two tachi dialogues, Yayoi/Eiko

2008-08-08T23:27:35Z

Previously posted at animimares for the FemSlashDay 2008 (19th of July).

Basically, these two short ficlets were the result of me trying to grasp the tachi/tachi dynamics. Being unable to describe physical attributes as hair cuts and clothes, I was forced to try and make my characters appear "masculine" by way of speaking and interacting solely. It was tough, but also very, very interesting ~~and amusing~~.

These two characters, never explained in more depth even though they both have their respective background history, will probably be the model for many of the future tachi couples I'll write.

Title: Moonlight Densetsu Can't be Girly When it is Haruka Singing
Pairing: Yayoi/Eiko, references to one-sided Yayoi/Shinju and Yayoi/Tomoko.
Rating: PG
Summary: Everything begins with pink uiro. And that's where everything ends as well. Moonlight Densetsu is just a stop somewhere in between.
Notes: I don't own the Moonlight Densetsu lyrics - I wish though. They're catchy. Also, "Aniki" here refers to the nickname Ogata Megumi, Sailor Uranus' seiyu, has been given by her fans.

_____

Oi, Eiko…

”Gomen ne sunao ja nakute…”

EIKO!

WHAT?! Argh, shimatta… Why are you yelling?!

Were you… you didn’t just sing along to Moonlight Densetsu, did you?

No!

Yeah! Yeah, you were!

Oh, shut up, Yayoi! And… will you stop chuckling already?

You were singing along to Moonlight Densetsu! Just wait till the guys from the team hear about this!

I grew up with that show, okay? I can’t help it…

But it’s Sailor Moon. It’s girly!

Yeah, so? I’m a girl in case you haven’t noticed.

Pretty hard to tell sometimes.

Look who’s talking…

Oh, aggressive, are we?

Did you want something?

Oh… yeah… do you want some uiro?

Uiro? We have uiro lying about in our apartment?

No, baka… Shinju-chan dropped by the other day with a whole plate of them.

She’s still completely hooked on you, isn’t she?

EH?

Oh, come on! You knew, right?

Knew WHAT?!

You’re as clueless as a guy sometimes, Yayoi.

That’s harsh, isn’t it?

But true…

She’s hot, though.

Shinju-chan? Yeah… Especially when she’s wearing that work uniform of hers. What is the point in making skirts that short anyway? I mean, it doesn’t cover anything.

Ano…

What?

How much do you know about Shinju-chan’s miniskirts exactly?

Jealous?

No.

Yes, you are.

No, I’m not. She’s not my type.

Who is your type, then?

Kuze Tomoko-san from that tea house down the street…

Oi!

Suck it up like a man, Eiko. You started it.

What kind of uiro is it?

Eh?

The uiro she gave you… what flavour?

Oh… eto… a lot of pink and red ones… sakura and strawberry, maybe?

Of course they had to be pink…

Pink uiro won’t bite you, you know.

Very funny.

Thanks, I thought so myself.

Tch, fine! Give me some of the strawberry ones then.

Get them yourself. They’re on the kitchen table.

If you weren’t going to serve them to me, why did you even ask?

Because you were singing Moonlight Densetsu and it sounded horrid.

I wasn’t singing Moonlight Densetsu, okay?!

You were. And it was girly.

It was Aniki’s version…

So…?

So?! Her version isn’t girly.

I thought you said it didn’t matter… you know, you being a girl and all…

Keep talking and that t-shirt of yours with KOTOKO’s autograph will mysteriously disappear…

Right… gomen, gomen…

You want an uiro? Sakura or strawberry?

Since I’m not afraid of pink, I’ll take a sakura-flavoured one.

Haha, just mock me.

I’m doing my best.

Yayoi?

Hai?

Shut up.

Sure.

~*~

Title: The Art of Taking, Giving, Sharing, Fucking and Winning
Pairing: Yayoi/Eiko
Rating: PG-13 for suggestiveness.
Summary: When all comes down to it, it has less to do with the tank top itself and much more to do with what is underneath.
Notes: Apparently pink is a recurring theme. Just because. It's girly. And these two aren't. Or, well... they are... in their own way.

_____

Is that one of my tank tops?

No, yours are white…

Yayoi, that’s my tank top.

Okay, maybe it is, but honestly… who cares?

I care!

You have several, Eiko. Pick another.

Why are you wearing my tank top?

Well. I forgot to do the laundry…

Forgot… more like ignored.

At least I can do my laundry, you know.

Oi! I can do laundry!

Yeah, when I want to have my clothes dyed pink, you can…

Don’t be stupid. That happened once.

But it happened to be my tank tops that suffered… actually, that entitles me to wear one of yours. Free of charge.

It doesn’t, no.

