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All of y’all are familiar with it; it’s slash/yaoi plot device number 12-a: Guy A loves Guy B, but cannot reveal it, because he is dying of fatal disease and has only a year/six months/two weeks/twelve hours/take your pick to live. Or, alternatively (plot device 12-b) Guy B loves Guy A, but is faced with losing his lover to (you guessed it) a fatal disease. Cue unimaginable angst.
Many writers have used this plot, with varying degrees of success. Ex: Kaylee’s Mooks-verse story “Any Kinda Breath,” one of the only fics I ever stopped reading simply because it was too painful to continue. And I’m not talking the normal “Gambit is paired with someone other than Rogue” pain, I mean serious, way-too-close-to-home, “I must stop reading this story before I start thinking about the relatives/friends of the family I’ve lost to cancer and become a crying mess” pain. It was a good example. There are many bad examples as well. Slash writers love to give one of their guys some nasty virus or cancerous whatever and then use the resultant crushing angst to demonstrate the tried and true nature of their OTP’s love. “He loves him and stays with him even though he’s inevitably going to lose him.”
So, seeing this phenomenon, I have but one burning question (actually, one whiney, demanding question): Why the bloody hell don’t these people write Tombstone fic? Why? Why? For the love of God, why?
Think about it. Tombstone is one of the few movies/series/ect. where the aforementioned scenario is actually canon. Hot Guy A is suspiciously loyal and devoted to Hot Guy B. Hot Guy A is also dying by slow, agonizing inches as his lungs are destroyed by TB. Therefore, I encourage every slash writer I know to go and rent this film now.
Rent. Watch. Observe the way the slashy Wyatt/Doc vibes crawl off the screen and attempt to eat your brain. Watch other (admittedly less good) movies involving them (ex: Gunfight at the OK Corral) and observe the identical slashy vibes. Then write fic. Think of the angst, people! Think of the painful love triangles involving Kate and Josephine! Think of how hot Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer would look together! Think of the inevitable soul-crushingly angsty death scene! Think of the gunsex! They’re both gunfighters; surely there can be gunsex!
*Sighs* Of course, knowing the way some of my LJ acquaintances have gone all squee-y over Boromir/Faramir, watching Tombstone will probably only produce reams of Wyatt/Morgan/Virgil slash. Which would be Wrong (also not nearly as hot).
Many writers have used this plot, with varying degrees of success. Ex: Kaylee’s Mooks-verse story “Any Kinda Breath,” one of the only fics I ever stopped reading simply because it was too painful to continue. And I’m not talking the normal “Gambit is paired with someone other than Rogue” pain, I mean serious, way-too-close-to-home, “I must stop reading this story before I start thinking about the relatives/friends of the family I’ve lost to cancer and become a crying mess” pain. It was a good example. There are many bad examples as well. Slash writers love to give one of their guys some nasty virus or cancerous whatever and then use the resultant crushing angst to demonstrate the tried and true nature of their OTP’s love. “He loves him and stays with him even though he’s inevitably going to lose him.”
So, seeing this phenomenon, I have but one burning question (actually, one whiney, demanding question): Why the bloody hell don’t these people write Tombstone fic? Why? Why? For the love of God, why?
Think about it. Tombstone is one of the few movies/series/ect. where the aforementioned scenario is actually canon. Hot Guy A is suspiciously loyal and devoted to Hot Guy B. Hot Guy A is also dying by slow, agonizing inches as his lungs are destroyed by TB. Therefore, I encourage every slash writer I know to go and rent this film now.
Rent. Watch. Observe the way the slashy Wyatt/Doc vibes crawl off the screen and attempt to eat your brain. Watch other (admittedly less good) movies involving them (ex: Gunfight at the OK Corral) and observe the identical slashy vibes. Then write fic. Think of the angst, people! Think of the painful love triangles involving Kate and Josephine! Think of how hot Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer would look together! Think of the inevitable soul-crushingly angsty death scene! Think of the gunsex! They’re both gunfighters; surely there can be gunsex!
*Sighs* Of course, knowing the way some of my LJ acquaintances have gone all squee-y over Boromir/Faramir, watching Tombstone will probably only produce reams of Wyatt/Morgan/Virgil slash. Which would be Wrong (also not nearly as hot).
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Common theme seems to be Holliday's unrequited love, either because Wyatt's too dense, or because the other Earp bros are too glowery-disapproving.
Well, they would be glowery-disapproving (for one thing, Virgil does the expression so well), considering the time period, and it does make for lots of angst. An actual relationship would be more satisfying than one-sided devotion, though.
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Hmm. Sounds a lot like knife sex, actually....8)