funny because it didn't happen to you

Fandom: the good with the bad.

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:19:20 GMT

Okay, Merlin fans have just lived through a two-part episode in which Uther was married to a troll.

There were a lot of things to love about the second half of this episode--Merlin's smile, Arthur defying his father to save Merlin's life, the beginning to the split between Uther and Arthur, Arthur starting to come into his own as a GROWNUP BOY and the king we all knew we'd come to love some day, instead of spoiled Prince Pratface, did I mention Merlin's smile...

Despite that, I can honestly say that was the worst 84 minutes of television I've ever watched, and if I hadn't been watching it with someone, I might have got through part 1, but no way in hell would I have made it to the OMG HUGGING WTF WAS THAT at the end of part 2.

The "humor" in this episode was unspeakably horrible--setting aside that it just wasn't funny--fart jokes are not, in fact, the height of wit--it was so misogynistic that I actually checked to see if kripke had been involved with this episode (sadly, no). Fat people are dirty! Ugly women have to trick men into marrying them! Rape is hilarious, for a girl or a boy! If she's not beautiful, she's an "it!"

Toward the end of the cringefest, I realised what it reminded me of--Shallow Hal--and that might be why I hated it so much, instead of just being annoyed that yet another show felt the need to spend an hour and a half telling me how I am not human. Because when the girls at work wanted me to watch Shallow Hal with them, I said, "Watch Jack Black and Gwyneth Paltrow make fun of fat people for an hour and a half. Wow, uh, thanks, but no thanks?" and I was assured that this movie was, in fact, the opposite of that.

It is not. Shallow Hal is about fat acceptance like Joss Whedon is about feminism. Except worse.

And I wouldn't have been surprised at this coming from Supernatural. In fact, if we had this exact same episode next week it wouldn't stand out at all. But I wasn't expecting it from Merlin, and I feel like I got a little blindsided by that.

Art Beta Castiel Dean (there is no E)

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:04:55 GMT

1. An art! By way of Doola, who sends me all manner of delicious things and for which I repay her with Jensen/Harley slash: Facilis Descensus Averno, G, Castiel, by acerbus_instar.

I will tell you honestly that I have been largely "MEH" about SPN art, with a couple of exceptions--Pondy did a couple of good pieces (although tends strongly toward the Wincest--which does not make her work less good, just less to my taste), obviously there's Pentapus's Castiel (SEE ICON I WANT TO PUT HIM IN MY POCKETS) but mostly, if there's great stuff out there, I haven't seen it*. Also, I hate the color orange.

Bearing both of those in mind: this Castiel piece is my new desktop background. I find it compelling.

2. A beta! Any takers for a little bit of Sam POV gen, angsting about Castiel and Dean and Winchester Trust Issues? It's about 500 words right now and will probably not end up longer than 1000. Just need someone to see if it's a) coherent and b) not overtly in contradiction to canon.

*If you know of great SPN art out there that I haven't seen? OMFG LINK ME ALREADY.

Dear Supernatural, W. T. F?!?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:14:42 GMT

You see that face Castiel is making in my icon? I've been making that face since about 8:30 tonight (which is when we sat down to watch).

Yes, I said fisting. We'll get to that.

First thing: the teaser comes on, we get the Trickster, and I think, "Uh oh, Sam is going to hate this." (Later, check email: 8:02pm: email from Sam whining about Trickster episode.) And, as I said to Mel, why the hell does he ruin the WHOLE DAMN EPISODE with the teaser? I mean, especially if it's about the Trickster, where the whole point of the episode is the reveal! Think Mystery Spot--if you didn't know that was about the Trickster, it was a whole lot more creepifying and horrible.

Then, of course, because he's an asshole, kripke has to prove me wrong by making it NOT about the Trickster. Which then turns out to be about the Trickster, because the Trickster has... never been... the Trickster... you know what, just smile and nod. OOOH CLEVER HE'S AN ANGEL.

Let me break down for you how much Gabriel is the Lost Winchester Boy: he killed Dean every day for four months because he blamed Dean for his family fighting. Which, according to him, they have done since the dawn of time. But, being as they're angels and all, they've known since the dawn of time that Dean & Sam would be born and do all the stuff they've done. Would've been handy to turn their gifts for prescience inward a bit and have a peek at Lucifer but I guess that would've been cheating? ANYHOODLE: bitter archangel is bitter and has issues.

