Fangirls/Fanboys - Fandoms in General.

[FanciestPants]

I am okay with fandoms and fangirls/fanboys that seem to really enjoy something. I just don't like it when it gets to the point where a fandom becomes someone's whole life. Like, if you relate to people mostly surrounding this one thing you like, and rarely talk about anything else, you're kind of using it as an excuse not to be a well rounded individual. To me, the people who take it to the extreme come across as very flat people and, subsequently, fake.

 

I mean, I can get all squealy and fangirly myself over things, but I would never let any of that become my life or define my relationships with people. And I love the feeling of comradarie that you can get when finding you have little things like that in common with someone, but you wouldn't be my real friend until it extended beyond one thing.

 

 

And I tend not to like it when people over sexualize fandoms and become obsessed with shipping. I think that get's weird really fast, but that's really just a personal preference.

 

Also, someone else saying that another person is not a 'true' fan is full of . I hate that elitist attitude over something like that.

[KageSora]

There's more than one definition of fandom and fanboy/girl. Some people only consider you a fanboy/girl if you're really super into it, others consider you part of the fandom if you just happen to so much as like something.

 

IMO, being a fan of something automatically makes you part of the fandom--if you choose to actively participate in the fandom or not, however, is a different matter.

 

I feel like there are different degrees of fanboy/fangirl, too--ranging from "I'm a fan of this work but I don't generally interact with other fans tons" to "I love this, it's an integral part of my life, and I thrive on the fandom" to "I have an unhealthy obsession with this, I really probably need an intervention because it interferes with my ability to live a normal life".

 

Every fandom has it's ups and downs, some are more vocal than others and some seem to have a greater number of jerks than others. Some have different segments that are more hostile than others.

 

The Tales fandom, for example, can be a great place or a terrifying place depending on where you go--the official forums are pretty toxic to a lot of people, the Facebook fandom is either good, bad, or neutral depending on where you hang out, and the Tumblr part of the fandom ranges from amazing to horrifying.

 

 

The only fandom of mine that I'm actually active in, for the most part, is the Tales fandom (unless you count the occasional post or reblog of stuff relating to my other fandoms on Tumblr). I just love it because of what it means to me personally (the Tales series really has changed my life for the better), as well as that it's really fun talking to other people who like the same things that I like.

 

 

I'm definitly a fanperson when it comes to Tales, though. Especially my favorite characters from my favorite game.

 

 

I feel like fandom can be an amazing thing. There definitely ARE fans of things who take things too far, of course, but being a fanperson and being a fanbrat are different, IMO. A fanbrat is the kind of fan who attacks others--both those who are part of the fandom and those who are not--and is generally a total jerk and absolutely hostile to the idea that other people can like other things.

 

Sometimes fandoms can be scary, like when there's shipping wars. Mostly I just stay out of that stuff, I like to write my own fic and ship my own ships with fans who have the same interests and if people don't like them that's okay.

 

 

Personally, I tend to keep my fandom life out of my non-fandom life, though. I'm very much so willing to fangasm openly when I'm at a con, or when I'm with a group of other fans--such as maybe talking in a topic about the thing we love or on a website for it--and I'm happy to post about it to my Tumblr (since it's a personal thing where I just share all the crap I like). But I don't really gush about it to people who don't show any interest, or around my family, and usually not at work (though sometimes, if we get a customer who is interested in or already likes the same stuff I do).

 

The fans who barge into totally unrelated stuff JUST to shove their fandom down the throats of others, though, those people take it way too far. So do the creepy people who end up being like stalkers. Or generally that just let it completely rule their lives to the point of being unable to function normally.

[blah]

I don't mind fangirls and fanboys. I wish I could have such a passion for something.

That's what I think. I kind of fondly remember myself at the age of fourteen, I wish I could be this happy about an album release again. Or a new episode of my favorite tv show. Or even have a favorite tv show, I miss that weekly giddy moment.

[Destiny Arts]

I am a big time Whovian!!!! I will say I'm not a person that has to have everything of Doctor Who but I am a tad obsessed with it. I think some people can be a tad over board on things like I heard that some people got hurt at a concert because they love the band or person so much, or that it's all they talk about. So fanisim isn't that bad unless you forget what is realality and what is obsession.

