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[nicksgal]

I could relate to most of those!

Your thoughts were pretty much on par with my thoughts; everything you've said is spot on. Especially the investment back in the day. It was so easy to get invested in a BSB fanfic because the investment for the Boys and more of them and new things happening to them was so much of my dedication. (I am also guilty of rewatching the same four tv shows over and over again.)

I love that you got email feedback! That's awesome! And commitment rather than just being able to comment on the story itself.

This one cracked me up because... orbs.  Let's call them face balls!

I laughed so hard at this too! Because my first thought was "I wonder what Mare thinks about 'face balls'." And then, "I have to share this list over at AC because Julie will also laugh really hard at 'orbs' followed by 'face balls.'" lmao So, yes, let's start calling them "face balls" unless Mare disapproves.

I don't think I've ever read a "my parents sold me to the Backstreet Boys" story either.  That sounds like a sex trafficking situation.

I had to look up what salt fics are.  For anyone else wondering, it's when the author doesn't like something about the canon (or in our case, the Boys in real life) and writes a story that fixes it, reworks it, or bashes certain characters.  I do think you could make a case for Leighanne bashing being a form of salt fic in our fandom.  I also thought of Hot Mess Nick and how so many of us wrote Nick romance in which he was not a hot mess during that time - trying to fix canon LOL.  There may be a bit of that going on with Brian stories right now.  Seems like the Brian stories being written are either set in the past or put him with Nick instead of Leighanne (or both).  90s Brian was better.

That's what I thought; it sounded squicky. Also, why would someone's parents sell them to the Backstreet Boys when they could be a backup dancer or an opening act instead?! More drama. More exposure. More fun.

I have to stop using fandom type terms I come across without defining them, my bad!

Poor Hot Mess Nick. I would call those a retcon more than salt, since we all enjoy Nick, just when he's less of a hot mess. Thank goodness he had all of us around to give him some great potential ladies that encouraged him to do things other than being a hot mess. lol

You're right, Brian stories may be intentionally avoiding his current political shennaniganery . What are we going to call "blatantly conservative Brian" so we can reference this time later. It needs a good ring to it like Hot Mess Nick. Internet Troll Brian? Trump Troll Brian? lol #Team90'sBrian

[nicksgal]

If you could "order up" the ideal fanfic to read, what would yours include?

Just our Boys True Companioning in any setting/plot. I'm not super picky. Preferences for none of their actual wives or children being involved; fictional wives and children are fine.

[RokofAges75]

Definitely stay inspired on MBK! Always sending you and everyone good vibes for whatever compelling thing is currently being written!

Thanks!  I plan to.  Although it's still early in the plot, I think I'm past the point of wondering whether MBK is a story I will stick with or not.  I've gotten into it, and it's going well enough that I'm not worried about it.

It definitely does! And then yet again today, I had a stroke of genius because of the 300 words I wrote yesterday, but still not for PNecklace. I'm apparently just sitting here writing an entire epic out of order and not caring about being structured or focused at all, lol. I wonder how PBox would have gone if I hadn't written in strict order back then. Would I still be writing the first version? I hope not.

Yay for your stroke of genius!  Sorry it wasn't for PNecklace, but if it helps you write another piece of the epic, that's still progress.  Eventually everything will connect.  As long as you're okay with writing out of order, go for it!  Whatever works for you.

Only two takes! Impressive! Yes, the Psycho music got me too; the way it just zoomed in on the tweet with the Psycho music in the background, I laughed so hard.

People on radio? I think that's all. You'd have to if you were listening to yourself all the time. The Boys? Do the Boys or any actor, singer, etcetera mind the sound of their own voice? Maybe the more your job involves hearing your voice recorded and/or blared over speakers, the less it bothers you.

Yay!  Thanks!

Yeah, I'm sure people who record themselves for a living (radio personalities, voice actors, singers, audiobook readers, etc.) do get used to the sound of their own voice.  I thought about the Boys too.  I bet even they cringe sometimes when they hear themselves, especially on older songs.  The AIHTG Conversation Mix comes to mind... LOL.

[nicksgal]

Thanks!  I plan to.  Although it's still early in the plot, I think I'm past the point of wondering whether MBK is a story I will stick with or not.  I've gotten into it, and it's going well enough that I'm not worried about it.

How does it feel to get to the point of not worrying? I bet it's a relief knowing that you'll keep going even if you get stuck a little.

Yay for your stroke of genius!  Sorry it wasn't for PNecklace, but if it helps you write another piece of the epic, that's still progress.  Eventually everything will connect.  As long as you're okay with writing out of order, go for it!  Whatever works for you.

