meta: characterization, believability, and fanfic pet peeves...
So, I was being self-obsessed just now, and reading through some old meta I wrote a while back about general fanfic stuff. Characterization, porn language, non-con, pet peeves, etc. And I find it interesting that while most of what i said is still true, some things have changed. Not sure if it's because I've aged (but only like, a year) or if my tastes have changed, or if it's because of the different fandoms I've embraced, but. Some of it's changed. LOL.
Anyway, there's a whole new batch of people on my f'list that are authors as well, and I thought I'd repost this (edited in italics to add what's changed since writing it) again. The original, with loads of great discussion in the replies, can be found here.
The following are generalized, and are pointing at no one particular author or fandom except when specifically mentioned. These are just the main bitches I have with the fics I have bitches about. Lots of these interlace with each other.
The Problem with Being a Slasher
The thing about it is, I've become a slasher. I've always enjoyed writing, since I was a kid. Usually it was dreams, or what I called made up dreams, which were basically just fantasies that I'd tell to people and call them dreams, because they seemed less crazy if I dreamed them then made them up. Because you don't control your dreams. Now, I either have accepted that everyone fantasizes, or just don't give a good God damn what other people think I may or may not be crazy for. I know I'm crazy, and the reasons are so plentiful they can't even be contained into answers that are concise enough for me to care to listen to.
What? Okay, forget that last part of that paragraph. It made sense in my head.
But when I started writing fanfiction I wrote General Hospital fic, and it was heterosexual. Straight up, canon or wished canon, but not 'out of the ordinary.' Not incest, not slash, not rape, not whatever else 'taboo' subjects are common occurrence in fanfic nowadays. (I'm 80, I just said nowadays). I also didn't find much girl on girl, guy on guy, or sibling on sibling back when that was. That was, what, '98? Now, though, you cannot go to a fandom and find nary a slash-fic. You will find slash-fic on ANY fandom you go to... and chances are, it's going to be the predominant flavor in that fandom.
And as I said, I am not one to complain about that, because I've turned into a whole-hearted slasher, and I blame that on Sports Night. Because when I found a fanfic archive full of stories, I clicked on slash not knowing what it meant, and read a few. Most of them weirded me out, because I was NOT expecting it. Then, I read lowercase k's Even Sugar Peas Run Out of Snap which is a horribly moving, wonderful, deep, poetic, well-written slash fic about Dan and Casey that was not pretty, was not pwp, was not gratuitous, and was not hard to believe at all. It was after that that I started seeing a kinship that was perhaps beyond friends between Dan and Casey, and started reading more slash SN fic, and eventually started writing my own.
And it's wonderful. I've found, over the past few years, that slash fic is just inherently deeper than het fic. There's usually a relationship between two heretofore-heterosexual males (sometimes females) and that is an obstacle that must be overcome. There is also the fear factor of coming out to friends. There is the 'we've made a mistake' thing, there's the 'I can't stop pining for you' thing. There's just a lot of ripe material to cover in slash stories that aren't really in het stories. Which is not to say I haven’t read wonderfully deep heterosexual stories, nor to say I haven't read craptacular slash fics as well. It's just simply to say that the ratio of moving slash to moving het that I've read is higher on the slash side.
I need to insert this because i've had too many comments saying that people are mad/aggravated/etc that i think slash fic is inherently deeper:
I guess I should have stressed the "that I've read" part though or something. And what I've said to other people is that I too think it's mostly because of the fandoms I populate. In the fandoms I populate it seems that 9 times out of 10, there are more slash stories that are good/deep/well written, then there are het stories.
And I also fully admit that there is nothing saying that the possibiilty for a good het fic isn't just the same as the possibility for a good slash fic, just that of the stories I've read, the slash fics have tended to be better written, and have been deeper, more angsty.
It also has to do with the fact that perhaps the majority of good fic writers in the fandoms that I populate like to write slash best. It just means that the good writers are concentrating more on slash fic, not that were they to write het fic it wouldn't be as good.
