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hd_writers2011-12-26 01:20 pm
slytherincesss.livejournal.com) wrote in hd_writers2011-12-26 01:20 pm
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ESSAY || RATINGS: R VERSUS NC-17 || WHAT RATING IS MY FIC?
THIS POST CONTAINS ADULT MATERIAL AND DISCUSSION AND IS INTENDED FOR READERS AGES 18+
The perennial question of R versus NC-17 came up in HD Writers Chatzy this morning, and I thought it might make a useful writing post. Please note this post contains graphic language and graphic descriptions of sexual activity. Those offended by NC-17 material or coarse language may wish to skip this essay. Tha said, let's talk about ratings!
What does constitute R versus NC-17? This can be a challenging issue for fan fic writers, as they try and navigate the requirements of the different archives. Granted, these days, most archives host NC-17 fic, but not all do. For example, Fiction Alley, The Sugar Quill, FF.net, and Skyehawke (based in Australian) do not. A lot of people post NC-17 to the latter two anyway, but those two archives in particular do not have a screening process. It's just post-and-go. I spent about four years screening fic for Fiction Alley, so I've got a fairly solid basic knowledge of what contitutes R and what qualifies as NC-17. What I'd like to do is show you two excerpts from the same fic; one is R-rated, the other NC-17.
EXAMPLE OF AN R-RATED SEXUAL SCENE ( HP/DM ):
Draco dreamt hard and fast, of Thestrals and potions stores and hot mouths with nimble tongues, and all the while voices echoed unseen in his dream: Snape, Lupin, Dumbledore, his mother, his father . . . his dream smelt of Firewhisky and spruce and the Prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. He awoke again, this time on his back, and he distinctly smelt soap.
"Everything's still turning over," Potter lamented.
Draco peered at Potter, the fire having died down to a dull glow. "How long've I been asleep?"
"Dunno," Potter said. He'd taken his glasses off and he had one arm slung over his eyes. He was breathing in an overly controlled manner, which suggested to Draco that Potter was trying to lull himself to sleep. "Long enough."
The remnants of his alcohol-fueled dreams were playing at Draco's senses, electrifying and unreal. He imagined Potter's inability to sleep had little to do with the Firewhisky. "It's almost over," he said to Potter, leaning in. He wasn't necessarily trying to be soothing.
Potter's voice was very faint. "I know."
Draco rolled onto his side toward Potter. Maybe it was strictly the Firewhisky that prompted him then, or perhaps it was something inside of Draco that he wouldn't recognise even if he were sober. Or, more likely, it was a strange amalgamation of things, including the fact that earlier Potter had been more surprised that Draco had pulled with a Muggleborn than he'd been put off by the idea of two blokes together at all. "I know something," he said, still drunk enough to not care about any potential ramifications, "that will help." He rucked up Potter's well-worn t-shirt and slid his hand across Potter's belly, which was really quite smooth. Potter tensed immediately.
"What're you doing?" he asked.
"Shut up," Draco hissed. He rubbed several small circles there, feeling a nice shiver of anticipation as he felt a light trail of fuzz under his fingers, just below Potter's navel.
"Don't!"
"You've already woken me twice." Draco slid his hand into Potter's boxers. "That's just about enough." Potter was warm. Draco slid his hand further down and carefully took up a circular rhythm there, plying Potter.
"Stop it, Malfoy," Potter groaned, smacking his hand down on top of Draco's. He clutched at him the fabric of his boxers. "This is wrong!"
"Why's that?" Draco asked. He rested his head on his free hand, his elbow crooked against the mattress.
Potter still hadn't removed his arm from his face. "Because!"
"Nothing's wrong anymore," Draco said, giving Potter a firm squeeze. "It's the end of days, Potter. Really, who gives a shit?"
Potter was still tense, but Draco felt Potter's grip over his own hand relax a touch. Taking this as permission to continue, Draco resumed his stroking. He worked Potter nimbly, until Potter began rocking clumsily under his touch.
"Ah, God." The words drifted from Potter's mouth, unbidden, and he let his arm fall from across his face onto the bed, and Draco curled in sideways against him and laid his head on Potter's bicep. The knuckles of his free hand brushed over the warm slice of skin at Potter's waist, where he'd pulled Potter's t-shirt up. Draco felt a fine trail of goose bumps rise under his touch, and he lifted his chin until the divergent scents of clean, wholesome soap and Potter's shirt assailed his senses. His breath puffed warm against Potter's shoulder. "Oh." Potter sighed then, and turned his head, looking down at Draco. The tips of their noses met clumsily, prompting Draco to lift his chin. It had happened reflexively, for Draco neither kissed nor fucked boys, but when his bottom lip accidentally brushed against Potter's, his arousal burgeoned against the sturdy seams of his jeans.
Draco felt Potter's breath hot and muggy against his mouth, and his damp, keening breaths urged Draco on. He established a firm, steady rhythm and then Potter groaned, and Draco thought he heard him hiss, "Yes."
"Yes?" he whispered triumphantly, his own breath coming ragged now. And then Potter brought up his arm, trapping Draco's head against his shoulder, and he felt Potter's fingers in his hair. Potter tugged at him painfully, and Draco felt a telltale shiver against his heel of his fist.
Potter made a small noise in his throat as he came.
