Greetings from the Tumblr Cosmere Fandom!

[FeatherWriter]

For those unaware, there is now a thriving (read: about 15 people) fandom for Brandon's stuff on tumblr! Yeah, okay, we're pretty small, but we're close knit! However, most fandoms on tumblr have a cool name for their followers: Homestucks, Whovians, Potterheads, even the Twilighters get a name. We need a name too!

Also, apparently some of the Cosmere fans are a bit afraid of 17th Shard, so I decided to reach across the gap, since you all are part of the fandom too! So what are your thoughts on the matter? Got any better names?

Bonus Question: What's the best abreviation of Brandon Sanderson? B-Sandz or Branderson? (Personal issue here)

In case you've never heard of the tumblr Cosmere fandom, let me aquaint you with some of the highlights going on right now. We have:

• Cosmere book liveblogs! It's always fun finding someone who has stumbled upon Brandon's books and is now posting about how they have "lost the ability to can" and that the are now in possession of "all the feels." These are often accompanied by lots of reaction gifs of people jumping off cliffs, falling down staircases, and the Doctor crying in the rain. We all try to welcome these people with warmth and understanding and inform them that it only gets worse from here on out.
  
• Crossovers, AU's, and Fanfiction! Vin and Kelsier in the Mass Effect universe? We've got that! What about Vinlend in the Hunger Games. Did you realize that Homestuck quadrants work really well in some of Brandon's books? Also, what whould happen if everyone in the Cosmere worked in a coffee shop? Or was in a marching band? And if you've never seen the men of Mistborn wearing Sailor Fukus, you haven't lived. (Don't worry, Ham's dress doesn't have sleeves. Adherence to canon is our highest priority)We have all sorts of things you didn't realize you wanted until just now.
  
• Shipping! While Vinlend is EVERYONE'S OTP NO EXCEPTIONS, cute canon ships like Sazed/Tindwyl, Kelsier/Mare, Raoden/Sarene, and Siri/Susebron get some love over here too. Arguments over whether Vasher/Vivenna and Kelsier/Syl should be romantic break out occasionally. Not to mention the Shallarin and Adollan love triangle that's going on. And who could forget Dalinar/Navani versus Dalinar/WhatsHerName?
  

In short, we're a pretty cool bunch! If you've got a tumblr, you should check us out!

[EHyde]

Posted this on tumblr too, but--I really don't have a preference, other than something that isn't just in reference to Mistborn.

[KChan]

Don't forget the Cosmere Family! I was sort of surprised not to see that one already linked.

I'm a bit surprised, too, to hear that some of the tumblr fans are scared of 17S. Why do you think that might be? Since our whole purpose as a site is to be accessible to all of Brandon's fans, that's a bit concerning to me. Also, I've been wondering recently whether 17S should have a more active presence in the Land of Blogs and Tumbls; is this something you guys would be interested in seeing? What sort of stuff would you like to see from a 17S blog if it existed?

[LevenThumps]

I wouldn't mind a 17S blog, as it would reach out to more people. Personally, I think a Cosmere fan should be a Sharder or Shardling, just because it seems to fit.

EDIT: I think I know why people may be scared of 17S. In my own personal experience, when I first came here, I saw a BUNCH of theories about the Cosmere that I didn't know much about. I didn't go into the theories for a while until I learned more. I think the Shardcast episodes have helped greatly with this, but that was my experience when I first came here.

Edited October 10, 2012 by LevenThumps

[EHyde]

I think, at first glance, 17thShard can seem a bit like everyone here a) knows what they're talking about and only talks about serious stuff all the time. Totally not the case, but I feel like that's the surface impression, and is maybe a bit intimidating? But I don't think we should change anything.

As far as a blog/tumblr presence for 17S, maybe post/link the main page news posts, featured theories column, etc. on a blog (as opposed to just publishing them here) so people can get introduced to the site that way?

er ... sunglass guy was meant to be a "b"

[Rubix]

The admins will definitely have a meeting in the near future titled "making sure that people aren't afraid of us, Reactions to PETA's Pokemon spoof, and other such Admin-y business". In all seriousness, though, anyone who gets the feeling that we're not welcoming to newcomers is a terrible failing on my part, and I'll be going out of my way to find new ways to help everyone feel welcome (I'm totally open to ideas here).

As a side note, Brandon typically refers to people who are from 17thShard as "Sharders", so I'd suggest steering clear of that one, just to help reduce confusion. Other than that, all of the names sound good.

[FeatherWriter]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's the theories that kinda scare people off. I mean, I love theorizing and trying to figure out how the magic systems work and stuff, but it can definitely seem intimidating to those on the outside. Especially those who've only read one or two of Brandon's books, like many of the new Shardlings (used it!) on tumblr. We find them because they've liveblogged their reading, and then I think if they were to check out 17th Shard and say... accidentally stumble into the Cosmere Theories board, it's a little overwhelming.

