Slash recs?
Wait a sec before you rec away: I'm looking for something specific. (And never mind that I don't have the time to *read* anything at the moment... I just got curious today, and the curiosity needs to be satisfied.)
Someone, I think it was carenejeans, asked for 'slashy het' recs a while ago, i.e. het that 'feels like slash'. So, as *primarily* a gen reader for whom the main pairing of this fandom for unfathomable reasons simply does not work (and I've tried hard to like it, believe me!) it suddenly occurred to me today to sort of turn that request around. Well, okay, not quite, for I don't want slash that feels like het...
What I'm looking for is slash that feels like *gen*. To give an example, some of Kat Allison's and Jay Tryfanstone's fics accomplish this.
I'm aware that this is vague to the point of uselessness. But... I dunno, I can't really define what I mean very well at the moment. I know that I've read maybe a handful of slash stories in this fandom I enjoyed - most recently tazlet's The Shell Game. So, if you forced me at gunpoint to try to define what makes a slash story work for me, I guess I'd say the story would have to meet at least a couple or so of these criteria:
- not too much focus on the relationship
- not too much focus on the sex, either
- preferably, a pairing that involves Methos but not Duncan, but I'm willing to dip my toe into the D/M pond, too
- vivid background/atmosphere
- good plot
- good character insights
- a very original premise
- good writing (well, that's always a requirement, really)
And that list is still pretty useless, as it does not really help to define what makes some slash more acceptable to me than other slash.
Anyway... just try me: rec me something slashy that you think a reader who's not all that interested in slash, or sex, or relationships of a sexual nature, or TrueLove(tm) ;-), could enjoy. So far I've missed out on the works of many of the most popular writers in the fandom, so give me a place to start. Who knows - it might help me to ease my way into reading HL slash 'properly'. ;-)
Someone, I think it was carenejeans, asked for 'slashy het' recs a while ago, i.e. het that 'feels like slash'. So, as *primarily* a gen reader for whom the main pairing of this fandom for unfathomable reasons simply does not work (and I've tried hard to like it, believe me!) it suddenly occurred to me today to sort of turn that request around. Well, okay, not quite, for I don't want slash that feels like het...
What I'm looking for is slash that feels like *gen*. To give an example, some of Kat Allison's and Jay Tryfanstone's fics accomplish this.
I'm aware that this is vague to the point of uselessness. But... I dunno, I can't really define what I mean very well at the moment. I know that I've read maybe a handful of slash stories in this fandom I enjoyed - most recently tazlet's The Shell Game. So, if you forced me at gunpoint to try to define what makes a slash story work for me, I guess I'd say the story would have to meet at least a couple or so of these criteria:
- not too much focus on the relationship
- not too much focus on the sex, either
- preferably, a pairing that involves Methos but not Duncan, but I'm willing to dip my toe into the D/M pond, too
- vivid background/atmosphere
- good plot
- good character insights
- a very original premise
- good writing (well, that's always a requirement, really)
And that list is still pretty useless, as it does not really help to define what makes some slash more acceptable to me than other slash.
Anyway... just try me: rec me something slashy that you think a reader who's not all that interested in slash, or sex, or relationships of a sexual nature, or TrueLove(tm) ;-), could enjoy. So far I've missed out on the works of many of the most popular writers in the fandom, so give me a place to start. Who knows - it might help me to ease my way into reading HL slash 'properly'. ;-)