Snowflake Challenge #3

[axael]

Fandom Snowflake Challenge — January 5th

❄ Challenge #3 on snowflake_challenge.

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Love Letter to Fandom

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

Dear Fandom,

You've given me far more joy over the years than I had ever truly expected when I first found you. I've met so many people, and made fast friends with people I never would have met. At least two of my best friends I can point to and say 'fandom brought us together.'

You've also given me the space and time and encouragement to create in a way that I didn't even know there was space for before I met you. Writing things for myself is just so wildly different from being able to write for people who love the thing just as much as I do.

And I love how much room there is within you for all sorts of people with all sorts of interests. I cannot create what I create without the people who've dedicatedly created transcripts of all of the shows that I love or have compiled extensive wikis about who is who and who does what and what chapter something occurred in. Being able to enjoy the magnificent art of others, to see all the little nuances of character highlighted in ways that I would never have understood before...

I honestly think you've made me better at understanding...most things, tbh. One of my favorite things is digging into meta, because analysis is one of my favorite hobbies, and I adore how many different points of view there are that can be explored through even the same piece of media. I have gotten more adept at doing the same by learning from everyone who has gone before me, and my worldview has expanded innumerable times. It's made me *better* in a more general sense, too, in a whole bunch of very small but very important ways.

You've also helped me figure out myself. In big, massive ways and in small ways, I've seen myself reflected in fanworks and known myself is ways that ease my day and bring me comfort.

Just...

It's something precious to be protected, this sharing of joy. I have knowledge of many second-hand fandoms because listening to someone enthuse about their passions gives me such a sense of peace and pleasure. Every small spark of fandom excitement I encounter ignites a small spark within me as well, and brings light to my days. It's a community I cherish, and I'm glad to be a part of it.

<3 Desi

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