Fandom Meme, 7

[osprey_archer]

7. What would make you leave a fandom, or prevent you from getting into it in the first place?

This is perhaps shallow, but I’ve often drifted out of fandoms where my fic didn’t find an audience. Sometimes there are other factors too - I left Downton Abbey WITH GREAT PREJUDICE when I realized the show was about to kill my darling Sybil - but I might have continued watching if my fic had found an audience.

Or I might still have quit watching, and set all my Downton Abbey fic in season 2 and before, in much the same way that I have blithely (well, okay: bitterly, furiously) ignored almost all developments in the MCU subsequent to The Winter Soldier. That actually seems more likely.

I was going to say that I avoid getting into fandoms with a reputation for wankery, but let’s face it, Winter Soldier fandom could be a pretty wanky place, so clearly if I am JUST THAT INTO a canon I will jump into the fandom regardless. (I will say that my time in TWS fandom was generally lovely, possibly because I steadfastly refused to engage in fandom debates and just posted my fic.)

But there have definitely been times where I don’t feel QUITE so obsessed with the canon, and I take a look at the fandom and find it’s a cesspool of wank, and go, “Nah, I’m good just enjoying the canon on my own.”

Comments

[asakiyume]

That doesn't sound shallow to me. It's like trying a conversational gambit on people and having it rebuffed or treated dismissively. Fandom is about interaction (right? at least in part?), and if people aren't interested in what you're suggesting as a topic for interaction... no fun.

[osprey_archer]

That's true! Why cast pearls before swine, etc etc.