request and a rambling discussion

[permetaform]

Does anyone know of where I might find any combination of Spike/Jet/Faye or Spike/Jet? Cowboy Bebop yaoi is freaking rare, and I'm wondering why that is, because the pairings just seems incredibly obvious because actions and dialogue are freaking *random* otherwise.

Is it *because* it's obvious or is it because Jet is not conventionally attractive?

It's a bit odd to me and a bit distressing that it seems that so much is hinged on the attractiveness factor. I'm pretty sure that's part of the reason why Legolas/Gimli is freaking rare compared to the other combinations (and I saw this pairing in the movie despite not having read the books, though I didn't see the Legolas/Aragorn until someone pointed it out). I'm also pretty sure that's why Londo/G'Kar is nearly non-existent which is an awful and tragic thing.

However, knowing that at least part of the whole deal with slash is the 'yay!pr0n!' aspect of it, it's understandable.

Interestingly enough, there's plenty of Snapeslash, despite how he's described as rather ...less than charming... in the books. It's facinating to note the evolution of Snape's appearence, the permutations of his descriptive words, and the near sexualization of ugliness.

Of course one can't discount that appearances are all the in eye of the beholder and it's all relative and such.

But: Snape is not attractive, conventionally; he has sallow skin, a hook nose, and greasy hair and none of these are descriptors used in conveying beauty.

Nevertheless, force of will (both the reader's and Snape's) has rendered him compelling. Ugliness is tranmuted and reformed into something to be admired. Or perhaps even that admiration exists for a qualities which seem to be 'overlooked' conventionally.

Or, and here's a flip-side that'll probably give the rest of you heart attacks to hear me say, but I didn't find Sands 'attractive' for most of the film. The 'pork' scene highlighted the flat qualities of his face and his character was pretty much an ass.

And oh, what an ass he is, compellingly ugly souled, horrendously garbed, petty and over cocky as he counts on ability that he didn't seem to have.

And yet.

And yet, he survived. He still stood, and he showed some scrap of a possibility of redemption with the boy... and my eyes are drawn to him helplessly, ugliness and all.

Yet another example?

Johnny Depp has a slightly asymmetrical face; his nose tilts towards the left. Yet I find myself thinking of it as a 'quirk' and 'eccentricity', despite the fact that for all intents and purposes it's a flaw. But it's a compelling flaw, a lovable flaw perhaps *because* it's a flaw (and how's *that* for a sexualization of ugliness?) but also because it's *him*. And my adoration of Johnny Depp renders this flaw forgivable and loveable, as it is part and parcel with his face as a whole.

(And isn't this simply love? Where flaws are smoothed away, overshadowed, ignored, sexualized, or adored?)

Perhaps this is why Snapefic is so common despite the book's descriptives, we as readers have collectly fallen in love with him and there never was a *visual* aspect to deter us from the beginning. Where in movies and anime there is the appearance first and the situation second and the personality last, in books (good ones) appearance and situation and personality are inseperable and it is *that* much easier for personality and situation to negate the effects of an ugly appearance...

::tilts head and ponders some more:: dunno...your opinions?

Comments

[maymorning.livejournal.com]

Thinking about it, perhaps this says more about being a woman. Are we hard-wired to prefer men who are in need of a goog looking after? Perhaps it's more to do with them being weak and frail, when the dears are taught they should be the strong ones. I'm thinking of Mr Rochester at the end of "Jane Eyre" who really seems to grab Jane's heart the most when he is blind (a common theme it seems!), crippled and homeless. I had a tutor who thought this was an example of female writer breaking male character's nuts. But I argued that it had more to do with women often preferring the weaker man to the strong one we're supposed to want. I don't think it's essentially a maternal thing as such. Just that if they need us, then they're not likely to wander off/get violent. Do you see what I'm getting at? (I am not very good with words.)

[winter]

*nods thoughtfully* I think it might also be the case of more equal footing - after all in the traditional sense, the woman's supposed to be the weaker partner. A hurt man allows a woman to both indulge her maternal instincts, help her partner in a significant manner *grumbles about ingrateful bastards who don't appreciate the effort cooking and cleaning takes* and start off a relationship on a more equal footing.

Example? El/Carolina. Especially the scene in Desperado when he makes a scene about her relation to Bucho while he himself has just had three knives stuck into him...

[adjectivegirl.livejournal.com]

I think you're on to something there. It's sort of like an off-shoot of Madonna/Whore and something like Naughty Nurse/Sympathiser.

Which is probably why so-called metrosexuals are threatening. To some poor beleagured straight girls, having nothing to fix would eminently suck.