yaoi musings

[resonant]

I've been looking at yaoi scans. I never saw so many neckties in my life. I think I can safely say that there's very little American pretty-boy art that features neckties. If I develop a fetish for neckties, I'm blaming Japan.

Yaoi has been rather a revelation to me. I used to think I wasn't much turned on by visuals. Evidently I'd been looking at the wrong visuals.

And did I ever claim that I needed my smut to have a narrative? I've spent the last three days obsessively downloading pictures of characters I've never heard of speaking a language I don't read, so I guess I was wrong about that narrative stuff.

I'm now consumed with a desire to see Ray Kowalski drawn manga-style. I think that style of art would be perfect to capture the sidelong grin and the badassedness. I'm picturing it now: Fraser's tipped-back head half obscured by Ray's tattooed shoulder. Sheets clutched in the hand with the bracelet on it. Little wedge-shaped panel of the Stetson hitting the floor.

Fraser's a big guy, so I wonder why I'm convinced that he'd be the one who ended up with the big round eyes.

Comments

[rusty76.livejournal.com]

I think my brain just broke.

I'd love to see that image...

You probably have no idea who I am, but....

[squidlet.livejournal.com]

Pardon my enthusiasm.

YES! A CONVERT! YATTA!!!

Okay, I'm fine now. Yes, you need to look at visuals. There are very good pictures out there. Very sexy. You're not alone in the langauge barrier, though. It takes a bit of time before you get used to surfing Japanese fansites without understanding a single word.

And I think I've seen that picture you've described. It's quite a favourite amongst Jap fanartists. This (http://www.nct9.ne.jp/promi/trigun/rough/tr-5.htm) is from the first site I linked on my favourites list. I can find one that's closer to the one you've described if you want, but it'll take some time. I have 36 sites already for one series and I'm not even seriously started yet.

I suspect your desire to see Fraser with big eyes stems from the need to see him bottom. It's one of the many unspoken rules that the guy with rounder eyes bottoms(ukes) They are generally more innocent and pure and so on, in yaoiland.

Yaoi is very long and very convoluted and there's not enough place for me to tell you how immensely thrilled I am to find out that you're interested in yaoi.

By the way, have you seen what they've done to LOTR and Harry Potter? I could help you find pictures, if you want.

Squid

Re: You probably have no idea who I am, but....

[doll-revolution.livejournal.com]

mmmmm, trigun! so yummy.

so res, if you're ever in minneapolis, i have LOADS of anime we could watch.

trigun, fushigi yugi, ceres, GTO, coboy bebop, gundam wing, neon genesis, escaflowne, utena, kenshin, scorceror hunter, outlaw star, weiss kruz. . .you name it, i'll get it for you. ^__^

doll

Re: You probably have no idea who I am, but....

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Hm. Minneapolis really isn't all that far away ... [imagines saying to the spouse: "You take a couple of days off to look after the kidlet. I'm going to Minnesota to watch cartoons with someone I met on the internet."]

Wait. There's anime called GTO?! Manga Kowalski. I'm telling you. It's fate.

(How do you pronounce "anime," anyway? ah-NEEM? AH-nee-may? For that matter, how do you pronounce "yaoi"? YOW-ee?)

Re: You probably have no idea who I am, but....

[doll-revolution.livejournal.com]

Wait. There's anime called GTO?
:::laughing::: yeah. it stands for Great Teacher Os. . . something. and ex-biker guy who wants to be the best high school teacher ever!

you know, come to think of it, he does look a little like ray. (no kidding. i'll try to find you a pic)

and it's AH-nih-may and YOW-ee.

go here. read. (do you know about gundam wing?) GWA! (http://www.gwaddiction.com/)

Re: You probably have no idea who I am, but....

[fish-ness.livejournal.com]

hey, i just happened to stumble onto this, and (you don't know how I am either, btw) but it's Great Teacher Onizuka......was bored so there ya go. ::wink::

not to change the subject --

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

-- and not to be at all critical, because i may just have missed a memo; this is the sociolinguist clawing her way to the surface, here.

It's quite a favourite amongst Jap fanartists.

anyone else flinch at that? or have the standards changed again when i wasn't looking? is it one of those things where self-reference by a (formerly) offensive label is acceptable, but use of that label by someone outside the group is not (in other words, is squid herself japanese and entitled)?

just wondering --

Re: not to change the subject --

[squidlet.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, was that term offensive? I didn't mean to insult anyone, especially the Japanese. I wasn't aware that cutting it short was considered rude, since it's pretty much common practice to do it here, and not just for Japan. Socio-geographical context?

If I have inadvertently hurt anyone's feelings, I apologise in advance.

And no, I'm not Japanese. I'm Singaporean mostly-Chinese. This is Singapore (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/sn.html). We used to be a British colony long ago. The only thing Japan did to us was defeat the British and take control for a few years, during WWII. Shortly after we attained independence. I'm so sorry for that horrible vague pointless history lesson which you might know already.

