Snowflake Challenge: Day Two

[tangeriner]

Challenge #2

In your own space, talk about your fannish history.

X-Men: The Animated Series was basically my gateway into fandom. I was so into the show that I started collecting the comics at the age of 12 and then, a few years later when I got online in the mid-90s, X-Men was the first thing I searched for. Things I definitely remember finding:

- an X-Men bulletin board, where I would create the user name Tangerine
- Lori McDonald's X-Men fanfic archive, which had a handful of stories, including one Angel/Psylocke story, which was my absolute jam at the time
- explicit X-Men fanart, because of course

I eventually figured out where the fic was coming from (alt.comics.fan-fiction) and got on that newsgroup, then eventually ended up in yahoogroups, which I think hosted the comicslash mailing list. During all of this, I began writing my own fanfic in 1997, because the books didn't seem to think Angel/Psylocke was worth the level of attention I felt it deserved. Eventually, Rictor/Shatterstar caught my eye.

I started attending Dexcon, a convention for comics fanfic writers held in Toronto. The first year, I had to leave at 7 pm, because I wasn't of legal drinking age (19 in Ontario) and I wasn't legally allowed to stay in the pub. I don't think I said more than a handful of words.

I stayed in comics for a long time, writing enthusiastic but not always good fic, then a friend sidled up to me and was all, have you heard about popslash? I had not, but I was (and remain) incredibly susceptible to fannish suggestion. I was only active there (as Rhys) from 2001 to 2004, but I wrote almost 900k words (my word count as Tangerine, after 22 years, is only 860k).

What followed popslash was a period of burnout. I dabbled a bit in The Dead Zone (TV), fell back into Rictor/Shatterstar off and on, but I mostly just wrote Yuletide stories once a year. 2014 to the majority of 2017 was me crying to friends that my fannish love was dead and I would never feel it again. I still watched and read things, but the urge to create was gone.

And then I spent a week in Iceland, and suddenly, the spark came back, at the most inconvenient time. My friend I was traveling with got inundated with story ideas and fannish thoughts. I came home, finished a couple stories, filled a few bingo squares, signed up for Yuletide for the first time in three years. It hasn't really stopped since then. My primary fandom is still X-Men, though I dabble elsewhere occasionally for fic exchanges. But yeah, I love the X-Men.

Comments

[tjs_whatnot]

I feel ya on the burnout. I was shocked to discover that this year, Yuletide and Chocolate Box were pretty much my fan-contribution. 😭

Here's to this being our year to climb out--or mine if you've already bounced back. ❤

[tangeriner]

I think the hardest years for me were not doing Yuletide or any fic exchanges at all, so I think it's awesome you're still doing them.

I'm sending good fannish vibes your way! ~

[enemytosleep]

I remember getting the tiny TV Guide Xmen comics (was it TV Guide? It was a small book) and was a super fan of Rogue.

[tangeriner]

We got never got amazing things like that in Canada (that I remember). Though I remember taking a family vacation to the US, when Pizza Hut had some sort of X-Men promo running, and we went there so I could get everything lol.

Rogue was and is so amazing! Excellent choice for a fav!

[silveradept]

The 90s animated series is basically the only full exposure I've had to the X-Universe in a comic style. Which was great, because I was the right age for that at the time.

[tangeriner]

It was a great show. It definitely hit me at exactly the right age, too. And it's surprisingly re-watchable. I watched it all again recently, and it was still a blast.

[silveradept]

I'm glad it holds up, because I've been trying to see if I can find them recently and worried that the Stuck Fairy had visited.

[tangeriner]

I think right now the only place it's available for streaming is Disney+. I actually own it all on DVD haha I just love it so much.

[kaffy_r]

An X-men fan! I learned to love X-men back in the late 1960s (yes, I am that old), but I was dedicated in reading the revived X-Men comic from the days of Claremont/Cockrum on (especially Claremont/Byrne). I loved Excaliber like burning, and New Mutants, and even Alpha Flight because hey, I'm Canadian.

Thanks for writing all this!

[tangeriner]

I came into X-Men only in the early 90s, but the stuff earlier than that was eagerly gobbled up by me. So good! So classic! I feel you on the loving Excalibur like burning -- that Claremont-Davis duo was just wonderful, and the stories were unlike anything else I was reading at the time. I'm woefully under-read on New Mutants and Alpha Flight, but I own both complete runs. I, too, have a particular fondness for Alpha Flight on account of being Canadian. They're just delightful (and give me an excuse to use my hockey icon!)

You're welcome! Thanks for commenting -- I'm always excited to talk X-Men. :)