Happy Birthday
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scifichicx! I hope your birthday was a good one. I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.
Second, as I'm sure most people know, I'm participating in a Robin Hood fic challenge right now, and we're looking for some artists who want to do art for the stories that have already been submitted. I think that some of the people who had originally volunteered have dropped off the map. So, we find ourselves in need of at least four artists who are interested in participating. I know I have some pretty talented folks on my flist, so I thought I'd spread the word. If you're a Robin Hood fan, have some artistic talent, and want to do something fun and cool for the fandom, check out the artists' sign up post here and the revised due dates here. What do you get out of this, I hear you ask? Well, you get a banner for taking part in the challenge, you get to read one of the stories before everyone else does, and you get to do something nice for an author who has put a lot of work into her story. (I think I'm safe in using "her" here...)
And finally... Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh The Gathering Storm came out today and I don't have it yet because I ordered it on Amazon yesterday because it had a really good pre-order price and I don't know what to do with myself. *ahem* Sorry. This is the first time since I was in London that I haven't had a new WoT book on the day it came out, and it's making me twitchy. I'm not even done rereading Knife of Dreams yet, so it's not really that big of a deal. Except it is!!!! There are people out there READING IT right now, and I'M NOT! And considering the amount of grading I have left to do tonight, that's probably a good thing.
Though I haven't gotten around to posting my comments in the rewatch threads for the last two episodes, I do have thoughts. Loud, occasionally-squee-filled, occasionally-angry thoughts.
So, here are my musings on "Parent Hood" and "Turk Flu."
( 1x04, or, Even GUY Isn't That Callous )
( 1x05, or, Welcome to the Gang, Djaq!!!!! )
I did my notes for my Tuesday class tomorrow and made sure that I was on top of things there... no sense in letting that fall behind just because it isn't my only class any more.
Yesterday, I had a fun chat with a whole bunch of other lovely RH writers... but I put off working for my syllabus this morning and tore my hair out over it until far too late at night.
I set myself a goal of writing 1,000 words for my RH fic today, and after several hours of writing, I did it! It was a tough section... especially since I happen to care about historical accuracy and I was doing lightning-speed-research and fact checking as I went. The next chapter is a lot of action, so hopefully that will go more quickly.
Things I found out:
Does it snow in Nottingham? Yes!
Would a well-off woman in the late 1190's have a Book of Hours? No, but she might have had a Psalter.
How many t's in the RH2006 version of Will Scarlet(t)? Two.
What color are Will/Harry Lloyd's eyes? I don't know! I pulled up several different groups of screen shots, and they are either grey, blue, green, hazel, or brown depending on what he's wearing and the lighting. Pick an eye color, Will! In frustration, I rearranged my description so eye color isn't mentioned any more.
Rating: PG
Characters: Guy, Vasey
Prompt: Guy: faith (this was written for
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rh_drabblefest)Word Count: 218
Disclaimer: Alas, they belong to legend, not to me.
( Fic is under the cut. )
And even when the writers didn't treat the characters well, they were still my people. And I loved them much more than reason might have dictated.
( So, here they are… my thoughts on The Finale. Part review, part tribute, overly-personal, and only-somewhat-analytical. Spoilers abound. )
I really enjoyed this episode. It was funny and exciting and had that wink-and-a-nod quality that has been missing of late, but it also had some nicely satisfying emotional bits in unexpected places.
( Robin and Guy )
( The New Kid on the Block )
( The Gang (with added emphasis on Allan and Little John) )
( I am in the Isabella fan club. )
And on a final note, I have a request. I want to know if 3x12 and 3x13 are both airing this Saturday, like with the last finale, or if they're going to be split over two weekends. I'm spoiler-phobic and am afraid of going to the BBC website to find out for fear of finding out other things I don't want to know. (I know nothing but what we saw in the next episode preview, and I'm trying really hard to keep it that way.) So, if anyone has any information about airdates, I would be happy if you shared it with me.
For the first time that I can remember, I have a fandom opinion that makes me really nervous when I think about airing it in public. In fact, if I didn't have such faith in the maturity of the people in the Robin Hood community, I'd heading over to fandomsecrets right now to post a secret containing this next statement rather than writing it in my journal.
My big secret? I loved this episode.
Before you start taking my temperature and wondering if I haven't contracted some sort of rare, aggressive, degenerative brain disease, let me explain why.
( Lots and lots of rationalizing. )
I make no claims about being rational or balanced here. I love this episode. It broke me, but I love it. Except, of course, for the parts that I hate. And I hate the parts I hate as much as I love the parts I love. Therefore, expect flailing and ranting in equal measure.
