fray-adjacent

Past memes: 2016 | Um apparently I only did this once before?

1. Your main fandom of the year?

Steven Universe, as last year. But also a certain creative decision made during Season 4 of The Mindy Project knocked my socks off and massively increased my commitment to that show.

I also listened to Hamilton A LOT, and spent way too much money buying tickets to see the show this year. But I never really got into the fandom side, so I'm not sure it counts.

2. Your favorite film watched this year?

Arrival. It was so beautiful and hopeful and wonderfully told, and I looooovvvved all the process stuff in it.

3. Your favorite book read this year?

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho, for being delightful and filling my soul just when I needed it. Also Black Wolves by Kate Elliott, which was a slow burn but so good, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (narrated by Adjoa Andoh -- I alternated between reading and listening on this one), and the audiobook of Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (narrated by Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskill).

4. Your favorite TV show of the year?

Steven Universe. This season of Orphan Black was also excellent, and left me happy that the show hadn't ended with three seasons as originally planned (and as I'd wished when S3 finished).

5. Your favorite online fandom community of the year?

Dreamwidth, but I haven't been engaged much with online fandom at all this year.

6. Your best new fandom discovery of the year?

Underground -- but I think that might be the only new show I watched in full this year? I have not been watching much and when I do I generally rewatch old stuff for comfort, or watch my few ongoing shows: Steven Universe, The Mindy Project, and Orphan Black.

Underground got some flack for being more of an action-drama than its premise suggests, but I kinda loved it. I mean, why shouldn't runaway slaves get to be action heros? And the ending left me So Excited for Season 2.

7. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?

I finally read Uprooted, and while in some ways it was better than I expected, it was also a lot more violent than I expected and I just wasn't feeling it. Though calling that a disappointment is a major stretch. I mostly really liked the book.

8. Your TV boyfriend of the year?

Rahul Kohli from iZombie is outrageously attractive to me, so I'll choose him even though I only watched one episode of the show. Certainly not any of Mindy Lahiri's boyfriends.

9. Your TV girlfriend of the year?

Mindy Kaling. I have heart-eyes for her.

10. Your biggest squee moment of the year?

Every. Single. Moment. of the Steven Universe episode Last One Out of Beach City

1. Your main fandom of the year?

In terms of passion as expressed through reblogs of fanart on Tumblr, Steven Universe. It was also the fandom I was most excited about, in addition to my ever-present love for Buffy and Xena. But I did make the Buffy vid of my heart (even if it didn't quite live up to my hopes).

2. Your favorite film watched this year?

Wild. It was such a lovely film; Witherspoon's performance was great, plus it had so much beautiful US West Coast scenery, how could I not love it?

3. Your favorite book read this year?

The Outskirter's Secret, by Rosemary Kirstein. I re-read the whole series early in the year and that one's still my favorite, though I've come to adore The Lost Steersman almost as much.

I also read and fell for the Imperial Radch books this year, but I don't know how to choose a favorite. Most people say Ancillary Justice is the best, but Ancillary Sword introduces most of my favorite characters (Tisarwat! Mercy of Kalr! Kalr 5!) so I'm not so sure.

4. Your favorite TV show of the year?

Steven Universe!!!!!! I also thought Jessica Jones was excellent, though none of its characters really pulled me in and stole my heart (Malcolm and Luke came close a few times). I started Supergirl but am still only four or five episodes in, more for external reasons than not wanting to watch the show, which I enjoy very much.

5. Your favorite online fandom community of the year?

Dreamwidth, still, but I'm pretty active on twitter. I feel like both of those things are at least as much about chatting with/reading blogs by friends as they are about participating in fandom per se. A lot of this is because the things my friends are talking about are not what I'm into. Or I get into it after my friends have already kinda gotten over it. Also, for many reasons I find myself less inclined to discuss my fannish obsessions online than I used to. I do adore the Xena watch happening at ladybusiness.

6. Your best new fandom discovery of the year?

Steven Universe!!!!! I remember when people on twitter were talking about it and I was like, "whatever, a kid's show about a little boy is not my thing." Especially because white male child prodigies are a trope that I hate. (Steven's not a child prodigy, but I might have perceived him as one before I started the show.)

But I gave it a chance and I am so glad, because now I can say I have three favorite shows instead of two. The plotting, the storytelling, the mythology, the characterization, the relationship-building, the political and ethical positions show show carves out: every single one of these things is well done. Mostly incredibly well-done. Plus the music is fantastic, art is lovely, the voice acting is incredible, the show genuinely makes me laugh, it can be downright creepy (in a good way) at times, and UGH EVERYONES FACE. It's one of those shows where my favorite character changes from episode to episode, because they're all so good. It is earnestly hopeful and that hope is earned. This show knows my heart.

7. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?

Orphan Black. Everyone has talked about how plotty that show is, and throughout S2 many criticized the show for how convoluted the plots were getting. I didn't care as long as I had my character beats -- Sarah being ruthless and loving and never stopping trying, Helena loving children and her sistras, Felix making me laugh and warming my heart, Siobhan being a badass -- and interesting relationship dynamics. But S3 really struggled under the weight of the plottiness. Only one episode really worked for me. The second half of the season was better than the first half, but I finished the finale wishing the show was over, feeling they'd wrapped it up in a pretty good place and I wish they'd just left it there, instead of introducing *more* new plot elements for a fourth season.

8. Your TV boyfriend of the year?

John Jacobi on Killjoys. On one hand I find it embarrassingly predictable how much I like him (he's funny, he's lower-case-n nice, he wants to do right in the world, he's not particularly muscley for Hollywood), on the other hand it's surprising because it is super rare for me to find male tv characters who I really like and connect to.

Honorary mention to James Olsen from Supergirl who is great.

9. Your TV girlfriend of the year?

Deedee Magno-Hall, who voices Pearl on Steven Universe. Yes I chose a character for boyfriend and an actor for girlfriend.  I love her voice and her performance! Also Rebecca Sugar. Also Xena, forever. <3

PS If I die tell Mindy Kaling I love her.

10. Your biggest squee moment of the year?

Hmm. When Steven began singing "Giant Woman" in the episode of the same name, and the whole show just clicked. ( spoilers for late S1 to mid S2 Steven Universe )

11. The most missed of your old fandoms?

I miss my old devotion to BtVS, when I would discuss it online all day and rewatch whole episodes just to see if I agreed with one of the points in someone's meta, and when I vidded Buffy early on. I don't think I'll ever have that level of fannish passion again.

12. The fandom you haven’t tried yet, but want to?

I've just started Sense8, which I like well enough so far. I keep meaning to try The 100, and The Legend of the Seeker, both of which I think I'd like. I just never want to take the time to watch new shows now.

I'm more excited about getting back into books. Reading feels a lot more accessible to me than television, since I can do it on the train into work and while eating breakfast and so forth. I'm also wanting a broader range of stories and characters than I often find on television. I just finished Black Wolves and am planning to read more Kate Elliott. I'm also planning to read Chris Moriarty's Spin series (on luzula 's very convincing rec) and Fire Logic (the, erm, logical choice from this "which lesbian SFF should I read" list, though that list has lots of candidates!).

13. Your biggest fan anticipations for the New Year?

More Steven Universe. I'm also looking forward to catching up on Supergirl and to Luke Cage's show. I might see Batman v Superman, or I might just wait for the Wonder Woman supercut.

Title: Milkshake & Honey
Fandom: Orphan Black
Song: Milkshake 'n' Honey by Sleater-Kinney
Pairings: Cosima/Delphine, Sarah/Cal, Sarah/Paul, Alison/Donnie, Felix/Colin, Rachel/Paul, Siobhan/Carlton, Helena/Helena's boyfriend, Felix/Tony.
Summary: took my heart, my best jeans, and left me with paying the rent.
Much thanks to kuwdora for beta and cheerleading!
Premiered at Escapade 2015, but by happy coincidence was finished on Valentines Day 2015.

Content Notes: Uses scenes through S2, but spoilers are more of the character/relationship variety than the plot variety. Portrays scenes that are dub-con in the source as sexy and playful; includes sexualized depictions of needles and medical procedures; and shows female-on-male intimate partner violence as sexy and/or funny. Feel free to ask specific questions about content.

Download | Critical Commons | Youtube (with subtitles)

Each day, write a post about one of your favorite women, trans*, and/or genderqueer characters. A tribute, a defense, an epic meta, a bullet-points list of why you love them, whatever you like! Or post a rec for a vid, fic, meta, or other fanwork that illustrates why you love them.

My first post is about Sarah Manning, my favorite character in Orphan Black, and one of my favorites in general.

Sarah is not a typical protagonist, especially of a genre show. Most shows of this type would choose the cop, Beth, or maybe the corporate boss, Rachel, as the main character. But Orphan Black has somewhat marginalized these character types by killing one of them and making the other an antagonist. Instead, our heros are punks, people living on the margins of society and outside the formal economy.

