leethet | A question on fandom familiarity

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A question on fandom familiarity

I just read a remark from someone saying they'd read and enjoyed an MFU fanfic despite knowing nothing about the show, and it got me thinking ... how? Why? WTF? *G*

Then it occurred to me, if you read a fanfic about a show you know nothing about, you're really reading original fic, aren't you? For your purposes, it's all new, there's no "canon" (that you know about) to compare the story or characters to, there's only the writer's skill at telling a story. It's original fic.

I assume this reader read the fic because they knew the writer from another fandom and trusted their work (because I can't imagine why anyone would bother, otherwise). But I'm interested in people's thoughts on this. Is it weird to read in a fandom you know nothing about? Would you do it? If so ... why? Because it's an author you trust from elsewhere? But ... isn't it still, basically, reading original fic? So why?

Any thoughts are welcome here. This is really weird to me. :)

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Most times, I start reading in a fandom because I enjoyed book/movie/TV show but I've often read in fandoms I know nothing about because I liked an author, or because the fic sounded interesting when I skimmed a multi-fandom rec list. I started reading MfU with only the vaguest recollections of the TV show. And I began reading Harry Potter (the books) only after I'd read the fanfic, which I started looking at only because a cross-over tale (And I believe some HP fanfic far outstrips the quality of the books!).

I don't think you need to know anything about a show to read the fanfic unless events in said fanfic were highly contingent on background knowledge. If I'd known how hilarious The Sentinel was, I might not have approached its fanfic with such seriousness (3 years after reading the fanfic, I finally caught one ep on the afternoon repeats). And I still haven't watched a single ep of Magnificent 7 but I read and enjoy lot of the fanfic: gen, het, slash. Do I consider these forays into the unknown on par with my reading original fic? I suppose I do especially for slash stories, except that for fanfic, I do have the recourse of research if I wanted to know more.

But you at least had some vague recollection of MFU? That would be enough, if a description was tempting. I could see thinking "Ooh, I used to like that show, this looks like fun." There's a tie in, even if it's vague.

It's not that I think one has to know about a show/book to read fanfic. Clearly you only need to be able to read. :) But generally, with fanfic the lure is that the story is about characters you already care about, or a setting you find fascinating. Without that ... what's the lure? Lots of time on your hands and idle curiosity? A really interesting rec (I did that once, actually read a Batman/Robin story - a fandom I'm, of course, aware of, but in which I did not, and do not, read - because the rec was very interesting)? An author you love? I just wonder what the impetus is, in the absence of the usual impeti. :)

(And I entirely agree that several HP authors are far better than JKR)

OK, I think I have to confess that the "lots of time on your hands" bit probably applies to me. I did a lot of exploring into unfamiliar territory when I was on maternity leave and "on call" for son's dietary demands. Once that became established as a habit, I became very receptive to reading in fandoms I knew nothing about. There are several now which have become my faves and I went into all of them "backwards" (fanfic first, then canon). As a corollary to your musings, I have had a couple of cases where love of the canon led me to reject the fanfic - namely Zelazny's Amber books and Peter Pan. I like the original fic too much to accept variations on the theme, especially slash variations.

And btw, I do enjoy Batman slash - mainly with Nightwing though. Batman/Robin (in either incarnation) is a tad too chan for me.

Oh, dude, it's not a sin! I have no life, which allows for piles of fanfic reading if I'm inclined. :) But was it simply boredom that tempted you? What led you in to those fandoms, if you knew nothing at all about them? Why the ones you chose and not others, for instance? There must have been some key thing that made you go "Oh, that looks like a good read"??

The Batman/Robin I read was well written but in no way tempted me to read further. It just isn't a fandom I'm interested in, however talented the fanficcers are. That's why it's weird to me to see people read in a fandom they don't already love. The only way - the only way - I read fanfic is if I'm already so in love with the characters that I'm dying for more stories on them (and so far it's gone hand in hand with writing it as well).

