Fanfic Thoughts - really ass-long, of course! And personal, sorry if it's awkward XD

[guingel]

Anyone that participates in a fanfiction-y world, please share your thoughts on the subject with me. This is mostly just my own preferences and ideas, but partly it's just very half-formed and uncertain because I'm sure there are other perspectives and thoughts that I haven't realized yet. So I'd love to hear what other people think and like and look for.

Note: I'm aroused by a lot of material that many people find disturbing. This material is primarily not found in fanfic, and is only touched upon here. But it is mentioned and if you will get freaked out by that, please don't read this and maintain your mental image of me as normal and pure. XD Oh, hey, Corey! You said you were going to stop by to read about gynocologists - that's the entry below this one! Keep moving! I know, my normal and pure ship has sailed with you. Still. . .

My position towards fanfic is something that I've been trying to figure out lately, because it's recently become apparent that my approach is somewhat different than that of several people I know. I think I'm quite shallow about it, so i guess I thought I was typical. XD But I may not be. I care about writing ability but I don't get that concerned about plot or characterization - fanfic to me is primarily a sexual thing, I think. Even when it's a PG rated romance story, it's sexual, because for me penetration does not have to occur for something to be sexy, there just has to be a sort of power difference.

And that's because I am what I call a kinky person - but meaning I'm someone who is aroused by power difference in all types of media and to an extreme extent. So you could totally define kinky a different way, it's all very awkward. But just because that's how my sexuality works, shouldn't automatically imply that I would go to fanfiction primarily for sexual gratification. Like, I could be a person that's turned on by kinky sex, but doesn't read about kinky sex in my fanfic. But that's not the case.

I mean, I guess we turn to fanfic to get fulfillment that we can't get from the source material. Hence the emphasis on romantic stories, and especially slash. We don't get to see the characters (I'm going to say characters even though I recently started reading RPS, because that's still how I think of them, I don't know what that says) interacting the way we want them to, or might be interested in seeing. But even if it's just a domestic scene involving characters from an action show. Y'know? You want to see the characters have relationships that go deeper than what you get in the source material, or get to see them in another context. But more often than not, that's a romantic context - even if it's a canon pairing (which I don't think I've ever read extensively), you want to see more of the relationship or explore it beyond that which it gets on the show. I rarely read G-rated material, but I have. And I like it, if it's able to really show a side of the source material that I a) didn't get to see and b) wanted to see. And usually what falls in that material is relationships. Actually, I am someone that watches, say, Stargate SG-1 and wishes we could get an episode about Jack and Sam hanging out at the base and bugging General Hammond, but I think in terms of writing ability of the fanfic authors, I'm more likely to get a satisfying romance (not between Jack and Sam, I don't read het much, but that goes back to the sexual thing - which I do not see how it is linked to this second part of my analysis, I'll get back to it) than a satisfying episode, basically. So that's part of why G-rated stories don't interest me much, I guess.


Hmm. So on the one hand, I want my fanfic to turn me on. And it doesn't need to have actual sex to do that, it just needs to have characterizations in which my favorite character (normally one per fandom) is, in some loose way, in a position of decreased power. (this can be some sort of feminization, however subtle and not intended to imply power loss, also I like when the character is desired but that's sort of a whole different can of worms. also, hurt/comfort is always choice. And male-->female genderbending, for realz. so complicated!) On the other hand, I want my fandom to fulfill a desire to see the characters in a certain way that the source material is lacking.

OK, so I'm looking at my super-secret-but-not-really-so-please-don't-look-for-it journal where I just post all the fanfics I like in various fandoms so I have them wherever I go and I can do a little write up as well. And I'm trying to pull out the ones with ratings of PG-13 or below. Cos those are the ones where I guess it's more obvious what it is that I like, because in the higher rated ones, it's clearly the sex - even though I can pull out power different parts even in vanilla sex for the fics that I mark.
Koyato, G - Shige is afraid of thunger and Koyama comforts him, so it's sort of the hurt/comfort, plus Shige's all vulnerable and the other person (the fact that it's Koyama is, I think, a side thing) is strong and comforting.
Koyato, G - I like the second one, the way Shige allows Koyama to pick him up and carry him to bed.
Koyato, PG - Again, the second one - I love the description of Shige as being so sexy, and I love the way Koyama lusts after him. Good keywords: narrow waist and hips, off-shoulder shirt, choker, thin neck. I think it's suggestions of Shige having a feminine appearance.
Yoko/Ryo, PG - That's right, Ryo is my Kanjani8 uke of choice. XD I'll get into this one-character thing later, I guess. Anyway, Ryo is sweet and, although I hesitate to use this word, childlike. He pouts, and is cute and sweet and sleepy. I'm completely not interested in children or young teens or anything like that, I don't want them in my fanfic or my porn in any way - but I am very interested in adults behaving in a childlike manner. Or a petlike manner. This goes to extremes but more in my visual and non-fandom pornography. XD (On the subject of me NOT being a pedophile, I can't even really read stuff about ABC because even though they're all just about my age, since they haven't debuted and are still "juniors" I think of them as underage. O.o lol. Oops.)
Ohmiya, PG-13 - They all go to a haunted house and Nino gets scared and Ohno protects him. XD I'm seriously that easy. I count this sort of thing as power difference, my definition is very broad. Ohno has not power over Nino, but more power to control the situation than Nino, who is more the victim, the damsel in distress.
Nino/Sho, G - Nino sits in Sho's lap. More of that childlike thing, I guess. I think the relationship between a person who's sitting in someone's lap and the person having their lap sat on is a fairly defined one with particular implications.
Aiba/Nino, PG-13 - I hope this shows how I feel about the other half of the pairings. It's the same with NEWS and Kanjani8 but there were less hot PG-13 and under choices, so you don't see my pairing variety. Anyway, I'm so into this fic. I'm sure this is not what you were going for, Ames, but the sick, vulnerable, cute, childlike Nino being lusted after is basically just. . . I'm so, so there.
Makio/Sakurakouji (MBMH), PG - This pairing, from My Boss My Hero (think tough, violent yakuza Nagase and little chubby soft basically just like he is but less confident Tegoshi), is so prime for me being turned on without them having sex. Which is good cos I've only read maybe one NC-17 fic for them. ): But anyway, first Tegoshi/Sakurakouji is kidnapped and Makio/Nagase has to save him, then Sakurakouji makes Makio jealous and then has to appease him and then Sakurakouji gets compared to a woman, which happens a lot and I love it.
Makio/Sakurakouji, PG-13 - this author has a fic in which Sakurakouji is called Makio's wife, one in which the idea of him crossdressing is mentioned, and one in which he gets a "Property of Sakaki Makio" tattoo, and none of them have any sex so they basically all are examples. So awesome. XD This one is possibly my favorite, in which a bunch of host club employees, I guess, get jealous of Makio's attention to Sakurakouji and then compare themselves with him and realize he's prettier than them and everything.

I'm not even going to get into my position on genderbending here. Basically, I really, really love fiction in which boys are turned into women, and I'm happy when they're sort of characterized in feminine ways (not in camp ways, in that terms are applied to them that are usually applied to women, sort of thing). The latter is something that I struggle with a bit, because my whole theory about gender is basically that in the ways where the mind is in control of the body, women and men are the same. But also, of course, I think they should be equal and there's a clear element of the feminization creating a power-difference, and I wish it wasn't that way but it still turns me on. That's part of why for me, penetrative homosexual sex between men is hotter than other combinations, because there's an implicit feminization, basically. Anyway, nonetheless, this is something that I've long had to accept about myself. In real life, a more masculine woman (but not a biker-can't-tell-the-difference type) is a lot hotter than an effeminate man, but in fiction and porn, I love feminized men. Anyway.

So that's a sort of brief sampling of what I like. Even though those are my G fics, so it seems like they should be of the "I want fulfillment for unexplored aspects of the characters" school, they are actually of the "I want fulfillment. . . of a sexual nature" school. They all turn me on. But these are the fics that I marked to reread - they aren't all the fics I've read and enjoyed. But they are, one might say, my favorites. I don't know why I just said "one might say," by the way. I am not a person who says that. Anyway, basically my requirements for liking a fic are incredibly dependent on their having the above elements. Ahhh, except for in Harry Potter where i started out wanting all the sex because it's a very, very kinky and porny fandom, but at this point I just want to read long, satisfying Ron/Draco romantic epics in which nothing too horrible happens. So in that fandom, possibly because I really don't like the source material that much, I am just completely option two: satisfaction and fulfillment that can't be found in the original work. But apart from that - my other fanfic reading fandoms being Gundam Wing, Horatio Hornblower, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly (Joss Whedon is a king for providing Laura with fandoms), X-Men, Johnny's Entertainment (a different animal), the DC Universe (also a different animal), and to a lesser extent, Digimon and Stargate (I can't find enough material I like because in Digimon the fans are younger, so there's less good writing, plus I need stuff where the characters have been aged a little past the show, and Stargate because my character of choice is Jonas and very few people write about him). Also, in terms of the later fandoms - GW, Horatio Hornblower, Buffy, and Angel I all got into the fandom before the source material. It's hard for me to go the other way around. I know, it's totally odd.

OK, so with each of those fandoms except for JE, I have one character that I want to see be "uke." That is, if anyone is going to be hurt/vulnerable/desired/fucked/childlike/feminized, it's going to be that character. In GW, it's Duo; HH, Archie; for BtVS it's Xander; Angel it's Wesley; Firefly it's totally Simon; DCU it's Tim Drake; X-Men it's Bobby Drake (that bothers me. Do I just like people named Drake?); and Stargate it's Jonas. Like, totally, clearly, obviously. That person has to be in any pairing, they have to be the bottom, and I don't much care who they're paired with. Except that sometimes a particular pairing will be more or less likely to lend itself to the kind of fics I like to read. I don't know if anyone on my friend's list is even into X-Men fic, but Bobby is only occasionally characterized the way I want him to be, so I don't really get to read any of the Pyro/Iceman fics, and not too many of the comicverse ones. Also, often my Character is one of the most popular ones to write about and Bobby and Tim and Jonas aren't really.

Anyway, JE is all wacky-sauce, partly cos there's so many different groups, so there's different groups of relationships - which actually means some people get to switch. Plus, it's RPS so clearly they're more complicated, even though when it comes to fanfic I'm more interested in a simplified version - in my outside fanfic fan-ing, I like the complicated, of course! But yeah, Ryo - in Kanjani8 he's totally uke, and I find it ridiculously hot, but in NEWS sometimes he tops. Although I still prefer him to uke. But he also gets to top Uchi sometimes, too. And I never, ever, ever had switches before. I guess if I fic was really, really kinky.

