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dangermousieI am still on the crazy high from Veronica Mars' "Not Pictured." But oddly enough, the character I've been thinking about lately is Duncan.
I know he is not a liked character in the fandom. And he is not the most interesting of the bunch. But I do like him. I think now that the Duncan arcs are closed and I can contemplate the character in his entirety, I've come to an understanding of him that makes me find him interesting, and pity him.
Duncan is very reserved. He has an emotionless facade but he isn't emotionless. He has feelings, but he is very good at repressing and at keeping composure. In a way, it comes from his particular circumstances: Duncan is someone who's had to live with a potentially crippling illness and not tell anyone about it. His parents, his whole life has been about not letting the world know about it, about maintaining composure and outward semblance of utter normalcy. Of course, this is also because giant agitation can help induce his fits (just like Logan's acting out and extraversion is a reaction to his circumstances: his parents never caring for him).
Duncan is all about control. Keeping it, maintaining it, never letting it slip. He only does lose it when the pressure is too great: his outburst to V when he thinks she thinks he is the killer, in 1.21 when he bashes his car on seeing Logan/Veronica, his fight with Logan in early S2, his outburst about Meg. He's been trying so hard to not show he still cares in all of these, to project normal, but the stimuli overflow. In a way, that makes him a dangerous enemy because he feels certain things strongly but he is capable of being reasoning about it. Emotion doesn't make him necessarily lose control: see the hit on Aaron (and shows that Aaron is a ridiculous narcissist: he has just gotten off for murder of a daughter of someone powerful, who threatened to kill him for this murder, and implicated the son of the family, who the family went to unlawful extremes to protect. Hire a bodyguard, dummy). In a way, Duncan is very self-sufficient, and self-contained. As long as he is satisfied with himself, with what he is doing is right or good, he doesn't seem to particularly care about opinions. He kidnapped baby Lilly because he thought it was right, because he wanted his daughter and didn't think she should be brought up by Mannings, but not because of any 'I really should do this because people think' feelings. In a way, he is self-sufficient without Veronica. As long as he is doing what he percieves is the right thing, he will deal. And unlike Logan who can be destroyed by his emotions, Duncan, whatever his feelings, is good at control.
P.S. I loathe, loathe, LOATHE the Angel/Spike comparisons. I was a huge Angel fan, and an Angel/Buffy shipper yet Logan is my favorite male character in VM and I am all about L/V shipping. Seeing Angel=Duncan kind of riles me up, especially when it's usually 'everyone dislikes Duncan who is deadly dull, and Duncan=Angel, so Angel is the deadly dull one no one ships with the heroine' vibe. It's quite possible to be B/A and still not find Duncan fascinating and be about L/V.
Oh, and my favorite post 2.22 fic is Molasses and Taffy(it's Keith, Logan, and Veronica centric and it's L/V). Check it out.
In other news, I've started watching and enjoying the delightful Chobits. It's funny (Chi's quest for underwear had me rolling on the floor), I love the pastel, pretty artwork, and I like the characters. The story (and it is one unitary one) centers around the life of Hideki, a poor student attempting to get into university by studying at a cram school, and in particular his relationship with a persocom (a computer designed to look like a person) called Chi, who is a Chobit: a sort of super-persocom with abilities far in advance of normal Persocoms, most remarkably emotions.
If I were inclined to taking it too seriously, I could really work up myself into a problematic state about feminism or lack thereof of the story, as it can be interpreted as someone literally building yourself a wife, as when Chi is first found she is a figurative infant who doesn't talk and Hideki has to teach her everything: she is a literal blank slate to be molded, physically and emotionally. And there is a fact that her switch is at her vagina (!!!)
But I don't particularly care to get into that, not just because the creators of the show are all women, but because it's a funny light-hearted story that doesn't take itself seriously, and because the other side of the story is finding individuality and personality in individuals (in this case A.I.) that people normally don't think are possessed of a will. Everyone tells Hideki Chi has no soul, she is a machine, but Hideki treats her as a real person, he can't help it (Hideki is hilariously boyish, but nice. He might be 18 and sex-obsessed but he blushes whenever he is in contact with girls and he always turns away when Chi needs to change, even though Chi doesn't yet understand the concept of personhood and privacy. He is a very decent human being. And in a way, it's his belief in her as human that 'makes' her human. I am sure if someone had never seen her potential to be a person, she wouldn't be. He doesn't train her into someone who'd be a 'barefoot and pregnant' yes-woman, he tries to get her to be a functional person. And that's a very positive message. So I am just inclined to view it as cute fluff and neither a feminist manifesto nor bizarrely regressive. And also a cool commentary on people's dependence on computers and a potentially deleterious effect on real world as they might prefer the perfectly manufactured/tailored artifice to the flawed reality, as manifested by real people who can be willful, who you can't predict, and as manifested by Chi herself.
