End of the Year Fandom Meme
Dec. 29th, 2022 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452It is that time of year again, and quite frankly this is a good chance for me to just talk about my fandoms over the course of the year. And trust me, there is a lot.
Which TV shows did you start watching in 2022?
Guardian, Detective L, The Story of Minglan, Granting You A Dreamlike Life, The Legend of Yunqian, The Legend of Yunze, Medical Examiner Dr. Qin (2016), Dr. Qin: Medical Examiner (2018), Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence (2021), Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Mind Reader (2022), Fighting For Love, Love Between Fairy And Devil, S.C.I., Farewell My Villain, Her Royal Highness, Lord Uncle Let's Get Married, I Am The Years You Are The Stars
Which TV shows did you let go of in 2022?
None.
Which TV shows did you mean to get into but didn't in 2022? Why?
Love Like The Galaxy, I've seen some moments from it but haven't watched it all the way through. I've also been curious about The Lost Tomb series, mainly The Lost Tomb Reboot because it has Zhu Yilong. Oh, and Miss S, which is a Chinese adaptation of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, that has been something I've been wanting to see since hearing about it. I've seen the gifs and a little behind-the-scene stuff, and apparently it's available on HBO Max.
Additionally, KinnPorsche, mainly because I haven't had the time with everything else that I was watching and it's just a matter of the availability. But I have been following everything about it ever since the trailer announcement up to when the show aired and lived vicariously through others liveblogging about it, and now am just enjoying the fanmade content from it and loving certain characters and pairings through that osmosis. I will get around to watching it eventually, of course.
For non-Asian shows, I kind of got sidetracked that I completely forgot about Andor. I've also been kind of sitting on Wednesday because while I'm only interested in it for Jenna Ortega, I am not a fan of Tim Burton.
Which TV shows do you intend on checking out in 2023?
The Last Of Us is kind of my biggest anticipation for next year, and it's right around the corner! That is the only new show that I can think of at the moment that I'm really excited about.
Which TV show impressed you least in 2022?
S.C.I., which is unfortunately disappointing since I like the majority of it aside from one aspect, one particular character that I absolutely cannot stand who, despite not always being present, is still among the main cast and shares a lot of scenes with a character who I adore and I really wish that they didn't. So yeah, the show itself is fine it's just that which bothered me the most.
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence sadly disappointed me the moment I watched the first episode, and I kind of stopped watching after that. Tonally, it just didn't grab me, and while I don't mind them genderbending the character of Lin Tao, knowing his personality from the other versions this one didn't even bother matching at all. Of course, cdramas have this habit of where the first episode or two aren't always an indicator of how the rest of the drama is going to be, sometimes it is awkwardly paced or you literally have no idea what is going on, so perhaps one day I might go back and see how the rest of the episodes are in comparison, but so far yeah, that one just wasn't doing it for me especially in comparison to the others.
Also, in hindsight, I'd have to say Euphoria, because compared to the first season the second season was rather uneven and much was left to be desired by certain storylines and arcs that most likely will remain unfinished even as the show continues.
Which TV show do you think you might let go of in 2023 unless things significantly improve?
Probably Euphoria. The show had such a strong start when it debuted in 2019, but something happened and whether this was because of the pandemic and the pressures, it kind of lost its way. I mean, aside from Rue's storyline, every other character felt like an afterthought. I want it to improve, both story-wise and things behind-the-scenes (i.e. a better non-toxic work environment and for there to be more collaboration with the writing and not just have it be a one man show in that department), but if it doesn't or I'm not feeling where things are headed I'll most likely let it go.
Which TV shows do you think you’ll never let go of no matter how crappy they get?
I feel like this is the same answer as the previous year, but such things as Critical Role and Dimension 20/Dropout or anything else along those lines because, unless something really egregious happens that makes me stop watching them entirely those have a plethora of content on their channels that even if I'm not feeling one particular series I'll just go watch something else they have.
Your main fandom of the year?
Guardian! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
Your favorite film you watched this year?
Prey, Scream 5, Suspiria (2018), and Circle (2015).
Your favorite book read this year?
