Fandom

[melagan.livejournal.com]

Fandom means different things to each of us. I thought it would be cool to share some of the things that SGA fandom brought to you -be it fun, positive, or unexpectedly charming.

This is an easy one for me. In just a few days I'm going to meet some fangirls and a fangent in person in South Carolina! *cluthes heart* Some for the very first time although we've known each other via SGA fandom and LJ for years.

This is huge and an event I never could have imagined or hoped for before I stumbled onto SGA. pssst -Mostly i just think you guys are so cool.

There are other things as well. SGA and LJ (loving the meme for More Posting) Darker days where SGA was my only bright spot in a sea of stress. I think that's a story for many of us.

So, let's celebrate. Share your story, your moments, your - damn that was good - feelings. Let's use this community and spread some SGA love around!

Comments

[rubygirl29.livejournal.com]

I won't be able to be at Squee weekend, though my friend spikespet7 will be there and I'm sending my greetings and fandom love with her.

I came to SGA through my bestest roomie at MediaWest. Every year we put up a tribute to our favorite men in scruff and leather. She asked, somewhat shyly, if we could include John Sheppard and showed me a picture. Needless to say, I agreed. When she came to visit me later that year, she brought along DVDs of SGA and we watched The Rising. I was hooked. A few weeks later, I was laid low with the flu and spent a week on the sofa, too sick to do anything but marathon SGA. That was right at the beginning of the 5th season, when we didn't know there wouldn't be a sixth. So sad.

By then, I was writing fanfic. I started my LJ. I was also a devoted John/Ronon shipper. Sorry, McKay. :-)

I love the connections I've made through LJ. So many people I consider friends; some I know very well, others, I've never met, but I believe that when we do, we will bond over more than our love of SGA-SG-1.

Famdon brought me out of a shell of misery after my husband died. It has given me creative and emotional support through even rougher times, and made me realize that if I don't try new things, I'll wither and get stale.

It has helped me in my career, believe it or not, because I am a "cool" librarian and a passionate fangirl. My colleagues consider me to be something of a "pop-culture" maven, up on the latest trends in social media. All because I found fandoms and friends.

I've gone from being a closet fanfic writer, to knowing that literally thousands of people have at least given my stories a try. I've been one of those rare people who have never had a bad fandom experience. It's all been amazing and awesome because of the wonderful people I've met.

You are my support group, my readers, my writers, my enablers. You keep Atlantis alive for me. While SGA wasn't my first fandom, and it isn't my last, it is the fandom I've been in the longest.

I don't write as much SGA as I used to, but I still dabble in the waters and love the characters as much as I did after that first viewing. It will always be special. And YOU will always be special ... my very dear friends.

Have a wonderful time this weekend if you're attending, and think of me. Hey, drink to me, and I'll raise a glass to you and toast to "Maybe next year," when I really will plan to be with you all.

[melagan.livejournal.com]

...a devoted John/Ronon shipper.

In my book there's room for every pairing that the heart desires.

Though I might argue that you're missing out on Rodney's spectacular ass ;)

Wish you could be there with us but I do understand. There's always next year.

I'm glad fandom could be there to help when you needed it. (((hugs)))

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

The SGA fandom changed my life for the better in so many ways I don't think I can list them all.

I'd just quit my job and moved away from my hometown, hoping to start a new life for myself. I only knew a handful of people. I found the show, fell in love with the characters, and started writing. All of the sudden, I had this whole online world to play in--and all these people who shared my love for this same show.

I learned how to do so much in order to participate in fandom! Among my colleagues, I am considered one of the more internet/computer savvy people and it's a joke! Embedding images and hyperlinks, employing (limited) html, and learning how to add text to images, how to navigate big archives or yahoo chat groups--all of that I did out of fandom love. :-)

I made the most wonderful connections too. I think the reason why I've found it really hard to move on to another fandom is because I haven't found anything that has matched SGA for the sheer breadth of talent, the variety of stories and art, the general friendliness, and the support. Man, oh man, have I relied on the support. Maybe a bit too much. But when you never spend more than 48 hours in one place and are always traveling back and forth, well, the SGA fandom became my home. My friends here know more about my life than most of my RL friends because I never *see* my RL friends. Organizing a get together for a dinner and a movie is like trying to coordinate Mid-East Peace Talks. Day or night, I could always find someone from fandom to lend an ear, offer advice, or make me laugh.

Fandom taught me to take chances. To go places I'd never consider going on my own just to meet up with fandom friends. To put myself out there instead of always hiding behind the excuse of 'not good enough'. The confidence I learned in fandom stretched out into real life. I auditioned for a musical for the first time in 20 years. Rode in a clinic with an Olympic coach. Saw a cute guy online and sent him an email asking him out. :-)

This from someone who hadn't been on a date in ten years because she got scared by a stalker. Who'd forgotten how to live because she'd put the needs of everyone else in her life before hers. This silly little show about Misfits in Space, somehow coming together in Atlantis and being better as a team than any of them (well, except Teyla!) could have been on their own--this show spoke to me in so many ways. Every story I write is a love story to this show.

[spikespet7.livejournal.com]

Fandom in general has brought so many interesting people into my life. It has also taken me to places I might not have traveled if not for fandom.

SGA is the third fandom that won my heart enough that I write in. Rodney and John won my heart from the first time I watched Rising. I've seen more of the Stargate actors in Chicago then I've seen of Chicago, LOL!

This coming weekend I'll be revisiting with other fans that I do consider my fandom buddies, and meeting others that I know on line but have never met. I've been looking forward to this weekend since last October.

Wednesday I only work half a day and then I'm off. My flight leaves around 6 pm......

Kimber

[popkin16]

This is such a great "story", for lack of better word. Just amazing ♥

[popkin16]

I hope you have a fantastic time :D

[sgamadison.livejournal.com]

I know some many people who can point to a fandom of some sort as helping them through some really dark times. People who had no sense of community, no sense of self. I think it is very easy for non-fandom types to point to geeks and fandom fanatics and say 'loser'.

Well, I don't know. As an adjunct to treatment for depression, or in lieu of developing a drug or alcohol problem, I don't see the loser aspect of it here. And so often I see living up to a standard set by fandom heroes (be it Agent Scully, or Doctor Who, or Spock, or Ivanova (from B5), John Sheppard, or whatever) prod people into stepping outside their comfort zone and reaching for something better in life.

Fandom gets me through the tough days at work. It gives me something to look forward to when I come home at night, or something to plan toward for that once-a-year blowout when I can indulge myself silly at some convention or fandom gathering. It's the Technicolor in my black and white world. I don't think I'm the only one with a story like this. I know I'm not--because I've met so many wonderful people in fandom with their own struggles who can set them aside for a moment and squee over something along with me. :-) ::shoulder bumps you::