#honestly i woulda left tumblr fandom but im gonna be here anyway on my main so why bother

[theloveinc]

not a vague post at all but it's interesting to see this conversation of ... fandom being dead or whatever bc... ive been on tumblr since 2011 and i've never seen such an interest boom as during the pandemic. and normally i chalk this new deadness up to us all going back to work/the fact i don't truly understand what fandom was like "back in the day" bc i was a teenager who mostly just read stuff.

but at the same time... i wonder, really how much has ACTUALLY changed and died and how many new things + expectations + functions have been created from this recent surge?

it's so interesting to me bc a couple months ago i reached out to an overwatch reader insert account i followed back in... 2016? maybe. and spoke to them just like i'd send anyone an ask, asking how they were, if they had any writing plans coming up and saying i missed them. and they never responded, which was fine honestly.... but what i found a little baffling was that they went on to say they still accepted requests? and still wanted to run their account the same way they did back in 2016????

(it truly felt so alien. i was like... we're people now!!! we talk to each other now!!!!!!!!!!!!)

and that isn't to say anything in particular, but i feel like things have changed since then... at the same this request system has spoiled some readers with the notion they can ask for what they want and receive it... seems like some writers have also been tainted by the expectation that people should like everything they post. it's hard to express, but it feels like one of those snakes that's eating itself ... wanting a certain amount of praise for doing things u "technically" enjoy doing.

which isn't to say it's reasonable to ignore fandom writers or demand things on the other hand (it's not)... but i guess a lot of functions here have changed now?

and tho fandom has always been alive and well, communities can def run their courses and get smaller and more........ dead, as shows progress or end or take hiatuses and interest wanes naturally....

and tho i don't remember the point i was trying to make, i just wonder how much of this is a natural decline that's being clung to irrationally. i miss having a large community too. fanfic writers deserve the utmost of praise for the care and dedication they put into their work. but setting urself up for disappointment... isn't anyone's fault. and blaming people for that isolates u from those you want supporting u. i have no idea.

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you know, i feel so inadequate bc i have such a lack of long fics and have a really hard time writing them (tho i do, just ... slowly and silently). but this is why i like answering to asks so much, bc the words of others inspire me (even if i've gotten a bit burnt out from my persona). and if this isn't u... you know, u write ur own stuff by urself, great!

but i feel like... in turn, this community is now in a transition stage (because we went from a community where everyone was having fun / getting asks + praise... to one that's smaller, isn't as buoyant or forgiving), and is readjusting itself to fit the new needs of writers, those who want to write their own complex ideas and those who need interaction to do so... and the readers that make both things possible finding their new places.

idk but... i think we're all relearning how to do this. and that shouldn't be blamed on anyone, regardless of feelings.

thanks for reading all of this if u did!! no need to comment or anything. and whatever if u didn't i don't mind <3