Sounds Like A Cult – “The Cult of Fanfiction” (March 17, 2026)

Episode Overview

This episode of Sounds Like a Cult explores the vibrant, complex, and sometimes controversial world of fanfiction. Hosted by Reese Oliver and Iman Hariri-Kia, with guests Christina Lauren (the best-selling author duo of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings), the discussion examines fanfiction’s cultish qualities: its unique lingo, passionate communities, controversies, and the ways it both empowers and sometimes polarizes its members. The episode digs into the fandom ecosystem, legal/ethical controversies, fan-to-author pipelines, and whether fanfiction falls under a “live your life” or “watch your back” cult category.

Fan Call-Ins: First-Hand Perspectives

(Timestamps: ~01:54 – 03:07, 22:51 – 23:53)

• Insider Lingo & Acceptability

  • Lauren Billings (Florida): Highlights fanfiction’s “very specific shared language and structure,” including “author’s notes at the top and bottom of chapters” and the normalizing of taboo topics (01:54).
  • Monica (Sydney, Australia): Points to fanfic being “embarrassing” on the outside, but accepted and supported on the inside—“a kind of live your life situation” (22:51).
  • Salem (Louisville): Notes the “lot of terminology” newcomers need to learn to navigate fanfiction spaces like AO3 and Wattpad (23:15).

• Fanfiction Involving Real People

  • Elora (California): Describes “ways people try and force celebrities in fandoms to interact with fanfiction”—including sending erotic stories to the real people involved (02:47).

What IS Fanfiction? History, Lingo, and Vibes

(Timestamps: 03:13 – 13:59)

Defining & Contextualizing the Phenomenon

• Fanfiction Definition (Reese Oliver, 06:51):

  “Fanfiction describes stories that are written by fans using pre-existing characters and plots from any piece of media…they often steer the original story world in new and unexpected directions.”

• Historical Perspective

  • Origins with Star Trek zines in the 1960s.
  • Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet cited as literary “fanfic.”
  • Even the Bible is humorously described as “kind of fanfic” (07:30).

• Modern Platforms

  • Fanfiction.net, Wattpad, AO3 (Archive of Our Own).
    • AO3 = “Mecca…with its own taxonomies, tags and tropes” (08:14)
    • AO3’s Hugo Award win is celebrated.

• Fanfic Lingo Crash Course (Iman Hariri-Kia, 08:51, 48:42)

  • Terms like OTP (“One True Pairing”), “ship,” “canon,” “fanon,” “headcanons,” AU, “your name” reader inserts, tags (fluff, smut, angst, DNI, one-shot), and Omegaverse are explained.
  • Omegaverse: “What if misogyny were biologically justified?” (10:44) and “where the women go into heat…and all of the men become pregnant.”
  • Lingo as in-group marker: “If you’re there, you’re family…but in other fandoms, you have to earn your stripes a bit” (49:23, Lauren Billings).

Memorable Quotes

• “If you have a scenario in your head about a piece of media…some little nerd out there has written it in the dark of their room at 3am, I guarantee you.” – Reese Oliver (07:04)
• “The Bible is kind of fanfic.” – Reese Oliver (07:30)
• “If you’re not looking for it, you can probably find it traditionally published and sold in Barnes & Noble.” – Iman Hariri-Kia (11:14)

Fanfiction Goes Mainstream: Successes and Ethics

(Timestamps: 11:13–13:59; 29:35 – 33:09)

From Fic to Bestseller

• Fifty Shades of Grey: Once Twilight fanfic (“Master of the Universe”), now a global phenomenon.
• After series: Began as One Direction fanfic.
• The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood: Adapts a Reylo (Rey x Kylo Ren) Star Wars fic.
• Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid: Inspired by but not directly based on fanfic.

Quotes & Reflections

• “A lot of fanfiction is actually derived from marginalized communities and queer people wanting to write themselves into narratives they don’t often see themselves in.” – Iman Hariri-Kia (13:43)
• Christina Lauren’s Origin: Wrote The Office (Twilight fic) for fun, which later became a professionally published romance (Beautiful Bastard) after legal and ethical drama around “fic theft” (32:09).

Controversies: Stigma, Legal Gray Areas, and Community Drama

(Timestamps: 13:59–20:06, 43:11–46:46, various)

Stigma & Gender Bias

• “For decades, fanfic has been dismissed as cringe or embarrassing teen girl behavior…when teenage girls write 100,000-word One Direction fics with impeccable emotional arcs…suddenly the writing is unserious.” – Reese Oliver (13:59)
• Communities led by young women or marginalized groups are treated as ‘frivolous,’ “fodder for bullies.” – Iman Hariri-Kia (15:00)

Legal/Ethical Issues

• Fanfic’s legal gray area: “If you have to outlaw fanfic, you have to outlaw song remixes.” – Reese Oliver (16:27)
• “As long as it’s not being sold…it’s not technically stealing.” – Iman Hariri-Kia (16:30)
• Controversy around publishing fanfic as original work (Manacled to Alchemized, 17:43–19:51), issues with J.K. Rowling’s transphobia and community backlash.

Community Drama

• Fandom drama is compared to “cultish excommunication” and “parasocial mania” (44:51).
• The phenomenon of “big name authors” (BNAs) and their meteoric rise and fall within the community.
• Insider “gossip rags,” e.g., the “Twankard” site in Twilight fandom, and flare-ups over perceived slights, author egos, or shifting community norms (37:40, 43:11–46:11).

