in which i randomly attack a well-loved trope

This is, surprisingly, non-HP related. No, *really*. This is A Moment of Random Fanfic Bitching.



Okay.

I totally am behind the rentboy-kink thing. I do. Seriously. I'm not a huge fan of it (my only attempt at it went to the most depressing places *ever*) but I do get it. It's kink. It's hot (so I've heard. Not my thing, but I've read some I enjoyed that didn't verge on character assassination).

But God.

This is just--kind of a rule I wish I could set up. For fic that is not supposed to be kink. Because kink-fic is a different animal.

Unless your character canonically has no other possible skills up to and including the ability to use a spatula at McDonalds, maybe most of them *might* choose to not sell their asses (or other sexually-charged body parts) for money. I know, crazy thoughts.

But really--suddenly Random Character X is fired/wife dies/sister dies/mother dies/Dark Lord dies/Lionel dies/world ends/au-where-everyone-is-a-prostitute*/head-injury-so-terrible-they-lose-their-minds and boom, they are offering up asses like it's Christmas and someone gave them a hit of ecstacy to surpass all hits of ecstacy. It's *bizarre*.

*shusu has permanent exception to this rule because she's doing things with her rentboy au that I've never seen done before and also because, to me, she set up a universe where I could see John Sheppard doing this and still be John Sheppard. Also, no humiliation moments that seem so rife in other fic. Also, Jesus, hot.

But other than that--okay, admittedly, I don't get the attraction. Since it's not my kink, I can't go to that mental place very well or easily--frankly, shusu tricked me. I'm fairly certain this is one of the things I Just Don't Get because to me, I cannot imagine anyone taking it up willingly. Totally a me-thing. And it's a me-thing that is totally scraping my nerves raw when I see it, because it always seems to be paired with a fairly high level of humiliation like this is some sort of punishment for the character in question for whatever the author doesn't like about them in canon. Not always, and probably not even most of the time, but it does feel like it sometimes.

Right. Done here.



This has been A Moment of Random Fanfic Bitchery. Please return to your porn writing, plz.

Comments

[inalasahl]

I think this bit might have been overlooked in the original.
Yes, I think I did miss that.

I'm honestly not sure what your objection is. I don't understand the attraction. I'm not particularly fond of the genre. In some fics I have read, x occurs. As far as statements go, it's a follow-up to why the rentboy genre doesn't work for me for the most part.
My objections:
Well, on a thinky level, I question whether there's a valid distinction between kinkfic and fanfic. Playing with other people's characters is sort of a kink itself, yes? Anyway, now that you've defined "kink" as tending to mean PWP, I'm wondering why you (or anyone else) would see certain things as more acceptable in a PWP, or less acceptable in a story with plot. It's a topical discussion in fandom right now that feels related to Strikethrough2007, cultural appropriation, authorial responsibility etc.

On a less thinky level, although you tried really hard to build in exceptions and say this is just one opinion, I did get a sense of judgement from certain sentences or the fact that you've tagged it "meta on badfic."

I totally am behind the vegetarian-kink thing. I do. Seriously. I'm not a huge fan of it (my only attempt at it went to the most depressing places *ever*) but I do get it. It's kink. It's hot (so I've heard. Not my thing, but I've read some I enjoyed that didn't verge on character assassination).

But God.

This is just--kind of a rule I wish I could set up. For fic that is not supposed to be kink. Because kink-fic is a different animal.

Unless your character canonically has no other access to meat or animal flesh, up to and including the neighbor's cat, maybe most of them *might* choose to not eat legumes or other peaceful plants all the time. I know, crazy thoughts.

But really--suddenly Random Character X is fired/wife dies/sister dies/mother dies/Dark Lord dies/Lionel dies/world ends/au-where-everyone-is-a-vegetarian*/head-injury-so-terrible-they-lose-their-minds and boom, they are tucking into that Hungarian Mushroom soup like it's fall and they just found the wild shrooms to end all wild shrooms. It's *bizarre*. and so on

I don't object to people liking what they like or disliking what they dislike. I do, however, disagree with labeling an entire genre in abstract as bizarre character assination suitable only for PWPs.

But if I'm understanding you correctly now, that wasn't what you were trying to say.

Advocacy? Not really. It's an opinion, in the "this doesn't work for me and this is why". And I wish the universe catered to my every whim. I'd have my pony by now.
Heh. No, I understand that you don't actually expect the magic wand to have been waved that will suddenly make all writers cater to your tastes.

[seperis.livejournal.com]

That ends up your problem in the sense of feeling judged, to be honest. I own my own kinks and preferences, up to and including serial killing psychopath AUs. This is pretty much an opinion. Hence the use of "I think", and "from what I've read" and "me-thing".

I don't object to people liking what they like or disliking what they dislike. I do, however, disagree with labeling an entire genre in abstract as bizarre character assissination suitable only for PWPs.

I'm getting faintly annoyed how you keep going back to setting this up as an absolute. It's frustrating when you are arguing something I never actually said.

I've read this a few times to make sure I phrased it as an opinion on my feelings toward a specific subgenre, with reference to the reasons I dislike it and how I feel that this is somewhat influenced by the fact I simply don't have that particular interest, therefore it doesn't make sense. I pointed out a fic I did like in this particular subgenre, and the reasons it worked for me when most don't.

Yes, the subgenre to me seems very bizarre. For the above reasons. I--have no idea how to clarify that any further unless you are objecting to me having negative feelings or for posting that I had negative feelings and why they are negative, with a brief moment of wishing I had a pony, or that the universe granted my whims.

[inalasahl]

I'm getting faintly annoyed how you keep going back to setting this up as an absolute. It's frustrating when you are arguing something I never actually said.

As I said directly after the bit you quoted: But if I'm understanding you correctly now, that wasn't what you were trying to say.

So, yes, I get it. That wasn't what you said.