It felt good to write something down on the big mystery even if it's still a long way off, since, like you said, eventually everything will connect. You know, I don't mind it. I thought it would bother me, but it gets the exciting things out. Then there's more space for the things I get stuck on to grow in the "garden."

Yeah, I'm sure people who record themselves for a living (radio personalities, voice actors, singers, audiobook readers, etc.) do get used to the sound of their own voice.  I thought about the Boys too.  I bet even they cringe sometimes when they hear themselves, especially on older songs.  The AIHTG Conversation Mix comes to mind... LOL.

lol! Yes! Oh the Conversation Mix...

I wonder how Howie feels about suggesting his ideal lady cooks all his meals and he just eats them.

Meanwhile, Nick's probably like "Yup, kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her. Good job 17-year-old me." I did feel glad for him that in that "I hate watching myself" youtube thing that they did not play the "resign" interview. I'm sure he would have hated that, but for nothing that was related to the sound of his voice.

[RokofAges75]

Your thoughts were pretty much on par with my thoughts; everything you've said is spot on. Especially the investment back in the day. It was so easy to get invested in a BSB fanfic because the investment for the Boys and more of them and new things happening to them was so much of my dedication. (I am also guilty of rewatching the same four tv shows over and over again.)

Exactly.  It's easier to read stories where you already love the characters than try something totally new and different.  That's why so many people (kids especially) seem to prefer series to standalone stories.  There's a familiarity there.  My mom used to get on my case as a kid for only wanting to read books from my favorite series - Babysitter's Club, Goosebumps, etc. - instead of branching out, but I loved those books because they were comfortable and entertaining without being overly challenging.  Goosebumps had different characters from book to book, but with BSC, it was nice to read about the same characters from book to book and not have to get to know all new ones.

I am terrible about that with TV shows.  I was told to watch Queen's Gambit on Netflix.  I watched the first episode a few weeks ago.  It was good, but long, so I didn't feel like watching the second one immediately after.  Then I started rewatching Friday Night Lights from the beginning and am now on the second season, but still haven't watched the second episode of Queen's Gambit.  But damn, I almost forgot just how good FNL was, especially that first season.

I laughed so hard at this too! Because my first thought was "I wonder what Mare thinks about 'face balls'." And then, "I have to share this list over at AC because Julie will also laugh really hard at 'orbs' followed by 'face balls.'" lmao So, yes, let's start calling them "face balls" unless Mare disapproves.

Face balls sounds exactly like a funny Mare description LOL.

That's what I thought; it sounded squicky. Also, why would someone's parents sell them to the Backstreet Boys when they could be a backup dancer or an opening act instead?! More drama. More exposure. More fun.

Yeah.  I know squicky stuff has always existed in our fandom to some extent, but AO3 seems to have brought it into the mainstream.  I noticed a new story on there yesterday that was written in Chinese, which I thought was cool.  It was clearly tagged "Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot," but just for kicks, I clicked on it and let Chrome translate it so I could see what it looked like in English.  From what I understood in my skimming, the Boys (or at least Brian and Kevin) were bunnies?  Literally rabbits, with long ears and puffball tails.  And, as you might imagine, they were doing what rabbits are stereotypicall y known for doing.  That was something I'd never seen in our fandom LOL.

I have to stop using fandom type terms I come across without defining them, my bad!

It doesn't seem like our fandom uses as many of those terms as other fandoms do.  Obviously we've adopted some, like "slash" and "visuals/vizzies," but most of the other ones I know, I've picked up from pages about fanfic in general, not specifically BSB fic.  Since I don't read or write in any other fandoms, there are a lot I don't know.  But it's always nice to learn some new terminology.

Poor Hot Mess Nick. I would call those a retcon more than salt, since we all enjoy Nick, just when he's less of a hot mess. Thank goodness he had all of us around to give him some great potential ladies that encouraged him to do things other than being a hot mess. lol

You're right, Brian stories may be intentionally avoiding his current political shennaniganery . What are we going to call "blatantly conservative Brian" so we can reference this time later. It needs a good ring to it like Hot Mess Nick. Internet Troll Brian? Trump Troll Brian? lol #Team90'sBrian

Yes, you're probably right about Nick, since we weren't really bashing him, just making his life different.

LOL Oh jeez... Brian probably does need a nickname to reflect this era.  I bet Mare will come up with something better than me.  Blatantly Conservative Brian and Trump Troll Brian both have a nice ring, though I would rather not have to type Trump's name when discussing this 10+ years in the future.  Damn it Brian.

