DISCLAIMER: No names will be revealed to protect the innocent...and for now, the not-so-innocent.
For years, I had been a closeted fan of comic books, Sherlock and Doctor Who for fear of ridicule from my peers. Nobody in my circles shared my enthusiasm for such things, so I was mostly solitary in my interests.
It wasn't until I began spending more time on Facebook that I began to see the emergence of fan pages on my news feed based on my interests. Initially, I was wary, because I am mostly a lone wolf when it comes to socialization. However, when I spied some of the comments made on posts, I decided to start liking a few pages about Loki and Tom Hiddleston.
It started innocently enough, but when new pages popped up, I noticed the decline in respect. A lot of the comments I read and a lot of the pages that started began to sound sexually sinister. There was one certain page where the owner consistently mentioned what Tom did to her lady parts and I was absolutely disgusted. I immediately avoided going onto that page.
Now, I have always been one who would avoid doing anything to call attention to a celebrity if I saw them in public. I always felt that the only way to be a fan was to be respectful and keep any insidious comments to myself. I live in an NHL city and have seen my fair share of NHL players everywhere I went, including in places that I have worked. My city is a huge fishbowl and is full of obsessed puck bunnies who want to bag a player. (A Puck Bunny is someone who claims to be a fan of a certain NHL team or player not because she likes hockey, but that she wants to date the players.) I have met a few NHL players in my time and I have always been thanked for not calling attention to them and also for showing respect.
So, when I see actors and actresses being objectified because of a certain character they portray, I start to become annoyed and disgusted.
Cut to December 2013...I discovered a fan page that was about Tom Hiddleston.
When I initially followed the page, I made a few comments here or there and was generally well received. I had excellent rapport with the admins, especially one who was as eloquent and polite as Tom himself.
After a few weeks of interaction, it became known that there would be an admin contest for the page. In the earlier months, I had tried to become admin for a couple of pages...one never even got back to me and the other suddenly dropped me after one day of posting (without warning or feedback). Initially I shied away from trying because of those experiences, but eventually decided to go for broke and throw my hat into the ring.
Within a few days of the announcement, I put in my application and kept my fingers crossed. The contest was to close on January 20th, so I had more than a month of waiting until the decisions were made. I can honestly say that it was a difficult wait, even though it was just over a month.
Every day, I had my phone glued to my side, checking it obsessively for messages or clues about the upcoming decision. I drove coworkers, friends and family insane with my nervous behaviour. Although I had a good feeling that I would be chosen, I was still worrying about the outcome. What would I do if I wasn't chosen?
I eventually got to the point where I prepared myself for disappointment. I had no experience as an admin and I wasn't one who interacted obsessively with the page. Whenever I would interact with the admin, we would build a good rapport until two other fangirls would try and steal his attention away from me.
It was starting to get on my nerves because I had a wonderful connection with this admin and one of the two fangirls was desperate for his attention. I am not a person who likes to be interrupted, especially when I am locked into an interesting conversation on any medium of communication. This fangirl could have started her own thread with him but kept muscling in on mine...I had enough! So, the next time I commented on one of the admins posts and he started interacting with me, I resorted to interrupting the fangirl whenever she tried to interrupt the admin and I.
Cut to early January, on a Saturday evening. I was sitting on my couch, curled up with my phone, when I received the message that would change my life. By that point, I had resigned myself to accepting whatever fate I was given and I was prepared for disappointment and was ready to move on. But, when I read the message, I dropped my phone in shock.
When I retrieved my phone and re-read the message, I began to forget about the preparing I had done for any eventual disappointment and began planning my posting strategy for the days to come. I had been chosen to be an admin for the page...and I was chosen by my admin friend himself.
I chose my admin name to be Artemis and I vowed that I would do everything I could to be respectful to Tom Hiddleston and to have my posts reflect my vow.
And thus, my journey as Artemis began...
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