The oddest artifact ever

I recently published a blog post about an artifact called Fanfiction.net. I defined fanfiction, and alluded to the fact that fanfiction is written about many different TV shows, movies, etc. For my final essay, I would like to delve deeper into the world of fanfiction, into an individual community, namely that built around the CW series Supernatural. The reason I feel this would be an appropriate artifact is that each community is not merely a placeholder for fics (the common shorthand term for a piece of fiction), but it also has its own rules. These rules dictate the most common structures to be found in the stories, or in other words, the shared interests of the fans. What most intrigues me, though, is that the rules that govern these fanfiction communities are exceedingly different from the standards that are deemed appropriate in reality. For example, a very popular theme that runs throughout the different fanfiction categories is slash, either male/male or female/female relationships (clarification: slash is not the theme referred to as inappropriate; that comes next). This concept maintains its popularity in the Supernatural genre, despite the very glaring fact that the two main characters are brothers. For some reason, a relationship that would elicit pure horror in real life is condoned and encouraged (although, admittedly, not by all the members of the fandom, or fanfiction community). My interest in this artifact lies in the discovery of why normal rules are not only set aside, but smashed into pieces, the pieces burned to ashes, and then the ashes thrown out of the window for good measure. I would like to examine the slash community in depth and discover, in a nonjudgmental way, why some of the fans of Supernatural condone incest in their stories.
For the analysis of this artifact I will use fantasy-theme criticism. Symbolic convergence theory could not be better suited to the description of a fandom: the two assumptions of this theory, according to Sonja Foss, are that “communication creates reality” and “individuals’ meanings for symbols can converge to create a shared reality or community consciousness.” The show Supernatural is based on two brothers hunting ghosts and other evil creatures; that in itself is already a created reality. The fans of the show take it a step further, creating an alternate reality, or, to use a common phrase, alternate universe (AU). This alternate universe is the community consciousness.

Fanfiction.net: Where Fans Come Together

Fanfiction.net: Where Fans Come Together
The artifact I have chosen for this analysis is a website called Fanfiction.net. As the name suggests, Fanfiction.net is a home for massive amounts of fanfiction; for those who are unacquainted with the awesomeness that is fanfiction, it is fiction that has been written by fans. To offer a more helpful explanation, it is fiction about an idea that belongs to someone else; the author writes their own story about one of their favorite books, TV shows, video games, etc. The writer essentially has free reign in the story; they can introduce new characters and settings, and the plot follows whatever twists and turns their imagination can come up with. But, the key characteristic, as stated above, is that all of the original writing, like the plot, is based around someone else’s original story, and the fanfic author has no claim to any recognizable (i.e. from the show, book, etc.) aspects.
To look a little further into Fanfiction.net, the site is divided into categories. The home page offers links to fanfiction for Anime/Manga, Books, Cartoons, Comics, Games, Misc, Movies, Plays/Musicals, and TV Shows. There is also a second section that offers fanfiction for Crossovers into all these same categories; a crossover is a story that combines aspects of two otherwise unrelated works, such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings (yes, it’s been done). When browsing through the different groups, you find an enormous list of titles; each title links to the fanfiction written for that particular piece. Stories or movies with more than one or two fanfics have their own group; however, if a work has only one fanfic, that fanfic often winds up in the Miscellaneous section.
The site also offers several different fan-friendly features. When looking for something in particular, the site has a search option. Readers can save certain stories or authors as favorites, to make them easy to find in the future. Readers can also comment on the stories they have read, either offering criticism or just saying that they liked the piece. The Just In page showcases all of the brand new stories, while Communities and Forum pages allow site users to communicate. Finally, the Beta Readers page allows writers to find a Beta, or an editor to help them with their work.
Setting, character, and action themes: 1) For setting, I found these references: Fanfiction.net is the actual website, while Anime/Manga, Books, Cartoons, Comics, Games, Misc, Movies, Plays/Musicals, and TV Shows are the different pathways available within the site. Communities and Beta Readers are character references; a Community is formed by an individual site member, and Beta Readers are volunteer site members. Action references include Search and Forums; Search allows readers to find specific stories/authors, and Forums allow site members to communicate.