sleeping with the princess: a guide for explorers
1. I have discovered that much of the bad fanon in Enterprise fic tends to gravitate towards Trip. Well, okay, maybe there's tons of bad fanon, but I'm only looking for Trip/Malcolm, Trip/T'Pol, Hoshi and gen stories. And the fandom has been sort of good about giving Hoshi the life the show wouldn't. But back to the bad fanon.
Goddamn, people. The sad thing is that I have seen these EXACT same fanon issues elsewhere. Repeatedly.
First: having a Southern accent and a predilection for horrible Southern traditions like peaches and pecan pie does not make you a yokel. Also? I know it's not something I talk about a lot, but my mom is from Florida and my father's from Tennessee. In my experience (by which I do mean my family) -- and not to overgeneralize too much about Southern yokels -- the thing about Southern homophobes and sexists is that many of them are not quiet about it, because the culture has not always encouraged them to be so, which is part of where the stereotype comes from. So I doubly disbelieve sekrit Southern yokel characterizations of established characters who have had years to let slip their biases but haven't and have, in fact, acted in ways which suggest the opposite.
As a side note, if you are trying to phonetically render someone's accent: be careful, and then cut the number of phonetically-rendered words you've used by half. You will probably be approaching the way the person actually sounds, particularly if they are actors portraying a character on a TV show.
Second: having sex or flirtations with a half dozen (mostly very, very competent, self-assured) ladies and cogenitors over the course of four years -- often without voluntarily undressing -- does not mean you are a cad or a slut. Especially when it appears that one of the biggest problems in your life is that you can't get the girl you reaaally dig to commit. (AKA the John Sheppard Rule.) What it may mean is that the character is getting laid more often than the fan-writers who love him. Too damn bad.
2. Last night my mother watched the entire mirror universe two-parter without realizing that it involved the mirror universe. She thought they were going for a "grittier" angle to attract viewers ("like Battlestar Galactica!").
I haven't watched it yet, so I can't yet gauge how hilarious that is, but I'm thinking: pretty hilarious.
[ETA: After seeing the episodes in question, I can comfirm absolute hilarity.]
Goddamn, people. The sad thing is that I have seen these EXACT same fanon issues elsewhere. Repeatedly.
First: having a Southern accent and a predilection for horrible Southern traditions like peaches and pecan pie does not make you a yokel. Also? I know it's not something I talk about a lot, but my mom is from Florida and my father's from Tennessee. In my experience (by which I do mean my family) -- and not to overgeneralize too much about Southern yokels -- the thing about Southern homophobes and sexists is that many of them are not quiet about it, because the culture has not always encouraged them to be so, which is part of where the stereotype comes from. So I doubly disbelieve sekrit Southern yokel characterizations of established characters who have had years to let slip their biases but haven't and have, in fact, acted in ways which suggest the opposite.
As a side note, if you are trying to phonetically render someone's accent: be careful, and then cut the number of phonetically-rendered words you've used by half. You will probably be approaching the way the person actually sounds, particularly if they are actors portraying a character on a TV show.
Second: having sex or flirtations with a half dozen (mostly very, very competent, self-assured) ladies and cogenitors over the course of four years -- often without voluntarily undressing -- does not mean you are a cad or a slut. Especially when it appears that one of the biggest problems in your life is that you can't get the girl you reaaally dig to commit. (AKA the John Sheppard Rule.) What it may mean is that the character is getting laid more often than the fan-writers who love him. Too damn bad.
2. Last night my mother watched the entire mirror universe two-parter without realizing that it involved the mirror universe. She thought they were going for a "grittier" angle to attract viewers ("like Battlestar Galactica!").
I haven't watched it yet, so I can't yet gauge how hilarious that is, but I'm thinking: pretty hilarious.
[ETA: After seeing the episodes in question, I can comfirm absolute hilarity.]