That, and my perception that the people who are enthusiastic aren't as good as I'd like, and the people who are good have their own cliques and don't really want another hanger-on.
As horrible as it sounds, my first thought was, why not try to make them better then? Talk to them, beta them, have characterisation discussions, cheer them on whenever it looks like they might make a move towards what you prefer.
I have to admit, I'm a big believer in fandom karma. I realize it *doesn't* always work, but yeah, I guess it's my illusion. So, friend if you want to be friended. Leave enthusiastic feedback if you want to receive enthusiastic feedback. Rec if you want to be recced. Get interested in other people's meta if you want people to get interested in your meta. Be openminded if you want people to be openminded to you, search for things you might have in common.
My theory (so far unproven) is that a good way is to (1) at least create the illusion of actuality (2) give people easy chances to interact with the fandom. You know, polls are nice. Even people who aren't willing t do a lot in a fandom that would require work are usually willing to vote in a poll (favorite picture of character X out of these, favorite hairstyle of character X, favorite episode out of these, favorite quote out of these...). The next step are memes (top three reasons you love character X, top three moments, top 3 quotes, top 3 favorite fics, top 3 most influential fics, top 3 fics that changed your opinion or gave you a new perspective, how do you think character X will interact when meeting character Y, who do you think does character X consider their best friend, who do you think has the most in common with character Y...). Or a frequent favorite scene picture spam. Of course... that is often a chore to keep up over a longer period of time, especially when these kind of things go through fluctuations of popularity.
Another thing that I think helps is making lists, disussing, giving reasons for why you love something and why something is great. I think people like to be reminded every once in a while about why they love the things they love. Or at least *I* like reading that. Heck, sometimes I even like reading it on fandoms I'm not even in (hey, that's why I subscribe to ship_manifesto). [btw, did you know that they currently have a free month? Where you can post all kinds of things to show your love for your pairing? Irregular essays, picturespams, top 10 moments list or whatever comes up. *attemptingly pokes you into their direction*]
no subject
Word about the soulmate thing.
That, and my perception that the people who are enthusiastic aren't as good as I'd like, and the people who are good have their own cliques and don't really want another hanger-on.
As horrible as it sounds, my first thought was, why not try to make them better then? Talk to them, beta them, have characterisation discussions, cheer them on whenever it looks like they might make a move towards what you prefer.
I have to admit, I'm a big believer in fandom karma. I realize it *doesn't* always work, but yeah, I guess it's my illusion. So, friend if you want to be friended. Leave enthusiastic feedback if you want to receive enthusiastic feedback. Rec if you want to be recced. Get interested in other people's meta if you want people to get interested in your meta. Be openminded if you want people to be openminded to you, search for things you might have in common.
My theory (so far unproven) is that a good way is to (1) at least create the illusion of actuality (2) give people easy chances to interact with the fandom. You know, polls are nice. Even people who aren't willing t do a lot in a fandom that would require work are usually willing to vote in a poll (favorite picture of character X out of these, favorite hairstyle of character X, favorite episode out of these, favorite quote out of these...). The next step are memes (top three reasons you love character X, top three moments, top 3 quotes, top 3 favorite fics, top 3 most influential fics, top 3 fics that changed your opinion or gave you a new perspective, how do you think character X will interact when meeting character Y, who do you think does character X consider their best friend, who do you think has the most in common with character Y...). Or a frequent favorite scene picture spam. Of course... that is often a chore to keep up over a longer period of time, especially when these kind of things go through fluctuations of popularity.
Another thing that I think helps is making lists, disussing, giving reasons for why you love something and why something is great. I think people like to be reminded every once in a while about why they love the things they love. Or at least *I* like reading that. Heck, sometimes I even like reading it on fandoms I'm not even in (hey, that's why I subscribe to ship_manifesto). [btw, did you know that they currently have a free month? Where you can post all kinds of things to show your love for your pairing? Irregular essays, picturespams, top 10 moments list or whatever comes up. *attemptingly pokes you into their direction*]