![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
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.
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.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again
Date: 2007-08-20 08:28 pm (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-21 01:45 am (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-21 01:50 pm (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-21 09:16 pm (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-23 12:35 am (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-24 03:45 am (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-25 05:21 pm (UTC)I'll have to try to keep an ear open for the other words!
Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again
Date: 2007-08-26 05:30 am (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-24 03:55 am (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-25 05:27 pm (UTC)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
Date: 2007-08-25 05:29 pm (UTC)Re: I had to cut my reply in two..again
Date: 2007-08-26 04:42 am (UTC)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.