The Romantic Spectrum

[Kyatto]

"I think sexuality is fluid (and research backs this up), and doubly so in fiction. Everyone (in a piece of fiction) is bi until proven otherwise (though that doesn't mean that everyone in the FIC should be, because that's just not believable). Because of the tacit (usually unconcious) implication on the author's part that the audience will assume that the characters are all straight (unless we're talking about Joss Whedon, in which case, who the hell knows?), there's rarely any statement about a character's sexuality unless they *are* gay/bi, and so interpreting them as closer to the homosexual end of the spectrum is just as valid as interpreting them as closer to the straight end of the spectrum. Of course, the more serious relationships the character has had with the opposite sex, the higher the burden of proof of plausibility on the slashfic author. (Conversely, the more short, vapid, ineffective relationships/attempts with the opposite sex the more likely I am to believe the character might be gay and closeted/just hasn't noticed yet.) I tend to do less interpreting characters as having a specific sexuality as I do interpreting them as having some sort of attraction to another character (of whatever gender- makes no nevermind to me).

And yes, "because I do" is a valid answer to "why do you like slash?" Why is purple my favorite color? Because it is."

^Quoted for absolute truth.

When it comes to Avatar I'm personally irked by the whole Zutara/Kataang and Het/Slash mumbo jumbo.

Where is the cold hard and solid evidence that either Zuko or Aang is going to wind up being with Katara in the end? How do we know some new guy is not going to appear in Season Three and sweeps her off her feet in a whirlwind of romance? We don't. It's all just speculation.

Same with the accussations of "X Character can't be bi/gay because ____" Where's the proof? Bisexual people can kiss anyone of either sex because they like both. I have a feeling that if Avatar wasn't a Y7 Nickelodeon show and instead something animated by the Adult Swim team we'd see more Slashy elements. I'm sure it's the rating and the fact Nick wants to shield kids from "the bad" that there is nothing gay. You know why? In reality, not everyone is straight. More and more people "come out" every year. So having a world where every last person is absoulutely straight as a line just doesn't seem possible. Therefore if I, or someone else, wrote an in-character romance fanfiction about a relationship between Mai and Ty Lee , it'd be the same as if instead there had been written a story about Sokka and Ty LEe instead. Love comes in many ways and shapes and sizes.

But this is all just my two cents. Carry on~

[nandireya]

And then there are people like me who just aren't interested in either sex...maybe that's why I don't ship...

[Kyatto]

nandireya said:

And then there are people like me who just aren't interested in either sex...maybe that's why I don't ship...

Precisely! *passes out cookies*

This is why I laugh like a loon at Shipwars. Where's the proof? Where? I don't see it! What I see is all speculation. That's not evidence at all!

The assumptions that every last character is straight/gay/has a love interest is silly. I have a very strong suspicion that the only character who's going to get the girl in the end is Sokka. As for Aang, Zuko, and Katara, they'll probably be alone. Plot is more important than romance fodder.

[nandireya]

I do believe, my friend, that we are in the wrong forum ;D

I have nothing against the shipping, even if I don't fully understand it, or some of the pairings...I'm yet to see any argument that convinces me that x belongs with y (or that x belongs with x or y belongs with y )...but I guess, like the planet Earth, it's 'mostly harmless'...

[Kyatto]

When are we ever in the right forum?

^wow...The sentence like made no sense. But I liked it. XD

Anyways, I put that up to point out that "Speculation" does not equal "Evidence". Perhaps people will take that to mind the next time someone decides a Shipwar is in order.

Just because Sokka and Suki kissed does not mean he can't go around and kiss Toph, Ty Lee, Azula, Aang, or even Zuko at some other time.

You fall for who you fall for. It could be one person, it could be multiple people. Perhaps it's a guy, or a girl, or maybe even no one at all! There's so many possibilities!

[yiceman]

I mostly tend to think about what I think would make a good story, and what the writers would want to pull off. Because really, it's up to them. If they say a charcter is of a certain sexual preferance, we can't argue that much, and I assume simply because of the fact that it's on Nick, they'd insist everyone is straight just to keep the angry parent brigade away from them. If this was on adult swing or something like that, they'd probably just throw in a few token gay characters like most tv shows do. Progression is a slow, gradual process, and it'll probably take a while for any writer to openly start having bi and gay relationships shown as a regular feature. And definently not on Nick.

[xkataangforeverx]

I kind of like the pairings what the creators have in mind because instead of picturing in your head you can actually see it happening in front of you which is why im a kataanger ( kataang forever) - as you can see by my username and like the above posts people just put random people together - like a zutarian - they didnt have a chance ...