Uffish Thought

Originally found this through Avengers fandom, but I figured POI people could use it too:
Manhattan does not have suburban-style malls or supermarkets

Relatedly, I've been having a lot of feelings lately about Harold Finch and New York City.

( Read more... )

Over on Tumblr, This discussion of Natasha and what it means to be a superhero got me thinking tangentially about Natasha and her relationship to the organizations and people she feels a duty towards.

For me, it leads back to a story I've been trying to write for awhile now, which is that there's a difference between being a superhero and identifying as one. Those six people who fought in New York are the Avengers now in the public's eye and in ours, but who among them actually thinks of themselves that way, as heroes or as a team? Tony, I think, is the only one: planning apartments for everyone, challenging Bruce, dragging everyone to schwarma. But he is also at the end of a three-movie heroic arc that got him there. He chose to be Iron Man, chose again to be a hero instead of letting his ego rule, and chose to fight with (and name) Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

( Thor )

( Steve )

( Natasha )

( Bruce )

( Clint )

Aaaaand, now it's 4 AM, so I have to sleep, but please come talk about these ridiculous people with me.

A quick clarification.

Things we see Phil Coulson do in the Marvel Movie Universe:
-strategically ambush Tony Stark: Master of Evasion into an appointment
-blow open an armored door
-threaten to taze Tony
-con a US Army General
-eat pancakes
-take out two gas station robbers while unarmed and carrying donuts
-confiscate wormhole research and equipment
-attempt to debrief a god
-evacuate a research facility shortly before it implodes
-fanboy Captain America
-taunt and shoot a god with an experimental energy gun while stabbed through the chest

Things we never see Phil Coulson do:
-PAPERWORK

He does not appear to have an office, nor can I recall him even *holding* a pen, paper, or any related office supplies.

That is all.

THIS SHOW, YA'LL.

Seriously, all the people who are over in Avengers for badass spy ladies and found-family teams and redemption ~feels~ need to get their asses over to this fandom RIGHT NOW.

( spoilers: that was awesome )

On a less spoilery note: I was looking at the IMDB page for this show, and the gender equality is stunning. If we just look at the recurring characters that get character development (excluding long-dead people, generic muscle, and nameless techs), the female/male split is almost even at 9 to 10. In the main cast, i.e. the characters who appear in almost every episode, the split is EXACTLY even at 3:3. I honestly can't think of another show that has those numbers, and Nikita does it with consistent depth, complexity, and Bechdel-passing, with characters that kick ass and characters that win fights with their minds, characters that are flawed and strong, sometimes wrong and sometimes wise, with complex networks of relationships to everyone around them.

Seriously, check my math. ( warning: some mild spoilers for the series in terms of characters that are important )

This show does ensemble cast *right*.

I was excited about watching Fringe live, but work called me in to close after my massage internship. *sigh* I would really like a day off that doesn't involve a) being sick or b) Labor Day.

So now I'm killing time waiting to *ahem* Fringe by reading all about Inspector Spacetime! (I blame my classmates - somehow, the only three people in the kitchen this afternoon all loved it and therefore we had to have a long discussion about New Who vs Old Who and how Tom Baker was also Puddleglum.)

*laughs endlessly* Oh, fandom. We will probably have turned a 20-second parody clip into a completely recapped canon by Christmas. Inspector Spacetime is a totally-ripped-off-by-Doctor-Who! imaginary TV show that appeared briefly in an episode of Community, and now has the following:

-a TV Tropes page

-a theme song (classic and eighties)

-t-shirts (....I kinda want one.)

-a forum

-a Post Secret-esque tumblr

-fanfiction

-people wanting to request it for Yuletide

For a more coherent explaination of the phenomenon fandom, go here. For extra laughs, check out the TV Tropes recap page, which has a complete listing of episode titles which bear a suspicious and occasionally snarky connection to DW titles (like "Good Lamb" and "Return of the Revenge of the Blorgons" and, of course, "Stare")

I'm rewatching all of Hawaii Five-0 for fic purposes, and to amuse myself I have decided to count all the times the main characters get unclothed. Sadly, no one's gotten naked yet, but there's been plenty of partials!

Since I now have a paid DW account, this clearly calls for a poll. It's the scientific method: hypothesis first, then research and data, then conclusions.



Data to follow!

Oh my god. Evan Lysacek is the Ryan Ross of skating RPS.

First, you get sucked in by Johnny Weir being sparkly and charming, and everyone being svelte and athletic and pretty. Then you're all, "Oh, that Evan Lysacek, he's so weird and orange, and kind of a robotic douchebag" and then you find his robot douchebaggery hilarious, and then you find it *endearing*, and then you start loving him unironically and it's all over.

