Luce's Fanfiction Blog:
August to October 2004
Luce's Fanfiction Blog:
August to October 2004
29 October 2004
I've just picked up the first volume of this manga series Tactics by
Kinoshita Sakura and Higashiyama Kazuko, which features a main character
Ichinomiya Kantaro, who was born with the ability to see ghosts, demons and
other supernatural beings. He grows up to be a part-time researcher and
writer of Japanese folklore and a part-time demon-hunter. One day, he finds a
tengu, a powerful demon and manages to name it (bring it under his control).
The story is very simple so far, but the art is sooo cute.
One of the things that ran through my mind was that this could be such a cute crossover with Yami no Matsuei. Tsuzuki could discuss youkai with Kantaro, and spaz over money and snacks together. Then it's the kimonos that Kantaro wears. They look so cool, and for a wonder he looks like a kid but he doesn't look like a girl despite the big eyes. I love that. Looks like this (from the cover):
I'm going to get the other volumes today. It's up to 4, I think. Hope it hasn't been discontinued.
28 October 2004
Aja's The Reader is beautiful and worth reading in the midst of all
those war HP fics where everybody is behaving like 30s spies. Aja wrote a
really affecting Love Under Will sometime back, which stalled just as the
plot was getting interesting (not that I didn't enjoy the Harry/Draco).
Zionsstarfish, aka Z.S. also writes some nice HP fics, mostly Harry/Draco.
Ah, great to read some nice fics.
Was reading Viridian's story, the name of which escapes me right now--the newest chapter, and thinking, ooh, this is great--whereupon she writes the words "Shindou's fan".
And--this is bad of me--I thought immediately of my own fic. In which I forgot totally about the stupid fan. Which could have been a plot device, if only I'd used it properly. Damn. Am going to have to write it in.
23 October 2004
Despite my attempts to give the impression to the contrary, I hadn't
actually read Gravitation 1 and 2 before. Or most of it.
Nope, I leapt on the entire thing from fandom, manga summaries, and a lone OAV
(which was more confusing than anything).
But now I have. hahaha! (that should be in caps, but I'd rather not subject something I love to an eyesore like that.) It's great! It's greater than great! I'm reading the English translation, which pains me (and my wallet) at times, but it's worth it, because I'm going to be re-reading it so much. Goodbye, intellectual pretensions! Wacky manga is so much better.
Still, I did buy the history thing I'd been eyeing for sometime. (Storewide 20% off at Kino!) Does this make my desertion to a character like this better?
I love Murakami's style with manga. Other than the story itself. She talks about the way she draws quite a bit, which I find intriguing, and think, how does she think to draw it like that? Though I must say, from the vol. 8 that I'm just been reading, I don't quite like the way she makes Shuichi looks so much more girlish. He doesn't look like that in vol. 1 or 2! Or 3! I wish I could write fanfiction for Gravitation. (Hah! The ultimate sign of obsession with manga, evidently.)
But I've got "Shadows" to finish. Oh, I guess most of it is done; I just need a bridging scene in the form of Hikaru freaking out at seeing Isobe play Sai's game with... hell, I don't even know that cheater's name! And a better way of dealing with the other characters. Like, how does Isumi and Waya get to be at the salon? Do I want Touya Kouyo to be there? Probably not Kuwabara, but an appearance by the old man would be useful in establishing the antecedents of the goban. Or would that be too contrived? But how could Touya Kouyo not be there, it's his salon after all. But then where could I shelve him? Ack! Ow! Heck! Drat! Pfft! Bah!
It's difficult to think coherently when you have Shuichi's behaviour on tape running in your mind.
22 October 2004
Reading too much HP slash, again. I think it comes in cycles. First
you come across recs, and think, okay, sounds good, but I don't feel like it
today. And ditto for the next time, and next. Then a totally random
remark pushes you to read just one, and then you can't stop! It's
ridiculous. To think that I used to keep clear of Snape/Harry fics--I just
wanted to maintain a little space between my fantasy lives--though one'd think
that's impossible, not after reading Lucius/Harry fics. And these two days
I've been reading nothing but that. Knockturn in the Rain by Dayse
is a fic that should really rouse the following reactions: that it's sick,
disgusting, disturbing, perverted and depraved. I just ended up finding it
really intriguing instead. Slightly horrified, yes, but the author did a nice
job of getting into the story, and the perspective of a pedophile Snape was
convincing, in a this-can't-be-happening, unreal kind of way. There was no
denying that he was a monster, for one thing, yet the monster was a thinking,
cynical monster. And the bit of compassion he refused to admit it
himself--the reader refuses to admit it either, because how can someone so
wrong be compassionate--is like a live wire throughout the story. It
is strangely poisonous and lethal to the monster.
I wonder if modern fiction could do that. I know there's supposed to be all kinds of edgy writing these days that pushes this button and that, but I haven't been reading much modern fiction at all (unless you count genre fiction like Prachett or sci-fi). They're so dreary, full of explorations about the meaning of life, about the meaninglessness of life, about love, about hatred, about society, about globalization and what not. Just once, I'd like a story to be about a person. I'd also like a story with a plot--though mystery fiction fits this quite well.
Maybe I have been reading too much fanfiction. The thing is, fanfiction, even of the fluffy PoT variety, or the angsty PoT/Saiyuki/Gravitation variety, not to mention the HP stuff, constantly pushes my buttons. I often realize what I'm reading is excellent stuff--though not always of top published quality--but breaks new ground, and does it unselfconsciously, too. This is not damning with lesser praise: there is a thin, but discernable line between excellent published stuff, and the rest of it, and not much fanfiction reach those standards--but they break new ground just the same. Sometimes, it comes from inspiration and love of canon. Sometimes, it's sheer self-expression, and that's so incredible that it's like pure energy. I think that's the main reason I stay in fandom.
