seeking Longmire Walt/Henry recs (and maybe a beta...?); and "La isla minima"

[verushka70]

Well, I've read all the Longmire Walt/Henry slash on AO3. There is a shocking lack thereof, which I feel I must rectify by writing some. I'm really surprised how little there is, though there is tons of Walt/Vic -- which, while I can certainly see the chemistry (but then who wouldn't have chemistry with Katee Sackhoff, really? lol), is a whole bag of tricks I'm not into as much, mainly because canonically she's kind of a trainwreck in terms of relationships, and Walt is so not... so I see that as being a volcano that would destroy everything in its path (including both of them)...

...and also because, damn, I just find the Walt/Henry chemistry to be the constant glowing embers of a fire that burns hot and then maybe simmers down for a while and then flares up again in a kind of "we don't talk about it BUT IT'S THERE" kind of way.

So if anyone knows of any Walt/Henry Longmire slash that isn't on AO3 and which I should read, by all means -- please let me know.

Also: recently saw a Spanish language film called "La isla minima" (aka Marshlands), a disappearance/mystery set in the Andalusian marshlands in 1980*.

Interestingly it pinged me like S1 of True Detective, with the same kind of desolate, isolated rural swampland horrors-beneath-the-surface vibe, but without the supernatural or philosophical stuff (and only slight slashy twinges). Apparently I'm not the only person to have felt the True Detective S1 vibe from it, though apparently it was in production before TD S1 was.

It is really good. I recommend it, if you don't mind subtitles. It is suspenseful and thought provoking.

*with all the textual and subtextual post-Franco dread that implies

Comments

[glitteryv]

Wow, V. you really like rare-ish pairings, huh? I mean, I totes get you. Like, there are ships that seem SO OBVIOUS and yet there simply aren't enough fic for them.

I like to think that, sometimes, it's because the source material was so fulfilling that people don't feel any need to add fanworks. Other times, I feel like fans of rare pairings believe that they are the only ones in the world who like ABC/XYZ ship. So, maybe they feel discouraged because their fic won't have an audience.

The sad!trombone part is that, of course other people are interested. #Sigh

As much as I liked S2 of TD, I find it eyebrow-raising how less atmospheric it was from S1. Yes, partly it's due to the different location, but still.

[verushka70]

Sorry this reply is so late! I rely on email notifications telling me I got comments. And for some reason, dreamwidth notification emails went to my Spam folder even though that never happened before. Weird.

At any rate, you're right... Walt/Henry is pretty obvious wrt Longmire. That being said, I think because the lead men are both over 45 or 50 (Robert Taylor and Lou Diamond Phillips), the series in general skewed older and therefore less popular with "the kids" (plus I guess A&E cancelled it for a reason -- it likely didn't have a juggernaut of young fans).

Plus it's a *Western*... and my perception of the demographics for those is, well, let's say "red state" and leave it at that. So the combo of "red state" and "older audience" leads me to conclude maybe there aren't a ton of older fen into slashing the two male leads. There is a ton of Walt/Vic, the obvious m/f pairing (and very May/December... he's mid-50s and she's, what, early 30s) (and I do see that chemistry, I totally do, but it doesn't do as much for me, alas).

You could be right about other fen thinking "no one will read this" because there is already so little fic... bummer.

I found S2 of TD to be, well, I guess less Southern-Gothic-swamp-atmospheric... more LA-sleazy noir. There is a long tradition of LA/SoCal noir and deep corruption going way back, and S2 had that feel for me. But it definitely didn't have the deeply unsettling atmospherics of S1, I think because from jump, S2 had the feel of deep human corruption, whereas S2 had that combination of possible supernatural evil as well as the dark side of nature, the inherent rot of moist swamps and marshland.

S1 was very ...nature textured. S2, much more techno, industrial, glossy. S1 seemed very... biological, if you will. S2 was more... human. Even though ultimately the evil of S1 was completely human corruption too, that was not how it played through most of the season.

[glitteryv]

It's OK, V. I really don't mind having these kinds of convos with you. :) My notifications from both DW and AO3 tend to lag a bit. Dunno why. (I use gmail).

