(Anon cause I'm shy) Hello, new follower here. I can't get over how I haven't found you earlier! I mean I've surely seen your posts back in the day. Anyway, I just drop by to say you seem a wonderful person and, from one Fandom Ancient to another (that is, counting me entering the fandom at age 5, which is technically totally true but still - BTW, thoughts on children activity in early HP fandom?) - your HP analyses give me life. Also, sending a smile from fellow Christian! All the best to you!
Hi Anon! Thanks for reaching out–I’d love to hear from you personally if and when you feel comfortable. :) I’m incredibly flattered by your kind words, and have a smile right back.
(Also, a very warm welcome to all my new followers!)
As far as being a Fandom Ancient, I came into the Harry Potter fandom in about 2000 as a preteen (GoF was the first book I had to wait for). If not for a state technology grant that awarded 8th-12th graders at my school personal laptops, I would have had nowhere NEAR the accessibility to the internet/fandom that I had. I can’t believe it’s been almost 20 years now.
“Children in fandom” is something I have a lot of affection for–I was absolutely a child in the fandom, but of course we all felt very grown up with our lime/lemon fanfic and RPGs. :P Growing up on the internet/in fandom–especially the theorizing and meta-commentary that Harry Potter produced–definitely taught me a lot about lateral thinking, persuasion, and asking “why?” I learned how to observe, and how to not only make pronouncements, but supported arguments. (That said, I look back at some of my old posts and totally cringe!) I absolutely loved being challenged by smart fans who made me think twice about automatically beloved characters like Dumbledore and Molly Weasley. (Shout-out to The Red Hen!)
That said, the way fandom and the internet was in the early 2000s can and never will happen again, and I think being a child in the fandom over the last ten years and from now on is WILDLY different. We had almost absolute anonymity and freedom; ironically, that made things feel a lot more innocent! I think because I WAS young, I never got tied up in the drama that adult BNFs did (Cassie Clare, MsScribe, etc.). I was just there to theorize, get mad/excited, write terrible fanfic, and love these characters.
As an adult, I’m here to theorize, get mad/excited, write slightly better fanfic, and love these characters. And anyone who enjoys watching me do that is a valued guest on this blog! <3