7^th Gathering Report

by Damnation

I read this at the Subtext Virtual Season 7 website and thought it extremely fitting in the way it described Kevin Smith’s demise: “The earth lost a god and the heavens gained a star”. Kevin Smith truly brought to life the Greek God of War – the way he laughs jeeringly at mortals, the way he snaps his fingers and disappears in a brilliant flash of blue (okay, maybe that was plain visual effects but he still snaps his fingers very well, doesn’t he? *g*) the way he twitches those chest muscles, and the way he wears that sexy goatie (it’s so godly, don’t you think?). He may have left this world but his legacy will live on – in his works, in the memories people have of him, and in the many pets named Ares. (I’m sure the count for that went up since Xena: Warrior Princess started showing and I’m proud to say that I’m a part of that statistic. *g*)

The 7^th gathering of the fans had a rather sombre theme whereby the fans took a few moments to honour a man who made a difference in Xena: Warrior Princess and in the lives of the people who came into contact with him – both physically and through his work. Three of the most voted for episodes that guest-starred Kevin Smith were screened, through which the fans saw Ares as the conniving God of War, the helpless god who lost his sword – no, not that sword *eg* – and the mortal Ares who, in spite of himself, formed a real bond with a dog. Candles were lit, a transcript of Lucy Lawless’ tribute to Kevin Smith was read, and a few tears were shed.

But, smart people like we are, we know that the best way to remember someone should not be in tears. So, even though the sombre note never really left the room, it did fade into the background to give room to light-heartedness and joviality as the fans attempted to answer Mark’s tricky trivia quiz.

7th Gathering Pics

g71.jpg 583 X 420 55 KB	g710.jpg 545 X 420 60 KB	g711.jpg 536 X 420 48 KB	g712.jpg 583 X 420 43 KB
g713.jpg 576 X 420 60 KB	g72.jpg 480 X 420 38 KB	g73.jpg 519 X 420 41 KB	g74.jpg 510 X 420 36 KB
g76.jpg 435 X 420 44 KB	g77.jpg 539 X 420 52 KB	g78.jpg 569 X 420 57 KB	g79.jpg 498 X 420 49 KB

On top of the usual capturing of the Kodak moments, a video cam made an appearance this time! People who were camera shy kept out of the camera’s way as the tape rolled during the trivia, (warning: contorted facial expressions when trying to think up of answers, greedy gleam in eyes when picking out the prizes, constipated look when Mark failed to look your way and you’re just waiting to squeal out the answer…) and through the Show and Tell brought to us by Millie and Bradley (yes, your lingering and sometimes lustful looks directed at the pictures of Hudson Leick and Ted Raimi that were circulated might just be captured on tape!).

When the lights remained dim after “Old Ares Had A Farm” was shown, I was half expecting another birthday song to be sung (what did I tell you about always remembering the ‘wrong birthday girl’ event?). The large TV screen flickered, however, and we were treated to an excellent compilation our favourite Ares moments done by two anonymous Xenaphiles, known to us only as B &D. (They are either roller doors or very heavily into something more exotic.)  In the short 15 minutes, we were treated to clips from as far back as “The Reckoning”. I shudder to think how many episodes they went through for the creation of the video. It’s one thing to watch six different Xena episodes at one go and quite another to go through dozens of them and figuring which scenes to pick out and to put where.

The gathering ended with a celebration of birth – the birth of a wonderful, amazing individual whom we have all gotten to know over the months, an individual who is always there with a friendly smile and a helping hand (and many, many presents for everyone *g*). Happy birthday, Sue. Thanks for making it another enjoyable gathering.

Damnation.

 

View Other Past Events

Back To The Front Page