See, we here at the Satellite read a lot of fanfiction, particularly those for Final Fantasy, Tenchi Muyo and Gundam Wing.  It is the last that today's little item is about -- namely my personal opinion on the yaoi couplings.  In particular, one famous one:

1X2 (Heero and Duo)

Yeah, I realize I'm opening the gates to Hell with this one, but hear me out, okay?

    *ahem*

    I don't buy it.

    Yes, yes, I realize that having only seen the dubbed television series, some of the context may have changed between Duo and Heero, and yes, in the whole rule of "opposites attract" they would be the most logical couple.  But I don't really believe in it.  And I don't dig the fiction for the most part, either.
    For a start, most of the yaoi fics I've seen have a really bad habit of skewing Heero's personality.  He's just too damn romantic.  While Heero may be from time to time somewhat emotional, it's rarely in a way that could be considered romantic.  Confused, hell yeah, but not romantic.  (The bear scene in the last episode of the TV series could be considered an exception, but since this is given to Relena I'm not going to breach further on the subject.)  There are very few fics I've read where Heero's love for Duo is pulled off convincingly, or at least for me.
    Reason number two:  Relena bashing.  Okay, so personally speaking I'm rather indifferent towards Relena.  Sure she's a bit obsessive, but I feel there's enough positive features to at least make her a worthwhile character.  The problem with yaoi ficcists is that one of the ways they make Duo and Heero's relationship seem more lasting is to turn Relena into, well, a bitch.  Which she's not, really.  And she's certainly not as spoiled as they make her out to be.  In fact, there are times where she's a downright martyr for her own cause.  In short, to bash Relena to make Heero and Duo look better is as bad as bashing Tifa in Aeris/Cloud fics or Aeka in Ryoko/Tenchi fics -- it's just annoying.
    Reason numero tres:  The TV series. Okay, so maybe there are a FEW scenes which might suggest this, or they could just be interpreted as being friends.  Frankly, for a couple who are supposed to be starstruck lovers there seems to be very little pointing in that direction.  In fact, out of all the couplings this one seems to have the LEAST amount of context, or at least next to the 3x4 pairings or the RxD pairings.  (Yeah, I can see 3x4.  There's a LOT of context between those two which can go either way.  That's my opinion, though.)  If you ask me, the show's creators seem to be bludgeoning us towards the straight couplings.  So until I get some absolute evidence there's something up between them, I'm going to believe what the show is trying to indicate.
    You may notice that a lot of this is opinion.  Good.  That's what it is.  I'm not about to begrudge the 1x2ers just because I don't get into them myself.  But please please PLEASE try to do it more convincingly.  Me, it just doesn't sit well.  I'm not saying I'm happy about being this way, but I am, and no amount of flaming's gonna change things.
    To prove, however, that I'm not going to judge a fic simply based on whether it's yaoi or not, I offer these items in appeasement:

 -   KnM's Gundam Wing Fanfiction

    Home to what is, in my personal opinion, one of the best Supernatural GW fics on the net (if not the best period), Acherontia Atropos.  It's even got a sequel in the works (hurrah!).  This has all of the traditional couplings, BUT is carried out in a way I can believe -- in other words, Heero and Trowa don't get romantic at all, and you really sympathise for both Quartre and Duo.  Don't think this is the main point of the story though -- it's horror/adventure, pure and simple.  Just the way I like it, actually.  AND it's a Duo first-person, and being a drooling Duo fangirl (tm), how could I resist?  She's written other stuff too, and what I've read has been good.  Her only weakness is Relena bashing, but Relena is such a minor figure in the one I mentioned that it's bypassable for the most part.  Good stuff.

-  Gundam Wing -- The Darker Side of Duo Maxwell

    Hail to the Queen, baby.  This ain't just any 1x2er -- this is MadamHydra, one of my personal fave authors.  Maxwell's Demon is probably the ONLY 1x2 fic I've seen in which I can honestly and truly believe in a romance between Duo and Heero.  It's cute, too, and as is typical with most MadamHydra fics deals with the hidden aspects of a person's psyche and soul.  Muddled Waters is good for a laugh too.  You WILL read her stuff.

-    The Den: GW Fanfiction

    There's a cute little AU fic on this site called Moments.  It's 1x2, and it's one of the rare 1x2s that proves you don't have to make Relena a TOTAL bitch to make Heero and Duo's relationship look good.  Granted, she's still a bit spoiled, but you can actually LIKE her in this fic.  It's a bit WAFFish, but what the heck.  If even a non-1x2er like me can find this romantic, ANYBODY can.

    Above all, however, remember that I'm just as entitled to my opinion as you are to yours.  I'm more than willing to read if it's got some degree of literary quality, but remember I'm going to be a pretty tough judge.
    Then again, none of us here at the Satellites can really be considered romantics.  I think you can figure that out pretty easily, though.  When all else fails, we prefer a damned good swashbuckling adventure over anything.

Kirin:  We're a real bunch of philistines that way.

Alexis:  Well, that's all for this week (month?  It's been a while...)  We've got more stuff to review, so we might be back to normal next time, or it might be another rant.  But that's the fun of it, no?  See ya!