Christina Lauren Interview: Deep Dives into Fanfic Subculture

(Timestamps: 24:17 – 59:07)

Meet-Cute and Entry Into Fandom

• Christina and Lauren met via Twilight fandom, collaborating on a one-shot fic called “A Little Crazy.”
• Emphasize the collaborative, in-group nature of writing and the normalization of niche topics (“uncut Edward” stories, “parka word” in Twilight fic, 26:12).

Being BNAs and Their Experience With Cultish Dynamics

• Fandom features “charismatic” figures with large followings (AngstGoddess, Tara Sumi/E.L. James).
• Icy (E.L. James) was followed almost religiously, even having “IcyCons” in her honor (35:31).
• “She had a big following that would go after people pretty hard if you said anything negative about her.” – Lauren Billings (35:34)

Rituals and Community Rules

• Insider jargon (Fanon, Canon, One-Shot, AU, OTP) and unwritten rules, such as not profiting from fanfic and never calling readers “fans” (41:35).
• “Everything seems completely normal when you’re in it…and then outside, you’re like, ‘huh, that was interesting.’” – Christina Hobbs (25:31)
• The cycle of in-groups, ego, community drama, and excommunication/‘flounce’-ing (e.g., authors leaving in high-profile ways).

Scandals & Cancel Culture

• Describes periods when big-name authors were “cancelled” or “excommunicated,” often over issues of ego or publication, with their followings polarizing the community (43:37, 44:29).
• Christina shares a story of being doxxed after taking down her fic (51:55).

The “Us vs. Them” Bunker Mentality

• Many in the community are queer or marginalized people who find belonging through fandom (“I found my people”).
• Fandom as a space to “write into existence” the representation mainstream media lacks (46:46, 47:18).

Cultish “Language” & Status

• Coded lingo creates both kinship and status (“You get this kind of shorthand…some situations where it is a status thing.” – Lauren Billings, 49:23).
• “The more tags you can decode, the further in you are, the longer you’ve been in the cult.” – Reese Oliver (49:55)

Leaving the Fandom: Escape or Evolution?

• The transition to professional publishing often involves “leaving” the fandom—sometimes with backlash from those who feel a sense of communal ownership (51:49).
• “We left, but we didn’t leave…we just didn’t want to be in the online space because it was messy. But we still love writing fanfiction.” – Lauren Billings (51:27)

The Role of Controversy

• Scandal tends to polarize and strengthen subgroups, rather than dissolve the overall fandom—“It strengthens the splinters” (53:50).
• Despite claims that fanfic is derivative, fandom is lauded as a space for genuine innovation and creative exploration (55:32).

Fanfic vs. Cults: The “Ships in the Night” Game

(Timestamps: 56:32 – 59:07)

• The hosts quiz Christina Lauren on whether various portmanteau names are fic ships or cult figures (“Destiel,” “Prefect” from NXIVM, “Drinny,” “Stucky,” “Thetan,” and more).
• Fun, insider-y, and a showcase of the blur between obsessive fandom and cultish behavior.

Conclusions & Cult Category Verdict

(Timestamp: 60:00–60:48)

• Consensus: Fanfiction is a “Live Your Life” cult.
  • “Yes, there can be drama…but it’s ultimately derivative work highlighting deeper dramas…as Christina and Lauren outlined, extremely easy to leave.” – Reese Oliver & Iman Hariri-Kia (60:17–60:39)
  • “Anybody reading more is generally a good thing in my book.” – Reese Oliver (60:44)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “The Bible is kind of fanfic.” – Reese Oliver (07:30)
• On stigma: “When teenage girls write 100,000-word fics…with deeper character work than most TV shows, suddenly…the writing is unserious.” – Reese Oliver (13:59)
• Fandom as queer/marginalized space: “A lot of fan fiction is actually derived from marginalized communities and queer people wanting to write themselves in.” – Iman Hariri-Kia (13:43)
• On leaving fandom: “We left, but we didn’t leave.” – Lauren Billings (51:27)
• On drama: “Controversy strengthens the splinters.” – Lauren Billings (53:50)
• On creative freedom: “…fanfiction specifically gets some crap for being unoriginal…but it’s actually the most creative and adventurous.” – Lauren Billings (55:44)

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 01:54 – 03:07: Listener calls on cultiest elements of fanfiction
• 03:13 – 13:59: Definition, history, terminology, major platforms, and rise of fanfic-to-bestseller books
• 13:59 – 20:06: Stigma, legal and ethical controversies, Manacled/Alchemized drama
• 24:17 – 59:07: Interview with Christina Lauren—origins, drama, rituals, cultishness, controversies, fun “Ships in the Night” game
• 60:00 – 60:48: Hosts decide on cult category (“Live Your Life”)
• 46:46 – 48:42: Fandom as a safe harbor for marginalized creators and representation
• 51:49 – 53:34: Challenges, backlash, and “exit costs” when leaving or stepping back

Final Thoughts

Sounds Like a Cult finds the world of fanfiction surprisingly “culty”—marked by its lingo, charismatic figures, unwritten rituals, drama, and in-group identity. Yet it’s ultimately empowering, easily escapable, and a profound force for creative and social good. It sits comfortably as a “Live Your Life” cult, fueling both community and creativity.

Follow Christina Lauren:

• Instagram: @christinalauren
• Website: christinalaurenbooks.com

Summary by AI. All quotes and attributions based on the original episode transcript.