[30Days]: On Fandom!
justira asked:
Why are you in fandom! How did you get here! Did you learn anything about yourself from/through being in fandom? For example, did you discover any kinks? =D (And, if you feel comfortable sharing, what are they!)
And I've got a bit to say about this!
Why am I in fandom?
I like to write, and being in fandom helps keep me doing so; there's an audience in fandom I think it's easier to reach out to than with original work. I love the source material, and fandom's a way to express that: reading, browsing art, commenting, sharing; all of these are ways to extend and explore a source material I'm fond of. I like the community; I've met some amazing people through fandom (more on this in a bit) and I enjoy the shared/collaborative feel of it, even if it's just commenting on a friend's drabble with a smiley-face.
I think in a way it's about value. I've watched people change fandoms or drift in and out of fandom because it isn't returning what they value (whether that's attention, comments/reviews, crit/feedback, cult of worshipers etc - value's different for all), and obviously I encourage everyone to shift around until they find a place in a fandom that's rewarding for them. Fandom's supposed to be fun, not frustrating!
Anyway: for me, the value returned is in communications: friends emailing me rambling snippets of fic or ideas for the one where GFs steal Seifer's memory or even just handfuls of porn, people I don't know commenting on fic that's two years old and getting into conversations about this or that pairing, friendships that move on beyond fandom, ideas that grow into
ff_exchange or the Kiss Battle or a series of prompts on
fuckyeahfinalfantasy -- interactions that go beyond "hay I liked your fic" are what I mean.
It's the connections, the kind of stuff I wouldn't do on my own -- like... I could write and maybe get comments and stuff, but -- I know now that I can write something and people will read it, and if they don't I can send them a note and they'll read it when they have time; it's the feedback, the interaction, and that's what I like.
How did I come to fandom?
Sadface: I have been writing fanfiction since before I knew what it was. Remember Sev is older than most of you, and we didn't have a ton of internet access/time growing up, and so when I spent my time writing an absolutely massive (note: it spanned four 3 1/2 inch disks) FFIV / FFVI crossover, I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS FANFIC; I was just like "la de da I am writing this stupid story and I will never tell anyone." It wasn't until college - which for me was after 2000 - that I really recognized fanfiction and figured out what the heck it was. That means I've been writing for over 10 years... wow, that's ridiculous.
Once I found fanfiction.net -- through FF and Harry Potter almost simultaneously -- I started writing more, and I started meeting people. I ended up heading to Livejournal through - well, a collection of people;
vincentvalentine/drakonlily and
crankyoldman/venefica_aura, mostly. They! Were also the first fandom people I ever met, in 2005, when we went to Otakon for the first time. (2005 or 2006? Am I that old...?)
Once I found Livejournal I was pretty much lost.
Things I learned from fandom!
Well, to start it off I have to say that fandom has impacted my life. It isn't subtle. Many people I've met from here have become friends, and some of them not just friends but CLOSE, heart-to-heart, soulmate friends. (And some of them, MAKEOUT FRIENDS, which in my opinion are totally the best kind!) I'm talking real-life friends and real-life impact. I won't get sappy, but I'm going to say: I love you all.
And, GOSH, as for kinks?
Okay, so one of the fun things about fandom is the prevalence of porn. And it's... okay. The path upon which somebody goes from 'oh, there's porn, alright but not my thing' to 'maybe I'll check that out' to 'huh, alright, let's try this now' to 'I MUST READ EVERY PORN FIC OF THIS PAIRING' to 'FUCK PAIRINGS, GIVE ME SOME SERIOUS MAGICKINK' is fabulous! Or, uh, let me say: the SPEED at which THIS particular fan traversed that path was, probably, seriously hilarious.
And then you get to something and you are like, "wait, WHAT? WHAT IS DUBCON DOESN'T THAT MEAN -- UH -- IS THIS -- ohmygod -- fff -- ...THIS IS HOT *FAPS"
OR IS THAT JUST ME?
Okay, so. Fandom's can be a good deal of exploration of sexuality, and I'm just going to throw these things out there for discussion:
- I, uh. I actually kind of like dubcon. >.>
- but since I also like incest fic, uh. *expects mass defriending*
- Kinks I was somewhat aware of in real life (light bondage? uh? *shifty look* ) sometimes translate really well into fanfic and sometimes... don't.
- No porn is better than magic!kink, in my opinion, and I challenge you to change my mind.
- FUCK OR DIE IS TOTALLY OKAY.
- Vanilla missionary-position sex can actually be very hot.
- GIRL ON GIRL.
...and, okay, here are some TRUE CONFESSIONS: I, uh. I really enjoy? Threesomes, moresomes, multiple partner fic? And... uh, fanfic has helped me acknowledge that, full stop. Realize that. Think about that. Etc.
And my time's almost up... post! Obviously there's a lot more to say, but one thing I learned about myself is tl;dr. Yes.
This is part of my 30 Days of Posting meme - feel free to check out the schedule of posting! My month is full, but if any of the posts make you want to ask for something else, go ahead and leave a comment anyway! DW || LJ
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