What dreams may come
Saturday, March 21st, 2009 03:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsaikoI have been reading a lot of ebooks and original yaoi stories lately. One of the things that annoys me is the "Insta-love" plot. "I've known this guy for a whole three hours and I feel this intense, emotional bond with him." This is especially bad when the entire conversation has consisted of "Do you need a ride?" "Yep. Thanks a lot." *drive awhile* "Want some coffee?" "Sure." I'm sorry, that is not emotional bonding conversation. I'll believe that they have the hots for each other with that, but not a deep emotional bond. And they should not be thinking of spending their lives together forever and evah!
Obviously, I was more annoyed at this than I thought, because my subconscious gave me a dream plot that explains this.
It was a sci-fi dream with two guys. My mind kept insisting that one of the guys was Korean, even though he was from another planet so we'll call him Kay. The other guy was named Lewis.
Now, some background. Kay was from a alien race that bonded with someone for life. When you were young, you could be forcefully bonded to someone but as you got older, that became impossible. Bonding to someone meant you had feelings for them, wanted them, and would do your best to please them. And you hoped like hell the person you were bonded to cared about your feelings, otherwise you were SOL. So it was a big decision that people from this world put a lot of thought into.
When Kay was about eleven (which was skeevy even in my dreams), he was kidnapped and bonded to a noble of another planet. Luckily, the noble in question was about twelve so their whole bonding ceremony involved them kissing briefly and then standing awkwardly around. They were only together for about five days and really just tried to be friends. After five days, everything went into the toilet. There was a brutal uprising on the planet. Most of the nobility was killed and the capital city was pretty much burned to the ground. Kay managed to escape on a transport ship and after a few months of living hand to mouth, made it home.
In addition, Kay was in a lot of pain because the bonding was... well, not broken so much as forced dormant. It's actually painful for someone who is bonded to another to be away from their bonded for extended periods of time (say a day or two). The whole thing left a bad taste in Kay's mouth and he vowed to never bond with anyone again.
Years later, Kay is in his early twenties and working at a gym. One day this guy comes in and Kay is just immediately attracted to him like he's never been before. His reaction is so out of character that he's really wondering what is going on.
Three guesses who this guy is? If you said the noble he was bonded to all those years ago, you'd be correct. After the coup on his home planet, Lewis managed to escape by pretending to be someone else. He made it to another planet where he was granted political asylum and has lived a relatively uneventful and normal life since. Lewis barely remembers that he was ever bonded and just figured that the boy he knew years ago died.
So Lewis (who is the world's biggest woobie) is shyly flirting with this guy behind the counter and the guy is heavily flirting back. Which does a lot of Lewis's self esteem. Meanwhile, Kay is flirting with this guy and wondering why he has the raging hots for this guy. Kay is mentally telling himself that he does not need to get involved with anyone, when Lewis asks him out. Of course, before he can even think about it, he says yes. XD
Alas, I woke up before it went any further. But LOL, that plot.
Obviously, I was more annoyed at this than I thought, because my subconscious gave me a dream plot that explains this.
It was a sci-fi dream with two guys. My mind kept insisting that one of the guys was Korean, even though he was from another planet so we'll call him Kay. The other guy was named Lewis.
Now, some background. Kay was from a alien race that bonded with someone for life. When you were young, you could be forcefully bonded to someone but as you got older, that became impossible. Bonding to someone meant you had feelings for them, wanted them, and would do your best to please them. And you hoped like hell the person you were bonded to cared about your feelings, otherwise you were SOL. So it was a big decision that people from this world put a lot of thought into.
When Kay was about eleven (which was skeevy even in my dreams), he was kidnapped and bonded to a noble of another planet. Luckily, the noble in question was about twelve so their whole bonding ceremony involved them kissing briefly and then standing awkwardly around. They were only together for about five days and really just tried to be friends. After five days, everything went into the toilet. There was a brutal uprising on the planet. Most of the nobility was killed and the capital city was pretty much burned to the ground. Kay managed to escape on a transport ship and after a few months of living hand to mouth, made it home.
In addition, Kay was in a lot of pain because the bonding was... well, not broken so much as forced dormant. It's actually painful for someone who is bonded to another to be away from their bonded for extended periods of time (say a day or two). The whole thing left a bad taste in Kay's mouth and he vowed to never bond with anyone again.
Years later, Kay is in his early twenties and working at a gym. One day this guy comes in and Kay is just immediately attracted to him like he's never been before. His reaction is so out of character that he's really wondering what is going on.
Three guesses who this guy is? If you said the noble he was bonded to all those years ago, you'd be correct. After the coup on his home planet, Lewis managed to escape by pretending to be someone else. He made it to another planet where he was granted political asylum and has lived a relatively uneventful and normal life since. Lewis barely remembers that he was ever bonded and just figured that the boy he knew years ago died.
So Lewis (who is the world's biggest woobie) is shyly flirting with this guy behind the counter and the guy is heavily flirting back. Which does a lot of Lewis's self esteem. Meanwhile, Kay is flirting with this guy and wondering why he has the raging hots for this guy. Kay is mentally telling himself that he does not need to get involved with anyone, when Lewis asks him out. Of course, before he can even think about it, he says yes. XD
Alas, I woke up before it went any further. But LOL, that plot.
(no subject)
Date: 3/21/09 11:18 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 3/21/09 11:41 pm (UTC)I'm not against the love at first sight plot line. What I'm against is the feeling that the authors are slapping together a relationship using spit and super glue. Even in a short story, I want to read about people, not characters with all the depth of a parking lot puddle.
Although even I will admit that my dream turn into noting more than badly written "twue lurv." But I would hope, if I ever wrote it, I could at least do more than a half-assed job with it.