`

D: D: D:

...Look, Captain Jack Harkness, intergalactic manwhore, has done some pretty awful things in his long life.

BUT SINCE WHEN DOES HE RAPE PEOPLE?

Is there some part of relevant Whoniverse canon that I am totally missing? If so, could someone please tell me what it is, so that I can KEEP MISSING IT?

(I mean, aside from that thing with Owen in the first episode of Torchwood. That scene is made of ick. And if you agree, don't google for discussion on it, because half the forum threads are full of guys going "lol, that was funny, you guys are taking it too seriously, I wish I had that stuff." I guess this is the Axe/Lynx demographic.)

...Okay, skimming the fic, the author seems to have gotten the Time Agency mixed up with the Rape Agency, and Jack ("Seth") has had some kind of horrible personality transplant and should be on every Sexual Offenders list ever. 0_o Never mind. I did see the Rape/Non-Con warning, but I saw that it was a Big Bang fic (and therefore long) and assumed it had something to do with the plot/character arc.

And that was depressing, so I leave you with this cheering fanart.

I got a whole bunch of books today. Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and two lovely, gorgeous, mouth-watering Lilith Saintcrow books. And two completely new ones!

One novel about a girl who loves the ocean very very much who finds out she's not quite human and her town isn't quite normal and is happy about it (and is also pretty neat, from my readings so far) and one novel about a highly proper Victorian spinster who kills vampires and compares their deaths to a souffle going flat. It is awesome so far.

All is well.

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In my Astronomy lab today, we devolved into a discussion of reality, and time as a measure, and the theory about how if we as 3-dimensional objects cast 2-dimensional shadows, we could be 3-dimensional shadows of 4-dimensional objects.

I--

AWESOME

I CANNOT STOP SMILING

THAT CONCEPT MAKES ME SO HAPPY

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"Ames," she said, laying a tender hand on his shoulder and beaming up at him. "I love you. Truly, I do. But if you ever presume to make life-altering decisions for me again, I will personally shove you into a meat packing machine."

"Amen," Clio said without ever looking up from Cosmopolitan.

...can you tell I was just reading a review of Twilight?

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About two weeks ago I watched an episode of the television show Criminal Minds for the first time.

I usually avoid police procedural show but I was interested because rock star Gavin Rossdale was guest-starring as a sort of strung-out vampire rock star (not that I’m exactly a Gavin Rossdale fan, but I liked him well enough in Constantine).

Watching the show I ended up being pretty impressed by androgynous boy genius Spencer Reid (Matthew Gray Gubler) so yesterday when I saw there were reruns showing on several channels I ended up watching a couple episodes.

When not ogling Matthew Gray Gubler’s cheekbones, I was pleased to discover that Mandy Patinkin was on the earlier episodes of the show. I’ve had a thing for Mandy Patinkin for about 20 years—when I was in high school I listened obsessively to his recording of the musical Evita. Patinkin was gone in more recent episodes of the show, but I found myself surprised and unexpectedly pleased by another character, an FBI computer technician called Penelope Garcia (Kristen Vangsness).

Now I’ve always loved support staff type characters, from secretaries Marilyn (Northern Exposure) and Elaine (Ally McBeal) to sour techie Chloe (24) but in addition to her behind-the-scenes sort of position the thing about Garcia that really endeared her to me was that she was a female character on a mainstream television show who was not skinny. She was cute and sexy and curvy and plump and voluptuous. I don’t follow a lot of television shows but I honestly can’t think of the last time I saw a not skinny female character. Probably teenaged Sara Rue on Popular (she ended up slimming down for her own show Less Than Perfect).

I’ve watched a grand total of 3 ¾ episodes of Criminal Minds, so for all I know Garcia might be a totally stereotypical “overweight” character who does nothing but provide comic relief talk about diets but I don’t think so. It seemed to me like there was some sort of romantic thing going on between her and FBI agent, Morgan, and generally she seemed like someone who was really competent and well regarded by her peers. I’m really curious now to watch more of the show and she how she’s handled.

A couple super adorable pics of Kristen Vangsness as Penelope Garcia

Tomorrow my grandmother, parents and I are going to be having Thanksgiving dinner at a neighbor’s house. 

 

Given my food issues Thanksgiving is always a little uncomfortable for me but oddly I’m not feeling my usual degree of anxiety this year.  I think it helps that I haven’t had to spend the last week dealing with the insanity of holiday crowds at an urban supermarket.  Also I don’t have to work on the holiday itself so I’ll have time to relax and do anything I need to do before hand instead of rushing to work at 7:00 a.m. then having to get to a celebration right afterwards like I have the past few years. 

 

Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in 12 years (I know it’s been 12 years because the last time I went was right before my little brother graduated from college which would make it 1997).  