18 October 2004
Tired, but reading Saiyuki. I now have all 9 volumes of the
manga. It's my weird mood, but am nodding wisely to stuff like:
"I'm just making a last ditched attempt to stay alive."
"Isn't everyone in the world making a last-ditch attempt to stay alive?"
And
"I'm not on anybody's side."
"From the beginning to now, I've only ever been on my own side!"
Not to mention:
(Turning away from the scene of a spectacular sunrise from sheer boredom): "So as long you're alive, you can see it anytime."
Interesting. I think it helps you to be more skeptical of self-help books with glib slogans like "Always have a backup plan" or "Always keep your promise".
***
Watching anime is a funny experience, for reasons other than the obvious. First, there's the friendly advice not to sit too closely to the tv, and to watch anime in a well-lighted room to reduce strain on the eyes. Second, the occasional earthquake report (the last one I saw was Richter 3, so possibly not too disastrous) and typhoon/thunderstorm reports.
11 October 2004
I suddenly have an insane urge to buy Saiyuki manga, and am trying to figure
out if I'll have enough time to run to Kino and grab a volume or two, AND make
it in time for my next appointment.
Ravenwood's fic, Fly is interesting for Fuji's bout of nerves
10 October 2004
Come to think of it, I've not really talked about any of the fics that I'm
writing. It's funny, really. I've been trying to get into the habit
of writing them, and have been a fan of PoT fanfiction for more than year, but
never really wrote anything. Hikaru no Go changed everything.
(Woo!) I'm now just slightly shocked that I'm in the middle of a
general/drama/mystery fic based on HnG. I'm enjoying myself hugely writing
it, in fact--despite cracking my head about the plot and moaning about misplaced
details... maybe that's what makes it so enjoyable. So the latest
installment I've posted at igo_yaoi at lj has Hikaru finding out... uh, wait,
that hasn't happened yet, 'cos I haven't finished writing it.
Okay, last chapter was when Touya lost to Isobe, which will have ramifications on the plot because this allows... gah. Stalled again. It's not that I'm leery about discussing plot details on my own ficblog. It's just that... I think I'm keeping secrets from myself, until I can actually get the chapter written. Isn't that weird?
Anyway, I really wanted to write a Halloween fic, because one of my reviewers made a comment about the ghost of Sai's (evil) opponent in the Heian period. But I don't have a decent plot for it... shouldn't be surprised. Plots are devilishly difficult for me, and I don't have any experience with ghosty plots at all... or ghost stories. I avoid scary movies, so I don't even know of any handy ones I could bump the plot off of. Must ponder.
Getting reviews on lj is a more rewarding experience than I ever expected. In the far-off past when I wrote (a little) fanfiction, I got a few excited notes, nice, but the reviewers/ commentators never gave me plot ideas like they do now. Maybe they think the story's not exciting enough and want to spice it up for me, or maybe they're speculating aloud, but their reactions just make me think, what if... and it's extremely inspiring. It's fun.
Hm. Doubtless I'd feel different if I got a bad review... or would I? Maybe I'd just write yet another fic to rebut the other's views! Who knows?
And I'm brimming over with cute fic ideas. (My kind of cute, anyway.) That I can't write because my attention's still on Shadows. I've got this one, tentatively named "Moonlight Go" (I give my stories such terribly banal titles...) about playing Go on Mid-Autumn night. I wanna Shindou be in it, and Touya, but if I want to set it in the continuity of Shadows (not to mention Golden Week) I can't have Touya. So it'd be someone else with Shindou. Hm, who? Should I invent someone out of the whole cloth? Maybe that other idea about overcoming nationalistic impulses through Go? Sounds intriguing...
Or the other idea that just came to my head... Shindou and Touya (or someone else!) playing blind Go! Huh, to do that I'd have to do more research into Go. It's kinda difficult because I'm trying to avoid using Japanese terms for Go, not when there are generic names like "Knight's move" or "Jump", and I want to use them, yet they have to sound coherent. Ech. Needs work. Not to mention I need more plot. I really hate to write without a plot. I sound especially idiotic when I don't have one, and I'm really too much on my dignity to sound stupid, even if no one knows your identity (theoretically) on the web.
5 October 2004
Aoe's Embracing the Shadows, WK at Bleeding Hearts, and Omiai by Rose
Emily, SV. Shoori also had a fic, the prologue of which was based on the
story of Oedipus, with the tag that no man can escape his fate. Though the main
thing that rose in my mind as I read that retelling was: mercy is far crueler
than cruelty. Just think, if the king and queen had just killed the infant
Oedipus, they might have escaped all the shit after all. But then the
point of Greek tragedies is (wait for it) you can't escape your fate.
Sigh.
Embracing the Shadows has the Brad/Schuldig/Ran pairing... tripling... menagy. Interesting concept... and amusingly written. Omiai is all about Clark and Lex behaving rationally for once (well, Clark at least) so that's rather fun. What else... ah ha! Pru's Conflicts of Interest, Chapter 10. Conner meets Clark. Clark meets Lex (again). Woo hoo.
1 October 2004
I do believe I don't comment enough about fics. Of the variety I want
to, anyway.
30 September 2004
I'm trying to remember if I've ever commented on Monnie's fics... oh yeah, I
did, I remember a comment about her describing Jirou as 'small'. Never
mind that. I'm currently trying to assimilate her newest story, Saikai,
ShishiTori pairing, and not let my eyes tear up, cos, damn it, it's a happy
ending and I have no business bawling. It's extremely... I don't have the
vocabulary to describe it. Just that the punch she delivers is on the
spot, and she hits all the right notes, but not in a manipulative kind of way.
Shishido is so... true to himself, and his impulsiveness is real, and he makes
it all believable. Wooh. Also, admitting he's gay via this fashion?
“Couldn’t be helped. Guess Atobe was contagious, after all.”
Hilarious.
