Still more thoughts about fic preferences ....

[justacat]

Or, (More) Extensive Self-Examination Can Be Fun! *g*

Some things that make me really love a slash story - or not - with emphasis on B/D--Part III

1. Too much smut is never enough ....  I like smut in my stories.  Love it, in fact - it's a fundamental element of slash's appeal to me.  This has been the case for me since day one, and it remains true, notwithstanding the knowing assurances I've received from various fellow fans (almost since day one!) that this fascination is something I will "outgrow," or become bored with, presumably as my tastes become more refined and intellectual or something.
   
   Well, it hasn't happened, no sign of it - I remained as un-refined and un-intellectual as ever, and I love smut just as much.  I'm not going to go into too much detail here - Why I Love Smut will (hopefully) be the subject of another LJ post, one of these days - but in short, I love the intimacy, I love seeing behind the bedroom doors, I love what sex can reveal about the characters and their relationship - and yes, I - unapologetically -  love the titillation, too:  two hot men writhing around naked together.
   
   This is related to point 4, of course (sleeping together before loving each other), but also to point 1:  relationship, relationship, and more relationship.  Because I want stories to be about the relationship, the intimate relationship.  Maybe I'm just a voyeur at heart, but I want to see what's going on inside that relationship. And since sex is a pretty important part of an intimate relationship, if a story doesn't go into the bedroom (or the alley , or wherever! *g*), then there are important aspects of the relationship that I'm not seeing.
   
   So for me it's not easy for a story that focuses on an intimate, sexual relationship to succeed if it consistently fades to black.  In other words, when I read the kind of story that could have sex scenes - i.e., because the story is about the relationship and the relationship involves sex - then their absence feels like a flaw in the story to me, an incompleteness.
   
   That doesn't mean I like every sex scene I read (though I generally prefer any sex to fading to black).  I don't like sex to be too "purple"; I don't like porn clichés, and I'm constantly surprised by how many sex scenes fall into the trap resonant8 described in one of her fabulous posts on how to write sex scenes (the art of which she is a past master): "Some writers can stay in character for any scene but a sex scene. It's one of the most frustrating things in the world to be reading along, having a good time, following our guys as they do their thing and are entirely themselves, until suddenly they disappear and are replaced by two porn stars who superficially resemble them."
   
   It's amazing how many authors do this, and  I wonder why that is.  Why is it so hard to keep characters in character during sex, as opposed to other activities?  And why do so few authors really capitalize on what sex can bring to a story, how much it can reveal, what a tool it can be?  I mean, going back to point 2:  I don't want my characters talking about their Feelings, I want showing not telling, and a great way to show feelings in an intimate relationship is with a sex scene, right?  (These are real questions, not rhetorical or sarcastic; I'm not a fic writer, so I have no experience from which to speak, and I can only assume that this must be very, very difficult, more difficult than many other aspects of story writing).
   
   But anyway, good smut for me is one of the greatest pleasures slash can offer, and my favorite stories tend to be smutty ones!



2. Gay as a three-quid note ....  I understand the appeal of "We're Not Gay, We Just Love Each Other," I really do.  I mean, it is often reviled these days as homophobic, and I agree that there might be some degree of homophobia behind some fans' preference for the paradigm -  but that's not the only reason it appeals, and I believe it's perfectly possible to love WNGWJLEO without having a homophobic bone in your body.
   
   It's all about the idea of two guys who are so in love with each other that nothing can keep them apart, not even what normally would be the greatest barrier of all:  heterosexuality.  I'm always reminded of the due South story American Way, by resonant, in which Fraser tells Ray K that he (Ray) couldn't be attracted to Fraser, because being attracted to men is not in his nature.  And Ray K says, in inimitable Ray K (and resonant!) style:  "Nature is not the boss of me!"  Not even nature can keep us apart.....
   
   So having the guys be ostensibly "straight" is a way of illustrating and emphasizing the transcendence of their love.  And I understand the appeal of that.
   
   I understand the appeal - I just don't feel it myself.  It is possible for me to enjoy stories that employ WNGWJLEO, if it's subtle - that is, if the fact that neither has been attracted to a man before isn't overly emphasized, even though the WNGWJLEO implication is there.  But when a big deal is made of the we're-not-gay aspect, when there are repeated pronouncements by one or the other to each other or the world at large that  he couldn't imagine doing this with any other man, would never do this with any other man, no other man could ever be attractive or appealing to him - well, let's just say it's unlikely that story will end up on my lists of favorites.
   
   The "we're only gay for each other" approach just doesn't comport with my own view of the Pros characters.  And more than that, the model generally just doesn't work for me, partly because I find it so wildly unrealistic that I simply can't overcome my skepticism - it strikes me as silly rather than romantic - and partly because it's just not appealing to me.  It's a bit too sappy, too romance-novel-y, comes across to me as too sanctimonious - kind of like the "we don't fuck, we make love" thing in Point 2.
   
   I like stories in which the characters are "gay," or have acknowledged gay inclinations; in which they've had sex with men before - or wanted to, even if they've never acted on it.  Not necessarily that "gayness" is a big part of the story, or that a big deal is made of it, but that attraction to men isn't a new feeling for them.  I especially like stories that portray them as highly sexual and sexually experienced; slut!Ray is more appealing to me than innocent!Ray.  The appeal of the "saving themselves" model escapes me - the idea that there's something romantic or compelling or special about the fact that either or both is the other's "first."  I don't mind if that's the case; it doesn't bother me - but it isn't a plus, either; emphasizing it doesn't make the relationship more appealing to me, or cause my slashergirl heart to flutter.  The bottom line is, I like the idea that these are men who like fucking men (and who love each other, of course!).
   
   Of course, a story doesn't have to allude at all to their experience, or lack thereof, with other men in order for me to enjoy it.  Taking it as read that they are ready and willing to sleep with each other, or simply not making a big deal of any of it (like the way Rimy handled Ray's inexperience in Werewolves of London - boy I refer to that story a lot, don't I; it's clearly a standard by which I judge many of these things!) can work just fine for me.
   
   But if the story does make some sort of issue of their lack of previous experience and/or inclination, then it has to deal with the issue in some way other than WNGWJLEO.  This doesn't mean I want heavy angst  and exploration of weighty Self Image and Masculinity Issues - in fact, coming-to-terms-with-gayness stories can be deathly dull and ponderous, though there are certainly notable exceptions, like the_shoshanna's Never Let Me Down, which I adore with every fiber of my being.  "Self-realization" doesn't have to be a focal point of the story.  But if an author totally ignores the issue of sexual preference after she's made a point of mentioning a character's lack of past  attraction to men, the WNGWJLEO implications are likely to throw me out of the story.
   And, unbelievably, I still have one more installment....  I can't help it; these points multiply like bunnies, and each one seems to give rise to two more!
   
   Part I
   Part II