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cimoreneFor a few years I've been meaning to watch Morse and Lewis from the beginning because I enjoy detective shows and my girl perhael kept talking about it. So a few weeks ago I started at series 1 (1987).
And after 3 series and twelve episodes - or about a week ago - I started thinking, "I wonder if there's any gen fiction, like maybe on Yuletide?"
"I'd quite like to read some gently humorous friendship fic, maybe, about prickly, awkward Morse and tolerant, cheerful Lewis," I thought, one of the times when Morse made horribly socially awkward, gruff overtures about beer.
And, okay, I do go here, but I figured that, since both characters were middle-aged at minimum, and not particularly attractive even by British tv standards (I'm looking at you, The Professionals) (even though obviously they're cute, and John Thaw was probably quite handsome before the second chin), and the show ran from 1987-1993, there would be a minority of slash in the gen, if indeed there was anything to find.
This was the point in my narrative where my wife started laughing, and then said, "Of COURSE there's slash!" Right, in retrospect, of course. Maybe I'll know better next time.
FanLore informed me that the slash was mostly of the print zine variety, and there's only a very little online, all sporting that trusty Old Fandom Flavor (what did you expect me to do, not read it? I mean, sure, I don't ship it, but there wasn't any gen! Actually there was a tiny bit at the Pit of Voles, and I glanced over it, but it wasn't really viable reading material. So I read the slash instead. All of it, I'm certain, so no links necessary).
I've actually been rather existentially offended (offended at the universe, you might say) by what I see as severe oversights in this miniscule body of work over a pairing that I don't actually see in canon, let alone ship:
Because I've been SSRI-less for about a week, my background level of creativity is boiling up again and my brain's been worrying away at these problems for the past week, which is rather annoying when, again, I don't actually ship it. Probably I will end up shipping it at this rate, if I don't divert that energy into something else soon.
1. I'm not surprised by the lack of canon-divergent AUs; the preponderance of "what-if-they-met-earlier" and "what-if-he-never-married" stories is a fairly recent trend in fandom, I think. But I do feel the lack as I'm overwhelmingly partial to that method of dealing with wives, as opposed to partner betrayal, making them evil, making them happy to divorce, or making them happy to share but mysteriously completely invisible from the story except for the one line where the husband explains their position.
And while we're on the subject, I watched this episode last night (403, "Sins of the Fathers"). Only the last panel isn't a quote (it was Wax's comment).
perhael kept talking about it. So a few weeks ago I started at series 1 (1987). And after 3 series and twelve episodes - or about a week ago - I started thinking, "I wonder if there's any gen fiction, like maybe on Yuletide?"
"I'd quite like to read some gently humorous friendship fic, maybe, about prickly, awkward Morse and tolerant, cheerful Lewis," I thought, one of the times when Morse made horribly socially awkward, gruff overtures about beer.
And, okay, I do go here, but I figured that, since both characters were middle-aged at minimum, and not particularly attractive even by British tv standards (I'm looking at you, The Professionals) (even though obviously they're cute, and John Thaw was probably quite handsome before the second chin), and the show ran from 1987-1993, there would be a minority of slash in the gen, if indeed there was anything to find.
This was the point in my narrative where my wife started laughing, and then said, "Of COURSE there's slash!" Right, in retrospect, of course. Maybe I'll know better next time.
FanLore informed me that the slash was mostly of the print zine variety, and there's only a very little online, all sporting that trusty Old Fandom Flavor (what did you expect me to do, not read it? I mean, sure, I don't ship it, but there wasn't any gen! Actually there was a tiny bit at the Pit of Voles, and I glanced over it, but it wasn't really viable reading material. So I read the slash instead. All of it, I'm certain, so no links necessary).
I've actually been rather existentially offended (offended at the universe, you might say) by what I see as severe oversights in this miniscule body of work over a pairing that I don't actually see in canon, let alone ship:
- In fanon, that whole Wise Mentor thing seems to take over a bit for Morse, all that oh-let-me-take-care-of-you-and-instruct-you-in-ze-ways-of-ze-men and so on, but one of the most charming things about Morse onscreen - and also a key point in the plot, not to say premise - is that he's improbably awkward. His abrasive prickliness is partly arrogance, sure, but he's equally inept at bonding, friendly conversations, and romantic overtures. Not only does he not do people, he knows he doesn't and explicitly alludes to his insecurity about his lack of romantic attachment (Does it mean he's ~incapable~ of it?).
- Not that I enjoy partner betrayal fiction very much, but I'm pretty sure that the odds are not that great that, if you accidentally fall in gay love with your boss at work, it suddenly emerges that your wife was already so completely over you that she's quite cheerful at the prospect of you leaving her. Just saying.1
- They raise their voices and snap at each other a lot, so why is there no angry sex?
- Why isn't there any original casefic (on the internet, anyway) that doesn't involve a) undercover as gay or b) someone almost dying?
Because I've been SSRI-less for about a week, my background level of creativity is boiling up again and my brain's been worrying away at these problems for the past week, which is rather annoying when, again, I don't actually ship it. Probably I will end up shipping it at this rate, if I don't divert that energy into something else soon.
1. I'm not surprised by the lack of canon-divergent AUs; the preponderance of "what-if-they-met-earlier" and "what-if-he-never-married" stories is a fairly recent trend in fandom, I think. But I do feel the lack as I'm overwhelmingly partial to that method of dealing with wives, as opposed to partner betrayal, making them evil, making them happy to divorce, or making them happy to share but mysteriously completely invisible from the story except for the one line where the husband explains their position.
And while we're on the subject, I watched this episode last night (403, "Sins of the Fathers"). Only the last panel isn't a quote (it was Wax's comment).
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Date: 4 Jun 2010 02:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7 Jun 2010 01:56 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 7 Jun 2010 07:41 pm (UTC)