I regret that I didn't read as much as I should have, however I have started The Husky And His White Cat Shizun (the first volume that was officially released) and so far I'm really enjoying it. It makes me want to actually find whatever links are still available to the fan translations so I don't have to wait months in between for however many volumes it'll be.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
I recently gushed over Dreamcatcher previously, so there's that.
I also want to give a shoutout to the Love Between Fairy And Devil soundtrack because those had some beautiful and banger tracks.
Your favorite TV show(s) of the year?
Guardian, Detective L, and Love Between Fairy And Devil. I will also add in Dr. Qin: Medical Examiner (2018) as well, because I really, really enjoyed that one out of all of the other Dr. Qin dramas.
Your favorite online fandom community of the year?
I don't think there was one singular community, to be honest. I think having been around various places I think the cdrama/cnovel communities, at least the places that I linger in, have been, for the most part, pretty awesome. I've been introduced to some amazing dramas through the people and those communities that I follow.
Your fandom that made an unexpected comeback this year?
Although they already had their own channel for some time now, Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara came back with Ghost Files, it's pretty much the same as Buzzfeed Unsolved but it's just theirs now, the same kind of content just new and improved, and it made me so happy. Gotta love those Ghoul Boys. Additionally, Puppet History made its return on their channel as well, which I wasn't shocked just pleasantly surprised, especially with how extensive the lore ended up becoming.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Joss Whedon further digging himself in that hole earlier this year with that atrocious interview where he pretty much proves what everyone else has been saying for a long time now. Not surprised, just severely disappointed. Even more so now that Sarah Michelle Gellar herself has recently broken her silence confirming the toxic work environment on the BTVS set. It's sad and unfortunate, but it really aligns a lot of the complaints against Joss and how they're not unfounded, and it's not just disappointing but also infuriating at how he just tries to justify his actions and behaviors towards others.
Guardian being pulled from YouTube/Viki was definitely a downer, for sure. Thankfully, I was able to watch the majority of it before that happened, and it's apparently happened before with the drama so the fandom was in a state of, "ugh, this again", but it really just reaffirms the whole "censorship sucks" thing, which is another disappointment in itself because of the upcoming dramas I've been waiting to premiere are on indefinite hold, stuck in that censorship limbo until further notice.
Your fandom boyfriend(s) of the year?
Shen Wei (Guardian), Ye Zun (Guardian), Huo Wensi (Detective L), Ben Jieming (Detective L), Dongfang Qingcang (Love Between Fairy And Devil), Lin Tao (Dr Qin: Medical Examiner 2018), Qin Ming (Dr. Qin: Medical Examiner 2018), Luo Fusheng (Granting You A Dreamlike Life)
Your fandom girlfriend(s) of the year?
Fearne Calloway (Critical Role), Opal (Critical Role: Exandria Unlimited)
Your biggest squee moment of the year?
The discovery of Guardian, leading to the discovery of everything that is Zhu Yilong. ❤
Speaking of, the announcement that some of Priest novels are getting official English translations, including Guardian and Sha Po Lang. Not only that, but I now have volume one of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, something that I had been excited about since it was announced that there would be official translations of that.
Dreamcatcher, not only discovering them but also getting to witness them having their first (and the second!) win since they debuted in 2017. Knowing their background and story of how they were initially formed to being kind of the underdog within the kpop industry because they are more rock/metal influenced which isn't standard for mainstream kpop, it's kind of a Big Deal that they finally got their win after so long.
The most missed of your old fandoms?
There's the same answer I give every year, is that I wish that general fandom had a more active community a la the heydays of LJ, although I think after permanently transferring from LJ to DW this year it has gotten slightly better somewhat, particularly when it comes to the cdrama/cnovel side of fandom which I'm very grateful to see since I only see that kind of activity and enthusiasm on Tumblr.
One thing that I miss is fanworks for older fandoms. I know that social media has made people believe that you only need to be discussing current fandoms, but even if a show has ended years ago you can still talk about it and show your fannish interest in via fanart/gifs/fanfic/etc. Oddly, I've seen some really older shows end up making a resurgence among certain online circles (ex: Columbo and M*A*S*H being some of the most unexpected ones where everyone is talking about, or at least they become memes being passed around), so while it's not impossible it's still kind of sad that even things that were popular or even well-liked by vast majority of fandom back in the day are kind of void now in most places. Granted, some of them were in genre or niche parts of fandom or were cancelled after one season, but still, even the lesser mainstream shows had dedicated fans that would continuously talk about it even long after it had ended. I just want the current culture of fandom to know that it's okay to make content for a older fandom that you just discovered, because trust me, there are people who will remember those things and will engage. We're parched for new fanworks of old beloved fandoms, and just want to squee with others about it again.
