Ficlet: "Unholy Orders," Robin Hood, Guy/Marian, PG-13/R.

[monimala]

Just got back from seeing The Namesake with Mom. It was incredibly, incredibly sentimental and relevant to our own lives. I cried. Anyone who wants to know how I grew up? Go see it. Of course, Tabu's Bengali accent was lame... not nearly as lame as her *English*, though, which was so blatantly not Bengali-accented English that it kept tossing

Comments

[kismeteve]

YOU WROTE ROBIN HOOD FIC.

:D :D :D :D :D

[monimala]

It was only a matter of time! Robin's probably up to bat next!

[sandrine]

*fans self* Wow, that was hot!

Somehow, you write Guy totally different from how I see him, and still make me work for me. Great work! :)

[monimala]

Thanks! *grinning*

How *do* you see Guy? I'm still trying to figure out what to make of him. Six episodes in and I'm always asking, "Wait, does he actually love Marian? How much of a bastard IS he?" He fascinates me, but I can't slot him into "villain" or "anti-hero" particularly easily. He's no Logan or Spike (thank God). And why would he keep pursuing Marian if she's "just not that into him"...unless she is?

Hee.

[sandrine]

Well, if you're at 1x06 now, the next two episodes will be crucial both in terms of character development for Guy and development of the Guy/Marian relationship. (Actually, I have written a Guy/Marian episode tag for 1x07. [/shameless self-promotion]) However, it'll be hard to really pin down Guy throughout the entire season - sometimes, he's pretty much as chichéd an evil villain as they come, sometimes he's almost likable (and more likable than the 'hero', at that).

Personally, I think he genuinely loves Marian - what he considers to be love, anyway - and that he believes that his love for her is strong enough to win her heart. At the end of the season, he says at one point that he feels that loving Marian makes him a better person, which I think sums it up rather neatly. The interesting thing is that it's a intriguing dichotomy to Robin, whose love for Marian makes him a spiteful and lesser person, ultimately.

Considering his treatment during the entire first season, I suppose Guy is a villain, but he's not entirely beyond

[monimala]

No, by all means, ramble to your heart's content!

Guy and Marian are, obviously, the relationship on the show that intrigues me the most, because he seems to place her in this separate category. There's "What I do for my job and Marian on the edge of it" and then there's "I'm into Marian, why doesn't she love me?" and never the twain shall meet. I.e. the bastard baby incident and her hair-cut not really getting in the way of him pursuing her.

He's very practical in that sense. Whereas, Robin, who I do adore (despite his many flaws) doesn't seem to have much time for Marian at all except to take the occasional potshot and twinkle at her. He lacks the emotional maturity, at least 6 episodes in, to do anything about his and Marian's relationship and that ginormous elephant in the room.

More than anything, I want Guy's interest in Marian to wake Robin the Hell *up*, because, right now, it's not a triangle. It's Guy/Marian and Robin/The People of Locksley.

[k4writer02]

About the Namesake--have you read Jhumpa Lahiri's novel and short story collection? I've been hesitating to see the movie because I loved the book so much, but with your glowing rec, I'll check it out!

[monimala]

I read both The Namesake and Interpreter of Maladies years ago, so I don't even really remember either book! The movie, thanks to Mira Nair, is just a wonderful visual representation of Bengali-American life. It hit so many notes for my mother and for me, so it may not hold up to the book without that sentimentality attached.

[biases]

Just dropping by to say that I like this very much. I'm only 10 episodes into the series, and Guy/Marian is still the relationship that I'd like to see explored more in fanfiction (if not so much in canon, because despite being RICHARD ARMITAGE I cannot love him due to the baby-in-the-woods factor). You handled this very well - he's perhaps more brutal with Marian here than I would expect - but it works in the swift vein of your story and I'm very impressed.

Going into the mems, and crossing my fingers that you've written other stories about the series. :)

[monimala]

Thanks!

The baby-in-the-woods factor and the slapping-the-mistress thing are what keep me from full-on enjoying Guy and writing woobtastic fic about him and Marian. I feel like if I'm going to do it, it's got to be dark and just a bit brutal, because this is a man who has no qualms about causing women and children pain.

The only other RH fic I've written so far is:
Handle With Care
A Stitch in Time

[monimala]

Thank you! Too many people forget how dark and cold and angry Guy really is, just because Richard Armitage is ungodly good-looking. But the cruel things Guy does are, to me, part of what makes him such a compelling character.