Real life has been intruding on fangirling of late. Between not feeling so hot towards the end of last week and real life concerns that I won’t bore you with, I just haven’t been feeling all that inspired or creative. Then more pictures from the Ascroft photoshoot were discovered on Monday and they were a big pick me up. I played around with a couple of the photos to make wallpapers for my laptop and thought I would share them as part of FanstRAvaganza.
This one lasted for all of five minutes on my screen before I decided I wanted something different, but I still like it:
The something different I came up with also included the same photo, but combined with another from the photoshoot:
It isn’t often I have trouble tearing my eyes away from my laptop wallpaper. But these two photos are stunning and I find myself staring often.
A big thank you to Ali at RANet for the large photos! They really did make my week. 🙂
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Make sure to check out posts from all the FanstRAvaganza 4 participates here.
Me, My Thoughts, and Richard Armitage 
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That second one — wow.
That’s the one I find myself staring at for ridiculous amounts of time. 🙂
The other one is fine — but it’s sort of what one expects when seeing the two mirror photos. There’s something visually unexpected about seeing the “artier” Armitage standing almost in the path of the gaze of the slightly grittier one, who’s looking through that grill … it makes you look twice, that’s for sure.
Thanks for the help with my attention span exercises, Jas! *giggle*
Of course, Zan! Anything to help restore you to full health. 😉
Whole heartedly agree! There is just something so evocative for me about black and white images…and the “bondage” element of the security grill – oh my! *fans*
The bondage thing hadn’t even occurred to me until you mentioned it. Thanks for that! 😉 😳
Fabulous wallpapers, Jas, especially the second one. Actually – correct that. Really bad! I most definitely will never load that onto my desktop – they would keep me from work!!! I’d be staring all the time.
I completely concur with Servetus – I love the way you put the profile shot into the gritty grill shot. It works remarkably well, almost as if it was shot like that. To me these are the Armitage twins…
Thank you, guylty! Make sure you don’t download it. I’d hate to be at least partly responsible for you not getting your work done. 🙂 If only he had a twin…oh the places my mind would wonder. 😉
Makes me think how great it would be if Richard was a twin… cos I’m greedy taht way 🙂
OMG, think of the fanfic.
Well, I would recommend the fabulous wonder twins (?) that fedoralady conjured up for her Rebecca and Guy fanfic. I re-read that today. Maybe that’s where my twin suggestion came from…
Guh! Guy and Lucas are…yeah, I’ve got no words.
*ggg* Guh is the word. 😉
And my understanding was that was her first stab at slash (sorry, just came out that way). Imagine what she does with practice! Can we survive it?
Was it???? OMG – that was the piece that drew me into the deep dark pit of slash *hahaha*. It was also the first vaguely RA-related internet piece that I ever commented on. Fedora has a lot to answer for 😉
LOL…everybody needs a good enabler 🙂
Guylty, you are not alone! I’d never even heard of slash before reading that fic and now I read it all the time. It’s a slippery slope. 😉
Come here, my twin *ggg* – same here, Jas!!! I had to look up “slash” in wikipedia, because I only knew it as a synonym for going to the loo – or that rather hairy guitarist from Gun’n’Roses *hahaha* The latter really would’ve put me off that kind of fiction forever…
What a relief – thought that I was waaaay behind the curve here…turns out I’m right on track with my slash education :). (Hobbit fic has really broadened my horizons!). Do you think we can get a deal on group therapy? (Given that were deviants and all 😉 )
Group rate on therapy? I thought reading all these fics was therapy! 😉
The Tolkien universe seems to be a good step ahead of us. Well, I suppose there were 14 males to bunch together in various pairings. But yeah, the group therapy is on!! They may have to confront us with our fantasies, though, to “cure” the disease…
I’m trying not to picture Slash in slash fic! 😉 I had to look up what slash meant as well. I was so naive back in the day. Oh how times have changed.
Nowadays I feel like a woman of the world, Jas. even my best mates, three gay guys from college, had absolutely no clue what slash was! Vindicated! And one over. Ha!
probably b/c it’s not a male genre. The research done on it suggests that the vast majority of authors are heterosexual women. I would say I have talked to 1 male slash author in the last three years … not that there aren’t more. But apparently b/c of this statistic, all the theories that try to explain its popularity related to female behavior.
