Everybody's Free (To Be Fannish)
If you don't know what a fandom is, this post will be of no interest to you. This is not the post you're looking for.
BUT FOR THE REST OF US. I just stumbled upon the utterly brilliant Everybody's Free (To Be Fannish) by eliza_jane via missyjack, a fandom riff on the late 90s Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (video; lyrics). The whole thing is utterly brilliant both as a parody and as actual advice, and if you've ever been involved with any fandom it is eminently worth the quick read.
A sampling:
Enjoy the power and freedom of your fannish persona. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and freedom of your fannish persona until real life causes you to take a fandom hiatus. But trust me, in the middle of RL bullshit, you'll look back at your post-episode reactions and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much fun you really had. You are not as cynical as you imagine.
Don't worry about being wanked. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to apply logic to shipper wars. The real wank is apt to be something that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindsides you the first time you check your inbox after posting something offhand and walking away from your computer for four hours on some idle Tuesday.
Read a story every once in awhile that scares you.
Post.
Don't be reckless with other people's fanworks. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
But trust her on the laptop.
BUT FOR THE REST OF US. I just stumbled upon the utterly brilliant Everybody's Free (To Be Fannish) by eliza_jane via missyjack, a fandom riff on the late 90s Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) (video; lyrics). The whole thing is utterly brilliant both as a parody and as actual advice, and if you've ever been involved with any fandom it is eminently worth the quick read.
A sampling:
Enjoy the power and freedom of your fannish persona. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and freedom of your fannish persona until real life causes you to take a fandom hiatus. But trust me, in the middle of RL bullshit, you'll look back at your post-episode reactions and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much fun you really had. You are not as cynical as you imagine.
Don't worry about being wanked. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to apply logic to shipper wars. The real wank is apt to be something that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindsides you the first time you check your inbox after posting something offhand and walking away from your computer for four hours on some idle Tuesday.
Read a story every once in awhile that scares you.
Post.
Don't be reckless with other people's fanworks. Don't put up with people who are reckless with yours.
But trust her on the laptop.