 

It’s almost unforgivably irresponsible to let that much time lapse between dental visits. I have lots of excuses.   I hate going to the dentist.   Because I was bulimic in high school I had to suffer through some extensive dental work when I was in my late teens and early 20’s.  Frankly, it was traumatic.  Also I haven’t had dental insurance since 1998 and I don’t like paying out of pocket to be subjected to pain. 

 

Before I went for my appointment I was absolutely horrified that my teeth would be in such bad shape I’d need hours of expensive dental work to save them (I have recurring nightmares about losing my teeth).  Luckily my teeth were in pretty good shape considering the amount of time it’s been.  I’ll need a filling but that’s it.  Obviously I’m not looking forward to my follow-up appointment after Christmas but it’s a huge relief to know that my teeth are more or less okay.

I know it was naive. I know it was foolish. I haven't even read the books all the way through myself! But I honestly thought my shock and horror at Stephenie Meyer was tapped out; that she had gotten all of her 'WHAT THE FUCKING HELL NOOOOO's out of me.

I was wrong. Mark of Buzznet has been reviewing Twilight, and it's a fairly stress-reducing ride, at least for those that have read the books previously and are just relieved to see somebody sane react. The gifs help.

Then we get to chapter thirteen of Eclipse, where I thank the lords I didn't read it and we get to read SMeyer writing about how Mexicans are violent awful people (as opposed to the "civilized" north), and how being a vampire automatically makes you white.

Gods above and below, how the hell is this woman too fucking stupid to understand how offensive she is?

Picked up from randomsome1

I need to purge my brain of this ugliness.

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Simon Woods did a decent job of making Octavian seem, if not actually regretful, conscious and even concerned in his own way, of the damage he realizes he's done to his mother and sister. He's still about as shit at social interaction as he was as a child. 'How's Octavia?' YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW, BUCKO. Too bad you totally screwed them over, huh? Kind of burnt your bridges there, honey. And his behavior after the dinner--was that the first time he realized exactly what his position with them was? It doesn't seem possible.

I did love that little interaction with Octavian:
'No, I was all sweetness and light with her.'
'Yes, that is your most disheartening manner.'

BECAUSE IT KIND OF IS.

Cleopatra's portrayal is a major fail, and the portrayal of the Egyptian court is contemptibly ridiculous.

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Neither Fictional nor Real:

So, Hollywood. Take a power structure of people who are willfully ignorant and unwilling to deal with people as people, as well as making concentrated efforts to keep us from having access to venues to tell our stories.

The argument "it's only fiction" really can only apply if you have context to understand the difference between fiction and reality. And, it's also interesting that we're not allowed to tell EITHER our fictions OR our realities, but that others get the right to do that for us, and seem amazed as if we stepped out of a comic book or something when we demand the right to tell our stories.

And it's always interesting how one group profits in reality for making fantasy about another and that group is never us.

Television Without Pity - But Racism is Dandy!

Not that I ever expected well of a site that Supernatural is heavily connected with, but hey. This is pretty nasty.

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All mental points awarded to Rome are revoked. Totally, permanently and irrevocably revoked. Infinite, infinite fail.

I mean, there were some hints previously. The conspicuous casting of Eirene vs Gaia, the skewed amount of white to darker characters in villainous/antagonist roles, the gender!fail inherent in Vorena's portrayal--she's made a prostitute, her attempt to reclaim her sexuality leads to terrible things, and she's redeemed by swearing herself chaste to a goddess. (Oh screw you, show.) Not to mention Atia's obsession with the bottom feeder.

And now their portrayal of Cleopatra.

Cleopatra was a powerful, political, canny queen, reputedly the only Ptolomeic ruler to have actually learnt the Egyptian language. She and Egypt did not exist merely as some subnote to Rome, as some ~exotic~ place all about debauchery and corruption of those fine Roman men. I was nearly nauseated at the whole scene where she had to be 'schooled' by some condescending bastard of a Roman soldier--a woman who grew up in a cutthroat family, ascended to the throne at eighteen, raised a rebellion and won an alliance that raised her once more to the throne, a woman who is intimately familiar with murderous politics.

And yet in Rome, somehow she turns into a completely amoral, depraved druggie who proclaims herself a 'slave' of Caesar and then seems to have nothing to do but sleep with and be rabidly possessive of Anthony as opposed to, say, running her country.

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Name your 15 absolutely favorite couples (het/slash/canon/fanon) and ask people to see what trends they notice about your couples. Try to pick different fandoms. Picked up from lucifuge5 I HAVE LOTS MORE. But these are the ones that came into mind first. I also narrowed it down by picking only the ones that had definite, confirmed basis in canon.

