Ramblings on Fandom

[siamesa]

For a while, now, I've been trying to figure out what makes a fandom stick with me. Avatar stuck, and so did Star Wars, and then last spring I began conciously looking for a third fandom. And I ran into problems. I'd enjoy something (Star Trek, MST3K), and it would stick with me, but it wouldn't inspire "squee-I-must-watch-other-people-debate-this-ad-nauseum-and-write-fanfic". And meanwhile Avatar finished up and I never had time for the Clone Wars, and I still found no third fandom.

(Also just as I was really getting into MST3K I got hit by a car walking to the video rental place, which really put a damper on that relationship.)

And then I was surfing TV Tropes, and came across an interesting link, and began reading the scans_daily archives.

A week later LJ shut it down. Maybe four days later, actually.

I barely knew ye! *Sobs*

On the Monday afterwards, we here in Charlotte experienced the wonder of a Southern snow day, in which there is one inch of an icy substance on the ground and everyone breaks down into panic. I am informed that people in other parts of the country find this humorous, but seriously, we know it's ridiculous. And, because I had no quasi-legal stockpile of scans on my computer to turn to anymore, I was bored.

Bored, and with Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket.

Now, I'd been reading some comics fanfic, and I'd liked it, so I sort of knew what I was looking for as I headed across the Intersection of Doom and to the little comics store on the corner. I knew I wanted to read Batman, but that there was nothing going on in Batman that I wanted to read. I knew that the work of pretty much every artist or writer out there Should Not Be Touched With A Ten Foot Pole No You Idiot It's The Greatest Ever.

Anyway, yeah, I bought some comics, and then more, and I read more fanfic, and I moved Nightwing to the spot behind Prince Zuko in my list of Hot Fictional Guys, and I began really enjoying the world of comics.

And Batman stuck.  And I had absolutely no clue why.  The canon stuff was as variable in quality as the fanfics.  Most of the ships squicked me to no end.

I began to consider this confusing turn of events, and finally I came to a conclusion.

I like reading about dysfunctional families.  No, I have no idea why.  I just do.  Heaven knows my family's pretty normal, with me as the only even slightly dysfunctional unit.  (Also my cat).

But seriously.  I think that's what it is.  You've got the Fire Nation royals, the Skywalkers, and the BatFamily or whatever I'm supposed to call it now that I can't extricate myself from it.

Crabcakes, now I've got plot bunnies from three universes, only one of which I currently have any real initiave in writing for, bouncing around my head.  I don't need this!  I'm still working on Searching!  It's in the other window right now!

Sigh.