I want your bad romance!!!

[extemporally]

My days are now enlivened by quoting bits of Be Good Johnny Weir. I know this makes me sound like I am crazy; also twelve, but I'm sorry. It's true! Quoting, to forochel, as she is marginally invested in skating RPF because I made her read the accidental marriage WIP (see how I subtly linked you all there again?) without, uh, telling her it was a WIP. I AM A CUNNING BASTARD.

Anyway. I've torrented and watched all the episodes of Be Good so far except the latest (which only became available today) and it is seriously ridiculous how quickly I've become overinvested in Johnny Weir's life. It is the most hurty thing on earth! There is so much, idk, losing confidence and falling sick and slipping on ice (in competition, even), and last night I was reduced to making squeaky noises of woe at my computer. FOR REAL. My face, it was truly sad last night.

(Then I had to laugh, of course, when the last episode I watched ended with Johnny frotting against his foot massager. OH JOHNNY.)

Anyway, my point is, I just keep quoting him. It is probably very annoying to people I chat with these past few days, but: "And people are like, 'Why do you have a dog on your costume?' and I'm like, 'It's not a dog, it's a gargoyle. Can't you see that it's a gargoyle? Are you stupid?'" and, ""Can I give you a wisdom inspiration from an older person? Everybody gonna die!" SHUT YOUR STUPID FACE JOHNNY WEIR.

Johnny Weir was a taller girl once, too. *________________________*

There was this really interesting discussion here on weirsjohnny about Viecheslav Romanov, Johnny's Russian reporter alter-ego. It filled me with thinky thoughts! And also made me really happy, because genderbending, and clever Johnny Weir. It's a pretty great post, tbh.

(Not to say nothing Evan Lysacek, obviously -- the first couple of times we chatted about figure skating forochel kept asking me, "But why do people hate Evan?" and I had to explain, no, of course people don't hate Evan, STOP BEING STUPID. They would not slash him with Johnny Weir otherwise! ... then I realised that I actually liked Evan and had to read some more fic to deal with that epiphany.)

And, I also want to talk about! Remember that time Popnography wrote about Panic's show and about Brendon's fey pointed-toe curtsey and we were all like, "... did a fandomer write this?" Well, look at this --

There is absolutely an air of homoeroticism at work in the series — we get many close-ups of Weir's wiry frame and plenty of lusty, lingering shots of his cutesy-pootsey competitors: clean-cut American rival Evan Lysacek, lupine Swissman Stéphane Lambiel, and frequently shirtless Frenchie Brian Joubert.

&

The two boys are shown in the first segment of the show naked-ish in a bathtub, conducting a fake interview about Weir while he wears a blonde wig and affects a Russian accent. In another segment, the two gents roll around on a bed together, loose-limbed and seemingly unconcerned (or perhaps deliberately provoking?) the inevitable questions about the exact nature of their relationship.

From here. This article is like that Popnography one times one million, which I'm actually... pretty uneasy about. I'm not quite sure about the tone of the article as a whole, which seems weirdly uncomfortable and condescending at some points. ashlein suggested that it might that even though the writer recognises that his desire to see Johnny Weir's big gay flamboyant show is kind of wrong-footed, it's still there. I thought that was pretty true, and the insistence on that was disturbing.

But. This is also true:

What did seem shiny and gay and ridiculous in promos is, in fact, a strangely ruminative and Terrence Malick-esque affair. ... what we get in the actual airing is a pleasingly left-of-center portrait of a moody and driven man on a mission, one who acts the way he wants to act and talks the way he wants to talk because he ultimately trusts his skating to speak for itself.

There's just something so true about this -- countless are the times that I've wanted to refer to Be Good as a documentary series! It makes me want to read really long character-driven fic, and even though so far I've been reading all the ridic figure skating fic, I think I could actually be invested in the way that makes me want to think thinky thoughts, and read canon-heavy angst fic, and spend all my time overthinking things in general. Maaaaaan. ♥

Comments

[harriet-vane.livejournal.com]

This week's episode features him bantering with Evan. It is TREMENDOUSLY AWESOME, even if the rest of the episode made me squeak and flail and almost cry. I knew how it was going to end, and I was still yelling OH JOHNY, NOOOOOOOOOOOO, OMG!!!! the whole time.

Thank god for ontd_skating; I had no idea Viecheslav was a boy's name. I have tried to imagine how the camera crew felt the first time Johnny wandered out in that wig, though.

I think it is a documentary, more than anything else. At some point in the latest episode Johnny says, "Sometimes my stress makes me act out a little," and I laughed so hard I had to pause it, but BASICALLY it's the story of a man in his last year (probably) of competition dealing with stress and family and so on, who just HAPPENS to be adorably insane.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, I am going to get home and watch it right away. ;_________;

I voted "female" at first! I'm pretty sure that's because one of the first posts I read about him talked about "Viecheslav the female reporter" and I just took that for granted, uh. And oh man, I was wondering what Paris and his mum were thinking whenever he tried to interview him. Are they simply used to such shenanigans? (The answer is probably yes, but!!) One of my favourite scenes in the ENTIRE series, idk, is when Viecheslav asks his costumer, "What hopes do you have for Johnny?" and she wishes him all the best, and he lowers his eyes and says thank you. ♥♥♥ (I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.)

