makes me sad how little bellarke fics are being made/updated nowadays :( I know it’s natural for fandoms to slow down once the show ends but tbh I didn’t expect it to be this bad, as an author yourself do you think it might be due to the terrible show ending or is there also lack of engagement from the readers?
I think a lot of people pulled away after the finale, that's true but there's also some who did that and after some time came back upon realizing that this final isn't *their* final. Of course that does play some role into it and I understand that people aren't like me, at least not most, I can just ignore it and keep doing what I love, writing fanfic and making gifs. I just love doing that. But others can't because of this and I get it. I've always been able to pull myself away from the narrative, even when the show was still going on. Also over the years I see some stuff differently and come to consider points I haven't before but most people don't do that.
I think part of it is also the culture we live in nowadays. When I first came on Tumblr someone having a multifandom blog was like nah, I won't follow that, I want one specific fandom or two not a whole bunch of them. Now things are different-almost everyone's multifandom and people jump from one thing to another in matter of weeks if not months. It's just the new culture, mostly inspired by the Netflix-and-the-alike providing content. The competition is to post major show after major show or remake something or to make a continuation or a prequel of something that people loved. but the idea is that people loved that one specific OLD thing and they go there because they are nostalgic.
Overall I think the generation changed, and younger folks but not just prefer to jump from one thing to the other without sticking to something. I personally and I know there's also others like me even if they're not a majority, like old stuff, the way things used to be, one episode every week, one or two major fandoms and other stuff they liked. I know that I am like that, I prefer rewatching older shows than watching anything new that doesn't really speak to me and move on to the next a month or two after. I still find more sense in shows that come weekly like All American, SEAL team and others that I follow aka cable shows, than any dragon stuff or period drama things or witch stuff that cast one or two famous names to get the major viewing and hook people up enough to watch their stuff, drop two seasons and then stop it. ( I also have interesting observations on the handmaid's tale and i make them only because I know bruce miller, the executive was the one who was in the writer's room for the 100 and he was the reason why the show got better over time but I find flaws in him too and I find some interesting conclusions there when I watch for myself, anyway that's not important)
I think it just depends on what people like nowadays. I know not as many post fics or headcanons or gifs about the show but I still love writing my fic every day and getting something out there. I love those characters, I love the actors who played them and follow their careers. Most people don't do that. And I think that's one reason why. Then again sometimes after a bad ending some time needs to pass before people can start creating for it again. Just to shake things off. I think the core remains that there's no other couple like bellarke in any other show I've watched. There's similarities and people find them in couples I don't and didn't even back when the 100 was still on (say like Math/ias and N/na from what is it now Sh/adow and bone when I remember the bellarke fandom hated that couple back when the books were out but somehow ppl compare them to bellarke now?? which super weird). I've seen some authors get inspired and write for them again but yes not as many do anymore.
With fanfic there's also that people tell you how to write your fic now. It's not like before in FF.net when you posted and there were no tags, no warnings nothing like that and if people didn't like something they didn't read it.
For example I'm now afraid to post new chapters of my ark!AU cause I know what I've written and I'm certain people will yell at me about it and that just makes me not want to post it. Other's comments are just *update* and that does little for your motivation.
There's also the fact that there's no fanfic blog to promote writers in this fandom nowadays, even if they're not as many, there's just nothing to bring them together. I know of ppl on twitter who write who I don't see here but they post chapters. There's also no fanfic awards or anything like it to help promote those who write. They're not as few as we think. I believe ppl post and they post good stuff but no many know of them.
Then there's also the issue of smut. A bellarke fic with 90% smut that is posted now gets 10k hits. One that is modern AU or something else gets say 500 hits. So there's the issue of that too on a deeper level.
Overall, I know the fandom is smaller now but frankly, I enjoy that. I don't have the rush to compete with something (I always did better on hiatuses than on showdays) and I know it's something that it's over but I am content creating for it even for 20 people here and 50 on twitter and 30 on Ao3. I'm in no interest of following big netflix productions. I watch them but they do little for me. I just don't feel the soul in them. Maybe i'm old but that's just me.
