Happy birthday and some random stuff!

[ciircee]

Firstly: Happy birthday, Erin!

I posted a comment fic over at shoneenclub in celebration. Shoneenclub. I love that name. ♥

In other Arashi news: New single. I'm tempted but I'm not going to shell out for the limited edition until I know if I like both songs.

Random stuff: The contest at ohmiya. I have an entry for the drabble contest. I hope to have one for the short story contest, too. I would not object to any of you joining in. I AM JUST SAYIN'.

Also: The Road Trip AU. ♥♥♥ One day it shall be posted and that day shall be AWESOME.

Stripper Pole: I...I just can't post it when I'm so unhappy with the transition. It's written but I wrote it in two parts, the smut first and then the lead in. Hence my trouble joining them. I want to get it out of my head but I know that my 'i don't like it' is actually factual and not just my usual 'i don't like it' that I feel for my own work.

Finally: I have a fic rant.

I am really tempted to name names. I'm not going to but I am REALLY TEMPTED. Besides, you should be able to figure it out.

I don't mind OCs. I don't even mind Arashi marrying girls. I do mind if you create an OC for the sole purpose of getting yourself into your favorite's pants. MALE or female. PS. This includes killing off a character and replacing them with your OC. ESPECIALLY this. Especially this if you're trying to pretend that maybe your OC is the dead member. Jesus.

But far worse, in my opinion, is 'character' bashing. Look, if the best version of Ohno/Jun you can write involves making Nino a total jerk, Jun a total saint, and Ohno as uncaring about Nino's feelings because he loves Jun better, then you are NOT DOING YOUR PAIRING A FAVOR. You are saying Ohno/Jun can't work unless Nino is jerk.

It pisses me off that people would trash the very real love that every member of Arashi has for every other member.

But aside from that (and I say 'aside' but seriously, it's sort of rage inducing for me): When you base your fic off of 'this person is a jerk, therefore my favorite should have everything he wants' you are ignoring all the awesome about your pairing of choice. Let's go back to Ohno/Jun:

You know what is awesome about Ohno and Jun's relationship? Jun is gentle with Ohno in a way that he isn't with the others. Jun will whack at Ohno, sure, but he also touches him sweetly, taking his hand, putting his hands on his shoulders, leaning into him. You can see how much love and respect Jun has for Ohno and how much it means to him when Ohno approves of him. And Ohno talks about Jun and it's so...he respects him so much, he's so impressed with who Jun is, who he has become, and he's moved by Jun's warmth and gentleness. Plus he likes to fuck with him. Ohno fucks with Jun and totally gets away with it. He makes Jun laugh.

This is off the top of my head, too. I'm not a real fan of Ohno/Jun. There were times when Jun touching Ohno seemed to really get to Nino and I felt bad for Nino (obviously, Nino is a bit of a nutcase, and he makes up for his issues by inappropriately touching Jun on concert tours). I think that Ohno and Jun love each other but I think Jun had a point: They don't have a ton of stuff in common and they probably really WOULDN'T be friends if it hadn't been for Arashi. I think they would have NEEDED to be in Arashi (whereas, say, Nino and Sho would have got along no matter what) to come together. And despite all this I can write Ohno/Jun that doesn't involve making Nino a jerk and Jun the perfect man.

SO STOP IT. You'll make me utterly, utterly hate your pairing and I don't want to hate any Arashi/Arashi pairing.

PS. I don't object to Second-Generation Arashi but speaking as a woman with four kids whom I love and enjoy: YOU DON'T NEED A CHILD TO BE A REAL FAMILY/A PERFECT FAMILY. Wanting kids is one thing--Sho would want children no matter what his sexual orientation because that is who Sho is.


ETA: I feel like changing out icons but I hate looking for them. If you want to throw icons at me, please do.

ETA2: I just finally got into my e-mail. Do you know who is totally awesome? ZEL. a;lsdkfja;dfj OMG I LOVE HER FOREVER. I LOVE HER LIKE BURNING.