Word Count: 7,876 (so be warned)
Wow. It has occurred to me that I'm pretty much writing a full length, in depth analysis essay every week... And I was so happy to be teaching school instead of attending it. At least I get to choose my own subjects, now.
( Reason number 9,999 that Guy of Gisborne makes this show worth watching. )
( Isabella: Feminism. You're doin' it wrong. )
( Outlaw love triangle: Take Two )
( General Complaining and some discussion of the Next Episode Preview )
This week's episode was solid. We had a high-stakes plot, some decently clever trickery on the part of the outlaws, and a continuation of the Gisborne family drama that certainly upset the status quo.
( A lot about Guy. )
( A lot about Isabella. )
( And a little about everyone else. )
( Cut for spoliers and me complaining about the shattered state of my soul. )
This weeks episode suffers from the fact that it follows on the heels of last week's really fantastic episode, making its faults more glaring. Also, it not only suffers from "Not How I Think It Should Have Been Done" syndrome, but from "Just Plain Done Poorly" in some rather significant ways. Don't get me wrong. There were some fantastic moments this week, and Guy, Isabella, and Prince John are still awesome. Even Robin managed to redeem himself in my eyes a tiny bit, but I felt like some of the character arcs were shaky and pasted together awkwardly.
( This week's dose of Isabella/Robin )
( Sheriff Guy? )
( Prince John: Less camp, more brains. )
( There may be a drought, but there's no shortage of fail. )
Best episode so far this season. Hands down.
( On the Appearance of Prince John )
( Guy and the Sheriff: Now with more issues! )
( Isabella: I think I'm a bit in love with her my own self... )
( Heaven help me, I can't find anything terribly bad to say about Kate. )
( Guest Star Awesomeness )
Either my expectations have been seriously skewed by recent Kate-shaped shenanigans, or the writers have actually managed to make me like a new female character.
( Here's why. )
( Guy and the Sheriff, Redux )
( Misc. Good Points )
( Misc. Awful Things and Next Week )
I'm... not quite sure what to do with myself. I didn't think I was going to like this episode one bit. Especially not after the travesty of last week.
( I was pleasantly surprised. )
( Mostly. )
( First, Some Big Issues )
( On the Introduction of Kate )
( The Two Things I Actually Liked About Kate )
( In Which Guy and the Sheriff Almost Make This Episode Bearable )
( Unintentional Hilarity )
lady_entropy17 and gaelic_bohemian, and once with caedhe when she got home. I... still don't know quite what to feel about this episode. There were things that had me crying with laughter they were so horrible, but in the midst of all of that, there were moments when I wanted to cheer, and others when I felt like I'd been punched in the chest. Because you know that emotional connection I have with the characters? That reason that I even came back for series 3 at all? Still there. ( And now the really spoilery review of 'Total Eclipse' (of the heart) Plot Analysis Edition )
( 3x01 rantity rant rant rant )
After a year and three months of waiting, the third series of Robin Hood starts to air in the UK on Saturday. (Tomorrow!) Despite the gaping hole in my chest where my heart used to be from when the last series ended, I'm actually getting kind of excited for the new series. There are things I think I'm going to hate with a raging passion, things I think I'm going to love and squee over, and not much in between.
Promo shots of most of the old characters in their new costumes, as well as a slew of new faces, have been posted. There are some nice, big shots with lots of detail in this post, but you have to be a member of robinhoodbbc to see it. (Worth joining for these pics if you're interested... they're nice.) There's one of just the outlaws here, but it doesn't have any of the Castle Folk in it. (Can't call it "Team Leather" any more for reasons that are about to become apparent.)
I know more than I'd like to after reading a couple of articles on robinhoodbbc, but I'll try to keep my discussion here down to what is already publicly available. If you don't know anything about the new series and don't want to, I'd suggest stopping here, though.
( The outlaws have apparently been visited by the leather fairy... )
And, just to round out my collection of links, here's the trailer in which we get to hear Tuck talk a bit, and here are some magazine scans about the new series. The first article isn't terribly spoilery, but I really wish I hadn't read any of the others ones.
We'll see how I'm doing this time tomorrow. I'll be watching with Kleenex and malty beverages close at hand, just in case I need either of them. (I may very well burst into tears the first time it really hits me that Djaq and Will aren't around any more...) *runs off to figure out time difference plus uploading time plus downloading time to get approximate time when watching will be happening*
Because I wanted to be able to watch the series 2 finale with all of my Robin-Hood-watching friends, I didn't see it until the second of January, and it's only now that I'm finally calm enough to write out my thoughts on what happened.
( First, the festivities... (some spoilers here, though, too) )
( And now... my thoughts. )
