Female Characters
Nov. 14th, 2005 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alixtiiAri was badgering Cady (I'm writing this after the body of the post and I'm too tired to do the usernames) to post a list of fave female characters. And I'm not Cadence, at least not the last time I checked, but here's my list:
Female Characters I Love: Kaylee, River, Dawn, Drusilla, Fred, Kennedy, Faith
female Characters I Sorta Dislike: Buffy, Cordelia, Inara
Now, unlike fanfic, when I get into the character's mind, this is going to be a more or less unashamed exercise in the het male gaze. But that's okay. I like my gaze.
It sees pretty girls.
1. Kaylee. Okay, do I really have to say anything here? To quote from my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
ship_manifesto essay:
2. River. Well, first of all, she does do that cockney accent, so if one really pushes it one could could argue that she falls under my "insane and British" kink. Okay, really, really pushes.
But River's a genius. And while I'm not, I am an academic, an intellectual, someone who values the mind. So River's sort of who I want to be when I grow up. Even if she is insane and, according to canon, younger than me.
But she's also a little girl who wants to have fun (and hot sex with Simon and/or Kaylee; Mal or Jayne will do in a pinch). And Summer Glau does such a great job of bringing out that innocence, that playfulness to the character that one can't help but love her.
3. Dawn. I'm a Dawn writer. I don't see anyway I could deny that fact. I've written a lot of Dawn fics. And I certainly do love the character. I'm not 100% sure why I love her so much.
Back in August, I speculated in Cady's journal that maybe it's youth. For me, Buffy is about the adolescent fantasy, but when the series ends Dawn's the only one who's an adolescent. (Of course, that doesn't explain the sudden rash of ficlets I've written where Dawn is 30, but no theory is perfect.)
I love the competent Dawn we saw too little of in season 7, and want to know where that took her.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
annakovsky's "Umad Learns Sumerian" has been a part of my personal fanon ever since I read it. I also want to see how that girl is the same girl as the troubled girl of season 6. I want to see her harness that darkness within herself.
I love her in canon, but I have to admit that I love my fanonical version even more. I don't believe in canon sues, but there's more than a little wish-fulfillment in my Dawn fics. (Although I don't want to marry Giles, so the self-insertion only goes so far).
4. Drusilla. The voice. Do I have to say anything more? Oh, that voice. I've gotten used to having a closed canon and actually enjoy the freedom it brings, but oh how I miss Juliet Landau's faux British accent. (And after The Woman in White, I recognize I have a very weird kink.)
5. Fred. Oh, come on. The geek girl every geek boy fantasizes about. I mean, quantum physics. Not to mention Amy Acker is quite attractive. And judging from River and Drusilla, her starting out crazy didn't hurt either.
But honestly, this is where the het male gaze probably really comes into play. I identified with Wesley. Wesley loved and wanted Fred. So I loved and wanted Fred. The fact that Wesley and Fred were actually woefully unsuited for each other had nothing to do with it; I did, and do, want the guy to get the girl.
6. Kennedy. Actually, I admit it. At least 60% of this one is probably due to the fact that Iyari Limon is really, really hot. But the other 40%? She's competent, and never in the series are we ever given any reason to believe that her confidence isn't justified. You have to admit, the girl's got spunk.
7. Faith. Why did I put Kennedy before Faith? That's just weird. Well Faith, she's a primal force, and remember the part before about "adolescent fantasy"? She's it embodied. I mean, I disargree with pretty much everything in that essay "Also Sprach Faith" by Karl Schudt, but that's mainly because I don't think that Nietzsche was talking about the adolescent fantasy as much as I did when I was a, you know, adolescent.
† † † † †
Maybe tomorrow I'll give my comments on Buffy, Cordelia, and Inara, but I'm tired right now. And what is there to say? I don't disapprove of anyone else liking them; they just don't speak to me. Although I suppose there are reasons for that, so maybe. See y'all on the flip side.
Female Characters I Love: Kaylee, River, Dawn, Drusilla, Fred, Kennedy, Faith
female Characters I Sorta Dislike: Buffy, Cordelia, Inara
Now, unlike fanfic, when I get into the character's mind, this is going to be a more or less unashamed exercise in the het male gaze. But that's okay. I like my gaze.
It sees pretty girls.
1. Kaylee. Okay, do I really have to say anything here? To quote from my
ship_manifesto essay: If you need to ask why I ‘ship with Kaylee, though, then you’re not a het male. (Okay, given the statistical demographics of fandom, you probably aren’t a het male. But let me make my case in peace.) Hell, I’d even go so far as to question if you were human. Kaylee was clearly deliberately made to be the character whom everyone loved—sort of a Willow-squared—and, IMHO, Joss and his staff succeeded with flying colors. When she is in danger, one’s heart turns upside down. When she’s happy, we’re happy. One thus wants her to be happy—whether with Simon, or Mal, or somebody else. Add to that the fact that she is a) pretty, b) hot, and c) beautiful. (Three very different things in my opinion.) Why wouldn’t someone ‘ship Kaylee?
2. River. Well, first of all, she does do that cockney accent, so if one really pushes it one could could argue that she falls under my "insane and British" kink. Okay, really, really pushes.
But River's a genius. And while I'm not, I am an academic, an intellectual, someone who values the mind. So River's sort of who I want to be when I grow up. Even if she is insane and, according to canon, younger than me.
But she's also a little girl who wants to have fun (and hot sex with Simon and/or Kaylee; Mal or Jayne will do in a pinch). And Summer Glau does such a great job of bringing out that innocence, that playfulness to the character that one can't help but love her.
3. Dawn. I'm a Dawn writer. I don't see anyway I could deny that fact. I've written a lot of Dawn fics. And I certainly do love the character. I'm not 100% sure why I love her so much.
Back in August, I speculated in Cady's journal that maybe it's youth. For me, Buffy is about the adolescent fantasy, but when the series ends Dawn's the only one who's an adolescent. (Of course, that doesn't explain the sudden rash of ficlets I've written where Dawn is 30, but no theory is perfect.)
I love the competent Dawn we saw too little of in season 7, and want to know where that took her.
annakovsky's "Umad Learns Sumerian" has been a part of my personal fanon ever since I read it. I also want to see how that girl is the same girl as the troubled girl of season 6. I want to see her harness that darkness within herself.I love her in canon, but I have to admit that I love my fanonical version even more. I don't believe in canon sues, but there's more than a little wish-fulfillment in my Dawn fics. (Although I don't want to marry Giles, so the self-insertion only goes so far).
4. Drusilla. The voice. Do I have to say anything more? Oh, that voice. I've gotten used to having a closed canon and actually enjoy the freedom it brings, but oh how I miss Juliet Landau's faux British accent. (And after The Woman in White, I recognize I have a very weird kink.)
5. Fred. Oh, come on. The geek girl every geek boy fantasizes about. I mean, quantum physics. Not to mention Amy Acker is quite attractive. And judging from River and Drusilla, her starting out crazy didn't hurt either.
But honestly, this is where the het male gaze probably really comes into play. I identified with Wesley. Wesley loved and wanted Fred. So I loved and wanted Fred. The fact that Wesley and Fred were actually woefully unsuited for each other had nothing to do with it; I did, and do, want the guy to get the girl.
6. Kennedy. Actually, I admit it. At least 60% of this one is probably due to the fact that Iyari Limon is really, really hot. But the other 40%? She's competent, and never in the series are we ever given any reason to believe that her confidence isn't justified. You have to admit, the girl's got spunk.
7. Faith. Why did I put Kennedy before Faith? That's just weird. Well Faith, she's a primal force, and remember the part before about "adolescent fantasy"? She's it embodied. I mean, I disargree with pretty much everything in that essay "Also Sprach Faith" by Karl Schudt, but that's mainly because I don't think that Nietzsche was talking about the adolescent fantasy as much as I did when I was a, you know, adolescent.
Maybe tomorrow I'll give my comments on Buffy, Cordelia, and Inara, but I'm tired right now. And what is there to say? I don't disapprove of anyone else liking them; they just don't speak to me. Although I suppose there are reasons for that, so maybe. See y'all on the flip side.
