Two things I did not get to shill in this piece: my favorite fic from 1998 which was called Pemberley, Inc. and featured Lizzy as a jazz lounge singer and Darcy as a billionaire CEO; my favorite current JAFF writer, Grace Gibson, who writes lively canon-based books!

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“People feel incredible ownership over Jane Austen. Always have, always will,” longtime JAFF author Abigail Reynolds told @bookshop.bsky.social in our latest feature. “People have very fixed ideas of what Jane Austen is and what Jane Austen isn’t, and get very, very angry.”

Folks who look at fic often treat the big archives as wholly representative, but there are so many subcultures within our subculture. @bookshop.bsky.social reports a fascinating story about rigid content moderation, self-publishing, and what happens when the wide-open spaces of fic are constrained:

Our latest is live! 🪭 Ahead of the new S&S and P&P adaptations, @bookshop.bsky.social dives into the world of JAFF, aka Jane Austen Fanfic. Decades-old limits on content continue to define what gets written and read, even as Amazon publishing has utterly taken over the fic fandom.

Read or listen:

"The fourth wall has been shattered, and the character is being sold to me now as a literal skin, an empty shell for me to purchase and customize," @sam.robotsfightingdinosaurs.com writes. "Something important dies in that process, no matter how much fun you’re having with your new toys."

I was already excited to do a swap with @aftermath.site (they republished our recent feature on Pokémon fangames by @pokachee.bsky.social), and especially excited that we landed on this brilliant piece, which digs into a topic I find fascinating despite not knowing much about Fortnite itself!

Note that this is a GOOD brand crossover 😉 with our friends at @aftermath.site, who originally published @sam.robotsfightingdinosaurs.com's super-sharp piece a few weeks back. We're thrilled to be able to share it with our readers, too. (It's in front of the paywall, btw—and now with added audio!)

"The simultaneous proliferation of AI, social media, and the massive success of unlikely brand collaborations have blurred the lines of how characters are portrayed, and how the characters’ brands portray themselves in turn."

@sam.robotsfightingdinosaurs.com on Fortnite's uneasy brand crossovers:

At @fansplaining.bsky.social we're celebrating our six-month-versary by giving you 50% off for the next six months!

We've also made all of @gavia.bsky.social's Lanterns recaps free to read, so once you've caught up on those, take a look at all of our other articles and sign up! Join us! 🎉