(no subject)
DONE!
Not entirely, of course. There is editing and revision to be done and this is not the actual post of triumph. That will come tomorrow night when I email the damn thing off and I can officially call my first semester of grad school finished. I make no assertions as to my success, but it will, in fact, be finished.
This may be one of the worst papers I've ever written. I am going to take a break before looking at it again to put some laundry in, eat something and maybe watch some TV. (I have the new Panic DVD that I STILL HAVE NOT SEEN and also Casino Royale from Netflix which I need to watch if I want to see Quantum of Solace over break). I need to . . . not stare at my computer screen for awhile.
But before I go, let's talk about Merlin!
Merlin is how I spent my time procrastinating during this finals period. At this point, I have seen the whole series. It's . . . how do I put this.
Okay. When I was four and I was really obsessed with She-Ra: Princess of Power, I used to play out the exact same scene with my action figures over and over and OVER until my dad didn't even know what to do with me. He wanted me to just play with the action figures like a normal child, but what I wanted was the scene where Adora reveals to her friends that she is She-Ra. I wasn't getting it from canon, so by GOD I would make it happen ad nauseum in my living room. I realize I've talked about my She-Ra thing before, but the point is that if I have one trope that is truly bullet-proof, it is the great, dramatic reveal. Now, I also have extreme embarrassment squick, so this must be handled in specific ways, but, like, secret identities, superpowers or, you know, MAGIC, being revealed in dramatic and tension filled ways? OH GOD YES. (I realize that by this logic I should be much more into superheroes than I am. I really have no explanation for that, but yes, all of you who have told me that I would love Smallville if I just sat down and watched it? Yes, I know this to be true. You are very right.)
What I am saying is that when you combine that with the Merlin/Arthur UST, this show is punching one of my buttons pretty damn hard - though in some ways its more the fic potential than the show itself. The Great Dramatic Reveal can only happen one way on the show. In fic it could happen OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. God, it's almost as much emotional porn for me as slow-build first time fic is - it comes from the same place, I think - build-up and payoff. If they do the reveal *right* on the show, it would be almost as good as Merlin and Arthur making out. Please, please let there be a very dramatic, public reveal, followed by multiple episodes of angst and estrangement and accusations of betrayal. Please. (Also: please let them make out, but that is less likely).
I'll get that from fic, anyway, I guess. So far the fic has not been the quality that I wish it was, though there have been some that have been excellent. I suppose it is a baby fandom and I will just have to WAIT.
Aside from that, I like the show, though I think mostly I like that I now know what everyone on my flist is going on about. I enjoy the dragon? And also how it is so very much a crackedout AU of Arthurian legend. And the Merlin/Arthur/Morgana/Gwen OT4. And also Arthur's hotness, which was unexpected. When I started watching the show, I expected Merlin to be overly innocent and so I figured I would be annoyed by him. When I found out he was pushy and snarky and impulsive and kind of bitchy, I changed my mind and thought he would be "my" character. I mean, awkward, neck scarves, it's the Ryan Ross effect. But nope. Arthur spends all of his time striding obnoxiously and competently around the castle. He is frequently badass with swords and my competence!kink went, oh, hello. An then it went THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH FIC about Arthur's conflict between his loyalty to his father and his morality!
Why is it that fictional men always tend to be so much hotter than the real thing?
I did not know that my opinions about this show were so well-developed. *shrug*
Also, I read cereta's post about fandom today and got all teary. I have had a tragic lack of fannish content lately, but recently I have been feeling like making one of my periodic sappy, overly emotive post about What Fandom Means to Me. Maybe I'll spare you guys this time. You should read that post, though. And listen to the song she links at the bottom, if you haven't.
ETA: Pete's twitter update about Gabe's surgery: " Text from gabe: "All went well. Much pain and woozy. But all good. Spread word " great news!" GLAD TO HEAR IT, GABRIEL. You had me worried.
