In which I ramble on about RPS, the do's the don'ts, the wills the won'ts

[stoney321]

First off, glad no one got pissed at my last post, and thanks for the discussion. Feel free to spam that post, if you have more to say.

I'm going to take a sharp, wrong-turn (if loving RPS is wrong, I don't wanna be...) from Jesus-speak to my latest obsession: RPS. Don't get me wrong (um, have I started yet? Is this thing on?): I've never thought RPS (or RPF) was reprehensible, or morally wrong, or whatever. Because no matter how many facts about the real person you know, you don't *know* them. You are creating a tale, it isn't *real* although it may come amazingly close. So, for those that are squicked by RPS(F), and I know there are a lot of you out there, is it because of the "R?" Because I'm here to tell you: it AIN'T real. Not until I find the right lamp and give it a good rub, that is.


There are certain characters from certain shows that I *love* reading RPS about. *cough*Vincent Kartheiser*cough* And there are those that I don't. Having said that, I have some people on my flist that I ADORE that write the characters I don't read. And I've wondered lately why not. What is it about those famous people that makes me not want to peep at their sex-lives? I loved the character onscreen, after all. crazydiamondsue and I have talked about and around this many times. I... Hmmm. People like (for example) Christian Kane. I *love* the character Lindsey from Angel. Found him sexy, smart, interesting. But I'm not so interested in following "Christian Kane" around. But. Someone (neverneverfic?) wrote a SMOKING hot fic with VK/DB/CK that made me break out in a sweat. But I don't seek him out. Just... not my bag. Even though I have lovely people around here that write him, and write him WELL. I'd warrant that there are things *I* write that they don't enjoy, and no harm done. Even if I think it's the best thing I've written, whatever. We all have our tastes.

But here's where I think it really lies with me: TV stars vs. Move stars. Somehow, I feel more intimate, more friendly with the TV stars. Is it because I "bring them into my home?" Mainly. Is it because I pour over season after season of Buffy and Angel, listen to the commentaries and become "friends" with them? Dude, I know that sounds lame and creepy, but you *know* you know what I'm talking 'bout, Willis. And Movie stars... Well, they just do a better job of acting in RL, don't they? They seem more manufactured. *cough*Tom Cruise*cough* TV stars don't have such a PR campaign. Well, except for Jennifer Love Hewitt, and one day we'll figure out just how well she sucks dick, because come ON.

And as lame as this is going to sound, I get nervous with most TV character RPS. (Except for Tom Welling, because he's a fucking STAR, baby, and I don't read Clex because I'm scared of my image of TW being tarnished. And I'm a Mega-Dork.) Part of me (the irrational part) feels like I'm reading a fic about a close friend. Or because I have this picture in my mind, and it's getting screwed around with, and I *liked* that picture in my mind, I thank you, and ... Waaah.

But on the flip side, I know I'm missing out on some REALLY good fic. Because (points above) it's FICTION, RPS haters. David Boreanaz and Nicky Brendon aren't gay. They aren't fucking each other. But... Sorry. Just got a mental image of the pretty. *sigh* Or... ( fill in with names here ) This is not meant as a character bash, a writer bash, a PREDILECTION bash, or any such thing. This is me laying out the whizzing thoughts in my head. I guess... I want to cuddle my dolls and not let other kids play with them? Huh. I'm a brat.

And then there's that thing I have about not wanting to read a lot of a particular pairing because *I* am writing that pairing. And I'm afraid I'm going to lift ideas, or be influenced by that writer's vision. Does anyone else think that? An example for this would be kita0160 and ros_fod's fics about JM/VK. It's such a fully realized universe, that there are times if I start to sketch out a story, I start to pull "facts" from their universe. And man, I didn't get permission to play with their dolls, you know? And maybe their dolls are a bit different than mine? And then when is it that I'm just writing an homage to those girls, and not writing my original image, but maybe... Gah. Is any of this making sense? Am I trying to say I respect the other's vision and don't want to ruin it, too? Yeah, there's a lot of that. And there's mixed in my own chin-jutting self-preservation thrown in to complicate matters further.

I'll give you another example: Ewan and Hayden. I have a very clear idea of those two (made-up lovers) boys in my head, and their relationship dynamics. And there is a LOT of RPS being written about them. Some of it is fucking awful. And there are some that blow me away. But they see them as particular characters, and I... just don't. So I may stop reading someone's fic, even though they are fantastic writers, because I have this niggling thought that it will influence me. But then there's something that is SO unique, so opposite but well articulated that I just can't help it. The "Color of Wheat" series by ethrosdemon and hackthis is what I'm talking about. They have EVERYBODY there: Viggo/Orli, Tom/Michael, hell, Jake Gyllenhaal just showed up. And it's fucking crackfantastic.

And you may have noticed that in my last RPS fic, the James Marsters/Vincent Kartheiser fic, that I had them around other celebrities. And part of me worries that it's copying somehow? But then, I could just SEE it. *shrugs* Maybe I'm just trying to figure out what I think about writing, period. I've just recently decided that I'm just a vanilla writer. Period. I like writing "backside" over ass. I like writing "erection" instead of cock. Sometimes cock will do, but not often. For *me.* But when I read? GIMMIE THE DIRTY WORDS. Doesn't bother me. (Unless there's a leaking or weeping cock. Or warm, soupy egression. *hurls and readies penicillin shot*) But I know this is just my thing, for the most part. Well, not the soup. We're all on board with that being horribly, HORRIBLY wrong as a word choice.