Draco let Potter catch his breath for several moments. "Let go of my hair," he rasped finally, and Potter did. Draco wasted no time and rose to his knees at Potter's side. Frantically he unbuttoned his jeans and tugged down the zip, groaning as he pushed his boxers and jeans down over his hips, freeing himself. He grabbed up Potter's hand and, sitting back, he clamped down tightly and guided it, moving through Potter's fist shamelessly.
"Wha--" Potter said, resisting slightly.
"Shut up, Potter," Draco said, his eyes closing. He brought his other hand around, firmly trapping himself in the vise-like tangle of their fingers, and shortly his breath was coming in quick, staccato bursts as he thrust wildly. "Won't take long--" He'd gone untouched for almost a year and now everything was whirling and Potter's hand was hot and pliant under his touch . . . "There," he said, feeling his climax spring, and he let loose a strangled cry. He thrust upwards.
Potter immediately pulled his hand away with a regretful moan.
Draco snapped his boxers back up and tugged up his jeans, and ran his hands down his thighs to clean up. He couldn't be arsed to do up his trousers properly. He flopped back onto his side of the bed, belly down as usual, and for a fleeting moment he felt sated and normal.
"Better?" he asked, imagining Potter's faint silhouette.
"Shut up, Malfoy." Potter's voice was perfectly sleepy.
EXAMPLE OF THE SAME SCENE DONE AS NC-17 ( HP/DM ) || WARNING: ADULT/18+ MATERIAL:
Draco dreamt hard and fast, of Thestrals and potions stores and hot mouths with nimble tongues, and all the while voices echoed unseen in his dream: Snape, Lupin, Dumbledore, his mother, his father . . . his dream smelt of Firewhisky and spruce and the Prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. He awoke again, this time on his back, and he distinctly smelt soap.
"Everything's still turning over," Potter lamented.
Draco peered at Potter, the fire having died down to a dull glow. "How long've I been asleep?"
"Dunno," Potter said. He'd taken his glasses off and he had one arm slung over his eyes. He was breathing in a controlled manner, which suggested to Draco that Potter was trying to lull himself to sleep. "Long enough."
The remnants of his alcohol-fueled dreams were playing at Draco's senses, electrifying and unreal. He imagined Potter's inability to sleep had little to do with the Firewhisky. "It's almost over," he said to Potter, leaning in. He wasn't necessarily trying to be soothing.
Potter's voice was very faint. "I know."
Draco rolled onto his side toward Potter. Maybe it was strictly the Firewhisky that prompted him then, or perhaps it was something inside of Draco that he wouldn't recognise even if he were sober. Or, more likely, it was a strange amalgamation of things, including the fact that earlier Potter had been more surprised that Draco had pulled with the pratty whinger Zacharias Smith than he'd been put off by the idea of two blokes together at all. "I know something," he said, still drunk enough to not care about any potential ramifications, "that will help." He rucked up Potter's well-worn t-shirt and slid his hand across Potter's belly, which was really quite smooth. Potter tensed immediately.
"What're you doing?" he asked.
"Shut up," Draco hissed. He rubbed several small circles there, feeling a nice shiver of anticipation as he felt a light trail of fuzz under his fingers, just below Potter's navel.
"Don't!"
"You've already woken me twice." Draco slid his hand into Potter's boxers. "That's just about enough." Potter's cock was flaccid, but warm. He slid his hand further down until the cool, tender swell of Potter's sac filled his palm. Carefully, he took up a circular rhythm there, plying Potter's balls until they grew firm under his touch. He took care to brush the base of Potter's cock with his thumb with each sweeping pass.
"Stop it, Malfoy," Potter groaned, smacking his hand down on top of Draco's. He clutched at him through the fabric of his boxers. "This is wrong!"
"Why's that?" Draco asked. He rested his head on his free hand, his elbow crooked against the mattress.
Potter still hadn't removed his arm flung over his face. "Because!"
"Fuck, Potter, nothing's wrong anymore," Draco said, giving him a firm squeeze. Potter had hardened. "It's the end of days. Really, who gives a shit?"
Potter was still tense, but Draco felt Potter's grip over his own hand relax a touch. Taking this as permission to continue, Draco resumed stroking Potter's cock, pulling and jerking lightly at the head before sliding his palm back down Potter's hard length. He worked Potter's erection until Potter's cock was stiff and unrelenting in his hand, and Potter began rocking clumsily under his touch.
"Ah, God." The words drifted from Potter's mouth, unbidden, and he let his arm fall from across his face onto the bed, and Draco curled in sideways against him and laid his head on Potter's bicep. The knuckles of his free hand brushed against the warm slice of skin at Potter's waist, where he'd pulled Potter's t-shirt up. Draco felt a fine trail of goose bumps rise under his touch, and he lifted his chin until the divergent scents of clean, wholesome soap and Potter's shirt assailed his senses. His breath puffed warm against Potter's shoulder as he worked Potter's cock. "Oh." Potter sighed then, and turned his head, looking down at Draco. The tips of their noses met clumsily, prompting Draco to lift his chin. It had happened reflexively, for Draco neither kissed nor fucked boys, but when his bottom lip accidentally brushed against Potter's, his own cock burgeoned and grew painfully hard within the sturdy seams of his jeans.
Draco felt Potter's breath hot and muggy against his mouth, and his damp, keening breaths urged Draco on. He'd established a firm, steady rhythm -- balls, cock, head -- but when he next rubbed at the tip of Potter's cock, Potter groaned, and Draco thought he heard him hiss, "Yes."
