snowflake challenge #4

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Challenge #4:

In your own space, make a list of things that you wish existed in fandom or elsewhere, and/or that you'd like someone to create or do for you. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

A machine that will write my fics for me! :D Oh, wait, this is not the impossible wish list? Okay, for real then:

Book recs: I really want to get back into reading but I don't know where to start. I really like mysteries (not thrillers though) and the Jane Austen-type books (I also loved North & South).

Comic book recs! I would like to start getting into DC Comics this year but I'm a little confused on where to start or if there are online resources on where to access them. Clark, Lois, and Clark/Lois are my favorites.

More fics, fic recs, fanart/icons, fanvids, and/or fanvid recs for my favorite ships, especially the rarepairs (listed below):
Smallville: Clark/Oliver, Clark/Lois/Oliver, Lois/Tess, Lois/Lana, Lana/Tess
Gilmore Girls: Lane/Dave
Ted Lasso: Sam/Jamie (though I would love Ted Lasso icons in general! Where do people get those?)
MCU: Sam/T'Challa, Sam/Erik Killmonger, Nebula/Rhodey

Better ways to interact with fandom people, especially to squee about ships and fic ideas together. Yes, I'm nostalgic for the peak LJ days. I do miss having a regular beta too. I like Tumblr, but it doesn't work that way, and I am not quite sure where the majority of people hang out on DW. Also, I have no idea how to use Discord. My fellow co-mods over at Rare Femslash Exchange probably know that by now.

Better tagging system on AO3. I wish people would learn that you don't have to tag every ship/character, especially the "past" relationships or ones that you're bashing. I wish we could get a primary and secondary ship filter. That would be cool but I'm not a coder so I have no idea how that would work.

More of a live and let live attitude. The block feature (something else I wished existed on AO3) exists. I wish people didn't feel the need to justify their ships. I hope people are writing what they like, even if it isn't the most popular thing. It is sad to see burn out over lack of interest.

In note to the above, more feedback! I know no one is "owed" comments, but if you like something, leave a quick note. The author will be grateful. And I do kinda wish comments were mandatory in exchanges, but that is a path I don't want to go down right now.

Comments

[spikedluv]

I was rec'd the Sebastian St. Cyr Mystery series (C.S. Harris) during one snowflake and I really enjoyed it. It's historical mystery.

primary and secondary ship filter

I never used to think about this until someone mentioned it. Now I label my secondary pairings in the tags as 'background x/x' and say 'appearances' or 'cameo' by the characters who aren't front and center.

I hear you on 'live and let live' and more comments.

[sef1029]

You've probably already her work, but when it comes to mysteries I adore anything by Josephine Tey (AKA Elizabeth Mackintosh). Brat Farrar is my favorite, but The Daughter of Time and The Franchise Affair are also high on my list.

[lambourngb]

If you find a machine that will write fics for you, let me know... !

I completely agree about the "live and let live attitude"... not everything is for me, as a fan, but I'm not going to throw a tantrum because my fannish needs aren't being met by someone else's work, sigh... I also hope people are writing what they like to see in the world. <3

[ultra_fic]

Yeah, that machine that will write my fics for me, gotta get me one of those! I have all the ideas and everything, it's just having the time and the inclination (both at the same time, which never seems to happen lately!) to write the things down, that's all.

If you like North & South have you also read Wives & Daughters? It's another by Elizabeth Gaskell and I personally like it a lot.

One day, as and when I ever get around to writing more Lane/Dave fic, I'll let you know. I have written them as a background pairing in a couple of my Rory/Jess fics, and in a couple of their own short one-shots, but I've never written anything lengthy about just them. I probably should.

Ugh, I miss the good old days on LJ too. I was big into Leverage when lots of other people over there were too and it was a crazy-fun time. I like DW and Twitter and AO3 and all, but it's not the same. I want a big family type situation of all people who love the same fandom(s), but alas, it doesn't happen. Tried Tumblr, couldn't get into it. Have no idea what Discord is about. (I suddenly feel old! lol)

AO3 tagging is a minefield. I tag every possible thing because I feel like I should, but I know some people believe in minimal tagging. Live and let live, I guess, but it means no-one is ever really happy because there's no proper system. As you say, it would be cool if you could have a main pairing listed, separate to any secondary pairings. I mean, why has no-one thought of this before?!

I know I shouldn't, but I do get PO-ed when people don't comment on exchange gifts. I mean, sometimes, I remind myself that these are human people with lives. Maybe they're sick, maybe there's been some tragedy in their life, maybe they just forgot to come back and comment because that happens too, but yeah, I admit to seething about it a little bit here and there. I think it's okay to be a little put out about it - we're human too, after all :)

[rekishi]

Have you read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street? It's sort of a bit of a mystery, set in the late 1800s, sort of a bit steampunky (but not very, no one's flying, there's just a lot of clockwork, literally) and is very cleverly done!

(I would rec you Coldfire but that's F/SF and might not be your jam.)

[silveradept]

Oh, wouldn't it be nice for me to just feed in the idea of a fic and then wait for a machine to turn it something that's perfectly me on the necessary time frame.

Interaction with other fans is difficult these days. It seems like being publicly danish is giving the Algorithm the opportunity to spread your sake to the very people that want to harsh on it. DW had a community base, but even I don't have all that many communities to hang out in. I usually use things like snowflake and other things like it to go out and say hello to other places, and maybe we find people who want to make connections that way. Then again, snowflake is also how I usually talk a lot about fandom, and my regular journaling has almost none of that content.

I definitely would like to see the previous norms about not reading what you're not going to like (and that blocking is a mandatory function for any place that has social features) come back into prominence. And, AO3's tagging system is a really good example for me to point at, when I have my professional hat on, about the benefits and drawbacks of folksonomic systems. A primary and secondary system would be useful. The coding part of it would probably be doable fairly easily, it's the database migration that could be trickier, since that would be new data for seven million plus works to work with.

[peaked]

Unsurprisingly, I agree with all of your fandom wishes.

I just went through my Tumblr likes because I swore I liked a post about Lois Lane comic list and… tada! Perhaps this will help? It's not a rec list, but maybe the Tumblr might have a tag for recs. I wish I could give you a run I've read, but I haven't dived into any for Lois yet. The advice I always get when I ask about comics is to just dive in and go for it anywhere.

I think you can also read them for free at readcomiconline. Some of them are available for free!

Discord is a hit and miss. I personally use it for 1:1 with friends since it's very much like chat, but I find it overwhelming when it's on a server with a lot of people. If you like to IM the people you like to talk to 1:1, I'd recommend it! If you like being in group chats, I'd also recommend it. But you're not missing out on anything if you choose not to have it imo.

And since you so kindly offered to beta for me any time I needed it, I thought I would repay the favour! c:

+1000 to your last point.