BUT... here's the problem. I find myself almost no longer able to write het fic. On Sports Night, I LOVE Natalie and Jeremy. I also am a closet Natalie/Dan lover. Okay, not closeted, because I'm upfront about that. But the point is, I've become so accustomed to writing slash that I find it damn near fucking impossible to write heterosexual fic without infusing some kind of subtext... or hell, text... between two of the male main characters that have a chemistry that could possibly be construed as something more than male bonding in the normal straight fashion. Which is annoying! It is.
In PotC, I find it hard to excuse myself wholly for making Will and Jack be together, because I love Elizabeth and I love Will's love of Elizabeth and Elizabeth's love of Will. And I think it's true, and pure, and not something to be shoved to the side. You don't go from willing to risk your life for someone to 'oh hey, gay now.' So I find myself getting her out of the picture, in what I hope is a fair way, but mainly just to get her out of the picture. Usually I just ignore her presence, because I flatly refuse to make her into something she's not, which is a bitch or a slut or a sniveling little brat.
Which brings me to
Characterization Importance
I am not fond of contrived plots. There's a difference between skewing something to your side, and completely abandoning a character's essence for the sake of what you want the ends to be. I am not in any way saying that I have never taken artistic license to make my ends come to fruition, but in doing so I try to stay as true to the character as I know him/her to be. I don't mean to sound conceited, but the most frequent comment I get is that I seem to be able to capture certain character's or people's voices/characters very well, and that is on purpose. That is my number one goal. I will completely sacrifice a story's plot or supposed purpose for character consistency. I would rather have a story that does not turn out the way I meant for it to when I started if it means my character is on.
You wanna see a prime example of what happens when I force a plotline? I love to write for Chasing Amy, a Kevin Smith film. I was given a challenge by a friend of mine to see what would happen if Banky had said yes to Holden's epiphany. This horrible abomination that I cooked up: A Different Path. I actually fucking wrote "you can take that to the bank." Which is a pun. A pun. I hate puns. Puns can kiss my ass. My eyes roll back in my head when I read puns like for Ben Stiller: "Stiller’s waters run deep" or for Johnny Depp: "Stiller waters run Depp". Yes, both of those are real.
I hate that story, and it's because midway through I stopped believing in the plausibility of my own stuff. But I guess I was tired, or stuck, or maybe I had to end it with them together for my friend, I forget, but that second half is me forcing it. I leave it up because it entertains me to see how people tell me that's my best story, when I know it's my worst. Entertains, or depresses, I'm not sure. For a good one, read this: Realization. It was also a challenge, but one I refused to finish if it rang false to my own ears.
When I write, I have to hear the character in my head. Have to. If I don't, I can't write them. Or, if I do write them, I know they're so bad that they'll never see the light of day. I can hear Jack Sparrow in my head. I can hear Banky Edwards in my head. I can hear Casey and Jeremy and Natalie and Dana, but mostly, the one I hear the best in my head, is Dan Rydell. I can hear Owen Wilson in my head as well. I can hear Chas Tenenbaum and Eli Cash in my head. When I write them, I start off with a vague idea of what I want to happen, and then have to immediately abandon it because I am no longer writing the story... They are, through me. I know that sounds cliché and hokey, and so 'artistic bullshit' of me, but it's damn true.
And, I guess since I put so much thought into it myself, I can't stand to read someone else’s story when they do not have an accurate hold on someone's character. I'm not saying they can't develop them further, or what have you, but there is an essence that was presented to you already that has to be built off of. In the context of the show, the character's base self was presented to you. In the movie, the character had certain traits, certain ways. You can't just abandon that and expect me to like it enough to read it. There are rare occasional stories where the story/plot is interesting enough for me to plunder through horrible characterization, but... few and far between, friends.
Which further expands into...
Believability of a Story
You probably think I'm talking about fantasy, but I'm not. I can suspend my belief system in a reasonable manner for a good, well written story... but this is something that just blows my mind sometimes: rape used as a plot device.
