And I will strive not to get behind again.

Day 14 - Favorite male character
GUYS. Stop making me play favorites. It never ends well.
BSG: Tie between Adama pere and Helo.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: GILES. <3333333 Giles.
Castle: Actually it's probably Demming. *shifty eyes*
Doctor Who: Far and away the Doctor. All of them. With Six and One leading the pack.
Dresden Files: Morgan. I love him more than Harry and Bob both. Sorry, guys.
Firefly: WASH. <333333 Wash. Serenity didn't happen.
Leverage: Hardison.
Lie to Me: Eli Loker. I seem to find his jerkishness adorable.
MASH: Alan Alda Radar. Radar's adorable.
Middleman: MIDDLEMAN WOOT WOOT.
Pushing Daisies: Probably Emerson. He's funnier and less morose than Ned.
Sarah Jane Adventures: If you frequent my journal, you know by now that I'm a pervy Luke fancier.
Stargate: DANIEL. I go for the geeky guys, clearly.
Xena: Cupid. What can I say, I'm a sucker for itty-bitty baby Karl Urban.
X-files: FROHIKE. Well, actually, Byers, but I just love shouting "FROHIKE" at unexpected moments.
West Wing: Either Toby or President Bartlett. It's a close call.
White Collar: Peter. Neil may be hot, but Peter has my heart.


Day 15 - Favorite female character
BSG: Laura Roslin. No contest. Everyone please act surprised for a moment.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Joyce Summers, with Dru a close second.
Castle: Alexis Castle. She reminds me of me. I probably flatter myself, though.
Doctor Who: Sarah Jane Smith. I want to BE her.
Dresden Files: Murphy. Duh.
Firefly: Kaylee in terms of who I'd like to hang with, River in terms of most-interesting.
Leverage: Parker. She's awesome, and it's really nice to see someone with Asperger's properly portrayed.
Lie to Me: Emily Lightman. Sensing a "daughters" theme?
MASH: MARGARET HOULIHAN FUCK YEAH. I mean, I realize she's basically the only recurring female character, but she is also badass as all-get-out and everyone should just bow to her awesome. Once she realizes how badass she is and dumps Frank, I expect to be much happier with the show. Seriously, Margaret, DUMP FRANK.
Middleman: Wendy. Though this one's a tough call.
Pushing Daisies: Probably Olive, but it's a narrow squeak and mostly because she is Kristen Chenoweth.
Sarah Jane Adventures: Once again, Sarah Jane Smith.
Stargate: Dr. Janet Fraiser.
Xena: Gabrielle.
X-files: SCULLY FUCK YEAH. Ahem.
West Wing: CJ FUCK YEAH. Ahem.
White Collar: Elizabeth Burke is made of win. You know this to be true.

Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Glee. I hate the characters (except Sue) and I hate the plots, but god, those musical numbers keep sucking me back in.

Day 17 - Favorite mini series
JOHN ADAMS. Okay, this was a given because I'm a major John Adams fangirl, but it's also well-acted and well-directed and I just. I love it so much.

Medium: Theatre
Fandom: The Barretts of Wimpole Street
Subject: Elizabeth Barrett Browning/Robert Browning
Title: Dared and Done
Warnings: Um. I make fanmixes about nineteenth-century poets?
Notes: Loosely based on The Barretts of Wimpole Street, with expansion into their later lives. What can I say, I find these two adorable, especially because, quite apart from their personal lives, Robert Browning was a huge ridiculous fangirl of Elizabeth's work and didn't care who knew it.

( Dared and Done )

I am apparently on something of an "INCOME YAY" spree, because in the last three days I have purchased the following.

1) The Sarah Jane Adventures, Season 1. I adore this show in all its Doctor-Who-FOR-KIDZ glory. Plus, you know, Sarah Jane = made of win. She just is.

2) The Aztecs. A very, very early episode of Doctor Who, featuring the Doctor accidentally getting engaged, Susan being almost nowhere to be found, Ian in a very silly eagle suit and Barbara being more awesome than you. Old!Skool companions rock my socks in general.

3) Sense and Sensibility. The Emma Thompson version, thanks. It's faithful to the book in spirit and stars most of my favorite actors, namely Emma Thompson, Mr. Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Imogen Stubbs, Imelda Staunton, Alan Rickman, and Unexpected Hugh Laurie and Laurielet (or so I am told). The only one missing is Mark Sheppard. Oh, and Hugh Grant is in it, but I can get over that.

4) Battlestar Galactica: Razor. BECAUSE I WANTED IT, THAT'S WHY. Also, it has Lee being kinda cool for once and Young!Adama. Plus, you know, more Cain.

5) The Lion in Winter. It was five bucks, guys! Five bucks for Peter O'Toole! Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn and Anthony Hopkins being somewhat subpar but hey he was short on sleep and TIMOTHY DALTON omnomnom and basically I love it. So there.

6) ALL YOUR MIDDLEMAN DVDS ARE BELONG TO ME. \m/

Bye bye, income. It was nice knowing you.

