OTW Guest Post: TyphoidMeri
| Interviews by Fans | |
|---|---|
| Title: | OTW Guest Post: TyphoidMeri |
| Interviewer: | Eskici |
| Interviewee: | TyphoidMeri |
| Date(s): | December 12, 2017 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom(s): | |
| External Links: | "OTW Guest Post: TyphoidMeri". Archived from the original on 2019-08-19. |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
OTW Guest Post: TyphoidMeri is a 2017 interview done as part of a series. See OTW Guest Post.
Some Topics Discussed
- Fandom and fanworks
- Art vs fanart
Some Excerpts
How did you first get into fandom and fanworks?
The very first bit of fanfiction I wrote was when I was ten or so, of course I didn’t know that was what I was doing when I sat down to write an alternative ending to a series of books I’d just finished reading. The book was pretty formulaic stuff, a kid being transported to another world and becoming more than what she was on earth, but in the end she returned home after her series of adventures was complete. I hated it. I was angry with canon, as so many of us grow to be, so I wrote a story to make things better. I wrote fixit fic before I knew what that was, or what fandom was.
It wasn’t until high school that I found some nerdy friends who were into some of the same shows as me, namely Star Trek: the Next Generation, Highlander the Series, and The X-Files. But it wasn’t until I went to university, with its free access to the internet, that I fully dipped my toes into the waters of fandom and fanworks. I found some lifelong friends and my future husband.
What is your favorite thing about making art?
That I can do it. Art is a personal thing, but it is also something that you can share publicly. Fanart has a different vibe, even though it is just as personal, because people already love the fandom/character/what-have-you and you are sharing your interpretation of that beloved thing. It’s scary at first but I love sharing my creations with my fandom, even when my art is exploring things beyond the Marvel fandom. Working on a piece of art of a character I love has, for me, the same boost as diving into a new fic. It doesn’t matter if only a handful of people get it, what matters is that I am making it. That I love it.
What fandom things have inspired you the most?
Everything? I suppose that isn’t exactly accurate, not by a longshot, but by far the Marvel/MCU and its fandom have inspired me the most. There are so many fantastic fanartists that inspire me to create. At one point I would have said I shouldn’t bother to make art because there are so many better artists within the fandom, but that isn’t what fandom is about. Fandom is about love and the expression of that love, be it with fanfiction, fanart, podfic, gif sets, and manips. It’s about expression, love and lust, sorrow and rage, the same as art. I’m inspired by the things I see as well as the fandom base. “I make what I want, Thor.”