[ SECRET POST #3485 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3485 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06. [repeat]


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.


__________________________________________________



09.


__________________________________________________



10.


__________________________________________________



11.










Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 42 secrets from Secret Submission Post #498.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

"I'm an 'old' fan from the days of 'zines and it would have been social suicide to tell my non-fan friends that I wrote fic, went to cons, or did any kind of cosplay."

I actually had to fight my way off the bus when a bunch of kids found the fanart I had hidden inside one of my books after once of them jacked my backpack. And then I got suspended for fighting. Then I had to explain to my parents why I got suspended and why they were tearing up one of my textbooks (because we got a bill for it from the Board of Ed). As an aside: This is also when I learned that textbooks are very much over-priced. :/

But it wasn't so much the kids. Kids are fucking assholes, and I've always known that. But My teachers actually convinced my parents to send me to a psychiatrist because I was spending my class time drawing fanart instead of doing homework. Because, you know how much fun homework is and anyone who isn't practically falling over themselves to do school work must be insane!

So, in a way, I kinda get the whole, "You aren't a real fan unless you've walked the Gauntlet of Shame" we walked.

But I also have a kid. She's 25 now and she suffers from one of those mental illnesses that television vilifies. She suffers from paranoia and anxiety and she's so terrified of living in a post-apocalyptic / dystopian nightmarescape (because of what she's seen on the news / read online) that she has to watch Star Trek every day because it gives her hope that maybe there's a future for humanity that doesn't end in a complete shitshow or she'll end up in the ER (again). I can't be sure but I think Trek may have saved her life on at least one occasion. And she can publicly express her love of Trek without getting mocked because being in fandom is "normal" now and Trek is "the shit". That makes her life so much easier.

I'm not trying to invalidate your feelings because I really do understand where you're coming from. I'm just saying there are some good things happening for people because fandom is mainstream. And let's be honest, this isn't true of many of us, but there are a lot of people who use fandom as a coping mechanism. I don't really want to be That Person who makes people who already feel bad feel even worse because I had to literally fight just to be fannish, especially when I consider that, growing up, what we have now is exactly what I wanted in the first place.

I'm bitter because new fans have something we didn't, but I don't begrudge them their good fortune.