Interesting. Although I would have thought that my gay friends would all be in favour of m/m action…
My own theory for heterosexual female interest in slash is that by picturing 2 men with each other, particularly if in context of a real person or the real person’s role, they do not have to deal with jealousy over another woman their subject of adoration is [insert verb of your choice] with. A bit simplistic…
Here’s a brief summary of stuff that I’ve read in “the literature” (keep in mind that it’s mostly written by English professors):
1. Slash often has h/c elements — women readers tend to see these as nurturing / establishing of relationships
2. Women see male/male relationships as inherently more egalitarian than female/male ones and find slash attractive to write because of that — it is politically liberating
3. Women use slash fiction to create non-traumatic love relationships that allow them to deal with their own traumatic ones
4. It is a response to traditional pornography — a sort of female rebellion against it
5. It reflects a female desire for gender transgression that cannot be easily articulated in the form of a female character.
Part of the issue w/men, I think, is that women writing men having sex with each other has some striking differences from how men would write it. I can almost always tell immediately when I’m reading m/m fiction that was actually written by a man. Another thing is that as a historian I’d insist that we note / consider that the original slash stories (ST) were written in a completely different media age, with very different audiences. I.e., theories about its significant to women from the 1970s may not be explanatory in the same way they are now.
Hmm. I think that the way men write het sex is different from the way women write it, so it follows that they would write slash differently, too. The egalitarian aspect strikes a chord with me. It is also personally unknown territory for me because (1) I am not a gay male and (2) despite my gay friends being candid, this isn’t something we do together. Like many writers, my imagination has to go to work.
Very interesting findings. And I can see how all of them apply although I couldn’t have put my finger on to it. I am tempted to do some comparative research into male and female written slash.
That is interesting info…is the “literature” on this recent or in reference to the earlier slash
material?
The first book I am aware of was published in 1991, based on research done in the mid-80s in the US. At that point (pre-Internet) the panorama of stuff available was much narrower, and the audiences were different. For instance, there was little RPF, and the majority of the stories were oriented in sci-fi worlds that were already AUs (so to speak).
I was thinking that there must be dissertations being written on this topic. Sure enough, the first one I found was a study of slash in a LOTR context. I really need to get the history of sex listed so I ican study this more on work time!
Meanwhile JRR Tolkien is spinning in his grave… What was the name of the study you found, obscura? Sounds interesting!
I just googled, “studies of slash fiction” to see what was out there…different slant here, but this is surely not the only one 🙂
“Masculinity in Lord of the Rings and Slash Fiction”
yeah, I looked at this stuff quite a while back, when Didion was interested in it. I am sure there’s a ton more research now. I also think (this is something I’m trying to figure out in the stuff I started publishing yesterday) that the specific fandom is important, and even the specific character or actor in involved. Different tropes have different tolerances, so to speak.
Hehe…slash therapy! It will be the latest craze in mental health 😉
Was that really her first attempt at slash?! Both that fic and the Guy and Alan fic are really good. I feel like I should be blushing admitting to liking them both, but everyone knows I like the darker side of fanfic by this point. 😉
She said once she did research for those. I always wondered what that meant. Books? Visiting bars? Observant participation? 🙂
Ooh, I think we need some details on what exactly the research entailed. Inquiring minds want to know! 😉
here’s the interview — rereading, I see she said “online and in books.” Oh well 🙂
http://meandrichard.wordpress.com/2011/03/17/fanstravaganza-two-day-4/
If she ever writes more slash maybe she’ll go for a more hands on approach to research–for the good of the story of course. 😉
I think so…I seem to recall her referring to that somewhere not too long ago. I imagine she’ll wander over here at some point and verify 🙂
*GUH*
*thud*
Methinks it might be time to review that one. Purely as a concentration exercise. Build up my stamina, so to speak.
(Oh, who am I kidding? Where’d I put that damn Pervette button? 😉 )
It doesn’t take much to lead me along the garden path these days…that did it. 🙂
RA and a twin. Yes please!!! Time for some fanfic authors to get cracking. 🙂
Doing one now as a request, but not RPF, just a threesome with Porter, MacAlwain, and someone called Linda.
Woohoo. I hope the link to the finished fic will be announced widely. Can’t wait 🙂
Leigh, I hope the fic will be posted somewhere all of us Pervettes can read it! 😉
I post as Lady Anne on Dreamer Fiction, a members-only site. Pervettes over 18 can request a member to recommend them for admittance. If you are not a member already, you likely know someone who is.
I haven’t been over there in quite a while. I’ll have to check out your fics!
I tend to write what one of my colleagues called “heart-warming smut.” Hope you enjoy.
Nice wallpapers with two of my favourite pictures of Richard. I’m totally grazy about both those pictures. I love that they are black and white and so artistic and the retro style in them. I like that he almost looks like a different man in them, he looks so mutch younger in the other picture. I think my favourite is probably the profile picture, I’m mad about the Johnny Cash look in it (but I love both pictures together in your wallpaper).
