Whatever I did, I guess I'm sorry.

I can't fix anything by being angry at you, trying to find ways to convince myself that it's all your fault and not mine, that you're the selfish one.  It won't make me feel any better.  I'm better off just getting over it; trying to figure out what I did wrong and take responsibility, learn something from it... and just let go of whatever anger I might feel.

I wish you had said something to me sooner, given me a chance to make it right — or at least try — before you decided to cut me out of your life with no warning.  But I guess I get it.  No one likes confrontations.  If you thought it was easier, better, to just forget about me and give up on our friendship... then that's your choice.  And it's your right.

I know there's nothing I can do about it.  I know it's dumb to try.  The best thing I can do is try to forgive the hurt, and hope that one day you'll forgive me as well.

Well... OT3, rather.

(Dude, I'm all kinds of inspired to post, now... I don't even know, man.  I just hope this lasts a bit.  lol.)


But anyway: who else out there is watching V?  And please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks Jack/Hobbes/Erica would be the hottest thing evar?*  I mean, truth be told, I've been torn between Jack/Erica and Hobbes/Erica for quite some time, now; so, it's hard to believe I didn't think of this sooner!  (Considering how obviously slashy Jack and Hobbes are, with all that wonderful tension between them.)

In fact, if anyone has ANY fic recs — and I mean, any possible combination of these three characters — you would be forever my hero.  Tru fax.

---

* ( slight V spoilerCollapse )

I wonder why people never just post short, random things on LJ like you might on Twitter or Tumblr or Facebook.  Or... maybe they do?

Anyway.  Anybody wondering what's been going on with me lately?  No?

Oh well, I'll tell you anyway.



I'm sick with a cold.  For like, the fourth or fifth day now, I think.  I can't remember for sure.  I hope to get better soon... but I'm not doing much to speed it along. :\

I've been working on hearts_and_guts stuff.  I mean, duh.  If you know me at all, you probably already know that.  For anyone who cares: the submissions we've received so far have been pretty stellar, and I honestly think that everyone's gonna love their gifts.  That being said... I'm up to my elbows in pinch-hitters and dropped assignments right now.  I wish I knew how to do this faster.

I met a cute, very charming guy on New Year's Eve, who gave me a ride home from the subway.  I know, I know... don't take rides from strangers in the middle of the night... but I did, and I haven't been axe-murdered.  Don't worry, I'm not going to make a habit of it; and no one else should, either.  Anyway... as I was saying, met a cute guy.  Seemed like he was flirting, and he asked me to go get a drink after, but it was late, so instead I gave him my number (like a genius, did not think to ask for his).  Long story short, he hasn't called.  Maybe I imagined the whole flirting thing; or maybe he was only interested in a quick hook-up, so since that didn't happen, he was never planning to follow up.  I dunno.  Who knows, maybe I'm better off.  Still sucks, though.

And this is getting a lot ramblier than I thought it would.  Moving on...

I've read some very good fic in the last day or two.  Fic I should probably rec — but I'm too lazy to go looking for links right now.  If you want recs, I guess, then just ask me.  Or I may post them later.  (They're all Metalocalypse, I'm afraid; sorry non-MTL fans.)

Speaking or recs, I've somehow managed to convince my friend Sheila to check out Men of a Certain Age, which I must say is a proud moment for me.  I love getting people into things; but more than that, I really think this is a show that she specifically would enjoy.  I don't know how many more of you might like it or not, but I would certainly recommend checking it out, if you have the time.

On a related note: thanks to tiktaalikroseae, my interest in Supernatural has been mildly resparked.  Mildly.  No, no... I really do want to watch it again some day, and see all that new stuff that's going on, because it does sound good.  But it would take a lot more time and effort than I've got right now.  Oh, for a good friend with Netflix.



Okay, random update over.  Anybody out there got anything to say? ask? shout at me?  I dunno, I'm bored.  But busy.  I crave human interaction, yet, like a true hypocrite, I can't promise I'll respond right away.  Or, ever.  No, that's a stretch... I do make an effort to respond to comments eventually, I swear.  Regardless, do talk to me if you're so inclined.

