Fandom Hopping: Roswell, Buffy, and The Hunger Games

Your Name: moon.witche

The Fandom: Roswell, based off the television series

Your One True Pairing (OTP): Max Evans/Liz Parker

Your Favorite Fic: Captive Hearts by Breathless

How Long Have You Been There: I’ve loved the show since it’s premiere in 1999, but I’ve only been reading fic since last summer.

Good Fan Sites/Archives/RecLists: For all my Max/Liz I go to Roswell: The Promise. If you’re looking for other couples...I have no idea where to go...

How You Got Sucked In: It’s all Christine’s (cdunbar’s) fault. We were recording an episode of the podcast one time, and when talking about what we had been reading recently she said she’d been reading something that was over 100 chapters. 100 CHAPTERS! And it was in another fandom, so she didn’t really have much to add to the discussion that week. I asked what fandom, she answered “Roswell.”

And then I remembered that little show that I loved so much. I owned all the DVDs, loved all the characters (except for Tess... but no one actually likes Tess) but had never thought to read fic. And then Christine said the magic words. This fic was pre-Tess.

I asked for a link and quickly became engrossed in this huge story that, well, yes, it’s over 100 chapters but the action never stops and it spans years. Honestly, I wish this story could’ve replaced season two...that awful time of Tess-ness.

So, Why This Fandom? (Why This Pairing?): Well, Max and Liz have many Edward/Bella similarities. They have that eternal love thing, but are kept apart because of what he is and all the complications that brings about. They were even biology partners. And Jason Behr is hot.

For those of who haven’t watched the show, I’ll just say that things were going along fine until about midway through season two when, I suppose ratings were suffering so the network changed things up. A lot. And rather ruined everything for everyone’s favourite alien and human. They realized their mistake soon enough and by season three, things were on their way to being back to normal, except they had fallout of all this other crap to deal with.

Fanfiction doesn’t have that problem, and that’s why I read. I like to read about a Max that didn’t randomly turn into a dirtbag. I like fics that work Liz into being involved in the alien backstory. And not Tess. I really, really, hate Tess. Fics where she dies are awesome.

Fandom Quirks: The fandom is an older one, so there isn’t much new stuff coming out and it can be difficult to find recs, lists, and that sort of thing. Or you’ll find that linked recs take you to old style websites with frames that don’t quite work and ...well, it is a fandom over ten years old. So, there are going to be some broken links and such. But the gems that are out there, are worth it. And there are forums where you can request things.

Other Recs: Read anything and everything by Breathless. She is fantastic. Very, very fantastic. And, when perusing Roswell fic sites, keep an eye open for the words “no aliens.” That would be their version of “AU/AH” and is generally just a fun romance that everyone can enjoy.

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Your Name: SereneCaffeine (Maria) (@SereneCaffeine)

The Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, based on the television series

Your One True Pairing (OTP): Spuffy! Spike/Buffy

Your Favorite Fic: Gee, there are so very many… I can’t think of just one that is my favorite, but I have some that I revisit quite frequently. Eurydice’s Rhapsody in Oil, Kallysten’s Baby Steps (no longer available), Avalon’s Love is Blind, Saber Shadowkitten’s Humanitis and Nautibitz’s Crash and Burn and Heart Don’t Lie.

(What) Have You Written in this Fandom: Under this nom de plume, I haven’t posted anything. I wrote many fics between 2000-2004 under a different name, but pulled everything when I left the fandom. However, I remained an avid reader ever since, and I’m hoping in the near future to start posting again.

How Long Have You Been There: Since forever it seems. Toward the end of 1999 was the first time I ever read fanfic and of course it was Buffy, because that TV show was my obsession.

I was 15… I was looking for spoilers for upcoming episodes and on one of the websites I saw a link called “fan fiction.” What’s fan fiction? I asked myself and clicked on the link. I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of stories I found there. The very first one I read was a post-Something Blue fic. It was a, what could have happened in that episode, kind of fic. It was so sweet and something I would’ve loved to see play out in that episode. July 2000 was the very first time I posted my own fic and I had a blast during my time writing Spuffy.

Good Fan Sites/Archives/RecLists: Hmm, a lot of the ones that used to be my favorites are no longer around, which makes me a sad bunny, but I’ve found that there are still a lot of really good places to find Spuffy.

The Bloodshedverse
Spuffy Realm
Nocturnal Light
Buffy and Spike Diaries

I’d also recommend visiting the author’s websites, blogs and whatever, because sometimes they have stuff there that’s not on general archive sites.

How You Got Sucked In: Basically, I fell down the rabbit hole. I got lost looking for spoilers and stumbled upon Saber Shadowkitten’s realm, and then I was lost in a world of all things Spuffy and fan fiction.

So, Why This Fandom? (Why This Pairing?) This fandom because I was a teenager and this was a hit television show with many of my friends also being loyal viewers, there was no way I’d choose another fandom. This pairing simply because, I like the unconventional. And ever since the season 2 episode Halloween, where there was that almost, gah! I’ve wanted Buffy and Spike together. :-) I’ve read other pairings (Buffy/Angel, Angel/Cordelia (because of Angel the series) but none of them ever held my interest the way Spuffy fics do.

