#listen if we're writing in character fanfiction now I will be participating.

[maple-moose-muffin]

Seeing olds vs youths fandom etiquette discourse breaks my heart because there's such a lack of empathy. It's literally ageism and generation vs generation bullshit playing out the same way as always, except because it's painted over with a veneer of pixel men and literay analysis we preted it's actually a human rights fight and we're justified for spitting on our juniors.

I saw a post talking about squicks, where the Fandom Youths who hadn't encountered the word before were rolling their eyes and calling it millenial baby talk nonsense, while the Fandom Olds were responding with statements like "omfg why didnt you google it you dumbass!!" As if you, Fandom Old, ever learned that word by googling it. Fuck me, but I don't remember ever googling what 'whump' meant. I learned it by having it demonstrated by the fandom figures I looked up to. For years of my early fandom life I thought 'slash' meant gore. It wasn't until I saw other fans talking about the fluffiest slash pairings that I realized it was another word for yaoi, which was the term *I* knew, coming from an anime background.

Fandom is huge but we are still a subculture, and culture is taught through interaction, demonstration, and the kindness and *patience* of your culturemates. That means listening to each other and fucking explaining shit to those who will inheret our Discord servers and our Archives, not screaming at them for being too stupid to know the stove is hot before they touch it. And it means opening your damn minds and ears, and absorbing those lessons when your foremothers give them to you. It goes both ways. It's just that this post is mostly aimed at the Fandom Olds, my peers, whom I see berating people simply for being new. Who take screenshot of tags from Youths asking what the hell Superwholock is and wail, "What is the world coming to??" Instead of answering them. Instead of teaching them our history. Their history.

Do YOU know all about every Star Trek email chain that came before you? Do YOU know all the big names of the OG Buffy circles? Xena Warrior Princess? Do you even know the most famous fics of the contemporary fandoms you never participated in? YuGiOh, Sailor Moon, Homestuck, Big Time Rush? When exactly did you learn omegaverse was born of the Supernatural fandom? When did you discover hanahaki? Why didn't you just know about it the day you made your tumblr?

We cannot fall into the curmedgeoning ways of gatekeeping fandom from the new bloods simply because they haven't been around long enough to know their own history. I've been writing fanfic for fifteen years, and I learned the Fuck or Die trope was born in Star Trek THIS WEEK. Ignorance does not make you lazy, entitled, or unworthy. It does not make you a fake fandom citizen. For fuck's sake, do you really want to be the person who says "Oh you like fanfiction? Name five tropes that aren't fake dating and there was only one bed"?

Yes, there has been an uptick in lack of etiquette. Yes there is an issue of purity policing. But correct me if I'm wrong, as it was before *my* time -- isn't that what killed LiveJournal? Isn't that why we now have an Archive who explicitly states in their ToS they won't take down content just because it is deemed offensive? This shit isn't new, and the Fandoms Youths aren't single handedly killing the kinky fic industry.

The Youths These Days are not ruining fandom anymore than I used to ruin it when, at age 14, I used to lash out at female characters for 'ruining' the gay ships. I've grown. You have grown. The Youths will grow.

But not if you alientate and refuse to teach them.

[bethanysnow]

Get to know me~

Tagged by @itshannjisung

❣ Who is your favorite Kpop group?❣

These dorks! Stray Kids. I also love BTS and Block B. I haven't gotten super into girl groups yet, but I am inching my way with Itzy, Twice, and Mamamoo! If people have song recommendations please let me know!

❣ Which member sparked your interest first?

This artsy motherfucker. I saw a couple tiktok edits of this man and I needed to know why an anime character had come to life. Then I found out about SKZ, read some fanfiction, and by the time I looked up Chan had stolen me and I now am holding a wolfchan. Like you have to understand, I study art and dance and all of this stuff, I am going to school to work in museums, like this is my shtick! HE IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON I'VE EVER SEEN!! AND I'VE MET TOM HIDDLESTON

❣ Who was your first bias?

For stray kids its Chan, I am the mom friend, he is the dad friend and together we make a happy family.

NOW FIRST EVER BIAS?!

THIS DORK! EVERYONE SAY HI TO P.O (Pyo Ji-hoon) I love him with all of my heart, I will always be in debt to him as my first-ever Bias. I know he is an actor now BUT THIS MANS VOICE?!?! GAHHHHH He could give felix a run for his money like thats the vibe he is. Where normally hes this, like a college professor, suit-wearing dorky big grinned man and his voice is that of a rocker who smokes a pack a day

❣ Who is your current bias?

LOOK AT SASSY PANTS THINKING HES SO COOL! I-its chan guys. Im basic bitch I know. BUT LISTEN Ey ey ey, we all need a 5'7 man to tell us he thinks we're pretty. Even though he embodies being 6'1.

❣ What makes them your bias?

