chevron's Intro for The Watcher Journals Community (watcherjournals) Part 1 of 2
WatcherJournals Intro for chevron:
For those of you who may have read some of my stories before, you know that I like to leave ridiculously long author's notes, frequently as a separate post, describing my thinking in regard to the story I've written. I find this an enjoyable and cathartic exercise, and forces me to work through the motivations of both myself and the characters in my stories.
In that vein, my intro for WatcherJournals that follows is somewhat long, hence being shuffled off into a linked post in my LJ personal journal, so you can read as much or as little as you like. I am personally fascinated by what authors are thinking when they write their stories, and so I like to share that part of myself with anyone kind enough to read my own.
First off, to answer the geographical question, I am located about a half an hour north of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. That puts me in the USA Eastern Time Zone (GMT/UTC -5 Winter, -6 Summer).
I've been in fandom and fannish things for some 30 years or so. General details are listed in my LJ User Info Bio, which anyone is welcome to read. I am a mechanical engineer by trade, heart and soul, but my one true overriding undying fannish love is Buffy/Giles, even though I spent most of my fannish career as a dedicated slasher. I think I know why - Buffy and Giles are both strong enough characters to match each other.
When I finally got around to watching BtVS (several years after the series ended) I instantly fell in love with it. First, I fell in love with Anthony Head's Giles. It seems I have a weakness for handsome, geeky librarians of English descent, possessed of broad shoulders, expressive hands, great chest hair and stunning green eyes. His rich voice, incredibly subtle range of expression and soothing warmth can melt me to a puddle of goo before you can say, "I'll need to consult my books!" Oh, and then there's the suits and vests and ties and wing-tips fetish as well. Ahem. And don't forget the manly swordplay. If more librarians knew how to wield a sword, libraries would still be called “libraries” instead of “media centers” - hey, if it was good enough for the Ancient Greeks in Alexandria, its good enough for me!
But I digress . . . (as always)
I have always admired good teachers and good librarians, and I have been a library hound from my elementary school days, earning a rep as a master researcher in the dark days before computers and search engines (collective gasp is heard), so it was no surprise that I immediately bonded with Giles. Okay, so now I had a main character - who would I match him against? I needed a suitable companion.
One advantage of starting to watch a show after it has ended is that you get to inhale all seasons (in this case 7) just as fast as you humanly can (which was pretty fast in my case). Also, as an “experienced” fan, I knew to immediately start searching for zines and fanfic, and seek out like-minded fen at MediaWestCon. I was soon inundated with fannish goodies - a whole catalog of material just waiting for me to inhale it, and inhale I did.
I love all the Scoobies for all their unique quirks and qualities, but it soon became clear that, for me at least, Buffy would be my match for Giles. I love their relationship and how it grows and changes over the years. Watcher-Slayer, Teacher-Student, Parent-Child, Father-Daughter, Unwavering-Unto-Death-Friends and Equals, and eventually Lovers - their relationship is incredibly rich and complex.
(continued in Part 2 of 2 )