Squicks? What Squicks?
Happy Friday! Work totally kicked my butt toward the end of this week, but the beginning of the week was really fun -- a friend I hadn't seen in several years came to stay with us along with her SO, and we enjoyed a few really nice days of talking and laughing and catching up. My RL friends are scattered around the country, so getting to see them in person is always special.
Today I took that fandom and kinks poll that was linked on daily_snitch about your personal kinks and squicks, and it got me thinking about how many real squicks I actually have left after a year and a half in fandom. I mean, there are still certain things that make me wrinkle my nose, but in almost every case I've also read at least one fic that made me tolerate or even enjoy a particular squick. Which, of course, made me want to make a list of those fics -- because hey, any flimsy excuse to rec... ;-)
Requisite Disclaimer: This probably goes without saying, but I am making no value judgments about these particular squicks -- ie if you love mpreg and I hate it, it's all good, no offense meant, yadda yadda yadda.
For the Win by silentauror (Harry/Draco, NC-17, sequel to Rumours and Watching)
Squick: Watersports
This was a tough category, because to the best of my memory I have yet to find a fic that made me really find watersports hot. But this is about as close as it comes, mostly thanks to the rough, needy, uninhibited sex bookending the actual urine play. (Btw, I'm linking to the third fic in the arc because it's the one that did it for me, but it will make much more sense if you read the first two beforehand.)
Jagged (the slut is mine) by snegurochka_lee (Remus/Severus, NC-17, previously recced here)
Squick: Bloodplay/knifeplay
Guh. As I told the author in a comment, it's not the actual bloodplay that's so hot here, but how badly Remus and Severus both need this dynamic between them. The author gets so deeply into their heads that I found myself reacting on a quite visceral level. Good writing, plain and simple. :-)
Hunter's Moon by islandsmoke (Remus/Severus, NC-17, previously recced here)
Squick: Bestiality
So I guess I like bestiality best when it's romantic? :-P No, seriously, what makes this work for me is the combination of affection and sexual need between Remus and Severus...and perhaps it helps that the actual bestiality part remains mostly offscreen, and is just alluded to in some (very hot!) dirty talk. Bestiality lite, perhaps!
Exorcism by cluegirl (Harry/Ron, NC-17)
Squick: Dubcon/questionable consent (although frankly this isn't much of a squick for me anymore)
What's interesting about this fic is that arguably there's fear and dubious consent on both sides -- on Ron's because his thoughts aren't really his own, and on Harry's because he can't help being afraid of what Ron might do to him when he's not himself. It's the edge of fear, the wondering what's going to happen, that makes this fic so deliciously intense for me.
You Shouldn't Have by cursescar (Harry/Draco, NC-17)
Squick: Crossdressing/genderplay
Yikes. I think I need some time alone after rereading that one. *fans self* I don't normally go for men in women's clothes, but what this author does with a pair of lacy knickers...!
Ten Aprils by busaikko (Remus/Severus, NC-17)
Squick: Mpreg
This is a lengthy fic that I haven't reread for a little while, but what I remember about it is that I utterly believed in the storyline, and that I didn't feel like Remus was feminized even though he was pregnant -- both of which are not usually the case when I read mpreg. The story is a lovely exploration of Remus and Severus's relationship, and the WTF-ness that usually bugs me with mpreg ceased to matter once I was a few chapters in.
Part 10 of The Adventures of Remus J. Lupin, Aspiring Sex God by snegurochka_lee (Remus/Severus, NC-17)
Squick: Breathplay
Annnnd another one by Lee, who, like many of my favorite authors, can convince me to read and like all sorts of interesting things. ;-) I vividly remember feeling breathless myself the first time I read this chapter (and being quite surprised by the feeling). That dizzying rush of fear and arousal that Remus feels as Snape tightens his collar, and the power play between the two characters...well, yes. Apparently that does it for me.