Chi. The Victorian, very 'sweet art' and fairy-tale-like motif is very interesting:
Hideki:
Chi and Hideki:
My favorite shot:
Yumi:
Sumomo:
Shinbo:
Yuzuki. Notice the Victorian theme she and Sumomo and personcoms in general have:
Hibiya:
Minoru:
Shimizu:
I like the soft muted contours and colors:
And the quasi-Victorian outfits:
I know he is not a liked character in the fandom. And he is not the most interesting of the bunch. But I do like him. I think now that the Duncan arcs are closed and I can contemplate the character in his entirety, I've come to an understanding of him that makes me find him interesting, and pity him.
Duncan is very reserved. He has an emotionless facade but he isn't emotionless. He has feelings, but he is very good at repressing and at keeping composure. In a way, it comes from his particular circumstances: Duncan is someone who's had to live with a potentially crippling illness and not tell anyone about it. His parents, his whole life has been about not letting the world know about it, about maintaining composure and outward semblance of utter normalcy. Of course, this is also because giant agitation can help induce his fits (just like Logan's acting out and extraversion is a reaction to his circumstances: his parents never caring for him).
Duncan is all about control. Keeping it, maintaining it, never letting it slip. He only does lose it when the pressure is too great: his outburst to V when he thinks she thinks he is the killer, in 1.21 when he bashes his car on seeing Logan/Veronica, his fight with Logan in early S2, his outburst about Meg. He's been trying so hard to not show he still cares in all of these, to project normal, but the stimuli overflow. In a way, that makes him a dangerous enemy because he feels certain things strongly but he is capable of being reasoning about it. Emotion doesn't make him necessarily lose control: see the hit on Aaron (and shows that Aaron is a ridiculous narcissist: he has just gotten off for murder of a daughter of someone powerful, who threatened to kill him for this murder, and implicated the son of the family, who the family went to unlawful extremes to protect. Hire a bodyguard, dummy). In a way, Duncan is very self-sufficient, and self-contained. As long as he is satisfied with himself, with what he is doing is right or good, he doesn't seem to particularly care about opinions. He kidnapped baby Lilly because he thought it was right, because he wanted his daughter and didn't think she should be brought up by Mannings, but not because of any 'I really should do this because people think' feelings. In a way, he is self-sufficient without Veronica. As long as he is doing what he percieves is the right thing, he will deal. And unlike Logan who can be destroyed by his emotions, Duncan, whatever his feelings, is good at control.
P.S. I loathe, loathe, LOATHE the Angel/Spike comparisons. I was a huge Angel fan, and an Angel/Buffy shipper yet Logan is my favorite male character in VM and I am all about L/V shipping. Seeing Angel=Duncan kind of riles me up, especially when it's usually 'everyone dislikes Duncan who is deadly dull, and Duncan=Angel, so Angel is the deadly dull one no one ships with the heroine' vibe. It's quite possible to be B/A and still not find Duncan fascinating and be about L/V.
Oh, and my favorite post 2.22 fic is Molasses and Taffy(it's Keith, Logan, and Veronica centric and it's L/V). Check it out.
In other news, I've started watching and enjoying the delightful Chobits. It's funny (Chi's quest for underwear had me rolling on the floor), I love the pastel, pretty artwork, and I like the characters. The story (and it is one unitary one) centers around the life of Hideki, a poor student attempting to get into university by studying at a cram school, and in particular his relationship with a persocom (a computer designed to look like a person) called Chi, who is a Chobit: a sort of super-persocom with abilities far in advance of normal Persocoms, most remarkably emotions.
If I were inclined to taking it too seriously, I could really work up myself into a problematic state about feminism or lack thereof of the story, as it can be interpreted as someone literally building yourself a wife, as when Chi is first found she is a figurative infant who doesn't talk and Hideki has to teach her everything: she is a literal blank slate to be molded, physically and emotionally. And there is a fact that her switch is at her vagina (!!!)