[RokofAges75]

Just our Boys True Companioning in any setting/plot. I'm not super picky. Preferences for none of their actual wives or children being involved; fictional wives and children are fine.

I'm all for more True Companioning and less kinky slash!

If you could "order up" the ideal fanfic to read, what would yours include?

Mine would include:
- all five guys but Brian or Nick as the main character
- bromance
- hurt/comfort angst
- some sort of illness, injury, or life-threatening situation

[RokofAges75]

How does it feel to get to the point of not worrying? I bet it's a relief knowing that you'll keep going even if you get stuck a little.

It is a relief!  Especially after getting stuck and staying like that for three years LOL.  I may get stuck again, but I feel like I'm committed enough to the story at this point that I'll be able to push through it sooner the next time it happens.

It felt good to write something down on the big mystery even if it's still a long way off, since, like you said, eventually everything will connect. You know, I don't mind it. I thought it would bother me, but it gets the exciting things out. Then there's more space for the things I get stuck on to grow in the "garden."

I feel like it would bother me too, but maybe I'll have to try it sometime and find out for myself.  I would be most worried about maintaining continuity, trying to keep track of what has already happened and what hasn't happened yet, and that sort of thing.  Does that get complicated for you?

lol! Yes! Oh the Conversation Mix...

I wonder how Howie feels about suggesting his ideal lady cooks all his meals and he just eats them.

Meanwhile, Nick's probably like "Yup, kiss her, and kiss her, and kiss her. Good job 17-year-old me." I did feel glad for him that in that "I hate watching myself" youtube thing that they did not play the "resign" interview. I'm sure he would have hated that, but for nothing that was related to the sound of his voice.

It always makes me laugh when it pops up on my BSB playlist.  Sometimes I skip it, and other times I listen to it and crack myself up saying all the lines along with them.  I'm sure I took it way too literally as a young teenybopper, but Howie was my least favorite for a while because of his stupid part in that song LOL.  Howie!  Your wife is not just there to cook you food!  Make your own damn breakfast!

Brian and AJ came off looking the best, although it's interesting that Brian talked about being attracted to a smart girl who had a good head on her shoulders and liked to go to school (teenybopper me was like, "That's me!"), yet he married an uneducated bimbo with big boobs.  Nick was right for calling him out in the song LOL.

I bet Nick and Kevin both cringe at the sound of their voice in that one - Nick because he sounds so young and Kevin because he's doing that cheesy Boys II Men-style sexy deep voice.  "Yes, baby... no diggity."  LMFAO!

[nicksgal]

Exactly.  It's easier to read stories where you already love the characters than try something totally new and different.

I assume that this is what people who write book series are counting on. Though I feel like there's less serial type ones going on now than there used to be? Like how did Ann M. Martin come up with so many plots involving the same 10 girls?

I am terrible about that with TV shows.  I was told to watch Queen's Gambit on Netflix.  I watched the first episode a few weeks ago.  It was good, but long, so I didn't feel like watching the second one immediately after.  Then I started rewatching Friday Night Lights from the beginning and am now on the second season, but still haven't watched the second episode of Queen's Gambit.  But damn, I almost forgot just how good FNL was, especially that first season.

I keep meaning to watch FNL. That exact situation you describe is me, just replace Queen's Gambit with The Crown, and FNL with the Big Bang Theory. I finally caved and started watching HBO Max. Friends is next.

Face balls sounds exactly like a funny Mare description LOL.

If we keep writing her name, she'll eventually see it and comment a week from now, lol. We need to know!

Yeah.  I know squicky stuff has always existed in our fandom to some extent, but AO3 seems to have brought it into the mainstream.  I noticed a new story on there yesterday that was written in Chinese, which I thought was cool.  It was clearly tagged "Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot," but just for kicks, I clicked on it and let Chrome translate it so I could see what it looked like in English.  From what I understood in my skimming, the Boys (or at least Brian and Kevin) were bunnies?  Literally rabbits, with long ears and puffball tails.  And, as you might imagine, they were doing what rabbits are stereotypicall y known for doing.  That was something I'd never seen in our fandom LOL.

I saw that one today when I just kind of checked to see what else was going on/if tons of people were still posting on Wednesdays. I did not go to the lengths that you did to figure out what it was about because I saw "cousin incest" and noped on out of there.

lol, rabbits! Happy Easter, here's a BSB pwp bunny fanfic. I don't think I can judge too much, since I'm probably at the top of the list of "writes stories where the Boys have odd body parts."

