this can be our song.

Coming down the stairs, I arrive at the same time an elevator opens at the other end of the hall: two adults, one stroller, one toddler. The toddler looks my way. I wave. The toddler starts coming my way. I wave again, and one adult tries to stop them, then gives up as they keep going, fast as they can, the adult following just behind as they finally get across the long, long hallway to reach me.

The adult with them advises reaching out a hand for a high-five, and the hand's offered. I give them a handshake, saying it's very nice to meet them.

And we're all on our way, happier for it.

Picking up a new fandom used to mean picking up a new icon. It turns out I already had one. I'd thought it was nice looking and atmospheric with no knowledge whatsoever about the character in it, and to no one's surprise, I managed to pick out my favorite without even trying.

Going from MASH to Top Gun to Friday Night Lights is something where I could easily pull out a through-line beyond that it's a trio of ensemble casts working within and against the rigid structures they're living in, whether or not it's by choice. Something about maintaining a sense of self and self-worth both externally and internally, but I'm only about halfway through the first season. I know that it ends well, but not how it ends, or how it gets there, and I'm enjoying the process quite a bit.

There's no word for the feeling of watching something and being hit with the thought, "So that's where that icon comes from!" Sometimes it's reading and getting to a quote, sometimes it's a fraction of a moment caught up in a 100x100 square. But since the experience isn't unique, simply highly specific, I might a well just call it "fandom."