A smutty question for Smut Day

[pride_of_erin]

Okay, time to discuss smut in order to get my mind off the fact that I spent a half hour this afternoon cleaning shit off a three-year-old child who'd some how managed to smear it over virtually his entire body - ah, the joys of Early Childhood teaching. Why did I want this job again?

Anyhoo, on to the smut - recently, I've been pondering the very important and philosophical topic of topping. Namely, who should be doing the topping. Now this has become a question for me, in light of all the SGA fic I've read in recent months. Oz was my first ever fandom, and when it comes to smut in Oz fic, I really don't have a preference either way - Chris topping, Toby topping, it's all good. Of course I've always liked the smut scenes where the boys switch off and each have a turn the best, but either way is just fine with me. So I assumed that I would be like that with any fandom slash pairing I got obsessed with. But SGA has proved I'm not.

When it comes to SGA fic, I am a Rodney-on-top girl all the way. I have no idea why this is. Perhaps because the very first one I ever read had Rodney topping, but I don't think so. It's really quite strange, and very annoying because I can't figure out why I feel this way. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy John-on-top fics just fine, but there's always a moment when a voice in my head says, 'Oh damn, why couldn't they have put Rodney on top?' before I get too immersed in the *guh* to care.

So now I'm curious - what 'topping' do my Oz and SGA peeps prefer on their B/K and/or McShep 'desserts'? Please leave me a comment so I can satisfy my curiosity.

Comments

[ralu-1982.livejournal.com]

If I'm to be blunt about the whole top/bottom thing, I gotta say I personally enjoy fics in which the whole issue isn't even adressed. Top, bottom...who the hell cares?
But I must say that I rather go for fanfiction that actually doesn't completely ignore (and a lot of fic writers tend to do this) the fact that, at the end of the day, Beecher is straight and Keller...well, he's Keller. This particular element - the fact that Beecher is heterosexual and a NOT very well behaved prag - should matter to any fanfic writer, because I'm convinced it *matters* to Keller. I mean, why the hell does Keller go after Beecher in the first place, what drives him and makes him NOT perceive Beecher the way he apparently perceives other guys he's had sex with, the way he even perceives himself? This aspect of the relationship - the manner in which Keller sees Beecher within whatever it is they have - constitutes for me an important element that shouldn't be overlooked by fic writers just because Keller gives the impression he's "stronger" or more "aggressive". As it's easy to notice in the show, half the shit Keller says are lies and what he *shows* about himself is nothing more than a facade.
Then again, one has to consider the fact that the whole of Em City knows what they're doing, and who's doing what to whom, right? And I don't see neither Keller nor Beecher happily playing the *prag-part*.
I guess the best way to describe the relationship between Beecher and Keller is as a give-and-take partnership, just like a marriage. Of course there's gonna be frictions, there definitely ARE frictions, but it's only normal - there's too much bad shit between them and they're both a couple of *very* egotistical, self-centered and stubborn individuals. They're very much alike as they're different, and they deserve each other from this point of view.

And to answer your question Erin, there's way too much Keller-top-macho-"I'll take care of you baby, now roll over"/Beecher-bottom-"Oh, I love you sooo much, honey"-bullshit fanfic out there. And I definitely DO NOT see Toby doing Keller's laundry (who's laundry did he used to do?!...) while worrying about his girlish figure and looking good for his man...
Keller wouldn't look twice at Beecher if the guy would simply roll on his belly like a puppy. That's the catch with both of them, if you ask me.

[pride-of-erin.livejournal.com]

Keller wouldn't look twice at Beecher if the guy would simply roll on his belly like a puppy.

Very true. And you're right, the top/bottom question doesn't really matter as long as the fic's well-written - but hey, sometimes I'm just shallow and wanna think about the hot sex, LOL.

And YAY! You got an LJ! I'm gonna go visit and add you to my friends list.

[doctorevel.livejournal.com]

Interesting observations but I'm not sure I buy that Beecher's "straight." Perhaps he's always leaned that way, but that my have had a lot to do with his socialization and the limitations thereof. Had been raised a different way with different experiences, I suspect he'd have been farther along on the spectrum. And now that his environment pushed him to a new realm -- where he was not only forced to have sex but craved it with Keller -- there's no totally going back. Would he choose women on the outside given the choice? Probably. But I wouldn't call him "straight." That's what Dori captured so perfectly in "Leroy Street" -- experience changes you permanently and there's just no going back. My two cents anyway!

And, BTW, I totally agree with that Keller-top-macho stuff... ugh!