I am an island. Or something. Cheese. Monkeys.

[tzikeh]

Very, very, very simple question, posed because I think I'm the only person left in fandom (and I'm mostly serious) who doesn't:

clarification: I don't mean you have to be *in* the fandom to be a "fan" of the source. If you saw the movie and liked it okay, that's enough. I'm trying to be really specific: if you haven't seen the source (no familiarity other than general fannish osmosis or you've caught an episode or two) or you don't like the source (tried it an didn't like it), have you still gone and read fanfiction for it - for any reason at all. That's the question.

[Poll #540738]

Note that there is no third option, because "Only if Fan X is writing it" falls under "Yes", and "I occasionally glance at stories for Y Fandom because all of my friends are in it but I don't actively seek it out" falls under "Yes", and "I only read Story Z that one time because everyone was raving and I'd seen two episodes of the show" - wait for it - falls under "Yes".

I'm feeling very alone right now....

Comments

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Enjoying the source. I don't mean you have to be active in fandom. I mean familiarity with the source.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

But enjoying the source and being familiar with it are two different things... aren't they? There are lots of sources I am familiar with but have no desire to read fanfic for.

And where do crossovers count?

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

But you're looking at it backwards.

There are lots of sources I am familiar with but have no desire to read fanfic for.

That's not what I'm asking. Are there pieces of fanfiction you have read where you're not familiar with or don't like the source. That's the question.

Crossovers are pretty simple - did you read it because you're familiar with / like one of the sources? Then it's not something you're not familiar with.

[kelliem.livejournal.com]

No, I understood your question, but it says 'are not a fan of the source' not 'are not familiar with the source.' And those are two different things.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

You're right - I wish I coudl go back and edit. I knew it wasn't clear enough.

[mei-x.livejournal.com]

Oh, I might have to change my selection since the important factor seems to be familiarity with canon versus mere enjoyment of the source. I was thinking more along the lines of "Well, I can't stand Paris Hilton's media incarnation, but I still read The Simple Life RPS."

I did get into dS fandom through the fanfiction, before ever seeing an episode of the show. The fanfiction led me to being a fan.

That seems to be an isolated phenomenon for me, though. As I grow older fannishly, I find that I'm less inclined to seek out fanfiction in unfamiliar fandoms. When I was a newer fan, I liked any new shiny thing, whereas now it takes a lot more to get my attention.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I did get into dS fandom through the fanfiction, before ever seeing an episode of the show. The fanfiction led me to being a fan.

Sure - but what show did you watch? I guarantee it wasn't the due South that aired fresh and new in 1994. Since you'd read fanfiction, you had someone else's (or many, many someone else's) *interpretation* of due South canon in your head well before you ever experienced it yourself; you had 0% chance of watching the show through your own eyes and coming to your own conclusions about it. This is another part of why I don't read fanfiction for things I don't know / haven't seen - if I want to see them, I want to see them for myself, not through the lens of fanon and fannish preferences.

[mei-x.livejournal.com]

guarantee it wasn't the due South that aired fresh and new in 1994. Since you'd read fanfiction, you had someone else's (or many, many someone else's) *interpretation* of due South canon in your head well before you ever experienced it yourself

Oh, that's certainly true and I often wonder about my interpretations if I had discovered it in 1994. However, I don't miss the strong emotions in fandom associated with the Rays and the changes in the show. I'm glad that I came on the scene after that had died down -- there's something to be said for joining a fandom after the source is no longer producing new material.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

I don't miss the strong emotions in fandom associated with the Rays and the changes in the show.

I wish I *had* missed them. ;) But I am glad I saw dS clean.