Cos I think for me, like. . . it's probably obvious I don't worry too much about realistic characterization. Especially if I'm starting reading the fanfic before I'm familiar with the source material (I allow the fanfic to suck me in - i get curious about events referenced so I look them up and then I get interested in the show or whatever. True story - I now own three seasons of Buffy, started with the fanfic. It was daddy!kink, I didn't care who the characters were!). But I did switch main ukes with Buffy once I discovered what the characters were like. I think for me the original characters are a reference point, but that's about it. I was discussing this with kegom and she was saying that she thinks Nino is a switch. And I agree, he totally doesn't act like someone who'd actually act like he does in the fics I like. He's a really complicated person who has many facets and different ways of acting. But the fact that he does sometimes act like that - cute and childish and affectionate, that's enough of a reference point for me to have something in mind, so behaviors and appearance, when I read the fic. Cos otherwise I might as well be reading original fiction (which I do, it's totally different. This one site has a lot of institutionalized slavery, I find it a total turn-off, actually.), the fan-ness of fanfic does play a big role.

So yeah, I got to thinking about the role of actual characters in my fanfic preferences. I'm not at all looking at "geez, this person would never want to bottom all the time" or "hmm, I bet he'd like to pitch and catch." What their characters indicate about their preference has. . . not nothing to do with what I like in fic, but very little. Rather than watching the boys - or even, in a non-RPS fandom, watching the show or reading the comic books - and thinking "Oh, those two seem to like each other quite a lot," I think "Hmm, who would be hot together?" It's totally sexually motivated. Plus, because of my exaggerated power difference thing, there's always going to be out of character behavior, pretty much. Especially in the JE RPS world.

So there's also one character that I latch on to. And I latch on to them. . . I actually already had them all listed because I was trying to figure out common points. I know I've been saying vulnerable a lot, but I think some appearance of vulnerability is as close as I could come. And it can be physical weakness, or insecurity, or both. Duo and Matt I don't think actually fit this - but Duo is often made far more vulnerable in fanfic. Basically I guess the Gundam Wing characters are so loose that fanfic can take them anywhere. Maybe anime in general is more like that. Also, I think physical beauty - prettiness, that is, a feminine appearance, is another factor and Duo and Matt are very pretty. Xander, Wesley and Tim are all people who lack powers in a world where others have them, Nino is small and weak and Shige has the whole insecure thing going on. Archie has bad stuff happen to him all the time. Simon is just gorgeous and I think he and Archie sort of epitomize what I like in these guys that I fix on. But I don't know if I can quite explain why. I do think part of it is the way the actors play them. Also, Archie was basically canon sexually abused, poor lad. But yeah, Jamie Bamber and Sean Maher - I have really, really big crushes on both of them. But I don't read fanfic about them because I actually CANNOT do RPS. JE is just screwing with my head.

Anyway, these uke characters, except for JE's few switches (which do not include Nino and Shige - it's Ryo, and Pi, and Jin, and Hina, and maybe a few others), but let's pretend JE is normal and there's just Nino and Shige. In each fandom, all the fic has to involve that one character as the bottom half of the pairing. And, like I said, I don't much care who the top half is, except to the extent that it affects the dynamic. I'm not sure if this comes because I'm only attracted to the one character, and because of my sexual kinks, I'm only interested in the person bottoming. So I only want to read about the person I'm attracted to doing the thing I find interesting. But I might be attracted to the character because I start reading the fic and I identify with them, and that makes me like them and starts that cycle. Or, I could identify with them and then not want to read about them topping because I don't want to. I don't know. . .


So! Back to my original point. When I read fanfic, I'm not looking for the best writing, really, and definitely not the best characterization, or the most amazing plots. I'm looking for fic that I find hot, that turn me on. There's generally a lot of adult material in my fandoms so I sort of thought that's why everyone else was there, too. XD But now I'm starting to realize maybe not. Hmm. I wish I had a better point to bring this all too. I don't understand myself at all?

This also affects my commenting patterns, because I know I'm looking for such specific things, if I don't like a fic it really doesn't mean anything - and even if I like it, it doesn't necessarily mean it's a good fic. I mean, I can tell the difference, but the ones I get really jazzed about. . . the better written fics, the more emotional/sexual impact, but in order to affect me, having the above priorities is more important. So yeah, I never really feel I can judge.

Ah, I was going to talk about fanfic gender dynamics more but I think I won't.

But yeah, every time I talk about fanfic with someone I feel like I'm so clearly moving from a completely different place, our starting assumptions are totally, totally different, and it's really hard to explain where I'm coming from. Now I guess I'll just link them here. XD


That was long. Anyway, I went to the Balloon and Music Festival out in Suffolk today. Craziness! Met a couple of Charles's friends, very exciting. Not really much balloons or music but got to hang out with Corey, and got nice new earrings, and 13 comic books!! Woo! A bunch of Impulse and Superboy and also some Guy Gardner: Warrior ones. And I got fried Oreos! Yaaaaaay! So it was fun. Also, whoa. Suffolk is quite different from Nassau.

Comments

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Oh god laura(can I call you laura?), why are your posts SO LONG. I wanted to respond to the last one too but I kept spacing out half way through. *cries* have some pity for your ADHD lj friends. *wishes that last sentence was a joke* Oh and I replied to your comment in my lj finally. Sorry it took so long.

Well this is somewhat fandom related so I can be more motivated to respond this time. Ok first of all laura just who thinks of you as pure and normal? XD Your lj entries are always so explicit that I feel as if I have to brace myself before reading them O_O Luckily for you I am a very twisted person. Actually it's pretty hard to shock me, and as far as I'm concerned if it *switches to southern accent* ain't hurtin nobody it ain't a problem! I find it funny how you actually take the time to reflect upon your smutty fanfic preferences. Like instead of just being like "hey that sounds hot, I think I'll read it" Hee as for you having disturbing taste. Well I'd say that Hostel and the fact that thousands of people made money to see that is disturbing. Your preferances in fanfic...not so much. It's getting late so I'll just jump to my feelings about fanfic. I almost never read it but lately I have been reading more of it. Such is my love for K8 I suppose. Yes that is the only fanfiction I will read now. I don't like romance stories but alot of the K8 stories are about the love between friends the ones that are straight up romance usually involve sex and then depending on how good the writer is, I decide whether to read it or not. When it comes to smutty stories I don't read them often but when I do I prefer darker stuff just cause it's more interesting. Yeah most of the dark smutty K8 fics are as out of character as they can be but then if the writer is good enough that doesn't matter. However for other types of stories I need the boys to be in character. I do seem as real people but when people write about the K8 boys they are writing about how they percieve them not as they really are only they themselves can truly know something like that. The rest of us can only go with what we see on the tv and read in their Jwebs, although because of eito's genuine and honest character it's usually as close to the real deal as one can get. Particularly in the case of Jwebs, they are amazingly eye-opening sometimes and reveal sides to the boys you would not otherwise see or know about. I'm sorry that I made this reply about K8 AGAIN but I swear it's relevant so bear with me here. As for power struggle, well in smut that makes the dynamic more interesting but in other kinds of fics I don't like that kind of dynamic at all. I dont think their needs to be a power struggle between friends or lovers/spouses. Although often there is but I find that sort of relationship to be unstable in the first place. As for ryo being the dominated one, well I rarely see that, it's usually the other way around. Actually I don't know if you know about this girl ashkt but she has a fic journal and I think you would really like her stuff. Here: http://ashesof-hope.livejournal.com/
it's mostly ryouchi and akame. But there is this great ryokura fic there called diabolos. It's really dark and violent but I like the way she writes and the dynamic between psycho! okura and emo!ryo is interesting (by which I mean HOT.) Seriously most of the smutty ryo fics have poor ryo cast as the psycho character. Which I find funny because ryo is probably one of the least pychotic members in K8 XD. Oh well he makes a good psycho :D Another girl who has wonderful, wonderful fanfiction (not just smut!) is http://pinkpapyrus.livejournal.com/ you really need to read that caesura fic she wrote with takki/tsuba/baru as the characters. It's smut with a PLOT, a plot inspired from subaru's emo days. But she has alot of light hearted funny stuff and non pairing stuff too. Ok that's all I have to say for now, but I just gotta ask now cause I'm curious. When you said that you wouldn't read fic with baru/yasu in it because you didn't like their dynamic, what did you mean by that? What don't you like about their dynamic?

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I'm clearly an incredibly slow replier as well. And you can totally call me Laura and I'm sorry I'm so long-winded. XD I cannot be brief, period.

Lol, in terms of people thinking of me as pure and normal. . . I guess for a while on my LJ I would never talk about fandom stuff, and that was where my perversions were expressed back when I updated regularly. So I guess. . . I don't know. All of a sudden I don't feel any hesitation talking about anything, and I definitely remember that I used to - not because I didn't want people to know, but because I thought I might make other people uncomfortable. Which is why I have a TMI filter but I don't know if I'll even use it before. I've lost the thread of perspective that allowed me to see how other people might not want to hear all these intimate details about me. XD

Cos, yeah, I've gotten really explicit lately! OK, cos I don't know anyone else who really shares my kinks (probably cos they're mostly creepy), so while I've discussed, like, the sort of philosophical aspects of BDSM with some friends, I've always tried to keep the conversation vague. But I've always sort of really wanted to discuss it with someone and now I'm losing my reluctance. So everything is spilling out. Not everything - there's a couple kinks, a couple of truly extreme artists, that I still don't discuss generally - but I want to!

Fanfic is, like, such a big part of my fandom experiences. It's weird, because on one level I sort of see it from an outsider's perspective and I think it's silly, fanfic. But I totally love it! But I just started writing it for the first time, even though I've been reading it for 7 years. It's really odd to be writing it! I feel like I've crossed some type of border. . .

Y'know, in JE I haven't been that into darker fic. I don't know if it's the nature of the fandom, or the authors, or just my tastes changing, because in the past I've eaten that stuff up. I dunno. I still love kink, of course, and I adore hurt/comfort - there is nowhere near enough of it! But I've sort of wanted things to not get too bad, and I'm not feeling the fics where people are psychotic. I've read that stuff in other fandoms, but not this one. - so I've checked out ashkt's work, but I have mixed feelings about it.

But yeah, that's pretty much totally how I feel about the characterization - it makes it more interesting, and we can't know what they're really like anyway. In fact, I get uncomfortable when people are really trying to imply that their fic reflects life.

And I do agree about the power struggle - Kanjani8 is definitely the group, and the fandom, where I'm most likely to read friendship fic. Their relationships are so sweet and amazing. And in that sort of thing, of course I want the relationship to be balanced. But sometimes an unbalanced relationship doesn't mean an unequal relationship, or a struggle.

I know, Ryo is almost never dominated. :( Even I just finished a fic where he tops. ::sigh:: But I truly adore uke!Ryo and I'm planning to write another about him ;) Actually Uchi/Ryo, with Uchi on top - cos I can totally see it, even though it'll be a) unconventional and b) yes, somewhat out of character but not as much as it may seem!

