#animorphsect

Free forum : Information and chat for the Animorphs roleplay continuity on Furcadia

like tears of joy streaming down my face because I love this thing so much and you love this thing so much and now we can share out love with other people that love it so much

I think I responded, "Its just builds you know, I've been doing this a long time, it didnt start yesterday!" I tried to brush it off, but it still nags at me. 

My family has a history of pack-rats, I think it stems from my great grandma and grandparents growing up in the Oklahoma Dustbowl in the Great Depression. Everything could potentially be useful, reused or repurposed. My Grandma Rita died when I was 5, so I didn't know her well, but apparently she was the kind of person who dig through the trash at goodwill. "Its perfectly useful and bonus: free!" My dad had that trait too, our garage-shanty-shack-duplex was filled with odds and ends. As a little girl I would dig through endless nuts and bolts and when I sang "I've got gadgets and gizmos of plenty, I've got who's its and whats its galore..." I meant it.  I wouldn't say my family ever reached 'hoarding' levels, but that might just be because we had the space to do it. (yayy barns) 

My dad's constant dumpster diving and salvaging drove my mom mad, but I was always mystified with his creative and ingenuitive endeavors.  He made chicken coops from scraps. A nesting house from old furniture. A hotbox of discarded windows for growing peppers. People act like the DIY movement is new, but as long as people have been poor, they've been doing it themselves with whatever they can find. (though the internet has greatly added to the flow of information) His projects were endless, just like his creativity and even my small child mind could grasp the how awesome that was.  My dad was never an artist in the traditional sense, but a huge amount of my inspiration comes from him. My mom is hugely creative too, though not nearly into collecting 'stuff.' 

As an artist I have a lot of supplies I tote with me everywhere I live. Pens, pencils, paint, paper and  the list never ends. As a broke artist, I can't afford a lot of things I need, let alone useless (though full of potential!) refuse. Collecting fanart has filled that hoarding void for me and become my obsession, because it is A. Free B. Awesome and C. Endless. Im never (hopefully?) going to run out of room for fan art links. People are not going to suddenly stop being awesome and stop liking media meant do them. Sharing these stories and feelings is intrinsically valuable, and I'm not going to stop anytime soon. 

I dont really see the point in shaming someone for doing something that makes them happy? It's not hurting anyone. If anything, it is benefiting the fans(who want more art) and artist(who want more exposure) that want to revel in their fandom feelings together.  There are negative sides to obsession, when it starts to rule other aspects of your life, but I'd like to think I can function normally enough to recognize when it becomes a problem.