Where to begin? I believe I have mentioned on more than one occasion that this fandom is INSANE! I'm not exaggerating! This post will prove it (it doesn't take very much before you're convinced of the general lunacy in the fandom).
There's always a few cuckoo videos or pictures or jokes or whatever in every fandom that someone will come up with when they're bored, tired, or both. These creations most often appear when the show is on a hiatus and the fandom only has the current footage to obsess over. Most TV shows are fortunate enough to have between 13-25 episodes per season and only a few months in between seasons so their fandoms have managed to stay sane.
Sherlock on the other hand...
There are up to two year gaps in between seasons. There are only two seasons so far with only three 90 minute episodes in each. That's only six episodes and nine hours of footage. We are still waiting for season 3 to even start filming.
So, we need to occupy ourselves in some way in between seasons with limited footage. As I said above, in between time is when the crazy stuff starts popping up, and the Sherlockians have LONG in between periods (almost two years). Most of our inside jokes came from the in between time of 1-2. So that was only three episodes of footage. (I joined the fandom in the middle of this. There was A LOT to catch up on). I believe that the Sherlockians are also one of the most observant fandoms as well, because we analyze every single frame of our limited footage and notice every little detail and read into it.
Anyways, I'm going to attempt to convince you of this fandom's insanity (and I'm going to succeed)...
First I will start with a couple of the jokes: 1) Anderson loves dinosaurs- this one started with a fanfiction where Anderson was in love with/obsessed with dinosaurs. There have been MANY fanfics (and other such things) since then. 2) Martin Freeman is a hedgehog- someone just decided to put a bunch of pictures of Martin next to pictures of hedgehogs making the same face and it stuck. (Also, Benedict Cumberbatch is an otter and Andrew Scott is a rabbit). 3) Watson loves jam- this began with a comic someone made about Watson in general (not just BBC's Watson) and how he gets replaced with a "new" Watson because he doesn't add enough humor add to the SH stories. New!Watson becomes fixated on a jar of jam while investigating. 4) Emergency comb- there is a theory that Sherlock carries an emergency comb because his hair will get a little messed up, but then suddenly in the next frame it will be perfect. This happens a lot. 5) Mycroft loves cake- this stems from Sherlock's line "how's the diet?" and it just eventually led into Mycroft's obsession with cake. 6) Mermaids are a serious issue- this comes from a fanfiction where John scoffs at a newspaper headline about mermaids, but Sherlock reprimands him for it because he takes them very seriously. 7) Mycroft's obsession with umbrellas- this is because he always seems to be carrying one around in the show so the fandom just rolled with it.
Those are just a couple of an endless list.
Now for some pictures (PREPARE YOURSELF):
This quote's from A Very Potter Musical just FYI
If you're not convinced yet, here's a couple of videos:
Now, this is just scratching the surface of the fandom's inner workings. Once you plunge into the depths of the pool, it's like Wonderland. Nothing makes sense from an outsider's perspective, but once you're involved, you start to understand and gradually begin to go mad yourself.
They're coming to take us away ha-haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
OK, I'm taking a step into a literature class (my imaginary literature class) and analyzing a very popular and iconic literary character.
What brought this on, you ask? A couple things actually.
1) I've been watching the Lizzie Bennet Diaries
2) I've started rereading Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time recently
3) Lots of other people on my other blog have been doing it and I've wanted to have my input.
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Whether it’s in the book, the A&E version, the 2005 movie, or Lizzie Bennet Diaries I really love his development as a character. He has one heck of a journey to undertake, and the majority of it isn’t really pleasant for him.
Colin Firth- 1995 mini series
He’s got to look out for his little sister who means the world to him, and protect her from everything that happened with Wickham. On top of that, he’s got to address some personality issues that he has, which no doubt stem down to events that happened well into his past. Ever tried to reinvent yourself? Yeah, it’s not an easy task! Imagine how difficult it was for Darcy to have to reevaluate every aspect of his personality, take a chance on changing it, and THEN lay himself out on the line again for Lizzie.
He is the best kind of trope: The Love Redeems trope, where someone’s love for them or their love for another helps them to become a better person. Was Darcy an awful human being before he met Lizzie? Of course not. But was he kind of a jerk with flaws? Yep. And when he found out Lizzie’s opinion of him, he vowed to change himself for the better. BUT NOT TO IMPRESS HER (common misconception). He did
Matthew Macfadyen- 2005 movie
it for himself. And you’ve got to respect a guy (or anyone for that matter) who accepts his failures and learns from them, even if it means living with the consequences (In Darcy’s case, life without the love of his life).
