The Rabbit Hole

Something writerly has been provoking me for a while now, which is funny because I've not felt arsed to write anything--original or otherwise--for some time. It's a specific thematic element, and a fire of irritation over it has been stoked by--of all things--the miniseries Tin Man, which I watched recently.

I've said before that I have this habit of checking out fanfic after I watch/read a work, even for things I didn't especially like (some times because I didn't like them and the fanfic is either sure to make me laugh or fix problems I had with the original work). I went ahead with this habit even though I didn't love the miniseries, and I had some success with it. I found stories that eventually led to smut for the Callum Keith Rennie fangirls I know. I even enjoyed a few stories just for myself, wonder of wonders.

Then I ran into this thematic bugaboo: Age-gap romances.

( In general, I like them. It's how they're represented that makes me grind my teeth.  )

From my general peeves to my specific ones in fanfic especially. Guess which one is the example of a positive, well-rounded inter-generational romance!

( Jean and Scott in the <i>X-Men</i> movie universe )

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( And one from Dexter (note: minor season two spoilers) )

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Too often, in fiction, the bereft/widowed party is “fixed” by a new love’s persistent attention when, emotionally, pursuing someone who has lost their love is about as vile as you get. Giving the grieving person space to make peace with the loss and then seeing if something else is possible makes for better, if less grandly operatic, romance. That is a big part of why inter-generational romances end up rubbing me the wrong way: they do not acknowledge what came first and how that might keep an object of affection from completely returning a lover’s interest for a long, long time. I’d say the problem is patience—most fanfic writers don’t have it. They don’t want to wait for the wounded partner to have an appropriate amount of time to get better; they want to fix that one by pairing him/her with the love interest of the series.

( Case in point (the one that finally set this off): Tin Man )

I guess I just don’t think like a fan-ficcer any more. That, and if anyone in Tin Man had any sexual chemistry going, it was Alan Cumming and Neal McDonough. After rewatching the miniseries, I'm not convinced that McDonough is any more decidedly straight than Alan Cumming. Maybe he'll get married to a guy after ten years of being married to a woman, too.

I feel pretty detached today. I'm in no hurry to do anything, but I'll do whatever comes along without arguing the point. Like, for instance, my boss tells me to pH something for half an hour. Yes, that's unnecessary, but I'm going to do it.

It's been like this all day. Just sorta going through the motions. I'm not mad. Not happy, not sad--was a bit anxious, but am mostly mellowed--it's just weird.

Bizarre.

( It makes me want to write disaffected fiction (and fanfic). )

( I finished season two of Spooks last night, which might explain the funk a little. )

Blargh. I wanna go home and forget the world. Hanging out with some folks tonight should make things better. And donuts. Donuts always fix things.