There's some kind of... I don't know. There's something in this I need to keep picking at ("MULL IT!") but all the stupid shit Gabriel is ranting at Dean about, about the family fighting, and the betrayal of his brothers, and the blah blah blah I can't decide which Winchester brother I'm meant to represent... the thing is, Sam and Dean survived that. Gabe keeps saying that there's no way out, that it's unavoidable that Michael & Lucifer must betray & kill each other, and that's why Sam & Dean have to, but... Sam and Dean have found their way back from that three times so far. First, after Sam ran away, again after John came back and fucked them all up, and then most recently after Ruby. So I guess I'm supposed to think, "OH NO WILL DEAN HAVE TO KILL SAM AFTER ALL" but mostly I'm thinking, "You were right, Dean, when Zachariah told you to kill Sam and when Azazel told you and when Castiel told you and when John told you, you have always been right before and you're right now," and I'm thinking that Dean is strong enough (and stubborn enough) to hold onto Sam, especially with history on his side.

I think he's showed us multiple times that nothing else matters to him as much as Sam, and he's willing to do whatever he has to in order to save their relationship. I don't see him giving that up now that the stakes are even higher. I guess that what Gabriel says/believes only makes sense if he hasn't been watching for the past four years.

Moving on to the "oh god kripke why do you do this to me you shithead" parts.

Japanese game show: so much racefail it cannot be expressed in human language. I actually, as soon as I realised what set they were being transferred to, said, "Oh god no," but it was, sadly, oh god yes.

What made this even more frustrating was that, true to form, all of the "I can't believe I'm watching this shit" was in the same episode as the "this is why I watch this show" stuff. Like, the herpes commercial, which was a thing of beauty, and the procedural cop drama, which was note-perfect, and then when Dean couldn't find Sam? I turned to Mel and said, "Oh god, please, PLEASE let Sam be in the car." And he was. And it was awesome, and then there was FISTING, which was very lightly coded and referenced not once but TWICE, because if you're going to Go There and have Dean fisting Sam on your show, WITH THE HOLY OIL OF CASTIEL'S FIRST SEXUAL EXPERIENCE, you want to be damn sure the audience notices? I guess?

Also of note in this episode: I have never in my life been less convinced of Dean's supposed heterosexuality. "Oh, there's some chick doctor, some chick doctor, AND THERE'S DOCTOR SEXY OMG OMG PONIES CAN I TOUCH YOUR HAIR OH GOD HE KNOWS MY NAME." He could not make eye contact because he was so overwhelmed with fanglee. I seriously expected him to break out at any moment with, "That'll give you bees!"

Plus, and I recognize that this is a side effect of the ridiculous gender roles on this show, BUT: now that Dean is all protective and possessive of his "buddy" Castiel, constantly seeking to make sure Castiel is okay and getting Cas used as a bargaining chip to ensure Dean's cooperation... well, kripke, here's where your misogyny/homophobia duo comes back to bite you in the ass, because congratulations, you have now cast Castiel in the role of Dean's girlfriend. Nicely done.

I kind of want to go back and see when Dean started taking responsibility for Castiel's welfare. Was it after Lucifer Rising, when Castiel sacrificed himself for Dean? Or was it after The End, where Dean saw what future!he did to Castiel? I think it started after Lucifer Rising but got much more evident after The End. Which is sort of intriguing, but also sort of... SO Dean, you know?

Once again, kripke manages to almost sidestep his usual misogyny by not having any women in the episode... but once again at the last minute he can't resist, so he throws in the random sex toy in her underwear and the pathetic hysterical crazy woman who appears to be one of Sam's sexual cast-offs? I don't know, we never really find anything out about her. Better than last week's twin Asian hookers, a saucy Latina maid, and the witch's disposable girlfriend. I guess?

LAST POINT: OMG the longing, weary, full-of-sadness-and-despair look between Gabriel and Castiel, WHO IS WRITING THIS BACKSTORY FOR ME, I need it YESTERDAY.

