Fandom Snowflake! Other people are doing it too! So could you!

Day Six: In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul.

I have to go with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. BtVS and I go way back- I actually saw the original (not great) movie in theaters– and I started watching the show with the very first episode that aired. Looking back, it's not a perfect series by any means (the racial representation, the seventh season; a lot of people have problems with the final episode, though I personally don't), but it's still very important to me, and I'm so glad that I watched it when I did. BtVS was also my first internet fandom; I remember searching for Buffy shortly after we got internet in my house (not googling- this was back in the days before google was everyone's default search engine) and being very intrigued by the message boards that I found, and this fanfiction thing that people wrote.

It's endlessly navel-gazing-y to wonder about these sorts of things– would I be who I am if I wasn't who I am? Who can even answer that?– but I do wonder sometimes about how much watching Buffy when I did influenced who I grew up to be. I'm just about three years younger than the character of Buffy, so she was older enough that she was someone to look up to, but not so old that her life was utterly different from mine (other than the vampires). When I was in college, I never was afraid to walk by myself after dark, and in fact often walked other people (including guys) home from parties. Would I have done that without a show with a tiny girl as the monster hunter? I have never felt particularly restricted or defined by being a woman, and though I'm sure most of the credit for that goes to where and when I happened to be born and raised and my family, having Buffy as my favorite show as a teenage girl didn't hurt. I've never been particularly afraid to go where I want or do what I want, alone or with others. Maybe I would have been like this regardless of what I happened to watch on TV. But this was a show about facing horror and not backing down, about the strength in everyone, particularly the least likely, about self-confidence, about finding and making families, about the core of strength that's left even when everything exterior is taken away. And even though I don't much participate in the BtVS fandom these days, I will love it forever for that.

First of all, I got basically the best Remix story ever: Love is Goodbye (The We Will Become Stars Remix) (Saiyuki, Goku/Sanzo). IT IS SO GOOD. I LOVE IT LIKE WHOA. You should go and read it right now. It is beautiful and heart-breaking and is my favorite thing ever. Yes.

But, you know, some other people wrote good stories too. I've only gotten about a third of the way through the fandoms I know, but I clearly am not going to finish before the reveal, so here's my favorites:

To Command the Sea (the King of Camelot Remix) Arthur/Merlin, all about what it means to have power.

Apple Princess (The Little Girls in Boxes Remix) Merlin/Firefly crossover. Morgana and River meet. Does not that make you want to read it RIGHT NOW?

A Cautionary Tale about Tomatoes (and Zombies) by Netgirl_y2k. Okay, so this isn't a remix. But you should read it because it is hilarious and awesome and did I mention hilarious? Camelot gets invaded by zombies.

Otherwise a Perfect Sky (the Crashing Down Remix) (Buffy, spoilers through the end of Season 6). Oh my god. This story is so well-written, which such a perfect Tara characterization, and then it goes and breaks my heart. Love it.

Believe It or Not (The Courtship of Rupert Giles Remix) (Buffy, no spoilers). If you know anything about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you MUST read this story. I don't normally like stories which about adult characters' childhoods, but this is so perfect, and makes absolute sense, and just. Gah. Buffy wasn't the first slayer Giles knew.

Also, as always, let's play the guessing game! If you can tell which story I wrote, I will write you a drabble!

Title: Team Spirit
Author: Brigdh
Ratings/Warnings: PG. Vague spoilers for early Season 5 of Angel.
Summary: "Can we hug now?"
Notes: Written for slartibartfast in femslash_minis, who requested Dawn/Harmony and "Adult (or vampire) Dawn, accidental flirting, roses". Alas, this turned out more gen than femslash.
You can also read this story on AO3 here, if you prefer that archive.


( Team Spirit )

1. Deep Fanfic Thoughts, by Jack Handey by Vali. This story is awesome. I remember reading it years ago. I'm not sure how much sense it will make to those new to fandom, but I love it. "I don't think I'm alone when I say I'd like to see more and more planets fall under the ruthless domination of Prospect-L."

2. femslash_minis: a mini-ficathon community with one week to write 500 words. The current challenge will be stories about Dawn. COME AND SIGN UP WITH ME, O BUFFY FANS.