the facts are these

I just read something on how David Thewlis went online when he'd been cast and saw all the negative comments people made about him as Remus. I don't know if it's true, but if it is...O.O Poor guy! That's HORRIBLE! It makes me want to write him a letter and apologize for everyone who said he was icky and wrong and tell him he's incredible and fantastic and has hijacked my brain and deleted all other Lupins. (Except my first mental picture of Lupin, whom I love.) I really, really, really don't get the people who wanted Jude Law as Remus. And I REALLY don't understand the people who wanted Ewan McGregor as Remus. I love Ewan, really, but I cannot see him as Remus. It does not compute. I am baffled by it.

Anyway, the real reason of this post was so I could babble about King Arthur and King Arthur.

I've loved the stories of King Arthur for years. I don't know when I first found it, but I know that five years ago was the first time I actually read Le Morte d'Arthur. I know I'd read Rosemary Sutcliff's retellings when I was in elementary school. She did a wonderful story and gave it new layers. That, I need to reread. It was wonderful, and it was one of the few incarnations that made me like Lancelot. Lancelot in that was not particularly handsome, not really outspoken (as far as I remember) and was worthy of the idea of taking Guinevere from a perfect marriage. (If that sentence made sense to you, I deserve a cookie.) In LMDA (Le Morte d'Arthur), Lancelot was not a favorite character of mine. He did so many things, he said so many fancy words, he made so many grand gestures that he wasn't real. He came in and showed up everyone else and made them resent him. There wasn't camraderie, there was a feeling of 'He's better than us, but we like that he's on our side!' He's the most popular boy in your grade that you watch do things and go "Wow, I can't believe he can do that!" but you don't feel entirely comfortable around because you know that whatever you can do, he can probably do it better. He gets better with every generation. His son, Galahad, came and took the Siege Perilous and pulled ANOTHER fuckin' sword out of a stone, but this stone floated. The Lancelot incarnation played by Richard Gere in First Knight left me cold. The novelisation was better and there were a few scenes that would have warmed me to him, but on the whole in the movie, I simply could not see why Guinevere would have felt so drawn to Lancelot. Do NOT get me started on Excalibur. I don't see how anyone in that movie related to anyone else. Sure, it was accurate as far as complying with Malory's vision, but the characters weren't people, they were figures. They had no chemistry, they had bad dialogue and the whole thing was a big anachronism that drives me nuts. (I still love Helen Mirren, though.)

I have a big "yes" for all the ways things were done in The Mists of Avalon. It's perfect. I wish to wed its characterizations, because they feel so real.

King Arthur's Lancelot, along with Sutcliff and Mists's Lancelot, are the only ones I like. As far as this essay is concerned, since I can remember almost none of Sutcliff's work, I won't refer to that. KA's Lancelot feels real, he's a different characterization, he's closer to Arthur, he's everything that the other, wooden Lancelots are not. There is almost nothing to compare him with the other incarnations. The only things that could keep him to being Lancelot are his skills and his attraction to Guinevere. Only Mists had much sexual tension between Arthur and Lancelot, as far as I can remember. But nevertheless, he might be my favorite Lancelot yet. I love him. I love his snark, I love his bitching, I love his cavalier whoring, I love his love for Arthur.

Up until King Arthur, I hated the character of Galahad. Hated. I could not stand his perfection, his glowy innocence, his so-pure Grail quest. He had no personality and was too Godly to be a human being. But then, I should shut up, since for a while I really liked Sir Percival. KA's Galahad made it all right. He is NOT Lancelot's son, he is just the youngest one of the group. His innocence is forgiven and his perfection goes out the window because, lo and behold! Our Galahad likes to drink and pick fights! A flaw! He is a human being!

Now for some musings on Gawain. I love, and cannot think of a time when I have not loved, Gawain. He was the first Lancelot. Before Malory brought in this French invader who changed the dynamic completely, there was Gawain. He was honorable, chivalric, courteous and a good fighter. My first encounter with the story of Gawain and the Green Knight blew me away. I was amazed by this honest, fallible man. Honest, honorable, but giving up his honor to save his life and then being ashamed when confronted about it? Yes! This is a knight! Gawain went to certain death in order to keep his word. I was totally in love.

In conclusion, the different retellings (retcons, I guess) of King Arthur are worth a read (or a watch), and I hope those of you that haven't taken the time to check it out, will.

That completely concludes my rambling of the day. Now, quickly, forget how stupid I am and look at the icon! The pretty! He is such a bitch!

King Arthur fandom has been attacked.

"Giggle in the cafeteria" fics have entered the picture. The oh-so-original fall-through-the-movie-screen gag.

And, God help me, I opened up Internet Explorer (My Opera settings don't DO popups, bitch!) and started replying. My original reply was kind, thought-out and generous.'

The computer ate it.

I restrained myself from reviewing with just "FUCK OFF!"

( I wrote this. Thought it came out rather nicely )

So...yeah. I've written Mary Sues. I've come back. I've written those kinds of fics. I made them go away. Kept some up for posterity, but they're so deep in shit of LotR fics at the Pit of Voles that they're lost for all time THANK GOD.

ironychan and I have been talking about our Sues, and I've had many.
Worst: My first Harry Potter Sue. There was one plus side: it had no pairing. The minus side? EVERYTHING ELSE. She would have been a TOXIC on pottersues. If not for the grammar and spelling, for everything else surrounding her person. If I could sum up the horrible crap it was, it would be in that I was a fan of Tenchi Muyo at the time but it was not a crossover. At least I never put pen to paper.
Best: Gundam Wing, once I got over the whole "Whee, I'm a stupid fourteen year-old!" thing. I got a plot, several series going on, plotlines, government, all that stuff. Apathy kicked in and I haven't thought much about it in years.
HOLY SHIT: Becky, you know what I'm talking about. "Alive? Dead?"

So what were your Sues? What fandoms? How far did they go? Did you write them, post them, daydream? How did your trainwreck end and when was the epiphany? HAS it ended? What was your moment of ultimate shame?

Here's mine: My Harry Potter Sue that was never, ever written down or posted anywhere was called Sasami and she had one of those power crystal things that almost all Sues are outfitted with. Oh, yes, TOXIC.

(OT: I need new icons. I think I'll take care of that now.)