Saturday, September 11, 2004
Fanniversaries
It seems like a fair number of people are celebrating their fandom anniversaries -- or at least the anniversaries of the creation of blogs and LiveJournals. I wonder what it is about the months of August and September that leads people into fannish pursuits. I, too, started my Harry Potter fannishness around this time.
My humble entrance into the HP fandom began in 2000, with my posting of an epic badfic crossover to, of all places, the X-Files message boards. In those days (I'm such an oldbie -- ha) I was known only as lydaclunas, and soon started posting on Harry Potter for Grownups and the Super Secret Forum (where I was initially drawn to the "Snape vs. James" thread, but later discovered the fanfic forum, where I made many good friends and embarrassed myself regularly). Back then, fanfiction.net was at least a marginably feasible place to look for Harry Potter fic, and I read a lot of stuff there. I was also a very active and vocal contributor to the discussions of what was then a quite small and misunderstood group of people: Snapefans.
Four years later, the fandom has moved from message boards and Yahoo!groups to LiveJournals. The Harry Potter fandom has exploded, everyone and their dog is a Snapefan, slash has taken over the fannish world, the fifth book has at last been released, we're on the third movie instead of squealing about the actor choices for the first -- and I, now known by my real name, mostly lurk in the LJ shadows. I have, admittedly, succumbed to the Dark Side and am the reluctant owner of a LiveJournal (and am less irritated by this fact as I have been beguiled by its icons, lj-cuts, communities, and locked posts, and have much less to take issue with in regard to LJ-cliquishness and exclusivity, since they've stopped with that code-requirement business. I remain bothered by the "friends" list, however). I'm still a huge Snapefan, but I write (or wrote) Riddlefic.
But what have really changed since my entry into the fandom are the relationships with the people I have met through fandom and fic. Four years ago, I didn't ever expect to make any close friends through this venue; now, I've met four of my fandom friends in real life: one who I wouldn't hesitate to call a best friend; one whose sweet, funny, and generous nature makes her an absolute pleasure to be around; one who lives close enough that we can visit semi-regularly, and whose wedding I plan to attend next year; and one who has broadened my horizons and life experiences in a variety of ways, both good and bad.
Sure, fandom is sort of a hobby -- and one that's full of controversy and kerfuffle at times -- but you know, it has been a valuable experience. It's through fannishness that I really discovered my passion for writing, and the friends I've made here I treasure more than anything. I've had the pleasure of being a part of their lives, even though I don't know them personally and live miles away -- and hopefully those who have watched me grow up from the seventeen-year-old badfic author I was then to the twenty-one-year-old mediocrefic author I am now, have likewise enjoyed being part of my life.
| 1:49 PM |
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