I get that! It feels so nice to have shared something with so many people, to know others were as deeply affected as you. And that was certainly a unique experience, I definitely get wanting to know one wasn’t alone in that. I got into the ship fairly late but I remember it all over my dash for ages.
You know, I didn’t actually read much fic for Clexa, before 3×07 happened. It was one of those canon ships I wanted to enjoy unfolding on TV. I’ve had such a specific kind of experience with shipping, moving from subtext (which I still enjoy and will defend) to canon, and the subtext ones were so much about what the fandom created, I was all about the fics.
But for canon, while fandom definitely enhances the experience, as people might have observed, I don’t really read ships for my big ones. Juliantina, Kana, Jathea, Jane/Lisbon, Kadena, I was happy with what we were getting on screen. But it’s why I dislike so much when a ship becomes one where you have to read fic. I mean, I’ll read the fic, happily, and omg, the people who write them are heroes, but just that particular switch, when suddenly it’s like the olden days and we can’t catch a break in canon…that part makes me sad. Clexa is the only canon one I did read that much fic for, it was so impossible to escape what was going on and just completely leave that world, so we just stayed with it any way we could.
Hah, don’t worry, you didn’t miss much before Juliantina. And I do celebrate Eid, so thank you!