i have now been asked the big question
In response to the five interview questions asked by redbrunja:
(1) Your thoughts on slash.
My thoughts on slash in general will probably be hella long. All in all, I have a neutral to favorable opinion on slash in that I find slash no more objectionable than any other romantic type of fanfiction. It seems to be a pretty hot topic among fandom, though, with everybody analyzing, justifying, condemning, or just plain wanking over its existence. I've seen slash through several perspectives: some of them the insulting or idiotic slash fans who try to 'justify' writing it by claiming that they hate female characters, or presenting warped views of the female side of sexual relationships. Obviously, I think this is the worst reason to write anything that I've ever heard. I think that misogyny is definitely tied into this view of slash, and it leaks into the stories these fans produce, in which the female characters are either voiceless, meek presences on the side, angry, jealous bitches, or cheerful fangirls whose entire lives revolve around their male friends.
Other people claim: "I can write male characters better than female characters, and therefore focus on the males," "I happen to like the male characters better than the female characters in this canon," and "There are very, very few female characters in this canon." Those are neutral reasonings for me. Writing fanfiction is a hobby, not a trade, and if you can't write female characters or dislike the ones in your fandom, you really shouldn't force yourself to write them. Sometimes a fandom is completely clean of likable female characters that you can pair with the male characters. Not to say that the above excuses couldn't have holes of their own, or are part of the author's subconscious sexism, but these reasons are not inherently bad on their own. I was part of a fandom that had two main female leads, one I couldn't stand because of Barbie Syndrome and one who couldn't be feasibly paired with most of the male leads (99%), and that was the fandom I was most slash-heavy in. Sometimes, male characters in canon have more chemistry together than they have with the females, or the relationships are more interesting. This could be due to gender issues on the show, but it still stands that the men are canonically more interesting together on the show/movie than they are with the women on the show/movie, and the women on that show may be shallow, two-dimensional cut-outs. Does that make it lacking as a show? Yes, I believe so. But the point of fanfiction isn't to 'fix' the canon so much as it is to explore what it gives us and enjoy writing the characters and world.
Other people aren't focusing on the male aspect of it at all. When I am writing slash, the characters are incidentally male. It's like, if I'm writing a blind character, I pay attention to that and write accordingly, keeping the blindness in mind. I'm not singling the character out to write because of the blindness, I'm writing it because I happen to like the character. Blindness is simply a part of the character, to be incorporated into the story. I'm not writing slash because I like men more than women, I'm writing it because I like these men together more than I like them with that woman, or because I find that relationship more interesting to develop and explore. The stories I wrote that were slash and incest, the pairing chosen deliberately because of the personalities of the characters and how they would react to being in that relationship and respond to the feelings they had for their brother.
Along with that, the nature of a relationship of two same-sex individuals is interesting for the way it affects the relationship. A man and a woman will typically interact with each other differently than a man and a man, and a woman and a woman, and many characters will definitely keep those gender roles in mind. Slash and femmeslash (which are equal in my mind,) are opportunities to explore relationships that are not heterosexual, that do not operate along the lines of male-to-female. The characters interact with each other in a different way, and the relationship itself is unique because of the gender dynamics.
It's why I dislike the heteronormativity in so many slashfics: where they split the men into 'seme/man' and 'uke/woman' roles, despite the character personalities. The point of slash is that it is a man and a man, and unless the 'uke' character has shown tendencies toward being genderqueer or transgender, or more stereotypically 'feminine', it hits a bad chord with me to force him into the role. Slash suffers from this much more than femmeslash does, really. I have never read a femmeslash story in which one of the women was forced into the 'male' role, but slash seems to suffer from what I'll call The Big Bad Wolf syndrome. At its exreme, one male is transformed into the worst of masculinity: hulking, macho, oft-times abusive, raping beast. The other is transformed into a fainting, delicate flower. This is the pattern from old, heterosexual relationships in fairytales and literature, the root of romance novels and bodice rippers: and for some reason, fans choose to translate that onto their two favorite male characters. I won't try to psychoanalyze why: does it help them relate more to the relationship? Does it tie into rape fetish? It's just an observation I have made after having seen slash throughout many fandoms, with the same pattern repeating itself.
I do not like seme/uke in that context, and continue to dislike it. I like the male characters acting like themselves, which often means macho, emotionally-stunted, awkward doofs with romance. I think its gives the relationship a certain kind of kinship that het does not have. Not that men and women can not share a kinship of their own, not that they can not respect each other on an equal footing, but when I am writing two people of the same gender interact, I feel like they have a unique perspective into each other, that they have a different and more familiar understanding of the way the other person thinks and feels. It's the same with woman/woman or man/man.
And some people just find slash to be hot. There's no explanation needed, no justification needed. They find men hot, they like to read and write about men fucking, and they do so. It's no different from any other kink.
Generally, I think slash as a genre is too complicated to be discussed in one post. I like to focus on its aspects more than anything else, and tackle the reasons people write it one at a time. I don't think it can be summed down and explained by one reason.
