Fandom Appreciation CHallenge: Graphic Recs

I was very tempted to skip this challenge because I'm not very graphic inclined. I rarely watch vids, don't look at a lot of picspam, and have less icons than most people. It's not that I don't appreciate graphics because I do. I just rarely seek them out. I think it is because the creation of them is so beyond me. But I am going to rec my two favorite icon makers and the greatest QAF picspam of all time.

viv_graphics - If I could only have graphics from one person it would be Viv. She has a huge and amazing collection of QAF icons. Although her person passion is Ben and Michael, she shows all of the characters plenty of love when it comes to icon. The icon for this post is hers and my all time favorite icon.

pattys_iconhome - Her icons are simply gorgeous. And in addition to her fabulous QAF icons, she also does nature and other non fandom icons. Sometimes the appropriate icon does not feature hot naked men.

Proud by bitchesofbritin - As I mentioned, I don't look at a lot of picspam, but the moment I saw this one I bookmarked it. It is the best representation of why I love QAF I have ever seen. It brought me to tears and reminds me of why I am so proud of my show. Link is to their IJ because I think it is unlocked.

Fandom Appreciation Challenge: Love Song To . . .

qaf_challenges, qaf_scavenger and the fabulous women who run them!

Today's Fandom Appreciation challenge is to give feedback to reccers, community moderators, challenge organizers etc. I decided to do this in a post about 2 communities that are especially close to my heart, and as I said the fabulous women who run them.

As many of you know, I have been in the QAF fandom for a long time. Fandoms ebb and flow. After the show ended, the QAF fandom was in a transitional phase. Many of the authors and readers I knew were drifting away from QAF, and I wasn't really active enough to know who was coming in. I was writing less, reading less, and basically losing QAF.

Then qaf_challenges came along (okay there were a few separate challenges run before it became a challenge community, but this is a love song not a history). Suddenly I had a reason to write! Not only that, but there were new stories by authors both new and old at my fingertips. I was excited about QAF all over again. The wonderful _alicesprings began qaf_challenges and I will always think of her as the women who reminded me why I love writing for Brian and Justin. She is no longer running challenges herself, but the equally fabulous xie_xie_xie has stepped in and run some wonderful and unique challenges. And Xie is one of the best challenges moms ever. I can personally attest to the fact that you can send her crazy freakout emails in the last hours before stories are due and she will still speak to you.

So I was writing again, but I was still pretty lost in this newest version of the QAF fandom. Then there was this amazing fandom scavenger hunt run at qaf_scavenger. It was interactive, it was fun (and really hard), and best of all it was a map to the QAF fandom past and present. I found authors, artists, and communities I had never known about. I was watching scenes I'd forgotten about and loving every minute of it. I fell in love with QAF all over again. Not just Brian and Justin, but all the characters and the crazy fandom they brought me too. qaf_scavenger had a lot of people working to pull off that first, brilliant hunt, but since then the amazing happier_bunny and sanami276 have kept things going. They hunt for the best ways to celebrate Halloween, Un-Valentine's Day, and Pride. They see they fun in fandom and helps us remember to celebrate it. It is also through this community that I first got to know my darling happier_bunny. I have told her this many times, but it was her welcome that made me feel a part of fandom again.

Without these communities and the wonderful women who give their time and talent to run them, I probably would visit QAF on occasion, but I would be here like I am now. They helped me remember why I loved QAF so much, taught me new ways to look at the characters and scenes and made me feel creative again. I cannot thank them enough.