In which Lar rambles about viewings, kudos and fandom
New Mexico State of Mind has now broken my Kudo record over at AO3 with FIFTY kudos! Close to Death had the previous record with 32 kudos (535 hits) and In the Quiet still has the most hits at 935 (only 27 kudos) but I think NMSoM will break that record, too. NMSoM also has FIVE comments. I GOT ACTUAL COMMENTS!
I see three reasons for this sudden change in my fortune.
Number 1: The Avengers fandom was already on AO3. Have you noticed that? The majority of the fandom (that I see/read/take notice of) was guided to AO3 because of other fandoms so were already using it. Very few Avengers fans are new to the site. Hence, they're used to using to it already.
Number 2: The Avengers fandom is vocal. That is not to say that other fandoms are vocal but, well, see Number 1 again. They know how things work already. They know what they like. They know what they're looking for. They aren't afraid to use the Kudos button.
Number 3: The Avengers fandom has only so many pairings at the moment. But wait, you say. What about the thousands of characters in the comic books? Notice that I used the phrase at the moment. A good majority of the fandom is from the movies so they know eight to ten characters really well. As time goes on, I'm sure other characters will be incorporated into this main swell in fandom.
Because there aren't many pairings AND it's so new, people are still deciding who they want to ship together. There are already the main factions that are starting to build up people (Tony/Steve is HUGE but then so is Clint/Natasha. Really, all the pairings have a good number of people in them which makes me so happy!) but no one has starting building the towering SHIPS that will carry everyone along the sea that is fandom. There are no rules or codes to follow (...Rule 23d - JARVIS can only ever speak in sentences of five words or more. Any less and he just won't sound British enough.) and no right and wrong. For the moment, everything is up for grabs. Everything is possible.
Really, isn't that what the Marvel universe is about? Have you ever read through the list of characters they've used over the years? Most characters have had three or four different personas since the 1960s. They've served first one side and then the other. They've been normal people for awhile before going back to being super. They've come back from the dead. They've hung out in Hell for awhile. They've been to different dimensions. They've been married and divorced and then married again. They've been broken, beaten and left to rot. They've survived.
And they'll survive this surge of fandom.
Oh, wait. There's a fourth reason! The most important one!
The Avengers fandom has HOPE. There are movies in the works but even if the movie industry decided tomorrow that they don't want to produce another super hero movie EVER, there are still acres of comics to read. And if all the ink in the earth dried up the day after and paper was no longer being produced, there are still acres of comics to read. The fandom is nearly infinite compared to most fandoms these days. No one has to worry about anything being cancelled or pulled off the air or the single author getting tired of writing in that particular world.
So, yeah, I think that's the reason that people are suddenly reading my stories. *grins* I know that sounds sort of stupid but I don't think I've gotten any better at writing in the last couple of years. I think my pacing might be getting better and I'm starting to get a handle on the dreaded PLOT but I don't think I suddenly woke up last week writing a better story. I think I just happened upon a gigantic fandom that reads, responds and isn't secluded into factions. Granted, the story is in one of the larger liked pairings and isn't the Bruce/Darcy story I have in the works (I will be happy with like 50 viewings and 3 kudos on that one when I finally get it posted) but I think the fandom in general is a good one.
That's all I had to say. *curtsies* Thank you for your time. *runs off stage*
I see three reasons for this sudden change in my fortune.
Number 1: The Avengers fandom was already on AO3. Have you noticed that? The majority of the fandom (that I see/read/take notice of) was guided to AO3 because of other fandoms so were already using it. Very few Avengers fans are new to the site. Hence, they're used to using to it already.
Number 2: The Avengers fandom is vocal. That is not to say that other fandoms are vocal but, well, see Number 1 again. They know how things work already. They know what they like. They know what they're looking for. They aren't afraid to use the Kudos button.
Number 3: The Avengers fandom has only so many pairings at the moment. But wait, you say. What about the thousands of characters in the comic books? Notice that I used the phrase at the moment. A good majority of the fandom is from the movies so they know eight to ten characters really well. As time goes on, I'm sure other characters will be incorporated into this main swell in fandom.
Because there aren't many pairings AND it's so new, people are still deciding who they want to ship together. There are already the main factions that are starting to build up people (Tony/Steve is HUGE but then so is Clint/Natasha. Really, all the pairings have a good number of people in them which makes me so happy!) but no one has starting building the towering SHIPS that will carry everyone along the sea that is fandom. There are no rules or codes to follow (...Rule 23d - JARVIS can only ever speak in sentences of five words or more. Any less and he just won't sound British enough.) and no right and wrong. For the moment, everything is up for grabs. Everything is possible.
Really, isn't that what the Marvel universe is about? Have you ever read through the list of characters they've used over the years? Most characters have had three or four different personas since the 1960s. They've served first one side and then the other. They've been normal people for awhile before going back to being super. They've come back from the dead. They've hung out in Hell for awhile. They've been to different dimensions. They've been married and divorced and then married again. They've been broken, beaten and left to rot. They've survived.
And they'll survive this surge of fandom.
Oh, wait. There's a fourth reason! The most important one!
The Avengers fandom has HOPE. There are movies in the works but even if the movie industry decided tomorrow that they don't want to produce another super hero movie EVER, there are still acres of comics to read. And if all the ink in the earth dried up the day after and paper was no longer being produced, there are still acres of comics to read. The fandom is nearly infinite compared to most fandoms these days. No one has to worry about anything being cancelled or pulled off the air or the single author getting tired of writing in that particular world.
So, yeah, I think that's the reason that people are suddenly reading my stories. *grins* I know that sounds sort of stupid but I don't think I've gotten any better at writing in the last couple of years. I think my pacing might be getting better and I'm starting to get a handle on the dreaded PLOT but I don't think I suddenly woke up last week writing a better story. I think I just happened upon a gigantic fandom that reads, responds and isn't secluded into factions. Granted, the story is in one of the larger liked pairings and isn't the Bruce/Darcy story I have in the works (I will be happy with like 50 viewings and 3 kudos on that one when I finally get it posted) but I think the fandom in general is a good one.
That's all I had to say. *curtsies* Thank you for your time. *runs off stage*