5 questions

[louiselux]

lovelyzelda asked me five questions:


1. What's your most hated fic cliche? (any fandom)

I have so many pet hates, sometimes they crowd out my ability to enjoy stories and I get all peevish - mostly at myself for being so picky. I try to be less judgemental, but I can get very riled over little things. But, my most hated, loathed cliche of all time (for today anyway)? Usually goes something like this:

Character A: *is hot* *is a guy*
Character B: *is another guy* :  A looks hot today. Hey, wait, hang on!  I just thought that A looks hot!?  Where did that come from? Why am I thinking that? Could it possibly mean...

I've seen this in so many stories and for me it always ruins it. The thing about this cliche is - you have to work really hard to make me believe that B, who in this scenario is usually straight until this point, wouldn't have, at some point in the past, and even though he may not be admitting it,  realised on some level that he likes guys. Yes, he might be in buttocks-deep in denial, but the fact that he find A attractive should not come as a surprise to him, not really. If it does, then I'm going to have to believe that B is suffering from some level of mental illness. People repress things, sure, but on the whole they generally have an inkling about what it is that they're not admitting to themselves.  B might think 'oh fuck - I think A is hot - I don't want to be thinking this. I'll pretend I don't think that'. Or they might think, 'Oh god I want to screw A stupid, but there's no way I can ever let myself sleep with a guy (for whatever reason)' or something. Please not, 'oh, hey, I just thought A was hot. Why am I thinking that?'  because it's just not believable. Man, know thyself.

Oh, I know that people do deny things and that making a man know himself is one of the joys of slash - but perhaps it's more about making a man admit that he knows himself.


2. Do you know how to make tea?
Yes - in a mug with a teabag.

But I am skilled in the art of making proper tea in a pot: heat the pot with hot water, put in one spoon of tea leaves person and 'one for the pot', pour in water just off the boil, let brew for 3 minutes, or if you're my mum, until the tannin buildup reaches a stage where it takes the roof of your mouth off. Slurp.


3. Do you still spend your commute furtively writing slash?
Not so much this winter, although I've got back in to it since the arrival of so many tempting notebooks over Christmas. Over winter I've tended to doze in my seat with brightly coloured images of fictional characters having sex flickering through my mind like a film that has no end-- so I was thinking the slash rather than writing it down. I look so respectable as well, *cough*, no one would ever suspect they were sitting next to a well of depravity. 


4. What kind of music do you listen to while writing? (if any)
I've recently got into listening to Saiyuki  drama cds (like a radio play available on cd) in Japanese. I like the way the voice actors sound and it actually helps that I can't understand what they're saying because it's less distracting that way. Music wise I rarely listen while writing because it stops me fully concentrating, although once I really get into a story, any background noise tends to fade away.


5. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

It would be to fly, and really really fast if I wanted. Imagine how exciting life would be if you could fly everywhere!  You'd get to recognise people by the tops of their heads and I bet you'd develop a real obession for plan diagrams. I know I would.  And there'd be that amazing feeling of weightlessness and the fun of floating around on clouds.

I think the drill is now that you comment and I get to ask you questions too.

Comments

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know that people do deny things and that making a man know himself is one of the joys of slash - but perhaps it's more about making a man admit that he knows himself.
Yeah. The only stories I like in that genre are the ones that force the character to take a different look at character A-- you know, he's dressed differently, they're in very different circumstances, something that breaks the mold they've been in-- and even those are tricky. This one (http://adultfan.nexcess.net/aff/story.php?no=544171255) does it nicely, IMO.

And sure, hit me. XD

[penknife.livejournal.com]

Yes, he might be in buttocks-deep in denial, but the fact that he find A attractive should not come as a surprise to him, not really.

This bothers me more with adult characters than with teenagers. I'll buy that very young characters may not have figured out their sexuality yet, and that this really may be the first time they've noticed these feelings. With adults, I agree that it often comes off a little weirdly.

[cygny.livejournal.com]

I recently downloaded a song which apparently is sung by Weiss Kreuz and Saiyuki voice actors, you want? More are in queue for later download, I didn't even know they existed. The one I have is quite funny :P

And you can ask me if you want, although I don't promise to put this on me lj, already had enough trouble finding questions last tour round :)

[hecates-fury.livejournal.com]

Hi ya, did you used to work at the NHS call centre in reading by any chance?