[siliconrose]

That's what I think. I kind of fondly remember myself at the age of fourteen, I wish I could be this happy about an album release again. Or a new episode of my favorite tv show. Or even have a favorite tv show, I miss that weekly giddy moment.

I feel like it's part of the anti-fandom sentiment. Heck, as an adult, it feels like you can't like anything except your job, housework, or your children, or you're being "childish". If enjoying things just for fun is being "childish", then I think we all need a bit more childishness in our lives.

 

My Mom used to ask me all the time why I was writing fanfiction when I could be writing something I could publish to make me money (note: I've completed two novels, one novella, and have about five quarter- to half-finished novels, so I write plenty of original fiction -- publishing is just HARD). I mean, heck, why not sell the flowers you grow in your garden instead of just letting them sit there and languish? Why aren't you training your pets to participate in pet shows so you can get prizes?

 

Of course, as much as I rail against it, I'm subject to the same pressures.

[blah]

I feel like it's part of the anti-fandom sentiment. Heck, as an adult, it feels like you can't like anything except your job, housework, or your children, or you're being "childish". If enjoying things just for fun is being "childish", then I think we all need a bit more childishness in our lives.

I don't disagree, but I can't force myself to fall in love with something.

[siliconrose]

I don't disagree, but I can't force myself to fall in love with something.

I'm sorry that I indicated that I thought you did. I'm projecting a bit -- I feel like my guilt quashes my ability to actually enjoy things. I fangirled so hard over ST:ID, I watched it three times in about a month, and there's nothing wrong with that. (The worst you could complain is that I talked a few of my friends' ears off, but since I do it so rarely, I think they forgave me.)

[Walker]

As for the shipping part of the debate, there needs to be a line between "that freaks me out" and "that's genuinely wrong."

 

Just because something strikes someone as strange or freaky doesn't mean it's wrong.

 

Now, when it starts getting into shipping real people I can see the problem, people like Beiber. It's not anyone's place to ship real life celebrities or individuals. Fake characters, where's the harm?

[FanciestPants]

As for the shipping part of the debate, there needs to be a line between "that freaks me out" and "that's genuinely wrong."

 

Just because something strikes someone as strange or freaky doesn't mean it's wrong.

 

Now, when it starts getting into shipping real people I can see the problem, people like Beiber. It's not anyone's place to ship real life celebrities or individuals. Fake characters, where's the harm?

Yeah, that's why I said it was just a personal preference for me. I am totally okay with the fact that it happens, but I will never participate in that part of any fandom really. Haha.

[Victini]

literally nothing gets me more upset when people legitimately ship the creators of stuff with the characters they created

like

ok it's one thing to joke about it but it's a whole different thing to actually draw and write about it

[MillionWords]

If I'm a fangirl of anything, it has to be Doctor Who and the anime Fruits Basket. One of my friends and I practically obsess over them, but we don't go crazy about it (or, at least, I hope. .-.)

 

What I disike about some fandoms are the kind of girls who will be like, "Oh, well, she shouldn't be dating him. I hate her, she's disgusting..." when they're only saying that because they want to be the one dating that certain person and bleh.

 

That sounded sort of rude...I mean, I don't have anything against those people, it just really, really gets on my nerves.

[Digital Decay]

I'm not a fangirl and probably never will be, although I'd say that there are books and bands that definitely inspired me and that there are fictional works and universes that I like very much and want to know more background stuff about. So far, so good - I can totally understand if other people feel the same way and I wear quite a lot of bandshirts, so I might even be considered a 'fan' of some bands, although I prefer to say 'I like XY, true.'

However, the one thing I don't get about fandoms (and I don't mean that in a rude fashion, I just really can't comprehend why) is shipping, especially when it comes to fanfiction. Why on earth is involving characters in a (often tragical) romance, even when it directly contradicts what actually happens in the original story, such a central point to being a fan of a book/TV series/whatever? Sometimes it even seems to me that people who just happen to write a story set in another universe because they love it and would like to read more about what could've happened there (I always thought this was the point of writing fanfiction?) get put down if their story has no 'pairing'... of course, each to his own and if you want to imagine how Snape loves Dumbledore then do that, but I just don't get it.

 

Oh, and as for shipping when real, living people are involved - to be honest, I see this as a violation of their privacy and/or as downright creepy, depending on what's happening in the story.

