Welcome to the August installment of our Potpourri blog series where we talk about a variety of things and sometimes just random stuff.  This month we're discussing other fandoms we're involved in, whether it be reading fic, writing fic, or just enjoy reading/watching! Check out the fandoms below if you haven't already  

J U L S:   H O W   T O   T R A I N   Y O U R   D R A G O N

I got involved with writing in this fandom when Kenny (aka Starfeather/Tanda) set up a brilliant challenge about dragons. I ended up signing up for HP/Charlie Weasley, and then added HtTYD when Kenny wished someone would write that fandom. Crossing over a HP character into a cartoon proved to be interesting. But we've got Toothless, Hiccup and Astrid making friends with our favorite dragon handler. It's an amazing world rich with different types of dragons. Who doesn't love dragons? Who doesn't love cuddly baby dragons that can puff bits of smoke and flame that burn off your face whiskers?

I'm so glad that Kenny set up that challenge, and I look forward to reading the other ones written by @victoria_anne and @just.a.willow.tree.

S I N G M E T O T H E S U N:   T H U N D E R B I R D S

One fandom I’m heavily involved in besides HP is Thunderbirds. It’s a British TV show back from the 1960s believe it or not, but I grew up with it thanks to my dad (for reference I’m only 25). It’s a science-fiction series set in 2065 and isn’t actually live-action or animation as it’s made with puppets – a form called Supermarionation as the puppet’s lips and eyes move allowing them to seem life-like – and all of the special effects are manufactured in-studio using scale-models! 

Thunderbirds focuses around the Tracy family, consisting of billionaire ex-astronaut Jeff and his five sons Scott, Virgil, John, Gordon, and Alan, who are all named after ex-astronauts themselves. From their tropical island home located in the south Pacific Ocean, they run a worldwide rescue organisation called International Rescue, and with their super high-tech machines called Thunderbirds, they use their fantastic futuristic equipment to save lives of people in disasters where local authorities simply can’t. 

There have also been reboots, notably the (rather controversial within the fandom) 2004 movie starring Bill Paxton and Anthony Edwards, as well as the most recent animated Thunderbirds Are Go! show on CITV. I’ve written for both the original tv series and movie-verses – just my personal preference. My favourite stories I’ve read in the fandom are from criminally charmed and Loopstagirl over on FF.Net (where I first started). I myself have written twelve stories for this fandom, three of which are multi-chapters, and I’m hoping to keep adding as I’ve only just recently begun writing for this fandom again after two years!  

R O N S G I R L F R I D A Y:   F I R E F L Y

While HP is the only fandom I'd consider myself "involved in" as far as reading/writing fic and actively discussing with other fans, since we're here to talk about other fandoms we love, I have to shout about Firefly a bit. The worst thing about Firefly is that it only ran for one season.  The best thing about Firefly, for those new to the fandom, is that it only ran for one season -- so it's easy to get caught up.  Firefly is a space Western -- you heard that right -- set in the year 2517, about the crew of the "Firefly-class" spaceship Serenity, who like to live outside government control and maybe make their living through... less-than-legal methods. It's got a stellar ensemble cast, badass women and people of color (related, one of my all-time favorite ships from any fandom -- Zoe/Wash -- is an interracial couple who buck traditional gender roles), worldbuilding, endearing and frustrating characters, endlessly quotable dialogue, and a post-series movie (aptly titled Serenity) that broke our hearts irreparably, but I won't tell you why.

The HPFT archives currently boast only four fics in the Firefly fandom, by @1917farmgirl and @Chelts-rhj, and you should definitely check them out!

M A G E M A D I:   D O C T O R   W H O

Doctor Who, for those of you who don't know, is a British TV show that's been airing since the 1960s (the reboot started airing in 2005) that follows a rather eccentric Time Lord who travels through space and time with various companions trying to solve problems and battle injustice throughout the universe in his TARDIS, which resembles a blue police telephone box from the 1960s that is definitely bigger on the inside. Because the Doctor as a character can regenerate into a new body when they die, it provides a really great way for the role to change over time as new people inhabit it; this was especially true when Jodie Whittaker, a woman, was cast as the Thirteenth Doctor, and therefore became the first woman to take over the role.

