what the

[beelikej]

This morning I witnessed some awful parenting on the bus. A woman was confusing the hell out of her kid. He was trying so hard to be sweet while mom kept snapping at him for no reason whatsoever. It was painful to watch.

I'm also quite upset about yet another request that showed up on my communityflist. Is it just me or are new/young people in fandom getting more and more obsessed with humiliation and torture? What is the attraction of reading stories in which your favorite characters are being abused? I don't get it. I do understand the hurt/comfort idea, but it seems there is a growing need to see people being hurt for kicks and that just makes me shiver.

Sometimes I despair. And then I notice an update of my favorite comfort zone and life gets a little better. A little.

Comments

[fred-bear.livejournal.com]

I saw that request also and it left me feeling icky. As you say, h/c is fine, but having your fave character permanently disabled? Eep.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I'm not alone in this:)

[bflyw.livejournal.com]

Tell you the truth, I am more scared of the mpreg request, than the hurt request....

But yeah, I see what you mean. Personally, I love really good angst where my boys are truly hurt... but ONLY if it has a happy ending. That might include permamently injured, like going blind etc... but that is not because I want them permanently hurt, or in dispare for ever, but because I like good stories about how they (together) overcome such difficulties. How they come to see that a tradegy might not be the end of the world, and see that you can cope.... in time. For me, that is sort of therapy (both reading and writing it).

So, in my opinion: Abuse/torture/hurt for the sake of PAIN... NOT GOOD. But the same thing for the sake or reading about finding strength and cope mechanism... Good!

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't even want to think about that, it's all kinds of wrong in my book.

I agree with you about the journey towards healing, that can be interesting to read. Educational even. But it seems like 'the kids' these days specifically search for horrid pain and broken characters beyond repair and that worries me more than a little.

[rispacooper.livejournal.com]

Yeah the uh...torture people...

Though it seems to me lately that all fandom has been inundated lately with youngsters/newbies who have no problem making all sorts of crass requests.

I feel old. And a little disgusted.

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

They are crawling out of the woodwork, it seems: another one just popped up.

I've noticed this 'trend' in other fandoms as well and I feel the same way :(

[sillie]

A little hurt/comfort once in a while isn't to bad, but yeah, that request was kinda scary. *blinks*

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

We need fluffy bunnies STAT! We also need to set a date for a Marathon of sweetness, or you know, whatever canon provides *sighs*. I have the whole week after Christmas off. Or if you can't wait that long: how about November 23/24 (Sunday/Monday) - mail me?

[sillie]

Yes yes, we need a date. I'll check my agenda and I'll let you know. :3

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

\o/

[tanisafan.livejournal.com]

God, there is so much bad parenting in the world. Don't even want to think about it, it makes me so angry.

Um, and since when is this a new thing? I mean, for as long as I've been into fanfiction, the number of stories where people are raped, abused, raped some more, suicidal, anorexic (oh, bandom) an raped some more far outnumber all the rest. I mean, it was like that when I got into X-Files and Buffy and it's still there now. It's because the majority of fanfic reading girls are deeply emo teenagers with no real grasp of human emotion yet, unless it's extreme. They grow out of it, but that doesn't mean we have to read that crap! ;)

[beelikej.livejournal.com]

I know it's an existing thing in fandom, I just don't remember it only being about the abuse. Or at least people weren't as specific or outspoken in their requests for torture fic. Maybe you missed the post that sparked my response, but it was rather harsh. And I'm all for people being forward and outspoken about their wants (what? I am) but it just hit me in the gut.

[tanisafan.livejournal.com]

Clearly, you've never seen the epic lulz brought to us by slashseek?

I'm not saying it's a good thing. I'm just saying that this is not the first, or twentieth, comment of that nature I've seen, nor was it the worst. Some people are just creepy.