the only thing worse than not knowing is you thinking that I don't know

[asimplechord]

Do you have different requirements, different squicks, different hot buttons for reading fan fiction than for 'commercial' fiction?

Thinking about this because I read a fic the other day that had a power dynamic that would disturb in real life or even a book.

I like cross generational relationships in fiction, in fan fiction. In RL, I don't think I dated anyone more than a decade older before I settled down.

I'm okay with power exchange in relationships on a personal level in RL, in fiction, and in fan fiction.

I have serious issues with the idea of a supervisor/boss/person in a position of authority having a sexual relationship with a subordinate. In real life. In fiction.

Apparently not in fan fiction. ETA: To clarify, I prefer not to read student/teacher even in fanfic. Post-Hogwarts or no-longer teaching, please.

I know, you're thinking, Huh?

I read an AU bandom fic in which one person was a professor, the other his TA. It said so right in the title. And the pairing makes it quite clear that their relationship will become decidely unprofessional.

Now, from an academic POV, the TA/prof thing is (possibly) less problematic than a prof/student relationship. But still. I wouldn't do it, myself. It was bad enough to fuck up a relationship with another grad student in my lab; I can't imagine doing that with the person who controlled whether I'd get the letters to sign after my name. It happened in my department while I was a grad student, and it's happened in my current department. It isn't pretty. Someone always gets fucked when that happens, and not in the hot, sweaty, lots-of-orgasms way.

If I were to pick up a book at the library or bookstore and see in the summary that the two protagonists were in this situation, I'd put the book right back on the shelf. Even though I know that fiction is just that, fiction, not real, I wouldn't read it.

When I saw the summary for this fan fic, I hesitated, then clicked the link.

I'm not sure if it's because it's an AU of RPS, and I know the power dynamic is imaginary, or what*. But now I'm curious to see if maybe there are other lines I wouldn't cross in my "regular" reading that I will in fandom.

What about you? Are you willing to read things in fan fiction that you wouldn't in other formats?



*It might possibly also have something to do with the fact that Gerard Way, who is not my favorite bandom person, is raised to an unholy level of hotness when he's dressed in the professorial vest and tie from THAT photo shoot.

Comments

[twindowlicker.livejournal.com]

"Are you willing to read things in fan fiction that you wouldn't in other formats?"
Yup: one word: Twincest. Never even found any in commercial fiction so I have nothing to compare to, but I bet the quality would pale in comparison to the fanfic I've read.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

You know, I've read incest in commercial fiction, but never twincest. I don't think I've ever even seen it as an option. I'd be curious to know how much of it is out there.

[ariadne1.livejournal.com]

Hm... in a word, yes. I'll read - and write - teacher/student fanfic (although thus far I've skirted around it with - well - a technicality ;). In commercial fiction? Honestly, I can't think of commercial fiction that goes there. Only thing I'm coming up with is Lolita, and that... *pauses to sort out rationalization from rationality* ... that's so far beyond teacher/student, and "literary" (for want of a better term), that it doesn't fit the question.

I've read power exchange commercial fiction, but again, a different stripe.

As for RL - I've seen it (college level, and grad student level), and professionally it squicks the hell out of me.

So I wonder if the question is "Is fanfic more fantasy than commercial fic?" Or... maybe... "Is the act of reading fanfic more an act of fantasy than the act of reading commercial fic?"

Oddly, and I have no rationality to stand on here, my answer is "Yes."

Curious.

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

I think you've hit on it -- reading fanfic is definitely more fantasy-oriented (no matter what genre or fandom) than commercial fiction for me. Which is odd, when I look at the completely random mysteries/sci-fi/fantasy books that comprise the fiction shelves of my book collection.

I've thought and thought about this with respect to the student/teacher thing, because it *is* problematic with the Snape 'ships. I really prefer not to read fanfic in which Hermione and Harry are still students subject to Snape's authority, and there's so much of that type of fic, especially in the Snape/Harry side of things. I'll edit it with no problem, though. Obviously. :)

Re: question about authorial ownership. There was a conversation started on this topic recently over at Romancing the Blog (http://www.romancingtheblog.com/blog/2007/11/06/whose-characters-are-these-anyway/#comments), but I'm not sure how far the character ownership discussion went before specific debate about JKR/Dumbledore/Snape characterization hijacked the dialogue. If you're interested.

