Wednesday, March 24, 2021

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?

28 comments:

  1. Very fun reading your answers! Combat!, of course... and Star Trek.... so much fun we had. Love the Lost story! This is a tag I'd like to do. Have to think about it a bit, though.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, DKoren :-) Definitely give this tag a whirl! It took me days and days to answer because I wanted to get everything right :-)

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    2. Btw, I did do this tag back in March, but not sure if you ever saw and I never came over here to give you a heads up. I know you've been super busy with stuff! :-D

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    3. DKoren, evidently, I didn't see it back then, so off to read it now :-D

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  2. Oh, this is awesome! I'm so glad you did this tag--I did it, too, and I loved seeing your answers!

    "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." <<< that was basically the exact answer I gave to this question :D for real, why WOULD I be into it if it didn't give me feels?

    I am veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy much into "knowing all about" fandoms I have no intention of joining. I'm not really sure why, but part of me simply adores picking up shiny facts about stories and characters, even if I'm not interested in actually reading/watching those stories and meeting those characters for myself. I know reams of fascinating facts and details about Lord of the Rings, Sherlock, Supernatural, The Hunger Games (yes, really), Supernatural, Twilight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer ... I could go on.

    I think more than anything, I like seeing other people's reactions to stories, even if I'm not interested in the stories themselves. So I'll scour the internet for fans' hot takes on Buffy or Dean Winchester or Aragorn or whomever, and derive much enjoyment from reading all the different opinions, while still being an "outside observer," if you will.

    Leverage is amazing and I will love it forever and ever. *all the huggles for the characters* What are your favorite episodes? Mine are "The San Lorenzo Job," "The Beantown Bailout Job," "The Girls' Night Out Job," and (ABOVE ALL) "The Boys' Night Out Job."

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    1. Katie, wasn't this a fun one?

      How interesting that you like knowing stuff about fandoms you don't want to join! That does fit with liking to stand outside the action and observe, though.

      So, I haven't finished watching Leverage yet. I'm still in season 4. But so far, my favorite eps have been "The Scheherezade Job," "The Studio Job," "The Ho Ho Ho Job," "The Inside Job," "The Tap-Out Job," and "The Two-Horse Job." In no particular order. Season 3 overall was fantasmagorical.

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    2. Season Three is SO GOOD, oh my word. The overarching villain ... the building tension ... the intense multi-part climax ... yes yes yes.

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    3. Katie, yes! The writing and directing was especially ON for season 3, and the guest stars were a constant delight.

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  3. Combat! and the Lord of the Rings forever. I will never not be in those fandoms. Also, Han Solo is forever the best.

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  4. Thanks for tagging me! I saw your comment yesterday and filled it out HERE today.

    I love that you love Star Trek so much! That convention looks like it was a BLAST!

    I watched the first two episodes of Leverage and have been wanting to see the rest! I tried to convince my sisters to watch it with me, but they are still dubious.

    Love the Marvel vs. Star Wars thoughts! Han will always win a competition like that.

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    1. MC, oh, yay! I will go check out your answers soonly.

      The Star Trek convention was beyond amazing. Absolutely wonderful few days.

      Leverage is super fun. I love that it's clean enough I can watch it with my mom ;-)

      Han will always win such things. It's a moral imperative.

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  5. Thanks so much for tagging us!
    I love Leverage! Elliot is my favorite character, though Hardison is a close second favorite!
    Sherlock Holmes is the best and Valancy and Barney are an awesome couple!
    We have a friend who is a HUGE Errol Flynn and has gotten us into quite a few of his movies. Have you seen They Died With Their Boots On yet?

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    1. You're welcome, Grace! Eliot is my definite favorite on Leverage, followed by Nathan and Parker and Hardison and Sophie because don't make me choose.

      I saw They Died with Their Boots On a couple of years ago and liked it better than I expected. I've also seen Adventures of Robin Hood dozens of times, plus The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood many years ago, plus Cry Wolf and Dodge City and Virginia City fairly recently.

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    2. Oh, and Against All Flags the most recently of all. And also, The Sun Also Rises, which was a number of years ago. So I've seen him in quite a few things! But it was getting to see him as an absolute cowboy in Dodge City that made me start thinking I could become a fan...

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    3. I'll have to check those titles out! I've seen Sea Hawk, but not the rest.

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  6. OK you're the second person who has mentioned Leverage within the past month or so and I am duly intrigued.

    The placement of that Han Solo gif is GOLD. X)

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    1. Megan, it's a very fun show. Reasonably clean, some awesome guest stars here and there (RICHARD CHAMBERLAIN!!!), and excellently fun plots.

      What else could I put there? Only Han would fit.

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  7. I love so many of these. Need to watch more Leverage the episodes I've seen have been fantastic.

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    1. Skye, I haven't finished Leverage yet either. I'm on season 4 right now. So far, it has been an absolute blast!

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  8. I think Lost is coming to Disney Plus (Star), so I should totally watch it and see what I think! You've definitely got me intrigued with your description of Sawyer. =)

    Barney and Valancy are amaaaaaazing. <3 <3 <3

    And I'd recommend Caravel (and the other two books). It's such a delicious world. Like the richest dark chocolate.

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    1. Eva, oh my. I'm imagining you watching Lost and my brain is stuttering. That will be verrrrrrry interesting. (You're gonna love Hurley.)

      I didn't know you'd read the Caravel books! Now I am DEFINITELY going to try them.

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    2. Just double-checked and, yep, all six seasons of Lost are coming to Disney+ on April 23rd! It will probably take me a while to go through them because of work and also Mom doesn't like the show (so I might not be able to watch it with her in the evenings). But I'll keep you updated throughout! ;)

      Yay!

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    3. Eva, what a nice present on my birthday for you! Hee. I will definitely be interested to hear what you think of it. I kind of wish I had time to just watch it all over again. I will, someday, cuz I have all the DVDs.

      (My mom doesn't like it either. Such is life.)

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  9. This is such a fun tag! Fandoms are great.
    Leverage is such a fun show. I love Lost, too. Sawyer was definitely my favorite.
    I've only watched a little bit of Angel, but I love it so far.
    Marvel! It makes me so happy that so many people (myself included) have listed it as a favorite popular fandom.
    LOTR is great, too. And Sherlock Holmes! And Star Wars. And Valancy and Barney are such a great couple.
    Really, you talked about so many of my favorite things here.

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    1. McKayla, glad you enjoyed it! And that we share so many favorites! :-D

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  10. Loved the Star Trek convention pics.

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