28 September 2004
It kills me that the cd store is undercutting its main competitor, from whom
I bought HnG dvds, by a full 50% for the said HnG dvds. I should have waited, I
really should have.
Week was bad, looks to get worse. I hate my life, but what else is new? Have gotten through second part of my PoT fic, here's the tentative 3rd part:
“Yes, it’s on the 17th. Yes, you’re expected to attend. No, you don’t have a match that day. I checked.” Ryouma paused in pure shock at the last statement. Who would’ve thought the old man would take the effort to check his match schedule? “And you don’t have so many cousins that you can afford to skip Nanako’s big day, get it?” “I’ll come,” he said. His father grunted acknowledgement. “Will you be coming with your boyfriend too?” When there was no reply, he asked again, “Huh, brat? We’ll have to seat him together with us at the reception, if so.” It didn’t take much imagination to imagine the leer on his father’s face. “We broke up,” he said. There was a moment of non-static silence. “That soon?” His father snorted. “Huh. You don’t seem to be much good with boys, either. Stick with girls, son. They’re much prettier, and they have boobs.” He managed not to roll his eyes. “See you on the 17th,” he said, and put down the phone.
Needs editing, naturally.
23 September 2004
Re-read Never Give Up! because I had the unnerving feeling that I was
losing all my instincts for het relationships. (And I go to shojo manga
for it. Right.) In my reading material! Have forgotten how adorable
and embarrassing Kiri-Tatsuki is. And her and Touya. Then I found that in the cd
they were releasing (only in Japan), Midorikawa is the voice for Touya--also the
voice for Heero Yuy... If I were a fangirl I would jump up and down like a crazy
person and scream, but I'm not, so I'll settle for smiling broadly instead.
Wonder if there is Never Give Up! fanfiction.
21 September 2004
Am watching PoT 74-75, and on my way to making a case for "Tezuka is ugh!"
It's the match with Ryouma, and Tezuka treats Ryouma like an opponent--not one
he particularly respects either. Just my reading. Or that I don't
get Konomi's portrayal of "stern" and read it as "mean-spirited" instead.
The entire junior tennis circuit likes Tezuka, even the senior circuit thinks
highly of him. He can do no wrong. Eech. Ryouma is an annoying
know-it-all, but I am secure that he'll get his comeuppance sooner or later.
He's young, and if he goes into professional tennis, there'll be plenty of
setbacks, which are good opportunities to learn. At least, I'm sure Ryouma
would think of it that way.
(Back to watching. Ep 75 now.) See, Ryouma can so beat the Tezuka-zone. Please. His dad does the same thing, after all. Then again, I admit being hugely amused that Ryouma lost the match-point to the zeroshiki after all.
Also, it strikes me that Ryoma has a particular talent in forcing his opponents to fault. Inoue is dim. Really, each time he comes up with a conclusion for their tennis moves, he's already been pre-empted by the team. (Still watching) Go, Ryouma! You know, you could just hand Tezuka his "pillar of Seigaku" nonsense back. I personally feel very uncomfortable with that business. It's creepy.
20 September 2004
Ravenwood's Shinpai, her newest story in the new TezuRyo arc, not
only has no plot, but makes me slightly uneasy. All the things that she
said about Tezuka... can apply to Nanjirou, and damn, that's just not right.
There's crack aplenty in the PoT fandom, but to have Tezuka sounding like a
stern, loving father is just all sorts of wrong. I would be inspired to
write my own fic, except, well, no inspiration.
Gravitation. I have a secret (now not-so-secret) soft spot for Gravitation. Maybe because it's the only shonen-ai/yaoi manga I really like? I mean, I don't like Bronze, or Kizuna. Or Fake. Well, there was CLAMP, but I don't follow any of their new works now. I'm starting to think that CLAMP is padding their work, or else they'll will take another ten years to finish a series, which is great when I've entered the fandom at tankouban 8 or 9 of a 12-book series, but not when they're starting a new series. Commercial success does make them write faster--quality is not always assured, though. Wish was pretty lame. So was Fruits Basket. (I'm so glad no rabid fangirls read this blog, by the way.)
Anyway! Back to Gravitation. It's one of dark secrets of my anime/manga collection, 'cos I can just imagine watching it when my family is around. "Why are there naked boys? Why is that boy kissing another boy?!! That's so unnatural!" No, thanks. I've sort of grown past the age where I start challenging other people's prejudices. So as long they don't interfere with me, they can be as prejudiced as they like. I'm getting lazy in my old age. I shan't divulge that I bought PoT anime just to enjoy the titillation of see tennis shirts fly up during matches, either. And speaking of PoT, my god, in the newest installment--Genius 239--Davide (I think it was Davide) totally pulled the shorts off Inui! I nearly swallowed my tongue when I saw it. And there was Inui, falling to the ground, (scene from the back) naked as the day he was born (except for those glasses). Hm. Nice buns. That nice, lean body: really well-developed for a 15-year-old. Konomi is totally playing with his fans' minds.
Just to clarify: they were playing beach volleyball with Rokkaku.
Waitaminute. Gravitation. Right. Hiro is wow, hot. Shuichi and Ryuichi are funny. Yuki doesn't seem that much of bastard to me--mean rather than evil--but then it's widely known that I have a fairly elastic view of bastardiness when it is portrayed in anime. Tohma reminds me of Quatre. He's erm, evil. But not in a bad way.
Oh yeah, was going to quote a part of Gravitation which pretty much reveals why I love it so much:
(Shuichi screamed:) My Yuki is not a some sideshow oddity!
A beat later...
(Shuichi mutters:) What if it's something terrible? What if he was experimented on as a child? Evil scientists and dark government forces could have drafted, abused and brainwashed him. They denied him of his civil rights, broke down his mental fortresses, turning him into a hunky byronic hero. It's so saaaaad!
Yup, it's the insanity.
