this and that

[martasfic]

In my last post (or a recent post, at least) I mentioned I was underwhelmed by Clara, which kind of turned into a lot of people talking about how they didn't really care for Eleven generally. Of course everyone should be able to like or not-like fictional characters, for all kinds of reasons. But as I know quite a few of you happen to like Eleven, and really I like him fine in a lot of ways as well.

For me, Doctor Who has always been more fantasy than science fiction, it's like a mythology playing out with the added bonus of time travel. I thought Matt Smith was a wonderful actor who did nice work with a storyline that was sometimes beautiful to the point of being sublime... but that was also sometimes just silly. It was almost a soap opera at points. The overarching plot of series six didn't really work for me in a lot of ways, mostly because the basic point for why people would think the doctor needed to die seemed to operate along two different lines which didn't always meet up: that he had descended into a kind of power-play with his drive to save Amy's baby and Amy, and that he was somehow too famous. Why he was such an important figure across history, in a world populated by gods and pseudo-gods and a billion races aside from the timelords, never mind all the timelords who existed earlier in the timeline, was never really explained to me; the idea that the Doctor had this darkness inside him, this will to dominate that had to be fought was more plausible, but not at all the same for why River had to eventually kill him. And series seven just didn't have the rhythm I'd expected, largely because of the decision to kill off Amy and Rory in "The Angels Take Manhattan," mid-season like that. It was just so random it threw me off. I also think the fact that I've watched seven series of Who in the last eight or nine months isn't helping; nor is the fact that I've been exposing myself to spoilers, which wasn't such a problem when RTD was at the helm and the what didn't matter nearly so much as the journey to get there, but under Moffat seems to make a much bigger difference to how much I like about it.

So I'm watching the show in probably sub-par conditions. I'm probably a bit burnt out over it, and on Moffat generally. I'm definitely not appreciating the fact that making fun of women is apparently a funny thing to do, though that's a post on its own. And even so... The Eleventh Hour. (So much love for the mythos at work there.) The space-whale one. The angels + River two-parter. Good God, I mean, that ending. Van Gogh. The sheer genius of the first Craig episode. The Christmas Carol. The whole second half of that impossible astronaut two-parter. The mood of the pirate episode. Pretty much everything about "The Girl Who Waited" and "The Daleks Take Manhattan," the way pacifism plays out in "A Town Called Mercy" and the optimism behind "The Rings of Akhenaten" - there's so much to love here. I actually think Amy might be my favorite companion, certainly the most mythologically and philosophically deep. Living through her story was one I really needed at this point in my life. And yeah, there are whole plots that I didn't care for, but there are these shining moments that I equally wouldn't do without if you offered me all the money in the world, because they're part of me now.

And I want to sit down and watch them again. For all Moffat's faults (and on that subject I could tell you a thing or three...) it's a story I want to come back to, at least parts of it, and that's a real mark of success for me. I think I have a definite taste for RTD, for a whole host of reasons; but I didn't want to give the impression I'd soured on Who or regretted watching the Eleven years. Of course if that's true for other people that's their prerogative, but it's not that simple for me.

Okay, other stuff. I'm finally getting back in the swing of fanfic inspiration. I have drafts of a follow-up to my Holmestice story open on my computer but that's taken a back burner to a scene expansion on the ending of A Study In Pink I think I mentioned. dioscureantwins, you should get an email from me when I'm able to wrangle it into submission, hopefully in the next few days, but you never know how those things work. I've also got ideas about a bit of fluff for a fan-artist's birthday I'd like to get down on (digital) paper and an idea for an AU exchange involving a bit of young Sherlock in Manhattan, my own stomping grounds. These are things that are a bit hard to explain and in some cases are supposed to be kinda-sorta surprises, but suffice it to say I'm having a lot of ideas swimming around my head, some of which are even making it into half-finished fic drafts. It's a bit of a boom time for fannish productivity for me. A lot of the ideas are just silliness and may not ever be finished, but at least one of them (the Holmestice follow-up) is shaping up to be a rich playground to play with some philosophical concepts about love and desire and sentiment, about loving well and what that means. And I can't talk about it in depth until the actual Holmestice fics are all published as I don't want to spoil the surprise of my actual Holmestice fic. But it's giving me the space to play with some of the philosophy I researched for a course I never got to teach, and it's quite nice to play with those ideas in a fic that's set in the modern world with well-educated characters who might have read Plato and Augustine and the like.