It is hard for me to really describe why. Not just because I picked him, or I like him the most, but being a fan of Stray Kids, meeting the people I have, all of the members but especially Chan make me want to be better. I want to be able to go up to them and say "Because of you and your inspiration, I now have achieved X" I want to participate in life and do things again. I want to go to therapy, I want to work out again and fight my eating disorder. I am creating art, and writing songs???? I've never done that before and they aren't awful! Life is brighter because Stray Kids and Chan are in it. I look at the moon every night and think of something Jin (bts) said, that its the same moon and look at it and think of him. Just these little reminders that while the world seems to feel so big and scary and nothing is going right, you are a speck on a floating rock in space. Just like them.

Also Chan says he doesn't love himself, he doesn't think hes attractive. So it makes me feel validated that maybe I'm not as ugly as I think I look??? Because if hes as prince charming as he is maybe im not as bad looking as I think I do?

❣ Who is your bias wrecker?

Uhhh all of them????? There isn't a wreck-ER its you are wrecked by all of them! It was Hyunjin for a while, now I think it's Minho??? It switches on the daily honestly??? I will take anything and anyone of them.

❣ Which member(s) are you currently obsessing over that aren't your bias/bias wrecker?

Felix/Han I love me some soft boys. Also I am 5'9, plus size, and very no-nonsense. The idea of these tiny men getting me to....do things...and uh trying to get me flustered just- yea does good for the soul. I love like reverse expectation fics? Like the big tall scary one is the subby sweet sunshine gf type and the tiny brightly colored talkative one is the super scary dominate teasing one. Its great.

❣ When did you first discover this group?

Last fall, I had just gotten out of a situationship and the band that brought me to it wasn't putting out music and I wanted to find joy again so I tried to find what I was into prior to rock music and that was kpop. Looked up groups that were popular, got back into BTS and then Stray Kids were in my recommended and the rest is history

❣ Have you ever been to one of their concerts?

No! But if they come to Washington you know I will be there. I am going to see Enhypen this month with a friend of mine though! First kpop experience

❣ What are some of your favorite songs by the group?

ITEM

Youtiful

Case 143

Red Lights

Comflex

My Universe

Tortorus and Hare

Social Path

I tag @kaciidubs @7ndipity

[essektheylyss]

I'm terribly sorry, but the finalists already promised that whoever wins, Mrs. Veth Brenatto will be allowed to take home the trophy, and contractually I cannot hand off the trophy to any wizard who has not yet won it.

And as Mrs. Brenatto has also rigged this entire venue to explode if she is not given the trophy, I must insist that they see this through.

However, both finalists' significant others have confirmed that they are perfectly fine if there is kissing involved—with the caveat, to quote Mr. Seelie, "that I get to watch."

Look. I'm just saying. It's not too late for Caleb and Laerryn to call off the finals, agree to be co-best wizards, and maybe kiss.

[prolix-yuy]

LJ, do you think people like humor in fanfiction? i LOVE it but i feel like i don’t see it too often… that makes me wonder if it’s just not something people look for.

do YOU like a fic to be funny?

Lovely Eash! What a great question! And I have many many thoughts around it. The quick answer is yes! I love humor in a fic. It feels real and true to have people find the comedy in life, whether it's ironic or ridiculous or purposeful. I'll put some more detailed thoughts on humor in writing below the cut so not everyone has to listen to me wax poetic on this topic:

To start, these are my opinions mostly based on how I feel about writing fic. Other fic writers may have different feelings about this! I'm also coming from this as both a writer and as someone who did improv comedy for several years, where we were "writing" the comedy in real time and getting live feedback on it. So here we go!

Fic writing, to me, is an outlet for exploring feelings and situations in a safe way. It's fiction! It's words on a page! It can be a way for a writer to explore an experience they wished had turned out better, or one they wished would happen. Or they want to see a romance that wasn't explored, or imagine what being part of that would be like. I'm sort of double-talking here, since these feelings can both apply to the writer as a vehicle to create the content and the writer as a participant in the case of reader inserts, but the point I'm getting to is that fic writing often is an outlet for wish fulfillment and processing.

So it stands to reason that many of the themes of fic tend to fall into more serious topics. We want to act out the things that hurt, or that are scary or out of our comfort zone or highly improbable in a safe way. Fic is a great way to explore that! It is highly improbable I am going to seduce a Hollywood actor, especially one that's so hopped up on drugs he might OD, but I love playing around with what that might look like with Dieter. Same with falling in love with Din, or Frankie, or anyone I've ever written about. But joy can come from crafting a story that explores the themes I'm unable or unwilling to experience in real life.

Now here's where comedy comes in. As weird as it sounds, writing the heavy emotional stuff is easier. A shaking hand, a fervent glance, the pain of heartbreak, those topics have a lot of universality. Comedy, on the other hand, can be SUPER subjective. We feel it fall flat and we cringe. We're taught to scold bad comedy, but not to help build it up, so comedy becomes a scary, difficult beast to conquer. And writing comedy is a completely different beast from things like action, adventure, romance, etc. Where should it live? Is it in dialogue with a character, making them the voice for your jokes? Or in the tone of your prose, making the narrator almost become a character themself? What kind of comedy is it? Dark humor, observational humor, absurdism? Is it "really funny" or "just you think it's funny"? There's so much!

