December meme for grammarwoman: Are there any fandoms that you resisted...

[kate]

Full text of the question: grammarwoman: Are there any fandoms that you resisted but fell into anyway? Or ones that you thought would be perfect for you but wound up not clicking?

Yeah, actually, yes to both of these.

So, after SGA, or even while it was waning, after it'd been cancelled, I was looking around hard for a fandom. The SGA folks had scattered, and I tried a lot of the things they were doing, Sherlock and Merlin, a few other things I can't even remember now. None of it hit me. Neither did any show really grab me - or rather, neither did show + fandom. There were shows I loved with fandoms that were either not where I was or just non-existent (Revenge, though I'm off that now), Leverage (though I've seen more love lately), White Collar or fandoms I didn't click with or, I loved the show, but had no real fannish interest (Hannibal, Sleepy Hollow).

I found The Losers, which is a great small fandom, and there was a lot of love and energy there (and I still love it, and will likely play in it forever), but since it was a movie, there wasn't the same sort of excitement I remembered from SGA, when we were all watching the episodes live and there was meta and commiseration about hiatus and... yeah.

And then. And then Supernatural (which I had STUDIOUSLY AVOIDED getting involved with back when it started because I was in SGA and didn't want another fandom, and then later because I had the impression that the fandom was batshit nuts (this impression has not changed)). I've talked about how I fell into this fandom before (thanks a lot, cupidsbow), and it was... tough. I've never been embarrassed about SGA the way I am sometimes embarrassed about SPN. I had no qualms with the fandom (even when they went a little over-the-top) like I do with SPN. But I'm here, and the show has really hooked me (lucky for me Season 10 is just knocking it out of the park for me) and I don't think I'll be going anywhere soon. I'm doing that thing where everything reminds me of the boys. It used to be John and Rodney - eeeeeeeeverything reminded me of John and Rodney. Now it's Sam and Castiel and even Dean sometimes. And this? This is not somewhere I expected to be. And I probably would have laughed at you, if you had said this to me a couple years ago.

As for the other, I've also talked about it before a bit, but: MCU. I love the movies a ton, I'm keeping up with Agents of SHIELD (sort of - I think I'm three eps behind now?), I've even read a few fics (and bookmarked this terrific one: How to Win Friends and Influence People by igrockspock Summary: Maria Hill's definition of "job interview" is different from other people's.). And I've read a few other things - one of devildoll's Steve/Bucky fics from before Cap 1, even, some short Tony/Steve and Bucky/Steve and Natasha/Pepper and I've even betaed Clint/Coulson. I like it; it's fine. I love the characters and the depth, but. I dunno. I'm still just waiting, expecting to get hit with that one episode/movie/idea that knocks me over and drags me into the fandom.

Here is my December meme topics post, if you have something you desperately want to ask me.

Comments

[grammarwoman]

:D :D :D

I love your thoughtful response! Thank you. (And *SIGH* to the SGA diaspora. MCU is sorta a replacement for me, but not entirely, for the reasons you list about TV shows vs movies.)

[kate]

<33333 You're welcome! And yeah, MCU, it's great, it's just... yeah. Apparently not going to be a huge fandom for me.

[curiouscorvid]

I'm a little surprised that SPN is the fandom you resisted but fell for anyway, but only because I know you're into it and it's hard to picture you not into it. And it is EMBARASSING at times. Agreed. Talking to others my age about Supernatural is just

I never meant to fall into it either. And I was actually pretty indifferent to the first season, but then BAM - car crash - and I had to know what was going to happen next. And once I met Castiel I just knew I wouldn't be able to stop, even though there were some really forgettable/skippable episodes.

But, zero regrets. I love the fandom, and I love the cast. (dorks)

[kate]

HAha, yeah, though if you knew me in SGA, you'd see how reserved I am about SPN. Seriously, I was crazy in SGA, and I'm just... staying well back from most of fandom in SPN. I love the source material, I'm writing a ton (that's REALLY similar to SGA), but I'm not involved with the fandom the way I was in SGA. I miss the fandom interaction a little, but now that I've got a few friends around here that enjoy SPN it's better! I get some interaction with people I trust and I don't have to try to keep up with fandom when I don't really have the time (arg, work).

Yeah, I have no regrets either, and holy shit... my convention is coming up in a month and a bit here. Holy shit. Holy shit. D: D: D: I'm super nervous about it.

[curiouscorvid]

Oooh - which con are you going to? Have you ever been?
I went to my first SPN Con in October and it was just so amazing, even though we were only there for a day! I prepped like crazy for it though - I joined the fb group that was just for that con and talked to everyone and made sure I knew exactly what to expect in all details (including, how far is the nearest coffee shop/place to buy snacks).

I can see how it might be tough to get involved with fandom. Honestly, I just don't know how. I tweet things, out into the void, and I blab on here and get into some great conversations, and I follow things on tumblr but those people scare me. :P And the fanatics on twitter scare me too. :P They're just too intense and take everything so seriously and talk about the actors like they own them and ... .#shudders.

Omens & I watched the Mannly Supernatural Stoneghenge Christmas thing or whatever it was, and it included watching Stonehenge Apocalypse and the whole time she kept saying it made her think of SG. I never really got into that fandom, but am peering at it very cautiously from a distance. I don't have a lot of time for tv so I'm just not sure about jumping into a 10 seasons show like that now that I've finally caught up on SPN! But I am used to being behind on tv. I got into Harry Potter fic after that fandom quieted down and now I'm looking at watching the Losers for the first time, so I guess I'm just used to not being involved with fans so much.

[omens]

I also avoided Supernatural but fell in eventually, anyway. I think after SGA I resented SPN weirdly like it was stealing people. Irrational fannish drift feelings before I got better at feeling those feels, I guess. It's old hat now that I'm so drifty, myself. :P (The other big resist fandom for me was SGA.. haha. Because it just wasn't SG1. And was too scary. LOL. Can you tell I'm bad with change?)

MCU/Shield is a good fandom for sitting on the edges? I mean, it's really like a dozen fandoms. So it's frustrating and rewarding for that, I think. (There are a million stories you might like! But they'll all have a liiiiiittle bit of canon you loathe.)

[kate]

Hahaha, yeah, I totally understand! I was like that about Merlin! I don't really have a problem with change, but it's always sad to see people leave a fandom before you do, you know? I always want everyone to enjoy the same things I enjoy! (Not really, but, sort of... if that makes sense.)

Yeah, I don't mind MCU, I read here and there, it's just not the squeefest I was expecting.

[mific]

I should give SPN another go - I never persisted very far as I was definitely in SGA back then. Also I think I thought maybe the religious subtext (angels, demons, yadda yadda) might piss me off. (atheist here) I should probably retry it - when does Castiel arrive in the series? He sounds like fun although I don't have any real detail. Aaaand - a chance to use my solitary SPN icon!

[kate]

Yeah, SPN pretty much thumbs its nose at religion - or basically, it says angels are basically dicks and God doesn't really give a crap and... it's almost anti-religious, really. Though the first three seasons are all monsters and stuff, there's no angels, and when Castiel (and all the angels) arrive in season four, Dean basically doesn't believe in them, because nothing good ever happens to them. And then he finds out they're dicks, and it's like, "yeah, figures." That part of it has always amused me, honestly.

I do enjoy Castiel - he's probably my favorite character, really.