I’m wondering how many people write/read this kind of fic exclusively as a fantasy, and how many people are into it because it reflects either their current real lives or what they’d like to be doing if they had the right partner(s). Plus there are likely to be a few people who are totally untouched by the kink but just like the style of a particular author enough to read anyway, hence recs like the one above.
Welcome to the TMI Hour, ladies and gentlemen! Please move on if you’d rather that my sexual proclivities remain a mystery.
For me BDSM—and smut in general—is largely fantasy. I’ve dated one guy seriously enough to have sex with him, but mainly it’s not a thing I worry much about having in my life. It did occur to me recently, though, that I don’t actually even know what it is about BDSM scenes I’m identifying with, which has made me curious about what’s going on in my head. I’m beginning to think it’s a characterization thing, because I’ve discovered: Dom!Sherlock? HOLY SHIT YES. Sub!Sherlock? Noooooooo can do, that’s about as painful as him affecting a Valley Girl accent to ask, like, what is your damage, Donovan, like, ohmigawd? On the other hand, John (and most of the Sherlock cast, for that matter, besides Irene) I’ll take top, bottom, sideways and doing backflips. Similar thing with other characters and fandoms.
But gosh, it’s fun to read. I suppose I’d be inclined to give a bit of light play a shot in real life, if I found a guy I was sufficiently motivated to sleep with in the first place. Not sure which side I’d come down on; I suspect I’d enjoy them both.
Pennypaperbrain: Why do people like BDSM fic?