Thirty Days of Spam...Day 28 - Discovering Fan Fic
Let's Talk About Your First Time...
No, not *that* first time. The first time you read Harry Potter fan fiction. Or, really, any fan fiction. Do you remember the first time you discovered fan fiction existed? Slash? Can you remember the title of the first fic you ever read? Were you hooked immediately or did it take awhile? How did it influence, if at all, the pairings that are your favorites? And, since many of you are or were Harry Potter fans, how did you find Harry Potter fan fiction in the first place?
I'll go first and hope someone follows.
I was 13 when I first learned that slash fiction actually existed outside of my imagination. I was reading a book called Star Trek: The New Voyages edited by Sondra Marshak which was a collection of actual stories written by people like me - FANS. While there were no slash fics among the stories, the footnotes mentioned the existence of slash. I was stunned. I am not at all exaggerating when I say it was a *life-defining* event. It was like a light just switched on or a previously locked door opened wide. So many things just fell into place for me. Keep in mind, there was no internet in those days. No way for a 13 year old girl from a small town in Ohio to connect with other fans. But just the knowledge that other people like me were out there somewhere thinking about Kirk and Spock being together romantically was enough to sustain me.
Five years later when I was 18 I actually located my first slash fanzine, Inevitable Love. The zine belonged to my bff, who I met in college. Despite the fact that most people today would hit the back button before finishing the first paragraph of Inevitable Love, the quality didn't affect the number of times I read it. And yes, that is black duct tape binding those 'zine pages together. Not because I read it so much (though I surely did), but because that's how bindings were commonly done in those days. The zine came from England and, without shipping, cost $18. In 1981. That's about $53.00 in 2009 dollars depending on which conversion source you use. Worth. every. penny. And more. I won't bore you with specifics of my version of fandom 101, but if you're interested, I did a post about this several years ago with more details here. If you read that post, keep in mind those were MY experiences. Some other people who have been around just as long or even longer had different experiences. YMMV.
As the years went on, I went to cons and picked up as many 'zines as I could afford (who needs groceries?) and over time my interests branched out to include numerous other fandoms. When I bought my first computer many years after most people had one, the first thing I did was a search for slash fiction. I was astonished at the sheer volume of what was available FOR FREE and I read EVERYTHING. Slash, het, gen, any fandom, any pairing, any kink. I was like a kid in the best candy store EVER.
I found HP fandom because I was looking for some Hogan's Heroes slash and stumbled across a site called "Final Refuge". I thought the author's Hogan's Heroes stuff was amazing and decided I'd check out some other things she wrote. And I stumbled across a fic called "Recollection". It's an abandoned WIP that hasn't been updated since I first read it. The author is Taleya. It was brilliant. It's actually a Snape/Remus story with implied Snape/Harry. Well, it's more than implied since Harry and Snape have a daughter. Yes, I know, *another* Mpreg, though it was actually closer to a kid!fic. Keep in mind I read this story before I read any of the books. I had seen the first HP movie so I had some idea of who Snape and Harry were, but actually thought Remus was an original character created by the author. Being unfamiliar with canon was no obstacle whatsoever to me then or now. Though I will look for source material if I develop more than a passing interest in a fandom.
"Recollection" was a very tragic story and the possibility of a happily-ever-after for Snape and Harry seemed unlikely, though it appeared that Snape and Remus would continue their relationship. Although I feel like I should have been looking for more Snape/Remus stories, I actually couldn't rest until I found a Severus/Harry story where they *did* get together. Something that wasn't so terribly sad. And I've been reading Snarry ever since.
So, anybody else? TL;DR replies are strongly encouraged. ;D
No, not *that* first time. The first time you read Harry Potter fan fiction. Or, really, any fan fiction. Do you remember the first time you discovered fan fiction existed? Slash? Can you remember the title of the first fic you ever read? Were you hooked immediately or did it take awhile? How did it influence, if at all, the pairings that are your favorites? And, since many of you are or were Harry Potter fans, how did you find Harry Potter fan fiction in the first place?
I'll go first and hope someone follows.
I was 13 when I first learned that slash fiction actually existed outside of my imagination. I was reading a book called Star Trek: The New Voyages edited by Sondra Marshak which was a collection of actual stories written by people like me - FANS. While there were no slash fics among the stories, the footnotes mentioned the existence of slash. I was stunned. I am not at all exaggerating when I say it was a *life-defining* event. It was like a light just switched on or a previously locked door opened wide. So many things just fell into place for me. Keep in mind, there was no internet in those days. No way for a 13 year old girl from a small town in Ohio to connect with other fans. But just the knowledge that other people like me were out there somewhere thinking about Kirk and Spock being together romantically was enough to sustain me.
Five years later when I was 18 I actually located my first slash fanzine, Inevitable Love. The zine belonged to my bff, who I met in college. Despite the fact that most people today would hit the back button before finishing the first paragraph of Inevitable Love, the quality didn't affect the number of times I read it. And yes, that is black duct tape binding those 'zine pages together. Not because I read it so much (though I surely did), but because that's how bindings were commonly done in those days. The zine came from England and, without shipping, cost $18. In 1981. That's about $53.00 in 2009 dollars depending on which conversion source you use. Worth. every. penny. And more. I won't bore you with specifics of my version of fandom 101, but if you're interested, I did a post about this several years ago with more details here. If you read that post, keep in mind those were MY experiences. Some other people who have been around just as long or even longer had different experiences. YMMV.
As the years went on, I went to cons and picked up as many 'zines as I could afford (who needs groceries?) and over time my interests branched out to include numerous other fandoms. When I bought my first computer many years after most people had one, the first thing I did was a search for slash fiction. I was astonished at the sheer volume of what was available FOR FREE and I read EVERYTHING. Slash, het, gen, any fandom, any pairing, any kink. I was like a kid in the best candy store EVER.
I found HP fandom because I was looking for some Hogan's Heroes slash and stumbled across a site called "Final Refuge". I thought the author's Hogan's Heroes stuff was amazing and decided I'd check out some other things she wrote. And I stumbled across a fic called "Recollection". It's an abandoned WIP that hasn't been updated since I first read it. The author is Taleya. It was brilliant. It's actually a Snape/Remus story with implied Snape/Harry. Well, it's more than implied since Harry and Snape have a daughter. Yes, I know, *another* Mpreg, though it was actually closer to a kid!fic. Keep in mind I read this story before I read any of the books. I had seen the first HP movie so I had some idea of who Snape and Harry were, but actually thought Remus was an original character created by the author. Being unfamiliar with canon was no obstacle whatsoever to me then or now. Though I will look for source material if I develop more than a passing interest in a fandom.
"Recollection" was a very tragic story and the possibility of a happily-ever-after for Snape and Harry seemed unlikely, though it appeared that Snape and Remus would continue their relationship. Although I feel like I should have been looking for more Snape/Remus stories, I actually couldn't rest until I found a Severus/Harry story where they *did* get together. Something that wasn't so terribly sad. And I've been reading Snarry ever since.
So, anybody else? TL;DR replies are strongly encouraged. ;D