User:Mabelspines

Getting To Know Me
My name is V. I'm an average everyday teenager who enjoys various forms of art. I do public speaking and pursue my passion for the arts as a career. I attend conventions around the United States and cosplay as well. I have taken much interest in the world of entertainment since I was very young. Specifically in animation and storytelling. Much of this love for the arts comes from my mother, who is just as creative and in touch with her creativity. I've grown up not just admiring entertainment, but being surrounded by it in my daily life. My mother is an author, public speaker, event coordinator, craftswoman, business woman, and much more. Focusing heavily on technology, marketing in business, entrepreneurship, entertainment, video games, cosplay, storytelling, and much much more. It is no surprise that I grew up being taught these things, picking them up and naturally having interest in them, especially considering my circumstances.

I like to think of myself as not just an "average teenager," but an accurate representation of what growing up with fandoms being accessible, is like. And while maybe I'm still not entirely "average" even then, I think that is the unique part.

Gravity Falls Instagram Fandom
I had a Gravity Falls based Instagram back when the show started, up until it ended, named @TheMystery_Craft  (Mid-way through season two, I changed my username from @TheMystery_Craft to @TheMysteryCraft, removing the underscore to be more formal). I made good friends in the fandom and even started a fandom meme among the GF community with my internet friends Max, Jasper, and Alex. The meme was tagged as #DipperTheFirst and #DipperTheFirstApocalypse. It was inspired by Season 2's premiere episode Scary-Oke's iconic Taking Over Midnight scene where Dipper sings the line "Don't worry daddy, I've got my favorite dress on."

  I had various fanfictions and OC's for the Gravity Falls fandom, my most popular OC being Marcilyn Vega (From my fanfiction Wonders in the Workshop,) and Avalon Empire (From my fanfiction My Sweet Cure.) For a short time period around the beginning of 2017, some fans + mutuals and I tried to revive to OC side of the Instagram fandom in hopes of resurrecting what was now an almost dead fandom.

Gravity Falls and its Impact On Me
I've been watching Gravity Falls since it first aired and I can assure you, not only has it brought me amazing memories, it has also inspired and motivated me. From June 15, 2012, to February 15, 2016, this show helped me grow closer with my brothers, my parents, my friends, and it's large community of friendly fans. It has not only done that, but it has made me realize what I truly have a love and passion for. This show has been one of the main sources for excitement and happiness for me since it began, and it was even my go-to during a super weird time in my life. Looking back at the memories I've made in the fandom, I'm very happy that out of all the shows I could've chosen to be part of a community for, that it was this one.

The Gravity Falls fandom is genuinely so friendly and welcoming. I have never once been in a fandom so... Amazing. The people are so kind and cooperative. They're beyond hilarious and talented and clever and- Goodness gracious, I don't think I even need to point this one out, but they're so smart it's unbelievable. It's sad to see that after the finale, the fandom is not as alive as it once was. But having been the way it was, leaving a very important mark in modern children's animation, I can be sure it's flame won't be dying out any time soon.

Star Vs The Forces Of Evil
Although I missed Gravity Falls dearly, my next fiery love for a show had been captivated by a cartoon by the magical name of Star vs The Forces Of Evil.

Star Vs was a show that had peaked the interest of many Gravity Falls and Wander Over Yonder fans when it was initially announced. Though this was most likely due to the fact we were desperate for a place to migrate to once our respective communities began to grow cold, it was also because of the undeniable fact we could all see the raw, unfiltered potential this show had. Many fans believed it could be the next fun fandom to join after our shows ended. And for me, I was right. I immediately knew this show was for me the moment I found out about it, counting down the days till it'd finally air on live tv. I'd been with this show since the very beginning, just as I had with Gravity Falls, but there was one difference I knew for sure. I had never considered myself as dedicated of a fan until June of 2016.

Around the time, I'd realized that it was probably time to move on from Gravity Falls and find something else that sparked my interest. I had a variety of communities available to me- Many that I was very interested in, but nothing was quite like the SVTFOE community. This fandom had a certain charm I don't think any other fandom at the time could quite recreate.

SVTFOE And The OC Side of the Fandom
I officially began my SVTFOE fandom journey on June 22nd, 2016. Long story short, I made an SVTFOE OC December 25th, 2015, but I left only to come back during summertime. This first OC was an alien girl undergoing the name Violet. Nothing ever really became of this character, so of course I inevitably scrapped her. When summer 2016 came, as did my next OC. And this time, she would become something so wholly special to me and my childhood. And while at the time I hadn't known it, I had created not just a character, but a million important memories, friends, and it was only just the beginning to a chain of events in my life I was not expecting.