[angela-snape.livejournal.com]

Teacher/Student is a big no-no for me - I see it occasionally in RL and it drives me crazy - like, did they miss that day in Teachers' College when we were told about professionalism & not dating students? I wouldn't normally seek it out in fiction (and as the PP said, there isn't a whole lot of it out there, anyway), but I love Snarry. I do tend to prefer Harry to be older (7th year or more is great, but I'll read him younger).

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

See, I like the Snarry alot, and I was less discriminating about what I would or wouldn't read when I first got into fandom, but I've reached the point where I just don't want to read student/teacher fanfic. I'll edit anything, but I'm not likely to read something with that situation.

[angela-snape.livejournal.com]

I should have qualified my statement: I don't seek out Student!Harry fics (I prefer him post-Hogwarts in pretty much any relationship) but I'll read them if I know & like the author - but again, primarily with an older Harry, because chan is a major squick for me.

But, you know - I'm the same as you for editing - I've beta'd fics dealing with all kinds of topics that I wouldn't read, though usually knowing ahead of time what kind of story I'd be beta-ing.

[libgirl.livejournal.com]

The short answer is yes. The long answer is more complicated.

Part of the difference, in my opinion, is that, with the exception of Romance novels or epic, genre novels (where you already know all the characters before you begin the novel), in mainstream fiction you don't read based on ship. You read based on a general plot idea, a type of story, the strength of your feeling for the author. There is something driving your interest in the book other than the relationship between the characters.

In most of the fandoms I belong to, it's the exact opposite. People base part or all of their decision to read a story on the relationship between the characters. I know that in the X Files fandom this wasn't always the case. The emphasis used to be on genfic, frienship fic or casefiles. There was a strong core of people (noromos) who didn't believe in a romantic relationship between Mulder and Scully. (Obviously the series itself affected how that fandom changed.)

I'll read fic that I'd never touch in book format because of the focus. If it's a pairing that I ship, with an author that I like, I'll try almost anything. Because, almost always, it's ultimately the pairing that the story is about--not whatever else is going on. In mainstream writing, it's generally the opposite--the pairing is secondary to what is going on in the story.

Another factor for me is time. Most fic isn't going to require two or more hours of me time. And, if it is, I'm going to be sure that there is a high likelihood that I'll enjoy it. I'm an exceptionally fast reader, but it still takes me an average of two hours to read a book. That's an investment on my part. I'm willing to entertain a far-fetched scenario or idea or situation for the twenty or so minutes it'll take me to read the story (always knowing that I can close the window if it gets too squicky) whereas I'm unlikely to invest larger chunks of time on the same scenarios when I don't know the characters or have an investment in them.

I think fic writers are able to take greater risks and go further in terms of boundaries than your average mainstream writer because part of the hard work is done. After all, most people who click the link and start reading your fic know the world, the characters, their basic histories and motivations, the rules of the universe and are already invested in these things. They're willing be to stretched and challenged because they already *care* about the characters. In mainstream writing, the author has to create all these things and encourage the reader to invest themselves in them, only then can they move you further.

As a sidenote, I think this is part of the reason that OC's are so rarely accepted in fic writing. The average reader is there with an agenda (their ship/preferred characters) and isn't really concerned with meeting new people, particularly since they're so frequently as well-developed as the characters they already know.

I don't suppose any of this actually answers your questions though.

Sorry?

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Excellent points raised. I think you've absolutely hit on the reason that OCs are so unpopular. Even well done OCs get tarred with the Mary Sue brush very easily, because readers are looking for a specific pairing.

[minuet99.livejournal.com]

I don't know... but I do know my tastes have changed over the years... I remember starting to read one story that I that squicked me but I came back several months later and I was fine with it.

Then again, HP fanfiction squicked me out for awhile... until I read a SS/OC... and then I was hooked... thankyou AR!

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

AR is responsible for the seduction of many people to the dark side. :)