Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2016 18:47:29 +0000 From: Funtails Stories Subject: Boylove Rescue Fantasy Cliches Boylove Rescue Fantasy Cliches: Know them. Hate them. Renounce them. Note to the 2016 Edition In the 15 years since I first published this guide/rant, I've gotten much positive feedback from readers who felt I had voiced frustrations they also experienced. Also from writers who thanked me for steering them to better methods. I've only received three negative responses, but they've given me the sense that some hardworking and sincere authors feel like I've attacked their work in general and that I'm a wet blanket who doesn't understand fantasy. Let me say up front: *I am not against stories about men rescuing boys from bad situations *I am not against stories about men involved in romance/sex with boys. *I am not against stories that defy the rules of the real world. I am against stories that do these things in unoriginal ways or ways that flatten the drama of the story. I absolutely LOVE man-boy rescue fantasies. I wouldn't take the time to write this guide unless I cared about getting more good stories for my own enjoyment. But as far back as the 90s when I started discovering this stuff online, there were just so many repetitions of things like the lottery winner cliche that I just felt like I was reading a retread of a previous story with the same setups and predictable turning points. I wanted to read new setups with new conflicts and with ripples and wrinkles in the relationships between the men and boys. Also, I don't think that the ordinary world and rescue fantasies are incompatible. My article was half a challenge to writers to be creative and find a way to make the two things mesh. For that reason, the article showed alternatives to some cliches or ways to subvert them and make them fresh. Introduction The internet has allowed wide access to a new type of literature: boylove rescue fantasies. Stories that seem designed solely to get a boy living together with a boyloving man (BL for short), either for a 'father-son' relationship or a sexual relationship or both. Usually the guy meets a needy urchin on the street and takes him under his wing, giving him the loving home he never had. These stories serve a spiritually nourishing purpose for BL's who cannot experience such a relationship in real life. However, I don't believe that just because the primary purpose of a story is BL wish-fulfillment that the storyteller is allowed to abandon common sense and the duty of telling an original story. I've been reading a lot of these stories lately (hey, I need my fantasies gratified as much as anyone) but I've been disappointed with how corny and clichéd many stories are. I'm gonna run down the list of some of the worst I've noticed. I know I may end up sounding bitter and cynical, but fuck it. It's the writer's fault if a story hits too many false notes. Realism in plot and character is essential to make a story work. And if the story doesn't work, then the fantasy doesn't work either. Cliche 1: The Rich Lottery Winner Why is it that the main characters in these stories are all conveniently wealthy? Either they hit it big in the stock market or they're some Infotech hotshot or their parents died and left them rich at an impossibly young age. And of course there're the countless lottery winners. I think BL's must win the lottery more than any other group, if these stories are to be believed. I read one story where the guy won the lottery AND had a huge inheritance. The writers seem to think that if their BL is to create a wonderful new life for the boy, he needs to have money to lavish gifts on him and buy him new clothes and take him on trips... So misguided. Unless there's some kind of criminal behavior involved, rich people are boring. How much more interesting a story would be if the BL was poor/middle class and had to make real sacrifices so he could take care of the boy. Like if he had to forget about buying a new sports car so he could pay for the kid to go to soccer camp or if he had to sleep on the couch in his one bedroom apartment so the kid could have the bed... Cliche 1 (supplemental): The Solitary BL So often the BL man is cut off from any familial relationship. Most likely because the writer killed his family off for the inheritance money. So we end up with a guy living all on his own in a 10-room mansion on a 50-acre estate and no one to call on the phone. I think in part this reflects the secrecy and isolation that BL's feel in their daily lives, but more often than not it seems as if the writer thinks this will make it easier for the man to incorporate the boy into his life. Why make it easy? Complications make a story interesting and also give the man an opportunity to prove how much the boy means to him. I want to see how a guy deals with his boss advising him he shouldn't take the boy in because it'll interfere with his job. Or suppose he's already got a family of his own and his kids aren't happy about adding the boy to their life (sharing their room for instance)? What happens when a single man has to give up wild nights on the town with his buddies so he can stay home and help little Billy with his homework? How will his friends respond? How will *he*? Cliche 2: The Magic Lawyer This guy is amazing. He can get adoption papers filed and approved in a week while regular people have to wait years. I guess because of the ever-present threat of persecution/ prosecution, it makes sense that BL's would have good lawyers as their best friends, but how to explain the way this guy can fix all the legal problems involved with a gay single man gaining custody of a child in record time? He should have his own action figure. It would be part of a set that includes The Miraculous Social Worker, The Amazing Doctor and The Big-hearted Cop. Cliche 3: The Monsters at Home So just why does our poor little boy need some BL loving? Well, because his parents/guardians are the vilest, most horrible people alive. That's the classic setup for these stories. They boy is given a nightmare home life, which is why I term these stories 'rescue fantasies' in the