pronker

What makes you fannish? And by that we mean, what is it about a tv show/movie/book/band/podcast/etc that takes you from, "Yeah, I like that," to "I need MOAR!!!" Is it a character? A plotline? The pretty? Subtext that’s just screaming to be acknowledged?

It needs to be escapist, and it needs to be funny, at least in parts. The setting is *shallowly, I think, on my part* about 75 per cent of the appeal, so in the case of Star Wars I get to see fantastic planets, fly among the stars and the relationships are comfortingly grounded in my earth-bound reality. Well, how could they not, haha. But onward. The fandoms indulged in now are entirely based on visual media; for instance, I like Gone With The Wind both book and film, and its characters are well-rounded, but it's not escapist enough. I could picture Scarlett and company too easily being someone like me, or even being me if I were born circa 1844, because of the familiar setting. Nope, it's gotta be way out there.

Funny is what my other main fandom Penguins of Madagascar is, in spades, but the setting is familiar since I've been to Central Park Zoo. It's the characters that float my boat, along with non sequiturs and film references. Gah, that's one great show. In this case, things to admire aren't the pretty like Ewan, Hayden, or Liam, but the portrayals of leadership and fantastic animated expressions, something that seems difficult to do with penguins. Those folks at Dreamworks rule.

subtext Hmmm, I wrote an LJ entry on "why I like slash" for ijedi7's survey waaaaaay back in '06, but I can't find it now. HERE is a link to the survey results. I pretty much agree with them; the lacking element is A plotline?, but that's okay. It gets my point across.

My head hurts now from thinking! I hope you're satisfied! *stomps outdoors to do yardwork, nice, numbing wintertime yardwork* :)

In your own space, post a rec for fannish and/or creative resources and spaces. Tell us where you go to dig up canon facts for your fandom, or where you get all the juicy details about your favorite ship. Where do you like to hang out and squee like a squeeing thing?

Fandom Number One:

Operation Fandom Wiki is a go, right, boys?

Penguins of Madagascar currently runs on Nicktoons and the episodes are in no particular order. So this is the place to go for catching up with plot arcs, not that there are a lot other than some recurring villains that are unfamiliar to the canon n00b. That would be me. The link goes to a favorite episode in which Skipper decides for the good of the team to quit since he's not up to the physical demands, or so he thinks. There is much room for wibbling and it's a fine episode. Messing around on the site elicits trivia, photos of the voice actors at work just like one would picture *in front of microphones and bouncing around the synergy*, and synopses with the episode guides.

Fandom Number Two:

From A Certain Point Of View

Wookiepedia contains articles, interviews, clips, and enough trivia to choke a bantha. The link goes to the entry on Obi-Wan Kenobi, since he's a favorite character. Ever since Star Wars: The Clone Wars fleshed out his backstory, and even before, he's been the one to draw me into the fandom. This is not taking into consideration the original 1977 squeeing over the first film, because my attention at the time was fixed firmly on The Big Three *Han, Luke, and Leia." No kidding, this is the go to place for any sort of research while writing or dispensing information on

You Daily Dose Of Star Wars or in other words The Force DOT net. Forums may be spoiler-free or not, and with the release of The Force Awakens the site has flowered, and it was already pretty flowery. Also on the site are non-Star Wars fics and discussions, such as

Fandom Number Three:

the one for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD. Yet another fandom. Life is good.

Well, that's enough for now. This was a fun meta-like challenge, I must say, and I'm looking forward to pronking around the other entries. Laredo and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea sites must wait their turn.

 

In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much. 


In 1977, the double sunset portrayed muted despair as Luke realizes he's going nowhere at the edge of nowhere, far away from where he wants to be.  As John Williams' theme swelled, and looking back at my 22 year-old self, that's what the movie said to me, personally, because although the job in Corporate America paid well, there was little time to pursue outside interests.  Conversely, when there was no job there was lots of time but no money, yet that's another story.  The general idea that yearning and youth existed outside the near, near galaxy was intoxicating.  I loved the saga from that point on because it was dirty and real.  

Timeskip to 2015 at the Christmas holiday.  Because I adore animation and periodically check out from the library all the big kidvid movies to compare animation and see if the basic stories changed much (they haven't, except for Frozen), Penguins of Madagascar big-screen release from 2014 was next.  I'd watched the TV show once and thought it was okay, but no great shakes.  That all changed by seeing the film (although at home and not in 3D, pooh) because it had a/ globetrotting, b/ snarky penguins, c/ potential for slashy snarky penguins.  Now the show is faithfully taped for watching later in the day and dang, it's well-written and witty and the animation is consistent.  I"m pleased to have another fandom.

 Leave feedback.

I adore being Aunt Blabby leaving feedback, so here is the latest and the fics they rode in on:

www.fanfiction.net/s/11681398/1/The-Last-of-the-Jedi

Ticklesivory's latest chapter of her latest Obidala story, in which Padme and Obi-Wan discover parenting.


andalitebandit-6.deviantart.com/art/P-O-M-Pripper-and-Kico-331965842

More fun with Penguins of Madagascar cannot be had.  It was fun to be able to rec some stories to her on her profile page in return for the recs she gave me.  Followed by some feedback to a wonderfully original AU/AR take on the Satine/Obi-Wan dynamic with modern day roles of journalist, ambassador, and Bail Organa in the mix.  Excellent, spare prose.

archiveofourown.org/works/4882573/chapters/11194369

Day 2

In your own space, create a list of at least three fannish things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a fannish wish-list of sorts.


1. A saola icon suitable for LJ or DW. The saola is an endangered species of antelope, incredibly rare and beautiful, and only discovered by us Western types in the Laos/Vietnam Annamites in 1992. There are a few photos out there to Photoshop with.

2. Any good Penguins of Madagascar fics to share? I'm gaga since seeing the feature film 2 weeks ago. I do feel rather silly in the fandom and of course the TV show is clever and fun with great slapstick and in-jokes, but still ... Well. Any good stories will be gratefully squeed over.

3. Hey, fans of Star Wars, it would be fantastic to hear of the first time you heard of the saga. I'll start: in 1977, we attended a Day on the Green with the Eagles in concert, and a plane circled the arena trailing a banner proclaiming "Star Wars Is Coming!" Naturally, we attendees wondered what it all meant. It was a moment of Zen.