"Yes?" he whispered triumphantly, his own breath coming ragged now. And then Potter brought up his arm, trapping Draco's head against his shoulder, and he felt Potter's fingers in his hair. He wanked Potter's cock faster then, coating his fingers slightly with the thin, pearly drops that formed at the head. Tugging at Potter's foreskin, Draco sheathed the firm, velvety head of Potter's cock in its folds, and stroked and stroked, again and again, until Potter's hand tightened in his hair. Potter tugged at him painfully, and Draco felt a telltale pulsing against his heel of his fist.
Potter made a small noise in his throat as he came, his quick bursts seeping through Draco's fingers.
Draco let Potter catch his breath for several moments. "Let go of my hair," he rasped, and Potter did. Draco wasted no time and rose to his knees at Potter's side. Frantically he unbuttoned his jeans and tugged down the zip, groaning as he pushed his boxers and jeans down over his hips, freeing his own cock. He grabbed up Potter's hand wrapped Potter's fingers around his erection. Sitting back, he clamped down tightly and guided Potter's hand up and down the length of his cock, fucking Potter's virgin fist shamelessly.
"Wha--" Potter said, resisting.
"Shut up, Potter," Draco said, his eyes closing. He brought his other hand around, firmly trapping his cock in the vise-like, sticky tangle of their fingers, and shortly his breath was coming in quick, staccato bursts as he thrust wildly. "Won't take long--" He'd gone untouched for almost a year and now everything was whirling and Potter's hand was hot and pliant under his touch . . . "There," he said, feeling his orgasm spring, and he let loose a strangled cry. He thrust up and came hard, his hot spurts slicking up both their hands.
Potter pulled his hand away with a regretful moan, but he didn't wipe it off.
Draco snapped his boxers back up over his cock and tugged up his jeans, running his hands down his thighs to clean up. He couldn't be arsed to do up his trousers properly. He flopped back onto his side of the bed, belly down as usual, and for a fleeting moment he felt sated and normal.
"Better?" he asked, imagining Potter's faint silhouette.
"Shut up, Malfoy." Potter's voice was sleepy.
So what is the dividing line between R and NC-17? The examples above should give you a general idea -- the NC-17 version is quite a lot more graphic. When dinging fics for Fiction Alley, I used to look for the three Cs of smut:
COCK
CUNT
COME
As this is a slash-centric community, I will focus mainly on Cock and Come; however, if anyone is interested in an expanded discussion on writing females in sexual situations, I am happy to provide that info. I know some of us here write both het fic and m/m/f threesome fic, so consider the offer on the table and leave a comment to this post.
Let's continue.
COCK: If cocks, pricks, dicks, schlongs, shafts, and fucktools abound? My brother/sister/gender-identity-of-your-choice, it's definitely going to fall into the realm of NC-17. If you've got a bit of hardness, a slight bulge, a little bit of length, or some excitement here and there in your fic, it'll likely fall on the R side of the fence.
I will take a moment to briefly address the issue of archives. Some archives are more prissy than others, and there are reasons for this that most people are unaware of or don't take the time to think about; sometimes it's hard to get past the initial irritation of one's fic being rejected for NC-17 material. Fiction Alley, for example -- and I'm using FA as an example because I know it best -- is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization; per the guidelines of their 501(c)(3) status, they are not allowed to host porn. Hosting porn could cost them their tax-exempt charitable status, so in the spirit of![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
hd_writers's DBAD (Don't Be A Dick) policy, I will urge you to consider the archives' positions when when wanting to post NC-17 fics onto archives that do not permit them. There are options for hosting NC-17 fic -- The Hex Files, AO3, Walking the Plank, The Restricted Section, etc.
Anyhow.
Going back to cock. . . .
Penis and erection compromise our fandom's Switzerland, meaning the use of these two words in a fic can be either discrete or crass and all kids of shades of in-between.
R: Draco shifted, trying to hide his involuntary erection under his robes.
NC-17: Draco shifted, thrusting his erection against Harry's arse until a spot of dampness seeped through his trousers.
R: Draco racked Harry in the crotch with his Nimbus 2001 so hard that Harry thought his penis had inverted itself.
NC-17: Draco stroked Harry's crotch with his Nimbus 2001, circling with the handle there, running the tip up the length of Harry's penis.
And because we do so love cock:
R: "Malfoy, you're a total cock."
NC-17: " Malfoy, I want to suck your cock."
(Wow, writing pr0n on the fly is really rather. . . weird. . . . )
CUNT:
In a nutshell, if your fic describes a woman's vagina as a cunt, it's NC-17. Now the word 'cunt' has a different connotation in the UK than it does in the US. In the UK, 'cunt' is a rather common throw-away slang term (but don't you dare talk about a woman's fanny in the UK; it's the equivalent to 'cunt' in the US!) but a lot of the fic archives are hosted in the US and will automatically label any fic using the word 'cunt' as NC-17. Nevertheless, of course there are differences in context. For example:
R: "Severus, you're a fucking cunt," said Sirius, disgusted. (an epithet)
NC-17: (Highlight to read) He grasped her around the waist and pulled her down to the edge of the bed, licking right into her hot, wet cunt. (female anatomy)
Okay, we've covered 'cunt'. For purposes of this slash-centric comm, I believe this is sufficient; however, as mentioned previously, if you need more detail or explanation regarding incorporating a female into a sexual situation, please don't hesitate to ask. I write and love het fic, as well as slash, and have no problem discussing it.
