Wicked Wednesday gets Slashy

Posted by Saluki in Uncategorized | 5 comments

This week’s Wicked Wednesday is brought to you by one of our favorite fan fic authors here at MVF – Mac (find her MVF profile here).  If you haven’t read her stories, you are missing out.  She is an incredible author and we are excited that she agreed to guest blog for us today.

As always, if you can’t buy porn, you’re not old enough to read this.  Also, if slash isn’t your thing, this particular entry might not be for you.  But, for all you slash hOOrs out there, you definitely need to ready on!

Today’s Wicked Wednesday is all about slash fanfic.  It’s a confusing term for newcomers to the fandom, but it’s basically same-sex smut.  While there is both male/male slash and female/female slash, it’s thought to originate from Star Trek fanfic – apparently lots of people wanted to see Spock and Captain Kirk get down.  I may not be interested in seeing the two of them live long and prosper, but I’m sure their relationship dynamic was, er, interesting.

As a heterosexual woman, it shouldn’t be quite that attractive to imagine fictional guys who wouldn’t be interested in my parts going at it, but it is – and I’m not alone.  There’s been a marked increase in slash fic, particularly m/m, in the Twilight fandom over the last few months.  There’s not a ton of demographics available on the slash fanfic world, but Wikipedia tells us the majority of the slash fandom consists of college-educated, hetero women.  What can I say? I guess we like to watch just as much as men like to watch lesbians.

The one shots for this week’s Wicked Wednesday are Palm Trees and Coconuts by Rosmarina and Bulletproof by annanabanana, both of which were included in Ms. Kathy’s Haiti compilation fundraising project.  PT&C features Emmett and Edward, and is really more of a future outtake to Rosmarina’s fic called Potential.  Bulletproof’s pairing is Jasper and Edward and it has the distinction of being one of the very few slashy one-shots to make me weep.  Both deal with some pretty heavy, serious themes.

I read PT&C before it was published – Rosmarina asked me to beta edit for her.  It’s an Emmett/Edward pairing, and one of the first things I noticed is her use of a detail that you don’t often see in fandom slash: the acknowledgment of tops, bottoms, and switches.  Emmett and Edward are in an established relationship in this one shot, and it’s a very sweet, trusting relationship.  The lemon is very hot, but it’s the ending I really find intimate and lovely.  PT&C is a far in the future one-shot for her multi-chapter fic called Potential that deals with coming out as a gay athlete, and so it’s nice to see what the relationship between Emmett and Edward develops into.

Bulletproof first came across my computer when I was methodically reading through the Haiti compilation.  No less than a dozen people emailed me to say I HAD to read Bulletproof, and it didn’t disappoint.  This one shot features Edward and Jasper, both on assignment as photojournalists assigned in a war zone.  The sexual tension that plays out between these two is stellar, and the plot is timely and urgent.  There’s a great dynamic of uncertainty that plays out against the backdrop of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and there’s a part of it that made me cry like a baby … gah.  As I mentioned, tears, people, tears.  Great lemon, too.

Without further ado, let’s talk to Rosmarina and annanabanana about writing slash…

mac: It seems as though the two of you have primarily written hetero relationships before now, mostly E/B fics.  What inspired you to write slash?

Anna: yes, purely in my case

Rosmarina: I enjoy reading slash quite a lot and when the slash backslash contest came around, they were encouraging folks to try out unusual pairings. Emmett is kind of a favorite character of mine, so I wanted to see if I could write him in a slash story.

mac: I love Emmett too – in nearly any pairing… but you know that! ;-p

Rosmarina: why yes I do!

Anna: I LOVE slash and the only reason I hadn’t written anything before is because I have no first-hand basis in real life for that type of relationship. I wanted to really do it justice and try for as much realism as I could get. Also, I set out to write adults in a relationship not teens discovering themselves.

Rosmarina: That’s a good point, Anna.

Anna: I always worry about writing what I know… or at least what I can relate to

Rosmarina: I had someone outside the fandom ask me why I wrote slash once and wasn’t it hard as female writer.

mac: I have to assume neither of you has had much firsthand experience watching a lot of gay sex (you know what they say about assuming) – what kind of research did you do to ensure realism?

