Supernatural-related geekery

[raven]

It's dark outside. It's dark inside. I have only one more day to finish off all my packing and get ready to, er, move out. Which is a momentous event, no? That thing where you put your entire life into cardboard boxes and move two hundred and twenty-five miles down south, right. What am I doing? I'm mainlining Supernatural like it's my new anti-drug.

likethesun2 - this is undeniably, unequivocally ALL YOUR FAULT. OMG. I have now seen the first seven episodes and have all the others - including the season premiere, eee! - and at this rate I'll have seen the lot before the weekend is over. Sigh. What, it couldn't have been fluffy and lame eye-candy? It had to be good?

Thoughts so far, in no particular order:

-This show is actually scary. Maybe because the effects are ten years better than The X-Files? In fact, definitely because of that; XF was probably better than SPN in terms of how well-written it was, but there's really nothing to choose between them. Except maybe aliens are just inherently less scary than ghosts. I don't know.

-But yeah, scary. I am never getting on a plane again. Okay, so I have to get on a plane again sometime. (December 31st, to be precise.) But still, argh, that was really, properly scary. Although, Sam reciting Latin - teh sex. It seems people speaking Latin is one of my most bulletproof kinks. (Yes, I did go to a single-sex public school, why do you ask)

-Speaking of which, the fandom at large seems to want to collectively jump Dean's bones, but not me. Oh, Sam. No one should be allowed to walk around looking like that. I mean, the man is attractive even when his eyes are bleeding.

-The eye-bleeding thing. Oh god. I loved that episode. I love the whole relationship between the two, actually. I really, really wish they weren't brothers, but they are and incest squicks me, so no slash here. Which means for the first time ever, I am watching something, for lack of a better word, chastely. No sifting for the naughty meanings in every look and gesture. It's a novel experience, certainly.

Actually, no, I don't wish they weren't brothers, because that's an integral part of the appeal of the show. And that's a new one on me, because you don't usually see such a focus on family relationships in genre television - more soap opera territory, isn't it? - but it works here. And I like that it's mostly understated - it does misfire here and there, but I don't think I mind. It's good fun and it works.

-The XF references continue apace, and make my geeky heart squee. I would make a proper list of them, actually, if that wouldn't be too incredibly nerdy a thing to do. Seeing as I'm basically watching both shows at the same time, they're jumping out at me from all angles, so I may have to list them regardless at some point.

It's practically a given that I shall babble some more about this show later on this weekend. Probably later on tonight, to be honest.

Er, in other news. Yes. I am moving out on Sunday, which is probably a good, good thing. I'm very much looking forward to going back to Oxford. jacinthsong, I'll bring over SPN and Studio 60 whenever you like.

What else? My last day in work today, and it featured a quite horrendous amount of books. Obviously working in a bookshop does entail books, and a lot of them, but today was one of those days where I had to unpack and shelve five boxes of hardbacks and it wasn't fun. To distract myself, I started playing with the shop's Amazon account, which we use collectively to get American or second-hand books. The recommendations are a work of art, honestly. They recommend two books about cricket umpiring, another about fly fishing, every volume of a manga called Bleach, some trashy bondage porn, a guide to home sausage-making and the Doctor Who Storybook 2007. Seriously. I wanted to read all of it.

Okay, it's two am and I should shut up. Er - the fic I posted last night appeared on hogwarts_today, which fittingly enough, did make my day. Love In Fire And In Blood - James and Lily get married, Sirius and Remus help! You know you want to read it. [/pimpery] Now, obviously, I feel a stupid desire to write Supernatural fic, which is a very stupid idea that I'm thinking about anyway. (Angst! Pretty boys! Endless roadtrips! OMG I am doomed!) Before I write anything, though, I really should finish the fic that is now known as The One With The Hole In The Universe, Bad Sex And A Serial Killer From Ohio.

I sort of wish The X-Files wasn't canonically fictional in the SPN universe, now I come to think of it; a crossover could work really well. the_acrobat gave me a five things prompt - "Five cases Mulder and Scully never investigated but probably should have" - and the first one I wrote tried evolving into just such a crossover. I have about five hundred words of it sitting in a notepad file and lurking at me. I don't know, maybe I'll write it.

Yep, shutting up now.

Comments

[icepixie]

move two hundred and twenty-five miles down south

Smart person, going south. I went 500 miles north, and bitched endlessly through all the winters. ;)

SPN: I also don't quite get the Dean-love. I mean...he's pretty, sure, but right beside him is Sam, who is gorgeous. Am I not watching the same show as everyone else? Of course, I always tend to gravitate to the guys with long(er) hair...

I need to watch me some standalones of that series, 'cause so far all I've seen is their version of the mytharc, and it's a bit boring. (Okay, a lot boring. Particularly when you come in at the end, and all the family dynamics are lost on you.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Up here I live on the sea coast. Down south it's inland and bloody cold. I like cold weather, but I feel you. :)

Of course, I always tend to gravitate to the guys with long(er) hair...