Re: next week: Listen, kripke, I was first in line to defend your use of fangirls in The Monster At The End Of This Book, but you are getting carried away, I think. You're on notice. First, it is unseemly to mock the people you make your living off of (gently, and with love, I will accept, but be careful, I fear you go too far). Secondly, don't be Stephen King. Don't get all carried away with how meta and brilliant and OMG FOURTH WALLBUSTIN' you are and ruin your reasonably compelling story.

What the fuck, Killeen?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:32:41 GMT

Shootings at Fort Hood.

What the hell.

Sad news in Killeen

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:55:52 GMT

Found out yesterday morning that Second Chance, a "no-kill" non-profit shelter run by CenTex Humane Society, had a fire this weekend, and over 100 animals died. Details are sparse but I'm pretty sure I don't need to know any more than that.

Fire is my own particular special horror; I have a quiet, creeping fear of one day coming home and finding my house gone and my animals suffocated or burned to death. I have seen animals that were pulled from house fires and I can tell you it is not how I would want to go.

Animal shelters are my other own particular special horror, right up there with nursing homes. Places we store the unwanted & unloved because nobody can be bothered with them. They're basically museums for humanity's failings.

Needless to say the thought of hundreds of animals dying in cages, terrified and alone, will be haunting me for some time.

How you can help.

Some Benjamin Buttons shit right there

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:14:20 GMT

The thing is, the episode was totally ageist, I agree, and there was no Castiel at all, AT ALL, which is a wholly unacceptable level of Castiel to have, btw, none: not okay, and I am not sure that they got the whole disability thing right, but at least they failed FAR less than I expected them to, but this: this must be said.

Dean Winchester, I love you. I love you and your desperate, easy, open love for your family, and your willingness to say "Screw pride, fuck being right, forget machismo: I love you and you matter to me and I need you." I don't know how, being brought up by Bobby and John Winchester, you EVER learned to be that way, but I love it, whole-heartedly and unashamedly.

In case I forget, because sometimes I do--

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:12:50 GMT

I love fandom.

And one of my favorite things about fandom is threads like this one. (For context: In the entry, lamardeuse recs chibirhm's fic and says, "this is apparently the writer's first foray into fanfic, to which I say WHERE HAS SHE BEEN ALL MY LIFE?")

Setting aside the wank, the one-uppery, the fail of every flavor, the line-crossing, and the unending stupid, at the end of the day, fandom brings together a bunch of people who've always been told they weren't quite right, and encourages them to sit around telling each other (sincerely) how totally awesome they are.

It bears noting that there are easily half a dozen people on my flist of whom I have been, at one time or another, in fannish awe of the "omg she knows my name" variety, and I have met nearly all of them, and found them to be generally fantastic people who are a little off and a lot nerdy and in short, exactly as awesome (and exactly as intimidating) as all my other friends.

New fic?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 21:47:51 GMT

Title: Lucky Knickers Will Get You Everywhere.
Authors: hija_paloma and franticsga
Rating: (here our authors disagree: they wouldn't show this on HBO, so I give it an NC-17.)
Disclaimer: I'm sure there's a happy, wonderful universe where this fic has occurred and might occur again, but it is not this one.
Notes: Yeah, what she said. This was written ages ago, and I blame the entire thing on Fellow Fangirl Bradley James for being no less ridiculous than this story.
Description: "That's it, then? No other burning questions you've been dying to ask about my sex life, you pervert?"
Yes, Bradley thinks, and says, "No." I need to know what else you do, what else you like, and if you think maybe you could like it with me. "I think that's everything for now."

It occurs to me, I have to specify here: this is Merlin RPS.

Sometimes I forget.

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:43:19 GMT

Secretary of State Clinton recently had an article published in The Guardian about food security, in which she said, "Consider the world's typical small farmer. She..."

And I thought, "Oh, huh."

Because even though I grew up on a farm, I still--like, apparently, most everybody in America--think of farmers as men. Women, as we know, are farmers' wives.

Except most of the farmers in the world are women.

Shakesville has a photo post of farmers the world around: gorgeous pictures.

