Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Day 12
Day 12: What makes you fannish? And by that we mean, what is it about a tv show/movie/book/band/podcast/etc that takes you from, "Yeah, I like that," to "I need MOAR!!!" Is it a character? A plotline? The pretty? Subtext that’s just screaming to be acknowledged?
In your own space, tell us what it is that gets you to cross that line into fandom.
I accidentally fell into fandom, I think, but it would've happened eventually, I'm pretty sure. I've always gone beyond in the way I interact with media, from playing make-believe games about cartoons I liked as a kid to rewriting LOTR in the back of my mind as I was reading to include my self-insert. And the thing is - I think most people have this sort of engagement with some aspect of their life. There's something that they engage with in a more significant way than other folks. For me, it's TV shows, movies, and a few books. For my sister, it's ghost hunting. For my ex-brother-in-law, it's sports. Everyone has something. Lucky for me, media fandom is a group of really awesome people that are very supportive about creative endeavors, and that has led to an extremely fulfilling avocation in writing.
My earliest interactions with media include Battle of the Planets (that make-believe game), Happy Days (I don't remember what inspired my Fonzie deathfic, but obviously something did), Lord of the Rings, Karate Kid, Knight Rider, and all things Johnny Depp. There was a break in college when I didn't have time for TV, movies, or books, and then I got back into fannish pursuits after. My first was Brendan Fraser (from The Mummy, but clearly it was Brendon, as I consumed his entire library within a week, while watching The Mummy in theaters over 40 times). That's where I joined a mailing list, and wrote my first RPF (me and Brendan doing Tai Chi together on a cliff overlooking the ocean in Oregon /o\). Then I moved on to Buffy, where I joined another mailing list, and actually met several Buffy fans at my first fannish gathering. I'm still in contact with some of them (waves at
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fyrefly101) and have gone on more than one trip to see them. That led to my Lord of the Rings fannish interaction, where I met a bunch of awesome people, including my first girlcrush (waves to
jackofnone) and then on to meeting abundantlyqueer, who had moots monthly and basically changed my entire life. I met many, MANY good friends there, including my now-wife, and when things fell apart spectacularly with my ex-girlfriend, I went to Baltimore because I had friends there, and spent 7 years on the East Coast, where I met even MORE fannish folks (waves to half my dwircle). And now, I would say my primary friendships are all fannish (except my bestie, who will be my bestie forever, despite the fact that we are half the same person and half exact opposites (he frustrates me to no end)). And I appreciate that, because fandom is home for me. It is comfort and joy and fun and all the things I want in my relationships, and I have to roll my eyes when people talk about not being on the computer all day derogatorily because, you know? WHATEVER. Everyone does relationships differently, and there is nothing less valuable about mine just because they're primarily electronic, and personally, I feel like they're MORE valuable because there's an inherent language fans use that means we can have (at least from my observation about the boring, superficial topics my fellow consultants discuss at dinner) more in-depth, meaningful conversations that still allow for respectful differences of opinion. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate that particular dynamic of fandom. SO MUCH.So uh, did I answer the question? I think so.... *muses*
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