Strangely, I could dig Amber fanfic if it was well done. The writer would need to try to capture Zelazny's style (somewhat, at least) and humor. I'd read it. :) After all, I've written my own original fic that's basically a rip off of Amber, so I think I could read other people's ripoffs. :)

You set me thinking. Familiarity paved the way at first. I randomly tried searching for MfU using Alta Vista. I'd had internet access for years but a 14.4 modem is really slow. File 40 made me go "wow!" and I think it took me a couple of days to understand the concept of "slash". Then I started looking for other stuff that I liked - mainly The Professionals, X-files, Nikita, Buffy.

Why did I go to fandoms I knew nothing about?

In 85% of the cases, it was because an author I liked wrote in more than one fandom. MfU crossovers with Pros, an XF author who wrote HP, another XF author who wrote Batman fanfic.

5% of the cases because of an intriguingly written rec or rivetting image. I took a tour of The Sentinel that way. And it is usually the way I read anime fanfic - too many fandoms, too many stories, so I look at recs instead and taste-try anything that sounds interesting. Anime fans are very fond of posting lists of their favorite characters (complete with pics and mini-bio) so I'd check out any that sound/look appealing. I say "intriguing written" because if the rec is simply gushing praise with no details given, I tend not to click the link.

The last 10% are arrived at by unorthodox means. I sometimes search on subjects and the Google list turns up a fic which I read and then get sucked into the fandom. I found fic on anime/manga Peacemaker Kurogane when I was researching COPD, and I went into many obscure fandoms blind when I was wondering what else Michael Biehn/Nick Lea had acted in.

I know of a few cases where it was the author the reader followed into strange fandoms. I don't get that myself - even if I love an author, I'm not likely to be interested in his/her work outside the area I read. Too much good stuff within my parameters, usually. :) Still, that's not an uncommon way to read outside one's usual fandoms, so I hear.

But I have followed many an author into unfamiliar territory, and it's worked out for me. My tastes are multifandom anyway, so when I've read few stories and liked the characters, I tend to seek the media and then dive back in to the fanfic.

Yeah, it's not to imply that that's a wrong way to do it, only that to me it's mysterious, because I always have the interest in the book or show first. Even if I loved an author I wouldn't read their stuff in another fandom, not because I doubt their ability, but because it's basically orig. fic, to me, and about people I'm just not interested in. :) Weird, because I'll certainly read original fic. I suppose it's that when I'm in fannish mindset, I'm here for the familiar characters/setting.

(How'd you find this LJ? ;-) You do know you've got me friended in HP, don't you?)

You commented to another commenter to an HP rec post I made in Crack Van.

And I have read and enjoyed your MfU writing, in particular "Liaison."

Oh! Thanks! I didn't know you were in MFU too (although probably if I was a little more on the ball, I would have). You did know I'm

auctasinistra, didn't you? (It's not exactly a secret, but not that many people are aware of it). :-)

No, I didn't know! I remember reading that LJ when you first started posting, and I check back regularly, you know. You are one of my favorite HP writers, definitely. I like how human you write Snape and Harry without exaggerating. That might be why I like you MfU, too. The MfU writers on teh whole seem to me to have a tendency to write Napoleon and Illya as more idealized, as archetypes rather than men. Not necessarily bad in some cases, but I didn't always recognize the characters in the show was being those in the stories. I do like the canon and the fanfic, but I had a much harder time finding MfU stories I really loved. You know, the ones so good that I make people who haven't seen the canon read.

I'm not sure why I never friended you; I think I'd gotten away from friending monofannish LJs, and I didn't know we had another fandom in common.

Yeah, I'm a serious compartmentalizer. It's not that one fandom's secret from another so much as that I like having fandom appropriate pseudonyms, and I like having a bunch of different looking LJs. :-) I like tidy boxes. I know, pathetic.

I agree with you about wanting the characters to be human (maybe a little better than average *g*) and also for them to be men. I'm delighted that the days of making IK a delicate flower are over. Who are your favorite MFU writers?

And I probably first commented to

auctasinistra as vamplover84. (I renamed my LJ about 18 mos. ago.)

I remember you!

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A question on fandom familiarity

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I mostly see the media first, then read when I want more/run out of canon

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how I found your LJ

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Re: your HP pseud

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Re: my old pseud

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