Fandom Friday: My Childhood Revisited

My First Fandoms

Happy FridayAfter I started really getting into fandoms, I thought back to my favorite childhood shows and realized something. I was totally in those TV shows' fandoms, I just didn't know all the terminology or understand what loving a TV show really meant to me.  So you can say I've been a fangirl since I was about 10-years-old.  These three TV shows defined the kind of person I would become and really set me on my path of being a total nerd.

Before I gush about my favorite TV shows from my younger days, (I still love them too!) you need to know something.  I did not have any cable or satellite TV, I had about 5 channels growing up.  I know, the struggle was real, but my grandma had cable at her house.  When I went to visit her, which was at least once a week, I would spend hours in front of the TV absorbing all kinds of shows that I normally never watched.  I watched a lot of TV, but these three shows stick with me the most.  So without further ado; lets go back in time and learn about what TV shows I thought (and still think) are totally awesome!

Teen Titans

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed quite a few DC cartoons when I was younger.  I watched Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, I also caught a few episodes of the cool, futuristic Batman; Batman Beyond.  However, Teen Titans makes this list because I watched almost all of the episode while I was at my grandma's house, so I understood and followed this show the best.  I also loved all the characters equally, because each one had something really unique to bring to the table.  Robin was the leader and he didn't need any powers to kick some serious butt.  Starfire is awesome because she is an alien and she is so sweet and naive, but she is so strong and powerful, and that dynamic was so inspiring to me.  Then there was Cyborg, who was both a human and a robot and his character was funny and strong and supportive.  Beast Boy could turn into any animal he wanted to, which was super cool, and he was hilarious and dorky.  Finally there was Raven who was just so dark and mysterious, calm and collected, but super powerful and scary when she wanted to be.  When I re-watched this show, I realized it tackled a lot of mature themes during its run on TV.  All around it was a pretty awesome show, especially for any super heroes fans like me!
Random Fandom Stuff: When I was a kid, I totally shipped Robin and Starfire!! They were so cute together!  Now I also ship Beast Boy and Raven because of the whole opposites attract thing and I think they would be really good to each other!
Then, while I was watching Arrow back in its second season, and the show revealed the antagonist to be Slade Wilson/Deathstroke...the fandom stars aligned and I was geeking out because Slade was the big bad in Teen Titans for most of the shows run!!!

Danny Phantom 

Here was a show that I got to watch in its entirety that I thought was awesome!  The whole story set up fascinated me.  The idea that ghosts existed in another dimension was cool!  I remember watching Danny get his ghost powers and thinking that was fantastic and wishing I had ghost powers too!  Turing invisible, flying, being able to pass through solid objects, shooting energy blasts from his hands; Danny was one of my favorite characters to watch.  And Sam and Tucker were cool too!  I wished the show had lasted longer, I think it could have gone into some interesting directions if it had been given the chance.  A lot of what made this show amazing flew right over my head as a kid, but now I can appreciate it and understand just what little perks the show had to offer.  My favorite is Lancer, the English teacher curses by shouting book titles! Brilliant!
Random Fandom Stuff: I shipped Danny and Sam long before they ever realized they were perfect for each other.  I just knew they were meant to be.
Since the show ended too soon, you can read some fan fiction here: https://www.fanfiction.net/cartoon/Danny-Phantom/ and let amateur writers take you on new adventures with Danny.  But reader beware, some fan fiction is not for the faint of heart.

