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First of all, I'd like to say that I'm glad you came here. That means you're open-minded and receptive enough to different types of love to want to know what yaoi is. If you're here because you want to find out what I think so that you can flame me, get lost before I step on you. But if you really want to understand the yaoi spin on things, welcome and God bless.Like I've repeated, and emphasized throughout Motion Blur, yaoi means boy/boy relationships. That can be of the romantic or sexual nature. That disgusts you? Well, that's really too bad. A lot of the fans of Gundam Wing pair the pilots up with each other -- there's a huge yaoi fanbase out there on the web. There are a variety of reasons; the series hurls hints at you like practice pitches at a baseball center, the boys look better together than they do with the girls, the boys would better understand each other, the boys simply aren't around the girls enough to get to know them enough... etc. One of the great things about the Gundam Wing fanbase is that it's a connected community: considerate yaoi fans generally don't flame non-yaoi fans, and considerate non-yaoi fans return the favor.
Okay, onto the series. There's nothing really majorly yaoi -- no one starts smooching -- but there are some pretty big hints which some fans have just gobbled up. Let's take for example Duo and Heero. Duo constantly seems to be thinking about Heero, wondering where he is, what he's doing, as well as constantly teasing him. (It's so cute... Duo <at least to me!> so obviously has a crush! He's thrilled when Heero remembers his name!) For his part, Heero doesn't kill Duo, which talking about Heero means a lot. I mean, look how Heero freaked out when he couldn't kill Relena. He puts Relena and Duo in the same category (in one of the two "flashback" episodes starring Heero and Relena in the middle of the series) of people he can't kill, and if you believe he has romantic feelings for Relena, you should at least be open enough to the possibility of those same emotions for Duo.
One of my favorite scenes is that time when Duo was captured by OZ. Remember? He was captured out in space because the self-destruct switch didn't work (Professor G...). And OZ posted that unflattering poster of Duo with a bandaid on his nose. And Trowa blew up Deathscythe-Hell. When Heero saw what was going on, he came to get Duo with every intention of killing the American. Duo raises his head and stares Heero in the eyes with a small smile, saying that Heero was destined to kill him anyway.
Well, Heero doesn't do it.
In fact, Heero goes on to save Duo, breaking him out of that prison. Now, let's think. Hmm... Why didn't he kill Duo when it would have made things so much easier?? I'll let you chew that one over.
Then there are those scenes after Heero self-destructs. Everyone truly believes that Heero's dead. Duo is torn up with self-hatred, grief, and disbelief. He can't believe what happens, and when Quatre softly comments that it was a noble thing for Heero to do, Duo snorts that he thought Heero a bit smarter. Something had to have happened between the two in the interlude between that episode and the last time we saw them together. Otherwise, why would Duo be so affected? Why would Duo be in shock over the death of some guy who just stole parts from Duo's beloved Deathscythe?
Also, regarding the aesthetic aspect of the pairing... Heero and Duo are all over each other in official art. Either that or they're next to each other. Or near each other. Near enough that you can't see Heero's hands. ~wink~ Check out the big red couch pic. Heero and Duo are all over each other; they need a room and damn quick might I add.
If they did get together, I hardly think it would be for the sex alone. They would need each other.
Plus, they have a better chemistry together than Heero and Relena, in my opinion. Heero owes Zechs a favor for rebuilding Wing and is honor-bound to protect Relena. I also believe that she reminds him of that innocent little girl from Endless Waltz. For Heero, I believe, Relena is that little girl - and he's given another chance to save her. Every time he sees Relena's blue eyes there, challenging him, forthright and firm, he sees the little girl all over again. Heero doesn't know how to accept failure, so in Relena, he must see a chance to make everything all right again. Plus, Relena is one of the last hopes for peace in the world. Sorry, Relena haters, but it is true. Heero is more or less fighting for her goals. Of course she will be of great symbolic importance of her--he will put her on a pedestal and if he weren't Heero, he would worship her. That's adoration of a symbol, and no relationship can be built on that sort of foundation. Duo is hardly elevated to such a lofty position (except in my heart! ~swoon~), and as such, is more suitable for Hee-chan's poor little bruised brain.As for Duo and Hilde, in my humble opinion, they're practically siblings. I think Hilde's either got a huge crush on him or loves him like a brother, but Duo treats her like a best friend, and she acts like that towards him. She took him to the circus, folks. She tried finding him a job. (And yeah, she also risked her life getting Libra's blueprints, which is why I think sometimes that Hilde is trying to hide an enormous crush. But the way Duo acted in response... his dismay was like someone unable to believe his/her friend had just done that.)
Here's a news flash, boys and girls: in Japan.... it ain't nothin' special for two folks to live together. Hilde and Duo like each other well enough and Duo needs a place to crash. I see nothing indicating romantic love from Duo to Hilde.