Also for reading other peoples' fics, both friends' and otherwise. The acd_holmesfest fics continue to be a goldmine of intriguing Doyle-era fanfic. sjames_centre has a really interesting-looking new Johnlock fic up, The Whole of the Moon. Haven't read it yet but it looks lovely from the reviews. I'm really enjoying vulgarweed's Sherlock/Straw Man crossover, even without having seen the other half of the movie. Someone over at the 221b_rec comm recommended holyfant's And Let the Well Run Dry, which models the series three trip back into Serbia (if Sherlock hadn't been recalled) on the Orpheus myth cycle, which again I haven't been able to read but which looks divine. earlgreytea68 is working at her lovely Olympics Johnlock AU, Working on the Edges, and it's really quite a bit of fun. dioscureantwins's "Lethal Water deserves (and will, I hope) get a review from me at some point, but snarky Sherlock is always a lot of fun, particularly in a story with meat on it. I think there are a few other stories I've read recently that really were quite lovely and I want to recommend, but they're on my phone which isn't handy. Suffice it to say I'm discovering a lot of fun Sherlock + Doyleverse fic that's touching and thought-provoking or just plain fun.

Finally, some bits and bobs I've put together over at Tumblr some of you might find interesting:

answers to a meme about what I hope it will look like if Johnlock ever makes it onto the BBC show - basically some thoughts about what I expect and hope for in that area, and why

a narrative about my own asexuality, in response to a friend who asked whether I thought asexuals should be considered queer. It ended up being kind of a description of my own past with that label, and may be interesting to people wanting to read a bit about my background.

I talked a bit about the unaired Sherlock pilot, which I've been rewatching mroe than is strictly necessary to research that scene expansion fic.

Outside the fannish world, there's nothing much to report, really. I've been looking for and sending out resumes, including one that looks quite interesting in my old school's disabilities office. No real active prospects at the moment. I need to clean up my bedroom in the worst way. Called in and decided to skip my therapy appointment today (bad Marta, I know) for several reasons. So I've got a free day around here so maybe I can get some of that in order. I've been going through my old @fordham email, unsubscribing from email lists I no longer want and updating the rest to the @gmail address, and it's actually quite soothing, if time-demanding. I happened to see really a beautiful piece of art at the local shopping plaza, a baby-grand piano that had been painted with Italian phrases, and keep meaning to grab a picture but never quite manage.

... which is really a very stream-of-conscious RL update, but there you go...

Enjoy your day, all.

Comments

[dioscureantwins.livejournal.com]

I'll be looking forward to that email. :)

[sjames-centre.livejournal.com]

First, I do love reading your posts. Especially since I've been looking around Tumblr at things and I miss the back and forth of LJ.

And thanks for mentioning the story - I'm not sure I'm completely happy with it, but that's nothing new...

I found your thoughts about asexuality so interesting. I was alone for many years - not really interested in finding someone - assuming of course I was waiting for the right man to come along but not really caring if he ever did - I put it down for a long time as just "not that interested in sex/relationships." Being gay was not really an option I was willing to consider.
And then I met the right person - a girl - and it all made sense. Not trying to say my story has anything to do with yours - just that for some people, asexuality has more to do with where you are in life than who you are.

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoy them. Thanks for saying so - and I agree on Tumblr. It's great for haring things and connecting with people you hadn't met before, but it makes it nearly impossible to get an actual conversation going, it's just not really made for that, is it? And it shows in the culture a lot of times, I think. Both platforms have their virtues, no doubt, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I can spend a lot of time there and then suddenly I'm missing the back-and-forth of LJ in the worst way.

Re: sexuality, I'm more or less comfortable with the idea that this could be a one-stage-of-my-life and I might find myself in a committed relationship (or a not-so-committed one, for that matter at some stage in the future. I'm even comfortable with the idea it could be with a woman, as the kind of things that are attractive to me (to the extent anything s), you could find in both genders. But my crystal ball has gone a bit cloudy, but for the moment, that post is more or less where I am and how I think about these things. I'm comfortable with who I am in that regard, much moreso than I was t different points in my past, but I'm also comfortable with the idea I may be somewhere else five or ten or twenty years down the line. Life would be boring if there wasn't that possibility.

Anyway, I'm glad you found it interesting food for thought. :-)

[fractalwolf.livejournal.com]

Old school = the one we met at? If so, and you get called for an in-person interview, I'd love to take you to dinner before or after.

[marta-bee.livejournal.com]

No, unfortunately, it's Fordham, the school in New York I just left. Which gives me mixed feelings in a big way, but the opportunity is actually a really interesting one and they contacted me about it because I've worked with their office as an instructor and apparently showed some potential for the kind of work they need doing.

There is a slight possibility I'll be down in NC for a friend's graduation in December from NC State, and if I do I was going to try to come to Greensboro for a day and go around to some of the places I used to enjoy, and if I do that I was going to see if you wanted to meet up. But I'm not sure I'll be coming down so I didn't want to mention it yet. If I do, I'll definitely be in touch.

[fractalwolf.livejournal.com]

Actually, the triangle's even easier, since that's where I'm working these days. Just let me know if/when you hit town :)