Also, he went out and found Lydia when she ran away with Wickham. Then he ensured that Wickham's debts, the wedding, etc. was all paid for at great expense to himself (it cost him about an entire year's income). And he did this all in secret because his goal was not to impress Lizzie or to try and win her affection, but merely to bring her ease and peace of mind. He couldn't bear to see her so upset.
In many ways I'm actually a lot like him. Slowly, over the years, I have become less and less bothered by Darcy’s apparent rude/arrogant/prideful behavior in the beginning of the book. And this is because I
truly understand him. I can really relate to Darcy’s social issues, high standards, and furious loyalty
Daniel Vincent Gordh- Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012)
towards his inner circle. Just focusing on LBD for a moment to give an example - even though Lizzie and everyone portrays him as stiff, boring and incredibly awkward, I can see through practically every situation, amused and somewhat saddened by how misunderstood he is.
A couple descriptions I've found from other people that I really like, "He’s just so clueless, a puppy in love with a girl he doesn’t know he’s ever gonna have", or "(at the beginning) kind of an agoraphobic lobster, a snob, and with such a dry humor that nobody gets him", or "what a Mr. Darcy should be: the shy, adorable puppy, the rich, pretentious snob, the stiff, awkward turtle, the surprisingly dry humorist".
I really like how we, as viewers/readers, gradually fall in love with him the same way that Lizzie does too. We’re able to see that perhaps he’s not as bad as we once thought at the beginning of the book/movie, and that despite his many complexities and contradictions, he’s actually quite an amazing person.
(Also, it doesn't hurt that he is portrayed by strikingly handsome men in the adaptions XP)
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I thought I'd include this because the way Darcy is portrayed in LBD cracks me up. This is entitled "Soulless Joyless Newsie":
Pretty much every movie/TV show has a theme song or main theme, right? Yes. We (those of us who don't live under a rock) all know this.
But, are you aware that the fandoms surrounding those movies/TV shows also have theme songs?
Yeah. We do. At least some of them. Well actually, I refer to them as anthems.
A fandom can get an anthem in any way, but most often from a video (as you will see from my examples below) and most of them are completely ridiculous. But that's the joy of being in a fandom. Just watching the show is half the fun. Seeing other people freaking out and sharing their opinions and being creative, silly, etc. creates all kinds of inside jokes for your fandom. The Sherlockians (BBC's Sherlock fandom) are famous for this. They border on actual insanity (I am not joking).
Anyways, I'm just going to share a couple of examples of the anthems from my fandoms here and the backstory (if I know it).
WHOVIANS
Fandom: Doctor Who
Anthem: 500 Miles by The Proclaimers
Ah, I remember the day we got our anthem. Well, not the exact date, but I remember it happening. It all started with a video. Apparently after Season 4 wrapped up, the entire cast and crew made a video to the 500 Miles song. However, they didn't release this video to the public until after Season 6 had aired. So all those actors and a lot of that crew in the video had left the show by that point, so the fandom was very excited by it. So much so, that the song eventually became our anthem and every new Whovian has to watch that video at some point.
SHERLOCKIANS
Fandom: Sherlock
Anthem: Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5
I'm not entirely sure where this originated from. I know what you're thinking, "Moves Like Jagger? Wut?". I told you, the Sherlockians are pretty much insane... I should post about them later. That'll be an entertaining subject XD. Anyways, I joined the fandom rather late and there was SOOOO much to catch up on in there joke-wise. I think that the song was originally on a YouTube video that someone made in the Sherlock fandom's very early stages. It repeated funny movements that the characters made over and over so that it looked like they were dancing with the song Moves Like Jagger over it. I have actually seen the video, but I don't know if that's where the anthem actually originated.
This isn't the original video. This is just a random Sherlock video I found to the song that kind of gives the gist of the original video. (I couldn't find the original ANYWHERE).
MERLIKNIGHTS
Fandom: Merlin
Anthem: You're the Voice by John Farnham
I know where this one came from for sure. The two stars of the show, Bradley James and Colin Morgan (Arthur and Merlin respectively) filmed themselves lip-synching to You're the Voice in numerous locations. The footage was included on the Merlin special features. It is hilarious. Like the 500 Miles video to the Whovians, every Merliknight has to watch this video at some point.
