Fandom Shopping: Suggestions Needed

[browngirl]

If this is true, and I have no reason whatsoever to doubt the source, then soon I will be done with current DC Comics, simply because all the characters I really love, the shape of the universe I've come to love, will be what the PTB will be getting rid of. They've been doing that for awhile (see my icon) but this might just be the final crisis, I mean, straw.

DC has no reason to care about this opinion of mine: I'm just one fangirl, and as can be seen in the responses to cmer's post, many people think this is a good idea. And, I'll still write and read stories based on DC back comics and AUs and so on, because I love this fandom and not a few of the people I've met here. But I won't be following or writing about current comics anymore, which will leave me rather casting about for a primary fandom. Although I haven't been writing much lately due to RL issues, I intend to resume sometime soon, and I really enjoy sharing fanfiction with a community of fans. My time in LOTR showed me that although I love the world of LOTR and it will always have a place in my heart and my creative endeavors, it isn't my primary fandom.

I can't promise I'll fall in love with any particular suggestion, but I'd really appreciate ideas for fandoms to explore. Some of the features I love include speculative fiction (fantasy, SF, historical fiction, etc), strong worldbuilding, large casts, diverse casts (whatever that means for the fictional universe), and moral complexity. Also, a fannish community that is not excessively pairings-driven would be nice, as I don't really believe in having just one OTP. I tend to write lots of different 'ships, and am trying to get myself to write more non-'shippy fic, and there are few things I hate worse than a shipwar.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions.

Comments

[drglam]

The Phantom Menace has an excellent fandom that I highly recommend. I think you'd feel comfortable there.

I've been dying to lure you into Gundam Wing fandom, but it does have an unfortunate tendency to ship obsession. On the other hand, the ship possibilities are endless...

more for Ruby than Dr. G....

[capra-maritimus.livejournal.com]

And I'm in it! LOL!

*waves*

(Ok, maybe that's not the best recommendation...;))

The people I hang around with tend to be Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan fen, but not normally in the 'OMG OTP TWOO WUV THE REST OF YOUR ARE GROSS UNBELIEVERS!!!!' kind of way. :D Hell, we've written fic with Mace and Yoda and Jar-Jar and Anakin and Amidala and many of the minor Jedi characters. :D Yes, sometimes even 'like that'. *grin*

[jadelennox]

I've been sitting for a while on a plan to lure angry DCU readers over to indy comics, stalled mostly because I am afraid of how much *work* it will be. But if enough DCU fangirls come over to indies, I'm thinking of all that talent and creativity brought over to talk about Love & Rockets and Hopeless Savage and Finder and Castle Waiting all the other fabulous titles.

Interested?

[gloss]

LOVE & ROCKETS YES PLEASE.

*cough*

[jadelennox]

YOU ARE MY FANDOM.

[gloss]

YOU'RE MINE. <33

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

I think Love & Rockets should have plenty of fangirls.

*cheers you on*

[ilthit.livejournal.com]

Excellent comics, at least the first and the last (don't know the other two), but do they even HAVE fandoms?

[jadelennox]

I want to MAKE fandoms for them. Which i'm not sure will work, but would be so. much. fun.

[vass]

I'll put in a plug here for Dykes to Watch Out For. (Only not as a primary fandom - there just aren't enough/any people writing fic.)

Lots and lots and lots of characters of colour, of all different backgrounds, fully fleshed out characters. One of the longest-running pairings in the series is an interracial relationship where neither party is white.

At least one poly character, although we don't get to see her being poly on-panel very much. Some other characters who try opening up their relationships, with various results. (And one irresponsibly nonmonogamous character who might as well have read the alt.poly How To Fuck Up FAQ and followed it.)

And they have kids! Who are adorable! (see my icon: that's Janis singing Britney Spears.)

There's a page of cast biographies here.

[derryderrydown.livejournal.com]

*pimps*

Patrick O'Brian.

It is, unfortunately, closed canon but there are twenty novels to explore, plus the AU of the film, and there's an infinite amount of supporting canon, in terms of the history of the era. There's an enormous cast that wanders in and out of primary focus and, rather amazingly when you consider how whitewashed most historical fiction of that era is, there are even some characters of colour. (Aubrey's son, who is high up in the Catholic church, for a start.) Surprisingly for a military-based series, there are some really interesting female characters. (I adore Sophie and am rather fond of Diana, while Clarissa is just totally awesomecakes. She blew off a man's head with a double-barrelled shotgun!)