It doesn't seem like our fandom uses as many of those terms as other fandoms do.  Obviously we've adopted some, like "slash" and "visuals/vizzies," but most of the other ones I know, I've picked up from pages about fanfic in general, not specifically BSB fic.  Since I don't read or write in any other fandoms, there are a lot I don't know.  But it's always nice to learn some new terminology.

I wonder if it's just a compound of it being RPF and an older fandom. Like "slash" and "visuals/vizzies" I would consider older terms. I feel like now fandoms just portmanteau names for couples and then you just know it's slash or not based on that? And then I think PWP is the new version of "visuals." "Salt" wasn't a thing I saw until the last year or so when I'm looking up something and fandom-related things appear. Curiosity always got the better of me and I like fanart more than fanfic for other things. The Boys are my only fanfic love.

Yes, you're probably right about Nick, since we weren't really bashing him, just making his life different.

LOL Oh jeez... Brian probably does need a nickname to reflect this era.  I bet Mare will come up with something better than me.  Blatantly Conservative Brian and Trump Troll Brian both have a nice ring, though I would rather not have to type Trump's name when discussing this 10+ years in the future.  Damn it Brian.

We got through Hot Mess Nick, we'll get through Blatantly Conservative Brian together too (I also prefer not typing Trump a billion times). We could always just call him BAnon, lol. We loved Nick and we'll love Brian too. Unless anyone plans on bashing him, I guess.

[nicksgal]

I'm all for more True Companioning and less kinky slash!

Just to round it out a little. If people want to write slash, people want to read it. But I also like writing True Companions, so there must be people who want to read that too.

Mine would include:
- all five guys but Brian or Nick as the main character
- bromance
- hurt/comfort angst
- some sort of illness, injury, or life-threatening situation

I probably lean Nick as main character too, now that you mention it.

[RokofAges75]

I assume that this is what people who write book series are counting on. Though I feel like there's less serial type ones going on now than there used to be? Like how did Ann M. Martin come up with so many plots involving the same 10 girls?

They were ghostwritten after the first 36 books - that's how.  But still, 36 books is a lot!  It seems like the big series are more prevalent in books written for elementary readers, probably because of the point you made - the authors know kids who read and like one book in a series will keep coming back for more because of that familiarity, and they capitalize on that.

Series don't seem as prevalent for adult fiction.  Most of the ones I've read as an adult were actually YA fiction, like Twilight and The Hunger Games.

I keep meaning to watch FNL. That exact situation you describe is me, just replace Queen's Gambit with The Crown, and FNL with the Big Bang Theory. I finally caved and started watching HBO Max. Friends is next.

FNL is so good!!  I grew up in a small town that was obsessed with high school football, so I could relate to so much of it.  But also, the cast is excellent, and ​it has one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen.  If you make it to the end of the first episode, you'll be hooked.

I'm the same way with The Crown.  I started watching that over a year ago, and I'm only on episode 9 of the first season LOL.  It's well done, but it's not a binge-worthy show for me.  I have to be in the right mood for it, which apparently doesn't happen very often.  Meanwhile, I caught up on all 9 seasons of The Office in a matter of months when it was on Netflix.  I'm not a big sitcom person, but it's much easier to binge-watch 22-minute episodes of a comedy than 60-minute episodes of a period drama.

lol, rabbits! Happy Easter, here's a BSB pwp bunny fanfic. I don't think I can judge too much, since I'm probably at the top of the list of "writes stories where the Boys have odd body parts."

LOL Yep!  I can't judge too much either because I've written my own weird/squicky stuff.  To each their own.  It just made me laugh.  Gold star for originality, especially in a PWP!

I wonder if it's just a compound of it being RPF and an older fandom. Like "slash" and "visuals/vizzies" I would consider older terms. I feel like now fandoms just portmanteau names for couples and then you just know it's slash or not based on that? And then I think PWP is the new version of "visuals." "Salt" wasn't a thing I saw until the last year or so when I'm looking up something and fandom-related things appear. Curiosity always got the better of me and I like fanart more than fanfic for other things. The Boys are my only fanfic love.

Oh absolutely, that makes sense.  And you're right, PWP is the new version of visual.  I guess it's because there just aren't many places to discuss BSB fanfic anymore that we don't adopt or create as many terms.  And since we mainly only write about five "characters," we don't have as many cutesy couple names as other fandoms.  Go figure, the only one I've ever used is "Nowie," and I don't think that's a popular pairing on AO3.

