Archived fic rec: Eat Me, E. L. James!

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: Eat Me E. L. James! and Traffic Lights

Author: LadyDrace (tumblr)

Fandom: Supernatural

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Sam/Gabriel

Warnings: explicit sex (gay), consensual BDSM play, past abusive relationship

Other notes: sequel is WIP, thoughtful porn, alternate universe (non-hunter)

Length: 38k

Summary: Sam never knew he was so submissive. Until he met Gabriel.

 

 

Ah, I’m still amused by this title. As you can surmise, this fic was written in response to Fifty Shades of Grey. Now, I fully admit I haven’t read Fifty Shades–or Twilight, for that matter. I know you shouldn’t judge something you haven’t read, but at the same time, I don’t feel like reading something just to torture myself. Some people find badfic amusing. I just cringe.

That actually reminds me–I haven’t seen this happen since the early 2000s, but I was actually introduced to riffing and Mystery Science Theater 3000 because people used to “MST3K” bad fics. Like, someone would take a fic, usually porn, and repost it with snarky comments written throughout. I know fanfiction.net banned it for being mean-spirited, and I can understand the sentiment, but at the same time, some of the earliest fic I read was MST3K’d bad porn. Like, The Sakura Lemon Archive bad porn. (There’s another site lost to the annals of time. I wonder… Holy crap, it is still up on the Wayback Machine. Do I even want to look…)

(Addendum: yup, looking was a bad idea. Why did I do that. That stuff was terrible when I was 13, it’s still terrible now.)

At any rate. There’s definitely a line between being mean-spirited and making fun of someone who might not really have the practice or experience to write a story, and taking apart a novel that portrays a very skewed and potentially dangerous version of BDSM. I mean, we have to admit that most porn sets a bad example for actual sex. It’s important to point that out to people who might not realize how bad it is. Similarly, writing good BDSM fics–ones that deal with issues of consent, physical dangers and safety precautions, emotional fallout–is important.

I’ve rec'ced quite a bit of what I consider to be well-written BDSM, but I admit sometimes I also rec the lighter, more kink and fantasy-based stuff. I mean, sometimes you just want to read or write something that’s fantastically, and porny, and not real. Nothing wrong with that. The problem is when people are only exposed to the unrealistic stuff. This isn’t just a BDSM problem, or even just a porn problem–most of our media tends to portray things like violence and sexual/romantic relationships in very simplified terms. You get the Disney ending, the off into the sunset ending, and not the–oh, I can’t use the term “shades of grey” seriously anymore. Damn it, E. L. James. You’ve ruined a perfectly good phrase for me. But, yes, the shades of grey, the moments of unhappiness, the times when things go awkward or horribly wrong and you have to decide how to deal with it.

Oh, dear. Here I am, ranting and not talking about the fic. Ladydrace, forgive me. (Also, hi~) I like Sam’s portrayal in this fic quite a bit–how he’s not quite comfortable with his kinks, and Gabriel slowly, thoughtfully introduces him into them. I like that Sam is a survivor of past abuse, and that this informs his current feelings, but he’s not reduced down to a “twisted into weird kinks by the abuse” or “too abused to enjoy sex anymore.” (I grant you that both of these scenarios can be thoughtfully portrayed, but they’re also used far too much as shorthand cliches.) I like that Gabriel shows his age in some scenes–both with maturity and confidence and skill, but also in that he and Sam can’t have sex forever. Nice realistic touch there. And the sex is quite lovely. I also like Dean’s brief appearances, stuck being the protective older brother who just doesn’t get these weird things his brother is into and trying to understand while also wary of the potential for another abusive relationship to start. You do good work, dear.

But, yeah, good, thoughtful BDSM fic–go towards Carry On, Give, Take, Freedom is a Length of Rope, Strength You Need, Jeeves and the Indelicate Indecency, Here is the Deepest Secret Nobody Knows, A Box Step Suite, In Perfect Trust–and these are just fics I’ve read in the last year or so.

And, no, I don’t know why BDSM makes me rant so much. It gives me feelings.

(Looking for more fic recs?)

Originally posted on Tumblr on 08/25/13