Entry tags:
on fandom, fandom culture, how it's changed and how I feel about it (ALSO FAN_FLASHWORKS)
So last night I was crying on plurk about how much I seriously miss the way fandom and fandom culture use to be. How people made crappy websites on geocities and guestbooks and yahoo groups. And how journaling was the way to go, how livejournal was the hub of fannish activity. I miss it so much.
And then![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
imperion and I went out for dinner and we talked about how we used to be able to just write. How we had a claim in every theme community and we were able to post little ficlets at least once a week. Sometimes two! It may not have been the best work of our lives but we weren't out to change the world, we just wanted to write stuff.
And you know? There's no reason why that can't still be happening. Yeah, sure, fandom at large has moved to tumblr. But...there's still things happening on journal sites. They're not the behemoths that they once were but LJ and DW aren't dead. There are people here. There's content here. I can't control fandom at large but I can control what I'm doing and how I'm interacting in fandom and if I'm not having fun, if I'm uncomfortable or unsatisfied with how fandom at large is behaving or how it has shifted culturally, welp. I don't have to interact with it. I can have my nice, cozy journal and my friends here and be perfectly happy. I mean of course, I'll still use my fic/art blog on tumblr and I'll post things on AO3 but where I actually talk about stuff, where my actual internet home is, is here.
SO.imperion and I have made a challenge for ourselves and I'm inviting everyone who reads this to join us. ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fan_flashworks is a fandom comm that awards achievement badges each time you, well, reach an achievement (for example, filling siz prompts consecutively). A new prompt (midnight) has just been issued. The challenge is to gain as many of these achievement badges as we can raaaaahhhhh. Okay, to start with, we just want to post three consecutive pieces and get our tags for the comm, hahaha.
It's a start. I have bingo cards to work on and my own little challenges to work on. I'm just tired of being ADRIFT ON THE INTERNET and I have the ability to change that. ;3;
And then
imperion and I went out for dinner and we talked about how we used to be able to just write. How we had a claim in every theme community and we were able to post little ficlets at least once a week. Sometimes two! It may not have been the best work of our lives but we weren't out to change the world, we just wanted to write stuff.And you know? There's no reason why that can't still be happening. Yeah, sure, fandom at large has moved to tumblr. But...there's still things happening on journal sites. They're not the behemoths that they once were but LJ and DW aren't dead. There are people here. There's content here. I can't control fandom at large but I can control what I'm doing and how I'm interacting in fandom and if I'm not having fun, if I'm uncomfortable or unsatisfied with how fandom at large is behaving or how it has shifted culturally, welp. I don't have to interact with it. I can have my nice, cozy journal and my friends here and be perfectly happy. I mean of course, I'll still use my fic/art blog on tumblr and I'll post things on AO3 but where I actually talk about stuff, where my actual internet home is, is here.
SO.
imperion and I have made a challenge for ourselves and I'm inviting everyone who reads this to join us. fan_flashworks is a fandom comm that awards achievement badges each time you, well, reach an achievement (for example, filling siz prompts consecutively). A new prompt (midnight) has just been issued. The challenge is to gain as many of these achievement badges as we can raaaaahhhhh. Okay, to start with, we just want to post three consecutive pieces and get our tags for the comm, hahaha. It's a start. I have bingo cards to work on and my own little challenges to work on. I'm just tired of being ADRIFT ON THE INTERNET and I have the ability to change that. ;3;
no subject
Yeah, having adult responsibilities really can take away fandom, simple because of priorities. I was 3 when I first got into fandom and I'm 29 now; that's a pretty huge difference in terms of real life expectations, haha. But I was never happier than when I was in fandom on LJ, for better or for worse, and I would very much like to get at least some of those feelings back. XD
Oh yeah, Skyrim fic is basically self-inserts and that's wonderful. I was going to write about my Argonian lady's travels but I never managed. Maybe one day!
Your thesis is probably more than enough writing, haha! Chatting is so important and so underrated! \o/!
no subject
The responsibilities thing is it exactly! I got into fandom as an undergrad, at which point I had a lot more time and brainpower for things. Now there's all this stuff I'd love to write, but by the time I've spent nine or ten hours thesising, I don't have the brainpower anymore. But I have also been really nostalgic lately for how fandom used to feel, so am totally up for revisiting the old haunts. :)
I would also totally read about your lady Argonian. I've written two about my Breton so far, and I keep poking at it when I need something fluffy to do. Because yes, I LOVE that it's all self-inserts and people just writing whatever fun thing is in their head!
no subject
It's so true! I'm working and also going to school (not right now, since it's summer, but you know) so it really can be overwhelming. But I do have downtime, I'm just terrible at, you know. Managing it, haha.
Yes! Fighting and enjoying naturing and hunting! So many fluff things can be written in the Skyrim universe. ;3;