I collect fandoms like an old lady collects cats.
I just joined another one this week. In the past year, I have joined more fandoms than the narrator from Fight Club joined support groups. This most recent one is Torchwood. This past year has included Dollhouse, Supernatural, Arrow, and all the Marvel movies. I also found the time to revisit Sherlock, 30 Rock, Firefly, Psych, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and stay up to date on The Legend of Korra, Game of Thrones, and Breaking Bad. And that is just this past year.
Personally, the best fandoms are the ones you discover all on your own. No friends ranting and raving about this new show you just have to watch, no one on your social media feed crying about the season finale, no press. Good ol' fashioned, "Oh hey, that sounds interesting, I'll watch the pilot..." and before you know it, it's 3am and you're telling yourself, "Well, I only have two episodes left in the season, might as well not leave them for tomorrow."
The best fandoms are the ones you can binge-watch. When your binge-watching ends with the show and you don't have to suffer like Dean did in hell until the next episode. When "Previously on ... " drives you crazy because you've just spent the last six hours watching Walter White be a bad-ass and don't need a reminder. When you don't skip the intro to Game of Thrones or Dexter because they are too damn good to not watch.
The best fandoms are the ones you can re-binge-watch. Once you've binged on a show, you become that friend. We all know that weirdo: the one who tries to bring up their fandom as often as Kaylee says "shiny", the one who would rather be at home watching Echo bring down the dollhouse than meet new people.
And one of the
greatest pleasures of being that weirdo is the possibility of recruiting someone to the fandom. Now you can re-binge without judgment. And when you re-binge, you can find those pineapples you missed the first time.
The best fandoms are the ones that leave you in a sort of withdrawal state. When you find yourself hitting replay on the series finale because your brain can't handle how epic that Agni Kai between Zuko and Azula was. When you search the internets for fan art, fanfiction, jokes, GIFs, shipping theories, air-dates, any news whatsoever.
Binge-watching is a serious matter though. Check out this PSA if you are unaware of the dangers. It is not for the weak.
http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/08/14/binge-watching-tv-psa/
You know you're an experienced binge-watcher when you have binge-watching pants. I do. Very much like PJs, they are pants you change into because you feel you should change out of your PJs but you know you have no reason or need to socialize today. These pants can be worn outside, in case you have to take out the trash or get the mail, and if you are brave enough, walk to the local 7-11 for a snack run. Binge pants are very much like airport pants: comfy, preferably with pockets, and they go great with Sanuks.
When you think "You heard about Pluto? That's messed up, right?" is the best pick up line ever, you're a Psych-o. Thank you Burton Guster.
TL:DR:: "Every time I join a new fandom, I fell like I'm ripping my soul into another horcrux."
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