[rambling on about nothing as usual.]

[reenka]

You know, before I spent too long in fandom, I had squicks. Now I just have preferences and a whole lot of pet-peeves, where it's just that you'd have to work harder to please me if I've a peeve about it. Like, y'know, I remember in the good old days, where Kirk/Spock sex pretty much squicked me, even if I liked the idea of the pairing a lot; I couldn't get over my adolescent vision of them. I remember when Ron/Draco and Snape/Draco and even Harry/Hermione seemed Deeply Wrong... and now I just don't prefer them. I remember when H/D was the alpha and omega of my fannish universe and I had all these ideas about how it 'should' and 'shouldn't' be done (and okay, I still have those), but I've become quite lax about thumping my chest and hyperventilating, alas.

Anyway, I meant to talk about a specific comment in this Wincest squick post, but it also made me think a bit, 'cause yeah, the sheer prevalence of that reading of a show's canon bothers me a bit-- though that's my 'canon, bitches!' thing, not any anti-incest squick, exactly; actually, I don't think I've ever had a 'traditional' squick in the sense that it's based on my real-life beliefs (I mean, I tend to like characters in fiction I'd probably clobber in real life, for a start). Like, if it's well-written, anything challenging or transgressive can only make the story more interesting, as far as I'm concerned; for examples, look to the many instances of incest in classic literature and also some of the best genre lit of today (okay, mainly Song of Ice and Fire). I cannot imagine seriously reading something good and then stopping and going, 'but this is WRONG, HOW COULD THIS BE??! NOOOoooo'. If I really felt like that, I mean, I wouldn't have graduated from books for toddlers, because isn't there always something unpleasant and 'wrong' and unfair even in (good and/or classic) children's books?

    (Btw, this is where some of my friends woujd just say I'm not a critical enough reader, so I clearly suck. Hehe. Because yeah, while I was careful to say 'well-written' and 'good' stories, the truth is I also suspend a lot of judgment/personal issues/disbelief when reading stuff I just... like a lot for whatever reason. I wouldn't call it a 'kink'; like, I don't have a 'kink' for HP canon, y'know? Most of the time the only reason I'm critical is when I either really love something or really hate it, usually because of aesthetic/story-construction reasons. This mostly applies to stuff that's really bad. How do I explain it. It applies to purple-prosey fantasy books with ass-stupid names & the majority of post-OoTP fanfic I read, hahaha; it very rarely applies to content, in other words, and only to execution-- the big exception being OOCness in fic and stuff I find relentlessly bleak. Because I'm a huge romantic dork. But I try to keep that under control. :P So yeah, it's a personality issue, basically, and one I can't really do anything about, so nyah.)


In any case, I'm veeeery touchy about actually projecting slashiness on any canon... and in fact I can't think of any where I would do so with all honesty. There's liminal cases like Star Trek, The Sentinel and Gundam Wing, but I wouldn't go so far as to explain anything that happened with the characters through that lens. It's just subtext, take it or leave it.

Aaanyway. It's funny because I have the exact opposite reaction-- usually if something squicks me in text/theory, it squicks me less in a visual representation, because I'm more of an aesthete-- I always look at art as an 'art piece' first and a 'statement' second; in other words, I can easily disengage any moral/ethical/other biases and just enjoy the pretty because pretty is what matters with visual media to me. This is why I have no hard pairing preference with fanart, for instance, and why I tolerate and enjoy extreme cheesiness in fanvids of the sort that'd make me run screaming from a fic.
    Coincidentally, it's also why the 6A/LJ wank sticks in my craw like mad. It's really the art-critique aspect that drives me mad, the double-standard where fanfic is okay but fanart isn't-- fanart needs to be judged by outsiders who don't have the first clue what they're looking at. That just drives me mad. Visual art just... the idea of judging it in such pedestrian terms without even realizing that's what you're doing-- it makes my blood boil.

Regardless, I meant to just quote harriet_spy's comment:
    To be honest, there's no way you can take a dynamic that hinges even a little bit on transgressiveness, have ten thousand squeeing fangirls stampede over it, and have anything left but flatness.

I just thought that was really... very true. And it really applies to some of my favorite pairings (*cough!*) rather than just Wincest. It's not that I hate fluff... it's that I'm just so bored & frustrated by the sheer glut of narratives that make the transgressive and raw as acceptable and 'easy' as possible. Actually, the reason I wouldn't ship Wincest is probably because you can't reasonably expect it to be remotely healthy or resolvable in any positive way-- and I'm still a romantic. It's kinda figures that the incest is intinsically everyone's problem, but yeah. This definitely reminds of the sheer flatness I felt before I stopped reading H/D altogether; this sense that the pairing has become... completely predictable and 'easy' (in fandom, not in canon). I can't really think of a transgressive pairing that actually consistently captured its own problematic areas... which is why I'm really way too wary to read S/L, but oh well.

