swatkat

+ I watched the Utena movie, which I think makes perfect sense if you treat it as a direct sequel to the anime—as Utena's fever dream, which Anthy helps her rescue herself from. I have no idea why Juri hits on Miki in it, however, although I must say that if Juri ever were to consider dating boys Miki is the first person I'd ship her with. Also, a TRAGIC lack of Nanami in the movie—TRAGIC and UNPARDONABLE, because Nanami is the best and my favourite (well, apart from Utena herself. And Juri). Nanami is the Queen Cordy to Utena's Buffy, the comic mirror and the tragic foil, and the ONLY other character who gets an arc that long (even if some of them are filler episodes—but the Nanami filler episodes are the best, Cowbells of Happiness is probably my favourite episode in the entire show apart from the finale itself).

+ It occurs to me that a lot of the problems in the Merlinverse would be solved if someone introduced Morgana to Utena, who could tell her that her that she doesn't have to be either a Princess or a Witch.

+ In a recent Newsrama interview, Brian Azzarello said:

Azzarello: Of course not. I don’t care. It’s not important to the story. Listen, if it were my choice? She’d be wearing that skirt!

Nrama: Wait a minute. Is that a hint? Why the skirt?

Azzarello: Because it looks good! Like her original costume? I think that’s great.

This is a man after my own heart. Also, guh, have you SEEN Cliff Chiang's pages from Wonder Woman #2?

( image under cut )

That flirty smile? That's the Diana we know and love, the one I dearly miss. I want her back now. *grabby hands*

I also approve of Diana gaining her own Gabrielle, since the Wonder Girls seem to be off-limits in the main Wonder Woman book for reasons incomprehensible to me.

+ The Ivy Crown by briar_pipe, Merlin, Gwen/Morgana, ~75,000 words, "Late one night, several prisoners escape from the dungeon, Arthur disappears, and fate takes a left turn. Morgana and Gwen are dragged along into a new world of intrigue, magic, and war." This is the kind of Gwen/Morgana I've always wanted to read - long and absorbing, with an absolutely fabulous warrior queen!Morgana.

Archimage by Jude, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Utena/Anthy, ~140,000 words, "What happened to Utena after the end of the series?". Epic post-anime story, featuring the entire cast and doing justice to ALL of them while weaving a twisty tale that would make the creators of the anime proud. PS: GROWN-UP POLICE OFFICER!JURI FTW!!!1!

Roses Grow by sharnii, Revolutionary Girl Utena, Utena/Anthy, novel length. Wonderful post-anime story featuring the entire cast, with romance, intrigue and surrealism. It also has a sequel in progress featuring a fantastic Anthy voice.

My enjoyment of Merlin episodes is x100 more when they involve Pendragon Family Drama. Needless to say, I really enjoyed this episode, GENERAL BLINDING STUPIDITY that is now par for the course notwithstanding. You have to hand it to Capps&co., it takes real genius to make a show that makes Legend of the Seeker look like a well-crafted modern masterpiece. ( who is related to whom now? )

3:56: Tabrett Bethell offers her thoughts on yaoi. Well, on Cara and Kahlan if you're going to be nitpicky now.

( embedded under cut )

The entire clip is lovely, and did I mention lately that I really miss Cara?

Meanwhile, among other fannish things:

Things I have watched: Merlin 3.02, Hellcats 1.03, Warehouse 13 2.12

Things I will watch: House 7.01. It's ready and waiting for me, but I told A. I'd watch it with her and we haven't managed to hang out after that, and TBH, I'm a little afraid of the character assassination that might happen. Feel free to reassure me, guys.

Things I will probably skip: Merlin 3.03, because no, really not my thing, I could barely watch 2.05-6.

Things that are KILLING me with anticipation: OLIVIA DUNHAM FRINGE 3.01 YAYYY

+ OLIVIA DUNHAM, DEFENDER OF THE UNIVERSE. ♥



Dear hibernate, I believe this Fringe video to be Relevant To Your Interests. Especially the bit around 1:20, wherein they discuss 'part man, part machine' creatures designed Over There.


