Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Day 9

[aadler]

 
Continuing the meme/challenge begun and tracked here.

Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Day 9

In your own space, talk about what surprises you about fandom. It could be a pairing or fandom you never thought you’d like. A fanwork type you never knew existed. Leave a comment in this [the assignment] post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Little surprises me about fandom anymore, because I’ve been following this for more than fifteen years now. Many things have surprised me, and I’ll touch on some of those.

Quality. Fanfiction, in various venues (I read primarily in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but not solely) can be gut-churningly bad, or astoundingly good. Since I’ve spent the last several years checking out possibilities mainly on the recommendations of people whose taste I’ve learned to trust, I’ve had increasingly less experience with the bad. Where the good is concerned … to call the top stuff professional-quality is inadequate, because most of it is better than quite a bit of material actually published (apparently for profit), and in Buffy itself, I have yet to find any of the “authorized” novels that even approaches the quality of the best fan writers.

Broadness, and narrowness. The range of material available — all done voluntarily, and not-for-pay — is bewildering. Look long enough, and you can find something in practically any subject, for practically any taste. Which, paradoxically, leads to limitation: there are entire sites devoted, not just to favorite characters, not just to favorite character pairings, but to favorite character pairings engaged in a particular fan-group’s favorite kinks. In a way, that’s quite helpful: simply by the attached label, I can often tell if a particular story is something I want to stay the hell away from. On the other hand, the proliferation of this special-interest material means there’s a LOT that I want to avoid.

Intensity. Though almost never involved myself, I’ve seen any number of online knife-fights over things that … not only do I not care about them, I can’t really imagine why anybody would care. I recognize that this is an aspect more of ‘online’ than of ‘fandom’, but since most of my online involvement has been through fandom, it took me some time to get used to that, and I still do what I can to avoid it.

Silliness. And I mean that in a good way. There are a lot of people who don’t take themselves seriously, and have a lot of fun not-doing so. I’ve seen stories about Mister Gordo, or Pikachu showing up on Serenity, or characters having to deal directly with the God of Misspellings and Bad Grammar, even an entire series about the various characters played by Alison Hannigan running into one another to increasing confusion. Kicking back to that extent is something I just don’t do, but I can enjoy watching other folks do it, and frequently have.

There are, however, a few things that can still surprise me.

I’m surprised, frankly, that Buffy is still as big a deal as it is. This year there will be high school graduation for people who weren’t born when Buffy first came onto the air. Next year there will be teenagers born after it went OFF the air. Yes, the BtVS fandom is smaller now than it was in its heyday, but those that remain in it — including, now, many who joined well after the show itself came to an end — seems to be just as dedicated and just as talented. Which is fortunate for me, since I’m still writing Buffyfic and I do enjoy having an occasional readership.

And that’s the second thing. I can still be surprised by the graciousness and enthusiasm of people dealing specifically with me. I’m an old guy, and social relations was never my top skill (or even a skill at all), and to have complete strangers be so nice to me with every sign of complete sincerity … I’ll never get to the point where I take that for granted, or stop loving it.

Nothing lasts forever, but this one does seem to keep going on, and I’ll hang on for awhile yet.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

This fandom is pretty astounding. I've learned about things I never knew anyone even wanted to see exist (mpreg?) and learned just how much weirder the world out there is than I ever knew (I feel almost comically UN-weird sometimes thanks to this fandom). It's been one heck of a ride and I, like you, am glad it's nowhere near stopping yet!


Gabrielle

[aadler]

Mpreg was one of the things I thought of but didn’t mention specifically. It leaves me puzzled; even when it’s done well, my response is still, “But why would you want to do that? well or not?”

And, though I don’t recall when you came in, I think of you as one of the “new” ones who continues to carry the flag.

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

I think it's important to be open and accepting. Something might not be my cuppa (mpreg, for instance), but I am glad it's there for the people who like it. I always remember that plenty of people find my favorite pairings as puzzling as I find piercing!fic. Different strokes for different folks.

I've been in this fandom since about 99/00, but I did not start writing until 2004. I was a beta and avid feedbacker for ages.


Gabrielle

[aadler]

So you actually came in about the time I did, or maybe shortly after, but became a writing presence only after the show (maybe both shows) had ended. That accounts for my general sense of you being a ‘later’ arrival.

I won’t go out of my way to condemn mpreg (or quite a few other things), but I will avoid them, and I won’t pretend approval or praise when I just don’t care. Enthusiasm for stuff like that doesn’t mean someone is stupid or contemptible; it does mean we’re in different worlds with little intersection between them, and I reserve my attention for things I like and enjoy.

[starbuckssue.livejournal.com]

Fandom really is an awesome place! I am so grateful I found fanfiction and the wonderful people I've had the pleasure of interacting with (and even meeting in person) over the years :)

[aadler]

I’ve only met a few (at WriterCon 2004 and 2006), but my involvement in fandom has indeed brought me much pleasure.

[snogged.livejournal.com]

Fandom is a seriously amazing place. :)

[aadler]

It does keep bringing new experiences.