The Quill is Slashier...The Ten Commandments of Hercules: TLJ Slash

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Title:	The Quill is Slashier...The Ten Commandments of Hercules: TLJ Slash
Creator:	Morgan
Date(s):	January 15, 2001
Medium:	online
Fandom:
Topic:	Fanfiction, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, Slash
External Links:	The Quill is Slashier...The Ten Commandments of Hercules: TLJ Slash/WebCite
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The Quill is Slashier...The Ten Commandments of Hercules: TLJ Slash is an essay by Morgan.

It is part of the Fanfic Symposium series.

The Author's Ten Commandments of Hercules Slash

• I. Thou shalt remain true to the characters shown onscreen.
• II. The villain shalt remain the villain even when slashed.
• III. The hero shalt remain the hero, especially when slashed.
• IV. Thou shalt not impose redneck morals on the enlightened society of Ancient Greece.
• V. Thou shalt not pretend season five never happened.
• VI. Thou shalt remember Hercules and Iolaus are friends.
• VII. [Special rule for FSFI fics] Thou shalt remember that Iolaus is human.
• VIII. [Special rule for D/S fics] Thou shalt allow Iolaus to talk back.
• IX. Thou shalt not slash characters merely because "they'd be cute together".
• X. Thou shalt not consider Iolaus and Twanky interchangeable.
• XI. [There's always an eleventh commandment!] Thou shalt feel free to break any and all of these rules if you can do so with originality.

Excerpt

I've often been questioned by friends about my taste for slash fiction, but I've rarely been called upon to justify it, like it's somehow a "wrong" thing. When recently that exact situation arose, I found myself stepping back from the highly emotive arguments flying around, and wondering what exactly it is about this genre that appeals to me. I find myself focussing on Hercules slash, because, while I'd read an occasional slash story before, it was in this fandom that I first really *got* slash. Let's start with some basic definitions. Slash fiction involves two of more fictional characters of the same sex in a sexual or romantic relationship. In general slash is written by women, for a primarily female, adult audience and contains references to (and frequently graphic descriptions of) same-sex sexual activity. Again, in general, the fictional characters concerned are drawn from television, and will have a cannonical close relationship that is non-sexual in nature. And they're usually men, though I suspect in a few years that will be less true. I know there are exceptions to all of the above, and I'm sure there are variations, but that's the definition I'm using for this article. Within that, there are dozens of sub-genres: first times, hurt/comfort, humour and satire, bdsm, rape-stories, PWPs, and too many more to list them all. (And, before anyone gets the wrong idea, I'm not discussing the "just for fun" type of slash where realism and plot aren't important to either the writer or the reader.)

I was always convinced I wouldn't like slash. The first HTLJ slash story I read, (based on someone's recommendation!) which I won't name here as the author is sort of a friend, served only to confirm my fear. The "plot" consisted of an argument between Hercules and Iolaus which twisted both characters into caricatures: Hercules the thoughtless bully, Iolaus a pathetic victim incapable of rescuing himself. During the argument, Hercules takes full responsibility for *everything* bad that's *ever* happened to his friend (I was just waiting for him to apologise for breaking the poor boy's Barbie-doll when they were six) and Iolaus grudgingly accepts the apology, then tops it all with a declaration of undying love. This improbable scene is followed by a graphic description of anal sex (anatomically accurate, but not in my perception, erotic), during which Iolaus insists on being "the strong one" for a change, and more grovelling apologies which apparently constituted a happy ending... I think that plot describes a lot of HTLJ slash stories, particularly during the period when the Iolausians got p*ssed off with Hercules for marrying Serena. Well, I figured I'd been most wise to leave stories of this questionable nature in a dark corner and resolved never to venture into such uncharted territory, ever, ever again.

Then I stumbled onto a story that I'm sure was labelled as slash somewhere, but thanks to the genius of search engines I'd skipped the disclaimers and warnings page. This one I'm happy to name: it was Queenie's Beware Greeks Bearing Gifts (http://freespace.virgin.net/susan.gamble/Slash/beware.html). A Hercules/Iolaus story of the PWP variety (PWP [equals] 'Plot, What Plot?' for those not in the know). This one shocked me in a different way. Taken straight into what was clearly an established sexual relationship, Queenie's story is basically a sex-filled variation on the theme of "what do you buy the hero who has everything", and I'm telling you, I'll never look at a red ribbon in the same way again! While at the time I found the graphic sex a little over the top, in Queenie's story I could still easily recognise the characters I knew from onscreen. Iolaus' sense of humour and his slight hesitation at being "ordered" to do something. Hercules' obvious regard for his partner, his love of being in control, but willingness to surrender to trust. It was more than enough to convince me to give slash a second try.