I can't actually see why anyone would find Rowan's avatar offensive in any shape or form.... I think it's a rather nice picture of those two. In fact, I never even thought about the 'slash' connotation that could be put on it until it was mentioned! That must make me either (a) very dim or (b) very clean minded. Considering half of the comments I make on some of the threads which have double meanings squelching out of their sides, I would probably plump for (a)!!
Just don't all agree with me at once!
As for the trails of 'droll' by which I imagine you mean 'drool'... Well you know, it takes all sorts to make a world, and I find those threads give me a much needed laugh sometimes, because the perpetrators are quite delightfully unashamed in their drooling and most of it is done in the name of 'fun' - a concept that a lot of people don't appear to recognise in this hectic, fast paced world of ours. They can also take a lot of leg-pulling in very good heart, not to mention give as good as they get.
I would guess that most of the pairing up of the characters is also done in the name of 'fun', as is the shippiness, I certainly make naughty comments on threads about my favourite character in a very lighthearted way and I make no apologies for my double meanings and innuendoes when I do so! I certainly don't take it seriously. LOL..... They seem to make people laugh and what would life be without laughter and fun?
So while we're 'not pairing' everyone up...... I seem to remember reading one fic which had Janet and Jacob paired up.... a rather fascinating combination to my mind. Not that I'd be particularly interested to see it written as part of a script though!!
Part of my livelihood comes from writing, and when I read the fanfics I realise that a lot of them have the same story because they're all coming from the same consensus. It's all from the POV of what the fan fic writer thinks goes on in the SGC or among the team. There is not much of an attempt to flesh out or make the Goa'uld, for instance, more two dimensional or even give them any other interaction with others than aggression, violence and cruelty. But if the Goa'uld were a reality, they would, in fact, interact with each other, probably laugh at Goa'uld 'in jokes', eat, drink, procreate with each other, just like other species do. They wouldn't just be hanging about in motherships existing only to make the inhabitants of a planet bow down before them. They must do SOMETHING else on their day off! But I haven't seen much evidence that any of the fanfic writers even view them in this way.
There are a couple of writers who have branched out and written from the POV of another team in the SGC. But essentially they are all going to be the same and they're all going to be the 'ideal' as far as the writer is concerned. As Rowan so rightly said, the challenge presenting an old idea in a brand new way. It's also important to keep the interest of the reader, grab them by the throat at the beginning and keep the interest through to the end so that they can't put the story down.
Oh well, off my soapbox..... this IS about pairings after all.
:evil:
