thefourthvine: Two people fucking, rearview: sex is the universal fandom. (Default)
Keep Hoping Machine Running ([personal profile] thefourthvine) wrote2004-12-02 02:49 am
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Tell Me How to Celebrate, Part 1: the Slashiest Fandom

I'm about to ask an important question, maybe the critical question of fandom.

What is the slashiest fandom of them all?

Think you know? Tell me in the comments, and please provide examples.

Or read on, and I will tell you what provoked the question. Basically, it was the juxtaposition of two things: vids and a video game. Let's consider them in order, shall we?

See, I've been on a sort of vid-watching kick lately (in the same sense that the Trainspotting boys were on a sort of heroin kick). And one of my secret shames is an adoration of the "four minutes of the slashiest moments in this particular fandom" subgenre, aka the Slash Highlights vid; I love these, especially when I don't know the canon, which is most of the time. Jack pushes Daniel's glasses up his nose. Blair and Jim make breakfast together. Starsky and Hutch strip. Wesley feeds Angel from his arm. And my once-cold heart just melts. When I first started watching vids, these Slash Highlights ones astonished me. I kept thinking, did the creators know what they were doing? Did the actors come from some distant country that has no concept of personal space? And are those two guys just going to fuck right there on screen or what?

It was at this point that I encountered a bunch of Highlander Slash Highlights vids, and in particular this one scene where a short-haired guy (Methos?) walks into a room and sees or is introduced to a long-haired guy (Duncan?). And Methos checks him out. I mean, obviously, visibly, and with no other possible explanation for his actions, at least not that I can see. And then he smiles, and it is, in my considered opinion, an "Oh, yeah, I'm going to love fucking this guy" smile. It's the sort of scene that makes you turn to your Best Beloved, assuming your Best Beloved is watching the vid with you, and say, "Did I - did he - oh my god, did he?" To which your Best Beloved responds, through almost uncontrollable giggles, "Totally. Oh, God, totally. Gay! Gay! Gay!"

So I started wondering how many other fandoms have these moments, and which fandom has the most.

And then the Best Beloved and I got hold of Shadow Hearts: Covenant, a Playstation 2 game that easily takes the title Slashiest Video Game of All Time away from the previous title holder, which was the original Shadow Hearts game. In SH: C, you collect - seriously - gay porn to get a flaming tailor to make dresses for a doll. And you can see the gay porn, mind you, in the inventory screen. You have a party member who is a vampire professional wrestler who wears a butterfly mask and who is apparently conducting an intense UST-laden relationship with his teacher. You have character interactions that can only be described as "like the DCU, if all the writers got hit by pink kryptonite." Really, there's not a single hour of the game that isn't imbued with slashy slashiness. And that includes the slashiest cut scene I have ever beheld in all my born days, a scene so slashy that the BB and I have held on to the save right before it so we can watch it over and over, laughing like loons every time.



Yuri, the star of both Shadow Hearts games, is in a bar in Southampton. In walks a Mystery Man with muscles and a swirling cape and a dangerously tailored uniform. Yuri is transfixed. He doesn't just cruise Mystery Man, he doesn't just check out every inch of MM's body - he quite literally cannot tear his eyes away. Then MM turns around and proves to be a man Yuri knows of old: Kato. Kato makes it clear that the fascination is mutual. They have a conversation that is full of references to the lovely time Yuri and Kato spent in Shanghai, including the pleasures they experienced then and the loneliness they've experienced since. They make an appointment to meet later. "I'm staying in this hotel," Kato says. "Come by any time. I hope to see you soon." Later, Yuri meets Kato in his hotel room (and there's only one double bed in there, and every other bed in the hotel is occupied, and yet Yuri stays somewhere that night); they have another intense conversation, and the screen goes dark. The next morning, Yuri rubs his ass and says, "I think I need a doctor." I can't really tell you more without explaining the whole story of the game, but trust me: there is so much slash in this cut scene that boys have been known to turn bisexual just from watching it.

In short, Shadow Hearts: Covenant is the motherlode of slash. Surely, I thought when I first encountered it, surely there is no fandom as slashy as this game?

So I ask you: is there? If so, what is that fandom? And what makes it so insanely slashy? Tell me. Convince me. Make me clap my hands because I believe in fairies.

I'm hoping that this will help me do my 111th post. Because that post should be a celebration of this LJ's core values. (Slash. And fandom. Also, slash.)

-The Evidence: Vid Recs, Because, After All, This Is a Recs LJ-

Want to see some slashy moments in the flesh? I can't promise that these are the slashiest vids in their fandoms, but they do contain most of the scenes I mention above. And some others that are equally ohmygodtheirloveissoobvious.