This is why I think comedy is not always explored in fic writing. It's complicated! It can throw the mood, feel forced into a scene, or if you keep it as a constant throughout you might feel like you're not being "serious" enough of a writer (which is wrong, btw, I've lost my shit laughing over beautiful writing).

I personally like both. I love a story that lets a comedic tone bleed through (beskarberry's entire masterlist is a masterclass on comedy and levity blending with serious topics, and The Things We Do for Love is a perfect example) and I love little lines scattered through a story. I personally have some favorites in my own writing, including just a silly as hell one coming up in Westworld Whiskey.

The thing I would love to see writers do is use comedy to enhance their story. Sometimes a heavy tone needs a break. Or the tension needs to snap. Comedy is a wonderful way to do that. Then you can jump back in to the angst or drama or action and it allows you to ramp back up and feel that rollercoaster of emotions because you got a taste of what not feeling it constantly was like.

I love comedy as a way to play with voice and plot and tone. I hope more fic writers embrace it and use it both as a tool, and as a way to give the audience one more emotion to explore. Because as much as making someone cry, or get horny, or feel loved or hated is an amazing review, making someone laugh is my absolute favorite thing to do.

I hope this at least entertained you, Eash, and I hope you find some of the comedy you're looking for with more creators. I'm sure there are a crazy number out there doing the Lord's work cracking jokes in battle scenes, and they deserve all the praise too!

[chibinightowl]

in all seriousness, how can one break into the jaytim fanfiction scene? from my perspective, there are a handful of established authors for the pairing, and they’re all great, so i’m not trying to say that they don’t deserve recognition and only get hits bc they’ve been around for years, but it seems like they’re such a long-standing and integral part of the pairing fandom that readers tend to gravitate towards their work and not others. so, it feels like newer authors struggle to even get a chance. thoughts? advice?

Hello!

This is quite the ask and, honestly, a very thought-provoking one.

When I first started writing fanfic back in...2016? (I think was around there) I started because I needed an escape from the hellscape my real life had become. It was also free, which was even more important since funds were tight. I didn't know anyone in fandom. I'd never participated in fandom. I was a complete unknown. But what I wrote, I wrote it for ME. I wrote what I wanted to read and that is something I still hold true to this day. And guess what? Apparently what I wanted to read were things other people wanted to read too.

I started as a gen-fic writer (who remembers Myth-Bats?) but I'd been reading a ton of slash. I knew what ships I liked, I knew what I didn't like, and so I eventually dipped my toe into JayTim.

I wish I could say there's some magic formula, but there really isn't. I'm lucky in the fact that I've been a huge reader of many different genres over the course of my life (I was in my mid 30s when I started writing fanfic, so do the math to where I am now) and that I also technically write for a living. I know what clean and professional business writing looks like, but trying to get that to translate into fanfic? There's a reason my fics are heavy on plot rather than scene building and description.

I do remember reading and rereading fics by my favorite fan writers and trying to pick apart what it was they did (hell, I still do it even today) to see if I could emulate that in some way because I just didn't like my style and wanted to see if I could change it. It took awhile, but eventually I found my own voice.

I know an incredible writer who has the most intricate and dramatic plots, who has a real flare for settings and world-building and character development and dialogue. Every time we talk, I'm just in awe that I have a personal friendship with her now. But guess what? She writes in 1st Person which is a turnoff for so many people. She's one the best writers I know and she and I have had many talks about why she doesn't get the kudos or hits that I do. It's depressing. It's gotten her down on more than one occasion.

But she keeps going because SHE likes what she writes and if it happens to resonate with a few people, then guess what? At least she's got a small, but dedicated group of readers.

For you, nony, I wish there was more I could offer to help beyond write what you want to read and write what you know/like. Don't be afraid to challenge yourself and don't be afraid to grow. Do what you're doing now and talk to the writers you like. Ask us questions about our fics and why we did this or that, especially if it seems very counter-intuitive to how you'd have done it. Sometimes the rationale might just be to subvert a trope, but there could be other reasons that might not only surprise you, but also give you something to really think about. I can't even begin to tell you how much of myself and my life experiences go into my writing. It's not always obvious (which is on purpose), but I really think it's touches like those that make a story more interesting.

If you are interacting in the JayTim fandom, then you know already that we might be small, but we're incredibly supportive of each other. If you aren't interacting, then come on in. The water's fine and there's a lot of us here who'd love to listen to your ideas and help spin them into a great story. Discord seems to be the place to be these days for fandom. I know the JayTim channel on the Capes & Coffee server (a Tim Drake server started by @shmoo92) is very active and, if you're at least 18, I've got a JayTim server of my own that I run. Please feel free to DM me here if you'd like a link to either one.

I hope this helps! Good luck and don't stop writing!