ETA: My daddy took me to the bookstore. :D :D :D And every time my daddy takes me to the bookstore, he buys me books! *is daddy's little girl and not ashamed*

7) Sex With Kings, which is a wonderfully wonderful history book about kings' mistresses through the ages. I love it so. It's very funny and brilliantly researched, and less depressing than the sequel, Sex with the Queen.

8) Ciaphis Cain: Hero of the Imperium! It's a Warhammer novel, but I've had it recommended, so I read the first few pages. I got Miles Vorkosigan vibes off it from a mile off. So, I bought it. We'll see if the Miles-vibes hold.

You know, watching Amazing Grace (which I adore, incidentally), it's kind of funny knowing that Wilberforce's anti-French anti-slavery bill that kills eighty percent of the slave trade is going to be one of the causes of the war of 1812.

Nice job breaking it, hero!

I finished reading a biography today, about the same time as Miss Cam sparked a new meme here after this fandom secret and this long discussion bordering on wank (randomly, I love how everyone pulled out their favorite female character icons in that thread). It was fortuitous timing, so now I'm going to tell y'all about women I admire, who may or may not be fictional. I'd stick with fictional women, but again, the biography. I do hope you'll talk about women you admire, too. I think we can't talk enough about women we admire.

( I've restrained myself, with great difficulty, to one per fandom. )

Looking back at these women, and at the ones who didn't make the list (Zoe Washburn, Inara Serra, Dana Scully, Virginia Wolff, my Doctor Who gals), I can see a couple of trends. I tend to admire smart women, who can maintain strong and loving relationships, but neither quality is a deal-breaker if it's lacking (Kaylee, Karrin Murphy). I admire women who are women, not men with breasts. I admire women who aren't afraid or ashamed of their sexuality. I admire women who are more than competant, women who hold their own and demand respect. I admire exceptional women who aren't afraid to be exceptional.

I feel like today, most women and girls are afraid to be exceptional. I don't know why this is so, or why women get boxed into subordinate roles that they aren't comfortable with or happy in. I feel like every girl should know that she can be exceptional, and I feel like these woman are a good start.

In short, I admire exceptional women, and I have every intention of being one.

What women do you respect? Why do you respect them?

ETA: Honorh talks about the same thing here, and so does selenay936.

TODAY IN HISTORY. *echo echo echo*

In 1605, a group of Catholic conspirators plotted to blow up Parliament while the king (James I) was opening the session. It would never have worked, for various reasons: mostly because they were stupid and told some Catholic members of Parliament not to go that day, thereby letting the king's intelligence network (set down by Elizabeth I, mad props, yo) know all about them. They were caught and used as a pretext to persecute Catholics all over the kingdom, and as a spur to the King James Bible's translation. Didn't know that, did ya?

Here's some other things I bet you didn't know. There was never any tunnel under the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes was not the leader: a gent named Robert Catesby was. The original plan was to abduct the royal children and put James's daughter Elizabeth on the throne as a Catholic monarch (because it worked so well the last time). The plot was originally scheduled for 1604 but was called on account of plague. The gentleman who is responsible for putting all the pieces together, Robert Cecil, originally served Elizabeth I, as did his father, William Cecil (fascinating pair of gentlemen; look them up sometime).

Also, Fawkes was kind of an idiot and didn't take care of his gunpowder properly, so there wouldn't have been a big bang and dead King anyway, just a kind of "phbbbt" noise. Good thing he never got to ignite it, huh? "Remember, remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and pbbbt?"

"When he is wounded, I bleed."
-Abigail Adams to James Lovell, regarding her husband John Adams, in a letter dated spring of 1781

"But when he's cut, I bleed."
-Cordelia Naismith to her mother, regarding her eventual husband Aral Vorkosigan, Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold


Lois, I see what you did there. Please tell me that was on purpose. Please, please, pretty pretty please, I will love you forever no really. Because that would be awesome made of awesome made of pure fucking win.

Also because the Adamses were basically real-life Vorkosigans, minus the cutting off of heads and plus several more children. Another reason why I ship it?

Dear author of the book I'm reading:

Stop implying that John Adams did not love his wife. Fifty-nine years of love letters say you fail. Kthxbai.

Seriously, how is this hard? John and Abigail Adams are one of the great American love stories, to hear everyone but you tell it. Yes, they fought, yes, they disagreed on shit, but you know what? So does every single loving couple ever. People argue. It happens. It doesn't mean they loved each other any less.

Oh, and "remember the ladies" and his dismissal of it that you're going on about? Please note that if you actually read the letter in question and don't just take the quotes out of context, it becomes obvious that they were teasing each other. Abigail certainly meant "remember the ladies," no lie, but his response? Was a joke. Remember that you yourself said she was his greatest political advisor and the one he depended on the most. Clearly one should not take that response all that seriously.

Jeebus, woman. Get your stories straight.

Annoyed,
A John Adams Fangirl

(PS: Jefferson can suck it.)

So, after I got my intarwebs back, I wrote a lot of fanfiction for the Fandom Secrets meme. This usually helps my mood. It certainly did now; I have at least two new ships.
Fics are mostly drabbles or double-drabbles. I've stuck the title on first, then the prompt, then the fic itself.
EDIT: Added two more!
EDIT: WAIT WAIT ONE MORE

( Fics below the cut. Guess my new ships! )