attempt at efficiency: FAILURE
Apr. 3rd, 2009 02:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meretriculaugh, so much Herodotus. it isn't even that it's hard at this point. there are just too many words.
Rafa lost his quarterfinal, sadface. I was upset for a split second and then remembered that I am in this fandom for the slash, not the actual tennis. my faith in Rafa's invincibility has been a little shaken, though, I admit. ~shrug~ whatever, he's still pretty. I kind of want the Davis Cup boypiles back. nothing can be upsetting when full-grown professional tennis players are bouncing up and down singing about how much they love Rafa.
in a strange convergence of fandoms, I have been thinking about threesome dynamics. (for those of you going: uh, what is she talking about, the threesomes I have been pondering are Tharkay/Laurence/Granby from Temeraire and Rafa/Feli/Nando from tennis slash.) perhaps this is because I have never quite been able to wrap my brain around polyamory, but I see them both (and they are both very different dynamics) as starting from two people in love with the same third person. however, I would fully buy Tharkay and Granby, both of whom are sort of hopelessly in love with Laurence the epically oblivious in canon, as getting with each other independent of Laurence, and I sort of rank that scenario as more probable than either of them getting with Laurence independently, just because Laurence is so deeply bound up with Temeraire that he would probably fail to notice sizzling sexual tension if it set his coat on fire. once Tharkay and Granby are involved with each other, they gain confidence and stability (which I think neither has had in, let's see, ever) and would be more comfortable approaching Laurence from the secure position of an established couple. rejection is scary! but less scary if you already know someone loves you. (thinky thoughts on Temeraire prompted bynovembersmith's deliciously hot OT3 fic, which is through no fault of its own not really compatible with my personal canon. I love it to pieces! but it's not how I see it going down.)
by contrast, I think the Spanish OT3 absolutely cannot exist without Feli Lopez. I'd buy him with either Rafa or Nando and pulling the other one in, but Rafa/Nando? absolutely not. no spark. (and I say that having seen many Davis Cup pics where Rafa and Nando are snuggling shirtless or rolling around on the ground on top of each other. really. no relationship spark.)
as I try to analyze these findings, I'm wondering if it's based on how I see the... I don't know how to describe it, the balance of effort in the relationships? Laurence is a lot of work, and dearly as I love him, he doesn't give it back. he's too invested in doing his duty. he loves Temeraire, and so much of his energy is spent on looking after Temeraire that he really doesn't do a lot of caretaking for other people. (being a responsible commander is not caretaking as I'm defining it here. I mean looking after someone because of an emotional investment in their wellbeing.) Tharkay and Granby are following him to freaking Australia. that is some serious emotional investment. and they both, throughout the books, really do spend an increasing amount of time trying to take care of Laurence. (Laurence appreciates this irregularly.) unless Laurence changes somehow during the trip to Australia, I think he would destroy a lover who was in love with him. he wouldn't understand that he was doing it and he would be very sorry afterwards, but it wouldn't change the result. which is why Jane is awesome for him: she's not down with that nonsense! but seriously, Laurence is an absolute sink for energy, affection, and worry. two people making a concerted effort and also making sure to take care of each other could manage him, but... yeah. (Laurence, I still love you, bb!)
I see Feliciano as being the caretaker for both Rafa and Nando. a fun caretaker, someone who will tease and act like a friend, not a parent, but still, he's the one making the effort. he's part of Rafa's entourage, not the other way around, and I think Verdasco needs a lot of affection and reassurance. that's maybe unfair to Rafa; I don't know. based on pictorial evidence of him hugging everyone on the planet he's very comfortable giving physical affection, and absent any work on an author's part to convince me otherwise, I see him as the caretaker in the Roger/Rafa relationship. but I don't see him as willing to be the giver with Nando, which I guess is the relevant point, and I just don't see Lopez as needing the kind of effort and energy that would require him to be.
...I think my conception of the threesome dynamic is alarmingly co-dependent. will contemplate this further.
rambling meta brought to you by procrastination! whatever, I'm not sleeping anyway.
Rafa lost his quarterfinal, sadface. I was upset for a split second and then remembered that I am in this fandom for the slash, not the actual tennis. my faith in Rafa's invincibility has been a little shaken, though, I admit. ~shrug~ whatever, he's still pretty. I kind of want the Davis Cup boypiles back. nothing can be upsetting when full-grown professional tennis players are bouncing up and down singing about how much they love Rafa.
