[oh, Basara.... *facepalm*]

[reenka]

I wonder if I'm the only person that has these... things that drive her batty in stories, neither in a good way or a bad way, just a squirmy way. With me, the 'thing' is always going to be something embarrassing-- I just can't stand having embarrassing misunderstandings happen to main character-- and I can easily tolerate very high levels of angst. Actually, most misunderstandings drive me batty in stories (like, I start screaming at the book and jumping up and down and feeling like I'm going to squirm out of my skin), but romantic misunderstandings... oh my gahd.

I'm squirming like mad right now, reading the `Basara' manga, and there's this case of secretly switched loveletters-- a typical romance trope-- and it always drives me insane. It's worse than angst to me by far, because it's just one of those prickly misunderstandings where you don't know -where- it's going to go, and the suspense is pretty much killing me. And no matter -where- I come across it (the major other example that drove me nuts was in Draco Veritas), this plot-device drives me insane with feverish excitement and dread. I'm like, noooooo, not... not... the switched loveletters!! :(( :((

...Though I actually came across a switched-loveletters story recently where it didn't get to me at all, because the misunderstanding was really more like a seduction/manipulation type thing, with the outside manipulator (the kicker in switcheroo stories) wasn't really very powerful. In that case, a boy claimed this girl wrote a loveletter she didn't, which he actually wrote himself 'cause he liked her (....), and then this other girl claimed she wrote it (even though she didn't), but that really didn't matter. It's just so much worse, the idea of already knowing the person, for one thing, and having a relationship of some sort with them, and then supposedly saying something out of character yet plausible. Oh, the horror.

In this case it's just embarrassing (from Sarasa's pov, 'cause of the whole 'but she'd never say that'-- aaahhh, so humiliating), and that's really what gets to me-- the sheer embarrassment factor. Like, I live in horror of people saying I said things I didn't say when it really counts, and to the boy I was in love with?? That'd be a million trillion times worse.

Clearly, considering this is a drama about revolution and political intrigue and high adventure and life and death struggle, I have my priorities very much straight.

Comments

[cellia.livejournal.com]

Haha! I stopped reading Basara years ago! The art was not pretty enough to keep me, although manga has taught me that I am not so immune to the Bastard-complex as I thought I was (so I actually do like the dymanic, just not the lameness of the misunderstandings that keep it that way).

I also can't help but wonder about basic stuff like, how does she deal with her period? But I wonder that about all Fantasy females. How do they deal with their periods when off adventuring with no supplies and/or being captured? How?! The most burning question facing Fantasy today.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I'm so totally a slave to the Bastard-complex (ha! it has a name!! also, I guess this means JK Rowling has me pegged, or something), it's sad. The art kind of grew on me...? It could be worse! I keep squinting at it at thinking it's got its own quirky charm... at least, the linework is... different :))

There actually -was- a bit about menstruation a few volumes in, where she started bleeding after a battle and people were like, 'omg, are you hurt?!' and she was like, 'ha... ha... no ^^;;' and then she remembered how she hadn't had a period in months, ever since she started acting as Tatara, etc.

Really though, the Red King looks almost nice in comparison to say, the Blue King, his wacked-out brother. But the really sad(der) thing is, I am starting to dig the Blue King ever since he started to get a crush on Sarasa. I AM SO SAD :((

[cellia.livejournal.com]

The Bastard Complex is a name I made up myself, based on those brother-complex, lolita-complex etc terms that run through anime/manga. (What-I-see-as) the bastard complex is just as prevalent in shoujo, so I thought "why not give that sucker a name." I forget that not everyone has a front seat in my mind and knows all the terms I have invented. ^^;; I used to look down my nose at those pathetic girls that fell for such tripe (I remember nodding when some fan once wrote something like "shoujo seems to teach me that the stereotypical Japanese schoolgirl fantasy man is not prince charming, but the asshole-next-door," and I remember telling my room mate that, hello, it was NOT romantic for the "hero" of her Korean comic to be sweet to his love and an bastard to everyone else.)

Then, of course, came Hana Yori Dango and Doumyouji.

They actually talked about periods? Basara has gone up like 40000000x in my eyes respect-wise. The Blue King got a crush on Sasara? Wasn't he the crazy one that found out about the letters and such? Or am I confusing him w/ someone else? *actually curious* THERE SHALL BE NO SHAME IN FAN-SPACE!! If the character is cool enough, I am SO down with every character and their brother falling for them. IS SAD WITH YOU. :D

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I'm sort of shameless about liking bastards (ahahaha, asshole-next-door!! That's priceless, omg), but Doumyouji will always hold a v. special place in my heart <3<3<3<3<3 He's like... just right. Not too bastardy, not too sekritly-kind... oh man, now I'm listening to the `Stepping Out' song :)) But yeah, bastards, bastards everywhere... maybe Japanese men are either too restrained/nice so the girls are frustrated, or they're just... like that. I could dig that also ^^;;; Well, but we don't have the rougish Prince Charming with the million-dollar smile as a typical American either. That would scarier, somehow. Besides, nerd-boys & emo-boys are only hot in moderation :> :>

Basara is really good! Art aside, I mean, it's really a good story, with an actual likable female main character and all these twists and adventure and this er, hot bastard boy... heheh-- if you came to visit, I could just give you the first 13 volumes to read, heheh (I still can't believe I bought all those, honestly), though there are also scanlations. But yeah, the Blue King's the crazy one who found out about the letters, which is why I'm all woeful about liking him, 'cause he's not even a bastard, he's just a psycho. Reminds me of Dilandau, AHAHAHAH. Oh man, now I'll never get that image out of my head.

I'm pretty shameless about people falling for my favorite characters too, ehehe. It's like, how you know they have taste!! >:D :D :D Man, I'm so easily corrupted.