 

I'm not harboring a lot of negative sentiments towards fandoms, though, except that I personally find some cases of extreme 'fangirling' a bit unhealthy, but that's about it.

The only thing I heartily dislike is if people actually like something or at least pretend to, but always make a fuss about how they really shouldn't like it and that it's more suitable for another target group anyway, just to look cool and ironic... or whatever.

Edited July 6, 2013 by Digital Decay

[catstaff]

However, the one thing I don't get about fandoms (and I don't mean that in a rude fashion, I just really can't comprehend why) is shipping, especially when it comes to fanfiction. Why on earth is involving characters in a (often tragical) romance, even when it directly contradicts what actually happens in the original story, such a central point to being a fan of a book/TV series/whatever? Sometimes it even seems to me that people who just happen to write a story set in another universe because they love it and would like to read more about what could've happened there (I always thought this was the point of writing fanfiction?) get put down if their story has no 'pairing'... of course, each to his own and if you want to imagine how Snape loves Dumbledore then do that, but I just don't get it.

I can only answer this for myself, not for every fanfic author and shipper out there, but... sometimes it's fun to explore the what-ifs. What if Professor Snape had been sent to deliver Harry's Hogwarts letter instead of Hagrid? What if Draco Malfoy hadn't been such a spoiled, whiny little brat when he first met Harry in Madam Malkin's robe shop? How would the story have been different?

 

When it comes to shipping, sometimes a canon pairing just doesn't make sense to me. Like, I always felt that Ron and Hermione might well crush on each other, and even date for a while, but given their respective personalities, I have a problem seeing them as staying together for long, let alone getting married. So, I start thinking about who else in the story might be a better match for each of them, and how they might end up together with those people.

 

Or possibly I spot two characters that I think -would- be a good couple (ones that have little or no interaction in the original book/show/whatever) and so I try to figure out how they might meet and take things from there.

 

So, to me, shipping is just another way of exploring the what-ifs and how-would-it-be-differents.

 

I do think you're right, though, that some people are so into the thought of shipping anyone and anything that they think something's wrong with a story that has no romantic pairings. My current WIP is a Harry Potter alternate universe, and at the moment in my story's timeline, Harry is nine years old. I've already had reviews asking (begging!) me to "make Harry get with Draco" and "if he must be with a girl, ne1 but Ginny r Hermione, plz!" which has me torn between laughter and annoyance. I mean, really? He's NINE, for crying out loud! While I won't deny the possibility of crushes, etc, even that young... no way will there be serious romantic attachments happening before puberty at the very least. And yet some people seem to have a problem with me wanting to let the kids be kids for the moment.

 

[cfmtfm]

Regarding shipping, I am totally neutral. I can't stop people from fantasising about x and y being together, no matter how strange the couple or material may be. I completely respect other people's opinions and if I find their opinion too disturbing, I move on.

 

However, I've had my fair share of weird Larry Stylinson and Phan material and I agree with Walker. Some people are very inconsiderate when they ship real people - these things I tend to just ignore.

 

catstaff has basically hit the nail on the head. It's fun to explore what has been hinted at but never fully uncovered. :3

Edited July 6, 2013 by cfmtfm

[Digital Decay]

I can only answer this for myself, not for every fanfic author and shipper out there, but... sometimes it's fun to explore the what-ifs. What if Professor Snape had been sent to deliver Harry's Hogwarts letter instead of Hagrid? What if Draco Malfoy hadn't been such a spoiled, whiny little brat when he first met Harry in Madam Malkin's robe shop? How would the story have been different?

[...]

So, to me, shipping is just another way of exploring the what-ifs and how-would-it-be-differents.

Well, that sounds reasonable to me. I didn't see it from that perspective, because I'm not much into love stories and therefore couldn't really ask myself why I would write one, but I think that's a good explanation. (And on a side note, I always thought that the last HP book shouldn't have had that epilogue... it was pretty corny, in my opinion.)

 

I do think you're right, though, that some people are so into the thought of shipping anyone and anything that they think something's wrong with a story that has no romantic pairings.

Yes, that is what sometimes bothers me a bit. I don't want to say that romance can't be part of stories and all that, because it's a part of life too, but it seems that some people care more about having someone to 'fangirl' about than the characters themselves. I can't really relate to that, to be honest.

 

 

[Lady Artemis]

I used to be huge into tumblr, and I was a part of so many fandoms.