I still have at least two squicks that have never been challenged, namely scat and necrophilia. They seem like pretty safe bets to stay squicks, but hey, you never know. O_o
So what fics have challenged or changed your reading preferences?
Today I took that fandom and kinks poll that was linked on daily_snitch about your personal kinks and squicks, and it got me thinking about how many real squicks I actually have left after a year and a half in fandom. I mean, there are still certain things that make me wrinkle my nose, but in almost every case I've also read at least one fic that made me tolerate or even enjoy a particular squick. Which, of course, made me want to make a list of those fics -- because hey, any flimsy excuse to rec... ;-)
Requisite Disclaimer: This probably goes without saying, but I am making no value judgments about these particular squicks -- ie if you love mpreg and I hate it, it's all good, no offense meant, yadda yadda yadda.
For the Win by silentauror (Harry/Draco, NC-17, sequel to Rumours and Watching)
Squick: Watersports
This was a tough category, because to the best of my memory I have yet to find a fic that made me really find watersports hot. But this is about as close as it comes, mostly thanks to the rough, needy, uninhibited sex bookending the actual urine play. (Btw, I'm linking to the third fic in the arc because it's the one that did it for me, but it will make much more sense if you read the first two beforehand.)
Jagged (the slut is mine) by snegurochka_lee (Remus/Severus, NC-17, previously recced here)
Squick: Bloodplay/knifeplay
Guh. As I told the author in a comment, it's not the actual bloodplay that's so hot here, but how badly Remus and Severus both need this dynamic between them. The author gets so deeply into their heads that I found myself reacting on a quite visceral level. Good writing, plain and simple. :-)
Hunter's Moon by islandsmoke (Remus/Severus, NC-17, previously recced here)
Squick: Bestiality
So I guess I like bestiality best when it's romantic? :-P No, seriously, what makes this work for me is the combination of affection and sexual need between Remus and Severus...and perhaps it helps that the actual bestiality part remains mostly offscreen, and is just alluded to in some (very hot!) dirty talk. Bestiality lite, perhaps!
Exorcism by cluegirl (Harry/Ron, NC-17)
Squick: Dubcon/questionable consent (although frankly this isn't much of a squick for me anymore)
What's interesting about this fic is that arguably there's fear and dubious consent on both sides -- on Ron's because his thoughts aren't really his own, and on Harry's because he can't help being afraid of what Ron might do to him when he's not himself. It's the edge of fear, the wondering what's going to happen, that makes this fic so deliciously intense for me.
You Shouldn't Have by cursescar (Harry/Draco, NC-17)
Squick: Crossdressing/genderplay
Yikes. I think I need some time alone after rereading that one. *fans self* I don't normally go for men in women's clothes, but what this author does with a pair of lacy knickers...!
Ten Aprils by busaikko (Remus/Severus, NC-17)
Squick: Mpreg
This is a lengthy fic that I haven't reread for a little while, but what I remember about it is that I utterly believed in the storyline, and that I didn't feel like Remus was feminized even though he was pregnant -- both of which are not usually the case when I read mpreg. The story is a lovely exploration of Remus and Severus's relationship, and the WTF-ness that usually bugs me with mpreg ceased to matter once I was a few chapters in.
Part 10 of The Adventures of Remus J. Lupin, Aspiring Sex God by snegurochka_lee (Remus/Severus, NC-17)
Squick: Breathplay
Annnnd another one by Lee, who, like many of my favorite authors, can convince me to read and like all sorts of interesting things. ;-) I vividly remember feeling breathless myself the first time I read this chapter (and being quite surprised by the feeling). That dizzying rush of fear and arousal that Remus feels as Snape tightens his collar, and the power play between the two characters...well, yes. Apparently that does it for me.
I still have at least two squicks that have never been challenged, namely scat and necrophilia. They seem like pretty safe bets to stay squicks, but hey, you never know. O_o
So what fics have challenged or changed your reading preferences?