I miss having a fandom. :(

[stoney321]

Which might sound strange, because I am still fannish about some shows. This post pretty much sums up how I feel about current fannish trends, aka - rolling around in spoilers and speculations and red herrings and becoming UNBELIEVABLY ANGRY about things and then spending the season bitching about how those spoilers and speculations and red herrings weren't accurate. (Oh, you don't say?)

I have not one single fannish Tumblr on my feed now. No one can be trusted (aside from my Miss Muse), I have painfully found out. I took K_B off my feed last night because someone put in their g.d. author's notes to a fic post "now that we all need a little..." blah blah - which means that they are hinting about a spoiler/speculation/red herring and now I AM INFECTED WITH IT. :(

Everyone can have the fannish experience they want. Which seems to be that they want to be angry and hate a show they continue to watch (oh my god, don't even get me started on the BZUH?-ness of that). So why can't I have the fannish experience I want? Which is to watch the show when it airs, and then talk - BEHIND A CUT - about what I liked, etc? Because people are selfish, that's why. I'm sorry if that makes you angry with me. (People who don't care about my wishes and wants make ME angry.) As flaming_muse said: spoilers should be OPT IN, not OPT OUT.

I've had four different fics on my hard drive that I've essentially deleted. I can't even consider moving forward with any of them, because my joy in the show and sharing it are pretty much gone - not to mention the whole "feeling paralyzed about writing the future with hints of what's to come having been carelessly posted."

I'm just tired of selfish behavior. It's like the majority of the people on the internet exhibit ADD behavior: complete lack of impulse control and thinking things through, or having empathy for others. /killjoy.

There are a handful of people that I enjoy in this fandom, and I'll continue to read them (and I'm talking, like six people), but man - the rest of the fandom has pretty much killed it for me. I've been in one fandom or another since I was, hmm. 11? I'm 40. I've never had such a negative experience. I say this not to be a whiner, but to stress how UNUSUAL this behavior is. This is not how fandoms typically behave, n00bs. As I tell my kids and their friends: Manners are free, so there's no excuse for you to not have any.

Not that it's a hardship to other fan-types in Glee that I'm not really wanting to play ball anymore, I'm not trying to prop myself up in importance (because let's face it - I'm not.) I'm just expressing myself in my personal fannish space.

ION, I bought my son skinny jeans and they bag on him. O_O The child eats almost $200 in groceries A WEEK. If I could bottle his metabolism...

[ETA]: Just to clear the record: I'm not trying to be all sniffy/flouncing. I'm expressing my frustration, is all. (And it should go without saying that there should be NO MENTIONS OF SPOILERS OF ANY KIND in comments here. Or speculation. Or red herrings. Or mention of Brussels sprouts. Because those are gross and make you fart.)

Comments

[hazyjayne.livejournal.com]

All of what you both say; to be honest I am using this (avoiding fandom which means I am so far behind on Near Misses :() as a good reason to work on other things (work, college). I'm hoping the situation will improve when the season starts again.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

No no no! Do not avoid Near Misses! I PROMISE, if anything is going to make you love the show again, it's that story. It's exactly what the writers would have written, had Klaine not met on the stairs, I'm telling you. <3

But yes - being responsible in other areas of your life is always a good thing. (I do think you should reward yourself with a catch up read, though. :D)

[mystmoon1.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear that you're so disillusioned by the fandom. I love your work and would be sad to see you go. I am very sad that you deleated your work. I do tend to agree with you. (not exactly, but that's ok).

I hope that when the season starts, you can enjoy it again.
*hugs*

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

I have never understood the pleasure of being spoiled for a show or hating on a show and still watching it just so you can hate on it some more. You're no longer a fan if all you can do is tear a show or a character or an actor down. Turn the television off and walk away.

Put on your mad scientist pants and get to work on that metabolism juice! I am in dire need of a boost.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I hope I can enjoy it, too. (Well, I'm sure that I WILL enjoy the show, I just don't know about sharing it with fandom at large. It seems that the majority of people just want to rip the show apart, and that's just not how I want to play the game, you know?)

