armanya

Snowflake Challenge promotional banner featuring a wrapped giftbox with a snowflake on the gift tag. Text: Snowflake Challenge January 1-31

Challenge #5

In your own space, promote a canon/talk about a part of canon that you love.

I struggled a bit with this one this year. It's always been one of my favourites to answer - who doesn't love the chance to flail about the things they love? - but I have rambled about my fav fandoms so much previous years and, fact is, the past year I have appreciated canon more for the fandoms it creates than for the canon itself. But that ramble is probably better suited for a love for fandom challenge, if there is one this year (I haven't actually peeked ahead, haven't been around much at all past couple of weeks ^^).

So, instead, I want to push some love at all the canons who have been a source of escape this year rather than just a favourite canon.

Babylon 5
This is my third time rewatching this series (hubby's first time watching it) and wow, we started watching in 2019 but wow, this year it has just been perfect viewing. Both for the escape into something familiar and for the hope in this series. This is just forever one of my favourites. There are so many quotes from it that I carry with me. So many characters I love.

Rocketman
I was very late with watching this, for some unimaginable reason? Like, I was so excited for it when it was announced and through filming but then I kept putting off actually watching it when it was released. Anyway, I watched it early 2020 which was great timing because it's just the kind of escapist musical fantasy that I needed then. I watched it like 6 times in the space of two weeks. Also it prompted me to watch all of Taron Egerton's back catalogue and most of Richard Madden's, which kept me distracted for the first half of the year. Also all those youtube videos of them being sweet and silly kept me smiling. ^^ (And there was quite a bit of fun fic for them too, especially the crossovers between different characters they play!)

Doctor Who
I caught up to the latest season of Doctor Who. And it has completely stolen my heart! I love this series and I'm disappointed that no one has pushed me into watching it before, because it has pretty much everything I love. I started watching from the Ninth Doctor but I've talked husband into watching it too and he wanted to started from the First so we just started doing that, which is fun (except I can't comment on things in the contest of New Who since I don't want to spoil him!). Also just started watching Torchwood, I watched the first series when it first came out then realised I wanted to watch Doctor Who first so I'd been putting that off for years. Both series are definitely great for escaping the real world! (Oh but it would have been a great year to travel around the galaxy in a Tardis instead of being on earth, huh?)

Hawaii Five-0
What can I say? McDanno have that bickering (but they would literally die for each other), everyone but them knows they are married dynamic that I love. I mean it's a good cop show with some badass characters (Kono <3), but really I am mostly here for the bickering pair, they make my heart happy in all the best ways.

The Old Guard
I love this so much. It is so... queer. I don't even know how else to flail about it than that? (Also everyone's so competent and hot, have mercy on my bi heart.) But mostly this has softened the last half of 2020 through allowing me to read all the fic about Joe and Nicky falling in love, and being in love for millennia. (Yes, I read some other great fic in the fandom too, but I had a huge craving for all the fluff). I think love for how a fandom inspires a particular kind of fanwork counts as love for canon, yes?

Star Trek: Discovery
I just... really appreciate the representation in this. It makes me happy to see a "future" where so many different identities are represented and accepted. And I love Tilly a whole damn lot.

Lucifer
This pulled me in because I loved the humor of the actual devil walking around on earth, telling people he is the actual devil, and no one believing him. The amount of puns about heaven/hell this show has delivered is almost mind boggling? But it also has some bloody beautiful cinematography. I am frequently blown away by how shots are framed/lighted, and all the little details. And wow, the characters. The humanity. The longing for connection. This show breaks my heart as effortlessly as it makes me laugh, and I was really not prepared for how much I would love it.

Merlin
Wow I do wish I had watched this back when it came out because I love it and I'm sad the fandom isn't as active anymore because it's that kind of canon that makes me want to throw myself into the fandom. It will surprise no one who knows my fannish loves that I fell instantly for Arthur and Merlin's dynamic. And I was completely charmed by the show itself, it's just got that feeling of... not taking itself too seriously? Whilst still making me fall completely in love with the world and the characters in the first few episodes. Also magic! And dragons! I love magic and dragons.

World of Warcraft
I don't tend to count this among my fandoms because I don't really participate in game fandoms but. This year games have been such an escape. I haven't played much the last two expansions but by the time Shadowlands came around I needed the familiarity and nostalgia and it's been lovely to escape back into that world. I've just been exploring it solo, focusing on the lore rather than progression, and wow it has a lot of wonderful lore. My main is night fae and I am loving that storyline. <3

That's about it. I've watched, read and played some other things too, but these are the ones that I really loved. And I appreciate the way there are always new canons to fall in love with, as well as the old favourites that are there for the comforting familiarity when I need it. <3