Stargate, Jack/Daniel: "Let's Hear It," by Relic 1979, has Jack pushing up Daniel's glasses and a bunch more; you can download it from Relic's website.

Highlander, Methos/Duncan (I think): "Just Like You," by Luminosity, features the "I'm going to love fucking this guy" bit. You can find it at Luminosity's website.

Angel, Angel/Wes: "If It's Hurting You" contains the Wes-feeding-Angel scene, and "Completely Pleased" contains a whole bunch of other Angel/Wes-ishness. They're both by Charmax, and they can be found at Bronze Ambition.

Starsky and Hutch, Starsky/Hutch: "Mighty Fine," by Kassidy Rae, shows the guys stripping, together, happily, and at some length, for reasons best known to themselves. It can be downloaded from her website.

Multifandom: "Dirty World," by Diana Williams, has great slashy moments from a bunch of fandoms. You can download it at her website; that site only features her newest vids for downloading, though, so eventually you will have to order a hard copy to get this one.

Multifandom: "Wouldn't It Be Nice," by Laura Shapiro, features another cross-fandom parade of slash. To get the vid, you'll need to email Laura for the password to her website, so the link is for that.

[identity profile] zeelee-penguin.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 03:28 am (UTC)(link)
I'm going to have to nominate DCU as the slashiest fandom, here. The crackiest, too, but also the slashiest. Because it's a comics fandom, we don't have any of the kind of slashy moments *you're* talking about, but that just means that the slashy subtext must be included in the dialogue or drawn by the artist, making it seem all the more deliberate.

Examples, text only because I'm too lazy to go find scans: Tim's last thought when he thinks he's going to die: "I just wish I could talk to Kon one more time." Kon, visiting Tim in Gotham: "You sure know how to purty when you want a guy to hang out..." (Later, he makes a comment about how Tim's voice drops an octave when he gets all commandery, as he's staring at Tim and ignoring the supposed damsel in distress. It's beautiful.) And I won't even touch on all of the pre-crisis slash crack, man.

And, really, just find any picture of Nightwing's first costume, and ask yourself: Can any fandom truly be gayer than this?

[identity profile] adjectivegirl.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 03:29 am (UTC)(link)
Hmm, I may be in need of clarity (also, I've been crazy insomniac all night) but do you mean in quantity of slash or quality? Like Harry Potter is a slash wonderverse, with dancing boys in school uniforms and dark corridors and oh! the dungeons. The dungeons!

But on the other hand I don't think there's an overarching Power Couple that gets written and re-written like say, Clark and Lex on Smallville. I would say Harry/Draco gets closebut it tends to annoy a lot of people, including me, and maybe that counts towards disqualification.

For my money, the slashiest fandom is LOTRips or my personal favorite Peter Pan RPS, but I bet you're asking about fictional characters right?
ext_108: Jules from Psych saying "You guys are thinking about cupcakes, aren't you?" (Default)

[identity profile] liviapenn.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 03:33 am (UTC)(link)

I have to rec another vid here, 'cause it's a perfect example of what you're talking about: Andariell's "In Your Eyes," a Smallville songvid. It's just Clark and Lex *looking at each other*. And flirting. And *gazing*. And pining. And having cheersex. And LOOKING. And-- yes.

http://andy.illuminatedtext.com/vids/

Andariell picks the clips and hits the beats *so well*-- *mmsigh* I could watch it over and over again.

If I were closer

[identity profile] maygra.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 04:02 am (UTC)(link)
I would descend upon you with my box o' vids. Most of them are on VHS, but to this day I swear, Pro's ranks up there on the slashiest ever. S&H as well. (I mean did you see the remake with two actor/commedians I really don't like but who managed to ...I swear, they really didn't have to do much to make it slashy. They really didn't. It was funny becasue it was so much like the original.)

But yes, Highlander, particualrly after MEthos entered the pictures...it was entirely the fandom that tripped me up totally and I didn't even know about fanfiction or fandom at the time...

[identity profile] zebra363.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 04:49 am (UTC)(link)
It's hard to go past Jim bringing Blair back from the dead by merging their spirit animals in The Sentinel. Find me something slashier than that, and I'll buy it tomorrow!