(One not-so-small quibble: all of the farmers from the US--and England, Ireland, Scotland, & Wales--are white. Being as it's Shakesville, I'm confident this was an issue of available photos and not selection bias, but it still bears mentioning.) Reading for comprehension fail, carry on.

Dear kripke, WOW.

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 05:55:31 GMT

In the good way, and the bad way. But mostly the good way, which engenders another WOW.

1. Consuela. Really? Really, the Latina maid named Consuela who doesn't speak English, really?
1b. But... kudos on making Sam speak to her in Spanish, and making the boys look foolish because THEY couldn't communicate with HER, not the other way around.

2. Wow. Another villain that was gender neutral and/or male until it was time to kill it... and then it was female. That was a big ol' shocker.
2b. But... nobody called her a bitch. Talk about damning with faint praise, but SERIOUSLY.
2c. I think I kind of love Paris Hilton.

3. Apparently there was some issue-ness surrounding the Ghandi thing. I wouldn't be surprised, but I missed it, as I was distracted during that scene, likely by a) knitting or b) a small child or c) a dog or d) all three.
3b. Fruitarian.

...you know, it's kind of sad that I've gotten to the point where misogyny/race issues on this show can be categorized as minor. I mean, all things relative and all, but geez, guys.

With all that out of the way:

Y'all, can we talk about how AWESOME Dean Winchester is? Can we? Because he is. And I'm gonna.

So first things first: Is Dean perfect? Obviously not. He's a kripke-Sue, and he's skeevetastic accordingly. He treats women/sex as a commodity, he makes sexual assault jokes, and he refers to cars as "her" and "baby." But that is not what I want to talk about tonight. What I want to talk about is Dean being a totally awesome brother who loves Sam so much he can't even get his own head around it, and how totally aware he is of his own flaws, and those of everyone he loves, and how he does not let that stop him from loving them or living his life.

In short, I want to talk about the thing that made me love this show from the start: Dean loves Sam, and Sam loves Dean, and that is (see icon) everything that matters.

From day one, the only thing that's been important to Dean is his family. Yes, hunting down the YED, but that was primarily to bring peace to his father, and secondarily to avenge his mother (and, I think, Sam's loss: Dean knew his mother, however briefly. Sam didn't. And I think this strikes Dean as unfair.). And all along the way Dean has made it clear he was NOT willing to sacrifice his family to bring down Azazel, neither literally nor figuratively. Like, "yeah, yeah, the YED, but first and foremost, can you two stop FIGHTING and be a FAMILY?"

(Answer: no they cannot. Sorry, Dean. Good news! John will be dead soon, and you and Sam can be your own family!)

And this is what's been ringing so false to me about the separation. Yes, I can buy that Dean feels pretty fucking betrayed by Sam's trusting Ruby over Dean. Especially since Dean never really doubted that Ruby was a bad guy--and it bears pointing out here, again, that Dean's instincts have not led him astray yet. Sam gets taken in from time to time, but Dean's gut is way smarter than his upstairs brain. But even through that betrayal, I found it hard to believe that Dean would prioritize the hunt--even for Lucifer--over his relationship with Sam/Sam's safety. I get the separation, because it's something Sam explicitly asked for. And that comes from one of the main points here, which is this:

Dean is trying so, so hard not to be John Winchester.

Which means, when Sam says, "I need to go my own way for a while," in Scarecrow, Dean listens to what he's saying, and he lets him go. And it means that when Sam says, "I can't hunt right now, it's not safe for me," Dean listens to him, and he lets him go.

But I don't see anything--even Sam's own explicit wishes--overriding the Prime Directive of Dean's life: Watch out for Sammy. And when Sam calls and says, "Help me, Dean, Lucifer is after me, I'm scared and I need your help," I can't see Dean saying anything but "I'll be right there." Which is why I was SO relieved last week to have the boys back together, to have Zachariah's lesson end with the "unexpected" result of having Dean more determined to stand by Sam and refuse Michael. Because that? That's the Dean Winchester I know and love enough to have followed him through season 3. That's what this show has always been about for me, and seeing that restored was important to me.

AND THEN THIS WEEK.

There is a lot of awesome going on here.

