the f00fy one · 13 answers · 9mo
When you consume fiction and participate in fandoms, are you more interested in the story, the lore/setting, the characters, or all three equally? And what elements of them specifically interest you?
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When you consume fiction and participate in fandoms, are you more interested in the story, the lore/setting, the characters, or all three equally? And what elements of them specifically interest you?
All three, but depends the fandom
it's almost always a mix of the three, but I think characters are weighted more heavily just because a compelling character can make even a bland story interesting. But I tend to prefer media with some fascinating lore or setting or at the minimum the story also. I need all three elements to become fully invested, is what I mean.
All 3 of them equally; especially with Zelda. There’s sooo much content with that fandom to indulge in with the games & books and whatever other off-spins! The lore is mostly what interests me because of how complex the zelda timeline is, it splits off into 3 different branches from the main one and even now I still try to wrap my head around it. With the most recent games it’s so interesting to see how the characters develop as well. For example, we see Zelda go from being distant and not wanting to be around Link to them spending all their time together. This series makes me so happy :^)
Hmmm, I think the lore/setting needs a certain minimum amount of interesting elements to be compelling, but after that threshold is reached I'm personally there for the characters and the story that is told through those characters. As long as the world feels interesting and provides sufficient incentive to suspend disbelief then it really falls on the characters making thought provoking decisions and doing interesting things to move a story along. I don't really participate in famdoms so much, usually just focusing on the fiction itself.
Imho the best stories get you to love the characters and want to see them succeed, and then place obstacles and opposing forces in front of them to provide a conflict that drives to the narrative's conclusion in an interesting way. The best twists are the ones that aren't too obvious but you can see coming if you're actively taking in the clues, the best antagonists have thought processes that make sense and are self-consistent even if the viewer doesn't necessarily agree with them, and the best protagonists see parts of themselves be challenged and have to reconcile those dissonant elements within themselves to reach their goals.
I also feel that on top of everything else, the presentation in a given medium is also incredibly important. Whether that's a book being well written and coherent or an anime being well animated and choreographed with emotionally appropriate music accompaniment. These things go the final mile in really crystalizing the tone being put forth by the story/setting/characters and making sure it all hits home in the way the creatives behind them intended. The best media for me has both great stories and great presentation that takes full advantage of the medium being used.
I don't consume much fiction, just a couple of TV shows, adult cartoon sitcoms. In those cases I'm more interested in the characters and funny events. Well, I do also watch movies now and then, which are almost all fiction, including some anime movies, mostly Studio Ghibli ones. For movies I guess it's mostly the story and the characters, and in some cases the action. In movies set in the future or past, the setting is also interesting, maybe even the most interesting thing. If you can count the general mystical qualities of Studio Ghibli films (and maybe other anime?) as lore, then I like the lore too in those cases, a lot.
I've only ever participated in one fandom (or actually just witnessed, never really saying anything), Arianators on Twitter. And it wasn't even because I like Ariana Grande (though I did kind of adore her character on Victorious), for much of the time I was following 1500 of her fans I wasn't even following Ariana Grande. I just needed/wanted some source of uplifting positivity in my life, and I noticed that the Arianators were more generally more positive than any other fandom on Twitter.
I have to say all 3 almost equally (I prioritise story and characters a little more). While the setting gives the basis for the story, the story shapes it more, and then characters give it dimension and likeability. Characters are definitely my favorite aspect of media, since they can be related to and talked about in fandom alot more than a setting or something can be (atleast from what ive seen). It also might just be the artist genes but character design is the other gianttt factor that makes me the most interested in them.
all three, mostly the Lore though, I enjoy complicated Lore that also has bits that the viewers have to find themselves
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