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[siegeofangels]

I've started uploading my fic to AO3. I am siegeofangels over there too.

My only question is this: If you have read If you want to kiss the sky: should I use the official noncon warning

Comments

Noncon or dubcon? I don't think so.

[beckys91]

As I read this story just now, I didn't view John as particularly straight, gay or asexual, even though his first encounter with Nathan definitely gives the impression he's straight (okay, possibly asexual). What I read between the lines of your story was that John resisted the casualness, the expectation everyone else seemed to have that sex was a relief valve or a bonding ritual and nothing more, that liking someone really had very little to do with the encounter. To want more was the aberrant behavior, as was the case for Andy Porter who was -- shhhh! -- *married*!

So I didn't see John as being abused during his sexual encounters, which I expect with noncon and even dubcon. It's possible that he's asexual, but he's willing enough to have sex with certain people - even instigates an evening with Lorne - and that doesn't ring true to me for someone who's asexual.

So why the resistance? He's drawn to Rodney - possibly in part because Rodney, when misinterpreting John's friendliness, said no to sex with him - and John being the contrary person that he is may have then felt safe enough with him to be friends. (And wasn't that a magical line when Rodney tells him he could be talked OUT of giving him a blowjob!)

You don't really address it, but it's also possible that John resists in part because maybe he's been viewed as a prize by many of the military men he's been with. He's gorgeous (particularly when he was younger and had less emotional resilience), he's smart, and could have been a trophy fuck for many. It wouldn't have taken more than one or two comments along the lines of "Wait until I tell the guys I had *Sheppard* last night" to twist John towards wanting more from his encounters.

I thought John's comment about not wanting to do at home what you've been doing at work all day was particularly telling. That led me to thinking that John's problem isn't with having sex, it truly is the "fraternitas" aspect - the assumption that casual sex is part of the military brotherhood. I came to feel, primarily from his deepening friendship with Rodney, that his problem is that he's inherently monogamous in a polyamorous society, hiding it with all the diligence of homosexual people in our military.

So to me this story is not noncon or dubcon - it's about wanting something meaningful in a world that doesn't seem to value it.

Thank you for this story - it's been a while since I read something so enjoyable that also made me think.

Becky