100 Fandom Related Things: 001 - Fandom.

[etacanis]

So, the downside to giving myself such a broad topic is I didn't know where to start. I have so much I can do with this topic - fic recs, comm recs, fanmixes,  anything - that when it came down to it, I didn't know where to start.

I thought about it for a while, read some posts on my flist, refreshed tumblr and then, then it occurred to me. My

Comments

[scatteredintime]

Ahahahah, I knowww. That's the problem IRL. You look at people first and don't actually see who they are as a person. I don't look even half as awesome as I am and people do go by looks after all. For instance I was in the same year as this other person in school and we knew of each other and saw each other and we both heavily disliked each other based on what we saw. And then in our last year it just so happened that we shared a house during the grad trip where we really got to know each other's personalities and she's now one of my closest IRL friends (although still a distant one because well, IRL friends are just... yeah). That's how it goes. And my bff Jule and I probably would've sooner got into a fistfight than become friends. (LOL, consensus is that we would've beat each other up and then become friends on the grounds of being stubborn bitches. Possibly. It's still a mystery that we actually haven't fought with each other that way yet.)

So yeah, that's it basically. It's so much easier to actually get to know people when you don't have to hold back. I can be myself through fandom and nobody will judge too hard. IRL it's always a bit timid and testing the waters and being careful of what I say because most of the time people will actually not understand. And it's not just about the book or show. Yeah, that's mostly what I will squeal about at any given time but it opens a window of opportunity to share something special. I've had some of the most intense discussion about deep shit with people from fandom and, as corny as it sounds, only recently I've basically found my soulmate and it's been a complete accident. We've been on each other's flist for years and somehow never cut each other but also didn't talk and then something fandomy happened and we've discovered SO MANY THINGS about each other. Now the idea of never knowing her just makes me frownyface like crazy. Never would've happened IRL. Even with fellow fans IRL it can get awkward because not everyone is as dedicated to things as I am and not everyone wants to have random conversations that start with mermaid porn and end with the pros and cons of our countries' respective health insurance systems.

And with some things it's really just all about the people. I like Harry Potter, yeah, I like it a lot. It's been a big part of my reading experience and teenage years, but what keeps me drawn to it are the people. All the fellow fangirls and fanboys who share this with me and who aren't weirded out by discussing random things and who will look past the surface and be your friend because of who you are and who aren't afraid to be friends. I always find that difficult IRL, to determine the line between "I know this person, great" and "this person is a friend and I love them".