1. Both? I like a lot of scents, actually. I know several men who would, if given a choice, would wear a woodsy/spicy scent over a floral one, due directly to the fact that they think it's less feminine. But I don't know if that means that they actually like it better. The dudes I'm talking about are good 'ol boys.
2. I haven't actually posted any of my attempts at writing anal sex yet, and I think that's a direct result of having had some in RL. I feel like I'm still working my way up to really liking it, which gives me trouble when I write a sex scene in which someone has brilliant anal sex on the first try. And then I try to describe what it's like, and I write something on the order of, "like being stabbed with a dull, thick knife only better and sorta hot?" :/ And then I scrap it and write blowjobs instead. :D
The thing about het sex for fannish audiences is that--as opposed to non-het sex--it's considered so mainstream. You have to really work to put the sexy into it. For me thus far that has meant giving het sex either a slight edge of kinkiness or the full-on kinky treatment.
*sigh* Someday I gotta tell you about the 8K of Arthur/Gwen I have in scrivener somewhere. I don't even know how it happened.
1. Excellent! I was wondering if women wore scents they liked or what they thought would attract men. I don't wear any fragrance (dh doesn't like most scents). LOL at the good ol' boys.
2. Oh, right, good point. Using ones own experience isn't always the right way to go, is it? Someone was making that point, sort of, in a ramp up essay on the kink bingo comm.
LOL at "being stabbed with a dull, thick knife, only better and sorta hot". That pretty much describes the first time I had sex.
I wonder if that's why fandom dismisses A/G (not to mention the very little chemistry they have -- I actually think that Bradley and Colin's chemistry is just through the roof and that Bradley and Gwen have ok chemistry). Hm, I'm thinking about het sex and needing kink to appeal to fans.
*writes down knife metaphor for future use in fic* Might work somewhere?
Yeah, the fic is basically Gwen gen with a lot of A/G sex, if that's possible. Because it's Gwen post-S4, still hung up on Lancelot, kinda traumatized by Morgana's lust/love spell, trying to adjust to being queen and married to Arthur.
I'm with you on the no chemistry bit. A/G read like they would have very tender, very careful missionary sex. And in my fic, Gwen finds this very unsatisfying but doesn't know what to do about it. And then she accidentally tops him? And she likes it a LOT, but Arthur feels emasculated. So that was where the "edge of kink" to spice up the het comes in.
I wrote it for for a kmm prompt, and it never got finished. WAH.
It could work somewhere, yeah. I have been toying with the idea of writing in first time encounter with an ER couple by using a flashback sort of thing.
What does Gwen gen with a lot of A/G sex mean? Isn't that kind of contradictory?:D
I think I didn't express myself well. If you don't know about the chemistry between Arthur and Merlin, the chemistry between A/G isn't awful. I mean, they do have some chemistry. It's just not the nuclear explosion that A/M have.
LOL. I haven't written any A/G sex. I see Gwen as very much in charge, especially S1 Gwen. I haven't written much of her, actually and what I have written is S1.
Having her on top makes Arthur feel emasculated? 0.o. I think maybe our headcanon diverges here. I mean, I can't even put them together, so clearly our headcanon diverges. I should see what happens if I try to write A/G. LOL. I know if I tried to write that pairing for a KMM, it would most likely never get finished either. My sympathies.
Er, maybe I shouldn't call it gen, but it's not *really* A/G in the strict sense. The point of the story is not A/G romance, it's Gwen self-liberation, so I have a kind of "gen" mindset when I write it.
I think maybe our headcanon diverges here. *grins* I didn't want to spew all the details on you, but the problem is really that Arthur loved it, but feels like he shouldn't love it, because he's been raised with very specific ideas about gender roles. And therefore confusion? But then they work it out and have great sex. Because MY headcanon is that, when it comes to intimate relationships, Arthur is in desperate need of not-being-in-charge time, and Gwen is the toppiest top who ever topped. Ahem.
*nods* Ok. Got it. My current Underworld kink bingo in progress is all about Selene. She is driving that bus.
:D Ah, that makes sense, actually. Is it canon era, or AU? I think a lot of us see that in Arthur, that he's desperate for time where he's not in charge. Someone just wrote an awesome KB fill where Arthur is a sub and he loves it. http://archiveofourown.org/works/511257 It's short. Go read it.
late to the partychicago_ruthSeptember 17 2012, 02:10:06 UTC
I wonder if that's why fandom dismisses A/G
I just wanted to point out that fandom doesn't dismiss A/G -- there are plenty of A/G fans. They just aren't hanging out in the same spaces we are. If you check fanfiction.net or tumblr, there are plenty of A/G fics and A/G picspams. They have their own LJ communities. They even have their own kink meme, and I don't blame them. The "general" one is pretty much the Arthur/Merlin show, and good luck getting A/G read there.
I'm sure Arthur/Merlin is more popular in general, but I wouldn't discount the het fans just because they made their own space. ;) And from what I've read, many A/G fans think the chemistry is just fine, and that A/M is unappealing for other reasons.
