Participating in fandom is something humanity has been partaking in since the very beginning. Either it be worshipping gods or taking from nature, humans have been deriving works from something that brought them joy since storytelling’s invention. Every “original” story in the modern time can be traced back to a hunt, or a tree’s leaves waving in the wind. There is an unknown origin point thousands of years ago that is not purely from someone’s mind. Even the idea of the Hero’s Journey is noticing a pattern in hundreds of stories, many of which are now lost to time.
00:00Participating in fandom is something humanity has been partaking in since the very beginning,
00:07either be worshipping gods or taking from nature.
00:10Humans have been deriving works from something that brought them joy since storytelling's invention.
00:15Every original story in the modern time can be traced back to a hunt or a tree's leaves waving in the wind.
00:22There is an unknown origin point thousands of years ago that is not purely from someone's mind.
00:28Even the idea of the hero's journey is noticing a pattern in hundreds of stories, many of which are now lost to time.
00:38When people have something they are passionate about, they may find some creative inspiration.
00:44The result of this is an increase in art and artists, either it be hobbyists or aspiring professionals.
00:50Many children get their start illustrating derivative works or writing stories based on their favorite books, movies, and shows.
00:57Without these starting points, the world will simply have less creativity.
01:02Overall, fandom makes the world more colorful and magical for everyone.
01:07It brings interest to otherwise mundane days thanks to the creative people involved.
01:15Another great thing about fandom is that it allows for experimenting and creating things.
01:19When making a derivative work, people have a template they can work with.
01:23They can either remain faithful to the source material to the point of keeping characters on model, or they can make the source material nearly unrecognizable.
01:32Having the majority of the work done for you allows you to play around with the source material like a sandbox.
01:38The world already exists, and there is already a cast of characters to test ideas out with.
01:42People can practice and hone their crafts with like-minded individuals within similar demographic groups, making them feel safer to express themselves than if they have to come up with completely new ideas.
01:57This sandbox is especially useful for children and young teenagers who are trying to figure out the very fundamentals of who they are.
02:05It is a safe way for them to explore their gender, sexuality, and other new things going on in their minds.
02:10Children almost often project onto the fictional characters and use them as a type of self-insert, which is the origin for many problematic and potentially harmful ships that exist on the internet.
02:24It is this experimentation that helps young people make sense of themselves in a scary and confusing time in their lives, making it easier to swallow through the lens of something familiar.
02:36But for any youth who may potentially be reading this, please ensure your safety online and keep your experimental pieces private, especially if it depicts a child you're projecting yourself onto romantically involved with an adult.
02:48While you are free to explore yourself and you are most likely to grow out of it, there are adults out there who will use your own experimentation against you and hurt you with it.
02:58Even adults explore themselves through the medium of derivative works.
03:02While it may not look like the same thing, there are many individuals who may be discovering a new part of themselves or they got out of a restrictive environment where they skipped out some parts of their formative years.
03:16All in all, fandom culture is a vital part of the modern age. Without it, children would have no room to explore. There would be less creativity and an entire avenue of self-expression would vanish.
03:29While humanity has existed without fandom culture as we know it for thousands of years, the same types of activities showed up the entire time, either it be an oral tradition based on a satisfying hunt or a painting about local mythological figures.
03:44Everything we're doing to this day has been done to some form other since the dawn of creativity.
03:50I forgot to make an outro for this video. I'm in the editing process right now, so it feels a little clunky tacking this on like a week after I recorded.
04:03Honestly, I've been very distracted today.
04:06It is September 10th, 2025 as I am recording this outro, and a couple of historical events have happened basically simultaneously for better and for worse, especially in the United States of America.
04:19I do want to keep my online career focused on art as much as possible and keep politics limited, especially since my videos do get put on platforms that have people who will not be kind to me as a majority.
04:32I do my due diligence and block them as I come across them.
04:36Hate has no home and decks of studios.
04:38If someone makes any of my followers or mutuals feel like they are in danger or unwelcome, then I will block them without hesitation.
04:47My followers are my fans, and my mutuals are at least acquaintances, and I do care about them.
04:54Not necessarily in a way that friends care about each other, but having them feel safe and welcome is important to me.
05:01This is not anything special.
05:03This is the bare minimum of my obligations as an artist aiming to have a business and become a public figure.
05:11With that said, art is political.
05:14Even if a piece is made without political intentions, it can have a political interpretation and vice versa.
05:23Even my avatar here can have a political interpretation.
05:27So, if seeing some political content is something you're interested in, please let me know.
05:33And since I will be brushing up on it, I will be making a video going over my living situation and a goal of mine.
05:40So, keep an eye out for that.
05:43Anyways, feel free to bring up what your favorite fandom is.
05:46Whether it is a property, a fandom space story, or to whatever.
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