hearts and nicotine

[spatz]

I've been catching up on the last month of LJ and putting the finishing touches on my secret project, so I'm full of fannish love. Fortuitously, this very appropriate meme is going around:

Reply to this post, and I'll tell you one reason why I like you. Then repost this [if you like] and spread the love.

*****

In the continuing saga of how inmyriadbits and I are hopeless couch potatoes, we have been watching old episodes of The Pretender, and it's a little surreal how much I think I imprinted on this show and its characters. Jarod has reminded me at different times of Benton Fraser, Michael Westen and Charlie Crews, and all the charming con men, criminals with hearts of gold, and innocent men on the run that I adore.

Miss Parker is just as gorgeously competent and sleekly ruthless and stunningly vulnerable as I remember, and her archetype echoes in all the female characters I love who are incredible at their jobs, survivors, and a little broken - Temperance Brennan, Ekaterin Vorsoisson, Harriet Vane, Dani Reese, Kate Beckett, Aeryn Sun, Veronica Mars. Parker/Jarod as a pairing (wow, it's been awhile since I had a fandom with zero slash pairings) are just as delightful as I remember, especially when they are in the same room/handcuffed together/hostages in the same bank. They bring out all the hidden sides of each other, and they're so fucked up in totally different ways, and you have to love the way they are best(/only) friends and best enemies at the same time.

Also, they are just so damn pretty. :D

Although the show is more dated than, say, Due South, and not insignificantly cheesy, I've noticed a solid number of POC guests, and I enjoy how broadly Jarod makes friends - a mixed bag of age, race, and varying levels of normality. His canonically extraordinary empathy makes him rather impervious to bigotry, since the first thing he sees is someone's humanity (though he has unsurprising preference for outsiders and families). After watching Criminal Minds, though, his vengeance on the villains of the week is disturbingly vicious.

(Jarod is also one of those little-black-dress characters who make crossover fics a dream. IIRC, the show even did crossover episodes with Profiler, which was on at the same time, and my brain is being swamped with bunnies.)


I'm looking forward to revisiting the longer plot arcs, which I remember as having enough retcons to make even DC Comics blush; also, Jeffery Donovan playing Jarod's brother Kyle should be a crazy blast from the past.

Southland tonight! *points to icon* Everybody watch!

Comments

[gingerwall.livejournal.com]

This seems like some kind of scam - all I have to do is reply and then I get awesomeness? Where's the catch? Shouldn't I have to write awesomeness about you? Like "TheSpatz always has something interesting to think about but also appreciates balance in life. She taught me how to be lazy and indulgent in the best senses of both words, and yet also somehow thought that it would be a good idea for us to attend and do work for two different high schools, because one just wasn't good enough."

P.S. Do you think inmyriadbits would want to be my internet friend? I kind of want to respect her lj/rl privacy so I haven't been snooping. yet.

[inmyriadbits.livejournal.com]

If this is who I think it is (and I'm just gonna guess: we carpooled freshman year, and you're the one who isn't a boy), all I have to say is: girl, why haven't you friended me already? :P

[thespatz.livejournal.com]

*blushes* I MISS YOU. What am I going to do when you go back to school? Other than aid in your procrastination like a good friend, anyway. ;) I love that I have now been friends with you for almost a decade - you make me feel so comfortable and awesome, like we have all this history but I could accidentally get sucked into a time vortex for years and still be friends with you on the other side. I admire your determination and myriad, diverse passions, and you're really accepting but you don't stand for BS. And you are a good cuddler. :D

And, hey, carpooling was your idea! You were the one who knew Nevin. I blame it all on you. *nods firmly* I still remember the Braintree Trust. I have my eye on you, missy.

What Lindsey said. ;)

[gingerwall.livejournal.com]

You are too kind and you make me feel too old. Almost a decade! Geesh. It feels like just yesterday we were both laughing at Mr. Webster's "plucky like Jesus" comments and crushing over JoshD.

[thespatz.livejournal.com]

It's been almost half a lifetime! muahahaha

Oh, JoshD, master of the ribbon dance (though I remember crushing more on RyanF in Webster's class, honestly). Do you know what JD's up to these days?