This thread got me thinking about it.
This would include Star Trek, D&D, etc.
To be honest, I can’t think of a personal acquaintance whom I consider being obsessively devoted to “fantasy.” But I’ve read about them. I was just curious.
Hm. By some standards, I’d fit the definition.
I mean, I spend a lot of money on scifi and fantasy novels, games, etc.
I don’t speak Klingon.
On the other hand, I have taped copies of almost every episode of the original Star Trek.
Should I start an “Ask the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Geek” thread?
ROFLMAO
I spent memorial day weekend at Baltcon in Baltimore…talk about some people there who are ahem immersed in fantasy. Trust me, don’t walk into the gamers room unless you habe NO sense of smell. Some of them can’t stop playing long enough to bathe! On the FIRST evening there was a couple of people in there who looked and smelled like they haden’t bathed in several weeks. EEP!
There were some people there in costuming that as a sewer myself took several hundred of hours of work making, and many hundreds if not thousands of dollars - and several people I know from my author’s list say that they have been at every convention they have been to in the last several years…[they have an excuse, they make their living selling unusual and difficult to find editions of sf and fantasy books, perfect life for retirees=)] Don’t know about you, but I certainly never had either the time or the money to do one con a month, or more…I get to maybe 2 cons a year …
:dubious:
I find it curious that you classify Star Trek as fantasy when it is obviously science fiction. The Dragonrider novels or the tales of Darkover I can understand being confused with fantasy, as most people don’t readily acknowledge the difference between psionics and magic, but Star Trek is plainly not fantasy.
Except for that TOS episode with the magic wand and the giant cat, but that was only one episode.
I see the OP as asking about people excessively devoted to “fantasy” worlds, i.e. unreal, fictional scenarios they immerse themselves in to an unhealthy degree. Even though Star Trek is science fiction, I think it qualifies. Remember that woman who wore her Star Trek uniform everyday to jury duty?
Yeah, but that’s just because her Galadriel outfit was at the cleaners.
Speaking as a Trekkie of long standing, (but only mildly - no costumes or models or anything) I don’t know anybody too obsessive about fantasy anymore. In college, sure, but not now.
I have a friend who’s very into sci-fi. She doesn’t dress in costumes or anything, but, well, she’s skewed in a slightly different way.
She isn’t interested in any form of media that isn’t sci-fi. She doesn’t read any fiction that is not science fiction or fanatasy. Critically-acclaimed bestsellers? No interest. Works of classic literature? Nope. Historical fiction is pushing it, but it’s usually okay if there’s a time machine or something involved somewhere. She isn’t interested in watching any television show or movie that isn’t sci fi. If you recommend something that is not sci-fi/fantasy to her, she’ll just politely say, “Oh, you make it sound very interesting, but it’s not my genre, so I probably wouldn’t like it.”
Conversely, she’ll enthusiastically consume any kind of crap, no matter how horrid, as long as it’s in “her” genre. With some trepidation, I’ll offer a list. If your personal favorite show is here, please don’t take offense, but I hope you’ll all marvel that one human being could watch and sincerely enjoy every single one of these, without a trace of guilt: *Beastmaster, Andromeda, Space: 1999, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers, The Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Mutant X, Relic Hunter . . . * Argh. I can’t go on. Honest to god, she watches MST3K’d movies on their own, which is scary enough, but then complains that she doesn’t understand why they Mistied them, because they’re not that bad.
She likes to read the crappiest stuff she can get her hands on. Enough bad science fiction has been published to keep any human happy for a life time, I’m sure, but it doesn’t end there. I’m talking fan fic. Not to say that there isn’t a little bit of tolerable fan-fic out there, but she even likes the really bad fan fic written by borderline illiterates—as long as it’s “in her genre.” She’s also into pulp. And hey, I’m not going to knock pulp; I’ve read a lot of pulp and enjoyed it from a snotty post-modern ironic point of view, and sometimes it’s even good for what it is. But she loves pulp. And we’re not talking the love of a man for a fine cigar here. (Would it shock you to hear self-insertion fan fic is involved here?)
Sure she likes the bad, you’re thinking, but she still likes the good stuff, too, right? Well, kinda. The Alien and Terminator trilogies? She could take 'em or leave 'em. Does she like Babylon 5? Oh, it’s okay, she says, but it’s basically just a soap opera. Buffy? No interest. Farscape? Can’t get into the muppets. Arthur C. Clarke? Some of his short stories are okay but the movie 2001 was just too boring. She considers Heinlein the greatest science fiction author of his time, largely on the strength of Number of the Beast. (There isn’t an emoticon in existence that would express my feelings when she told me that.) Lord of the Rings? Worth reading once. And the movies were alright.
She is definitely in the top five of the weirdest people I have ever met. She’s also one of the most genuinely nice people I know, and I value her as a friend. But I confess, if she recommends anything enthusiastically, I give it wide berth, and if I read something and think it was totally tacky and borderline a waste of time, I’m sure to suggest to her. Usually she thanks me.
Okay, fine. Nope, I don’t hang around with any F-SF-obsessives (say that three times fast, but turn away from your monitor first…). Then again, I am in the SCA…
My ex husband left me because he met a woman he’d been fairies together with in a past life… perhaps thats more obsessed than you intended to get into.