1) A person being raped, and then falling in love with their rapist. I'm sorry, no. No, no no. I don't even think I need to expand on this one. I know there's Stockholm's syndrome or what the fuck ever, but... No. Especially when it's done specifically because you want two characters together and can't think of another way to get them there. No. Jack would not rape Will. Owen would not rape Ben. Casey would not rape Danny. No. Write it if you want, read it if you want, but I won't do it, read it, or comment on it. That shit freaks me out, the fact that someone can derive sexual pleasure from thinking about someone being raped. Rough sex is one thing, but not rape.
2) A person being raped, just so the author can make their other preferred character be their caretaker so they can be shoved together like that. Okay. This one can be done right, but I really sincerely have yet to see it done. When someone is raped, they are severely fucked up in the head by it, or extremely healthy. I don't think anyone is healthy enough to not be fucked up by rape though, so chances are they'll be really fucked up by it. So when an author rapes their character so the other one can nurse them back to health and ravish them themselves, I don't buy it, and I would even go so far as to say it's disrepectful to people who have been raped.
That's just basic psychology talking. I'll agree that a person becomes closer to their caretaker in that time, but any kind of sexual feelings they have for them is pretty much going to be steeped in confusion and self doubt, and if that person truly cares for them, they will not allow that to happen until they are sure the rape-victim is mentally stable enough to make that kind of decision. These I will try to read, but as I said, I've yet to find a good one.
There's other stuff that's not believable to me, I don't know why I concentrated so heavily on rape in this section. I still can't stand rape fics, or rape-comfort fics, but... I think, though, that most of the believability of a story hinges on the characterization, which I already commented on up there. There are other things, but mostly it's about characterization. Also, timing. If something's not paced right, that'll get me out of a fic too.
and finally...
Things That Generally Make Me Squeamish
Hard-core Sadomasochism: (what is it? BDSM?), which I realize is titillating to some, is just something I can NOT read. Rough sex is one thing, mutilating and burning and cutting a lover is another. If I read a fic and someone says "Yes, Master," or "Slave, do this" I am OUT of there. Oh my GOD but quickly. If you like to read it, cool. If you like to write it, cool. I will not be reading it.
Incest: Okay. I can't do it. I can't read brother slash, or sister slash, or brother/sister sex. I've found that if two people are in real life brothers but in the context of a movie they were in together NOT brothers, I can read it. Specifically, I can read, and enjoy, Eli Cash and Richie Tenenbaum fic from The Royal Tenenbaums. scattergold won me over on that, and now I actually rather enjoy it. Because I can see it between Eli and Richie, and they are not related in the context of the movie. But, real Luke and Owen slash? I really get 'squicked' by stuff like that. They're BROTHERS. RELATED. BLOOD... No. It's easier to read incest when set within a fandom, but I still get freaked out by that. Call me a prude, I can take it.
Okay. So. Yeah. LOL. Apparently, this isn't true. I'm still not comfortable with real brothers gettin' it on (except for some reason, Casey Affleck and Ben Affleck, cause my sick sense of humor gets a kick out of that... weird huh?) but within a fandom? I'm game. I mean, it'll make me a bit queasy, but isn't it supposed to? I think that's what it boils down to. However the author is coming at it, that's how much I will or won't like it. If it's just sexy and yada yada, then... meh. But if it's about pain, and angst, and "oh god what are we doing" and guilt and... just all of those things? That's a rich rich story. I'm specifically talking about Boone/Shannon on Lost. I read an EXCELLENT Boone fic by Geekwriter found here (which, the only smut in it is Sawyer/Boone, which I didn't think I'd like either, but did) which dealt with their incestual relationship in an honest and believable way. I guess it all boils down to honesty, and believability. I just, I don't think incest is cute and sexy. I do think it's funny, in that sick, sick way that I love so much. And I do think it's painful. Cause I see a lot of pain in the Boone/Shannon (dude, if I'm not careful, I'm gonna start writing Boone/Shannon fic... LOL! Angst City!) Then again, I've read it be sexy. Which, is kinda scary to me, and i always feel vaguely ashamed by that, but... Oh well. I've read too much good incest to say I'm against it. Boondock Saints, Royal Tenenbaums, etc. Now, Lost.