I like learning new terms, though, so keep sharing them as you come across them!  I remember the first time I came across the term "hurt/comfort" years ago - I was like, "OMG... that's exactly what I like to read and write!"  I never knew there was a specific name for that trope.  That was way before TV Tropes existed, or at least before I discovered that site.

We got through Hot Mess Nick, we'll get through Blatantly Conservative Brian together too (I also prefer not typing Trump a billion times). We could always just call him BAnon, lol. We loved Nick and we'll love Brian too. Unless anyone plans on bashing him, I guess.

BAnon LOL.  I like BCB best too.  And yes, this too shall pass.  I hope we can get to a place where being conservative isn't seen as a bad thing.  I still love Brian and will only bash him with love.  All in good fun!

[RokofAges75]

Just to round it out a little. If people want to write slash, people want to read it. But I also like writing True Companions, so there must be people who want to read that too.

Yes, very true.  I don't mean to knock slash; I've actually grown to appreciate slash more over the years.  I just get tired of scrolling through AO3 and seeing so much of it, especially the PWP kind.

[nicksgal]

It is a relief!  Especially after getting stuck and staying like that for three years LOL.  I may get stuck again, but I feel like I'm committed enough to the story at this point that I'll be able to push through it sooner the next time it happens.

I think you will too! And I'm here to commiserate with you should it happen. Because I get being committed and getting stuck. I'm like the poster child for it, really. I'm pretty sure when PBox was featured, Mare said she picked it because it "might inspire you to update it this month." That did not happen, lol.

I feel like it would bother me too, but maybe I'll have to try it sometime and find out for myself.  I would be most worried about maintaining continuity, trying to keep track of what has already happened and what hasn't happened yet, and that sort of thing.  Does that get complicated for you?

I think I only noticed it once and it was more in the vein of "tiny plot hole, oops!" that I forgot to write down, but had clearly always thought because I did write it and say "you know, I don't think that I actually wrote that down the first time, my bad." I've got the overall continuity down pretty well. It helps that PBox was fairly self-contained, being an "in search of MacGuffin" type story and I have two notes documents going that are basically timelines (but in the more jumbled way I tend to write things down rather than outlines) where I'll note things that have yet to happen in PNecklace or things that clearly happen in the next one.

Anything I write ahead of time, I label it very meticulously as "Book title (likely chapter range if I know it, plot point or sub-plot): description of thing that's happening." I'll make up an example since everything I have in there now is fairly spoilery to list verbatim even with character names replaced with letters. Let's say back in PBox days I got an idea for the little excerpt I posted of the Kevin talking about medicinal salves scene and wrote it, I would have labeled it as "PBox (early twenties, after Renee/NSYNC stuff; while traveling to Rubiihoppou to find AJ): Kevin has a hobby making medicinal salves and Nick thinks it smells terrible (haha), demons smell really well and all smell different." That meticulous labeling also shows you that Nick's hilarious reaction is probably why I wanted to write it down so badly, lol. Then all the scenes are put in the order they probably go in once they're actually in chapters, though I did end up moving some around in PNecklace from my initial thought of where they should go once I actually got around to writing the full chapter and have also ultimately decided to take some things I thought were interesting out after I decided it wasn't important. So it lives and breathes.

It's only getting slightly confusing now in the OF editing since I have an opportunity to bring even more things in earlier and different things that are better than the laziness of the fanfic version, like some early symbolism for the "omg they're x" stuff that was poorly done in the original fanfic/too late to majorly change now. That and I've thought "aww, I wish I could add this to the fanfic" several times, but it would create a domino effect of stuff to change and it just feels like I would be constantly changing the fanfic version, which would break my "nothing major actually changes in the fanfic edit down to the plot of each chapter" rule.

And half of my changes to the narrative right now are in my effort to demonstrate, "See this little demon that is not at all Nick Carter (*cough*), you should care about him so much and invest in his story, here is why" versus "in this story, Nick is demon! Let's continue to the part that does need an explanation for you to enjoy this story, the world building." lol

It always makes me laugh when it pops up on my BSB playlist.  Sometimes I skip it, and other times I listen to it and crack myself up saying all the lines along with them.  I'm sure I took it way too literally as a young teenybopper, but Howie was my least favorite for a while because of his stupid part in that song LOL.  Howie!  Your wife is not just there to cook you food!  Make your own damn breakfast!

Sometimes I go out of my way to listen to it, lol. I thought Howie was ridiculous for it, but also understood that someone who liked to cook would be an awesome person to be with, because then I could just eat it, lol. Although cooking together is more enjoyable.

