Fandom Can Drive Ya Nuts

Okay, so I'm NEW to Harry Potter fandom. I saw most of the films when they came out, but not really interested in anything beyond that. It hit me like a sudden wave of awesome and not only did I make Jonathan watch the movies for the first time, we have developed epic level nerdcore fandom over it. I have become a sponge trying to learn as much as I can and finding favorite characters. Unfortunately I have run into some people I would consider fandom asshats.

Why do people get this way with fandom? First of all, people who have been in a fandom long enough or even not very long but longer than the 'new person' are assholes. They are no it alls and go out of their way to 'prove' their knowledge or to make the new person look stupid of to catch them not accurate in a fact. Now I can understand if said new person acts like a no it all, but if they admit they don't, or are new, why are you giving them such a hard time? I mean, shit, this is fucking adults acting like little kids about who owns what character. It puts me in a foul mood and instead of dealing with it in a 'let it go' fashion like I would like to, I then look for instances to quietly show the assholes up, because there isn't a damn thing I do that's half assed. I don't care if you can speak parseltongue, I will make you look like shit in your cosplay.

And I hate to get that type of attitude. I really do, because I hate cosplay rivalry, atleast at the level it is at. However, I know I'm competitive and when I get set off then there is no going back, and honestly, it takes some of the fun out of the whole thing.

I think its a bit fucked up when people act like you are taking their fandom away from them, or that you are stepping on their fandom toes because you like the same thing. People are going to like the same things, the same art, the same outfit, and it shouldn't be about who does it better. Very rarely are people getting paid to be the best, and even those getting paid aren't always the best. It should be about community and fun, not the small cliques we find ourselves in and the competitive game we fall into.



/rant.