Summer 2016, I had come up with an OC named Saile. While she and my other SVTFOE OCs are a whole other story of their own, I would like to take the chance to bring up why exactly she'd been so important to me. Because of course, I've made OCs in the past. Many. In fact, if I really had to recall them all, I'd probably have well over 100. And counting, of course. But Saile was a special case. Unlike any other OC I had, Saile had introduced me to a community. A community of people who were just. like. me. I spent months just roleplaying and drawing and investing myself in this community and these OCs of mine, and along the way, had made so many good friends. I'd gotten closer to friends I'd already had, even. Saile truly helped me realize my passion for art and being part of a close-knit community. This taste of happiness and sense of community was something I genuinely so deeply enjoyed, so much so, that I eventually, of course, ended up joining the main base of the fandom at it's core, and focusing on what it was really about. The show.

Immersion Into The Fandom and Popularity/Success
While the original charm from the OC side of the SVTFOE fandom began to wear away in 2017, the fandom's overall charm, however, did not. In 2017, I made an Instagram account under the username of @SVTFOO/@JANSTARCO. Inspired by fandom figures such as Aisha (Otherwise known as Glossaryk/Aishordonia), Lisa (AKA Starsitting), and many many others, I decided to immerse myself similarly. And oh, boy. The reaction was intense. While I was not super popular or often interacted with the Star Crew, I did feel as though I had finally found my place in a community. My own little corner of not just the world, but the internet. A place where I felt happy, safe, and accepted. I shared many things. Reactions to the show, theories, fan-made content such as live-streams, edits (one of my edits even reaching 11k+ views on YouTube, which actually really surprised me at the time haha), drawings (500+ fans due to my art!), cosplays, and even my own written fan works.

I believe this part of my journey deserves a section in of itself. That is how important I feel this is to me, my life, and my experience(s) in fandoms and as a content creator in general. Summer of 2016, I had been inspired by many things. I had hit peak creativity. I was inspired. I was motivated. I hadn't expected what happened to have happened. It really was just something I had done for fun. Something so small and simple. I had begun writing a Star Vs fan-fiction titled I Think Earth Is A Pretty Great Place. I wrote it initially to get this fanfic idea out of my head and to share it between me and my friend who was also in the Star Vs fandom. We had inside jokes referencing it, even. But in 2017, the story began to blow up. It was my first time taking something I was writing, seriously. I had wanted to start writing more, to get back into writing and better my skills. This was simply just a hobby project at the time. I didn't expect it to get as popular as it did. It climbed from 10 reads to 17k+ reads. It was on the website's charts, even, for the SVTFOE tags. To me, that was baffling. Especially considering the popularity of SVTFOE at the time it began to blow up and how many amazing other works of fanfiction there were on the website. I not only was so deeply touched with the fact my work was getting recognition, but that my audience loved it. They supported me in writing it, cheered me on, encouraged me to keep going, understood when I needed a break, continued to stay active and loyal. There were people who said it inspired them so much. People who said they loved it so. One of my biggest, most notable, memorable fans is a girl named Fieke. She was endlessly supportive and active and always there on my social media cheering me on and being so relentlessly kind and encouraging. She had made a video, even, saying one of the kindest things I'd heard. This fanfiction means a lot to me, and while my writing has definitely gotten much better- So much so that re-reading this work is like nails on a chalkboard, it's a bittersweet memory. It's got good memories attached, its got sad ones, bad ones. But that applies for many other things, and I try to accept it for as it is. Love it as it is. This piece of fiction truly brought me happiness. It has not just artistic meaning to me, as the person who wrote it, but genuine, deep personal meaning. And it will continue to be that way for a very long time. I wouldn't have it any other way.

It's truly baffling to think over the things this fandom in specific has brought me. What it's helped me get through, helped me realize. All the things this fandom, the things I've done in this fandom, because of it, the people in it- All of it. It's crazy knowing what it all has brought me. It's unbelievable to think that people look up to me and the content I produce, as well as what I do. There are people who have DMed me and told me that I'm their idol and it's the most astounding thing to me... That someone looks up to me, that I could really inspire people. Never in my life would I have thought myself to be anyone's inspiration- Nevertheless their idol. And the SVTFOE has only been just another step to my next stage in life. I don't know what comes next, but I know for a fact that I cannot wait to find out.

All in All
There's many other fandoms and communities I hadn't touched on. One's that are arguably just as important. Some from far back in my past, and some from very recently, I don't think it's necessary to do in depth about all my fandoms and what they've done for me and where they've brought me and how they shaped me into the person I am today, but that definitely does not make them any less important (to me) than they are. I've got so much to share, so much to still experience, and I don't think I could fit it all into one page. So much has happened to me because of these fandoms and my participation in them and I could not be more grateful than I am today because of that. While it has been a while since I felt truly part of a community, I do not believe it is over just yet. It is only just beginning. There is so much more to come, and with all these new shows in western animation that seem to be coming out, I have no doubt that this will continue to last for a very long time. And while claiming we're upon another cartoon golden era might be a bit of a stretch, I have no doubt in my mind that these new creations to come from now and into the future, will still be incredibly important and meaningful.

There's a lot I'd like to say, a lot I want to do, but so much has happened and yet- There's still so much time for more. And until then, I think this is a good way to conclude. Though it isn't the end, think of this as... a see you later. Farewell, until next time.

"I know we'll meet again some sunny day."