speaking of lotr rps, explosions, and idiocy,

[cimorene]

mcee wanted to know if people really get off on smutty fanfic, and that reminded me, disastrously...

there was a very funny argument about that in the infancy of LOTR RPS. i wonder how many others remember it? the essence was, someone was getting all high-and-mighty, possibly (or actually, i think they weren't but some people thought they were), and someone else said something somewhat offensive beginning with, 'let's not kid ourselves, people, we write this stuff to get off.'

to which one person at least immediately responded (again paraphrasing), 'YOU might write this to get off, but SOME PEOPLE don't. some people are in it for the Art, and the Deep and True Love for the Men of the Cast of the Fellowship, and how Moving the Love of those Men for each other is.'

and, as i recall, that discussion dragged on for a while in a desultory fashion until it was so firmly established that basically no one wanted to talk about it anymore (or at least... i didn't want to read about it if they did--::snerk::) that:

(a) in general, lots of the people on the list had very high opinions of themselves and
(b) whatever your value judgements for RPS, no one should question that LOTR RPS was different from the rest of it because it was real. well, not real, but it was likely to be real. not that we can't separate fantasy from reality, or anything, but, um... there's evidence. well, not like it's really EVIDENCE evidence, but look at this picture. so it's not like we have a problem or anything, and, like. it's just different. it just IS.

Comments

[marythefan.livejournal.com]

Heh. (b) actually sounds kind of familiar, because I remember getting a 12K privmail message stemming from a list discussion that tried to rip me a new one for daring to compare LOTR RPS to other RPS, most specifically boyband slash. The argument boiled down to LOTR RPS was singular, and pure, and true, and sanctified, and the bonds between these men were obviously more real than anything else, ever. It included a point-by-point analysis of the meaningful things the Fellowship actors had endured that knit them together.

I typed up a response in the heat of the moment - one that detailed incidents other RPS characters from other fandoms had endured that knit them together - and then never sent it, because it was a big pain in the ass and was just going to bring down my fun. I don't need that kind of hassle. Although I don't think I've ever spoken directly to that person again.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

Oy. Because god forbid we should actually find slash sexy and get turned on by it? And everybody knows that True Love is utterly sexless.

Not that it can't be, and not that some great sex isn't True Love; slash runs the gamut, and I love a whole range. But you'd think these people thought sex was dirty, incompatible with love, and incapable of being art.

And if they think that, really -- what are they doing in slash fandom?

TMI?

[gloriamundi.livejournal.com]

Hang on, you mean it's not supposed to be hot?!

Yes: I get off on this stuff. And I don't subscribe to the 'theirloveissopure' argument or the 'but this is Art' argument. I prefer my smut nicely written, thankyouverymuch, and when I'm not, heh, drooling over RPS NC-17 I may be drooling over something pretending to be literary erotica.