dorknessrising

Originally posted by neo_prodigy at Spirit Day

TSO Concert Mini-Report:

My palms are still stinging. My voice is hoarse. My ears are ringing. But I don't care, because that was absolutely the most awesome event ever.

Awesome the First: Kirylyn is a lovely, lovely person. We ate dinner before the concert, ironically at the Applebee's across from EA.

The tickets that the webmaster secured were not peanut heaven nosebleed section, but VIP aisle seats. As in not quite 10th row center.

The first half of the concert was a full performance of Christmas Eve and Other Stories. The second half was a mishmash from the other albums, including some selections from Night Castle (they played "O Fortuna!"). The finale included FIREWORKS INSIDE THE ARENA and REAL STAGE FIRE and REAL SNOW during the "First Snow" song as well as a gorgeous light/video show.

It's the kind of concert that's metal, but you can still take your parents and kids to see it without embarassment. And at least our crowd was awesome. Not very rowdy, no weed, etc. Just a very nice time, phenomenal performance, and oh my god.

Highlights include (but certainly are not limited to) Jay Pierce's and Rob Evan's performances, as well as Jeff Plate's EPIC drum solo in the second half. If I can find clips on Youtube, I'll post them here.

So saving up to go back next year. And totally dragging my parents to see it if at all possible.

Because I'm feeling thinky. It's short, though.

If there is one reaction I'm so very fucking sick of in fandom, one that will turn me into a raging pile of URGE TO KILL RISING faster than any other form of self-righteous douchebaggery, it's this:

"If you have a gay character, you have to drop hints about their sexuality if the Big Reveal is going to make any sense. Otherwise, it's just lazy/bad writing."

The reasons this pisses me off so much:

1) The implication that sexual orientation is somehow an integral part of overall characterization, when in fact it's the least important thing that defines a human being (which, yanno, characters are based on). We have so many other traits that define us -- neuroses, quirks, individual experiences that have shaped how we think, likes and dislikes, hobbies, etc. -- that the gender we take to the bedroom bears virtually nothing on creating a unique, human, relateable character. It is, contrary to popular opinion, possible to create extremely deep and layered characters without revealing their sexual orientation at all. See: Achren (Prydain Cycle), Prince Ellydir (Prydain Cycle), Treize Khushrenada (Gundam Wing), D (Vampire Hunter D), among many many others. Just like it is very much possible and all too common to know a person well enough to finish their sentences for them, yet have no clue which side they take to bed. It's the reason coming out is especially difficult to the people we're closest to; the ones whom we see as knowing us best and most intimately.

2) The idea that we need not drop hints if a character is straight for their sexuality to "make sense" (assuming that sexuality can make sense at all), but clues must be dropped for any other sexual orientation. If it "comes out of blue," it's stupid, and oftentimes accused of being an afterthought for shock factor (see: Serena Sutherland of Law & Order). The implication, of course, is that in the absence of any clues pointing to what gender the character prefers in bed, the character is automatically assumed to be straight. Because really, that's the only way that a completely un-hinted-at sexuality can "come out of the blue"; if the audience is expecting something else.

Heterosexuality being the default value for sexual orientation is a more widespread by-product of homophobia than even the most liberal straight person (and even a significant portion of the gay community) likes to admit. And when fandom acts personally affronted that a character they assumed was straight -- often because the character's sexuality was simply never brought up before -- is revealed to be gay, it takes a lot of effort for me not to beat them to death with their own Privilege Bats. The fact that you assume that the character is straight until proven otherwise is not the author's problem.

I'm all for more GLBT characters in mainstream media. I'm still waiting for my GLBT Disney protagonist, and I'm likely going to be waiting a very long time (it took them how many decades just to give us a black one?). But if those representations are going to be all about being gay or bi or a tranny rather than being human just like everyone else, then I would infinitely prefer the heteronormative straightwashing to watching yet another psychotic-because-he's-gay man with AIDS murder his promiscuous lover in a jealous rage. If "stereotypically gay" is the whole point of the character, I'll pass.

Which is why when a character being gay or bi "comes out of the blue," I praise the author for doing it right (provided the character in question is fleshed out and unique and awesome already). For not making the character's sexuality a huge goddamned deal, and letting them be well-rounded badasses who just happen to be gay (why hello there, Dumbledore!).

Bottom line: Who We Fuck and Who We Are are two completely different things. Sexuality is weird like that. Life is not required to give you clues as to whether the people around you are gay, and neither should fiction be.

*Entry unlocked so you may whore it out if you please.

