XF movie HUH?

I'm looking at a pop-up ad that says the X Files movie sequel is in theaters this July. I... didn't know that. I remember hearing that one was being made, but for some reason I thought it was only in production, and would be out next year or something.

I don't know if I *want* to see it.

Okay, that's a lie. I do want to see it. But I'm afraid to see it-- just like I'm afraid to watch the 4th season of Doctor Who that's airing right now. And just like I am afraid to watch the final season of Veronica Mars.

It's why I fucking hated the Harry Potter epilogue. (aside from the fact that it was poorly written)

I'm really itchy about ships, see. I can handle my ship getting a tragic ending or a happy ending or ending up with different people, but once it ends, I want it to end. Because once the canon stops I can go running off into the distance with fanfic and speculation and watercool talk and incredibly detailed essays about why I think X couple does or does not have a future past canon.

Adding more canon later to something that I have already come to terms with isn't a *good* thing in my mind, in fact it's a BAD thing. It takes away my opportunity to speculate. It takes a thousand possible doors and slams them shut until only one single door is left, swinging in the ominous empty hallway of the show's potential.

I skipped the last two seasons of the XF, I admit it. I lost interest. But I did see the final episode of the show, and I know vaguely what was going on, and that was the end of that. My show was over, my ultimate first true television OTP was resolved with the confirmation that they were partners turned best friends turned lovers turned survivors, and they were probably the closest things to soul mates and "made for each other" that you'd ever get on television, and even when the world was ending and everything was bad they at least had each other. Nifty. I can dig that.

...and now there's a movie. A movie that will probably totally wreck that dynamic just for a bid at sexual tension (damn that bee!) or something.


You know, the only time something like this has ever happened to one of my shows and had it be a good thing was Farscape. And that's probably only because the series finale was never intended to be anything but a season finale, so it felt like it needed the miniseries to end it. Also, I knew the writers couldn't POSSIBLY fuck up that OTP in just four hours of television, because John/Aeryn were about as close to made for each other as Mulder & Scully, but with a director/creator/writers team that I trusted more than Chris Carter.

So, to end this now too-long post... I don't know what the XF movie is about, I haven't seen any trailers, and I don't know if I'll see it. Except I probably will. On video or something. I dunno. I probably will, actually. But I'll have to have lots of good whine first. Because even if the movie does wreck my OTP, they can't *really* wreck my OTP, because Mulder/Scully became untouchable truthiness back in season 6 or 7 and in my head that's where the story really finished. All this is just...fanfic, or something.

FMA anime ships? TALK TO ME. [also: MOVIE SPOILERS]

Warning: I haven't read the manga, am not spoiled, but plan to some day when it's completely finished.

I have this really strong desire to talk to someone about FMA anime pairings, specifically Ed/Noa, of which like 7 people in the entire internet ship and I'm one of them. I have other pairings I ship (Roy/Riza, Scar/Lust), but this one hardly anyone ever wants to talk about.

Noa was only in the movie and, if you've seen the movie, you know how she has a complicated relationship with Edward that isn't precisely romantic but certainly has sexual undertones, and you know how it ends.

I am sort of vaguely aware that the entire fandom hates her. I get why... she is a passive character in many ways, and she takes up "valuable screentime" that could have been used on Mustang or Winry, and in the end her role in events is somewhat negative (gray-area at best) and ineffectual.

So why do I like her? Why do I ship her with Edward? Even though the shipping is really just in my head because I've only ever written a drabble for them, and there's like no fanfic whatsoever to read.

I don't know precisely why I like her, instead of being pissed off at her for being a damsel in distress, but I just do. I have, however, figured out why I like her with Edward: she's not perfect, and Edward is drawn to imperfect people. I think this is why it works for me. Not only did I like the vibes in the movie, and what Ed represented to Noa and what Noa represented to Edward, but I can just see it happening, you know? Edward's character throughout the series (and Alphonse's too) has been drawn to imperfect people. A lot of the "good guys" in the show that he allies himself with are morally suspect or outright killers themselves, or are reformed killers, or will be later. Edward manages to be extremely moral while also being intimately familiar with sin, guilt, responsibility, and death. He navigates a world of imperfect people who make mistakes and suffer extreme consequences for those mistakes.

( anime and movie spoilers, but not manga please )