I mean, het fandom is by no means dying? I doubt the lack of kink scares off Twilight or Harry Potter fans, for example. In many anime fandoms, there are major shipwars between het shippers. (Bleach is infamous for this.)
Re: late to the partyjelazakazoneSeptember 17 2012, 02:17:55 UTC
Wait, there is a kink meme just for Arthur/Gwen? This cracks me up.
I don't associate fandom with het, but I suppose fans come in all stripes, don't they?
Do you know if A/G fans dismiss the A/M chemistry? I mean, they don't see it? Because I agree, the A/G chemistry is just fine, if you ignore the elephant in the room which blazes like the sun :D
Re: late to the partychicago_ruthSeptember 17 2012, 02:38:36 UTC
Yep! pendragons-kink is the A/G meme. I don't know how active it is, but tbh, it's discouraging even asking for minor slash pairings over on kmm. And a lot of A/M fans were/are hostile towards Gwen.
In some places, I've seen people talking about how unhealthy the A/M relationship is; the fact that Arthur doesn't seem to respect Merlin at all, or the fact that Merlin is constantly lying. It doesn't bother me, but for some people, that's a deal-breaker. In comparison, A/G is a lot healthier/happier (though I don't know if all the non-A/M shippers are also A/G shippers.) I saw one person saying that G/L was no more developed than A/G -- and that at least A/G had more than just two episodes devoted to it.
The het side of fandom is blazing, and I'd venture to say that overall, it is in fact larger than the slash side. I mean, when I first got into fandom, it was all Sailor Moon het. Twilight and Harry Potter also lean heavily towards het. It's only AO3 and certain parts of LJ that skew heavily towards slash. And of course, it depends on the fandom. Most of the currently popular anime fandoms (Bleach, Naruto), though they do have a huge slash subset, also include a loooot of het pairings.
Re: late to the partyjelazakazoneSeptember 17 2012, 02:41:53 UTC
Oooh, fascinating. I have a very skewed perspective then. I've always known people writing slash and just assumed the majority of fans were into slash.
HP leans heavily towards het? Really? It seems like everyone I know is really into Harry/Draco.
There are definitely things about the A/M relationship that suck, but I don't buy the argument that A/G is healthier. They hide things from each other as well, although he's not throwing things at her either.
Re: late to the partychicago_ruthSeptember 17 2012, 03:01:50 UTC
Yeah, but if we went by _my_ fandom experience, then everybody reads BL manga and started in anime fandom. Fandom is so broad!
For Harry Potter, you just have to look at all the Harry/Hermione and Ron/Hermione shipping wars that happened back in the day. And quality of the fic aside, those pairings aren't small. Just did a check: I got 46k fics for H/D, 23k for H/Hr, and 22k for R/H. Het for the major pairings is definitely keeping up with the major slash pairing. And those are fics that are using the character listings; I'm sure there are more (for all pairings) that don't list the characters. Not to mention the specialized HP archives that were out there. And all the LJ comms.
Twilight... yeah, Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. Enough said. XD
Some people do view A/G as healthier. *shrug* I've found that everybody seems to have different interpretations of the same scenes.
Re: late to the partyjelazakazoneSeptember 17 2012, 14:38:37 UTC
LOL. So true. I was on the outside of HP and LotR fandom for a long time, but probably there were factions I wasn't aware of. My friend who got me on LJ is a long time slasher.
Twilight seems to be in its own special universe, from what I understand.
And that is true as well. Everyone has their own interpretation.
2. I haven't actually posted any of my attempts at writing anal sex yet, and I think that's a direct result of having had some in RL. I feel like I'm still working my way up to really liking it, which gives me trouble when I write a sex scene in which someone has brilliant anal sex on the first try. And then I try to describe what it's like, and I write something on the order of, "like being stabbed with a dull, thick knife only better and sorta hot?" :/ And then I scrap it and write blowjobs instead. :D
The thing about het sex for fannish audiences is that--as opposed to non-het sex--it's considered so mainstream. You have to really work to put the sexy into it. For me thus far that has meant giving het sex either a slight edge of kinkiness or the full-on kinky treatment.
*sigh* Someday I gotta tell you about the 8K of Arthur/Gwen I have in scrivener somewhere. I don't even know how it happened.
Reply
2. Oh, right, good point. Using ones own experience isn't always the right way to go, is it? Someone was making that point, sort of, in a ramp up essay on the kink bingo comm.
LOL at "being stabbed with a dull, thick knife, only better and sorta hot". That pretty much describes the first time I had sex.
I wonder if that's why fandom dismisses A/G (not to mention the very little chemistry they have -- I actually think that Bradley and Colin's chemistry is just through the roof and that Bradley and Gwen have ok chemistry). Hm, I'm thinking about het sex and needing kink to appeal to fans.
Do tell. :D
Reply
Yeah, the fic is basically Gwen gen with a lot of A/G sex, if that's possible. Because it's Gwen post-S4, still hung up on Lancelot, kinda traumatized by Morgana's lust/love spell, trying to adjust to being queen and married to Arthur.
