Comments | justacat: DW and other random thoughts

justacat

DW and other random thoughts

Apr 17, 2009 14:19

It's such an unbelievably gorgeous day. This time of year is so beautiful around here...

I am now on dreamwidth as justacat. However, I have not yet decided how I'm going to be using it. I seem to be feeling a lot more...caution, or trepidation, or wariness, about this apparent dw migration than most of the people I've seen mentioning it. I don't ( Read more... )

merlin, dreamwidth

Comments 13

enednoviel April 17 2009, 18:25:06 UTC

You're not the only one, I couldn't see the slash in Merlin either. And yes, I've seen all episodes. It's a nice show, I like it a lot, but... um. No. *shrugs*

justacat April 17 2009, 19:12:08 UTC

Well, I guess I'm not totally weird then - I'll have to see if anything changes with the last five episodes! I still wouldn't mind reading some of the fic, though...

kahtyasofia April 17 2009, 18:59:56 UTC

I saw it right off the bat! Funny how perception differs for us all.

There are an awful lot of looks shot back and forth but at the barest minimum, it's a buddy series and most buddy relationships are inherently slashy.

If I could sit and watch with you I could point out THE MOMENTS but I believe a show should either click with you or not. Don't force it.

justacat April 17 2009, 19:11:17 UTC

Well, yeah, now that you say it, it would probably help a bit to watch it with slashy friends rather than my husband (who is quite tolerant and accepting, but really doesn't "get it" at all - he's prone to asking questions like, "are you saying you think they're gay?" *g*); that would be fun, too. But still, I'm...attuned enough to this stuff (ahem *g*) that I should be able to easily see it on my own if it clicked with me.

Well, I'll keep watching and see what happens - try to be a little more observant at least. Usually the buddy relationship sucks me right in - that's my thing! But in many of the episodes, especially, it seems, the ones in the middle, there isn't a lot of screen time with the two of them together, which may be one of the reasons I haven't really been thinking of it as a "buddy" series.

kahtyasofia April 17 2009, 19:22:07 UTC

They do end up with more screen time together toward the end. The ep with Unicorn, that entire final scene is a slash-fest. Oh, and they look they exchange in the courtyard! Then there's the final ep where Merlin is trying to say goodbye...there is some REAL eye fucking going on.

Oh, but when they're dressing to go to battle in Ealdor...holy cow, if looks could shag!

Oh, and my BF is totally versed in slash although he doesn't seek it out per se...he's been known to look over at me and ask 'is that slashy to you'? Usually the answer YES!

justacat April 17 2009, 19:30:25 UTC

Well that's good news - eye fucking is always a very good thing. I will look forward to the remaining eps and will report back with my thoughts!

Unfortunately, my husband is...well, my slashy friends all laugh at him (in a friendly way! *g*). He is utterly, completely blind to subtext; he can't get his mind around the fact that if I see slash vibes, I'm not positing that the writers meant for the characters to be gay! (Which would be fine with him, actually - and a lot easier for him to comprehend :-)

(Very nice icon, btw...)

Thread 5

Cavell!Slash executrix April 17 2009, 19:53:26 UTC

I have all 13 episodes of Merlin and I'm in the opposite situation from you. It reads VERY slashy to me because of its adherence to romantic comedy tropes. However, I've still watched only one episode because, as Edith Cavell said about patriotism, Slashiness Is Not Enough.

Re: Cavell!Slash justacat April 17 2009, 19:56:42 UTC

LOL! I know you aren't alone in this sentiment. Though if you haven't watched, how can you know it feels slashy in execution? Or do you mean that one episode felt slashy?

If you feel like expounding on those tropes, that's the kind of thing I'm always interested in, too!

Bothered and Bewildered by Bewitched executrix April 17 2009, 20:08:11 UTC

The pilot read to me like the set-up for the traditional Spunky Lower-Status Person and Arrogant Privileged Person obnox each other until they finally listen to everyone who tells them they're In Lurv. But you can only photocopy either Jane Eyre or Much Ado 15,000 times before it gets too faint to really see.

Back in the Year Dot, S. Thompson wrote a wonderful essay called "Romancing the Slash," which I have often referred to. Using Blakes7 fics as her template, she analyzed one pattern as the banter-filled His Girl Friday paradigm (which often turns up in Blake/Avons) and the broody older person/sprightly younger one from the Regency romance (and which has informed a lot of Avon/Tarrant writing).

merlin laceymcbain April 17 2009, 20:50:53 UTC

I found Merlin inherently slashy from the start, but I have friends who haven't twigged to it, although hubby kind of rolls his eyes at the whole business now. The slashy-eps for me are The Poisoned Chalice (ep 4) and The Labyrinth of Gedref (the one with the Unicorn - ep 11). I think the whole sacrificing for one another, the saving each others' lives bits (which I love in buddy shows) says "slash" to me as much as anything else.

It's fun and entertaining and it's given me some fun fic to play with. I'm happy with that.

treewishes April 18 2009, 00:27:33 UTC

Well, it's definitely clear that Arthur and Merlin care about each other and are intensely loyal ... or perhaps that become more clear in Episode 11 (so keep going!). I personally find that reading the fic can bring out the slashiness in the episodes. Have you read anything yet? ;)

And I'm with you on the DW front. I'm pleased to have nabbed my name, but I'm not sure how I'll use it. If I do, it will be when it's OPEN open.