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
Aside from the shows that I wanted to get into this year but didn't, I've been quite curious about Alice In Borderland since I see quite a bit of that recently, because the second season just came out and I want to give that a go. The stuff I've seen from it makes it look so interesting.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
The HBO adaptation of The Last Of Us, the second season of The Legend of Vox Machina, and the third season of The Mandalorian. I'm also anticipating continuing down the long list of Asian dramas that I want to check out, and I'm pretty excited about the official English translations for some danmei novels, both continuing of the volumes from the novels already happening and the newer announcements, particularly from Priest.
Additionally, I want to add that I think my favorite overall fandom phenomenon this year has been the whole Goncharov, a meme created and shared exclusively on Tumblr that ended up becoming an elaborate "Yes, And" creative writing exercise that somehow (yet inevitably) ended up breaking containment and was ended up reported and commented on by various non-Tumblr/non-fandom people. It was hilarious, it was beautiful, and the fact that a fandom ended up surrounding this fake movie that never existed is the kind of collective fandom experience that I absolutely love. We all just kind of accept that this is a thing and it's glorious. 2022 was an interesting year for fandom, at least on Tumblr, but Goncharov was kind of the icing on the cake.
--
Otherwise, I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. My Christmas was spent rather somberly, for obvious reasons that have already been stated, but overall it was alright.
While I don't make any kind of new years resolutions, I think my goal for 2023 is to become more active. I wanted to do that initially once I transferred to DW permanently, and for a little while there I was and I was having certain things revved up and ready to go, but then life happened and, well, I did get a little quiet towards the end of the year here because of that. So if nothing else I want to at least be more productive, because believe me, I have things to talk about regarding the shows/media I've been consuming lately.
Which TV shows did you start watching in 2022?
Guardian, Detective L, The Story of Minglan, Granting You A Dreamlike Life, The Legend of Yunqian, The Legend of Yunze, Medical Examiner Dr. Qin (2016), Dr. Qin: Medical Examiner (2018), Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence (2021), Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: The Mind Reader (2022), Fighting For Love, Love Between Fairy And Devil, S.C.I., Farewell My Villain, Her Royal Highness, Lord Uncle Let's Get Married, I Am The Years You Are The Stars
Which TV shows did you let go of in 2022?
None.
Which TV shows did you mean to get into but didn't in 2022? Why?
Love Like The Galaxy, I've seen some moments from it but haven't watched it all the way through. I've also been curious about The Lost Tomb series, mainly The Lost Tomb Reboot because it has Zhu Yilong. Oh, and Miss S, which is a Chinese adaptation of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, that has been something I've been wanting to see since hearing about it. I've seen the gifs and a little behind-the-scene stuff, and apparently it's available on HBO Max.
Additionally, KinnPorsche, mainly because I haven't had the time with everything else that I was watching and it's just a matter of the availability. But I have been following everything about it ever since the trailer announcement up to when the show aired and lived vicariously through others liveblogging about it, and now am just enjoying the fanmade content from it and loving certain characters and pairings through that osmosis. I will get around to watching it eventually, of course.
For non-Asian shows, I kind of got sidetracked that I completely forgot about Andor. I've also been kind of sitting on Wednesday because while I'm only interested in it for Jenna Ortega, I am not a fan of Tim Burton.
Which TV shows do you intend on checking out in 2023?
The Last Of Us is kind of my biggest anticipation for next year, and it's right around the corner! That is the only new show that I can think of at the moment that I'm really excited about.
Which TV show impressed you least in 2022?
S.C.I., which is unfortunately disappointing since I like the majority of it aside from one aspect, one particular character that I absolutely cannot stand who, despite not always being present, is still among the main cast and shares a lot of scenes with a character who I adore and I really wish that they didn't. So yeah, the show itself is fine it's just that which bothered me the most.
