On being grown-up and a closet fan

[parthenia14]

I just came across this community from a meta list. I was interested in how people reconcile the two parts of life. My interest in Harry Potter is hardly a secret to my family - but the depth and breadth of my, er, love is pretty well hidden. That is, I can answer trivia questions on the first five books with breathtaking ease -that's OK. But

Comments

[cathexys]

i think people deal with it and are out in different degrees. i have friends whose husband proofread the BDSM smut and others who have strict rules of do's and don'ts. personally, my husband knows, dislikes, and we're pretty much balanced out at the don't as; don't tell stage. i do academic work on ff and he actually read my first essay years ago but has refused to read anything since. we talk about it theoretically, but i have yet to give him anything to read or make him understand

[parthenia14]

Well, me and my son went to see Prisoner of Azkaban three times, and he tells his friends that i'm a major fan - but he thinks it's OK because it means I buy the videos and pre-order Book 6. Small daughter got addicted to the videos (yes, yes, I *really* tried to stop her) to the point where her first word was Expelliarmus.

Actually DH is moderately fannish about some things, like Dr. Who (we gather religiously by the TV on Saturdays at the moment). To be honest, it's the gay p0rn - well not even that, it would also be all those stories where Harry and draco are thrown together after Quidditch and Harry hates him and then drinks a potion, and much confusion/snogging ensues. I haven't got a good answer, either, for why I like it. And I remember when I first started reading entries on bulletin boards like Fictionalley, I used to see the Fancfiction listings, and shudder delicately, in a superior way; and then things slid from there. But I would argue, secretly, that the best fanfiction can be damned good :D

What's SGA??

[cathexys]

oops, sorry, my latest obsession :-) stargate atlantis, the new cool slashy show on the block *g*

i'm jealous of you getting DW on tv...though we've made it a sunday night in front of the computer thing instead :D

as some have discussed on here before, i think there's nothing wrong with sharing one's fannish life with the kids, though to me there's offering&sharing and there's indoctrinating (and i hope i never do any of the latter...heck, my son's into religion at the moment and i just calmly explain to him that daddy and mommy don't believe god created pluto!)

would argue, secretly, that the best fanfiction can be damned good and you don't have to secretly argue that :-) we're shouting it from the roof tops, teaching it in our classes, doing serious academic work on it

[parthenia14]

Dr. Who is begging, begging to be slashed, from the moment where the Doctor picks up a copy of Heat and says, "Well, that's never going to work, I mean he's gay and she's an alien."

I live in a rather academic community where people get very superior about Literature, and view reading rather like aerobics: it has to really sweat or it's not proper exercise. I'd actually really like to read about the academic view of fanfiction, because I find it interesting to see the way that certain stories are written and rewritten (which I imagine varies from one fandom to another). And slash - well, I imagine the ponderings on what that's all about go on for miles. Although I maintain that the best Netspeak defence is because it is teh hawt.

Hmm. Well, I like my HP slash to be either crappily, horribly teenage (no, I don't know why either) or smooth post-Hogwarts AUs featuring moderately aged up characters, like the glorious HP/Alias crossover, Trade, currently being written by hackthisI think it's escapism, really. I can't bear to watch things

[mofic]

I wrote a little about this a bit ago, if you want to look at the archives. I'm fairly open on the topic. I wrote an article, under my real name, about writing fanfic and how it affects and is affected by my parenting and it was published on Advocate.com (website of The Advocate - glossy gay mag) and a lot of people heard about it from that. But I'd gotten pretty comfy by that point or I wouldn't have published it. When I first started writing slash the whole thing was a Deep Dark Secret (tm) but I relaxed over time

[parthenia14]

But I also recognize that some people see writing stories about mutant superheroes who have sex with each other as a particularly weird hobby

hahaha.

My husband did comment that reading about wizards (because he doesn't know about the gay wizards) was at least better than making doll's houses. But then he got worried in case he'd sparked a new interest.

[jenna_thorn]

From previous discussions on the topic, I think I'm one of the lucky ones.

My husband thinks my involvement in fandom is funny, but in a laugh with, not laugh at (okay, some of it is laugh at, but still, at least he gets it) way. We are also a fandom-friendly household; we met when he was the manager of the comic book store I frequented. We've got limited edition Olivia prints scattered through the house, even though he's now an accountant and I'm in a really boring job. My son recognizes Morpheus and Superman, though he prefers the Teen Titans to either

[parthenia14]

Thanks for the pointers!

Believe me, the bit about Harry not wearing pants is even funnier in British English. (*scratches eyes out*)

[valarltd]

I'm very lucky. I have a husband that has his own obsessions, and hence understands mine.

He doesn't "get" my SW focus for the obsession, but he understands I have it. As long as I don't bore him silly, he's cool.

And, I'm raising fannish kids. My oldest (13) goes to cons with me and they all go to SCA events with me.

[a2zmom]

Everyone in my house knows I am a major BtVS and AtS fan and often kid me about it. I doubt though that they know that I'm a fanfic reader (and occasional writer).

I'm lucky - all four of us have our own computers, so the chance of anyone stumbling onto my bookmarks are slim to none.

My husband, youngest son and I all have major comic book habits, so I guess fandom is a way of life in my household.