fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #708 ]

⌈ Secret Post #708 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

101.

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[Bleach, Soifon]

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[Twilight]

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[CSI]

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[Hellboy]

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[World of Warcraft]

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[Hugo Weaving]

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[Keira Knightley]

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[sup, MGS genderswap]

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 20 pages, 498 secrets from Secret Submission Post #102.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 1 2 3 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - too big ], [ 1 2 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ], [ 1 2 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I agree that posting something on a kink meme predisposes a certain type of response from both author and requester, but I've actually read some of the fics the secret-maker referenced, and I didn't read them as erotic. The Nanjing one comes to mind, actually: disturbing as fuck, yes, painful, yes, but the point of it seemed to be the irrevocable damage wrought by Japan's actions, not the zomghawtness of it all. And the former point is, I think, a valid one to make in a fanfic, because it's true. And even as I'm typing this, I know some of the responses to some of the more troubling prompts probably are geared towards kink and sexual gratification of characters and readers -- I skipped the fuck away from anything that looked to be heading in that direction, so I can't name names -- but, well, that's fandom. As much as I wish that people wouldn't tackle mature themes unless they're willing to explore the ramifications and consequences of them...yeah. And again, kink memes tend not to be so much about ramification and consequence (which is what I'm primarily interested in as a writer, anyway). So maybe there needs to be a different place for those kinds of requests, so they aren't read or written as erotica. I don't know; I can't dictate the actions of the people on the meme, but I can hope that they write and request with thought and care.

The series does have the potential to be controversial, yes. I see that, and I understand those who are offended by it. I just get frustrated at the assumption that we're all trivializing history or glossing over the real pain that people have experienced for the sake of cheap thrills. I'm sure there are some people like that, yeah, because that's the way fandom works, but that isn't at all the impression I receive from the majority of the fandom, and it's a shame that the earlier assumption has any prevalence.

My point, though, is that it doesn't really matter what the fics in question are actually like. Once you put it on the kink meme, you can't escape the connotations they will be associated with. So, yeah, if people had stopped to think about what they were about to do, then maybe this whole wank wouldn't have happened. Hetalia fans should just be aware of these dangerous waters, and start avoiding them in the future.

One might think, though, that people are generally so wary of approaching these sensitive issues in fanfic (even when the intention is pure) that it takes the anonymous environment of the meme as well as the goading of a bunch of requesters to make it possible for them to take the leap. And that's just... really unfortunate. There's a lot you can do with the darker aspects of history, even in Hetalia; it shouldn't take something like a kink meme to make it possible.

And ideally, people shouldn't be afraid to address sensitive issues in fiction at all, thus permitting them to request and write whatever they darned well please without fear of undue reprisal.

What a fortunate Internet it would be, if fandom was receptive to and embracing of aggressive and politically charged and provocative fiction, inside and outside the dominant sexual context.

Truth.

Sadly, anonymous is still as close as we can get to absolute freedom on the Internet. Well, hey, someone down below is calling for an non-kink anon-fic-meme for Hetalia-dom. That sounds like something that might work out, if people are willing to be 100% honest in their criticism. (Why shouldn't they be, it's anonymous?)

In the end, it all comes down to how thick-skinned the fanfic writers are.

And even the thickest of the thick-skinned still feels defensive and hurt when her work is misconstrued or trolled, or when she is told that her authorship is being judged for no reason other than its venue and audience.

Precaution is what you have to take when the subject matter is volatile, and therefore the venue does matter. I don't think half as many people would be so bothered if it were just someone writing fanfic about the Rape of Nanjing. It's the thought of someone asked for/wrote porn about it that that made people freak out.

I have to admit, I did a doubletake myself, and even after reading the actual stories, I still don't feel comfortable having them there on the kink meme. Those stories have a place in fandom, they do. Just not there. Their existence on the meme cheapens their very values, in fact. It makes me think both writers and requesters didn't really think it through, didn't stop to consider how things would appear; it's not really about the authorship.

But as we both have stated, fear of the lack of understanding is part of what keeps the fic in the anonymous setting. I appreciate that you would read the fic in a different light if it was presented as an attributed work--on some level, that's why I haven't participated in the meme either, because so much of my work relishes the attribution. But not all authors on the meme are posting anonymously because they are afraid to attribute the work to themselves--it is because they do not want their own name to inform the reader of the potential of the work.

It's just that the kink meme makes the stories sem exploitative, even when they aren't. I would still read them if they were anonymous. Sometimes I find that helps me to form unbiased opinions, especially in smaller fandoms where I probably am familiar with a lot of the fan authors and their works.

Unfortunately, the only kind of anon meme for fanfic appears to be of the kinky variety. Is porn the only thing fandom can agree on anymore?

Oh no, trust me, we can't even agree on porn.

Glad that you and I seem to, though, on that there needs to be less fear-driven anonymity and a more welcoming atmosphere for challenging fic in general.

Welcome to the Internet, where you don't get to determine how people react to you or your work.

Intention is everything. You just have to make sure that yours comes across.

Ha, true story, true story. :smiles: Sounds like someone's read my work.

I am,, this very second, writing and researching something for Hetalia that makes my own skin crawl because the story demands to be told. No sex, no, but my ancestors might well rise from the dead and tear me to ribbons for the points of view I am having Ludwig and the man with whom he is conversing express. But it's a story that I believe should be addressed and as long as my intention with it is clear, I oughtn't come under fire, Godwin's law or no.

But so far, and for me, Hetalia fandom has been accepting of use of the characters to address serious issues that the canon itself does not--an ideal place for me, and what I intend.

[ SECRET POST #708 ]

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