Everything makes so much more sense now.

That's it, though, I have to cut myself off. I've already edging into the finding-him-endearing phase, and I refuse to do another RPF fandom. No more ridiculous skating fic for me!

I don't develop "personal canon" the way I've seen many writers do - all the little details like favorite color, first kiss, number of pets, etc., that are interesting and fun but never come to light. I usually start with core principles and canon details and go from there, reinventing the personal details to suit my purposes (for fic or meta or whatever).

But there's an exception: character sexuality.

When I develop an opinion about a character's sexuality, I will stick to it. I supposed a dramatic event in canon could theoretically change my mind, but it hasn't happened yet. It's weirdly opposite to my approach in real life, where I usually don't try to figure people out unless I'm deciding if I want to flirt with them. For many characters, I don't have a *conscious* idea of their orientation, but odds are I can give you an answer if you give me 30 seconds to consider it. For some, I've got very strong opinions.

Take Charlie Crews, for example. My fanon evaluation of him: straight. I used to read (and still enjoy) Charlie/Ted, but by the end of S1 I was convinced that Charlie just *loves* women, platonically and romantically. Any homosexual activity in his past was situational (i.e., prison) [and possibly not consensual], and while he's not going to have a freak out about it, he's not going to seek out male partners now that he's free.

On the other hand, Dean Winchester = bisexual, though he skews way more to the hetero end of the spectrum. I've considered him bi since well before Castiel ever showed his pretty face. If he wants to get laid, he'll usually pick up a woman, but sometimes he goes for guys - like the difference between craving a bacon cheeseburger and a double decker. Dean may be the type of guy who's very concerned with the trappings of masculinity, but I figure sex is sex is sex to him. (Falling in love, though -- that's a whole different barrel of monkeys, regardless of gender.)

Emily Prentiss: prefers women. I don't have much evidence for my opinion, and I don't think she's been in many relationships (if any) because repression thy name is Emily, but it's very clear in my mind. Hotch and Reid are both firmly heterosexual, though Reid doubtless knows reams of studies about sexuality and would be suprised-but-chill if he were ever attracted to a man.

Neal Caffrey: so very bisexual. He has strong tendencies towards clever people and committed-but-open relationships - the 'open' part being a necessary condition of his profession, where being able to seduce anyone is an advantage. If he met any aliens, he'd definitely pull a Jack Harkness and give it a try, and he's cool with polyamory.

Parker: bisexual. Obviously not shy about her sexuality, considering she hit on Nate's ex-wife in front of him, though she's as unlikely to talk about it as give away money.

Sherlock Holmes: nearly asexual, a state reinforced by his (self)conscious pursuit of logic, but he's got a weakness for people who admire him and who he considers an equal. However, in such rare events, he would only start a relationship with someone he trusts (*cough*Watson*cough*), and then only after overcoming his own self-imposed "love is a danger to logic" principles. After jumping all those hurdles, a metropolitan student of humanity like Holmes is not going to be concerned with something minor like gender.

Do any of y'all have this sort of personal canon? Want to test my opinions by throwing characters at me, or just argue with me about one of the above characters? Bring it!

After musing on the subject, I have come to a Very Important Conclusion.

Ensemble shows are like poker hands.

Most of the time, you have one or two cards that aren't so good. Maybe you shuffle things around, hide the bad cards in back, and the hand looks a little stronger. If you're not too good at the game, you stick with what you have and your wimpy hand gets its ass kicked, or you fold. Maybe you ditch the weak cards and pick up a replacement or two. Sometimes that works out well (NCIS), sometimes not (SG-1). Sometimes you ditch a card that you REALLY wish you hadn't (House, from what I've heard).

And then there are the hands that you pick up and everything is lined up perfectly: four of a kind, royal flush, full house, straight. Shows like Firefly, Criminal Minds, The West Wing, Bones, Sports Night. What's *really* impressive is when they manage to replace a member of one of those casts and make it even better - kinda like dropping a card from a full house to draw four of a kind.

I have no real deep thoughts here. Except that I am debating whether to get a paid account because I crave icons, or see if anyone has Dreamwidth invite codes.

(The secretly funny thing about this post is that I don't even play poker. But bridge is not exactly metaphorically rich.)

inmyriadbits posted a great bit of meta about the influences of the Western genre on Supernatural. I helped out with some of the background, but she did all the hard thinky stuff herself. Go read! (no spoilers for S3)