Howie and Kevin were tied for me. Nick, then Brian (aka the blond/blue-eyed not Nick, lol), then AJ, then Howie and Kevin. Now it's probably either Nick and everybody else or Nick, then Howie and I could be thick as thieves, but I love all of you for the good times. It's hard to shake the Nick love even being an old married lady at this point. All my favorite songs now are the ones they all have solo bits on, where in my younger years, they were all the Nick and Brian dominated ones (which wasn't hard to do, lol).

Brian and AJ came off looking the best, although it's interesting that Brian talked about being attracted to a smart girl who had a good head on her shoulders and liked to go to school (teenybopper me was like, "That's me!"), yet he married an uneducated bimbo with big boobs.  Nick was right for calling him out in the song LOL.

You sound so reasonable. Teenybopper me was like "Yeah, I'll kiss you at the movies, and when we go dancing, and whenever! Name the place! I'm there!" Nick was right to call him out. He knew. Guardian angel, boom.

I bet Nick and Kevin both cringe at the sound of their voice in that one - Nick because he sounds so young and Kevin because he's doing that cheesy Boys II Men-style sexy deep voice.  "Yes, baby... no diggity."  LMFAO!

I don't know that Nick does. That video where they're all calling out IYWITBGG (and AJ even says "It should have never been made, it should not exist"). And Nick's just like, "I don't know. We have a lot of great songs." like he didn't think it was that bad, lol. And there are points in that song where his voice is pretty cringey sounding too. Speaking of young Nick, now I have a deep desire to go listen to Tell Me That I'm Dreaming, lol!

Kevin is probably so glad to have moved on from songs with the cheesy sexy deep voice. I bet he got so tired of that. "No diggity," lmfao. Poor Kevin.

[nicksgal]

They were ghostwritten after the first 36 books - that's how.  But still, 36 books is a lot!  It seems like the big series are more prevalent in books written for elementary readers, probably because of the point you made - the authors know kids who read and like one book in a series will keep coming back for more because of that familiarity, and they capitalize on that.

Series don't seem as prevalent for adult fiction.  Most of the ones I've read as an adult were actually YA fiction, like Twilight and The Hunger Games.

Did not know that! That makes so much more sense. It's like Magic Tree House. I pick them up and think, you've got to have run out of places for Jack and Annie to go by now. No? This is new? Okay. What are they doing now? lol

I think if it's a series in adult fiction, there's not a million of them, but there's more than three or four (i'm thinking GOT and Sookie Stackhouse). YA is usually like "You have three to four of these before your target audience moves on, tick tock." lol

FNL is so good!!  I grew up in a small town that was obsessed with high school football, so I could relate to so much of it.  But also, the cast is excellent, and ​it has one of the best pilot episodes I've ever seen.  If you make it to the end of the first episode, you'll be hooked.

I liked the movie a lot and I've heard good things, so I really keep meaning to! Is it back on Netflix now?

I'm the same way with The Crown.  I started watching that over a year ago, and I'm only on episode 9 of the first season LOL.  It's well done, but it's not a binge-worthy show for me.  I have to be in the right mood for it, which apparently doesn't happen very often.  Meanwhile, I caught up on all 9 seasons of The Office in a matter of months when it was on Netflix.  I'm not a big sitcom person, but it's much easier to binge-watch 22-minute episodes of a comedy than 60-minute episodes of a period drama.

Same on all of that, even The Office bit, lol. You can watch about three episodes in an hour of a sitcom, it takes much less time.

LOL Yep!  I can't judge too much either because I've written my own weird/squicky stuff.  To each their own.  It just made me laugh.  Gold star for originality, especially in a PWP!

Right? lol Gives some substance to the PWP.

Oh absolutely, that makes sense.  And you're right, PWP is the new version of visual.  I guess it's because there just aren't many places to discuss BSB fanfic anymore that we don't adopt or create as many terms.  And since we mainly only write about five "characters," we don't have as many cutesy couple names as other fandoms.  Go figure, the only one I've ever used is "Nowie," and I don't think that's a popular pairing on AO3.

I like learning new terms, though, so keep sharing them as you come across them!  I remember the first time I came across the term "hurt/comfort" years ago - I was like, "OMG... that's exactly what I like to read and write!"  I never knew there was a specific name for that trope.  That was way before TV Tropes existed, or at least before I discovered that site.

We're too old to change and all have the same terminology. It's fine, lol.

There's at most, what?... 25 cutesy couple names? But we're just as likely to use them platonically as we are to use them for couples? That's why we need "slash" too, lol. I can't think of any besides Frick & Frack, ARok, and Nowie though. Kentucky Cousins? Is that one?

