Fandom Snowflake Challenge #4

[aadler]

Taking on the meme/challenge here.

Fandom Snowflake 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 here saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I’ve answered this one before, and — three of those four times — I listed the same thing: a site devoted purely to Harmony (either humanHarmony or vampHarmony) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve used her in a few stories myself (and, of course, she was the feature attraction in “First Do No Harm”), and seen her in fics by other people, and she’s always a treat. There are plenty of Buffy, Spike, Angel, Xander, even Cordelia sites; why can’t somebody do a collection for our favorite funny/inept sunny optimistic ditzy vampiress?

I previously wished for cover art for my stories, but by now I already have those, even if the majority were done by my daughter sroni. Any gifts of fanart would be welcome, and immediately posted probably at the ends of the respective stories, but it’s just no longer a major deal.

There used to be lots of award sites. Practically none remain, and most of those are niche sites devoted to specific sub-themes rather than to the BtVS fandom overall. I wish there were more again … but, let’s face it, we’re nearly to the 25th anniversary of the first Buffy episode, and next year will be 20 years since the LAST episode, so I guess the real surprise is that there’s still any activity at all.

Finally, and almost certainly the most important of them all: for many years M. Scott Eiland (eilandesq) was a steady producer of fanfic. His Fanfiction.net account — here — shows nearly 200 stories of varying lengths, going at least back to 2001, and I really think I remember seeing a few from him before that. Most of his stories were in the ’verse of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel: the Series, with a smaller subset in Smallville and Justice League (the cartoon series, not the much more recent DCU movie). Additionally, except for the very last one, he participated in every round of my 10-year remix event, the Circle of Friends Remix (cof_remix). Due to my having been unable to reach him last year, I recently put something out on my LJ inquiring if anyone knew how he was doing … and got a private message from a family member saying he’d been very ill since May 2020 and probably wouldn’t be with us much longer. If this is so, I’d say well-wishes to his LJ account, or reviews on however many of his stories, would be a fitting recognition for someone who spent many years contributing to fandom.

Let’s go, folks. It’s worth it.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> There used to be lots of award sites. Practically none remain <<

Now that you mention it, that's true. I think it contributes to the lowering interaction in fandom. The awards used to be great places to go for finding new fanworks that were really good. Now it's mostly big bangs and other exchanges, which can be more hit-or-miss.

If you're into crowdfunding, though, the 2022 Rose and Bay Awards (https://crowdfunding.dreamwidth.org/337168.html) are running right now. Please drop by and nominate your favorite crowdfunded projects, or browse things other people have nominated. Voting will be in February, winners announced at the beginning of March.

[tellshannon815.livejournal.com]

Oh, Harmony! Definitely good to see some more of her!

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i don't know eilandesq but what a lovely wish for him! i'm so sorry that he's unwell. :(

[spikedluv]

Awards sites! They used to be so prolific and also a great place to find fic.

So kind of you to make that last wish. Fandom losses are difficult.

Re: Thoughts

[aadler]

Worth a look, thanks.

[aadler]

She can be used badly, of course — even wasted entirely — but the potential is enormous, and the results usually worthwhile.

I didn’t mention it in this Snowflake season, but in the past I’ve daydreamed about a Harmony-Xander spinoff show: Harm still trying to make the hero thing work, and a reluctant and exasperated Xander backing her up and trying to clean up the inevitable chaos she creates. I’d willingly go exploring parallel universes just to try and find one where a show like that got made.

[aadler]

If you’re at all a Buffy fan, his stories are worth exploring. I mainly hope that people like me, who already were familiar with him and his work, can get the word and send some praise while it might still count.

[aadler]

The longer we live, the more people we lose. Being inevitable doesn’t make it any easier.