Late night memage

I'll have to post on Joan of Arcadia tomorrow, because I keep losing my train of thought tonight, but no surprise, I liked it. Many funny lines, good character bits, the brief return of Teen!God (he didn't charm me at first, but he won me over in this one), the return of the parking lot priest... good stuff. But I need sleep first.

And even though it's technically Saturday now, I'll do the Fannish Five.

1) Do you have any rare fandoms/pairings? If so, what are they?

Heck yeah. CSI, Without a Trace, Brimstone, Nero Wolfe, Sharpe, Real Ghostbusters, Sherlock Holmes, Lawrence of Arabia, Good Omens, Jeeves and Wooster... none of them are exactly teeming hoards. And that's not even all of the ones I've played in (I'm such a fannish tramp. Whistle and I go). Even in some of my bigger fandoms, my pairings tend to be the less popular ones- the mass of Aragorn/Legolas outweighs Aragorn/Boromir by a good bit (in quantity, at least, not necessarily quality), and Chris/Vin still trumps Ezslash. They aren't rare, exactly, but they're rarer.


2) What is your favorite fandom to pimp? Why?

I like pimping all my darlings- everyone should get to share in the Martin/Simon/Nick/Ezra/Methos/Malcolm/Wesley/Archie/Boromir/whoever joy. But if I have to pick a fave, how about WaT and Danny/Martin. It's a fandom and a pairing that, thanks to the nature of the show and a bunch of other reasons hashed out elsewhere, could benefit from a little pimping (unlike, say, Methos. Tibetan monks have heard of Methos. Aliens have heard of Methos). And when the boys are cooperating ("Silent Partner," "Victory for Humanity," etc.), it's so easy to pimp. Not to mention there are some very talented writers working on Danny/Martin, so when I point people to fic, I know they won't be confronted by some of the horrors inflicted elsewhere (I won't vouch for some of the other pairings though, like Jack/Sam. Who knows what that part of the fandom is up to.)


3) Do you remember to send feedback to authors of stories you recommend? Why or why not?

I try, but I'm not consistent. I'm lazy, of course, and busy, and (this is a biggie for me) I sometimes get struck by attacks of shyness, even with authors I know. But I'm working on it.


4) What attracts you to a character? Looks? Voice? Snarkiness? What?

Wit, intelligence, snarkiness, all are very attractive. So are looks and nice voices- I'm shallow, no denying it. But aside from that... If there's a repressed, tormented character who'd rather bleed to death than show his or her pain or ask for help, chances are that's my favorite. That impulse might manifest in different ways (Simon retreats behind his manners and his upbringing, Ezra obfuscates, Nick turns on the charm or the puppy dog eyes, Malcolm hides behind regulations, and so on), but it's usually there. My guy (or girl) is often the one on the show who could be voted "Most in Need of Extensive Therapy." Issues with trust or intimacy? Oh yeah. A burning need to have things look right, to be perfect, to meet standards that can never be met (in work, family, whatever)? Sure thing. Yearning vulnerability and deep emotional wounds buried behind thick walls? Come to mama. Idiosyncratic moral code? Not always, but very often (excessive devotion to duty or to a specific, recognized code is sort of the flip side of that, and gets me nearly as often). And often my favorite characters have tendencies towards both geekiness and violence as well, but that's just icing. "Repress until you explode" could generally be my favorite's motto, no matter the fandom (and if the explosion ends in a happily-ever-after with the other half of my preferred pairing, well, I'm a happy chickie.)


5) How do you get a new fandom? Someone pimps you in? You watch the show? You're desperate for fic? What?

Mostly I watch the show, or else I get desperate for new stuff and read fic at random. I've rarely been pimped into a fandom (that sounds weird). Not that it's never happened, just that not that many people have tried it. Dunno why that is.

And so to bed, at nearly four in the morning. Oh dear.

"It's impossible to guard against chaos"

Chess as a metaphor for life is a cliché so old that Moses probably rolled his eyes when he heard it, but somehow JoA made it work for me last night. Darn you, Amber Tamblyn! Darn your painfully expressive face!

( Joan of Arcadia- 'Touch Move' )

In other matters... as we probably all know by now, this upcoming week has been reprehensibly designated "Marriage Protection Week". I tend not to get political in my journal- there are so many bright folks out there who express the beliefs I share so eloquently that I rarely feel the need. But I did want to point to my lovely new icon, courtesy of carolinecrane, and direct you to some others that she has made for sharing. Or make your own with the pairing or slogan of your choice. Or write that happily-ever-after slash you've been telling yourself was too corny to post. Or get political in the real world and contact your nearest or noisiest elected official. But please, speak up.