In order to write this small post about Highlander slash, I first have to proudly and freely admit that I watched, and loved, Highlander: the Series. The first movie with Mr. Lambert was a cult classic and I was happy to discover that though the following movies had dialogue almost as bad as the second Star Wars trilogy, the television series created from the movie was actually pretty damn good. Maybe not the first few seasons, but as soon as Methos came into the picture it was all good. I say this not just because it was a really sexy character (if you're a gal with a big roman nose fetish, it just doesn't get any better than Peter Wingfield, though he is no longer my screen saver) but because they seemed to delve deeper into issues of violence, existence, and survival after he came onto the show.

There are two slash stories that I would highly recommend: Save the Last Dance for Me by Dayspring is one of the cutest stories I've ever read and probably the only G-rated slash I'll ever rec.

The other story is the best slash out there. Sacred Trust by Lanning Cook is a fabulous fiction that captured the show's patter, and frankly did a better job than the actual writers usually did of showing us the characters and coming up with a totally innovative storyline. This story should have been Highlander 4: Endgame - seriously folks no matter how disturbing you find the guy on guy scenes (and there aren't that many in this) nothing can be more disturbing than how bad that movie was. Why oh why does Mr. Lambert continue to be in these things when every movie he's been in since the first Highlander has proven that he is the worst actor ever? Adrian Paul makes a much better choice, though his acting skills aren't exactly superb, as at least he is a competant martial artist who can swing a sword (no slash pun intended)

I wrote a paper once on the similarities between slash porn and trashy romance. There are a few plot tricks that both use, but actually slash has quite a few of it's own unique characteristics: the hurt/comfort plots (which dominate the genre) where the characters get together through one comforting the other over emotional or physical hurt, and the fact that they often take place in sci-fi/fantasy worlds. Often here one character is human and the other not, or both are not human, both scenarios aiding in creating believability as something like a vampire lives too long to be concerned with gay/straight issues. The fantasy element comes into play, I think, because of something Donald Palumbo once said, that fantasy is the realm where we can explore what is possible and it can and does help to play out thoughts on what sexuality is and where it can lead to. The fantastical characters in most slash push the boundaries, they are usually queer and not defined in binary terms of gay or straight and they generally have a few kinks outside of who they choose to sleep with. The slash stories also tend to put into question ideas of masculinity and gay stereotypes.

But as usual, I'm academicizing. Though all of this makes slash interesting to me, it's mostly because I like a good love story and I like erotica and yet the trashy romance never appealed to me. The characters are boring in harlequins, plots are non-existant, and the whole genre is just way too fucking vanilla for a girl like me. I'm a sexy, perverted, geek and I want my porn to appeal to my inner nerd - give me the characters I'm obsessed with and make it something a little different and a little culty. What's gonna be wrong with that?