Enough stream of consciousness... back to work.

More and more lately, I notice that the advancement of special effects and the general growth of Hollywood budgets has taken a negative toll on the fantasy/adventure genre in modern film (animated movies notwithstanding).  Studios are shelling out big bucks to make a picture visually impressive, create eye-catching trailers to try to outdo each other at the box office... but in the process they seem to be neglecting to worry about plot, so in the end the overall quality truly suffers.

Don't get me wrong, I love fantasy with all my heart.  It's probably my favorite subject in both film and literature.  But for a movie (as much as a book; even though the mediums are pretty different), what matters to me most is substance.  I want to watch films that focus on telling a rich and engaging story more than they do on supplying stunning effects and breathtaking battle scenes, on life-like computer animation, or on fancy sets and costumes.¹

( more on this, plus some very minor Alice in Wonderland spoilersCollapse )


I do not think that fantasy as a film genre is completely doomed.  Since some quality pictures are still being made, clearly there is hope.  But I do think the high-scale production that has become a Hollywood benchmark is slowly choking the life out what was once a small but amazing part of the movie industry: spawning more and more big-budget hype films, and leaving fewer and fewer ones with any real substance.

Filmmakers need to realize what's happening before it's too late, before we've all forgotten what a good fantasy movie is supposed to look like.  They need to scale down on the special effects and get back to the roots of what makes this genre great...


If you're wondering how this post got so long?  It's because this is something I feel pretty strongly about.  It's not religion or politics, but fiction is a big part of my life; heck, if you're in fandom, it's probably a big part of your lives as well.  So yes, fiction (be it movies, books, or television) is something I'm passionate about.

I'd love to hear what the rest you guys have to say on the subject.  I hope I'm not the only one who feels the way I do... but if you disagree, by all means, don't be afraid to argue your point.

---

¹ Which, admittedly, I do appreciate.  I mean, I'm a real costume junkie.  But they still don't make a movie for me, when there's nothing else to hang your hat on.

² ( more Alice stuffCollapse )

³ I mention both Alice and Sweeney Todd, so it might seem that I'm ragging on Tim Burton.  Let me say, for the record, that I love him as a filmmaker: his movies have absolutely gorgeous sets and costumes and all-around fantastic visuals, a vintage-gothic style that really captures the imagination... and as a director he definitely knows how to make a scene pop.  That said, I have noticed that lately his films (at least, his live-action ones) tend to fall into that pretty-but-disappointing category for me.

*shrug* What can I say.  If Tim doesn't write the screenplays, then it's not entirely his fault, is it?  Maybe he should just try to work with better writers.  ...On the other hand, he did Big Fish in 2003, which I loved.  So there is that.

So, listening to my iPod on shuffle, "Be Our Guest" came up; and now I have a question...

If pretty much all the furniture and dinnerware in the Beast's castle are his transformed servants (which, honestly, doesn't make that much sense to begin with: I mean, how is it their fault that their boss/master was an egotistical, shallow jerk?), then what ever happened to the REAL furniture and dinnerware?  Did it magically disappear?  Did he have to throw it all out so he wouldn't have doubles?  Was the essence of his servants somehow fused with the existing inanimate objects in his possession?

Most importantly: when they revert back to their human forms once the spell is broken, does this mean the Prince and Belle totally have to refurnish that whole castle?

O.o





Anyone else ever wonder about this stuff?

I can't decide whether I love or hate Andy Dick right now.  I'm watching the 2006 Comedy Central Roast of William Shatner (which is overall hilarious, let me just say), and Andy's one of the roasters... and he's been giving off some very mixed signals in terms of his likability.

In the minus column:

( annoying things Andy Dick did during the roastCollapse )

On the other hand, in the plus column:

( hilarious/awesome things Andy Dick did during the roastCollapse )


So... I'm conflicted, here.  On the one hand, the homophobic-seeming stuff makes it a lot harder to enjoy his otherwise brilliant tribute to the cornerstone of slash.  I mean, for goodness sake, how are you going to make gay jokes about others when you can't take one yourself?  But on the other hand... MPREG AND GARY STU REFERENCES!  Dude, come on.  How do I not love a guy for that?

