In this second installment of Dark Matters’ profiles of POC nerdy creators, we talked with the delightful C. Diva, writer/co-owner of the multi-fandom site The Collective. Along with her co-conspirator, the Collectress, C. Diva toils tirelessly to bring folks recs, reviews, news, and other fannish treasures from a wide (and ever-expanding) selection of media and fandoms.
What are your fave fandoms?
It’s difficult to categorize my fandoms because I love so much about pop culture and when I like something, I go a little…crazy. I’d say that Supernatural is my mecca, Marvel is my love, Doctor Who and Sherlock are my favorite Brits, and of course I love anything DC. (Except Superman. Fight me.) I also love Hannibal, HTGAWM, The Walking Dead ‘verse. My Tumblr is a pretty accurate representation of the varied interests I hold. Warning: I’m a big shipper and don’t see any harm in it, so if that’s not your thing, I’m definitely not the girl for you.
How long have you been doing The Collective?
My blogmate, the Collectress, and I came up with the idea of an entertainment blog in 2013. Together, we planned our launch date, focal topics, weekly schedules and began writing on a regular basis to create content. At first, it was just the two of us, but we currently have contributors from all over the world, which is pretty amazing.
Why is (your blog) called The Collective?
The name started out as an homage to the Cyborgs in Star Trek, because we’re both serious Trekkie geeks. Also, as a blog, our constant goal is to retain an authentic audience who feels that The Collective is a safe space to discuss the things they love with like-minded individuals without fear. We encourage conversation and respect each individual, and do not tolerate bullying or wank. The Collective fandom demographic is surprisingly varied but I feel confident in saying that our readers hold similar values.
How would you describe it (The Collective)?
At The Collective, we are obsessed with all things geek—news, travel, film, literature and more. We support the creative community; the intellectual, the technological, and the individual. When we are passionate about something—whether it is a television show, female gamers, cosplay, transformative works or black film—we write about it and share the info all over our website, Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook. Our coverage is as varied as our audience. My top three most popular posts are an NSFW slash Fic Rec list, a piece on plus-size cosplay, and an argument for Donna Noble as my favorite companion to the Doctor.
Are you involved in fandom as a community? Like, do you go to cons or meet-ups or only online stuff?
I’m deep in the Supernatural fandom and always love a good fan con. Annually, I attend the Supernatural fan convention in Southern California, WonderCon in Anaheim, plus I’ve added San Diego Comic Con and Stan Lee’s upcoming Comikaze Expo in LA to my list of events. In the past, I’ve organized meet-ups at cons and continue to be very active in the online community.
Are you involved in fanworks a la writing fic, vidding, fan art, cosplay, etc?
I’m a writer, a slash shipper and a huge advocate of transformative works; of course I write fan fiction! The Collective actively supports transformative artists, writers and creators with interviews, art, cosplay showcases, and fanfic challenges. Hit me up on Twitter for fic recs, don’t be shy!
Look for The Collective in its many incarnations online:
Tamika Jones shares her selections here.
Check out Wesley Johnson (WestheEditor) and actor Chris Jai Alex (Boondocks, Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark) as they present this short on how to survive the inevitable zombie apocalypse.
HIT THE COMMENTS WITH YOUR OWN SUGGESTIONS!
“BGN is a place for people like me to express themselves freely and embrace who they are.”
Always on point with great cosplay photos.
Celebrate women of color in SFF.
“We celebrate diversity in geek pop culture and we discuss how things could be improved.”
Midwest Ethnic Convention for Comics and Arts
MECCA, aka MECCAcon, is a large comic book and artist convention held annually in Detroit, Mich.
“A ’90s kind of girl living in a post-apocalyptic world.”
One of nrrdygrrrl’s absolute favorite tumblrs.
Bringing the arts in 50 shades of great.
Blerding it up with radical aesthetics & more.
“This blog is dedicated to racial and cultural diversity in comic books and derivative works (film, tv, video games).”
Dark Matters 
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