First, I was astonished to see Sam pointing out that they can't go back to "the way it was before," not because he can't be forgiven for what he did, but because the way it was before led them to the point where he did it. And he did this, and pointed out Dean's own culpability in the situation, without ever exculpating himself or denying his own agency/accountability. That was SIGNIFICANTLY more subtle, nuanced writing than I have come to expect from this show, which pleased me deeply.

And then DEAN! Dean listened to what Sam was saying, and it pissed him off and hurt his feelings! How dare Sam say it was partly HIS fault! And then he had to think about all this complicated, uncomfortable stuff because of it! And there's no easy solution! Jesus! Besides, it's his job to look after Sam, and that's all he's doing, and he can't be expected to just forgive and forget and let it go about Ruby, because Sam's SHOWN Dean that he can't be trusted! This is all just crazy talk!

And then he thought about it, and realised that Sam had a point. And because Dean, every single time that he's said he doesn't want to be his father, every time he's showed us that, has been 100% sincere, because Dean has never been the one who's just like Dad, because Dean values his relationship with Sam above everything, even his own pride, told Sam that he had a point. And he apologized. And he changed his behavior to be less like his father.

And I fell in love with him all over again.

Dean is prioritizing what is best for Sam--in both his AND Sam's opinion--over what feels comfortable/is easiest for himself.

Now that's love.

Questions I hate myself for asking:

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:22:04 GMT

Is Leverage on hiatus or something?

I'm not watching it. It's just, you know. I ran out of other shows to get caught up on (except Psych and Eureka, which I am saving) and I don't feel like rewatching Bones yet and I just want to know what happens.

But not with Nate and Sophie, I could give a crap about Nate. Sophie's awesome, don't get me wrong, but the thing is, she's mostly awesome because she has NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER in Nate's bullshit, and I know that is going to be changing soon, because I've seen television before.

It's just been really interesting to watch the relationships between Hardison, Elliott, and Parker develop, especially as Mom & Dad got all caught up in their bullshit drama-llamaing and the kids were left to fend for themselves.

SHUT UP OKAY WHATEVER DON'T YOU JUDGE ME.

In other news, to absolutely nobody's surprise, I went running--not crawling, but flat-out arms-wide OMG YOU'RE BACK YOU'RE BACK running--back to Supernatural. In my defense, he fixed the Big Ugly--and he fixed Castiel--and he fixed Dean--and then he made Misha Collins say "orgy."

Like I ever had a chance of resisting that shit.

Things that make you go, "HUH."

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 06:06:24 GMT

Phaedra Starling has a guest post up at Shapely Prose that I think is very much worth reading. It's about sexual assault, so it might be triggering for some people.

Long title with umlaut will not be reproduced here, but there's your link :)

In short, no, women are not hysterical and paranoid for treating strange men as potential rapists. Even if they treat all strange men that way. And I can prove it with math.

In other news, how is it getting hotter now that the sun's been down for six hours or so? WTF, Texas, you are broken.

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:52:54 GMT

Hands up everyone who wanted to see Castiel turn into yet another bitch-hating, woman-scorning kripke clone a la Dean Winchester?

...yeah, me neither.

Congratulations, kripke, you have now officially destroyed everything I didn't hate about your show.

Note to Misha Collins: We talked about this, remember, after Karla? You simply cannot be that hungry. And if you are, call me. I will totally float you a loan until you can get a non-degrading job.

Seriously, there is a very good chance this will be my last episode. Augh. AUGH.

Wow, dude.

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:54:49 GMT

Just wow.

Now you can PAY LJ for the privilege of running ads on your journal!

Welcome to Web 2.stupid.

In not-unrelated news, this counts as my next post in the "why you should probably consider switching to Dreamwidth already" series.

Advertising on social networking sites: does it work? Is it a viable business model?

No. I heard the discussion associated with this article on NPR when it first aired and was sitting in the parking lot where I'd pulled over, nodding and thinking, "Yes. Yes, seriously, that." At the time, I had no idea who Denise Paolucci was, but I knew that ads on LJ are about as effective as spam e-mail. Who even sees those things, between Firefox and ad-blocker software? And who the hell clicks through?

Basically, nobody.