I like coming across new terms too, especially when it's things like that where I was like "This thing I enjoy has name? Awesome!" I can't think of any examples right now, but I do always like when I know the specific trope for whatever thing.

BAnon LOL.  I like BCB best too.  And yes, this too shall pass.  I hope we can get to a place where being conservative isn't seen as a bad thing.  I still love Brian and will only bash him with love.  All in good fun!

Alright, unless anyone else has objections, it sounds like Blatantly Conservative Brian (BCB for short) is our term for this, lol. I think as we get further away from the extreme right that it has been, it'll be fine.

Yes, very true.  I don't mean to knock slash; I've actually grown to appreciate slash more over the years.  I just get tired of scrolling through AO3 and seeing so much of it, especially the PWP kind.

I didn't think you did. I didn't either. I get tired of scrolling through all the PWP on AO3 whether it's slash or not! It's more the PWP aspect of it than the slash aspect for me. As I said before, I'm really not that picky as long as there's a plot, lol.

[RokofAges75]

I think you will too! And I'm here to commiserate with you should it happen. Because I get being committed and getting stuck. I'm like the poster child for it, really. I'm pretty sure when PBox was featured, Mare said she picked it because it "might inspire you to update it this month." That did not happen, lol.

Aww, thanks!  This forum is great for commiserating.  I'm either going to hit a wall soon, or I'm going to roll right through it.  I can't tell yet.  I'm already almost through the first phase of the story, which I had a pretty clear vision for.  I also have a lot planned for the third phase of the story, which I feel is really the heart of the whole story idea.  It's the second phase I'm unsure about.  That's the part I wish I could film as a brief montage set to some upbeat 80s music and move on from.  It's really just the bridge between the first and third phase of the story, but I can't completely rush through it.  I just don't have a lot of specific scenes planned out yet, so I need to get on that.  I did take your suggestion and start a list, but it's a pretty short list so far LOL.  I'm hoping when I get to the point of actually needing scenes, I'll come up with something.  This is me plantsing LOL.

Anything I write ahead of time, I label it very meticulously as "Book title (likely chapter range if I know it, plot point or sub-plot): description of thing that's happening." I'll make up an example since everything I have in there now is fairly spoilery to list verbatim even with character names replaced with letters. Let's say back in PBox days I got an idea for the little excerpt I posted of the Kevin talking about medicinal salves scene and wrote it, I would have labeled it as "PBox (early twenties, after Renee/NSYNC stuff; while traveling to Rubiihoppou to find AJ): Kevin has a hobby making medicinal salves and Nick thinks it smells terrible (haha), demons smell really well and all smell different." That meticulous labeling also shows you that Nick's hilarious reaction is probably why I wanted to write it down so badly, lol. Then all the scenes are put in the order they probably go in once they're actually in chapters, though I did end up moving some around in PNecklace from my initial thought of where they should go once I actually got around to writing the full chapter and have also ultimately decided to take some things I thought were interesting out after I decided it wasn't important. So it lives and breathes.

It's only getting slightly confusing now in the OF editing since I have an opportunity to bring even more things in earlier and different things that are better than the laziness of the fanfic version, like some early symbolism for the "omg they're x" stuff that was poorly done in the original fanfic/too late to majorly change now. That and I've thought "aww, I wish I could add this to the fanfic" several times, but it would create a domino effect of stuff to change and it just feels like I would be constantly changing the fanfic version, which would break my "nothing major actually changes in the fanfic edit down to the plot of each chapter" rule.

And half of my changes to the narrative right now are in my effort to demonstrate, "See this little demon that is not at all Nick Carter (*cough*), you should care about him so much and invest in his story, here is why" versus "in this story, Nick is demon! Let's continue to the part that does need an explanation for you to enjoy this story, the world building." lol

I almost asked you about labeling all these scenes, but I remembered you talking a while back about naming your files in Google Drive.  The way you explained it here makes more sense and seems like it would help you remember what you wrote and find the right scene when you need it.

I think you're wise to save the big changes for the OF version instead of constantly editing the fanfic.  Especially since the fanfic is already online.  And yeah, you probably would need to focus more on character development in the OF version, since you're no longer writing about "Nick." 

That seems like it would be one of the biggest differences between writing fanfic and original fic.  I know in the stories where I have created original characters that play an important role, I've put a lot more time into developing them than I did the Boys, because the readers already know the Boys.  It's more about orienting them to when in Backstreet time the story takes place and showing how the Boys change as a result of whatever happens in the plot.

