Allthingsjovan.com Blog will feature commentary from JOVAN fans. It our great pleasure to share with you the insightful thoughts of our FanFiction Diva and Jovanslut Bradley Spence, known to many of you as oltlfantimes10.
Enjoy!
I can’t figure out the exact date it was that JOVAN first caught my attention. I do know it was over the holiday season, between around Thanksgiving and early December. I do know where I was that first time I spotted them though, my mother’s living room couch. I was always a fan of One Life to Live, started with Marty’s rape trial, and went on from there. I would check back several times a year to se if I could get hooked again. Well in either November 2004 or December 2004 I was hooked again.
This damn soap pulled me in with two characters that were new to me and from my past relationship, new to OLTL. I watched the day after Todd and Blair’s non wedding, hoping that the show would continue this intense make out session between two characters I later learned where John and Evangeline. But I didn’t get that, but that was OKAY! I and the rest of the soap viewing world got something even better, an adult conversation about the pitfalls of love, relationship and commitment’s made between two adults. I learned about the tragedy John had suffered and the woman, Evangeline’s view on marriage and matters of the heart due to her own personal issues.
I sat intrigued, captivated, enthralled in two characters so quickly that it literally left me begging for more, hating the weekend and begging for a Monday to come. I was on the Soap Net message boards in a heartbeat, not knowing about any other one’s at first. Then came the ABC message boards and Swept Away.
Ahhhhhh………..
Fan fiction the ultimate DRUG! And I became an addict. I’m not ashamed to say I rationed it at first. I was sucking it up then found myself quickly running out of my drug so I learned to pace myself. One chapter here, two chapters there, never a whole story at once because I would O.D. My life became the show, or should I say John and Evangeline became my life. Clips, Bios, website after website, fan fic after fan fic story; I was never fulfilled. That was until I started to do my OWN THANG!
Then I had a new drug, it pumped through my veins, in my head and poured out of my finger tips.
Writing…..
I never was good at it, grammar sucked, mind raced so fast (still does) that I couldn’t get it on the screen or the paper, (still quiet a problem, even as I write this…) I procrastinated on papers, and school work, lied to fried about being sick just to stay home and write to feed my new addiction. Friends found my new obsession odd, but hell so am I! I met new friends via John and Evangeline and my writing obsession. Then the unthinkable happened!
Wooden boy David Fumero aka Cristian ‘The Loser’ Vega decided he wanted to get off his GQ ass and work. Oh not to mention Ms. Melissa ‘I want what she has’ Archer decided that Michael and Renee’s paring was too popular, and she wasn’t being featured enough for her over grown ego to handle.
Let’s not forget the ULTIMATE TRANSGRESSION, the introduction of Ms. Dena ‘I think I call myself a writer’ Higley decided to ungracefully bring her notions of what makes a good soap to my beloved One Life to Live. Her hair brained notions of creating Events rather than Character driven plots hurt my heart. Yes, there were some amazing John and Evangeline moments under Hig’s current reign, but it didn’t and couldn’t compare with what my DVD edits gave me before she decided to inflict pain, suffering and stupidity on the citizens of Llanview. Who I once knew as my ruthless yet kind hearted and caring lady lawyer was gone. My brooding, emotionally crippled cop had all but disappeared.
By the time the KCK storyline was over with the removal of the Non-Buchanan from the pit of ‘where her trifling ass should have stayed’ was over my love for the show was gone. I fell off the ABC message boards, my lurking on the Yahoo groups dwindled. Prime example of my obsession…I went to school about an hour and a half away from my mother’s house, I had to find something to pass the time on the drive. At the peak of my obsession, I had the ABC message board programmed into my cell phone’s web browser, as well as my Yahoo email address. I found the perfect way to pass the time, I would read message board posts on my CELL. DANGEROUS, Yes I know! But it was all in the name of my love of John and Evangeline, Michael and Renee.
Now with REG possibly leaving the show, my viewing of this show is no more. My TIVO has Three thumbs down on One Life to Live to prevent it from ever being recorded. I barely participate in message boards, yahoo, ABC, Soap net, or SOC. The only thing that has lasted has been my desire to WRITE. It is still an obsession, I still put off work to write, write at work when I should be testing kids, or working with teachers. When an idea pops in my head, it takes everything in me to focus on my work and get that done before posting a new chapter or new story.
