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Nov. 2nd, 2012 09:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
estiroseSome thoughts on my narrative kinks, some spoilers for the Fatal Frame games, later parts of Kamen Rider Fourze, GARO Makai Senki.
I was recording a LP of the first Fatal Frame for Youtube that kind of wandered into being a commentary on the characters, and apparently my brain went from "how do I break this down for Youtube" to "why don't I just figure out what my narrative kinks are, instead of inflicting my subpar video recording skills on someone?"
So, after a few hours of pondering, I've come to the conclusion that there are two big things I like in fics that show up in both my stories and my prompts. One is that I like writing/seeing stories that show how people cope with adverse situations, and the other is friendship/partnership/love. I also seem to like guys that are gentle/in touch with their "feminine sides", which I think is a subset of the whole love/friendship bit.
I see a lot of "person coping with situation" in my fics. A lot of my Kamendressing fics, for example, have to deal with various and sundry Watarus dealing with Taiga. My Fourze fic "Delicate Good Castle" has to do with Kengo coping with what he is given what happened in late Fourze. And I have an awful lot of Fatal Frame plotbunnies that are "x deals with what has happened/what they've done", including what happened to Miku between I and III, and the consequences of Mafuyu's choices after I. "Inside Out" and its sequels have to do with Taylor and Eric coping with Taylor's pregnancy, and the "Harder To Be Brave" sequence is largely about people coping with Ziggy's attempt to commit suicide. And even earlier, "Telepathic Ghosts" and "Mistakes" in the Tomorrow People fandom have to do with Melinda's choice. Narrative-wise, I feel sorriest for Koji of the novelist trio in Fatal Frame, because he's a very normal, down-to-earth guy who tries to cope as best he can in a haunted house with a malevolent ghost, as opposed to Takamine, who just stands there and doesn't seem to realize how his decisions are hurting people. (My feelings for Tomoe are a bit more mixed. She keeps going mostly for Takamine's sake; she's not really coping for herself. Which can be admirable, but I just don't get as many plot bunnies for her.)
Friendship and love are also a big thing for me. I love people getting along and banding together to be there for one another. It may be why I like Power Rangers and their teams bonding; why I like people working together to overcome things. In Kamendressing, again, versions of Wataru work together to make life easier for their own; versions of Taiga work together to help manage their younger siblings. "Heard The Truths of Myths and Legends" is about Nimue and her family; most of my Garo: Makai Senki fics deal with a universe where Sigma might be creepy, but he and Leo are sill brothers. "Quite Up To Normal" is the Gokaiger team working together to protect their teammate Gai. I love "Kamen Rider Fourze" because of Gentaro's compassion and tendency towards friendship, and I love Gai of Gokaiger for just his wanting to make friends of everybody. (Though I have to admit, Yuuki is my favorite character of the ensemble, or at least the most like me, because she is cheerful for everybody even if she doesn't always feel like it. Or at least that's how I interpret her.)
I also like gentle guys, as I mentioned earlier. I like Minwu because he's a White Mage, which usually denotes kindness (or at least the willingness to heal). Mafuyu goes to places and does things because he's inherently a nice guy, even if it kills him. Gentaro is a sweetheart, and he reminds me of Eiji in OOOs in some ways. They're hurt, but that gives them a need to help people, which I'm all for. Yuu of Fatal Frame III is largely an informed gentle guy, because we only really see him twice in the game, and he only has dialogue once. Leo in GARO Makai Senki reads this way, even though he's a badass character, and I suspect it's his adorkable qualities mixed in with the fact that he's essentially a priest. I like Wataru of Kiva because he's essentially a shy sweetheart who doesn't want to make people upset, except when he has to stand up for someone else.
I mean, there are other things that I love that don't quite fit in these two. I adore the ghosts of the Fatal Frame series, even if they don't have to do with either friendship/love or coping with circumstances. Admittedly, some of my favorite ghosts (Long Arms, Kirie, Sae, Itsuki, Chitose, Kyouka, Reika) do have friendship/bonding/love storylines, but some of the others (Blinded and the first Broken Neck) don't.