If you think that:

- Bullying is perfectly okay because anybody who gets upset over being picked on needs to get over themselves anyway
- Bullying online is even more okay because it's just the internet
- It's perfectly all right to treat people like shit as long as they aren't your friends
- There's nothing wrong with trashing people in public forums behind their backs

Then kindly get the fuck off my journal. Or at the very least speak up so I can ban your ass.

This is one of the few things outside of homophobia/racism/sexism/*insert -ism here* that I have absolutely no tolerance for.

If you can read this, but find that you can't read anything on my journal other than public posts, you've been caught up in a flist-trimming. There are several reasons you might have been cut:

1) You never update
2) You do update, but I don't read it anymore
3) I can't remember who you are because of #1
4) You did/said something to royally annoy the living hell out of me, and I'd rather not waste my time on you any longer.

This is a cut mostly for manageability. There are only a couple of people cut for reason #4. No, I'm not saying who they are, because if they paid attention to ANYTHING I post in this journal, they'd know already why they were cut. My job gives me very little free time lately, and I find I simply can't keep up with a flist of 130-odd people, nor do I want to squander that precious time on people who piss me off. For the most part, no hard feelings. Where there are hard feelings, whatever. It's done.

Why I should never be allowed near Photoshop when nostalgic. 8 icons each of Gargoyles and ExoSquad. Credit is nice but completely optional.

Teaser:



( More below the cut )

...Rather than random nonspecific complaints. I know I've been bitching about the ending for the last few days, and I promise this will be the last post I'll make on the matter for a while. Mostly because after thinking about it rather than reacting visceraly, these are really the four major issues I have with how the series ended:

( Cut for the spoilerphobic and the indifferent )

The person this is truly meant for will most likely never see it. But I'm making it public because I think it's something that should not be locked down.

( Christianity, TEH GHEYZ, and why the former's doctrine is inherently bigoted tripe )

I think a 1.5 year hiatus is long enough, and I intend to break it this year with AWA Pro. All I ask is for your vote on which idea I should do, as I can't really decide at the moment:

Poll #1132108 AWA Po 2008 Submission
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20

Which of these concepts do you think I should do for my AWA Pro 2008 submission?

Thank you! And God help me.

Involves spoilers for 3x12, so I'm cutting it for the spoilerphobic.

( YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED )

I apologize to anyone who likes how this pairing has been written in canon so far. Skip over this post if you like, these are just my thoughts on why it was written as such. Put it this way: I have to look for a justification somehow, or I'll have to assume M&B have no idea how to write a relationship at all.

( Path of Least Resistance )

Making this one public, because in light of recent events I think it's something anyone involved with mocking communities needs to read.

( Stampede of Teal Deers ahead, click at your own risk )

Dear SixApart,

So gay Harry Potter porn, which harms no one, is apparently worthy of the banhammer because it's"obscene," yet you both passively and blatantly endorse communities dedicated to the facilitation of harm and more than occasional death of thousands of children and young women. Porn is bad because sex is filthy and disgusting, but child abuse is perfectly all right as long as it's in the name of God. It's illegal for Harry to get a blowjob from Snape even though they are fictional characters, but it's perfectly all right for real young women to starve and kill themselves.

You want to know what's truly obscene? That attitude. Those assertions. That real people don't matter to you nearly as much as fictional gay porn does.

Were I able to hand out Fate myself, I would have everyone who works for your company made into hamburgers and force-fed to anorexics. Because that is the only spot of good your lives could ever accomplish. This is no longer about fandom or hypocrisy or even lousy customer service. This is about you enabling the harm and deaths of innocent people. This is about you breaking the very laws and ToS terms you are quoting.

This is about accountability, and how you need to be taking some post-haste. If there is anyone in this whole mess who needs to be at the center of a federal investigation, it's your company. To find out what motivates you to endorse pro-anorexia, child abuse, hate crime, and white supremacy, just to name a few of the interests you see fit to do nothing about.

It saddens me that a service I joined four years ago and met most of my online friends through, as well as my girlfriend, has made me feel dirty and disgusting for even using it now that I know the kind of people who are behind it.

If there is a Hell, I can think of few people more deserving to go there than you.

Sincerely,
Rachel

Religion: it's like strawberry ice cream, in a way.

( A lot more serious than it sounds )

Dear Twits Who Have No Idea What Transsexualism Actually IS,

Please, for the love of God, stop using being a tranny -- MtF specifically -- as an excuse to be complete motherfucking 'tards. If I have to hear you justify whining and stomping and throwing a post-deleting hissyfit complete with pity-whoring about how you'll go back to drinking over petty bullshit by claiming that you're really a woman so your feelings get hurt easier, I will invent the technology to beat the living shit out of you over DSL.

Seriously. Stop it.

