My name is Hal (HJ) Bender. I write fiction, make GIFs, and create digital art. Let me tell you a little bit about how I got here.
I’ve been writing fanfiction since 1995. I didn’t know it was called fanfiction until 1997, when I became active in the online fandom community. I taught myself HTML and began building websites around 1998, although it wasn’t until 2001 that I was finally able to publish my first webpage on the internet. In 2002 I bought my first domain, and though it’s changed names twice, I’ve been running the same personal fandom archive for over 20 years.
In the pre-AO3 internet days, I helped build archives, design skins, and maintain websites for fandoms I am no longer active in but that remain very close to my heart, particularly the Alex Rider Slash archive and the Good Omens Library.
I am a slash fan, the majority of my works being M/M. I have been in many fandoms over the years, including (in chronological order):
When it comes to fandom, I’m from the old school of “don’t like, don’t read” and “ship and let ship”. The only thing I’m “anti” is censorship. I support creative freedom and AO3/OTW. I have a strict block-and-ignore policy when it comes to antis and all forms of thought policing and morality wank. I do not tolerate harassment of real people over fiction for any reason. No, not even those “really gross” things.