Do As You're Told, CH26 (why I wrote *that* scene)
So, the worst thing that could happen to a young man happened to Adam.
I received a few emails over the past week lamenting Adam's suffering and want to explain why I have written it so - and why it's now got worse.
Nifty has many stories involving bad behaviour (eg. blackmail, abuse, intimidation, sexual aggression, non-consensual sex, rape). What it is not filled with is condemnation for that behaviour. Generally, readers are encouraged to identify with the pleasure-taker rather than the victim. Most authors offset this by having the victim enjoy it at the end so it's ok.
Well, Do As You're Told is all about what happens when it's not ok. I won't criticise other authors for the things they write - we work hard to create the stories we like or the stories we think others will like. Moreover, writing about bad behaviour does not mean you approve of it; I've always wanted to write crime fiction (and read it a lot) but that doesn't mean I approve of killing people.
If stories have elements you don't like, you don't need to read them.
Nevertheless, my story was the product of my frustration that victims in stories on Nifty are overlooked in favour of enjoying the power of the pleasure-taker. Flipping that perspective is a difficult task that I hope readers will trust me to fulfil it.
I hope you will continue to read my story.
Asking for help is hard, coming forward is hard and facing the feelings one feels in being a victim is hard - that is what Adam's story is all about. Accountability for the bastards hurting Adam and surviving abuse are also a part of Adam's story - it takes bravery to survive until you can get the help you need.
I've worked as hard on the denouncement of the villains as I have on building Adam's experiences. Rhys and Micah will be stopped, which is hardly a spoiler since my whole story has been filled with condemnation for what is happening to Adam. I've put my heart, soul and a little bit of my liver into this story so I ask for everyone who has read so far to trust that I have ensured the characters are ok at the end... because they all will be.
Thanks for reading,
J.
A non-exhaustive list for advice or help if you have been affected:
https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
https://thesurvivorstrust.org/
https://www.rainn.org/
I received a few emails over the past week lamenting Adam's suffering and want to explain why I have written it so - and why it's now got worse.
Nifty has many stories involving bad behaviour (eg. blackmail, abuse, intimidation, sexual aggression, non-consensual sex, rape). What it is not filled with is condemnation for that behaviour. Generally, readers are encouraged to identify with the pleasure-taker rather than the victim. Most authors offset this by having the victim enjoy it at the end so it's ok.
Well, Do As You're Told is all about what happens when it's not ok. I won't criticise other authors for the things they write - we work hard to create the stories we like or the stories we think others will like. Moreover, writing about bad behaviour does not mean you approve of it; I've always wanted to write crime fiction (and read it a lot) but that doesn't mean I approve of killing people.
If stories have elements you don't like, you don't need to read them.
Nevertheless, my story was the product of my frustration that victims in stories on Nifty are overlooked in favour of enjoying the power of the pleasure-taker. Flipping that perspective is a difficult task that I hope readers will trust me to fulfil it.
I hope you will continue to read my story.
Asking for help is hard, coming forward is hard and facing the feelings one feels in being a victim is hard - that is what Adam's story is all about. Accountability for the bastards hurting Adam and surviving abuse are also a part of Adam's story - it takes bravery to survive until you can get the help you need.
I've worked as hard on the denouncement of the villains as I have on building Adam's experiences. Rhys and Micah will be stopped, which is hardly a spoiler since my whole story has been filled with condemnation for what is happening to Adam. I've put my heart, soul and a little bit of my liver into this story so I ask for everyone who has read so far to trust that I have ensured the characters are ok at the end... because they all will be.
Thanks for reading,
J.
A non-exhaustive list for advice or help if you have been affected:
https://www.rapecrisisscotland.org.uk/
https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
https://thesurvivorstrust.org/
https://www.rainn.org/
I'm glad Rhys and Micah will get what they deserve (at least I hope). I have been about to comment on the story several times expressing my wish they would. Adam is a good kid. Maybe his dad and Mr. Little and Mr Big can help out.
ReplyDeleteAnd I also noticed that often forced actions are justified by the victim coming around to like it. But it is still forced (I sometimes feel guilty when I like such a story. Sometimes it feels like condoning that kind of behavior)
Keep writing!
M.
I never intended to write such dark and serious content. I knew Adam's story began with blackmail, thereafter escalation followed by accountability for the villains became the only way to conclude his story. You are very close with your suggestion about Mr Aziz et al - what will Mr Aziz do to the boy who sexually assaulted his son?
DeleteThere are still 10 chapters left and Adam, like many victims, will find it hard to come forward.
I don't necessarily think stories on Nifty that involve a level or force or coercion are deliberately condoning rape culture. They portray a balance of power to which certain characters become submissive. They like it at the end is a classic ex post facto justification but at least shows the author has insight into the troubling nature of consent-based content.
