Wolverine/Rogue FTW!
I've spent the last few evenings over at WRFA, because Wolverine/Rogue are still one of my OTPs after all these years. The 2000 X-Men movie (my God, I can't believe it's been eleven years) kind of kick-started my comic book geekery way back when (I was fourteen, fifteen maybe?) and ever since I've pretty much been an X-Men nerd. There's still a lot of comic book history I've yet to catch up on, because unfortunately living in a small town with limited funds means a) it's difficult to get my hands on the older comics and b) I can't really afford to buy truckloads on my wage, but I sometimes surprise myself with how much I know, especially when I find myself geeking out with other comic book fans.
I think X-Men and Wolverine/Rogue were one of my earliest fandoms. In fact, if I remember rightly, it was second only to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was my first fandom even though, at the ripe ol' age of 12, I didn't even know what fandom was. When the X-Men film came out, I was still breaking my teeth on fanfic and I think some of the atrocious drivel I was writing in the Buffy fandom once filtered over into the Wolverine/Rogue fandom. I shudder just thinking about it.
Anyway, I stumbled back to one of my old haunts when thecraftykid started posting their new W/R fic up on LJ and I found myself hooked on some of their older work. I haven’t really sat down and read a lot of fanfic lately, not for a good year or so, which is probably why I haven’t been as involved with fandom or writing fic as much as I used to be. So it was nice to stumble across an author that reminded me of how satisfying fanfic can be when it’s done right, and how OTPs can stick around even if you don’t hang out as much anymore.
And then I started to think about my other OTPs and what they had in common and I think, even at fourteen/fifteen, I already had a favoured relationship dynamic; young girl, completely kickass and awesome and just a little bit scary, and the older guy, the “protector”, the one that didn’t see age but experience. Buffy and Angel, Rogue and Wolverine, Jack and Riddick. Obviously my preferences weren’t always that straight forward and even now I can’t pinpoint one specific dynamic that works for me overall. And if you want to simplify things, you could maybe say that as a teenager I had a preference for older guys who could look out for me, but I don’t think that was ever true for me. Still to this day I prefer older guys, but my hackles rise at the idea that it’s a protection thing or even a daddy issue thing (it should be noted that I’m pretty sure I don’t have daddy issues, and that yes, I’m totally a mummy’s girl because I think my mum is awesome and one of the strongest people I know). I think for me it was the fact that I matured a lot faster than kids my age, I became introspective a lot earlier than most, and I think as a teenager I clung to the belief that older guys were mentally more mature and therefore better equipped to understand me (and I don’t mean in a teenage angst kind of way; I was never a massively angsty kid) in a way that boys my age were not.
I still hold to that belief today, to be quite honest, but it’s more solidly supported by experience rather than blind assumption. Still, I sometimes find myself wondering if fandom ever molded my preferences or vice versa, because at that age, it’s hard to grasp the concept that you’re constantly changing without you knowing it, at a more rapid pace than you do later in life.
But, I’m getting off the point here, which was… well, it’s interesting to me to discover that a pairing that worked for me when I was fifteen still works for me at twenty-five. And I think, even though I was subconsciously shipping the tough, gruff “protector” types, I was also shipping the young girl who appears to be weak and shy but is in actual fact strong and resourceful, with the potential to be a completely awesome and believable badass in their own right.
I don’t like reading fics where Rogue is a wilting flower that defers to Wolverine in all matters and allows herself to be treated as a victim who needs taking care of. I like my Rogue as she is, both in the comics and in the films; sassy, capable, sometimes vulnerable, conflicted and empowered. And when she’s written right, and Wolverine is written right, man, it makes me think that these two will be one of my OTPs forever.
It also reminds me that I started an X-Men fic a while back, which I never finished. I may work on that this weekend, after I’ve finished my Draco/Hermione fic for the exchange.
In other news, I previously forgot to mention that I now have a car and it’s now insured and on the road. I haven’t passed my test yet but I can drive with a licensed driver in the car, so that’s alright. It means I can practice more in my car and spend less on driving lessons, which is ideal right now because I was informed last week that my job will be part-time starting next month. I knew it was coming; the current role I’m doing now is actually only supposed to be a part-time position, but my boss knew I needed full-time hours so she stretched it a little, because she’s awesome that way. Unfortunately, due to serious budget cuts in the council here, she can’t pull off that trick any longer. I guess I’m lucky to still have my job considering how many people have been laid off or re-deployed, but still. Things are going to be tight until I manage to find more work to make up my hours.