I'm genuinely curious (because I haven't ever had a negative experience with you, so I'm just interested) about what your differences are with my approach to fandom?

Also, thank you for being sweet about my few contributions. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/shing_/]

I feel your pain. I stopped reading forums because of the negativity. So much hate! And yet, the people who hate it the most are the first ones posting on the episode threads and/or the most active. I live in a very small corner of the fandom where I only see whispers of the wank/crazy. I'm not much of a spoiler-phobe though I do try to avoid it as much as possible so I understand the frustration there too.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I don't like everything on True BLood. There are very specific things I watch that show for. But those things? I FREAKING LOVE. (Eric, Pam, New!Tara, Jason Stackhouse, Russel Edgiington...)

I just ignore the other parts.

Man, I would really like a boost of that Metabolism, too. IT DID NOT COME FROM MY SIDE OF THE FAMILY, let me just put that out there.

[thegourmez.livejournal.com]

Totally concur with your description of how Glee fandom operates--whine and moan about spoilers only to see that things play out a bit differently in the actual episode and then whine and moan about the difference between the speculated expectation and the actual event. It's beyond silly, but I still admit to engaging in it to a point. Personally, I just don't let any spoiler rile me up because how on Earth do we know how it'll really play out? We don't. I'd suggest you think of that in reference to the Author's Note that spoiled you too--we really DON'T know how things will play out. You shouldn't let probably misunderstood future events interfere with your writing, because that writing is beautiful and deserves to be seen!

In other words, if you love writing it, please continue because plenty of us love reading it!

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

*clings to you* Yep - no more forums for me. No more comms, etc. It's just not the experience I want AT. ALL.

And you're right on the money with the people that seem to want to complain the loudest are always the first to comment! Or are the most prolific, etc.

Which...knock yourselves out (those people). I'm just not hanging on those corners any more. I concede the territory and have retreated to my own space. =/

[hazyjayne.livejournal.com]

AS SOON AS I CAN STOP THESE FOURTEEN HOUR WORK DAYS <3 Which actually today is the final day (hopefully!); but regardless chapter seven is already bookmarked for my morning cafe session session...

... and I do still love the show, and I have a select group of people I do share it with. I am actually stoked about 13th September ;) I take it you will still be doing reviews for HDJM, then I can squee in your comments? :D

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Well, thank you very much for the comment re: my writing, but I'm afraid that just ignoring it doesn't work for me. I have a very vivid imagination, and I can't dump those worries regarding spoiled storylines that easily. :(

It just ruins the whole experience for me. I don't flip to the back of the book; I don't want to know what's going to happen in a movie or TV show. I like sitting down, a blank slate, and letting all of the hard work that the cast and crew put into their project wow me as they intended it to. *shrug*

I know that's a different thing in this particular fandom; I'm just not built the same way.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

Poor thing! That is a lot on your shoulders. :(

Oh, you're only on Chpt 7!? OOOOOOOOOH, ARE YOU IN FOR A WONDERFUL WEEKEND. <3

I love the show, too. And I vow to keep HDJM a place for those of us that DO STILL LOVE IT. No spoilers, no hate, just appreciation and thoughtful discussion when warranted. <3 (Thank you for that, btw. I would be absolutely devastated if I couldn't still have that outlet.)

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Your icon! He's what I miss about True Blood.

[mystmoon1.livejournal.com]

no, no, nothing like that. I am just not as spoiler-phobic as you. Still, I try not to discuss spoilers with anyone who hasn't brought it up themselves.