RPS: This... is tricky. LOL. It's a weird thing where I'm intrigued by it, and I'm drawn to it, but I frequently get freaked out while reading it and embarrassed and have to stop. I've written some of it, even, but you'll notice it usually ends in a kiss. I think this has something to do with my feelings towards Paparazzi and the invasion of actors privacy, and also with the fact that I can just imagine how this person would feel to read about themselves having sex with someone. Ben Stiller with Owen Wilson, I can picture him freaking the FUCK out. Luke and Owen? That's got to be incredibly, superduper disturbing. And this is regardless of if it's written well or not, though actually when they're written well it's almost worse. Again, call me a prude.
Okay, so that's just like, a lie by now. LOL. I looooooove RPS. I do still feel a bit like a voyeur, and embarrassed that I like it so much. But dude. Yeah. I love RPS.
Porn Language: Now, I'm not going to say I've never written in porn language, nor am I going to say I haven't read well-written stories which are written in porn language, but I am going to say that I can't read them anymore. I have no problems with the words cock, pussy, dick, or come, when spoken, but when it comes time to say "he stroked his cock" or "he inserted his dick into her pussy", I'm cringing even now. And I hate when people use 'cum'. It just seems too dirty, and the only reason I used to use that spelling in my earlier days was because I was berated by someone for using it incorrectly as 'come.' I, personally, prefer my porn eluded to, or said softly in whispers. I can't help it, but when I read things that use cock, and pussy, and dick, and all that shit, it seems like even when it's written well it comes out like "lovely, lovely, lovely, la la la la la la la la COCKCOCKCOCK!" and I can no longer be aroused by it. It's just jarring. That's me personally. There are some people who do it well, I know it, I've read it, and liked it and kept my red faced self to myself and my grimace fades pretty quickly, but... I can't write it, and I just won't.
I think this is pretty much the same. A lot of you will notice that I "leave you hanging" when it comes to porn. LOL. Usually my porn sticks to R. Sometimes, rarely, it goes to NC-17. This is why.
I will call someone a cock-knocker though... cause that's just fun. Also, dick-wad. I love curse words.
I should have titled this section "I'm a prude."
Okay, I've pontificated enough. What are your thoughts? This is really interesting to me.
Anyway, there's a whole new batch of people on my f'list that are authors as well, and I thought I'd repost this (edited in italics to add what's changed since writing it) again. The original, with loads of great discussion in the replies, can be found here.
The following are generalized, and are pointing at no one particular author or fandom except when specifically mentioned. These are just the main bitches I have with the fics I have bitches about. Lots of these interlace with each other.
The Problem with Being a Slasher
The thing about it is, I've become a slasher. I've always enjoyed writing, since I was a kid. Usually it was dreams, or what I called made up dreams, which were basically just fantasies that I'd tell to people and call them dreams, because they seemed less crazy if I dreamed them then made them up. Because you don't control your dreams. Now, I either have accepted that everyone fantasizes, or just don't give a good God damn what other people think I may or may not be crazy for. I know I'm crazy, and the reasons are so plentiful they can't even be contained into answers that are concise enough for me to care to listen to.
What? Okay, forget that last part of that paragraph. It made sense in my head.
But when I started writing fanfiction I wrote General Hospital fic, and it was heterosexual. Straight up, canon or wished canon, but not 'out of the ordinary.' Not incest, not slash, not rape, not whatever else 'taboo' subjects are common occurrence in fanfic nowadays. (I'm 80, I just said nowadays). I also didn't find much girl on girl, guy on guy, or sibling on sibling back when that was. That was, what, '98? Now, though, you cannot go to a fandom and find nary a slash-fic. You will find slash-fic on ANY fandom you go to... and chances are, it's going to be the predominant flavor in that fandom.