Of course, the licking was probably more WTF than anything else.  But I was still quite amused by it.  So, I dunno.


A few side notes:

* Betty White is a dirty little old lady... and I love it.  How did I never know this about her?
* I also didn't realize George Takei had such a sexy voice.  I mean, physically, he's so not my type; but... yum.
* Did you guys know Shatner was the guy in that Twilight Zone episode where there's something on the wing of the plane?  I totally didn't.  O.o

So, after bumming around y!Gallery for the last hour — and in particular, coming across this here — I've been inspired to make a belated New Year's resolution:

I will draw (and actually post) a minimum of one thing a month from now until 2011.

I know this probably won't seem like much to most of you... especially those who are fellow fanartists, because almost every other artist I know cranks out two or three pieces a month at a BARE MINIMUM.  But considering that I usually manage one or two things a year (not counting drawbles I do on the fly at cons, most of which NEVER GET SCANNED AND EMAILED TO ME, BLOODY HELL, WTF PEOPLE?), twelve pieces in twelve months is kind of a lot.

And: I need something that's going to light a fire under my hind regions!  Anything that'll get me to draw (and scan/post!), honestly.  Even if it's just a crappy resolution that I can only do my darndest to try and keep... it's still better than no motivation at all.


SO.  After hearts_and_guts is over and done with (read: March), I'll most likely be asking for prompts.  Maybe sooner... since, to keep this resolution in full, I'll have to draw something for February as well.  So, uh... look out for that!  You guys can feel free to start coming up now with things you'd like me to draw.

No promises... but there's certainly a better chance I'll draw something if you ask for it.  lol.

It seems that nearly everybody and their grandma has an original character (or several) these days.  I notice this on y!Gallery in particular.  And more and more, it makes me wonder: why don't I?

It's more than a general disinterest in OCs.  I admit, I find professional works of fiction by established writers* far more interesting than most original work by amateurs.  This is not to say that there aren't excellent writers in fandom... there are, and some of them are certainly skilled enough to produce original work well worth publishing.  But I'd still much rather read fanfiction than people's original stories, 90% of the time — no matter how good those stories are.

...Okay, sorry.  I'm getting off track.  I'm not much for original work, was my point.  But I'm warming up to it.  I won't get into that right now; anyway, that's not really the problem.

The thing is, what I love is other people's characters.  Characters from my favorite books, TV shows, moves... people like Gregory House, or Laura Roslin, or A.J. Crowley.  And when I even start to think about creating a character of my own, all the interesting personality traits that come to mind feel like I'm just borrowing them from the many works of fiction I've enjoyed.

Rebel?  Misanthrope?  Know-it-all?  Clever; straight-laced; snarky...  I've seen it all before.  I've liked it all before.  And trying to invent a personality that's truly different from the ones I already know and love?  Well, that just seems like it's gonna pale in comparison.

I mean, I don't want to create some replica of a Jack Sparrow or Buffy Summers, and just give them a different name.  But what else am I gonna come up with?  (On a side note: if I were trying to think up a Dethklok Klokateer — which seems to be the popular trend in MTL these days — I've no clue what trait I could possibly give them to make sure they can [realistically] survive longer than a week.  Other than astounding good luck.)

Maybe this is an imagination deficiency, who knows.  I mean, if I were already working with a plot, I could probably come up with some characters to fit the story; but otherwise, I just don't know.

Maybe it's all too much to bother with?

---

* Which includes movies and TV, mind you.

Well, I figured: what the heck.  Let's be less anal about this, and post before noon. :P


So, why do you think the male leads of some TV shows always seem to have such terrible first names?

Fox Mulder
Seeley Booth
Maddux Donner¹

(Why yes, I've gotten really into ABC's Defying Gravity² recently.  Shout-outs to anyone else watching this awesome show!)