Medical Examiner Dr. Qin: Silent Evidence sadly disappointed me the moment I watched the first episode, and I kind of stopped watching after that. Tonally, it just didn't grab me, and while I don't mind them genderbending the character of Lin Tao, knowing his personality from the other versions this one didn't even bother matching at all. Of course, cdramas have this habit of where the first episode or two aren't always an indicator of how the rest of the drama is going to be, sometimes it is awkwardly paced or you literally have no idea what is going on, so perhaps one day I might go back and see how the rest of the episodes are in comparison, but so far yeah, that one just wasn't doing it for me especially in comparison to the others.
Also, in hindsight, I'd have to say Euphoria, because compared to the first season the second season was rather uneven and much was left to be desired by certain storylines and arcs that most likely will remain unfinished even as the show continues.
Which TV show do you think you might let go of in 2023 unless things significantly improve?
Probably Euphoria. The show had such a strong start when it debuted in 2019, but something happened and whether this was because of the pandemic and the pressures, it kind of lost its way. I mean, aside from Rue's storyline, every other character felt like an afterthought. I want it to improve, both story-wise and things behind-the-scenes (i.e. a better non-toxic work environment and for there to be more collaboration with the writing and not just have it be a one man show in that department), but if it doesn't or I'm not feeling where things are headed I'll most likely let it go.
Which TV shows do you think you’ll never let go of no matter how crappy they get?
I feel like this is the same answer as the previous year, but such things as Critical Role and Dimension 20/Dropout or anything else along those lines because, unless something really egregious happens that makes me stop watching them entirely those have a plethora of content on their channels that even if I'm not feeling one particular series I'll just go watch something else they have.
Your main fandom of the year?
Guardian! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧
Your favorite film you watched this year?
Prey, Scream 5, Suspiria (2018), and Circle (2015).
Your favorite book read this year?
I regret that I didn't read as much as I should have, however I have started The Husky And His White Cat Shizun (the first volume that was officially released) and so far I'm really enjoying it. It makes me want to actually find whatever links are still available to the fan translations so I don't have to wait months in between for however many volumes it'll be.
Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
I recently gushed over Dreamcatcher previously, so there's that.
I also want to give a shoutout to the Love Between Fairy And Devil soundtrack because those had some beautiful and banger tracks.
Your favorite TV show(s) of the year?
Guardian, Detective L, and Love Between Fairy And Devil. I will also add in Dr. Qin: Medical Examiner (2018) as well, because I really, really enjoyed that one out of all of the other Dr. Qin dramas.
Your favorite online fandom community of the year?
I don't think there was one singular community, to be honest. I think having been around various places I think the cdrama/cnovel communities, at least the places that I linger in, have been, for the most part, pretty awesome. I've been introduced to some amazing dramas through the people and those communities that I follow.
Your fandom that made an unexpected comeback this year?
Although they already had their own channel for some time now, Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara came back with Ghost Files, it's pretty much the same as Buzzfeed Unsolved but it's just theirs now, the same kind of content just new and improved, and it made me so happy. Gotta love those Ghoul Boys. Additionally, Puppet History made its return on their channel as well, which I wasn't shocked just pleasantly surprised, especially with how extensive the lore ended up becoming.
Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
Joss Whedon further digging himself in that hole earlier this year with that atrocious interview where he pretty much proves what everyone else has been saying for a long time now. Not surprised, just severely disappointed. Even more so now that Sarah Michelle Gellar herself has recently broken her silence confirming the toxic work environment on the BTVS set. It's sad and unfortunate, but it really aligns a lot of the complaints against Joss and how they're not unfounded, and it's not just disappointing but also infuriating at how he just tries to justify his actions and behaviors towards others.
Guardian being pulled from YouTube/Viki was definitely a downer, for sure. Thankfully, I was able to watch the majority of it before that happened, and it's apparently happened before with the drama so the fandom was in a state of, "ugh, this again", but it really just reaffirms the whole "censorship sucks" thing, which is another disappointment in itself because of the upcoming dramas I've been waiting to premiere are on indefinite hold, stuck in that censorship limbo until further notice.
Your fandom boyfriend(s) of the year?