[identity profile] geneticallydead.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 05:01 am (UTC)(link)
I'm going to nominate Oz, because I mean, really... it's Oz.

it's CANON that if you're not gay, there's still a good chance of gay sex*.

asides from the more obvious realtionships (Beecher/Keller), praggers (Shillinger), and rapists (Adebisi), there's a constant background vibe of, well, slash. sex is a driving motivation in Oz, and it just happens to be in a place full of men. sex plays as large a part in the show as violence and drugs; it is as integral to the plot as the devious nature of the criminals themselves.

the sex* is canon, and unlike a show such as Queer as Folk, the male/male aspect isn't always a given. some, like Beecher, walk into Oz completely heterosexual and have a rude awakening. others, like Keller, accept it as a part of prison life. Schillinger uses sex as a weapon, Adebisi gets drunk on it like a greek god, and other characters, like Jason Cramer and Nat Ginzberg, knew their sexual identity before they ever passed through the gate.

I guess I'd call Oz the slashiest fandom because it's not subversive - male/male sex* isn't the produce of fan speculation, it's canon. it's not easy, it's not always in acceptable forms, and sex as love is usually the exeption that proves the rule. but it's there. in Oz, sex and attraction are living, breathing entities inside the show, driving forces for some characters (and sources of endless squee for fans).

and just one more time... c'mon. it's Oz.



*not always consensual sex.
luminosity: (Whatever)

[personal profile] luminosity 2004-12-02 05:25 am (UTC)(link)
As much as I adore Highlander, and believe me, I *do*, the slashiest fandom of all? Angel, no contest, hands down winner. There's a reason we call it our "dead gay show." Please see Whatever :)

[identity profile] laylah.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
YES OMG YES SH:C is the video game that makes you gay!

...Right now, I'm working on some Yuri/Joachim. And it's totally tragic because it's set right before you get to Southampton and the cutscene you described above -- omg where Yuri just stands there and forgets to let go of his hand -- which will, of course, crush Joachim's poor ponderous heart as he's completely ignored in favor of the mysterious ex stranger.
(Have you played the first game?)

If you find other fic for this game I would love to see it, because the subtext is just so rich and tasty. Meantime I need to get farther in the game so I can get Kurando, because I've seen pictures and yum.

[identity profile] swear-jar.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 05:49 am (UTC)(link)
The little *not always consensual sex. cracked me up. Because, um, I have a sick sense of humor. Anyway!

Just saying ditto, though does Oz count? Can it be called 'slashy' if it's canon gay sex?

[identity profile] swear-jar.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 06:14 am (UTC)(link)
I could be really obvious and say Oz ‘cause um. Yeah.

I’d say The O.C.. Seth and Ryan… otp. So it’s mostly from Seth’s side, though Ryan is the king of Intense Looks Of Longing.

Seth gets together with his long time crush, Summer, they’re all happy and love-y, but then Ryan leaves with his ex-girlfriend who’s pregnant and Seth runs away.

He angsts to Summer and then runs away… ‘cause life isn’t worth living without Ryan there for him.

Then there’s this (transcribed strait from an ep.):

Seth: Hey, oh ... sorry. I'm surprised that hasn't happened before. Not saying I'm disappointed it hasn't happened before just saying the mathematical probability of ...
Ryan: Yeah, crying during chick flicks, walking in on me getting dressed ...
Seth: Yeah, what's your point? K, I'm not seeing what you're getting at? Do you work out?
Ryan: Not really.
Seth: Cool, me neither. I'm gonna go watch some hockey.
Ryan: Hockey season's over.
Seth: Damnit. Where you going?
Ryan: Gonna go find Luke. Beat the crap out of him.
Seth: Oh, where shall this can of whoop-ass be opened?


I'm not all knowing about The O.C., or even as obsessed with it as I am with most of my fandoms, but boy. Is it slashy.

(It was a toss up between Oz, this and The Boondock Saints... the only reason I didn't do BDS is 'cause plenty of people have done excellent break downs of the EXTREME slashyness... such as this one. Omg. With pics. (http://www.livejournal.com/users/perseph2hades/42697.html) Though the slashiest pairing in BDS is incest... if you see the movie, you will be converted, It's just too obvious).

I get stuck there too...

[identity profile] maygra.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
As much as I love the whole concept of Oz, it weirded me out since I used to write slash that went the way of Oz but wasn't...maybe it's because slash to me requires subtext and Oz..well, it's not subtext.

Slashy? Maybe. Because it's not gay either, but slash...I don't know...it's defintiely not Gen, absolutely it is adult, but slash? Not to me.

I think [livejournal.com profile] cathexys is running apoll right now that looks at this and it may be int he eye of the beholder, but for me, it needs to be not canon, I think. When it is canon, it may be "Slashy" but really, it's something else.

Mostly I try not to think about it becasue it makes my head hurt.