COME:
iTunes informs me that 'come' is a popular word: Come Undone; Come Together; We Come One; Come On Christmas (okay, this was completely unnecessary); Come In Closer; Come and See; Winter Comes; Come Back; Here Come De Honey Man; Come On Baby, Do!. (I particularly recommend Come Undone, which you can listen to here. . . ) ANYway, I digress. Oh, also, I once had this awful boyfriend who had a 'Happiness is Coming' bumpersticker on his 70s-era NOVA, and the sticker wasn't talkin' about Jesus Christ. ANYWAY.
So, coming is a fun and universally popular activity!
Basically, when it comes to R versus NC-17, the description of the orgasm is what will rate the fic.
R: Harry held Draco close; he couldn't stop moving and Draco was alive underneath him, and despite wanting the moment to last forever, Harry couldn't help himself. The wave crested, engulfing him.
NC-17: Harry scrabbled at Draco, keeping Draco trapped firmly beneath him. Malfoy writhed and Harry couldn't help himself. He thrust his cock against Malfoy, over and over, and despite the moment of disappointment that arose from knowing this would soon be over, Harry couldn't stop. He arced up, his hands pinning Draco's shoulders to the floor, and he came with a cry, cool droplets of come spurting right up the flat plain of Malfoy's pale stomach.
Yeah. Big difference, eh?
Let us take a moment to pause for chocolate and cigarettes. Right then.
R: Sometimes you can get away with simply saying "he came." If I were to write the above sentence as "Harry held Draco close; he couldn't stop moving and Draco was alive underneath him, and despite wanting the moment to last forever, Harry couldn't help himself. He came." it would probably pass the censors. Probably, but not definitely. If you're aiming for an R-rated sexual scene, euphemisms and suggestion are your friends. What's a euphemism? "The wave crested, engulfing him" is a euphemism, a representation of the act of having an orgasm. The wave crested (Harry had a hard orgasm), engulfing him (he shot quite a load). In general -- stepping away from 'come' for a moment -- hinting at sexual activity can fall into two categories: suggestion and fade-to-black.
A suggestive sex scene kind of clues the reader in on what's happening: Draco pulled Harry towards him, slipping his arms around Harry's waist and looking down into Harry's face; they kissed under the mistletoe. Draco let his hands wander downwards. He tugged at Harry's belt. "I think," he said, nibbling at Harry's ear, "we should get a room."
A fade-to-black scene is more like this: Draco pulled Harry towards him, slipping his arms around Harry's waist and looking down into his face; they were under the mistletoe. Draco tugged at Harry. "Let's get out of here."
Both of the above examples would be rated R. The former is more suggestive than the latter, obviously.
Back to orgasms. NC-17 orgasms will always be more descriptive than suggestion or fade-to-black and typically includes at least fairly detailed descriptions of semen, ejaculation, and the person's actions while having an orgasm.
NC-17: Graphic description of an orgasm, semen and come-play, and descriptive writing of cocks in any orifices will always render a fic NC-17. If Harry sucks the come off Draco's belly, it's NC-17. If Draco comes all over Harry's face while Harry's on his knees (or not on his knees if Draco can manage it), it's NC-17. A character running their fingers through a puddle of come and then licking it off is NC-17. Coming down someone's throat is NC-17. Draco fucking Harry up the arse (ooo, Harry on the bottom? Can I get a whut-whut?) and coming deep inside him is NC-17. Felching said come out of Harry's arse is NC-17. Now I want to be clear: just because something is a kink doesn't automatically throw it into NC-17 territory; it depends entirely on how it's written. Yes, there are some kinks that would be very difficult to write as not NC-17, but a writer can always try.
When it comes to R versus NC-17, when in doubt, just ask a neutral party. Grab one of us in chat or e-mail someone asking if they'll look your scene over and give you feedback on whether it's R or NC-17. I suggest getting multiple opinions if you're not sure, because one person's R can be another's NC-17. Most importantly, trust your gut instinct. Your subconscious will likely know what rating a scene is; your first instinct is most often right.
Just a couple of pointers on requesting feedback on a sex scene:
If you choose to utilize Chatzy (see links below) for feedback, first ask if it's okay to post specific snippets of your fic into chat. Not everyone in chat likes to have large chunks of fic pasted into the chat window, so it's always best to ask before doing so. If it's a longer scene, e-mail feedback would be best. You can e-mail any of thehd_writers mods and ask for help in rating a sex scene, or for a referral to another person who would be willing to look over your work. You can always post a beta REQUEST (please do not post your porn directly to the comm!) to hd_writers. You can also ask a person on your f-list, whose writing you like and admire, if they'd be willing to look your scene over. Google docs is a great resource for beta'ing and you can share you document with as many or as few people as you like.
Questions? Clarifications? By all means, comment. Discussion, as always, is welcome.
The Chatzy rooms are available 24-7 for writing discussion and support: There's the regular HD Writers room and the SRS BZNS room for timed writing challenges and word wars.
The perennial question of R versus NC-17 came up in HD Writers Chatzy this morning, and I thought it might make a useful writing post. Please note this post contains graphic language and graphic descriptions of sexual activity. Those offended by NC-17 material or coarse language may wish to skip this essay. Tha said, let's talk about ratings!
