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Guys, I REALLY like this show. Like, a lot. I like AT's accent, I like Will, I even kinda adore Ashley's annoyingness. That's leaving aside all the other awesome characters. I just watched "Requiem." What an interesting episode. I have to say that mermaids are totally on my list of "what are you doing in my sci-fi show?" mythical creatures, but Sanctuary has moved beyond my initial, "Okay, you're trying too hard" reaction to, "Oh, so...that's the point." Anyway, the parasite taking over the host is an old concept, but done here rather well. Plus, I love seeing Helen's less-superior side (That is, the anger and the frustration and the being brought to evilness by a microscopic bug). I admit there were some eye-roll-inducing moments, but I like the dynamic between these two characters enough to overlook them all. (And no, I don't ship them. I might, later, but for now I'm just enjoying the ride.) For a show that's barely out of its infancy, I feel it has a pretty good grasp on its story and characters. I'm even more excited for next year, because shows mostly always get better in year two.
I was thinking today about shipping, and about writing gen as a shipper first. Let's face it, I am a ship whore, and really only came to love Stargate through the lense of Sam/Jack first, then team. I wrote a gen story a while ago during which time I told![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
annerbhp that I couldn't write Jack thinking about Sam except as "Carter," because as soon as he refers to her as "Sam," it's a signal to me that there's ship somewhere in the story.
After I thought about it a bit more, I realized that it wasn't because I thought a gen Jack could never refer to Sam by her first name, but because a ship Jack couldn't. In my mind, Sam and Jack both don't use first names in order to distance themselves, and so first names are an indication of either that control slipping, or because there's no need for it any more. In essence, I was cheating at writing gen. :-) On the other hand, I still think a canon Jack wouldn't call Carter 'Sam,' so I got to cheat and write a gen story, all at once.
Some of the most character-driven, affecting stories I have read have been gen, and I wonder sometimes if I'm capable of writing to that depth without bringing in romance. I know that's one reason I'd moved to OTN--I could explore the relationships between these characters by expressing them in a sexual context. It's what made me finally understand why people slash, in a limited het-driven sort of way (before I slashed Tony Stark and Han Solo in my mind, I mean. Because whew. That's just inexplicably HOT.). It's not just about the hotness, but about expressing something beautiful and extraordinary between two (or more) characters.
...and it's hot.
*grins*
To clarify, I don't think gen writers or romance writers have any claim to be objectively better than the other group. I think both groups are working to explore a text, and play with it, and create wonderful things out of it. They simply go about it in two very different ways.
TL;DR= I'm bad at gen but like it a lot.
I was thinking today about shipping, and about writing gen as a shipper first. Let's face it, I am a ship whore, and really only came to love Stargate through the lense of Sam/Jack first, then team. I wrote a gen story a while ago during which time I told
annerbhp that I couldn't write Jack thinking about Sam except as "Carter," because as soon as he refers to her as "Sam," it's a signal to me that there's ship somewhere in the story.After I thought about it a bit more, I realized that it wasn't because I thought a gen Jack could never refer to Sam by her first name, but because a ship Jack couldn't. In my mind, Sam and Jack both don't use first names in order to distance themselves, and so first names are an indication of either that control slipping, or because there's no need for it any more. In essence, I was cheating at writing gen. :-) On the other hand, I still think a canon Jack wouldn't call Carter 'Sam,' so I got to cheat and write a gen story, all at once.
Some of the most character-driven, affecting stories I have read have been gen, and I wonder sometimes if I'm capable of writing to that depth without bringing in romance. I know that's one reason I'd moved to OTN--I could explore the relationships between these characters by expressing them in a sexual context. It's what made me finally understand why people slash, in a limited het-driven sort of way (before I slashed Tony Stark and Han Solo in my mind, I mean. Because whew. That's just inexplicably HOT.). It's not just about the hotness, but about expressing something beautiful and extraordinary between two (or more) characters.
...and it's hot.
*grins*
To clarify, I don't think gen writers or romance writers have any claim to be objectively better than the other group. I think both groups are working to explore a text, and play with it, and create wonderful things out of it. They simply go about it in two very different ways.
TL;DR= I'm bad at gen but like it a lot.