I adore pinkpapyrus' fic! It's so good, the relationships feel so real. :D

Hmm. It's not that I don't find their dynamic, like, as a pairing very cute and entertaining, or as friends or whatever. But the power balance, I guess, just isn't right for me to get into fic about them. I can't find them hot. It also probably has something to do with my attitudes towards both of them as individuals. I love them both, but I'm not attracted to them in the right way to read fic about them. Yeah, just something about the way they relate to each other. I'm just sometimes that way about pairings. I think I mentioned in my entry that I don't read Pyro/Iceman fic, even though I love reading fic about Iceman normally - when he's with Pyro (these are movieverse X-Men, by the way), I just don't find the way they interact hot. It happens.

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

It is ok that you are long winded because I am too. as you will soon see in a moment.

And as for your kinks, honestly though laura if it doesn’t include child porn, I’m sure whatever it is isn’t that bad ^_^. Really, seriously though I think that you are actually one of the more normal people on my flist. Like this fandom in general seems to attract it’s share of eccentrics, crackpots and nutcases (I include myself in this statement) but most of the people I run into are just lovably quirky, but some others…not so much. I honestly question some of these girl’s mental health…well I won’t name names and it’s not my place to go judging others but suffice to say, you are not that bad. Really though the world is a big place, if I learned anything from the internet it’s that. There will always be someone stranger than you, someone more unfortunate than you, prettier than you, uglier than you, wiser than you and also far less wise than you. Yeah reading some of girls on my flist’s journals I realize that my problems are really not that bad in comparison. Not necessarily because their lives are that bad but their perception of their lives is that bad. I realize that I actually have a good grip on myself…oh lookie here, I went off on a tangent AGAIN. My apologies, I will stop now. In a nutshell what I’m saying is here in the wide recesses of the internet you are PERFECTLY SANE. And you should feel right at home here in JE land, lord knows everybody here probably has some kind weird kink/fetish.
I really want to write eito fanfiction now. Like AU stuff. I already got this idea with yoko as a teenage gang boss…it’s more detailed than that but I don’t want to attack your comments with stuff you may or may not want to hear. Really I’m thinking of doing short stories with each member of K8 as the leading character. I already have outlines! :D

“so I've checked out ashkt's work, but I have mixed feelings about it.”

I feel kind of awkward now. Sorry I misunderstood. Not your cup of tea? Well it isn’t for everyone and I’d question why I would read it too… except that I already know the answer to that. *ahem* Anyway truth be told I can read that stuff dark violent movies I can't watch at all, who know why.

Also I see what you mean about imbalanced doesn not necessarily mean unequal, or rather I think unequal does not necessarily mean imbalanced. Well I guess a good example would be a relationship between a S person and a M person (I’m talking personality types here not…the other thing) Basically the S person will dominate the relationship because he/she wants to but the M person will be perfectly ok with that because he/she wants to be dominated. That M person does not feel comfortable in power nor desire it, therefore even though the power is unequally shared, the relationship will be perfectly balanced because the people are in agreement with each other’s roles in the relationship. In essence they compliment each other and in that sense unequal does not necessarily mean imbalanced.

There really is not enough uke ryo fic in the world, and I actually think that it's alot closer to the real ryo. And in regards to uchi… He definitly has a dark side. I mean people do not even KNOW. I've read in several places yoko saying he was surprised by how sharp tongued uchi could be. Even though uchi is usually a sweetheart I think that he actually has the capacity to be much more mean spirited than ryo does. I mean I think it’s pretty obvious by now ryo’s not as tough as he acts. There was this one shounen club ep where ryo had to say a weakness about himself and ryo said "I act strong." and uchi's response to this is? To get up in ryo's face and go "EHHHH!" loudly and with a mocking tone. He was totally smirking at him. Seriously uchi can be pretty vindictive sometimes. I could totally make a list. In fact one day I will make a list and post it up on my lj with screen caps and links and everything. It will be titled "All the times Uchi Hiroki was evil...that I know of" It will shake the core foundations of this fandom! All the fangirls will see once and for all that he is not the innocent little princess they make him out to be...and does it reflect poorly on me that this just makes me like him more? >_<

[guingel.livejournal.com]

I didn't say I think my kinks are bad. I'm completely fine with myself and my sexuality. I'm pretty well adjusted, I like who I am and I like my life. But, I remember back when I first was learning about kinks, and even starting to read kinky fics, I was disturbed by ponygirls and adult babies (not child porn, thank god - i go the other direction) and urethra play and body modifications and god knows what else. So my reluctance to speak frankly about myself is an awareness that other people might be disturbed by them as well. I find JE land far, far too vanilla for me.

You don't need to feel awkward about reccing it at all - I do read that sort of stuff, I used to read it all the time - just in other fandoms. In JE, I just don't read anything where the boys aren't in good mental health. It doesn't interest me. Normally I'd be all over psycho darkfic, just not in this fandom. No big, no need to worry.

Yeah, Japan uses M and S for personality types. . . but in the US I've seen them only used to describe pain giving or receiving preferences. In the kink world we'd say Dom/me and sub, I guess, to refer to the personality types. But I was actually just mostly talking about fanfic dynamics, not actual relationships. There's a big difference, for me.

Yeah, Ryo, especially in Kanjani8, is totally sweet and cute, even though he has the harsh-tongued reputation. His tongue is harsh, but inside he's just a big squishy cuddly pile of fluff!! ;) Not that I didn't just write seme Ryo. XD But squishy Ryo is pending :)

I really want you to make that list of evil Uchi moments!! Although for me, top Uchi is more based on times when they've talked about how much more mature Uchi is than Ryo, even though he's younger. Like, I don't know if you've seen it but there's some vid where Uchi is talking about a time where Ryo was jumping on the bed and Uchi was all "you're noisy!" and Ryo tried to do a flip and was like "Whoa! THat was scary!" And Uchi's like "how old are you again??" So my picture of Topping Uchi is sort of based on that. And he's better at holding onto his cool image with Kanjani8 than Ryo is, I think. Although there's a sad lack of Uchi material. . . stupid suspension. XD I guess, yeah, like you said, the uke image is based on his girly princess behavior - and I do read him as uke, but I can totally see him as seme!!

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Yeah I know you didn't. Sorry for giving you a lecture -_- that you also obviously didn't need.

Also regarding your kinks I...have no idea what you just said. So I will just say OK! :D

Well I don't think any of the boy's are mentally imbalanced (well maybe subaru...XD) but the stories are far enough from reality that it doesn't matter. Really she could write fiction with her own characters if she wanted to.

Ryo = sharp tongued but soft hearted. Actually I think okura's intro for him in the Spirits DVD opening song 8'0 clock, sums him up rather well ^_^.
You are officially the 3rd person to ask for that list and...I think I'm gonna get started on it right now. Although it only has like 10 or 11 things on it for the mean time. As for Uchi being more mature. I ABSOLUTELY AGREE. Someone said on the MK forums that uchi was just as dokkun as ryo but uchi had better self control and did not blurt out things as much or was just generally better at hiding his bitchiness. But that just makes him more dangerous doesn't it? Yeah I saw that clip, KAWAII. Uchi is kinda like a cutesy version of matsujun actually. Cause he is all prissy and feminine but he is also very Do-S and bitchy. Uchi is more likely to act goofy than ryo is but in that sense it's of his own accord unlike ryo who is almost always unintentionally funny. Yeah despite ryo's ero otoko/otokomae image he is in fact quite childish at times. Just makes him cuter if you ask me. And Uchi can be very kakkoii but he also runs from dogs screeching his head off so well I'd say it's about even between those two as far as image is concerned XD. Really no one in K8 could maintain their dignity for long, I'm looking at you Tacchon. I don't care how hot you've gotten lately you are still a DORK AND A CLUTZ. But that's why i love you <3

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, Tacchon! He is acting so cool and hot and he's a total dreamboat but the best part of it is how he's still a total loser under it all! XD Ahh, I definitely love Tacchon best when he's failing at something. So cute. Also when he's being tall, which is all the time!

That is so true about Uchi and Matsujun! Except I have this theory that Jun's bitchy hides his insecurities whereas Uchi's gay bitchy is just gay bitchy. XD But yeah, he is way, way cuter! Aww, Uchi is so shiny. That's why Kanjani8 need him back. Also because of the way he runs from dogs screaming like a little girl. Hahahaha XD Oh man, no one fails like Kanjani8!!

Wait, what's "dokkun"? Man, I totally thought it was just from "NishikiDO-KUN" but clearly I am totally missing something!

I'm clealry working my way through this backwards, so I'll finish by saying that 10 or 11 items is a totally healthy-sized list - don't delay!

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Tacchon is the king of fail! Seriously how many times has he fallen on his ass or spilled shit. I mean really I lost count. There needs to be a fanvid "all the times okura tadayoshi failed on tv." don't ask me to make it because my video skills crap. Honestly even though he is pretty now I do sometimes miss buck toothed chubby cheeked adorkable tacchon. But then I remember he is still a dork and the world is right again. Also ryo fails alot too, I find it amusing that the two members with the most idol like image are the ones that fail the most. Oh irony what would this world be like without you?

I could totally see how matsujun's bitchiness is just to hide his woobie side. And Uchi is the real bitch! Hee! It is like a talent, K8's ability to fail can rival all other groups in JE!

Dokkun is yoko's nickname for ryo and it means "poison tongue" it's a cute nickname ne? ^_^

I am also responding in whatever order I feel like! I swear I would work on that list right now but I have a stupid essay to write for college. I don't wanna! *throws book across room* I will do it but I'm not sure if it will be done anytime soon. And I have class tomorrow and should be working now...

[guingel.livejournal.com]

I find it amusing that the two members with the most idol like image are the ones that fail the most.

I am so with you on that! It's just great. It was the genius of Honjani. ::sigh:: Although actually i have no right to be sighing cos I haven't watched anywhere near all of the episodes of honjani, so if I really missed it I could go download them. XD

Haha, I'm happy for Tacchon that he got pretty. I actually find that cute, somehow, like "You made it!" Even though his lips are too thick for me. . . But yeah, a video like that would be amazing. We need to find someone who can make it.

Ahh, that is such a cute nickname. Actually, I'm not-so-secretly a huge Yoko/Ryo fan. XD It's all the teasing, I love it!

Agh, you have work for school already? I don't start until Sept. 5th. ::sigh:: Well, I'm looking forward to it, but since I just stopped work my vacation just started, sort of, and I'm really enjoying the idleness!