I will for ever be grateful for the talents of Michael and Renee they introduced me to some amazing friends, writers, and Jovan addicts. They showed me, that hell I can write romantic love stories, family stories, suspense thrillers, comedies and angst that would make a grown man weep. Not to mention passion between two characters that so many witnessed and felt. So many people have said, they felt as if they were peeping Tom’s when witnessing John and Evangeline’s relationship.
The reality that Michael Malone created will never be matched by any other soap couple in history (my opinion of course, I’m sure other’s share it). Dean Higley has ruined my soap and my couple. I wanted them back, but now that I think about it, she would never do them the justice that they so deserve. I will continue to write, I have ideas that spring from movies, to television shows, to commercials, not to mention my mother’s wild and active imagination as well. She doesn’t find it weird in the least, hell she gave me the idea to write The Masks We Wear!
I love Evangeline and John, there are so many people who are just now finding them and growing to understand other Jovan fans obsession and determination to bring them back to the show. They will forever live on in fan fiction, our hearts, minds, and DVD’s. Thanks for letting me share my love and obsession with MY ultimate Soap Couple….
5 comments:
You hit everything on the mark. I became a fan of jovan with the dare kiss and became and huge fan when someone posted a jovan story on there and posted the link to Pari site to read it. It was my first story called if I were different would you love me the same and I was hooked every since. I was like every one going to all the sites message bored it was the highlight of my day to watch jovan twice and to go on message bored to talked about today show. But my happiest came to a end when MA and DF mess up story effected jovan. When seen to adults love care for one another and bam next thing I know we have to dumbass couples born joiel and crisvan. What is even sadder that people who said the love jovan and jovan only and wouldn't change has. Those same ones are crisvan fans. Yeah jackass may gave her the words but he treated her like crap. He pushed her on more the once. Tell her who she can be friends with like van is his poperty not his girlfriend. Called her a slut and hoe in his words. Then john use to have a mind to that hefa came along. He couldn't do his job right always had to babysit her because she did stupid things and didn't have a life. Those crisvan and joiel fans say to us wake up it over. But jovan never over and it pissed them off when they know there couples suck and ME and REG played two adults THAT RIGHT ADULTS with jovan and gave us one of the best couples in daytime in a long time. The writers can't write how to get a dam paper bag let alone write good story lines. Soaps use to be great and now soaps are the most boring stupid shit you see of tv. That is why I can't watch util I see good story lines until then Can't watch it. This girl will always be a jovan fan only and not abc writers joiel or crisvan going to change my mind.
You tell it, Bradley! JoVan is THE couple of OLTL, yesterday, today and tomorrow!
"They will forever live on in fan fiction, our hearts, minds, and DVD’s. Thanks for letting me share my love and obsession with MY ultimate Soap Couple…."
I couldn't agree more. JoVan was one of a kind. They were that shooting star in the sky and when its gone, its gone but it leaves you in awe long after its gone. They invoked emotions in ME and in US (I will be so bold as to speak for the jovan fanbase) that no other couple has ever done before or dared to. Its always nice to know that I am not alone in the craziness that I have in the name of J&E and in the name of MY ultimate Soap Couple...(its a good thing I can share!) or your ass would be MINE! (i have a feeling you will take that in a gay way so i should probably delete it but I wont)
DAYUM that is nothing but the truth. You go Bradley tell it girl.
Well, I've said on many occations that I became hip to Jovan after the breakup - the Aug 4/5 scenes is what did me in. After watching those scenes, I found every clip I could and dare I say the more I found, the more in love I became with John and Evangeline. I believe their intimacy is what really draws you because I've never seen an on-screen couple with such ease and comfort before.
One clip that is proof of this is their second love scene - Angel Square Hotel/the aftermath. They are sitting in bed and John is playing with Van's toes. Then soon later, he is running his hand up and down her leg, not once or twice but multiple times. ME played this to the hilt because to me(am I the only one?)it seems as if John is fascinated in this moment, taking his time learning the feel of her. This is a great JOVAN moment if there ever was one.
JOVAN will always be near and dear to me because in my heart I know ME and REG both loved JOVAN and they did their damnest to give us a taste of what thinking outside the box could be like. That's something writers nor a dumb ass network can't take away.
John~N~Evangeline Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow!!!
Post a Comment