But, seriously.  What were these guys' parents thinking?  "Let's toughen the kid up by getting him laughed at all through school"?  Then again, maybe that's exactly why (or a big part of why) these men turned out as well as they did.  Although, I guess Booth is the only one of them you would consider traditionally tough; but Mulder is very persistent, at any rate.³  And Donner is pretty decisive, I think, and certainly a good leader...

Anyway, I can't help but think that this use of bad first names must be intentional on the part of the shows' creators.  Because, they can't... not know, right?  What do you guys think?  If you've got your own take on this, please do share! :)

---

¹ I guess "Maddux" sounds really macho, if you think about it.  But... that only works if you actually are incredibly macho (and preferably not that smart).  It's like naming someone "Moose."

² And I'm really gonna need some icons of it, too.  Boy, howdy.
³ I have to be honest here, and admit that I haven't watched much X-Files.  But I want to, when there's time.

Wow, a full-on Harry Potter post.  Been a while, huh?


( Cut for slight Half-Blood Prince spoilers.  Just in case.Collapse )

Any thoughts, guys?  Agree, disagree... don't know what I'm talking about?  I'd love to discuss this further.

What if all my post titles were, just, Monarch quotes?  I'll tell you, I'm tempted to try it.


So, I watched the second to latest episode of Eureka ("Insane in the P-Brane") yesterday.  I like the show, but... science-fiction can be astoundingly dumb sometimes, have you ever noticed?  Some quick ponderings on that fact to follow.*  You don't have to watch Eureka to know or care what I'm talking about — but if you do watch, there might be some spoilers...

( ...so I'd better cut.Collapse )

---

* I'll say right now that it's entirely possible I don't know what I'm talking about.  On the other hand, I do have a dad who's a high-level mathematician, and likes to talk about this stuff.  I also checked on Wikipedia to make sure I wasn't just spouting nonsense.  So... I hope I'm not?  But if you have an opposing argument, do share.

** Which is a real thing, as it turns out.

I dunno.  You ever get that feeling, when you just keep thinking about something, and you need to say it?  Even if no one's gonna care, you need to get it out of your head...


( Some further thoughts on ship wars, fandom harmony, and diehard OTPers vs. so-called ship-hoppers. (While inspired by the happenings in Metalocalypse, this stuff equally applies to all fandom in general.)Collapse )


It got long and rambly there, so I thought I'd better cut it this time.  Still, I can't help but hope someone out there reads it...

If you disagree with me, please feel free to debate the issue; I promise I won't take offence.  Just be polite about it, and I'll be sure to be equally polite in return. :)

Normally, I would whine to JediPirate about this, I suppose... but she's not around right now, and it's kinda bugging me not being able to say anything — so I guess I'll just say it here.

I mean, look.  I don't really want to step on anybody's toes and seem like a bitch (or a canon nazi, or any of those other unpleasant things) by blatantly pointing out stuff in fandom that I dislike, when I know some people might disagree with me.  But I also don't want to not say anything, just because I'm trying to get everyone to like me (pfft... people would have to actually know who I am first, anyway).  Plus?  When something is a question of good writing — however subjective that might be — I think it's important that we say these kinds of things, and that hopefully somebody out there hears us.

So, anyway...


Skwisgaar Skwigelf does NOT use the Swedish word "nej" in place of the American "no" when he is speaking English.  He has never done this in canon, EVER.  And he's said "no" plenty of times.

This whole "nej" thing has become almost a fanon staple, despite being completely contrary to canon; and the more I see it, the more it hurts to read.  Please, for the love of Odin, people!  Stop making him act out of character.


I'm not even going to get into the fact that, being an immigrant in the US and knowing many other immigrants, I personally know for certain that most foreign people do not typically substitute yes and no in their own language for the words "yes" and "no" when speaking English.  I mean, none of us expect Metalocalypse to adhere to reality in every way.  But I'm talking about actual CANON here.

(And please, if I'm wrong, tell me that I'm wrong.  Show me just ONE example of Skwisgaar canonically using the word "nej," and I might shut up about this.  Honest.)