I was recording a LP of the first Fatal Frame for Youtube that kind of wandered into being a commentary on the characters, and apparently my brain went from "how do I break this down for Youtube" to "why don't I just figure out what my narrative kinks are, instead of inflicting my subpar video recording skills on someone?"
So, after a few hours of pondering, I've come to the conclusion that there are two big things I like in fics that show up in both my stories and my prompts. One is that I like writing/seeing stories that show how people cope with adverse situations, and the other is friendship/partnership/love. I also seem to like guys that are gentle/in touch with their "feminine sides", which I think is a subset of the whole love/friendship bit.
I see a lot of "person coping with situation" in my fics. A lot of my Kamendressing fics, for example, have to deal with various and sundry Watarus dealing with Taiga. My Fourze fic "Delicate Good Castle" has to do with Kengo coping with what he is given what happened in late Fourze. And I have an awful lot of Fatal Frame plotbunnies that are "x deals with what has happened/what they've done", including what happened to Miku between I and III, and the consequences of Mafuyu's choices after I. "Inside Out" and its sequels have to do with Taylor and Eric coping with Taylor's pregnancy, and the "Harder To Be Brave" sequence is largely about people coping with Ziggy's attempt to commit suicide. And even earlier, "Telepathic Ghosts" and "Mistakes" in the Tomorrow People fandom have to do with Melinda's choice. Narrative-wise, I feel sorriest for Koji of the novelist trio in Fatal Frame, because he's a very normal, down-to-earth guy who tries to cope as best he can in a haunted house with a malevolent ghost, as opposed to Takamine, who just stands there and doesn't seem to realize how his decisions are hurting people. (My feelings for Tomoe are a bit more mixed. She keeps going mostly for Takamine's sake; she's not really coping for herself. Which can be admirable, but I just don't get as many plot bunnies for her.)
Friendship and love are also a big thing for me. I love people getting along and banding together to be there for one another. It may be why I like Power Rangers and their teams bonding; why I like people working together to overcome things. In Kamendressing, again, versions of Wataru work together to make life easier for their own; versions of Taiga work together to help manage their younger siblings. "Heard The Truths of Myths and Legends" is about Nimue and her family; most of my Garo: Makai Senki fics deal with a universe where Sigma might be creepy, but he and Leo are sill brothers. "Quite Up To Normal" is the Gokaiger team working together to protect their teammate Gai. I love "Kamen Rider Fourze" because of Gentaro's compassion and tendency towards friendship, and I love Gai of Gokaiger for just his wanting to make friends of everybody. (Though I have to admit, Yuuki is my favorite character of the ensemble, or at least the most like me, because she is cheerful for everybody even if she doesn't always feel like it. Or at least that's how I interpret her.)
I also like gentle guys, as I mentioned earlier. I like Minwu because he's a White Mage, which usually denotes kindness (or at least the willingness to heal). Mafuyu goes to places and does things because he's inherently a nice guy, even if it kills him. Gentaro is a sweetheart, and he reminds me of Eiji in OOOs in some ways. They're hurt, but that gives them a need to help people, which I'm all for. Yuu of Fatal Frame III is largely an informed gentle guy, because we only really see him twice in the game, and he only has dialogue once. Leo in GARO Makai Senki reads this way, even though he's a badass character, and I suspect it's his adorkable qualities mixed in with the fact that he's essentially a priest. I like Wataru of Kiva because he's essentially a shy sweetheart who doesn't want to make people upset, except when he has to stand up for someone else.
I mean, there are other things that I love that don't quite fit in these two. I adore the ghosts of the Fatal Frame series, even if they don't have to do with either friendship/love or coping with circumstances. Admittedly, some of my favorite ghosts (Long Arms, Kirie, Sae, Itsuki, Chitose, Kyouka, Reika) do have friendship/bonding/love storylines, but some of the others (Blinded and the first Broken Neck) don't.