Not entirely, of course. There is editing and revision to be done and this is not the actual post of triumph. That will come tomorrow night when I email the damn thing off and I can officially call my first semester of grad school finished. I make no assertions as to my success, but it will, in fact, be finished.
This may be one of the worst papers I've ever written. I am going to take a break before looking at it again to put some laundry in, eat something and maybe watch some TV. (I have the new Panic DVD that I STILL HAVE NOT SEEN and also Casino Royale from Netflix which I need to watch if I want to see Quantum of Solace over break). I need to . . . not stare at my computer screen for awhile.
But before I go, let's talk about Merlin!
Merlin is how I spent my time procrastinating during this finals period. At this point, I have seen the whole series. It's . . . how do I put this.
Okay. When I was four and I was really obsessed with She-Ra: Princess of Power, I used to play out the exact same scene with my action figures over and over and OVER until my dad didn't even know what to do with me. He wanted me to just play with the action figures like a normal child, but what I wanted was the scene where Adora reveals to her friends that she is She-Ra. I wasn't getting it from canon, so by GOD I would make it happen ad nauseum in my living room. I realize I've talked about my She-Ra thing before, but the point is that if I have one trope that is truly bullet-proof, it is the great, dramatic reveal. Now, I also have extreme embarrassment squick, so this must be handled in specific ways, but, like, secret identities, superpowers or, you know, MAGIC, being revealed in dramatic and tension filled ways? OH GOD YES. (I realize that by this logic I should be much more into superheroes than I am. I really have no explanation for that, but yes, all of you who have told me that I would love Smallville if I just sat down and watched it? Yes, I know this to be true. You are very right.)
What I am saying is that when you combine that with the Merlin/Arthur UST, this show is punching one of my buttons pretty damn hard - though in some ways its more the fic potential than the show itself. The Great Dramatic Reveal can only happen one way on the show. In fic it could happen OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN. God, it's almost as much emotional porn for me as slow-build first time fic is - it comes from the same place, I think - build-up and payoff. If they do the reveal *right* on the show, it would be almost as good as Merlin and Arthur making out. Please, please let there be a very dramatic, public reveal, followed by multiple episodes of angst and estrangement and accusations of betrayal. Please. (Also: please let them make out, but that is less likely).
I'll get that from fic, anyway, I guess. So far the fic has not been the quality that I wish it was, though there have been some that have been excellent. I suppose it is a baby fandom and I will just have to WAIT.
Aside from that, I like the show, though I think mostly I like that I now know what everyone on my flist is going on about. I enjoy the dragon? And also how it is so very much a crackedout AU of Arthurian legend. And the Merlin/Arthur/Morgana/Gwen OT4. And also Arthur's hotness, which was unexpected. When I started watching the show, I expected Merlin to be overly innocent and so I figured I would be annoyed by him. When I found out he was pushy and snarky and impulsive and kind of bitchy, I changed my mind and thought he would be "my" character. I mean, awkward, neck scarves, it's the Ryan Ross effect. But nope. Arthur spends all of his time striding obnoxiously and competently around the castle. He is frequently badass with swords and my competence!kink went, oh, hello. An then it went THERE CAN NEVER BE ENOUGH FIC about Arthur's conflict between his loyalty to his father and his morality!
Why is it that fictional men always tend to be so much hotter than the real thing?
I did not know that my opinions about this show were so well-developed. *shrug*
Also, I read cereta's post about fandom today and got all teary. I have had a tragic lack of fannish content lately, but recently I have been feeling like making one of my periodic sappy, overly emotive post about What Fandom Means to Me. Maybe I'll spare you guys this time. You should read that post, though. And listen to the song she links at the bottom, if you haven't.
ETA: Pete's twitter update about Gabe's surgery: " Text from gabe: "All went well. Much pain and woozy. But all good. Spread word " great news!" GLAD TO HEAR IT, GABRIEL. You had me worried.