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wenchpixieSnowflake Day 2
Talk about your fannish origin story.
So, I am a fandom old. I started out attending Star Trek cons in... 1995, I think? There or there abouts anyway. There was a VERY strong in-person fannish culture in my city back in those days - helped in part by (a)The week by week release of shows (b)The lack of cross-national release/internet speeds capable of up/download of tv shows, so people literally used to tape the show in the US, bring 2 or 4 episodes over in a suitcase and we'd gather in a hotel and watch them at a mini-con. So. We all saw each other in person, regularly, and went from there. The big summer cons, with major guests, were enormous 4 day events, with people staying longer, thousands of people, the whole 9 yards (and at least partially funded by fraud, but that's a whole other story). I also joined the Table top RPG club when I started uni, which at that time also had a multimedia arm where we gathered in a tutor room once a week an watched a selection of films on video. Me and some friends then also started a scifi club, which gathered to watch TV shows once a week in much the same way, and ultimately started organising our own conventions (lovely Michael Sheard - Admiral Ozzel/Mr. Bronson - was a regular guest for us as he was writing a lot of books back then to make a bit of cash, and there's a fair bit of one chapter of one of his books that's about me. So. Fun...).
I wasn't into fic, however, until Supernatural came along. I started watching SPN the week it aired in the UK, and I joined the (quickly very organised) LJ fandom about episode 2. Even back then there was a regular newsletter (no AO3 with a handy feed for fics then...) and very active communities, and I started writing pretty early doors. I "met" a lot of people very quickly - and then went to the first Rogue convention, where I met a huge number of them in person.
From there I moved on to volunteering with Rogue, and becoming the Accessibility Coordinator (back, really, before many places had such a thing), co-ran the SPN spoiler free community, wrote a ton, went to conventions in Texas and Vancouver... and ultimately fell a little out of love with the show, but kept my love for the humans I'd collected along the way... some of whom then dragged me into Adam Lambert, One Direction and Bandom (6 degrees of Pete Wentz) famdoms. I still live in Bandom, mostly, but The Last of Us (TV) pulled me in on its ownsome when it came along, and I'm hopeful that I'll be caught by S2 (I am, and intend to remain spoilerfree for that, please) and I live in hope that, one day, maybe, I'll get caught again by a fandom that's in its heyday. Bring back week-by-week releases!
I've been around snowflake since Aka first started talking about it on her journal, and I love that it's still an active fandom space, I miss the busyness and connection of LJs heyday (tumblr and AO3 are great, but not for connection and discord just isn't a medium that works for me), it's such a joyous proper fannish way to start the new year. HURRAH
Talk about your fannish origin story.
So, I am a fandom old. I started out attending Star Trek cons in... 1995, I think? There or there abouts anyway. There was a VERY strong in-person fannish culture in my city back in those days - helped in part by (a)The week by week release of shows (b)The lack of cross-national release/internet speeds capable of up/download of tv shows, so people literally used to tape the show in the US, bring 2 or 4 episodes over in a suitcase and we'd gather in a hotel and watch them at a mini-con. So. We all saw each other in person, regularly, and went from there. The big summer cons, with major guests, were enormous 4 day events, with people staying longer, thousands of people, the whole 9 yards (and at least partially funded by fraud, but that's a whole other story). I also joined the Table top RPG club when I started uni, which at that time also had a multimedia arm where we gathered in a tutor room once a week an watched a selection of films on video. Me and some friends then also started a scifi club, which gathered to watch TV shows once a week in much the same way, and ultimately started organising our own conventions (lovely Michael Sheard - Admiral Ozzel/Mr. Bronson - was a regular guest for us as he was writing a lot of books back then to make a bit of cash, and there's a fair bit of one chapter of one of his books that's about me. So. Fun...).
I wasn't into fic, however, until Supernatural came along. I started watching SPN the week it aired in the UK, and I joined the (quickly very organised) LJ fandom about episode 2. Even back then there was a regular newsletter (no AO3 with a handy feed for fics then...) and very active communities, and I started writing pretty early doors. I "met" a lot of people very quickly - and then went to the first Rogue convention, where I met a huge number of them in person.