first place. Now I've got no problem with the idea of the boy needing rescue, but sometimes the portraits of the parents are so one-dimensionally evil that they cannot be believed. (Also, I think I'm going to scream if I have to read another speech that goes anything like this: "My Dad found me and my best friend playing with each other's dicks and he slapped me around and told me to get out because he didn't want no 'fucking faggot' living in his house." I'm aware that that kind of thing is, tragically, all too common, but it's overdone. Find another way of putting it over) I acknowledge the evil of this world, but really, there're other ways to show a kid in need of help. Suppose the kid's mom gets sent to jail for dealing drugs on the side (to have money for her kid in the first place) and the kid gets left on his own? Will the boy still stay with the man who's taken him in after his mom gets released? How about if the abusive dad isn't an out and out monster, but a man having a genuine struggle to control his rage? Then you'd have a boy torn between the BL taking care of him and the father he loves, but who is bad for him. The point is that while it's necessary for story purposes to give the boy an unfortunate past, there's no need to make the people in his life into caricatures. Evil is much more menacing when it's believable. Cliche 4: Killing the Extra Parent(s). So what happens when the man in the story falls for a boy who isn't being abused? Who, in fact, has a happy home with loving parents? Well, the writer kills the parents off, of course. Drunk drivers and mysterious inoperable cancers are the main culprits. Are we that desperate to have a boy in our house? I mean many of these stories have the boy and man develop a relationship quite happily with the parents around and then the only story purpose for getting rid of the parents is to have the boy move in with the man (after he's been named as legal guardian in event of the parents' death in a corny 'You're the only one we'd trust with our son' scene). Is it really that difficult to show a deep man-boy relationship that develops alongside a loving family environment? After all, most BL relationships are like that. This obsession with having the boy all for ourselves can't be good... Cliche 5: The Instant "I Love You" So, the man meets the boy, takes him home, cleans him up and promises him he'll be safe from now on and our boy responds by hugging him and saying "I love you". Excuse me? These two met about what, 24 hours ago? (In one story, the boy was declaring his love for the man about 6 hours after they first met.) I hate to sound like a grinch, but love don't work that way. Especially when you're talking about abused and neglected children. They tend to have all kinds of trust and intimacy issues. No matter how nice you are to them, they will wait a good long time before deciding that you aren't a threat much less that they love you. Of course, winning the love of a boy is kind of the whole point of the story fantasy, but I find many writers, especially inexperienced ones, rush right to it. (They're like a teenager rushing to bust a nut. Good sex, like good storytelling, needs a build up to the payoff). It defeats the whole purpose of the winning-a-boy's-trust-and-affection concept if it takes hardly any time or effort. That's why I generally find that mainstream stories like Heinlein's 'Citizen of the Galaxy' or Holland's 'Man Without a Face' do this better than BL stories. They aren't over-eager to hear those magic words so they take their time to portray realistic bonding in a man-boy relationship. One with setbacks and wariness. That's why the relationship in The Sixth Sense worked so well. Bruce Willis had to work and work and work to get the boy's trust. And think how much more amazingly better a BL story would be if the boy in the story didn't instantly see the BL as his savior. Maybe even saw him as a potential threat. Cliche 6: The Tear-filled Gay Revelation. It's very popular, especially in the stories that tend to a sexual nature, for the boy to be gay. No problem. But what I can't stand is the staged dramatic scenes where the boy comes out and declares "I'm gay! I know you probably hate me now. I'll pack my things and leave." and then starts crying. People don't act this way. Especially kids. If the boy in question thinks the man would hate him for being gay I'm pretty sure he'd just hide it. He's got no reason to tell a man he thinks is homophobic that he's gay, especially if he's been a victim of gay-bashing before. We all know from experience how easy it is to keep that kind of thing secret from people you love, much less a stranger. It would make much more sense for the kid to feel out the man's opinion on the issue first and then tell him when he felt safe, if he told him at all. Of course, the reason this cliche is so popular is that it gives the writer the chance to have the BL comfort the child and tell him that everything is OK and give the boy his first sense of acceptance, which is another motif in the BL fantasy-life. Well, many writers have fed us this same recipe before already, and our stomachs are kind of full. And if it isn't the boy telling the man he's gay, then it's the man telling the boy. Usually, it goes something like this: "Well Billy, I'm gonna take you home with me and get you something to eat, but before we go, I need to tell you that I'm gay. What's more, I'm attracted to young boys like you. You don't need to worry, though because I would never do anything to hurt you." And of course the kid goes along with him. Yeah right! 