Sigh. Guess we all have to take the bitter with the sweet, right?
I think X-Men and Wolverine/Rogue were one of my earliest fandoms. In fact, if I remember rightly, it was second only to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which was my first fandom even though, at the ripe ol' age of 12, I didn't even know what fandom was. When the X-Men film came out, I was still breaking my teeth on fanfic and I think some of the atrocious drivel I was writing in the Buffy fandom once filtered over into the Wolverine/Rogue fandom. I shudder just thinking about it.
Anyway, I stumbled back to one of my old haunts when thecraftykid started posting their new W/R fic up on LJ and I found myself hooked on some of their older work. I haven’t really sat down and read a lot of fanfic lately, not for a good year or so, which is probably why I haven’t been as involved with fandom or writing fic as much as I used to be. So it was nice to stumble across an author that reminded me of how satisfying fanfic can be when it’s done right, and how OTPs can stick around even if you don’t hang out as much anymore.
And then I started to think about my other OTPs and what they had in common and I think, even at fourteen/fifteen, I already had a favoured relationship dynamic; young girl, completely kickass and awesome and just a little bit scary, and the older guy, the “protector”, the one that didn’t see age but experience. Buffy and Angel, Rogue and Wolverine, Jack and Riddick. Obviously my preferences weren’t always that straight forward and even now I can’t pinpoint one specific dynamic that works for me overall. And if you want to simplify things, you could maybe say that as a teenager I had a preference for older guys who could look out for me, but I don’t think that was ever true for me. Still to this day I prefer older guys, but my hackles rise at the idea that it’s a protection thing or even a daddy issue thing (it should be noted that I’m pretty sure I don’t have daddy issues, and that yes, I’m totally a mummy’s girl because I think my mum is awesome and one of the strongest people I know). I think for me it was the fact that I matured a lot faster than kids my age, I became introspective a lot earlier than most, and I think as a teenager I clung to the belief that older guys were mentally more mature and therefore better equipped to understand me (and I don’t mean in a teenage angst kind of way; I was never a massively angsty kid) in a way that boys my age were not.
I still hold to that belief today, to be quite honest, but it’s more solidly supported by experience rather than blind assumption. Still, I sometimes find myself wondering if fandom ever molded my preferences or vice versa, because at that age, it’s hard to grasp the concept that you’re constantly changing without you knowing it, at a more rapid pace than you do later in life.
But, I’m getting off the point here, which was… well, it’s interesting to me to discover that a pairing that worked for me when I was fifteen still works for me at twenty-five. And I think, even though I was subconsciously shipping the tough, gruff “protector” types, I was also shipping the young girl who appears to be weak and shy but is in actual fact strong and resourceful, with the potential to be a completely awesome and believable badass in their own right.
I don’t like reading fics where Rogue is a wilting flower that defers to Wolverine in all matters and allows herself to be treated as a victim who needs taking care of. I like my Rogue as she is, both in the comics and in the films; sassy, capable, sometimes vulnerable, conflicted and empowered. And when she’s written right, and Wolverine is written right, man, it makes me think that these two will be one of my OTPs forever.
It also reminds me that I started an X-Men fic a while back, which I never finished. I may work on that this weekend, after I’ve finished my Draco/Hermione fic for the exchange.
In other news, I previously forgot to mention that I now have a car and it’s now insured and on the road. I haven’t passed my test yet but I can drive with a licensed driver in the car, so that’s alright. It means I can practice more in my car and spend less on driving lessons, which is ideal right now because I was informed last week that my job will be part-time starting next month. I knew it was coming; the current role I’m doing now is actually only supposed to be a part-time position, but my boss knew I needed full-time hours so she stretched it a little, because she’s awesome that way. Unfortunately, due to serious budget cuts in the council here, she can’t pull off that trick any longer. I guess I’m lucky to still have my job considering how many people have been laid off or re-deployed, but still. Things are going to be tight until I manage to find more work to make up my hours.
Sigh. Guess we all have to take the bitter with the sweet, right?