#fandom elder

[tonyzaret]

[jamesunderwater]

1. Tell us why you like James Potter! I want a whole essay please and thank you!

"Why I Love Like James Potter" by jamesunderwater 1/27/24 

So, I think an important context for my feelings about James Potter is that (as you know) I am a fandom elder. Which means, I already had an extreme attachment to James Potter and his pals before we ever even got the Snape’s Worst Memory chapter. I just looked it up, and somehow I was only ten when OotP came out, so evidently I was massively in love with Sirius Black and obsessed with the Marauders before I hit double digits. (Jesus, no wonder they’re molded with my identity.) The point being – before he was anything else to me, James Potter was the man who bravely sacrificed himself for his family, whose core feature was defined by Sirius’s declaration that they “would have died rather than betray their friends.” He was the guy who figured out how to become an animagus just to be a supportive friend, and based on the few lines that the Marauders have through the Map in PoA, he was hilarious. And really, the fandom kinda just took that and ran with it. So by the time OotP came out and we got so much more information on him – and his dynamic with Lily (cue me sighing dreamily here) – James Potter was already a venerated figure in my mind. -- OMG I just had a buried memory pop up of the Harry Potter Trading Cards as well, which, I don’t think I had one / there was one for James, but there was one for Lily, where she was holding toadspawn?? Or something? and I was in love with her just based on her cute face and red hair and bright eyes, so obviously I’m gonna also be infatuated with the guy who got to marry her.

Okay I got a bit off the point. 

I guess reflecting on it, the way I fell in love with James as a character was very different than how I did for Sirius, and it’s in part due to Sirius being alive in the books, but also speaks to who James is, too. I fell in love with Sirius for who Sirius is, all by himself. I fell in love with James for who he is with other people. I loved the guy who would do anything for his friends. I loved the guy who had this magnetic dynamic with the fiery redhead. I loved the guy who was brilliant and loved by all, and didn’t think twice about sacrificing himself for his family. And I think that this has, for the most part, remained the core of why I love him. 

But of course, I’ve grown up a lot since then, and so have my feelings and opinions. 

– intermission to say I looked back at the ask and realized it only asks about why I like the character, which…somehow changes some of my answer, but we’re gonna try to roll them together – 

Okay, so why I both like and love James as a character now has a lot more to do with the nuances of him. I love that he isn’t perfect. He’s multi-dimensional, and I think his character is a great opportunity to investigate growing up. I think that progression is harder to see in some of the other characters (I have thoughts on why but they aren’t the point right now), but James is just this splendid example of how someone can be so fundamentally good, and also be a fucking kid. He’s messy and that doesn’t make him any less of a “hero” or a “good guy,” but not in your traditional anti-hero or villain arc kind of way. I dunno, maybe it’s in part because I relate to this feeling of not always being a “good person” growing up. I could be arrogant, and mean, and over-dramatic, and stubborn, but people still saw me as a good, likable person, and eventually I did grow out of a lot of the harsher aspects of those characteristics. I love that James gives permission for that, to inspect the dualities within people. 

And on a basic level, I think he was kind of the picture of everything I wanted to have and be. His physical looks / physique is what I’ve been drawn to in men, and eventually realized it’s what I wanted to look like myself; he has this found family that he’s built that is truly a family, this best friend who accepts him fully and he accepts fully and they’re attached at the hip; he becomes a person deserving of and complementary to a strong, independent, kind woman; and his kid is Harry Potter, who truly is one of my favorite characters of all time. So. 

I dunno, I feel like this isn’t as eloquent as I wanted it to be… I’d be very curious to hear other people’s thoughts added onto this (yours and others’!) because I know there’s so much more that I’m missing that other people would say. 

I got to nearly 850 words, though, so hopefully this essay is sufficient enough to earn me a B, at least.

[Submitting for Extra Credit: Photo of the frogspawn card from the Harry Potter Trading Card Game]

[oscarisaacasimov]

Happy 10.5 year anniversary to that video where Tom Hiddleston teaches Cookie Monster the joys of edging

[odielikefromgarfield]

are you late to a fandom? or are you the next generation chosen to preserve it and pass it along?

[dftea]

I have fallen down a Witcher fandom hole.

Which is particularly interesting because I have never watched any of it beyond the first episode of the original and Blood Origin.

It reminds me of Ye Olde Fandom Days, when I got into Hornblower and The Sentinel because fanfic writers I liked also wrote in other fandoms and I followed them to discover new shows.

But I haven't started watching The Witcher, beyond a few clips. I think I've been spoiled recently for actually textual queer ships and I'm a little done with unrequited love and tiny moments.

However, I will listen to Joey Batey sing on repeat because I am gone for him.

[fanfoolishness]

Thankful for all of my fellow nerds, the writers, the artists, the meta-authors, the giffers, the rebloggers, the commenters, the tag-ramblers, the shippers. Fandom has been a joyous part of my life, my community, and my creativity for nearly 25 years, thanks to fans like you, and I’m looking forward to all the obsessions and hyperfixations to come 🤩

[sparxaf]

1, 2, 19 please beautiful!

What are some fics you go back and read over and over?

Ooooh, hmmm. I mostly read shortfics so most of these are oneshots, but they all live rent free in my head. I have a ton of them.