And I just have to say, Richard really has an amazing nose. I just have to thank Ascroft for capturing his nose so well, hehe.
I do really love him in black and white shots as well. And I totally agree with you, Ascroft did a great job of capturing Richard’s nose! I went and looked up some black and white profile photos of Johnny Cash and can understand why you think this profile shot of RA is similar. Very interesting. I wouldn’t have made that connection on my own. 🙂
Oh, these wallpapers look FABULOUS! The second one is the best out of the two. I have to teach myself how do this stuff using my fave RA photos.
Thanks, Xenia! I’m sure you can teach yourself. All you really need is Photoshop and the patience to find tutorials that help with whatever you’re hoping make.
Beautiful Jas! I really love the second one, such a creative idea. Definitely put to good use.
Thanks, CardiganGirl! I was pretty pleased with how it turned out, so I’m glad others like it as well. 🙂
Beautiful work! Black and white is really a treat – and RA suits it well.
Btw – interesting conversation here. I only learned what Slash was since being an RA fan. But not from the fiction so much as from some fanvids (mind you they are very tame) but there were references to Slash in the notes so of course I had to look it up. I was quite surprised – and actually thought it was quite amusing – but I guess I should take it more seriously….? Interesting to know that it is mostly a female creation. (This fandom has given me quite the education!) Thanks all!!
Thank you, Phylly3! RA really does look good in black and white–although I can’t really think of a way he doesn’t look good. 😉 That’s interesting that people have made slash fanvids. I haven’t come across any of those yet. Just like everything else, there are all kinds of slash fic. Some of them are sexually explicit, some are just sweet and fluffy. It’s definitely not to everyone’s taste though. Like you, I didn’t know it was mostly a female creation. This fandom seems to teach me something new all the time. 🙂
I think Mersguy posted her favorite fanvids when I interviewed her — and two of them were slash.
These are beautiful,Jasrangoon 🙂
hmmm..Slash?..the former lead guitarist of the Guns N’Roses? My doughter says he is AWESOME!
Thanks, Joanna! Your daughter is absolutely right, Slash is awesome! He’s one of my favorite guitarists. 😉
Well, well, well…first, thank you for the beautiful wallpapers. It truly is a joy to see his profile presented in a non-distorted way. For profile horrors, guylty’s blog is the place to visit and cry while reading yesterday’s spooof! *ahem*
As for the slash, I cannot remember when it was exactly that I found out such a thing existed and what it meant. Interestingly, though, it was a lesbian former co-worker of mine who mentioned it to me. Suffice it to say the conversation back then did not produced the result she had hoped for when she brought up the topic. Okaaaaaaayyyyy…sorry for the TMI moment!
Even though I have never written one, I can see the appeal the slash fic genre holds for many. What I do have difficulty finding sexy is all the Durincest fanfic, but I have a very specific reason for that feeling. Still, like I expressed to the Morality Police on my birthday post, I believe it is not my place to tell anyone who writes those stories that they are perverts/going to hell/should be ashamed of themselves/stoned, burned at the stake or whatever else will get the self-righteous brigade’s jollies going. Don’t like it, don’t read it. They get off on feeling morally superior, while most of us would prefer to simply get off. Oops! Did I ‘say’ that out loud? I guess I must be a shameless hussy. The horror!
Well, I am off to write about our dear Guy (no pun intended). Happy GuyDay, everyone!
I’m so glad you like the wallpapers, Mujertropical. Ascroft did such a great job of capturing some of the best aspects of Richard’s beauty.
I think when it comes to slash fics, Durincest fics, or whatever, people have different tastes and different ideas about what is right and wrong. Like you said, if you don’t like it, don’t read it. As long as there isn’t something illegal going on, people should be free to enjoy what they want without fear of the morality police trying to force them to conform to some arbitrary concept of what is appropriate.
Agreed. Unless a person is a pedophile, a pederast, a rapist or a sadist who tortures holds people against their will and tortures them, they should be left alone. We need to practice tolerance and empathy. Thank you for reading my posts. 😉
P.S: Why is there no edit button to make changes to comments we have submitted? *groan*
How interesting that thing with slash fiction, so many people writing it really fascinates me. Because I just keep on asking why? I must be different from other girls obviously because I have looked up some with Thorin and Richard but those stories just creeps me out. So I don’t really understand the thing.
Thora, I would imagine that there are probably more people who don’t like slash fic than who do. It is definitely not to everyone’s taste, which is to be expected.
Beautiful wallpapers. His expression is verging on sad … aww.
Thanks, Traxy. How interesting that you think his expression seems almost sad. I think he just looks rather pensive. It just goes to show that we can all look at the same images and see something different.