WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Oh gosh, how to explain Aristasia? It started out as a philosophy, grew into a few novels and short stories, turned into a worldbuilding experiment on Second Life, then part of those Second Lifers branched out and formed a quasi-religion around it (unrelated to the canon I've nominated, though), and then it sort of died out - at least, I can't find much activity around Aristasia these days.
Okay, you might be saying, that's cool, but what the hell is it? Well, Aristasia is basically a femslash-only BDSM AU with a fetish for femininity and domestic discipline. It's set in a world where there are no men, and the only sexes are blondes and brunettes (and in case you were wondering, anyone of any race can be either sex). Blondes are ultra-feminine, considered frail but also very smart and precious - if you're familiar with A/B/O, think of them as the omegas of a traditional A/B/O 'verse (except without heats or breeding kink). Brunettes are the opposite: the tough ones, the leaders of the family and the protectors of the blondes. (Gender essentialism is a big thing in Aristasia*.)
The world of Aristasia is different from Earth. Instead of locations corresponding to distance or physical location, they correspond to time periods in Earth history (or, to Aristasians, Earth history corresponds to Aristasian locales). For example, the province of Kadoria corresponds to the 1940s, and has the 40s aesthetic and culture, while Arcadia corresponds to medieval times, and all the provinces lie somewhere in between. This leads to a lot of fun worldbuilding when it comes to making all these disparate time periods work together in one country!
As for the BDSM part? There is a huge emphasis on spanking/caning/domestic discipline as a way to establish power dynamics not only in a relationship or in a household, but across the country. It's one of those AUs where kink is commonly accepted - although, interestingly, making it sexual is taboo in Aristasia (so of course, I'm planning on requesting a lot of smut - the more taboo the better!).
*Here's the caveat about this fandom: Aristasia was originally born from a group of women who were dissatisfied both with feminism and with masculinity; their ideal world was one of pure femininity, adhering to many of the social sensibilities for women from the Amazons until about the 1950s - except with no men. So there is a distinct anti-feminist, anti-male bent to it. I personally just...disregard that and all the real-life parts of Aristasia because the 'verse is otherwise My Kink(tm), but please keep it in mind if you choose to dive in!
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):
The bulk of the canon is at Aristasia.net. I've compiled some quick links to the most important parts (imo), although please look around the site for more info.
Aristasia
WHAT MAKES IT GREAT: Oh gosh, how to explain Aristasia? It started out as a philosophy, grew into a few novels and short stories, turned into a worldbuilding experiment on Second Life, then part of those Second Lifers branched out and formed a quasi-religion around it (unrelated to the canon I've nominated, though), and then it sort of died out - at least, I can't find much activity around Aristasia these days.
Okay, you might be saying, that's cool, but what the hell is it? Well, Aristasia is basically a femslash-only BDSM AU with a fetish for femininity and domestic discipline. It's set in a world where there are no men, and the only sexes are blondes and brunettes (and in case you were wondering, anyone of any race can be either sex). Blondes are ultra-feminine, considered frail but also very smart and precious - if you're familiar with A/B/O, think of them as the omegas of a traditional A/B/O 'verse (except without heats or breeding kink). Brunettes are the opposite: the tough ones, the leaders of the family and the protectors of the blondes. (Gender essentialism is a big thing in Aristasia*.)
The world of Aristasia is different from Earth. Instead of locations corresponding to distance or physical location, they correspond to time periods in Earth history (or, to Aristasians, Earth history corresponds to Aristasian locales). For example, the province of Kadoria corresponds to the 1940s, and has the 40s aesthetic and culture, while Arcadia corresponds to medieval times, and all the provinces lie somewhere in between. This leads to a lot of fun worldbuilding when it comes to making all these disparate time periods work together in one country!
As for the BDSM part? There is a huge emphasis on spanking/caning/domestic discipline as a way to establish power dynamics not only in a relationship or in a household, but across the country. It's one of those AUs where kink is commonly accepted - although, interestingly, making it sexual is taboo in Aristasia (so of course, I'm planning on requesting a lot of smut - the more taboo the better!).
*Here's the caveat about this fandom: Aristasia was originally born from a group of women who were dissatisfied both with feminism and with masculinity; their ideal world was one of pure femininity, adhering to many of the social sensibilities for women from the Amazons until about the 1950s - except with no men. So there is a distinct anti-feminist, anti-male bent to it. I personally just...disregard that and all the real-life parts of Aristasia because the 'verse is otherwise My Kink(tm), but please keep it in mind if you choose to dive in!
WHERE CAN I FIND IT?(optional):
The bulk of the canon is at Aristasia.net. I've compiled some quick links to the most important parts (imo), although please look around the site for more info.
What is Aristasia?
Intro to the world of Aristasia (see the main Aristasia.net page for links to each province, which include the mentions of the characters I've nominated)
Aristasian geography
Aristasian terms
Aphroditism - aka the femininity kink
The three forms of Aristasian submission
(Disclaimer: I wasn't involved in any aspect of Aristasia; I'm a latecomer who just wants to read fic about it.)
Have questions? I have answers, probably! AMA!