Unfamiliar Fandoms

[Niceguy]

Just a question about how you feel when you come accross a fetish-oriented fanfic from a totally unfamiliar fandom.

I hate to admit it, but if I don't know the fandom, I tend to shy away. (OK - to be honest, I basically skip over it.)

I hate to admit that because most of the fandoms I write in are basically unfamiliar to most people. (They're mostly anime.)

So I'm curious about other people's reactions when they see a fanfic from something they've never heard of.

[stargazer]

I prefer fandoms that I'm interested in only. But if a fic from a fandom I've heard about, but may not watch/read) and from the summary (if there is one) sounds interesting, I might read it.

[Jules]

That's a toughie... Generally, I'd say no, if I am not familiar with the fandom then no I probably won't read it, although I've already broken that "rule" with a few stories, lol, so I guess it just really depends on what fandom it is and if I can get a handle on the characters and into the flow of the story, the writing style, etc.

I must admit, I really cannot get into anime fics (*cowers at things being thrown at her*), which is a shame because I've seen how well written so many of them are. Well, I can always continue to try and read them.

[Blah!?]

Generally, unless there's something extremely important to the fic from the fandom that hasn't been explained in the story its self, I can get into just about anything.

[KawaiiKitty]

Well, I didn't vote because my answer is not up there because my answer, like me, is complicated and weird.

If I don't know the fandom, but the person writing it is somebody I'm friends with or who has read MY stuff and said nice things, I will read it. I've actually been turned onto some fandoms I otherwise wouldn't have gotten into that way.

If I don't know the fandom, and I don't personally know the writer I may not read it. This is not because I am intentionally being a cow, it's because there's an AWFUL lot of stories that are posted any given week and while I'm sure they are really fantastic, sometimes I don't always have the time.

If I know OF the fandom, but it's not something I'm hugely into, whether or not I read it depends on who wrote it. (For the "I am not a cow" explanation, see above!)

And, this is going to make me sound really horrible...if I know the fandom and it's something I really don't like (there are a couple of really popular things that don't float my boat: Pirates of the Caribbean being a prime example) then I tend to skip it even if I like the writer unless the writer is a really good friend.

[Geist]

I go by writer, not fandom. If I like the writer, I read the fiction. I don't care what fandom it is. That does not affect my enjoyment of the story.

From a writer's point-of-view, I DO admit to worrying that people won't read some of the stuff I write because they don't know the series/fandom. Right now, I'm writing about a book series (not an anime...yes, I know you're shocked!) and not many people have read the series, so I have to wonder who is reading my fiction.

Still, I look at it like this...

When I read fiction and I don't know the fandom, it's like an original character story to me. Plus, I've learned about some pretty cool series/books through reading the fiction of others.

Give it a chance, even if you don't know it. I've found that 95% of the time, I'm REALLY glad I did!

~Aku

[Vetinari]

There are some authors whose stories I will always look at. Other than that if I am familiar with the fandom I am more likely to give it a look as it makes everything easier to visualise thus the writing style doesn't have to be so outstanding. I must admit that (like Kawaikitty) I would also be more likely to read and comment on someone's work if they have read and commented on mine although that has probably been more true recently than when I first came as I'm getting to know people better.

Incidentally I'm not really into anime either (I'm not sure if all that stuff is on the TV in the USA but I've just not seen any of it over here). On occasions when I find myself reading about an anime I don't know I just imagine the characters (as one would when reading a book that doesn't have a film attached!) because if I look them up and they're just still shots it does absolutely nothing for me. It wouldn't stop me reading them if they're well written though.

[Niceguy]

Interesting responses. I didn't really think about a "depends on the author" answer... I guess for what I'm looking for that would fall under the middle answer. I was basically curious how many would say "No - Not interested." I'm happy to see that number (at this point) is pretty small, especially since (like I said) I write in fairly unfamiliar fandoms. (OK - some are familiar to Anime fans, but not to the general public.)

On the other hand I'm a little bit ashamed that I'm one of only TWO (so far) that admit to skipping over unfamiliar fandom's! They have their reasons I'm sure, but I want people to read my stuff! I guess I'll have to do a little better myslef on that bit of hypocrasy!

