Fantastic interview, concise, professional, and respectful. I've never seen this analytical side and it's fascinating. This answers questions for me because I got into the fandom as a natural extention of anthropomorphic animal cartoons and movies. Wolves are my favourite animal and I was always drawing anthropomorphic ones and I have lots of books on them. I love the professional artwork and suits and the people I met couldn't have been friendlier or more inclusive. I had a few friends growing up and I socialized, gym, but mostly I was focused on school because it was so hard and I mostly liked to do my own thing.
Interesting, mostly I am still part of the community due to the long last relationships I have made, and continue to hold dear in the fandom. This community has been part of me for over 20 years, from the days of the fandom starting off as collage parties (like D and D). As we progress in life (age wise) the relationships we still hold become more important to us. Knowing I can still meet with my friends, I have known for over 20 years, makes getting old less painful. Humans are still social critters and need the interaction of others in our niche. Maintaining these older relations (swapping stories and sharing age related pains) is a necessity as a natural part of aging process. Meeting new members, sharing with them the “war” stories and lessons I have learned of the community. Watching them enter with the same energy and enthusiasm I once had, helps me age more grateful
Awwww, reading that, makes me sad and happy at the same time, I wasn't around for the beginning, I've been in the fandom along time, it's like a painful nostalgia looking back, [and ive always been super into the history], but it's beautiful at the same time. I hope you always find happiness!
