Oh, fanfiction.net... *rolls eyes*

[apple_pathways]

First, I have to say that there will always be a place in my heart for ff.net, as it's one of the places where I first discovered fan fiction. There's a still a lot of awesome stuff there; it just can be really hard to find. (I tend to find an author I enjoy, then read all of their stuff and everything they've favorited. That tends to work.)

Anyway. I have an account there, and most of my (non-porn) stories end up there. The thing is, I'm used to posting my Amy/Rory Doctor Who fics, which are posted and then largely ignored. {We won't even go into how cranky I get when my stories that include The Doctor get more hits on AO3 than my (better-written, I think) Amy/Rory fics.}

Sherlock is an entirely different animal.

It hadn't occurred to me to put my first Sherlock fic for thegameison_sh up there, but when I was archiving my latest entry today I thought, why not? So I put both "Strange Bedfellows" and "Almost Anyone" (formerly called "Of Death and Dying") up yesterday.

"Almost Anyone" got two very lovely, very thoughtful reviews. I was pleasantly surprised, and responded right away to thank them. All good.

"Strange Bedfellows"? I don't know what is going on there. It's gotten about 10 "story alert" subscriptions, and the following reviews:



Review One:

"Oh pretty please add a couple more chapters!

Like John can't sleep because Sherlock kicked him or something...

But not slash.

Just a friend sorta thing..

Please!"


Review Two:

LOL!


Review Three:

I agree with the comment below! Rather than slash, just Sherlock being his incredibly irritating self. Typical things that kids get up to in hotels when bored. The floor is made of lava, randomly springs to mind! Haha. Because he really is just a big child who longs for anything to keep him from being bored.

This just made me laugh, we could all do with a good old funny fic. :)

I do hope you continue with this!


Review Four:

awesome story so far! i can't wait to read more!


First, the less problematic issue to address: what on God's green earth gave you the impression that I was going to write any more of this story? It's barely even a story, really: due to the nature of the challenge (a word limit of 750), the entries are necessarily light on plot. Here's what goes on in the story:

Sherlock and John miss their train. They have to get a hotel room, but OH NOES, there's only one bed available! John is feeling a little homophobic, but Sherlock goads him into sucking it up and getting a good night's sleep. THE END.

Where else am I supposed to go with this? And more importantly, was the original story so ABOMINABLY FLUFFY and terrible that "John can't sleep because Sherlock kicked him or something..." sounds like a fitting sequel?!? (Don't even get me started on the "the floor is made of lava" idea; I KNOW the person who suggested it must be very young, but I've never understood the desire to write grown men behaving as cute little children. That is, when it is OOC for them to do so.)

Not to mention the story is listed as "completed". (Really, I'm flattered that people signed up for a "story alert", but an improvement in their level of reading comprehension might help avoid future disappointment...)

Ok, I'm being a snotty brat, time to move on...

Now for the second issue: no slash? Really? I don't understand this weird phenomenon in fandom where people enjoy male characters cuddling, sharing a bed, tickle-fighting, braiding each other's hair, IDEK! but OMG, NO GAY SEX PLEASE! Where is this coming from? I find it incredibly troubling that the female view of men and masculinity is so...skewed!

I understand slash as fantasy and wish fulfillment. (Not entirely on a personal level, but I get what it does for other people.) This, I do not understand. And I'm having trouble putting into words just what it is that's bugging me.

Any thoughts? Ideas? SHOULD I GIVE THE PEOPLE THE SEQUEL THEY'RE CRYING OUT FOR? (I'm tempted to work in Jar Jar Binks somehow...)

I think I need to go lie down.

Comments

[greta-garbo.livejournal.com]

I agree with you on the slash thing, which actually causes some problems for me because saying "I don't really enjoy random, non-canon slash all that much" has brought me reactions online ranging from "Why the hell not?" to "You're a homophobe."

Yeah, I really don't think I'm a homophobe. I love a good slash ship that's canon (Jack/Ianto own my Torchwood heart and Gwen can go die in a fire) or where, even if it's not canon, the two actors have an undeniable, if completely unintentional, sexual chemistry.

But it must be some strange kink thing/weird and misshapen view of masculinity and male interaction that has some people automatically ship slash for seemingly no reason at all. It's like, "Oh, well those two guys fight all the time. That means they secretly want to bang" and "Oh, those guys are nice to each other and enjoy one another's company. That means they secretly want to bang." Which basically means, in some people's minds, that ALL MALE CHARACTERS IN TELEVISION WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH EACH OTHER. What? Really?

[greta-garbo.livejournal.com]

And I got so into that that I totally forgot the second part of what I wanted to say...

But I also agree about the people who flip over slash, as if they have only just stumbled upon the concept and can't believe it, are ridiculous. For one, if you're AT ALL active in internet fandom, you know the fact of slash. Stop acting like your little innocent eyes have been molested by this new and tawdry phenomena.

If you don't like slash, you should probably read the description, look at the pairing, and NOT READ IT. SERIOUSLY, WTH? It's like over on Rotten Tomatoes, when people enter threads just to make a post about how stupid the thread is and how much they hate it. THEN WHY DID YOU CLICK ON IT?

And I don't know what the problem is with people reading slash where there is no slash. It's just downright paranoid homophobia. Folks, if it's just two guys from the same show interacting, much like they do on the real show, the writer is not trying to display their deep secret love for each other. If it doesn't contain something about eyes locking and deep passions or something, it probably ain't slash. So calm the hell down.

[apple-pathways.livejournal.com]

Again, the idea that all male characters on television want to have sex with all other male characters on television is something that doesn't appeal to me on a personal level, but I get how other people enjoy it.

I suppose what I REALLY don't get is the need to pair off every single character ever and make everything about sex. It's not just that I don't have slash goggles; I don't have ship goggles! I don't feel the need to pair up any and all unattached characters and write them into a romance. I'm perfectly willing to let characters who are friends just be friends. (It's very telling that the main ship I write, Amy/Rory, is a canon married couple. Even Molly/Jim is canon!)

Of course, you can file this all under the category of "things that don't resonate with me on a personal level but I'm perfectly Ok with."

I mean, people should write and seek out whatever they enjoy! It's just there are certain ideas I can't wrap my head around, and I can't help but speculate at the motives behind them. (Of course, trying to ascertain the motives of fandom is certainly a dark and winding path one should avoid at all costs!)

All of this is why I want to see some comprehensive sociological research done on slash and its function in fan culture. Think I can get a grant for that? ;)