*snickers* Takaba sacrificed his ass for the Great Authorial Intention! XD Honestly, that's totally how it reads. If I were in Fei Long's expensive footwear though, I'd totally react that way. Note, react -- I suspect this is wounded pride and machoism talking, as well as unresolved lust the size of Macau, but what do I know? XD

As for Asami...actually, this is a long time coming, if this was a yaoi plot replete with cliches. God knows there are ton of rape stories out there that ends with "And they screwed and screwed and then decided they loved each other even though it was totally non-consensual." Time for Asami to show his true feelings that could only be expressed in rape!

Plot? What plot?

Other than that, I suspect that what you and Cleo-neechan said is probably right. (Bring on the sex, yeah man.) *coughs* I mean, like, the Naked Truth series had nothing close to a plot. It's about as random as yaoi manga goes, but you get lots of smut. Like, a lot of it. More than you can take. And Fei Long shooting Asami is only going to piss him off further. I think she was trying to work towards a Asami/Fei Long-something relationship, except that I get the feeling that Yamane-sensei's a softie and she wants it good for everyone but with the way she structured the story nobody's going to get off on the really good end except for Asami. And probably Takaba. Eventually. And poor Fei Long is going to be victimised again for the sake of more Asami/Takaba sex. (I'll remember not to let my inner Fei Long fangirl out too frequently, I promise.) And can I say that I don't really care if Fei Long dumps Takaba in the Victoria Harbour meanwhile? He's beginning to become a really annoying character who does stupid things repeatedly and pretends that he's not a dumb uke half the time.

I'm losing coherency because it's late and I have a paper tomorrow morning and my brains are crammed full of computing stuff.

(And I swear she's probably been reading fanfics because the whole 'come to Hong Kong to save your boy toy's ass!' thing just reeks of... bad fanfic-ness (like mine.) *nods*)

*cracks knuckles and gets down to replying* Semi-plot? Kind of a plot? I've read all five chapters so far (glanced through NT5 because I was in the lab and boys are squemish about ghei 2-D porn on neighbouring computers) and I'm still not too sure about what the hell Fei Long is trying to do. Is he attempting to attract Asami's attention by whacking his boy toy around? Oh, well, he certainly got that, and a bullet wound in his stomach to prove it.

And yes, you are right in that this Asami is probably someone a bunch of aliens zapped and returned the wrong stuff or something. Let's make a quick comparison with their past here. Asami isn't a person who shoots someone for no good reason. In fact, so far, the impression of him I got off Yamane-sensei's portrayal is that he's a tough nut but he's not the typical yakuza boss who kills simply because someone twisted his panties the wrong way that day. He's first and foremost a businessman, I believe. The yakuza bit is like a bonus on the side or something. And he has proven that he can't hurt Fei Long (unless you are talking about his sadistic traits) and even during their last confrontation over the disk, all he did was shield his (stupid uke) uhm, Takaba with his body and wave the gun threateningly at Fei Long. (I would also like to add the Fei Long appears to have lost whatever marbles he has left in NT.) And poor Fei Long is-- yes, villianised for the sake of Asami/Takaba sex. Which is all in bad taste, I feel. There is a story in Viewfinder. (I'm not talking about Naked Truth.) And while it needs telling, especially Fei Long and Asami's past (because it was so lopesided in the second book) this is definitely not the way to do it. Yes, Takaba's involved now, you can't scrape him off with a stick even if you want but I think the issue is really between Fei Long and Asami, with no Takaba in between. (And... uhh, what was I saying again?)

But my papers are over! *burns them* And now I can go back to being a full-time fangirl. :D

(You like my fics? O_o Do you need like, eyesight check? Pro-active Fei Long is probably Fei Long on opium. Uhm. I mean, this guy is a sucker for self-punishment. And he's delusional. I bet he's still angsting over Asami choosing a younger (and not necessarily prettier) boy over him. But see, he would never say it so he just bear grudges and imagines stringing Asami by his gut but never come around to the why bit. *nods*)

*nods* Had to agree. It looks like that, and it's very likely that part of her planning process is interfered by her editor, who knows what will haul in more money. (Maybe she wanted to do something on Asami/Fei Long but her editor told her Asami/Takaba is more popular so, no go, had to work on that pairing instead?!) I'm beginning to lose respect for Asami here. Back in the first book-- fine, Takaba's life's at risk because of Asami's disk, and he has questions to ask, so I can understand why he went after Fei Long. Now? Because he wants to save his boy toy's ass? So maaaaybe he felt something for Takaba, so he's doing so much, but he's a yakuza boss. I don't know, he doesn't seem like the kind of want such attachments. I mean, that's why he abandoned Fei Long so many years back. (He could have saved him. But he didn't. Oh gee, Asami, we all know what you were thinking about then huh.)

