GatheringFiKi Interest Survey 2025 - Results
First of all, huge thank you to those who took the time to fill in my recent survey. I have now reviewed the results and I have a couple of points I’d like to share.
PLEASE READ UNDER THE CUT:
Please reblog this post to spread the word. Thank you!
1) The fandom health check:
I came accross the equivalent post to this one from the start of 2025. Even back then I was saying that IDK if there's any point running any events. I did run them and some of you took part. Some new content was created. That is a win.
A total of 27 people took part in the survey this year, though for the longest time it was 15, because nobody reblogged the post.
Does it make sense to run the events when 3-5 people take part? No, it does not.
Will I see any new FiKi content created without the events? Unlikely.
Do I want new FiKi Content? Yes, I do.
Will I run events in 2026? Damnit, I think I will.
So why do we have a shrinking fandom (apart from the obvious - people moving on) and what can I capitalise on, to stop it shrinking more?
2) Tumblr - a problematic platform:
Honest question: how often are you on Tumblr these days? Coz for me the answer is: rarely. Usually only when I know there's an event on. Why? I think Tumblr is great when you have many varied interests/fandoms and you keep jumping from one to the next, so that your dashboard stays forever fresh. But if you're only here for one or two things, and those things aren't new... Put it this way: the Hobbit films came out in 2012-2014. There are very few pieces of Hobbit content that I haven't seen on my dash a thousand times already. And other social media platforms are growing more dynamically, vying for our attention too. And then life happens.
Now, do I want to move GF to some other platform? No, I do not. Tumblr is where its native community is, however small, and Tumblr is the platform that allows our events to run in their current format - in conjunction with AO3. It just doesn't make sense to move. And there are still some new joiners who find us via Tumblr.
But I am losing people who are not participating, just because they're not on Tumblr daily, like they used to be. I need to find some other way of reaching and engaging those folks.
3) Not a fandom; a group of friends:
If there are just 27 of us (+ a couple who don't take part in the events, but lurk, or read, or comment), then it DOES become possible to have more personal relationships within such a small group, while maintaining the underlying common denominator of the FiKi fandom. That seems to be the best thing that attracts people to small fandoms - you make friends, you don't get lost in the crowd.
In the run-up to 12 Days of Christmas I made a small group chat on WhatsApp with a couple of people who were also taking part in the event. It worked like a charm, because we were all in this together - crunching out stories and sets, while also chatting on and off about everthing and anything, getting to know each other.
Then I got pulled into Discord. I'm not familiar with Discord, so I'm still learning, but it does seem to have some nifty features, like you can set up events and it will send you notifications, and you can have separate channels for everything.
Ergo I now created a GatheringFiKi Discord Server for us all. This is no obligation thing (don't like, don't join), as Tumblr posts will continue as before, so you're not going to miss out. The idea is to chat on and off, as often/rarely as you like, about anything you like, but also fandom stuff. This could also be used for support when creating stuff, bouncing off ideas, a single place to communicate events into, post links to anything new you create outside of the events, or even watch stuff together.
I know, if you have never used Discord before, it can be daunting at first, but if I can do it, then so can you, and I promise you that your experience of a fandom will be 130% more rich if you join!
4) Events? What events?
The survey will end in about a day and then you'll be able to see the exact results, but basically the 2 strongest candidates were: Kink Bingo and AUpocalypse with about 26% of the votes each. That was a clear lead over anything else. Where does that leave us?
I was already thinking that there will have to be 12 Days of Christmas and the FiKi Week, as our flagship events, as well as a quick Drabble Challenge here or there. That stands. IDK how to live my life without them.
Kink Bingo: last year I was swearing that there wouldn't be one this year, because we're having it too often and there's alwas a lot of theoretical interest, but less tangible results. KB has the following record: 2017 - 10 responses, 2021 - 21 responses, 2022 - 1 response, 2024 - 8 responses, 2025 - 6 responses.
So, what I'm going to do is run it, but in October, so that it slots in with the wider Kinktober (instead of having Trick or Treat or DDGE compete with Kinktober), which will give us about 1.5 years since the last edition of this event.
AUpocalypse has a better record: 2021 - 15 responses, 2022 - 11 responses, 2024 - 21 responses. But this year I think I'll run it differently - there will be a specific prompt for each of the 30 days while it runs. Sure, you won't be familiar with all of the AUs proposed, but we're not asking you to write/draw all 30 days. Pick those specific AUs that get your creative juices flowing and run with them - just make sure to post them on the right day.
And then there's this new event idea I've had:
5) Rent-A-Fanwork Event:
This whole thing started because certain unnamed individuals wrote some damn good fics once upon a time, got it to the point where it was just getting juicy... and then failed to finish it. We've all been there.
So I was like: how to 'unstuck' those unnamed individuals and get more of the good stuff? I have tried running events in a similar vein before: Fic of a Fic was one, and DDGE was the other, but I think one was problematic because there wasn't explicit consent of the original author, and with the other you get assigned a partner and you don't get a choice.
This new idea fixes all that. Think of a library. You, the author, can put those of your works that you are happy for others to play with, into the library (probably AO3 Collection). You retain all rights to your work, but you're giving consent for others to create something based on them.
AO3 does have a setting called 'works inspired by'. That feels like a respectful way to do this.
Other folks then can 'rent it out' and create something based on your work. Could be a continuation, prequel, sequel, spin off, missing scene, etc. Maybe it'll be an artwork from an artist (yes, artists can also put their artwork into the library, to have something written based on their artwork). Maybe it will be an edit, or a photoset.
Maybe it'll inspire you to continue with the original. Maybe you won't like somebody else's take on your work and then you'll say: 'thank you very much, but let's keep these separate'. All good, I think.
It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd like to try it, and see what happens. Creativity inspires creativity - that much I know.
6) Comments, comments, comments:
The main reason why people feel that the fandom is dying, and move away from it themselves, is because whatever they post gets fewer views and fewer comments. Yes, some of us, some of the time, write for ourselves - that is true. But validation is a potent drug, and when it's not received, the withdrawal symptoms are brutal and hit you hard - because creativity is something you pour your heart and soul into, so it feels personal.
Now. When was the last time you read and commented on the works of others? When was the last time you wrote a juicy comment that would have made your day, if you received it - you know, with many paragraphs and doing a detailed emotional analysis of the characters, or requesting more of the story? Did you reblog their stuff, so more people could see it? Did you wax poetic in the tags?
Not recently? Why? Because life happened? Because you don't know what to write? Or because you don't appreciate the new content you have access to, and don't think the author deserves a comment? Surely not.
The moral of this story is this: treat the new content from others the same way as you'd like to see your own new content treated. Readers, viewers, consumers are just as important in a fandom as creators.
Nobody can force you to consume content you don't want to consume - that's not the point. You shouldn't feel obliged to read/view the things you don't fancy just because someone created them and they're in your fandom. But then, if you have chosen to read it and liked it, be sure to tell the author. Reblog it. Celebrate it. :)
Thoughts? Ideas? Comments? Please leave a comment!
Wishing you all a cracking New Year, filled with inspiration, joy, passion and feels, and enough creative zeal to write a bloody book.
A Calendar of Events for 2026 will follow in a separate post
~gatheringfiki
