On the H/C drama

[sapphirekeep]

Grrraaarrrggghhhh!

I've spent far too long today catching up on the drama surrounding the criticisms of hc_bingo. As far as I can tell, the mods over there have handled the criticisms promptly and respectfully, which is the best anyone can ask of a brand-new comm. Considering that a lot of the criticism seems to consist of sweeping, hurtful, and

Comments

This is probably WAY TOO BIG to go in an LJ reply but I'll try

[euphrosyne2u]

Why does H/C have to have some kind of deep philosophical meaning? I read this post last night and tried to remember what my first actual H/C FIC READ had been. I still can't remember what it was, however I've had a very deep love of the H/C genre since childhood.
My best friend and I used to play...geeze these days they actually have a name for it...RPG.
We did a lot of RPG as kids (and since I'm old I'm talking about the Wild, Wild West; Star Trek (original) the old Robin Hood series (Richard Greene series-ran until 1960 we saw it in reruns)just to name a few. The most fun was always when we (our character) got hurt and the other character had to cure or comfort. I spent a great deal of my childhood in RPG either with my friend or even alone at night lying in bed...I was little so I had an early bedtime and RPG was usually how I managed to fall asleep. And in those RPG moments, alone in my bed it was almost always H/C with whichever character I was playing being the one hurt.
When reading became a passion I always focused on heroic stories and reveled in the H/C moments. As to fanfiction...my first fanfictions read were in the SG1 fandom (where I discovered fanfiction) AND discovered I had not lost that passion for H/C. Fanfiction (reading or writing)just whetted my taste for it and it remains my favorite genre.
Why does it have to be 'defined'? If I had to define it that definition would vary from fandom to fandom and character to character. In one it might be physical in another mental or emotional. My life experience has drawn me to certain types of H/C as favorites and for the same reason some types are hard for me to read although I generally still read them as a catharsis (sometimes suffering for the read). Point of view is also something that varies for me. It does not always have to be from any particular POV (comforter, comfortee or 3rd person)
Personally, I DO love H/C that is resolved by the end of the fic...or at least has the implication that it is in the process of being resolved. (hey I like gratification for my investment in the read) No, it does not always need to involve sex for me; but I DO love a good slash H/C. I’ve written both. I like to read and write H/C that pushes my OWN buttons…if they happen to push yours that’s okay, if not then don’t read them. However much I dislike a fic I will defend to my death someone’s right to write their own button pushers (good or bad). Every fic is worth something to someone…somewhere even if only to the author.
My SG1 story Peripheral Vision is a gen H/C and my story Voyages of Discovery (also SG1) is a slash H/C. In my writing (however much of a hack I am) I tend to always hurt the one I love. But if the hurt does not come from personal experience (and in Voyages of Discovery it is only partially from experience as I’ve never had erectile dysfunction, LOL) my medical background and a lot of research make up for it. I just wish the TW fandom had the kind of resources that the SG fandom had. I played the part of a medical beta many, many times for folks in that fandom and a lot of TW writers could certainly use THAT service. (I could list a raft of names here but won’t, LOL)
Yes science fiction DOES involve the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ but that should not apply to human physiology certain rules apply. True in scifi they can be instantly erased by whatever alien or supernatural technique the author dreams up. But I hate a H/C story where none of the human medical rules apply to human characters. (my personal peeve is non IV injections that act instantly).
I’m not even going to respond to that last paragraph since we BOTH know just how ridiculous that assumption is!
WOW! It all fit!