*sigh*

So, jedipirate just linked me to a couple news site articles reporting on LiveJournal Inc.'s recent downsizing:

http://mashable.com/2009/01/06/livejournal-layoffs
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10132684-36.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Supposedly it's due to the global economic decline, though the first article suggests that the bigger culprit here is a general loss of interest, due to the steady rise in popularity of less bloggy and more buddy-system focused social networks such as MySpace and Facebook.

(To tell you the truth, I kinda think this last part could almost be a good thing.  If you know me well, you might know that I have a deep-seated dislike of MySpace and its style of social networking, which I feel is geared to appeal most to teenyboppers and emo types, who are typically either around 16, or act like they are (even when they're in fact in their 30s).  I've seen LiveJournal associated with this type of crowd as well... and to be honest, from the depth of my El Jay-devoted heart, I'd like nothing more to see it break free from these associations.  If it means some loss of traffic, so be it; so long as the traffic we're losing is that of mindless, melodramatic teenagers, I'm not so sure we want them here in the first place.*)

But, back to the point:  Who thinks we should be worried about this?  The layoffs, I mean.  Show of hands?  Does LJ struggling financially mean we should all start packing our bags and backing up our journals in a hurry?  Or should we just sit back and wait it out, not paying it much mind?  Maybe something in between?

Frankly, I'm not so sure what to think yet.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Please note: this is in no way intended to offend anybody who happens to like MySpace, Facebook, or anything similar, as I know some of you do.  I have nothing against people who do enjoy using such forums, when those people are normal intelligent adults (or even normal intelligent teenagers; they do exist! O_O).

What I have a problem with is MySpace itself.**  It seems to me that it's built to attract a lot of the unintelligent types.  But that certainly doesn't mean that everyone who uses it falls into that category.


** Admittedly, I know far, far less about Facebook than I do about MySpace; other than the fact that, similar to MySpace, it appears to be geared less toward blogging and more toward collecting friends.  I do get the sense that it's a lot less annoying, format-wise.

I know, I know... no one is going to read this.  Or maybe someone is.  Goodness, I've pretty much lost track of whether anyone who watches Metalocalypse actually reads my journal.  (Need to go make more friends, I guess.)  And I think I may've just been unfriended by the one person who'd have been most likely to care about this kind of post.

But I do need to update my journal with something.  So, I will trudge on.


Anyway, I had a Toki/Skwisgaar bunny.  This morning, just hypothetically, I was trying to imagine what kind of T/S plot might make sense** to a person who doesn't find T/S canonically plausible (I won't say appeal — but at least make sense).  And this idea came to me.

It's sort of lame and cracky, to tell you the truth... but hey.  Crazier scenarios have been turned into good fic before; I've seen it.

So, I thought: what if Toki accidentally overdosed on some sort of wacky aphrodisiac drug (hey, it's Metalocalypse.  I mean, if a drug can erase your whole brain...), and as a result, he had to have sex within the next, say, hour, or he would die/go insane/his peen would fall off... something along those lines.  (Alternatively, it could also be that for whatever crazy reason, anyone in Dethklok who's a virgin is in some kind of mortal danger... and it turns out Toki has never had sex.  I mean, I know a lot of people don't like or don't really buy virgin!Toki.  But I could totally see it.  And I'll gladly explain my reasoning, if anyone asks.)

Anyway, either there's not enough time to find Toki a groupie, or the guys are somewhere (on their way to a concert, maybe?) where women are not readily available to them.  So basically, one of them has to sleep with Toki.  Everyone is very put off by the thought of ghey seksorz — and Toki himself is at least weirded out by the idea — but finally Skwisgaar volunteers.  Not because he's into it, but because he's the one who least wants Toki to die or whatever [something I feel is pretty supported by canon].  And possibly because he's the least picky in bed [something that could also be supported by canon].

And then the sex turns out to be surprisingly good... etc.