[some-stars.livejournal.com]

...darling, you want to be in Doctor Who. it hits pretty much every single comics-love button I ever had and then some, seriously. you have to hardcore ignore a lot of the fandom, but when DON'T you? seriously, like--

sf/historical: yep
worldbuilding: not quite as much as comics but a whole lot, driven by the...
large cast: oh HELL yes
diverse cast: ....well, it's hard to do worse than comics? *snerk* the old-school stuff is actually *amazing* at feminism, without even giving it handicap points for being old. so there's that.
moral complexity: AND THEN SOME

there is, of course, an enormous contingent of INSANE SHIPPERS, but I have nestled myself very comfortably in a community of people who pair everyone with everything. really, this fandom is like all my favorite things about comics, just taking up way more hard drive space. *g*

[cereta.livejournal.com]

You know, I think I'd just about kill to be able to talk Dark Tower with you, not to mention see what you could do fiction-wise. If you're at all interested, holler, and I'll give you my standard spiel ;).

[dreamflower]

*sigh* I don't have any suggestions for you, but I can certainly identify with your loss of faith in the DC Universe. I started with DC at 10, in 1962 (when Lois Lane wore pearl earrings and Jackie Kennedy pillbox hats) and I collected and read faithfully almost every title they published up until they had the first "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and began killing off beloved characters right and left. I left off following DCs in the late seventies, saddened. I even made my first attempts at what I now recognize would have been fanfic if I'd had anyone to share it with and if I had known what "fanfic" was at the time, in my effort to "fix" what they'd broken.

I still love digging out my old back issues, though. It would be cool if someone were to start a fandom for Silver Age DCs. I might even be a part of that.

[wachey.livejournal.com]

I'd also like to second the Gundam Wing fandom. Despite the ship obsessions, and having to learn what 1x2, 2x3, or 5x3 mean :3

It wouldn't hurt to view some of it.

[gloss]

Things I love right now:
1. Marvel: NYC. (Or, more negatively, Marvel: Everything Not X- or Stark-related.) Bucky and Sharon and Falc and Fury and Valentina...! You seriously can't beat current canon for stellar writing & art, AS WELL AS fully-rounded female characters and characters of color, and there's enough back-canon to chew on for months and months.
2. Hikaru no Go. Intensely absorbing melodrama about little kids playing Go with supernatural elements. *squee*
3. Love & Rockets, Love & Rockets, LOVE & ROCKETS. I doubt that many will follow jadelennox's suggestion, because the cast is heavy on AMAZING & AWESOME female characters, with men in the background, but it's the best comic *ever*.

Please ask me more questions. I could talk for days.

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

This may sound a bit obvious, but why not get more involved with Tolkien again? I don't write hobbits that much, but with Gondor at least there is loads of potential for worldbuilding and I imagine hobbits are the same. Lord of the Rings certainly offers everything else you mention.

You may have a good reason to not be more involved in that fandom that I don't know about, but we still love you. :-) So if you want to throw some hobbit fic my way I wouldn't say no.

[dreamflower]

So if you want to throw some hobbit fic my way I wouldn't say no.

I second that. I adore your hobbits--I just didn't mention it in my comment because you said it was not going to be your major fandom. Truth is, as long as you stay in it even on the edges, I love your hobbits. I especially ♥ your Rosie!

[telperion1.livejournal.com]

*headdesk*

I'm sorry, Ruby--I really did read your post but for some reason my eyes glazed over the Tolkien comment that Dreamflower mentioned.

Not trying to press you into coming back, honestly.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

I'm not active in the fandom per se, but I read a lot of Stargate: Atlantis, and I've wondered what you'd make of it. It is spec fic (and, being set in another galaxy, it doesn't have the "oh, look, every planet we visit is badly based off a historical Terran culture" issues of SG-1). The cast is diverse, both chromatically and nationally (although both current major characters of color are from the Pegasus Galaxy). The commander of the outpost is a woman (who isn't handled all that well in canon, but tends to come off pretty well in fanon). The villains are essentially space goth vampires who think that humans are tasty. It has a fair amount of moral grey to it (since, well, they're trying to keep from being eaten, but the Wraith don't seem to be deterrable short of kill-them-all). News has it that Jewel Staite is joining/has joined the cast (I haven't finished watching Season 3, so I don't know if she came on before the season break).

There is a fair amount of shippiness in the fandom (IMHO, John/Rodney is practically canon if you've got your slash goggles on), but I haven't really seen any OMG-my-OTP-is-TRUE-and-yours-is-WRONG. I do see a fair amount of variety in pairings, both slash and het. There's also a lot of gen (especially either new adventures or episode codas/inserts), as well as exploration of emotional issues left hanging in canon.

Seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD; S3 will be out 9/18, which the press release describes as "just before the beginning of season 4". (If money's an issue, they're also available via, er, cheaper but less legitimate means *cough*torrent*cough*.) They're also in syndicated reruns; I believe they're currently mid-S2.

[sockich.livejournal.com]

I...what? No. No! That's...why?

