Snowflake Challenge #4: ramblings about myself

[alchemicink]

Challenge #4

IceBreaker Challenge! Tell us about yourself.

Well, I could ramble about myself all day 😁 but maybe let's just stick to the basics, a couple of fannish things, some important notes, and a few fun facts.

The basics

I'm Holly! It's been more than a decade since I graduated college, and I live in rural North Carolina. I'm very introverted, though my job often has me interacting with a lot of people on a regular basis. And speaking of my job, it requires me to do a lot of writing. Which is great because I love writing! I balance out the stress of work writing with the fun of fanfic writing. (My 10th anniversary of posting fic on ao3 is this month actually!)

Fannish stuff

I like to call myself a multifandom multishipper because, while I do have some favorites, I'm often hopping around to different ships and fandoms depending on what's got my interest at the moment. In fact, I tend to take "fandom vacations" for a bit before circling back again to enjoy an old favorite.

So most of my fandoms are ones that I first enjoyed as a kid or teenager, and I just keep coming back to them again and again.

Star Trek Voyager was actually my first interest. (I previously wrote about my intro to Star Trek here)

I got into anime (and some manga) when I was 14 or 15ish, and I've been hooked ever since. That also sparked a love of Japanese music, and now like 98 percent of the music I listen to is in Japanese 😅

Some important notes

I've long been a lurker to actually participating in fandom activities (outside of fic writing), so I'm used to mostly just enjoying all these things by myself. Which means that sometimes, I just don't know exactly how to interact with people who also share my interests. But I'm trying to be better about this!

I feel like people should also know that I don't have internet at my home (I have unlimited data through my cell phone, though I don't always have good cell phone signal at home either...) I don't subscribe to any streaming services (though sometimes my brother lets me watch his Netflix) and the only TV service I have at home is over-the-air antenna... and the channels I get vary, depending on the weather 😂

I say all this to note that I'm often not up to date on the latest TV series or anime that everyone is talking about, even if I'd like to be. I rely on what I can find free and legally online (Tubi and Pluto have been great for me!) and my small collection of DVDs from over the years too.

Lastly, it's important to know that I don't engage with nsfw content (like smut, explicit artwork, etc). I don't mind that other people are creating it, but it doesn't vibe with me. Don't take it personally if I skip over those fanworks!

Fun facts

Let's wrap this up with a few fun facts about me:

☆ I always put my socks on my left foot first. I don't know why except maybe it’s because I'm left-handed??

☆ the first time I ever flew in an airplane was for a study abroad trip to Japan in college. Friends, I do not recommend a 14-hour flight as your first airplane experience...

☆ I competed in the state geography bee when I was in eighth grade! (I did not win)

☆ I love visiting aquariums and zoos 🥰

☆ I took some Japanese classes in college, but my skills have gotten quite rusty since then. I can often still watch something without subtitles and get the gist of what's going on. But reading kanji has always been my weakness. (I'm doing wanikani these days to improve!)

☆ my coolest experience at an anime convention was getting to ask Watanabe Shinichirou a question during his panel. (I asked about the music in Sakamichi no Apollon)

Okay, I think I've said plenty for one post!