Now let us tackle Trowa and Quatre, my friend. Geez, the only way you can't see them is if you don't want to. There are a lot of hints in the series so I'll just put down a few. For more, go to Subtle Hints, sea's excellent Trowa and Quatre sanctuatry.
Okies, there are two very interesting scenes that take place during the Trowa-Has-Amnesia chapter of the series. Scene 1: Duo pays Quatre a visit, and of course Quatre's glad to see his friend. They chitchat, then as Duo leaves, he says, "If you're going to go look for him, I might as well tell you where he is." Quatre nearly drops his teacup. There is only one possible "him" that Duo could be referring to -- Trowa. And this piece of information -- that Duo knows where Trowa is -- makes Quatre's day.
Scene 2: Trowa is feeding his soul-brothers the lions. Quatre has, of course, located the circus, thanks to the information a sensitive Duo saw fit to give him. Quatre's eyes fall on Trowa. The camera zooms in on Trowa's startled reaction, real dramatically, mind you. They stare at each other... and Quatre's eyes fill with tears of joy as he smiles. He sorta cocks his head, eyes shining, and cries out happily, "Trowa!" It's adorable! And I doubt he'd be so overcome with emotion for anyone else.
Then there's the priceless time when they first met. Trowa and Quatre were duking it out in their Gundams, neither Gundam triumphing, when Quatre says to the audience, "This is wrong. We shouldn't be fighting each other." So he stops his Gundam and comes out and repeats to the other Gundam, "This is wrong! We shouldn't be fighting each other!" Trowa, inside Heavyarms, stops his Gundam as well, then emerges with his hands up, one of his non-expressions on his face. Now, Quatre had every reason to think that Trowa was an enemy. In the previous episode, he had been fighting with a few OZies, and told them, "I'd ask you to surrender but the situation is too desperate!" So why would he change his pattern for this guy? Because his uchuu no kokoro protested, and we all know that when the uchuu no kokoro says something, you either acquiesce or have a heart attack. The next time Quatre fights, he returns to simply killing on the battlefield without asking for surrender first. Trowa was the exception. Hmm... very interesting. Then when Trowa emerges with his hands up, Quatre smiles at him and says something like, "Put your hands down. I was the one that came out and surrendered first, remember?" Then Trowa goes over to Quatre's house (~grins~) presumably so that Rashid can fiddle with Heavyarms. Quatre's playing violin with Trowa in the room, totally absorbed in the music. Trowa, surprisingly enough, without saying a word gets up, removes a flute from a cabinet near where he was standing, and plays.
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~beams~ Quatre was beautiful with happiness. He was radiant! Then he bowed his head to his violin and the two made some gorgeous music... ah... a match made in heaven.... ^_^And what of our lovely Asian motorcyclist Chang Wufei? No, he's not left all alone to fantasize in the corner... In fact, he has three predominant pairings. There's Wufei with Treize, Wufei with Treize with Zechs (~sweatdrop~), and Wufei with Duo.
Here's what I think. Wufei and Treize definitely have some chemistry, but I don't like the pairing because of the age difference, and because they're *enemies*. An awful lot of stories have Wufei leading effectively a dual life, seeing Treize while being a Gundam pilot. I don't think this would work because Wufei is such a firm person. He believes in justice; he believes that he is doing what is right; he believes that OZ is wrong and should be stopped for the sake of all those on the colonies. Wufei is too strongly committed to his ideals. He's the kind of person that can't tell a lie and has trouble compromising and will not hold his tongue for others' delicate ears. He would choose - would he fight for the colonies, for all the innocents contained within, for the spirit of his brave wife? Or would he give in to selfishness, convincing himself that what mattered was his love?
I believe he'd continue being a Gundam pilot, because Wufei is not a selfish person. Arrogant? A tad sexist? Sore loser? Yeah. But he's certainly not selfish, or he wouldn't be a Gundam pilot. Neither is he ungrateful. He can see very clearly the sacrifices that were made for him, such as Meiran's death and Ron Shirin's decision to destroy Wufei's L5 colony before OZ could get to it. The people closest to him have died so that he can fight on in their place. There is no way, with what I believe of Wufei, that he would take all that lightly. Granted, Wufei does admire Treize greatly, but I'm afraid the admiration will have to stay from afar. In a better world, Wufei and Treize might have become close friends - they share the same "old-fashioned" ideals. Their spirits know each other and call to their own: I believe this is why Wufei weeps for Treize. Treize and Wufei understand each other: they connect! I don't believe that Treize called Wufei his "eternal friend" for the sake of manipulativeness. Treize is known for profound eloquence and powerful sincerity... he gives up his position in OZ when he realizes the direction Duke Dermail is taking the organization in, and he is unfailingly kind and polite towards everyone he comes across.