But I eventually quit going on, because there were so many fandoms that were pissing me off.

There were too many petty people.

[MysticTiger]

I'm a Tumblr person and I have a very specific views on certain fandoms.

 

I find the Supernatural fandom to be really... invasive. Not exactly rude but to the point where it's annoying. They like to stick their fandom into EVERYTHING. It doesn't help that everyone I follow that's part of this fandom doesn't tag it, so it appears on my dash, even when I don't want it to.

The worst fandom, by far, is the Sherlock fandom. The attack ANYTHING that resembles their show even in the slightest (because Moffatt invented Sherlock Holmes, right?) and they are just downright rude to anyone for NOT shipping "Johnlock". The amount of hate coming out of that fandom is ridiculous.

Superwholock is also one of the most annoying things, in my opinion. The idea was cool back when it started, but now it's like a weed. You can't get rid of it, it just pops up everywhere, mostly where it doesn't belong. And the idea that Tumblr is only made up of these three fandoms is utterly ridiculous.

 

The best fandom is the Hannibal fandom. OMG, I love the Hannibal fandom and i'm not even part of the fandom. What a great bunch of people. The Hannibal staff are even in on the fandom. They're amazing. Also, i'm in the fandom of watching the Hannibal fandom aggressively avoid the Superwholock fandom. The idea that Superwholock is trying so hard to get Hannibal to join their super-special club and the Hannibal fandom is basically giving them the finger, is hilarious.

 

The only fandom i'm really is in is The Mentalist fandom, which, despite being the most watched TV show in the world (not kidding), is a very small fandom. I could probably name everyone on Tumblr who is actively involved in this fandom. With the exception of one person of whom everyone knows is constantly rude for no reason, the fandom is generally really close-nit and fun to hang around with. The amount of theories and show analysis we do is amazing. I love being in the fandom, although i'm really sad when hiatus comes because the fandom basically becomes a ghost town until the next season.

 

I was in the Warehouse 13 fandom for a while, then they introduced another character and all the sudden, SLASH SHIPPING GALORE. I didn't like this character and couldn't see why the ship was so appealing to a lot of people. When I mentioned this, I was basically thrown out of the fandom. I got anon hate mail galore. All I mentioned was that I DON'T ship it. That left a really bad taste in my mouth as far as fandoms go.

 

Even in my beloved Mentalist fandom, I still get angry at the shippers sometimes. I'm a big shipper myself, but when people attack the episode because there wasn't enough ship-material, I get very angry.

 

EDIT:

For some reason, I see a lot of people here discussing Shipping as if Shipping is only between two characters that are not canon (example: Hermione and Draco). This isn't all shipping is. For the most part, i've found that shipping tends to be more canon-oriented than that. Patrick Jane/Teresa Lisbon in The Mentalist for example. They're not together, but it's pretty obvious their feelings towards each other is canon. Richard Castle/Kate Beckett from Castle is another ship that is COMPLETELY canon. Annie Edison/Jeff Winger from Community is actually a canon ship that was put in the show BECAUSE of shippers. Shipping isn't something that is only for fanfiction and out-of-character relationships.

Edited July 6, 2013 by MysticTiger

[Walker]

Shipping varies from fandom to fandom. For some it is heavily based in canon.

 

Buuuuuuuuut then they you take things like Transfans, which happens to be my fandom, where canon relationships are extremely rare to nonexistent and... lol. Man, my fandom goes crazy.

 

I think the only thing close to a canon relationship that exists in any current storyline is Rewind and Chromedome from IDW. And that's about two giant robots out of over a hundred stock characters in the whole franchise. There's some old canon relationships from the 80s, too, but those are older and so less discussed.

[MysticTiger]

Well, yeah, it would depend on the fandom (as any activity could break down fandom by fandom), but as a general rule, most of them are canon or canon-adjacent.

[TheDarkCynder]

I think fandoms are great. They can bring people with similar interests together and spark a lot of creativity.

 

But they can also get very outgoing about certain things at times, making different fandoms carry a stereotype.

