9/23/2023 0 Comments Life is strange 2 fanfiction![]() ![]() So I think we are really drawn to things that feel familiar to us and feel good to us, and anything that we are fannish about feels really familiar. We’ve really been cut off from a lot of our familiar coping strategies. We’re cut off from that right now in the pandemic. We feel safety from seeing the same faces and the same people again and again, whether in our workplace or our school or our neighborhood. I mean, our brains are kind of wired to respond to familiarity. I think anything that is familiar to us right now is incredibly comforting. Our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, is below. But, as Zubernis and I discussed, fandom is also a space for reflection, critical thinking, and, hopefully, growth. Fandom isn’t a universally safe space, and treating it like pure escapism may not be the healthiest approach for everyone in the long run. She’s also currently teaching a course at West Chester University on the psychology of grief, so I thought she’d be the perfect person to talk to about this phenomenon.Īfter all, if fanfiction really is functioning as a special outlet during the pandemic, it’s helpful to understand not only why that’s happening and whether it’s beneficial, but what its limitations are as a coping mechanism. “There are so many people I know right now who don’t try to go to bed at night until they at least read one fic,” professor Lynn Zubernis told me, “just to put themselves in a different headspace and have that burst of emotional resonance and familiarity.” Zubernis is a psychologist and mental health counselor as well as a longtime member of fandom and the author/editor of many books on Supernatural fandom. Amid that maudlin atmosphere, a recurring theme I’ve observed is that there’s something uniquely soothing about fanfiction that allows readers to feel a sense of safety and calm. More people have been forcibly separated from their normal routines and coping mechanisms, and more people are experiencing loss and grief. But during the pandemic, the stakes are higher. The idea of fandom as a form of escapism isn’t new recall all the times you’ve seen stereotypical geeks characterized in pop culture as using their love of media to avoid real life. AGbCZ8Al5Z- i want gillian anderson 2 suffocate me w her boobs February 19, 2021 ![]() Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s become routine for many people to discuss their self-care and wellness practices - and one frequently mentioned source of comfort these days is fanfiction. These days, I’ve become increasingly aware that my response to that period in my life wasn’t uncommon. For a while, it was the only form of grief I allowed myself. I’d watch sad episodes, then turn to the popular fanfic platform Archive of Our Own (AO3) and read fanfiction that “fixed” that episode a character would die onscreen, and then I’d read fic where they were brought back to life. So I began marathoning episodes - though it was more like I inhaled them at a level approaching nihilism.Įven though SPN wasn’t “my” fandom, something about the show’s gritty universe and over-the-top levels of angst and machismo balanced against the softer comfort provided by the attached fandom and fanfiction, turned it into a strange respite that matched my mood. I’d never been a huge fan of the show, but I’d recently decided to catch up on its many seasons. Several years ago, while I was dealing with the death of a close family member, a strange thing happened: I suddenly found myself unable to stop watching Supernatural. ![]()
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