::rubs forehead::

[permetaform]

...

huh.

okay.

need to come clean now methinks because this is gonna make my brain explode if I don't sort this out for myself

namely, that: I'm still a fan of Jack/Will.

there, I said it. And it's not that I don't see what's to be seen in Jack/Norrington, but. yeah. Browsed and picked at some marvelous fic here and there and still. dunno.

It's not like I don't see the possibilities. But. It just doesn't *ping* in my head. Like, I see the Jack/Elizabeth and Jack/Anamaria. But that's not going to make me hunt down fic.

and I don't quite understand it. Because I *get* it, I can see it too. I just don't *feel* it for some reason. It's like this weird hole where you kinda sense that there *should* be some emotion but there *isn't*.

It's a very freaking odd feeling. And I don't get why I'm feeling this way.

It's not like I don't like adversaries or opposites or equals, I do. ::points at pairingslist:: It's not like I don't find Norrington adorable, and even if he doesn't exactly mush my 'hotness' buttons, neither does Bobby (I-Man) or Legolas or Q or Agent Smith or Xander.

So. I'm not getting this. Just to let you know. Even despite reading the reasonings on everyone's journals.

and let's put myself even more on the weenie roast:

I'm not a fan of Sirius/Remus either.

sorry.


[edit] ::headdesk:: ok. I have gone back and bolded the pertinent parts of this post that are apparently being skipped over.

::facepalm:: people. I *GET* Jack/Norrington. You are singing to the choir here. Also, I *LIKE* adversarial relationships and relationships of equals and opposites. Also, personal asethetics has NOTHING to do with my pairing preferences either way ::points at character list in post:: I LIKE some pairings were I feel no lust at all for one character or another.

Though. ok. I realize that this post may have put the Sparrington people on the defensive. I'll give you that. but, dude. Singing to the choir here. I get it. I just don't understand why it's not *pinging* for me on an emotional level based on my previous pairing inclinations...

[edit2] also: to clarify, I'm *not* objecting to the fact that there's J/N discussion. but. perhaps, not too much to ask that the J/N rhetoric cover more ground than what I'd already covered in the post itself?

[edit3] Figured it out! YAY!

Comments

Disclaimer: This is all MY opinion, and others are welcome to theirs. :)

[firesignwriter.livejournal.com]

You're hardly in the minority there. Jack/James is winning converts, but Jack/Will is still by far the dominant flavor of the fandom. ;)

I can see Jack/anybody, actually, given persuasive context. But Jack/James (hereafter represented by the cutely spoony symbol: Jj) appeals to me for many of the reasons others have already given. It's easier to see in them a meeting of equals, for one thing -- not in the boring, "Okay, we respect each other and will smoothly traverse all our problems," but equals in the sense of always having a question of who's got the upper hand in this instance, who's willing to yield for that reason, where is there acknowledged respect and where does the friction constantly linger...? I love pairings that aren't seamless meldings. It's all about the jagged edges -- or, as I've said elsewhere, the not-quite-fit of the puzzle pieces that still manage to craft a fascinating picture.

Also, Jack's wit versus Norrington's snark is just plain irresistible to me. ::coo::

To me Jj represents challenge. It's a challenge to write them together convincingly. There will always remain challenges within the fabric of any relationship they form. Power issues. Repression. And the larger themes they can be used to explore: freedom versus obligation; "take what you can, give nothing back" versus "I serve others, not only myself."

::shiver:: Gah, how I lovelust the Jj...

Reasons why I'm not a Jack/Will 'shipper (though I have no vehement opposition to the pairing):

The inequality. It's a matter of age, it's a matter of life experience, it's a matter of canniness versus naivete. I can't realistically see these two relating as equals, challenging each other, without a lot of groundwork being done on the writer's part to build that into the relationship. Which most writers don't or won't do, as the pairing is so easy to see that it's become the default for the fandom.

The stereotypical Hollywood-esque pretty. There's too much of it. Make it stop.

Sparrow's wit versus Will's...lack. Not that Will's unintelligent! I disagree strongly with folks who call him stupid, and I think the movie clearly portrayed him as having above-average intelligence. But he's not cleverly humorous. It's not a character flaw, but a personality trait. (What's the wittiest thing he said in the movie? "Goodbye"?) So it's hard for me to imagine or believe in an entertaining, back-and-forth series of ripostes with them.

Most importantly of all...

Elizabeth. How often does Hollywood give us bold, appealing, clever female leads in an action movie? Liz kicks ass! And the treatment she receives in the bulk of Jack/Will fics I've read is nigh unforgivable. She's shunted aside with careless, lazy explanations or written contrary to character as often as not. (There are exceptions, but the rule in Jack/Will fic appears to be -- and someone can correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't regularly read the pairing anymore -- "Get rid of the girl. Immediately.") Unfair unfair unfair! ::footstomp::

Final notes: I think it's easier to make a convincing argument for Norrington being slashed than Will. Norrington's thirty-something, has probably spent most of his life on a ship with men (and buggery did occur often enough in the Royal Navy for severe anti-buggery campaigns to be waged every so often), and is profoundly awkward with women. It's not inconceivable that the character's outright gay. (I don't write him as such, but I can easily buy it.) Another argument that's been made that looks at a more emotionally based reason for slashing him is this: he may have been drawn to Elizabeth partly due to her strength and assertiveness (unusual for women of the day) and the possibility of having, with her, a marriage of equals, which he'd be very unlikely to find elsewhere among his social class. He doesn't want a weaker partner; he wants someone who challenges him. If not Liz, perhaps a man.

Also (and this is verreh verreh important), he has such pretty sea-green eyes... How could Jack resist eyes the color of the ocean, hm? ;-)

Re: Disclaimer: This is all MY opinion, and others are welcome to theirs. :)

[uguisubari.livejournal.com]

And a heartfelt "Huzzah!" to this too!