Happy New Year, everyone! If you’ve been following this newsletter for a while, you know that I haven’t posted as often as I planned to last year. After a series of setbacks, I thought it was better to just pause this project for a while and then come back to it once I have more energy and space for it. Thank you for staying through the period of rest, and I hope that you will be here for this coming year.
After much consideration, I’ve decided to return to making fan/work a weekly newsletter. I’ll update you folks if I need to change up the schedule and if anything else comes up. Thank you for continuing to read this newsletter!
Fandom is still about community.
I surprised myself by going even deeper into the music fandom I’m in (for the readers who are new to this newsletter, one of the things I love is the Philippine pop group BINI and their music) and one thing I can say is that it’s opened the door for me to do some amazing things.
In 2024, I did a talk with Positive Workplaces and talked about how fandom can support one’s wellbeing. Part of that talk included a short exercise for the participants on imagining themselves in the middle of a cozy, romcom-like alternate universe fanfic. What would their home look like? Who or what is in it? What would a typical day in their life look like? I was combining what I was learning about futures thinking (specifically about episodic future thinking) with what I learned about coaching and with how fanfiction has impacted me. Fanfiction has allowed me to imagine futures I never even saw for myself, to see myself as queer and thriving, and I wanted to see if it was something that worked only for me or if it resonated with other people too.
I’ve tried this exercise early last year with a few friends, and it’s amazing what I hear people say afterwards. People talk about creating or getting into creative work, people talk about dreams or wants that they didn’t realize they had, and people envision the vibe of the life they want to have.
From this initial workshop, I started thinking about mindful fandom as well. Being in a fandom for a musical group/idol group has exposed me to how bad the discourse can get online now and part of me thought, “Well, this can’t go on. This can’t be the only way to do fandom.” When the opportunity presented itself, I crafted a workshop around writing as a way to enjoy creative rest and held it at a cupsleeve event organized by Bloom Philippines, BINI’s official fanbase.
Someone who attended that workshop told a fellow fan about it, and I’d later on give the same talk at a 3D figure painting workshop with my fellow BINI fans.
This past year, I’ve had the opportunity to go to a few concerts, to my first open-air music festival (with 80,000 other people), and to meet fellow fans who would later on become friends.
While I’ve seen enough tweets and comments on social media posts that have made me wonder if fandom is destined to spiral into toxic discourse and behavior, I’ve come to realize after spending time with people that that doesn’t need to be fandom’s destiny.
It doesn’t need to be the only future for fandom.
The fact that I’ve been able to spend so much of my time creating, conversing, and making connections with people means that the fan culture I grew up with is still very much alive. It requires tending, yes.
Yes, it requires effort to cultivate spaces where people feel their creative energies are appreciated, where healthy conversation can take place, and where people can disagree without being rude and unkind.
But this was work that older fans did in other fandoms I belonged to, and it is work I should take part in. It’s now my time to pay it forward and to be the older fan in the fandom who creates that space for others.
What have I learned about fandom in 2025?
Nothing beats face-to-face, human connection. Some of my best memories from the past year come from spending time with people in person. Touching grass, as the kids would say. I’m grateful for people who plan gatherings and events for fans, not only because it is tremendous labor, but also because it creates opportunities for people to talk, to share, and to find their tribe. I started this year with a random spontaneous picnic with fellow fans turned friends, and it is one of the most fun ways I’ve spent the new year.
These are the kinds of memories we are left with, at the end of the day. I’ve done my time getting into random arguments with people I don’t even know in my 20s, and I can now tell anyone who’s under the age of 25 that in a few years from now, you won’t even remember what the argument was about or who was involved. But you will remember that 100,000-word fic that you and your fellow fans got hooked on, that one edit that everyone loves to bring up as canonical for your fandom, or that piece of music that you’ll forever associate with a character.If you’re an older person in fandom, you do have an unspoken duty to act responsibly. Yes, being a fan is a hobby, it’s a leisurely thing, and it’s supposed to be fun. I do think that if you are an older person in fandom, there’s an unspoken rule to take care of the community and to contribute to what will make it flourish and grow in a positive direction. (Even if it’s just something as simple as not participating in drama that is likely rustled up by a troll.)
Sometimes it’s being the person who organizes events and the group chat, sometimes it’s also encouraging younger folks to practice their leadership skills and use their voice, and sometimes it’s also being the rational voice in the room when things get a bit heated. I don’t think it’s fair for us to act as bystanders and then complain when things get toxic. We can have a good time and make sure that others enjoy playing in the sandbox too.Fandom’s more fun when you’re creating instead of just consuming and reacting. In 2025, I did a talk and a workshop, and I also did my first open verse challenge. A Philippine pop group, Alamat, released this amazing track called LuzViMinda (a popular shorthand for the Philippines’ three main island groups: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao) and I loved the beat so much that when one of their members issued an open verse challenge, I just went for it. I ended up writing a few verses and uploading it on TikTok and on Twitter.
I was terrified and I felt conscious but I was also so glad that I did it.
I feel like this is the underrated thing about fandom. Once in a while, you get an opportunity to push yourself and try new things, and you learn something new about yourself. Apparently I don’t care about possibly looking silly.
(For the curious, you can watch my open verse challenge here.)I also made a lot of friendship bracelets this year and that’s been a fun way to pass the time. I ended up making a few for a concert late last year, and I decided to just surprise people and give them a bracelet if they were a kid, a first-time concertgoer, or just someone with an amazing outfit that matched the bracelet I made. It’s so fulfilling to spend time in this way, and I feel like it’s allowed me to connect with my fellow fans, even just for a moment.
Oh and to close the year, I decided to put together prompts for creatives in one of my fandoms, nine prompts for the nine mornings of Simbang Gabi (a tradition we have in the Philippines where Catholics go to mass from the 16th to the 24th of December to prepare for Christmas). I put it together in a few days, and it taught me more about how to organize activities for creatives and what people get out of participating in challenges and exchanges than just reading other people’s experiences organizing events and activities.
If you’re curious about the exercise I mentioned…
You can try doing something like it at home! Here’s a prompt: What if you were the protagonist of a 90s romantic comedy?
What would your day be like? What’s your daily routine like? Are you still doing the same work or something else? Are you single? Or are you the sparkling, witty coupled up friend providing advice to your other friends?
I find that even diving into your imagination and letting it run wild will give you something insightful that you can bring into real life.
A recommendation
I have fallen in love with Olivia Dean (as I’m sure many of you have) over the past few months. The Art of Loving has a lot of gems, and I thought I’d share this song that I’ve fallen in love with recently.
I wish you all a peaceful and joyful start to the year. May you enjoy good food and good times with the people who matter most to you.
As always, if you enjoy this newsletter, feel free to share it with more people!
Have a good weekend, folks!
