Fangirling or fanboying is a legit job. This is not something you mess with. It's an identity in itself that you need to embrace because you're among those people who show passion, perseverance, courage, valor and an undying love and dedication for characters that aren't real and people who don't even know you exist. Not sure you're the Chosen One? Keep reading and see if you've experienced any or all of these symptoms to find out!
Symptom 1: Ooh what's this?
It all starts with that one innocent question. You stumble upon something you have never seen or have vaguely heard of, and because you're bored and very much adult, you decide to kill the time. Well, nobody said adulting was easy.
Symptom 2: Who are these people?
You're halfway through the movie/series, and you think these actors are doing a pretty amazing job. You realize watching them in the show isn't enough, so who do you turn to then? The loyal and ever authentic source of information, Google, of course.
Symptom 3: I'm doing this for basic knowledge
Because the Web knows your passion for knowledge that knows no bounds, soon you'll be greeted with all kinds of news that are relevant (and completely irrelevant) to the show. Who are the regular characters and who are recurring, which celebrities made/ are going to make appearances in which episodes, where most of the scenes are shot, is it close to you and everything you humanly can-- just for common knowledge, you know?
Symptom 4: I need to know MORE!
You're ten or so episodes in, and you can't take your eyes off of Person A's brooding looks or enigmatic smile, or you're seriously feeling all that chemistry building up between Person B and Person C and you can't help but wonder: Are they single? Are they friends? Are they dating? Are they enemies? Soon, you find yourself looking at all the offscreen photos and interviews and unleashing your inner Sherlock to find out The Truth.
Symptom 5: I'll go down with this ship
As you're busy with your getting-to-know antics, destiny makes its move, and before you know it you fall into the crevasse and start sinking into this fangirl-abyss deeper than the Titanic. You spend more time thinking about the upcoming episodes and unseen footages than your upcoming job interviews or unseen tax forms. You're worried more about the characters making it out alive in the show than you surviving college or your horrible boss. Your life motto now is basically #iShipIt.
Symptom 6: I'm not a creepy stalker, stalking
Seriously, what is social media even for? It's a wonderful, healthy and a civilized way of keeping in touch with your favorite people as they share with you what kind of smoothie they had for breakfast. As a sane person who is completely capable of keeping their emotions in check, all you are doing is merely following *cough* stalking *cough* these lovely, gorgeous human specimens.
Symptom 7: Daydreaming/hallucinating
Are they shooting in your area for the next special episode? Does that person in the grocery store look eerily similar to your favorite actor in the show? What will happen if s/he ends up being on the same flight as you? How would you make it so you get to sit next to them? What do you think your first impression will be on that person? Do you think you two could hit it off? I mean, things like these happen all the time, right?
Symptom 8: It's over
Just like in the movies: everything is going well and you're perfectly content in your imaginary bubble where real-world problems don't exist when you are hit in the face with a harsh reality: your OTPs get separated, the character/s DIE, your favorite actors quit, the show gets canceled--the list is endless so take your pick. Tragedy and grief befall the fandom, and you feel like the light in your life, your heart is being sucked by a Dementor. Darkness, darkness everywhere.
Symptom 9: Denial
Just like a bad breakup, you are having trouble handling this news. Your heart keeps deluding you that there's still hope but your emotionless cold-hearted brain tells you everything it possibly can to get you out of your denial. You resort to reading and watching all A-B-C grade news as long as it mentions a sequel or a renewed season or a spin-off or a remake with your favorite cast. THIS CAN'T END LIKE THIS ALRIGHT!
Symptom 10: You'll forever have my heart
You'll scream, punch, fight, threaten to kill and maim, sign petitions, and finally, decide to take the higher road (it's not like you had another option anyway)-- the road to let go. You look, with glistening eyes, at the pictures, interviews, bloopers, episode specials, screencaps, autographs and all the memorabilia taking up at least 100 gigabytes of your hard drive and as you put them all into ZIP files (deleting is NEVER an option), you whisper: "I'll always love you".
Symptom 11: I'll watch this only cuz
Did you really think the love would ever go away? A month, a year or a decade later, you see your OTPs, or that one favorite actor from that show signing a new one. You try to behave like the adult you supposedly are and decide to watch the show only if the storyline is good, but we both know deep down that it's never the plot that gets you to watch the show, it can't be. You'll watch the show, the whole series and everything that comes afterward as long as it doesn't make your eyes or ears bleed because it has those nice fine human specimens. You're in it for the rest of your life, pal.
So, are you a fangirl/fanboy? What was the last movie/ series that made you feel like this?
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