What is human AU?
Buffy is obviously a show built around vampires, but the characterization of the non-humans on the show is often three-dimensional and sympathetic. Sometimes in fanfiction, writers choose to create an alternative universe (AU) in which all characters are normal humans and no supernatural elements exist. Sometimes it’s a hybrid—a universe where vampires exist, but Spike, Angel, Buffy, whoever, are regular folk. There’s an essay exploring the point of writing human AU in the archive.
What's the deal with your domain name?
It stands for Dirtybadwrong Ink.
Who the hell are you?
Your webmistresses are thatotherperv and meretrix.
A little bit about us: We’re primarily slashers, primarily Angel/Spike shippers, though we like Xander to play with the boys as well. We prefer angst to schmoop, and we prefer realism in fics, but well-done fantasy is great too. Snark and adversarial relationships and Men Being Men get a thumbs-up. Het is best loved when it doesn’t read like a commercial romance novel.
(For you newbies, slash = m/m or f/f, het = m/f)
Why do I tell you any of this? Well, because:
How can I submit my own work to the archive?
Sorry, you can’t. This archive is invitation-only. I know that sucks, but we’re running this thing on our very limited spare time. Plus, we’re picky. I hope that means you enjoy the fic that you find here. Before this site, no archive expressly built for Buffyverse human AU existed, and we try to showcase the best the genre has to offer.
Ok, you Fanfic Fascists, I get it, you’re snobs. Can you at least tell me how you choose fic to include? What are these so-called “standards”?
Fanfic Fascists. Nice ring, huh? I like it.
Well, essentially it’s down to a mixture of both our preferences, which…mix very well since we pretty much have the same taste. But we have *broad* tastes, so hopefully we capture a wide range of good stuff. Things we look for, in an informal kind of way:
- a good grasp of the English language, obviously. having a beta-reader helps, but isn’t really necessary
- engaging, original, well-applied storylines
- complete fics, or at least one complete story arc that gives the reader a "finished" feeling. you won't find wips here
- characterization that applies canon believably to an all-human world; we view “in-character” fairly flexibly, and a broad range of interpretations can be valid, but it’s important that the characters are recognizable
- we’re prone to dark / angsty / sick & twisted, but sweetness and fluff can be good too. but it has to be believable fluff, if that makes any sense. and applied in a way that doesn't make us vomit on our shoes
- some fic exists for plot. some exists to be shippy. some exists as living meta. some…some fics just exist for kink. we take em all.
- fics featuring prolonged, prominent, ooc character-bashing are avoided as much as possible. there’s a difference between using canon traits to cast someone as the villain and distorting a character beyond recognition simply because you don’t like them. we respect all the Buffyverse characters here.
- archives are often political. this archive exists for the love of the genre. this means that although it’s dictated by our preferences, the identity of the writer has no bearing on the inclusion of a fic. just because we love someone personally doesn't guarantee inclusion; dislike of an individual won't prevent us from including fic that's up to our standards.
Some of the fiction here depicts abuse, underage sex, and questionable consensuality. What is the responsibility of a fanfiction writer?
Well, opinions on this vary, kerfluffles have been plenty, and meta essays from opposite ends of the spectrum can be found in the archive. If you’re interested, I encourage you to go read them, because they make some great points on both sides of the argument. Everything contained here is fantasy fiction. None of the site maintainers or authors condone real-life abuse of children, teens or adults. In fact, we condemn it. “Between consenting adults” is the magic phrase, kids. But sometimes we (as humans) find eroticism in depictions of behavior we know to be immoral, and titillation where we’d expect disgust.
Regardless of the responsibility of the writer, as archivists—as people who organize these fics to be easily accessible to readers—I tend to think *we* have somewhat of a responsibility. Therefore, we have tried to stick to fic that deals with abuse as abuse, shows that such behavior has ugly or dark consequences, and does not dress it up as something else. However, even these fics may be written for the purpose of eroticism. I believe a fic can do both—be erotic while showing a harsh reality. You have to capture our complicated feelings about sex to do so, and I think sometimes it’s the mark of good writing to pull this off.
Please check warnings and read responsibly. We have tried to make it easy for you to do so…and difficult for you to stumble upon something that you want no part of.
There’s a lot of weird jargon on this site that I don’t understand. Drabble, kerfluffle, what now?
Yeah, we fans are an inbred folk, and we have our own language. There’s a Fandom Glossary here. When I was a wee newbie, there was no fandom glossary. You had to walk uphill in the snow and use context clues.
I followed the link to someone’s livejournal and I got some sort of error message. What’s up with that?
Maybe they deleted the post. More likely….
Livejournal and livejournal clones (such as insane journal, greatest journal, etc) allow posters to put privacy limitations on certain posts. Some authors prefer to keep their fic “friends-only.” This means you must get a livejournal account, friend them, and have them friend you back in order to see the content of that post. Different authors have different friending policies…some friend everyone back, some friend on request, some friend only the journals of those they wish to read in return and will not friend back on request.
Sounds complicated? Good thing we offer their fics here, huh. :)
Dude, are you literate? Because your punctuation and capitalization are…special.
Yeah, I speak English real good when I want to. but online, grammar gives way to creative license. There’s a kind of method to my madness, and if you can figure out what it is, you get a cookie. If not…just go with it.
So…how do I contact you again?
Site updates can be subscribed to at DBW_Updates, and we’ll get a message if you leave us a comment there.
Or you can contact us at
touch.dbw@gmail.com