(2) Talk to me about foeyah.
I think, in my heart, I have always shipped the foeyay. I just haven't actually realized this until just recently. I have come out of the foeyay closet and am enjoying the sunshine. I think it's because I like a lot of friction and tension in the relationship. I like the romance to not be all sunshine and daisies, and I like the foeship pairings I have because these characters are equals in their own right and have this basis of...well, I would say respect and maybe some admiration all tangled up in: "I hate everything you stand for."
"But I like you personally, and I may or may not be able to deal with that." When the two enemy characters have so damn much in common, but can't or won't connect because of their political/ideological differences, and/or when they seem to be able to predict when each other is thinking, when they go out of their way to fight with each other and make sure to say: "This fight is between us alone!" And when, if one of them goes down or is in trouble, and the other offers this tiny enemy olive branch and tends their wounds/leaves flowers at their funeral/gives advice or comfort or taunts them until they get their spine back? I think my shipping heart just explodes. I just seem to love tension and conflict and this weird inverted form of comradeship.
(3) What fictional character would to like to marry and be happy with forever after?
No one. I don't think I could tie myself down to one person, even if I wasn't asexual. I would have a strong connection with someone, but I don't think I'd be able to be the married type and live so closely with one person for the rest of my days. I don't think I have enough patience to deal with the characters I love, and our strong personalities would end up bumping against each other with possibly violent results. Some of the characters I love aren't even compatible to my personality, or would get bored or impatient with me, themseles. I think, if I was going to settle down and roomie with someone, it would be Uncle Iroh. He's probably my ideal man. Likes tea and music and chess, has a sense of humor, and is mellow and not at all controlling. Also, very tolerant.
(4) Wasn't there a girl in your class who was basically in hysterics and in a very bad family situation? Update, please.
Her mother came back from the hospital and I believe is taking medication. The last time I saw her, she had the first smile I've ever seen her wear.
(5) Third part of the Sai "hands" fic: writer's block? lack of time? Are they going to find him, ever?
Both writer's block and lack of time. They have found him in the 427 words I have written so far, and the story's name is 'Healing'. Am considering yet another installment after the third, because this thing keeps folding out neatly into new developments. We'll see if I can fit it all into this one installment.
Meanwhile, meme stolen from kay_cricketed
Give me one pairing and I will "compose" a floral bouquet that represents them - and, of course, give you either a link to a list so you can look up the secret meanings yourself or just copy below what the flowers mean.
Feel free to leave multiple pairings!
(1) Your thoughts on slash.
My thoughts on slash in general will probably be hella long. All in all, I have a neutral to favorable opinion on slash in that I find slash no more objectionable than any other romantic type of fanfiction. It seems to be a pretty hot topic among fandom, though, with everybody analyzing, justifying, condemning, or just plain wanking over its existence. I've seen slash through several perspectives: some of them the insulting or idiotic slash fans who try to 'justify' writing it by claiming that they hate female characters, or presenting warped views of the female side of sexual relationships. Obviously, I think this is the worst reason to write anything that I've ever heard. I think that misogyny is definitely tied into this view of slash, and it leaks into the stories these fans produce, in which the female characters are either voiceless, meek presences on the side, angry, jealous bitches, or cheerful fangirls whose entire lives revolve around their male friends.
Other people claim: "I can write male characters better than female characters, and therefore focus on the males," "I happen to like the male characters better than the female characters in this canon," and "There are very, very few female characters in this canon." Those are neutral reasonings for me. Writing fanfiction is a hobby, not a trade, and if you can't write female characters or dislike the ones in your fandom, you really shouldn't force yourself to write them. Sometimes a fandom is completely clean of likable female characters that you can pair with the male characters. Not to say that the above excuses couldn't have holes of their own, or are part of the author's subconscious sexism, but these reasons are not inherently bad on their own. I was part of a fandom that had two main female leads, one I couldn't stand because of Barbie Syndrome and one who couldn't be feasibly paired with most of the male leads (99%), and that was the fandom I was most slash-heavy in. Sometimes, male characters in canon have more chemistry together than they have with the females, or the relationships are more interesting. This could be due to gender issues on the show, but it still stands that the men are canonically more interesting together on the show/movie than they are with the women on the show/movie, and the women on that show may be shallow, two-dimensional cut-outs. Does that make it lacking as a show? Yes, I believe so. But the point of fanfiction isn't to 'fix' the canon so much as it is to explore what it gives us and enjoy writing the characters and world.
Other people aren't focusing on the male aspect of it at all. When I am writing slash, the characters are incidentally male. It's like, if I'm writing a blind character, I pay attention to that and write accordingly, keeping the blindness in mind. I'm not singling the character out to write because of the blindness, I'm writing it because I happen to like the character. Blindness is simply a part of the character, to be incorporated into the story. I'm not writing slash because I like men more than women, I'm writing it because I like these men together more than I like them with that woman, or because I find that relationship more interesting to develop and explore. The stories I wrote that were slash and incest, the pairing chosen deliberately because of the personalities of the characters and how they would react to being in that relationship and respond to the feelings they had for their brother.
