I don't usually write fanfics about real people (just not a comfortable place, by and large), but I was inspired by watching a video clip of Seth MacFarlane singing "Something Good". He just seemed a bit sad and longing, somehow, and my brain went places with it. This is just my take on what's going on in the man's noggin, but only Mr. MacFarlane himself knows for certain what he's thinking. In other words, should he ever see this, he's free to say that I'm full of it. (And no, I don't know him, never met him, and don't see it happening. So this is completely pure speculation on my part.)
His eyes search the audience as the string section starts, looking for….her.
The song isn't just his favorite because it was his mom's favorite. It's his 'hope' song.
The hope that she—whoever she is—might be out there, listening. That he'll see it in her face; that she hears what he says through song what he finds so hard to say in spoken word.
The hope that she sees all the sides of him—not just the "Family Guy" raunchy humor side, but the deeper side, which he's still a bit shy about exposing. And that she'll understand that they're both him and that she'll love both sides.
It's the song that he always believes in his heart will be perfect for them. At their wedding, someday, maybe.
"For there you are, standing there, loving me….whether or not you should….."
That line alone made it ideal for such an event. He imagined singing it to her—whoever she might be—at their wedding. Or reception. He's not quite sure of the details on that, it's not like he's got the wedding planned out. But this song has to be part of that, of that much he knows.
Sometimes he tries to imagine what she might look like. Sometimes she's curvy and dark-haired, with a hint of mischief in her eyes, like Alex. Sometimes elegant, blonde, and strong-willed like Charlize. And sometimes she's exotic and in her own groove, like Mila. In his imagination, her features and personality keep shifting—not surprising, perhaps. All the women in his life are important to him for various reasons, he's likely selecting the qualities he loves best about each one, the ones he hopes to find in her someday.
He likes to imagine things they'd do together—not just sex, not that he'd say no to that. But lazy Sunday mornings, reading the newspaper in bed. Not on a tablet or something—an actual newspaper, where they can smell fresh paper and ink as they pass the comics section back and forth. Or long drives in the country in the late afternoons, when the sun touches everything and makes it all golden. Maybe stopping at local wineries and trying some local, unknown brand. Or even falling asleep together in bed, in the middle of whatever books they're reading. All the real things that make up a true relationship.
"Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could…."
This song is his hope of all the somethings. The hope of his eventual "Something Good".
And so he sings.