POTTERHEADS
Fandom: Harry Potter
Anthem: Harry Potter in 99 Seconds by Paint
I'm pretty sure that song is right. Basically all Potterheads know it and I did my research whilst looking up the anthems for each fandom and more than one source claimed it was so. It's a fan-written song summing up all the Harry Potter books in 99 seconds to the tune of Harry Potter melodies.
SUPERNATURALISTS
Fandom: Supernatural
Anthem: Carry On My Wayward Son by Kansas
I don't watch Supernatural, but I spend enough time around Supernaturalists to know what their anthem is and to know that they get intense feels whenever they sing it. So I know it's significant to their show somehow. I do not know where it originates from though, so sorry.
I've just got to say, sometimes I really question my moral principles whilst watching certain movies. Now, not to say I'm a bad person or anything because normally I totally stick to the right way and yadda yadda (not to brag either, just stating a fact). I'm also a stickler for canon (canon is the way things are actually written in movies and not what people make up). So if it happens in the movie, that's how it happens in my head. If this character ends up with that character, that's what I accept. And so on.
However...
Every once in a while there will be a movie where I just don't accept the canon and/or I really start to question my moral principles concerning the plot. It rather concerns me sometimes.
There are two examples I can think of off the top of my head: Dial "M" For Murder and The Phantom of the Opera.
I saw Dial "M" For Murder for the first time a couple months ago and I was freaking out the whole time. Not because it was a murder movie, but because I didn't know who I was supposed to be rooting for. I was hoping that the murderer would get away with it for most of the time! It wasn't like the person he was trying to murder really deserved it or anything (and that's another thing, why would I think anybody deserves to be murdered??), he just kind of felt like killing her. Yet, I still wanted him to get away with it. WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?
Then there's The Phantom of the Opera, one of my favorite musicals of all time. It's canon for Christine to end up with Raoul, so typically I would accept that in my head. Nope. Not in the 2004 movie at least. I am most excited by all the scenes with Christine and the Phantom. But the Phantom's not a very good guy. He's a murderer for crying out loud! However, I always feel really bad for him and just want to cry for him. To make things worse I do NOT like Raoul (with his whinny voice and his blow-dried hair), so I always want Christine to choose the Phantom over him. But he's a psychopath murder! Once again, WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME!?
(Just so you know, I'm not really freaking out at myself here, this is just a little sarcastic rant. Although, these are genuine thoughts/concerns of mine otherwise I wouldn't have written them down. I'm just not THAT worried about them.)
Well, well, well, I had to post about this sometime. If you are friends with me on Facebook, you are probably already aware of my love for this... I guess you could call it a show. I call it a show. *shrugs* Anyways, for those of you who don't know, it is a web series about Elizabeth Bennet as she vlogs about her life. Yes, they are actual actors playing the characters and there is a team of writers that write scripts for each episode, but it's told like Lizzie is a real woman living in today's world.
As it's tradition in these kinds of posts, I'm going to talk about how I was introduced to this. This last August I was browsing on my other blog and (if I recall correctly) came across a post that had a screencap of Lizzie that was labeled as Lizzie Bennet. Recognizing the name from Pride and Prejudice I was intrigued at
Lizzie as Mrs. Bennet
first, but thought it was just someone taking a picture of themselves and being silly or something. After browsing a bit longer, I came across a video labeled: "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries- Tale of Two Gents - Ep: 38". I recognized one of the girls in the thumbnail from the picture earlier. Curious, I immediately pressed play and watched as two young women claiming to be Lizzie and Jane Bennet took score of the good and bad qualities between Wickham and Collins to see who had more. I found it very entertaining and searched to see if there were more. There were. The one I had just watched was the latest one, so I went back and watched the very first one and continued on until I was caught up. Now, I'm still watching it. There's a new video every Monday and Thursday at 9:00am.
So basically it's telling the story of Pride and Prejudice in modern times. Everyone knows the story about the crazy mother who wants to marry off her daughters and how Lizzie meets and doesn't get on with Darcy at the start, but how they gradually start to fall in love. Yeahhhh... it's only one of my favorite stories EVER! But we've heard it so many times, why should this one be so great? Let me tell ya...
