Part Deux - The Motivation Behind Slash

[icthyopook]

Discussing slash in fandom (some reasoning as to why 'all the cool kids do it!').

Comments

[vikki]

This is incredible, and I also believe, extremely insightful. I'll definitely be passing this on.

[icthyopook]

Wow, that is a really awesome compliment! ;~; Thank you. <3

(PS, made entry public so you actually can share if you so wish! haha)

[lucidscreamer]

Even though I first heard about slash fic in the late 70s (which is when I first heard about fanfic) -- and the slash was, of course, Kirk/Spock -- it took YGO to get me interested in reading and writing a romantic pairing, slash or otherwise. Before YGO, I was pretty much a gen fic writer (some of my early Dark Shadows fic contains background het romance, but DS was a soap opera, so romantic entanglements were nearly unavoidable in that fandom. It was never the point of my stories, though.), and I preferred to read gen fic, as well. Something about the dynamic between Yami and Yugi, the bond that they share, drew me in, though, and now they're my OTP. XD

[icthyopook]

I could easily make an entry about the strength of Yuugi and Yami's relationship... after all how much closer can one get besides sharing a body? Yami and Yuugi's relationship totally obliterates the wall of separation between two people, so the two boys become unbelievably close emotionally and physically. I don't think Takahashi realized he was creating such an interesting situation when he wrote that, after all I realize that Yami no Yuugi is basically a metaphor or whatever you'd call it for Yuugi learning to love himself but that's exactly what's so gosh-darn great about the two. It's like not only does Yuugi get to be open with another soul, he in turn gets to be open with his own soul, basically accomplishing something many humans are never able to do for themselves in their lifetime.

In other words...

OTP OTP OTP

hahaha

[vavarazzi]

This is truly the most insightful thing you've written yet. I AM ENJOYING THIS LITTLE....ANTHOLOGY. I've always considered myself an okay writer but never could do writing for a career because I don't enjoy writing long things like this enough, I'd get bored halfway through and want to do something else, but you stick it out all the way through and can make these amazing statements and back them up and ahhhh WHY DON'T YOU HAVE YOUR OWN CARTOON BLOG AND/OR MAGAZINE? :|

Anyways. This post. I agree with it a lot. I hope that everyone on your flist sticks through and reads it, particularly the guys.

I had a huge comment typed out here but I'm just gonna turn it into an lj entry, brb. XD

[icthyopook]

Aww, thanks Val! I think I am going to start a cartoon blog, actually. Like a blog for me to publically analyze toons and media and such... like my Digimon review posts and thoughts on fandom mentality like this post. I actually am writing this little collection as an experiment in how well I do writing things specifically meant to be read by other people (not just me hammering away at my keyboard about myself because I'm emo /tear) haha. I'm really glad you're always here to read my stuff, it's always encouraging to hear from you

[medaveon]

Wow, wow Pook. That was really well thought out, and beautifully written. At first I was kinda like... Ummmm what this long of an entry entirely about slash?? :| But you covered some great stuff in there about sexuality... like those points, even looking from the male point of view, they are spot on.

Like I wish this could be read by more people... SPREAD THE WORD PLEASSEEE, especially in Japan haha, everything you say about gender stereotypes and people being confused about love is SOO strongly visible here.
And its funny because especially recently I am sooo turned off by girls dressed up all girly girly and acting in stereotypical ways. Its like...CMON... Exactly as you said, I am actually looking for a man in a bikini. A best friend. It would be sooo nice if more people understood this instead of the ridiculous gender relations our societys have created :|

[icthyopook]

haha, thanks for reading the whole thing! It was indeed a long entry about slash, but hopefully an in depth look into really, only a few reasons why people do it. I just enjoy figuring people (and myself) out so that's where this came from. I think people assume slash is just a silly weird thing some people do but it's much more complex than that! And that's why girls become so attached to it.

And men do the same thing as girls, try to act all tough to get the girl while the girl tries to act all modest and 'likable' and augh, just a big huge mess.

Gender roles suuuck. :( Basically.

Did you read Val's entry about BROMANCE? She expanded nicely on this with her own thoughts. XD

[medaveon]

GENDER ROLES.. HOW THEY SUCK. Seriously.

Yes I read Val's entry, I am loving all the inter-journal connections we are getting about this subject, LJ could be seen as just like any other social-networking site, but I feel like I am presented with so many great ideas and forced to think so much from reading all your journals, so good :D

[icthyopook]

I always preferred to say that I liked borderline shounen-ai fluff.This is how I've always viewed it too. For me it wasn't about the sex, it was about the relationship. In fact, when I read 'slash' fanfiction I actually get VERY UPSET if there is random sex or even random kisses thrown in at the expense of character development, at least if the story was going really well for a while. Fans seem to use 'kisses' as hollow promises to their fanfic reading audience that the relationship will live HAPPILY EVER AFTER but the most impacting fanfiction are the ones that insorporate real-life issues into them and have the two characters go through that turmoil together. Then at the END they can kiss or whatever, but I don't really care because for me it's about the drama, not the Hershey's kiss on the top

[icthyopook]

I totally agree on Obana. And Sana and Hayama was honestly one of the first het couples I shipped, ha! Just because the boy partnerships I liked were always stronger. But Sana and Akito are amazing FRIENDS, and as such make an amazing couple