17 September 2004
Ravenwood has a new arc. TezuRyo, first story being Sanao.
It'd be interesting to see another fic with Tezuka, especially with a partner
who is bound to test his limits. Which I look forward to, because Tezuka
is too much a block of wood for my taste. I feel annoyed and threatened by
him--so, maybe it's true antipathy, or I'm overly protective of Ryouma n' anyone
else.
Having multiple problems with the fics I'm writing. Stuck, stuck, stuck. Makes me want to give up, 'cos if I can't do justice to the way I want the story to go, there's really no point about continuing a mediocre piece, or a meaningless one. I don't think it's because I'm a perfectionist--because anyone who knows me knows that I'm not--but because I'm sentimental about my writing skills. Not that I think I've got to be writing some prize-winning piece, but because I'd hate to er, find that I've sold my skills for less than my sincerity. And because I'd really like not to write something I'd be ashamed of. I certainly don't think I'm such a fantastic writer that any crap storyline I have will automatically get better through my pen/keyboard. (P.G. Wodehouse was right.) Besides, a great writing style without a story is like a pretty helium balloon: it floats, but the rise usually goes out of it after a while.
15 September 2004
Night Blooming Heartsease by Julad, whose ending made me tear up.
Never thought much of Snape/Neville before; this changed my mind. On
reflection I think only the way Julad's handling of it made it plausible.
I really liked the parts where Neville freezes at Snape at first, then gains
courage, where he allows himself to cry at failures, because he's the sort who
feels better after a good cry. And all the parts where he tells himself
that he had to go on, because the alternative was to 'roll over and die'.
Love the way that philosophy works for him. The fic's meant to be a
prequel to Resonant's fic, called (I think) Transfigurations. But
while that was an interesting distraction, Heartsease is just that much
better. Maybe because I can't imagine Harry going to America. In any
capacity. Or Draco as a Muggles Studies professor.
14 September
2004
On watching PoT anime: Rokkaku is absolutely the funniest school I've seen
in a while. Davide's jokes crack me up: I think it's the expression he has on
when he laughs at his own jokes, not to mention Kurabane's kicks at him.
Wrote a fic yesterday, called Three Accidental Meetings, three meetings between
Sanada and Ryouma, non-romantic, mainly because I can't figure up a way to make
it romantic. Maybe I've read too much Sanada/Yukimura fic, heh. This
reminds me of all the half-finished fic I've got.
Also, Rikkai's bright cherry red uniforms make me laugh. Man, Tezuka really annoys me. He's, like, a total block of wood. Even in the Hyotei matches, he was about as responsive as a dead cat. Why are are the people expecting him to win, anyway? was my main thought.
10 September 2004 |
Amused/chastened/offended
I read a rant on lj about the types of Japanese used in fanfics that are hated,
and I chimmed in with my hatred of "sempai" vs. "senpai." Soon after, I got a
comment from someone else, who said that both are equally valid because "seMpai"
is the older romanization...
My first reaction was 'really?!' while reminding myself that my Japanese knowledge is meagre and this person could be right. And probably I took it badly, but I felt this person was being patronising (but how do you convey that kind of information without being patronising? I think I was due to get offended either way. Heh.) Feeling slightly offended. Still, I'm not really convinced. My textbook was written in the 1960s and it was already using "seNpai." JLPT says it's "seNpai." I doubt if the fangirl writers learnt Japanese even earlier than that, always supposing what this person said is true, and Always supposing said fangirl writers wouldn't have 'updated' to the romanization used commonly these days...
"I'm right, dammit!" (saying out loud to computer, while crossing arms)
Two seconds after I did that, I burst out laughing at how ridiculous I was acting. But I'm still sort of miffed--I hate being wrong--so here's my reply, to be posted as soon as lj stops getting wonky:
Oh? That must be why my friend kept correcting me when I called her “Nihom-go no semsei,” then.
Catty enough? Sarcastic? Or just stupid?
9 September 2004
Keep wanting to write AtobeRyouma and failing. SanadaRyouma too. Well, for
different reasons. AtobeRyouma because I love Atobe too much and can't write him
properly; SanadaRyouma because all I've got is: "He seemed fated to have Ryouma
faint on him whenever the two of them met." Which is moderately awful, so I
guess it'll have to be axed. The ficcy thing, that is.
With lj being wonky, I have:
A report on: “The Only Moral Abortion is My Abortion.” Which doesn't belong here, but I'm too lazy to switch to the other blog.
Familiarity Syndrome, MomoRyo, PoT, by Aki. And:
Conflicts of Interest, chapter 9, SV, by Pru.
Also http://www.livejournal.com/community/article_xxix/28309.html for a Heyer article. Good Heyer slash. So hard to find.
Another comment on hating Ryouma 'cos he's winning: reminds me of that lj rant about teaching people to write OCs by listing a flaw or two so they ain't Mary Sues. Ahahaha. How ridiculous that sounds. How would you write an obnoxious character, if so, then? Someone like, Nanjirou, or Atobe, or god forbid, Ryouma (though he's annoying rather than obnoxious)? I think people who dislike Ryouma on this basis (if there're other reasons than the lame-old 'he always wins', I'd like to hear them) are making the same mistake as people who give their OCs a flaw so they aren't Mary Sues. It just doesn't work that way.
6 September 2004
Aishuu and Jennifer D's chapter 9 of Starting Over, PoT,
surprisingly, has a new development. Atobe decides to play a game with
Ryouma to teach the new kid a lesson, and defeats him. Strangely, this is
giving me ideas of the AtobeRyouma variety. Ha. Read the comments.
I still hate people who hate Ryouma, simply because 'he wins all the time.'
Argh! What is this cultural fixation with portrayals people who are nice, humble, hardworking and ...er, nice? It's like the Hollywood-ish fascination for underdogs. Or maybe it's the Cinderella complex. Ya know, you may not be super at first, but with hard work and some hard knocks, you eventually get the prince.
