Ongoing stories, unfinished universes, WIPs. Evil!!!
Okay, so sometimes they're worthy, but for every Jared Padalecki Untitled Project there's a... nother one that disappoints sorely. Even when expectations are low (so-so language skills, poorly beta'd or lacking one and needing it, cheesy premise or execution or bad characterization, etc.) and one goes along for the "my kink" factor, there are metaphorical caltrops in the path of a ridiculously high number of these things. I *know* this, I do.
[Side note:
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bionic put out three pieces of an ongoing Sam/Alec story which is just stunning, and because each of them is excellent in its own right, I merely hope for more with a happy hope; this isn't the same as opening myself up to a writer who is an unknown quantity. Nor is it truly a WIP in the sense that I mean. But it does reinforce a sense of false security. (And really, people need to go read her stuff and comment, because the world will be better if she writes more of it, most definitely.) Since she is an exception to the rule, and I know to trust her writing anyway, let us discount this example for the moment. ]
Why do I keep READING these vile things? I'm going to make a list, and hope that knowledge will lead to greater wisdom.
Do other people do this? They must, but it feels like such a *private* shame.
Okay, so sometimes they're worthy, but for every Jared Padalecki Untitled Project there's a... nother one that disappoints sorely. Even when expectations are low (so-so language skills, poorly beta'd or lacking one and needing it, cheesy premise or execution or bad characterization, etc.) and one goes along for the "my kink" factor, there are metaphorical caltrops in the path of a ridiculously high number of these things. I *know* this, I do.
[Side note:
bionic put out three pieces of an ongoing Sam/Alec story which is just stunning, and because each of them is excellent in its own right, I merely hope for more with a happy hope; this isn't the same as opening myself up to a writer who is an unknown quantity. Nor is it truly a WIP in the sense that I mean. But it does reinforce a sense of false security. (And really, people need to go read her stuff and comment, because the world will be better if she writes more of it, most definitely.) Since she is an exception to the rule, and I know to trust her writing anyway, let us discount this example for the moment. ]Why do I keep READING these vile things? I'm going to make a list, and hope that knowledge will lead to greater wisdom.
- Occasionally, one of them is the Jared Padalecki Untitled Story. Periodic semi-random positive reinforcement. Deadly.
- They get recommended, darn it. I click the link like a good little monkey.
- I blame my parents.
- And, oh! There's the Whistler!verse by audrarose, which, wow. But then, like with bionic, each piece has it's own story and doesn't absolutely require continuance. Still, see the first line.
- And okay, sneaky_sena recently finished one which made me laugh and laugh and was entertaining and sweet and . Okay, so a bunch of them really are very good.
But! I should just wait for them to be rec'ced *and* finished, and yet I so often don't. - I long for more long, engaging fiction in my pairing/fandom of choice, and take up random reading when I fear I may catch up and have read ALL THE J2 OR DEAN/SAM ON THE INTERNETS. Scary.
- Some of them have these great cracky-yet-awesome premises! Like the one where Jared's a merman. No, seriously, I love that stuff. Currently I long for a bunch of gay versions of romantic comedies from various eras. Thank goodness for reel_spn. I feel compelled.
- Sometimes I'm all yay! Dean's a sexed-up werewolf, and now he's going to bite Sam and sexxor, and werewolves mate for life. It's fun revisiting one of the plots I was going to use for my brilliant breakout novel, back when I was fourteen! And then of course the author throws in something just randomly unpleasant to create drama instead of an actually interesting plot point, and the baby Deansus cries again.
- Seriously. I could end up just, all done with EVERY SINGLE good SPN /J2 story, and that's too horrible to contemplate.
- The potential badness is eerily seductive. I've been betrayed before, but what if this is the one semi-non-con 56-part kink story that never descends to outright rape? And I'll have missed it?
- Clearly, I have moments of self-destructive behavior. Maybe I didn't get enough niacin as a child.
Do other people do this? They must, but it feels like such a *private* shame.
