"And the Joys We Share as We Tarry There..."

[psalm_onethirtyone]

Issue: I think I could start to write fic with a slightly higher rating. That is to say, most of my slash is v. fluffy and G-ish right now, but I think if I wanted to, I could do more with it.

Difficulty: Mum beta-reads all my fic. More than that, she expects to read my fic, because I've been showing it to her for ages. I have, I confess, hidden certain fics from her (such as the Courfeyrac/Combeferre/Feuilly menage a trois *g*) in the past, but she has a slightly unpleasant way of finding things I'd rather she didn't ("Synonyms"). And I would have to start actually attacking other people for beta-reading, which I am loath to do.

What shall I do?

I suppose in the long run there's nothing wrong with G-ish slash, but Other People would perhaps beg to differ, and I am sometimes frustrated at my limits, due to their being largely because of my worry over bothering Mum (sparklychibi will, perhaps, understand this).

Hm.

Comments

[mmebahorel.livejournal.com]

There's nothing wrong with G slash as there is nothing wrong with G het.

I didn't start writing the stuff you're probably not allowed to read until after I left home. I don't talk to my parents about my writing because quite frankly, they don't need to see the pornographic Cosette slash. They'd probably have issues enough with Corner of the Sky. And we won't even get into Masochistic!Jehan, who is in large part derived from a Law and Order episode that they saw at the same time I did but would still likely freak them out coming from their daughter.

You shouldn't feel compelled to write in more detail about certain things just because other people you know do. If you want to because you feel you can't say enough about the relationship without exploring the sexual aspects, that's a different story. But you need to determine what works for you, not based on what everyone else is doing.

Also, fluffy does not have to be G rated, and not-fluffy doesn't have to R rated. Fluffy to me means happy and pretty, and you can get in a lot of angst without actually getting into details about sex. You can say a certain amount about characters with sex, but you can't say everything. Look at The Blood of the Martyrs: angst, and if I hadn't done such horrid things to Combeferre, I wouldn't have put any warnings on it at all. But Charles is angsty in the extreme, in part because he *isn't* getting any.

Besides, what's wrong with fluffy? Not everyone can write fluffy - I certainly can't. I write homosexual characters in the 19th century because I want them to be repressed and bitter and angry and confused. Even the well-adjusted ones are rather screwed up because of the social expectations of the time period and, in some cases, the legal strictures against the only behaviour that feels natural. But in the middle of all this "Why can't I be normal and happy?", sometimes we just want some pretty boys to smile and kiss each other. That is what fluff is for. There is nothing wrong with it.

Look at the icon. Belinsky says "every work of art", not just the serious ones or the R rated ones, but every work of art. Listen to Belinsky. After all, if I throw enough Hegel at him, he'll let Michael do some very pornographic things to him *g*.

[ladybretagne.livejournal.com]

*chucks several large volumes of Hegel and runs*

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

I know there's nothing wrong with G slash, and I think perhaps I ought to have been more specific, but I don't really want to write anything R or NC-17. I'd just rather write PG-13, or be able to put in cursing when I thought it was IC (Hyde from LXG presents me with the biggest. bloody. problems.), but Mum tends to be a lot more bothered by that sort of thing than I ever anticipate.

But I do feel compelled sometimes, and sometimes I feel that I ought to stop doing convenient fade-outs. They're almost embarrassing, sometimes. I suppose the thing to do, then, is to be able to distinguish from when it's /fine/ and I'm overreacting or pressing myself, and when I really am beginning to sound silly.

There's nothing wrong with fluffy! ^_^ I just sometimes worry if it isn't all getting redundant, and then I begin to angst over it--but I acknowledge that in some cases it can be a very good thing, and I'm glad I can write it.

Thank you very much.

[sparklychibi.livejournal.com]

sparklychibi will, perhaps, understand this

Meeble. Yes.

Mind you, though, she told me it was okay. Am now convinced that she only skimmed it, caught the sad and beautiful parts and missed the sex (how she managed this I don't know, but it's what I tell myself to keep myself sane).

mmebahorel's answer to this is eversomuch more eloquent than I could've put it, but I would like to add that, in case you really feel you want to raise your ratings, you can password-protect Microsoft Word files.

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Oh, good! *hops* One can only hope. Argle. (>_>)

Really? Well, that is a useful thing to know.

[petronelle.livejournal.com]

The value of a story is not in whether it has wild sex in it or not. If you write something that narratively needs wild sex -- which I don't see that you have -- then perhaps the lack thereof will impoverish it. If you write things where that is simply not a key element, then that's all right. Your stories also tend not to have rodeos, crop circles, instructions on how to make espresso, or described performance art. They do not need these things because that's simply not what you're writing about.

On the other hand, if you wanted to write a story about espresso and your mom didn't think you were old enough to make coffee, you could hand her a version that said:

"Combeferre went into the café, ordered a drink, and sat down to read."

And if you knew someone who knew about coffee, you could send her the version that said:

"Combeferre went into the café and breathed deeply of the rich scent of coffee that permeated the air. His eyelids were heavy with the weight of studying, as if all the books he'd read that night were stacked atop his head. The waitress said, 'Can I help you, m'sieur?' and he felt for the change in his pocket.

'Yes, please. I would like a café au lait.' (Mind you, I would complain of this because it is gratuitous nontranslation, but this is an example.)

'Of course, m'sieur.'

He leaned on a table while she poured him a cup of coffee with a little milk, then took it from her, his hands shaking. 'Thank you.'

He hardly heard her 'You're welcome,' for his senses were overwhelmed by the bitter, complex flavor. He fought to savor it and could not hold himself back; his exhausted tissues craved the sharp ambrosia. In a minute, the cup was empty, and he set it down, smiling at her with a slight foam of milk on his upper lip. 'Could I have another cup?'

[rainbowjehan.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Because that makes me feel a lot better about it, really. I was especially afraid that all the fluffyomg might bother you.

Also, you're quite right, and actually, on a few of my LXG fics, I've edited Hyde-ish cursing for the version Mum reads, and replaced the original words afterward.

Also, that is the most gorgeous, hot kauphyluv scene I have ever read. <3