From me: pfft. Sounds like one of Tom Cruise's early movies: cocky upstart learns his lesson, becomes wiser and nicer. Bah. Once in a while, I do enjoy watching a stubborn, arrogant but genuinely talented gaki beat the regulars, you know. Beat them from their complacency. The real world's full of these examples, and I admit in real life, I find them annoying. When Serena Williams won her first title years ago, my god, I was so annoyed at her. Because she kept winning after that. But I didn't 'hate' her. If she won, by talent or hard work or both, well, all the better for her. Opinions like that just make me think about Tezuka, because doesn't he win all the time, too, except for the match with Atobe? (If someone is going to say that's because he looks earnest and serious and has hot!boylove with Fuji and has clearly worked very hard, bullshit. He looks like a block of wood. I think the 'pillar of Seigaku' thing has unhinged his head, if it wasn't already.) Besides, 1) Ryouma's always serious about tennis, 2) he is uncommunicative, just like Tezuka, and 3) he may or may not be having the hot!boylove himself. I like him. I adore Atobe.
Also? Sempai, sempai, sempai? What, is this a holdover from Pete Sampras? My god, people, if you want to use Japanese in an English story (and I admit that it's a little difficult to think of a good substitute for 'senpai') please spell it right. The next time I see 'sempai' in a fanfiction, I'm going to flame the author.
*****
Maldoror's Flayed Horses, a little incoherent, but man, the woman has written one of the best descriptions of Guernica I've ever read. Then again, I've only ever read all those arty art historians/theorists/critics' descriptions, which are technically correct, but lack the emotional punch. Hers is terrific, though. I realized what painting it was halfway through her description, though the title Flayed Horses helped. I remember the first time I saw it--not even the actual one, some art students in one of my schools actually repainted it, mural-style, on the wall just outside our regular classroom. Was one of most unnerving paintings I've ever come across, just gave you the shivers; didn't understand how they could have it on a mural outside a classroom, where anyone could walk by, for fuck's sake. It's one of the reasons why I realized Picasso was a true genius and not just some painter who painted funny looking pictures. I don't blame Heero one bit.
From The Price of Fame, by X-Parrot (Gravitation):
"Shuichi," he said, and it wasn't his light tenor or Kumagoro's squeak but lower, richer. His singing voice. "It'll change you, you can't do anything about that." He placed one hand on Shuichi's chest, not for balance, but lightly, fingers splayed over his heart. "But what it changes you to--that you can choose."
I love this line.
2 September 2004
Posted a fic I wrote on Tuesday, still tired from it. Phew, how do people
keep writing these?
1 September 2004
Whoosh. Listen to the vacuum in fandom caused by the hoards of school and
college-going people doing their going-back-to-school thing. No doubt after the
first couple of weeks they’ll be back, posting fics written in-between classes
(or in class) and bitching about homework, exams and that pesky social life.
******
Much like the people who sneer gently when I say I like Pizza Hut (“you should go to thisfancyItalianplace, they have much better pizza”) or that I buy clothes at the discount store (“made-in-chinastuff n’ you should go to thisotherfancyplace”), people who pontificate about fanfiction make me laugh. I do it myself, so I know how ridiculous the whole thing sounds. I’m reminded of this, reading the squeeing reviews of the various pieces of fic on lj. The charge of sour grapes certainly exists, and applies, though sometimes I’d like to take a step back and ask myself if I’m actually going to be proud of a piece of writing that has garnered nothing but an incoherent mess of smileys, symbols, netspeak, leetspeak, and exclamation marks. The more likely possibility is that while trying to feel flattered, I’d also be conscious of a growing sense of horror, akin to the feeling that a ‘kick me’ sign had been mysteriously affixed to my back, or perhaps finding that there’s a trail of toilet paper sticking from my knickers—and that it’s been there all day. I'm as picky about the kind of reviews I receive, as about the kind of fic I write.
This comes off reading accounts of people trying to categorise various types of fanfiction, fanfic writers, types of smut, ratings, pairings, AUs, and even crossovers, and drawing conclusions about the canon and the fandom. And I'll be there thinking, wait, wait, what about ____? Which is rather not to the point, as I can't remember what ____ is either, I'm only conscious that there's a lack. It's not that I'm against such attempts, it's that the people writing such 'analysis' don't seem conscious that their conclusions are based on a very limited pool of evidence. Fandom is a very large place, and it's still one of the smaller bodies of activity on the 'net. Perspective is a much required looking glass
26 August 2004
Was re-reading tankouban 23 of PoT today, and it occurs to me just how insane the
Rikkai team is. Not good-insane, in fact: the psycho type. Weird as
it is, the Hyotei team seems much more likable, because they're madness like
teenage madness of the Japanese sort. Rikkai... on the other hand, seems
like the bastard offspring of a rabid dog and an Olympics gymnastics team.
Capable of great feats, admirable in their god-like achievements, sexy, full of
charisma, but sheeze, I wouldn't like to get close to them at all.
25 August 2004
So this wish-fulfillment thing doesn't work on RL issues, does it? Only the
fic world. AJ Hall's
The Perilous Plan, featuring the wedding, the not-marrying couple,
Relatives You Want to Kill, Harry and Ron making fools out of themselves, a
couple of surprisingly steady Muggles, a Ginny I don't dislike, all adding up to
a lovely morning better spent on work, but wasn't. (It was raining, anyway.)
And chapters 38 and 39 of The Arrangement, where they begin to act rationally again. Rationally for them, that is. A near-perfect resolution to their dilemmas, and Maldoror's writing here has finally stopped my near-instinctive reaction of 'Heero and Wufei? A couple?', so cheers to her.
Ravenwood's Puzzle, wherein Ryouma gets a clue, acts on it, and all comes to a satisfactory conclusion. Not fluffy sweet, but nicer than that.