I'm with you on the no chemistry bit. A/G read like they would have very tender, very careful missionary sex. And in my fic, Gwen finds this very unsatisfying but doesn't know what to do about it. And then she accidentally tops him? And she likes it a LOT, but Arthur feels emasculated. So that was where the "edge of kink" to spice up the het comes in.
I wrote it for for a kmm prompt, and it never got finished. WAH.
Reply
What does Gwen gen with a lot of A/G sex mean? Isn't that kind of contradictory?:D
I think I didn't express myself well. If you don't know about the chemistry between Arthur and Merlin, the chemistry between A/G isn't awful. I mean, they do have some chemistry. It's just not the nuclear explosion that A/M have.
LOL. I haven't written any A/G sex. I see Gwen as very much in charge, especially S1 Gwen. I haven't written much of her, actually and what I have written is S1.
Having her on top makes Arthur feel emasculated? 0.o. I think maybe our headcanon diverges here. I mean, I can't even put them together, so clearly our headcanon diverges. I should see what happens if I try to write A/G. LOL. I know if I tried to write that pairing for a KMM, it would most likely never get finished either. My sympathies.
Reply
I think maybe our headcanon diverges here. *grins* I didn't want to spew all the details on you, but the problem is really that Arthur loved it, but feels like he shouldn't love it, because he's been raised with very specific ideas about gender roles. And therefore confusion? But then they work it out and have great sex. Because MY headcanon is that, when it comes to intimate relationships, Arthur is in desperate need of not-being-in-charge time, and Gwen is the toppiest top who ever topped. Ahem.
Reply
:D Ah, that makes sense, actually. Is it canon era, or AU? I think a lot of us see that in Arthur, that he's desperate for time where he's not in charge. Someone just wrote an awesome KB fill where Arthur is a sub and he loves it. http://archiveofourown.org/works/511257 It's short. Go read it.
Reply
I just wanted to point out that fandom doesn't dismiss A/G -- there are plenty of A/G fans. They just aren't hanging out in the same spaces we are. If you check fanfiction.net or tumblr, there are plenty of A/G fics and A/G picspams. They have their own LJ communities. They even have their own kink meme, and I don't blame them. The "general" one is pretty much the Arthur/Merlin show, and good luck getting A/G read there.
I'm sure Arthur/Merlin is more popular in general, but I wouldn't discount the het fans just because they made their own space. ;) And from what I've read, many A/G fans think the chemistry is just fine, and that A/M is unappealing for other reasons.
I mean, het fandom is by no means dying? I doubt the lack of kink scares off Twilight or Harry Potter fans, for example. In many anime fandoms, there are major shipwars between het shippers. (Bleach is infamous for this.)
Reply
I don't associate fandom with het, but I suppose fans come in all stripes, don't they?
Do you know if A/G fans dismiss the A/M chemistry? I mean, they don't see it? Because I agree, the A/G chemistry is just fine, if you ignore the elephant in the room which blazes like the sun :D
Reply
In some places, I've seen people talking about how unhealthy the A/M relationship is; the fact that Arthur doesn't seem to respect Merlin at all, or the fact that Merlin is constantly lying. It doesn't bother me, but for some people, that's a deal-breaker. In comparison, A/G is a lot healthier/happier (though I don't know if all the non-A/M shippers are also A/G shippers.) I saw one person saying that G/L was no more developed than A/G -- and that at least A/G had more than just two episodes devoted to it.
The het side of fandom is blazing, and I'd venture to say that overall, it is in fact larger than the slash side. I mean, when I first got into fandom, it was all Sailor Moon het. Twilight and Harry Potter also lean heavily towards het. It's only AO3 and certain parts of LJ that skew heavily towards slash. And of course, it depends on the fandom. Most of the currently popular anime fandoms (Bleach, Naruto), though they do have a huge slash subset, also include a loooot of het pairings.
Reply
HP leans heavily towards het? Really? It seems like everyone I know is really into Harry/Draco.
There are definitely things about the A/M relationship that suck, but I don't buy the argument that A/G is healthier. They hide things from each other as well, although he's not throwing things at her either.
Reply
For Harry Potter, you just have to look at all the Harry/Hermione and Ron/Hermione shipping wars that happened back in the day. And quality of the fic aside, those pairings aren't small. Just did a check: I got 46k fics for H/D, 23k for H/Hr, and 22k for R/H. Het for the major pairings is definitely keeping up with the major slash pairing. And those are fics that are using the character listings; I'm sure there are more (for all pairings) that don't list the characters. Not to mention the specialized HP archives that were out there. And all the LJ comms.
Twilight... yeah, Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. Enough said. XD
Some people do view A/G as healthier. *shrug* I've found that everybody seems to have different interpretations of the same scenes.
Reply
Twilight seems to be in its own special universe, from what I understand.
And that is true as well. Everyone has their own interpretation.
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