+ Apparently, a JLA movie is in the works, which may not feature Batman and Superman in favour of 'introducing' WW, MM and Aquaman to the general audience. I can't see a JLA movie without the two of them, and neither do I understand why Diana needs to be 'introduced' in a JLA movie instead of a movie of her own, but that's not what I want to talk about right now. Fans are speculating about who will play Diana, and one name that frequently comes up in discussions is none other than our very own Bridget Regan (who, if I recall correctly, once mentioned that she grew up worshipping WW). It's just fan speculation, obviously, but I absolutely love the idea of B as WW. She's got the height, she's got the figure, she's got the blue eyes, and most importantly, if anyone can sell Diana's particular combination of sweet, wise and scary, not to mention a kick-ass warrior, it's her.

I offer Proof. ( large images under cut )
Also check out Nigel Halsey's gallery for a few more manips, all beautifully done.


+ I am slowly gearing up for the return of Merlin. I haven't looked at spoilers or any of the trailers, let alone fan reactions to the screening of the first two episodes, because I think not reading fan reactions is the key to enjoying ones shows. I think I am more or less prepared for the inevitable Evil McEvil Morgana, but I still don't how I'll cope when her relationships with her friends fall apart. Sigh. And maybe they'll tell Arthur things this season? A girl can hope.

+ I wrote 100 words yesterday. It was hard. Then I gave up and rewatched Legend of the Seeker. BTW, it's hilarious how Kahlan has Cara (and Richard and Zedd) wrapped around her little finger, without even trying.

+ I'm still waiting for my copy of Mockingjay arrive so that I can talk about it, and the other two books. I also read Unseen Academicals, which was great fun, and then re-read a bunch of other Discworld books. The Sister seems to have misplaced my copy of The Fifth Elephant, humph.

Speaking of Discworld, roga drew Death putting on nailpolish! Go tell her how cute and awesome it is. <333

Levarage is back! I have nothing spoilery to say about the episode except that it was fun, as always, and I just love how they all love each other and how each and every member of the team is respected. ( okay, a little bit spoilery here ) It's such a relief, coming after a lot of other things. *glares at Merlin*

Meanwhile, I've been watching The Legend of the Seeker. I'm only up to the third episode of the first season. It's... very pretty, cheesier than Merlin and possibly as incoherent (I haven't watched much, so I wouldn't know yet), and has women who get to do things. Richard is adorably noble and dim, Kahlan is fabulous and Zedd is insane but scarily competent. And did I mention that Kahlan gets to do things?

I'm quite charmed. (Morgana would fit very well into this universe. Zedd could teach her a thing or two about magic, for instance. I'm just saying.)

*

Past in Present: This is a festivids entry, based on the movie Chak De! India. It's an underdog sports movie, featuring a women's hockey team and their coach, and I don't have words for how much I love it. This vid does justice to the movie, to the spirit of the characters - please watch it. ♥

( Merlin S2 finale )

+ Now that it's over, maybe I can have my brain back again, and my capacity to write. COME BACK SOON, SILLY SHOW. I WILL MISS LOVING/MOCKING/HEADDESKING AT YOU. ♥

+ Bradley James and Colin Morgan go on a road trip. LOOK AT THEM, OMG.

+ I just went outside to discover that a crow had stolen my sister's black sock from the clothesline and was very busy examining it on a branch of what we call the 'christmas tree'. The Cowardly Dog is sad that she was not allowed to intervene.

+ ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN! I haz account! \0/

+ MERLIN 2.08, or DAYS OF OUR CAMELOT. ( STUCK ON CAPSLOCK )

+ Castle continues to be endearing. I love that his ringtone for Beckett is the Addams family theme.

+ ( Merlin 2.06 Troll! In the Dungeon! V.2 )

+ Angel Coulby and Bradley James did a signing together, where Angel showed up with a flower in her hair and Bradley showed up with a beard. Pictorial evidence shows that Colin Morgan's facial hair >> Bradley James' facial hair, so the camelot_fleet people had a discussion on what would happen if Arthur tried to grow a beard.

+ What do you know about Sirens, flist? I do know of the ones in Greek mythology, and the ones in contemporary depictions as mermaid-ish creatures, but I'm trying to find out a bit more on Sirens in folklore and how the Greek half-woman/half-bird creatures came to be pretty mermaids, but Google isn't helping at the moment.

+ Speaking of writing, ( blah blah blah )

+ Bye bye, Geocities! You will be missed. Sort of.

+ Also, the latest Merlin episode was just begging for this: ( macros under cut )