Sometimes, there is media that has a lot stacked against it when it comes to fanworks potential. Whether closed or open canon, it can be super intimidating for fans to create things. Like I've mentioned before, perhaps Yuletide's the answer. :-/

Alas, it seems that two seasons is all we'll ever get regarding TD. I've yet to hear anything about a third season (predictions, potential casting, etc.) Now would be the time where HBO would be waist-deep into pre-production. I think that the backlash (unnecessary, imo) against S2 dampened HBO's desire to film a third season. Unless they're prepping it in secret--which sounds a little too bizarre to even consider.

Both seasons had their great things and their wonky ones. I do wish we'd gotten a third one if only to make the series more complete and hopefully well-rounded. #Ohwell

[verushka70]

wrt fanworks for small fandoms, yeah, if there is already so little, I can see how it would be intimidating to write anything. Hopefully there'll be Yuletide stuff. It's weird -- all the fan-generated or updated stuff for Longmire seems to be low volume or MIA. I can't find a fan wikia, and even the Wikipedia articles don't have synopses of the episodes like most shows, where there is a list of seasons, a list of episodes, and then a detailed or at least brief synopsis of each ep.

It's like anything that fen would normally do is just MIA with Longmire, which I'm guessing is either because (1) it simply doesn't have the fans quantity wise, or (2) the fans it has aren't in the age groups that are tech savvy enough or motivated enough or both to do any of that stuff. I think there are probably enough fans, numbers-wise, to do it--there are apparently tons on Facebook... just not on anywhere else. But then, there are lots of people in their 50s-70s on FB who don't do anything else on the Internet, certainly not editing Wikipedia pages or writing fanfic. But they'll be on FB with friends and family exchanging photos from barbecues and whatnot.

So... oh well.

Well, Pizzolatto has a deal w/HBO through 2018 according to this article from Variety, though it says a 3rd season for TD is "up in the air." If not TD, then I guess we'll get something else from him.

Originally I remember reading that he had a 3 season deal for TD, but maybe it wasn't 3 seasons so much as it was a time frame and that was renegotiated last fall...? Unsure...

If no S3 of TD, I agree, that's kind of a bummer... it would be nice to have 3 seasons. It also enhances the possibility that it would be syndicated, though that's unlikely I suppose for any 8-episode seasons of anything...

I've been meaning to rewatch S2 of TD. Lately I have such weird inertia related to TV consumption though. I blasted through 4 seasons of Longmire pretty quickly and then immediately started rewatching it. On the rec of my ex, I also started watching Mr. Robot S1 (what a weird, fucked up little show so far, though I like it, but then it has a techno-Fight-Club feel, so I guess that's a gimme).

But I have shows I've been meaning to watch (the most recent 3 eps of Archer, which I *love* and should watch 'cause it usually makes me laugh my ass off, and I really *need* that lately) or meaning to finish or catch up to (like OITNB or Orphan Black or Luther) and stuff in my queues... yet I've been ignoring those.

And yet then I'll rewatch shows I've already seen (some that I've seen countless times... o_o) like it's comfort food for my eyes/brain or something, like media macaroni and cheese. I didn't expect Longmire to become that, but it was kind of instant video comfort food in a weird way.

I've been really depressed lately, and in a lot of fibro pain, with trouble sleeping/frequent waking/constant exhaustion (thanks, perimenopause! *shakes fist at universe*). So I guess all I was up for was the mac and cheese TV, not complex TV like S2 TD or even S1 -- or S3 Hannibal, which I *also* really want to rewatch, but still haven't...

:\

(I'm not even going to say anything about my wrists/repetitive strain injuries... every time I blog something like, "hey, they're better, yay" -- they take a turn for the worse, sometimes viciously so... so I'm done tempting fate that way)

[glitteryv]

Based on what you've said, it sounds like a combo of 1 and 2. Sometimes, the kind of fannish activity that happens is totally unsatisfying. :(

As for what to watch, yes, sometimes there are too many choices. I don't have cable (haven't even had a TV for literal years), but I've been a Netflix member for over a decade. Somehow, I've managed to keep my To Watch list at a reasonable length (I've also stopped getting upset whenever Netflix takes a movie or TV show out of the streaming rotation 'cause, eventually it'll be added back).

Recently, I finished watching S1 of The Flash (which began rather silly and light-hearted, but totes won me over). I've somehow ended up in a Person of Interest watching mode (halfway through S2) even though I've been spoiled for a lot of plotlines. PoI has a super ridiculous premise and can be slashy between the two male protags in a v. low-key, truly unintentional way. That said, I also enjoy the main het ship (which isn't canon) as well as an F/F one that didn't get a happy ending (as per spoilers for the latter seasons).