Avatar The Last Airbender
Hands down one of my all time favorite animated shows ever, ATLA is so amazing!!! First of all, the world this show takes place is so developed and interesting and fascinating that it immediately grabs and demands attention.  In a world where there are four nations based on the four elements, each containing benders who can bend their element based on martial arts is just super cool!!! The air nomads are peaceful and the monks believe in freedom, like the wind.  The water tribes are community centered people whose bending style involves slowing motions like water.  The fire nation is powerful and the earth kingdom is tough and stubborn like rock.  Then we have the original idea of mashing up animals to create new ones in this world.  The two main animals that are main characters in their own right are Appa the flying sky bison and Momo, a flying lemur.  So now lets talk about the gaang (that is not a typo, you will see why that is funny if you don't get the joke in a moment). In this world, the four nations have been at war because the fire nation wants to rule over everyone.  How does this world of conflicting elements and people find peace?  Through the AVATAR: master of all four elements!!!!! The current avatar is a 12-year-old air bender named Aang.  He was raised by  monks, but ran away when he learned he was the avatar because he was not ready to face all the responsibility.  During the show, he masters not only the other three elements but leans to master the avatar state and discovers how to end the 100 year war without violence.  He is goofy, sweet, peaceful, and wise and an interesting character.  Now for Katara, the heart of the gaang.  She was the only water bender in her tribe and she has been through a lot to become a master water bender, but she can do the other forms of water bending of healing and blood bending.  She is brave, compassionate, fierce, and loyal and a necessity for facing any big bad benders.  Her brother Sokka is the main non bender in the group and he is the meat and sarcasm guy.  He is a warrior and is silly and creative and funny and loves his boomerang because it always comes back.His girlfriend Suki joins the gaang in the end and she is a Kyoshi warrior so she is strong and an awesome fighter, but she isn't really a main character.  The last two members of the gaang are probably my favorite characters in the entire show.  First we have Toph.  She is blind and small and looks innocent but she is the best metal bender in the four nations and invented metal bending.  She can see by sensing the vibrations through the earth with her feet, which is so awesome!!!!  No one stands a chance against her as long as they are on the ground.  Finally, the character that goes through the most development and is the most well-rounded character I have seen on a children's TV show is Zuko, a fire bender.  When we meet Zuko, he is a banished prince of the fire nation looking for the avatar, so he was th show's antagonist.  But as the show progressed, Zuko changed and decided to find his own destiny, which ended up being helping the Aang defeat his father, the Fire Lord.  Zuko struggles and fights for his redemption and he is an impressive fighter as well because he can ever re-direct lightning!  So yeah, this show has amazing writing and a wonderful story to tell and if you haven't seen it, watch it! I promise it is worth seeing!
Random Fandom Stuff: I think I always shipped Aang and Katara because since episode one, they have been together and I liked how Aang had always had a crush on her.  I think Toph and Sokka would have made a good couple, I am fairly sure Toph had a crush on him, but Sokka and Suki were alright too.
The sister show The Legend of Korra continues the story of the avatar and the four nations and is similar enough to be reminiscent of the original series, but is totally different at the same time.  It is no longer a show just for kids.
Also, Uncle Iroh is the uncle everyone deserves! He loves tea and gives the best advice and knew how to make you break down in tears.  I miss Uncle Iroh.

So to wrap up here, I would like to share with you all another reason these three shows stick out in my mind as influential from my childhood.  In each show, I totally had a crush on at least one of the characters.  Call me crazy but I can't help it if I thought Robin was cute and Danny was easy on the eyes and Zuko was HOT!!! For animated characters, they are ridiculously good-looking!

Anyways, I had a lot of shows I loved and worshiped but I narrowed it down to three which was really hard.  So what about you guys? What shows from your childhood were you obsessed with?  Comment down below so we can all walk down memory lane together!
See ya next Friday!  

Fandom Friday: Harry Potter and Percy Jackson

Wizards and Demigods

Hello there!  Let's switch gears this week from comic book craziness to the wonderful world of books.  When I think about what books I love, the list goes on and on and on and on; but two series stand out above the rest because I am a deeply rooted fangirl to these series.  These two universes include the wonderful wizard-filled world J.K. Rowling created with her Harry Potter series and the godly world Rick Riordan penned with both his Percy Jackson series and The Heroes of Olympus series.   Don't think you can weasel a favorite out of me this time, I love both of these fandoms equally and for different reasons, so in my eyes they are on the same level.  I have been in the Percy Jackson fandom longer, BUT THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER THAN HARRY POTTER!!! Sorry...feels.

Harry Potter... Always

So I'm going to be honest here, I didn't read the books until my second year of college.  Now don't judge me for my poor reading taste or question whether I had been living under a rock for most of my life, I had seen the movies but I missed my train to Hogwarts when the rest of the world was jumping on board.  I was fine with being only familiar with the movies for a long time.  To be honest, I don't think I could have appreciated the books as much as I did when I first read them if I read them when I was younger.  I understand and really admire all the magical details that went into making this wonderful series and I tore through all seven books in less than two weeks.

Now that I have seriously nerded out, time to talk about what I love about this fandom:

1. It's magical! Pun intended here; but seriously, it is absolutely fascinating to have such a detailed and interesting world for me to love and imagine.  And for those of you who are also Potterheads, yes I have taken the Pottermore quiz, but I have gotten different results from it.  The last time I took it,  I was sorted into Ravenclaw."Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure." J.K. Rowling Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2. Great Characters! Pretty much every important character was well-rounded and complex = the best characters to read! Even though Harry was the main character and the chosen one, he was not my favorite and that was ok because he was still interesting to read and follow.  I loved so many characters I don't think I could actually pinpoint a favorite, but Hermione was like awesome all the time in my eyes so she is definitely near the top of my list. 

DON'T FORGET MY SHIPS!!! Ron & Hermione and Harry & Ginny - I gotta stick with the source material, I loved how she wrote their relationships!