Meet You There by @throughthejunobush

Fight for It by @queen-of-boops

Finn-esse by @i-boop-you

Wishful Drinking by @lucas-koh

Noah's Game by @silentscreaming

Men of Particular Interests by @mrsbsmooth

You Can(not) Write by @bypine

Dead Men Tell No Tales by @longbobmckenzie

Here by These Promises

A Pina Colada to Numb the Pain by @kittidot

The Devil is a Gentleman by These Promises

Words Few and Far Between by @willkimura, ugh the red spider lily lives rent free in my head. I'm obsessed with Hanahaki and there's just not enough of it in LITG fandom (this might be the only one). Lucky for us, it's gorgeous and hurty, exactly the way deathly longing should be.

There are tons more, mostly by Lauren which are gone, but never forgotten, because they live in my head forever.

2. What character did you start liking because of someone else?

I answered this one here!

19. Your favourite fanwork of an underrated character?

I answered this one here!

Thank you @mrsbsmooth for the ask, my love!

[aqueerincrisis]

i'm aware fandom has always been filled with intense arguments and was never a happy fluffy paradise, but there was etiquette that just feels like it has disappeared. people have really abandoned those unspoken rules of fandom in favour of petty drama and it's extremely frustrating.

if you want some silly drama read a ku erotica book or watch a soap opera. why would you actively engage in fandom content just to make people angry? the worst part is they tag wrong on purpose because it's not about loving x inflammatory ship or x inflammatory character, it's just about pissing people off.

and it's deeply obvious who does this because they may think they're being subtle but there is a frankly embarrassing amount of "oh i don't care about your opinion! look how much i don't care! (but i'm gonna refresh my blog every ten seconds until i see an angry comment or reblog)" energy coming from these posts.

not to sound like an old fart, but i miss the old days where the biggest drama in fandoms were ship wars that were frankly easy to avoid by blocking tags and wether or not pidge from voltron was trans.

[boogey-blockers]

had my first Fandom Elder™ moment today and now I'm feeling very self conscious 😬

also would anyone be interested in a discord server for people who are 18+, mainly about Hermitcraft, QSMP, Empires and Traffic series? There wouldn't be any 18+ content btw, I mean the people in the server would be 18+ years old, other than that it would be your average mcyt discord

[tonyzaret]

Full video:

[avengersnewb]

Maybe I’m too old, but I don’t read your “in text posts” posts, except for looking at the pictures. the font is too fucking small 🥲

[nakimochiku]

The emergency fandom pack

So ive been at this fandom thing for like. Eighteen years okay. Long before the time of cell phones with data and internet access. Im old and decrepit. Gather round my knee children, lemme tell you what granny used to do.

when i had to travel to a place that didnt have internet access during summer vacations, i’d make a emergency pack. At first these were on floppy disks because deadass usbs hadnt been invented yet. And then when they WERE invented they were really fucking expensive.

included in said emergency pack were zip files of my favourite doujinshi, word documents of copied fanfic because ao3 and the handy dandy download fic button hadnt been invented yet, and some porny yaoi art for “inspiration”. And i had to use these very limited resources to get my fix for two months at a time.

then if i was writing my supremely shitty fic and finished a chapter, id save it on my floppy disk (probably after having to delete something cause those things did not have a lot of storage space), id beg to be taken to the internet cafe so i could upload it on LJ or FFN. Because again. No internet access at home.

and this was normal. Ask a fandom elder! Some people used to PHYSICALLY PRINT OUT pages of their fav fic!

[iron-shrike]

Advice from a fandom elder

I'm seeing a lot of negativity going around one of my fandoms (Horizon for those curious). As someone who has been in and out of many fandoms for many decades, I want to tell you all something that is important:

Fandoms are meant to be inclusive and joyous, a celebration of a thing you love with others who also love it. Fandoms are fragile things. We as a community have little time here and we are one website sale away from losing everything and everyone. I have had extensive arguments and discussions about games from decades ago on websites that no longer exist. It is all ephemeral. Be here because you love it, not because you love arguing.

Do you love it enough to make your own fan works? Amazing, do that. Make crazy crossovers and alternate universes. Make sequels and prequels. Send characters you love to high school or the gym. Make original characters and build up obscure ones. Ship rare pairs and weird pairs. Your time in any fandom is limited so be joyous about it and put something you love into the world.

It is never worth your limited time to engage with fan creations negatively. Don't like something? That's fine, it can exist without being for you. You can move on and never think of it again. Don't see something you want? Make it yourself. Be additive not subtractive. Most importantly, be kind to yourself and each other. The world is hard enough without fighting over the things that should give us joy.

Now if you'll excuse me my back hurts and I have to lie on the floor.

[fearlessjones]

Found the X-Files mug I bought in the mall when I was a teenager. This mug is 25 years old. This mug is old enough to have its own family.

Now I’m drinking tea from it in the year 2023. Fandom never dies, kids. Fandom is eternal.

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

I am 34 and the concept of ‘fandom/goth/queer etc elders’ is so dumb to me. Just seems a way to feel superior to others. Let young people be, do and think whatever the fuck they want. Who cares. Have an open mind, be open to new ideas and a new generation’s creativity. All the tiktok hate is dumb too, like we weren’t on myspace and MSN acting absolute fools LOL

Let young people be young. Also, I love all the mini fashion trends and aesthetics going on. I think fairycore is my favorite. I love seeing people have fun. Just... do you.

All these ‘elder’ people lording over young people telling them how to act, think, behave are literally the alternative version of their own parents telling them they can’t pierce their nose or wear a mini skirt, just in a different way. Don’t be like that!

Maybe it’s because I am European that I have a different perspective but most of it seems complete bullshit. Be young be free! I know we were.