PoI is a total procedural in some ways and totally OTT in the fantasy department (like the silent ex-military assassin dude who basically pwns everyone in S1 and tends to speak in a deadpan/kinda whisper-y tone for no reason at all.) TBH, I don't know why I'm so charmed by this show, but there we are.

Aside from that, I'm enjoying S6 of Game of Thrones and a couple of Korean soap operas. There really isn't much that grabs my attention TV wise. Like you, I sometimes end up watching TV shows or movies that I've watched a million times. It's definitely comforting a lot of the times.

*gentle hugs*

[verushka70]

Aw, thanks for the gentle hugs. (hugs back)

I tried watching PoI, and I watched some of the first season, but I couldn't get into it. I honestly didn't make that much of an effort though. I think it suffered from overhyping and that drives me nuts. After a certain point of hearing it so many times, every time someone says "You've got to watch x show!" I become incrementally LESS inclined to watch x, like someone's trying to make me do the video equivalent of eat my vegetables. What I recall of the episodes I did see was a vaguely queasy sense that gross violations of personal privacy were justified in a post-9/11 world... that plus the idea of the heroes of the show being responsible for the surveillance of ordinary citizens just didn't sit right with me. But mostly it was hype -- I'm extremely hype-averse. Something could fall into my favorite genres, have my favorite actors, be well written, superbly acted, fantastically directed, etc. -- but if it's over-hyped to the point of saturating print, web, TV, etc., I'm just dead set against it. Hype is part of the reason why I kind of avoid broadcast TV even though I have it, and I stopped reading most magazines years ago because I realized they were 90% advertising and then product placement bullshit anyway. Now I only buy them while on vacation, for trashy reading.

Alas, that's what happened with GoT, too: over-hyping -- and I never read the books, either, so I didn't have that as a reason to overcome my anti-hype reaction. Now I'm so far behind in Game of Thrones, it's too daunting to try to catch up. :\ I'll get to it eventually... but in the meantime I have the comfort food to catch up on or re-watch.

btw... what did you think of Magic Mike XXL? I haven't watched it yet but it's available on demand for the rest of the summer, so I was planning to. I really liked the first MM because, despite the inherently cheesy aspects, (1) it was Soderberg, so (2) it actually had other shit going on besides the luridly appealing surface (eye candy)(not that the eye candy was a problem for me; it certainly wasn't)* -- and I liked how the story threads kind of subverted what the movie appeared to be about and the way it was promoted, heh.

Anyways. My latest new effort in TV watching is Mr. Robot S1. My ex recced it to me via text message... said it was right up my alley, was surprised I wasn't already watching it, but I don't get USA Network or any basic cable -- just local broadcast channels and HBO as part of my high speed Internet service. But Mr. Robot is available via Amazon Prime, which I do have, so I started watching it. I don't think I can recall ever seeing such a nihilistic, oddball, antisocial, fucked up TV show protagonist that you actually sympathize with. Mr. Robot passes my cursory ex-IT/technogeeky tests (I do have more than a passing acquaitance with Linux, though I'm hardly an expert) wrt hacking as portrayed on the show... and of course I love all the anti-corporate/revolutionary shit. But it's more the personal dissociation, identity confusion, the clear psych issues, the desolate loneliness of the protagonist, and his insanely fucked up attempts to occasionally breach that, that I got sucked into. It is falling somewhere between addictively-want-to-see-the-next-ep and comfort food for me, I guess.

And for new/old comfort food, I'll be watching all 9 eps of the only season of Wolf Lake because, werewolves... and the hot and ethnically vague Lou Diamond Phillips of 15 years ago. (Not that he isn't still hot on Longmire; he is.) Though I didn't watch it at the time it was originally broadcast. 9 eps I can handle, even if there's no resolution to the characters and season-long arc, if they had time to build one before the show was canceled...


