Yet Another Fandom Tag

Fangirls, fanboys, and fan-nobinary-people, welcome, one and all!

The delightful Christine has kindly tagged me with Yet Another Fandom Tag, which is as good an excuse as I ever heard to gush about allllllllllllllll my favorite books and movies and TV shows. I can’t wait to get started!

But first, some simple tag rules:

• include the graphic somewhere in your post (voila!)
• answer the questions …
• and tag two fellow fan-people to answer them too!

~the questions~

What’s the first fandom you remember becoming a part of?

I’m going to try as hard as I can to pick a single fandom per question, but this question legitimately has two answers, depending on how you slice it. The first fandom I remember becoming part of, as in the “first series with a large fan following which I became invested in,” would be The Chronicles of Narnia at age eight. I inhaled those books in a week and never looked back. However, as a child and even as a teenager, I wasn’t really aware that … the Narnia fandom existed?? I wasn’t aware there were other people in the world besides me who loved Narnia, or who had even read it. (Yes, I was a very self-absorbed and isolated little introvert, aND YOUR POINT IS??? xD)

The Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight, a Christian fantasy series I read in college, was the first fandom I remember properly joining, in the sense of being aware that, “oh, there are other folks out here who are reading and loving these books at the same time as me!” Today, I would have to admit I have … certain issues with the Ilyon books, especially some of the messages they impart about Christian courage, Christian forgiveness, women’s roles in the Christian community, etc. etc. etc. How-so-ever, I still maintain that The King’s Scrolls was lightning in a bottle, and Bitter Winter healed my heart at a time when I needed it sorely. The series as a whole both introduced me to the joys of fandom and reignited my love of the fantasy genre, and for that, I’m grateful. ❤

What’s the newest fandom you’ve come to enjoy?

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo! Apparently, I read these books at exactly the right time, because we’re getting a shiny, shiny Netflix adaptation in April.

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LOOK AT MY MURDER CHILDREN, ALL READY TO DO MURDER ‘N STUFF. *wipes tear* I’m so proud.

For the record, I am 100% aware that the vast majority of these characters’ actions are immoral, illegal, or fattening. I’m not condoning all the shenanigans they get up to, especially my boy Kaz–there’s a reason they call him “Dirtyhands.” But at the same time, I appreciate the author’s honesty in not making these characters “any better than they ought to be,” to borrow an old-fashioned phrase. At the end of the day, they’re heavily traumatized teenagers trying to survive, watch each other’s backs, make some money, and scrape into The Good Life by the skin of their teeth. I can respect that, even if they’re not … like … saints or something. 😛

What’s a fandom guaranteed to give you feels?

Erm, all of them? What kind of question is this? Why would I join any fandom that doesn’t give me feels??

But if you insist I pick //one//, I’ll say The West Wing. This is my favorite television show largely because of its deep, long-running, sniffles-inducing character arcs. Has there ever been a screenwriter who punches you in the gut with TEAM BUILDING and CHARACTER GROWTH more effectively than Aaron Sorkin? I’m really not sure there has. “Thanks, Boss.” “It’s me, Sam.” “Tell me where Donna Moss is.” “He was proud of you, Josh.” “Go knock ’em dead.” “If you were in an accident, I wouldn’t stop for red lights.” “You’re gonna lose, and lose big, next week. They’re gonna throw rocks at you … and I wanted to be standing next to you when they did.”

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Since we’re talking fandoms anyway, this is an appropriate time to share the single greatest West Wing fan video in existence, set to the wonderful song “King and Lionheart.” “As the world comes to an end, I’ll be here to hold your hand, ’cause you’re my king and I’m your lionheart.”

Crap, now I need to watch all seven seasons again. A thousand curses upon Netflix for letting this gem get away.

What’s a guilty pleasure fandom of yours?

There’s a lot of ways to define “guilty pleasure,” which is why I don’t really like the phrase. I’m defining it here as “fandom I enjoy even though I recognize objective moral problems with the story which dampen my pleasure somewhat.” For me, that would be the sitcom Community.

Even though I love Community’s premise and feel at home in the storyworld, since it reminds me of my own commuter-college years … even though I absolutely adore the inventiveness of (say) the campus paintball wars that turn into Western pastiches or Vietnam War homages … Community has some serious issues. The show doesn’t write women particularly well, and revels in constant “gay jokes” while shying away from actual LGBT+ representation. Moreover, what the wHAT was that with Jeff and Annie in the first three seasons? What. the. what.

(I’m not saying I absolutely abhor age-gap romances. I don’t! And I’m not saying I could never see Jeff and Annie together //at some future time//: but I’m still saying, any and all of their kisses during the timeline of the show were completely unnecessary and should never have been included. Hands to yo’ frickin’ self, Jeff Winger. You’re the adult here.)

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“Modern Warfare” and “A Fistful of Paintballs” are still iconic, though. And “Geothermal Escapism”? Legendary.

What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve heard of/are a part of?

I think it’s safe to say Netflix’s Umbrella Academy qualifies as “weird.” There’s a monkey man, a chimpanzee butler, a robot mom, a mannequin wife, and a 58-year-old assassin trapped in the body of a 13-year-old boy. Weird? Yes?

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Favorite popular/widely-known fandom?

