This is a common theme in yaoi, is it not? Us fangirls and fanboys taking two characters of a series on clearly opposite sides, who clearly hate each other and then making them, well, fuck. I can think of so many it’s not even funny (okay, maybe it is). There’s Kira and Athrun, Ed and Roy, Ed and Envy (isn’t Envy really his homunculus brother?), Lalouch and Suzaku, Zero and Kaname and of course pretty much all the men of Death Note including Light and L, Near and Mello, and every combination in-between.
I think this may be a left over from the classical romance days. Wasn’t the heroine always supposed to hate the man she was secretly attracted to? And the man is always an ass to the woman initially, until he’s been scorned repeatedly and then somehow miraculously decides he’s in love with her, changes over night and off into the sunset they ride on their gleaming white horse. Oh my, I seem to have gotten off on a tangent. Tsk tsk to me for having so much hetero talk on a yaoi and M/M romance blog! Ack! So my point is that in yaoi and M/M romance fandom, it seems like we’re following this age old theme. We take two hot guys on the opposite sides of a war, who battle against each other (and if they happened to be childhood friends and very angst-ridden it’s even better;) ) and somehow in our fanfiction world, they come together and their passion for each other is so overwhelming… they fuck. In the ass. First time. Okay, so maybe not the first time. You want your reader to wait for that, but you want to give them a little something so the characters like, bump into each other, get drunk, whatever and soon they’re kissing on each other and groping like the sexually frustrated virgins we make them out to be;)
And it’s hot, I have to admit. So what makes it so hot to read about Light and L getting it on? Well, there was that handcuff thing, but I think I’ve beat that one to death, LOL. Maybe it’s because it adds an even higher level of the forbidden. I mean, for me at least, the “forbidden” is part of what makes yaoi and M/M Romance such a great love story to read. It adds angst and lots of drama for not only these guys to be OMG, gay for each other, but to not supposed to like each other at all. And in Death Note, we have two extremely smart individuals who in the series are playing this sort of cat and mouse game with each other. Can you imagine the reaction of Light’s father if he found out his son was sticking it to L? Hah!!! How about the other guys on the case? And Misa would be heartbroken. Good, I hated her anyway. The shock and horror on her face if she walked in to L and Light in the middle of a hot and heavy boinking session would be a sight to behold. But back to the cat and mouse game, I wonder how many fanfiction stories have this being played out in the bedroom as well:
Pinning L’s arms up above his head on their bed, Light looked down upon a naked L with a smirk. The chains connected to their handcuffs jingled. He ground his hips onto L’s erection and leaned down to savor L’s lips, sweet with the mint candy he’d eaten. “You know, I’ve heard mints are great for blow jobs.”
“So…I guess I’ll be giving the blow job tonight?” L’s eyes sparkled with mischievous intent.
Light thought a moment. If he gives me the blow job, then that means he knows I’m Kira. But if he doesn’t give me the blow job, then maybe he wants to fuck me instead. If he wants to fuck me, then maybe he’ll find out that Kira can kill with more than just heart attacks. But if we just kiss, then maybe he’s found out about it already.
Ryuk leaned down and peered up into Light’s face. “Jesus, kid, would you just do it already? I need my apple fix.”
See what I mean? LOL. So why do you think we love to make men who hate each other fuck each other?
I think it’s mostly the whole opposites attracts type thing.
Also ya know…..it’s hot!
I honestly don’t see Light and L together, although I can write it just to write it. But I think Light is not in sexuality of any kind, except when it’s of use to him, such as with the women. But with L? I just don’t see it, and I can slash just about anyone. My first fanfic was Sirius/Severus (before I became a rabid puppyshipper).
Maybe shipping otherwise unshippable couples is an in your face to the writer? I don’t know. I don’t even see the attraction for L, I much prefer the intellectual Light, even though he is completely cold. To each his own lol
So that’s a term I haven’t heard before – puppyshipper? Do tell:) I can see how not everyone would think of L in a sexual way… He is an interesting characer though, in my opinion.
Christie
Yes, sometimes the best answer is just, “It’s hot”, isn’t it? LOL.
Regards,
Christie
Great topic – food for thought.
Characters who are enemies are constantly thinking about each other; planning their lives around what the other is going to do next; obsessing over who has the upper hand. It’s already a dynamic, intimate relationship — sometimes long before they even meet in person.
(And this may be old-school, but don’t forget Weiss and Schwarz — the rivalry that launched a thousand pairings….xD )
I think it’s because every good story has to have tension – be it angst, controversy, mystery, crime (for me it’s mainly angst, h/c or (the best) real character development). The point is, one can build great tension if the characters hate each other initially – it may be cheap, but it works most of the time.
Another argument can be made for a females natural tendency to harmony – we want everyone to like each other…don’t we? At least our cute guys….
There have to be obstacles. Otherwise the story is boring. In M/M, it can be the gay thing, or some sort of triangle/rhombus thing, or overcoming one’s inner limits, or – they hate each other initially.
My two cents.
Nice, I’ll agree to that, Abakus!
Regards,
Christie
I agree about opposites attract. I also think the “first time” might be a bit on the rough side.
I reckon it’s a girl thing making 2 guies who hate eachother… ya know. See, even though us girls can be really bitchy and hold grudges against eachother, we have this “make people get along” instinct. It’s probably because when we have children, we have to stop them fighting and stuff. Women naturally have this motherly thing of feeling they’re responsible for people they care about, which includes men. So we feel uncomfortable if 2 guies (especially hot guies) are not getting along. I reckon that’s why there are so many fanfics, especially ones written by girls, where 2 enemies fall in love.
i believe that it’s because many females (and some males too 😉 ) are undecided, they think that ‘ oh it’s totally understandable why they hate each other.’ but females are probably more observant than they know. they begin to pay close attention to how the boys act around each other. as in the case of L and Light, they see two hot geniuses one of them has a god complex and kills off most of japan’s population thinking that it’s a good thing while the other is to be his eternal enemy that would do whatever it takes to stop him. on a deeper note though, they take notice that once they meet even though they know that the other is their enemy they can’t help but enjoy each others presence because no one shares their smarts. making them frenemies, thus blooms the romance! in another case there is Sasuke and Naruto, two young boys stuck in a world filled to the brim with death and betrayal. although they fought, and they fought hard, they were best friends just like they always wanted to be. though Sasuke often saved Naruto’s life, he left him for their enemy, though it was for Naruto’s own good. and Naruto, not knowing this did everything he could, nearly killing himself in the process, to bring Sasuke back. the original plot on it’s own is full of angst and brings tears to the audience’s eyes, which gives writers a great plot to start from, because they believe these boys actions were done out of love and not friendship. from these two cases , although there are many more that i can name, it’s quite obvious that they audience doesn’t try to ‘just make everyone get along’, although they do that too, thay also pay attention to the deeper meanings in the character’s actions.
Hooooooooooot
When they hate each other the sex is angsty <3
And who doesn't love angry sex? 😀
Also if you want to be really corny they can find a way to overcome that hatred and realise that they're actually in love…?
Or like totally hate each other to the point that the fact they're somehow attracted to the other person sickens them…
That always leads to weird places XD