Some moments on the Internet become legendary—classics that are impossible to forget. Such is the case with the alleged story of a student who accidentally submitted erotic Bugs Bunny/Lola Bunny fanfiction to their professor instead of the class assignment.
If you write fanfiction—or any kind of fiction, really—chances are you’ve experienced a moment of panic where the streams almost crossed between worlds that you meant to keep separate. There’s no shame in writing fic, but most writers and other transformative works creators use pseudonyms for a reason.
Fanworks are a creative act that generally falls outside of our day-to-day work/school activities and more public-facing profiles like Facebook. Social sites where anonymity via usernames is possible—first LiveJournal, then Tumblr, and now increasingly on fandom Twitter—allow fans to operate without fear their boss or teacher or weird cousin will see their fannish commentary.
It’s liberating to have a pseudonym under which you are free to engage and not worry your work (or your own fanfiction reading list) may be uncovered by anyone you do not wish to share it with. (Many traditionally published writers and artists take the same route.) Even famous, award-winning authors like N.K. Jemisin have pseuds under which they still create fanworks. It’s a sandbox you can share with like-minded people, usually walled off from your professional persona.
But on occasion, those streams do accidentally get crossed. In a busy digital world where we have a handful of different email addresses, multiple Google docs and drives, Slack windows and Discord chats running simultaneously, accidents happen. We’re only human. I have a friend who emailed herself a sexy story she was writing on her phone during class. Except she sent it to someone at her university with a nearly identical name and then had to have a rather awkward email exchange with the recipient.
Yet even this embarrassing situation feels like a drop in the bucket compared to one Twitter user’s apparent experience. On Twitter, abdi recently reminded us that it had been half a year since erotic Bugs Bunny fanfiction was sent to their professor in lieu of the assigned essay.
it’s been half a year since i accidentally sent my professor bugs bunny fanfic pic.twitter.com/eyaoX5GoOd
— abdi (@tropicanapussy) October 30, 2021
What makes this insta-cringe moment all the better is the professor’s reaction. Instead of calling out the content or studiously ignoring the submitted fic, the confused professor kept reading. “…what I have here seems to be a script of some sort? I found myself fascinated yet disturbed. If you don’t mind I’d like to keep reading what you’ve got here,” the professor wrote, helpfully offering to also allow the actual essay to be re-submitted without penalty.
i’m gonna email him and ask what was awakened in him….
— abdi (@tropicanapussy) October 30, 2021
Now, I’m using words like “alleged” and “apparent” because it’s possible that this could all be an elaborate Twitter joke—abdi’s timeline is full of many comedic gems. (They did, however, initially first report the incident half a year ago back in March.) But even if this one is cooked up, I’ve seen plenty of other stories go by in my years on the Internet—and known enough people personally who made similar mishaps—that this is fun to share on principle. And the responses in reaction to the thread are hilarious.
your prof pic.twitter.com/JzS1Sqtzya
— connor (@cxmiccxn) November 1, 2021
He unlocked the essay submission and u unlocked something within him…
— ia (@miatostada) October 30, 2021
Note to self: send professors fanfic to distract them and extend my deadlines
— Kira Kat (@HauvWixes) October 31, 2021
Release the draft pic.twitter.com/oO0VDxZswr
— Lunchbox (@kalashnikommie) October 31, 2021
— clown boy (derogatory) (@oatfucker3000) October 31, 2021
This tale is also widely relatable: online mistakes don’t have to involve fandom. They can come in many shapes and forms.
In 2017 i wrote my prof an email from my burner called pussyslayer69xxx pic.twitter.com/zQo1Mp6vS6
— Alice (@mesankta) November 1, 2021
Have you ever had a close call with revealing something to an unexpected recipient? Did the close call actually tip into “OH NO IT HAPPENED UNSEND UNSEND UNSEND!!!!!!!!” territory? Let’s commiserate in the comments.
(via abdi on Twitter, image: Warner Bros.)
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