The icon speaks for itself
Apr. 18th, 2006 10:53 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
windandwaterYou know, it's been a good long while since I've been embroiled in fandom... fandomness. I've always been in that sort of lurking part of the fandom, crawling out from the darkness only to review certain fics or answer the odd ficsearch. And even though I've been in the Gundam Wing fandom for 10 years (dear god, has it been 10 years already?), I didn't really start participating (albeit mostly on the GWAddiction board) and posting my fics until 2001 or so. Yeah, it took that long for me to gather my courage and post my stuff. XD;; That and I was mostly in the Sailor Moon fandom before then.
But, I was there for the gnarled and snarly beginnings, when we were trading VHS tapes with fansubs and wondering what the hell was up with the funky politics and changing mecha designs and OMG THE BOYS. And the claimings. And the character wars. And the ship wars. And the flame wars. And the in-fighting and growling and the "OMG STOP ABUSING MY BAAAAAABY". And you know what? I will freely admit that I more or less got interested in GW because of Duo Maxwell (or rather, his hair). Then I got into the politics of the plot of GW (especially when I took that Japanese history class and realized Relena was a metaphor for the Peace Party in Japan) and keeping track of the twists and turns and betrayals.
I started reading fics, trying to fill in the rather wide gaps that canon left so open and tantalizing. Duo and Quatre spent a month together in the desert, what did they do? Why did Wufei call his Gundam "Nataku" when it's obviously named "Shenlong"? If Trowa isn't really Trowa Barton, then who is he? Where does Heero go at the end of the wars? And, I'm not going to lie, I wanted to read the boys getting it on, because they were pretty obviously subtexty (helloooo flute and violin duet). And through the years, I've pretty much read it all. I read the safehouse fics. I read schoolfics. I read the blanket fics. I read the aphrodisiac fics. I've read the ZERO System insanity fics. I've read backstories and future fics and missing scenes. I've read AUs. I've read "Timeline What Timeline?" fics. I've read Heero self-destruct and not self-destruct dozens of times over. I've read brilliant and heart-rending fics. I've read utter and complete garbage. I've read the boys up, down, sideways, and hanging in Zero-G.
When the fics started talking about Solo and Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, I had to know who they were. When the fanon kept mentioning Odin Lowe, I wondered who this man was. When the name Long Meiran became important, I wondered why she wasn't in the show. And when I kept seeing the name Triton Bloom, I wondered if he was related to Cathy. I dove back into the canon. I found the manga, and the novels (or at least summaries), and then even more manga and technical manuals and interviews. Endless Waltz came into my greedy little hands and I practically wept with joy.
And then I threw myself back into the fandom. I knew what everyone was talking about now. I found a level of depth that I had completely missed in other fics. I found NEW fics and new situations. I read Trowa rape fics. I read Trowa not rape fics. I still can't tolerate the Original Trowa Barton. I read Quatre as a test-tube baby, and I read him as a natural born. Usually, Quatre ended up running Winner Enterprises, Incorporated no matter what he was. Wufei never let Meiran go. Wufei learned to let Meiran go. Heero went on to become Relena's bodyguard, a Preventer, suffered a traumatic mental break, changed his name to Odin Lowe, Jr., had a dog, painted for a living. Duo was a thief, a streetrat, a whore, a gangleader, the head of an underground L2 political movement, an ESUN senator, a priest, a mechanic, and a guy who wants to learn to crochet.
I've seen the GW fandom be born, crawl, start walking, and go through the awkward and gawky teenage phase. I watched the fandom be trained for war and shoved into Gundams. The fandom went on secret undercover missions in OZ boarding schools, got caught and tortured (because everyone knows Ozzies are Bad Guys), and blew their way out with a healthy amount of C-4 and rock 'n roll. And then things settled down, and there was peace.
I still consider Duo's eyes to be violet. I think Heero might not ever have a very good sense of humor, but he has his moments. Quatre should drink less tea and maybe go on a vacation in the tropics. Trowa will always be able to do the trapeze, even if he's hiding a six-pack under his ugly turtlenecks. And Wufei still practices his swordsmanship, but now he does it for himself and not as a tribute to Meiran. Zechs... might eventually not be crazy anymore, but it's a good thing he has Noin around to make sure he doesn't start running into doors or something. Relena's still awfully young to be Vice Foreign Minister, but Dorothy is on her staff and should be able to help or try to take over the world herself. Une, despite everything, is a very good mother to Mariemaia. Treize is still dead (except in AUs).
Is it fanon? Is it canon? I don't know, but I don't care too much.
GW became MY fandom. It's the only fandom that I consistently and continuously write fics for, even 10 years later. It's also the fandom that I consistently and continuously read fics for, even 10 years later.
I'm clinging to it to the bitter end.
But, I was there for the gnarled and snarly beginnings, when we were trading VHS tapes with fansubs and wondering what the hell was up with the funky politics and changing mecha designs and OMG THE BOYS. And the claimings. And the character wars. And the ship wars. And the flame wars. And the in-fighting and growling and the "OMG STOP ABUSING MY BAAAAAABY". And you know what? I will freely admit that I more or less got interested in GW because of Duo Maxwell (or rather, his hair). Then I got into the politics of the plot of GW (especially when I took that Japanese history class and realized Relena was a metaphor for the Peace Party in Japan) and keeping track of the twists and turns and betrayals.
