the fact fandom as a whole can be built out of seperate yet overlapping “migratory” fanbases that move from canon to canon in search of specific itches being scratched is revelatory of the underlying emotional structures of fannish engagement for many people, which is fundamentally derivative in the sense that it is about obsession. it is about getting that same itch scratched over and over. like sex, or desire. it is about iterative desire in form or structure, as so much of fannish content is about desire. if it’s working on you you will never get tired of it and will always want more. if it isn’t it’s baffling how it could be doing it for anyone. it is basic to the enterprise in a way that means the criticisms that fandom is often derivative or unoriginal has always struck me as off-base on multiple levels. i also like fandom and fic as a ground for expansive creative exploration free of the demands of the wage, but that has never been what everyone is getting out of it, or the only thing i myself get out of it. and assuming it is, or should be, and these repetitions that are likely to strike those not in the loop of desire as dull undifferentiated slop are deviations from what could or should be a more noble intellectual pursuit is naive and means you will never really get anywhere in analyzing fandom.