in a strange convergence of fandoms, I have been thinking about threesome dynamics. (for those of you going: uh, what is she talking about, the threesomes I have been pondering are Tharkay/Laurence/Granby from Temeraire and Rafa/Feli/Nando from tennis slash.) perhaps this is because I have never quite been able to wrap my brain around polyamory, but I see them both (and they are both very different dynamics) as starting from two people in love with the same third person. however, I would fully buy Tharkay and Granby, both of whom are sort of hopelessly in love with Laurence the epically oblivious in canon, as getting with each other independent of Laurence, and I sort of rank that scenario as more probable than either of them getting with Laurence independently, just because Laurence is so deeply bound up with Temeraire that he would probably fail to notice sizzling sexual tension if it set his coat on fire. once Tharkay and Granby are involved with each other, they gain confidence and stability (which I think neither has had in, let's see, ever) and would be more comfortable approaching Laurence from the secure position of an established couple. rejection is scary! but less scary if you already know someone loves you. (thinky thoughts on Temeraire prompted by
novembersmith's deliciously hot OT3 fic, which is through no fault of its own not really compatible with my personal canon. I love it to pieces! but it's not how I see it going down.)by contrast, I think the Spanish OT3 absolutely cannot exist without Feli Lopez. I'd buy him with either Rafa or Nando and pulling the other one in, but Rafa/Nando? absolutely not. no spark. (and I say that having seen many Davis Cup pics where Rafa and Nando are snuggling shirtless or rolling around on the ground on top of each other. really. no relationship spark.)
as I try to analyze these findings, I'm wondering if it's based on how I see the... I don't know how to describe it, the balance of effort in the relationships? Laurence is a lot of work, and dearly as I love him, he doesn't give it back. he's too invested in doing his duty. he loves Temeraire, and so much of his energy is spent on looking after Temeraire that he really doesn't do a lot of caretaking for other people. (being a responsible commander is not caretaking as I'm defining it here. I mean looking after someone because of an emotional investment in their wellbeing.) Tharkay and Granby are following him to freaking Australia. that is some serious emotional investment. and they both, throughout the books, really do spend an increasing amount of time trying to take care of Laurence. (Laurence appreciates this irregularly.) unless Laurence changes somehow during the trip to Australia, I think he would destroy a lover who was in love with him. he wouldn't understand that he was doing it and he would be very sorry afterwards, but it wouldn't change the result. which is why Jane is awesome for him: she's not down with that nonsense! but seriously, Laurence is an absolute sink for energy, affection, and worry. two people making a concerted effort and also making sure to take care of each other could manage him, but... yeah. (Laurence, I still love you, bb!)
I see Feliciano as being the caretaker for both Rafa and Nando. a fun caretaker, someone who will tease and act like a friend, not a parent, but still, he's the one making the effort. he's part of Rafa's entourage, not the other way around, and I think Verdasco needs a lot of affection and reassurance. that's maybe unfair to Rafa; I don't know. based on pictorial evidence of him hugging everyone on the planet he's very comfortable giving physical affection, and absent any work on an author's part to convince me otherwise, I see him as the caretaker in the Roger/Rafa relationship. but I don't see him as willing to be the giver with Nando, which I guess is the relevant point, and I just don't see Lopez as needing the kind of effort and energy that would require him to be.
...I think my conception of the threesome dynamic is alarmingly co-dependent. will contemplate this further.
rambling meta brought to you by procrastination! whatever, I'm not sleeping anyway.
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Re: creeps in this petty pace from day to day! ...what?
Date: 2009-04-03 10:11 pm (UTC)Lily and Catherine are so sweet! they're totally BFF. I like Riley, but Riley/Catherine makes me go o_O;; a little. DOOMED TO FAILURE. THAT POOR INFANT. it's hard to put into words, exactly, except the way you did: Laurence and Temeraire are such a Regency couple! I'm always melting inside over their woobie declarations of love. all they are lacking is the final scene where Laurence abruptly proposes marriage and they fling themselves into each other's arms. how so adorable? how?
I bet Temeraire matchmakes. "Oh, Laurence, surely you do not wish to go seventh months without mating? Tharkay is very pleasant, do you not agree? Or perhaps Granby! Even though he was stolen from me, are you listening, Iskierka? Maybe if he enjoyed mating with you he would come back! Are you any good at mating, Laurence?" (As you can perhaps tell, I don't think Temeraire would be jealous or in any way prevent Laurence from having a relationship with someone, so long as it was someone Temeraire knew well. My concern is more that Laurence wouldn't really think to get into a relationship in the first place.)
hmm. well, I mean, most people write their personal canon, yeah? and mine was the story arc with Only a Signal Shown in the middle of it, since that was originally supposed to be an OT3 story; I just couldn't get there in time. although I guess that isn't my canon in the sense that I see it happening in the books; it's what I want to happen in the books. but I really liked the idea that once Granby got with Tharkay (through the bond of their mutual unrequited love for Laurence), Tharkay is part of Iskierka's family, and he helps settle her down. god, I hope she settles down. I don't want Granby to turn into an unhappy alcoholic. although OMG DIVA ISKIERKA. AWESOME.
