i think where i feel the most different in perspective from the average person who enjoys doing Fandom stuff is that i don't particularly care for media that Would Be Good If It Were Good and almost nothing i make is ever coming from the desire to "fix" a canon. the deciding factor of whether or not i'm gonna like something in a fandomy way or just a regular way is completely unrelated to any Missed Potential and entirely hinges on how much i feel like i want to or am capable of filling in the gaps in a narrative or a characters' life that just didn't warrant getting any screentime in the source material. like when i think something had a bunch of potential but completely missed the mark in execution that's normally disappointing more than it is any kind of inspiring. the stuff that makes me want to Create the most fervently is stuff i think is good for real.
tangentially related to this is i think sometimes people are unfair or just kind of incorrect about stuff they perceive to be "missed potential" in fiction. like they see elements of characters/a story that could easily handle being elaborated upon because the author has done a good job making something deep and textured, but these elements ultimately are not the point of the story and spending too much time on them would bog down the pacing or otherwise complicate/overstuff the narrative. and instead of realizing that sometimes being left wanting more is a sign of good writing, they'll view it as the author Dropping or Forgetting something. like it's usually not a mistake when side characters are less developed than the core cast and their circumstances do not get the plot's full attention.
a fictional world that clearly has more stories in it other than the one you're seeing now is not necessarily missed potential, that may just be regular potential.
