Hrmp.

[thistlechaser]

Don't know what's been up with me lately: trying new foods, trying new pairings. Next thing you know, I'll be getting a snake or a giant spider as a pet!

In response to my post about trying new pairings (Fred/George, in my case), mctabby recommended Ante Up! for me to try. Ante put me in a rather odd position. I liked the story: it was well-written, the twins were very much in character, but... Okay, here's where it gets odd. They were totally in character, and the story was believable, so the sex should be too, right? And it was, but... I still didn't like it much-- but that's not totally correct. I don't like the idea of it, but if they had been two unrelated people, I would have liked it. Does that make sense?

Someone else sent me a bunch of links, but I think by the wording that he probably would want me not to link to his LJ name. ("Don't tell anyone, but that used to be one of my favorite pairings...") I started with Very Vanilla, which for me personally was a turn-off. I think it would probably be great for someone who has already accepted the pairing and doesn't need the... "pre-sex justification", but for me it didn't work.

Also recommended by him: Mirror. I liked this one a lot more than Vanilla. Descriptive, nice unhurried speed. While sex might have been the sole purpose of the story, it didn't feel that way and didn't get in your face with it. Seemed a lot more an extension of their love than anything else. (Also, the sex was a lot milder in this one, no oral or penetration.)

One final rec from him: A Lucky Guy. Though there's only kissing in this one, it's more like Vanilla than Mirror. It also tosses in Harry/Ron, which hindered my attempts to be accepting.

Comments

Thanks for the review of 'Ante Up!'

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the review. It's interesting to see the story through the eyes of someone who's a tad squicked by the pairing. I'm really glad you found them to be in character, and hopefully the story itself was funny.

Yes, although the twins are played pretty straight to character, the sex is quite explicit. And... realistic. Not entirely pleasant sex, definitely a bit awkward and uncomfortable. I can't imagine it being someone's first exposure to GredandForge.

I got hooked on the pairing by their cameo in Telanu's Harry/Snape (of course) Like A Glass (http://remembrall.slashcity.net/~telanu/glass.htm), and its sequel Corresponding (http://remembrall.slashcity.net/~telanu/corresponding.htm). Telanu's attitude of the twins is the two of them playfully collaborating sexually (more than happy to bring in a third party). It's PG-13, and funny. I think it's towards the end of the story. Their line about 'stately homos of old England' is hysterical.

As a twincest virgin *wink* you're probably not aware of the vast number of angst!twincest, dark!twincest, what-a-romance-this-is-so-wrong!twincest stories -- stories where the authors seemed to forget or not care that Fred and George are... fun. Funny. Light-hearted.

Add to that a habit of just not understanding twins and how different they are from each other. So many twincest stories are based on the theory 'we're two halves of the same person', which just isn't true, twins are almost always radically different from each other. I liked Mirror, but I know too many twins to be able to tolerate the 'two halves of the same person' theory, since it's something that all my friends who are twins resent. That and being dressed alike.

Here's one of the rare 'fun' twincest stories Koanju's chocolate fic (http://www.koanju.com/hp/blood.htm).

Knight Smeg has written some fun PWPs, and doesn't stray into angst. In all, twincest is great fun, but it is unusually difficult to find good stories. Of course, Harry/Ron is the same in that regard.

Cheers,

~Icarus

Re: Thanks for the review of 'Ante Up!'

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'm really glad you found them to be in character, and hopefully the story itself was funny.

Yes and yes. I really enjoyed the humor a lot (and it added to them being in character). The whole Percy-being-next-door had me giggling, especially the thought of him walking in on them.

Yes, although the twins are played pretty straight to character, the sex is quite explicit. And... realistic. Not entirely pleasant sex, definitely a bit awkward and uncomfortable. I can't imagine it being someone's first exposure to GredandForge.

Realistic is fine with me. If they had been "perfect" together, if there was no mention of need of oil (snicker, never empty! What a great idea!), I'd have liked it less.

Thanks for the additional links. I've had enough for this weekend, but I'll save them and check them out at a later date.