Shen Wei (Guardian), Ye Zun (Guardian), Huo Wensi (Detective L), Ben Jieming (Detective L), Dongfang Qingcang (Love Between Fairy And Devil), Lin Tao (Dr Qin: Medical Examiner 2018), Qin Ming (Dr. Qin: Medical Examiner 2018), Luo Fusheng (Granting You A Dreamlike Life)
Your fandom girlfriend(s) of the year?
Fearne Calloway (Critical Role), Opal (Critical Role: Exandria Unlimited)
Your biggest squee moment of the year?
The discovery of Guardian, leading to the discovery of everything that is Zhu Yilong. ❤
Speaking of, the announcement that some of Priest novels are getting official English translations, including Guardian and Sha Po Lang. Not only that, but I now have volume one of The Husky and His White Cat Shizun, something that I had been excited about since it was announced that there would be official translations of that.
Dreamcatcher, not only discovering them but also getting to witness them having their first (and the second!) win since they debuted in 2017. Knowing their background and story of how they were initially formed to being kind of the underdog within the kpop industry because they are more rock/metal influenced which isn't standard for mainstream kpop, it's kind of a Big Deal that they finally got their win after so long.
The most missed of your old fandoms?
There's the same answer I give every year, is that I wish that general fandom had a more active community a la the heydays of LJ, although I think after permanently transferring from LJ to DW this year it has gotten slightly better somewhat, particularly when it comes to the cdrama/cnovel side of fandom which I'm very grateful to see since I only see that kind of activity and enthusiasm on Tumblr.
One thing that I miss is fanworks for older fandoms. I know that social media has made people believe that you only need to be discussing current fandoms, but even if a show has ended years ago you can still talk about it and show your fannish interest in via fanart/gifs/fanfic/etc. Oddly, I've seen some really older shows end up making a resurgence among certain online circles (ex: Columbo and M*A*S*H being some of the most unexpected ones where everyone is talking about, or at least they become memes being passed around), so while it's not impossible it's still kind of sad that even things that were popular or even well-liked by vast majority of fandom back in the day are kind of void now in most places. Granted, some of them were in genre or niche parts of fandom or were cancelled after one season, but still, even the lesser mainstream shows had dedicated fans that would continuously talk about it even long after it had ended. I just want the current culture of fandom to know that it's okay to make content for a older fandom that you just discovered, because trust me, there are people who will remember those things and will engage. We're parched for new fanworks of old beloved fandoms, and just want to squee with others about it again.
The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
Aside from the shows that I wanted to get into this year but didn't, I've been quite curious about Alice In Borderland since I see quite a bit of that recently, because the second season just came out and I want to give that a go. The stuff I've seen from it makes it look so interesting.
Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
The HBO adaptation of The Last Of Us, the second season of The Legend of Vox Machina, and the third season of The Mandalorian. I'm also anticipating continuing down the long list of Asian dramas that I want to check out, and I'm pretty excited about the official English translations for some danmei novels, both continuing of the volumes from the novels already happening and the newer announcements, particularly from Priest.
Additionally, I want to add that I think my favorite overall fandom phenomenon this year has been the whole Goncharov, a meme created and shared exclusively on Tumblr that ended up becoming an elaborate "Yes, And" creative writing exercise that somehow (yet inevitably) ended up breaking containment and was ended up reported and commented on by various non-Tumblr/non-fandom people. It was hilarious, it was beautiful, and the fact that a fandom ended up surrounding this fake movie that never existed is the kind of collective fandom experience that I absolutely love. We all just kind of accept that this is a thing and it's glorious. 2022 was an interesting year for fandom, at least on Tumblr, but Goncharov was kind of the icing on the cake.
--
Otherwise, I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. My Christmas was spent rather somberly, for obvious reasons that have already been stated, but overall it was alright.
While I don't make any kind of new years resolutions, I think my goal for 2023 is to become more active. I wanted to do that initially once I transferred to DW permanently, and for a little while there I was and I was having certain things revved up and ready to go, but then life happened and, well, I did get a little quiet towards the end of the year here because of that. So if nothing else I want to at least be more productive, because believe me, I have things to talk about regarding the shows/media I've been consuming lately.
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Date: 2022-12-31 10:19 am (UTC)