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And thanks for the kind words 😉

Why would being older prevent you from enjoying any fiction at all? Just...why? Enjoying fiction doesn’t mean having crushes on the characters.

And... no fiction at all? Seriously?

I think you’re overreacting. A lot.

—Ls

By what I understood of Ki's position, if I applied the same reasoning to me I (31yo male) shouldn't follow Carcaptor Sakura anymore because ew, a grown up male reading a story about a 13 years old magical girl is creepy!

I don't give a crap - especially since the values expressed in CCS actually should warrant a read by pretty much anyone. That series taught me a lot when I was a kid, and is still teaching me now. The only way I would see this actually being a problem was if I were to actually develop some kind of obsession over oneof the characters, especially the underage ones, but even then just moving away from the relevant piece of media should suffice, not a blanket ban on everything

That would entail living a very sad and unfun life.

...Sorry I'm late.

But... yeah! Happy birthday, and... thank you for being around. It's good to know you.

Have some lemming repellent! I hear they get finicky this time of year.

Good to have you back! Have a purple squiggle!

—Ls

ETA: This whole post, because frickin' Enter key.

You see, what we call "pumpkin spice" is more accurately known as pumpkin pie spice, as in the blend of sweet spices used to make pumpkin pie. It typically contains cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and sometimes allspice. As you can see, it is not dissimilar to other baking spice blends, and thus has a wide and varied range of applications.

It just happens to be associated with pumpkin pie here in the US of A.

~Neshomeh would be interested in scoping out the alternate universe where apple pie spice is the one that got big.

Like I am pretty sure Astolat, founder of AO3 and also bestselling author Naomi Novik, is well past her thirties now, and she still writes fanfic on AO3.

Who do you think creates the stories you love? Definitely not all people under age 30. Why is it that they can become successful doing that, but for yourself it would be unacceptably creepy?

I’m sorry if this sounds combative but this is literally the sort of ageist rhetoric I run into with anti-shipper circles elsewhere on the internet. Those people use this as a cudgel for harassing people away from enjoying their hobbies, and you deserve better than that. If the idea of giving up fandom makes you miserable, don’t do it.

If you do think you’re outgrowing your current genre of fandom, then you could just consider trying out other genres. If you’d rather move out from Japanese animation, you could try J-Dramas instead. For me personally, (I’m not in my 30s yet but I will be approaching it within the next decade) I consume mostly nonfiction like historical books and documentaries, but once in a while I do pick up some new fiction that my friends recommend. Not all of them make me want to write fanfic, though, and that’s also fine.

But I don’t think you should quit fandom just because someone else on the internet thinks it’s creepy for people (often women) past a certain age to be in fandom. Adults are the people who built fandom.

Pumpkin spice as a concept does amuse me though. Like, that is peak White People fuvg, isn't it? "Ooooh, you know what's really spicy? Gourds." =]

No, seriously, what?

That is the most deranged pile of old cobblers I've seen on the internet today, and the internet has Elon Musk fans in it. You are not prevented from engaging with and enjoying fiction. You just have to be cognisant of your own foibles and work on yourself. The course of action you suggest is treating the symptom and not the actual cause; if it's that much of a problem for you that you were considering something as drastic as never consuming fiction again, then you need to seek a licensed therapist who can direct you to further help (support groups &c) if you need them.

Who decides what is "unacceptably creepy"? By all means, broaden your horizons, find new things to read and seek out, that's always a good idea, but I really do not understand the idea that it's just Unacceptable to be a fan of a certain work past a certain age.

Hope you have/had a good one.

Nova

I've been very slowly chipping away at an Avengers mission. Just a few lines or so every few days, give or take.

Mostly I've been stressed about focused on finding new steady employment (quit my day job with the micromanaging boss at the end of August, for those who don't know), and otherwise just keeping my head on straight amid world chaos and family drama. If anyone knows anyone hiring remote workers, I'd love to hear about it.

~Neshomeh

The PPC is sort of predicated on loving fiction. I couldn't help someone quit all fiction forever, because I can't fathom doing so myself.

May I suggest broadening your horizons instead? For instance, have you tried historical fiction? It's not something I really understood when I was younger, but since becoming an Old Grump, I've noticed there's really good stuff there! For instance, Gates of Fire by Stephen Pressfield, pretty much anything by Ken Follett (though I might start with the Pillars of the Earth series), or to head back toward mythology a bit, Sword at Sunset or anything else by Rosemary Sutcliff. These authors all share the ability to capture the humanity of their subjects so well they come to life, and tell beautiful, heartrending stories.

If that's not your cup of tea, it's okay. There's loads of excellent mature fiction out there. You might just have to explore a bit to find the next thing for you. My advice is simply don't be afraid to try.

~Neshomeh

Good thing I made extra canon cookies. I hope you like pumpkin spice!

~Neshomeh

I'm not sure we... actually have a keyboard left they would fit on, but I really like that the concept is out there. (I would like to imagine myself as someone who has a dedicated Quenya Computer, but alas, it will have to remain imagination.)

Nice to see you around! Did you see we had an actual Twentieth Boardiversary this month? (Also, yikes - that's less than a year away for both of us, isn't it? I'm gunna have to write another story to celebrate, LE SIGH...)

hS

Get weird?

Suedom Chapter 2: Things Get Weird

On the archive

As Andy described, this is actually the second (possibly third) version of the chapter, as posted on LotRFanFiction around 2006. The first (possibly second) version is the one posted to Miss Cam's site; I've included a link to it at the bottom. It's not as different as the first version of "Enter the Dragons", but it is different.

(The actual first version would be the version posted on FFn; that version is entirely lost.)

Next PPC+20 should be on the 1st December, and will be something... a little different.

hS

Given my current tastes in fiction and characters, it is unfortunate that carrying those tastes past the age of 29 would be unacceptably creepy. Therefore, I have decided to stop getting into new works starting today, and eventually stop consuming fiction altogether at some point in my 30s in order to avoid creepy tendencies. That means no games, no books, no films, no TV series, no fanfic, no nothing. I'm seeking comm advice on how to start a "weaning off" regime.