a conspiracy of cartographers

This week's Sherlock: it still felt unquestionably like a Sherlock Holmes story to me, but ... oh my god, it was like all of Conan Doyle's bad bits (the leftover imperialism! *writhes*) and almost none of the good bits. I do like it when Euros Lyn directs things, because it feels comfortingly Whovian to me and also he somehow managed to make Cumberbatch look wildly attractive at all times, but after that I start groping for nice things to say. I guess the moral of the story is that I only want this Holmes if Moffat is personally writing him? I am not overthrilled about next week's, either, because I love watching Gatiss do absurd things onscreen, but at best I just find his writing passable.

I guess I'll just ... read the fic or something.

The problem with going out and getting things done is that I now have a backlog of things I want to talk about! Anyway, the best thing I have discovered recently: Six Things from History Everyone Pictures Incorrectly. Dazzlingly glittering pyramids! Technicolor Parthenon! Sneaky historical clothing! It makes me want to write all the fic warms my geeky heart.

My currently-open wikipedia tabs are pretty great. What do the deluge myth, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and the University of Paris have in common? Three guesses, and the first two don't count. I am now tempted to click the 'random article' link and then make myself write Methos fic about it, actually. Trying it, the first article that comes up is on Beryl Davis. I have never heard of Beryl Davis before, but apparently she was a singer during WWII and knew both Glenn Miller and Frank Sinatra. The fic writes itself. I could do this for hours.

More importantly, though, because I have talked through my shame for loving Highlander (no more shame! yay id show! \o/) I think it is high time that I recced some fic. Alphabetically and with enthusiasm:

Adam and Joe by genteelrebel, Methos/Joe & Duncan/Methos. I don't actually know where to begin talking about this one, because it is kind of amazing in its scope: it's a recounting of Methos' life from 1986 to 1998. In certain ways, this fic is downright evil. It blends canon so seamlessly, turns it into such a coherent emotional arc, and explains Methos so damn well, that it is threatening to rewrite all the personal canon in my head. It has a pretty unique and fairly creepy (but awesome, so awesome, and about as kinky as I have never known I always wanted) take of Methos and Duncan's relationship, complete with a really different interpretation of the Double Quickening than is the norm. It also has an OC I am quite a bit in love with, and an actually happy ending for Cassandra. And Joe is the best Joe ever; I want to take him home and keep him. Caveats for this being one of those deliciously long fics (we're talking in excess of sixty chapters here) that are probably best savored over the space of a week or so.

Brothers and Other Strangers by Valentin, Duncan/Methos. After Bordeaux, Methos takes avoidance to really impressive new levels. (On reflection, Methos-with-amnesia is a weirdly more common fandom trope than one might expect.) I love this one because I love stories about Adam Pierson the defense mechanism. Caveats for the usual frustrating treatment of Cassandra and a, ah, early-2000s website background. Can't do much about the former, but setting a blank page style should fix the latter.

The Fourth Son by Lanna Michaels. This is everything I have ever wanted in a fic about Methos and Kronos, and it's just them talking for a few pages. I spent most of it clawing at my face with joy anyway. But then, I can be a bit strange about Methos and Kronos. (Didn't I say? Id show. Also, pairing type. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.)

Sacred Trust by Lanning, Duncan/Methos. All my favourite fics are necessarily ones that I think understand Methos, but this one really gets it; there's such a depth and intricacy to the bits of Methos' past we do see that I've been many things suddenly starts to make sense as a concept. This is another one of those fics that I find difficult to separate from canon; of course this is the true story of Darius' Light Quickening, and of course the Watchers are terrified of this particular Immortal, and &c. Caveats for length, a narrative that is quite angry with Duncan, actually, and for the general unpleasantness of Methos' past.

And lastly, a vid: Commercial for Levi by Gianduja Kiss, wherein she was actually awesome enough to put my Theory of Methos' Boyfriends into vid form. (By which I mean that it feels like she reached straight into my head, not that she actually knows me from, heh, Adam, and did it with any particular intent.) Actually, hell, this is a blanket rec, just watch everything this woman has ever vidded. It's all fabulous.

Apparently talking about My Highlander Shame was very helpful, because -- uh, one, that post had a commentsplosion, and I get very happy and enthusiastic when fans come out of the woodwork. But two, some evil wench (whose name is sophia_sol or something, so you know who to blame) linked me to Methos is like PIE, also known as a fuckton of meta about the possible origins of Methos' name. "Well," I said, "that was a bit evil of you, and just for that, I am going to write a fic with origin stories, just you wait and see."

So, um, then I did!

All That Remains; a bit of Methos/Alexa, as much Methos/Kronos and Methos/Duncan as you choose to see, and Joe for good measure, but mostly just Methos. They always ask eventually.

And no, I actually didn't decide which story was the true one.