I cannot stress enough that I appreciate the enormous amount of talent on my flist in the RPS world. Just because I'm not reading your particular fic, doesn't mean I don't recognize the talent there. I just may be absorbed in something else, or, not as into the pairing as you. And it's a fair trade, as I know there are a lot of folks on MY flist who don't read a lot of what I put out there. (But goddamit, my incest/vampire/orphanage MUSICAL set in Calcutta is fucking PERFECTION! Heh.) All's fair, man.


But I want to hear the whys and why nots on RPS from you. What about it gets you going? Or, on the converse side (quarter-tops), what about it squicks you? For those into it: Why *that* pair(s)? How did you start? Who did you first start reading? What are you reading now? Why aren't you reccing the good shit to me? Heee! Spam away! It's too hot to play... outside. Rhyming is cool!

(And it should go without saying: no bashing posters for liking/not liking something. It's okay to say that you feel a certain way about the topic, but you shouldn't insult someone for their likes/dislikes, mm'kay? Let the games begin!)

CRAP! Also: I need some Hayden Christensen/Ian Sommerhlederbergmanstein RPS. May have to get on that... Because Boone? Is a dirty rotten sister fucker, and Hayden wants to talk about wanting his daddy/brother!figure. I'm wrong.

Comments

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

RPS tends to be much like original slash (aka gay-themed stories about original characters, usually written by people who also write fanfic, and usually similar in style -- in a way that's hard to describe -- to fanfic) for me. In both cases it's hard for me to get into a lot of it because it seems like some of the shortcuts we use with fanfic -- both with plot and with character development -- are brought into a completely new situation where those shortcuts don't work.

A fanfic that concentrates mostly on the relationship and only touches on the plot aspects of the series in passing (yup, Spike's a vampire; he can play fun tricks while fucking in front of a mirror) is easy to get into because I already know the characters, know the universe, have a million and one associations with certain lines or pieces of history. Same with "Who is this guy and why do I care about seeing him fuck?" Joss did the character development for me, so the fanfic author doesn't need to make me give a damn about Xander before I'll invest myself in the story.

With original slash, or RPS, which is pretty close to original slash, there's a big "Why should I care about these characters" factor, that frequently isn't overcome enough for me to want to read on, or even want to read more of the same genre. I'm not suggesting all RPS or all original slash has this problem, but more that one thing I've noticed when I've read both and not been especially moved by the story, is that there's not enough there of the characters. There's names and some personality quirks, but they aren't developed over time, based on events and adventures that I also got to watch, as the characters in fanfic are, or the characters in mainstream novels are. It feels like that fanfic skills are being applied to a medium where they don't entirely fit.

OTOH, another reason I tend not to get into RPS or a lot of original slash is the actual genre -- I like my conflicted bisexual vampires and goofy conflicted post-teens in love with conflicted bisexual vampires. And witches, and werewolves, and all other sorts of fantasy and SF and horror-fantasy settings. So some of the non-attraction to RPF is me, and probably some of what seems like the fanfic-style problem is actually me just not being interested in the setting, and thus getting picky and dissatisfied with everything else as well. I have little interest in the entertainment industry as a story setting, which tends to make both actorfic and boyband fic fairly unsparkly to my roving eyes.

On the third hand, the one growing out of my ass, apparently, there is RPS and original slash with supernatural settings and themes, and I haven't really sought that out much either; I'm not sure how much of that is just brand-loyalty to certain existing fandoms, or apathy, or fear that the supernatural setting will be more like a supernatural trapping, to make the sex kinkier and the angst angstier, but not really a story about vampires and werewolves doing vampire and werewolf things.

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

All of which on reflection answered precisely zero of your questions, since RPS doesn't squick me at all, so mostly that was a lot of rambling on why I never seem to be able to get very interested in it, though I've dabbled in the reading end of the pool every so often, and played in RPF parody games (where it was definitely the high humor content, the fun of really trying to parody someone, that attracted me, and I tended to lose interest when things got serious and more like traditional RPF).

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

No, no, there was some good thinky stuff up there. The idea of liking the fantastical elements, that THAT is what turns you on with fic, be it fanfic/Joss or RPS/lack of fantasmagorical.

And the idea of SHORTCUTS. Yes indeedy. For a quickie? It works. But with lengthy, plotty fics? It's just a cheat, and I want to crawl inside the character, and they aren't LETTING me.

That just made a flag go up in my mind about the current RPS fic-series I'm reading by the girls above in the post - the actorworld fics. There are some shortcuts in the beginning, but the more you read, (the more they wrote) the more secret characterization is everywhere. I love that. How someone holds a door. How someone avoids ____ says alot about what's happening in their head.

It's fantastic. But rare.

And for the record? In case you didn't know this about me? I'm ALL about the parody. :-D

[mpoetess.livejournal.com]

In case you didn't know this about me? I'm ALL about the parody.

I would NEVER have known. :-P

[stoney321.livejournal.com]

HA HA HA!!! I know. I'm *really* secretive about that.