[what kind of fool]

[tellitslant]

Stolen shamelessly from sophia_gratia: I've added a few people to this journal in the last little while, and also I am feeling chatty, so come and be chatty with me in the comments! Ask me stuff: fannish, non-fannish, realistic, fantastic, whatever. I reserve the right to avoid questions if I so desire, but hey. :P Three-question maximum, and go.

Oh, and this applies to those of you who have been hanging around for a while as well as those of you who are brand-new. Yeah? Yeah!

Comments

i don't take enough opportunities to use this icon.

[sophia_gratia]

1. What's your favorite lesbian cliché?

2. A variation on Fuck/Marry/Kill: Get Crazy Drunk With, Go Crazy Dancing With, Have (optionally Crazy) Snuggles With: Christine Baranski, Amanda Tapping, Jaime Murray.

3. Kalinda Sharma shows up at the ExecuDyke Bar At The End Of The Universe. Who's the first ExecuDyke to sidle up and offer to buy her a drink, and what ensues?

Re: i don't take enough opportunities to use this icon.

[tellitslant]

1. I don't know if I have a favourite! I have a lot of least-favourites (the u-haul perhaps chief among them). But my favourite is actually possibly one that I would also classify as a dislike, paradoxically. I really dislike the cliche that is so prevalent that it became the image around which the L Word chart was based, that every lesbian is inevitably connected to every other in one little incestuous circle. But while I dislike the small-town-ness of that, I like that it leads to close-knit communities of women with complicated relationship statuses. I was thinking of this the other day as the old dykes' networks - the antidote to old boys' clubs.

2. OMG HEE. Okay.
Get Crazy Drunk With: Jaime Murray. Because, come on, there are photos of her arguably completely sober with a lampshade on her head already available on the internet. I can only imagine the hilarity that would ensue at the crazy drunk stage.
Go Crazy Dancing With: Christine Baranski. Because, have you seen "Does Your Mother Know?" Yes, I know you have. Q.E.D. Sadly she would completely out-dance me, but I think I would be okay with that.
Have Snuggles With: Amanda Tapping. Because soft textiles, and also mrrr.

3. I am pretty sure Kalinda would cause a minor riot in the ExecuDyke Bar. But I suspect the first person to emerge out of it would in fact be Kira. It would be less a case of buying her a drink and more a mutual-sizing up, a cautious exploration of similarities, and an ensuing bout of subtly trying to drink each other under the table with everyone else looking on and quietly placing bets.

Re: i don't take enough opportunities to use this icon.

[sophia_gratia]

Yeah, the incest-network is just so completely not my experience. I do like laughing at the screwy dynamics of queerlady communities I'm only tangential to, though. I think my favorite cliché is flannel, or more elaborately, a friend of mine's comment on dyke culture in the midwest: 'The only difference between the femmes and the butches is that the femmes are wearing floral long underwear under their Carharts.'

Question 2 was a pretty stacked deck – I'll get better at making the choice hard in future. But dancing with Christine Baranski! Mrrrr. (And I'll need a link to that lampshade photo, plz.)

You forgot the last part of 3: "And then they take over the world." (I'm still pretty sure you're placating me, though. *side-eye*)

Re: i don't take enough opportunities to use this icon.

[tellitslant]

It's not really been my experience either, but I do like its existence. Sometimes. And I've never been a fan of flannel, personally (I know right? Bad dyke.)...

I do feel like the Drink Dance Snuggle conundrum needs to be explored more often, with more groups of ladies. For example, Alicia, Kalinda, and Diane. And have you really not seen this? :D

Seriously, I just have this very clear mental picture of the two of them looking at each other, prior to drinking. Following the hangover I feel like there would be a lengthy period of detente before some crisis had them working together and then, once they'd established bonafides, they could take over the world.

[oparu]

1. Which femslash couples of yours use a strap-on and what part is it of their sex life?

2. If you had to give up tea, coffee or wine but gain an unlimited supply of the other two, which would it be?

3. If you could create a cliche that would seep into popular media, what would it consist of?

[tellitslant]

OH MAN, that first question has been the cause for a lot of, ah, deep thinking. :D

1. Okay. Helena and Myka (Warehouse 13) totally do: Q.E.D.. Myka wears it because she likes being in control. It's not a constant, but is around enough.

Alicia and Kalinda (The Good Wife) have never used one. Alicia feels like it would be like admitting she'd rather be with a man - she knows that's kind of silly, but still.

Sam and Janet (Stargate) have a couple. They have a pretty decent toy chest, actually. Janet is the one who's most likely to suggest that they incorporate the strap-on into that particular day's events, but whether she's asking Sam to wear it or telling Sam to lie back and think of the Air Force varies.

Helen and Ranna (Sanctuary)... hmm. Praxian fancy technological strap-ons. Yup, I ca see that being a thing. Helen's tried everything once or twice in her life, but every now and then Ranna does manage to bring out something that surprises her.

Renee and Kate (Batwoman) totally do. Renee loves wearing it. She's not stone butch, but she definitely gets at least as much enjoyment out of making her partner come as she does getting off herself, and the strap-on gives her a little bit of physical distance, in a way.