Oh, yeah. Long hair always, always does it for me. And Sam is just - yeah. I'm so eloquent, me. But you know what I mean. *g*

I think the standalones, and particularly the pilot, are needed to ease you in. I watched the first three episodes because of a mild liking for the show - it took a bunch more before I started thinking hey, this is damn good.

[icepixie]

Long hair always, always does it for me.

I blame my hair obsession on this man and his pretty, pretty hair. Damn you, figure skating. All the long hair there has ruined me for TV, where it's so much less common.

And Sam is very, very pretty. I think the hair may only be part of it, although to be sure, it's a significant part.

I wanna see some standalones just because I'm in the mood for a good and scary TV episode, and have been for a while.

[that_mireille]

First of all, check out fic by researchgrrrl. She loves Sam (and Dean, and John, but Sam most of all), she's a brilliant writer, and she writes gen and het (I've read one Dean/OFC story by her that is honestly fantastic and completely avoids Sueishness, IMO), no Wincest.

Secondly, I think one reason SPN is scarier to me is that some of these things I *grew up on*. I didn't grow up being scared of aliens. Aliens were Spock and the Doctor and Cally from Blakes 7. But Bloody Mary and the Wendigo and the Hook Man? Those are stories I got scared by as a kid. So it hits some irrational layer of fear in me.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the rec! I'm pretty spoiler-phobic right now, but she's bookmarked for later reference. *g*

I think you're on to something there. I had a different body of folklore - I think a lot of it is specifically American - but I feel you on the irrational layer of fear part, because, you know, ghosts and demons and ghoulies - they're so ingrained. *shudder*

[that_mireille]

When you get ready to face spoilers, here are the two I mentioned. Once you get past the basic setup of the show, they're non-spoilery even for S1.

Night Moves (Dean/OFC, NC-17, but seriously, this is worth it for the Dean)

Muscle of Love (fantastic (gen) Dean & Sam interaction)


I think one of the reasons I like SPN so much is that it's very... American--and not in the way that BtVS is American, because that's not *my* experience. SPN goes to places I could have lived (and twice to places I *have* lived), and taps into the stories I got frightened by at summer camp. After spending most of my fannish life doing cultural translations in my head (first because my major fandoms were British, then Canadian, and now... American, but California is *very* different to the places I've lived, and there's a generation gap)... I like the familiarity of the universe they're in.

But you're right, no matter where you grew up, there were *some* monsters under the bed, or roaming the countryside at night.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! *g* Bookmarked.

I have a feeling that the subtler nuances of the show may be lost on me for just that reason. But it does tap into something, no matter the exact cultural context, and it's pretty damn scary with it. :)

[insaneizzi.livejournal.com]

Slightly off topic, but would you like a postcard from Western Oz? I have one left over and have no-one to send it to. Also, I have a fic I would like you to read. Um, you'll know why when(if) you read it...

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I'd love one! Thank you very much. (I think you have my address?) And do send me/link me to the fic, I'm intrigued.

[insaneizzi.livejournal.com]

I don't think I have your address. (And I will send you that fic, yes).

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

My address is in this entry (http://loneraven.livejournal.com/2005/10/01/). Look forward to the fic!

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

Hurrah for moving into Oxford! *waves vaguely enthusiastically* Do you know when you'll be online?

(I am resisting the urge to watch Supernatural, despite three people all pimping it to me. NO SAY I)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Hopefully, when I've unpacked I can set up the internet straight off. If not there will be Words, believe me.

(Pretty boys! Ghosts! Angst! You KNOW you want to. *wheedles*)

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

No! I can't afford any more fandoms! Doctor Who is sucking up all my time without my actually watching it very much at the moment.

*frantically types up the minutes*

[likethesun2.livejournal.com]

OMG. *squeaks with glee* I am sosososo pleased you're enjoying it! And it does get good. It really does. Um, after crying my eyes out the second time I watched the S2 premiere, I no longer have any shame about this show. It is really effective.

Funnily enough, another friend of mine just saw "Phantom Traveler" (the plane one) this week, and called me before I flew to Ohio to warn me of demons.

Although, Sam reciting Latin - teh sex.

Yes! I am generally one of the people who want to jump Dean's bones (I admit this freely, despite the fact I am not sure I have ever seriously used the phrase before), but Sam+Latin... yes. In fact, when we did our Fangirl Rewatch of the S1 finale on Thursday, we had a long talk about it.

Speaking of jumping Winchesters' bones, it's weird, but while I see fandom at large going crazy for Dean, almost every single person I personally know in the fandom (read: the people I have recently had a hand in converting!) goes for Sam. hiyacynth has a developing theory about how your own place in your family--particularly with regards to sibling order--contributes to your Winchester preference. I love that these are the things I'm thinking about, these days.

because you don't usually see such a focus on family relationships in genre television - more soap opera territory, isn't it? - but it works here.