*though my ex, who was my bf at the time, started to tease me about watching it and I was like, stfu, how many hundreds of pornos have you illegally ripped from the video store? is it over 1,000 yet? which shut him up. But then when I told him it was Soderberg he was like, Oh, okay, and then he shut up and watched it... and pronounced it "not bad," later, like I'd asked for his opinion about it &/or it mattered, lol
:)

[glitteryv]

PoI works for me because the dynamic between the two dudes is familiar in that way you'd find in other buddy cop series. I truly believe that Jim Caviezel's acting against the guy who plays Harold is totes unintentional as far as it being shippy. BUT IT IS. Their queerness by episode 3 is what made me go "OK, let's see how far down the rabbit hole I can go." OTOH, my awareness of slash began in the 90s so there's room for the argument that my slash goggles make me biased af.

Yes, the whole "there's no such thing as absolute privacy unless you're ridiculously off the grid" thing is unsettling at times. Considering that the two dudes and the rest of his team are using the surveillance to help and/or save people is what keeps me from being too creeped out. From what I know, there's an evil counterpart to the good guys, but I haven't gotten that far into the series yet.

For whatever reason, I managed to avoid the hype about PoI. As a matter of fact, I didn't hear much about it until the way a specific episode went down in S3.

I have an extreme case of hype backlash. Like, the WORST way to make me check out a fandom or media is by telling me it's the BEST THING EVER AND THAT I'M MISSING OUT, ZOMG! Mainly because, just like you, my instinct is to shut it down.

It's funny, I never heard about GoT or the books. The first 'cause I don't have HBO and the latter 'cause I don't read much (if any) fantasy.

My intro to GoT was during the middle of its first season and it happened because my A/C broke down. I was trying to cool off one afternoon, eager to wath something while eating an ice pop when I saw a link for a GoT episode. By this time, I knew the BIG SPOILER about the first season. Not having much to do, I downloaded it and then I watched the next 4 episodes and was super into it by the end of the season. A lot of the first season took place on a winter-like atmosphere so I drank in all the snow-covered settings and fell for the show right then and there.

TBH, the first 3 seasons are good in that morally complex way. S4 was ~just OK~ and S5 was almost unwatchable. This season, however, the show's bounced back in a way that's made me happy to be watching it again. *hands*

Moving on. I first watched Magic Mike XXL at the movies during a matinee show. There were several things I liked: the dudes not being assholes, lots of focus on female sexuality (done in a way that was slightly OTT, but still), and the most random plot ever. Personally, I like Channing Tatum a lot (he's that kind of guy who's super charming without being swarthy?) and everyone seemed to be having a great time in the movie.

Sadly, there really aren't that many fics for this movie. I'm not sure if it's because people don't feel the need to write about the characters or something else I haven't been able to figure out yet. I do recommend it. There's a lot of eye candy. ;)

I knew Mr. Robot was solid when they had that one episode where they were talking about Raspberry Pi and did it in a way that wasn't cheesy. Even though I'm very *____* about the show (and, somewhat shamefully, I ship Elliott/Tyrell), I've only watched the first 4 episodes. LOL!

FTR, I do have the entire first season on iTunes. Since I didn't start watching it until close to the end of S1 airing, I chose to stop until S2 was closer to airing. I'd already known that USA network had renewed it by, like the third episode or so.

Mainly because I knew I was going to get even more obsessed than I already was. Having to wait a whole new year for new episodes was going to feel like torture to me. I'm rarin' to finish S1 before the new season begins on July 13. :)

Have you watched Sense8? 'cause I think that show would really be up your alley. I finally got around watching it and deffo ended up rolling in feels.

[verushka70]

Well, maybe I'll check out PoI in reruns or wherever it's streaming. There's been stuff I didn't like much first time around that I gave a second chance and was glad I did, so maybe it's one of those.

GoT I keep meaning to start (well, re-start), but at this point the time commitment is daunting.

I wonder if you and I have problems with authority &/or conformity, lol. "Hype backlash" is exactly the right term to describe that instant "well if everyone's watching it, and every media outlet is covering it, FORGET IT" reaction you and I seem to have to over-hyped stuff.

I found the first Magic Mike movie to have kind of a meandering plot. But besides being a perfect context for and illustration of the drifting-into-shit-and-enjoying-the-ride(a-bit-too-much) characterization of The Kid (as well as briefly showing the temporary and unstable nature of decent paying work for unskilled/non-college educated guys in things like construction), that meandering plot was sort of what I liked about MM: it's probably the least tightly plotted Soderberg flick, like, ever.