Howie and Kevin were tied for me. Nick, then Brian (aka the blond/blue-eyed not Nick, lol), then AJ, then Howie and Kevin. Now it's probably either Nick and everybody else or Nick, then Howie and I could be thick as thieves, but I love all of you for the good times. It's hard to shake the Nick love even being an old married lady at this point. All my favorite songs now are the ones they all have solo bits on, where in my younger years, they were all the Nick and Brian dominated ones (which wasn't hard to do, lol).

I was the same way with having a clear order of favorites in my teenybopper days, although it changed from time to time.  Brian was always my favorite, and AJ was #2 for a long time.  Nick was my least favorite very early on, which I think was based on a combination of wanting to go against the grain of him being everyone else's favorite and finding him annoying in their Millennium era appearances.  But then Nick started to grow on me (helped by fanfic, no doubt), which left Howie and Kevin alternating between the #4 and #5 spot.  I know Nick had risen to my second favorite by 2001 because my custom license plate on my first car began with BNAHK, and I put their initials in order of favorites LOL.  Now I would rank them in two tiers:  Brian and Nick on the top tier, Kevin, Howie, and AJ on the bottom tier.  I don't have a least favorite anymore; I love them all.

I don't know that Nick does. That video where they're all calling out IYWITBGG (and AJ even says "It should have never been made, it should not exist"). And Nick's just like, "I don't know. We have a lot of great songs." like he didn't think it was that bad, lol. And there are points in that song where his voice is pretty cringey sounding too. Speaking of young Nick, now I have a deep desire to go listen to Tell Me That I'm Dreaming, lol!

Kevin is probably so glad to have moved on from songs with the cheesy sexy deep voice. I bet he got so tired of that. "No diggity," lmfao. Poor Kevin.

I'm with Nick on that.  Sure, IYWITBGG is bad, but it's far from their worst song.  It's a guilty pleasure song - catchy and fun, even if it the lyrics are cringey.  Boys Will Be Boys is just as bad, and I love both songs.  I would take songs like that any day over She's a Dream.  Tell Me That I'm Dreaming is adorable.

I wonder if Kevin realized how cheesy it was when he got roped into doing that deep voice back then, or if it actually seemed cool and sexy at the time because Boys II Men had done it.  I agree; I'm sure he's glad that trend is over LOL.

[RokofAges75]

Did not know that! That makes so much more sense. It's like Magic Tree House. I pick them up and think, you've got to have run out of places for Jack and Annie to go by now. No? This is new? Okay. What are they doing now? lol

I think if it's a series in adult fiction, there's not a million of them, but there's more than three or four (i'm thinking GOT and Sookie Stackhouse). YA is usually like "You have three to four of these before your target audience moves on, tick tock." lol

Yes, I almost mentioned Magic Tree House as an example!  I guess with those books, they just have to think of a historical time period or event or a scientific topic they want to focus on and develop the plot around that.  All those series are so formulaic, I'm sure that helps the authors (or ghostwriters) churn them out quickly.

YA series aiming for 3-4 books to match their readers' attention span totally makes sense LOL.

I liked the movie a lot and I've heard good things, so I really keep meaning to! Is it back on Netflix now?

The show is better than the movie, but I may be biased because I didn't see the movie until after I fell in love with the show.  It used to be on Netflix, but I think it's only on Hulu right now.

There's at most, what?... 25 cutesy couple names? But we're just as likely to use them platonically as we are to use them for couples? That's why we need "slash" too, lol. I can't think of any besides Frick & Frack, ARok, and Nowie though. Kentucky Cousins? Is that one?

There must be one for Kevin/Nick, but I'm not sure what is most commonly used.  Kick?  Nevin?  I think Brian/Kevin would be Kentucky Cousins or KFC (Kentucky's Finest Cousins).  Not sure if there is one for AJ/Kevin, AJ/Howie, AJ/Nick, Howie/Kevin, or Howie/Brian.  I don't see those pairings often, if ever.  Can you imagine a Howie/Brian slash? LMAO.

I get tired of scrolling through all the PWP on AO3 whether it's slash or not! It's more the PWP aspect of it than the slash aspect for me. As I said before, I'm really not that picky as long as there's a plot, lol.

I'm with you!  It's not the slash that annoys me; it's the PWP.  It just so happens that most of the PWP on AO3 seems to be slash, not het.  I'm fine with slash with a plot.  And slash without a plot is fine too for people who prefer that.  It's just not my thing.