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Yes! I am home! I had college today and just now got to check my mailbox. I have lot's of mail. Yay! I would much rather do this than schoolwork XD

Oh is that why I have been getting faster replies now? :D So you are officially free until sept 5th? Maybe I should take advantage of this and spam you with comments XD just kidding. But I am thinking of updating my journal soon. I have alot of fandom related posts I wanna do. (since my last lj post was about real life.) Let's see if I can manage it. Man fandom is hard work! XD

Yoko/ryo is very cute but I prefer yoko/uchi. They are very cute like an older brother and his younger...sister XD No really those two would get paired off alot during urajani and during the tights mania episode (btw weirdest hobby EVER.) they decide that yoko and uchi have to try on the full body tights and poor uchi looks freaked out and so he grabs yoko's wrist and it's just really cute. Big bro yokocho to the rescue! I seriously love how Hina and Yoko are the big brothers to the rest of the K8 members. You can dl the episode (and see screencaps)that I'm talking about on fatzoe666's lj. Also yoko/okura is also a very cute pair indeed. They go eating out together and worry about how chubby they're getting together! And get pissed at Hina when he says he can't gain any weight, together XD

I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

*hangs head in shame* I SWEAR I CUT STUFF OUT!

Pinkpapyrus has the best fanfiction in K8 fandom. NO CONTEST. Well saihara’s stuff is pretty good too, and if ashkt would just branch out more…Oh yeah I thought I should give you a heads up, pinkpapyrus is having an AU fic meme on her journal. So if you have an idea for an AU or crossover fanfic, then just hop by her journal and send her a request. She is doing drabbles (and possibly full length fics) in response. OMG I wrote her a really long detailed idea and was afraid it would piss her off but then she is all like “I was hoping someone would request something like this!” and she said she liked it a lot and SHE IS TOTALLY GOING TO WRITE IT! *dies of shock and then happiness* If you wanna see what my idea was then you can just visit her journal and scroll down to the bottom of the comments page on that post and there you can see the whole exchange.
Ah well I can see how you might not find Subaru and Shota to be the most attractive of guys. I think shota is really pretty and cute but I guess he can be too cutesy sometimes. Like sometimes I will think to myself “how is this boy NOT a girl?” Just cause he is so adorable and I have never seen a grown man like that, well he has a childlike face and height. He seems like he would have been happier as a girl…but really he is so built it’s not even funny, and he can beat hina in arm wrestling. NO REALLY, he can. As for Subaru…he’s short, his lips are thin, he’s skinny, he has a raspy voice, he has big staring eyes…but you know what? He’s probably the most attractive to me in K8, I’d say my taste in guys is going down but but that VOICE. It gets me everytime really, well I am a child of music afterall. Someone who sings as passionately and beautifully as subaru would get me everytime. I know some people say he’s the best in JE but honestly I think he is one of the best in Japan and if he wasn’t JE he would get the reconginition he deserves. That being said I’m not sad that he’s in K8. Admittedly though a pretty voice and passion in music might be enough to make him attractive to me, I think the real reason I have such a bias to him out of the rest of K8 is because, well, he is a lot more similar to me than I would care to admit. So I’m not gonna list the how or why of these similarites but suffice to say I relate to him the most of K8. *ahem* So what I’m is I don’t expect everyone to find those two or anyone else in K8 really as attractive. Like despite how all the fangirls seem to love ryo I just don’t see it, I like him I think he is cute but I just don’t feel all giddy when I see him onscreen or anything (like I do with subaru *cough*) But really, I don’t see any of the K8 boys as ugly. But depending on how attractive I find someone will generally depend on how much I like their personality in the end, but I would say all the K8 boys have pretty features. As for relationship dynamics, there are SO MANY different ones in K8, how can I choose just one. Really any pairing between any two of the K8 boys has it’s own dynamic. For instance subassan are like girlfriends really but baru/maru are always such freaks together. OMG have you seen the Making of Dvd for their winter dramas? IT IS GLORIOUS. It is wear I saw hina/shota arm wrestling and subaru was sososoosos cute in this and just go download it here http://community.livejournal.com/ru_johnnys/64272.html#cutid1 if you haven’t already. There is lot’s of shirtless boys and baru/maru being weird and yoko being hilarious and hina bellyflopping all over the place…ok I am officially ending this comment now because it is too long, and I already had to split it once. SORRY.

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Ahh, you should break comments into paragraphs! I'm confused. . .

Saihara has a lot of that mental health issues stuff that I don't really do in this fandom, so I haven't read many of her fics, but I ADORE "Flower Behind the Red Curtain". It's one of my favorite fics in the fandom!

OK, agh, I totally didn't make myself clear about Subaru and Yasu at all. Like, whoa. OK, this is what I said: But the power balance, I guess, just isn't right for me to get into fic about them. I can't find them hot. It also probably has something to do with my attitudes towards both of them as individuals. I love them both, but I'm not attracted to them in the right way to read fic about them. Yeah, just something about the way they relate to each other.

I bolded the important parts, cos I realize "I can't find them hot" is confusing - I can't find them having sex with each other hot. And "not attracted to them in the right way" means that neither of them is that "uke" character that I discuss in the entry. Yasu isn't vulnerable enough for it to be satisfying for me to see him sub, sort of. So I have no interest in Yasu bottoming. And Subaru I can see bottom, but his relationship with Yasu is just so adorable, it doesn't work for me. And Subaru is so intense and even though he's vulnerable, he's very strong, so in general I'm not that into him bottoming. SO: I'm REALLY into both of them. I love them both. And I love the idea of them as a couple. But i DO NOT read FIC about it. I don't get AROUSED by fic about it.

I know it's all super-counter-intuitive. For me, physical attraction is not a very big part of sexual attraction, which I guess is opposed to most people's assumptions. I love to read fics where Nino has sex, but I don't find Nino that hot. It gets confusing cos I say attractive, and it can refer to both physical or sexual attraction, and they aren't necessarily linked for me. Xander, from Buffy, also - funny-looking, but I read fic about him getting it on all the time (or rather, I did when I was in the buffy fandom) and love it, even though I don't find him good-looking. Yasu is a total little hottie - he's adorable and he's muscular and I love him. Subaru, I'm just totally in love with. He's one of my faves in Eito, maybe even my second favorite after Hina. His singing voice is incredible, I agree (although I'm also someone who's really attracted to voices, and that's why I'm in love with Hina - his speaking voice and speech patterns are SUPER hot to me. But then, the aforementioned Xander, not a sexy voice. The two are separate.) and he's just so amazing and i love his tiny body and his eyes and his hair and his personality. I do find him sexy, but. . . not in the right way to actually be aroused by him having sex. Agh, so confusing.

I'm really inconsistent and random, so I'm sorry I wasn't more clear. . . I don't know if it'll make any more sense now, either. >.>

OH my god, I have not seen that making of! I am downloading it right now!! I'm so excited! :D I actually haven't watched any of the specials, either. ::hangs head in shame:: are they good?

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I like saihara's mindfuck stories. I don't know I guess I just like twisted and surreal stuff, I have a mundane life after all.

No,no no I totally misunderstood sorry! You're saying you DO find them hot just not together . OHHHH. My bad.(although I never thought you didn't like them)
So much word to what you said about subaru though. He can be so intense and he really does have this fiery spirit about him. Even though he is tiny he is very willful! I find it really cute, and it's true even when he is in a vulnerable or emotional state (which is fairly often because Subaru is very emotional) he does not come off as weak or helpless. Although he has said in the past he feels like he relies on people too much and well reading his jweb entries he seems like he knows himself VERY well and I think that shows alot of wisdom when you can pick out your own faults and be honest with yourself about them. Accept yourself as you are, etc. Although he can be so timid and shy at times, he doesn't seem like he is an easy person to intimidate. He can be so bullheaded! Although all of the eito boys are stubborn, Subaru & Yoko are easily the most obstinate of the bunch. And considering how very stubborn I can be, it's no wonder that they are my favorites! :D

Also I can see how you wouldn't be able to picture yasu as being uke enough because despite how feminine and sensitive he seems to be (and how often he has cried on tv >_<), he is more often the one supporting or comforting others rather than the other way around. So yeah I totally get what you're trying to say but I really like that dynamic they have. Like subaru orders him around and bullies him and shota is cool with it but when subaru gets emo and needs reassurance shota can be the one to comfort him or carry him on his back or something (cause he totally could). Honestly though I like friendship stories with them more. Because they are really like girlfriends together. I mean they have friendship bracelets, go shopping together, both wear skirts and paint their nails...OMG SISTERS! *dies* Oh yes and I just thought I would add YES SUBARU HAS THE MOST AMAZING EYES EVER! So intense, they can like burn holes in things. HE IS HOT. *ahem*

So about the dramas. I saw all of them and Jitensha shoneki (the bike drama with maru and yasu) Also if you're considering watching the dramas DO NOT watch the making of dvd yet because you will be spoiled. Ok the first one I saw was Dive to the future (hina & yasu, cameo by ryo) and it was light and fun to watch but ultimately just ok. I would recommend it for if you have nothing better to do (or just really like hina), also Yasu as a prissy narcissistic diver is hysterical to me.
Double (baru, maru and cameo's by okura & yasu) I liked this one the most NOT simply because I adore subaru.) it was very intense, mysterious, creepy, surreal but has a sweet ending and it just had me involved the way the others didn't, pretty subaru as the lead was just a bonus.
Finally kemarishi (yoko & okura, ryo cameo) despite my love for yoko, I just found this one really boring and forgettable. There was 0 chemistry between him & the girl, the plot was like something out of a shitty manga and yoko's acting was very over the top. Again this felt more like an anime and I just couldn't get into it. Although okura's acting surprised me a bit, it was a bit over the top but he was alot more engaging and interesting to watch in here than in cinderella ni naritai which was DULL DULL DULL. I liked jitensha shoneki too but it's not part of the winter dramas so if I won't say much anymore about it unless you want me too.

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Oh my god (I feel like I say that a lot - Long Island influence again! You have to imagine it with the "lawn guyland" accent - "oh my gawd!") I totally watched Dive to the Future really late last night and it was hilarious. Well, cos I adore Hina, so even though it was, as you said, just OK and light, I had a good time with it. (My head was basically going "nakedHinanakedHinanakedHina" the whole time XD) Wow, Yasu was, like, totally different from his usual self! Definitely entertaining.

I'm going to watch Double on your recommendation but at the moment I'm torn in indecision between MU and bittorrent, because MU has been a total bitch for me lately but torrenting takes forever anyway! So I'm going to have to wait to watch the behind the scenes so I'm not spoiled! Argh!

Yeah, friendship stories with the two of them I could eat up. Yasu seems to really have his shit together, and Subaru's like a crazy bundle of issues, but Yasu is so kind and sweet and Subaru is like, one of those genius artistic types - they really compliment each other. The thought of them going shopping together, and Subaru making Yasu talk to the store clerks, and all that - it's just so adorable!

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Hee! long island accent! I like northern accents (well I like accents in general.) I actually hear them more often than you'd think. There are alot of people coming down from new york to live in raleigh these days. I think in my neighborhood alone I have bumped into at least 6 or 7 and at least have of them retain an accent. I see alot more at school though. Well there's an interesting mix of regional accents, ethnicities and religions in my city. It's one of things I love about it.