I'd actually really like to do something with this idea; I just don't know what.  It might be fun to play out as an RP one day, with the right person.  Or, I don't know, if anyone wants to use it as a fic bunny, you're welcome to it — just tell me so.  Though, I reserve the right to use it again myself/pitch it to someone else/submit it somewhere as a challenge... or whatever.

It might be fun to see it written by someone who's not a big-time Toki/Skwisgaar* shipper, I think.

Or it could just sit there in the back of my brain, gathering dust, until ultimately I forget all about it.  Who knows.  That might be kinda sad, though.


(By the way, please tell me if anyone thinks this thing calls for an LJ-cut.  I don't mind, I just never really know how long is too long.  Plus, people hardly ever seem to click on LJ-cuts. :\ )



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Just in case, if anyone here does that name-order thing (which I'll be honest, I hate); allow me to clarify.  "Toki/Skwisgaar" is not intended to imply that Toki would be on top during sex.  I just happen to think it sounds better that way.

** You have to understand: I'm of the mind that most pairings can be written realistically, and written well, if they are done right.  Including ones I personally dislike, or ones I don't find very believable.  Of course, not everyone shares this outlook... and I get that.  Trust me.  But theoretically, if someone did feel the same way as I do, then the right kind of story could make them buy a pairing they normally would consider unrealistic or out of character.

So, you know that Motown song:  Ain't no mountain high / Ain't no valley low / Ain't no river wide enough, baby...

To be honest, I don't really understand why a valley would be an obstacle. O_o  Isn't that basically just a plain?  Those are the easy areas to traverse, as opposed to... pretty much everything else.  I mean, I get that it's just a lyric, and it's there because valleys are more or less the opposite of mountains (though, really I think that's canyons, isn't it?).  But am I the only one to whom this doesn't quite make sense?

Not that song lyrics really have to make sense, or anything. >_>



Meanwhile, not doing much for Christmas Eve — just sittin' alone at home.  It's not as depressing as it sounds, honest.  My family's doing the big dinner and gift exchange on New Year's instead (which is the traditional Russian way), so this just means I have more time to buy last-minute presents.  Plus, it's not like Jesus's real birthday is in December, anyway.

I do kinda wish we also celebrated Hanukah (and were wealthier).  Then I'd get twice the presents. :P

Otherwise, if anyone cares... I've been occupying myself by [not] working on my hearts_and_guts assignment, and making more Metalocalypse LJ icons.  See?  *points to userpic*


Anyway, whatever you celebrate, if anything— Happy Holidays!

Boy, that's a lot of tags. *facepalm*

...Not that it matters much, since nobody around here seems to watch that show.  (Don't know why.  It's quite good.  And has hot guys, besides.)


Anyway.  I am seriously starting to ship Jax and Hale — the deputy police chief — I think.  And it's not just that authority figure/outlaw is my [not-so-]secret kink.  They're also both pretty... and boy, they hate each other.  (Well, more accurately, Sam Crow (the local SoA charter) hates non-corrupt law enforcement, and said law enforcement hates them; but that's pretty close.)

It's a lovely combination.

It's actually a bit strange for me to start developing a slash OTP so early into a series — considering I usually stick to het when it comes to most television.  And when I do rarely start liking a slashy pairing, half the time it'll get Jossed by one character leaving or something; or ( slight Nip/Tuck spoilerCollapse )

Sorry, rant over.  My uh, point is... it's kinda weird.  And I don't know if it'll last.  But right now, I love the idea of them together.  I mean, I don't kid myself that anything will ever happen in canon to lend merit to this pairing — beyond a lot more glaring and banter (and maybe even a fistfight or two... mmm), which can always be interpreted as UST.  But if there's fic out there about them?  Prefarably having hot, angly hate!sex... especially if there's dub-con...  I would read it in a heartbeat.

*resists running off to look for it this very moment*


...And I get that we're all supposed to ship Jax with whatshername, the doctor.  Maybe I will, eventually.  I do kinda like her, and I guess she and Jax could be sweet together... but I don't really see a ton of appeal at this point.  Maybe it's that I missed the first two episodes — I mean, in the ones I've seen, they've barely said two words to each other.

