#Owen Wilson Wow

[lifewithdedee]

[beyourownswag]

As someone who does this fairly regularly, I'd like to attempt to explain why people may consume or participate in a fandom without consuming the original work.

I will note that while I have consumed fan works of media that I have not watched/read/played, I do not create fan works of such media. Lest I be called out as a fake fan—which I am, and I'm okay with that.

There are, I believe, three main reasons why we may do this:

1. The original media is ongoing and, therefore, incomplete.

Apparently, it's very common for people with anxiety and nervous disorders to rewatch and reread the same things over and over to avoid unnecessary stress. There's no anxiety of what's going to happen next if you've already read the book, watched the show, etc. There's no need for spoiler warnings or to be worried about any of the characters or how it's going to end. There's a kind of comfort in knowing what's coming next, and many people with anxiety prefer comfort rather than suspense. This is especially true with most media as it is intended for down-time or relaxation. Most people are not paid to read books or watch movies. These are things we do to get away from daily stresses such as work and school.

When a media is ongoing, one runs the risk of running into uncomfortable or unfavorable cliffhangers/plot twists without notice. If something is ongoing, it is also possible that the media could be canceled, not renewed for another season, or an essential creator could leave the production or die. The media could end abruptly without a real ending. With no knowledge of an existing ending, one may avoid consuming the source material until after it's been completed.

In the meantime, we may enjoy what the fans are posting to whet the appetite. This provides us with spoilers so we can know more about what we're getting ourselves into when and if we do get into it. It introduces us to the source material without us actually committing to it. If something happens while the media is ongoing that one may find triggering, we'll learn about it from the true fans who are consuming the media. If the media ends without resolution, we'll learn about it from those same true fans.

This way, we see what may be problematic about the source material from the outside looking in and don't suffer the stress of being on the inside while these problems arise. If we see the fans enjoying the source material right up to and including the very end, we are likely to enjoy it as well and we will at that point consume the source material and join the true fans. Late to the game, but still a real part of it.

2. There's too much of the original.

This is especially true for comic books (e.g. Batman) and long-standing TV shows (e.g. Doctor Who). There's just so much! It can be very overwhelming trying to get into something that has so much going on. Where does one start? Is it necessary to start at the very beginning? Does one need to read all the comics or watch all the seasons in a series to be considered a true fan? Does that include any crossovers as well? Movies? Video games?

Some source material has just so much going on that we may choose to consume only a small slice of it and then have enough context to enjoy the fan works. Maybe we really relate to one specific character or one arc that really stands out to us. We want to explore that specific piece of the media, but it's limited even though the source material itself is massive. Thus, we turn to the fans having only consumed this one small piece, which fans will then explore further.

Another issue with there being "too much" is when there are multiple writers. Over time, things become convoluted, storylines get retconned, characters lose important parts of their original characterizations, or just get lost from the narrative entirely. This is something I've found to be extremely true with comics. For example, Barbara Gordon (DC Comics) was in a wheelchair for 23 years, reinvented herself as a badass new hero with a disability—becoming a representative for the disabled community in super hero comics, which is very lacking���and then suddenly she's walking again? Fans liked her as Oracle, she didn't need to go back to being Batgirl, but that’s what the comic book writers decided.

The longer something lasts, the more likely it is to start falling apart. After a while, it's no longer as good as it was. One might enjoy an aspect, a character, a chapter, of this huge thing but have little to no interest in the rest of it. But if you only watch one episode of Doctor Who can you really call yourself a fan? Can you really say you've consumed the source material?

3. The fandom is more appealing than the source material.

Sometimes, one may be introduced to something through social media. Tumblr is a great place to be introduced to media one may not see advertised. People post clips and screenshots of shows all the time, sometimes followed by fanworks or discourse, further exploring themes depicted in these snapshots.

The problem with being introduced to a piece of media this way, is that one may be drawn in by the discussion or the art or this one specific moment and it is nothing like the rest of the material.

Probably the easiest way I could explain this is through shipping. Say you have a mutual who's really into this one couple from this show that you don't watch. You see their posts on your feed, and you agree: that's a cute couple. You start seeing more about this piece of media from posts your mutual likes and reblogs and you learn more about the show this way. Maybe you start liking these posts as well.

Then you learn that the show is not this cute, slice of life, rom-com these posts would have you believe and these characters share no screen time together.

But they should. It would be cute. Why not? That's what AUs are for. I don't want grim dark, I want sappy cute found-family. I have grown to like these characters and their backstories, and I think they deserve better than to live in the hellish nightmare that is the source material.