[lexin.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with you about #1, that gives me hives, too.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

The thing about cliches is that someone nearly always comes along and does it so incredibly well it trancends cliche- so if someone could take the 'suddenly gay' thing and make it work, fair play to them, and lead on to the fic! *g* I instantly respond to reasons that might make it justifiable, like something happening to change their routine. Still, it would have to be done really well so it didn't just look like the author had decided to make someone wake up gay.

ps, am at work now, but will go and read this story later on.

... And I'll think of some questions too.

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

This one isn't even a suddenly gay-- it's a 'suddenly this person no longer seems off-limits.'

Cool. XD

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Yeah, teenagers are different because their hormones are just clicking on. Even then, if they've been living together for years or whatever there should be something there to build on.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

it's a 'suddenly this person no longer seems off-limits.'

Ah, well - there's a big difference between that and 'suddenly gay' - the former is a perfectly lovely idea.

okay, 5 qvestions:

1. What's your most hated fandom cliche? (because now I wanna know yours!)

2. If you could meet one fictional character, who would it be?

3. Which fairytale does your life most closely resemble?

4. Where's your favourite place in the world?

5. If you didn't participate in fandom, what other interests would be taking up your time?

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Yes, I should have made that distinction-- my peeve applies to adults in the main, because part of growing up is having the sorts of epiphanies about your sexuality that general make it impossible for someone to not realise they've been gay all along, later on in life.

I can completely buy Harry or Ron, for example, having a sudden realisation about themselves in their early teens, or whenever. Even then, I think they'd look back on various events and see that those feelings had always been with them.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Though I've had many jobs in Reading, that's not one of them.

[mistressrenet.livejournal.com]

Ah, well - there's a big difference between that and 'suddenly gay' - the former is a perfectly lovely idea.

"Glass Houses" does the 'oh, crap, I'm bi' thing well, too, where the character realizes that he's always been looking, he just hasn't realized. Heh.

[lovelyzelda.livejournal.com]

I have so many pet hates, sometimes they crowd out my ability to enjoy stories and I get all peevish - mostly at myself for being so picky.

I don't know, with so many communities dedicated to how crappy 90% of fanfic is, is being overly picky such a crime?

Since I have no idea if this fits the rules of the meme, I'll answer questions!

[cicer.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, word to #1. That makes me scream. I hate the whole, "Wow, character A is a nice piece of ass. Gasp! I just thought that someone of my own gender is sexy! Could this mean that I'm gay?!" *headdesks* And I see this so often. I realize that not everyone is particularly introspective, but come on. As you said, a lack of awareness that severe is approaching mental retardation. I do have a kink for suppressed!feelings!fic though, so I like it when the basis of a fic is, "Character A is really hot. Dammit! Must repress! Must repress!". But when characters are completely gobsmacked to discover that they find a member of their own gender sexy (and said character is over the age of fourteen) it stretches my suspension-of-disbelief a little too far.

/rant

[odditycollector.livejournal.com]

so it didn't just look like the author had decided to make someone wake up gay.

See, the thing is, in most of my fandoms, this is not a terribly impossible idea.

Crowley: Why am I thinking *that*? Oh, 'cause I forgot to turn it off after my assignment at the gay bar. My bad.

Tim Drake: Why am I thinking *that*? Oh, crap I'm totally gay it's alien sex pollen again, isn't it?

or, for one of yours

Harry Potter: Why am I thinking *that*? Oh, maybe the potion I was testing on myself last night didn't work entirely as planned....

etc.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Crowley: Why am I thinking *that*? Oh, 'cause I forgot to turn it off after my assignment at the gay bar. My bad.

Y'know we all want to read that story now, don't ya?

But yeah, you have good point. But then, if there *were* some other factor like a spell or alien sex pollen, then I'd have a different (more tolerant) view of the suddenly gay cliche, because there'd be a good reason for it and it wouldn't just rely on the character not realising.