Oh, come on! It’s logic! When Tadao-san broke my racket, he bought me a new one…

But he didn’t give you his own.

You’re such a pain in the ass sometimes…

Demo…

Do you want a wrestling match to settle this?

No. NO! Don’t even think about it, Yayoi!

Because you know you’d lose?

Yeah, in your dreams…

In my dreams, we don’t wrestle… but I win anyway.

Haha. That’s corny.

You started, Eiko – trying to get me all naked.

Just… take off my tank top, Yayoi.

No, I don’t think so.

Stop that! I… can’t concentrate…

On what? Winning our little wrestling match? You wouldn’t win, even if you could concentrate.

Mmm… that feels nice... This isn’t fair. At all.

You suck at multitasking then. Very manly of you.

If I were a man, you wouldn’t be able to do this…

If you were a man, I wouldn’t want to either…

I’ll take that as a compliment.

You should.

Mmm… really, the only thing that might make skirts preferable to jeans would be… that… they aren’t… so much damn… trouble… to get off…

Maybe if you shut up, you wouldn’t find it so difficult, baka…

Is that my tank top I see coming off? Yes, it is! It seems I win, Yayoi.

You don’t. See… I’m throwing it on the floor.

Very childish of you.

If I were a kid, you wouldn’t be doing this to me… I hope…

Don’t be too sure about that, baby…

Who are you calling baby?

You were wearing a pink tank top just moments ago…

You know… Oi! Eiko… I’m trying to make a point here…

Mm…?

Ita! That hurt!

Gomen…

Careful, okay…? And Eiko, you don’t have any pink tank tops.

Well observed.

Shut up. Then… why were you bitching about me wearing your tank top?

Because I could. And just see where it got me.

I hate you.

I can change that.

I’d like to see you try.

You’re in for it.

Is that a promi… Ng… fuck…

You still hate me?

Stop now and I’ll kill you.

Thought not.

Now you tell me if it works. Are they too masculine, too feminine, too much like a yaoi couple or simply just too much? Tell me, I really want to know if these two manage to show off some of the doubleness and edge that I think is what attracted me to the idea of a tachi/tachi couple in the first place.

introduction post

2008-08-08T22:42:27Z

As a quick introduction to the history and background of this journal, I thought there were a few things to mention.

What initially sparked my interest in the subject of tachi/tachi relationships was a mix of the fascination I've had of birls since I was very young and the general confusion at the lack of a representation of such a relationship in anime/manga (and really, lesbian entertainment allover). As a result of this confusion, I posted this at yuri, simply throwing the question out for the yuri audience to think about and hear their opinions on the matter. It developed into a general discussion of the topics of femininity and masculinity and especially a growing concern about an apparently male-dominated view on lesbians and lesbian stereotypes that flourishes in the animanga industry.

So, I said to myself: No way.

With the upcoming FemSlashDay (19th July, 2008) as my excuse I wrote two tachi/tachi dialogues to explore the tachi/tachi dynamics in a bit more detail, without letting it all be about short hair, dark voices and masculine clothing. I'm happy with what came of it and the understanding it gave me of what masculinity can be made of, but I do hope in the future to be writing more in short story format, since that's what I consider myself best at.

Seeing that every journal needs an appropriate name, that was the next item on the list. I only know a little Japanese and mostly what I've picked up from watching anime, so I asked my flist for help on nailing a term that would best represent the idea of two tachi women, not only as individuals but also and maybe especially as a unity, an item - a couple. Help was granted and that lead to the name of this journal. tachi_no_futari.

So, really, all in all, this journal itself is a spur of the moment, but the thoughts behind it and the topics it will work with have been in the back of my head and at the tip of my pen for a very long time.

Now I just hope I can live up to all my good intentions.

tanka poem: The Gender of Tomboys

2008-08-08T19:10:21Z

First post here. Inspired by a Danish poem with the same title (albeit in romanized and very wannabe Japanese) that I wrote for my girlfriend little less than a year ago. Now in English and in a form just a bit more strict than the one I followed when writing the original. I like the outcome well enough. The beat pleases the ears, I think.

The Gender of Tomboys

Two girls, one spirit,
Attracting each other: a
Tomboy reflection -
But by the world seen as fags,
Sexually disordered.

Note 1. Tanka is an ancient Japanese poetry form consisting of five units/lines with respectively 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.

Note 2. Syllabification in English is apparently a complicated matter that not even native English speakers can always successfully master. I tried working from the notion of syllabifying the written word and not as it is spoken, but I'm not sure I've been throughout. For example, the word "seen": Is that one or two syllables if judged by its written form and not how it's pronounced? As the result is now, however, I think it works. And, really, when all comes down to it... it doesn't matter much.

立ちの二人

two tachi dialogues, Yayoi/Eiko

introduction post

tanka poem: The Gender of Tomboys