Outer limits of shipping imagination reached, everybody go home

[unjapanologist]

Home from Tokyo, will get cracking on a bunch of replies now. In the meantime: I looked at the list of pairings on the cover of this dojinshi and felt like a really, really undeveloped fannish person because I only know how to ship mere humans. I should get more practice at looking at the world around me and finding the shipping angle in everything.



(Mukibutsu Anthology 7, multiple authors)

And this is just one book in a series of large thick anthologies about objects getting it on. Anthropomorphic (gijinka) manga have been all the rage for several years now, ever since Hetalia: I don't remember if Hetalia started it or if it was simply the most succesful representative of the trend. I bought a bunch in the beginning - the ones with the antropomorphic trains and the antropomorphic Japanese prefectures and the antropomorphic condiments and the antropomorphic fast food restaurants - because the idea seemed novel and possibly interesting, but most of them were pretty boring comedy stuff with some nudge-nudge-wink-wink hints at shipping. The stories in this dojinshi are not boring. Clearly, all that was necessary to get me extremely interested in shoeshine/shoes was the addition of explicit and, um, fully realized shipping.

Comments

[kimboo_york]

In the LoM fandom we have a long tradition of Sam/Mobile Phone, which kind of led to writers doing things with pencil case/file cabinet, if I remember correctly. Which is to say, I'm EXTREMELY fascinated by the idea of anthropomorphic manga. Just say YES. *bright eyes*

[unjapanologist]

The manga didn't do it for me, but the dojinshi, hell yeah. Though I'm really fascinated by how many anthropomorphic manga play with cute characters of things that are really not cute in RL - there's anthropomorphic manga about weapons, and about WWII-era Japanese battleships.

Now I'm going through the anthropomorfic tag on AO3 and wondering about the theoretical implications of the fact that this is considered a tag on AO3, while it's considered a fandom (genre) in the dojinshi shops I've seen. *overthinking it*

[angrymermaids]

Butter/Garlic OTP.

Or Chocolate/Nuts.

[unjapanologist]

There was a Chocolate/Pretzel dojinshi too.

Boomerang/Space Sword? Jee's arm braces/Zuko's arm braces? *points to icon*

[angrymermaids]

Pipa/Tsungi Horn? Yes please?

[unjapanologist]

I might write that.

Speaking of writing things: is the Mai-and-Ming's-scandalous-pamphlets one working out? :)

[angrymermaids]

DO IT.

It's floundering a little. I just need to pull up the thing and write a sentence or two. Because writing it isn't the hard part--starting is.

Writing funk. Woe is me.

[unjapanologist]

I will, after I finish these other twenty-eleven comments and mails and draft chapters I need to write :P

Maybe stare at screenshots from "The Storm" a bit and imagine just how broad of a chest Jee must have under that uniform to look that massive next to Zuko? I find that activity quite inspiring.

[angrymermaids]

*strokes imaginary beard* That sounds quite inspiring indeed. My goal for this evening is to write something. Hopefully lots of somethings.

[unjapanologist]

*assists*

Start with a description of his chest?

[starlady]

Skytree/Tokyo Tower is AWESOMESAUCE

[unjapanologist]

It's mostly Tokyo Tower angsting about his size. Sky Tree is totally unsympathetic.

[attackfish]

Scarf/Mask. That is all.

[unjapanologist]

Their love is true! Although Mako will be so sad. He will need lots of Makorralin comforting.