rareslash | What a Wonderful Idea for a Com!

When I was researching fandoms and compiling stories for my recommendation site last year, I gradually realized that without intending to, I was looking for under-represented fandoms (like Moonlight or Battlestar Galactica: TOS, Batgirl) or non TOP pairings in larger fandoms (Sheppard/Ronon, Dean/Castiel, etc) Although that meant having to look harder and research more extensively, the pay-off was worth it. Even factoring in the handful of typical fandoms/pairings, I still ended up with something unique and stories that departed from formula and trope. It also had the effect of making me want to champion these less-explored places in fanon. Smaller fandoms and unusual pairings introduced me to genuinely talented authors I wasn't finding elsewhere or showed me a side of better-known authors that I wasn't seeing in the work they wrote for larger fandoms and TOP's.

I have no problem with the Big and Bad fandoms and couplings, the popular authors- I like me a nice Clex epic or well-written Logan/Jean fic just fine. But I know if people weren't slashing John and Ronon, I probably wouldn't have gotten interested in Stargate: Atlantis and become a regular viewer of the series. And in the case of an author like Jane St Clair, though I liked what I'd read, only after discovering her Rictor/Shatterstar stories did I realize what a tremendous scope her work has, how she can maneuver from one fandom to another and absolutely conquer them without ever falling back on formula.

I feel like having to work just a little harder to find these stories makes me a more discerning reader in the end and it makes fan fiction more fun because I end up in places I never expect to. It also usually gives me a refuge from repetition since biting one another's writing style really, really, really stands out a lot more in smaller communities, so authors push themselves to avoid formulaic troping.

I am delighted to discover this com and am looking forward to obsessively enjoying some nice relaxing snowbound afternoons investigating the work posted here. Thank you and best wishes to all for the oncoming holiday season.