#even if the other wasn't 100% invested in what's going on they might tag along and maybe multitask a little on the side

[canisalbus]

Do the modern AU boys have a favorite movie or show (or genre of media) they watch together? I imagine they curl up together on a couch or something with a glass of wine or something and just watch Spanish soap operas together and decompress.

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[littlespoonevan]

How do you like, gain momentum and a following in a fandom? I've been a part of a fandom for a while now, and it seems like everyone around me is just somehow better at this whole thing - interactions, engagement, following - than I am. And I'm trying to have fun and do it for myself but it's hard if no one ever engages with your stuff :(

i'm sorry, anon, there's nothing more frustrating than feeling like you're shouting into the void in fandom :(

i'm gonna preface my response by saying i've had this blog since 2010 and, as such, some of my advice might be a little outdated because the vast majority of my following was built up between 2014 and 2017. likewise, i have found in general it's been easier for me to transition from fandom to fandom because i already had mutuals/followers that were interested in the new thing i got invested in and so tended to follow along with me???

like say if i was starting from scratch right now in the 911 fandom there is no way i'd even come close to the same amount of engagement/followers etc if it wasn't for my past fandom experiences, y'know?

having said that, i will say the thing that's always drawn the most engagement for me has been my fics. it's how i gained my first follower surge, it's why i first started to receive asks, and it's generally the thing that gets people talking to me whenever i join a new fandom. now i don't think anyone should have to commodify their place in fandom just to get people to engage with them but i do think contributing in some way lends itself to engagement. whether that be writing fics, making gifsets or fanart, or even something as simple as funny textposts or fic rec lists, or character playlists or rewatch commentary

(like i've had some shitposts reach over a thousand notes in comparison to my fics that would average out between 100 and 300 lol)

beyond that i've found it does tend to be pure fluke what posts gain traction (eg. if a quote-unquote Big blog happens to stumble across your post and reblogs it and it subsequently gets shared around) which is frustrating sometimes but also can lead to you finding your own little circle of friends/mutuals to discuss stuff with.

also i don't think there's anything wrong with private messaging someone if you see them discussing a particular scene/episode/ship/headcanon whatever and wanting to continue a discussion based off their post. i've done it plenty of times! sometimes we might only exchange 2-3 messages other times that person has become a beloved mutual. if you're going to click, you'll click.

overall i would say make your own stuff (again, be it fics, gifsets, fanart, text posts, meta, fic recs, whatever - they all have merit and they all matter in fandom), tag said stuff, engage with other people's content (leave comments in the tags!!!), and message people if you feel comfortable doing so

it's not necessarily foolproof and this website is definitely unpredictable but truly, if you can find 3-4 people you get along with that you can discuss all things fandom with then that's honestly 90% of what makes fandom enjoyable ❤️