...I'm going to stop there. :P

2. Okay, this is kind of a gimme, through no fault of your own. I'm actually not a huge wine fan. i don't dislike it, but given the choice between it and beer or cocktails I will almost always go with other. So in your scenario, wine, for sure. If you'd put beer in there instad of wine, though, I might have had to say coffee! I loooove me some coffee, but tea is also a very comforting thing for me. Plus, you know, if I said tea, I might get kicked out of England. (On the other hand, if Soph sees this she might disown me. *hides*)

3. Oh my god, hard questions, hard questions! You know, it would have to be something feminist, like, I would be so happy if it were totally cliched to see in film and tv female characters in charge of their own sexuality and not being called whores. So the sexually confident young woman. That needs to be a cliche. :P

[oparu]

1. I love your answers, thanks!! Helen and Ranna especially. ;)

2. sorry, love. I do think they remove you from the island for disliking tea!

3. I'd love to see the sexually confident young woman on TV tropes.

[tellitslant]

I actually really enjoyed thinking about the strap-on thing (haha, not just like that), because it occurred to me that I haven't written much with strap-ons or sex toys in general. I think that might partially be because I m somewhat less likely to write established relationships, and one doesn't always whip out the toy box on the first date, but it definitely got some thoughts percolating. So thanks! :D

[oparu]

It fascinates me. I've never written it, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but there are some relationships where it would really work and be really kinda hot.

Definitely an established relationship thing, and those are my faves. I'll have good thoughts about your thoughts.

[tellitslant]

I think the Myka/Helena one is the only one I've written, and that was to a prompt that very specifically asked for strap-on in the context of gender play, which... I may not have successfully conveyed, but which is also more loaded than I would probably be likely to write it usually.

Now I feel like there needs to be a sex-toy-ficathon.

[oparu]

*whistles and looks innocent*

Maybe there should be!!

[hibernate]

Hello!

1. What's your favourite tea?
2. What countries have you been to, and what languages do you speak?
3. What's your favourite/least favourite fic trope?

Also, I just realised I have read (and loved) some of your fic on AO3 and I had no idea that was you until I checked your fic tag just now. Sneaky sneaky with the different names. :D

[tellitslant]

Hello hi hello! :D

1 Ooh! This is a surprisingly challenging question. I drink a lot of teas. When it's just a comfort tea, I go for basic sort of builders' tea, plain tea, with milk and sugar. But I am actually a big fan of boutique specialist teas and I seek them out. Right now my two favourites are Jumpy Monkey, which is a green tea and mate blend with almonds and coffee beans (great for mornings before lectures!) and Oxford Blend, which is lapsang souchong and Earl Grey and really really smacks you in the face with good morning. (Wow, I'm such a pretentious dork, haha.)

2. Well, I'm from Canada and I live in England. I've been to the USA; Wales, Ireland, and Scotland; South Korea; the Netherlands (briefly); Greece and Turkey; and a stopover in France (no, I know that doesn't count). I think that's all. So not a bad showing, but certainly nowhere near the number of places I want to go! As for languages, I speak English as a native speaker; I studied French for years but haven't had the chance to use it for nearly a decade, so I've forgotten most of it; I read Latin very badly; I can swear in Ukrainian (and also wish people pleasant Christmas, New Year, and Easter holidays).

3. My least favourite fic trope is the one where characters fall into bed and fall in love in the same instant. "We have just had amazing sex and now I am in love with you forever!" just makes me roll my eyes so hard. I am a total sucker for stuff like huddling for warmth or aliens (or artifacts) made them do it leading to a slow revelation of mutual interest and then happiness, whether temporary or otherwise.

And aw, thank you! I know I've loved some of your stuff too - when I got into W13 I had a binge where I just went through EVERYTHING on AO3, and now I am slowly going back and trying to leave feedback, haha.

[hibernate]

1. I am actually not a big fan of tea, but I love talking about it and smelling it, because it sounds and smells SO tasty. I think I'm just so used to strong, black coffee that all other hot drinks feel a bit... useless in comparison.

2. That is a lot! I figured you'd probably travelled some - being a Canadian in the UK! - and I am very deeply jealous of people who have. I've never had the opportunity to do more than visit neighbouring countries so far. (One day!) My coworker is teaching me to swear in Bosnian. It's very colourful and contains a lot of references to other people's mothers, which I mostly find perplexing.

3. I'm not very fond of the sex = love trope in general either, which makes me feel a bit guilty for only ever writing sex in the context of ~emotions. I'm just kind of a feelings junky when it comes to fic. Huddling for warmth is my FAVOURITE - romance or friendship or bitter enemies doing what they have to in order to survive. I like reading about people cuddling, I guess!

I am sad by how little Warehouse 13 fic I've written, but there's not enough hours of the day, it seems. :/

[tellitslant]

1. Have you ever tried lapsang souchong tea? I can be a bit of a tea evangelist, but it's very good. It's smokey and whiskey-like and smells like gunpowder. And I may have to have some in the morning now.

2. I feel like I have totally failed to take advantage of being so close to mainland Europe, though! To be fair, i've been pretty broke since I've been here, but I could have at least crossed the Channel once or twice... ;

3. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love feelingsy sex. I mostly have problems with fic that goes from "surely she couldn't like me to" to "mutual love let's shag right away!" to "That orgasm was so beautiful we will be together forever" in the space of one scene. I think there can be so many more feeeeelings in the sorting out of a relationship slowly, plus it's more realistic. I love cuddly fic and talkingy fic and slow-burn fic too much, too. :D

There are never enough hours to write fic. Ever. Sigh. Though that said you should write more! :D