3. Life Lessons and Amazing Quotes! This is pretty self-explanatory, but one thing I love about the books that didn't really translate as beautifully into the move were the life lessons J.K. Rowling managed to tuck into her books.  She taught her readers the importance of equality, individuality, acceptance, and many more important lessons that people need to remember in order to be a better and well-rounded person.  You can find Harry Potter quotes almost anywhere...seriously...just Google it and hundreds of pages will pop up. 

But the best part of all about being in this fandom is all the inside jokes and fan made projects that have stemmed from this phenomena.  Shout out to all the artists who draw amazing fan art and all the writers who create some wicked fanfiction!  Gotta few hours to kill? Youtube A Very Potter Musical for a hilarious musical satire of the series, book and movie.  Best of all is the Potter Puppet Pals, it will NEVER get old! I love it!

 

Percy Jackson... Oh Gods

Please stay with me people! I'm only half way done, but you should keep reading!  You ready?  Good, let's  do this!  I first picked up The Lightning Thief when I was in 8th grade and I found myself sucked into a world I so desperately wanted to be a part of.  I am a nerd (obviously) and since I was about 10, I have had a weird obsession with Greek mythology.  I loved the Disney movie Hercules (though I know now how terribly inaccurate it is, but the music is awesome!) and I had read a few books that involved the Greek gods in the 21st century.  But this book was different.  It was easy to read, contained my sense of humor of sass, sarcasm, and puns, and portrayed the Greek gods so accurately and seamlessly into our modern world; I was hooked.  And when the original series was over and I was mourning over the loss of reading about my favorite demigods, Rick Riordan came out with a sister series that included Roman mythology.  THANK THE GODS!!  Now my adventures with Percy are done for good (I guess?) and that knowledge makes me feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest!

Percy by Viria

Why Percy Jackson is AWESOME! 

1. AWESOME CHARACTERS! I don't even know where to start with this one, I love all of the characters so much and I think because they just seem so...real.  And I can really relate to them.  Gods, Percy is a kid with ADHD and dyslexia and is branded as the troublemaker in school, but he is also loyal, funny, and smart in his own way and that is what makes him so fun to read! All of the characters, including the gods and the monsters, are written in such a way that makes you empathize with them.  And if you haven't figured it out yet, Percy is my favorite character!!! 

AND NOW FOR MY SHIPS!!!!! I ship all the cute couples: Frazel, Jasper, Caleo, and SOLANGELO...but my OTP and one of my OTP's I put above any other ship in all of my fandoms is...PERCABETH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. AWESOME STORYTELLING! Rick Riordan has found a way to incorporate the ancient Greek myths into the 21st century in such a believable and cool way, you are pretty much convinced everything in the books is totally non-fiction!  The gods moving to the most powerful western location as the times change, and Mount Olympus is the 600th floor of the Empire State Building? GENIUS!  Also, since the characters and the age group these books are written for is a bit on the young side (don't judge me) it is a fun and easy reading experience.  There are no stupid love triangles that get in the way of everything, its a lot of monster butt-kicking action with a side of sass!  And by side, I mean A TON of sass!  Seriously,  it's great!!

3. AWESOME GREEK/ROMAN STUFF! Like I said earlier, I have a weird obsession with Greek mythology.  I mean, I know my gods and my myths-this is a fact!  When I found this book series, I was nervous because most modern adaptions of the ancient myths tend to fudge with the details, I really don't like when that happens.  But Rick Riordan does his homework ladies and gentlemen and his mythology is accurate! This really makes the nerdy part of me really happy, and I even learned about myths and monsters I had no previous knowledge on!  So I learned new mythology disguised in the form of a funny, entertaining book...I approve!

Major Characters in Heroes of Olympus series. Art by Viria.

Anyways, this fandom has its own dam jokes (I put an inside joke inside of the sentence explaining the fandom had inside jokes...jokeception!) and is full of mind blowing fan art and fanfiction.  Some of you may have noticed, but I didn't mention the Percy Jackson movies...there were no Percy Jackson movies.  No, really the moves were so horrific and even Rick Riordan hates them, so if you have only seen the movies 1. I'm so sorry and 2. Please read the books, they are 100000000000000 times better!

I promise I'm done ranting now.  I apologize for the long post, but I have a lot of feels when it comes to these two book series and I just love them so much!! So are you in either of these fandoms?  Would you rather be a wizard or a demigod?  Hogwarts or Camp Half Blood/Camp Jupiter?  I mentioned I have been sorted into Ravenclaw, but at Camp Half Blood, I would be in the Apollo cabin because I love poetry and archery.  Comment down below and I will see ya next Friday!