1. The Avatar: The Last Airbender sequel miniseries seems to be officially confirmed! I am so, so excited to see our kids' legacy and the shape of that world in a hundred years.

2. Secret wall art is real!! Here is a whole gallery of it. I am so excited for the next time I end up in a hotel now, although I assume that not every hotel will have awesomeness lurking on the walls.

3. (Link text is spoilery for DeKay's opinions on plot matters.) A quote from this interview with Tim DeKay:

"To me, [Neal and Peter] like each other. They've admitted they are friends and they care about each other more than just professionally. But I think if both of them completely trust each other, like a love story where two people haven't gotten together in a romantic comedy series, if they completely trust each other than those two will have gotten in bed and we don't quite want that yet. We want to hold that as long as we can."

Let's go through this again, shall we? If they trust each other completely they'll sleep together and we don't want that YET. There has to be a word for that sublime moment when subtext becomes text, and no, Word of Gay is not the phrase I am searching for, although the meaning is very close.

WHITE COLLAR. <3 I am so pleased my show is back!

( Spoilers are just as delightfully kinky as they were last season. )

Miles and years behind everyone else, I have just mainlined Avatar: the Last Airbender. HI, TINY AWESOME SHOW OF MY HEART.

( Behind this cut there is LOTS OF JOY. )

AHAHAHA WHAT.

Occasionally I have incredibly vivid dreams. This one is full of excruciating detail and lots of absurdity, but since I woke up about an hour ago and I still remember the whole thing, I think I am going to record it for myself.

( Cut for length and dream inanity/absurdity. In which Aria goes to the opera, wears a top hat, and discovers that Highlander is awkwardly taking over her brain. )

Enough of that nonsense. Time for some s3 Avatar over breakfast!

1. In the past forty-eight hours or so I have seen so many fireworks. Bless the USA's national excuse to make lots of pretty explosions.

2. Explaining Doctor Who: the Big Bang is awesome. It really does explain all the timey-wimey stuff in the finale! I went in mildly curious and came out impressed, because I was fairly sure I understood all the crazy, twisty stuff Moffat did, but that article brought up and then explained things I hadn't even noticed.

3. I spent the entire first half of this year wondering where the hell my ability to write like a fiend had gone. Part of the answer, of course, was that I was channeling my writing energy into hoarding college memories; the other part of the answer, apparently, was that I was waiting for Methos. He is my freaking kryptonite. I will drop everything to write him. He has five thousand years of potential untapped backstory! He's sarcastic! He is full of twisty complex motivations and lies to everyone, even himself! He is kinky about swords! My god, it's like every day is my birthday.

4. Because the internet has been exploding with talk about it (and also because nextian and anekdot explained at some length all the reasons I would love it) I have started, finally, watching Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Reason #4493 I hate James Cameron: fuck you, I just want to say 'Avatar' and have people know what I'm talking about. Fewer blue people, more flying bison! Or is it buffalo?) I am now exactly halfway through first season, and I love it. Good people doing good things! Positivity and laughter in the face of adversity! My strange fascination with earthbending! FLYING BISON!! And I am told that it only gets better.

5. I celebrated the 4th of July by going to see Toy Story 3. ( MY NOSTALGIC LOVE, LET ME SHOW YOU IT. Spoilers are strawberry-scented. )

Having now done my August-apartment-searching duty for the day, and having now confirmed that I am officially moved into my summer sublet (THROWING A QUIET PARTY HERE OH MY GOD) I can pretend I've been a grown-up, and I can rebel with internet!

Let me tell you something, internet. I am terrible at being polyfannish. I get hugely overinvested in my fandoms, you see. When I fall in love with something, I need to read all the meta, and all the fic, and make sure I know all the character histories and stupid things the creators have said, &c &c. Doctor Who cured me of this somewhat, because being in Doctor Who fandom is a bit like being polyfannish already; being a fan of One is not like being a fan of Seven is not like being a fan of Ten, and there is no canon. But wow does it make my brain feel confused to be deeply invested in more than one universe at a time. And I don't think that "Write a fic in which Fraser, who happens to be Immortal, hangs out with Methos in 2258 on Babylon 5, where they have a run-in with the Doctor" is actually the solution, as weirdly coherent as that fusion would be. Actually, I think the real solution is to just remind myself that I can't give 110% of my fannish enthusiasm to each of these fandoms, because I don't have whatever 110x4% is to give.

I do, however, have a polyfannish post to offer. Thanks to a combination of listening to lots of music on bus rides + a recent post by sophia_sol, I have realized that I have a hell of a lot of unmade fanvids in my head. Will they ever be made? I hope not; if I ever learn to vid I will need a time-turner for real. But I want to have this list, just in case.

( 15 hypothetical vids, sorted by fandom. )

Also, the BBC site has some finale-spoilery pictures that are too goddamn adorable for words. The third fills me with SUCH JOY; three guesses why, and the first two don't count.