Thanks to fandom

[flamingsword]

Snowflake Challenge #5

Talk about what has improved in your life thanks to fandom.

1. Fandom taught me to interrogate a text. I can now to some extent see whose voices and perspectives are missing from a piece of media, which is a real skill for an autist. With some thought, I can pick out what writers are bullshitting themselves about being accepting of.
2. Fandom introduced me to more fannish people, who tend to be LGBTQ-accepting -accepting of me- and skew autistic. I would possibly still not know I’m autistic without maeritrae and those like her.
3. Fandom skews writerly and disabled, a thing which I also am. My ableism, internalized and otherwise, used to be way worse and I might not have survived the fibromyalgia diagnosis and chronic pain if I hadn’t already known folks who had similar stuff going on, who led by example how to accept yourself when your body is being a pile of fail.
4. I met my Boston Spouse through fandom, and so many friends I’ve kept up with through the decades. (My fannishness is now old enough to drink, zomg)
5. I have written fics and researched things for them that changed how I deal with people, with life, with my family.
6. I have read fics so profound that I had to reorganize parts of my life around different ethical lines.
7. Collectively, years worth of time reading fics and listening to podficcing and looking at fanart. Y’all are amazing!
8. You’re here. That’s got to mean something, too. 😉



Helpful reminder, if you’re looking to spread joy and make friends: Check out the comments on snowflake_challenge for all the awesome participants and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.

Comments

[tjs_whatnot]

Those are amazing 7 things! I love how you mentioned that fandom skews to marginalized and misunderstood. Makes me feel seen in my own margins and misunderstoodness, but also allows me to see and appreciate others better. ❤️❤️

[flamingsword]

Thanks!

[lokifan]

So many things! This is a lovely post :D

[flamingsword]

Aww, thank you.

[minoanmiss]

Woot woot :)

[flamingsword]

😻

[sabethea]

Fandom is awesome. I’ve met some of my favourite people through fandom.

[flamingsword]

I have met so many people worth knowing, and some worth sticking in permanent spots in my life bc of fandom. It’s a boon to the world.

[barbaratp]

Eu estou feliz por demais lendo isso. Fibromialgia não é fácil, eu tenho e sei o quanto dói. Fannishers me ajudaram muito na minha vivência como pessoa na IRL e posteriormente online, fazendo eu me entender queer e abraçar minhas forças e entender minhas limitações

[flamingsword]

Sinto muito que você tenha isso também, e espero que o verão esteja sendo gentil com seu corpo.

Viva o fandom!

[barbaratp]

Viva ele e a mudança boa que traz em nossas vidas u.u

[ngtskynebula]

"I have read fics so profound that I had to reorganize parts of my life around different ethical lines." This! Writing fanfic, an endeavour usually diverse in its plots, ship dynamic and fandoms, lead us to search up many different things... and, of course, reading them! I remember starting an omegaverse fanfic that had a single line that resonated with me so much it literally helped me go through my first mandatory internship at college. Like, wow.

[flamingsword]

Just the other day I was talking to a friend who is a therapist about how I argue differently now, how I make sure everyone having the disagreement has rested, eaten, and talked about the problem for 5 minutes without trying to solve it. When I told her I got that life skill from a Pepper Potts/Natasha Romanoff femmeslash fic, she cracked up!

I love fandom - I love that there’s this place we can bring our best selves and skills that the world looks down on but absolutely needs more of. We are so mighty. 😸