baby's first fandom

[green]

For snowflake_challenge #2:

In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story.


In 2001 I started watching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and I had only just gotten a new computer with internet capability. I had no idea what fandom or even fanfiction was, but I soon came across some while looking for people who were just as obsessed over this show as I was. The first forum I found was Buffyworld I think? I saw people posting fanfiction in the forum and I didn't know what I was doing but I thought THIS. I want to do THIS.

I didn't even know how to copy/paste. I wrote maybe the first chapter of a Dawn-is-turned-into-a-vampire fic straight into the forum. And I started following links! And I joined a Yahoo chatroom for BtVS! And I discovered what shipping was, and someone asked me if I liked femmeslash and I was like 'WHO DOESN'T!' (I want to make it clear I did not know what the hell it meant, I thought slash meant like hack and slash fighting and femmeslash must be about girls fighting???) and somehow ended up joining a group for Buffy/Faith and Buffy/Willow. I started making friends. I found some Angel/Spike and Spike/Xander fanfiction in the wilds of the internet and at first I thought it was a joke. To be fair, the fic was very comedic and I thought all aspects of it were meant to be comedic. I soon learned that was not true!

I would not have found a sense of community in fandom in the same way if not for Val. She posted my first fic (an Angel/Spike angst fest) on her site, and started up a board for Spike lovers I joined, and I met so many people, and followed them all over to LiveJournal and by 2003 I was firmly entrenched in fandom.

I would also like to say that fandom has saved my life several times over.

Comments

[snarkasaurus]

I think I just realized that we both more or less dove into Buffy at the same time. into *fandom* at the same time. I think I had slightly more awareness of it due to Yahoo Clubs RP (good gods, do you remember Yahoo Clubs?), but I hadn't a clue what fanfic was until a fellow exchange student asked me what I liked to read.

I'm so glad I met you. I know we haven't really spoken in several years because life happened to us both, but I"m so glad you're still here. ♥

[green]

Life just keeps happening, I don't know what it's deal is! *hug* glad I met you, too

[prisca]

Your last sentence, oh, I can only agree with that. When times get hard in RL, it is so good to know that there is little refuge named fandom waiting for you.

[green]

Absolutely.

[potentiality_26]

And I discovered what shipping was, and someone asked me if I liked femmeslash and I was like 'WHO DOESN'T!' (I want to make it clear I did not know what the hell it meant, I thought slash meant like hack and slash fighting and femmeslash must be about girls fighting???) and somehow ended up joining a group for Buffy/Faith and Buffy/Willow.

Stellar. I love this!

[green]

I was hopelessly lost but I soon figured it out! lol

[silveradept]

Ah, I love this headfirst dive into Buffy. (Also, though, for as much as the characters may or may not have been great, James Marsters and Nicholas Brendon played Spike and Xander to the comedic hilt, so it makes sense that fics involving them would have a significant amount of comedy.)

I think fandom has kept many of us alive for longer than we might otherwise have been, by being that supportive community we needed at the right time.

[green]

Spike/Xander is a lovely ship and together they were hilarious in canon. But in fic, I found it to be more on the serious side. Gosh, this has me wanting to read some old fics. :)

I should have mentioned how much I LOVED BtVS, and how I just wanted to talk to others who loved it, too. I hoped I could find some people, and I did, I DID. That's really the most important thing, and I left it out! lol When I first found fandom, I was a young mother of 3 in a horrible marriage. The community I found helped me through so much.

[silveradept]

Such is the nature of fandom - find the hidden depths of the characters and make fanworks.

You can always edit in the additional material to the entry. I'm so glad you fond a community that could help and be there with you while you worked through the terrible situations.

[green]

lol I forgot I could just edit the post *facepalm*

[trobadora]

and someone asked me if I liked femmeslash and I was like 'WHO DOESN'T!' (I want to make it clear I did not know what the hell it meant, I thought slash meant like hack and slash fighting and femmeslash must be about girls fighting???) and somehow ended up joining a group for Buffy/Faith and Buffy/Willow.

OMG, that is awesome!!!! :D

I used to read quite a bit of BtVS fic, mainly het and a little femslash. Haven't read anything new in ages ...

[green]

I was deep into Spuffy back in the day, too!

<333

[pattrose]

I loved this post. And I understand about the fandom saved your life. I think we all feel this way.

[green]

Thank you! 💚💚💚

[adafrog]

:)

[green]

*hug* 💚

[lunabee34]

Buffy was my first online fandom too. I think it was the gateway to fandom to online for a lot of us.

[green]

It was! It was a great fandom and I'm forever grateful I found it.

*hugs*

[buggyfiction]

What a fun read!

Back in the day I was part of a website where we'd write 'viritual seasons' and I had started on a viritual episode of Angel with Connor and Oz in it, I actually found it yesterday when I was checking links on one of my master posts (don't link to external websites, people, always link to where you post it in your journal because jeeeeez, geocities is LONG GONE OKAY).

But reading that I was like... I should have finished it, why didn't I finish it??

[green]

I would have read the hell out of that virtual season back in the day. Maybe I did and don't remember it clearly. It sounds awesome, though. :D

[buggyfiction]

Unfortunately that website pre-maturely closed down *sigh*. I'm just shocked I still had that.