Fandom Quirks: Years of being a reader and writer, I noticed that the Buffy fandom had bits of everything. From love stories to horror; from hetero relationships to guy-guy, girl-girl, threesome relationships; there have been bondage and piercing/tattoo fics… basically what’s popular in fics nowadays, was popular back then too. A lot of what I read in fics today, I’ve read in the Buffy fandom in the past. But most unbelievably so was my first exploration into blood-play. WARNING! It’s not for the easily squicked, but it was and still is popular in Buffy fics. For those that may not know, blood-play is kind of what it sounds like. I’m not talking dancing around in buckets of it, but biting and drinking purely for sexual satisfaction.

Other Recced Fics: Anything by Nautibitz (see link above), because she’s a genius and I love her like none other. Kantayra is also an awesome writer but no longer writes for the fandom so to find her stuff, Google is the way. And lastly, there is Jypzrose and Laure Alexander— a lot of greatness to choose from with them.

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by ~starrylyndis

Your Name: ohaleno4

The Fandom: The Hunger Games, based on the books by Suzanne Collins

Your One True Pairing (OTP): Peeta/Katniss

Your Favorite Fic: The Hunger Games fandom is, for the most part, very new. The majority of the fics you will find are based entirely on new characters and new game scenarios, neither of which interests me. As far as the remaining canon-based fics, my favorite is a toss-up between Scars, which is a five chapter fic that the author is considering expanding, but for now is complete, and Clear Blue Eyes, which is actually a one-shot based on Katniss and Gale.

(What) Have You Written in this Fandom: Absolutely nothing yet. One of the fansites I participate in, however, is holding a ‘Missing Moments’ Challenge that I will be writing for very soon.

How Long Have You Been There: This fandom is new to me and, as far as I can tell, new in general. I, personally, have only been heavily involved since February 2010, although I read the books and dabbled in the fanfiction since November 2009.

Good Fan Sites/Archives/RecLists: OurDistrict13 (LJ) is the only one I frequent, and my favorite. I also occasionally visit Mockingjay.net and The Hunger Games Trilogy.

The First Book in the series

How You Got Sucked In: After reading the books, I knew I needed more, so I began to peek into the fanfiction. But after coming across a few too many stories that had me scratching my head, I decided to save myself from a giant headache and close the laptop. A couple of months later, PixieVamp, a Ranger at ADifferentForest.com (ADF) read the books and raved about them on Twitter and ADF. After we managed to spread our Hunger Games love to as many ADF campers that would listen, we decided to create OurDistrict13. As a moderator, or Mentor, at D13 we decided it was time to dive into the HG fanfiction, and I’ve been reading ever since.

So, Why This Fandom? (Why This Pairing?): Well, it’s sort of simple. I adore Peeta. Since the 3^rd book of the series has yet to be released, at this point we can only assume who Katniss will end up with. While I’m almost convinced she will pick Gale, it only makes my love for Peeta grow. He’s got that perfect boy-next-door attitude down to a T, while still managing to be fearless, self-sacrificing and a complete romantic. It’s rare to find a character that can knock you off your feet with only a few words and manage to not look like a complete douche. And did I mention he’s a baker? And an expert with frosting? Let’s just say he had me at frosting.

The great thing about the Hunger Games is that the other male lead, Gale, is also an amazing character. He’s rugged and a little rough around the edges but still considerate and caring. According to some, he lights Katniss’ fire like Peeta never will. I honestly have no problem with reading Gale/Katniss, I just haven’t found any fics with both quality writing and a well-designed plot.

Now, if I were to be completely honest, I would say that I would LOVE to read Gale/Peeta or Peeta/Finnick (and I do not read Twi slash, ever). But, sadly, I have yet to find any. There is very little M-rated fic in the HG fandom, so if you enjoy a lot of lemons you’re guaranteed to be disappointed.

Being an avid reader in the Twilight fandom, I think it’s safe to say I’ve become spoiled. There is such a wide variety of quality authors/stories, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to catch up on my never-ending tbr list. The Hunger Games fandom is very young and very much in need of quality writing. With the filming of the Hunger Games movie beginning soon, I’m hoping to see new authors stepping up and sharing their work.

Other Fics Worth Recommending: When you read the Hunger Games it’s nearly impossible to imagine reading HG fluff, but that’s exactly what The Great Escape is. It’s a short fic, only 6 chapters plus an epilogue, but it’s cute and is guaranteed to make you smile. Post-CF, Katniss/Peeta & Gale/Madge

I just came across The Last Hero. It’s a brand new fic, only 3 chapters in, but the author does a surprisingly good job with capturing Katniss’ personality. I look forward to seeing where she takes the plot. Post CF, Katniss/Peeta

If you’re looking for the Hunger Games from Peeta’s perspective, the best you’ll find is Through Another’s Eyes. I’m going to be honest: I do a little bit of skimming during some of the story, but overall she captures Peeta’s perspective better than any other I’ve come across.

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Past "Hops" to Check Out: Harry Potter: Draco/Harry, Bones (TV), and Dexter (TV) and Harry Potter: Snape/Hermione, Star Wars, and The Mortal Instruments (books) .