Is it wrong to consume what you want to consume? To read the stories you want to read? To like aspects of the original source material but maybe not the genre or format of that media? Other fans will consume the source material, say "This character deserves more love" and then write a beautiful novella exploring that character and showing them the love they deserve. Is it wrong for me—who has only looked at screenshots from the video game and read the Wikipedia plot summary—to then read that novella and drop a kudos in appreciation?

I'm not calling myself a super fan. Or even a real fan tbh. But I'm a fan of art and fiction, and will always appreciate people who can love something so much they will create an homage to that subject.

This has been my take on being that weird fan who doesn't always consume the source material. I hope this made some sense. There are probably other reasons, but these are the ones that I would usually have.

My current obsession is Hazbin Hotel. And, no, I have not watched it yet. I intend to. I was waiting for season one to finish so I can watch it all in one or two sittings. At this point I'm just being lazy.

Oh.

4. Laziness, or just not a priority.

It's quicker to look at pretty art or read short targeted stories than it is to sit down and watch TV.

Attention spans have significantly decreased over the years as well, which could be part of why it isn't as easy as it once was to find the time to consume some of the media out there.

In my case, I also have one TV I can use and when I'm home there is almost always someone else using it.

I spend most of my down-time exploring social media, specifically Tik Tok and Tumblr. I choose to explore the fan side of social media rather than "real people" sharing their "real stories" though as many of that is usually either total bullshit or specific highlights of a person's life. It's kind of toxic, so I prefer fandom.

Okay, have a good day. Goodbye.

Which can also be toxic, but yanno whatever. That's why I'm a lurker. I'm going to regret posting this. 🙃

turning this into a poll because i am just so beyond baffled right now.

[mystichistoria]

Me yesterday being offered a D12 pendant and wondering how I got clocked for a nerd:

Also me: surrounded by historical, religious, occult, and mythological paraphernalia

[kidovna]

save me fem presenting loki… fem presenting loki save me….

bonus:

[suburbanbonfire]

honey you got a big storm coming inspired by Jordan Peele's NOPE and particularly this poster design

(prints)

[pademelonluck]

mobius: wow. loki: what's "wow"? mobius: just-wow! loki: you're doing it again. mobius: doing what? loki: saying "wow" repeatedly! mobius: really? wow.

[kaychen62773804]

Mobius M Mobius study, wip. Dang, Owen Wilson is such a handsome man 🥲

[kaidabakugou]

attending an event where the concept is that you have to switch hero costumes with someone and you get paired with red riot

everyone is expecting you to wear a black tank top to cover up your chest but you absolutely break the internet when you show up with your front exposed and red riot gears pasties with ruby rhinestones just barely covering your nipples

which has red riot a sweaty mess inside the costume that was made to match your hero suit, all of a sudden feeling too tight around his big, muscular body every time he’s around you throughout the event because you’ve been his hero crush for as long as he can remember and the sight of you looking so sexy in his hero suit has him fighting back a boner all night

[fraternum-momentum]

I can’t believe everyone is assuming you’re a car fucker instead of coming to the more obvious conclusion from that post, which is that you would bang Owen Wilson. Personally I am imagining that the seductive whisper of his classic “wow” is what really gets you.

wow...

[ilomilodailystuff]

Mobius : Loki, you do remember when we agreed we were better off as friends, right ?

Loki, naked in Mobius's bed : No, I absolutely do not.

Mobius, already taking off their clothes : Fuck... Me neither.

[thosetrollkids]

these women have not left my brain in WEEKS. WEEKS I TELL YOU!

hello everyone welcome to the Tivmura train :3 ever since creating Tivur's design (here), i've played with her and Nomura (at first as a one night fling, which if you know me, evolved into more very quickly NJDKJSNDJSD) and so now i am obsessed, and have multiple drawings. this one's based on a quick sketch i did recently :)

commissions are open! / my kofi

[polls4you]

Julie and the Phantoms: Choose your favorite song!

Listen to the songs below the cut!

[eyluvu]

Fr

[mystichistoria]

Had a series of fucked up dreams last night. Got tormented by an evil clown that was attached to someone else. No one else could see it so I got tormented by people who thought I was going fucking insane. Woke up. Went back to sleep and was yelling at something that was hiding from me that was definitively not an evil clown but felt imposing as fuck and was following me.

[kushamisaru]

When did this

Become hotter than this?

[hasilballward]

Mobius what are you doing here😨