Obviously I wasn't issued the slash-goggles....

[partly]

I belong to several "Last Author Standing" communities and in order to vote on the fic, you have to read it all. Now, unlike when I go off looking for fic to read for fun, I don't read the warnings or headings on these fic because, one, I'm going to have to read them all no matter what they say and, two, I don't want to go in with any expectations. I don't have a problem with this because while my heart belongs to canon-compliant fic, I have no triggers or issues that would make reading blind dangerous.

I've read a lot of different fic lately, stuff I would have normally skipped do to its warnings and descriptions. I've come to this (probably very obvious) conclusion: I don't see the world the same way most fic writers do. I'm not just talking characterization here. I know I tend to see my characters as stronger and slightly more well-adjusted that a lot of fans. No, I'm talking that what people understand as happening when they write the words is fundamentally different from what I understand is happening when I read the words. This is most obvious when it comes to slash.

There's been any number of fics that I've read that I've been totally shocked to find out were classified as "slash". There was no slash in these stories. None. There wasn't even a generic profession of love that could be taken as slash. There wasn't any internal thoughts of romance or desire or any like emotion. There wasn't any outside POV explaining how slashy the scene looked to them. Nope. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

I understand that I don't see slash in the shows the way a lot of people do. But this is fic, people. Stories that, presumably, the author intentionally wrote with the desire to have a slash relationship going on. Either they aren't writing what they think they are writing, or I'm really, really dense. It's a small thing I know, but right now I have the urge write these authors and point out that they really aren't writing what they think they are. It's not romance without a romance. It's not a death fic without a death. It's not porn without sex. In order for it to be slash, you have to write in a slash relationship. Just sayin'

Comments

[amycat1959.livejournal.com]

There are several fandoms where I'd be inclined to post any fic I wrote to the "slash" archives simply because the so-called "gen" sites are actually strongly "het"-centric (e.g.: Stargate). I get rather annoyed when the writers claim a "Sam&Jack" Stargate story with overt sexual activity is "gen", but scream for "proper Warnings" if there's "SLASH subtext" (e.g.: Jack and Daniel are shown as Very Good Friends, and the author has some non-sexual physical stuff going on in, say, a H/C scene). As a result of such attitudes, I've found the so-called "gen" archives often have far too much annoyingly BAD sappy-romance crap, and the better fic (even if it's not overtly sexual-relationship stories) is in the "slash" (or "adult") archives.

In other fandoms (e.g.: "Stargate" and "White Collar"), where I see the strong possibility of an eventual "slash" (Jack/Daniel) or "OT-3" (Neal/Peter/El) relationship, I'd label my fic as "pre-slash" even if there's nothing overtly sexual in that story, simply because that's where I see my story eventually going. Does this make sense?

In terms of the labeling on the site you mention, it could be pre-emptive: an author's not going to be excoriated for overly-strong "warnings", but WILL be blamed if there's something someone perceives as "slash" (or "trigger-y" or "non-con" or whatever) which *doesn't* have any warnings.

[partly.livejournal.com]

I know that there are a lot of people who are rabid about labels/warnings. While I understand the desire to err on the side of caution (especially in a contest comm), if you're going to use them, they should accurately reflect what is in the fic.

It comes down to this (with me): I don't want to be TOLD what the author wants me to see in a fic. I want the WRITING to SHOW me what the author intended the fic to be. In all honesty, what happens AFTER THE FIC IS DONE, doesn't matter. I, as the author, may envision the characters riding happily off into the bedroom together, but if it doesn't happen in the fic, then it doesn't belong in the fic. And it doesn't belong in the labeling. If it's really important to the author to know where they envision the relationship going, then it needs to be put in the TEXT ITSELF. Putting "pre-whatever-relationship" is TELLING me how read the fic, what subtext to use. I've always had a problem with being told what to do, telling me how I should read a fic, annoys me. (And yes, I know I'm probably the only one who sees it this way.)

And this isn't just a "pre-slash" thing. I don't like labeling my fic "gen" either. If I could, I wouldn't give it any category at all. I've had people tell me "Even though I only read slash and this isn't labeled as slash, I really liked it. The relationship between X and Y was great!" That's wonderful. It means I captured the characters perfectly. I don't care what subtext people bring to the table. But it's the reader who should be allowed to bring that subtext, not be told what to see by the author.

All that said, I understand why people label. In the fanfic world, people (usually) only read labels they like. If people who like slash never read gen then it makes sense to label things "pre-slash". Even if it annoys me, I understand that. It's the same reason I rate all my fics to be PG-13 or "Teen Audience" even though I think I usually could be rated lower. So many people refuse to read fics that are rated PG or lower that I know that by rating it higher I will gain more readers than I lose. I usually sooth my conscience by saying that it's "adult concepts" that make my fic worthy of the rating. *grin*