Take Clothes Off As Directed - Fanlore

"Take Clothes Off As Directed" is a John Sheppard/Rodney McKay slash AU by Helen. Identified by the author as "an unauthorized homage," or without input or permission from the original author, "Take Clothes Off As Directed" was based on another AU by Xanthe (Coming Home, a prequel to General & Dr Sheppard) that postulated an alternate universe in which sexuality was classified according to BDSM power dynamics, rather than gender. In Xanthe's stories, her alternate universe was a society where couples could achieve mystical soulbonds in their relationships. In contrast, Helen used the top/sub power dynamic as the basis for an allegory on gender roles and sexism in modern society.

Xanthe's Reaction

While Xanthe herself has never mentioned Helen's story publicly, she has referred to Coming Home as "the story the SGA Big Name Fans all got their knickers in a twist about" and stated that events surrounding it resulted in "a kind of bonkers and yet deeply nasty hysteria that made me reassess my involvement in fandom". ^[1]

She has, however, authorized other stories in her universe, including The Spaces Inside by lavvyan, an earthside AU where Rodney is a prostitute, and the series High School Confidential by Elayna, an AU where John and Rodney meet in high school. Xanthe herself has expanded her Coming Home universe in 2008 with a sequel to General & Doctor Sheppard that features a crossover between SGA and NCIS with a focus on Gibbs/DiNozzo. The title is Hiding In Plain Sight.

Fandom Reactions

Fandom reactions varied widely, and some fights broke out. Fans of Xanthe's story felt that Helen's story (as well as its fans) unfairly disparaged the original, and people debated whether Helen's story represented a critique of Xanthe's BDSM society. Another hotly contested issue was the question of fans seeking permission before remixing another author's fic. People also discussed how Helen's fic referenced the treatment of women in the U.S. military.

Selected meta discussions on livejournal:

• fiercelydreamed discusses "Take Clothes Off As Directed" as a "queer love story."
• Millefiori's post on thecuttingboard compared the tone and style of Xanthe's and Helen's fics.
• Resonant's post and comments discuss fan debates over Helen's story.

Influence

"Take Clothes Off As Directed" in turn inspired other fanfics. The BDSM universe was transformed into a multifandom shared universe.

Examples:

• directedverse - aris_writing (House, M.D. and PotC)
• Misdirected - Helens78 and Telesilla (Bill Fichtner/Sean Bean RPS)
• Eminence Front - Helens78 and Kyuuketsukirui (Jude Law/Ewan McGregor RPS)

References

1. ↑ Xanthe, Site Updates, February 9th, 2008, (Accessed 12 October, 2008)