Woman =/= fragile fucking willow who can't take the honest opinion of her friends that her jokes aren't funny and her philosophy and worldview defy all forms of logic. Being unable to take honesty when you specifically ask for it does not make you a woman. Hating football and beer and NASCAR and wrestling doesn't make you a woman. Liking long hair and clean fingernails doesn't make you a woman. Hell, even putting on a dress and liking it does not make you a woman.

Transsexualism isn't about not wanting to do what's expected of your penis. Lots of men don't like WWF, beer, or NASCAR, care about their grooming, wear their hair long, and yes even dress in women's clothing, but are still perfectly happy with their genitals. Just like there are women who like wrestling, beer, and NASCAR, only comb their hair when they feel like it because they keep it cut short, and refuse to wear dresses or skirts or heels but are perfectly fine with their vaginas. Your interests, hobbies, and fashion sense don't determine your gender any more than they do your skin color.

Transsexualism is about not wanting a penis in the first place. It's being physically uncomfortable in your own body. That penis doesn't really feel like it's yours because it's supposed to be a vagina and you know it. The gender of your brain doesn't match the gender of your body, and you literally feel like you're wearing it as a suit. It's not you; you are not really a man, but a woman trapped in the body of one.

By saying "I'm an overemotional, whiny, clingy wimp who can't stand the negative because I'm really a woman," all you're doing is conforming to another harmful gender stereotype. You are doing both trannies and women a severe disservice by making the lot of us look like certified wimps.

In short, you are not trannies. You are clingy, whiny, immature little pieces of emo-shit who are using transsexualism as an excuse not to grow the fuck up.

You're not even in my gender, but I want you out of it just the same.

No Love,
Me

Since the D&D references from my last dump went over so well, I decided to make an entire set full of geeky goodness. All icons reference D&D in some way. As always, credit is optional. Just comment on anything you take.

Teaser:



( Click at your own risk )

As always, stealing is encouraged, credit is optional. All I ask is that you comment on what you take. Enjoy!

Teaser:



( Cut for the funny, and one of them is slashy )

Five icons total, but behind a cut for season finale spoilers. As always, credit is unnecessary. Just comment on anything you take.

( I'm in ur LJ, makin ur iconz! )

Not total spam, I promise.

( Cut for Avatar season finale spoilers )

And here are the requests from the iPod icons post. As always, credit is optional. All I ask is that you comment on what you take. Enjoy!

Teaser:



( Makes you wonder what's on their playlists, doesn't it? )

Dear Women Who Constantly Blame Men for Their Lacklustre Sex Lives,

Stop it. Seriously, STFU.

Or rather, quit whining and do something. Such as talking to your boyfriend/husband for once about it instead of drowning your sorrows in cellphone minutes to friends who don't even have sex lives, but still have more fun in their bedrooms than you do.

See, his cock isn't psychic. It doesn't know what you want. You can't lie there like a dollar-store blowup toy and expect him to give you the most mindblowing sex you've ever had. Hell, you don't even know what you want half the time, because you're so afraid of being labeled a slut for enjoying the act. Part of me pities you for that. Most of me wants to smack you in the face with a Sparkly Pink Dildo of Justice and hand you a copy of The Joy of Self-Loving.

Seriously. Masturbation is not a hindrance to a good sex life. It's essential. Because Moses on a matzah if you don't know what gets you off, how in the World of Warcraft do you expect him to?

Also? That mouth of yours has other uses in the bedroom besides giving him head. Talk to him. Tell him what you want once you've found out. Because you know what? If he's a decent man at all, he'll appreciate it. He'll appreciate you telling him how to make you as happy in the pants as you make him. He'll appreciate not having to do all the work. He'll appreciate the relief of performance anxiety and omgamidoingthisright? and wrestling with the question of whether you're actually enjoying it or if you secretly work for a 1-900 number. Sex will be better for both of you when there isn't so much goddamn guesswork involved.

And if you do talk to him, and it becomes evident that he isn't a decent man? If he really is a selfish cock-brained fucktard who only cares about getting what he wants in bed and to hell with whether you enjoy yourself or not?

Stop faking that orgasm and drop his ass. Because you. deserve. better. You deserve a man who knows that it isn't all about his Enormous Veiny Cock of Superiority.

Having great sex is no longer an instinct, like it was in the good ol' days when you ran around naked, ate your meat raw, and slept in trees. It's a process of unlearning the puritannical bullshit you've been fed since you took your first breath of air, and learning to be the sexually mature woman that you are.

If that makes you a slut? Fine. Wear that badge and wear it proudly.

Would Pass Out Free Toys in Babeland Coupons If She Had Any,
Me