Rosmarina: lol…

Anna: well… TMI alert: anal sex isn’t owned by gay males…

Rosmarina: Well… I read gay male erotica on other websites that’s written by men…

Anna: also, this seems odd but I was an art student, and body positioning and anatomy are important to me.  I need the parts to actually fit

mac: I was reading something about slash today, about how m/m relationships will naturally be different than m/f relationships and f/f relationships simply because of how men and women relate to each other and how men related to each other

Anna: also this website is great (Warning NSFW)

mac: apparently, since college educated hetero women make up the bulk of slash fandom, gay men occasionally bitch about the way their relationships are portrayed. In both your cases, I think you got it just right.

Anna: I take some issue with that as well.  I don’t enjoy reading a story when it feels like a male has been plugged into a typically feminine characterization. I want it to read as two men – men and women are different, so of course the dynamics will be as well

Rosmarina: I try to think carefully about the way men I’ve observed behave, whether gay or straight, and put that into my characters.

Anna: exactly

mac: I think it definitely helps to have some gay male friends.   Not that one gay male=all gay males, but you know what I mean

Anna: it also helps to observe people in general

Rosmarina: I also have been researching coming out stories for young gay men, especially gay athletes for my story Potential, since that’s a main theme.

Anna: I am a people watcher. I like to understand the unique personalities people have. That always helps me with characters

Rosmarina: And as a bisexual woman I can relate to being a minority and translate the feelings behind those experiences to the situations of my characters.  Or at least, that’s what I can try to accomplish. ;)

Anna: when I wrote Bulletproof, one of the reasons I was able to relate, is because some of their circumstances were things I’ve experienced, so I had a commonality with the characters in other ways.

mac: Both of you deal with homosexuality in potentially fraught situations – Rosmarina with gay athletes and Anna with being gay in a military situation. Did you specifically choose that theme because it added depth or some other reason? I guess what I’m asking is how did you come by your plots? What inspired you to write this particular story?

Anna: I lived on a military base as a non-conventional artist-type, and I’m a photographer. That sort of sparked the concept. Then the pivotal plot point came to me and I knew I had to place it in a war zone. I specifically wanted the military influence as a deterrent to be openly homosexual – not that my characters would be blatant while working anyway – but I also knew I didn’t want to write gay military members. I was reluctant to touch that topic because I can’t imagine being in the military, truly, much less having to keep such a large secret. I’m quite open.

mac: Wow, Anna – such an interesting backstory!!

Anna: :)

Rosmarina: Hmm… Well in the original o/s Potential, the major conflict was Edward’s history of being bullied/gay-bashed by jocks in high school and how meeting Emmett, a pretty openly gay athlete, challenges his stereotypes. The continuation where Emmett comes out publicly and potentially faces backlash for his decision just seemed like a natural progression to me I guess. Also, LGBTQ issues are near to my heart, and the opportunity to champion those issues in my own little way seemed like something I couldn’t pass up.

mac: I can’t imagine the stories you must have. I’ve heard don’t ask, don’t tell is really not a huge deal on bases – it’s not really an atmosphere where anyone is super blatant about being gay, no matter what. Did you find that to be true?

Anna: definitely.   If any of our friends were gay when we lived on the base, we had no idea, which is odd because they are pretty much vulgar about hetero sex/partners even in the actual workplaces

mac: Army bases seem to be very pro-machismo places, so I can’t say I’m surprised.

Anna: right and the “don’t ask, don’t tell” concept bothers me more for that reason. It’s okay to have people talking about who and how they fucked in detail…as long as it’s opposite sexes.

mac: So… what is the first slash fanfic you ever read?

Anna: I think Over the Top by starfish422 was my first

Rosmarina: Gosh, I’m not sure… It might have been Verom Quod Eventus by stolenxsanity

mac: And what’s your current favorite slash fanfic?

Anna: oh geez…

mac: yeah, I know… sorry! :P

Rosmarina: Just one? No can do, honey!  Top three? Please?

mac: OK, fine – your top three. Hah!

Anna: I don’t know if I have a favorite multi chap slash fic right now. I’ve been reading and enjoying a lot of slash o/s’s

Rosmarina: This Mortal Life by hidingfromsomeone, Marked by Whitlock-Masen, and A Tangible Dichotomy by PerfectlyPersuasive

Anna: I’ve been enjoying Marked by Whitlock-Masen. It’s sort of a quiet, slow burn and the characters are pretty genuine seeming.

Rosmarina: The original Marked o/s was one of those that I would re-read whenever I couldn’t stand to wait for an update. It’s scorching! (I just realized that I didn’t put Deep Dish by Starfish422 in my top three and that’s just a crime against humanity.)

mac: Considering you’d written E/B pairings prior, did you get any negative feedback from readers when you went with slash? I think both your o/s s are fantastic (and Rosmarina’s expanded fic), but people like what they like. How have you handled responses?