(And yes, they both read extensively within fantasy, I understand were immersive Everquest players, did RenFest.)
Many of the hardcore SF types I have known consider Star Trek to be pure fantasy, given the underlying non-cohesiveness of the “science” presented there.
This is especially true for those who grew up with Heinlein, Clarke, and Asimov, and later got Ph.Ds in the hard sciences.
My ex-roomie… he role plays extensively (I did too), reads a lot of fantasy books over and over again and would have extensive conversations with me about these things (well it was more him talking and my nodding and interjecting an odd comment here or there as I did other things)
At one time I was completely lost in fantasy and a psychiatrist told Mom to get rid of my computer and anything fantasy she saw. I never went back to him.
Personally I think to a certain extent it can be fine. It’s when the worlds become an obsession and block out everything else that problems crop up. I did it, I’ll admit but it was a result of underlying issues and honestly it was the only thing that drew me through my depression in my latter teen years and then led me to meet others and drew me out of my shyness.
Now I am more normal (HA! What’s that!?) and I sometimes lose myself in the fantasy but it’s rare because I have more important things to take care of than worrying if a character I play is going to be hurt or killed. It is how I met my sweetie though
::cough:: The Dragonrider novels started out as pure fantasy, but McCaffrey decided to switch them over to SF* over the years. I don’t think that they fit SF nearly as well as they fit fantasy. Of course, McCaffrey isn’t a very good SF writer, IMO. I’ve quit reading her stories because she’s run out of things to say, but won’t quit writing. I can’t say that I wouldn’t do the same thing if people insisted on throwing money at me, though.
I read a LOT of SF/fantasy, and I play a lot of games with SF/fantasy backgrounds or plots (including D&D and an online computer roleplaying game), but I very rarely go to cons (I don’t travel well at all, and have health issues besides) and I’m not involved in the fan scene. I will read authors’ websites, especially if they have news updates. I’ve written to a few authors (and usually I get a nice reply, too!) and I will discuss authors with like-minded people. I generally won’t read fanfic, because most of it is absolutely horrid.
BUT, I also read a lot of other genres. I read a lot of non-fiction of all sorts, mysteries, a few comedy/romances, mundane (general) fiction, etc, etc. I have a lot of non-SF/fantasy related hobbies, such as all kinds of needlework and woodworking. SF/fantasy geeks tend to have cats, and yes, we do have two cats who own our home, but I think that I’d like cats even if I wasn’t involved in SF/fantasy.
Of course, worst of all, my grandfather read a lot of SF (no fantasy for HIM, thankyouVERYmuch) and I have helped my younger brother and my daughter develop a taste for the genre. In fact, my daughter even plays D&D on a regular basis!
*SF means either science fiction or speculative fiction. I don’t use the term “sci-fi” unless I sneer while I’m using it.
And is this a bad thing… ? 
I love all that is sci-fi/fantasy and I don’t consider myself obsessed or a freak. Ok, yeah… I’m weird but that’s what’s cool about me. I love D&D and RPG games (Gemstone is a great text-based RPG) on the computer, I read voraciously and watch all sorts of fantasy movies. I loved watching “Xena” and “Heracles”, I’ve been to a Star Trek convention and a “Xena” convention. I attend a Renfest every year and dress up for Halloween.
I’m not obsessed in the sense that I live these things, I just seriously enjoy them. So what if I call my hunnybunny “Milord” during certain… ah, moments? Does this make me strange or evil? It’s called fun and we all need more of it in life. 
Hmmmm. I’m asking myself now if I’m obsessed with fantasy, and I can’t decide if I am or not.
On one hand, I play Gemstone (which really is a super awesome RPG) daily and as I reply to this e-mail, I’m waiting to recoup mana before I go adventuring again. Additionally, I have two nights a week devoted to DnD and the majority of my library consists of SF and fantasy novels.
On the other hand, I’ve never learned to speak Klingon or even gone to a convention, other than Science conventions for work. I do also have science and other non-fiction books in my library, and fiction that isn’t fantasy or SF. I don’t devote all my free time to gaming, and don’t feel my real life things have suffered as a result of my fantasy interests.
HEY! A fellow Gemstoner! Right on. Mind if I ask your character’s name, Amberlei? You may have more than one, I know I did. I don’t play it anymore but it was a wonderful world! I miss it but can’t afford the fees and the sleep I lost staying up weekend nights.
Ever heard of a gal named Chaerion? Twas me, it was.
Does all medieval anime count?
Who needs this fandangled futuristic anime? Give me my Lodoss, Berserk, Bastard!! and Arislan anyday!
It’s something I’ve been accused of. smiles sweetly
Well, I’m obsessively devoted to Final Fantasy.
Hey! I do that! I just love B-movies. Not because they’re good, though. And I read real literature, really I do.
I sometimes think my oldest son is pretty obsessive when it comes to sci-fi/fantasy.
Star Wars, RA Salvatore, Stephen King, Orson Scott Card, D&D, video/pc games of the sort, etc. He is really, really into all of it.
To his credit he does read other genres to broaden his horizon, but the majority of it is fantasy.
I wouldn’t call it excessive, he’s a teenager, he’s supposed to do stuff like this, right.
Right?