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ilienWhat makes you fannish? And by that we mean, what is it about a tv show/movie/book/band/podcast/etc that takes you from, "Yeah, I like that," to "I need MOAR!!!" Is it a character? A plotline? The pretty? Subtext that’s just screaming to be acknowledged?
In your own space, tell us what it is that gets you to cross that line into fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
For quite a while, I used to get into canon for its world - I'm a big fan of fantasy and science fiction - and stay for the characters. I love complicated worlds with their own religions, social structures, geographies and politics, but it was never enough to get me to stay in the universe I've just found out about; it's always the characters; I love them diverse and complicated, but not in a "the world sucks, so it's okay to be an asshole" way.
Over the time, I discovered that I actually enjoy the characters and their relationships much more than the worlds they live in; the worlds turned out to be a one-time thing for me: yeah, it's great to discover them, but if there's no one to keep me coming back to that world, I won't become a fan. For example, Silverberg's Majipoor series was fun to read, but none of the characters caught my eye enough to want to come back to it. Quite often all it takes is one character (for example, in Suits I don't really enjoy the world or the plot, but I'm a huge fan of Donna, and that's enough to enjoy the entire show), but what draws me more to the world, makes me want to live in it a little (by rereading the books, or rewatching the movies and TV shows) is the relationships between the characters. I don't think I would have found Stargate Atlantis all that enjoyable if not for Rodney as a character and his relationships with John and Carson.
Much later (as a socially awkward person, I've always been slow to catch subtelty), I discovered subtext. I'm still trying to find out whether or not I really enjoy it - I seem to only enjoy the subtext when it's more or less obvious, like in Hannibal or the latest Sherlock, while the more subtle subtext (like The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes) frustrates me for my inability to capture it. All the same, when I am able to catch said subtext, it's a lot of fun for me.
All that rumbling is meant to say that there are plenty of things that make me fannish. It's, to a point, the world; it's the characters and their relationships; it's the subtext, provided it's visible enough. It's also the fandom itself: how would I be fannish over Mystrade, or Clint/Coulson without the fandom? There are lots of tropes, pairings and entire worlds that would make no sense whatsoever without their respective fandoms.
What really makes me stay is a good combination of some of those things. I don't really like the worldbuilding in Hannibal, and I enjoy the characters in the movies much more than in the show, but the show has amazing relationships, a lot of easy-to-read subtext, and the most amazing fanbase in the world; so I was hooked the moment I let myself peek in it despite the fact that I'm really not a big fan of gore. Barrayar series isn't big on subtext (at least, the kind of subtext I'm able to read), but the world is awesome, almost every character is amazing and their relationships are endlessly enjoyable. Some canons have everything: Babylon 5 has awesome worldbuilding, a lot of great characters with complicated relationships and a bit of subtext I'm able to enjoy. It doesn't have much of a fanbase these days, but I've yet to meet a Babylon 5 fan who's not an awesome person themselves.
In your own space, tell us what it is that gets you to cross that line into fandom. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
For quite a while, I used to get into canon for its world - I'm a big fan of fantasy and science fiction - and stay for the characters. I love complicated worlds with their own religions, social structures, geographies and politics, but it was never enough to get me to stay in the universe I've just found out about; it's always the characters; I love them diverse and complicated, but not in a "the world sucks, so it's okay to be an asshole" way.
Over the time, I discovered that I actually enjoy the characters and their relationships much more than the worlds they live in; the worlds turned out to be a one-time thing for me: yeah, it's great to discover them, but if there's no one to keep me coming back to that world, I won't become a fan. For example, Silverberg's Majipoor series was fun to read, but none of the characters caught my eye enough to want to come back to it. Quite often all it takes is one character (for example, in Suits I don't really enjoy the world or the plot, but I'm a huge fan of Donna, and that's enough to enjoy the entire show), but what draws me more to the world, makes me want to live in it a little (by rereading the books, or rewatching the movies and TV shows) is the relationships between the characters. I don't think I would have found Stargate Atlantis all that enjoyable if not for Rodney as a character and his relationships with John and Carson.
Much later (as a socially awkward person, I've always been slow to catch subtelty), I discovered subtext. I'm still trying to find out whether or not I really enjoy it - I seem to only enjoy the subtext when it's more or less obvious, like in Hannibal or the latest Sherlock, while the more subtle subtext (like The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes) frustrates me for my inability to capture it. All the same, when I am able to catch said subtext, it's a lot of fun for me.
All that rumbling is meant to say that there are plenty of things that make me fannish. It's, to a point, the world; it's the characters and their relationships; it's the subtext, provided it's visible enough. It's also the fandom itself: how would I be fannish over Mystrade, or Clint/Coulson without the fandom? There are lots of tropes, pairings and entire worlds that would make no sense whatsoever without their respective fandoms.
What really makes me stay is a good combination of some of those things. I don't really like the worldbuilding in Hannibal, and I enjoy the characters in the movies much more than in the show, but the show has amazing relationships, a lot of easy-to-read subtext, and the most amazing fanbase in the world; so I was hooked the moment I let myself peek in it despite the fact that I'm really not a big fan of gore. Barrayar series isn't big on subtext (at least, the kind of subtext I'm able to read), but the world is awesome, almost every character is amazing and their relationships are endlessly enjoyable. Some canons have everything: Babylon 5 has awesome worldbuilding, a lot of great characters with complicated relationships and a bit of subtext I'm able to enjoy. It doesn't have much of a fanbase these days, but I've yet to meet a Babylon 5 fan who's not an awesome person themselves.
