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creepy_shetan) wrote2024-02-27 11:15 pm
creepy_shetan) wrote2024-02-27 11:15 pm
Five Things (Fandom Snowflake Challenge #10)
I completely forgot that I'd meant to do this challenge. 6^^;; Two in February instead of fifteen in January isn't that terrible...
So, here it is: five things I didn't expect to get into and enjoy, in no particular order.
[1] Biohazard / Resident Evil
I've spent a large portion of my life avoiding or not really caring about horror, especially films and video games. I don't consider myself a zombie fan. I cannot play survival horror games, I don't like shooters, and absolutely hate when a game controller vibrates, lol. But gradually, over time, Resident Evil has become my main exception to the rule. The key to it? I enjoy watching other people play the games. I also enjoy the CGI movies and other main franchise media. I'm slowly catching up on all of the live-action movies, too.
I still don't like the grotesque stuff, but psychological horror is fun! And I've always liked things with fighting demons and hunting monsters, which in my mind are separate from stories of people surviving outbreaks and mutations. It really helps that BH/RE has a great cast of interesting characters, and it explores the "humans are the real monsters" idea sometimes.
[2] Takarazuka Revue
This was more of a thing that I was curious about for a long time, but my Japanese level wasn't great, and (most importantly) I didn't have a way in -- both to get started and to keep following it. It's also hard to keep up with it if you're outside of Japan, although in recent years that has gotten relatively easier, I think. The show programs even have a plot summary page in English now! Amazing.
I owe everything I know about Soragumi (Cosmos Troupe) to a good friend I made in Japan less than ten years ago. She has been in a Revue actor's fan club for years. She was also in the fan club of her all-time favorite Revue actor before her retirement. She is my 'zuka dealer. I've seen a bunch of shows, both live and recorded, thanks to her -- including my favorite actor's retirement. We currently don't live near each other, but we try to meet up when we can!
[3] Western RPGs
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was my first Western RPG. It took me a long time to figure it out, lol. (Have I finished the main story? Nope! Side quests and distracted exploring all the way!) Before Skyrim, almost all of the video games I'd played (or knew a fair bit about) were made in Japan. It felt like I had to rewire my brain from my knowledge of how JRPGs work, even though, the more you play both types, the more similarities you can find under the surface. I like Lord of the Rings Online, and I'd like to play more Dragon Age, to give a couple more examples.
One of my oldest friends made my Steam account for me and gifted Skyrim to me way back when. It was the start of my shift away from console gaming to PC gaming, and then I got interested in trying other Western games and indie games in general. I still love Japanese games, too, of course! These days, I mostly follow my long-time favorite franchises... and whatever I have the time, money, and PC specs for.
[4] Tennis
For this one, it was the right time and the right friends. Before college, I did not give a single damn about sports. I didn't flat-out hate sports, but I would get very bored very easily whenever the topic came up. I had no school spirit (although our school colors were pretty good, lol). I'd watch part of a game on TV if someone else was watching it first. The Olympics were okay... Needless to say, I didn't grow up playing sports. I flinch and have some coordination but zero stamina.
It turned out that my university had great tennis teams (men's and women's!) and that a couple of college friends had played tennis in high school. I still wasn't interested in playing it myself (too self-conscious), but I was surprised to find a love for watching live matches on campus and watching professional tennis on TV. I became a big fan of some pro players over the years that followed, and I really, really wish I could easily keep up with it now. I don't have a good way to watch pro tennis on delay these days, let alone live. Highlight videos are nice, but they're not the same, y'know?
[5] Stranger Things
I was late to watch s1. There was so much hype for it in 2016 or so, and despite all of the '80s homages, the horror part kept it pretty far down on my "to watch" list. I think I watched s2 with most people. Then, I put off s3 until after s4 was out, and... Watching s3 and s4 back-to-back in the autumn of 2022 changed me, lol. I was so. Freaking. Mad. And sad. And disappointed. And just... I had too many feelings and thoughts about certain characters, and I needed an outlet.
I am not used to being in a big and popular fandom. I'm definitely not used to my main ship being one of the most popular ships in the fandom. With a fandom of that size, with predominately teenage characters as the canon focus, running into a lot of fandom drama is to be expected. I hadn't seen melodramatic fandom wank like that in years... However! Although my main ship gets vocal hate sometimes, it also gets a lot more love and respect and cool people, so it's easy to tune out the negativity.
I generally don't get into fandoms centered around teenagers anymore -- I usually feel like that ship has sailed for me, lol. But StTh decided to show me two idiots with nice hair and nice cars and a weird tension between them that canon calls a "rivalry," but like, is it though? Really? So, logically, I make them kiss, pine for each other, and support one another. What else was I supposed to do with [gestures vaguely] all of that?
