snick_backup | A thank-you, and must-see stops on my fannish map

Various folks (

ladyofthelog, and most recently on my flist

angearia) have been talking about the

su_herald and Buffyverse fandom connectivity and suchlike and so on.

First: Probably at least a third of all the authors I follow and fangirl, I found through the Herald. Several of the communities I frequent (

still_grrr,

open_on_sundays) I found through the Herald. It was a key source of information for me when I first got into the fandom, and I have nothing but appreciation for the hard work those folks do.

Second: I find Buffyverse segregation rather interesting. I definitely live in the Spuffy corner of it, but I try to keep an eye to parts distant. If nothing else, other corners of the map come up with different memes and flamewars than mine does. Plus, a Giles-centric perspective of the fandom and of canon is just very different from a Spike-centric view. It's another lense for my show!

However, as others have said, it's not always obvious where the hubs are. So, here's a list of the resources I use to find both folks and fic. Spike-centric, because that's me, but I do manage to break out of the box in a few places. Also: idiosyncratic as all heck. Likely to be updated a couple of times as I think of more things.

seasonal_spuffy: The place on LJ to find folks writing Spike/Buffy. Runs twice a year. Varying levels of quality, but there are a few true gems in every batch. Indices of the last few sessions here.

still_grrr: Active community of folks writing good, short fic. Especially lots of good gen. I first discovered several of my favorite authors through this comm! Old entries sorted by both a fabulous tag system and Delicious account.

giles_watchers: Like the Herald, but Giles-specific. Two or three times a week. Also have an up-to-date Delicious account.

giles_fic_recs: A fairly active recs comm with, o frabjous day, a very useful tagging system.

petzipellepingo Like the Herald, but Spuffy-specific, with occasional forays into other characters and pairings. Daily (!).

moscow_watcher: Reccer extraordinaire of Spuffyfic, Xanderfic (especially Xander/Faith), and other stuff that catches her eye. Quarterly.

buffyversetop5: Hosts a "Best of Previous Year" recs session every January and a "Best of Years Before Previous Year" session every October. Great way to find authors new and old.

sueworld2003: Great Spike- and JM-centric source of fannish links: appearances, con reports, graphics, and discussions.

gabrielleabelle: One of the most active, fandom-centric LJ-ers I know. Deep thinky meta, silly polls, quick episode musings, a lot of fic recs lately. Always friendly and welcoming.

angearia: Spuffy fangirl to the core, but also hearts Buffy like a mad thing. Great source of S8 meta as well as general Spike, Buffy, and Spuffy musings. Again: always friendly and welcoming.