I am getting kind of incoherent here! sorry. um, so my main point, I think, was that Laurence's characterization is so dependent on his half-willful blindness to anything he doesn't expect to see. he isn't going to expect Tharkay or Granby to be in love with him, so it's going to have to be pointed out to him, and then he's going to need to struggle with it. and I'm fine with him reciprocating in the end, so long as he does struggle and it's not easy for him to come to grips with it. (you know, I was such a hardcore Laurence/Granby shipper for the first few books! and then I tried to write Temeraire for yuletide and somehow I decided I wanted Tharkay and Granby to hook up instead. now my brain hurts from trying to articulate why.)
OMG GIRL!LAURENCE FEMMESLASH? WHERE?
man, i'm a wee bit tipsy and overtired. sorry in advance if this comment comes out crazy!
Date: 2009-04-04 05:11 am (UTC)And man, I had hopes for Riley and Catherine, only Riley went sort of batshit towards the end, holding the baby all by himself, all wild-eyed and talking nonsense. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation that comes with taking care of new infants--especially if the mom is off fighting battles somewhere and the dad has to deal with it all on his own. Either way, I sincerely fear for that child. I hope one of Riley's relatives intervenes and steals it. Or Tharkay, Granby, and Laurence can raise it! AN ALCOHOLIC, A CONVICT AND A LONE VOICE OF REASON RAISE A BABY IN THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK. You can't tell me it you wouldn't read it. IT TAKES A VILLAGE (OF MADMEN AND THEIR DRAGONS) TO RAISE A CHILD, OKAY? Um. I may be a bit sleep-deprived? WHAT.
Ohhhh, sorry--I got the impression that maybe you thought Laurence would avoid a relationship for Temeraire's sake, which I could definitely see him doing, actually, with someone like Edith, from normal civilian society. And yeah, Temeraire would totally matchmake and loudly discuss potential sexual partners for Laurence, and probably the morning after he'd try to get Granby and/or Tharkay to report on Laurence's sexual prowess. I bet he and Iskierka would get into loud arguments over who's captain was better in bed.
Isn't it funny how stories morph like that? You're trying to write one thing, and then the characters laugh at you and do something totally different. I actually had a fic where I was like, okay! Now Granby will be in love with Tharkay! Everything's going as planned! And then he started flirting with Laurence instead, and I had to replot everything. DAMMIT GRANBY. And no, I totally agree that Laurence needs to struggle with it--I just think once he makes up his mind, he's probably committed to it. Like, it takes him a while to get there, but once he does, he's THERE.
Oh, crap, it's... somewhere in this thread. I am pretty easily goaded into writing girl!Laurence. It's time I faced the sad truth.
Re: man, i'm a wee bit tipsy and overtired. sorry in advance if this comment comes out crazy!
Date: 2009-04-04 10:53 pm (UTC)...don't look at me like that.
...
"Laurence," Tharkay asked, with absolutely no inflection, "is that a baby?"
"Her whole family has died of smallpox!" Laurence said defensively. "There was no-one to take her in."
"And so... you decided that you were somehow qualified to raise an infant?"
"Well, better than letting her starve to death," Laurence snapped. He tightened his grip on the baby; the increased pressure woke her, and she immediately began to wail.
"Oh, no," Laurence said. He stared down at her blankly. "What do I do?"
"How should I know? I've never had a baby!"
"Oh, now, now, who's a sweet little darling?" Granby cooed, swooping down to lift the baby out of Laurence's grasp. She stopped screaming, seemingly more out of confusion than anything else. "Who's a lovely, lovely sweet girl? Whatever is the matter, sweetheart? Are you hungry, hmm?" He bounced her up and down a little, and she settled with a final, uncertain hiccup. "Well, let's get you to the kitchens and find you something to eat, shall we?"
"John," Laurence said.
"Oh, there's no need to worry, Laurence; I helped my mother with my younger sisters, you know." Granby flashed him a quick smile and carried the baby off in the direction of the kitchens. Laurence could hear him crooning to her until he turned the corner.
"I hope you're happy now," Tharkay said awfully. "By the time he's done feeding it, he'll be attached. We'll never be rid of that baby now."
~should be shot~
LKASJFASLKDFJASDLF;K
Date: 2009-04-04 11:18 pm (UTC)I bet Iskierka will be ENRAGED. "WHAT IS THAT THING. WHY IS IT MAKING THAT NOISE? IT SOUNDS LIKE IT IS DYING, YOU SHOULD JUST PUT IT DOWN."
Re: LKASJFASLKDFJASDLF;K
Date: 2009-04-04 11:50 pm (UTC)(only Granby and Laurence get sent on a mission or something so Tharkay has to manage without them for a week and at the end he's sort of grudgingly fond of her. he's not evil.