Oh you really should watch it, especially if you like subaru. He was so pretty this and he played piano! And Maru as his manager was genius casting right there. I used MU to get the drama but that's because there were so few seeds for the torrent it would take me forever to download it. So yeah go with MU.

They really do compliment each other. They are easily the most artistic and individualistic out of K8. Both are also really sensitive and passionate but subaru seems more prone to emo outbursts than perky shota. I think it's like you said he is really but together. Baru seems to have a melancholic side to him, well I think he's a deep person (shota too)and those types tend to get depressed over small things more easily. He really is the typical eccentric, sensitive artist ^_^. I love reading their jwebs where they talk about going shopping together (SO CUTE!) I really want a yasu of my own to bully and cuddle and to talk to store clerks for me. That would be so nice...I honestly hate shopping by myself too but I do not have a shopping buddy so if I have to go I either go by myself and avoid everyone or go with my mom and have her bitch at me about my weird taste in clothes for several hours. *sigh* -_- good friends are hard to come by it seems...

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Ahh, my cousin - who's from the Bronx - went to school at Duke. That's pretty close, right? So he would have been down there spreading his New York accent around. Although actually, almost no one in my family has a very strong Long Island/Brooklyn/whatever accent. Actually, my dad does when he's with his family, they have Brooklyn accents. Which are the same as Long Island and New Jersey accents, more or less. XD

Yeah, I love accents. Although when I was in England this past year I realized that in terms of sexiness for me, it's not the accent so much as the speech patterns, the way they talk - but accents can influence that a lot. Anyway, yeah, I don't actually have an LI accent but I love regional accents so much that when I'm away from home, I fake one. XD Just a little!

Yeah, the mix of different people and cultures is definitely one of my favorite things about NYC, that makes me really proud to be from here. (Or rather, from Long Island, but I work in the city and I consider myself from it! Cos Long Island is not a place to be proud of!)

I've dl-ed Double! So I'm about to watch it :D I'm really pleased, MU actually cooperated and I didn't have to wait 3 days to download 4 files!!

awww, I hate shopping - and I would really hate to do it by myself! Luckily for me my twin sister (Katie, who I mention all the time) actually loves shopping and is really good at it. So she takes me - actually, drags me. XD But she won't talk to store clerks, we need a Yasu for that! And for cuddling! Eeee, such a happy mental image. They should at least make Yasu plush dolls. And you can pull a cord and it'll say reassuring things!

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Duke is in Durham and is located in the triangle. Which is Raleigh, Cary and Durham. I live in Raleigh so yeah it's pretty close. It's not that the accents are particularly thick, most of the time they are quite faint. But I really pay attention to those things, I have this game I play with myself called "guess that accent/regional dialect!" or sometimes on my college campus where so many people from different backgrounds go. I play a game called "guess that language!" I picked out korean last week and today there were arabs! I love it when I can actually understand the foreign language people are speaking around me! :D I seriously want to do something with linguistics. In fact I'm thinking of doing some linguistic anthropology work in the Kansai region. Particularly osaka. No it's not cause of K8 (but it helps XD) rather the dialect itself fascinates me. Just the pattern of speech, it's warmth, it's vulgarity and it's liveliness. Also it has it's own history of how it formed that is independent from that of the tokyo dialects. I'm putting that on my life goals list. I don't think anyone from the U.S has done extensive studies of that dialect yet so I might just get to be the first! :D

If I wasn't so adverse to city life I would consider visiting NYC. Cause it seems like a really interesting place but honestly I don't think I can make it a day in that place >_<. I might still go one day, just definitely not by myself. Also your the second girl I met from NYC in this fandom. Pinkpapyrus was the first. Honestly there aren't enough Americans in this fandom anyway.

Yay! You will not regret it! Also when you're done watching it and the making of DVD please tell me cause I really need someone to fangirl about it with. That making of dvd was SO AWESOME. I cannot contain my squee anymore. I think I love it more than all the dramas combined XD.

Awww how sweet. What a lovely sister you have. I wish I had a sister...oh wait I do, well it's easy to forget sometimes...suffice to say our relationship isn't anything like that -_-. Oh well I might be like sad or something if I wasn't used to being solitary by now. It's just something I learned to deal with. I had friends in the past but we either just drifted apart or they ended up moving far away. And I'm just not good at making them now. too shy. Well at least I can have fun conversations on lj. So it's not so bad.

OMG yasu plush dolls! I would so buy one! Hell I would buy plushies of every K8 member. Cause having just one wouldn't be enough. My subaru and maru plushies would go on my bed and I would cuddle them and use them as pillows. And my yasu and yoko plushies would go on my window sill and all the other's would be on top of my dresser. It would be great. Yes I actually took time to visualize this >_<. Life? what life? XD

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Really only other people from LI or NJ can hear my accent (unless I'm faking one). Although one of my english friends said he could totally hear that I was from New York, but I think that's just cos there was another girl from Texas and I spoke about 8 times faster than her. She didn't have a drawl or anything, she just spoke slowly. So I seemed very urban and high-powered in comparison, I guess!

I'm fascinated by the Osaka dialect, too! Except mostly I just wish I could pick it out better. ::sigh:: Even just the idea of them having regional accents makes me feel "squee" about Kanjani8 so clearly I'm just crazy about regional accents. XD I'd love to study linguistics, too. But at my school you have to design the major yourself and there aren't really relevant classes about it. It's something I'm really interested in, though. Ahhh, there's too much stuff i want to study. And I just have one year left. But all my classes have been interesting so it's ok. Anyway, your plan sounds totally awesome! When you're published and rich and famous, remember me ;)

There's a bunch from NYC - there's a community for us and there are 40 members, and I know some other NYers aren't in that community. Well, I guess there's just so many people here, it makes sense.

You should definitely come visit, though, at least for a short period! I mean, I obviously think it's the greatest place in the world - but I can see how it would be overwhelming - don't come by yourself :)

Double was AWESOME!! I'm so in love with Subaru. So, so in love. I can't even think of anything else to say about it right now because my love for Subaru is filling my brain. Ah, except Maru was hilarious and adorable. I'm only half-way through the making of but perhaps by the time you respond I will have finished it. :D Except I wish it had subs - hopefully soon!

Yeah, Katie and I have a really good relationship. I had a couple friends in England who were twins and they said they weren't close to their sisters at all. It was sort of sad - like, a waste. I'm really lucky, though.

The internet is good for communication :) Although for me, I guess nothing can replace human interaction! But having a twin, I really am spoiled - cos even when I'm at home, I always have someone to hang out with. Although that has made me sort of lazy, I think, with making other friends.

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you have such a love for linguistics too, I wish I could meet someone in real life like that.
Well anyway I don't understand japanese fluently yet but I did manage to memorize the phonetic patterns of the kansai or rather the osaka dialect. There are many different dialects within the kansai region osaka ben is just one of them. Although it is the most prominent and well known. I'm currently writing up a paper for myself to test my current knowledge of japanese and in particular the osaka dialect. When I finish it I'll post it on my journal. honestly i was surprised by how many words I knew. I'm working on my own little mini dictionary in which I pick out a word from japanese, define it and then list it's osakan equivelant. Oh I should say though as far as young people (most people really) of osaka and kansai are concerned. there is no one and i mean NO ONE. Who speaks 100% osaka ben. It is more like anywhere from 75-90% osaka ben and the rest is standard japanese. Also nouns (ie people, places and things) have same names no matter what region of japan you are in. Yama=mountain in kansai and in tokyo. However conversational phrases differ from place to place. Example:
"I love/like you" is like this "sukiyanen!" in osaka and like this "suki da yo!" in tokyo and another way of saying it in osaka ben "meccha suki ya de!" or "I love you very much!" basically from just listening I noticed that tokyo is more likely to end phrases with "da ne" or "da yo" while osaka will generally use "ya na or ya de"
for instance "that's right." is "sou da yo." in tokyo and "sou ya na." in osaka. There is alot more to it than that but if you want to get to bare basics that's it right there.
Also with eito the level of Kansai ben used varies between the members and also depends on where they are. They definitely use the most osaka ben on their own variety shows. Also can I just say this? Hina has without a doubt one of the thickest most incomprehensible osaka ben I have ever heard. It doesn't help that he speaks at the speed of light either. Honestly it's by sheer good fortune that I manage to understand ANYTHING he says at all. In subaru's case I noticed he is one of those people who's accent becomes more pronounced when he is angry. and Subaru who has a quick temper is often angry about something. Seriously the words become faster, more exaggerated and vulgar when he is mad. And when he's on suka*j he is always talking like an osaka ossan...Ok osaka ben lesson ends here. I don't know if that was helpful or not but here are some words to look for that are specific only to the kansai/osaka region. These are the ones the eito boys tend to use the most.

Akan, Meccha, Omoroi, Usoyan, Nandayanen (< Hina says this one alot)Honma, chau, chai masu, bimyou, beppin (osaka equilevant of bijinn) okan, oton, oba-han (as opposed to oba-san), gottsui...there alot more words than that but I'm tired. I do have the tokyo versions of all of those words written up so I might post them later when I have time if you'd like.

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

::giggles over Hina's Osaka-ben:: Maybe that's why I love hearing him speak so much. Oh man, he's so awesome. lol. Seriously, hearing that he has a really thick osaka-ben and speaks really fast, for some reason just makes me love him more. XD Love him! And I love the way Subaru talks, too. When he sort of drawls through his nose? It's so great.

I'll have to try to keep an ear open for the other words!

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Ah I was so worried that post wouldn't be helpful. Honestly i could write a big ass essay about osaka ben but I don't have the time and I'm not sure you would want to read it anyway. Hina's accent causes me conflicted feelings on the one hand it is a very lovely example of the vibrancy of osaka ben and on the other hand it is very difficult to decipher.
I know people fluent in japanese (but not very familiar with osaka ben) who honestly have difficulty understanding what he says. Hina's way of speaking is like a fricken machine gun. Rapid fire all the way. I LOVE the way subaru talks though, his speech patterns are a cross between an cranky osakan ossan and a street thug. XD What I am saying is subaru way of speaking is often vulgar and very familiar in the case of eito's shows. (definitely does not talk like that when he is a guest on other people's shows.) At other times though he will really talk like an old man scolding the neighborhood kids. It is HYSTERICAL to me cause he is only 25! XD Not to count the huge glasses and grandpa underwear he wears on suka*j...Oh! one time on recommen (or was it kikujani?), K8 was the guest and at some point the boys got onto the subject of Hanami. Hanami is this thing the japanese do every spring during cherry blossoms season. They will go out and view the flowers while drinking lot's of sake. It is the only time of year you can drink out in public. Usually it is illegal. Anyway subaru goes off on this tangent about how no one actually goes to look at the flowers and instead just uses it as an excuse to drink. He then goes on to say that if people wanna drink they can do it in a bar and if they are going to hanami they should actually VIEW the flowers. Instead of playing around and getting drunk. He seemed so genuinely pissed about the whole thing, it was hilarious! He was talking like an old man would, like "in the olden days we would actually LOOK at the flowers!"
I can't find the translation again to go look at it, so I don't remember exactly what he was getting at. But suffice to say it was really funny. Like he seemed annoyed that young people would rather party than you know, look at flowers >_<. Hee, but I like that about subaru. I always seem to have trouble getting along with people my age anyway. Like I all the people i have ever made friends or chatted with were at least 4 or 5 years older than me, and sometimes alot more. What can I say I like old people. They tell good stories and think I am cute. Kids annoy me but they usually listen to me when I tell them do to stuff so it's cool. :D I'm sorry I have gone off on a tangent again. I'll go to bed now.