Meanwhile?  ( Spoilers for SoA 1x03: Patch Over Collapse )

So, I just realized something a little depressing about the nature of television programming.  TV shows — with the exception of those that get cancelled long before their time — are just about never as good in their last season as they were to begin with (many spectacular series finales not withstanding; I'm talking about a television season as a whole).

And true, not all shows are as good at the beginning as they are later on, but that is not the point either.  The point is, as last seasons (and sometimes even the last couple seasons) go, they tend to be full of stuff like tacky and/or boring plots, random gimmicks, a gratuitous amount of guest stars, and often the loss of many of the things — sometimes including cast members — that once made the show great.  Some of my own favorites are among the unfortunate examples: Buffy, Angel, Alias, Roswell, Ally McBeal...

About the only show I can think of where I've seen enough episodes to definitively say this isn't the case, is Home Movies.  And I love HM, and I love Brendon Small... but the show is a cartoon (and not even the kind with a real plot, like Metalocalypse or The Venture Bros.).


Can anybody out there give me at least one or two other examples that might weaken this theory?  Anyone?  I'd love to be proven wrong.  (Though, please no spoilers.)

I just realized something.  Ok, technically... I already knew this — but I was reminded of it today.

I support gay marriage.  Hands down, one hundred percent.  And I believe that even if you're a Christian or a Muslim or a practicing Jew, of the sort where your faith designates homosexuality a sin, you ought not have a problem with it legally/politically.  Because no one should be forced to follow others' religious beliefs.

That said, gay marriage in fic... is sort of a turn-off for me.  This is a very subjective statement, of course, and there are plenty of exceptions (not the least of them: fandoms where gay marriage is a canon reality, such as Queer as Folk).  But every time I read a phrase like "Draco's husband" in the summary of a fic, my usual reaction is to think: "Ugh, this sounds cheesy.  I probably won't like it."

I really hope I don't offend anyone by openly admitting this.

Perhaps the problem is, when gay marriage is randomly inserted into a fandom that is pretty removed from reality, it starts to feel [to me] like the author is just trying to be political — or politically correct — by including it.  It might also be that, when applied to a traditional sort of slash pairing*, such a 'gay politics' move** as getting married seems contrived and out of place.  Again, this is all very subjective...

But that might explain why gay marriage in AUs where the characters are openly and undeniably gay, and are removed from their original fandom environment, probably wouldn't bother me.  Nor would it in most stories where getting married — or, sometimes being forced to get married — actually plays into the plot in some significant way (there are a lot of these in Harry Potter).

It's food for thought, anyway.



* i.e.: the kind where the characters are straight or sexually ambiguous to begin with, rather than outright gay

** I'd just like to note here that, no, I definitely do not think all, or most, gay weddings are political.  Usually, it's just two people who love each other and want to live as a family, and that's that.  But at the same time, marriage is an official social institution; and in that way, it's always a little bit political.

Well... maybe.  I really like it, at any rate.  Who knows what everyone else might think.

But here it is anyway.  I was just thinking about "Snakes N' Barrels II," and of possibly checking out sausagefestival or capslokdethklok to see if there's been any post-episode talk I could get in on.  And then this came to me...

After I'm done with my other Super Sekrit Metalocalypse Project I'll be working on this fall and winter, I think I might like to start a community.  I would name it something like "dethepisode," and it would be a place specifically for people to post reviews, recaps, and discussion of current and past episodes of Metalocalypse.

( There would be other cool stuff, too...Collapse )


I've never really seen something like this done in a TV show-based fandom (though I'm sure it has been, at one point or another), but I just think it could be really neat.  And, well... I had to share the idea with somebody.  (Especially since I won't be able to put it into action for a while.)  I'd also love it if someone I know wanted to help run this thing — but I won't get my hopes up too high.

I do really hope that this post gets a comment from at least one person or two who might care about this sort of thing.  It would make my day, seriously.  But if not... well, it felt good to at least get it out on [metaphorical] paper, if nothing else.