New To Fandom - Tumblr Posts
And people sharing meta and headcanons, too, or silly takes, serious feelings, memes and GIFs and convention reports, single line posts or essays. You don't have to have the perfect, most intellectual words or the most psychologically accurate insight. You don't have to have finished watching the whole series or have seen all of its spin-offs and read all of its officially licensed materials. You can start sharing as soon as you step foot into a fandom space (or you can share for the first time years after entering).
As long as you're engaging with a fandom and its fans in good faith and the spirit of diversity, newcomers should always be welcomed and encouraged. You're the ones who will help keep the fandom alive as others age out or find new hobbies or don't have time anymore.
That's just the life cycle of fandom.
Say it with me now
You are never late to a fandom. Your fic is never "invalid" for being "late". Your fic doesn't need a high word limit. Your fic does not need a high standard. Your fic does not need to be highly popular. Your fic isn't less valid than a popular author's fic. Your fic isn't inheritly bad. Your fic is amazing. Your fic is valid. The only thing that matters is that you're having fun. Fandom is not consumption and consumerism. Fandom is fun, free and for the people. Fandom is not a popularity contest. We're all nerds at the end of the day.
I hope you don't mind me reblogging this, OP. I've seen a few similar posts recently and they've been making me feel some ways.
One, selfishly grateful that I came to my first fandom before the neo-puritanical wars began over whose ships and kinks were the most righteous and morally valid to get off on (don't get me started on canonical validation, as if that has any bearing on shipping at all). It wasn't even a shadow in the corner of my eye when I was a barely-teen starting to read Snarry fic in the fandom that shall not be named. I started to get a hint of it when I rejoined SPN fandom more socially in 2022 after a very long break, but the sheer pervasiveness and vitriol of it wasn't clear to me until I joined Tumblr in January this year. 'Dodged a bullet' doesn't even begin.
Two, sad to imagine all the people like OP that feel the same way but haven't–just 'yet', I hope–managed to find the exit to the cesspit they've found themselves in. I can see that it would be scary to leave, and not just leave, but cross to the other side, where you then become one of the subjects of their unreasonably targeted disdain (at best) and hate (let's be optimistic and say worst).
Three is a good feeling, at least. I'm incredibly happy for OP and the others whose posts I've seen like this one. I love that it must be so freeing to openly share and engage with content you've been nervous to acknowledge before, and I hope you all find lots of fast friends in the Wincestie side of fandom the way I have. 🥹💖
Okay, I'm done, carry on, just ignore me, I'm prone to emotional outbursts, it's fine, I'm fine, everything's fine.
I'm so happy to be able to actually interact with other wincest shippers now instead of letting others police what I choose to like in my favourite fandom! 🐿
I've loved spn for years but always felt weird or bad for being into wincest because the few friends I have who watch it constantly shit on wincesties because they either don't know how fandom works (some of them only watched the show and edits, never really talking to other people in the fandom) or they can't tell the difference between real life morals vs fiction. 😒
And people on other social media (specifically people around my own age) always wanna be the moral police and act like they're superior for not liking taboo things even though half of them definitely have a 2nd account for that taboo stuff 😂
But anyway, I enjoy seeing all the samdean posts and being able to interact with them or reblog them while having a much lower chance of dealing with an anti since most people tend to actually use that block button on here like they should when they find an account they dislike!
A big majority of you are very kind people who cancel out the few rude/bad people online so thank you! 🤎