Comments

[kailice.livejournal.com]

These are some of the reasons I shunned fanfiction for so long. It doesn't matter how well it was written otherwise; a self-insert or Mary Sue can completely ruin a story. I agree 100% on everything you said, and I know exactly which fic you're referring to.

Honestly? I don't mind too much when Arashi is written out of character - you can make Nino a huge jerk, fine, go ahead. Based on real people or not, this is fiction, after all. And, such as in some AUs, sometimes creative liberties in the Arashi personalities can be a good thing. WITHIN LIMITS. Very, very strict limits, and never without good reason. Making Nino a jerk, or even unreasonably jealous, isn't the problem: using it as a plot device is the problem. Doing so to make your OTP seem wonderful in comparison is the problem.

Because you NEVER justify character bashing, and canNOT say that your OTP lives happily ever after, so everything else is excused. Arashi loves each other. Do you (and I don't mean you - I'm speaking generally) think that either Ohno or Jun would be able to watch Arashi fall apart calmly, thinking it's okay since they're together? Do you think Nino, the guy who was indifferent towards bullies as a kid because he didn't want to cause others trouble, would tear apart Arashi and be physically aggressive because he was jealous?

This is one of my biggest pet peeves in writing - you can't just have your characters act irrationally and do things they would never do for the sake of moving your plot along. Can't find a way to write Ohno and Jun together? I know! Let's make Nino cold and neglecting, then a freakishly jealous bastard! Sure, it doesn't make sense, doesn't fit Nino's personality, and doesn't give any depth to his character, but I wanted a plot. Love triangles are plots, right? And hm, it seems we've made Jun look like a jerk, instead. Solution: he may mistreat almost everyone in humanity (and maybe mistreating ohno, too), but he's doing it for Ohno. And when Nino explodes in his face, he's so understanding. Wow, he's so perfect and romantic!

Of course, there are always people like this, who act like OTP > group, and all of the other fandom horrors. I usually tuck away my inner critic, but... I used to hate groups like Arashi because of those kinds of fans.

Oh. Um. We've never talked before. Uh... hi?
Not the best post to reply to as a hello how did this reply get so long?, but you've unleashed the aspiring English professor in me *chains it back down*. So, nice to meet you. And thank you for writing fanfiction that reminds me that I love this fandom, despite the moments of wanting to bash my head into my desk XD

[still-ciircee.livejournal.com]

adfja;ldfj;lj HI. I THINK I LOVE YOU. Seriously, you said everything I was trying to say and you did it so beautifully.

As I often say to Becky: YES. THIS.

would be able to watch Arashi fall apart calmly

I'm grabbing that part because I LOVE it. I mention elsewhere in the comments (I'm working my way UP the page) that each member has made a lot of sacrifices over the years for Arashi--and each other because the others ARE Arashi. They've given up having normal lives, normal privacy, they go without sleep and they work their asses off because they believe that Arashi is worth it. Even when they talk about retirement, about not being a BAND anymore they still talk about being Arashi, being together. They love Arashi.

Any fic that says that Arashi doesn't matter to MemberX because he loves Member Y and Member Y loves him makes me want to throw things at it. It is the most untrue and most uncharacteristic thing I can think of when it comes to this band. And I can find no way to excuse it, either.

...I'm sorry, that was rather rant-ish. Please just remember that I love your brain for your comment.

[kailice.livejournal.com]

friending you NAO

I THINK I LOVE YOU AND YOUR BRAIN BACK. I also have a not-so-secret love for fic rants, as you can probably tell.

The reason I fell for Arashi in the first place was because they were a bunch of idiots who adored each other. Their charm is in their relationship, and how hard they work for Arashi.

Anyone who doesn't think Arashi loves one another has probably been watching too much Ao no Honnou, Maou, and Domyouji-sama's Guide to Being a DoS.

...Which are wonderful, of course, but Arashi isn't Arashi without the fluffy sparkly rainbow rabu-rabu.
♥