I find I have this odd mindset toward fandoms I've drifted away from.
I usually don't quite shed the sense of being part of it, or the fic ideas I still meant to write, for a much longer time than I'm actually participating. So I'll be reading enough to think I'm there long past the point where I'm posting enough for anybody else to think so. So then if I do post and people say "Welcome back!" or "I thought you'd left!" it feels strang because I felt like I was still around.
But I also tend, once I've drifted away and stopped being active, to feel (even though I know better!) like it's gone. Like if I jump back in, nobody will notice, even if the same areas are active or I look for new ones. Which doesn't make any sense at all -- I mean, it's possible I wouldn't get much attention, especially if the people who were reading my stuff have also drifted into other areas (which is entirely possible); it would be valid to think the fandom might have moved on with new material or something (e.g., I'm not keeping up with all the new stuff in Star Wars)... but it's not like I've always gotten involved at the height of things or stuck to current material. Imagining that interest and participation have generally dropped off doesn't really make sense. It's probably partially true in some cases, but there's probably a solid base around somewhere in most of them.
I find I have this odd mindset toward fandoms I've drifted away from.
I usually don't quite shed the sense of being part of it, or the fic ideas I still meant to write, for a much longer time than I'm actually participating. So I'll be reading enough to think I'm there long past the point where I'm posting enough for anybody else to think so. So then if I do post and people say "Welcome back!" or "I thought you'd left!" it feels strang because I felt like I was still around.
But I also tend, once I've drifted away and stopped being active, to feel (even though I know better!) like it's gone. Like if I jump back in, nobody will notice, even if the same areas are active or I look for new ones. Which doesn't make any sense at all -- I mean, it's possible I wouldn't get much attention, especially if the people who were reading my stuff have also drifted into other areas (which is entirely possible); it would be valid to think the fandom might have moved on with new material or something (e.g., I'm not keeping up with all the new stuff in Star Wars)... but it's not like I've always gotten involved at the height of things or stuck to current material. Imagining that interest and participation have generally dropped off doesn't really make sense. It's probably partially true in some cases, but there's probably a solid base around somewhere in most of them.
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