Interesting. I love the way people get all passionate about fic, and at the same time it makes me go "huh?" because it is fic, not life. And yeah, h/c can be problematic, because as with anything involving human beings, some people deal with it sensitively, and some people are clueless, and some people can't see past their own issues, and some have a very definite idea of what it should be and anyone who disagrees or does it differently is wrong wrong wrong.
But for me, fiction, especially fanfic, is escapism. Stories where hurt is followed by comfort, and things get (at least partly) resolved and are looking better by the end, are, well, comforting. Because that doesn't always happen in real life, I like it in stories. Realism makes a story believable, but unrelieved angst makes a story unsatisfying, IMO.
I think what I'm saying here is, let a thousand flowers bloom, and just step away from the ones that set off your allergies.
Thank you for this, it's clarified more than a few things for me. (here via your comment at friendshipper, hope you don't mind a stranger adding her 2cents)
I'd have to admit my first reaction was a whole lot of (4) with a side of (6), though more along the lines of "OMG I suck so bad that I can hurt people just by *thinking* about writing!! I'm a horrible person that just should not be allowed on the internets, please forgive me." Then, you know, I took a deep breath, and no, that's (99%) not what's being said, and that those are actually my own issues distorting my reading. Which I find a little ironic, honestly, given the topic at hand.
{Can I ask what WRYWIEORW is? I haven't come across that before.}
Then, you know, I took a deep breath, and no, that's (99%) not what's being said, and that those are actually my own issues distorting my reading. Which I find a little ironic, honestly, given the topic at hand.
I won't go so far as to say that I hate h/c, but I have grown wary of things that are labelled as h/c, because too often, particularly in The Sentinel fandom (though a touch in Stargate also) the "hurt" part of the equation has been so excessive as to be sickening. Outright torture and rape, for no reason other than to make Our Hero suffer. Okay, so the "reason" is that Our Hero has been kidnapped by a sadistic madman, but that isn't really a reason, it's an excuse. I hate it.
I suspect that one reason why such excessive "hurt" is written is that the authors have become desensitized to the violence, due to reading so much h/c of similar ilk. It becomes "normal". Please, no.
Give me Avon and Vila trapped in a cave, and Avon has a broken arm. Give me Hermione stuck in Snape's quarters with Snape undergoing the aftereffects of the Cruciatus curse. (Okay, so the Cruciatus is torture, but it's canon and there's a reason for it to be there). But don't give me Blair kidnapped by a university colleague who happens to be the leader
( ... )
I won't go so far as to say that I hate h/c, but I have grown wary of things that are labelled as h/c
I find this pretty surprising; I thought it was really overwrought sentimentality that you avoided!
I suspect that one reason why such excessive "hurt" is written is that the authors have become desensitized to the violence, due to reading so much h/c of similar ilk. It becomes "normal". Please, no.
**Nods** This is one reason I've been writing a lot of episode-related fic - no pressure to invent ever-more-drastic hurts.
But don't give me Blair kidnapped by a university colleague who happens to be the leader of a cult that requires its initiates to torture and beat up random bystanders.
Hey, I loved that story! I just skimmed most of the first 2/3.
In what I read, it's largely about inflicting enough hurt to justify really gooey comfort, I think.
I find this pretty surprising; I thought it was really overwrought sentimentality that you avoided!
That too!
Hey, I loved that story! I just skimmed most of the first 2/3.
I don't mean that story, I mean the other story. (grin)
In other words, yes, I really liked "Unsleeping" too; and I think it worked for me because (a) there was method in their madness, a reason for them to target Blair specifically, something that had its roots in canon; (b) it was really really creepy more than being vicious or sordid. I guess it means that I'm more accepting of the "hurt" part of a story if there's a reason for it. And "being a psychopath" is not a reason, it's just lazy writing.
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But for me, fiction, especially fanfic, is escapism. Stories where hurt is followed by comfort, and things get (at least partly) resolved and are looking better by the end, are, well, comforting. Because that doesn't always happen in real life, I like it in stories. Realism makes a story believable, but unrelieved angst makes a story unsatisfying, IMO.
I think what I'm saying here is, let a thousand flowers bloom, and just step away from the ones that set off your allergies.
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I'd have to admit my first reaction was a whole lot of (4) with a side of (6), though more along the lines of "OMG I suck so bad that I can hurt people just by *thinking* about writing!! I'm a horrible person that just should not be allowed on the internets, please forgive me." Then, you know, I took a deep breath, and no, that's (99%) not what's being said, and that those are actually my own issues distorting my reading. Which I find a little ironic, honestly, given the topic at hand.
{Can I ask what WRYWIEORW is? I haven't come across that before.}
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Yup, I hear you.
WRYWIEORW
:-) It's just a wordless cry of frustration.
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I suspect that one reason why such excessive "hurt" is written is that the authors have become desensitized to the violence, due to reading so much h/c of similar ilk. It becomes "normal". Please, no.
Give me Avon and Vila trapped in a cave, and Avon has a broken arm. Give me Hermione stuck in Snape's quarters with Snape undergoing the aftereffects of the Cruciatus curse. (Okay, so the Cruciatus is torture, but it's canon and there's a reason for it to be there). But don't give me Blair kidnapped by a university colleague who happens to be the leader ( ... )
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I find this pretty surprising; I thought it was really overwrought sentimentality that you avoided!
I suspect that one reason why such excessive "hurt" is written is that the authors have become desensitized to the violence, due to reading so much h/c of similar ilk. It becomes "normal". Please, no.
**Nods** This is one reason I've been writing a lot of episode-related fic - no pressure to invent ever-more-drastic hurts.
But don't give me Blair kidnapped by a university colleague who happens to be the leader of a cult that requires its initiates to torture and beat up random bystanders.
Hey, I loved that story! I just skimmed most of the first 2/3.
In what I read, it's largely about inflicting enough hurt to justify really gooey comfort, I think.
- Helen
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That too!
Hey, I loved that story! I just skimmed most of the first 2/3.
I don't mean that story, I mean the other story. (grin)
In other words, yes, I really liked "Unsleeping" too; and I think it worked for me because (a) there was method in their madness, a reason for them to target Blair specifically, something that had its roots in canon; (b) it was really really creepy more than being vicious or sordid.
I guess it means that I'm more accepting of the "hurt" part of a story if there's a reason for it. And "being a psychopath" is not a reason, it's just lazy writing.
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8-P
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