I just wanted to write something pretty unique for Nifty, though it casts an uncomfortable light on what is traditionally a source of purely erotic content.
Some stories have come on way too strong for my liking and I abandon those for my own health and sanity. However, I've enjoyed stories involving force and/or 'force' but do not condone that kind of behaviour either. But then, I don't look to Nifty as a moral guide for my behaviour so I think it's ok to read whatever turns you on (figure of speech).
J.
Your perspective and the way you frame your stories is spot on. Too many Nifty stories in this genre feature abusive behavior that goes beyond role play and consent which I find disturbing if not homophobic. I have truly enjoyed reading every chapter of this particular story line and look forward to making time to read more of your work. Your characters are realistic and your stories are not drowning in cynicism and heartbreaking endings. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your compliments.
DeleteI really appreciate you taking the time to offer your opinions - with the added benefit of them being so positive :)
I've tried to create a realistic (if occasionally uncomfortable) story. I'm really thrilled you've loved the story so far.
My other stories are linked at the end of most chapters and have similar but different themes.
Cheers for your comments,
J.
For as long as we've been in communication, I marvel that I haven't actually visited your blogspot. But reading this has rather helped me understand a series of stories I've read along a similar theme:
ReplyDeleteRape is not okay.
There is fantasy, and there is reality, and reality is so hard for many to address-- the victims want the trauma to go away. They don't want to relive it. But so many, too many do every time they close their eyes. Every time they see a person the same size and shape as their attacker. Every time they hear a word or two that came up in the dreadful encounter.
The violator only wants to relive it, the rush of power, the domination over the perceived weaker body. Every time they close their eyes, their prey is in their clutches--the sounds the victim make only feed the inhuman need.
Admittedly, there are a few stories of which I get jollies. Tropes like the big bad jock/cop/lawyer/random hunk bashing his way through life and learning a hard lesson about themselves and loving the people who set them down their new, degrading path have so many iterations, and most of them not based in the reality we live in. They're fun to imagine, but really, they don't go further than that.
But when stories border on reality, when they describe someone who could have been a neighbor, a friend, a loved one, and the reader finds they were subverted, converted, made to bend into a ravenous, willing slave/dog/object-- I close the tab.
There's enough real suffering going on. Making a fantasy of it is... Disheartening.
I'm so very glad to have found this story, and I'm definitely following it through. It has impact, and maintains the rules that define the world we live in.
(Seriously, you'd probably get good money making it into books and selling it on Kindle Publishing! :D)
Thank you. Had to say it here, because reasons.
KIT,
Kit
I was glad to share my thoughts about Adam's storyline. Rape is not a legitimate or justifiable stand point but criticising it in an essentially erotica narrative was a challenge. We are living in a weird time where illegitimate ideas are given a legitimate platform (just look at the success of blatantly racist politicians who are supported not in spite of but because they are racist).
DeleteSimilarly, justification for sexual abuse is illegitimate and the rest of this story will look at how one survives abuse but also how abusers attempt to justify their bad behaviour (or fail to recognise their behaviour is wicked).
Abuse is horrifically difficult for victims and I hope this story encourages others to understand that and empathise with them.
There is nothing wrong with reading a story that is fictional and fantasy and not the kind of behaviour one would conduct in real life; there is also nothing wrong with a realistic story about accountability for bad behaviour.
I hope readers are generally enjoying this story and appreciate the seriousness of storyline and that it hasn't overshadowed the smut & erotica.
Thanks for your comments & the opportunity to share more of my ideas with readers,
J.
I've just finished reading what I can only describe as an engaging, realistic and insightful story.
ReplyDeleteIt has been interestingly challenging on so many levels as it raises many issues around the hard lines drawn by society and stepping over them.
As stimulating as some of Adam's later experiences were to read, whichever role one may choose to fantasise about, the introduction of "no" made them difficult to read as well as thought provoking.
The story rises above mere pleasure seeking, as so many stories on nifty are prone to be, by adding depth to the characters and reminding me how difficult coming out would have been when I was young and at school.
Thank you and I look forward to your new story and the chance to be engaged and, hopefully, challenged again.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
DeleteThank you for your kind comments. I'm pleased you appreciated the dramatic stroyline and it is always satisfying to know I've done a good job.
I hadn't always intened the story to be so serious or dark. I usually prefer my characters to be complicit in their own misadventures. I love it when characters have fun during their sexcapades.
It was tough to write sometimes and I appreciate how hard it was for some people to read. I felt that stories on Nifty often tell from Micah/ Rhys' perspective & minimise the attention to the trauma for the Adam character; as a once of experiment I'm proud of the story I got to tell. I always plan a happy ending.
My next story is going to be a lot of fun; there are still some dramatic developments and profound character arcs but it won't be as dark.
Thanks again for your thoughts,
J.