Re: I get stuck there too... (and I ramble pointlessly).

[identity profile] swear-jar.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 06:30 am (UTC)(link)
I love, love Oz... but I don't think 'slash' can be used for actual, non-sub textual male/male sex.

I mean, I might say 'slashy' for lack of a better word, but it's really not what I'd classify as 'slash'. It's like Queer as Folk, I wouldn't call that slash, 'cause it's not. It's teh gay, not possibly-teh-gay-maybe-we-can-pretend.

So, in conclusion, I don't think a show can be called 'slashy' seriously if it involves the characters actually fucking. It sort of takes the whole, 'slash' bit out of it (slash being what we do with the subtext of shows, not the text).

[identity profile] geneticallydead.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
I think so, because even with so MUCH damn gay sex going on... there's still fan speculation. just look at all the McManus/Murphy and O'Reily/Alvarez fic out there...

someone wrote a really great essay about why they think Oz is slash and QaF is not, but I can't remember where it is or who it's by. but the gist (as I recall it) was that in QaF, these are established as gay characters, whereas in Oz, the characters really struggle with their feelings off attraction/love. it's such a crucible of humanity that people do things in Oz that they may not do on the outside...

[identity profile] swear-jar.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 06:43 am (UTC)(link)
Well, that all makes a lot of sense. I mean, yeah. If you think of it in terms of how many 'actually gay' characters are in Oz and...

Now I'm really confused. Damn.

And also want some O'Reily fic, because fucked if I can find anything good out there.

SH:C

[identity profile] hjcallipygian.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 07:14 am (UTC)(link)
I'm playing that game right now! It's great. It's also amazing that they can have so much gay!boy slashy subtext in a game where all the women dress like cyberpunk hookers from Mars.

However, the most slashy thing ever is, without a doubt, those two guys from the IBM smartserver commercials. You know, the guys who are sitting in Paris at a cafe together in several commericals and have another one in an art museum. Watch the one where the one guy says love is in the air and the other refutes him, saying it's commerce, and the look they give one another at the end: the only person I have ever said, "You're such a romantic," to in that tone is a girlfriend.

They're so a couple.

[identity profile] sweetvalleyslut.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 07:17 am (UTC)(link)
Smallville, Smallville, Smallville. Now, it's not my favorite fandom, or even my favorite pairing, but DAMN. There's the fact that their first meeting is marked by mouth-to-mouth, which apparently is some kind of religious experience for Lex. There's "Hourglass," where a clock *literally* ticks away the seconds as they stare into each other's eyes. There's "Red," which involves Clark going evil, buying some new threads, and the camera right on Lex as he takes in the outfit with a total "man, my boyfriend looks HOT!" expression on his face. Right before he agrees to run away with Clark to Metropolis, because, and I quote, "Clark Kent and Lex Luthor. I like the sound of that." The slashiness has been toned down a bit since season one, however--it's not like the Sentinel, where it starts out gay and just gets gayer and gayer.

(Other really slashy fandoms I have never seen you rec: Once a Thief, Firefly, Farscape, and Brimstone, most of which don't have huge followings, but are all Very, Very Gay.)

[identity profile] harriet-spy.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 07:58 am (UTC)(link)
For sheer earnest quantity of giantly slashy moments, it's got to be Smallville. The fundamental relationship of the show is absolutely fraught with gayitude, with a constant recasting of visual or plot tropes that normally indicate romantic involvement between a man and a woman to include Clark and Lex. Throw in the prowling omnisexuality of Lionel Luthor and the way it turns the Lionel-Lex relationship into a festival of creepy incestuous subtext, and there's nothing left to say.

[identity profile] smonsterbite.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
Yes, yes, and yes. And now I really want to watch "Whatever," but i'm at work... stoopid work.

I've shown that vid to people who love Angel, people who hate it, and those who have no clue whatsoever about the show. They all laugh their asses off at the undeniable HoYay.

[identity profile] ineke.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 08:14 am (UTC)(link)
that in QaF, these are established as gay characters, whereas in Oz, the characters really struggle with their feelings off attraction/love

Spot on, sister.

[identity profile] ineke.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 08:16 am (UTC)(link)
Oh lord, Jack and Daniel are so married.

On the basis of that clip, that is. I mean, in canon I don't really see much subtext -- it's the idea of slash that gets me with that pairing -- but when you compile four minutes of clips out of 8 seasons worth of material, isn't it really possible to make anything seem like canon? ;)

[identity profile] norah.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
Although Laylah? (Am in India, really, not here...is all a hallucination...last fix before cold turkey...I can quit anytime...)