[Sneesee]

For me, it's mostly about the writer, not the fandom. I try to read everything, but if it doesn't capture my attention right away, I do lose interest.

[Glowie]

*puts hand up for #3*

I only ever read from fandoms that I'm familiar with AND interested in. If I'm reading about characters that I either don't know or don't care about, I can't get into the story. So why bother?

I don't mean to sound harsh or anything, but basically I read fics for my personal enjoyment of visualising characters I know and love in situations that canon doesn't provide. IYKWIM!

[ellwren]

I'll usually skip past fanfiction for fandoms I don't know or don't like, though I'll sometimes take a look if I like the writer.

It's not that I need to know or care about the characters ahead of time, but rather that I'm put off by stories that presuppose/require that I already know and care about the characters. Good writers, of course can overcome this and write wonderful works of fiction that don't require me to be a fangirl.

This is also one of the reasons that I like original fiction so much: It is open and accessible to everyone, equally. There are no prerequisites for enjoying the story. You don't have to have watched the show or seen the movie or read the book, and you're not missing out on anything. The story is not secondary to some larger, separate entity. No one assumes that you know or care about the characters, and so it is the writing that draws you in and shows you why these characters are worth your attention. Something just feels cheap about kidnapping someone else's characters and then writing fanfics that just don't do justice to the original or its creator.

That's not to say that every original story will be appealing to everyone, but it's still more accessible to everyone and starts with a clean slate.

[count tiszula]

Well, Ididn't vote, because, though obviously in the minority, I am surprised I am the first to say that ....I generally read fics that have at lleast some female sneezing first.

It's not that i don't like male sneezing, but it often seems to involve very little sneeze actieon and a lot of non-sneezy caretaking, and if this all takes place amid a fandom that i can't even begin to understand, it becomes almost impenetrable.

And it doesn't have to be like that; when I started reading Housefics I think I'd only ever seen half of one episode and didn't know who was what, but I've now got heavily intereswted, and it was the fics that got me into the fandom [even though there are nothing like enough f sneezes in the fics.].

Like Vetinari, I don't even know where I would find the various anime and similar material. And since a lot of it appears to be the sort of fantasy that generally appeals to me, this is frustrating at times.

Many people do set out an expository section [within or outside the story] just setting the scene to a degree, and this is very helpful. But I realise that if there is a fandom that iw widely known and has been done many times before, it gets difficult to repeat the exposition over and over again just to please some idiot who hasn't got it yet. Still, I sometimes wonder if I should just invent an obscure fandom and claim that it's very popular.

Oh yes, Niceguy, I've enjoyed many of your stories because, even though i don't understand the fandomata, they have intersting themes like sneezy creatures pasing betwen numerous girls or indeed general contagion and stuff. So, keep up the good work.

[doggo]

Personally I just LOVE people kidnapping someone else's characters and then writing fanfics, as I often feel that if the story is good, there's always a great deal of stuff left untold, something that's not reported in the "official" story, and I love to fantasize about those bits, and equally, I love other's doing that too for everyone's enjoyment. What I think is the best that when someone "kidnaps" a character from some fandom who is NOT likely to sneeze in the original story, and... reports those secret moments.

I'm mosty likely to read anime fic, even if I don't know the fandom. Much more likely than to read original fic or non-anime fandom based fics. Why? I'm such an otaku! I've watched loads of anime and gotten a quite good hang of how the characters are typically built, so a couple of signals resulting from the writer being passionate about those characters tells me typically all I need to know to enjoy the fic. I mean, if the writer feels she/he knows the characters, that shows, and it's enough for me to learn to know them, from everything "between the lines". That's much better for me than starting from scratch and trying elaborately to create a character. For me it's that the writer knows the characters and is passionate about them that make's the story worth reading, those feelings just reflect into the writing so strongly that there's no need for explanations.

Though the fics with the magical (F) I read only, if I know the fandom and I know I like it very much.

I hope this made any sense.