I started reading fics, trying to fill in the rather wide gaps that canon left so open and tantalizing. Duo and Quatre spent a month together in the desert, what did they do? Why did Wufei call his Gundam "Nataku" when it's obviously named "Shenlong"? If Trowa isn't really Trowa Barton, then who is he? Where does Heero go at the end of the wars? And, I'm not going to lie, I wanted to read the boys getting it on, because they were pretty obviously subtexty (helloooo flute and violin duet). And through the years, I've pretty much read it all. I read the safehouse fics. I read schoolfics. I read the blanket fics. I read the aphrodisiac fics. I've read the ZERO System insanity fics. I've read backstories and future fics and missing scenes. I've read AUs. I've read "Timeline What Timeline?" fics. I've read Heero self-destruct and not self-destruct dozens of times over. I've read brilliant and heart-rending fics. I've read utter and complete garbage. I've read the boys up, down, sideways, and hanging in Zero-G.
When the fics started talking about Solo and Father Maxwell and Sister Helen, I had to know who they were. When the fanon kept mentioning Odin Lowe, I wondered who this man was. When the name Long Meiran became important, I wondered why she wasn't in the show. And when I kept seeing the name Triton Bloom, I wondered if he was related to Cathy. I dove back into the canon. I found the manga, and the novels (or at least summaries), and then even more manga and technical manuals and interviews. Endless Waltz came into my greedy little hands and I practically wept with joy.
And then I threw myself back into the fandom. I knew what everyone was talking about now. I found a level of depth that I had completely missed in other fics. I found NEW fics and new situations. I read Trowa rape fics. I read Trowa not rape fics. I still can't tolerate the Original Trowa Barton. I read Quatre as a test-tube baby, and I read him as a natural born. Usually, Quatre ended up running Winner Enterprises, Incorporated no matter what he was. Wufei never let Meiran go. Wufei learned to let Meiran go. Heero went on to become Relena's bodyguard, a Preventer, suffered a traumatic mental break, changed his name to Odin Lowe, Jr., had a dog, painted for a living. Duo was a thief, a streetrat, a whore, a gangleader, the head of an underground L2 political movement, an ESUN senator, a priest, a mechanic, and a guy who wants to learn to crochet.
I've seen the GW fandom be born, crawl, start walking, and go through the awkward and gawky teenage phase. I watched the fandom be trained for war and shoved into Gundams. The fandom went on secret undercover missions in OZ boarding schools, got caught and tortured (because everyone knows Ozzies are Bad Guys), and blew their way out with a healthy amount of C-4 and rock 'n roll. And then things settled down, and there was peace.
I still consider Duo's eyes to be violet. I think Heero might not ever have a very good sense of humor, but he has his moments. Quatre should drink less tea and maybe go on a vacation in the tropics. Trowa will always be able to do the trapeze, even if he's hiding a six-pack under his ugly turtlenecks. And Wufei still practices his swordsmanship, but now he does it for himself and not as a tribute to Meiran. Zechs... might eventually not be crazy anymore, but it's a good thing he has Noin around to make sure he doesn't start running into doors or something. Relena's still awfully young to be Vice Foreign Minister, but Dorothy is on her staff and should be able to help or try to take over the world herself. Une, despite everything, is a very good mother to Mariemaia. Treize is still dead (except in AUs).
Is it fanon? Is it canon? I don't know, but I don't care too much.
GW became MY fandom. It's the only fandom that I consistently and continuously write fics for, even 10 years later. It's also the fandom that I consistently and continuously read fics for, even 10 years later.
I'm clinging to it to the bitter end.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 07:23 am (UTC)I wonder how many hundreds of fangirls followed the banner of that braid into the fandom...
I have never found more and better fic anywhere than I found for Gundam Wing. :( I miss it. I wish I'd gotten in the habit of keeping good records, without assuming that I'd always remember what it was and where it was, that one fic I really liked...
*sigh, tearwipe*
Oh well.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 07:28 am (UTC)And I do adore GW fics. There's a good thread of quality all across the board, better than in alot of fandoms. I want to stab my eyes when I think of the Sailor Moon, Ranma, and other fics I read early on that I thought were "good" but now realize are all mary sues, self insertion, or godmodding with characters.
And if you want a fic, ask! I can probably remember it and/or find it. XD
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 07:31 am (UTC)How about the time-travel fic where traumatized and bitter Duo (or rather, 02) travelled back in time to save Heero from dying of self destruct, in order to change the future?
How about the... okay, I remember where to find the Confessor series, and I remember the title "Asylum" even if I don't remember who wrote it, and.... I can't remember any other fics right now. :(
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 07:45 am (UTC)The time travel one I remember reading and being tormented and I think it's on jana's site. Aahh... it's "Cadence of Time" by Spooks! Yay for GWYaoi.org and their recs list.
Confessor Series is by Annabelle and archived on GWA. "Asylum" is also by Spooks.
=D
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 11:47 am (UTC)annabelle's confessor is completed, but the folloring sequels are not :( ...and she's left the fandom. (hmmm... sounds like someone else i know...)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 11:43 am (UTC)and you LIE! you're in the fandom because heero likes tentacles and short skirts with panties. ;)
(no subject)
Date: 2006-04-19 08:07 pm (UTC)IGNORE THE ICON I AM USING.