[graycastle.livejournal.com]

omg wtf YES. I can't stand that "Oh wow, as if I just thought that he was hot!" cliche. It makes my blood boil. It's more than just the ridiculous lack of self-awareness, too, as far as I'm concerned; it's a particularly annoying symptom of really, really bad writing where the character thinks about their own train of thought as if they were reading it along with you. I very rarely find myself putting my wandering thoughts into words like a monologue or even paying attention to what I'm thinking, and it's even more rare that they freak me out. The "oh wow, I just thought about X" cliche is particularly annoying because it completely shatters the believability of the first-person monologue. Ditto when the character marvels at the fact that he's sleeping with someone who isn't a woman and makes blatant (and offensive "a woman would never kiss like that") comparisons between men and women. It's like, I get it, they're having homosexualism, let's move on with it.

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, #1 is one of my biggest pet peeves as well. It's already unbelievable in the fashion you mentioned, but in the fandoms I play in, it becomes doubly so. Take Saiyuki or Death Note, for instance. The guys in those series are living with constant threat of death every single damn day. Given that amount of pressure, do you, dear author, really expect me to believe that Gojyou or Light would ever find suddenly being attracted to another guy to be a Huge Stressful Issue an issue? I doubt it - they've just got too much other stuff to worry about.

$0.02

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Good point - angsting over sexual orientation has got to come a poor second to having to fight for your life everyday. And with the Saiyuki boys, it's not so much sexuality that's an issue, but their own different variations on being emotionally damaged that's the issue, I think. For example, I can't imagine Sanzo worrying about it being a man or a woman he was attractewd too, rather that he'd hate feeling that way about anyone, male or female. Gojyo - well, he seems pretty broadminded, even if he does overcompensate!

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

it's a particularly annoying symptom of really, really bad writing where the character thinks about their own train of thought as if they were reading it along with you.

Yes, yes-- excellent! That's exactly what it does - and it completely shatters your belief in the world that the author is trying to build.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

And I see this so often.

It's really everywhere, isn't it?

Of coourse, there's nothing wrong with a good bit of repression, but you have to be able to see that the character is struggling with something - you have to be given glimpses of the self-knowledge they are trying to ignore. That's what makes those sorts of stories so compelling for me.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

1. Name one thing you want to do this year.

2. Do you have a wishlist of things you want to do in your life? If you do, what's on it. If not, what would you want to be on it?

3. What novel does your life most closely resemble (I guess it doesn't have to be very close)

4. Sweet or savoury?

5. What's your favourite bit of music?

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

Ooh, yes, I'd happily have any dodgy J-pop you happen to have lying around!

Questions:

1. To exercise or not to exercise?

2. What's the best thing about the place you live?

3. Tell me one film that you can watch over and over again without getting board.

4. If you put on Dragostea din Tei how long will it be before you are jumping about and waving your arms in the air, approximately?

5. Do you think in images or words?

[lebateleur.livejournal.com]

Exactly! Having Sanzou angst over 'OMG I've never liked a boy before!' is kinda jumping the gun when Sanzou is going to have problems with not actively hating other people.

Gojyou has always struck me as extremely androgynous, to the point where I don't even see the 'he's trying too hard to like girls, therefore he must be gay' rationalisation that crops up so frequently. Gojyou's a hedonist. Would he have problems getting off with guys? Nope. Would he have problems being on the bottom? Well, that I can see, but the bottom line is, he might negotiate, but I doubt he'd turn down an orgasm outright just because of the sex of his partner.

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

From the clues we get given about Gojyo's life before he met Hakkai in vol 5, like his friend coming on to Sanzo; that Banri thought he might be asking Gojyo for sex men, and the implication that he and Banri lived together, I think it's fair to speculate that he's bisexual anyway or at least that being gay or bisexual was commonplace in the sort of society he moves in.

I don't know if I would call him a true hedonist though- true, he's a very sensual person (oral gratification, anyone?), but his pursuit of pleasure always seems slightly desperate, as though he's really wanting something else. As he says himself, sex is a way to get through a lonely night and is substitute for something he's never had - love. He knows that but seems scared of facing up to it - I think his constant sleeping with women is part of that.

[janecarnall.livejournal.com]

Ask me questions...?

[louiselux.livejournal.com]

"Gojyo for sex men,"

Just ignore that 'men' in there. My fingers are random today!