Oh yes, and there's also the fact that Treize is in love with Lady Une. I mean, there is really clear evidence that Treize has, at the very least, strong feelings for her. He brings roses for her when she's in the hospital; he has pictures of her; he seems committed to helping Lady Une understand the meaning of OZ. And there's no doubt that Lady Une is smitten. For crying out loud, she develops split personalities for him, and she snaps back and forth whenever Treize's name is mentioned!
Regarding the pairing of Wufei with Treize with Zechs, I can only say...um...Show me a story where someone pulled it off, and I'll consider. Otherwise, I don't think so, except for humor fics. For reasons mentioned above, I don't believe Wufei would be with Treize to begin with: however, if it were to happen, Wufei would be a jealous lover. Treize would have to commit to him and only him - it's not an irrational request, really, since Wufei has the capacity for deep loyalty and he would expect the same of his lover. Wufei would present Treize with a choice: "Zechs or me." And if Treize chose Zechs, he'd leave behind a terribly hurt teenager who would hide that pain behind an arrogant facade. (By the way, it's not like I hate Zechs, either - in fact, the sexy European is my second favorite character, the poor wounded bird... But I believe that both Zechs and Wufei would demand, and be within their rights to demand, complete and unwavering loyalty.)
(A small word on the Treize with Zechs pairing. I can sort of see this... sort of not. For me, the evidence more points to a strong friendship. I like the thought of them together - they're both elegant and graceful, they do seem to depend on each other for support, they have similar aristocratic pasts and each have their own passionate characters, so that neither would devour the other - but I feel that they're extraordinarily close friends, of the kind who can say absolutely anything to each other.)
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The only reason I support the Wufei with Duo pairing is because of the awesome story I read called "Time," by the Kuwabara no Miko. It's a romance between them, and it was simply phenomenal. It won the Nanashi Fanfic Contest Award for Best Romance (1999), and the reward was justly given. Because of the story, I could really see the possible attraction between Wufei and Duo. (Purely fanbased, though - there's really nothing in the series to suggest this.) Not only that, the story opened my eyes to other 5x2/2x5 fanfics. After all, both Wufei and Duo have lost people they deeply cared about, and they both probably thought it was their fault. Both Wufei and Duo fight fiercely for what they believe in. Both Wufei and Duo are fanatically committed to their cause. Both Wufei and Duo hide their pain behind a facade, though Wufei's is one of superior scorn and Duo's is a joker's mask.I also enjoy Duo with Zechs... two bishounen with long hair! Think of the possibilities! Yummy. =)~
I guess this is as good a time as any to introduce the Gundam Wing Number Pattern. Every person, basically, is assigned a number. Here goes:
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Comes from the L1 colony. Pilots Gundam 01. "The one and only." |
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Comes from the L2 colony. Pilots Gundam 02. "Duo" is English for a group of two people. |
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Comes from the L3 colony. Pilots Gundam 03. Probably has some sort of Latin root. |
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Comes from the L4 colony. Pilots Gundam 04. Very close to French for "four." |
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Comes from the L5 colony. Pilots Gundam 05. "Wu" is Chinese for 5. |
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"Zechs" is German for 6. |
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There is NO yaoi fanfiction with this guy. ::squick:: Probably has a Latin root. |
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"Noin" is 9 in German. |
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Comes from the French for 13. |
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Spanish for 20 (it's only missing an i to be complete). |
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Direct Spanish for 90. |
Fans use these numbers as a shorthand way to introduce the pairings in their fanfiction. All over the 'net, before a fanfic, there will be all these little abbreviations: "1x2." "4x3." "13x5." "5+1." Trust me, this is just a form of shorthand! Let me give some examples, since that's the best way to understand it. Let's say I'm writing a story where Duo and Heero are romantically involved. Heero is the more "aggressive" one. This is the label I would give it:Shonen ai, 1+2 Let's say I wrote a romantic story where Duo was the more "aggressive" one. It's still strictly romantic. No sex.
Shonen ai, 2+1 Now let's say (hypothetically) that I wrote a story where they were graphically sexually involved. Heero had the upper hand in this story. Here's the warning label:
Lemon, 1X2 Switch sides again. Duo and Heero are still sexually involved, however, Duo has the upper hand.
Lemon, 2X1 Are you beginning to get the picture? The number designation for the more aggressive person goes first, with the submissive person second. "X" is used between the numbers to mean that there's sexual relationships involved. "+" is used when it's purely romantic material. If you're not sure who is more agressive, then just put the numbers in consecutive order.
More examples: Duo/Zechs = 6X2 or 2X6
Treize/Zechs = 13X6 or 6X13
Wufei/Treize = 5X13 or 13X5
Heero/Relena = 1XR or RX1 (lol)
Trowa/Quatre = 3X4 or 4X3
Wufei/Treize/Zechs = 13X6X5Please note that slashes are an American thing - so's the term "slash," come to think of it. The Japanese use an "X" where we would use a slash.
