Sexualized Saturdays: BDSM Universes in Fanfiction

It’s no secret at this point that I enjoy the kinkier side of things. BDSM has always been something that has interested me because there is something especially enjoyable about the power dynamics. And I enjoy seeing those dynamics in the fanfiction that I read, even when the fanfiction itself isn’t strictly BDSM.

There can be issues with power dynamics, of course; for example, most romance novels have some kind of power dynamics between the couple. Usually, the male holds a good portion of the power. This doesn’t necessarily mean the female love interest is docile in any way, although it is often the case in some novels. It’s been my experience that fandom likes when the less physically and/or socially powerful person is strong willed and intelligent and doesn’t take any crap from their more powerful counterpart. However, they usually still ultimately need their more powerful love interest. Even classics like Pride and Prejudice share this dynamic. Elizabeth doesn’t take Darcy’s shit, but ultimately he has more power in society than her, and it’s only with his help that Elizabeth’s family is able to escape a scandal that would have ruined them forever. The problem with these dynamics is that in mainstream pop culture, we largely see women in the less powerful role. And even in fanfiction, which usually focuses on queer relationships, the power dynamics still come off as heteronormative at times.

I suppose that one of the things that drew me to BDSM is that those power dynamics are out in the open and negotiated before the relationship begins. Rather than deal with societal understandings of who should be the dominant partner (men) and who should be the submissive (women), BDSM allows people to discuss what frankly all couples, whether kinky or vanilla, should be doing anyway. Since BDSM isn’t considered a quote-unquote “normal” part of society, there are fewer preconceived notions of how a relationship should be. But what if BDSM was the norm? Fanfiction often has a lot of alternate universes that I enjoy, but none moreso than AUs where BDSM is the norm. However, they bring with them a lot of interesting and problematic issues.

Teen Wolf: “Status Asthmaticus” Review

After a weird and kind of frustrating half a season, we’ve finally reached the mid-season finale. And although I got to get Cozy with Posey afterward on Wolf Watch, I don’t know if any number of puppies can me feel better about “Status Asthmaticus”.

Spoilers after the jump.

Teen Wolf: “Lies of Omission” Review

Okay… so, last night on Teen Wolf…

Yep, that about sums it up. This week we hate Theo literally even more than we thought possible, Jeff Davis attempts to kill yet another one of my OTPs, and I wonder where the fuck all the adults are this season. ‘Cause I mean, seriously, how do we not expect things to go to shit when a bunch of seventeen year olds are in charge!?

Spoilers after the cut!

Teen Wolf: “A Novel Approach” Review

Last week we ended on a hell of a cliffhanger—Donovan had been souped up with weird wendigo powers by the Doctors and was going after Stiles, and meanwhile Parrish was burning dead supernaturals’ bodies on the nemeton with no conscious knowledge of doing so. This week’s episode starts off tense, right where last week left off, and things only get worse for our pack from there.

Spoilers for the punnily titled “A Novel Approach” after the jump!

Fanfiction Fridays: Devil of Mercy by KouriArashi

I hate you…

In order for you to understand how amazing this Teen Wolf fanfic is, you must first understand one thing about me: I hate Peter Hale. Hate him. Cannot stand him. Admittedly he is a decent villain, and the actor is exceedingly attractive, but Peter has killed far too many of my favorite female characters for me to like him. And he always tries to murder my precious Disney prince Scott. But more than anything, I hate the creeper vibe that Peter gives off. Unlike Kate Argent, Peter Hale, to my knowledge, has never actually sexually assaulted anyone on the show (though mind raping Lydia is arguably just as bad). There are some scenes were we could infer that he does or almost did, but it never actually happens. But Peter is capable of murder, so it’s not hard to imagine that he could sexually assault someone too. Especially when he acts like the creepy old dude in a bar that mostly caters to people who are twenty-one and under. So I tend not to like Peter Hale. In fact, I may have often called for his death when reviewing the previous season.

Peter is usually paired up with Chris Argent in fanfiction, but also Lydia Martin and even Stiles. Yep, Stiles and Peter have enough snarky interactions and both have enough of a grey morality that I can see why the fandom would find them compatible, but it’s not something I would ever read. Nope…

Sassy Peter via ask-your-sassywolf

So now you know I hate Peter Hale, certainly don’t enjoy reading canon-Peter stories, and would never read a Peter Hale/Stiles fic, and even if I did, I would never enjoy such a fic, right? Whelp, I was wrong on basically all counts. So here I am reccing Devil of Mercy by KouriArashi, an AU Stiles/Peter fanfic where everyone remains completely in character. It was awesome!

Teen Wolf: “Monstrous” Review

Last week, Teen Wolf left us all wondering what the hell was going on when it revealed that Meredith was both alive and the Benefactor. This week, we learn that maybe Meredith isn’t as evil as we may have initially thought, Peter is still an asshole, and more hunters and assassins attempt to murder everyone.

Spoilers after the jump.

Teen Wolf: “Muted” Review

Another Moonday has come and gone, and that means we have a new episode of Teen Wolf to review. Some freaky stuff happened this episode, but I am so relieved that the utter grimdarkness from the end of 3B has been dialed back that I’m not even bothered. We’re mostly back to the wacky adventures of the McCall Pack and I couldn’t be happier.

Spoilers below the jump. 

Teen Wolf: “Insatiable” Review

Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh. I am so over this show.

Several Teen Wolf actors let hints drop on Twitter before “Insatiable” aired that there would be a major character death this episode, and they weren’t kidding. Let’s see if I can make it through a recap without ragequitting and then I’ll tell you how bogus and stupid said character death was.

Needless to say, spoilers below the jump.

Teen Wolf: “Riddled” Review

Last night brought us a heart-pounding episode of Teen Wolf. A lot of things happened this episode. Derek becomes more of an older brother for Scott, Agent McCall doesn’t act like a total dick, and our worst fears for Stiles are confirmed, much to Scott and Sheriff Stilinski’s dismay.

So, without further ado, let’s talk Teen Wolf.

Sexualized Saturdays: Derek Hale

Teen Wolf Season 3B is almost here and I said I would address the possibility of Sterek happening before the premiere. I have already discussed Stiles’s sexuality, so now let’s take a look at Derek.

I mentioned with Stiles that one of the reasons I love his character is that the question about Stiles’s sexuality is out in the open, where with most other characters and pairings there is nothing but subtext. Stiles’s questions about whether gay guys are attracted to him and his flirtations with Danny, while not explicit, set up the potential for a natural build to Stiles being revealed to be bisexual. Most other characters, in contrast, have some queer subtext, but it’s mostly used to queerbait fans of the show. With Sterek, there seems to be nothing but subtext, but I don’t see this as a huge loss. I fully support Derek and Stiles not being a couple as long as I still get a bisexual Stiles. But if Sterek doesn’t happen, does that mean there really is no hope for a queer Derek? Well… not necessarily.