What does constitute R versus NC-17? This can be a challenging issue for fan fic writers, as they try and navigate the requirements of the different archives. Granted, these days, most archives host NC-17 fic, but not all do. For example, Fiction Alley, The Sugar Quill, FF.net, and Skyehawke (based in Australian) do not. A lot of people post NC-17 to the latter two anyway, but those two archives in particular do not have a screening process. It's just post-and-go. I spent about four years screening fic for Fiction Alley, so I've got a fairly solid basic knowledge of what contitutes R and what qualifies as NC-17. What I'd like to do is show you two excerpts from the same fic; one is R-rated, the other NC-17.
EXAMPLE OF AN R-RATED SEXUAL SCENE ( HP/DM ):
Draco dreamt hard and fast, of Thestrals and potions stores and hot mouths with nimble tongues, and all the while voices echoed unseen in his dream: Snape, Lupin, Dumbledore, his mother, his father . . . his dream smelt of Firewhisky and spruce and the Prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. He awoke again, this time on his back, and he distinctly smelt soap.
"Everything's still turning over," Potter lamented.
Draco peered at Potter, the fire having died down to a dull glow. "How long've I been asleep?"
"Dunno," Potter said. He'd taken his glasses off and he had one arm slung over his eyes. He was breathing in an overly controlled manner, which suggested to Draco that Potter was trying to lull himself to sleep. "Long enough."
The remnants of his alcohol-fueled dreams were playing at Draco's senses, electrifying and unreal. He imagined Potter's inability to sleep had little to do with the Firewhisky. "It's almost over," he said to Potter, leaning in. He wasn't necessarily trying to be soothing.
Potter's voice was very faint. "I know."
Draco rolled onto his side toward Potter. Maybe it was strictly the Firewhisky that prompted him then, or perhaps it was something inside of Draco that he wouldn't recognise even if he were sober. Or, more likely, it was a strange amalgamation of things, including the fact that earlier Potter had been more surprised that Draco had pulled with a Muggleborn than he'd been put off by the idea of two blokes together at all. "I know something," he said, still drunk enough to not care about any potential ramifications, "that will help." He rucked up Potter's well-worn t-shirt and slid his hand across Potter's belly, which was really quite smooth. Potter tensed immediately.
"What're you doing?" he asked.
"Shut up," Draco hissed. He rubbed several small circles there, feeling a nice shiver of anticipation as he felt a light trail of fuzz under his fingers, just below Potter's navel.
"Don't!"
"You've already woken me twice." Draco slid his hand into Potter's boxers. "That's just about enough." Potter was warm. Draco slid his hand further down and carefully took up a circular rhythm there, plying Potter.
"Stop it, Malfoy," Potter groaned, smacking his hand down on top of Draco's. He clutched at him the fabric of his boxers. "This is wrong!"
"Why's that?" Draco asked. He rested his head on his free hand, his elbow crooked against the mattress.
Potter still hadn't removed his arm from his face. "Because!"
"Nothing's wrong anymore," Draco said, giving Potter a firm squeeze. "It's the end of days, Potter. Really, who gives a shit?"
Potter was still tense, but Draco felt Potter's grip over his own hand relax a touch. Taking this as permission to continue, Draco resumed his stroking. He worked Potter nimbly, until Potter began rocking clumsily under his touch.
"Ah, God." The words drifted from Potter's mouth, unbidden, and he let his arm fall from across his face onto the bed, and Draco curled in sideways against him and laid his head on Potter's bicep. The knuckles of his free hand brushed over the warm slice of skin at Potter's waist, where he'd pulled Potter's t-shirt up. Draco felt a fine trail of goose bumps rise under his touch, and he lifted his chin until the divergent scents of clean, wholesome soap and Potter's shirt assailed his senses. His breath puffed warm against Potter's shoulder. "Oh." Potter sighed then, and turned his head, looking down at Draco. The tips of their noses met clumsily, prompting Draco to lift his chin. It had happened reflexively, for Draco neither kissed nor fucked boys, but when his bottom lip accidentally brushed against Potter's, his arousal burgeoned against the sturdy seams of his jeans.
Draco felt Potter's breath hot and muggy against his mouth, and his damp, keening breaths urged Draco on. He established a firm, steady rhythm and then Potter groaned, and Draco thought he heard him hiss, "Yes."
"Yes?" he whispered triumphantly, his own breath coming ragged now. And then Potter brought up his arm, trapping Draco's head against his shoulder, and he felt Potter's fingers in his hair. Potter tugged at him painfully, and Draco felt a telltale shiver against his heel of his fist.
Potter made a small noise in his throat as he came.
Draco let Potter catch his breath for several moments. "Let go of my hair," he rasped finally, and Potter did. Draco wasted no time and rose to his knees at Potter's side. Frantically he unbuttoned his jeans and tugged down the zip, groaning as he pushed his boxers and jeans down over his hips, freeing himself. He grabbed up Potter's hand and, sitting back, he clamped down tightly and guided it, moving through Potter's fist shamelessly.
"Wha--" Potter said, resisting slightly.
"Shut up, Potter," Draco said, his eyes closing. He brought his other hand around, firmly trapping himself in the vise-like tangle of their fingers, and shortly his breath was coming in quick, staccato bursts as he thrust wildly. "Won't take long--" He'd gone untouched for almost a year and now everything was whirling and Potter's hand was hot and pliant under his touch . . . "There," he said, feeling his climax spring, and he let loose a strangled cry. He thrust upwards.
Potter immediately pulled his hand away with a regretful moan.
