January Meme: Favorite Fandom Interactions

[selenak]

rose_grifffes asked me about my preferred or favorite fandom interactions. Well, while I enjoy reading and writing fanfiction, I think what I love best is consuming and debating a canon together. In ye olde lj time, the "together" aspect was easier than it is today, though in at least one case in recent years, The Americans, there was a lovely DW community where we could do just that. Even further back in time, I was a lurker at various forums, like the Cross and Stake (for BtVS and AtS) or Highlander, though I never posted there - these were early online fandom days for me, I was still feeling my way in. I never tried being on tumblr, though every now and then I check a few tumblrs out, because it's primarily visual, and my fannish debate/analysis/squee/groan works primarily textually. Which is why I've spent the last two years being very happy indeed in my tiny 18th century historical fandom reading and debating with cahn and mildred_of_midgard. Oh, and two or so years before that, I really loved the discussions about two Mary Renault novels naraht hosted at her journal.

I also visited a few conventions back in the day, from the gigantic (Royal Albert Hall right after TNG had ended and before Generations was released; various FedCons in Bonnn) to the small and intimate (one in Nottingham where watervole and a few other B7 friends took then relatively new to B7 me to the pub to meet Gareth Thomas; or one in Munich where the guest stars were Richard Biggs (Stephen Franklin, B5) and David Prowse (Darth Vader, the body), and that was that. These were very enjoyable, too, though not at the same emotional level, for me, as a regular canon-debating online exchange of minds. Oh, and I'll never forget watching Hamlet with David Tennant in the title role and Patrick Stewart as Claudius with bimo in Stratford upon Avon, which was possibly the perfect theatre fandom meets sci fi fandom multi crossover event for us. Or, when I was in Los Angeles for a Feuchtwanger conference, also meeting bitterbyrden who is a local and drove to lots of locations where they shot various Buffy and Angel episodes as well as Six Feet Under with me. I had visited Los Angeles repeatedly before that time, but this was a very special geeky occasion. I also met sab in person in that year, after having known her online mainly via shared B5 and Farscape fandom. Which brings me to another form of fannish interaction I very much enjoyed for about two years, which happened mainly at theatrical_muse: roleplay. Among other things, I was Londo, Sab was G'Kar, and hobsonphile was Vir and Timov. I still remember the time I remained up all night (wihat with the time difference) while sab had G'Kar propose to Londo. We did quite an elaborate storyline out of that one, which included a kdnapping plot and rescue mission for which Londo (this being the multiverse) hired John Crichton (kernezelda) and Bialar Crais (andraste). Man, those were the days. While all of this was going on, I was also busy in yet another elaborate rp where I was writing Darla and Connor (from the Buffyverse), ashlyn was Harry Osborn (from the Raimi Spidey films) and Angel, and we had one of the most complex OCs created by another player, a Slayer named Kara, while likeadeuce was an amusing Immortal (mentioned in s5 of AtS) and a great Jean Grey (from X-Men). As you can see, this was all very time consuming, and I did have a living to make, so after major storylines were wrapped up, I finished my roleplaying days and did not return to them in the decade(s) to come. But I sure did enjoy them.

The other days

Speaking of enjoyable fannish activities, Festivids went online, and here are few I loved watching (I can't vid myself, but I'm a big fan of people who can!):


All the President's Men:

Me and Bernstein by the Schoolyard : aka Watergate: A Journalistic Bromance. Captures the spirit of the movie and the Woodward & Bernstein partnership therein perfectly. Ah, for the days when Republicans actually did NOT back their caught-redhanded-at-crime Presidents into infinity.

Babylon 5:

Runs in the Family: Lyta-centric sharp vid about what it means to be a telepath in the B5 verse.

Not gonna stop me getting through No one ever listens to G'Kar, but he finds his way anyway.

Start a War: terrific ensemble vid.

Highlander

From Eden: a Methos/Duncan vid to warm my fandom-of-yesterday heart. Captures the whimsy, the angst, and the hot chemistry.

La Reine Margot:

You are the blood: doom of the Valois and the Bartholomew Massacre, Dumas version. Wrenching.


Star Trek: Picard:

One Foot: terrific ensemble vid.

All These Lines Across My Face: Seven/Annika's story through Voyager to Picard.


Much Ado About Nothing:

Girls Chase Boys: a rare ensemble vid giving the spotlight to the not-B & B characters.

Much Ado About True Love: whereas this one features everyone's favourite sparring lovers beautifully.

Comments

[mildred_of_midgard]

Which is why I've spent the last two years being very happy indeed in my tiny 18th century historical fandom reading and debating with [personal profile] cahn and [personal profile] mildred_of_midgard.

<333

Best. Fandom. Interaction. Ever. Hands down for me! I have gone my whole life telling people, "We should research a topic separately and also together, and tell each other what we find, and build on each other's findings. It would be the most fun ever!" And no one would ever take me up on it. Until now!

You and cahn (and our part-time members) = THE BEST. Truly.

[selenak]

So much same here. I'm living my Rheinsberg days with you, in fandom terms. <3!!

[rose_griffes]

I somehow never came across fandom-specific forums; livejournal was my first real fandom site. (Well... I had lurked a bit on TWoP, which led to LJ and fanfic.)

Roleplaying sounds like fun, although time-consuming as well.

[selenak]

Very time consuming, and thus I had to end it! But I don't regret a day.