Absolutely correct. Except that they're not solving it, not just because Fei Long's waited long enough (probably) to be worked into a mighty mood over it, but also because Asami doesn't seem to think there's a problem between them. *sighs*

(Uhm. I still find those fics bad, like, 'moonflower' is tolerable, 'Jade and Lacquer' is quite WTF-ish and 'chasing the dragon' is total WTF. ^^; And yes, I'm in the-- 'if I see another Asami/Takaba fic I swear I'm going to dig someone's eyes out' mood at the moment. The fandom is saturated with Asami/Takaba. Where's the Asami/Fei Long love?! *cries* ....and I really like the idea of a double suicide between Fei Long and Asami. Mm. Nothing is better than tragic, doomed love affairs, except for a lot of sex AND tragic, doomed love affairs.)

I'm with you on the characterisation of FeiLong and how him and Asami is just a no-no (even if I only came to the conclusion after 'NT 5'

I think Fei Long is pretty much his own boss where his territory is concerned. He has proven it before back in the second book, though I can never understand what was Asami critising about him. (Perhaps there's something wonky with the chinese translation.) I think he can hold himself pretty well as a leader, but he just kind of looses it whenever Asami is around and that say A LOT.

If it were Fei Long in Takaba's place, I think we'll be on like, book 5 of Viewfinder and there will still be no end in sight (not to mention what you said about death and explosions, races all over Hong Kong and Japan, lots of shootouts, angsty and angry declarations of I HATE YOU (from Fei Long's end) and then makeup sex. LOTS AND LOTS OF MAKEUP SEX.) *pretends that she isn't a self-delusional fangirl for the moment* *sighs* Everything is going to be so charged up.

Maybe he did. Leave his brains in Asami's rented hotel room. :3 I didn't have a particularly high opinion of him when I started reading viewfinder, and let's just say that I can't quite find the bottom at the moment. And like naanima, I'm not even in the 'I hate Takaba!' mode (as compared to the increasingly popular 'I hate Fei Long's guts' vibes that are going through fandom now.) I'm just like... *waves hand about vaguely* whatever. So he's like the dumb uke of the lot now-- okay nothing new there.

Just a question, though, and probably because I'm visually impaired since I only glanced through NT5. Did Takaba actually minded the rape? Hmmn. (I shall not head for where my brain is waving lots of red flags and hooting in an indecent manner.)

*pets* XD Pr0n with a story! Oh my, how many yaoi manga come with that anymore, huh. I had such high hopes for Viewfinder (and while I was hoping that she'll finish up the Asami/Fei Long unresolved issues) I didn't think she's going to drag it in the mud and make Fei Long the villian (again. There must always be a villian somewhere.) I think despite her fondness for Fei Long, she has a bias towards Takaba.

*joins naanima in sitting in the corner looking at Fei Long with adoring eyes* *____*
Fei Long: *get spooked, then angry*

I need to go download NT5 again to read it in detail, though it's really very painful and Fei Long's probably on crack or something when he decided on raping Takaba. (First time round, okaaay I kinda have an idea of what he's thinking, since Takaba is Asami's boy toy and everything.) *mopes* And if Takaba's enjoying it, that puts so much... implications into the things which have happened. (Or not?)

*LOL* Well, yaoi in Japanese manga appears to be heading on that trend for a while now. You do not want to know the number of good (and bad) pr0n yaoi manga I read on a weekly basis. XD And I'm so tempted to stop reading NT because Fei Long is beginning to out-seme Asami there. *coughcough*

Oh. I've read it again. He might be calling Asami's name but I'm pretty sure that he's enjoying it (just as Fei Long was enjoying it uhuh.) *scuttles off*

Erm. I mean, he's certainly behaving in a very *coughs* seme manner with Takaba, and with whatever crack he is on now, I wouldn't be surprised if he tries to get Asami to surrender his butt instead. O:D

*LOL* Maybe they should just gang up on Asami- *is shot, repeatedly*

*DEAD* Uhm. Everyone's? Asami might wake up in an unfamiliar bed to find himself screwed? Literally.

*agrees totally-* *second one in the row to get brained*