Of course, like Mrs S says, Sarah found the punk music and subculture but ignored the politics. In her youth Siobhan fought for a better world, but not Sarah. At the start of the show she's fairly selfish, particularly in taking advantage of a suicide to run off with a daughter she's not prepared to provide a stable life for.

Over the course of the first season, Sarah learns to fight back, not just for her own interests but for others too. She finds a community of sorts, people she cares about and will fight for. She develops a stronger sense of morality and tries to do what is right and not just what is easy. And she maintains a strong distrust of authority, as opposed to Cosima and Allison who are more easily duped by Dyad's machinations.

I love how flexible and adaptable she is. This is something I often notice and admire in characters because it's a trait I lack. Now, it's pretty common for television to feature characters who can deal with change (Allison is a rare example of someone who can't, which I appreciate seeing!) because, well, they have to keep up with the plot. But with Sarah this trait is elevated to a strong skill, one that totally makes sense given her background and the kind of work she's done in the past.

I adore Sarah's relationship with Felix, which is sometimes tense but also the emotional bedrock of the show. He caretakes while she protects and defends. I also have a lot of empathy for her fraught relationship with Siobhan. There's a lot of sadness and anger and mistrust there as well as a desire to trust. And her love of Kira, and her desire to be the kind of parent to Kira that she never had, combined with her horrible circumstances and lack of experience, is very compelling. As is her fundamental sense of compassion, which she brings to her relationships once she is able to trust a little.

Snagged from lostdragonfound 

Send me a show and I'll tell you...
- The first character I fell in love with:
- The character who is my ‘baby’:
- The character who I do not understand:
- The character that I think the show ruined:
- The most attractive male and female character:
- The character death that was the worst for me:
- The character that is the most like me:
- The character I think the writer(s) love:
- The character that I just want to be happy:
- My four favorite characters, past or present:
- My four least favorite characters, past or present:

I think all my shows appear in my tags list?

This interview with Graeme Manson (Orphan Black showrunner)* made me realize something.

It's been obvious to me that Tatiana Maslany has incredible range as an actor.  And, through reading a bit about the way the show is made, I've come to realize how technically skilled she is as well, to be able to pour a glass of wine for herself and whatnot make the movement look natural.  But I never really thought about what different skill sets those two things are, and now I'm just even more amazed than I was before.

I started the S2 premiere and realized halfway through the "previously on" that I really needed to watch the last few episodes of S1, which Mr. Adjacent and I never got to in our rewatch a few months ago.  So watching one episode turned into a four episode marathon, which I actually haven't done since the throes of my Breaking Bad obsession eight or nine months ago.

( Spoilers for S2E01 )

I realized I've become very attached to a few bits of headcanon, and I should probably work on letting go of them in case they don't hold up this season.

*Has no spoilers for S2, including the premiere, but it does have a few vague hints at future developments that some might not want to see.

1. A 30 minute BtVS S2 behind-the-scenes home video by former stunt coordinator Jeff Pruitt.  (Who apparently left under questionable circumstances; I don't pretend to know, at any rate the video is fun.)  It focuses on the stunt-work and has some great shots, a "wow, he really did hit that tree that hard" moment, and the requisite you're-not-as-funny-as-you-think-you-are clips.  

2. loudmouthgeek's Elementary/Orphan Black crossover fic making nice use of both shows having a Detective Bell.  May or may not continue as a series.  (I hope it does!)  Also, check out sanguinity's post of Elementary finale-fic -- it's great stuff!

( Reaction spoilers for the finale )

Years ago I read an Ursula K. Le Guin essay -- I forget which, now, but I believe it was in the anthology The Language of the Night -- that argued that a good way to know if a story has well-written characters is if you can remember their names a year later.  Now, it's only been two days, not a year, but despite this show having a fairly large main/supporting cast -- and four main characters who look an awful lot alike -- I recall their names better than on many shows, where I will continue to refer to people as "the blonde one", etc for months on end.

So, while the plot is definitely engaging, and I'm apparently still naive enough about drama/thriller/SFF tropes that I'm not catching the abundance of them on this show, or at least am not bothered about them, the draw is absolutely the characters.  I'm pretty sure every single character significant enough to appear in more than, say, two episodes has garnered a fairly strong emotional reaction from me.  ( I carry on about that at some length, and also reference significant plot spoilers for all of S1. )

I feel like I could go on and on, but this is getting pretty long, I need to go to work, and I haven't read anyone else's posts yet!  Besides, this is more than I usually manage to write about a show.  So I'll leave off here.

Thoughts, anyone?