oh las vegas i, i'm running out of time, and my youth is all but ashes;

Challenge #10

In your own space, talk About A Creator/Someone Who Inspired You.

( in which I ramble a bit. )

how i loved your peaceful eyes on me;

Challenge #11

In your own space, recommend a fannish or creative resource.

My recommendation is... each other.

No, seriously.

I remember when I first started playing Final Fantasy in high school. I got VII and VIII around the same time, and all of my friends had played it before I did. To their credit, no one mentioned a thing about Aeris' fate until I came to school and told them what happened. My friend Laura was literally a walking resource of all things FFVIII. Instead of using a guidebook, we passed notes about video games.

She taught me how to find the Card Queen. How to properly play Triple Triad. How to find the Master Fisherman, how to find the Island Closest to Heaven and Island Closest to Hell, how important it was to complete all your sidequests before tackling Lunatic Pandora. I learned so much and it was the first time in my high school life that I felt accepted by these people I hung out with, because they were willing to help me play their favorite game ever.

Fandom is much the same way. Making those connections, being able to discuss meta with each other and exchanging those ideas back and forth, makes for a wholesome fandom experience. Wikis are good for looking up details (for example, I have abused the fuck out of RangerWiki as I drafted A Hero Lies In You, and that's still not as complete as I'd like) but it pales in comparison to talking with someone who loves the same things you do.

So. Help out a fellow fan. As an introvert and known lurker, I'll attempt to do the same. And hopefully all of our experiences with our fandoms will be better for it. ♥