Talking about the reboot era (2005-present) specifically, our Doctors are Christopher Eccleston (Nine), David Tennant (Ten), Matt Smith (Eleven), Peter Capaldi (Twelve), and now Jodie Whittaker (Thirteen), with a whole cadre of human companions along the way. Storylines often transcend episodic arcs and can last throughout a season or more, which is one of the highlights of the show, and provides great fodder for fan fiction! On the HPFT archives we've got three great stories so far that I would highly recommend: The Last First by @scooterbug8515, Goodbye Sweetie by @Chelts-rhj, and A Picture of Christmas by @Simplicius.

J U L S:    L I T T L E   H O U S E   O N   T H E   P R A I R I E

My first ever fandom writing was my story I started in Elementary School about my friends and myself in 'Little House in the Prairie' world. It was probably very plagiarized, but at that age, I just loved Laura Ingalls and I wanted to grow and be like her. I still do! Who doesn't want to put leeches on Nellie Olson's legs? Laura's childhood, though hard (The Long Winter, growing up in Buffalo and going through the Blizzard of '77 while reading it, made me feel more akin to her) and monetarily bereft (in one book, they had to sell the horses to get by, I think that was 'On the Banks of Plum Creek') their family love was something to hope for. I cried when Jack their dog died, shuddered in fear when the Native Americans entered their cabin, laughed when Mr Edward's showed up with Santa's Christmas presents for them and got all dreamy googly-eyed over the romance between Beth (Laura) and Manly (Almonzo).

Sadly, there are no fanfics in the archives on this fandom.

M A L F O Y S A N G E L:   T H E   H O U S E   O F   N I G H T

So I know I've talked about this fandom before and I know it's not an overly popular one when you compare it to HTTYD, GoT, or even Twilight. But I love that it's not your typical vampire series. Set in the heart of Tulsa, Oklahoma, The House of Night series follows a special group of teenagers that are all connected to the Goddess Nyx in some way. The series centers around Zoey Redbird (Montgomery) as she navigates this new world she is thrust into. Zoey must learn how to control her new abilities, balance her new relationships, make peace with her old life, and did I mention save the world from an untold evil? Pretty normal for a 17 year old right?

I love the series because it blends cultures together in a way that I've never seen before. And the main cast of characters are all from different backgrounds and walks of life. The way the are able to come together and support each other is amazing and something I've never seen in a YA series before. 

There are no stories currently on the archives and there are only a handful of stories available on AO3 (60 stories) and FFN (1.7k stories approx) I haven't read any because I feel like the books have done such a great job of character development that there isn't really much I would want to read that's different except maybe that Zoey {redacted}.

 M A G E M A D I:   T H E   1 0 0 

The 100 is loosely based off of a novel series by Kass Morgan+ that got made into a TV show that airs on the CW. It's set 100 years into the future, after a nuclear war destroyed the Earth and made it uninhabitable for humans, so humans have been living up on a giant space station for nearly 100 years when draconian measures are taken and solutions need to be found in order for humanity to survive; leadership sends 100 juvenile delinquents down to the surface to see if it is survivable. The teenagers must learn to live on an entirely new, unfamiliar planet while also fighting for survival against many other obstacles at the same time. This show really defines the true meaning of an ensemble cast, and they do it well!

The seventh and final season is currently airing on the CW, and the fanfic community for this show is LARGE. Just on HPFT there's 19 fics for this fandom, and on AO3 it numbers in the tens of thousands. Two of our more prolific writers for this fandom on HPFT are @dreamshadow and @clevernotbrilliant, who have brilliant fics you should check out! I've also written several fics in this fandom, and find it to be one that's relatively easy to AU for because it's a post-modern setting so modern AUs and the like actually come pretty easy. 

What fandoms outside of Harry Potter do you read about/write for? Let us know in the comments!

________________
credits:

content: kate, madi, melanie, juls, tasha
draft: madi
header: down-in-flames