And, oh man, ahahaha, that's definitely TRUER THAN HE KNOWS. I shall have no compunctions about calling it a documentary, then!

[nova33.livejournal.com]

OKAY, I'M GOING TO WATCH THESE, I AM. I HAVE TO. (Some other day I will share my very deep, emotional reasons for why I don't often watch things like this.)

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you're a member of ontd_skating, but here! (Oh, bb. Is it the motts? It is okay to have the motts!)

[nova33.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I wasn't a member, but I am now. (Motts?)

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Motts! I got them (briefly) when Johnny was literally lying around in his furs with Paris, but not otherwise.

[nova33.livejournal.com]

How have I never heard that before? No, that's not it. I mean, I do get that feeling watching a lot of other things - seriously, I leave the room on a regular basis when my family watches certain shows/movies - but with anything I'm all obsessed by, it's more like...I don't know, it depresses me knowing I'll never know that person? Which sounds silly, but I don't know. It's the same way with concerts, and watching things like plays - like you can see how close everyone is and the world that goes on for them, but you're just a random fan/member of the audience.

Does that make any sense? My brain's a weird place.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Bleah, at the risk of sounding creepy, yes, I totally identify with that feeling! When I was a kid I used to want to have really intense conversations with my ~idols (again, creepy), but nowadays I try to tamp down on that feeling, given that I'm usually reading fanfic about them.

Although I don't mean to insinuate that you're creepy! It's just like -- some people have lines with RPF and the like, and getting a hug from Panic etc might creep them out, and while I'm not sure where I stand with that I definitely understand the feeling.

[nova33.livejournal.com]

I think - I mean, I wouldn't actually want to go to a M&G, because it would suck to get to meet them, but not make any meaningful connection. And by that I don't mean that I want someone to fall in love with me, or anything ridiculous like that; just that it'd be nice to not just be one of many, I guess? I'm not very good at articulating this feeling, but it can depress me for days.

My lines with RPF are more that I can compartmentalize, because, in some ways, the people who I read/write about are not real people, they're kind of characters based off of real people, if that makes sense. If I had the chance to meet someone who I read/wrote fic about, I just wouldn't bring it up. I do not understand the people who purposely try to mix fandom and RL, like giving people signs to hold up and that kind of crap. It just baffles me, because it's a) creepy and b) makes things uncomfortable for someone who you apparently idolize.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

Don't have many words now, but -- yes to everything you said. :)

[nova33.livejournal.com]

Wow, a blanket agreement! Awesome!

[fullcollapse.livejournal.com]

Okay, you win. I have to find/watch this show. You start talking about irl angst and I AM SOLD.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

:DDD

I am glad to convert someone to the cause! LINKS ABOVE.

[complications-g.livejournal.com]

I have fallen, fallen hard. &johnny;

'It's not a dog, it's a gargoyle. Can't you see that it's a gargoyle? Are you stupid?' That was my favourite, I burst out laughing and couldn't stop for ages. :DDD

I was kinda surprised when I saw that post about whether Viecheslav Romanov was male or female because I always just assumed it was a male character. I don't even really know why though.

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

HI I AM GLAD YOU ARE IN THIS TOO let us bemoooooooan what wretches we have become. &JOHNNY;

He is so immensely quotable! And pretty! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. I just keep saying this sentence over and over again these days, Idek. "Paris, that's not how you eat cheese!" (Although the part where Paris moved out was also genuinely saddening, wtf, self, stop being so overinvested.)

I always assumed female, but that's because one of the first posts I read about him said female. I am nothing if not easily bidden.

[complications-g.livejournal.com]

WE WILL HAVE SUCH FUN!

Oh man, yes. It was heartbreaking. And he was all sad and then Paris showed us his apartment and said how happy he was now and it was even worse.

I think it has something to do with the voice, it just sounded more masculine, and I think if he was trying for female he could have made it, well, more female. ;)

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I KNOW. I was like, PARIS. >:( >:( >:(

You have a good point there! I wonder if Johnny really intended for us to read Viecheslav as "female" while giving him a deliberately male name just to fuck with us, or if he was supposed to be UNQUESTIONABLY male.

[complications-g.livejournal.com]

Who knows, but it's likely he was trying to fuck with people. ;)

[snarkaddict.livejournal.com]

I had no idea Viacheslav Romanov was a male name. I just thought it was him being all gender-bending. Like his mannerisms were (older) female but he was topless and you could see he was a guy.

ILHIM so much, I'm going around the house muttering quotes of his and "Mongoose" and "I don't even know what that means." :DD

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS is my favourite evan-quote of all time, no lie. That besides being "whelmed". Holy shit, I don't even know what's happened. What is this unreasonable affection for Evan Lysacek??

[snarkaddict.livejournal.com]

I KNOW! I BLAME colourmeshocked! TOTALLY!

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I am not sure about this Brian dude! BUT I LOVE JOHNNY A LOT. On that point we whole-heartedly agree. ♥

[forochel.livejournal.com]

I LOVE LOOKING AT STEPHANE LAMBIEL

[extemporally.livejournal.com]

I love (as you may have gathered) looking at Johnny Weir. And his pony hair. PONY HAIRRRR. ♥

[forochel.livejournal.com]

lololololollerskates