Alex's This and That

Day 14
In your own space, write a love letter. Write it Fandom in general, to a particular fandom, to a trope, a relationship, a character, or to your flist. Share you love and squee as loud as you want to. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


Dearest fandom friends,

There are no words to express what you mean to me. I came into the LOTR fandom on the wave of the first movie though I’d become a fan before that, I’d never been as involved as I was in LOTR.

I wrote stories, I started Yahoo groups, I burned bright with the passion of elves and men – then on a cloudy Sunday evening in 2005, my life was suddenly and irrevocably changed when my 16 year old Sara died in a car crash. The pain is ever there and will always be as long as I can remember her and how much I love her. But the love that the fandom poured out to me was beyond anything I’ve ever experienced. We got letters, calls, flowers, gifts, cards and I could feel the love of people I knew well and people I barely knew over hundreds and even thousands of miles.

You all saved my life with your friendship and your love and as long as there are people out there who want to be fans and as long as I can help, I will.

It is, in the end, not about fandom but about love and friendship. A sisterhood of like minds who are willing to give of themselves, one to the other.

My dear fandom friends, we are more than friends. We are family, family that the heart chose.

Day 12

In your own space, talk about what you think the future holds for fandom. What are your hopes and dreams for fandom? Do you have any predictions about what the next five years holds for fandom? Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Fandom, in and of itself, is a strange beast, one that I knew nothing at all about until I was in my late 30s. I grew up and still live in a rural area. I was born before VCR’s and am old enough to have seen Star Trek all the way through when it originally aired. The only Batman I knew was Adam West and I still tend to love him the most.

I didn’t know that there was such a thing as fandom until we got the internet in the late 90’s. My daughter loved the musical CATS and we both got into that. I admit that was more like groupies than fans though so I count Babylon 5 and LOTR my first fandoms. It was only after I began writing fanfiction that I learned that there had been fanzines and conventions even in the 60s. I began writing Real Person fiction and stayed with it for quite awhile. I am quite good at the steamy slash PWP.

In April 2002, I began LOTR Adult Fiction at Yahoo because I got tired of all the sniping and infighting over RP fic/character fic and I made a place that was conducive to both and gen, het and slash as well. It finally became Of Elves and Men.

I am still only involved in fandom online. I do not travel to cons and I have no interest in cosplay or anything of that nature. Fandom to me is friendship and a passion for the object of fandom. And writing. Always writing. But even that has changed. Fandom is moving away from journals and blogs to archives and places like Tumblr and I admit that I can’t make heads or tails of it. I see much of the personal going away and the friendships not happening like they did before.

I don’t see the writers being shut down though not for lack of trying on the part of TPTB. I don’t know what venue will be the next one because even though we operate in the open, we are all still a little hesitant sometimes about being outed as fanfiction writers. We are usually maligned as lonely, pitiful losers who have nothing else to do. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Fanficcers are more diverse than most groups and that’s what makes us so much fun. We are young, old, rich, poor, female, male, all nationalities, all races…on and on.

Some shows and movies give credit to their fans. Supernatural often does that, even having the boys read fanfiction sometimes. I find that endearing. On the other hand, the creators of BBC Sherlock seem to have decided to insult their fans with their very stereotypical loser ‘fans’ on the show. We have become ‘the fourth wall’ in some shows on tv. The sheer number of conventions shows that the writers and the actors are beginning to understand that fandom is a force to deal with.


Where is fandom going? I don’t know that answer. I hope that it endures in a form in which I am able to participate. I think the whole experience is life enriching in many ways… it gives us all another place to belong and for the most part, a very friendly one.

Day 10

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. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wish-list if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.


1. I would love to see artwork from any of my stories, especially Lord Celeborn’s Book though maybe not as graphic as the pictures in the book. Check out http://www.ofelvesandmen.com/StoriesbyAuthor/A/Alex1.htm and https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexcat/works
for many of my works.

2. Icons and banners from said works as well.

3. I’d love to see some Sherlock icons – any Sherlock at all!

Day 8


In your own space, create a love meme for yourself. Let people tell you how amazing and awesome and loveable you really are. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Surf the comments and find people to give love to.

To allow ourselves to be loved is the hardest thing... and so I post this "love meme" for myself. Sort of a weird thing.

Day Six


In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


The Persian Boy by Mary Renault. I had loved the tales of Alexander the Great when I was a kid I rtan across this when I was maybe 13 or 14. My dear mother NEVER censored my reading so I started reading it and I was completely smitten with Alexander and the beautiful poetic way that Ms. Renault wrote about him and Bagoas. I found the love story so touching that I never forgot it. I think perhaps the beauty of Mary Renault's prose made me want to write.

Day 4

Comment to someone you haven't ever interacted with before or introduce yourself to someone you've interacted with and friend/follow them. Afterwards, leave a comment in this post with the equivalent of "I did it!"

It doesn't have to be anything complex - it can be feedback for a fanwork or discussing something you might have in common or even simply admiring their icon. The point is to reach out to someone you normally wouldn't and connect with them, even if it's only for the briefest moment.

I asked 2 people in 2 different fandoms (LOTR and B5) if I could friend them. I like them both, ot their posts anyway so I do hope we become friends.

Day 2

In your own space, promote three communities, challenges, blogs, pages, Twitters, Tumblrs or platforms and explain why you love them. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

1. OEAM is the LJ for the Of Elves and Menwebsite and the Yahoo groups: LOTR Adult Fiction, OfelvesandmenSlash, Silmarillion Fic and Adult Marton Csokas. I founded these groups, website and community and own them all and am very proud of them and their many members. We began as a Tolkien fandom website and we now have more than 20 fandoms represented. Feel free to check us out.

2. Universe Today: A Babylon 5 Newsletter This is a newsletter that I took over from another fan that covers the Babylon 5 tv show fandom. It's a great little comm and we strive to bring a bit of everything to our readers.

3. Yuletide is one of the neatest fandom challenges out there. I've been in it for several years and it's addicting! I've even met a few friends through it. It's not only for writing the December Yuletide story but there are recs and such all year long.