Meghan Rannells Slash Fiction

Meghan Rannells

A Sea of Slash Fiction

Slash fiction, up until a week ago, was a genre unchartered in my arts degree. Perhaps this speaks more to ignorance, but the fact that fan fiction is constantly expanding, is encouraging for fans and their desires to be more involved with the chosen series. The fandom of any television show, movie or book series is a large, if not the largest, component to its success. After a few Urban Dictionary and Wikipedia searches, and a quick decision on the “shipping” of Jack Sparrow and Will Turner from *Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl*, the exploration through the sea of slash fiction began. It rapidly became evident that the differences between pieces, in terms of quality, was expansive; though obviously a side effect of accessible and (usually) unsupervised interfaces designated for fandoms, it struck me as interesting. Another element of interest, was the seemingly limitless list of fictive pieces created. Clearly, the image of Jack and Will together was a shared dream for many. Throughout this essay, I will discuss the appearance or disappearance of formulaic fiction in one of these pieces titled “What Once Was” written by *FanFiction* user Tyelle, which demonstrated near perfect grammar and a somewhat unique concept.

Being in the form of a letter, it was already a refreshing change from the previous half dozen fictive pieces already read, most of which evidently took place on The Black Pearl on its way to Tortuga, and portrayed the close encounters the two pirates inevitably exchanged. It seemed to be an equal gamble between which character would take the more cowardice role, i.e. the character who was secretive in their love/lust. This was also something of interest throughout the exploration of slash fiction; there is typically a character of subordination and one of dominance. In “What Once Was”, Will became the secret admirer as he wrote to Sparrow longingly sometime after their pirate adventures. Tyelle's piece is, though still lustful, more romantic and plays on Will’s emotions as opposed to his mere desire for Jack. Throughout the letter, Will speaks of “love” and praises Jack for “treating [him] like who [he] was” (Tyelle, “What Once Was”). Additionally, there is an element comparable to a ‘damsel in distress’ evident in most pieces. For example in Tyelle’s story, desperation escapes from Will’s words when he writes “please save me Jack” (Tyelle). It is clear that there are formulaic elements in slash fiction, but it seems that the formulas can be curbed in order for the rubric’s of unique authors to expand.

What is noted as being repetitive, at least in the pieces written about the two pirates, is the way the story line moves from a secret love, to an accidental encounter, and finally to a revelation on the parts of one or both characters.  Whether this timeline is purposefully nonexistent, or is yet to be completed, it is a break from the formula depicted in many other stories. In short, what made this piece unique was its format, the direction towards an emotional story, and an incomplete storyline (in comparison with other stories); what made it streamline was Will’s desire to be saved, a character living with the burden of secret love, and the appearance of a dominant/subservient relationship between Jack and Will. Regardless of whether it is impossible, or merely just difficult to escape the formulas present in fictive writing, slash fiction interfaces provide freedom and accessibility to amateur fanfic writers keen on becoming more involved with their chosen television series, novel sagas or comic legends.

Bibliography

Tyelle. "What Once Was, a Pirates of the Caribbean Fanfic.” FanFiction. 21 May 2005. Web. 07 Feb. 2016.