Shoujo-Ai Archive
| Archive | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Shoujo-Ai Archive |
| Date(s): | 2001 - 2014 |
| Archivist: | sec, previously Sonata |
| Founder: | Philip Mak |
| Type: | yuri fanfiction |
| Fandom: | multifandom (anime and manga) |
| URL: | www.shoujoai.com (archived link), https://nullroute.lt/mirrors/shoujoai.com/ (mirror link) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Shoujo-Ai Archive was a archive and forum for shoujo-ai/yuri fanfiction, created in 2001. The site's "About" page stated:
- "ShoujoAi.com's mission is to provide a number of helpful and enjoyable facilities for the yuri fandom.
- Ever since our founding in 2001, fanfiction (fan-written stories about anime and manga characters) has been a central focus of the site. Our Fanfiction section contains hundreds of yuri stories of all varieties from many anime and manga titles, and also includes original works.
- Also a primary attraction is our forum. From comparing favorite couples, discussing shoujo-ai classics, and speculating about new and upcoming anime and manga, our hope is that you will find our community active and welcoming. There are also areas to discuss both serious and lighthearted non-yuri topics, as well as an official chat room for more conversational yuri discussion.
- Finally, for those with a taste for a more interactive yuri experience, we offer a fully functional roleplaying environment in the Shoujo-Ai MUSH. In this text-based setting you will be able to create a character and explore Yuriba, a small island that is home to a thriving lesbian community."[1]
History
2001 - 2007
In September 2001, Philip Mak created the Shoujo-Ai website and forums for those who enjoyed shoujo ai and yuri anime and manga. The fanfiction archive hosted over 800 works for a multitude of anime and manga series, with Sailor Moon being of the most popular. In 2007, Philip passed away from a sudden brain aneurysm. After some scrambling, the admins of both Shoujo-Ai and Shoujo-Ai MUSH (Sonata, sec, and Yuriko) managed to rescue the files from the server so as to allow them to continue the site.
2007 - 2014
Over the next number of years, some of the old guard of the forums drifted away to other things, leading to Sonata to retire in May 2009, and eventually culminating with sec's later death in January 2014, leaving the forums bereft of administration as Yuriko was primarily associated with the MUSH. Despite managing to retain backups to almost everything, lack of access to acquire control of the shoujoai.com domain, alongside little motivation to put in the effort needed to restore the forums and related parts of the website whose userbase had been slowly declinng over the years, left little chance of shoujoai.com returning.
The possible loss of the website was noted by fans[2] and while the site remained accessible for a time in 2014, a browsable copy was made.[3]
Forums
In a tribute to Shoujoai.com, OG-Man of Yuri Nation wrote the following about some notable areas in the forums:
"SA.com was a great place for yuri fans of all tastes to gather and share their love of yuri in almost any way they wished. Of course there was a sub-area to talk about other topics but I rarely went there other than to talk about sexy pics. There was also the beyond helpful “lists” as it were. Before my Yuri list, which was inspired by Michirumagazine‘s with some tweaks, there was “The Master List” by Cryssoberyl, a manga recommendations list by Peppah and MouseE910 and the handy dandy “yuri scenes” list containing the locations of all the raunchier yuri moments in anime and hentai. Fanfiction writers and artists were also given a chance to shine sharing their stories of their favorite couples. Grimgrimoire got the spotlight there, which pleased me as Lillet X Amoretta needed more recognition…and still kinda does these days. Oh I cannot forget the Kannazuki no Miko discussions that went on there. Oh how fun those were."[4]
The forums, however, were not without their problems. Debates could flare up into arguments very quickly due to strong opinions and tempers, and pairing fights were not unheard of. One particular writer created major drama when her fic was heavily criticized by forum regulars VoidStar and Andy00.[5]
Shoujo-Ai MUSH
Yuriba MUSH writes in the legacy of the Shoujo-Ai Archive, how Shoujo-Ai MUSH first came to be:
"Back in September of 2001, a small forum had just been started with the thought of focusing on lesbian themes within the realm of japanese animation, and those who enjoyed such. Within the first few months of it's opening, and a surprising amount of activity, the site owner, one Philip Mak (pmak0 to some, and later Phil-chan to many members) opened up an IRC channel for those active members who often held extensive conversations to more easily communicate. Within that channel, over the next five months, a group of regulars took to participating in light-hearted pickup roleplay within the channel, something that wasn't really intended for it. Following that, Phil put out the idea of setting up a MUSH for those regulars that would be better suited to it, something that many had no idea what it was, but a couple jumped on with enthusiasm.Thus was born Shoujo-Ai MUSH in late February 2002. Having strong ties to both the IRC channel that spawned it, and the forums that spawned that (due to the userbase of each largely being a subset of the prior), it followed in the same mostly social chatting with a bit of lighthearted silly roleplay. Over time, however, things started to shift, with roleplay taking up a larger part of things, and a more structured setting began to evolve with a slowly expanding history to accompany it. What originally started out as a vague idea of beachfront in Japan turning into the island of Yuriba in the south Pacific, where originally any kind of character could apply for any reason, more restrictive character roles developed to cater to female characters and lessen conflict-based roleplay, and the silly takeoff of the cursed springs of Jusenkyou from the anime Ranma ½ became an integral part of maintaining the setting."[6]
Resources
References
- ^ Shoujo-Ai Archive: About Us (Accessed Jan. 24, 2012)
- ^ sufficient velocity forums (Accessed 16 Sep 2016)
- ^ browsable copy of Shoujo-Ai Archive (Accessed 16 Sep 2016)
- ^ "Yuri Talk: A Tribute to Shoujoai.com". Archived from the original on 2017-07-10.
- ^ Ancient FFX yuri wank
- ^ "Legacy of Shoujoai.com". Archived from the original on 2022-05-16.