Right now, Dreamwidth is counting on account sales to support the site financially, and they're bringing in enough revenue to cover operating costs. As the site grows, that revenue will need to increase--as it is, right now, DW is still in "labor of love" territory--and I don't know how that will happen. But I know it won't be through advertising.

The definition of insanity as "repeating the same behavior and expecting different results" is probably familiar to most of you, and that is what most user-generated-content sites are doing--turning to advertising to increase revenue.

I submit to you that advertising on such sites is very low in profitability and high in risk of alienating users--especially new users, whose first impression of a site should not be a thousand flashing "HIT THE MONKEY AND WIN A CAR" banners.

The Dreamwidth team may not have found The Answer to Web 2.0 profitability yet, but at least they're looking.

And at least they're not asking us to pay for an ad-supported account.

p.s. Yes, I still have a fistful of invite codes. You want 'em, you got 'em. Also, hat tip to umbo for the heads up, because somehow I missed that announcement in LJ's nine million news/info communities, but that is a rant for my next "Why Dreamwidth" post.

Re: SPN 502

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:14:26 GMT

JESUS CHRIST GRANDPA WHAT DID YOU READ ME THIS THING FOR?

Spoilers in comments. Vague for now, may get more specific.

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:14:36 GMT

Dear Fandom,

Having sex with a man does not make you a girl. Even if you bottom. By definition, in a male homosexual relationship, neither partner is "the girl." No, really.

On a related-and-by-no-means-secondary note, there is nothing wrong with being a girl. The word "girl" is not an insult. Female does not equal less than. Male is not inherently superior.

Having one of your characters say to the other, "This so makes you the girl" because he wants to cuddle or says "I love you" or what the fuck ever is heteronormative, miosgynist, and cliched as hell.

Get your issues worked out before you inflict them on me. I am super done with this shit.

No love,
Me. A girl.

DEAR INTERNETS:

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:25:04 GMT

1. Anytime your justification for anything ever includes the argument, "but that's how they do it in porn!" you lose. Instantly, forever, at everything.

2. Nothing in this world ever happened, is happening, or will happen on accident. You know why? Because it's BY ACCIDENT.

3. Oh my god enough with the random werefics.

4. ONCE MORE, WITH FEELING: Rape is not dub!con. Rape is rape. Or non-con. It is NOT dub!con. The "dub" stands for "dubious," meaning that there are some issues or questions around the consent given, but that ultimately consent IS given. When the consent is NOT given, it is non-consensual. Even if it's only ATTEMPTED rape, you still don't get to call it dub!con. Asshole.

4a. Icon used with grate irony, yayz.

So, uh, stop doing that.

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 18:23:52 GMT

I just watched the secret, actual season finale of Bones (I thought the brain tumor episode was it but surprise! There was more!) and I have Thoughts.

So, the episode in short:

The episode starts with a voiceover by Sweets, which continues throughout and I thought was a really weird choice. Sweets? Really? Why? I mean, it's Brennan's book, it's Booth's dream... why is Sweets narrating? But hey, whatever.

Essentially we are treated to an AU in which Booth & Bones are married owners of a club, and the various squints work for them. Jared and Cameron are cops investigating a murder at the club. Caroline is... the sassy fat black lawyer. Oh, Caroline. Even in an AU. Sorry.

The murder plot is kind of... whatever, not especially compelling but it's a reasonably fun way to spend 40 minutes, and then Booth wakes up as Bones randomly decides to delete the entire novel she's just written. For... no reason whatsoever. OKAY! Brennan's novel is conflated with a dream Booth was having while in a coma after his brain tumor removal, and then, just to make it as soap opera-y as possible, Booth has amnesia and does not know who Bones is.

OKAY THEN.

Two things that bothered me about this episode (aside from poor Caroline):

1. This is a hell of a cheat to get out of actually DEALING with the baby issue. Seriously, that's a kripke-worthy cheat.

2. STOP BRINGING ZACH BACK. It really fucks with my brain, okay? I love him! I always loved him! And the way he left was painfully stupid and beyond implausible and hateful beyond belief, but you have got to stop bringing him back. Especially as sweet, young, innocent, first-season Zach! With emo hair and all! GOD. Let him go, so I can mourn him and move on! I could learn to love Sweets like I loved Zach if you would only stop showing me how much more loveable Zach is! Was! Whatever I don't even know anymore!

