On Pairing Names

Mar 12, 2006 18:32

I was just talking to random people about pairing names. told me about how she always gets a twitch when she sees M/L or Michael/Lincoln because she's used to the anime fandom where you always put the character who is topping first. So Michael/Lincoln gives her a fundamentally different mental image than Lincoln/Michael.

Musing on pairing names in the Prison Break fandom + a poll. )

sv, polls, x-files, meta, buffy, roswell, m/l, prison break, vm

Leave a comment

thelana March 12 2006, 18:37:02 UTC
Hah, I was about to ask you, since you picked "Whoever tops", but Michael/Lincoln. I sooo need to do a poll on whether people think that Michael tops in Michael/Lincoln (1) always (2) sometimes (3) never.

I think my thing is that I have a habit of favoring pairings where the characters tend to switch/I can see it either way.

Another aspects that really interests me is whether people tend to make the character they favor the top or the bottom. Like halfhshellvenus favor Lincoln and her Lincoln tops exclusively, to the extent where I swear she gets a rash when she sees him being topped in a fic. Mmm, gotta ask her one day how she sees it with Dean (who is her favored character in Supernatural). jules1013 favor Michael and says she sees Michael as topping. On the other hand, I see *a lot* of trends for people to favor the bottom character/make the character they favor the bottom.

Reply

Re: ::jumps in:: thelana March 12 2006, 19:22:50 UTC
Okay, the only way I could see Michael being bottom was if he demanded Linc to fuck him

Oh, yeeeeeah... *lost in pretty, pretty image*

Thus, the only way, in my mind, of them having sex is if Michael tops, because then Linc can tell himself that he is passive, that he isn't fucking his brother, that he is not making the choice to do it.

You must love "All The Pieces" then ;D

You know, I actually use that argument a lot. (I actually totally see Sucre that way) It's something hard to tell if that is any sort of realistic interpretation or just something that makes sense to women rather than men.

Then again, with Lincoln it wouldn't necessarily be a gay/bi kind of thing that is causing the obstacle, it's the brother/protector aspect.

Or the only other way Linc would top is after an established relationship (and they would *never* have a established, functioning relationship) because 1)they would need to mix it up and 2) if they had a level of comfort, Linc's natural top side would come out. In the vain of number 2, if Linc were ( ... )

Reply

Re: ::jumps in:: resounding_echo March 12 2006, 19:30:05 UTC
Mmm, how about Abruzzi?

Either way, really. I could totally get into some good top!Michael "who's the mob boss now, bitch" fics and still hold top!Abruzzi fics in the same esteem.

I totally see Michael as having control freak issue

Yes, but hte beauty of the control freak is that sometimes they exhaust so much energy being in control in every facet of their life, that they *need* to be the bottom--they must be told what to do in order to get some release. :D ::is big fan of the pyschological phenomenon::

Reply

Re: ::jumps in:: thelana March 12 2006, 19:41:56 UTC
Yeah, that's pretty much the whole thing about canon!Michael. He can be very controlling, but he also cracks quite easily, emotionally. I do think that would happen in a relationship as well, but I don't see him as the type who would go all "Whaa, I'm so unhappy, top me!", but more the kind who would have a certain moment and then try to recover quickly, put the mask back on.

I tend to think that bottom!Michael and top!Linc comes a lot from the fact that canon!Michael shows his most weakness in connection with his brother, for obvious reasons. And he doesn't show his top tendencies around Lincoln as frequently (though he still does at times, like in the scene where he stopped Lincoln from running off, or when he was very "whatever" about Lincoln's worries about LJ). There are a lot of times where he could just have been "Do as I say" and he instead approached Lincoln with a "What do you think?", something he doesn't really do with the other characters. Though I kinda write that off to old seated older/younger power structures.

Reply

Re: ::jumps in:: resounding_echo March 12 2006, 19:51:26 UTC
"Whaa, I'm so unhappy, top me!

Oh god, no--never!

more the kind who would have a certain moment and then try to recover quickly, put the mask back on.

::taps nose:: That's it, right there. You hit the nail on the head. Michael may want to be fucked, but as soon as it was finished, he'd be a total alpha-male again (or the entire time). I think when control freaks give up control, it's a resignation. Not weepy, not even necessarily enjoyable--just resignation. You have to unwind somehow.

I think precisely because of the brother dynamics, Michael would not be the bottom (again, unless it's a continuing pattern from child abuse). Michael was the baby all his life, Linc is a fuck-up, he's not just going to bend over and take it. Mike may have more "What do you think?" moments than "Do as I say" moments with Linc, but that's only because it's in a brotherly context, he's conscious of his traditional role. There's nothing traditional about fucking your brother, so I think Mike's dominant side would totally own.

Reply

Re: ::jumps in:: thelana March 12 2006, 20:15:18 UTC
Well, like castalie said, I can totally picture a Michael who is dominant and who loves riding the cock (hey, you can be the catcher and still be on top), because he likes the way it feels (at least sometimes).

I totally think that Michael would have his share "Do as I say"/losing his temper moments in their relationship (especially in a non 'cesty way). Then again, I think that prison!Lincoln is probably a lot more subdued than pre-prison Lincoln probably was, so I tend to think that their pre-prison relationship could easily have been much more confrontative.