Draco snapped his boxers back up and tugged up his jeans, and ran his hands down his thighs to clean up. He couldn't be arsed to do up his trousers properly. He flopped back onto his side of the bed, belly down as usual, and for a fleeting moment he felt sated and normal.
"Better?" he asked, imagining Potter's faint silhouette.
"Shut up, Malfoy." Potter's voice was perfectly sleepy.
- END -
EXAMPLE OF THE SAME SCENE DONE AS NC-17 ( HP/DM ) || WARNING: ADULT/18+ MATERIAL:
Draco dreamt hard and fast, of Thestrals and potions stores and hot mouths with nimble tongues, and all the while voices echoed unseen in his dream: Snape, Lupin, Dumbledore, his mother, his father . . . his dream smelt of Firewhisky and spruce and the Prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts. He awoke again, this time on his back, and he distinctly smelt soap.
"Everything's still turning over," Potter lamented.
Draco peered at Potter, the fire having died down to a dull glow. "How long've I been asleep?"
"Dunno," Potter said. He'd taken his glasses off and he had one arm slung over his eyes. He was breathing in a controlled manner, which suggested to Draco that Potter was trying to lull himself to sleep. "Long enough."
The remnants of his alcohol-fueled dreams were playing at Draco's senses, electrifying and unreal. He imagined Potter's inability to sleep had little to do with the Firewhisky. "It's almost over," he said to Potter, leaning in. He wasn't necessarily trying to be soothing.
Potter's voice was very faint. "I know."
Draco rolled onto his side toward Potter. Maybe it was strictly the Firewhisky that prompted him then, or perhaps it was something inside of Draco that he wouldn't recognise even if he were sober. Or, more likely, it was a strange amalgamation of things, including the fact that earlier Potter had been more surprised that Draco had pulled with the pratty whinger Zacharias Smith than he'd been put off by the idea of two blokes together at all. "I know something," he said, still drunk enough to not care about any potential ramifications, "that will help." He rucked up Potter's well-worn t-shirt and slid his hand across Potter's belly, which was really quite smooth. Potter tensed immediately.
"What're you doing?" he asked.
"Shut up," Draco hissed. He rubbed several small circles there, feeling a nice shiver of anticipation as he felt a light trail of fuzz under his fingers, just below Potter's navel.
"Don't!"
"You've already woken me twice." Draco slid his hand into Potter's boxers. "That's just about enough." Potter's cock was flaccid, but warm. He slid his hand further down until the cool, tender swell of Potter's sac filled his palm. Carefully, he took up a circular rhythm there, plying Potter's balls until they grew firm under his touch. He took care to brush the base of Potter's cock with his thumb with each sweeping pass.
"Stop it, Malfoy," Potter groaned, smacking his hand down on top of Draco's. He clutched at him through the fabric of his boxers. "This is wrong!"
"Why's that?" Draco asked. He rested his head on his free hand, his elbow crooked against the mattress.
Potter still hadn't removed his arm flung over his face. "Because!"
"Fuck, Potter, nothing's wrong anymore," Draco said, giving him a firm squeeze. Potter had hardened. "It's the end of days. Really, who gives a shit?"
Potter was still tense, but Draco felt Potter's grip over his own hand relax a touch. Taking this as permission to continue, Draco resumed stroking Potter's cock, pulling and jerking lightly at the head before sliding his palm back down Potter's hard length. He worked Potter's erection until Potter's cock was stiff and unrelenting in his hand, and Potter began rocking clumsily under his touch.
"Ah, God." The words drifted from Potter's mouth, unbidden, and he let his arm fall from across his face onto the bed, and Draco curled in sideways against him and laid his head on Potter's bicep. The knuckles of his free hand brushed against the warm slice of skin at Potter's waist, where he'd pulled Potter's t-shirt up. Draco felt a fine trail of goose bumps rise under his touch, and he lifted his chin until the divergent scents of clean, wholesome soap and Potter's shirt assailed his senses. His breath puffed warm against Potter's shoulder as he worked Potter's cock. "Oh." Potter sighed then, and turned his head, looking down at Draco. The tips of their noses met clumsily, prompting Draco to lift his chin. It had happened reflexively, for Draco neither kissed nor fucked boys, but when his bottom lip accidentally brushed against Potter's, his own cock burgeoned and grew painfully hard within the sturdy seams of his jeans.
Draco felt Potter's breath hot and muggy against his mouth, and his damp, keening breaths urged Draco on. He'd established a firm, steady rhythm -- balls, cock, head -- but when he next rubbed at the tip of Potter's cock, Potter groaned, and Draco thought he heard him hiss, "Yes."
"Yes?" he whispered triumphantly, his own breath coming ragged now. And then Potter brought up his arm, trapping Draco's head against his shoulder, and he felt Potter's fingers in his hair. He wanked Potter's cock faster then, coating his fingers slightly with the thin, pearly drops that formed at the head. Tugging at Potter's foreskin, Draco sheathed the firm, velvety head of Potter's cock in its folds, and stroked and stroked, again and again, until Potter's hand tightened in his hair. Potter tugged at him painfully, and Draco felt a telltale pulsing against his heel of his fist.
Potter made a small noise in his throat as he came, his quick bursts seeping through Draco's fingers.
