Fandoms

[moonshayde]

I was scrolling through some old posts on my various fandoms.

I miss it :(

Man, was I into fandom or what? Art, fic, discussion, and pure squee. Even then, I wasn't as obsessed and post-happy as others. Do I even do any of that now? I'm so crazy busy.

But man. The Smallville days. Mocking the cwazies. Squeeing over my favorite superhero pairing. Looking to see if each new episode would bring us closer to Superman or make me angry. I learned that there are so many other awesome people out there that love Superman and its mythos like I do.

Then there was SG-1. SO. MUCH. FIC. SG-1 was the fandom where I learned so much. This is where I made my first icons, banners, and wallpaper. I really tested and experimented in my writing and showed it to the world for the first time. I met a lot of fantastic people, and I learned a lot of hard lessons.

And last but not least, Supernatural. Still my fave show. Still excited and squeeful, even if I don't share it very often. (Even to meg_tdj.) While the overall strength and quality of the show is not what it used to be, particularly in the overarching story arcs, antagonists, and consistency, it's still stronger than I'd expect at its age with top-notch acting and interesting hooks. I'm proud to still call it my fave show. I wish some of my other fave shows had been this strong and enjoyable when they were in Season 8. I've never been as active in fandom, though, likely due to my past experiences in prior fandoms and because I'm in a different place in my life. Still, I miss the squee and the chat and the fun of being immersed in fandom just the same.

I think sometimes about my other interests, too. How I would love to get more invested in Dark Angel as the fandom is more fun than the show itself. I miss X-Files something fierce, and I think back how it used to be my fave TV show ever, until SPN came along. How fun it was to play with Lost theories and pray my fave characters wouldn't die. Then, of course, Star Wars, which will always have a special place in my heart as I was obsessed with it for so long before it was tainted by some bad experiences and the prequels, which I did not enjoy as much. We'll see what the future holds.

I do miss it all and wish I could reclaim it, if not just a little bit. Maybe I can win that part of me back somehow and adapt it to the person I am now.

Just my random thoughts. What about the rest of you?

Comments

[jennytork.livejournal.com]

same way. I miss the days of the Monkees (before the fandom went slash-mad), Starsky and Hutch (before it went rape-crazy and anythign different was flamed out).

I am still in the Atlantis and M7 fandoms and miss both of the heydays of those fandoms. I still wish that M7 ATF could actually be made.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Didn't know that about those fandoms.

Guess it's the same everywhere.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I wish SG-1 fandom were more active—but then, I can't complain, because I'm not doing much there any more. Maybe someday. There are still some people keeping it alive.

I have new fandoms, too. I tend to discuss shows with just a few people (that I know won't tear down the characters I like, etc.) and read a bit more widely, but still rather cautiously. I find there's a lot in all fandoms that I don't like. I prefer Gen, and I was really spoiled for it in SG-1 fandom, where we had loads of it being written for a while.

I like to think that when I have more time, I'll start writing again. I still have some ideas; there's just too much going on in life now.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I think that might be true of a lot of people. For some it's the time of life. For others it's just been a rough ride lately. Plus fandoms slow as they age.

I look at all the SG-1 WIPS I never got to finish. Same for other fandoms.

I don't actually have any new fandoms. I'm just not very active period.

[claudiapriscus.livejournal.com]

I've not been as fannishly active as I used to be, either, and I do miss it. For whatever reason, I mostly see myself participating in TV fandoms (although I've dabbled a bit in the MCU), but there aren't any airing currently that sucked me in the way that Supernatural did. There have been and are shows that I love just as much if not more than I did/do supernatural, but they just don't inspire me to want to write or seek out fic. Fringe is a great example. Fringe is probably one of my all-time favorite shows, but I just didn't have that drive. And the farscape reviews over at the AVclub really make me wish it had aired today, rather than 10+ years ago, because I enjoy the heck out of the discussions and if it weren't such a done and finished thing, I'd probably be ficcing and meta-ing it up like a crazy person.

That said, I read an article today on a bunch of new sci-fi shows that SyFy is considering and just the bare descriptions have me thinking that a few of them could have the potential to bring back that fannish fun.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

It's funny how that works.

I've also loved shows that I had no fannish aspirations for, and then I've watched shows that haven't been all that fantastic and I have been really involved. And of course, everything in between.

I guess it's all about needs and timing.

[nialla]

Fandom and the people in it are evolving constantly. When I came into fandom in the 1990s, things were just beginning the big migration online. Back then, most things were done by email, as in there was often just one, maybe two lists, for a show. One for general discussion, one for fanfic. As things expanded, they might break off another list for slashfic (because that was still icky for a lot of people).

Web forums came and went for a time, but it wasn't until I was in Stargate fandom that I came to LiveJournal because a lot of fanfic was being posted here. Finding so many shows having comms for general discussions, fanfic, specific pairings, etc. was a major change, and I loved it. A place for everyone to play, but easily presented almost like your own personalized zine of fandom.

Since LJ is dwindling, there's just not as much discussion taking place, and everyone's scattering to various forums. I'm also a lot more leery of joining in at comms than I used to be. Too much fighting over ships and other crap. I'm finding that I'm much more likely to discuss things in my own LJ or those of people I know than in a group for it.

I'm also watching a lot more shows, yet not getting the fannish urge, except maybe reading fanfic. It's sort of strange, but maybe the more fannish interests are spread out, the less you can be old-fashioned fannish? In the bigger picture, it also means there's more fragmentation of fandom itself, so you don't always know where to find it.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

Since LJ is dwindling, there's just not as much discussion taking place, and everyone's scattering to various forums. I'm also a lot more leery of joining in at comms than I used to be. Too much fighting over ships and other crap. I'm finding that I'm much more likely to discuss things in my own LJ or those of people I know than in a group for it.

It's something I've thought about. Newer fandoms, ones I may or may not follow, are divided among different social media. Back when I was into SG-1, we could be found on LJ or on forums. These days, you have Twitter, Tumblr, various journals, Facebook, etc. Maybe it's harder to organize? Pockets are everywhere.

Dunno. I find it interesting.

[nialla]

There's always been a bit of "fandom pockets", but it still seemed to be relatively easy to find one or more to interact within. Even if it was just finding someone in another fandom telling you a good place to go for the new fandom.

Still think there's cross-pollination for fandom sites, but it's all so spread out now, you just have to find the right place at the right time to learn about other places.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Aww I know what you mean, I used to be so into Buffy and Smallville fandoms, and even with shows I enjoy these days like Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries I never felt a part of their fandom in the same way somehow. Plus a lot of fandom is on tumbler there days instead of LJ

[sanalayla.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I still miss the SV fandom. For me, the show was the fandom and the cool convos. Even more than the show itself. Every once in awhile, I go to DI and get really nostalgic. Miss writing fic and miss reading fic.

No other show has really captured me that way. No other ship, either.