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, no question. I love my superhero babies with a great and abiding love, and I’m never shy about proclaiming it. 😉 I also find it amusing that folks were like “eh, maybe the MCU is finished, maybe they’re all tapped out of good content” after Endgame released … AND THEN Marvel hit us with WandaVision, which was not only excellent, but, dare I say, *adjusts hipster glasses* groundbreaking. I can’t wait to see what they cook up next.

Favorite bookish fandom?

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater. The first book in the series, The Raven Boys, shares a spot with Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl as my “actual favorite book of all time.” Together, the other three books–The Dream Thieves, Blue Lily, Lily Blue, and The Raven King–make a pure, perfect whole that just can’t be topped, y’know?

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If you read my Goodreads review, you’ll see I have tried (and failed, heh hehhh) to explain in coherent English why I love this world and these characters. Sure, the series hits a lot of sweet spots for me: Celtic mythology, intensive genrebending (seriously, is this contemporary or fantasy??? who can know??), faithful anxiety rep, queer romance, forbidden romance, found family, self-sacrifice, gHOSTS AFRAID TO LET GO OF LIFE (excuse me whilst I sob for 1000 years). But ultimately, it just comes down to a feeling. That feeling you get when you bite into a rich, dark slice of cake, and the spring breeze stirs your curtains and the stars twinkle in the evening sky outside, and you know for an instant that there’s magic in the world.

What do you consider your ‘homebase,’ a fandom you can always come back to?

Am I allowed to call Jane Austen a “fandom”? Because if so, that’s my answer! I’ve been obsessed with her books since I was fourteen years old. I didn’t discover Austen movies until I was twenty, but it didn’t take me long to become obsessed with those, too. Austen feels very much like home for me. I’m always down to re-read Persuasion or discuss the finer points of Pride and Prejudice films. (With one caveat: if you do not adequately respect Keira Knightley, that discussion will be a very short one. :-P)

What’s a fandom you know all about…but aren’t actually into it?

Lord of the Rings, Supernatural, Sherlock, Twilight, The Hunger Games … shall I go on? I’m fairly notorious for my “scavenger’s” tendency to collect interesting facts about stories I have no interest in reading or watching. Basically, I’m a magpie. I guess you could say I like to analyze audience reactions to author choices, even if I’m not planning to experience the author’s work firsthand.

Which fandom has the best characters?

Again, the answer could fairly be “all of them!!!!” but if I’ve gotta choose, I’ll go with Netflix’s She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

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This absolute jewel of a television series not only has a complex, deep female antagonist I can RELATE TO for once, but an entire cast of strong, sympathetic, well-written women. This is female-centric character work at its finest, and I adore it.

(“adore” like “Adora,” see what I did there? #puns)

Name your all-time favorite ship.

This question is actually pretty easy for me, actually, since I’ve had one consistent OTP since my college days. That would be Rose Tyler and the Tenth Doctor, from Doctor Who.

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I admit I’ve wrestled a bit with my instinctive love for this pair, because I feel some pressure to choose more of an … “ideal OTP,” I guess, in the sense of a wholly exemplary relationship?? And Rose and Ten aren’t perfect. I love them dearly, but perfect they are simply Not. They have clear issues, notable among these being lack of communication. “If you see Rose, tell her … Ah, she knows.” NO, SHE DOESN’T KNOW, YA BIG MORON. Use your words, Tennant.

But if there’s one thing real life, in all its messy glory, has taught me, it’s that no relationship (platonic or romantic) is ever perfect. But if you find somebody who feels like home, who puts you at ease and squeezes your broken pieces back together–you jolly well hold onto them. To me, that’s what Ten and Rose are. Whenever I see Rose run to jump into his arms, and I see his eyes crinkle as he buries his face in her hair, it reminds me this cold, sad world isn’t so cold and sad after all. ❤

Obviously, there are exceptions to this rule. If the guy who gives you those warm, fuzzy feelings turns out to be a murderer or a bigamist or what have you, I’m not advocating riding off into the sunset with him. I am speaking of the acceptable threshold of human imperfections. xD

What’s a fandom you’re curious about joining?

The All for the Game books by Nora Sakavic. I know, I know, I know. But sometimes the heart wants what it wants, eh?

them: so you’re saying you WANT to read about angsty Slytherin sports gays on the run from the Mafia?

me (defensively): maybe I do, Sharon. maybe I do.

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And that’s a wrap on the questions, you guys! I’m going to tag three people here, even though the rules call for two, and I invite anybody else who’s interested to join in. Play if you want to!

• Eva-Joy @Coffee, Classics, and Craziness
• Movie Critic @Movies Meet Their Match
• Olivia @Meanwhile, In Rivendell

Meanwhile, here are the tag questions for your copying convenience:

• What’s the first fandom you remember becoming a part of?
• What’s the newest fandom you’ve come to enjoy?
• What’s a fandom guaranteed to give you feels?
• What’s a guilty pleasure fandom of yours?
• What’s the weirdest fandom you’ve heard of/are a part of?
• Favorite popular/widely-known fandom?
• Favorite bookish fandom?
• What do you consider your ‘homebase,’ a fandom you can always come back to?
• What’s a fandom you know all about…but aren’t actually into it?
• Which fandom has the best characters?
• Name your all-time favorite ship.
• What’s a fandom you’re curious about joining?

Have fun, everybody!