Just Off the Key of Reason

So far this weekend, besides finally watching all of Sharpe's Rifles I skimmed the first disc of The Scarlet Pimpernel for all the Jamie Bamber guhness, watched Persuassion for the Sam West guhness and half-watched/half-listened to Hornblower: Duty again for the Horatio/Bush slashy goodness and the general Ioan Gruffudd and Paul McGann guh. Really, I'm feeling remarkably rich with Guh at the moment.

Thanks to all who advised me that The Scarlet Pimpernel was really only worth skimming for Jamie. I tried to watch from the beginning, but I just couldn't get interested at all. The whole thing felt like a series of loosely connected set-pieces designed more to show off the period detail then to illuminate the characters or plot. I'm really glad I only had Netflix send me the first disc with all the Jamie Bamber. Still, as a shameless fangirl I am certainly glad I got that. My the man is pretty. And talented. I don't think it's just my squeeing fangirlishness that made Tony Dewherst one of the few characters I was inspired to care about even a little. And oh the pretty. Much to little pretty though. I so want to see more of that bath...

Persuassion on the other hand, I enjoyed for itself as well as for the guh. I see why it's a lesser-known Austen story though. Anne is not exactly one of Jane's stronger heroines. In fact, before she finally grew her backbone at the end I was feeling strongly inclined to take her by the shoulders and tell her to stop being such a bloody doormat. Also, apparantly Sam West's character, Mr. Elliott was supposed to be this terrible alternative, but I have to admit, even knowing that he was after the title, I felt a little bad for him. One got the impression that he really did come to care about Anne and would have made her a good husband, it's hardly his fault she turns out to be pining after someone else, and one has to commend his patience with the way she keeps just abandoning him mid-conversation to go make a fool of herself over Wentworth. Have decided that Anne and Wentworth deserve each other and that Mr. Elliott needs to come visit me for some sympathy cuddles or something. *g*

I've watched Duty once before. It and Loyalty are the only Hornblower movies I actually own, having found them relatively cheap in the first flush of my Hornblower obsession and before I gave over to Netflix. I'm reminded on rewatching that Horatio Hornblower really is just about the worst husband ever. And looked at through a view of Horatio/Bush, he's not a very good lover and friend either. Horatio's just so very unhappy for most of this episode. Unhappy with his choices and with his assignment and so he takes it out on those around him and poor William and Maria get the worst of it. Now I don't much like Maria, she's not very bright and she's rather clingy, but she so deserves better than Horatio. And truthfully, the more I see of him, the more i love Bush. I adore and miss Archie, but if the only way to have him back was to get rid of Bush I'd really have trouble making that trade. I think that's what I like best about Undead Kennedy fic and stuff set during Mutiny and Retribution, it doesn't make me choose. I always have been the greedy sort. Why one or the other, why not both and all?

I've come to the realization that that is really my favorite interpretation of Hornblower, not either/or but either/and. I seem to favor a sort of loose poly OT4, for which I can only partially blame commodorified and q_skud_ who's suddenly shared universe is the closest approximation I have found so far. I can easily see pretty much any combination involving Archie, Horatio, William and Edrington. Thanks to q_skud_ I can even see Bush/Edrington. And I really don't see why more than one of those can't be true. Why can't Horatio love both Archie and William? Or Archie love both Horatio and William? Why can't Horatio and Archie happily spend time with Edrington either alone or together when the opportunity presents itself without it in any way lessoning their love for each other?

There's so much good poly and acceptance of poly in PoTC fandom, I think I've been spoiled. Jack/Will/Elizabeth has been a favorite since the first time I saw the movie. I walked out of the theatre and went searching for OT3 fic. Lately, I've developed quite a weakness for Will/Elizabeth/Norrington thanks to some particularly spectactular stories posted on my friendslist. And of course the_stowaway managed the nigh-impossible with her series that starts as Sparrington and ends in the phenomenal OT4 Trust and Honour. My weakness is and always willl be relationship dynamics, it's the exploration of characters and power dynamics that draws me to fanfic. And the fandoms I'm most drawn to do seem to be the ones with a strong poly potential, which I really think Hornblower has.

Huh. I didn't actually intend to go off on that tangent.

Anyway.

While watching Duty I was inspired to icon. I finally managed a just-Horatio icon. I've been wanting one for a while, but the man's proved damn hard to icon. I kept finding the perfect pictures and words for Archie icons and Edrington icons and evn Bush icons (although he makes me work for it a bit more) but Horatio was being frustratingly elusive. Anyway, words are from a Lightning Seeds song and resonated a lot with the Horatio of Duty.