Oct. 18, 2025
My 29th birthday is in less than a month. I don't know how to feel about it.
█ Does this make me a target demographic? (image source)
A little bit ago today, I had a conversation with a good online fandom friend of mine about being an older fan of media. If we were referring to older USAmerican properties (like Marvel comics, or... whatever), it wouldn't be uncommon to see or hear about people in their 40s, 50s, beyond, getting excited about a new Avengers movie. Or so I assume, because I'm not particularly enthralled with that sort of stuff-- I'm an anime fan. And with today's online climate, especially around Japanese media, the very, VERY vocal side of the fandom is populated by... you guessed it, teenagers.
█ Gerard Way really wasn't joking about this crap, was he.
So it's not really hard to imagine that, for someone like me, who has been entrenched in media and fan culture for the last decade of their life, it's a little daunting to be getting older in these communities. In fact, part of the reason why I don't use twitter anymore (aside from, y'know. The fascist pig who runs the site) is because the fan culture is SO pointedly directed at younger fans that it's hard to find people who aren't reading your fanfiction in-between APUSH and pre-calc... and that can get pretty isolating. But sometimes, when thoughts like that start to invade my mind, it just makes me more intent on not "aging out of" fandom like so many younger people seem to be worried about.
█ "...Back then, we called 'em SQUICKS! And if ya didn't like it? Ya didn't read it!"
I hope, as I keep getting older, I can be the type of person who proves that age doesn't instantly mean you give up on the things you like. I want to be the kind of friend that my friends are to me! (Does that make sense? Who knows.) And I want, despite it all, to be one of those people who doesn't lose the spark of joy that they had when they were younger, just because others think they should.
Maybe in a few decades I'll even be good enough at fanart that I can actually post it! :^)