I included it just in case you wanted to know.

Re: not to change the subject --

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

Socio-geographical context?

very likely. (see below, sakana's comment and my response.) now that i think about it, it's probably japanese(-)americans (as contrasted with people living in japan) who are most liable to react badly to the term, and probably more if it's used by other americans (or even other non-asian(-)americans) than otherwise. in addition to which, as sakana noted, younger folks may not react at all. v. interesting. [busily makes notes] apologies for putting you on the spot, squidlet. thanks for not freaking out. :-)

and apologies for bringing up sociology and sociolinguistic issues in your journal, res. :-) you know i can't help it when my brain gets like that.

Re: not to change the subject --

[(Anonymous)]

i must say, to reitterate what the auther of this little post said, yaoi pics can be be very appealing, to a number of degrees, but only if they are the original(i just find it wrong to see vash and nick kissing, or goku and vegeta, or many other normally straight men turned yoai by fans). dont get me wrong, i have defintely nothin against gay couples, im bi, and i am good freinds with people who are gay and bi as well. but i screamed the first time i saw vegeta and goku french(and trust me, so would you if you saw the pic and enjoyed the show!)but wow, read fake vol 2 -on, and wow does it get steamy*turned this lil girl on*lol, anyways that be my opinion..
*cassy*

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

A guide! Hooray!

have you seen what they've done to LOTR and Harry Potter?

That's more or less how I got there. I usually hate fanart, so I was amazed to find how much I liked HP fanart -- the anime influence makes a huge difference. I've seen some beautiful stuff. But I always welcome links. (The one you linked does look a bit like Ray.)

You're not alone in the language barrier, though.

I wish someone would put up a site of "Japanese for yaoi readers." Just, say, fifty of the most common symbols (probably "ah" and "unh" and "yes" and "please" and "no" ...) plus the symbols that are the names of some of the major characters.

It's one of the many unspoken rules that the guy with rounder eyes bottoms(ukes) They are generally more innocent and pure and so on, in yaoiland.

Yeah, I'd gotten that. Actually I'm discovering that I like my yaoi to be ... well, slash, basically. I'm partial to reversible pairings and to pairings where both the guys are drawn to look like adults. (People call the dewiest of the big-eyed ukes "feminine," but to me they look like six-year-olds, which is a squick.)

Re:

[squidlet.livejournal.com]

I was amazed to find how much I liked HP fanart -- the anime influence makes a huge difference.

Yes, it does, doesn't it? Remus and Sirius look really good, and Snape is ... well let's just say his hair is *not* greasy in the fanart.

(The one you linked does look a bit like Ray.)

Say hello to Vash the Stampede. His brother's hair is closer, but I'm a one true pairing person and that one squicks me.

The anime's gutwrenching.

I wish someone would put up a site of "Japanese for yaoi readers

I've found that trying to memorise the symbols is as good as pointless. Half of the time they're using some homonym or other, and most of the NC-17 rated art are hidden in the website, which defeats the whole purpose.

Yeah, I'd gotten that. Actually I'm discovering that I like my yaoi to be ... well, slash, basically.

That would probably be your imprinting. If you had imprinted on ... say Sailor Moon, your tastes would be different. It matters, apparently.

And yes, I have the same squick as you do. But it doesn't apply in the reverse - When they're supposed to be 15 but they definitely look older than that. Squall from FFVIII, for example.

I don't think they *know* about the existence of DS in Japan. They sure don't know about it here. I really don't think there are DS fanartists in Japan.

But there are many, many, many yaoi cop anime/manga anyway. FAKE springs to mind first. It's not *too* hard to look for lookalikes, I think.

file under "um ... duh?"

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

Fraser's a big guy, so I wonder why I'm convinced that he'd be the one who ended up with the big round eyes.

-- because he's the one who does "that big-eyed Mountie thing," res. :-)

Re: file under "um ... duh?"

[axiom_of_stripe]

seconded. :)

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

I would sigh at having lost another fine writer to an odd fandom, but part of me is going, "Whee! At least it's not popslash!"

Besides which, reading the words "the one with the round eyes bottoms" wrong made me giggle. I was all, hell *yes* I'd like to eye Fraser's round bottom.

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Aww. [Cat-eyed beaming at Miriam]

I'm not going to write manga slash. I'm having enough cross-cultural trouble with Harry Potter, which is alleged to be in my native language. I'm just going to be over here downloading dirty pictures with semi-invisible penises for a while.

Which is not to say that I'm unwilling to eye anything at all belonging to Fraser ...

[miriam-heddy.livejournal.com]

Yeah--I get the cross-cultural weirdness. I mean, doing the Pros thing makes me feel less freaked about Potter. At least Potter fans are more forgiving (esp. since so many have read the books in the translated American-English versions).

