Happy (Lunar) Valentine's Day!

Although it's two days late, since it fell this year on the 11th.

In any case, it got me to thinking about the pairings I like, which prompted me to create a ranked list.

Top Ten
1. Musashi/Hiruma (Eyeshield 21)
2. Hiruma/Rui (ES21)
3. Hanamichi/anyoneYouhei (Slam Dunk)
4. Haha Brothers (ES21)
5. Saitou/Sanosuke (Rurouni Kenshin)
6. Ichigo/Renji (Bleach)
7. Mitsui/Miyagi (SD)
8. Seifer/Zell (Final Fantasy 8)
9. Taikoubou/Bukichi (Houshin Engi)
10. Kimblee/Archer (Full Metal Alchemist)

The pairings that I like tend to stand the test of time; I usually stick with the same pairings from the beginning to the end of my involvement in a series. Their ranking in my list is fairly fluid, though, and changes in respect to what I've read recently, both manga and fic-wise. For example, I just read through all of RK recently, which explains why that pairing ranks so high, despite the fact that I haven't given much thought to it in a few years.

Another interesting observation is that I tend to like pairings where the partners are at (usually violent) odds with each other, so it's funny that my favorite pairings in both ES21 and SD go against that.

This list is a fairly accurate depiction of my favorite characters in each series. With a few notable exceptions, I apparentely like them loud, brash, and stupid.

The list also reflects other factors, including my interesting in fanwork for that pairing, and also my current feelings for the series in question, which explains a lot about how low Ichigo/Renji is ranked. I've never really been all that interested in Bleach fanart, but searching out nice Japanese art sites for ES21 sometimes drives me to distraction. I'm not sure whether that's indicative of Eyeshield's small English fandom (although Bleach is arguably fairly small when it comes to producing fanwork as well), or of my actual interest in the series, but there you go.

This list does not reflect my interest/ability in creating fanwork for the pairings in question. It's strange; I really enjoy plotting/writing fic for Ichigo/Renji, though it is only #6. A lot of why I don't fic for Eyeshield, though, is because so little of it has been translated that I don't feel I have a good hold on the characters' voices. I don't think you can really ever get a good hold of voices in manga, though, because the nitty-gritty of dialogue is subject to the whims/talent/artistic license of the translator.

And because I felt bad about not having any real content in this post, I stared at word for a few hours and hacked out drabbles for some of the pairings above.


1)
Post-game, Hiruma’s still giddy and vibrating from the adrenalin.

So he doesn’t notice when Musashi comes up and presses him against the lockers, and licks up from collarbone to chin. Hiruma feels the other boy’s stubble and the other boy’s grin against the hollow of his throat.

“Fucking dumbass,” he snarls as Musashi fumbles with sweat-soaked clothing, “Could’ve waited until after we got out of all this gear.”

“Can’t, uhh,” the other boy groans, “wait that long.” Hiruma uses his shoulders to shove back against the lockers for leverage when Musashi’s leg slides in between his, and keeps on swearing.

2)
Rui’s fingers curl nervously around the skin of the other boy’s hips, and wishes vainly that the floor wasn’t quite so hard. His hands feel large and clumsy against the sharp edges of Hiruma’s body, and his fingers twitch along with every pull and drag of his mouth.

The metal feels cool against his skin as Hiruma tracks the tip of his gun up and along the bulge in Rui’s cheek. He shivers from more than just fear.

There’s a sharp click as the safety goes off, and Hiruma laughs as Rui shakes and cants his hips up for more.

4)
They don’t lose the cops until three, and Juumonji swings the bike into a dark alley just in case.

Kuroki’s lying slumped against Juumonji’s back, sniggering softly. Juumonji flashes Toganou a crazy smile that he can’t help but return, and he’s soon forced to tighten his grip around Kuroki’s waist because they’re all laughing hard enough to make the bike shake.

“Where’s the fucking lighter?” he asks, when he’s calmed down enough to talk normally. Kuroki fishes it out of Juumonji’s jacket pocket, and after the first few drags, Toganou slides the cigarette into Kuroki’s mouth and pulls out another.