90% of the boys I know would be halfway down the street before he could finish speaking. What man in his right mind reveals that he's a pedophile to a boy he's only just met? It only makes sense to do this after he trusts the boy. Cliche 7: Bathtime Seeing as how the man is bringing home an often homeless/neglected kid it makes sense that one of the first things the man does is have the boy take a bath. That's logical. Still, I'm getting kinda tired of the whole extended bath scene, especially in stories where the purpose is to let the man have a peek at (or touch) the boy. Cliche 8: All BL's are Perfect Perfect people are boring. The main character in many of these fantasies is, of course, an idealized representation of the writer, so we end up with a perfect BL. A man who is a gourmet cook and who drives a 1967 Mustang and who knows just the right thing to say to lift a boy's spirits. But storywise, it makes no sense that the man would be perfect (realistically either). A man's sexual orientation doesn't affect his personality. I know that being attracted to boys makes BL's more sensitive to the moods and emotions of boys, but it's dumb to think that we have all the answers for every situation. The story would be much better if the man ended up frustrated and confused sometimes. Even with the fact that most of our story BL's are stinking rich, they all seem to have a whole lot of time on their hands. They're always available for the boy. Why can't we have some men with real lives? Real personalities? Consider for instance that lots of straight men are so career driven that they don't have time for romance. What about a story about a BL who's devoted to his job who has a boy he doesn't want forced on him? "A BL who doesn't want a boy?" you ask, stunned. Sounds strange, huh? Imagine how unique a story it would make. How about a BL who's emotionally reserved and has trouble showing affection to a boy who needs it? Or how about a man with a criminal past? Or better yet, a criminal present? The possibilities are endless and it means that we get to see men who struggle to meet the needs of the boy in their life as well as all the other demands they face. Cliche 9: The Boy Doll He's the boy doll because all he has to do is sit there and look pretty. Occasionally maybe he has to cry or say, "I love you", but there're dolls that do that too. Most of the boys in these stories are presented that way. Their personalities move between being scared and being grateful. Again, the nature of the fantasy shapes this cliche, since we get our fantasy boy, one aspect of which is a boy who needs us. But I'd like to see a story about a boy who doesn't realize he needs the man in his life. Or maybe he realizes and isn't willing to trust him. I've met that kind of independent boy quite often. They will only be your friend on their terms. Which is fine. The fact that they choose you to be their friend can be much more satisfying than knowing that the only reason they're with you is that you're the only one willing to take them in. This cliché is perhaps the one I hate the most because it cuts out the best part of the story: the boy. A boy is an amazing creature! A real boy who has a specific sense of humor, or interests or hangups etc. even if it's just little things. Does he get angry watching preachers on TV? Does he do somersaults in the backyard just because he takes joy in the feeling? Does he giggle uncontrollably at amateur wrestling because of how strange it looks? Is he having a hard time making friends his own age because he doesn't like Pokemon? Basically, does he have an existence outside of what he means to the BL? And don't get me started on all those helpful little angels who make themselves useful by cleaning the house or doing the laundry or whatever without being told. Let's see some boys with a few bad habits. Cliche 10: The Daddy Complex The word 'dad' is a stand in for what society thinks of as the closest man/boy relationship that exists, so I can see why it's tempting to take up that framework for the man and boy in the story, since it signals the ultimate bond. Lots of stories seem to create some kind of emotional mileage out of the fact that the boy decides to call the man 'dad'. But is that what BL's are? Wannabe dads? Can't the boy and the man settle on a different paradigm that still acknowledges the love and care and trust between them? I feel the challenge here is to overturn that dad-ascendancy concept and present a new way of looking at it where the boy's choice of what man to have in his life becomes more respected. Cliche 11: The Other Boy. Sometimes I think it's because the writer runs out of ideas, but in many of these stories, the man will find a second needy boy to take in. Sometimes, it's two others. Once in a while, more. All this does is rehash the idea of how cool and great our BL character is and let us re-live the formation of the man-boy friendship. Note to writers: If you've got nothing new to say, just type 'the end' and we can re-read the story if we want to experience the fantasy again. Otherwise, spend your time on the boy you already have. One well-developed man-boy relationship is worth a dozen barely examined ones. =========================================================== One last note: Not all the setups above are cliché all the time. For instance, you can have a man who is supremely attuned to the psychology of boys who isn't a cliché. Like in The Sixth Sense: Brice Willis is literally a child therapy expert. But that's not a cliche BECAUSE HE FAILS. One of his former patients attacks him and his wife. And that is the setup for the story. This sidesteps the cliché because his vaunted skill becomes an unreliable tool he has to use to overcome a genuine challenge. It's not a magic wand. Similarly, a millionaire can be the main character without it being cliché if, for example, he's trying to rescue a boy who belongs to a criminal overlord and the BL's money isn't useful. In the end, what I'm really urging is that setups be made original and that the characters not be excused out of fighting their obstacles. Because I do want the man and boy to win and be happy in my fantasy, but that win needs to feel like they earned it. I hope any writers and potential writers find this article useful in planning future man-boy stories. I look forward to reading these innovative rescue fantasies. If anyone has suggestions for good stories I can read, write me! There's a lot of stories to sort through in limited time and we don't have a metacritic to get ratings for this genre, so I could use the help. If anyone has noticed other cliches you can pass them on too. I might end up writing a second part to this. -Funtails@hotmail.com, 2016