Lydia as Bing Lee and Lizzie as Darcy
They put such amazing twists on some things and change certain aspects of it that it's such a fresh new take on it and I find it very enjoyable. You mostly see Lizzie (because well, they're her diaries), but you start meeting other characters like Wickham and Collins and Bing Lee (Bingley) and Caroline and even eventually... Darcy 8D. But most of the time, Lizzie does costume theater when she's talking about people or events. Meaning, she (or someone else) dresses up in a certain costume for a certain person and acts out a scene that has or could happen. So every time she puts on the doctor's costume you know it's Bing Lee, or when she puts on the bowtie and newsboy hat it's Darcy, or when she puts on the goggles it's Wickham, or the flower in her hair is Jane, etc.
Also, how they don't JUST focus on the story. That is to say, they don't stick so strictly to how it happens in the book. It actually is a modern woman living in a modern world with modern day problems. So there's talk about school, and shopping, and pirates and ninjas, and stuff XD.
Charlotte, Lizzie, Lydia, and Jane
CHARACTERS (thus far): Elizabeth (Lizzie) Bennet:played by Ashley Clements- Middle Bennet sister and the narrator of most of the vlogs. She is a graduate student studying mass communications and strongly believes women should be highly educated and do more with their lives than simply pursue husbands. Charlotte Lu: played by Julia Cho- Lizzie's best friend and the director/editor of her vlog. Charlotte wants to be a filmmaker and convinced Lizzie to start her vlog as part of a school project. Jane Bennet:played by Laura Spencer- Eldest of the Bennet children, working as an overworked, underpaid merchandise coordinator in the fashion world. She is incredibly polite and sweet and, according to Lizzie, "practically perfect in every way". When Bing Lee moves into town, Jane is immediately smitten with him, much to the absolute joy of her mother. Lydia Bennet:played by Mary Kate Wiles- Youngest Bennet child. She is "feisty, energetic, and unapologetic." She has also created a series of her own videos starring herself, her cousin Mary, and her cat, Kitty, who apparently follows her everywhere. Bing Lee:played by Christopher Sean- ("Bingley" in Pride and Prejudice) Young, wealthy medical student who moved into the Netherfield House in the same neighborhood as the Bennets. He quickly
Lizzie and Lydia
falls for Jane Bennet and begins to date her. His sister is Caroline and his best friend is William Darcy. Caroline Lee:played by Jessica Jade Andres- Bing Lee's sister. She is aware of Lizzie's diaries and appears to help Lizzie keep Bing and Darcy from discovering them during Lizzie and Jane's stay at Netherfield. But what are her true intentions? *taps chin in thought* Ricky Collins:played by Maxwell Glick- Former classmate of Lizzie and Charlotte's with a wide vocabulary who asks that he be addressed only as Mr. Collins. He has received a large sum of money and is attempting to foray into the world of web video. Darcy's aunt, Catherine de Bourgh, is his benefactress and venture capitalist, and he greatly admires her. William Darcy:played by Daniel Gordh- Bing Lee's best friend and the wealthy CEO of an entertainment corporation. He was staying with Bing and Caroline at Netherfield. He is described by Lizzie as snobby and condescending. Darcy surprises Lizzie by confessing his love for her when she is visiting Charlotte. For a LONG time, Darcy was referred to but never seen and was often impersonated by Lizzie and other characters. George Wickham:played by Wes Anderhold- Coach of a university swim team and a friend and former love-interest of Lizzie's. George has a past with Darcy. Fitz Williams:played by Craig Frank- ("Colonel Fitzwilliam" in Pride and Prejudice) Darcy's outgoing and lively friend and colleague. Lizzie meets him while dining with Catherine de Bourgh. Georgiana (Gigi) Darcy:played by Allison Paige- William Darcy's sister and a graphic designer at Pemberly Digital. She was once into swimming, but gave it up and is now nationally ranked in tennis. Mrs. Bennet: Lizzie's mother. She appears to be a traditional Southern woman, eager to see her daughters married and interested in little else besides neighborhood gossip. Mr. Bennet: He appears more calm and levelheaded than his wife, though one of his favorite activities, according to Lizzie, is winding her up. Catherine de Bourgh: Darcy's aunt and an extremely wealthy venture capitalist who is the primary investor in Collins & Collins, the new media firm run by Mr. Collins. Catherine is very attached to her sickly dog who she calls Annie Kins. She is quick with her opinions and judgements.
