where are you in the story?

[cynthia_arrow]

After so many people (okay, like half a dozen) thanking me for writing Jack and Sawyer as in a real relationship and not just opportunistically homosexual, I started to wonder who this would bother and why. I guess I figure it comes down to where you are inside the story. I'm curious to hear why you write slash and how

Comments

[eponine119]

It's a good question. I haven't figured out the answer for myself yet. I think I have elements of all three, but maybe the strongest toward #1. To me it feels canon that Sawyer's sexuality could go either way and probably does, and Jack doesn't seem to like women terribly much, but that's my own take on the characters. But there's an element of me writing his character from the inside, and also elements of Jack + Sawyer = HOT.

I just find the "together but magically not gay" construct of slash intriguing, which is why I mentioned it in my comments to your story. I have no problem with suspending that disbelief in reading other stories, but I always appreciate it when the author takes the time and the trouble to make an overt decision and address the characters as homosexual, rather than it all being slashy fun.

[cynthia_arrow]

TO be sure, I've been guilty of writing "together but magically not gay" because it's easier to do if you're writing narrowly within the canon, and it can be a really interesting dynamic. But, really, I write them all over the sexual spectrum, especially when I'm doing 'first time' stories. Honestly, I sometimes think it's boring if they're both established homosexuals, especially when I'm writing beyond PWP. Jack is especially fumentally and physically--when he's discovering how nice it can be to touch a man.

And, yeah, I totally see Sawyer as a sexual opportunist. That's probably why he's often bisexual in my stories. And perhaps your comments on Jack tell me why I have such a hard time writing Jate, even if I think they've got serious chemistry. *ducks head and hides from the Kate-haters*

[zelda_zee]

Oooh, fun question

[cynthia_arrow]

And just lately I've noticed that my perspective is changing. I think at first (at first being a couple months ago) I was really thinking of them more as going either way, but just lately I'm starting to think of them as gay (thanks, in part, to fics like yours), instead of skirting the issue...

uberaeryn first brought it to my attention, and I honestly haven't written them as bisexual in a long time, although that can still be really fun (see my ^ comment). And you're right about leaving the door open. They've both got way too much chemistry with the brunette bitches to ignore. (Okay, so AnaLucia is a major bitch and Kate's just...wishy washy.) Thanks for responding.

[uberaeryn]

Add me to the chorus - 1. and 3.

I've nothing insightful to add; just the anecdotal comment I sent to you months ago that in my mind, even when I'm writing first-time, I now see them as in an established relationship and rarely address the issue of sexuality except for, you know, the actual sex.

I think I covered it for the first time in a long time in that silly cowboy AU where Sawyer was kicked out of his house for being gay and that when he found out that Jack was, as well, it eased all that semi-closeted angst.

[cynthia_arrow]

I LIKED THAT "SILLY COWBOY AU"!

(pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, I am The Great and Powerful Oz!)

[uberaeryn]

THANK YOU AND HA-HA! I HAVE INFESTED YOU WITH CAPSLOCK OF DOOM COOTIES! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

[teh_dale]

Being part of the (apparently) vast minority--that is, slash fiction writers who are actually gay males--I have never considered the possiblity of writing Jack and Sawyer (my OTP for those who don't know me) as opportunistically gay. At most, I will have one character or the other be afraid of their own sexual orientation, or in denial of it, but in the end, the J/S in my fiction are either gay (which my Jack always is) or bisexual but leaning toward male relationships (which more accurately defines my Sawyer). I usually tend to write from the third person, which requires some bit of distance from the characters, but tailor my writing to show that we're seeing this from one person's perspective more so than the other's. I don't necessarily place myself inside either character, but I do insert many of my own fears, angsts, desires, and experiences into the stories.

[cynthia_arrow]

I think that fanfic writers who are male, period, are the minority. :)

It's good to know there a some universals. I know we ALL write our own hangups and kinks into stories. And I'm convinced canon Sawyer is bisexual, because we all tend to push him in that direction.

I used to deal a lot with one man's (usually Jack's) issues with his sexuality, and I think that comes from feelings tied to the canon. Slash is fantasy, but I always have to inject a story with reality somehow, even if it means dealing with why Jack had never been with a man before that we knew about. I've got to where I let him be gay, but sometimes I find it compelling to write him without any experience. Also, in my real life, I'm not the "let's just screw" type, so I guess that also infects my stories to the point that they're always about relationships and the complications of sex in those relationships, which is ridiculous. Talk about inserting your own hangups into the story!

Thanks for adding to the conversation!

[teh_dale]

*grin* some of my AU stuff (stuff I'm still tweaking and haven't posted yet) has a young Jack losing his virginity to a young Sawyer. But as far as my Island/Semi-canon stuff go, I think that Jack and Marc Silverman were a little more than friends, and it may have even been what led to Jack no longer being married. But that's just my little take on things. LOL

I also tend to shy away from the "jump-your-bones" type sex stories, mainly because I'm kind of insecure about my writing abilities in that area, but also because I think it's a lot more sexy to have that tension there, or to only reveal enough to get the idea across.

And you haven't read some of the rough drafts of my stories. Talk about being talky! I usually have to go through and seriously pare down my dialogue so that the story actually progresses. Otherwise, it becomes this endless "Steel Magnolias" type of conversation about absolutely nothing at all.