30 Days of HP Meme - Day 16
01. Discuss how you got into Harry Potter
02. Your favorite book
03. What house would you be in?
04. Your favorite movie
05. Wizard Rock: discuss
06. Your favorite character(s)
07. Song that reminds you of HP
08. Your favorite ship(s)
09. Fanfiction: discuss
10. Favorite book moment(s)
11. Character you're crushing on
12. Favorite movie scene
13. Least favorite character(s)
14. Moments in the books/movies that made you cry
15. Whatever tickles your fancy
16. How have you participated in the fandom over the years?
17. Your favorite celebs from the movies or fandom
18. If you could change one thing about canon, what would it be?
19. A favorite fanart
20. A favorite quote
21. How has the HP fandom connected you to other fandoms, interests, or people?
22. Your favorite villain
23. Share some HP icons
24. Rant about Steve Kloves something
25. Song that reminds you of HP
26. What aspect of the books has been best translated to film?
27. What aspect of the books has been most poorly translated to film?
28. Hogwarts subject you would most like to take
29. Favorite location
30. Whatever tickles your fancy
16. How have you participated in the fandom over the years?
I covered some of this on day 9, discussing fanfic - I was already a fan of the films and books, but only truly entered "fandom" in approximately 2006, when I started reading fanfic on Mugglenet as a distraction when my thesis was making me too stressed out. I moved from reading to writing about a year later, when I realized that there were stories in the HP-verse I wanted to read but hadn't seen anyone write. My first story was published at Checkmated in the Spring of 2007, and I have five up there now. The longer I've been involved in fandom, the more writing I've done, and while I started as strictly a Ron/Hermione writer and they're still the bulk of what I write, I have now tackled Harry/Ginny, George/Luna, George/Gabrielle, Seamus/Pansy, the occasional Draco/Asteria, and just recently Molly/Arthur. My genres and formats have shifted too, from fluff to angst and from one shots to drabbles, and back and forth again.
In late 2008/early 2009 I discovered rp-ing thanks to maybe1ce who enticed me to join the cast of Hallowed Ground, an ambitious and wonderful Harry Potter RPG that attempted to play out the entirety of Deathly Hallows that we didn't get to see in the actual book. I played Seamus and Xeno Lovegood, and, eventually for a (too brief) time, Snape. It allowed me to "meet" the amazing themaidmarian , jesuisenchantee , and birdseyeview , and it was sadly over too soon. I followed some of those folks over to the equally amazing Tinworth RPG, and was recently playing in another RPG with some other folks, which was also really fun.
This year, I stepped into a sort of behind the scenes role, founding and co-modding the hpgeorgecentric fic and art exchange with the fabulous tania_sings . We were both first time mods, lived in time zones that spanned the globe, and she had an adorable baby in the middle of everything - but we muddled through, had a blast, and, if I do say so myself, created a forum for a lot of wonderful George-focused fic and art. It was a great experience, and one I really value.
I have continued to avidly read fanfic and enjoy fanart - particularly from the lovely and talented folks on my flist - and am fairly active on the forums over at Checkmated. I honestly can say I never expected to have all this accumulated fandom "history" under my belt, but I have enjoyed it an incredible amount and I wouldn't trade a bit of it.