received an interesting ask about orv that made me think about my engagement with fandom in the last year or so... i have become a real hermit of sorts, i feel... and i wanted to answer it (kind of) without posting the text of it. so... here we are??? i've entered a late stage of fandom where orv is still on my mind, i still create here and there for it, i still talk about it when it comes to mind. but i definitely no longer engage with the fandom at large. and in part, i feel a little sad about that. for years, i really enjoyed talking with lots and lots of people at once about my thoughts on orv and its story and its themes and its characters. but on the other hand, i'm glad i've refined my circle down so small, because now, i know i'm engaging with people who intuitively engage with orv in a way that's similar to mine.
now, i have to admit, i still worry about becoming too narrow in my thoughts and ideas this way. no one should seek an echo chamber, even in something as seemingly frivolous as a webnovel fan club. alas, this too is society! while i believe there's a lot to appreciate in creating and discussing with like-minded people, i don't think that should lead me to thinking anyone with a different mindset or engagement with the original work is wrong, either. i need to make sure as long as i enjoy orv, i seek out new viewpoints about it (heh).
still, i think i've reached a sweet spot where i'm challenged enough to find new things to think and write about in this novel (THAT I STARTED EIGHT YEARS AGO...EW...) and also enjoying myself with friends who appreciate the same qualities of the original work that i hold most dear. circling back to the ask... to the asker, my friend, i hope you 1. actually see this lol and 2. feel a little better about still loving orv, even if you sometimes don't want to. the most important thing, i'd say, is that if orv still matters to you, then you should never give it up. even when i whine about being a loser who still thinks about hsy too much after nearly a decade, i'm not ready to put this book away for good just yet.
what you hope you can do, is find that circle of people who focus on the very things you do, so that you can enjoy that camaraderie and thus, enjoy this novel that's meant so much to you for so long without bitterness or frustration. that is, to me, the truest and best quality of any fandom, and especially valuable for a work that touches one as personally as orv can.