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Ah how appropriate the subject of this comment is. I'm sorry i had to go into two comments yet AGAIN. but it really couldn't be helped this time.

I am so glad you liked double! Honestly after striking out twice on the fanfiction recs I was worried you wouldn't like double at all but look! I was wrong! Subaru is beauty no doubt. OH I LOVED THE MAKING OF DVD SOOOO MUCH. I wore myself out on the osaka ben comment and am now too tired to flail about it with you. But I will definitely come back and do that. also a BIG YES to the subs. There need to be some like yesterday. it was a good way to test my Japanese though, I understood more than I thought! :D If there is a particular convo you really wanted to understand, point it out to me and I'll do my best. Some things I understood entirely and other things I only managed to get the gist of. And in other cases still, I was just lost. But really just ask me if you're itching to know. I need to watch it again anyway, this is how I test my skills. I WANT TO FLAIL SO BAD. Best part is I don't have any school until next Tuesday. I'll come back tomorrow, my arm is starting to cramp up now...

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, on fanfic I'm really picky and random but when it comes to shows I'm more normal - in fact, I like almost everything! I generally don't watch unsubbed stuff, so I've seen very few SukaJ eps, but even then I've watched a healthy amount of honjani. . . yeah, Kanjani8 shows, or even any of the variety shows, I'm basically on board. I even watch Cartoon KAT-TUN and I don't even like KAT-TUN at all, I just love variety shows.

I can't believe that Yasu beat Hina in the legendary arm wrestling bit!! But I think Yasu had better leverage - cos he was basically pushing down on Hina with his whole body behind it, and Hina was still able to push up. Haha, ok, I'm so in love with Hina that I'm just blinded. ;) But actually Yasu was totally cool and strangely manly.

Man, those two must have been under water so much! That must have been so difficult.

And Ohkura was totally adorable. XD It was fun seeing Yoko being so serious while he was working. And seeing Maru and Baru be their usual pile of crazy! So cute!

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[guingel.livejournal.com]

But also, on the subject of recs, cos I thought of this just after I posted. XD I really do get around the fandom quite efficiently - like I said, I haven't seen a certain amount of episodes of shows that haven't been subbed, but I do notice most of the fanfic that goes by, and most of the videos and links. So I'm pretty much OK. . .

Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

You really should watch at least watch Honjani without subs. There is so little talking in it anyway. Plus I love hearing the announcer call the boys by their special honjani nicknames (especially cause they are mostly in english!).
Maru = Mr. unbalance, Hina = guts man, Uchi = prince, Yasu = ace and Yoko = Banchou (which is like the leader of a gang XD) sadly I don't think okura and ryo have honjani nicknames but I have heard ryo referred to as "ero-otoko" (literally translated means "erotic man" but the context it's used in is more like "Lady killer" basically ryo is eito's resident ladies man XD) on some of eito's other shows many times. As for Subaru I think I heard him called "Mr. sense" on honjani maybe once or twice. Oh fyi, the way the japanese would use the english word sense is not as in common sense or having good sense or being sensible but rather it means that he is someone who goes by his own sense or instinct. I think my favorite nickname for subaru though would be the one hina always called him by during suka*j. Occhan! SO CUTE. I don't even know how or why he got that nickname but it is really adorable to me, especially cause hina is the only one who calls him by it. And I have completely gone on a different topic SORRY. I guess I just really like nicknames XD I know how you feel yasu! :D

Cartoon KAT-TUN bored me to tears but I do really love japanese variety shows. While I only really watch eito's shows these days. I will occasionally watch episodes of Domoto kyoudai (kinki kids talk show)or HeyX3 depending on the guest or if it's subbed. Also I love watching Utaban! It is so crazy and fun. Also it's not easy to find but SMAPxSMAP episodes are always made of win. But I think my favorite Japanese variety show of all time would have to be V6's "Gakkou ikou e!" Or in english "Let's go to school!" Honestly I could write a book about why this show is so amazing but I think I'll just direct you to this website instead.

http://www.senshigakuen.com/degrees/tv/gakkou/index.html

Sadly finding episodes for this show is near impossible now and it no longer runs. The show that replaced it "Gakkou ikou MAX" is but a hollow and cheap imitation of it's predecessor.

Hina ALWAYS loses in arm wrestling. At least on TV. I've seen him do arm wrestling in both Pikaichi and in Suka*j and he lost miserably both times. But he really is strong though and I would say he has better tolerance for pain then some of the other K8 boys I could name *cough* yoko! *cough* also although yasu winning was very cool, he still managed to hurt himself and whine in the process -_-. I don't know how relevant this is but I just watched this suka*j episode where hina, tacchon, maru & yasu visit this grappling champion or something (not like a sumo wrestler, he is quite slim) and basically they grab this random lady and have to recreate a situation where the boyfriend saves his girl from a thug using the techniques the grappler guy shows them. Anyway tacchon is supposed to wrestle the guy down but instead when the grappler dude starts dragging the girl away, he grabs the guy's hand and says "wait a minute" and then pulls out his WALLET and gives the guy MONEY. AAHHAHAHAHAHA! I seriously fell out of my chair, he was so chill the whole time and it totally worked too! Hina was both impressed and frustrated with him for not doing it properly. When it was shota's turn to be the bad guy, he got really into it! He just kind of bounced around the girl cutely but when the grappler guy came at him he got really aggressive with him shoving him and going "what? WHAT?" all up in his face. And dear sho-chan got about 2 good shoves before grappler dude had his ass on floor crying in pain. XD VERY UNCOOL YASU. It's so cute when Tacchon has to go and do the same thing to him he makes these squeaking noises when he's in pain. I died of laughter so many times during this segment. OH MAN. I am so going to cut that clip out and share it with the K8 comm it PEOPLE NEED TO SEE IT.

[bastet88.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the shout-out, buddy!

[guingel.livejournal.com]

haha, I thought "Corey wants people to know she's interested in what happens at the gynocologist's, clearly."

Also, hey, see you Thursday. Haha, I was looking at a couple old entries and there was one where you were like "Hey, when you go to CVS let me know?" and I was all "Awww, I so miss Smith and Noho!!" but I was also like "Whoa!" cos usually my LJ comments are so remote, it was really neat and cute to have one that was so casual.

Ah, and I found beautiful illustrated Stardust. It wasn't in the first few places where I expected it to be, so I got worried, but it was just in a different box than I thought. So hopefully I'll remember to bring that on Thursday.

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Just saw this and even though I had planned to go straight to bed right away (children who are partly excited about going home to their parents and partly hysterical because they want to stay in the camp longer are exhausting!), I wanted to give you my input on this, because it's really exciting.

The truth is, I can totally understand that power-balance thing you have, because I have it too - only in a different way!


While I'm sure my kink is sexually influenced in a way (what kink isn't?) it's not ...as pronounced, perhaps. For example, I'd always take a well-written, LONG pg fic over a short NC-17 one and while I do read (and write) PWP's, I like fictional sex the best when it's preceeded by about 50,000 words of unreleased sexual tension. And I tend to have problems with fics that "sacrifice" the character of the person (and be it the public character, like with JE boys - and yes, on that topic, I also see them as characters because as idols a lot of their characters is "invented" by their management) for the power thing. I don't mind a bit of OOC at all (or even more than a bit of OOC), but if, for example, Nino was to be written as Yamada Taro-like all the time, I wouldn't be able to get into the fic.

I think that's why I totally squeed at the fact that you had "My Boss My Hero" fic recs (I never saw more than the first four episodes, but from the very first episode I was amazed at Tegoshi's ability to play a character who spreads his legs and begs "take me, please!" by staying still), but didn't get overly excited at the Arashi references. I find Nino's occasional bouts of cute and snuggly extremely cute (I especially love it when he seems to get jealous over someone else's attention to Ohno - I'm completely in love with the first picture here, because Nino's posture really screams "Look at me ignoring you and pretending to be fine, you mean bastards"), but because he can be so completely different, too, there's always a little voice in my head that wonders when he's going to snap and kill someone.

I haven't analyzed my power-kink all that much, so I can't say as much about it as you can; but I do have noticed that I get (the probably very boring) kick out of it when the characters are both very strong people and one of them gets "conquered". Not violently, because I can't stand rape-fics where the aussalt is depicted as something positive; but in the way of them (mostly mentally) struggling for dominance until one of them submits. (That's why I like "You're my love price in viewfinder", even though there's a lot of rape in it. Takaba submits to Asami, but he very rarely loses his own strength and free will.) Alternatively I really love the mentor-student relationship. Have you ever watched Star Trek's Deep Space Nine? In the first few seasons, the (young) doctor Bashir has one of the most homoerotically charged relationships with the (older) Cardassian tailor/spy for the enemy since the beginning of science fiction series and I'm totally, totally into that.

Of course, that are both things that I can't really see happening in Arashi (maybe Jun and Nino, but somehow I really have problems imagining Nino submitting to Jun - not without getting his revenge the night after that at the latest; or maybe Jun and Ohno, but I don't think Ohno would really put up a fight were Jun to try to dominate him), but since I'm a really, really big fluff "let's all love each other and have a sing-along" fan, too, I don't have a problem with that... XD

Uhm, I KNOW there's something else I wanted to say, but honestly, I'm too tired to remember what it was, so...

(Oh, pretty unrelated: I really like the idea of Hina topping Subaru and Yoko watching. No idea why, but I think that's a pretty nice kink.)

[guingel.livejournal.com]

And I tend to have problems with fics that "sacrifice" the character of the person . . . for the power thing. I don't mind a bit of OOC at all . . ., but if, for example, Nino was to be written as Yamada Taro-like all the time, I wouldn't be able to get into the fic.

Yeah, this is where I noticed we differed in our previous discussion, I think. I'm not sure - cos now that I've started writing, and writing PWP NC-17 fics with power difference and OOC behavior, haha, I've been able to examine my attitudes towards characterization a little more. I think I do agree, about Nino being written as Yamada Taro-like - cos I think I mentioned above that for me, the use of the original character in a fic is about being able to keep the image of the source material in my head? And Yamada Taro is too far from Nino - I would lose the mental link. (Fics about Yamada Taro, though, I would eat up! He's like Tegoshi's character in MBMH XD) But then, you've already lost that link, or whatever, in the fics I linked to above - which are typical characterizations to the NC-17 fics I've got, I guess. Nino is often on the sweet and childlike side, I think. So maybe I just have a more flexible view. I'm just babbling here, basically - just trying to figure out how accurate I need things to be, still!