24 August 2004
Slow fic week. I rationalize by saying that lots of fic writers are
college/high school age kids who are going back to school, but that doesn't make
me happy, damn it.
***
Remember when I said the GW world should give up on mpreg, and adopt instead? Well, seems like adoption isn't that good an idea either, especially not with the pilots going all pink-tissue-paper-wuffy about ooh-how-cute their kids-to-be are. I want my pilots back, please. Evil pit of stereotypical female hormones, please give them up. Before I get out the whips.
Didn't AJ Hall say the wedding fic will be up? Where?!
20 August 2004
Double surprise! Distich has the last chapter of Unwilling Sleep, and
Maldoror has Chapter 37 of The Arrangement. Liked the former, happily
ever stories are hard to do, and this introduces an interesting twist of
continuity. The latter… I read Chapter 36 yesterday and thought to myself: Can
she do this? Is she allowed to do this? Do all that to Wufei? Apparently, yes,
she is. Had the same reaction today. Part of me was chewing my nails in
trepidation, while part of me was cackling away at the sight of Wufei, acting
like an absolute female, all that screaming, recrimination, jealousy,
bitterness… before running out like a lunatic.
19 August 2004
From lj community fanficquotes:
Can you fetch me something?"
"Anything, love."
"Something solid to bang my head against. A wall will do."
Spike/Xander
lasuli kat
Repossession Part 53
at the bottom
****************
"See. I can even do it with my left hand."
"Lex, you're left-handed."
- An Innocent Man by Athena and Uris
*****************
"Oh yeah?" his father countered. "What you goan try'
now, keiki?"
"Just this!" Kunou trumpeted. "Boot-to-the-head!"
With that, the glorious Kunou Tatewaki did apply his
boot to the diabolical head of his malignant cur of a
father. Well did he apply it, with great force
mustered behind the mighty boot. And lo! The
hellspawed headmaster was indeed caught completely by
surprise, not suspecting to be faced with such a
subtle and wily strategy from his foe. His loathsome
body did hurtle through the sky, until his recently-
booted head truly collided with the stout walls of
that noble institution of learning, Furinkan High.
And so it was that his head did become buried in the
concrete, and lost unto him was his consciousness.
--Relentless. By Grayson Towler
*****************
"Just so we don't have any unfortunate accidents, like with the Splugorthians,
you ARE Tenchi Masaki, correct?"
"YES... ahem, yes... that's me. I'm Tenchi. And what are Splugorthians?"
"Extinct."
-Bishonen Muyo OAV#1
18 August 2004
More extended arguments about Nanjirou's character, the evilness of. I
can't believe this has gone on for two whole days. And jeeze, where does
Ravenwood get off, accusing me of specious logic chopping? (Didn't she
totally steal that phrase from Bujold, too?) It was a
misunderstanding! My logic is perfectly sound. It's hers that... wait,
she's logical too. Ah, well, I guess that's that, unless she replies to my
comment. I've got enough of all this wrangling, however. I'm perfectly
willing to be entertained by another point of view, but I don't have the
attention span to sustain a character analysis. Besides, Nanjirou is Not
That Bad, damnit!
Seems like the second line of all my arguments is "It could be worse" which is a pretty weak argument. Heh. Cordelia's parenting style? Worthy of emulation, but I'll never forget that much of her attitude is shaped by her feelings towards Barrayar, and the attack on them. Besides, she guessed wrong on the 'little general'. Yes, I'm snippy that way. My opinions about Tezuka have already been expressed.
Thinking over the opinions expressed over the last two days, it struck me how... consistent certain bodies of opinion about PoT is, while some other fans that I've encountered in other places really don't seem to have such fervency to their views. I wonder if it's a cultural thing, but then I don't know the cultural background of the first group (or the second group, or the third group...) so I can't judge for sure. The opinion that Nanjirou is awful is pretty widespread, but I've also read people who see him as basically harmless background comedy. There're also slews of people who hate Ryouma, and that's another view I firmly disagree with. Ah well, it makes fannon and canon discussions interesting, anyway. Me: I adore Hyotei. I adore Atobe. (Ahem. Just had to say that.)
Also learnt that ending to The Arrangement is on its way. Yay!
17 August 2004
Newest chapter of The Arrangement, and of course the two idiots still
have not succeeded in talking to each other. Really, I despair of them at
times. Come on, Heero and Wufei, you're mighty Preventers agents, could
you not be such wusses at this talking stint? Maldoror doesn't give them
an easy resolution though, and I grin secretly while I read how she does it.
It'll be interesting to see how she draws this out, it's certainly not going to
be easy to fit it in while staying in character and not dragging it out.
And continuing a topic I just ranted about yesterday...
Ravenwood's new story, Ripple, about Ryouma's moments of retrospection, gives an interesting look into the boy's mind. Some devil prompted me to object to her portrayal of Nanjirou. On re-reading the fic, later, I realized she had already stated that her mind would not be changed on this point. Anyway, Nanjirou (or Nanjiroh). It puzzles me slightly why so many people think he's a lousy parent. Ravenwood gives her reason as Nanjiroh teaching Ryouma tennis by taunting him, pushing him in all the wrong ways, and sets himself up an an opponent rather than a parent, leading to Ryouma not having a proper father figure.
She's right. Yet I still do not see why this is grounds for dislike of Nanjirou. I mean, the main dislike comes from the conclusion that Nanjirou's a bad parent, but is he really that bad? I can think of worse parenting, and I'm not even referring to abusive/ neglectful parents. I keep think of Ryouma as an independent kid, never mind that he's only twelve, and Nanjirou as the one responsible for turning him out like that. Which to me is for the good, considering the crazies you get in tennis. So Nanjirou isn't the nurturing, (openly) supportive, protective parent, but I get the impression he does care about his kid other than as a future opponent, and Ryouma in turn knows it. Nanjirou in my book: a jerk, but Not A Bad Parent.