I think having an actual 17th Shard tumblr would be a really cool idea, especially as a way to introduce people to the idea of the cosmere and awesome stuff like Shardcast.

EDIT: I just checked 17thshard.tumblr.com and it's taken, but it's got the right tagline: "The Official Brandon Sanderson Fansite." Does that mean that someone from over here has that URL?

Edited October 10, 2012 by FeatherWriter

[KChan]

Well, since you already discovered it, I'll go ahead and let you in. I registered that URL back when I first joined tumblr. I wasn't sure if we were going to use it, but I wanted to make sure it was 1) there when we needed it, and 2) didn't get taken by someone who wasn't actually staff (or at least a member of the site). But since we hadn't had a chance to discuss it in a staff meeting, I didn't want to just randomly start blogging in 17th Shard's name without the other admins knowing what was going on. That's why it's there, but currently empty.

Maybe we could reblog cool book reactions, fanarts, etc that we find from there as well in addition to mirroring the frontpage content. Is that something you guys would be interested in seeing?

EDIT: Since you've gone and found the URL, I went ahead and skinned it. So even though it's currently empty, at least it actually looks legit. XD

[Zenith]

I was just thinking, but if you wanted to make sure that we don't seem serious all the time, maybe you could show some of these threads:

Ah, lightflame...

[KChan]

That's a good idea. Featuring fun content, like those posts and some of Will's theories, would be a lot of fun, I think. Nice one!

[Joe ST]

I personally have called people 'Cosmeri' a few times, but *shrugs*

[KChan]

I finally made up my mind and voted for Sanderfans. Shardlings is a close second, but I feel like that's a bit close to (17th) Sharders, and I know there are plenty of people out there who don't want to lump all of the fandom in with the site.

[Joe ST]

and obviously, there's more to Brandon than the Cosmere

[RenegadeShroom]

It wouldn't be totally weird and creepy to start following the blog on tumblr, like I already have, right? >__>

Anyways, I voted for Sandersonians, although I like the sound of Shardlings and Sanderfans, too. :U Oh, and Branderson is my personal favourite abbreviation.

Edited October 11, 2012 by InsurrectionistFungus

[Joe ST]

It wouldn't be totally weird and creepy to start following the blog on tumblr, like I already have, right? >__>

Anyways, I voted for Sandersonians, although I like the sound of Shardlings and Sanderfans, too. :U Oh, and Branderson is my personal favourite abbreviation.

So maybe Branderlanders? or Branderfans?

[KChan]

It wouldn't be totally weird and creepy to start following the blog on tumblr, like I already have, right? >__>

Nah, not at all! And according to my notifications you're not the only one, either. You're welcome to go ahead and follow it, but just keep in mind that there won't be any content there until the admins have hashed out what exactly we're doing with it.

Anyways, I voted for Sandersonians, although I like the sound of Shardlings and Sanderfans, too. :U Oh, and Branderson is my personal favourite abbreviation.

Sandersonians is kind of neat, if a little long.

[FeatherWriter]

Yay! "Sanderfans" and "Branderson" are my terms! I'm glad people like them! And I decided to go ahead and follow the 17th Shard tumblr too. Glad to see we're reaching out!

[KChan]

Me too! Now we just need to decide the best way of going about that. XD So far, from this thread, our ideas are:

• Mirroring/blogging frontpage posts
  
• Reblogging cool content other people post

And of course, responding to asks/posts/etc. Any other ideas? Maybe a 30-day Sanderfan challenge? Challenges like that seem to be popular on social media, and it'd give people something to respond to. Maybe we can even give forum awards to members who participate (and tell us who they are on tumblr, of course).

[FeatherWriter]

Sounds like a plan! So, KChan, are you heading up this tumblr endeavor then? The other admins should give you more spikes a new title for it!

[Zenith]

Sounds like a plan! So, KChan, are you heading up this tumblr endeavor then? The other admins should give you more spikes a new title for it!

I'll be one of the victims from which you get powers for the spikes help test-taste the cookies!

Edited October 18, 2012 by Zenith

[KChan]

I have volunteered to head it up, yes, but we haven't decided who else will be actively working on it. It's one of the things we need to talk about in the meeting before we start actually using the blog. And thanks, but I'm not sure you want to be a victim. It's not fun being stabbed through the heart, after all. Instead, why don't you help think of a title?

[CrazyRioter]

ShardBlog, to go with ShardCast?

[Lightflame]

Because of the shipping section of the post:

Kelsier/Syl? Sounds awesome. Now we just need my personal favourite ship, Szeth/Jasnah.

[dj26792]

so the name shardlings really does sound to me like something you would call someone who was a baby in terms of the cosmere... before they grow up and join 17thshard and become a sharder. I would feel insulted by such terminology were I a little shardling

Cosmerites, or better yet Cosmenauts is a better name, but unlikely to stick I think Sanderfans seriously works and makes it clear what you stand for.

[Emeralis00]

Wait. There is a 17thshard blog?

Em stalks...