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wisdomeagleI wish it were not today. Going to class just irks me to no end. I almost had a severe depression moment, but I managed to avoid it by reading several sappy fanfics.
I've been trying to figure out just what it is about fanfic that's so awesome, yaoi in particular. Personally, NC-17 fics squick me, not because I have issues with NC-17 content, but because I don't find it particularly in character. I read fanfic because I like characters and their interaction in canon and because there is a perceived sexual tension/relationship there that needs to be made explicit. But that doesn't mean the sex needs to made explicit.... I like fanfic that's stylistically similar to canon. Sherlock Holmes fic that includes a mystery, SG1 fic that includes a mission. Alternate universes where the characters are ordinary people living in America at the end of the millennium (ooo! RENT quote!) don't do it for me. This is why good fanfic can be so terribly hard to find: Characterization needs to be precise: the mark of a good fic is being able to hear the characters' voices in your mind's ear (especially in fandoms where canon has an audio aspect, that is, for movies and TV shows).
I like my yaoi to touch on the important issues of: canonical het relationships (preferably with lots of angst, 'cause angst is fun), potential professional repercussions, real life relationship issues, and canonical non-compatibility issues, and homophobia (which is an issue in all non-fantasy fandoms, but I personally find Frodo and Sam bitching about internalized homophobia to be squick. Probably because I just don't see hobbits in that light). If you can do all that in the context of a plot, all the more the better.
Anyhow, why does yaoi make me go eee!? I think it's because the relationships between male characters tend to be so, well, difficult. Complex. Power struggle stuff. Take Holmes and Watson--now that's a 'ship that can be written from about ten different angles. The cold, unemotional Holmes and an angst-ridden Watson. The happy heterosexual Watson and the angst-ridden Holmes. It's a fascinating relationship. I can't think of any het or yuri pairing that has that sort of tension. Perhaps this is internalized sexism on my part; perhaps this is a function of the sexism of society that male characters are more interesting than female ones.
Maybe I'm in denial about my bisexuality. (Well, duh, Ari, this is not exactly news)evidence forheterosexual attachments. Most of them of the mysterious male creature variety. But I've decided to go through yet another questioning stage.)
All right. In which Ari questions her sexuality once again. I think that most-if-not-all people are capable of bisexuality--of relational and sexual attachment to members of any gender. Lesbian is a descriptive, not a prescriptive, word. It's not an essential facet of who I am; it's rather a word I use to convey my tendency to fall butt crazy in love for people with two X chromosomes. Argh. Obsession with fictional characters shouldn't make me question myself like this. I'm mostly lesbian, I've got a girlfriend, and now I'm going to shut up and get ready for class. Love.
I've been trying to figure out just what it is about fanfic that's so awesome, yaoi in particular. Personally, NC-17 fics squick me, not because I have issues with NC-17 content, but because I don't find it particularly in character. I read fanfic because I like characters and their interaction in canon and because there is a perceived sexual tension/relationship there that needs to be made explicit. But that doesn't mean the sex needs to made explicit.... I like fanfic that's stylistically similar to canon. Sherlock Holmes fic that includes a mystery, SG1 fic that includes a mission. Alternate universes where the characters are ordinary people living in America at the end of the millennium (ooo! RENT quote!) don't do it for me. This is why good fanfic can be so terribly hard to find: Characterization needs to be precise: the mark of a good fic is being able to hear the characters' voices in your mind's ear (especially in fandoms where canon has an audio aspect, that is, for movies and TV shows).
I like my yaoi to touch on the important issues of: canonical het relationships (preferably with lots of angst, 'cause angst is fun), potential professional repercussions, real life relationship issues, and canonical non-compatibility issues, and homophobia (which is an issue in all non-fantasy fandoms, but I personally find Frodo and Sam bitching about internalized homophobia to be squick. Probably because I just don't see hobbits in that light). If you can do all that in the context of a plot, all the more the better.
Anyhow, why does yaoi make me go eee!? I think it's because the relationships between male characters tend to be so, well, difficult. Complex. Power struggle stuff. Take Holmes and Watson--now that's a 'ship that can be written from about ten different angles. The cold, unemotional Holmes and an angst-ridden Watson. The happy heterosexual Watson and the angst-ridden Holmes. It's a fascinating relationship. I can't think of any het or yuri pairing that has that sort of tension. Perhaps this is internalized sexism on my part; perhaps this is a function of the sexism of society that male characters are more interesting than female ones.
Maybe I'm in denial about my bisexuality. (Well, duh, Ari, this is not exactly news)evidence forheterosexual attachments. Most of them of the mysterious male creature variety. But I've decided to go through yet another questioning stage.)
All right. In which Ari questions her sexuality once again. I think that most-if-not-all people are capable of bisexuality--of relational and sexual attachment to members of any gender. Lesbian is a descriptive, not a prescriptive, word. It's not an essential facet of who I am; it's rather a word I use to convey my tendency to fall butt crazy in love for people with two X chromosomes. Argh. Obsession with fictional characters shouldn't make me question myself like this. I'm mostly lesbian, I've got a girlfriend, and now I'm going to shut up and get ready for class. Love.
