a couple lists, because I'm strangely fried

[pocochina]

So I've had a suspiciously enjoyable week with Tumblr, which led to a shocking uptick in notes and....seven?! new follows in 48 hours. Which is cool but how did these people find me, people are reading my yapping and sending other people to read my yapping and WHO DID THE THING A MILLION YEARS DUNGEON!!

In seriousness, so far it's been pretty cool; I've been getting some thoughtful and thought-provoking asks and replies. One question which sounded a lot easier than it was was for my top 10 favorite female characters. As I said then, this is quite a fluid list, and I'd already change the last three slots.

1. Laura Roslin, always
2. Tara Maclay (BtVS), because I really admire and aspire to her type of self-contained, non-aggressive strength. She developed this amazing resilience just in order to be safe in the world, and she never allowed it to sour her or turn her cruel.
3. CJ Cregg! (West Wing) I don’t…I’m nothing like her, I never considered her a role model because we’re so different. But as a young woman who was interested in politics, it still meant a lot to me to see her on screen, and I think I’m so much like Toby that I reacted to CJ with all the affection he had for her.
4. Bonnie Bennett (TVD) because she’s such a brave, smart, scary character.
5. Darla (Angel: the Series), because of that scene in episode 2x5.
6. Skylar White (Breaking Bad) because suck it, haters, that’s why.
7. LaDonna Batiste-Williams (Treme). I haven’t talked so much about Treme because it’s a newish show for me (I’ve only seen 2/3 seasons available) and because it’s so fantastic I don’t know how I could elaborate on it. But LaDonna is one of those wonderful characters who’s always giving you several layers under the surface, all this intelligence and competence and vulnerability.
8. Anna Milton (Supernatural), because she is an iconoclast who had to create her own moral code and stuck to it with clear eyes and a clean conscience. Veronica Mars!
9. Cersei Lannister (Game of Thrones) because queen. As much as I love Cersei always and forever, I think I'm moved to shift the Game of Thrones slot to Sansa, after going on a whole tear defending her from concern-trolling fans.
10. Lastly, Livia Soprano (The Sopranos). I mean, she is THE ACTUAL WORST but I love how the show is so unflinching about her awfulness. Elizabeth Jennings (The Americans), because I'm a sucker for anti-heroines.

And, as inspired by 12:

1. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (BtVS/AtS)
2. Sam Winchester (Supernatural)
3. Toby Ziegler (The West Wing)
4. Lee Adama (BSG)
5. Tyler Lockwood (TVD)
6. Tony Soprano (The Sopranos) I spent most of the holiday season watching the third season and ~processing. But he's such a fantastic character, explored through a very rare narrative perspective that's insightful and compassionate and thoroughly without illusions as to what the character is.
7. Bunny Coleman (The Wire).
8. Klaus (The Originals)
9. Felix Dawkins (Orphan Black).
10. I'm still not done Lost but I'm really drawn to Sayid.

and a few observations:

• I don't think I'd like a character who can do no wrong, per se, but Laura, Wes, and Sam come close in that they can do no indefensible to me. Whatever goes down, even if it's a mistake or it's ethically abhorrent to me, I will always understand and vocalize their POV. Which is one thing on Laura and Wes, but Supernatural is still an open canon, so I worry a bit that Sam will start going around kicking puppies and I'll be all "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET BARKING AND SHEDDING AND SHIT!" I highly, highly doubt it, but still. Adventures in character-centric morality start next month and I'm excited.
• I love me some complicated women, but the whole ~dark cloud of gloom~ business only seems to resonate with me coming from men. I don't...really know why that is.
• Laura, Anna, Sam, Bunny, Sayid: pragmatic idealists are where it's at for me.

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