And as I said, I am not one to complain about that, because I've turned into a whole-hearted slasher, and I blame that on Sports Night. Because when I found a fanfic archive full of stories, I clicked on slash not knowing what it meant, and read a few. Most of them weirded me out, because I was NOT expecting it. Then, I read lowercase k's Even Sugar Peas Run Out of Snap which is a horribly moving, wonderful, deep, poetic, well-written slash fic about Dan and Casey that was not pretty, was not pwp, was not gratuitous, and was not hard to believe at all. It was after that that I started seeing a kinship that was perhaps beyond friends between Dan and Casey, and started reading more slash SN fic, and eventually started writing my own.
And it's wonderful. I've found, over the past few years, that slash fic is just inherently deeper than het fic. There's usually a relationship between two heretofore-heterosexual males (sometimes females) and that is an obstacle that must be overcome. There is also the fear factor of coming out to friends. There is the 'we've made a mistake' thing, there's the 'I can't stop pining for you' thing. There's just a lot of ripe material to cover in slash stories that aren't really in het stories. Which is not to say I haven’t read wonderfully deep heterosexual stories, nor to say I haven't read craptacular slash fics as well. It's just simply to say that the ratio of moving slash to moving het that I've read is higher on the slash side.
I need to insert this because i've had too many comments saying that people are mad/aggravated/etc that i think slash fic is inherently deeper:
I guess I should have stressed the "that I've read" part though or something. And what I've said to other people is that I too think it's mostly because of the fandoms I populate. In the fandoms I populate it seems that 9 times out of 10, there are more slash stories that are good/deep/well written, then there are het stories.
And I also fully admit that there is nothing saying that the possibiilty for a good het fic isn't just the same as the possibility for a good slash fic, just that of the stories I've read, the slash fics have tended to be better written, and have been deeper, more angsty.
It also has to do with the fact that perhaps the majority of good fic writers in the fandoms that I populate like to write slash best. It just means that the good writers are concentrating more on slash fic, not that were they to write het fic it wouldn't be as good.
BUT... here's the problem. I find myself almost no longer able to write het fic. On Sports Night, I LOVE Natalie and Jeremy. I also am a closet Natalie/Dan lover. Okay, not closeted, because I'm upfront about that. But the point is, I've become so accustomed to writing slash that I find it damn near fucking impossible to write heterosexual fic without infusing some kind of subtext... or hell, text... between two of the male main characters that have a chemistry that could possibly be construed as something more than male bonding in the normal straight fashion. Which is annoying! It is.
In PotC, I find it hard to excuse myself wholly for making Will and Jack be together, because I love Elizabeth and I love Will's love of Elizabeth and Elizabeth's love of Will. And I think it's true, and pure, and not something to be shoved to the side. You don't go from willing to risk your life for someone to 'oh hey, gay now.' So I find myself getting her out of the picture, in what I hope is a fair way, but mainly just to get her out of the picture. Usually I just ignore her presence, because I flatly refuse to make her into something she's not, which is a bitch or a slut or a sniveling little brat.
Which brings me to
Characterization Importance
I am not fond of contrived plots. There's a difference between skewing something to your side, and completely abandoning a character's essence for the sake of what you want the ends to be. I am not in any way saying that I have never taken artistic license to make my ends come to fruition, but in doing so I try to stay as true to the character as I know him/her to be. I don't mean to sound conceited, but the most frequent comment I get is that I seem to be able to capture certain character's or people's voices/characters very well, and that is on purpose. That is my number one goal. I will completely sacrifice a story's plot or supposed purpose for character consistency. I would rather have a story that does not turn out the way I meant for it to when I started if it means my character is on.
You wanna see a prime example of what happens when I force a plotline? I love to write for Chasing Amy, a Kevin Smith film. I was given a challenge by a friend of mine to see what would happen if Banky had said yes to Holden's epiphany. This horrible abomination that I cooked up: A Different Path. I actually fucking wrote "you can take that to the bank." Which is a pun. A pun. I hate puns. Puns can kiss my ass. My eyes roll back in my head when I read puns like for Ben Stiller: "Stiller’s waters run deep" or for Johnny Depp: "Stiller waters run Depp". Yes, both of those are real.
