A question on fandom familiarity

[leethet]

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. :)

Comments

[frau-flora.livejournal.com]

I don't ever read fanfic about a show I've never watched. I don't see a point in it when I don't know the characters. I have read the odd MFU crossover (and enjoyed it) but it didn't make me want to watch the other show. The most that I did was look for photographs of the characters from the other show, found them unattractive and that was that.

However, I wouldn't regard it as original fic. Fanfic is usually strongly focussed on two (slash) or very few (gen) characters from a show. Original characters do appear but they usually only play a supporting role (unless they're Mary Sues). In fanfic I wouldn't have it any other way. In original fic I expect a little more.

Obviously fanfic as opposed to original fic has a certain setup and character description that appeals to fanfic readers even if they don't know the show. I don't really understand it but there are numerous examples for this, not least in the comments to your post here.

[leethet.livejournal.com]

It's possible you misunderstood me a bit. :) It isn't original fic just because the reader hasn't seen the show, of course. But from that reader's perspective, there is no familiarity with canon, character, setting, episode references, etc. The reader is entirely reliant on what the writer has presented in that story for her understanding of what's happening, and there can be, basically, no complaint of the story not following canon or characterization, because the reader has only the writer's own story to go by. In that sense, it's read as original fic - fic with no source foundation for that reader.

That fanfic is often structurally different from original fic is of course true, but beside my actual point. :)