*nods* Absolutely. It took SPN to make me realize I had actually been craving representations of family on TV for a long time, only I didn't know it because in my mind "family shows" were all either disgustingly trite or far too cynical (let's laugh at how nasty and useless family life can be!) I love that SPN is willing to give us a messed-up family that still works together and loves each other. That's so rare in mainstream fiction.

WRITE SPN FIC. DO IT NOW. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. The very thought is amazing.

(I'd watched about five episodes when I first started saying, "Hmm, I kind of want to write fic, but I shouldn't." And look what happened to me--the monster in your inbox.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I am converting people myself, now! Your pernicious influence is spreading across the Atlantic, omg! I am well and truly hooked, and I think it was "Phantom Traveller" that did it. Something about the desperation, the empty blue sky at the end - it just really got to me.

Sam. Oh, Sam. You remember way back when I saw just a few minutes of the show on television and I immediately referred to Sam as "the pretty one"? I think that says it all. What is hiyacynth's theory? Not having any siblings myself, I'm properly intrigued.

I think it's interesting how a lot of shows play up the friends becoming family dynamic - SG-1 springs to mind, where the original four were close enough to treat each other as such, especially as they all lacked biological families of their own - but not many actually start there. This is the selling point of this show, I think - it's really something new.

I MIGHT. I have a tiny little plot bunny that I have locked in a dark room with half a carrot. Maybe, maybe I shall let it out. Maybe!

(I'm working my way through it. And loving it, but more on that anon. *g*)

[likethesun2.livejournal.com]

Yes! It was "Phantom Traveler" for me, too! I just loved the hints there at the depth of their relationship: Dean's first show of real concrete weakness, Sam's taking charge, everything. Loved it.

The study needs more participants, but judging from the people she knows (and I know), a lot of the people who are really affected by Dean are older siblings, and actually cite that as a reason for loving him so much--their empathy with his situation, obviously on a smaller scale. And a lot of younger siblings seem to feel the same way about Sam. Theory is less clear on the in-betweens; all the only children I know like Sam, but I'm not sure that correlation has anything to do with causation. (Based solely on family dynamics, I would expect only children to relate almost equally well to both brothers, because only children, of course, get the best AND worst of both worlds!) Funnily enough, my sister, who's a middle child, cannot make up her mind about which she favors. :)

(Um, and that paragraph makes it sounds like we're aspiring to create some sociological theory of SPN fandom, like we think it'll actually hold water on a grand scale, but it's just kind of a fun diversion, and I don't think it applies across the board. I think it just speaks to how well the show is handling the sibling dynamic that so many people are responding to it as siblings one way or another.)

I think it's interesting how a lot of shows play up the friends becoming family dynamic - SG-1 springs to mind, where the original four were close enough to treat each other as such, especially as they all lacked biological families of their own - but not many actually start there.

ExACTly. I had a really interesting discussion about this with taskir a while ago, about how she ended up not liking SPN that much because she related better to the former dynamic. Whereas I... well, I love that dynamic too, why else would I be such a sucker for fiction about soldiers? --but in terms of what resonates with me personally, it's all about starting out from that place where family is all-encompassing, where very few people outside that circle ever penetrate as deep. It's something I haven't seen much on TV.

Hooray for the plot bunny! And by the way, congrats on your HP fic getting recced--it deserved it--and yay on being back at Oxford! What kind of Russian lit did you discuss?

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

Eee. I think I may watch that one again, along with "Bloody Mary", once I've finished watching them all. Sam taking charge is good.

(Based solely on family dynamics, I would expect only children to relate almost equally well to both brothers, because only children, of course, get the best AND worst of both worlds!)

In my case, I think I'm more drawn to Sam because only children are people unto themselves, sort of. When I was growing up, I was taken everywhere with my parents, and because I was hardly ever around other children, but was too young to really appreciate adult company, I had my own world in my head. I can see this in Sam - Dean's got his dad, he's really into the killing-evil-things lark, but even when younger, Sam had dreams and ambitions that really were all his own. And now it's almost as if he's been an only child for four years, and trying to adjust to being round family again, and I can relate to that, too.

she related better to the former dynamic.

I'm not too sure about that one. Taking SG-1 as an example again, it's the circumstances they're in, the job that they do, that forces them into that close relationship. Buffy is another good example - the fighting-evil thing brings the core four closer together, with the added advantage that they even have the right age distribution for a more conventional family.

But in real life, that's rarer, I think. Not many people have jobs or vocations that bind them to other people like that, but we all have families. I reckon that's the appeal, or at least some of it.

And by the way, congrats on your HP fic getting recced--it deserved it--and yay on being back at Oxford! What kind of Russian lit did you discuss?

Thanks! And oh, the Russian lit. I wish I could tell you, but Maria is actually Russian and Jenny's teaching herself the language, so while they were discussing The Master And Margarita and various of the more obscure works of Dostoevsky, mostly they were sitting trying to parse Crime And Punishment in the original. I was very impressed. *g*