I hate that story, and it's because midway through I stopped believing in the plausibility of my own stuff. But I guess I was tired, or stuck, or maybe I had to end it with them together for my friend, I forget, but that second half is me forcing it. I leave it up because it entertains me to see how people tell me that's my best story, when I know it's my worst. Entertains, or depresses, I'm not sure. For a good one, read this: Realization. It was also a challenge, but one I refused to finish if it rang false to my own ears.
When I write, I have to hear the character in my head. Have to. If I don't, I can't write them. Or, if I do write them, I know they're so bad that they'll never see the light of day. I can hear Jack Sparrow in my head. I can hear Banky Edwards in my head. I can hear Casey and Jeremy and Natalie and Dana, but mostly, the one I hear the best in my head, is Dan Rydell. I can hear Owen Wilson in my head as well. I can hear Chas Tenenbaum and Eli Cash in my head. When I write them, I start off with a vague idea of what I want to happen, and then have to immediately abandon it because I am no longer writing the story... They are, through me. I know that sounds cliché and hokey, and so 'artistic bullshit' of me, but it's damn true.
And, I guess since I put so much thought into it myself, I can't stand to read someone else’s story when they do not have an accurate hold on someone's character. I'm not saying they can't develop them further, or what have you, but there is an essence that was presented to you already that has to be built off of. In the context of the show, the character's base self was presented to you. In the movie, the character had certain traits, certain ways. You can't just abandon that and expect me to like it enough to read it. There are rare occasional stories where the story/plot is interesting enough for me to plunder through horrible characterization, but... few and far between, friends.
Which further expands into...
Believability of a Story
You probably think I'm talking about fantasy, but I'm not. I can suspend my belief system in a reasonable manner for a good, well written story... but this is something that just blows my mind sometimes: rape used as a plot device.
1) A person being raped, and then falling in love with their rapist. I'm sorry, no. No, no no. I don't even think I need to expand on this one. I know there's Stockholm's syndrome or what the fuck ever, but... No. Especially when it's done specifically because you want two characters together and can't think of another way to get them there. No. Jack would not rape Will. Owen would not rape Ben. Casey would not rape Danny. No. Write it if you want, read it if you want, but I won't do it, read it, or comment on it. That shit freaks me out, the fact that someone can derive sexual pleasure from thinking about someone being raped. Rough sex is one thing, but not rape.
2) A person being raped, just so the author can make their other preferred character be their caretaker so they can be shoved together like that. Okay. This one can be done right, but I really sincerely have yet to see it done. When someone is raped, they are severely fucked up in the head by it, or extremely healthy. I don't think anyone is healthy enough to not be fucked up by rape though, so chances are they'll be really fucked up by it. So when an author rapes their character so the other one can nurse them back to health and ravish them themselves, I don't buy it, and I would even go so far as to say it's disrepectful to people who have been raped.
That's just basic psychology talking. I'll agree that a person becomes closer to their caretaker in that time, but any kind of sexual feelings they have for them is pretty much going to be steeped in confusion and self doubt, and if that person truly cares for them, they will not allow that to happen until they are sure the rape-victim is mentally stable enough to make that kind of decision. These I will try to read, but as I said, I've yet to find a good one.
There's other stuff that's not believable to me, I don't know why I concentrated so heavily on rape in this section. I still can't stand rape fics, or rape-comfort fics, but... I think, though, that most of the believability of a story hinges on the characterization, which I already commented on up there. There are other things, but mostly it's about characterization. Also, timing. If something's not paced right, that'll get me out of a fic too.
and finally...
Things That Generally Make Me Squeamish
Hard-core Sadomasochism: (what is it? BDSM?), which I realize is titillating to some, is just something I can NOT read. Rough sex is one thing, mutilating and burning and cutting a lover is another. If I read a fic and someone says "Yes, Master," or "Slave, do this" I am OUT of there. Oh my GOD but quickly. If you like to read it, cool. If you like to write it, cool. I will not be reading it.
