Fandom Diversity (a.k.a Feeling thinky... and bored)

[kriadydragon]

This is probably stating the obvious for those of you who've been around the block when it comes to various fandoms, but I find it interesting, as well as frustrating, all the subtle little things that makes each fandom unique.

White Collar is turning out to be a pretty black and white fandom. Either Neal had an abusive/tragic past or he didn't, you either like whump or avoid it like the plague, Peter is either the protective big brother or the disciplinary father figure. OT3 and porn is all the rage. So is (unfortunately) non-kink disciplinary fic. I've reached the point where it's become a matter of waiting for that next good story to be written, but going into the fandom I was pleasantly surprised by all the excellent stories it had to offer. The fandom is still young, so it should continue to provide plenty to read. But on the other hand, it's also sinking deeper into OT3 territory, and well-written gen fic is getting harder to find (especially since the definition of gen in this fandom is open to interpretation).

Magnificent 7, if you're not an Ezra fan, then lots of luck to you. I'm a Vin fan, and though I did manage to find some excellent gen Vin fic with the help of sharpes_hussy, it wasn't long before the pickings became incredibly slim. Most of the stories were a rehash of the same thing - different plot, same injuries: either a head wound or side wound. Every time, a head or side wound, and very few authors deviated from that. It seemed to be all about the comfort and Vin/Chris friendship in M7, the hurt merely a means to an end.

My adventures into the Criminal Minds fandom didn't last long. Again, though I did manage to find some good fic, Reid rape/molestation seemed to be the popular choice of whump and it eventually chased me off.

SGA. Ah, good old SGA :D Still my main fandom squeeze. Seriously, this fandom has spoiled me rotten. Slash might be prevalent and though that annoys me, I can't really complain. SGA not only has an excellent amount of gen writers but gen writers who take writing seriously and write well. There's diversity in the plots, diversity in the whump, and my extreme pickiness aside I can always count on this fandom to eventually satisfy my various plot and whump cravings.

Comments

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

Never bothered with the last three shows (although I know a little bit about the M7 Fandome through various crossover with the Sentinel), but what you say about the WC Fandome is so true. I have some strange faszination with the fact that the slash writers are so accepting of Elisabeth (normally, woman in slash-fics have a nearly demon like status), but overall I am pretty frustrated too, because it is nearly impossible to find the gen-stories. Somehow the writers in this fandomes really have the terms mixed up...they write "Neal/Peter" in the summary, but mean that they have written a gen-story with those two as the maincharacter, or they say a story is gen, but in truth it is a slash story without sex.

I'm really spoiled from the sentinel fandome.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I'm not a slash or OT3 fan but, I do have to admit, I do think it's kind of cool that she's not being demonized for the sake of a pairing. I think it's because she's way too difficult to dislike. To make her the bad guy for the sake of a pairing would be like kicking a kitten just because you like puppies... or something like that.

I did a rant post a while back on the broad-spectrum definition of gen and the unfairness of it. Slashers and hetters have their story labels but those not into pairings still have to tread carefully even when a story says gen.

At times (and this may just be me being a little over sensitive, I don't know) I feel like there's a certain disregard for people who are not into pairings. Not in a bitter "all fans of gen suck" kind of way. More that because pairing stories are so prevalent and popular that gen readers kind of get lost in the crowd. At least in the White Collar fandom that's how it feels at times.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

You are not the only one, who feels so...I always have the feeling that I have to explain myself, although I am actually a slasher too, but while there are times I am in mood for erotic, generally I prefer plot driven stories with IC characterizations. There is a Gen-Site in the Psych-Fandome...can you imagine that the owner got mails, accusing her of being homophobic? And I think that it's telling that in the WC fandomes many writers put in the summary "no slash", as if this is something one has to warn about.

I actually think that a WC gen site similiar to the psych one would be a great success...you are by far not the only one who is annoyed about this. Since I have posted my story at ff.net I got a lot of feetback and talked to some of the reviewers. Many of them have expressed similiar concerns.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

I remember there was some community that got grief because it was for gen and het only - not slash. People got all bent out of shape, calling the mods homophobes. I found the reaction rather hypocritical. There are tons of communities dedicated to slash only. Are those people heterophobes for not allowing gen or het?

There's whitecollared which is a no-slash community. I've also been thinking about doing some kind of gen WC challenge, comment fic or a prompt challenge, at some point in time.

[swanpride.livejournal.com]

That would be neat...it would be a good opportunity to find all those gen-writers out there (without digging through Collarkink).

If you do it, tell me, so that I can advertise it.