(I actually think that Tezuka is more predatory in that he does think of Ryouma of a very viable rival. He's not that altruistic, to my thinking. And that pillar of Seigaku bullshit, what's that? It's quite clear from the manga that Tezuka was passing on a responsibility appointed to him by Yamato, and to me it seems like he's trying to force the same responsibility on Ryouma whether he wants it or not. Hm... there's a fic in this.)
Later: mischief managed!
16 August 2004 |
Parts crossposted to lj
Thoughts: Really, I don’t know what some people have against Ryouma, and why
they’re so hostile to the fact that he’s the hero of the series. And that he
beats his opponents. I like Ryouma.
I think Tezuka is a bore. I also like Atobe. Hyotei is a soap-opera. I think
Kirihara is nuts. Sanada is insane. I mean, his buchou is in hospital, and all
he can say is, “We’ll win the nationals for ya.” Pfft.
There’s something wrong with a fifteen-year-old who obsesses in this fashion. But no, all I see are writers saying how much they adore Sanada or Kirihara or Yukimura or Tezuka or Fuji and think that Ryouma is not worth the time and wish that he would drop off a cliff, etc. I’m exaggerating, of course, but I’m starting to think that the really good writers are the ones who like Ryouma. Because it’s rather difficult to understand the world of PoT unless you can conceive of Konomi’s world where Ryouma exists, and is the main protagonist. (Unless it’s a wildly OOC fic, but then we’re on other grounds there.)
And just what is so bad about Nanjiroh? I admit he’s pretty awful as a person, but the way I’ve read characterizations of him, it’s as if he wins the national award for bad parenting annually. I think lots of people just figure: he reads girlie magazines, he must be a jerk and therefore is bad for Ryouma. It doesn’t correlate. Jerk he may be, but I really don’t think that he’s a bad parent. He’s clearly done a good job of nurturing his son’s talent, challenging him while letting him grow of his own accord, and he spends time playing tennis with his son every day. How many parents do that? It seems like lots of people don’t have much experience with how many different types of parents and parenting (not to mention family) there are in the world. It’s as if the Nanjiroh bashers have a nice little picture of a post-war nuclear family (and let me say, these ain’t in fashion in Japan anymore) of two parents, working dad, stay-home mum, and 2.1 children, and Ryouma’s family doesn’t fit it. Well, no. Konomi at least is experimenting (a tad gingerly) with different family structures, and the Echizen family isn’t the only seemingly aberrant one in PoT either. Doesn’t mean the parents aren’t providing the right kind of support for their kids. It would be good if the fans of the series see this too.
Just to take the other end of the scale, Akutsu’s family, which consists of his mother and him. I wonder if all the angst and bad writing about Akutsu isn’t simply ignorance about one-parent families in general, and in Japan in particular. It’s true that Akutsu is a problem student, and to attribute it to his family may be valid (well, statistics bear this out) but it seems so one-dimensional after Konomi has gone to all the trouble of showing the intensity of the tennis match between him and Ryouma. And the out-take in the manga has an interesting scene of Akutsu being embarrassed by his mother, like all children are. He’s a crazy boy, but not crazy-stupid. Also don’t forget that Akutsu has an extended family in the form of Kawamura’s family. These are pretty well-sheltered kids; I feel weird when I read fics that portray them (including Ryouma) as modern Dickens-styled abused wards.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/risquedreams/74923.html#cutid1 Cat and Mouse Games, Jennifer D
13 August 2004 |
crossposted to lj
See Maya’s
fascinating discussion of the female characters in Harry Potter. Lots of
things I agree with, especially her take on Petunia Dursley. I always thought
she was much too good for Vernon (and Dudley).
Also (because I was bored—shame on me for skipping work again! But it’s Friday.) looked though the lj discussion at fanfic_hate about the anime fanfiction people hate, and laughed. Okay, I admit to a little indignation here and there when my favourite writers were criticized, but I was also nodding my head like crazy when the stories I absolutely hated were mentioned. Schadenfreude is so good for the soul. Also amazed at the amount of squealing. Also, posters raised good points to consider: bad writing despite good plot, etc., drippy angst despite good pacing, etc. Eh heh heh. And I kept thinking, wonder if they’ll mention her? Or her? Or her? They did! They did! Nyah nyah nyah. And I cackle in private. So mature of me. This is probably why I don’t critique fics on lj, I do it here. Hee hee, I remain cowardly as always.
Besides, occasionally I like bad fics. Not the ones with the bad writing. But with melodramatic exposition and angst that, if bottled, could fuel the world till the next ice-age, and diva-ish (sorry, Atobe) characterizations and OOCs, and lack of plot (though coherency is required). What can I say, I’m easily entertained.
And to all those boring people who ‘just wanna get along’ (and should not be at fanfic_hate, then) who say, “If you don’t like it, don’t read it”: this doesn’t solve the problem of what to do about people who have read it, and didn’t like it (as AJ Hall said). Though I’d say that to the idiots who ‘hate anonymous posters’. Get over yourself. If someone wanted to post anonymously, it’s his/her right, and who cares?
And then there’s the “ooh don’t say anything so hurtful you’d hurt the poor writers” posters. Argh. Writers need to develop a thick skin anyway, it’s in the job description. They also need to develop a sense of humour. Also improve their writing skills so 1) they don’t get trashed (at least not for reasons like ‘bad writing’) and 2) they can bash right back.
Also, I’ve learnt that Jean D. is actually male. Is this true?
11 August 2004: SAI
RETURNS fic
So prevalent, there should be a separate section for them. I don't really
like them. Terribly OOC, I feel, 'cos the point of the story is that Sai does
leave, and Hikaru learns to deal with it, and becomes stronger for it. For that
matter, I'd wonder how Hikaru would manage if Sai hadn't left, while Hikaru is
unable to leave Sai behind, at least for a while. And it's nice that Sai's Go is
inside Hikaru's Go, and this all-important game connects them--much better than
cheesy romance. To my way of thinking, anyway.