Jesus, I'm fucking shaking here. I mean, the current DC canon has it's faults but you can't just erase it. That's just...fuck. Why?

*is freaking out, a little bit*

[karadin.livejournal.com]

I am over here with Gackt waiting for you. (hee)

Since hobbits, I've gone to Harry/Draco, and then into innumerable anime and manga series, and the one thing that's captured me completely, (other than Gackt) is writing my own stuff, so dearest, maybe it's TIME.

You write the story, I will draw.

[karadin.livejournal.com]

Addendum, after all you were really upset with how the dealt with the death of Stephanie, and female comic characters in general, I'm working on my manga 3 synopsis and backstory, and I created a female of color character with you in mind, wouldn't it be nice to make your own canon for a change?

[ilyena_sylph]

*thirds the vote for Gundam Wing, even if there are batshit shipwars*

I would love to see someone like you, that can realize characters complexities, and is unlikely to get sucked into the (utterly freaking bizzare) fanon characterizations, tackle writing G-Wing fic.

And the shipping possibilities really ARE endless.

[ilyena_sylph]

And if you want moral complexity, I really do point at GWing and its rhetoric, politics, and backdrop of a System-wide war.

[drglam]

And just because I'm pushy and also live nearby, I could cheerfully invite you over for a canon GW marathon.

[ilthit.livejournal.com]

I was hoping you'd ask for comics suggestions, because I have plenty, but don't really have fandom suggestions. All the comics I love best are ones that, well, don't really have a ficcing sort of a fandom. My other fandom, Discworld, is just the same. Very little fic n'all. The originals might not be your thing either. HP you'd be in already if you were inclined, I'm sure. People seem to enjoy their Supernatural and Stargate: Atlantis, and Jossverse endures, but I don't know why I'm suggesting those since I don't watch the shows and it just means more Rubyfic I wouldn't understand. :D ...Or care for... I'm a bad friend, I don't like the superheroes so I haven't been reading your DCU fic at all.

[sage]

Oh honey. I so get you. For me, DC comics stopped when I stopped reading, so I have been completely spared Infinite Crisis. I never read the new Supergirl. I am entirely content to live in the beautiful pre-Robin 121 years (although I might import Bernard, just because I liked him). I'm also good with seeing Lex Luthor: Man of Steel as canon, rather than a peripheral. But I don't think I'll ever give the company any more money.

Also, this screams marketing ploy to me, as well as the management trying to deal with their best writers jumping ship to Marvel, which allows more character development and mature relationships among their characters. I think they figure that a reboot will let them woo the talent back.

Meanwhile, I choose my OWN canon and ignore the asshats who tell me otherwise. :P

I think you would love Doctor Who, although I don't know which communities are free of the crazy. All I know is I trust the writers and reccers already on my flist and love their fic. *g*

There are some other great suggestions here. I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to explore! ♥

[(Anonymous)]

From what I'm told, it won't be that huge. And they've already made noises at the Chicago con about Bart coming back. Also, I have reason to believe a very important character (to me) may be coming back soon. I say this not JUST because I love your DC fic, but to reassure.

Take heart.
-mm

[keelywolfe.livejournal.com]

What is it with DC happily ruining everything I love? Aurgh!!!

Well, you've seen what fandom I've been in lately, so I'm no help at all. ;)

[vass]

*hugs you*

I haven't bought a comic all year. :-( This is unlikely to change. My stomach is sinking anyway. This just fucking sucks.

I think DW and you would be a good fit. It's a good *big* fandom - enough canon to go around, and lots of room and characters to play with.

Apart from that... I doubt this would be a good primary fandom for you - not nearly speculative fiction enough, or even at all - and I don't know how you are about RPF, but in terms of just casual reading... you might like Panic! at the Disco bandfic. cimorene111's del.icio.us recs include a *lot* of threesome and foursome fic and just plain cuddlepiling and team-members caring for each other. They're very sweet.

[jamjar.livejournal.com]

Doctor Who might be a nice fandom to drift in to. Massive amounts of canon, of course, but it's easy to get into, just by starting with Nine (the Christopher Eccelston Doctor).

There's also a lot of great fic out there which isn't pairing dependent and (aside from a few communities), most of the DW fans are pretty well-balanced. And the cast and crew are utter fans, which is nice.

[joannindiw.livejournal.com]

*clears throat nervously* came here coz you were kind enough to comment on a yuletide ficlet of mine.

I'm too close to really be too objective about it, but this little voltron-fandom (represented in this comm: http://community.livejournal.com/voltron_yaoi/) is pretty unshippy, though, er, if you know any manga/anime conventions, then it is clear that generally females aren't involved, which could be a classification of shippiness.

er. Ok, maybe I'll just stop and work on extracting my foot from my, er, keyboard.