Anna: I haven’t had any negative feedback, but a lot of my regular readers haven’t read it from what I can tell. I have had a lot of anonymous reviews and reviews from new readers and men, which makes me smile.

Rosmarina: I really didn’t have any kind of following before writing for the slash backslash contest so that didn’t really come up. But a friend keeps pimping out my story on twitter and I’ve popped one or two readers’ slash cherries, all positive responses so far. ;)

mac: I love hearing neither of you have gotten flamed! Being that slash fics are more popular right now, we are seeing lots of fics that don’t always portray gay relationships realistically (generally speaking). We touched on this earlier, but for you, what’s the most important aspect of writing realistic gay characters and relationships?

Anna: it’s hard to pinpoint a specific issue I might have because for me it’s all about believability. One person could write a gay male character who wants to have children and be a stay at home dad and it could come off as too much like a hetero relationship but at the same time another author could do the same thing and really sell it.

mac: very true

Anna: so for me it’s all about the honesty in the characters.

Rosmarina: It may be fanfic and erotica and an avenue for escape, but I dread the idea of doing a disservice to the underlying themes of life as a gay man in America right now.

Anna: for me that’s how I feel about any character I write… I can’t not be thorough

mac: Most writers I know have problems writing lemons from a woman’s perspective with the parts they already own. Do you have problems writing slash lemons, and, if so, what’s your biggest challenge?

Rosmarina: Huh, well, it’s come pretty naturally to me actually, lol. Erm, how classy do you want to keep this interview?

Anna: The slash lemon wasn’t any more challenging for me than a hetero lemon. They are all a bit difficult for me, balancing the physical with emotional aspects evenly, mostly, not overusing the same vocab! :)  I always see a lemon play out completely in my head; the only struggle for me is making sure I convey it the way I want it to come across.

Rosmarina: Well, I try to tap into my own experiences for emotional and physical responses, and while I don’t have male parts I do have experience with male parts. ~waggles eyebrows~  Then I’ve really tried to hone in on what’s different about the way men in my life have expressed their sexuality.

mac: One reason I love m/m slash: there will rarely be a “dripping core” in sight. Have you found slash lemon cliches?

Anna: I find that the use of the missionary position is overused and often with anatomical impossibilities. It’s not very likely for boys to be chest to chest while erm, doing things in the missionary position. (I know this because I watch gay porn) TMI?  :D

mac: Never TMI! ;-p

Rosmarina: Oh good, I’m not the only one. ;)

Anna: there’s one in particular some of my friends found and dubbed “Bulletboys”

mac: Oh god, which one? I must know

Rosmarina: are you recc’ing it, Anna? ~giggle~

Anna: and I found it! (Warning NSFW)

mac: One last question – what are your favorite pairings, both hetero and m/m slash? And if you have fave f/f slash pairing, I’ll take that too.

Rosmarina: Fave pairings… I go through phases. I have a lot of E/B and E/J on alert right now. I haven’t read a whole lot of fanfic femmeslash because in general I’ve haven’t seen a Twi pairing that draws me. There is one story that has Bella and Leah that I really love though. Let me go find it… Acceptance by MsKathy

Anna: I like Bella & Edward the most in hetero stories — mostly because I don’t like E with any of the other girls. I like Bella with a good Jasper if Edward and Alice are not in the story. For slash, I love some Edward & Jasper — maybe more than any other pairing across the board, actually.
For f/f slash, I like Bella & Alice. Rose and Emmett just belong to me so I can’t buy Rose as gay usually. Emmett is more believable as gay for me but I don’t really like him with E or J usually.

Rosmarina: I adore a well-written Emmett though and I want to pimp my girl winterstale who writes amazing Emmetts. In three chapters Einfach Mich made me cry buckets in her femmeslash Fall in the Light.

Anna: I don’t read much femmeslash either but Paper Moon by MsKathy has BxA & ExJ and I enjoy it a lot. I love some good Emmett. I almost don’t like him with E or J because they’re too whiny for him. I read a great EmxCarlisle o/s and was SHOCKED by how much I loved it: Sour by goldenmeadow who has just an amazing way with words. It’s vamp Carlisle/human Emmett

mac: Well, I’ve kept you both 30 minutes longer than I said I would, so THANK YOU for letting me interview you. And thank you for writing such great fic!

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And thank you to mac for guest blogging for us.  We hope she drops by again!