I was thinking about this today as I was cleaning my house from top to bottom - my fannish flist is a varied bunch - some of you, I know everything going on in your lives, and I follow your ups and downs (avidly) and I think I have a good general impression of who you are in real life as well as fannish. Some of you, I know only through your stories, meta, and fannish commentary.

Me, I talk about my life a lot, both fannish and not, but I'm really curious about the fannish side - specifically, what do my pairings say about me? And does it mesh with the bits and pieces you've picked up of non fannish me?

I know some of my pairings fall into the same group - Gwen/Owen from Tochwood and Abby/Moretti from ER. And I will never be an OTPer - I could pair Samantha Carter and John Sheppard with just about anyone and be happy. I like the rare stuff just as much as the popular stuff, and while there are some pairings I just don't read, (Jack/Ianto from TW and Jack/Daniel from SG1) I don't dislike the pairings. And there are some characters (the Doctor) that I just can't read with anyone, regardless of how much I may like the pairing.

But I think who, and what pairing, we identify with fannishly does really say something about who we are and what we are like. I have a few thoughts about how to interpret me - but I'm more interested in other peoples thoughts.

Here are probably my favorite pairings to read/write (and these are just examples.)

SGA/SG1
John/Sam, Sam/Daniel. Weir/Sumner, John/Rodney. John/Ronon, Ronon/Keller, Rodney/Cadman, Lorne/anyone, Cadman/Sheppard.

Torchwood/Who
Martha/Jack, Martha/Owen, Martha/Ianto, Gwen/Owen, Tosh/Jack, Ianto/Owen.

Jossverse
Kaylee/Simon, Mal/Kaylee, Mal/Inara, Buffy/Angel, Fred/Gun, Fred/Wesley

Other
- Neela/Gallant (ER), Sara/Grissom (CSI), Kate/Tony (NCIS), Abby/Gibbs (NCIS), Abby/McGee (NCIS), Barney/Lily (HIMYM), Barney/Robin (HIMYM), Lily/Marshall (HIMYM), Rebecca/Charlie (Hotel Babylon), Liz/Jack (30 Rock), Garrett/Jordan (Crossing Jordan)

Say whatever you want - it's pretty hard to offend me. And if you want to go beyond pairings and talk characters - my favorites play into my parings - Sam, John, Martha, Owen, Gwen, Bates, Lorne - go that way.

OR you can even talk about what you think your pairings/favorite characters say about you - really, this is all about how we reflect our lives in fandom, and whether or not the impressions we're sending out are the ones that are intended.

(Note: this is not the place to pairing bash or talk about how a show is no longer good - please be nice to each other.)

With everything floating around the SGA fandom about casting spoilers for Season 4 I got to thinking about what it would take for me to stop watching a show.

The answer: A LOT.

I usually stop watching shows because I find them boring. First, they get relegated from "watch right away" to "watch when I have time" and then I go to clean out my Tivo To Do list for space and I have episodes over 6 months old.

For example on The Shield, or House if Vic or House left the show would probably be over. And even if it wasn't I would probably still watch an episode or two to see how they dealt with it.

I love a lot of characters but there is no one character on any given TV show that I love so much I would stop watching if she or he left. I cannot think of a single plot line that would upset me so much I would stop watching. I might roll my eyes or make a post going "well, that was odd" or "I didn't really care for THAT plot twist" but it won't stop me from watching the next week.

In recent history I've stopped watching CSI, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order (original and SVU), and One Tree Hill.

CSI got cut due to scheduling - 3 shows at 9pm - 2 recording options. We pick it up when something else we watch is in rerun, but I think we just got bored with it. I can't really point to one thing that made me stop watching. The same can be said for Desperate Housewives, One Tree Hill, and L&O. They all faded into the black hole of Tivo.

I'm still watching ER, though I quite frequently question my sanity - it's more for the mocking then anything at this point, but I'm still watching. A lot of people have complained about the last season of Gilmore Girls, and while it won't go down as my all time favorite - I'm still enjoying the show enough to watch.

I watched every episode of The Wedding Bells and Andy Barker PI even though I knew they were canceled. I may have mocked them a bit, but I didn't stop watching.

Now for the question - What would it take to make you stop watching something? What character do you love so much if they left or got written out you would no longer watch the show? What plot line would make you turn off your TV? Why?

***I think this question can be handled without spoilers, so please only speak in general or theoretical terms - I would prefer not to read a bunch of rants about how Show X is being screwed up cause Y or Z is going or coming.***

(and if you do spoil, I reserve the right to screen your comment)