Asking for a friend who just posted a clexa story on ao3 and isn't getting a lot of hits, etc., like they did before. Is the Clexa fandom dead? If so, what killed it?
I don’t know what your friend considers to be an indicator of good engagement but while the fandom isn’t dead, it has shrunk considerably.
It’s the natural order of things really, especially when there are new shows and shiny new pairings popping up all the time (everyone on my dash seems to have a heavy fixation with Arcane right now). Engagement is lower because many people have moved on and probably don’t read as much—or any—Clexa fic these days, although they might make exceptions for favourite writers.
That’s not to say there aren’t diehard devotees still around - we see you and we love you! But it is harder to reach an audience as a writer now. You have to do self-promotion on tumblr and hope that some popular blogs rec your stuff. Since tumblr is such a visual medium, fics are far more likely to be reblogged and gain traction if they include a moodboard or edit as well as a compelling summary or teaser/excerpt (but this won’t automatically translate to kudos on AO3, much less comments). Posting snippets, headcanons and extras gets readers more invested and can build a following for multi-chapter fics, especially. So while there are some tools at your friend’s disposal to help generate interest in their fic, they’re probably not going to see the same level of engagement as when the fandom was at its peak circa 2015-2018 aka the golden age of Clexa :’)