From there I moved on to volunteering with Rogue, and becoming the Accessibility Coordinator (back, really, before many places had such a thing), co-ran the SPN spoiler free community, wrote a ton, went to conventions in Texas and Vancouver... and ultimately fell a little out of love with the show, but kept my love for the humans I'd collected along the way... some of whom then dragged me into Adam Lambert, One Direction and Bandom (6 degrees of Pete Wentz) famdoms. I still live in Bandom, mostly, but The Last of Us (TV) pulled me in on its ownsome when it came along, and I'm hopeful that I'll be caught by S2 (I am, and intend to remain spoilerfree for that, please) and I live in hope that, one day, maybe, I'll get caught again by a fandom that's in its heyday. Bring back week-by-week releases!
I've been around snowflake since Aka first started talking about it on her journal, and I love that it's still an active fandom space, I miss the busyness and connection of LJs heyday (tumblr and AO3 are great, but not for connection and discord just isn't a medium that works for me), it's such a joyous proper fannish way to start the new year. HURRAH
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Date: 2025-01-03 02:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-03 02:47 pm (UTC)YES, 100% this. The fannish world felt more... cosy and accessible I think
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Date: 2025-01-03 02:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-03 02:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-03 03:00 pm (UTC)Thank you very, very much for being part of accessibility resources at conventions.
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Date: 2025-01-03 03:59 pm (UTC)It was (and is, as I'm still in the accessibility space at work in the public sector) my absolute pleasure - I know I didn't get everything right, but it was eyeopening to listen to people and try to make things equitable, or at least as equitable as possible. I met so many lovely people through doing the work - lots through email back and forth before events, and those who were generous enough to teach me where we could do better (and also BSL :)) as well as checking in during.
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Date: 2025-01-04 03:44 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-03 05:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-03 07:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-03 08:42 pm (UTC)Weekly releases for shows is a good idea, not just for building the fandom, but also so that there's time for things to develop and digest, instead of moving straight on to the next. Admittedly, for some shows, it works better to have it all at once, but for most of them, I think weekly releases would have made them better.
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Date: 2025-01-04 04:20 pm (UTC)but also so that there's time for things to develop and digest, instead of moving straight on to the next. yes, absolutely - I see so much less meta around these days because there's not the time for things to sit and percolate now.
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Date: 2025-01-04 05:09 pm (UTC)I also wonder if there isn't less meta around because there's a greater hostility toward people having opinions in public these days, even though we all would like to declare that we're past petty things like ship wars.
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Date: 2025-01-04 05:49 pm (UTC)Yeah. that might be it, sad as it is.
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Date: 2025-01-03 09:38 pm (UTC)I'm so jealous of the community fandoms had before! I caught the tailend of it on forums and Tumblr, but fandom spaces were already changing and losing some connections when I joined.
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Date: 2025-01-04 04:21 pm (UTC)I miss it so much - it's much harder to "catch" a new fandom from someone now, as well
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Date: 2025-01-04 07:41 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-05 09:49 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-04 06:41 am (UTC)I'm sure you'll have the experience of being part of a fandom heyday again. I had despaired of ever having that again, but I'm in one right now, so when you least expect it...
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Date: 2025-01-04 04:26 pm (UTC)Oh that is LOVELY to hear, I do hope so.
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Date: 2025-01-05 05:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-04 02:50 pm (UTC)and I live in hope that, one day, maybe, I'll get caught again by a fandom that's in its heyday
You and me both.
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Date: 2025-01-04 04:27 pm (UTC)All the fingers crossed, right?
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Date: 2025-01-04 03:12 pm (UTC)Ah, an active, current fandom. An alluring thought.
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Date: 2025-01-04 04:37 pm (UTC)I didn't have the cash to travel so far back in those days - in fact I think I was sleeping in someone's bath in Glasgow that year, which was at least a step up from the video rooms -but I know a lot of people who did.
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Date: 2025-01-04 07:12 pm (UTC)LJ was such a great place for meeting fellow fans and being fannishly active!
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Date: 2025-01-05 09:43 pm (UTC)It really, really was <3
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Date: 2025-01-07 12:30 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-07 05:53 pm (UTC)I am SO glad for DWth, too. It's not the same, but there are still very good things here.
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Date: 2025-01-07 05:37 pm (UTC)Bring back week-by-week releases!
YES!
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Date: 2025-01-07 07:18 pm (UTC)