Don't leave a voicemail, seriously.

So all week wendy has been hosting a Fandom Appreciation Week (which, I didn't know that still happened), but I've been having A SUPER SHITTY week so I haven't bothered. That's how awesome I am.

Today is loving your fellow fans/fandom (I think). This, I can do.

1st: A gift. Marlon Brando with a cat. (from cute boys with cats)




Now, some words.

There are people who read this journal who I genuinely love. Not like like andhearts or *hug* or any of that garbage. I love you. Some of you I talk to every day, some I haven't talked to in a long time.

The word fandom, like a lot of words, doesn't have one meaning. Yes, it's the loose conglomeration of people who intersect through enthusiasm for certain pursuits. I don't think that's the usage that many of use, once we're inside. I think we mean that in-group I'm part of that I could never explain to outsiders except in the broadest, loosest terms. We have something in common we never have to explain. That makes it easier to make a fundamental connection. Like being in the Elks or the Illuminati. Once you're part of that, you're part of a community with it's own language, its own common currency, its own drama. For good or bad, we're in this together.

I want to thank you for being in this together with me. Thank you for every GQMF macro and fic challenge, for the fanmixes and etsy shops. Thank you for following me from fandom to fandom reading my fic, especially when I'm at my most self-indulgent. Thank you for the fanart and the the podfic.

Thank you for caring about me, even when I drop off the face of the earth.

I want to especially thank you for the random comments on my posts that spiral into huge conversations, whether they be capslock madness or thoughtful commentary.

I love you, individual and collective. I love you enough to hate you sometimes. That's true love.

eta Not a single one of you pedantic assholes remarked on my it's/its typo? I will assume (even with the repetition) that you either have given up on my spelling or know that I do actually know the difference. Or assumed I did it just to burn a hole in your soul. I love all of you even more.