Still here

[mobiusstripper]

Remembering that there is still Expanse fandom stuff happening here so maybe I should try to hang around more. I've been hanging around other corners of the fandom (Reddit mostly) and find them a little frustrating (I got DOWNVOTED for suggesting that book fans who wanted to see additional novellas try their hand at fanfiction), maybe things are better over here.

Also lol I forgot my last post was about missing BJJ. I'm happy to announce to anyone still following that I'm BACK. Six days a week, baby. Bruised as hell. Loving every minute of it. Let's GO!

Also my mental health is out of the toilet so while there will still be a lot of navel-gazing from me, at least it won't be as ungodly WHINY as whatever I had going on in 2022.

Comments

[galaxyofroses]

Hi! Glad to see more Expanse folks on here.

I've also noticed the Reddit is pretty snotty about fic/transformative fandom. Which is a shame, because there's so much of The Expanse to explore. They're missing out anyway.

[mobiusstripper]

My impression of the Expanse fandom on Reddit is that it's very broad, so there are a lot of people on a lot of different pages about stuff. This can make for an interesting variety of perspectives, but a lot of people seem to have no sense of the kind of fandom etiquette that creative fan spaces usually instill. The number of people I got responding to my illustrations with "That's not how I pictured them" is an example (and I've seen the same thing happen to the other handful of people who have tried a hand at book art). Like, what do you want me to say? Ok? Sorry I didn't read your mind? Obviously different people are going to have different ways of picturing book characters. If you want to see your version, do your own art. Or commission me. Otherwise, I really don't care! It's weird to me how little art there is for the non-adapted books, and instead of being excited when someone makes some, people are snotty about it.

I agree, there is so much to explore! The comment that I got downvoted for was about how we could put together a collection of fan-written novellas.

[galaxyofroses]

That makes sense. I admit, I'm a pretty casual browser over there (I like it for Lang Belta resources), but it does seem committed to a more discursive approach to fandom, where most energy is devoted to discussing the text in a non-transformative way. Reminds me a little of SFF forums in the 2000s.

But it's absolutely wild to me that you got that response to your work. What's the point of art if we don't get the artist's perspective/imagination!?

PS. A collection sounds super cool. Expanse fanzine when?

[mobiusstripper]

I think some of the issues with the fandom comes from the division between show people and book people, and the fact that most show people haven't read the books. The show seems to have more in the way of transformative works, but book fandom is totally anemic. Which sucks because, while I love the show, 1/3 of the story is not covered by it! I'd be 110% down to run a zine or exchange of some kind specifically for fans of the books. Or even for the last three books specifically.

[galaxyofroses]

Yeah, I agree the show sadly gets the bulk of the enthusiasm. I also love the show! But the books are great. I tend to go for a blended canon for fanworks, because there are aspects of both I like (also it's fun to sneak book canon into show canon :D).

Oh man, I've been daydreaming about a single-fandom exchange for The Expanse for a while now. I don't know if it would get much interest, but it would be fun! Or prompt week or something like that? So many possibilities.

Also, I don't know if you're into a multi-fandom exchanges at all but sufficiently_advanced_ex and space_swap are definitely book-Expanse friendly! Both of them run in the spring.

[mobiusstripper]

I'm shy about exchanges, especially when it comes to writing, but I have done art for a few in the past and probably should participate more. I will definitely check those out! Do you know any other Expanse fans on here? Maybe we could start a group and try to get some people together.

[galaxyofroses]

That's a great idea! I'm not very DW-savvy, but I know a couple people and I think there are still some fannish places to promote new groups.

[mobiusstripper]

I'm going to start by figuring out which exchanges will be the most likely to net me some background fic about the Laconians. The incuriosity of the fandom in this regard is mind-boggling to me. I'm upset we never got to see what the inside of the Laconian conspiracy back on Mars actually looked like. How did Duarte recruit his people? What went on in their minds when they decided to follow him? How did they organize? THE INTRIGUE! And then what the fuck were they all DOING for thirty years out there all by themselves? What was life like? What was the journey there like? (I know we get the tiniest glimpse of this with the Sauveterre epilogue, but COME ON. It's just him making his subordinate cry and then getting dematerialized.) What was it like for kids like Santiago Singh to be taken along for the ride and then grow up in this total isolation? There could be an entire spinoff series addressing just those questions. There's so much rich ground for backstory/missing scene fic there. It's free real estate!

[galaxyofroses]

OH MAN, I am obsessed with the Laconians! The Martian Congressional Republic is already so over the top and high on its own exceptionalism and then Duarte selected for the most hardcore and zealous of them!? Please, I need to hear all about how that happened and the kind of society they were imagining. Like even the adaptation of the Martian garden rhetoric to Laconia being this Edenic dream? Please. (Have you read the Dragon Tooth comics? They proceed from show canon and focus on the Roci crew, but I loved the insights we got into the Laconian project.)

Not to keep flinging recommendations at you, but it sounds like you might like worldbuilding_exchange.

[mobiusstripper]

Ooh yes thank you!