The formulation of the MS-QOTD is an arcane process, shrouded in mystery and potato chip crumbs, but a large part of the work is in the choice of the correct image. (I was going to say “appropriate,” but… perhaps not so much.) I pride myself on not using my browser’s SafeSearch function, but I have the dual advantage of an unshared laptop and a high threshold for the bizarre. In many ways, the things I see on the internet are a testament to mainstream culture embracing the icons of our nerdery, something that can only be good for the various media that we enjoy so much. (And Sexy Shockwave? That young woman should be in the Space Program.) Leaving aside matters of adult content (which has always and probably will always find its way), the creativity on the internet is blinding in its vastness and creativity. You want a Brony Doctor Who? Boom! A Shakespearean Pulp Fiction? Boom! Britney Spears as The Joker? Boom! The celebrations of pop culture, even the ones that I don’t understand, are simply awe-inspiring…
The MS-QOTD (pronounced, as always, “misquoted”) doesn’t understand the urge to see Turanga Leela naked, but can’t really judge anyone who does, asking: What creative celebrations of pop culture (cosplay or otherwise) makes you smile the most?
Good fan-art of anything makes me happy. Be it Doctor Who or Star Trek or even My Little Pony, just that people love the thing and that it inspires them to make good art is wonderful.
Mostly mash-ups. Be it between two properties or just real-world stuff + pop-culture stuff.
Like the Starro-Bucks Dalek Coffe Mug.
I would say the ones that make me smile the most are the ones who ‘break the mold’ – Like this cosplayer who ruffled a lot of feathers by having the audacity to be black:
http://www.racialicious.com/2013/02/12/im-a-black-female-cosplayer-and-some-people-hate-it/#more-27748
Whenever nerds get pulled out of their comfort zone kicking and screaming it always makes me smile. For another example, see: gender bending, amalgamations, etc.
I know it may be passe’ now, but I still love Robot Chicken and all its wonderfulness. Optimus Prime getting a prostate check, the Thundercats in heat, Darth Sidious as a fast talking corporate slime ball, cracks me up every time.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who still likes it. It just makes me laugh harder than most current comedy shows do because it twists everything I love so wonderfully.
Aside from cosplay and fan art (which I really don’t need to explain why I love them), I have two other things I really like.
Customs (which can include figures, props, etc). It can be considered an extension of cosplay if it is a prop, or fan art if it is a figure or statue, but I love seeing fans work to make custom replicas of whatever it is they love.
Good fanfiction. This is a little trickier since “good” is in the eye of the beholder. But I’ve read plenty of fan works that feel like they could seamlessly exist inside canon, some that are amazing original works derived from an established fictional world, or stories that parody a work in a way that makes it enjoyable to fan and non-fan alike.