maevedarcy's journal

This post is part of Fannish 50 in 2025 series (Masterlist here). I aim to do somewhere between one and two posts a week depending on how busy RL gets. Feel free to comment on these with questions or suggestions for a future post.

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During the next couple of weeks or so, I'll be posting my answers to 72 Multifandom questions to ask a fangirl, a questionnarie that you can find here. Feel free to use and adapt the questionnaire, to answer one or a couple of those questions and let me know so we can talk about fandom and more!

Read my first 12 answers here. Find the masterlist here.

Fandom Participation

Do you keep up with any official or fan-authored wikis or encyclopedias about your fandoms?

I sometimes add information to fan wikis or fanlore pages about certain fandoms I'm in, but I don't regularly keep up with the drama in the discussion sections of them. Unless I'm really invested in how a specific character is being described, I prefer to chill far away from the discussion page in any wiki.

How do you stay updated with the latest news and information concerning your fandoms?

Well, I can always count of the Destiel supernatural meme to tell me about the latest, biggest news in whatever fandom I'm in. However, depending on the fandom, I might be subscribed to an artist's mailing list (most music fandoms are like this for me) or I might follow them on instagram or bluesky as well. For TV shows and movies that are currently airing/about to be released, I mostly stick to fanblogs on tumblr. And if the source media is not airing anymore, I stick to online communities that cover events going on in fandom (such as fandomcalendar )

Are there any forums, social media groups, or online communities you frequent to discuss your fandom?

I'm in some discord servers for some specific fandoms (like Arcane for example) but I mostly join multifandom communities on Discord, DW and Tumblr to discuss fandom topics. Back in the day, I used to be into bandom forums but we don't talk about that anymore.

How would you describe the overall atmosphere and culture within the fan community?

I guess this depends on the fan community in question. In general, I'd say fandom as a hobby/place is friendly and welcoming. However there are some fandoms I'm in that are not welcoming to specific groups of people. I don't wanna point fingers, but let's talk about some examples. Arcane as a fandom is super hostile towards black women (all you have to do is look at how the fandom treats Mel and you'll see it). The 9-1-1 fandom is filled with racism that's not even subtle (the way people treat Chimney and Eddie is insane, while Buck can never do anything wrong ever).
Still, even in those spaces, those loud people are not the majority, and when they are, I assure you, you can find a pocket of fandom that shares some of your opinions where you can hang out. I think that if people get comfortable with things like the block button and the blacklist function is most social media sites, they can have a very enjoyable experience in fandom.
My main advice for someone looking to interact with fandom more would be to find your people and for God's sake, do not fall into the diskhorse trap.

Have you attended any fan conventions or meet-ups? If so, what was your experience like?

I haven't attended any convention because I happen to live somewhere where the only important convention that ever happens is the local version of Comic Con and they haven't brought big names literally ever. Fan meet-ups however? I've attended to so many... mostly while I was still in High School though. Most fan meet-ups I attended have been related to the Jonas Brothers for some reason, with a couple of Twilight-themed fan events sprinkled here and there.

What’s the significance of fan art, fan fiction, or fan videos in your community?

In my music fandoms, fan videos have been HUGE since forever. Who doesn't love making and watching videos with your favorite artists edited with their music?
Some of my fandoms deal more in fic than in art or videos. A good example of this would be The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself or Sense8, both small-ish fandoms that are still fairly active in the fic-writing area but not so much in the vidding area.
Most of my book fandoms are pretty active in fic writing and art in different forms (The Raven Cycle and All For The Game come to mind as fandoms where fic is abundant and artists are fairly active).
As for other TV show fandoms, like Teen Wolf, that fandom is active in pretty much all aspects. If it weren't for the fan community, this fandom would've died a long time ago. Videos, fic, art, all of it is pretty significant in the fandom.

Are there any charity or social causes your fandom community supports?

More than specific charities, a lot of fandoms I'm in are part of charity auctions such as fandomtrumpshate or have charity drives once a year where the fandom chooses a charity to support.
Besides that, I consider myself part of Nerdfighteria and this community has been supporting PIH and their project in Sierra Leone for the last few years, a project I feel particularly close to.

How do fan theories or headcanons contribute to your enjoyment of the fandom?

Fan theories can be fun! Headcanons can be fun! I like to theorize and make headcanons sometimes, but they're not the only reason I enjoy fandom. I'm not gonna lie to you, I love watching my weekly 9-1-1 episode and theorize about what will happen next week, but I don't get too invested in it because I don't want it to cloud my enjoyment of canon.
That said, I loooove going to one of the servers I like to hang out in and drop an insane theory or headcanon and let the server discuss lmao.

Are there any rituals or annual events that your fandom community participates in each year?

This depends on the community, but some of the annual events I enjoy the most are the Project4Awesome and Pizzamas. It's honestly so much fun! But I guess it requires deep knowledge of the lore to get into it. I have been watching it for over 13 years, so I guess it's become part of my annual calendar.

What is the craziest or most dedicated thing you’ve done for your fandom(s)?

Well, I wanted to see Fall Out Boy and The 1975 live and the fuckers would not come to Latam, so I took matters into my own hands and planned a trip to the Reading Festival in 2016. I ended up expanding the scope of that one-week trip to the UK to include 4 more cities in 3 different countries and meet some of my online fandom friends. It was fun! Did I mention I planned the whole thing like a week in advance? As in I bought tickets, air fare, booked accommodation and tours all within a week to the start of the festival. I also happened to meet one of my favorite artists there but that's for another post I guess.

Have you created any content or resources that have contributed to the fan community?

Well, I have contributed on and off with Fanlore for about 6 years. Occasionally I've written meta or guides on how to approach writing/drawing certain characters and I've edited so many fan wikis. I hope it's been useful for someone.

Are there any well-known fan community leaders or content creators that you admire?

I admire so many creators in fandom, from writers to artists to video editors, I could not possibly name them all. Maybe I should make an entire post dedicated to creators in certain fandoms. Someone who absolutely sends me every time they post a new work (and who deserves more recognition) is Rowan transboybuckley

That's it for now! See you in the next post!