Along with that, the nature of a relationship of two same-sex individuals is interesting for the way it affects the relationship. A man and a woman will typically interact with each other differently than a man and a man, and a woman and a woman, and many characters will definitely keep those gender roles in mind. Slash and femmeslash (which are equal in my mind,) are opportunities to explore relationships that are not heterosexual, that do not operate along the lines of male-to-female. The characters interact with each other in a different way, and the relationship itself is unique because of the gender dynamics.
It's why I dislike the heteronormativity in so many slashfics: where they split the men into 'seme/man' and 'uke/woman' roles, despite the character personalities. The point of slash is that it is a man and a man, and unless the 'uke' character has shown tendencies toward being genderqueer or transgender, or more stereotypically 'feminine', it hits a bad chord with me to force him into the role. Slash suffers from this much more than femmeslash does, really. I have never read a femmeslash story in which one of the women was forced into the 'male' role, but slash seems to suffer from what I'll call The Big Bad Wolf syndrome. At its exreme, one male is transformed into the worst of masculinity: hulking, macho, oft-times abusive, raping beast. The other is transformed into a fainting, delicate flower. This is the pattern from old, heterosexual relationships in fairytales and literature, the root of romance novels and bodice rippers: and for some reason, fans choose to translate that onto their two favorite male characters. I won't try to psychoanalyze why: does it help them relate more to the relationship? Does it tie into rape fetish? It's just an observation I have made after having seen slash throughout many fandoms, with the same pattern repeating itself.
I do not like seme/uke in that context, and continue to dislike it. I like the male characters acting like themselves, which often means macho, emotionally-stunted, awkward doofs with romance. I think its gives the relationship a certain kind of kinship that het does not have. Not that men and women can not share a kinship of their own, not that they can not respect each other on an equal footing, but when I am writing two people of the same gender interact, I feel like they have a unique perspective into each other, that they have a different and more familiar understanding of the way the other person thinks and feels. It's the same with woman/woman or man/man.
And some people just find slash to be hot. There's no explanation needed, no justification needed. They find men hot, they like to read and write about men fucking, and they do so. It's no different from any other kink.
Generally, I think slash as a genre is too complicated to be discussed in one post. I like to focus on its aspects more than anything else, and tackle the reasons people write it one at a time. I don't think it can be summed down and explained by one reason.
(2) Talk to me about foeyah.
I think, in my heart, I have always shipped the foeyay. I just haven't actually realized this until just recently. I have come out of the foeyay closet and am enjoying the sunshine. I think it's because I like a lot of friction and tension in the relationship. I like the romance to not be all sunshine and daisies, and I like the foeship pairings I have because these characters are equals in their own right and have this basis of...well, I would say respect and maybe some admiration all tangled up in: "I hate everything you stand for."
"But I like you personally, and I may or may not be able to deal with that." When the two enemy characters have so damn much in common, but can't or won't connect because of their political/ideological differences, and/or when they seem to be able to predict when each other is thinking, when they go out of their way to fight with each other and make sure to say: "This fight is between us alone!" And when, if one of them goes down or is in trouble, and the other offers this tiny enemy olive branch and tends their wounds/leaves flowers at their funeral/gives advice or comfort or taunts them until they get their spine back? I think my shipping heart just explodes. I just seem to love tension and conflict and this weird inverted form of comradeship.
(3) What fictional character would to like to marry and be happy with forever after?
No one. I don't think I could tie myself down to one person, even if I wasn't asexual. I would have a strong connection with someone, but I don't think I'd be able to be the married type and live so closely with one person for the rest of my days. I don't think I have enough patience to deal with the characters I love, and our strong personalities would end up bumping against each other with possibly violent results. Some of the characters I love aren't even compatible to my personality, or would get bored or impatient with me, themseles. I think, if I was going to settle down and roomie with someone, it would be Uncle Iroh. He's probably my ideal man. Likes tea and music and chess, has a sense of humor, and is mellow and not at all controlling. Also, very tolerant.
(4) Wasn't there a girl in your class who was basically in hysterics and in a very bad family situation? Update, please.
Her mother came back from the hospital and I believe is taking medication. The last time I saw her, she had the first smile I've ever seen her wear.
(5) Third part of the Sai "hands" fic: writer's block? lack of time? Are they going to find him, ever?
Both writer's block and lack of time. They have found him in the 427 words I have written so far, and the story's name is 'Healing'. Am considering yet another installment after the third, because this thing keeps folding out neatly into new developments. We'll see if I can fit it all into this one installment.
Meanwhile, meme stolen from kay_cricketed
Give me one pairing and I will "compose" a floral bouquet that represents them - and, of course, give you either a link to a list so you can look up the secret meanings yourself or just copy below what the flowers mean.
Feel free to leave multiple pairings!