As for Fraser and his bottom *g*... Beth showed me "Buffalo Jump," and ever since then, Fraser's body has reasserted itself as an object of fascination in my subconscious.

Ray's never left, of course.

And in the weird front, after sitting through two horrid episodes of that "Tracker" show, I am actually on the verge of going back and rereading all the half-way decent Turnbull slash. Because, when he isn't being Turnbull, he's actually sort of my type.

[laurakaye.livejournal.com]

hey, feel free to grab me if you want an enabler in Turnbull-land. Yummy, yummy, yummy.

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

Fraser's tipped-back head half obscured by Ray's tattooed shoulder. Sheets clutched in the hand with the bracelet on it. Little wedge-shaped panel of the Stetson hitting the floor.

Guh.

::hitting the floor::

Links, please? ::whimper::

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Links, please?

I'd have to link you to the inside of my brain. Which I'm fairly certain would crash your computer.

I've seen some manga-style art on LoTR and HP, but none on DS. And, alas, I can't draw at all.

Any mangakas out there who are DS fans and take requests? I'm willing to offer groveling, cheap American chocolate, or text-based smut.

[beledibabe.livejournal.com]

Oh, don't worry about downloading your brain, I've got my own anime-image-generator hooked up, and it's working overtime. ::g::

No, I really meant links to LotR and HP stuff. Anything you think is particularly squirm-worthy, y'know?

But I would love to read a F/K dS manga... ::dreamy sigh::

Manga Ray!

[devon.livejournal.com]

.
This has been languishing on my harddrive since January 2001:

http://devon.intranet.org/lj/SDRay.jpg

I have no idea where I found it, but a search on "Super Deformed Ray" might turn up the original source.

Manga recs.

[halimede.livejournal.com]

I second the Fushigi Yuugi rec (it's an epic fantasy sort of thing) and would like to add Kodomo no Omocha to the list: Very hyperactive, spunky girl as protagonist, very silly and very gut-wrenchingly well-plotted and executed at the same time. Sort of like a younger Buffy on speed without vampires.

[jack-pride.livejournal.com]

I don't think they *know* about the existence of DS in Japan.

I'm in Japan! I know of DS... of course I'm actually Canadian. ;) But still, don't I count? *g*

I'd have to say that there's no DS manga because my (Canadian in Japan) manga-obsessed friend would have used it to get me into manga otherwise. *g*

[(Anonymous)]

I don't think they *know* about the existence of DS in Japan.

We do. Just... not the yaoi artists, it seems. In Japan it's still in the middle of Season 2 (pity us!!), and even at that it airs only on national satellite TV, so no, not many people know about the show, and *no one* has seen the new Ray yet - unless they bought it on tape somewhere.

So I'd say the chances are pretty slim of any Japanese DS yaoi being out there. There are fans of the show though. Some very enthusiastic.

The only two places I know of with any kind of DS fanart are:

http://www5.big.or.jp/~miyano/
(According to her Japanese text, a bit slashy. A bit. I like her RayK...)

and

http://www1.odn.ne.jp/wakka_world/due_w/due_menu.html
(With even less yaoi element. And it's seoson 1 only. But her Japanese comments are hilarious!)

I'm not much of a help because I don't know a thing about yaoi. There are those who read both slash and yaoi, so you might ask one of them.

Oh, and Squidlet? I for one am not offended. At least in your context, and especially I guess since it's written, not spoken. "Jap" used to be used as derogatory but I don't think many people nowadays remember the feeling - younger generations anyway. It might still sound insensitive to some, so if you want to be really PC, uh - what was the new term, Jpn? Or is that maybe just the Olympics... (Sorry for mixing up threads!)

-sakana

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

Oh, and Squidlet? I for one am not offended. At least in your context, and especially I guess since it's written, not spoken. "Jap" used to be used as derogatory but I don't think many people nowadays remember the feeling - younger generations anyway.

then there's (at least part of) my answer. :-) thanks. [makes a note, but probably won't begin using the term herself]

oh, dear

[thermidor.livejournal.com]

what a marvelous thought - manga style Ray & Fraser!

I'm gonna have to try that - probably with little success. I've got a few of my sketching & cartooning books with me but there has to be a good intro to Japanese style cartooning...

::goes to look::

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Yay! Tell me if you put anything up, so I can link to it.

[dracostella.livejournal.com]

You probably don't remember me (random admirer of your writings, specifically, "The Familiar")

I would just like to say: Welcome to my world...

I think you should take up Doll's offer to go watch anime in MN. Then you can join the exponentially growing number of yaoi fans, and write in yaoi fandoms. I'm not very subtle in disguising my motives I realize... (and as a random aside, I have known Doll for three years, and she's mostly harmless... or so I'm told)

[resonant8.livejournal.com]

Only mostly harmless? Not an axe-murderer but a spork-poker, perhaps?

(Of course I remember you, but I didn't know you were among the ranks of the LJ'ed.)