Now about the word yaoi: it's not actually not a real word, it is an acronym for "yama nashi, ochi nashi, imi nashi." This means, "No peak, no point, no meaning." In Japan, this was used as a term for a story where the point was to get the two characters in bed together. In the typical backward tradition of us westerners, we have used the word "yaoi" to mean male/male relationships in general. "Yaoi" on the Internet today is an all-encompassing term to mean "boy/boy relationships," and many people use it to encompass shounen-ai as well.
Some quick definitions!!
"Lemon" is used to mean graphic sex.
"Lime" means hints of sex, but nothing *truly* graphic.
"Citrus" is another all-encompassing term for both lemon and lime. ^_^ (Fans have interesting humor...)
My personal favorite area of yaoi fandom is "shonen ai." This literally translates as "boy's love," and shonen ai fanfiction focuses on the emotional side between the two males who are romantically involved. A lot of times shonen ai involves kissing, hugging, touching, but nothing more. Shonen ai fanfiction is ultra-sweet (careful, you might get cavities!).
Okay, time to wrap this up, since I don't really have much more to say. I hope you've come away from this enlightened about yaoi... about the fact that it's NOT just an excuse for literary porn. In a lot of cases, in fact, yaoi is a tribute to the passion and true love that can exist between two people of the same sex. (Now, yaoi marked HENTAI *is* just an excuse for literary porn... and I don't recommend reading things with a "squick" warning!) Now, whether or not you think yaoi is disgusting is up to you. Some people are opposed to it because of religion, some just because homosexuality isn't the norm in their society, some because they're truly uneducated and don't know what on earth they're talking about, some because they believe the pilots are better off as brothers or best friends, some because they honestly think that yaoi is only an excuse for hot gay sex... Whatever. I hope I've made it very clear in this essay that yaoi can be anything in the spectrum, from sweet to steamy. Your tastes can lie anywhere as well.
I'd also like to take this space to say that this essay isn't trying to FORCE anyone to believe as I do. When you come down to it, I like yaoi because of the chemistry between characters. If Relena and Heero were passionately in love in the series and kissed and hugged and cried when they had to leave each other... I wouldn't care. I would still pair Heero and Duo. Well, ~ponders~ if Heero and Relena had a really sweet relationship that worked just fine on its own, I wouldn't mess with it. (Kinda like Yuusuke and Keiko.) But in my humble opinion, Heero and Relena DON'T, and will NEVER HAVE, that sort of relationship. In the series, I just don't see it.
Let's take the series as-is, no changes in the Heero and Relena scenes. Now, even if the biggest of the bigshot producers said that Heero and Relena are star-crossed lovers destined to spend eternity together (sounds like purgatory ~smirk~) -- I wouldn't care. I'd still like yaoi. I'd still pair Duo with Heero, because in my mind, it just WORKS. But one of the best parts of Gundam Wing is its ambiguity. There's no way you can say for certain that any of the Gboys is in love with someone else. There are only subtle and unsubtle hints in those directions. For every piece of evidence for yaoi that I put here, a non-yaoi fan could put just as much non-yaoi evidence. And you know what? That's fine. It just comes down to what you like. I see things through glasses of my own color, and you can see things through glasses of your own (my prescription's a little strong anyway, my sight might hurt your eyes). So, in short: this essay doesn't want to force anyone to believe my way. It's a bunch of proofs that I have assembled that help explain why I like yaoi. If those proofs weren't there, I would like yaoi anyway. (For crying out loud, I like 6X2, but when have Zechs and Duo even SPOKEN to each other in the series? It's about the CHEMISTRY.)
Don't flame me, by the way, or I will put you in the Stocks. I can't stand unlettered idiots and I make no attempt to.
Please do not use this essay anywhere without prior permission and proper credit. Email me regarding this at bonking_bishies@swirve.com.
Here are all the other yaoi pics on my harddrive that aren't already up here... oh, and contributions make me and my anglerfish happy. ^_^ 1X2 doujinshi cover.
1X2 doujinshi cover with Duo floating upside down in the background o_O.
Duo and Heero sitting together, each lost in thought...
My favorite 1X2 pic ever.
Duo and Heero under a tree, hehehe...
Duo and Heero go to Vegas!
Trowa and Quatre really obviously ready to go out.
Trowa and Quatre play music together.
everything under here is
Heero and Duo hanging out near their motorbike.
Duo hugging Heero loosely as he checks out Hee-chan's laptop.
Oh, this is just yummy. Heero and Duo goin' at it... underwater.
Well, um, I can see why Heero would need Duo's comfort.End
