That meme's been going around

[frayadjacent]

Give me a show/movie/fandom and I'll tell you:

my favourite female character
my favourite male character
my favourite book/season/etc
my favourite episode (if it's a TV series)
my favourite cast member
my favourite relationship
a character I'd die defending
a character I just can't sympathize with
a character I grew to love
my anti otp

Comments

Xena

[frayadjacent]

my favourite female character: Hmm...I really truly love both Xena and Gabrielle. Gabrielle was the first one I loved (I always go for the sidekicks, it's embarrassing, really), but she's also the one I've spent more time going "WTF are you doing, character??!!". So, both?

my favourite male character: Autolycus. I don't know why I love him but I do! Also, Joxer when he's being taken seriously (by the characters and the show).

my favourite book/season/etc: Season 6, I think. I really liked S4 because of the Caesar arc.

my favourite episode: The Ides of March. I loved the buildup, I loved Xena and Gabrielle's moments together, I loved Gabrielle's murderous rampage. It was also a nice climax of Gabrielle's "grappling with pacifism" arc, which worked surprisingly well for me. Runners up: Many Happy Returns, The Ring trilogy, probably a bunch of others I'm forgetting right now.

my favourite cast member: Well, Lucy Lawless is the only one I know anything about. Her recent tweets about a Xena movie make me smile, so she's a good one to go with. Plus she does (NGO-sponsored) direct action, which is kind of cool.

my favourite relationship: Xena/Gabrielle. My favorite couple ever. Oh my heart. I am all for polyamorous Xena/Gabrielle, BTW, especially in the first few seasons.

a character I'd die defending: None. I don't get why fandom hates Akemi so much, though. What happened doesn't strike me as any more her fault than it is Xena's (which is to say, sort of but not really, she couldn't have known what would happen).

a character I just can't sympathize with: Brutus and Marc Antony. Or Caesar, but I don't think I'm supposed to? My favorite moments for all three of those guys is when they die. Not because they were bad characters, but because I hated them and it was so satisfying, especially the manners in which they died. Those dudes really worked up my bloodlust, apparently. Normally it's pretty weak.

a character I grew to love: Xena. I didn't dislike her at first, but I was kinda lukewarm. Now she is one of my favorite characters ever. I love watching her be the best, smartest, toughest one ever all the time. It's so rare for there to even be pretend tension about whether she will win. And the looks she gives Gabrielle! To die for. And her battle-cry, and her battle-face. <3 <3 Xena.

my anti otp: I guess Xena/Ares. But even there I think there is attraction on Xena's side, but beyond that...it's just totally out of character? Oh, and that time when Gabrielle started acting like she had a crush on Joxer when he stopped liking her? That was weird.

Re: Xena

[thirdblindmouse]

Autolycus! First male character I liked on the show.

I am all for polyamorous Xena/Gabrielle, BTW, especially in the first few seasons.

Yeah, I suppose there were jealousies in that season 6 episode about hell, and "Antony and Cleopatra" in season 5 felt uncomfortably out of place in the middle of a season about settling down together and raising a baby. So maybe they later worked out (or should have worked out) a more exclusive relationship.

I love watching her be the best, smartest, toughest one ever all the time. It's so rare for there to even be pretend tension about whether she will win. And the looks she gives Gabrielle! To die for. And her battle-cry, and her battle-face. <3 <3 Xena.

♥♥♥♥

I think there is attraction on Xena's side, but beyond that...it's just totally out of character?

I swear Xena's type (with the exception of two romances they never sold me on -- Hercules and Ulysses) can be summarized as "bad boys and good girls". And since Ares is the personification of the things that tempt Xena most, it makes sense to me?

Oh, and that time when Gabrielle started acting like she had a crush on Joxer when he stopped liking her? That was weird.

o_O I either wiped that episode from my mind, or interpreted it as not so much a crush as feelings of hurt that her follower had shifted his worship to someone else(?), because I don't remember this happening at all.

Re: Xena

[frayadjacent]

"Antony and Cleopatra" in season 5 felt uncomfortably out of place in the middle of a season about settling down together and raising a baby. So maybe they later worked out (or should have worked out) a more exclusive relationship.

Yeah, that was kinda weird! Mostly the jealous moments made me chuckle because the two are just so clearly devoted to each other, it's hard to see Ares or Antony or what have you coming between them. I did sorta love how the camera always made sure to show Gabrielle's reaction when Xena was romancing Antony.

I swear Xena's type (with the exception of two romances they never sold me on -- Hercules and Ulysses) can be summarized as "bad boys and good girls". And since Ares is the personification of the things that tempt Xena most, it makes sense to me?

Interesting! Though it more makes sense to me as a sexual attraction, or, like you say, a temptation. Like, Xena knows she wouldn't actually be happy with Ares or some other bad boy. Even if they appeal to her in certain ways.

I either wiped that episode from my mind, or interpreted it as not so much a crush as feelings of hurt that her follower had shifted his worship to someone else(?), because I don't remember this happening at all.

Heh, hopefully I was just overinterpreting it! Either way I was annoyed with Gabrielle. It happens from time to time. :)