why Leverage's cheerfulness is different from Psych's cheerfulness
The latest Psych ep has reminded me of a conclusion I reached some time ago - that the cheerful tone of Psych is very brittle, and that this is probably the reason why h/c fics are so popular (and why I crave them myself). It's not because Shawn has issues - the characters of Leverage have issues too, and I have no particular desire to see them wallow in them.
The difference is how they react to their issues. If someone - Jeri Ryan, for instance - presented the Leverage gang with a list of their issues and said, "I have come to the conclusion that these are your issues," the gang would glance at the list and say, "Yeah. So?" Possibly they might say, "Hey, were did you find these? Did you spy on me?" but in that case, the problem would be with her methods, not with being confronted with the issues.
In comparison, if someone presented Shawn with a list of his issues, he would say, "Aren't you Mr. Grumpypants today? The spirits say that Mr. Grumpypants is a party pooper and can't come to the party we're making, where Mr. Grumpypants' silly silly papers become beautiful confetti!" And then he'd tear the list into pieces and dance around in his underwear. Shawn does anything to avoid being confronted with his issues. He's balancing on a very fine edge, which is why I find it so fascinating to see those glimpses of how afraid he is of falling - and why, in fanfic, it's so emotionally satisfying to watch him take the plunge.
The difference is how they react to their issues. If someone - Jeri Ryan, for instance - presented the Leverage gang with a list of their issues and said, "I have come to the conclusion that these are your issues," the gang would glance at the list and say, "Yeah. So?" Possibly they might say, "Hey, were did you find these? Did you spy on me?" but in that case, the problem would be with her methods, not with being confronted with the issues.
In comparison, if someone presented Shawn with a list of his issues, he would say, "Aren't you Mr. Grumpypants today? The spirits say that Mr. Grumpypants is a party pooper and can't come to the party we're making, where Mr. Grumpypants' silly silly papers become beautiful confetti!" And then he'd tear the list into pieces and dance around in his underwear. Shawn does anything to avoid being confronted with his issues. He's balancing on a very fine edge, which is why I find it so fascinating to see those glimpses of how afraid he is of falling - and why, in fanfic, it's so emotionally satisfying to watch him take the plunge.