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thefourthvine) wrote2004-07-17 02:29 am
thefourthvine) wrote2004-07-17 02:29 am
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Poll: Tell Me What You Read and I Will Tell You Who You Are
I'd like to know more about y'all, and I'd like to play with my new paid user status. I blended these two yens, and voila! An excessively long, dull poll. I'll be delighted if you complete it, but don't feel, you know, obligated or anything. Next entry, I'll return to my usual fan fiction fangirlishness.
[Poll #322234]
[Poll #322234]
no subject
(So. May I now tempt you with fandoms you don't know? It's the logical next step!)
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Right, so...tempting me into fandoms I don't know. Mostly, I'm unwilling to get hooked on a fandom whose canon I can't actually see. What I mean is, I won't read Firefly stories until I actually by the DVDs (or watch that movie whenever it comes out). I remember reading Homicide fanfic before I had a real grip on what was going on in the actual show (I'd only seen a few episodes) and the fic really skewed the way I watched the show - I feel like I'll never know the canon as well as I could because I'd read too much fic first. But mostly, I don't like being confused - I want to get the subtleties of a story, and of the fandom.
That doesn't mean you can't get me addicted to a new fandom, though. Send me towards an undeniably good fic that doesn't require too much background (or preface the story with a "So, these two guys write for a sports show. It's a comedy known for banter and there is a ton of gay subtext," sort of intro) and then tell me where I can find the show/book/movie.
Not that you should feel the need to give me personal attention or anything. I meant it in the general sense of your nominations. Though I adore you and wouldn't turn down the invitation to follow you into a new fandom.
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And I have a great deal of sympathy with you on the whole "extremely delayed response notification" - I've been getting notifications from as far back as early June. It makes me all kinds of grouchy. A sensible LJ would fear my wrath, but I don't seem to be able to intimidate it into working correctly (tm Bucky from Get Fuzzy). Darn the luck.
Some fandoms you should try:
Sports Night. Obviously. I mean, you've accurately summed up the show, and the episodes are out on DVD and are so good that even I am really enjoying them, and I do not get TV. At all. Plus, everyone needs to be in this fandom.
Eight Days of Luke. It's a teeny fandom, but if you loved the Dark Is Rising series, you will probably really enjoy the canon for this fandom. And it's a kids' book, so it'll only take you a few hours to read, and you can get it easily from pretty much any halfway decent library, so you won't even have to pay for it. It's by Diana Wynne Jones, by the way.
You might want to consider Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, or DC. In general, you seem to like ensemble fandoms (as opposed to OTP fandoms, although I consider DIR OTP), and these are all good ensemble ones. The first two have canons you can easily (though not quickly) acquire, provided you have no trouble watching TV shows; the DVDs are usually available through a library and they're definitely available for purchase, and most people seem to enjoy them. The last one is an insane, sprawling, impossible-to-master canon, so you don't need to worry about not knowing it; even writers in this fandom usually only know parts of it (though there are some astonishing people who do seem to know the whole; I figure these people have probably made a pact with the Devil for their unwholesome knowledge). Also, DC fic is often exceedingy porny, which makes for easy and delightful reading. And, finally, you already have one superhero fandom; why not acquire another?
These are just my initial suggestions, mind you; I've always got more on tap.
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Thanks for your fandom suggestions. You're a very insightful person, because I'm quite familiar with the canon of three of the five fandoms you recommended. I know Buffy super-well, Angel a little less well (and with less passion), and Sports Night - oh, Sports Night! I watched all two seasons while they were still showing on ABC. So why aren't I reading fics in that fandom yet? Well, it's like this....
The thing with Sports Night: It's like Aaron Sorkin is my ex. And he left all these episodes in my apartment when we broke up. They were his episodes, but he shared them with me, and I loved them and cared for them. But we had this huge, blow-out fight over something called The West Wing, and we don't talk anymore, and it makes me really sad sometimes, because I know he's a nice guy, but there are some things that I just can't forgive. It's too bad, because I want to watch those episodes again. The problem is that every time I even open up the shoebox where all the episodes are stored, I think of him, and something stabs at my heart and makes me angry at the way he hurt me and I have a hard time seeing past it to goodness of the story.
So, the major therapy I need to vanquish my West Wing demons aside, I'm willing to give Sports Night fic another try.
With Buffy, I think the major stumbling block has been that I don't know what pairings to read. Really, no clue. I read some Willow/Giles that blew my mind in a bad way, and some Spike/Xander that was icky, and implausible (though there seems to be a lot of S/X out there, so maybe I've had bad luck.) But I've also read a number of really terrific gen stories, especially after the finale, and they were brilliant. So, if you having pairing suggestions, or gen suggestions, that might be a good place for me to start. I certainly wouldn't turn down anything with Buffy/Faith.
Same thing with Angel. I've heard good things about Wes/Gunn, and the Angel/Spike subtext is actual text in the last season. But who goes well together? I said before that I was less passionate about Angel because I've found it lacking what I love most about Buffy: the kick-ass women in the lead. Never got hooked on either Fred or Cordelia, but, again, maybe I've had bad luck.
I will go to the library sometime this week and get Eight Days of Luke. I am a not-so-secret YA lit nut, and this book looks like fun.
DC - Might just jump in and give it a try. I'm still frightened of the scope, but I'm reassured knowing that the fandom really is as sprawling as it seems and that I don't need to know it all before I start reading.
So, now is it my turn to turn you on to other strange, new fandoms? Not that there's anything that isn't left off your reading list that isn't at least a little obscure. One of the problems with the smaller fandoms is that they just aren't as active, and the fic isn't always of the highest quality. Can't hurt to get you hooked on the canon, though, can it?
Thanks again - for your suggestions and your recs. I'm feeling more well-read by the minute.