Maww-rage, That Dweam Within a Dweam...

Hope you're having a great Saturday even though it's now 56% less fabulous. (Yeah. Yeah. I'm still not over it.) Yesterday was good in spite of the news. I got in 1,000 words in all at once on Blackthorne in spite of the migraines. Always a good thing. I love it when things start clicking in new ways and the characters are cooperating and we're all having a lovely time.

In other news, I've been watching Netflix's House of Cards, finally. I don't know what it is about me and stories about politics run by a nest of spiders, but I absolutely love it. Always have.

I'm now in the middle of season 2, after having taken a break.[1] By far, my favorite thing is the portrayal of Claire and Francis's marriage. They're both powerful, despicable, and beyond manipulative. And yet, they absolutely have one another's backs. It's fascinating to watch because most often in a story like that the wife is a weak doormat. In this case, Claire is every bit his equal--if not his superior. She brutally pushes Francis when she senses he needs pushing, and cares for him when he needs care. And it's demonstrated even though she never says "I love you." in the first season. (For example: she buys him a rowing machine and orders him to use it.) Thus, at first, you're lulled into thinking it's a loveless partnership. It's not that at all as becomes brutally obvious later.[2]

I'm enjoying watching the two of them rip and tear their way through the realms of power like a pair of life-mated great white sharks. I'm cheering them on--even though I know they aren't even remotely good people. It's just...weird. The writers seem to know exactly when I've had enough of a character doing the stupid too...Zoe Barnes springs to mind.[3] And right when it becomes predictable BAM!! table flip. I love that. Another thing? When someone calls Francis on a tell, he ditches said tell no matter how much emotion he has invested in it.[4] That is a level of ruthlessness that takes my breath away. To be honest, I want a good character who is equally as effective without falling into the Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely trap. (It's the first, most obvious pitfall, after all.) The only one I've ever found was Captain Carrot from Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld. (One day, I'll be a good enough writer to pull that one off. We'll see.[5]) House of Cards is inspiring nonetheless.

----------------------------------------------------------
​[1] I'm not a fan of infidelity as a plot device. Hell, I'm not fond of it as anything in a story to be honest. It's not shocking. It's dull as dishwater. It's been done to death. If your characters are supposedly dangerous-smart and experienced, then they aren't likely to be the type to fall for that sophomoric bull crap. The Big Bad is far less scary, if he's distracted by something so mundane. But I was in it for the character study and Robin Wright (and all the other awesome old women actresses.) And then the writers won me back when they flipped the table on that old, boring plot thread.
​[2] The General. Yeah. That. I so knew that wasn't going to end well for him. I'm still watching the fallout and grinning.
[3] Gods, how I hated her. She was the Dark Side Sansa Stark (the novel version) of the series, blithely thinking she's smart, gorgeous, and powerful and getting everything she wants when she's absolutely being used and then tossed. Literally. Hell, I so saw that one coming, bats and ghouls. Watch a freaking Hitchcock movie, will you, dumbass? Rather than cheering, I breathed a sigh of relief. Nothing annoys me more than Stupid + Spoiled + Sadistic. I'm not alone in this. We all cheered when Joffrey died, didn't we?
[4] I'm talking about the ring.
​[5] And now you know why I adore Vetinari as much as I do Vimes, Tiffany, and Granny Weatherwax.