But then also, like, I'm looking at the Arashi fic I wrote, in which Nino is pretty submissive and in no way particularly Nino-esque, I don't think. But that fic was basically a scene - a BDSM encounter. (haha, I just looked it up on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scene_%28BDSM%29) and that's exactly how they describe it and I feel very articulate!) And in a BDSM relationship, the sub might be the head of a company, or a cop, or something - someone who's normally tough and aggressive and a leader. But once they're in a scene, they go into what's called "subspace" - a different psychological state. So for me, I'm also able to see someone behaving in a different way during sex, and that allows me to suspend my disbelief regarding their character.

Cos I want to read fics where Nino is submissive, or at least bottom, but I want them to be fics where Nino is submissive - not, as you said, Yamada Taro. So maybe it is a similar attitude to yours but just looser and more flexible about the extent of Nino-ness (or whoever, of course) is required. Like - maybe those bouts of cute snuggly Nino are enough to give me a mental image of Nino behaving that way and still being Nino, so I'm able to continue seeing him that way in the fic. Also, in a Nino-specific way, I think I've mentioned that I find his personality somewhat enigmatic, maybe cos he is a bit inconsistent, so perhaps that also allows me more Nino-specific flexibility. Cos, like, my other bottoms, like Shige and Ryo, I think I do have an easier time seeing them submit than Nino - but I find Nino submitting just as hot, if not hotter!!

And then I'm also, like I also may have said above, mostly into fanfic because it turns me on. Except for reading HP Ron/Draco epics. XD And I don't need a lot of sexual tension leading up to the sex because as soon as you have a power difference, it's hot for me. More or less.

Hmm. I don't know. I still feel like I'm not really getting anywhere in an understanding of my fic sexuality! lol. I didn't think I was that inconsistent but every time I seem to come to a conclusion, looking at the fics I really enjoyed seems to contradict it!

Frick, I knew I was going to go over!

Just a little more. . . sort of.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Haha, your kink is definitely not one of mine! I've got a lot, but that just isn't one of them ;) I dont' think it's one of my turn-offs, and I see it fairly often, it does seem pretty popular (not necessarily boring though! less. . . less likely than some of my kinks are to be found on a website with the word "bizarre" somewhere in the title, probably!). Actually, I've seen it in art - so then it lacks the interesting emotional aspect that's probably a lot of the appeal for you? But I've seen a fair amount of erotic (kinky, cos it's all I look at - but we're talking about power relationships and kink is just where power relationships are more defined!) art where the person being dominated is, like, a big strong man. XD I think of it as a ". . . the harder they fall" syndrome, actually. But now it's a different kink - not the struggle for dominance that you mention - I think that's where I veer away from that kink, that's why it just doesn't turn me on. I'm a lot more interested in the submission than any type of struggle that may come before it. So the turn-on of having someone strong, be it mentally or physically, submit is that they're submitting more, as it were, than someone weak would be. So clearly, totally different approach! I know saying that is redundant because obviously if we actually did have the same sexuality it'd be weird, but I feel the need to say it because with all my analysis I'm concerned that it'll come across that I'm like "Why do we like different things??" when the answer is "That's just the way we are," I'm just interested in finding the basic preference behind the more complicated ones.

Fics about the "three ossans" are where I'm probably most likely to suspend all of my usual fanfic preferences. I just want to read about them together, I don't even care how. All permutations are awesome and interesting. Your idea sounds great!

Re: Just a little more. . . sort of.

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Actually, I've seen it in art - so then it lacks the interesting emotional aspect that's probably a lot of the appeal for you?

Yeah, it does. It's really hard to describe for me, because I'd like to say I'm less interested in the physical submission than in the mental; except that that's not completely true either, because I want the submitting partner to keep his dominant personality and submit despite of that. (I really love the idea of one of the two actually saying out loud that he's going to submit to the other. I think it's really hot.) Actually, the best example of my kind of kink is really Shakespeare's "Benedict and Beatrice scenario": two people who're mentally very much equal and have a power-struggle with words before they fall in love, but with the added factor of not being sure who of the two is going to show the mental submission by acting it out physically.

Complete and utter submission is rather boring to me, on the other hand. I don't know why (unless the fact that despite having brothers, as the oldest I'm always the one responsible for "manly" things like repairing stuff around the house, or trying to fix the bikes/car/bathroom sink, has somehow influenced me more than I realized), but weak uke who have to be taken care of all the time are not really my thing... But as you've said, we're all different and it would be horrible if that weren't the case! ^-^

Just out of curiosity, who would you like to bottom most with the three ossans? I think I mentioned it before somewhere, but Hina's the one guy in K8 I can't really see bottoming to anyone, while I'm still unsure about Yoko and see Subaru as the most submissive one of the three...

Re: Just a little more. . . sort of.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Right, when you only get to see the physical submission, there's no awareness of the continued mental strength. This is really interesting - as much as I've thought about this, it feels like I've taken my attitudes towards the extent of the submission for granted.

I guess for me what matters in the process, in the personality of the submitting person is if it's consensual or not (the latter, these days, is primarily in non-fandom erotic fiction - it's a bit complicated). And I get turned on by both, but in different situations, so it's a bit of a factor. So for me, that's sort of where the "does the sub just fold, or are they strong and vie with the dom?" comes into play.

I can see, though, the intensity of what you're describing. I haven't actually read Much Ado About Nothing, or seen it or anything, but I think it's the type of relationship that I would definitely really enjoy, in a literary way, rather than a sexual arousal way. Unless I got all feministy, I guess it depends on the gendered element. (When things are sexual I can put that aside, but in the non-sexual aspects of the relationship I can get agitated.) But otherwise it seems interesting and satisfying to read about - just not sexually satisfying. For me ;)

But yeah, I think in contrast I'm pretty attached to the idea of complete submission. And complete domination - like, in a threesome, I need one sub and two dom/mes, and neither of the dom/mes can get penetrated, and the sub can't penetrate anyone - it compromises the whole thing (that was a physical example, but it can occur mentally, too!). Although, in terms of being "taken care of," domestic service is another big kink of mine ;)

Hmmm, the three ossans. Hina is one of my big exceptions. Maybe it's just cos I like him so much and there isn't enough fic about him out there for me to be picky, but I'll take him on top, on bottom and in the middle - I can't predict what I'd choose if I was able to, really. . . Maybe bottom. But actually, amazingly, with Hina (I'm focusing on him because, as my favorite, he's my focus in any fics I read about the three of them) what really matters to me is. . . his characterization! Haha, of course, to totally contradict everything I've said. I like it when Hina is generous and mature and giving and takes care of others - even if he's just a cameo, I enjoy reading about him like that. So maybe I prefer him to uke because I like him and that's why I like my favorites to do, or maybe I prefer it because it seems like the more giving (even though the word "receiving" is commonly used!) position - whereas Yoko in particular seems selfish, you know, so I don't see him bottoming. So maybe that's where it comes from, cos Hina is quite confident, and sort of leads Kanjani8 and stuff.

Subaru. . . I don't know. My feelings towards Subaru are complicated as well, because for both him and Hina, although in different ways, I feel strongly drawn to them, I really like them and am a huge fan of them - but without any of the "I want to see him submit" elements that's often attached to that for me. Or rather, that's often attached to liking them in fanfic. Which isn't abnormal, I often like characters/people that I don't want to read about. With Hina, what's weird is that he's so unlike the characters I usually get hugely attached to, and Subaru it's weird because he is like them, but I don't have any of the same desire to read fanfic about him. So, with Hina, I'll read Subaru topping and bottoming but otherwise, I don't read much of him. . .

So, uh, in conclusion, I had no answer to your question, except that Hina is awesome. XD And I adore them all! Yeah, I guess I'm sort of inclined to say Hina, rather than the other two, but then I get confused because I like him topping as well. He is a big bundle of man. . . :;swoons::

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you probably are more flexible in the way of character depiction. My "problem" (if you can call it that) is that, when I read and write fic, I see and especially hear the character inside my head, which can be a real constriction, because if I read (or write) something that to me appears way out of character, the "voices in my head" stay silent and that's rather disconcerting. That doesn't mean I won't give OOC a shot, as long as it's well-written; but I usually read it with less of an involvement than the fics where I can "hear" the characters. (It also doesn't mean that I won't write horribly OOC fics myself, unfortunately - sometimes the things in my head don't translate well to paper... v-v")
But since I make up for that lack of flexibility by being extremely uncaring about top or bottom, it's all good! XDD


I think the thing where we differ most here is our perception of Nino, though. You're right, he is an enigma, which is likely why you're able to see his "real side" being as more child-like, cute and snuggly, while the description "small, cheerful evil" (from a fic I read just now) hits more closely to my perception of him. Also talking about perception: I've read about that BDSM phenomenon you describe and I can really imagine it with some people (Ryo, for example - I can totally imagine him coming home to Osaka from a long, exhausting tour with NEWS where he had to be his cool, mature personality all the time, and ring up his K8 friends to finally get out of that role and be petted and coddled and protected), but I can't imagine it with Nino, because he seems to get so many opportunities to be the protected and coddled and weak one in Arashi already (see the way he'll suddenly hide his head on Ohno's shoulder in the middle of Shukudai-kun, for no better reason than that he decided he wanted to) that I don't think he would need that kind of sexual outlet. Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean I think Nino would never bottom - on the contrary, I could definitely see him enjoying being the coddled, protected one who gets taken care of by a dominant guy - but as I've said before, I rather see him as someone who will enjoy dominating just as much as submitting and who'll decide on his position in bed by the mood he's in that day. Funnily enough the very same thing goes with Ohno for me. I think he might even be a bigger enigma than Nino, not only because of his ability to go from friendly and spaced-out cutie to intense leader from one second to the next, but also because all of the Arashi members have commented at some point that they don't really understand Ohno (or, in Jun's case, even slightly fear what might come out of his mouth next during shoots). Just like Nino, I can imagine Ohno topping or bottoming depending on what he feels like that day, which is one reason why I find Ohmiya such a fun pairing, because with the way those two seem to play around a lot of times, I wouldn't put it past them to decide on their positions in bed by doing rock-paper-scissors...


...You're not the only one to go over. Oh dear.

