What are your H/D squicks?

[lomonaaeren]

I'm talking about squicks specific to Harry/Draco fic here (like a certain type of characterization), rather than to squicks that could apply across the board (like bad grammar or spelling).



1) Reading a fic in which the author portrays "bottom" as meaning "weak." Just ugh. So the minute Harry and Draco get into bed, even if the one bottoming has been strong, argumentative, complex, and equal to the other up until that point, now he must start crying and being scared of penetration and doing whatever the one topping tells him to do even if he's uncomfortable with it? I know there's a power dynamics to sexual relationships, but stripping it down to power and only power bores and disgustes me. In extreme cases where the one on the bottom is also very feminized, I think there's more than a hint of misogyny. Women can never be powerful unless they're the ones penetrating men? The penis is almighty? Please.

I don't mind stories where, say, Draco finds more pleasure in bottoming, or where Harry or Draco has a psychological quirk that inclines them to one or the other. Even there, though, I want it to fit in with previously established characterization. If Harry and Draco are perfect equals out of the bedroom and then suddenly have a D/s relationship inside it with no prior hint of that, simply because the author assumes the bottom is less powerful and under the control of the top, I'm clicking the back button.

2) This one is more nebulous. I can't really call it "one flawed character, one perfect character" because I've seen stories where both Harry and Draco were flawed that still hit this squick for me. Maybe I'll call it "one character hopelessly mistaken, the other always right." In any case, what happens is that the author sets one character on a pedestal and makes the other one into a hopeless mess as he chases the idolized one, dragging him relentlessly through past mistakes, making him apologize for the most minor things, cursing him with awkwardness at tasks he can do perfectly well, and treating mistakes as deadly and unforgivable until he's groveled and pleaded. It seems to happen more often that Draco is the perfect one, and Harry is the one who has to do something to "deserve" him, but I suspect that's not true and it's simply that I've run into more stories that do it; I've seen it the other way around, too, and it squicks me just as hard. Now, in canon they've both made mistakes, but saying that Harry must apologize and grovel and never be good enough for the author's perfect, beautiful, snarky, witty Draco because he used Sectumsempra on him, while it's just fine that Draco almost killed Harry's best friend (if you want to limit it to events in the same book), strikes me as deeply silly. The excuse I've seen offered is "Well, Draco didn't mean to kill Ron, he was trying to kill Dumbledore!" And Harry didn't know what that spell did; it's not like he lingered down the corridor rubbing his hands together, cackling gleefully, and imagining Draco all over blood. If you're going to focus heavily on the canon mistakes that will keep Harry and Draco from an easy relationship with each other, why in the world is it limited to one side?

I suspect that, in the end, this squick is largely the same as the other for me: I want to see Harry and Draco have an equal relationship, and the author weakening one or idolizing one prevents that from happening.



What are your H/D squicks?

Comments

[sorringmay.livejournal.com]

Oh I have to agree with you on both points you made.

1)"Bottom" for me does not mean weak. I find it interesting that most stories (not all though) where Harry bottoms, he is made out so weak and feminine, but I have seen Draco there too and I don't like it my self. Draco is snarky, Harry is headstrong and I like them that way thank you.

I have no issues with one of them suddenly realizing the other loves them or the depth of the relationship and showing that emotion in bed. This to me isn't about power.

2) I could not agree more on your assessment of "the pedestal and the beggar." As you stated they both screwed up...you have to face both or ignore both; it's not one or the other for me.

3) The making the boys into feminine things (all the time) drives me batty. Draco should be some what of a snarky, sneering ares. Harry should be kind of headstrong, bold and brave; neither should crying, sniffing PMSing little...I wont boy in my story thanks, otherwise I'll read a het fic.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

3) Feminization is also subjective for me, but I have a test; if I can change "he" to "she" for one character and there's absolutely no difference, especially when it comes to things like crying or "spreading one's legs" or being called sexist insults like "whore" and "slut," then that's way too far.

[lavillanueva.livejournal.com]

Aw, really? I love it when one of them calls the other a slut, as long as it's meant in a teasing or dirty talk way, not as a "you're cheap and worthless and yet I deign to stick my cock in you" sort-of way.

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

If it's a very specific BDSM scenario, that can work for me. But I'm not very big into BDSM fics, so it takes extra convincing for me to buy it. And far too often the insult seems to be used to the character who's bottoming the way it would be to a woman: "you desire sex, and that's bad. I, the powerful character, am the only one who can desire sex."

[kestrelsparhawk.livejournal.com]

I had a gut reaction to that: I'd try turning them BOTH into "she" and see what happens. Because I think that goes too far in het as well... ie it's not sexy except, as you say below, in a "scene."

[lomonaaeren.livejournal.com]

Because I think that goes too far in het as well...

I think that's true, but I didn't want to make the statement because it's been forever since I read a het fanfic.

And the prevalence of "whore" and "slut" and sometimes "tart" (really? Tart?) in a lot of fics makes me sure that people do get off on it, but those people are not me.