Threadfic

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Synonyms: twitter threadfic, thread-fic, twitfic, twit-fic, twtfic
See also: Commentfic, not!fic, Social Media AU
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Threadfic is fanfic that is posted on Twitter as a "thread" or sequence of tweets posted as replies to the first tweet in the chain. Threadfic is usually written by one author, but the nature of twitter allows for branching replies, brainstorming, and riffing on the theme by multiple users. Some threadfic also is interactive or contains multimedia.

Threadfic is often written in a more colloquial style than fanfic posted to archives, with more abbreviations due to Twitter's character limit on tweets. Some write the fic in notes apps and photograph the image to get around word count limits. Sometimes, threadfic it can originate as a headcanon or what-if scenario that the author expands into a threadfic.

Some threadfic is then reposted to other platforms, but the majority is not.

Popularity

Threadfic became popular in a number of fandoms in the late 2010s. It seems particularly common in anime and cmedia fandom. For example:

Advantages and constraints of the format

Threadfic is popular with many fans whose fandom activity centres around Twitter, since it means that their ideas and writing can reach the community directly without readers needing to be directed towards an external site. It also allows for ease of back-and-forth interaction and ideas or commentary from readers.

Threadfics get tons of interactions, but quote-rts and comments are where authors and readers would continue expanding on the piece. Authors can also use the Twitter poll option to help lead the narrative where the voters (readers) want! Threadfics thrive on the fast consumption of content people in fandom really like these days: they're short, concise and very rarely complex in narrative. Mostly they're just expanded headcanons or porn, although the quality really varies from author to author.

Seanide [1]

Threadfics tend to be ephemeral by nature, since Twitter's search engine is not very comprehensive, and accounts or threads can be removed if the original account is reported for abuse. Some fans also find threadfics difficult to follow, preferring a format more designed for long-form writing.

In-progress or unfinished threadfics can also present a challenge to readers who want to follow them, since they need to remember to check back for further installments. This is not necessarily different to any fanfic in progress, except that Twitter does not have a notification system that will alert readers to further developments. Following the author's Twitter account is the closest alternative to this, but may not be helpful to readers who only wish to follow a single thread and not the author's other tweets. Some frequent authors of threadfic may create pinned tweets or threads that collect together all of their threadfic, for ease of browsing.

Fannish comments on writing-based threadfic

(*lays down beside pool and gently touches the water*

Do you ever accidentally start a new threadfic even when you promised yourself you wouldn't?

Do you ever tweet a random brainworm and then several thousands words tumble out?)[2]

Thread-fic authors have too much power. I could only ever write the complete thing in a diff doc and copy-pasta.[3]

I decide on threadfic vs ao3 is mostly on a whim tbh BUT what helps for me is do I want more focus on plot or writing? w character limits its easier to go for plucky or short punches while leaving flowy extended metaphors on ao3 where I can expand. hope you can figure it out!!(Archived version)</ref>

Examples

Writing based

Art based

  • zhongli interactive camboy au by pebble (@moonshards). this art is unique as replies to each part of the series are often featured in the following parts.

Multimedia works

Further Reading

References

  1. ^ Fanlore talk page. Published 5 October 2022.
  2. ^ Tweet by @cicerfics, July 22, 2021 (Accessed December 26, 2021). (Archived version)
  3. ^ Tweet by @DuendePika, September 10, 2021 (Accessed December 26, 2021). (Archived version)
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