Comments

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

You shouldn't be so paranoid

You know... I was relaxed before this comment.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I forgot about the sensitivity to that word. Sorry ^^;;; Well. You said you'd leave me alone! I mean!! Is that relaxed!!!

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

All this in context of your saying you're especially emo lately!! I mean! It's hard to tell! When you're 'just emo' or just being dryly deadpan or whatever! They. Sound the same >___> I give up >___>

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

.... ;_; Why.

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

I feel misunderstood.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

THIS IS WHY GOD INVENTED EMOTICONS, and you used ":/" I mean. There you go!!

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

I was trying to make it easier with the emoticon.

Don't become another of those people I can't talk to ;_;

emoemoemo

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

fsalkfjaslfjkaslkfjaslkjaslfksjlskajflsjafjlksfa The problem is the things you say seriously and the things you say not-seriously are... often the same. How do I get around that. ;____;

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

Why do people think I'm difficult, I'm not. If I'm upset and want you to know, I'll let you know. Otherwise I'll go away.

That was genuine concern on my part because if I'm being pushy I'll stop.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Well then, you did say it seriously; that's what I thought. In concern, see. I didn't think you were being difficult, really.... I guess considering our history you might very well think you're pushy/intrusive/unwanted or whatever, but I thought we'd reached the point where things are relaxed enough that you wouldn't be able to reasonably think so, or something, because you'd trust me to tell you if I actually had a problem...? That applies to me too: "If I'm upset and want you to know, I'll let you know." I dunno about the 'otherwise I'll go away'-- what does that mean? That if you don't want me to know you're upset, you'd go away? Or if you can't deal with me you'd go away? :/

I shouldn't have said 'paranoid', but then... it's incongruous to me to seriously take my flippant remark as a sign I want you to stop... especially it being in the context of you & Amalin being some of the only people I make exceptions for o_0 Our history being what it is, I couldn't resist making a remark about you not leaving me alone, but I actually appreciate that if it's not unhealthy clinginess/pushiness, and that's only when you'd just relentlessly guilt-trip me about stuff, and has nothing to do with the actual reading stuff thing. I don't -want- to be casually left alone, I thought that'd be obvious?? You're my friend, why would I want you to leave me alone >___>

Even if you're concerned, going away isn't the sort of answer I'd be looking for >___>

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

It's okay... I did take a flippant comment too seriously (because of past history.)

Now I'm embarrassed it has blown up enough to warrant introspective threads. ^^;

Look, I am a ferret.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

This (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMessiah) is an ENFP. So what's the INFP??

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

It doesn't have to be an ENFP. I don't think there's a direct correspondence. Plus there's thousands of tropes in that wiki. Though I can see it, with Naruto, but then it seems to feature characters that are definitely not ENFPs.

INFP... this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MoeMoe or this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.LittlestCancerPatient

LOL kidding.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Well, T's wouldn't love everyone. J's wouldn't be so easy-going and teamwork oriented and be more bossy. I's wouldn't be outgoing enough. That leaves N vs S, and N is more... well, that provides the intelligence and giftedness or whatever. Hehe.

Hahahah I never associated 'The Moe' with "The Squee' before, but that's pretty funny to think about :>

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.EmpathyPet
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.MoralityPet
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.PerkyGoth
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Wangst
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Yandere

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

Maybe those other characters are fake messiah (the page comments on that... it always comments on how tropes are delusional sometimes.) Though the messiah archetype is always associated with INFJ, to the point where Jesus is one. I'm not saying this to pump my ego! Mostly.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Well that specific 'messiah' is the literary Typical Hero trope that has its roots in fairy-tales, not religion (I think) what with the references to The Fool and The Idiot archetype of fairy-tale & myth, which INFJ isn't, so don't feel too bad :))

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

'Cute, mischievous and playful', huh :D

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

Well, why not.

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

The cool version: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheDaria

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Hehehe I can see it :>

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

The extreme bad version: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main.DirtyCoward

Lol, also Draco Malfoy. There's a lot of pages that could be about Draco Malfoy. This quotes him, and also this: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DesignatedAntagonist
But he's also the ferret mascotte and also: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RichBitch and also: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheLibby

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

more dracos:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IneffectualSympatheticVillain
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/QuirkyMinibossSquad
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EnfanteTerrible
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OpposingSportsTeam

just for you: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StalkerWithACrush

could be this as an adult: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConMan
lots of fanon dracos, some possible, some explain so much: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Tricksters
the italian malfoys: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheMafia

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Anyway, ":/" is my SRS BiZNiZ emoticon, okay.

[discordiana.livejournal.com]

I thought to use :? but then it seemed arrogant.