1. Chiara/The Bear (The Wolf King)
2. Regeane/Maeniel (The Silver Wolf)
3. Leetah/Cutter (Elfquest)
4. Dante Valentine/Tierce Japhrimel (Working for the Devil)
5. Chihiro/Haku (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi)
6. Sunshine/Constantine (Sunshine)
7. Jill Kismet/Saul (Dante Valentine)
8. Kamiya Kaoru/Himura Kenshin (Rurouni Kenshin)
9. Allen Walker/Rinali Li (D.Grayman)
10. Jaenelle Angelline/Daemon Sadi (Black Jewels)
11. Keiko Yukimura/Yusuke Urameshi (YuYu Hakusho)
12. Kaylin Neya/Severn (Michelle Sagara's Cast series)
13. Bonnie McCullough/Damon Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries)
14. Vesper Lynd/James Bond (Casino Royale)
15. Anita Blake/her awesome (early Anita Blake books)
...what do you mean, that doesn't count? Okay, fine, have an extra: 16. Sesshoumaru/Rin (Inuyasha)

...apparently I like a lot of relationships where there's equality, but the girls are unequivocably in charge. Especially when the boys are a bit dangerous/amoral/etc.

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On rewatching Transformers: God, Sam is such a fucking sleaze. We're supposed to be rooting for some asshole who would dump his friend in the middle of nowhere just so he can make the moves on some complete stranger?

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Okay, so. I've tried to restraint my anger with the Rome fandom to a few tamped-down comments here and there. But it's not going away, so here's my space to scream and rage a bit. Feel free to ignore this post.

( Read more... )

Not that there isn't a perfectly simple explanation. There is! And it's that in fandom, manly angst takes precedence over women's actual suffering and trauma.

SCREW YOU ALL.

ETA: ...I feel a little better now.

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Thoughts on Rome: Vorena makes me cry. She is, in my opinion, both the bravest and the most tragic of the characters on the show, and I love her, and what she goes through makes me want to cry. And I'm glad that despite the focus on the male characters, the show doesn't once make me feel as if she should be blamed. (Unlike the show's fans.)

On Merlin: I LOVE FREYA KIND OF A LOT. A WHOLE LOT. **criiiies**

( from comment on camelot_fleet. spoilers )

Can we goddamn fucking well get rid of the "female characters used only to advance/influence male characters' plot/emotions?"

From tavella:

But... I'm just not very optimistic, because the real problems I have with the show are less with character arcs and plot holes (though they don't help), but underlying principles. The constant gender!fail -- when a producer bursts into laughter at the suggestion that Morgana and Gwen could have their own episode, that's not a sign anyone is thinking it's a problem. And of course, the whole having Arthur leading the slaughter of a village and then thinking it doesn't even have to be addressed.

Maybe not.



THE ONLY WORTHWHILE THING IN THIS SHOW. Well, Freya can stay too.

( quote that, for the moment, sum up my general feelings. more coherent post probably to come later. spoilers )

On rereading The Vampire Diaries: I love how the explanation for why, in the end, Elena is not at all afraid of Stefan basically boils down (from somewhat flowery terms, as Stefan is a bit of a sap regarding Elena) to 'she totally tops and she knows it.'

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I LOVE AND ENDORSE THIS SENTIMENT.

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86 icons of Georgia Moffett as 'Jenny' from Doctor Who.

( Under the cut )

Like? Take. Credit, although nice, is completely up to you

So last week I posted about the Archive Of Our Own, which if you missed it is being called AO3 because AOOO sounds like a basset hound. But I didn't really post as a reader. It didn't occur to me because I had just spent several days uploading all of my fanfiction there. (Well, that I still like. I actually do have two Greek mythology fics that I haven't posted there, but the second one is a sequel to the first, which was written in high school and has some gender issues I'm really not proud of.)

Anyway, after all that posting, I had kind of expected people to read my fic, but I hadn't actually gotten around to reading their fic.

And omg you guys, AO3 is great for fic-reading. At least for me.

( AO3 as a reader. )

Anyway. Having said all that, Chapter Seven of Between Here and Now and Forever is posted on:
The Archive Of Our Own
FanFiction.Net
Skyhawke
LiveJournal

In honor of this, ( more YouTube music links! )

Whenever someone says Jo was 'too immature'--ostensibly in general but, it is fairly easy to discern, meaning 'for Dean'--I have to laugh. By anyone's estimate, Jo Harvelle is a great deal more mature than Dean Winchester.

Let's see...wants to strike out on her own, seems perfectly capable of it. Doesn't collect venereal diseases like stamps. Behaves with maturity, is self-contained, isn't a total sleaze. Independent, quick and clever, capable...although Dean may have those qualities, too.

Just--can't you shut up now that [spoiler] has happened?.

Supernatural has been leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth for far too long. It's amazing how you run into this stuff when you no longer have the slightest amount of interest in the canon and never had an interest in the fanon.

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