Draco let Potter catch his breath for several moments. "Let go of my hair," he rasped, and Potter did. Draco wasted no time and rose to his knees at Potter's side. Frantically he unbuttoned his jeans and tugged down the zip, groaning as he pushed his boxers and jeans down over his hips, freeing his own cock. He grabbed up Potter's hand wrapped Potter's fingers around his erection. Sitting back, he clamped down tightly and guided Potter's hand up and down the length of his cock, fucking Potter's virgin fist shamelessly.
"Wha--" Potter said, resisting.
"Shut up, Potter," Draco said, his eyes closing. He brought his other hand around, firmly trapping his cock in the vise-like, sticky tangle of their fingers, and shortly his breath was coming in quick, staccato bursts as he thrust wildly. "Won't take long--" He'd gone untouched for almost a year and now everything was whirling and Potter's hand was hot and pliant under his touch . . . "There," he said, feeling his orgasm spring, and he let loose a strangled cry. He thrust up and came hard, his hot spurts slicking up both their hands.
Potter pulled his hand away with a regretful moan, but he didn't wipe it off.
Draco snapped his boxers back up over his cock and tugged up his jeans, running his hands down his thighs to clean up. He couldn't be arsed to do up his trousers properly. He flopped back onto his side of the bed, belly down as usual, and for a fleeting moment he felt sated and normal.
"Better?" he asked, imagining Potter's faint silhouette.
"Shut up, Malfoy." Potter's voice was sleepy.
- END -
So what is the dividing line between R and NC-17? The examples above should give you a general idea -- the NC-17 version is quite a lot more graphic. When dinging fics for Fiction Alley, I used to look for the three Cs of smut:
COCK
CUNT
COME
As this is a slash-centric community, I will focus mainly on Cock and Come; however, if anyone is interested in an expanded discussion on writing females in sexual situations, I am happy to provide that info. I know some of us here write both het fic and m/m/f threesome fic, so consider the offer on the table and leave a comment to this post.
Let's continue.
COCK: If cocks, pricks, dicks, schlongs, shafts, and fucktools abound? My brother/sister/gender-identity-of-your-choice, it's definitely going to fall into the realm of NC-17. If you've got a bit of hardness, a slight bulge, a little bit of length, or some excitement here and there in your fic, it'll likely fall on the R side of the fence.
I will take a moment to briefly address the issue of archives. Some archives are more prissy than others, and there are reasons for this that most people are unaware of or don't take the time to think about; sometimes it's hard to get past the initial irritation of one's fic being rejected for NC-17 material. Fiction Alley, for example -- and I'm using FA as an example because I know it best -- is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization; per the guidelines of their 501(c)(3) status, they are not allowed to host porn. Hosting porn could cost them their tax-exempt charitable status, so in the spirit of
hd_writers's DBAD (Don't Be A Dick) policy, I will urge you to consider the archives' positions when when wanting to post NC-17 fics onto archives that do not permit them. There are options for hosting NC-17 fic -- The Hex Files, AO3, Walking the Plank, The Restricted Section, etc. Anyhow.
Going back to cock. . . .
Penis and erection compromise our fandom's Switzerland, meaning the use of these two words in a fic can be either discrete or crass and all kids of shades of in-between.
R: Draco shifted, trying to hide his involuntary erection under his robes.
NC-17: Draco shifted, thrusting his erection against Harry's arse until a spot of dampness seeped through his trousers.
R: Draco racked Harry in the crotch with his Nimbus 2001 so hard that Harry thought his penis had inverted itself.
NC-17: Draco stroked Harry's crotch with his Nimbus 2001, circling with the handle there, running the tip up the length of Harry's penis.
And because we do so love cock:
R: "Malfoy, you're a total cock."
NC-17: " Malfoy, I want to suck your cock."
(Wow, writing pr0n on the fly is really rather. . . weird. . . . )
CUNT:
In a nutshell, if your fic describes a woman's vagina as a cunt, it's NC-17. Now the word 'cunt' has a different connotation in the UK than it does in the US. In the UK, 'cunt' is a rather common throw-away slang term (but don't you dare talk about a woman's fanny in the UK; it's the equivalent to 'cunt' in the US!) but a lot of the fic archives are hosted in the US and will automatically label any fic using the word 'cunt' as NC-17. Nevertheless, of course there are differences in context. For example:
R: "Severus, you're a fucking cunt," said Sirius, disgusted. (an epithet)
NC-17: (Highlight to read) He grasped her around the waist and pulled her down to the edge of the bed, licking right into her hot, wet cunt. (female anatomy)
Okay, we've covered 'cunt'. For purposes of this slash-centric comm, I believe this is sufficient; however, as mentioned previously, if you need more detail or explanation regarding incorporating a female into a sexual situation, please don't hesitate to ask. I write and love het fic, as well as slash, and have no problem discussing it.
COME:
iTunes informs me that 'come' is a popular word: Come Undone; Come Together; We Come One; Come On Christmas (okay, this was completely unnecessary); Come In Closer; Come and See; Winter Comes; Come Back; Here Come De Honey Man; Come On Baby, Do!. (I particularly recommend Come Undone, which you can listen to here. . . ) ANYway, I digress. Oh, also, I once had this awful boyfriend who had a 'Happiness is Coming' bumpersticker on his 70s-era NOVA, and the sticker wasn't talkin' about Jesus Christ. ANYWAY.
So, coming is a fun and universally popular activity!
Basically, when it comes to R versus NC-17, the description of the orgasm is what will rate the fic.