And thank you. Being (non-negative word of choice, LOL) is something I take pride in.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

He's still there! Just, you know, for about ten minutes. :(

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

It's true - I practically go into anaphylactic shock over spoilers. :)

You should take pride in it! It's becoming a rare trait these days. <3

[hazyjayne.livejournal.com]

You see what I mean about having other priorities? ;) Actually I am right at the end of six, just about to start seven :DDD Blaine just having that bit of self realisation/realisation about Kurt during chapter six <33

Not a problem - supporting places means they exist which is TOTALLY AWESOME. Thank you for putting the time and effort - it is appreciated. :)

Actually I feel like turning around to fandom sometimes and saying: "If a TV show not going the way you wanted is your biggest problem/it's the end of your universe, you must live a very charmed life" But I fear this would make me an awful person :/

[darkhawkhealer.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you're having difficulties with fandom.

Can I ask if this is a pairing-specific problem? I've never noticed a problem with my preferred pairing's comm -- but then I'll freely admit I'm only here for the fic, and that the way I enjoy my fandom pretty much only by reading story communities and by talking to my little circle of friends through chat/chain mails/text messages. I'm a very introverted fangirl and I'm happy with that. :D

Is it possible for you to move more towards something like that -- just hanging out with other fans that have the same views/ideals?

Barring that, I know it sounds bad, but you could look for other shows to get into? Anything whose median age isn't 12? :(

[dareu2beme.livejournal.com]

I'm finding myself wanting to quit this fandom. I am just so upset about things... and even if they don't come to pass, I'm tired of getting upset over them. I'm just not sure what fandom to move on to.. and I'm only now just starting to get a group of friends and followers in this fandom. Sigh. I dunno.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

*takes off your strikethrough*

NO, THAT PRETTY MUCH SUMS UP HOW I FEEL RIGHT THERE. I think that's what frustrates me over the anger for the show: when did they think that their wants/demands equal what the show is actually supposed to do? And if it's not providing the entertainment you (the general angry Yous of the world), then stop watching it. It really is that simple.

[flaming-muse.livejournal.com]

I love you, I love your writing, and I hate that your squee is being dampened. Just play with me. That's all that matters.

And I can't read the comments in this entry because god knows what people might hint about spoilers IT'S THAT BAD AROUND THE INTERNET.

get offa my fucking lawn you younguns with your hula hoops and spoilers

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

I heary you. Tumblr is not for us. Really truly. We grew up all different.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I'm used to being very active in fandoms. I *like* being active in fandoms. I want to be active in Glee, but can't because of all of the negativity and lack of concern for other fannish people. Not to say that other fandoms have been perfect - ffs, I remember all of the weekly rants in Jossverse regarding Spuffy/Bangel, "Seeing Red," etc.

But people didn't set out with determination to destroy the source material/destroy the experience for others. I feel that's how it is in Glee. People want to tear the whole show down and make it the [Insert One pairing, remove all other characters] Show.

I'm a fan of ALL of the characters. Yes, even Sebastian. I love to hate Sebastian, but I like him on my screen, when he's there. Having said that, I'm predominately a Klaine writer, and like reading Klaine stories. (I'll read any well written Gen fic, too.) I don't hate Finchel, Britanna, etc.

So now I'm faced with the fact that I cannot participate in fandom like I'd want to, because it makes me miserable. I have a very small group of people that I can talk to about the show, and do. I just want to write fanfic. I want to READ fanfic.

But not in Glee, not anymore. Barring the very few people that I know are reasonable (and respectful) fans. *shrug*

I have other fannish outlets, I mean, I run a website dedicated to joyful squeeing of various shows. Glee was my main fandom after Jossverse closed and I was adrift, looking for something to sink into.

And you know... there's that whole raising three kids, writing my own stories, being a Master Gardener stuff keeping me busy. I just am an old school fangirl, and wish I had a place to set my hat, is all.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I'm just keeping it to my list of RL friends that I know I can enjoy the show with. IDK, man, it just sucks that actually loving the source material is such a rare thing these days. =/

I guess I'm just old and lame.

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

I will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS PLAY WITH YOU. ALways. Please, you brought me into this fandom, you'll be the one to take me out. :D (Which means, wither thou goest...)

SO FAR ALL COMMENTS ARE SAFE. (Girlfriend, I would delete/screen those so fast...) but I get your point. :(