BenJepheneT
Light Up Gold - Parquet Courts
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2019
- Messages
- 5,344
- Points
- 233
i've always seen smut not as a niche genre of gratification but as missed opportunities. sex, with its obvious appeals taken out, in its barest form, is essentially two partners naked and exposed to one another; it's the ultimate sign of "i trust them with my whole body". unless it's taken in the context of a no-strings-attached one-night stand, it's a prime stage for character exploration.
in other normal settings, characters that suddenly open up would seem more unnecessarily naive than they are deep. rarely are they set up well enough to justify them divulging this much emotional vulnerability to, more often than not, the MC who is just a stranger they met for a month or two. i know you know what I'm talking about; side characters that talk about their parent's death or a deep scar from the past by chapter 5 so the author can get a move on with character arcs. but when your ice is broken by literally having entered/been entered by the subject (provided that there's justified build-up in between), it's natural that someone would want to get closer with the person they shared an intimate moment with, and vice versa.
out of ALL the character dramas I've consumed in my life, I've never seen smut, or sex in general, being recognized as a great story tool for character exploration. the icebreaker between characters are, more often than not, rivalries-turned-forced-partnership shounen duos or "The MC is the only one to notice something wrong about them" romcom cliches.
of course, conflict is the most efficient dynamic to achieve intimacy between characters, but like brothers in arms during war, a common goal can unite two individuals and have them open up. with smut/sex, the goal is, without beating around the bush, hitting an orgasm. it's not to the degree of two Privates trying to keep each other alive as a platoon on a battlefield, but having your privates exposed to one another does achieve the same effect to another lateral level. neither effects are can be graded on an objective scale; they're apples and oranges. I'm just making an analogy that's easier to understand.
this is why you always see me jumping into subtle defence for the harem smut genre in a few threads. smut has worthy substance beyond its surface appeal of "fugging". i always see them as having great potential for character interaction beyond "ooh big tits must fondle". hell, I'm writing one myself, and despite hitting the usual roadblocks of writing in a genre for the first time, I'm having fun exploring narrative threads that wouldn't be possible in an otherwise contemporary drama. i can't say it's a shame that not many authors are seeing the same thing I'm seeing, because who goes into a smut series expecting Woody Allen? most smut are shoddily written, puddle-deep fantasies, and that's the way it'll ultimately be. the collective hand of the consumers ultimately dictates the market. personally, i write for my own enjoyment, but therein lies the keyword: personally. everyone's bound to have some good ideas in their head that they dropped or heavily modified in order to fit mainstream conventions. the truth is that we all want our stuff to be read, and if no one's reading our stuff, you can't deny it's a huge blow towards your incentive to write.
I've been reading this Korean manhwa called Circles. it's harem smut, yes, but it shows an example of what I've established. yes, it's raunchy and not what you'd nominate for a prestigious award, but it uses its sex as a jump pad for characters to open up about insecurities, mistakes, and of course, their affection for the MC. it also helps that the scenes in between have great dialogue and interactions in general. there's no overarching plot point or mcguffin to attain; it's just horny college students growing close with one another, going through altercations and having fun. it's not ambitious or praise-worthy, but it is intimate and sensitive. in a climate where every series is either trying to cast the widest net or be the next One Piece, it's comfortable to sit down and enjoy some smooth character writing (and big tits).
i realize what I'm asking for is an inverse against the main appeal for smut; immediate gratification. why would i ask for depth from a genre where most readers beat off in 10 minutes max and fuck off to do something else? i can't answer that, because the question already answers itself. i still hold a sentiment that smut has major potential beyond the mainstream's sentiment towards it. we all laugh at gay fanfics on AO3, but from furtive glances at some chapters (it was just a reading for goofs between friends i swear), some of the well-written ones make me invest in their characters more so than the ones from popular webnovels and, in some instances, their counterparts from the source materials. i wouldn't say that the sex was crucial in making these moments possible, but i would say that it wouldn't have the same impact had the characters been built up from a different context.
in other normal settings, characters that suddenly open up would seem more unnecessarily naive than they are deep. rarely are they set up well enough to justify them divulging this much emotional vulnerability to, more often than not, the MC who is just a stranger they met for a month or two. i know you know what I'm talking about; side characters that talk about their parent's death or a deep scar from the past by chapter 5 so the author can get a move on with character arcs. but when your ice is broken by literally having entered/been entered by the subject (provided that there's justified build-up in between), it's natural that someone would want to get closer with the person they shared an intimate moment with, and vice versa.
out of ALL the character dramas I've consumed in my life, I've never seen smut, or sex in general, being recognized as a great story tool for character exploration. the icebreaker between characters are, more often than not, rivalries-turned-forced-partnership shounen duos or "The MC is the only one to notice something wrong about them" romcom cliches.
of course, conflict is the most efficient dynamic to achieve intimacy between characters, but like brothers in arms during war, a common goal can unite two individuals and have them open up. with smut/sex, the goal is, without beating around the bush, hitting an orgasm. it's not to the degree of two Privates trying to keep each other alive as a platoon on a battlefield, but having your privates exposed to one another does achieve the same effect to another lateral level. neither effects are can be graded on an objective scale; they're apples and oranges. I'm just making an analogy that's easier to understand.
this is why you always see me jumping into subtle defence for the harem smut genre in a few threads. smut has worthy substance beyond its surface appeal of "fugging". i always see them as having great potential for character interaction beyond "ooh big tits must fondle". hell, I'm writing one myself, and despite hitting the usual roadblocks of writing in a genre for the first time, I'm having fun exploring narrative threads that wouldn't be possible in an otherwise contemporary drama. i can't say it's a shame that not many authors are seeing the same thing I'm seeing, because who goes into a smut series expecting Woody Allen? most smut are shoddily written, puddle-deep fantasies, and that's the way it'll ultimately be. the collective hand of the consumers ultimately dictates the market. personally, i write for my own enjoyment, but therein lies the keyword: personally. everyone's bound to have some good ideas in their head that they dropped or heavily modified in order to fit mainstream conventions. the truth is that we all want our stuff to be read, and if no one's reading our stuff, you can't deny it's a huge blow towards your incentive to write.
I've been reading this Korean manhwa called Circles. it's harem smut, yes, but it shows an example of what I've established. yes, it's raunchy and not what you'd nominate for a prestigious award, but it uses its sex as a jump pad for characters to open up about insecurities, mistakes, and of course, their affection for the MC. it also helps that the scenes in between have great dialogue and interactions in general. there's no overarching plot point or mcguffin to attain; it's just horny college students growing close with one another, going through altercations and having fun. it's not ambitious or praise-worthy, but it is intimate and sensitive. in a climate where every series is either trying to cast the widest net or be the next One Piece, it's comfortable to sit down and enjoy some smooth character writing (and big tits).
i realize what I'm asking for is an inverse against the main appeal for smut; immediate gratification. why would i ask for depth from a genre where most readers beat off in 10 minutes max and fuck off to do something else? i can't answer that, because the question already answers itself. i still hold a sentiment that smut has major potential beyond the mainstream's sentiment towards it. we all laugh at gay fanfics on AO3, but from furtive glances at some chapters (it was just a reading for goofs between friends i swear), some of the well-written ones make me invest in their characters more so than the ones from popular webnovels and, in some instances, their counterparts from the source materials. i wouldn't say that the sex was crucial in making these moments possible, but i would say that it wouldn't have the same impact had the characters been built up from a different context.