Incest: Okay. I can't do it. I can't read brother slash, or sister slash, or brother/sister sex. I've found that if two people are in real life brothers but in the context of a movie they were in together NOT brothers, I can read it. Specifically, I can read, and enjoy, Eli Cash and Richie Tenenbaum fic from The Royal Tenenbaums. scattergold won me over on that, and now I actually rather enjoy it. Because I can see it between Eli and Richie, and they are not related in the context of the movie. But, real Luke and Owen slash? I really get 'squicked' by stuff like that. They're BROTHERS. RELATED. BLOOD... No. It's easier to read incest when set within a fandom, but I still get freaked out by that. Call me a prude, I can take it.
Okay. So. Yeah. LOL. Apparently, this isn't true. I'm still not comfortable with real brothers gettin' it on (except for some reason, Casey Affleck and Ben Affleck, cause my sick sense of humor gets a kick out of that... weird huh?) but within a fandom? I'm game. I mean, it'll make me a bit queasy, but isn't it supposed to? I think that's what it boils down to. However the author is coming at it, that's how much I will or won't like it. If it's just sexy and yada yada, then... meh. But if it's about pain, and angst, and "oh god what are we doing" and guilt and... just all of those things? That's a rich rich story. I'm specifically talking about Boone/Shannon on Lost. I read an EXCELLENT Boone fic by Geekwriter found here (which, the only smut in it is Sawyer/Boone, which I didn't think I'd like either, but did) which dealt with their incestual relationship in an honest and believable way. I guess it all boils down to honesty, and believability. I just, I don't think incest is cute and sexy. I do think it's funny, in that sick, sick way that I love so much. And I do think it's painful. Cause I see a lot of pain in the Boone/Shannon (dude, if I'm not careful, I'm gonna start writing Boone/Shannon fic... LOL! Angst City!) Then again, I've read it be sexy. Which, is kinda scary to me, and i always feel vaguely ashamed by that, but... Oh well. I've read too much good incest to say I'm against it. Boondock Saints, Royal Tenenbaums, etc. Now, Lost.
RPS: This... is tricky. LOL. It's a weird thing where I'm intrigued by it, and I'm drawn to it, but I frequently get freaked out while reading it and embarrassed and have to stop. I've written some of it, even, but you'll notice it usually ends in a kiss. I think this has something to do with my feelings towards Paparazzi and the invasion of actors privacy, and also with the fact that I can just imagine how this person would feel to read about themselves having sex with someone. Ben Stiller with Owen Wilson, I can picture him freaking the FUCK out. Luke and Owen? That's got to be incredibly, superduper disturbing. And this is regardless of if it's written well or not, though actually when they're written well it's almost worse. Again, call me a prude.
Okay, so that's just like, a lie by now. LOL. I looooooove RPS. I do still feel a bit like a voyeur, and embarrassed that I like it so much. But dude. Yeah. I love RPS.
Porn Language: Now, I'm not going to say I've never written in porn language, nor am I going to say I haven't read well-written stories which are written in porn language, but I am going to say that I can't read them anymore. I have no problems with the words cock, pussy, dick, or come, when spoken, but when it comes time to say "he stroked his cock" or "he inserted his dick into her pussy", I'm cringing even now. And I hate when people use 'cum'. It just seems too dirty, and the only reason I used to use that spelling in my earlier days was because I was berated by someone for using it incorrectly as 'come.' I, personally, prefer my porn eluded to, or said softly in whispers. I can't help it, but when I read things that use cock, and pussy, and dick, and all that shit, it seems like even when it's written well it comes out like "lovely, lovely, lovely, la la la la la la la la COCKCOCKCOCK!" and I can no longer be aroused by it. It's just jarring. That's me personally. There are some people who do it well, I know it, I've read it, and liked it and kept my red faced self to myself and my grimace fades pretty quickly, but... I can't write it, and I just won't.
I think this is pretty much the same. A lot of you will notice that I "leave you hanging" when it comes to porn. LOL. Usually my porn sticks to R. Sometimes, rarely, it goes to NC-17. This is why.
I will call someone a cock-knocker though... cause that's just fun. Also, dick-wad. I love curse words.
I should have titled this section "I'm a prude."
Okay, I've pontificated enough. What are your thoughts? This is really interesting to me.