spn fic rec

[mickeym]

We Meet Face To Face To Face, by cormallen. Sam/Dean, NC-17, D/s.

This is NOT a story that trivializes or fetishizes D/s. It's not meant to titilate. It's one brother giving the other something the other probably isn't even consciously aware that he needs. It deals with Dean's issues of needing the control John exercised over both his sons -- needing a father figure (though please don't read that as Dean needing sex with John, because that's really not at all what this story is about). cormallen writes the boys as fucked up, with huge issues that stand around and keep them company, and it comes across so raw and intense it'll take your breath away.

Snippet: Dean is pushing him. Prodding him, working him up; it means what he's doing isn't enough. Dean wants more, needs more than just kneeling on the floor and paying obeisance to Sam's spread thighs.

Comments

[cormallen.livejournal.com]

Since the story in question is a story written by me, I really would love to hear these sort of comments on my own journal, as opposed to the journal of someone who was kind enough to rec me. My beta and I both scoured my fic for inconsistencies; it is possible that we may have missed something. I would appreciate it if you pointed out where in the story you saw inconsistencies such as the one you refer to above.

[deansdemongirl.livejournal.com]

I take this to mean you are the author of the fic about the bondage?

My comments aren't about your fic other than to share a comment with the LJ owner that I had read the rec and found it to be something that was a basically good story but had things I found disappointing. I was responding to the topic of the rec and was sharing my comments with her about something she had started a topic about. I felt that I was explaining why I had an issue and what bothers me in fanfic in general but that I just wanted to clarify that I liked the story concept (I have one written that is very similar to it in concept which is currently over 120 pages long and still going) but just had issues with things that I feel makes any story in general lose impact. You are a creative writer, you took the idea in a direction that is interesting to me and different than my own approach to this subject in fanfic. I really liked what you were conveying.

All of my comments have been about the topic of writing fanfic in general, not about your story in specific (though maybe in hindsight they didn't really appear that way). I avoided using any content from your story as examples because of this.

I would be glad to do an email exchange with you and go over the things in the story I had issues with if you are interested.

I can with your permission copy the story off of your LJ and then go over it and email the things to you rather than go piecemeal throught it. That way we can discuss comments that are specifically about your story with each other.

[cormallen.livejournal.com]

My comments aren't about your fic [...]
I was responding to the topic of the rec and was sharing my comments with her about something she had started a topic about.

As the "topic of the rec" is the fic I happened to write, I am not sure I follow what you're trying to say above. As I said, you are welcome to post your feedback, concerns, questions, opinions, point out inconsistencies, et cetera over on my journal, where the fic in question is posted. If you would rather e-mail me than comment, all the relevant info is also very easy to find on my journal. I am not going to clutter mickeym's journal or inbox and abuse her hospitality anymore; I am sure she'll be glad to see this migrate elsewhere.

[deansdemongirl.livejournal.com]

She recced the fic. I said I read it but found it to be jumbled and confusing. That's all I was going to say.

She commented back making a statement that implied my comments meant I didn't like the story, which is not what I said at all.

I responded to clarify to her about her comment and to explain why I felt the way I did and why it didn't mean I didn't like the story. I thought we were discussing our comments to each other which involved the topic she posted about.

I went off into a discussion about the mechanics of writing fanfic in general.

If the LJ owner no longer wants a discussion among fans about writing fanfic in general then I respect that. I had no idea that this discussion was being an abuse of hospitality to her. I thought it was a civil discussion among fans who like to write fanfic. I had thought that by reccing fic in her LJ she was also open to discussion of people's views and opinions about writing and reading fanfic.

If not, I apologize for commenting here to her and other fans in response to comments or topic.

[mickeym.livejournal.com]

Man, I don't even know where to start, here.

The comment you left me may have been intended to open up a discussion about people's views and opinions about writing/reading fanfic, but it didn't come across that way. It felt, to me, as though you were being critical of the story, and of my reccing it.

I've never had anyone come in to my journal on a rec post and do that, and I wasn't sure how to respond (and I'm still not sure how to respond, honestly). I'm certainly open to discussion about writing styles, writing in general, fanfiction, and pretty much any combination thereof. But not in a post where I've recommended a specific story. If you read the story and didn't care for it, it would have been more logical, in my opinion, to give the author the comments, saying maybe "hey, got here by way of _______'s rec, and a few things struck me as odd/awkward/whatever".

When I rec a story I always go back and read the comments to that story, because I'm curious to see if people took my rec, if they left feedback, what they thought and so on. Discussion opens up that way. But concrit -- particularly unsolicited -- is such a dicey thing. I've been in fandoms where "public concrit" was the phrase used to tear into a story or (as often happened) an author. I'm NOT saying that's what you were doing. You were very civil, and I appreciate that. But past experiences have left me wary, y'know?

As for whether or not you liked the story...you didn't specifically say "I didn't like this", no. But your comment had nothing positive to say about the story, and that combined with the general abrupt tone/feel left me thinking that's what you were implying -- and left me confused as to why you were telling ME, since I'm not the author.

Anyway, thanks again for keeping this civil. I appreciate it.