zeegoeshere

A meme stolen from seperis, because it is Sunday morning and no one is posting and I'm bored as fuck. For some reason, my friendslist is always super slow on the one day that I really need it to be entertaining to help me procrastinate on homework. For shame, people.

Anyway! Two options:

1.) Ask me about my fic--something I wrote, character, plotline, even a really short commentary--and I'll give you an explanation, snippet, or something. Kind of like a dvd commentary, but shorter and faster.

OR

2.) If I've recced your fic and you don't know why or want to know what I liked about it and I was unclear, ask. And I'll tell you. (My sporadic and random recs are all, appropriately enough, under my recs tag.)

Okay. I'ma try and say this in a way that does not cause wank. I might be horrifically unsuccessful, but oh well. I'm very bad at keeping my opinions to myself.

It's pretty obvious that bandslash fandom is growing really quickly. The demographics are changing. A lot of the new people coming in are writers that I've loved in other fandoms before this one. Personally, I think this is awesome, because hey--good fic! I'm kind of fond of it! Plus, I won't lie, it's nice not to feel like the only new kid on the block.

There's always going to be some grumbling when a small fandom transitions to a big one, I think. I've been on both sides of the fence, from someone who's been in a fandom since the beginning and is hoping that the newbies don't fuck it up, to a nervous newbie who's just hoping that all of the fans who know this new fandom inside and out don't hate her. Fandom growth is always kind of exhilarating and nervous-making, and I'm just hoping that in this round of it we can avoid wank.

Because, seriously, I fucking love this fandom. I think I've been pretty obvious with how much I like it here. The fandom was incredibly welcoming to me when I got into it (I was SO nervous posting my first fic, it was a little ridiculous), and I try to be as welcoming to other people getting into the fandom as the damnyouwentz crowd was to me back in February. I don't think I've been this engaged in a fandom, um, ever. I like it here. I plan to stay. But I can already see ugly patterns emerging that I've seen in other fandoms, people worrying about popularity and incoming new kids and where they might fit in the fandom as it grows. I do understand wanting to protect a fandom that you love from people whom you're afraid are going to bring it down, but I've got to admit, I've never really understood the attitude that if new people come in and get love and adoration, it will somehow mean less for the rest of us. Guys, fannish love is not a fixed quantity! Sitting down to read fic, it's not like I think to myself 'okay, I only have so much positive feedback to give, so if I give it to this new writer I have to not give it to this other writer', and I don't think ANYONE thinks like that.

I love the people in this fandom that have been here since the beginning. I love the new people. I love damnyouwentz, but it's not the be-all and end-all of this fandom anymore, and I don't say that to diminish it or diminish anyone in it, it's just the truth. A bigger fandom means more options for people, that's all. It means variety! Variety is the spice of life!

So, um, in conclusion, be excellent to each other, guys. Wank over fandom growth is just so... cheap.