact in their everyday life past enjoyment of the show itself, in order to find how the fans might define themselves.

Although a lower starting-age was expected, the fans indicated they watched most of the current favorite cartoons in their teens and 20s. A few older respondents mentioned starting their favorites closer to their 30s.

Regarding personal impact from fandom, the most common responses seemed to fall into 4 different categories: Sense of Community, Creative Outlet, Escapism and Other Positive Associations, and an Impact on Social or Societal Views.

Some mentioned they felt a sense of “nostalgia” or “happiness” watching certain shows, and they felt connected to the “kid experience” or certain family members. Others mentioned meeting friends or significant others from shared enjoyment. Another recurring answer was that watching some shows put them “in touch with aspects of self,” grew more accepting of “new perspectives and life situations,” and changed views about “socially internalized homophobia and transphobia”.

The last category, Creativity, although mentioned once in the form of feeling “motivated to make fan-pieces” is most evident in the server itself. The posts in the art channels are often fan-expression, but not always. While fan-work is not the sole determinant of fan-status, it seems to hold particular importance in this particular group of visual media fans, given the existence of many different categories. [7]

The types of responses given, reflecting nostalgia and escapism, appear elsewhere in research. In one study regarding adult opinion of Disney movies, those who enjoy them often cited the reason as being ‘nostalgic, engaging, and reassuring.’ The author also suggested that adult enjoyment of this media might act as a ‘surrogate for memories of childhood’ which they may want to revisit. [8] In the case of those who cited feeling nostalgic or enjoying childhood experiences through the eyes of an animated character, it’s reasonable that one might turn to all kinds of cartoon media with familiar themes, not just Disney.

5. Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture, New York: Routledge, 1992, 23-24.

6. Lewis, Lisa A. "The Cultural Economy of Fandom," in The Adoring Audience, 2002, 38-57. doi:10.4324/9780203181539-9.

7. Lamerichs, Nicolle. "Conclusion: Prospects for Fan Studies." In Productive Fandom: Intermediality and Affective Reception in Fan Cultures, 17-19. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018. doi:10.2307/j.ctv65svxz.15.

8. Mason, James Robert. “Disney Film Genres and Adult Audiences: A Tale of Renegotiated Relationships.” PhD diss. University of Leeds, 2017. 268-276.

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The Internet gives voice to those who might not otherwise be able to express themselves, which is one oft-apparent aspect of fan-creation [9]. According to research by Azy Barak and Ina Blau, the internet text-chat environment gives introverts more confidence to talk, even about more sensitive issues, and creates an ‘equalizing’ effect for users, regardless of status, race, gender, and appearance.[10]

Between “developing new characters and selves” through constructed profiles and nicknames, and navigating the norms that might get others to respond, the internet seems to govern how online fandom spaces operate rather than the other way around. Those who fail to meet the ‘netiquette’ of the chat area often go unanswered or kicked out. Additionally, there are often dozens, if not hundreds of lurkers in every chatroom. Each message is sent not just to the participants, but also to a larger, silent background audience, which gives a sense of a larger publicity than the immediate group. In talking in general-chat, there’s less expectation of intimacy than, say, a direct-message, which can open up a space to have low-stakes discussions and bring anonymity to participants. [11] [12]

While there is often a distinction between the real world and the constructed internet persona, sometimes users might freely blend their identities, as in Discord Universe on occasion. The internet medium, however, makes this a choice rather than a necessity, centering the creation and sharing of works and fan-discussion one of the primary functions of the group. Additionally, instantly banishing any nay-sayers, internet-trolls, or anyone else who doesn’t follow the established social norms, the fandom ‘in-group’ can near-effortlessly be maintained. The medium of the internet therefore creates quite a difference in curating a certain type of community of like-minded individuals, which may be more difficult in a real-life setting.

A writer for Vocal Media, Nina Bi, states that the boundless possibilities in animation, easy enjoyment, and nostalgia tend to draw adults to all-ages types of cartoons. [13] Despite the alleged outside stigma, there does seem to be a trend in late-teenage to adult enjoyment of cartoons for their complexity and entertainment value, at least in Discord Universe. The server provides an outlet for transformative works that express opinions reflective of society, allows for socialization and friendships, and has a unique culture reflective of the internet age. In other words, seemingly just like any other fandom in our current understanding.

9. Lewis, Lisa A. "The Cultural Economy of Fandom," 38-57.

10, 11. Barak, Azy., and Blau, Ina. "How Do Personality, Synchronous Media, and Discussion Topic Affect Participation?" 13-15, 22.

12. Islam, Gazi. "Virtual Speakers, Virtual Audiences,” 74-75, 78.

13. Bi, Ninfa. “The Reasons Why Adults Are Still Watching Cartoons.” Vocal Media, 2017. https://vocal.media/geeks/the-reasons-why-adults-are-still-watching-cartoons

Bibliography:

Bi, Ninfa. “The Reasons Why Adults Are Still Watching Cartoons.” Vocal Media, 2017. https://vocal.media/geeks/the-reasons-why-adults-are-still-watching-cartoons

Burt, Kayti. “Tumblr’s Top Fandoms of 2020.” Den of Geek, December 7, 2020. https://www.denofgeek.com/culture/tumblrs-top-fandoms-of-2020/

Heckleton, Jeff. “The Double Edged Stigma Faced By Western Animation.” The Artifice, Oct 27, 2017. https://the-artifice.com/stigma-western-animation/

Barak, Azy., and Blau, Ina. "How Do Personality, Synchronous Media, and Discussion Topic Affect Participation?" Journal of Educational Technology & Society 15, no. 2 (2012): 12-24. http://www.jstor.org/stable/jeductechsoci.15.2.12.

Islam, Gazi. "Virtual Speakers, Virtual Audiences: Agency, Audience and Constraint in an Online Chat Community." Dialectical Anthropology 30, no. 1/2 (2006): 71-89. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29790755.

Jenkins, Henry. Textual Poachers: Television Fans & Participatory Culture, New York: Routledge, 1992, 279-290.

Lewis, Lisa A. "The Cultural Economy of Fandom," in The Adoring Audience, 2002, 38-57. doi:10.4324/9780203181539-9.

Lamerichs, Nicolle. "Conclusion: Prospects for Fan Studies." in Productive Fandom: Intermediality and Affective Reception in Fan Cultures, 231-40. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2018. doi:10.2307/j.ctv65svxz.15.

Mason, James Robert. “Disney Film Genres and Adult Audiences: A Tale of Renegotiated Relationships.” PhD diss. University of Leeds, 2017.