The (not so) humble charm of Eroicaslash
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| Title: | The (not so) humble charm of Eroicaslash |
| Creator: | Red Rose |
| Date(s): | 2001 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | From Eroica With Love |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | online here |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The (not so) humble charm of Eroicaslash is a 2001 essay by Red Rose.
It was printed in Rose Vines and Wire Ropes.
It is a response to The Eroica Connection.
Some Topics Discussed
- writing fanfiction is a way to not be banal, to have power and worth
- fanfiction is "a form of writing about matters other people have put on public display"
- From Eroica with Love doesn't have to "explain away a herd of needless girlfriends"
- "The task of Eroicafic is to tell us why Dorian fell in love with Klaus"
- if Dorian and Klaus can fall in love and have a relationship, there is hope for the rest of us
- Eroic canon is boring, and slash can help with that
From the Essay
Every day a great lot of various episodes are released on TV. Their makers receive money and sometimes even fame for their job. But at the same time there are others who write fanfiction about some of these shows (canons). Their reward is limited. They do get a sort of name, but it is only a pen-name. So by what power they are driven? I think there is a great reward -the possibility of creation. A lot of educated people with potential do not have a chance to do something not-banal. And there is a touch of irony -that sometimes mass production, namely, the TV serials -can give somebody (and quite a few of them really) an opportunity to show their worth.
In the average canon there is not - and cannot be (for the time being at least) an m/m relationship, especially between leading characters. So slash fills avoid. But is there really a void? My answer is -yes. In canon as a rule we have a pair -usually partners -who work together, share a good part of their personal life (sometimes even a home - TS), like each other and have really lousy heterosexual connections (the same TS). So their mutual love seems only natural, doesn't it? For me at least slash is abetter world where people are free to love without regards to their gender.
I prefer slash to gen. Why? For me slash is first of all about love (and other higher feelings). For a lot of canon characters which are already the best of friends, partners and whatnot it seems only logical to fell in love with each other. The canon as a rule portrays them as single (bachelors, widowers, divorced) with a chain of short-term liaisons. It is good for the plot, of course, but fans who care more for their favorite heroes wish them the best -a true love. And who is a more suitable candidate than his soul mate? If one can kill
and die for one's partner sake, one must love him -more than a girl-of-this-episode. The slash universe is a world in which all things at last are in their right places. I like it -who wouldn't?
[In Eroica], we have two attractive males all right (they are even more attractive than most other canons' characters -Yasuko Aoike can grant them mile-long legs and wasp waists and beautiful faces). But they are not Americans, neither of them -they both belong to the Western culture, but it is not the same (I know that in Highlander, for instance, there is a Scot -but is Duncan really that foreign to Americans? I doubt it.) They are neither friends nor partners. As a matter of fact, there are many more obstacles for their "happy ever after" than in the average canon. So for slashwriters, Eroica offers a great challenge, but at the same time -a great opportunity. One can unleash one's fantasy.
... there are not any annoying women in Eroica -not for Dorian or for Klaus either. So slashwriters don't have to bother explaining away a herd of needless girlfriends, exes and such. I see this as an advantage.
Eroica is not shy about his sexual orientation and Klaus is not shy about his homophobia (or sex-phobia?). In the case of Sentinel one can easily explain why Jim must be bi (a military staff, you know - wink) and Blair is a neo-hippy, student and what not. But how can poor Klaus overcome his Catholic, aristocratic. German, military upbringing? As a matter of fact, all of the above mentioned do not look so troubling. As far as I know Catholic aristocratic German warriors may be no less queer than Protestant plebeian American pacifists. However Yasuko Aoike tells us they need a hurdle to get over it -it would be nice if Dorian and Klaus were permitted to fall into each other's arms at the beginning, but what about the plot? And even though fanwriters like to disagree with canon or bend it. they cannot ignore it -or it will be not fanfic any more. Canon is given -from the hue of a character’s hair to his sexual habits.
So one must find something that will bring them together. It may be a "hurt/comfort", but that is a little banal (even though it can turn nice). This sort of epiphany is too common in slash for my tastes. What might be really good would be a story about them finding in each other surprisingly congenial souls. Not that there are not any useful hints in the canon: Dorian seeing Klaus as a romantic soul and Klaus recognizing loyalty and courage even behind "the foppish facade". A faithful writer of Eroica slash receives rewards all but impossible in other fandoms. It is a very rich psychological opportunity (even though it has its own traps and trite traits).
And there are some more differences. Canon plots as a rule are not terribly interesting. They can be boring, irritating, implausible. So the best way to deal with them from my point of view: all but ignore. And if not -to use them to "discover" under the tedious cover of shooting and brawling a concealed treasure -adventures of the spirit (not only spirit guides, but mortal ones too). But in the Eroica canon one simply could not use the original manga plots. I have read quite a few Eroicafics in which authors did their best to bring some sense into the odd chains of events (for example -the story about Cesar and the tank). But from this source it is worth borrowing some little niceties -singing Major, Klaus's appreciation of the beauty of steel: and also some nasties -the habit of Iron Klaus to be ready with his fists even against the helpless. And without doubt -the fundamental truth -these two beautiful boys are fated to be together. Denials, no matter how loud, will not change this.
But if a true Eroicafan manages to believe that somehow a repressed sadistic machine maniac will turn to a caring and loving person and a frivolous hedonist -a faithful and constant lover -it gives me a hope that we ordinary folks can live in peace even with total strangers. For me this romance between a Brit and a German (a xenophobic one in the beginning) also bodes well for all of us.