☕️ phandom and phanfiction awards
oo starting spicy up in here (send me ☕ and a topic and i’ll tell u my thots)
phandom: i think it’s more or less just like any other fandom out there? like. there are parts of it/people in it that are going to be toxic, who are looking to start drama, or who want to be a pain in the ass and they’ll do that no matter the fandom they’re in. but i also believe in the 1%/99% rule (idk which it’s called lmao) which is that like. regardless of the fandom, about 1% are gonna be the Bad ones. so the larger the fandom, the more assholes, but the vast majority is Good. and it can sometimes be hard to avoid, but for the most part, it’s possible? i’ve honestly had nothing but a great time in the phandom, i’ve met some really awesome people, and really only experienced any sort of ‘drama’ via hearsay and not like. in any kind of direct way. so i apologize if you were hoping for a Really Spicy opinion on the phandom but i don’t really have one lmao. i do think it’s inherently going to invite specific kinds of toxicity based on the fact that it’s rpf but there are also things it avoids by being rpf or by being about just two people, etc (bnha fandom i’m lookin at u lmao)
phanfic awards: quick preface by saying i was apparently nominated (thank you to whoever did that lmao) so there may be some inherent bias that i want to address up front (that said, there are plenty of things i haven’t been nominated for, so i’m sort of pulling on that as well in the hopes that i can mitigate that bias as much as possible)
very plainly, i think the awards mostly amount to a popularity contest. not to say that the people who were nominated aren’t good or haven’t worked for their popularity, but i also think that it isn’t a direct reflection of talent. and i don’t mean to say that everyone on there is a big blog or has a ton of followers, but i would guess that the people on there (and i recognize several names) have worked hard to make sure their fics are seen by as many people as possible
and for those who didn’t make the nominations/etc, that has nothing inherently to do with how hard they did or didn’t work to get their fics noticed, nor does it have to do with their talents as writers, but it has more to do with the who-knows-who nepotism - are you friends with a popular blog? a friend of a friend? did a popular blog notice your fic and mention it in a post or recommend it? i think it’s a combination of luck and popularity (with actual writing talent as the base)
the point here being that fics that didn’t make this particular list aren’t necessarily bad, but they may not have gained the same popularity as ones that got Noticed™ or were reblogged by already-popular writers
the net-net of it is i don’t think awards are necessarily a reflection of good or bad fics, just representative of people whose fics got noticed. so a lot of it does come down to popularity, or luck and good writing, but i don’t think it’s some kind of end-all-be-all for whose fics are the best
that said, those who did make the list, that’s awesome! like i don’t think it necessarily invalidates any kind of pride you’re allowed to feel at being nominated/being on the list, just keep in mind it isn’t some kind of ‘you were the absolute best, period’ thing
plus!!!!! fic is so so so subjective!!!!! imagine if someone said ‘oh this book is the best book to ever be written’ but ur standing over to the side like ‘uh i don’t even like that genre???? or that particular writer writes in a way i’m not a fan of???? so it can’t be the best’ like i know fic awards are categorized and all but some of the ones that are like ‘best of 2019′ or w.e are also going to inherently be biased toward the popular genres, tags, tropes, and writers by virtue of the fact that they’re, well, popular. like. if you wrote a fic that is extremely niche, it could be an incredible fic, but you may not get the recognition for it simply cause it doesn’t cater to the majority. it doesn’t mean it’s a bad fic!!!!!!
generally my opinion is that the awards are awesome, but not something i’m thoroughly invested in. and i hope that nobody gets so invested or hurt by it, too, y’know? i also hope it ends up highlighting some fics that maybe didn’t get as much recognition, though i acknowledge it’s not exactly the best method to find some underground writers ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ it’s a double-edged sword, unfortunately