HAVE YOU PLAYED THE MASSAGE GAME IN FFX-2?!

OMG femmeslash. Omg. You see my icon? Just. Like. That.

[identity profile] hannahrorlove.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 08:20 am (UTC)(link)
The Prophecy. It's surprisingly slashy, and from what I can tell from the performances, the actors picked up on that and ran with it. Almost all of the pairings have strong support in the canon.

The plot is something like this: Some angels are jealous of humans because humans have souls, and they've started another angelic war. The war's been in a stalemate for millenia, and the bad angels (lead by Gabriel, played by Christopher Walken) need to get the most evil soul on earth to help them win. A good angel, Simon (played by Eric Stoltz), comes to earth to get the soul before the other angels do. Then people start getting involved, and then Lucifer (played by Viggo Mortensen) shows up.

It's not very well-known, which is a pity, given that it's highly entertaining.

Links:

Screencaps of Viggo as Lucifer. (http://sagralisse.mediawood.net/viggo/prophecy.php) Especially this one. (http://sagralisse.mediawood.net/viggo/prophecy.php?img=_52#gallery)
The IMDB page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114194/) has some wonderful quotes, such as these:

Gabriel: This war is mine!
Lucifer: Your war is arrogance. That makes it evil. And that's mine.
Gabriel: Lucifer. Sitting in your basement. Sulking about your breakup with the boss. You're nothing.
Lucifer: Time to come home, Gabriel.

Lucifer: [shrill whisper] I love you! I love you more than Jesus!

Simon: Oh, Gabriel. When was it that you lost your grace?

A lot of caps. (http://img9.photobucket.com/albums/v25/trunte/?sort=descending&start=all)
Cool anecdotes (http://www.salmonlust.com/cw/p1.htm), such as this one by Mortensen:
There were some silly things which I felt were interesting that were cut out of [The Prophecy] for reasons of whatever, shots didn't look right, or they wanted to speed the movie up. I think [the studio people] were afraid we were too kinda wacky. 'It's the devil, man. You can't do stuff like that.' I go, 'What are you talking about? I can do anything I fuckin' want.' You know, just odd things that at the time people were laughing at. I mean, Chris Walken was pretty fuckin' out there and very funny. [He's] another guy who it doesn't matter what movie he is in, he is always doing something really interesting. You put him in any situation and something interesting will happen, just by him being there...For me, it was certainly memorable to have a scene with Chris.


The community [livejournal.com profile] witheronthevine is pretty much dead, but there's some good stuff on there.
These (http://www.celluloid-haven.com/haven/the_prophecy/)
places (http://www.viggophile.net/nonframes/quoteprop.html) have some nice sound files.

I have more links but don't have the time to post them right now. I can get them to you later, if you'd like.
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[identity profile] rheasilvia.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 09:14 am (UTC)(link)
Now I'm immensely curious... any chance of screenshots of some of the rampant slashiness of "Shadow Hearts: Covenant"?

[identity profile] laylah.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 09:18 am (UTC)(link)
Hee. I've barely gotten anywhere in FFX-2, because the combat system makes me so bonkers. And because the first time I went to Zanarkand I felt sick to my stomach, which is great game design but upsetting at the same time.

And it's a crying shame, because Paine? Oooh.
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[identity profile] svmadelyn.livejournal.com 2004-12-02 09:21 am (UTC)(link)
I think you can check out [livejournal.com profile] velvetglove's overview at [livejournal.com profile] crack_van under the subsection "Proof of Gay".

http://www.livejournal.com/community/crack_van/22445.html

She's right in that just stills cannot fully capture the sheer gayness of those scenes, but by God, she damn well tries.

[livejournal.com profile] sisabet's "Without You I Am Nothing" is to this date, my favorite Smallville vid.

Even if it breaks my mind and soul.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/sisabet/107735.html

I mean, sure, I'm biased here. But this is my first slash fandom; it's the pure love. I *never* entertained thoughts about television characters being gay until I turned on Smallville, "Hourglass", one fateful summer night rerun right before S2 and saw the infamous seven second eyefuck. I didn't know that what I had in fact witnessed was indeed an eyefuck, I just knew it looked like they were really, really about to have sex right out there. And then by the Rain of Blood and Death, I was *hooked*. And then I googled around, Smallville, Clark/Lex, gay, etc.

And you know, here I am with my little slashy heart embracing slash everywhere. *beams* So yes, biased, but rightfully so as I've perused a lot of fandoms and I just don't believe anything can beat Smallville for the hoyay factor.

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