Supernatural is just giving me trouble on all kinds of levels.
I need a new category -- or rating.
Warning: Spoilers ahoy, plot not entirely coherent plot and character musings.
So, when is incest not incest? And when is slash not slash?
Let me say up front (so there will be no misunderstandings) that I'm totally understanding of why and how people are going to the Sam/Dean place in Supernatural. It's all good. I'm not reading it because it's a squick, an anti-kink for me (and seriously, not just in slash, het too. River/Simon in Firefly is something else I get but can not get into, no matter how skilled the writer and there are some damn skilled writers in Firefly. Then again, I never could go the Dick/Bruce, Batman/Nightwing place either until cereta and elynross completely undercut all my objections without breaking a sweat), but a huge part of me (that would be the slashy part -- which for anyone who knows me, knows is oh, about 95% of my entire psyche) absolutely wants to go the same place. No doubts there. This is an internal issue for me, not an external proclamation on wot fic makes others teh happy.
And for me, I'm pretty clear that it's the Actors Who Are Playing the Characters Together are HOT, that is the appeal, as opposed to the characters naturally fit together romantically/sexually because of the characterizations. Er. I mean, I'm not getting a slashy vibe off Dean and Sam, I'm getting a slashy vibe of Ackles and Padalecki. (And given that I have similar Not. Going. There. issues with RPF, you can understand my ineffective flailing on this topic.)
Does that make sense? But I'm a character-plot driven writer. Which isn't to say anyone doing the Dean/Sam dance isn't, only they've managed to find a logic or a level of acceptance and/or denial, or a simple don't care because, dude, they're brothers -- nookie, no natality between the boys -- kind of justification that works for them and their readers and that's all to the good. It's just not pinging for me. Yet. (Never say never. It's entirely possible someone may sell it to me -- it may even be me -- although in the AU, could one of them be adopted or are we really reaching here, kind of way.)
And then there was "Skin", which if anything ever pushed the slashometer powerboosting button, that ep was it.
Which brings me back to my dilemma:
I know what to do with it, what story I want to tell, to play on and against the sexual tension as well as the taboo, but hell if I know what to call it. There's a level of sexual violence in my plot idea that while doesn't pull it out of the slash arena, doesn't actually (for me) define it as slash. (i.e. not all non-con between two males is slash by and of itself.) Sexual tension between two same sex media characters defines slash (again, for me) whereas sexual violence, especially in the rape sense, is violence, not sex, so you can have basically non-slash, adult material with male/male sex and be pretty clear you aren't talking about slash per se.
It's actually probably closer to smarm, except, well there's sex, which pretty much removes it from the smarm category. (Although uhm, non-sexual inappropriate touching seems to be the trademark, extreme H/C…what am I missing?)
So it is slash, but it isn't. It could be smarm but probably not. It is absolutely adult and while not incest, there's still, uhm…I mean: shape shifters! Canonical! Who look just like (or can) like the principal characters! With their memories! With their collective experiences! With inappropriate touching and psychotic tendencies! all right up my alley!
:::falls over and is ded:::
What the hell is it?
Warning: Spoilers ahoy, plot not entirely coherent plot and character musings.
So, when is incest not incest? And when is slash not slash?
Let me say up front (so there will be no misunderstandings) that I'm totally understanding of why and how people are going to the Sam/Dean place in Supernatural. It's all good. I'm not reading it because it's a squick, an anti-kink for me (and seriously, not just in slash, het too. River/Simon in Firefly is something else I get but can not get into, no matter how skilled the writer and there are some damn skilled writers in Firefly. Then again, I never could go the Dick/Bruce, Batman/Nightwing place either until cereta and elynross completely undercut all my objections without breaking a sweat), but a huge part of me (that would be the slashy part -- which for anyone who knows me, knows is oh, about 95% of my entire psyche) absolutely wants to go the same place. No doubts there. This is an internal issue for me, not an external proclamation on wot fic makes others teh happy.
And for me, I'm pretty clear that it's the Actors Who Are Playing the Characters Together are HOT, that is the appeal, as opposed to the characters naturally fit together romantically/sexually because of the characterizations. Er. I mean, I'm not getting a slashy vibe off Dean and Sam, I'm getting a slashy vibe of Ackles and Padalecki. (And given that I have similar Not. Going. There. issues with RPF, you can understand my ineffective flailing on this topic.)
Does that make sense? But I'm a character-plot driven writer. Which isn't to say anyone doing the Dean/Sam dance isn't, only they've managed to find a logic or a level of acceptance and/or denial, or a simple don't care because, dude, they're brothers -- nookie, no natality between the boys -- kind of justification that works for them and their readers and that's all to the good. It's just not pinging for me. Yet. (Never say never. It's entirely possible someone may sell it to me -- it may even be me -- although in the AU, could one of them be adopted or are we really reaching here, kind of way.)
And then there was "Skin", which if anything ever pushed the slashometer powerboosting button, that ep was it.
Which brings me back to my dilemma:
I know what to do with it, what story I want to tell, to play on and against the sexual tension as well as the taboo, but hell if I know what to call it. There's a level of sexual violence in my plot idea that while doesn't pull it out of the slash arena, doesn't actually (for me) define it as slash. (i.e. not all non-con between two males is slash by and of itself.) Sexual tension between two same sex media characters defines slash (again, for me) whereas sexual violence, especially in the rape sense, is violence, not sex, so you can have basically non-slash, adult material with male/male sex and be pretty clear you aren't talking about slash per se.
It's actually probably closer to smarm, except, well there's sex, which pretty much removes it from the smarm category. (Although uhm, non-sexual inappropriate touching seems to be the trademark, extreme H/C…what am I missing?)
So it is slash, but it isn't. It could be smarm but probably not. It is absolutely adult and while not incest, there's still, uhm…I mean: shape shifters! Canonical! Who look just like (or can) like the principal characters! With their memories! With their collective experiences! With inappropriate touching and psychotic tendencies! all right up my alley!
:::falls over and is ded:::
What the hell is it?