FML. Today I lost a campfire that I spent an hour and a half writing due to Safari FAIL. /SOB!!!
I connected this huffpost article, that someone put up in another campfire, with all the sudden criticism of MotU in campfire discussions.
Basically, my observation was that people are suddenly viciously complaining about MotU, (the story itself, publication/Icy drama aside), and from reading just these comments, it would seem there is a consensus that the writing was bad and that the relationship depicted was fundamentally flawed (and therefore the people that enjoy it are dumb, because who could get into something so cliched?)
Aren't these the same accusations people throw at Twilight?
The thing is, when MotU was a fanfiction I FREAKING LOVED IT!!!
AND I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO FELT THIS WAY!!!
Yes, Icy's actions were awful and she doesn't deserve the attention, etc, this makes me angry too. (Grrrrrr!) But I disagree with most of the hate comments about the MotU story not being an example of good fanfiction, that its not BDSM enough, that it's too BDSM because he's an actual sadist, etc. etc. I think there are two types of fanfiction in this community, those that are "highbrow" and those that are written for pure escapist pleasure (much like Twilight canon.) MotU was a great example of the latter. Yeah, when you give a summary of the plot it sounds ridiculous, and there were a few odd scenes/elements that made me roll my eyes (nipple orgasms? really Icy?), but it fun to read--it was the update I wanted to see most in my inbox. She made those cliched fantasies work, and even better, she made them new and changed the predictable trajectory of their relationship by challenging the idea that two people in love will automatically match up in the bedroom. I was always engaged and never felt like I was reading a sex scene I'd read a million times before. She threw in character reactions that I didn't expect, and would change the whole tone of the chapter based on them. I'd say more, but the purpose of this campfire is not MotU love.
My thoughts are this: its the unwritten rule of the fandom that fic criticism is unacceptable, no matter how bad, because people are "learning" and it might hurt their feelings... and I'll be honest, I don't always follow this rule, (and am usually met with defensiveness when I dont). But I NEVER challenge the fantasies themselves, because that would be hypocritical--its the whole reason we are here. The times I do give constructive criticism are mostly when I feel the author has lost control over her narrative because she doesn't understand the implications of the character actions... for example, when it's clear she doesn't have a complete understanding of rape/consent, versus when she knows exactly what rules she is breaking and carefully crafts her response.
In my original lost campfire I used the huffpost article to make a lot of points about gender and the media... boring. I guess it just bothers me when people hate on MotU itself (versus Icy's actions), because WTF kind of Shakespeare do you *think* you're reading normally? Yeah we've got Derdriu oFaolain and Gondolier...
But we also have THIS:
The Extraordinary Dream by luvrofink
Features TentaclePornward.
Is this on my alerts list? YES, YES IT IS!!!!!!! AND IT IS MY FIC REC FOR THIS CAMPFIRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AvengeRanger Edit: All posts on the front page (i.e. "original posts, as compared to replies, which are within the campfire) must be free of profanity. Thank you.
My bad sorrs.