But I don't particularly care to get into that, not just because the creators of the show are all women, but because it's a funny light-hearted story that doesn't take itself seriously, and because the other side of the story is finding individuality and personality in individuals (in this case A.I.) that people normally don't think are possessed of a will. Everyone tells Hideki Chi has no soul, she is a machine, but Hideki treats her as a real person, he can't help it (Hideki is hilariously boyish, but nice. He might be 18 and sex-obsessed but he blushes whenever he is in contact with girls and he always turns away when Chi needs to change, even though Chi doesn't yet understand the concept of personhood and privacy. He is a very decent human being. And in a way, it's his belief in her as human that 'makes' her human. I am sure if someone had never seen her potential to be a person, she wouldn't be. He doesn't train her into someone who'd be a 'barefoot and pregnant' yes-woman, he tries to get her to be a functional person. And that's a very positive message. So I am just inclined to view it as cute fluff and neither a feminist manifesto nor bizarrely regressive. And also a cool commentary on people's dependence on computers and a potentially deleterious effect on real world as they might prefer the perfectly manufactured/tailored artifice to the flawed reality, as manifested by real people who can be willful, who you can't predict, and as manifested by Chi herself.
Chi. The Victorian, very 'sweet art' and fairy-tale-like motif is very interesting:
Hideki:
Chi and Hideki:
My favorite shot:
Yumi:
Sumomo:
Shinbo:
Yuzuki. Notice the Victorian theme she and Sumomo and personcoms in general have:
Hibiya:
Minoru:
Shimizu:
I like the soft muted contours and colors:
And the quasi-Victorian outfits:
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-23 10:51 pm (UTC)A.MEN. I hate that "if you love Angel, you must love Duncan" mentality. HAAAATE. It doesn't even make any sense. ARRRRGGGGHHH.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-23 11:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 12:43 am (UTC)You've also recced my favorite post-finale fic. :)
no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 02:42 am (UTC)Exactly. Since D/V doesn't have much (any?) support, by definition a lot of B/Aers if Buffy/VM viewer cross over is large, have to have liked B/A.
And yeah, I adore that fic. I don't usually read multi-parters but it's so in character and happy and angsty at once.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 03:23 am (UTC)Seeing some of the ugliest and most wanky conflicts from the Buffy fandom migrate wholesale to Veronica Mars last year was terribly dismaying and is the main reason I have made no effort to participate in VM fandom beyond the people on my flist. Most sane fans have a more nuanced, less binary view of the characters on both shows. (On top of the Spike/Angel comparisons, I know that there was a lot of activity on the "She's a bitch to him!" versus "You just think the woobie's hot/you can't handle strong women!" front for Logan/Veronica for a while that was eerily reminiscent of the same division in Spike/Buffy fandom.) Maybe if the show's on for another year people will stop trying to fit the characters and situations into their preexisting molds. Maybe.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 05:33 pm (UTC)Yeah. It just seems weird to bring previous fandoms into it. Whatever people's views/issues with Buffy, VM is a completely different show. It has a different creator, even!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 05:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-24 05:32 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-25 12:36 am (UTC)I think Duncan=Riley is probably a more accurate comparison than Duncan=Angel. I was never big on B/A myself (too whiny), but they are definitely shippable. V/D is just boring. There's no spark, and I can't imagine what V sees in Donut.
I have to admit that I myself have made the Duncan/Angel comparison :p In some ways it's a natural comparison to make, just because Angel and Spike are Buffy's two great loves in a way that Riley never was, and Angel/Duncan are the good guys compared to Spike/Logan. The bad boys are just so much more interesting, though (I find). It's amusing; in real life I wouldn't waste a second of time on a bad boy type, but on screen I find them much more compelling. It's probably the whole redemption thing. And the snark.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-25 12:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-25 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-25 12:40 am (UTC)I agree, Duncan is a lot more Rileyish than Angelish. But ultimately, I just don't like show comparisons because the characters are so different (even the showrunners are different so the whole approach will be different as well).
The bad boys are just so much more interesting, though (I find).
It's weird. For me, Logan (and Doumyouji from Hana Yori Dango) are the only two fictional bad boys I ever liked. Even in fiction I prefer the 'good guys.' And Doumyouji is still someone I would stay far away from in RL and I just end up liking him in the fictional context because he amuses me and because his sheer devotion to Tsukushi, his OTP, wins me over. Logan? It's the charisma thing. The thing is, I don't think he is such a bad boy, really. Spike? Definitely bad boy (I love Spike but that's one of the reasons I never found him shippable). Logan? At most, he is a messed up but fundamentally decent kid.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-25 03:58 am (UTC)I'm not really a S/B shipper. Well, I'm not a BtVS shipper at all, really, but if I had to commit to one Buffy ship, it would be Willow/Oz (still heartbroken over that one). Anyhoos, Spike and Buffy were pretty gross when they were actually together, but I just found their whole relationship more interesting than B/A.
Re: the Mac/Dick ship - yea, it's kind of weird, but I could see it happening in the wake of the finale. Desperate times and all that. Good Eye, Sniper and couple of other fics have really captured both characters and make it pretty believable.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-25 03:59 pm (UTC)