So, here it is: five things I didn't expect to get into and enjoy, in no particular order.
[1] Biohazard / Resident Evil
I've spent a large portion of my life avoiding or not really caring about horror, especially films and video games. I don't consider myself a zombie fan. I cannot play survival horror games, I don't like shooters, and absolutely hate when a game controller vibrates, lol. But gradually, over time, Resident Evil has become my main exception to the rule. The key to it? I enjoy watching other people play the games. I also enjoy the CGI movies and other main franchise media. I'm slowly catching up on all of the live-action movies, too.
I still don't like the grotesque stuff, but psychological horror is fun! And I've always liked things with fighting demons and hunting monsters, which in my mind are separate from stories of people surviving outbreaks and mutations. It really helps that BH/RE has a great cast of interesting characters, and it explores the "humans are the real monsters" idea sometimes.
[2] Takarazuka Revue
This was more of a thing that I was curious about for a long time, but my Japanese level wasn't great, and (most importantly) I didn't have a way in -- both to get started and to keep following it. It's also hard to keep up with it if you're outside of Japan, although in recent years that has gotten relatively easier, I think. The show programs even have a plot summary page in English now! Amazing.
I owe everything I know about Soragumi (Cosmos Troupe) to a good friend I made in Japan less than ten years ago. She has been in a Revue actor's fan club for years. She was also in the fan club of her all-time favorite Revue actor before her retirement. She is my 'zuka dealer. I've seen a bunch of shows, both live and recorded, thanks to her -- including my favorite actor's retirement. We currently don't live near each other, but we try to meet up when we can!
[3] Western RPGs
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was my first Western RPG. It took me a long time to figure it out, lol. (Have I finished the main story? Nope! Side quests and distracted exploring all the way!) Before Skyrim, almost all of the video games I'd played (or knew a fair bit about) were made in Japan. It felt like I had to rewire my brain from my knowledge of how JRPGs work, even though, the more you play both types, the more similarities you can find under the surface. I like Lord of the Rings Online, and I'd like to play more Dragon Age, to give a couple more examples.
One of my oldest friends made my Steam account for me and gifted Skyrim to me way back when. It was the start of my shift away from console gaming to PC gaming, and then I got interested in trying other Western games and indie games in general. I still love Japanese games, too, of course! These days, I mostly follow my long-time favorite franchises... and whatever I have the time, money, and PC specs for.
[4] Tennis
For this one, it was the right time and the right friends. Before college, I did not give a single damn about sports. I didn't flat-out hate sports, but I would get very bored very easily whenever the topic came up. I had no school spirit (although our school colors were pretty good, lol). I'd watch part of a game on TV if someone else was watching it first. The Olympics were okay... Needless to say, I didn't grow up playing sports. I flinch and have some coordination but zero stamina.
It turned out that my university had great tennis teams (men's and women's!) and that a couple of college friends had played tennis in high school. I still wasn't interested in playing it myself (too self-conscious), but I was surprised to find a love for watching live matches on campus and watching professional tennis on TV. I became a big fan of some pro players over the years that followed, and I really, really wish I could easily keep up with it now. I don't have a good way to watch pro tennis on delay these days, let alone live. Highlight videos are nice, but they're not the same, y'know?
[5] Stranger Things
I was late to watch s1. There was so much hype for it in 2016 or so, and despite all of the '80s homages, the horror part kept it pretty far down on my "to watch" list. I think I watched s2 with most people. Then, I put off s3 until after s4 was out, and... Watching s3 and s4 back-to-back in the autumn of 2022 changed me, lol. I was so. Freaking. Mad. And sad. And disappointed. And just... I had too many feelings and thoughts about certain characters, and I needed an outlet.
I am not used to being in a big and popular fandom. I'm definitely not used to my main ship being one of the most popular ships in the fandom. With a fandom of that size, with predominately teenage characters as the canon focus, running into a lot of fandom drama is to be expected. I hadn't seen melodramatic fandom wank like that in years... However! Although my main ship gets vocal hate sometimes, it also gets a lot more love and respect and cool people, so it's easy to tune out the negativity.
I generally don't get into fandoms centered around teenagers anymore -- I usually feel like that ship has sailed for me, lol. But StTh decided to show me two idiots with nice hair and nice cars and a weird tension between them that canon calls a "rivalry," but like, is it though? Really? So, logically, I make them kiss, pine for each other, and support one another. What else was I supposed to do with [gestures vaguely] all of that?