What Does SpaceBattles Mean?
Fandom CultureA long-running forum whose creative writing section hosts one of the largest fanfiction communities outside AO3 and FFN, known for Worm fic, crossovers, and quest fics. Its sibling forum Sufficient Velocity shares the culture.
SpaceBattles in Practice
SpaceBattles began in the 1990s around sci-fi versus debates and grew a creative writing wing with a distinct fic culture: long serialized threads where discussion happens between chapters, heavy emphasis on worldbuilding rigor and power mechanics, and house genres like self-insert fic, rational-leaning AU, and the interactive quest format. The forum is the gravitational center of Worm fandom and a major venue for crossover epics. Its conventions differ noticeably from AO3 culture — threadmarks instead of chapters, live audience debate shaping stories, and a readership that will absolutely run the numbers on your protagonist's power set. Sufficient Velocity, founded by former SpaceBattles members, maintains a parallel community.
Example usage
"The fic has 800 pages on SpaceBattles, of which 300 are story and 500 are readers arguing about shield mechanics."
Related Terms
Quest Fic
An interactive story format in which the audience votes on what the protagonist does next, and the author writes the winning choice. Quests thrive on forums like SpaceBattles and Sufficient Velocity.
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Self-Insert
A fic where the author writes a version of themselves into the story's world, interacting with canon characters. Sometimes thinly disguised as an OC; sometimes proudly undisguised.
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Crossover
A fic that combines two or more separate canons, bringing their characters and worlds into contact — the detective meets the wizard, the starship picks up the time traveler. Distinct from a fusion, where one cast is placed inside another's world.
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