3. This show has got some Issues. I mean, after power-watching all four seasons of Supernatural, it looks pretty fucking benign by comparison, but then even Whedon looks good when compared to kripke. But still, all this bs about men being willing to kill for you being so romantic is, uh, not. It's scary and fucked-up, and then there's Booth repeatedly referring to Bones as a possession, and let's not even touch the whole long-standing concept that Bones is All Fucked Up As A Woman because she values silly things like intelligence, competence, and accomplishment over romance and feelings and babies! They even repeatedly refer to her as a "cold fish!" But that's okay because Booth has taught her to be a woman so now she wants a baby! Like a real woman! MOTHERFUCK.

I have to go take Sophie to the vet, and then maybe drink heavily for a bit.

Dear god in heaven.

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:30:45 GMT

I can't believe we've done it again.

Light as a Feather, Stiff as a... what?; by doolabug and hija_paloma, rated R for sex and language, warning: crack. This is another vignette set in what Doola is now making me call the "Smoothie 'verse." Apparently, there will be more.

Now I'm sorry.

Link to Doola's LJ.

FINALLY. Real fic.

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 22:37:23 GMT

More Like Guidelines, by hija_paloma. Rated R for sex and language. Spoilers through season 4. Warnings/notes: This fic is an exploration of Dean's relationship with god, faith, and religion, viewed through the lens of his relationship with Castiel, and as such may offend some people. Also, there are some minor contradictions to canon found in the first section; sorry, I wrote it during season 1. THAT IS HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WRITING THIS. Thanks to doolabug for beta and support and to monkeypuzzle for cheerleading and telling me it was okay to do this.

(I always knew I was going to hell, anyway.)

Help a slasher out?

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 23:56:46 GMT

Anybody have the quote where Castiel tells Dean that he helps him because he is worthy and deserving of love, and not because the angels need him for their agenda? Or even remember what episode it's from? IMDb was zero help.

I AM NOT EVEN SORRY A LITTLE BIT.

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 01:10:38 GMT

An Angel's Single Feather, by doolabug and hija_paloma; Dean/Castiel, rated for language, warnings: crack, messin' with Texas. In which Dean and Castiel discuss avians and apoideans. All characters herein belong to the CW, although they probably won't want them back like this.

(Babies are a link between angels and man. (Author Unknown))

Quick note, kinda weird post.

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:42:45 GMT

My LJ paid account, and extra userpics, are expiring in 5 days. Because I know my flist is full of generous, well-meaning people, I feel the need to make this post:

Please do not buy me any paid time, extra icons, or other LJ features--even if you see me bitching about only having 5 icons again, or not being able to post polls, or whatever.

I have made a conscious, well-informed decision to spend my money elsewhere, and I wouldn't want anyone else spending their money on my behalf.

When the drugs wear off

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:24:31 GMT

Subject line from an email I sent this morning but it feels kind of perfect for this post. I offer... no apology or explanation, because what could I say that would make this better?

(Also, yes, I am aware that Dean's personification of the Impala as female is problematic at best, and misogynistic at worst. Uh, sorry. In my defense, there is no vampire bukkake.)

Once, in the Future: for Monkey, SPN/Merlin crossover, Dean/Arthur w/ Arthur/Merlin and just a hint at Dean/Castiel, NC-17, depressingly spoiler-free (although, for those who care, this is set post-Lucifer Rising). All characters herein belong to the CW and, uh, nearly 2 millenia of British legend. You've come a long way, boys. Technically, I suppose Will belongs to the BBC.

(Nobody gets my jokes.)

Alright, I give

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 19:21:44 GMT

Daniel Radcliffe, you are officially classier than 99% of your older, more "mature" peers.

Congratulations, I guess. Get the fuck away from these people while you still can.

First, the interview with the little girl.

Then, showing Hugh Jackman how it's done. (Actually read that whole interview, his comments about the "omg Emma Watson is 18, quick let's make her a sex toy!" thing are also good.)

Now, putting his money where his mouth is.

Applause, applause.

(Bonus win: has publically stated that he's an atheist. Damn it, Daniel, STOP MAKING ME LOVE YOU.)