[popcorncat11]

Common/Well Known Fandoms

My Chemical Romance

Falling in Reverse

Frankly, I see no point in these being up there. Nobody writes fanfictions about Ronnie Radke and Ryan Seaman, for example. Yes, there are some, but its not extremely over the top, like Justin Beiber. I am a huge huge huge huge fan of both of these bands, Falling In Reverse in particular (but you guys know that) and you guys don't even know how many times 'ronnie radke' has been typed into my search engine. Of all these times, I've only seen things like 'Andy Biersack and Ronnie Radke: They Can No Longer Hide Their Feelings' and crap like that. I mean, what provoked you to put up these bands instead of say, Sleeping With Sirens, and Pierce The Veil? They definitely have more of a fandom base than MCR and FIR, for instance, the beloved Fuenciado and Kellic battle. There are tons of fanfictions about Kellin and Victor, Jaime and Victor. O see that you put Falling In Reverse and My Chemical Romance up as an example, but I think it would make much more sense if bands like PTV and SWS were up there. I am just speaking from experience, since all of you know I am a HUGE Ronnie fangirl. :3

[LikeTwoPancakes]

I like to stay outside the loops of fandoms.

A lot of fandoms can't take criticism about anything.

Like with popular youtubers, some of them send their fans to attack people just because they have a different opinion.

Tumblr get's pretty crazy too.

[Mousia]

I'm kind of an anime fangirl. And Japan in general. Everything is so foreign to me that I want to know the ins and outs of the culture and their customs.

I also really love superheroes. I thought that Captain America was a really good movie (even though I'm not such a big fan of him). The whole idea is amazing.

 

Other than that, I'm not really so into fandoms. I can like something, but I don't get super involved to the level of being a fangirl. That said, I'm fine with fanboys and fangirls as long they don't flame anyone else.

[Lila]

I'm a Tumblr person and I have a very specific views on certain fandoms.

 

I find the Supernatural fandom to be really... invasive. Not exactly rude but to the point where it's annoying. They like to stick their fandom into EVERYTHING. It doesn't help that everyone I follow that's part of this fandom doesn't tag it, so it appears on my dash, even when I don't want it to.

The worst fandom, by far, is the Sherlock fandom. The attack ANYTHING that resembles their show even in the slightest (because Moffatt invented Sherlock Holmes, right?) and they are just downright rude to anyone for NOT shipping "Johnlock". The amount of hate coming out of that fandom is ridiculous.

Superwholock is also one of the most annoying things, in my opinion. The idea was cool back when it started, but now it's like a weed. You can't get rid of it, it just pops up everywhere, mostly where it doesn't belong. And the idea that Tumblr is only made up of these three fandoms is utterly ridiculous.

 

The best fandom is the Hannibal fandom. OMG, I love the Hannibal fandom and i'm not even part of the fandom. What a great bunch of people. The Hannibal staff are even in on the fandom. They're amazing. Also, i'm in the fandom of watching the Hannibal fandom aggressively avoid the Superwholock fandom. The idea that Superwholock is trying so hard to get Hannibal to join their super-special club and the Hannibal fandom is basically giving them the finger, is hilarious.

wow so you hit the nail on the head for me.

[TwilitProphet]

People would probably call me a fangirl for certain things, and I'd take great insult to it. To me a fangirl is pretty much a slur at this point because you know people usually picture the stereotypical screaming catty females who will rip your skin off for going against their beliefs.

 

I'm a very mute fan unless I'm talking to my boyfriend who also enjoys a lot of what I enjoy. For example I enjoy Sonic the Hedgehog. However, I will only really mention the extent of my love of the series with my boyfriend. I would never dare mention much of it online because of the fandom. I hate 90% of the fanbase for one reason or another, usually for being intolerable and obnoxious. The fanbase is so fractured and divided that the grand canyon is green with envy. Also partially because of the shipping. Dear god, the shipping.

 

I like MLP, but I'm not a brony. FiM is cute and all, I like watching the show when I can, but I preferred the figures they released in G3 because they were nicer looking and less cartoony to me. They also seemed like they were made with a higher quality. Even mentioning MLP has granted me hate from people who hate bronies, and mentioning I like something other than FiM has gotten me plenty of hate from a few of the bronies because I like the 'crappy series'. Thankfully the FiM fans I've seen here are much nicer than the bronies who bullied me in the past. So I'm comfortable mentioning this here.

 

While I enjoy things, I'm afraid to mention I'm a fan of anything online lest I be labeled as part of the fandom, or don't know enough about the games and then get bashed by said fandom. Which really should not be the case, but I have little choice.