Niche interests!

[Kie]

Do any of you have a niche interest? Like a specific animal, or a specific thing or topic? Mine is roller coasters (especially the safety systems! ) I can watch videos on roller coasters and roller coaster accidents for hours LOL! Unfortunately most videos on roller coasters I find are from US Americans and thus focus on US parks... I just wish there were more channels centered around parks in the EU, because at least I could have a chance of visiting them someday!
(I'm also really passionate about web crafting, but since I spend a lot of time on the indie web it does not feel as "niche" to me!)

It can be quite isolating having a niche interest. So I wanted to get this topic started and give people a chance to talk a little about what they are passionate about    So, what's your niche interests?

[Corrupted Unicorn]

oh boy I have several 

- Animated Music Videos: The sublime dance between music and animation. I'm a huge fan of animation in general (not just the final product, but how it's made, too!), but MVs are my most favourite format of them all. As you may imagine, I'm a big fan of early MTV, but when I was a kid I had VH1, its... European cousin of sorts? Anyway, anytime animation is synched with music (a technique also known as "mickeymousing"), I love it 
- Tebeos: Spanish comics from the 60s-80s more or less, specifically the humorous ones. My personal favourite author is also the biggest one from the era, Francisco Ibáñez (may he rest in peace). His artwork is super dynamic, expressive and detailed: one of the very few times I've seen slapstick humor work on a format without movement like film or animation. His work is one of my biggest inspirations and what got me to keep on drawing since I was a kid.
- PC Edutainment Games from the 90's-00's: I have a super soft spot for PC games in general, but I especially like edutainment ones! Oddly, I've never came across the ones that usually come to mind to an USAmerican audience, like Jumpstart or Humongous Entertainment, but we had some others. I'm currently working on rescuing my own childhood edutainment games from becoming lost media!
- The Masked Singer: Admittedly, it's kind of a "dormant" interest nowadays since I departed from my community, but I really admire the craft behind the costumes and the stage performances, and all the different "masks" that exist in different versions of the show all over the world! It's also the largest "fanart" subject I've drawn in my life. I was making categories for my art gallery on my site and Masked Singer fanart is the second biggest page right after pencil sketches!

And since you mentioned animals, my favourites have always been waterfowl (especially swans and ducks) and sheep 

[realgrimreaper]

I had a LazyTown phase when I was 11 that led me to learning some Icelandic and becoming obsessed with the original Icelandic LazyTown plays. Before the show aired on Sprout in 2004, there were two plays and one radio play in 1996, 1999, and 2001. In the Icelandic dub (named Latibær), some of the original play actors reprised their roles. I'm not learning Icelandic anymore, but it feels like I know more of it than Spanish sometimes.

In a similar vein, I do also enjoy a couple Icelandic music artists like kef LAVÍK and Úlfur Úlfur. I have yet to listen to Björk.

I wish personal websites were in the public perception more! People should know how easy it is to make a portfolio or just talk about their interests somewhere decentralized.

[Paprika]

Don't know if it's niche but I do love some obscure characters from comic-books. Lately I've been fascinated by Andy Benton (Mania / Scream / Silence) and by Piper Dali (Paper Doll) and I find it incredible that there's such a huge cast and I hyperfixate on stuff like this. Previously it was Bess and Donna Bliss (Flesh & Bones)

[fawn]

I wasn't really sure if this counted but when you said "it can be quite isolating having a niche interest" I took it as counting. I really, really, REALLY love the Welcome Home ARG. I won't infodump about it here but I discovered it pretty much on launch while I was looking to fill the mascot horror void in my heart (lack of substance in favour of monetisation my beloathed </3) and immediately fell in love. The TL;DR is that it's a restoration project for an old show called Welcome Home. The site documents the archival process and the mysteries and concerning Happenings within universe. I feel like I'm not selling it very well but the characters are delightful and the lore (especially from the recent Spring update) have me in a suspenseful chokehold at all times. The vocal parts of the fandom tend to be... intense and at times a bit odd in a way where I haven't felt fully comfortable engaging with the community most times but I'm also aware that I'm quite a bit older than the majority of the fanbase, so I just watch my silly theory videos and yell to my friends who have no idea what I'm talking about :)

[Eunice]

I love girls' school novels, especially ones by Elinor Brent Dyer (the Chalet School), Elsie J Oxenham (the Abbey School), and lots of others. I love children's books in general really. I'm a member of two Chalet School clubs and one for Elsie J Oxenham. And several facebook groups, which are very lively!

[TheFrugalGamer]

I collect physical handheld virtual pets, especially ones that aren't Tamagotchi/Digimon, though I have those too. I love running and reviewing them and looking at the differences between each. Some of them are okay and/or buggy, while others are quite complicated and well thought-out (one of the puppy ones I have requires you to potty train the pet!). I'd love to talk to someone who worked on the electronics or programing for one some day, but I've never met anyone involved with them before.

[shapezncolourz]

i think the interest that would fit the bill the most for this is twitch streamer rtgame's playthrough of miitopia!! its been a special interest of mine since just after it finished in late 2021, and its given me some of my closest friends! i just find myself easily attached to characters, even if the thing theyre from isnt meant to be taken seriously in the slightest '^^
my profile picture is one of the characters, magical john! he was created based off of a character from rt's scribblenauts playthrough, and was meant to be as disturbing as possible to freak out rt's livestream chat. however, as the series went on, more and more people started to really like him! im one of these people - i used to hate him but now hes one of my favourite characters of all time :] a lot of fans (including myself) see a lot of autistic traits in him due to his social struggles, which makes him really relatable to be in a way that he probably shouldnt be


not really that niche but not something i see a whole lot of people talk about online either is british comedy tv, whether that be panel shows or sitcoms. i usually engage with media in a pretty "fandom-ey" way, which most others dont seem to do.
my favourite show and current hyperfixation is the it crowd, and i wouldve thought that most people dont engage with it because of the writer's opinions on transgender people and the fact that at least a third of the main cast still support him. however, while the fandom is small, whenever ive mentioned enjoying the show to anyone i know i dont get a lot of judgement for it based on that - in fact, it turns out that i know a lot of people who love the show, including other trans people! im not sure why ive met so many people who love the show dearly and are happy for others to know it despite the views of those who have worked on it, and yet there are so few people who talk about it online 

[crucifixkiss]

i had a really long EAS phase a couple of years ago! paired with an EAS scenario one.. i would spend hours either watching them or having them as background noise.
i was also super into computer viruses and tech malfunctions/bugs for a couple of years!! which is funny because it caused me to develop a recurring nightmare where i got malware on my pc.. oops