Fandom Friday: Marvel vs DC

Whose side are you on?
Greetings! Today I will be tackling the great question that has haunted many nerds as they tried to sleep at night: which is better, Marvel or DC?  So grab your utility belts, suit up, and get ready for a humble fangirl's opinion on this comic debate.

*I do not think of myself as a comic book expert by any means so most of my thoughts are based on TV show and movie adaptations.*

Favorite Heroes/Characters
When push comes to shove, most of my favorite comic book characters hail from the Marvel universe.  I can't help it, I can still remember watching the first X-Men movie and being totally smitten by Wolverine and seeing Spider Man made me wish I could shoot webs from my wrists. (Though that always freaked me out, like where did the web even come from?!)  But my first caped crusader love was the Dark Knight himself and some of my earliest childhood memories involve Batman and Robin and he will always hold a special place in my heart.  However, today I worship the Avengers, obsess over the X-Men, I am super pumped for Spider Man to join the Avengers, and I fangirl over Deadpool frequently, but some DC characters still hold my attention.  The entire world of Gotham will always fascinate me and with The Flash and The Arrow on TV, my hero obsession is only growing.  All in all, it is a great time to be a comic book fan as so many characters are getting their own TV shows or movies; my next few years of movies and TV screenings are conveniently mapped out for me.

The Worlds of Superheroes
"Show me a hero and I'll write you a tragedy." - F. Scott Fitzgerald
One of the many reasons I love so many characters in both of these universes is because of their origins.  All of my absolute favorite characters have had a rough life and I can't help but admire them for rising above their hardships to become something better and it is amazing to witness.  This admiration is what keeps me from actually picking a side in this debate, because in my eyes, I just see these interesting, complex and compelling stories and characters that give me hope.  I don't think there is a better or more successful side, but each has delivered their own immortal heroes that I don't think will ever die.  As long as there are readers and comic books in this world, these heroes will live on forever within the pages of a comic book.

Favorite Marvel Hero: Spider Man                                               
                                                                         Favorite DC Hero:Batman













Thus ends another installment of Fandom Friday.  Do you have a favorite superhero?  Are you a Marvel fan or a DC fan?  Which comic book character deserves his/her own movie?  Comment down below.  See you all next week!

Fandom Friday: Fangirling 101

Fandom Spotlight: Teen Wolf

Hello internet!  Do you love a book, TV show, or movie so much you just can't even?!  Do you find yourself caring more about fictional characters than real people and obsessing over fictional worlds/scenarios like some kind of crazy person?!  Newsflash: YOU ARE NOT ALONE!!You my friend are in a fandom. 

This blog is all about some of my favorite fandoms, but believe me when I tell you that I can't even begin to imagine how many I am actually in, lets just say its A LOT.  Since I will be ranting- I mean, discussing my favorite fandoms; I will be using some language associated with this lifestyle.  Some of you may have already figured this out already, but for those of you new to this wonderful and maddening world of being in a fandom, let me teach you a thing or two about fangirling.

(Attention: I will be using definitions found on urban dictionary so if you want to see some other definitions, feel free to do so.)
 Fandom: The community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book etc. Fanfiction writers, artists, poets, and cosplayers are all members of that fandom. Fandoms often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and people.
(Here's an official definition for fandom, in case anyone was wondering what else it involved.)
Example: I am in the Teen Wolf fandom and love looking at fan made videos about the show!

Fangirling: the reaction a fangirl has to any mention or sighting of the object of her "affection". These reactions include shortness of breath, fainting, high-pitched noises, shaking, fierce head shaking as if in the midst of a seizure, wet panties, endless blog posts, etc.
Example: OMG!!!! Did you see that one episode of Teen Wolf when Scott and Stiles had that adorable bro hug in the hospital?!?! *squeeeee!!!!!!*

Feels: A wave of emotions that sometimes cannot be adequately explained.
Example: That scene when the Argent's were torturing Derek gave me ALL THE FEELS!!!!!

Spoiler Alert:  Usually a term to describe when crucial elements of a movie are about to be revealed (i.e. the ending, character deaths, a twist, etc.)
Beware of spoilers; they can ruin your life. 

Can't Even: Can't deal or can't handle it.
Example: That cliff hanger was so brutal, I just can't even!!

Ship: Short for romantic relationship/to endorse a romantic relationship.
Example: I ship Stiles x Derek.

OTP: One True Pairing. Meaning the your favorite combination of characters in a fandom.
Example: My otp is totally Stiles x Lydia, they are so cute together!


There we go, I hope everyone has learned something today.  Stay tuned for more fandom fun!!
What fandoms are you in?  Who do you ship?  Who makes up your otp?  Comment with your answers or any questions you may have for me.

See ya next Friday!