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Being into fanfic because it turns you on is a valid reason for reading it! After all, that's what literature's really about. I occasionally read stories with characters I don't know all that well, just because they fit my kink. (RyoDa comes to mind - I'll occasionally read RyoxUeda stories even though I'm not interested at all in KAT-TUN and Ryo outside of K8, just because I enjoy the snarking at each other that those fics depict. And for the mentor-student thing I once read an epic DBSK fic, even though I don't particularly like them or know much about them, just because the youngest of them got coupled with an older guy who really fit the "mentor" bill... I was kind of disappointed when I found out that this other singer was just five or six years older than Changmin, because he sounded much older - about thirty to thirty-five, which would have made them at least fifteen years apart, which would have made him even better in the mentor role)


If we understood ourselves completely, it would be boring! XD So don't worry, you're not the only one who constantly has to reajust the things you know about yourself! It always takes me by surprise when I notice that despite my disinterest in most top/bottom things I still find a pairing where I can't stand a switch. (RyoxUeda is one of the examples, just like TezukaxRyoma in PoT.)

Btw, I love Ohno topping his friends and can see it really fit with his Leader mode, but I still think it's even hotter when he bottoms, so I can understand the way you feel about Nino... ^___^

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the couple times I've written, as well as when I read fic, I definitely don't get that voice in my head. It's actually, like, clearly I'm willing to play it fast and loose with characterization, but I do want the character I write about to evoke the actual person in the reader's heads, and so I try to keep them characterized enough to do that, while maintaining whatever sort of flexibility I need in terms of dominance and submission. But then I'm never sure how well I've succeeded - but other people have enjoyed them, so either they read fic the same way I do, or I was doing a passable job! It's hardest for me with the tops, because I write a fic because I want to see the bottom in a particular situation, and I'll actually plot out parts before I "cast" the top. Clearly not an OTP sort of person! XD

So yeah, for better or for worse, I don't hear the voices of the characters. I think I try not to internalize them, actually! Cos, seriously, there is really no way I can see Koyama doing what I have him do. XD But then I also think it would be too ambitious for me to actually try to capture their real, complicated personalities in any way!

Ahh, I read that small, cheerful evil thing, too. . . was that with Sho and Shibata Rie? (OK, I looked it up myself - it was) Right, for me, that one is "some of the time" Nino and cuddly Nino is "real" Nino - but mostly that's because I really want that to be true, sort of. Actually, I think I've separated fanfic Nino from actual Nino, so if I had to come up with a theory of what Nino is like behind his somewhat varied stage persona, it would be sharp and smart and sarcastic, and probably a bit insecure about his role as an idol and career as an actor. . . but when I read fanfic, I'm able to think of that as a stage persona put on to cover up sweet, vulnerable real Nino. So it's sort of like, intellectually I see him one way, and emotionally (or in my desires, I guess) I see him another way. Whoa, I feel like I've come to a greater understanding of my thoughts about Nino just there!

Yeah, Ohno is a bit enigmatic. Although I think what I find enigmatic about him is his eyebrows. He seems like he's not really interested in the idol thing - like, he just wants to dance, he's great at dancing, he doesn't mind singing, he doesn't mind hanging out with the other four guys. But the talk shows, the interviews, the photo shoots, the trying to appeal to fans - his one concession to that (the way I see it) is his fanservice with Nino. He and Nino were like, "OK, we're not going to try to be the perfect husband, like Sho, or cute and ditzy, like Aiba, or fabulously gay, like Jun. But we'll flirt with each other, that should be enough, right?" Ohno seems basically like he doesn't care that much about how he's perceived - I hear he cuts his hair himself, although I'm not sure if I believe that, and they're always talking about his mom buying his clothes and his mail order shopping habits, stuff like that. But why are his eyebrows waxed/plucked/whatever? Does he do that himself? Does their stylist do it every week when he shows up to do Shukudai-kun? Does he go to a salon and have them touch up his highlights and do his eyebrows? It doesn't seem to fit!!

Plus, there's the stuff you mentioned - that he has the two personalities - spaced out vs. intense and together. Plus there's the fact that because he is so quiet, we don't really get to know him that well. The guys have mentioned he's different off-screen, which sort of enables one to create a mental image of a shy guy who's willing to be fairly silly with people he trusts, but there's still so much more about him, compared to the others, that I think we don't know about! Not that we have a right to, but it does leave me wondering. Although i always have so much doubt about how much truth we see, so I could probably do one of these "confusion analyses" for all the boys. Not even in a "Ahh, everything is scripted and fabricated" way, just in a "People behave differently in front of the camera, even if they're still being themselves, it'll be a different self" way and a "You can't really know what you'll think of a person until you interact with them" way.

[kegom.livejournal.com]

I usually do see the boys as characters in a fic, i.e. I know that what I'm reading or writing about is not them in any way, but rather a fan's perception of what they show on TV, which is definitely very different from the way they really are. (On that note: Have you heard the recomen, where Hina and Yoko call their bandmates? It's really amazing - and kind of sad - how much the others' voices change as soon as they know they can be heard by fans.)

Still, that doesn't keep the voices in my head from popping up...^^" It hasn't got anything to do with me trying to channel their "real" selves, actually, since it's hard enough to channel the idol selves they've constructed for themselves, but the voices are just something I can't stop. It's like with radio-waves: As soon as I'm on the right frequency, the voices start up...(It can be a bit disconcerting, to be honest. Like, if I read Arashi sex-scenes, I actually prefer OOC ones, because when I can here the voices in my head, I get embarrassed by hearing their voices in such an intimate situation. So in IC fics I usually skim the sex-scenes a bit, while I can enjoy them in OOC fics.)

If I've learned one thing on the internet, it's that there's nearly always at least one other person who sees the characters the same way as you do and I'm sure there's tons of people who you give exactly what they would like to see when you're writing the guys the way you want them to be! ^__^


Seeing a character intellectual and emotional is a good description for that, I guess. I can understand it in a way, since as I mentioned, I really like it when Ohno is described as spaced-out and oblivious in fics. I know that it's only part of who he really is and that he's a lot less spaced out with friends than on shows; but I like that character-trait of his so much that I enjoy reading it in fic, even if I know it's not how he really is all the time. So, same thing you have, only with another character! XD (And maybe a bit less strongly felt? Because I love reading Ohno being on top and all intense and concentrated, too...)


Ah, Ohno and his plucked eyebrows! XDD It cracks me up every time, because as you said, Ohno seems to be the one least interested in being an idol and yet he has plucked eyebrows, usually wears a bit of eyeliner (though that could really be the stylists) and has perfectly manicured fingernails!

My personal theory is that Ohno just thoroughly enjoys sitting in a chair at a stylist's and having someone taking care of his face and hands while having a nice chat with them and that, rather than any thought of being an idol, is why he's always perfectly plucked, manicured and high-lighted.

Either that, or his mother (who he once mentioned actually goes to work) is some kind of hair-dresser or stylist and does it for him which ...would actually make a lot of sense, now that I come to think of it. At least it would explain why she doesn't feel weird dressing her grown-up son.


I've wondered before if Ohno doesn't have a form of attention deficit disorder.
The "classical form" (or the "real") ADD is (partly, since there are always different factors in the brain) caused by a lack of tension in the brain. To put it very simply: The brain lacks some of the energy we usually have during the day and is thus in constant danger to fall asleep. (Actually, ADD is a lot like narcolepsia, just not as extreme.) That's why a lot of children develop the hyperactivity - constant movement is a way for the brain to stay awake.
I think with Ohno it would explain some of his behaviour. Since our brain gets more energy when it's interested in something, it would explain why he can be so extremely awake, intense and focussed when he's with his friends, doing a choreography, or working on his pottery and drawing, and yet so completely spaced-out and unresponsive when he's doing one of the "chores" of being an idol, like interviews, or photo-shoots.
Aaah, we'll never know for sure! But thinking about how their brains tick is fun for me, just as it's fun for you to do all the statistical analyses, so it doesn't matter! ^__^

And yes! Do a confusion analysis! I'd read it! XD

[guingel.livejournal.com]

It's really amazing - and kind of sad - how much the others' voices change as soon as they know they can be heard by fans.

I've only actually heard a couple of those - I usually just read ttthhbbbtt's summaries and don't listen along. But yeah, they do change. I guess part of it is them feeling the need to be entertaining, and not just normal (even though the fans sort of really want to see them normal - but if they were normal all the time, we'd be bored). I do get really interested by the few seconds before they're told they're on Recommen! I like to think, though, that they're not totally concealing themselves, just kicking it into "Many more people are listening to me than I thought" gear.

I was thinking, although, I would hate to read fic where the author tries to write about their "real selves" - cos we only know the idol selves! I've never been able to read RPS before, and I think the difference here is that we're not making stuff up about their lives, which I find just embarassing and awkward, we're just working with the material we're given.

Ahh, the internet is so great for realizing that you're not alone in feeling the way you do. XD

Those are both good Ohno theories! That his mom is a stylist actually totally does make sense! Haha, Ohno's mom is amazing. Oh man, and I forgot about his crazy manicured nails. XD Yeah, maybe he does just like the pampering. My confusion is partly a symptom, perhaps, of me forgetting that they're real people - and real people don't always stay in character!!

Ahhh, you know, people are always talking about ADD, it's such a sort of fad topic right now, and I never really knew what it was. That's really interesting! And certainly seems possible for Ohno. . . Intriguing!

Haha, I'd do my next confusion analysis about Aiba: Is he really that ditzy, or does he know exactly what he's doing? Maybe I will! . . . but right now I'm going to take out my retainer and eat some Oreos for breakfast ;)

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

I know this is random but I feel like we should make an Insanely long comments club (kegom can join too). Laura you can be the president! XD I'm sorry I have no life. I leave and do my homework now...

[kegom.livejournal.com]

That's not a bad idea! We could do some sort of support group for compulsive long comment writing there, too! XD Because I sometimes wished my comments were a bit shorter...^^"

[guingel.livejournal.com]

I sort of wish I was more concise, but I know I'm just compulsively driven to explain myself fully. And, if I could still be somewhat clear in my extended explanations that would be ok. . .

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Haha, you know what my newest pet peeve is? People who say "tl;dr" XD Clearly, they are my exact opposite and possibly even my nemesis!!

You guys have totally unleashed the long commenter in me! I've always made long posts, but the "going into two comments" thing is new. It's fun! And. . . confusing. XD

[kegom.livejournal.com]

Gonna attack your comments to me a bit later on, just having to ask because it's been driving me crazy for ages: What the hell does "tl;dr" mean? I've seen it before, but my mind is not creative enough to come up with something it could mean. (The semicolon in between confuses me most.)

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Kegom, tl;dr means TOO LONG, DIDN'T READ. Yeah so you can see why such a phrase would be like poison to us long commenter's XD.

[guingel.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I totally had to google it the first time I saw it. It was super-frustrating, cos it was a bit of a conflict and I'd taken the time to really explain my point of view and the other person was just "tl;dr." Ehh?? For me, it wasn't even that long, too! XD

[sisterjune.livejournal.com]

Yeah I think this tl;dr needs to be banned from the internet. Ok I am going to respond to the other reply you sent me the other day cause I have something I wanna say about arashi but I have alot of homework (stupid school!) to do so I'll have to get to it later. But feel free to respond to the others in the mean time! XD yes I am the master of subtlety >_