Still, there've been enterprising people out there who are better at dealing
with the probable OOC that results from writing Sai Returns fanfiction than me,
and they can be quite interesting set-ups too. I read them when I don't
have anything else to do.
(I do wonder why there’s such a sticky theological problem with a ghost popping
in and out of the human realm. Some writers go on and on about heaven and the
heavenly realm, which, frankly, is a bore. What the hell, just stick the
purple-haired ghost in it and get on with the story!)
10 August 2004
Ravenwood's. Circle. Relay. Both very good. I admit
to the MomoRyo weakness, of course, but the way she has of writing about playing
tennis is simply out of a dream. If only playing tennis is really like
that... or maybe you have to have the purported talents of Tezuka or Yukimura
for it. Heh.
On an unrelated note, I looked up Kristin O's Spirited Away site again, and she has two new stories, yay! Such great writing... I wonder why there aren't more writing of this quality. Wait, I do know. Talent is hard to come by, especially talent that manifests in avenues I love. Like Spirited Away fanfiction. Matsuri, her multipart one, is a work in progress, while Shirahime is finished. I admit to a partiality for the former, but then of most fanfiction couples, the only ones I really like reading about (the het ones) are her Chihiro and Haku, and Kenshin and Kaoru (and of this, not always).
8 August 2004
And Pru has more Bruno and Boots. Indedible,
wah, I'm envious of her writing again.
7 August 2004
Came across this section in a book I was reading:
By the yew trees a figure stood, waving proudly. It was Sandy, dressed as a glittering angel, frosty white wings, a dazzling magenta and cerise gossamer robe, a purple handbag and a circlet of electric lights rotating round his artificial curls while some electronic trinket played Ave Marie. The ultimate prat. (Jonathan Gash, Every Last Cent)
Doesn't it remind you of Mary Sue authors who like to describe their characters with similar-sounding language?
6 August 2004--Re:
Rant
It occurs to me that I have no idea if I'm making a genre-based objection, or a
character-based one. Sure, I rant about the OOC, but the fact is we don't see
much of the characters outside of Go-related activities. Then again, I've
classified HnG as one of those bildensroman-type, quest-related series, c/o
Hikaru's growing devotion to Go and his growing up to be a Go pro, which is
complimented by a rivalry and a friendship, and which fits both into
bildensroman and quests, so all seems completed. I could be overthinking all of
this.
The Arrangement, slight... okay, moderate shocker twist. Who would've have guessed that it was her?! I thought it was funny that she didn't show any resentment, but I never suspected it was her. And it was drugs. I must have the next installment.
5 August 2004
I was going to rant for precisely 10 minutes because of the deluge of badfic
I’ve been reading, HnG. Never mind why I was doing that; I needed a distraction,
and some inspiration for the HnG fic I’m doing, since I figure that I have a long
weekend coming up and might as well make use of it productively—well, fanfic-productively,
in any case. GOD, I hate cheesy yaoi fanfic, I really, really do. I did a rant
about it the last time, but I thought that was just my great great infatuation
with HnG, having just finished reading it, but no, it’s just as bad after my
infatuation faded (somewhat) and I’m revelling in happy memories. Or possibly
this stage makes tolerance worst; I can’t tell. Still, PoT didn’t affect me so
much—the canon rape, I mean—though I must admit I haven’t come across a truly
bad one yet. But for HnG… yugg. Enough already with descriptions of sex and how
physically attractive Hikaru suddenly finds Akira, or the other way round, and
the wild monkey sex and making out sessions they have. Yugg, yugg, yugg (they
don’t warrant a real ‘Yuck’). I don’t care how hot or sexy it is, I don’t wanna
read it! Porn is boring, okay! Relationship problems are dead boring compared to the Go world. I
suspect that for me, it’s because Go pros are already in the adult world (even
if they turn pro young), and as such they participate in the adult world, in
society, especially in Japan, especially in a society that values hard work and
professionalism, and is still rather regimented in its social relations. So I
judge HnG fic by a higher standard, while I’ll give leeway for PoT, because, I
reason, they’re seen mainly as junior high school students, however mature they
are, and high school people are not responsible for the OOCness that occurs,
since this occurs in real life. Furthermore—and I want to over-emphasize
this—they are professionals. Go professionals who chose this way of life
because, well, they love Go. They’re not businessmen or high school kids who
think that Go is a nice/useful/social game; they literally live for Go. I find
it irrational to think that as people who have made up their minds to devote
their lives to a game, they would let this obsession change so quickly, i.e.,
changing to obsession with rivals and thinking about sex and whatsoever stuff
that has nothing to do with Go. Just doesn’t fit the logic—it’s my obstinacy
talking, but there you are.
(and this rant has taken more than 10 minutes)
And this was followed by 10 Minutes, which also took more than 10 minutes.
2 August 2004
Maya's Draco Malfoy, Ruler of the Universe. One of the most hilarious
things I've read in a long, long time. It's so lightly written, trips
along so smoothly, that you find yourself laughing and wishing everyone else
could read and enjoy it too. Great POV of Draco, together with:
"I'M AT ONE WITH THE UNIVERSE, YOU FUCKER" (Harry)
“Do any of you have a magic mystery super weapon of doom?” (Draco)
“I cannot defeat evil if I am not sheltered from the cold winds of poverty and privation!” (Draco, again)
"I think Harry’s quite fond of you, really. Like you’re a pet – hmm, a twitchy little ferret.” (Hermione)
And
“Now,” he announced with immense satisfaction, “I shall lead you all in a rendition of my theme song.” (Draco, who else?)
Maya is at her best with fics like these.