Re: LKASJFASLKDFJASDLF;K
Date: 2009-04-05 12:11 am (UTC)"It is still very loud," Iskierka told them, not seeming to notice they were both standing with jaws agape. "But at least it looks nice, now. See, Granby, I have made it so that she matches your sword!"
"But lord, she will be spitting up all over any minute now," Laurence said, horrified, having been victim of this very activity on numerous occasions. He had lost two coats that way, before he learned to mimic Granby and lay down a cloth over his shoulder prior to taking her up in his arms.
"Oh not to worry," Tharkay said, and bounced her gently. There was an unsettling gleam in his eyes. "Iskierka thought of that. We have many spare sets. In a great number of colors."
"Well," Granby said, and bent to pick her up, swinging her in the air so that she glittered and giggled. "She does look a little princess now, doesn't she? Oof, you have gotten bigger while I was gone, princess, what have they been feeding you?"
<3 disgruntled Tharkay to bits, omg!
Re: LKASJFASLKDFJASDLF;K
Date: 2009-04-05 01:58 am (UTC)you know that Tharkay is really just disgruntled because Granby has been too busy with the baby to have time for sex! he did not sign up for this celibacy nonsense.
"Oh, thank you," Granby sighed, leaning back in his chair as Tharkay rubbed his shoulders. "That's lovely; I've got so used to the knots I can barely remember when it didn't hurt." The baby in his arms gurgled a little, and the muscles under Tharkay's hands tensed again. "All right, there, princess? Are you hungry? Shall we get you a meal?"
"You stay where you are," Tharkay said firmly, pushing Granby back down when he made as though to rise. "Laurence! Princess is hungry."
Laurence, who was writing a letter at the desk, looked up with a puzzled expression. Tharkay stared meaningfully, and he suddenly said, "Oh! Yes, of course, I'll just go and feed her, shall I?"
Granby looked a little uncertain. "Will, I do not mean to be rude, but..."
"If Tharkay could manage an entire week without you, I am quite sure I will be able to feed her by myself," Laurence said firmly. He came over to Granby and took the baby from his reluctant arms.
Princess immediately began to cry.
"No, no, we'll be just fine," Laurence said feebly, batting away Granby's hands when he reached out to take her back. "There, there, nothing to cry about..." Her shrieks grew louder, and Laurence looked pleadingly at Tharkay. Tharkay merely glared back stonily, and Laurence gulped and remarked, "Well, perhaps she just needs a change. We'll go do that, shan't we, Princess? It'll be lovely! Just you and your Papa Will. You'll like that, won't you?"
From Princess' continued screaming, she would not like that at all, but Laurence carried her out of the room before Granby could break out of Tharkay's iron grip to grab her back. Her howling could be heard even through the closed door.
"There," Tharkay said, only half-concealing his immense feeling of satisfaction. "Take off your shirt and go lie down; I shall fetch the massage oil and do this properly."
"Oh, but - " Granby protested, getting to his feet as he stared worriedly at the door. Tharkay caught his shoulders again and turned him forcibly so they were face to face. "Tharkay, I couldn't - "
Tharkay kissed him. Granby mumbled for a moment, but then he seemed to get into the spirit of things, especially when Tharkay's hands worked their way under his shirt and smoothed across the warm skin of his back. "Off," Tharkay repeated as he drew back again, tugging at the shirt.
Granby obediently unbuttoned it, a dazed look on his face. When Tharkay turned away to retrieve the oil, however, some of his sense returned, and he objected, "But, Tharkay, Laurence - "
Tharkay found the bottle he had been looking for and came back to Granby's side with a dangerous light in his eyes. "Laurence," he said, deceptively calm, "has had you to himself all week. So if you would like a massage, kindly remove your clothing and go lie down; if you do not, I fear I shall be obliged to ravish you where you stand."
Granby gulped and took off his shirt.
disgruntled Tharkay is &hearts! also, I am so sorry about the baby's name, but your Granby called her that and then I had this sudden flash of him telling Iskierka she could name the baby so she wouldn't be so jealous and Iskierka wanted all these horrible names like "Smelly" and "Screechy" and "Pink Blob" so when she suggested "Princess" Granby just gave up and said okay. probably not a legitimate excuse. oh well.
YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS. WHY SO BRILLIANT?
Date: 2009-04-05 05:18 am (UTC)YOU CAN'T BLAME ME* Oh god, Laurence and Princess crack me the hell up.And... just this whole scenario... WIN. SO MUCH OF IT.
Re: YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS. WHY SO BRILLIANT?
Date: 2009-04-05 05:25 am (UTC)Re: YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS. WHY SO BRILLIANT?
Date: 2009-04-05 05:39 am (UTC)I swear, no amount of ten-step programs will stop my addiction to crack now. D:
Re: YOU GUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUYS. WHY SO BRILLIANT?
Date: 2009-04-05 05:50 am (UTC)some addictions are just not a problem, really!