Fandom Wishlist

[mesotablar]

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.

Thanks to evilinsanemonkey I now want to see a Psych/Star Trek crossover. So someone accept the challenge! 

Shawn as Kirk

Lassiter as Bones

Gus as Spock
(bonus for Sulu as George Takei with his blueberries!)
 

But otherwise, besides having the fandom's I'm in being more active, I guess I just want to see more A-spec representation. Which is sort of funny as I know a couple of writers who are A-spec but write the fluffiest romance and/or hottest smut. I don't even use the aromantic tag when I write. Yeah, so I guess I wish the various A-spec tags get a bit more of a workout.   
 
Last minute Edit (cause I stole this point and am now signal boosting)
Thanks to flamingsword I realise we need:

A plotbunny foster home/abandoned work amnesty clearinghouse. I want a community where you can go there and say, “Look, I know that I have written 80k of this 100k fic, and it has a thousand kudos, and 45 subscribers. I know a bunch of people are invested in it. But I just can’t do the rest of it, so if anyone wants my notes for the rest of the fic, they are on this Googledoc. Feel free to write the rest, if you want, and I will gladly link your continuation from the original work.”

Comments

[mekare]

So consider me ignorant, what apart from aromantic falls under the A-spectrum? Asexual and something else? And I agree those tags should have more fanworks simply because taking away the sex or romance leads to some intersting character explorations and underwritten versions of intimacy.

[mesotablar]

There are a bunch of 'variations on a theme' orientations that also come under A-spec. Aromantic and Asexual are the obvious ones, then there are Grey- (greyromantic and greysexual, and their varied spellings) and Demi- can sit somewhere under the A-spec umbrella too. Then there are a bunch of microlabels/MOGAI that are covered as well. (AVEN seems a bit of a dumpster fire right now so I just linked to the Aromantic forum)
Then, can't forget about the people who don't differentiate that much and just use 'A-spectrum' as their orientation label.

I love reading aromantic tagged works to see what sort of intimacy will happen. It is all so varied and I love when it gets subversive!

[spikedluv]

I didn't even watch Psych (just know of it peripherally), but my mind is blown thinking of that fusion, lol!

I hope you receive your wishes.

[mekare]

Oooh I like your addition!

Maybe that idea should be put in fictional_fans to see if someone is interested in organizing this?

[mesotablar]

I'm conflicted whether or not it should be a separate hub. Sure there is the possibility of immediacy, but I feel it would work better on AO3 itself. Like a tick-box option to 'release work' to others which would automatically change specific settings for that fic alone (so not mess with main account) and add specific tags so abandoned fics can be searched for.

Feel free to pass the idea on to that community. It is a good idea, and those need visibility!

[yelp]

Ooh, do you by any chance have some recs for A-spec fics? (Possibly you are asking because there aren't any, but I'd love to check them out if you've come across good ones!)

[mesotablar]

The ones I remember liking and see as being more representative of aromantic -'working out a different way for connection and intimacy'- are in the From Dusk til Dawn/From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series fandom, yet they aren't labelled with any a-spec tags 😂 and they are generally full of lust and sex because asexual is not how I roll.

[Steven Universe fandom] I recommend this one though. Technically it is SFW but it really got under my skin. Very good representation here.

[yelp]

Thank you for the rec! Steven Universe is actually moving up on my to-watch list recently, so I'll put the fic on my TBR list for now, rather than read it fandom-blind. Hope to enjoy it soon!

[fred_mouse]

Verity has all wound up in you, Teen Wolf fandom. This is not the fic I went looking for, which I was sure was by them, but this is one of their others that I loved.

Try this ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I guess I just want to see more A-spec representation. Which is sort of funny as I know a couple of writers who are A-spec but write the fluffiest romance and/or hottest smut. I don't even use the aromantic tag when I write. Yeah, so I guess I wish the various A-spec tags get a bit more of a workout. <<

I agree, this would be good. I try to use the "no sex" tag on mine when relevant, which it often is; and "asexual" or "aromantic" for those characters. Representation is great, but I see a lot of readers just trying to find things to read that don't have sex/romance smeared all over them.

If you read Avengers fanfic, Love Is For Children has:
* JARVIS as asexual
* Clint as asexual
* Natasha as aromantic
* Steve as demisexual
* An eventual Clint&JARVIS asexual relationship
* Tony realizing that aromantic really sounds like him

The series is also on AOL. It's huge, so if you just want the A-spec stuff, read the headers/tags to find where those bits appear. The last two are in some of the most recent work, so for them you can start at the bottom and work up.

Schrodinger's Heroes was created especially for A-spec writing and crossovers, although it can be used for anything including original work. Characters spread across multiple identities, and Quinn in particular can be anything at all depending on the dimension.

I have some original series with A-spec leads or that just don't seem to deal with sex/romance. >Path of the Paladins is explicit about it: while paladins aren't required to be ace, most of them just aren't interested in sex/romance.

I made a list of my QUILTBAG characters that has links for later lists about sexual orientations, romantic orientations, gender identities, etc. People can use these lists to ask for A-spec characters during open prompt calls, wish lists, and so on; or to inspire their own writing.

allbingo has run several fests with A-spec or related themes. The Valentines fest coming up in February always has prompt lists for Platonic and Anti-Valentine in addition to the sex/romance stuff. We've done Five Moments of (Nonsexual) Intimacy twice, and probably will again, though it's not on this year's calendar yet. The Bingo Card Generator has a list of prompts for Asexuality & Demisexuality. Anyone can volunteer to host a fest on whatever topic interests them.

crowdfunding is more for original work, but people can write whatever they want from the prompts. It runs a Creative Jam mid-month on various themes, often A-spec compatible. The January Creative Jam will run Saturday 15-Sunday 16 with a theme of "Opportunity." Right now we're doing the 2022 Rose and Bay Awards, so you if like crowdfunded material, please nominate your favorite projects and patrons. We'd love to get more A-spec representation there.

Rec communities are also great places to drum up interest in A-spec material. For the ones that use themes, you have to see about getting that featured as a theme; but the open posting kind let people rec whatever whenever. Then you can just set up 4-5 of your favorite A-spec things and post them, or post a request for such.

Some fandoms, like Sherlock and Shadowhunters, have a tighter cluster of A-spec fanfic because a character is implied or specified as such. These are good places to look for content and writers, and some of those writers cover multiple fandoms.

Re: Try this ...

[mesotablar]

Thanks for all the links!
Schrodinger's Heroes sounds really interesting and allbingo sounds like a lot of fun.
I am only just dipping my toe into the world of challenges and exchanges so all of this info is a great help!

I knew about Sherlock, those were the first time I ever saw 'Aromantic' actually tagged on a work!

Re: Try this ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Thanks for all the links!<<

You're welcome.

>>Schrodinger's Heroes sounds really interesting<<

Give it a whirl with your favorite fandom. It's designed for crossovers and has plenty of A-spec characters.

>> and allbingo sounds like a lot of fun.
I am only just dipping my toe into the world of challenges and exchanges so all of this info is a great help! <<

Then allbingo is a good choice. The fests have themes, but you can do whatever you want with the prompts, which encourages people to participate. You can make a bingo card from 1x1 to 7x7 (most are 5x5) so it's okay to start small.

>>I knew about Sherlock, those were the first time I ever saw 'Aromantic' actually tagged on a work!<<

"Practical Angora Goat Raising" is a classic. It really blurs the lines of what sex or romance even is, but they're so clearly attached -- and it's one of the earliest stories I know of that leans in the "ace for you" direction.