Michael was the baby all his life, Linc is a fuck-up, he's not just going to bend over and take it. But see, if that was the core motivation in their relationship in general, why would Michael come to save Lincoln? Or wouldn't he at least be more pushy about it? What motivates him then ( ... )

Reply

halfshellvenus March 12 2006, 19:56:02 UTC
her Lincoln tops exclusively,
So.Far. And that's all I'm going to say. ;)

to the extent where I swear she gets a rash when she sees him being topped in a fic. It isn't that so much, it's when he gets all girly and femmy, which just... ick. SO not Lincoln. Actually, I don't even want to see T-Bag getting all girly. And I try not to write Michael being girly, even though he's (so far) the bottom. For M/L, it has to do with who Michael and Lincoln are, not really the preferences per se. I.e., Lincoln is definitely a "top." Michael isn't necessarily a bottom to me-- more of an egalitarian, you might say (which is actually my preference). But... I'm kind of stuck with Lincoln being who he is. I didn't make him that way ( ... )

Reply

resounding_echo March 12 2006, 19:58:36 UTC
It isn't that so much, it's when he gets all girly and femmy, which just... ick. SO not Lincoln.

Indeed. But I hate girly and femmy Michael as well (though, admittedly, femmy Linc is worse). Just because you're taking it up the ass doesn't mean you lose your masculinity. :D

Reply

halfshellvenus March 12 2006, 20:07:31 UTC
Indeed. But I hate girly and femmy Michael as well (though, admittedly, femmy Linc is worse). Just because you're taking it up the ass doesn't mean you lose your masculinity. :D
Well, I agree with that. The question is, do you think I'm writing that? Or... too polite to say.

I don't want Michael to feel more feminine (because again... ick), BUT I definitely think he feels more in that relationship, and that that is going to affect the dynamic. He has far more emotionally invested in it all. (like Dean, actually)Well, in most of my fics. In others, he does, but he's kind of fucking around with Lincoln in a mental sense as well as a physical one.

Reply

thelana March 12 2006, 20:22:15 UTC
I dunno, you do write established relationship and while jules mentioned that she has a hard time believing that they could ever get there, she did say that she thinks that Lincoln's top tendencies would definitively be there in an established relationship.

Reply

resounding_echo March 13 2006, 00:11:01 UTC
Well, I agree with that. The question is, do you think I'm writing that?

Not at all. Thelana hit the nail on the head. I have a hard time wraping my mind around established nearly-functional Michael/Linc, but you make it work for me (can't say that about any other writers). Because yes, Michael feels more in that relationship and yes Linc has more top-tendencies. I think you are pretty good at exploring that, especially because I couldn't.

Reply

halfshellvenus March 13 2006, 00:59:41 UTC
I have a hard time wraping my mind around established nearly-functional Michael/Linc, but you make it work for me (can't say that about any other writers).
Well yay! I hope not to be writing things that aren't convincing, obviously, because what's the point in that? Otherwise, you're borrowing the "skin suit" the person comes in and just running amok with the pretty without any regard for the character. I don't get that-- doesn't appeal to me.

I think you are pretty good at exploring that, especially because I couldn't.
It's the interesting thing about different slants you get to the characters depending upon who's writing them. I think we see more of Michael's humorous side (for instance) in fanfic than we have on the show so far, but most of us have a fair inkling that it's there.

Reply

thelana March 12 2006, 20:01:35 UTC
You know that I really hate the "top/bottom" terminology, right? I think that's a f**ked-up way to view relationships, actually.

Yeah, I know, anal sex is not the end to everything. ;)

I don't really mind arguing top or bottom (actually I'd just as much like to argue/wonder about whether character A gives oral sex or not), but I do think that it doesn't really say all about a relationship. Like just because one person might be the errrr pitcher (as opposed to the catcher) during sex more often than the other doesn't really mean that he is necessarily in control of the relationship. Like, it doesn't necessarily say everything about the power dynamics of the characters.

For Sam and Dean, I see Dean as wanting to be more of a top, but he's so much more emotionally vulnerable in that relationship than Sam is.Yeah, I tend to think that vulnerable characters tend to get made bottoms more, especially in the beginning, because since they are *needy* for the other person, it seems likely that they would just go along with the other person ( ... )

Reply

In the Matter of Tops and Bottoms tyrical March 13 2006, 17:54:08 UTC
Actually I don't care ( ... )

Reply

Re: In the Matter of Tops and Bottoms thelana March 13 2006, 18:19:11 UTC
Oh, I'm always a sucker for hearing your thoughts ♥

The only person I see Michael topping is LJ.

Oh totally. Maybe that is the appeal of the pairing for some. Especially if they see Michael as bottoming usually.

I can see Michael as a top with Lincoln only if circumstances were presented in a way where Lincoln knew that was what Michael needed or he needed to show Michael what Michael means to him. It would be the ultimate show of commitment that Lincoln could do. Sort of a promise in ways. 'I may sleep around but your the only one who would ever have me this way' kind of thing.

*whipers* I've been trying forever to talk halfshell into writing just that and I *know* it is coming. *looks around shifty eyed*

Reply

Re: In the Matter of Tops and Bottoms tyrical March 13 2006, 20:10:56 UTC
After some more thought on the matter I've also come to the conclusion on why I usually see Michael as a bottom.

Bottoming or being the submissive(so to speak) one in a relationship is the ultimate form of control. You give up control in the bedroom so to speak or at anyone looking at the relationship from the outside in but in the other aspects of the relationship you pretty much determine the course of the rest of the relationship. i.e. What some men would do for a great piece of ass. (In the most crude of ways possible to say but yet clearly illustrate my point.)

*whipers* I've been trying forever to talk halfshell into writing just that and I *know* it is coming. *looks around shifty eyed*
If we keep asking you know she might bend ( ... )

Reply


Leave a comment

Up