Things I Want, Take 1

This post is coming off the heels of a couple of things. Part of it comes from reading the eloquent M. McGregor's post about what fanfiction writers Should Not Do. Mostly it comes from the fact that I'm in the middle of reading the book Princess of Wands. A large chunk of this book takes place at a con. For the uninitiated, that's a science fiction convention (and if you didn't know what that was, what are you doing here?).

The main character is a Christian housewife who has enough faith in Jesus to be a warrior for the side of good (I read crazy weird books). During the scene that I want to talk about, she is currently being chaperoned around the con by an exotic dancer (no, I'm not making this up). At one point, some characters show up to the con carrying large bags and big wooden pieces. Barb (the main character) notices that "they look like parts of crosses." Janea, the dancer, mentions that they are St. Andrew's crosses and that "the Black Rose has apparently turned up in force." I don't know if that was just a one-off, or if there's going to be more discussion. Frankly, I hope it's kept as a one-off, as there is currently a serial killer on the loose.

It got me to thinking about what the "Bondage in Brundage" panel from Lunacon could have been had it not gotten hijacked by the wankers in attendance. It was meant to be about BDSM in sci-fi/fantasy, the Kushiel series (which is mostly just bad writing paired with VERY unrealistic portrayals of female submission) and Gor (which is just plain terrible) aside. Did it have to be technically accurate, portrayals of kinky characters in sci-fi, etc. And I tried to formulate what I wanted to see in fiction. I didn't need every rope expertly tied (as one of the world's laziest tops, I just care that restraints exist. They don't have to be pretty.). I don't need a scene described in vivid detail by the submissive as they experience it. That's what I read porn for. I read science fiction and fantasy for, well, the science and the fantasy. Also some well written fiction.

"Well then, what DO you want," I hear someone shout from the peanut gallery (quiet you). I want to see me in a story. Someone who isn't a professional dominatrix, a woman who is into BDSM as a private thing. Not something they hide, but something that they don't feel the need to broadcast to the world. A balanced character with an expanded sexual repertoire. I want to be able to identify with this character. I don't identify with the leather clad biker top who insists on the damn capitalization protocol. I want a "normal" person who 'just happens' to identify with the kink community. And apparently that is too much to ask. It's not got be sensational, or non existent.

/rant