R: Harry held Draco close; he couldn't stop moving and Draco was alive underneath him, and despite wanting the moment to last forever, Harry couldn't help himself. The wave crested, engulfing him.
NC-17: Harry scrabbled at Draco, keeping Draco trapped firmly beneath him. Malfoy writhed and Harry couldn't help himself. He thrust his cock against Malfoy, over and over, and despite the moment of disappointment that arose from knowing this would soon be over, Harry couldn't stop. He arced up, his hands pinning Draco's shoulders to the floor, and he came with a cry, cool droplets of come spurting right up the flat plain of Malfoy's pale stomach.
Yeah. Big difference, eh?
Let us take a moment to pause for chocolate and cigarettes. Right then.
R: Sometimes you can get away with simply saying "he came." If I were to write the above sentence as "Harry held Draco close; he couldn't stop moving and Draco was alive underneath him, and despite wanting the moment to last forever, Harry couldn't help himself. He came." it would probably pass the censors. Probably, but not definitely. If you're aiming for an R-rated sexual scene, euphemisms and suggestion are your friends. What's a euphemism? "The wave crested, engulfing him" is a euphemism, a representation of the act of having an orgasm. The wave crested (Harry had a hard orgasm), engulfing him (he shot quite a load). In general -- stepping away from 'come' for a moment -- hinting at sexual activity can fall into two categories: suggestion and fade-to-black.
A suggestive sex scene kind of clues the reader in on what's happening: Draco pulled Harry towards him, slipping his arms around Harry's waist and looking down into Harry's face; they kissed under the mistletoe. Draco let his hands wander downwards. He tugged at Harry's belt. "I think," he said, nibbling at Harry's ear, "we should get a room."
A fade-to-black scene is more like this: Draco pulled Harry towards him, slipping his arms around Harry's waist and looking down into his face; they were under the mistletoe. Draco tugged at Harry. "Let's get out of here."
Both of the above examples would be rated R. The former is more suggestive than the latter, obviously.
Back to orgasms. NC-17 orgasms will always be more descriptive than suggestion or fade-to-black and typically includes at least fairly detailed descriptions of semen, ejaculation, and the person's actions while having an orgasm.
NC-17: Graphic description of an orgasm, semen and come-play, and descriptive writing of cocks in any orifices will always render a fic NC-17. If Harry sucks the come off Draco's belly, it's NC-17. If Draco comes all over Harry's face while Harry's on his knees (or not on his knees if Draco can manage it), it's NC-17. A character running their fingers through a puddle of come and then licking it off is NC-17. Coming down someone's throat is NC-17. Draco fucking Harry up the arse (ooo, Harry on the bottom? Can I get a whut-whut?) and coming deep inside him is NC-17. Felching said come out of Harry's arse is NC-17. Now I want to be clear: just because something is a kink doesn't automatically throw it into NC-17 territory; it depends entirely on how it's written. Yes, there are some kinks that would be very difficult to write as not NC-17, but a writer can always try.
When it comes to R versus NC-17, when in doubt, just ask a neutral party. Grab one of us in chat or e-mail someone asking if they'll look your scene over and give you feedback on whether it's R or NC-17. I suggest getting multiple opinions if you're not sure, because one person's R can be another's NC-17. Most importantly, trust your gut instinct. Your subconscious will likely know what rating a scene is; your first instinct is most often right.
Just a couple of pointers on requesting feedback on a sex scene:
If you choose to utilize Chatzy (see links below) for feedback, first ask if it's okay to post specific snippets of your fic into chat. Not everyone in chat likes to have large chunks of fic pasted into the chat window, so it's always best to ask before doing so. If it's a longer scene, e-mail feedback would be best. You can e-mail any of the
hd_writers mods and ask for help in rating a sex scene, or for a referral to another person who would be willing to look over your work. You can always post a beta REQUEST (please do not post your porn directly to the comm!) to hd_writers. You can also ask a person on your f-list, whose writing you like and admire, if they'd be willing to look your scene over. Google docs is a great resource for beta'ing and you can share you document with as many or as few people as you like. Questions? Clarifications? By all means, comment. Discussion, as always, is welcome.
The Chatzy rooms are available 24-7 for writing discussion and support: There's the regular HD Writers room and the SRS BZNS room for timed writing challenges and word wars.
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There are always areas of grey and archives will differ, yes. This is the best condensed explanation I could present, I think, to just try and give some general guidance.
<3
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Thanks for this post! Great info! Awesome job Julie!
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Yes, I say definitely yes.
For the reason I mentioned above. M/M/F and also gender-bender. It's not everyone's thing but it does have it's own little corner of the h/d fandom.
Thanks again!
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I see now that I really mostly write R, unless I write for kinkfest or the like.. but in all cases I like the word "cock". It's just so.. refreshingly blunt, hehe.
ILU hd_writers, for being open about all the things. \o/
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Yeah, the on-the-fly pr0n felt weird, because I was looking at it from a purely clinical (for lack of a better word) perspective.
I love the word "cock" -- it's so masculine and commanding, and there is no doubt what someone is talking about when the word is said.
I'm glad you enjoyed the essay!
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Heh, "masculine and commanding" is a very good description actually. But - really, no doubt? How about R: "Malfoy, you're a total cock." then? :p (Not that I would write that. There's so many other nice words to pick from.. prat.. git.. bastard.. etc)
^_~
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I've always spend hours upon hours discussing with my friend before posting...