June Something - Day 03 & 04 & 05

[popkin16]

Day 3: What's a favorite, or at least memorable fandom meeting/interaction that you've had?
Squee weekend, every year. I'm pretty quiet in real life - shy and self-conscious and always worried I'm going to make a fool of myself. But meeting everyone there felt like finding home, and I cry every time it's time to go. Supportive, creative, hilarious, generous - these are my people, and I love them. Just the other day I was remembering that time someone set off the sprinklers in the hotel we were staying at and how we had to evacuate in the early hours of the morning.

I don't like meeting famous people. I've discovered that I prefer to go unnoticed, and even the mildest acknowledgement from someone I look up to is incredibly embarrassing. Shane & Ryan from Unsolved started their own company called Watcher, and I'm a member of their patreon. They read off the usernames of their patreon members at the end of their one show, and every time I'm even told they said my username I'm like, "Oh god, please no."
 

Day 4: What are the origins of your penname/username?
I was reading Stephen King's The Dark Tower series back in high school. The main character, Roland, is from a different universe, and he ends up traveling to ours. When trying to order a sandwich, he asked for a 'popkin', and I loved the word so much I made it my online username. Popkin is taken on a lot of websites, however, so I had to add some numbers.

 

Day 5: Compare and/or contrast your very first fandom obsession and your very latest fandom obsession.
My very first fandom was Harry Potter. This is, of course, an absolutely ginormous fandom with fic for probably every pairing one could think of. Back then fandom was very much a secret thing, and it's very much not now.

My current one is Buzzfeed Unsolved/Watcher Entertainment RPF, which is much smaller. Also Shane and Ryan know about the fanfiction written about them, and despite what people may think, have not come out one way or another in regards to it.

I also feel like fandom has become much more judgemental these days in regards to kinks and dark themes, but it's also possible that I missed all the drama back in the early 2000s. SGA was the first fandom I started reading kinky fic in, and by the time I joined the show was finished and a chunk of the fandom had moved on. Tumblr is much more multi-fandom and gives more visibility to posts of all kinds.

And now my brain has decided it's done thinking and I'm just staring at my screen, so I'm gonna post this.

Comments

[squidgiepdx]

I used to be like you in that I didn't like attention drawn to me. Then I switched one day when David Duchovny referred to me as "the underwear guy" - and I haven't been the same since.

It just occurred to me that probably only me & elderwitty know the underwear story. I may have to post it. :)

So THAT'S where your username comes from! I've been meaning to read The Dark Tower, but now I know. :)

[popkin16]

I struggle with accepting compliments and....well, any attention at all. I'm getting better about saying, "Thank you!" instead of going, "Omg no." I think David Duchovny referring to me as anything at all would make me want to sink into the Earth never to be seen again.

YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST POST THE UNDERWEAR STORY :D

Yess, that's where my username comes from! It's just a cute word loll.

[mific]

It's super cute - I love your username!

[popkin16]

Thank you <3 <3 <3

[tarlanx]

I love reading the origins of pen/usernames :) They are always so interesting.

[popkin16]

It really is interesting to see where people come up with them! Especially since I pretty much never guess right LOL.

[melagan]

Squee!!!!!!

(I cry when it's time to leave too)

[popkin16]

Squee!!!! It's happening this year, right? I need to know the dates so I can request the time off from work s;kfja

(I cry every year lol)

[melagan]

Let me check those dates and I'll email you! (we're not quite in full swing yet and doing a mini-squee in upstate New York this year)

[unrelaxing]

loving these questions! I feel the same way about general judge-iness about kinky fic, but I was a lurker up until 2008 and that can have a bearing on that, too....

[popkin16]

June Something is fun every year :D

Yeah, I was a lurker until 2009 when I joined the SGA fandom - which was a shrinking fandom as;kjf It definitely changes things.

[logicgunn]

I don't like meeting famous people either, and TBH I'm not all that fussed about the people themselves, I'm more interested in the characters they play.

I would probably cringe hard though if anyone involved in something I am a fan of was to acknowledge either one of my fics or my username...eep! I don't even interact with them online, except maybe to leave a heart on a Twitter post or whatever.

There are very vocal people online about fandom kinks who really need to learn to scroll past.

[popkin16]

I've met a few famous people - Misha Collins, Joe Flanigan, etc. - and it was nice. No bad experiences! Just not something I care to repeat lol.

Yeaaaah. Especially since my patreon name is also my twitter/tumblr/ao3 name. They have absolutely no reason to google me but the IDEA of it....terrifying.

There are very vocal people online about fandom kinks who really need to learn to scroll past.
New fans need to learn YKINMKATO (your kink is not my kink and that's ok). The discourse about problematic stuff is exhausting.

[runpunkrun]

I always love learning about people's usernames. <3

[popkin16]

It's so interesting to see how they came about! And I never guess right lol.

[brumeier]

I'm with you on the famous people. I like seeing them up close, but making conversation? Please, no. What the heck do you say to a person you've written in compromising positions?

Dark Tower was one of the very few King things I wasn't into back in the day, but I think it's heckin' cool your name originated from there! There may be other Popkins online, but you're the only one I need! ::smooch::

[popkin16]

Yeah, it's really difficult to look someone in the eye when you're like, "I've written you doing the DIRTIEST things."

There may be other Popkins online, but you're the only one I need! ::smooch::
DS;KJFAS; THIS IS THE SWEETEST THING ♥ ♥