(Plus if you squinted, it almost had some class politics subtext, portraying Dallas' entrepreneurial empire-building bullshit ethos as merely the brand new drag for the same old capitalist profiteer agenda of fucking over the other guy and the little guys if it'll make you more $$.)

So a random plot for MM XXL is, rather than off-putting, even more of an enticement. (Plus the eye candy doesn't hurt.) As is the fact that all the guys aren't assholes and the emphasis on female sexuality. Am adding to my list of "to watch, and soon."

Channing Tatum I've never found more than generically attractive in photos, but in MM there was something about his personality or the way he inhabits his body, that made all of his charm weirdly humble and self-deprecating in a way that made his character very likable. Probably that's just the way he played the character, but since it's autobiographical-ish, it does seem like he's not an asshole. I can't recall if I've seen him in anything else, though. Must not have been memorable if I did.

I didn't expect to get sucked into Mr. Robot the way I did -- that caught me off-guard. I can totally see why you stopped watching and wanted to wait until there were more episodes! Because after I finished watching the whole season, I was a little bereft and all "oh, shit, what happens next?!" So I'm looking forward to the upcoming season, too, and the questions (both the almost philosophical as well as practical questions) posed by the climax/end of S1 are pretty intriguing.

One of my co-workers/friends told me I should watch Sense8, too. And it's in my queue... just haven't gotten around to it. Since you mention it as being up my alley, though, I'll be moving it up in the queue...

[glitteryv]

Mind you, V., PoI is quite generic (especially the first ten or so eps), but I can't help finding the dynamics appealing af. I'm watching it on Netflix.

The first Magic Mike movie wanted to have it both ways: show a lot of beefcake and then, have the characters, but particularly Mike, be ashamed that he was a stripper. I kept eyerolling at the girlfriend who kept Muppet!facing at Mike and his job.

Channing Tatum is a total sweetie in real life.

As for Mr. Robot, I'm (re)starting it tomorrow. So I won't have to wait too long for the next season. :P

I hope to hear your thoughts on Sense8 once you get around watching it. ;)

[verushka70]

well, I haven't gotten around to Sense8 or PoI yet... I've been rewatching Mr Robot S1 and finishing the last 3 eps of Archer. (Also reading a lot lately. On book 5 in the Longmire series by Craig Johnson.)

I also finished re-watching S2 of True Detective and I have to say, it stands up well. I came out of the rewatch with the same likes and dislikes I had before, but I've decided I pretty much love S2 only slightly less than S1 -- for some of the reasons I loved S1, but also for some completely diff ones. The political/law enforcement corruption (pings me hard) in S2 is front and center from jump, whereas it doesn't enter into S1 until later. The female characters in TD S2, though still somewhat stereotyped, are more well-rounded/complex. Still hate that Frank and Ray (and Woodrugh) die. Still hate baby-ending. This time around, though, I took less issue with Ray/Ani smexin'.

wrt MM (still haven't seen XXL), I kind of assumed part of Soderberg's point was the duality you mention -- the beefcake vs. the embarrassment of being/seeing beefcake, which is really only a variation on the theme of superficial vs. substance. The sister of The Kid is kind of the mouthpiece voicing that disdain, but she at least gets to know Mike as a person. That duality is in Mike's on-again-off-again grad-school gf Joanna: she'll fuck Mike, but she won't actually date him. MM has both blatant and subtle portrayals of the prioritizing of surface over depth, and kind of analogizes the valuation of beauty over brains with the valuation of money over people. Which I always kind of liked about it.

I'm glad to hear CT is a sweetie IRL. I heard he hated Pettyfer, but then apparently Pettyfer was an asshole even before he was in MM.

Have you finished watching S1 Mr. Robot yet? (I just DLed 2x1 and 2x2 - haven't seen them yet.)

SPOILERS!! I totes did not see the big Mr Robot S1 reveal coming. (Though with all the comparisons to Fight Club, I probably should have...) I have to say, I had a gut-churning squick moment there. Prior to that, I was like, "Oohhh, May/December slash!" wrt Elliot/Mr. Robot. Oops! Sigh...
:\
However, I forged ahead. Too bad Tyrell turns out to be a killer! because there's quite an Elliot/Tyrell vibe too.
I did, however, find it highly unlikely Angela would go to work for Evil Corp. Then again, it was probably one of the only jobs she could get after suing the major client of her employer, and where the loss of that major client would be the death knell of the employer, I guess...
END SPOILERS