The Fandom Tag

Eva tagged me with this on Coffee, Classics, and Craziness this week.  Thanks, Eva!  I was rather wishing for a good tag to do, as a matter of fact.

RULES:

1.  Include the graphic somewhere in your post!
2.  Answer the questions!
3.  Tag two fellow fandom fanatics!

Okay, that's all fun times, so let's go.

(Source)

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

Does Robin Hood count?  Because I've loved him since I was like three or four.  If he doesn't, then the Lone Ranger, as I've loved him since I was seven or eight.

My first really major fandom, though, was Star Trek.  I got into Star Trek: The Original Series in my very early teens, and it was the first fandom I was into that I could buy merch for, which was such a thrill.  I had Star Trek action figures, t-shirts, model kits to put together, books... and a few favorite episodes on VHS.  It was a lovely way to spend my teen years.

Cut from 1993 to 2016 when I got to attend the 50th anniversary Star Trek Convention in Las Vegas with my bff, which was a dream come true :-)

(I'm on the right here.)

Yes, we had costumes.  Yes, we had a lot of fun doing action shots!  Oh, and our tricorders were actually purses!

(I'm on the left here.)

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

The Mandalorian, I think.  Which is technically part of the Star Wars fandom.  Newest one that's entirely new to me?  Hmm.  Haven't picked up any brand-new fandoms lately.  I guess before Mando, it would have been the '90s TV version of The Magnificent Seven, but even there, it's based on a movie I've loved since my teens.

So the newest-to-me fandom that is TOTALLY new to me that I've gotten into recently (by which I mean like 4 years ago) would be Leverage (2008-2012), which is a supremely fun show about a group of criminals who work together to help people who've been hurt by other criminals.  It definitely has a Robin Hood aspect to it, but also that "found family" thing going on that I pretty much always fall for.  And it's got all kinds of con artist stuff going on, which always fascinates me.  Plus, yeah, Christian Kane and Timothy Hutton definitely were what first drew me to the show.

What’s a fandom guaranteed to give you feels? 

Um, if it doesn't give me all the feels, I'm not into it.  For real.  I demand many feels.  No feels?  No fandom for me.

Okay, fine, so one that gives me instant feels, no matter what, and all you have to do is say the show's name for me to be reduced to a puddle of sappy and lovesick nonsense is... Lost.  Which is all his fault:

My darling Sawyer, about whom I have waxed eloquent many times.  So today, instead of talking about how much I love James "Sawyer" Ford (Josh Holloway), I'll tell you a little story that will show how well my brother's wife knows me.  We went to visit them once, years and years ago when we both lived somewhere other than where we are now.  And they were big fans of Lost, so they wanted to show us the first few eps to see if we'd like it too.  My s-i-l suggested it to my brother because she thought I'd like the characters a lot.  My brother said, "Yeah, but I just can't see Rachel liking Jack."  My s-i-l said, "No, no, not Jack.  Sawyer."  

Um, yeah, she called it.  The first couple of eps, I was like, "Why is he so horrible?" and then when I got to ep 8, "Confidence Man," I just gave up and fell for him.  Very hard, very fast, very deeply.  I've got a weird fondness for con artists anyway, and if you combine that with an authentic Southern accent and a redemption arc, there's no way I won't swoon.

What’s a guilty pleasure fandom of yours?

Ummmmmm... ummmmmmmmmm... I don't have one?  I don't feel guilty about loving any of my fandoms!  If they made me feel guilty, I would not be their fan.

 

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

Yeah, see, but you say 'weird' and I say 'whatever.'  I never know what people will consider weird.  Is it weird that my favorite TV show ever is a 1960s drama about WWII soldiers?  Is it weird that I've written fanfic that crossed that show with one about vampires?  I suppose the Buffy/Angel fandom is my weirdest, or maybe it's Lost instead?  They're both kind of unusual, maybe?

I do deeply love Angel: The Series.  It's my second-favorite TV show ever, and since it's about a vampire who basically becomes a detective and then a crime-fighter and assembles a crew with otherworldly skills to help the hopeless... I guess it counts as weird?

Favorite popular/widely-known fandom? 

Either the MCU or Star Wars -- I don't know which one is bigger, or which one I love most.  Okay, I probably love Star Wars a little more, simply because I've loved Han Solo for a looooooooong time.  And so deeply.  Yes, I think I do love him more than Thor.  Sorry, Thor.  I do love you, honest.  Just... I love Han more.  Can't help it.

Favorite bookish fandom? 

Sherlock Holmes.  No question.  Sherlock Holmes is my "book boyfriend" and I am not sorry.

(Mine from my Instagram account.)

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

Combat! (1962-67) always feels like home.  No matter how long it's been since I watched an ep.  I just watched several last month and it was so wonderful to be back with my best WWII buddies.  I've spent so much of my life in that world, writing reams of fanfic and even co-running a fansite for the show called Fruit Salad with my best friend.

No matter how long I've been away, Saunders and the guys will always welcome me back.  I love that.

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

Why would I know all about it if I wasn't in the fandom?  I don't bother learning all about things if I'm not into them.  Who has that kind of time?

I do know a lot more about The Hunger Games than I want to, so I guess that counts?  It was so unavoidable for so long, but I'm just not into it.  At all.

Which fandom has the best characters?

Probably The Lord of the Rings.  Just no end of fantastically nuanced, deep, rich characters.

 

Name your all-time favorite ship. 

Valancy Stirling and Barney Snaith from The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery.  I have read it over and over, and their story never fails to absolutely delight me.

(Also from my Instagram)

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

Hmm.  Does Errol Flynn count?  Because I'm a little bit flirting with the idea of having a spring fling with him, as evidenced by me buying like four or five of his westerns recently.  But at the same time, I've already seen half a dozen of his movies, so he's not truly new to me either.  I'm considering reading Caraval by Stephanie Garber -- does that count?

That was super fun, and it took me days and days to answer these to my satisfaction :-)  Now I'm supposed to tag two people, so I'm tagging Movie Critic at Movies Meet Their Match and Katherine + Grace at Maidens of Green Gables.  But if you want to do this tag too, go right ahead!  Here are the questions, for your easy copying:

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?