Click to enlarge
There's lots of good times whilst watching these videos. For example, referring back to Darcy. I mentioned in his character description that we didn't actually meet him for a LONG time. We (the fandom) dealt with it for a while, but once it got to like episode 45-50 people were complaining (when I say complaining, I mean just little comments like "When will we see Darcy?" "Will we ever get to meet Darcy?" and whatever. The LBD fandom is surprising nice). Actually there were comments WAY before that, but it started getting really bad by that point. It was eventually confirmed that we would meet him eventually. I had my bets on which point of the story that would be (I was right, just FYI).
I just had to include this because I find it quite hilarious
Finally, it got to that point. He walks in the room at the end of the video... AND YOU COULD ONLY SEE HIM FROM THE NECK DOWN!!!
The fandom exploded. We had to wait until the next video came out until we could see his face! I swear, that was the longest two days of my life! This was called Darcy Day Part I.
Darcy Day Part II was when the next episode finally came out and we got to see his face. Once again, the fandom exploded.
There have been several events like this where the fandom explodes, although Darcy Day takes the cake for the biggest one. It's the best when things like that happen. Because even though you know the story, you still wait in anticipation for what's going to happen next. Darcy Day was different since we were only waiting to see what he looked like, but there are other instances where I'm so excited to find out what happens next or whatever. I like trying to figure out what's happening in the preview clip at the end of every episode. (BTW, the LBD fandom sucks at reading lips XD)
Wow, this turned out longer that I thought it would. Welp *shrugs* Here's a sort of trailer to end this rather extensive post:
So, if you're a Pride and Prejudice fan, you MUST watch these videos! They are so great! I'll even give you a link to the entire playlist right here.
While I was staying with my Grandma up in Canada this last Christmas vacation, she asked to see some things I had been working on (I believe she was hoping I had made some movies and/or drawn some drawings). I did have one new movie to show, but no drawings (I know, I'm kinda ashamed of myself). However, I showed her some of the pictures I had created digitally. She was rather impressed with them. Actually, I don't think impressed is quite the word. She couldn't quite wrap her head around the idea of making pictures like that. She kept asking me questions of how I did this and that, and how I got it to look like that, and STILL she couldn't fathom it. I wonder what she thought all the movie covers and stuff came from. Someone had to make them.
Anyway, it got me thinking, since I had some time up there, I made another picture and took screen-shots of it after I completed each step. I've decided to post them here with a brief explanation of what's happening, just because.
Now I don't have a fancy photoshop program or anything. I do all this on Pages on a Mac computer.
First I need to pick a subject. I was on a BBC Merlin spree at the time, so that's what I chose.
Then I have to picture about what I want in my head before I start. (Some artists sketch it out. If this were a serious project, I might, but this is just for my own amusement.)
Now to the actual project...
First I start out with a blank background. (My default color is black. Sometimes I change it.)
Then I pick out the picture(s) I want and put them in place.
Then I blend the edges. (There's a setting on Pages to do this. It's a picture frame)
I decided one of the pictures didn't quite fit what I had pictured in my head, so I changed it. Also I added some other pictures to fill in the space. (Both pictures of both characters are similar)
I blend the edges on the new pictures as well.
I want a quote on it so I add a text box and type it in there. Then I reposition the text box to where I want it on the picture.
I decided that I wanted the golden eyes to stand out more. So I changed the opacity (transparency) of the original pictures to much less, then I took a copy of the same photo and cropped it just around the eyes and blended the edges. Then I put those eyes over the original photo so it looked like the eyes were brighter than the rest of the photo.
I make a few last minute tweaks such as changing the shade of the text, adding shadows here and there, revealing or cropping more of a certain photo, changing the opacity of a photo or text, etc. And voila! The final product:
This was a fairly simple and quick project. Some of the pictures I've done were much harder and much more time consuming. One in particular is one I've titled "I Don't Want to Go- Ten". It literally took probably around two or three hours to complete. Finding the pictures, putting them in place, cropping them properly. I can't really describe the true extent of it. But it turned out to be one of my all-time favorites that I've created.
You can see most of my creations on my Facebook page (My Creations album), but I'll put just a couple of my favorites here.
