I've been thinking of the problematic cases ever since I wrote this post, particularly Simon/River and Peter/Valentine. These are cases, it seems, in which while we do have a protagonist who has many of the signs of being radically autonomous--both River and Val are brilliant geniuses--this autonomy is undercut and the other member of the pairing is placed in a position of authority. River is insane and Simon is her doctor; Peter is just as bright as Val, plus beyond good and evil when she isn't.
The first thing to note that these instances aren't particularly unique. If one reads the texts with a slightly different lens than the one I used, they all include elements capable of undercutting the character's autonomy. Veronica, for example, is often reckless and frequently requires rescuing by her father, her boyfriend, etc. In many crossgen pairings, especially teacher!kink, it is usually very easy to shift the focus away from the younger partner's autonomy and to the elder's position of authority, if one chooses to do so. Or one can have a story hover somewhere in between, in ambiguity, as I do in my Fred/River fic.
The issue is, then, one of emphasis. At one extreme, one can emphasize the way in which River continues to be autonomous and capable of consent, and the way in which Simon can be bumbling and overwhelmed by situations, which is I believe what much of Simon/Rivern fic does. Or, in a darker fic, one can emphasize her brokenness and Simon's power over her and write dubcon or noncon--although Simon raping his sister is hardly in character. (Peter raping Val, OTOH, very much is IMO, at least with the right build-up.) I can enjoy both types of stories (since both are rooted in a type of will to power), as well as the range in between. Indeed, much of the best fics make use of the ambiguity to great effect, and one can't quite decide if what one is reading is wonderfully beautiful or tragically horrible.
Indeed the narrative logic which demands that River must be insane--because otherwise she'd be too powerful a Mary Sue with too few limitations--applies to her relationship with Simon as well; it'd become too easy for the subtext to become text. Joss uses her insanity (the most obvious case being the deleted scene in "Our Mrs. Reynolds" but it's also true in the canon proper) as a way of creating subtext with which he wouldn't otherwise be able to get away. Indeed, I know I've read a few Simon/River fics (and it's a pairing I don't read much of as I can't stand to see it being done badly) which establish their sexual relationship before River going to the Academy--because a sane River at, say, 13 or 14 years old being capable of consent seems intuitively quite plausible.
no subject
The first thing to note that these instances aren't particularly unique. If one reads the texts with a slightly different lens than the one I used, they all include elements capable of undercutting the character's autonomy. Veronica, for example, is often reckless and frequently requires rescuing by her father, her boyfriend, etc. In many crossgen pairings, especially teacher!kink, it is usually very easy to shift the focus away from the younger partner's autonomy and to the elder's position of authority, if one chooses to do so. Or one can have a story hover somewhere in between, in ambiguity, as I do in my Fred/River fic.
The issue is, then, one of emphasis. At one extreme, one can emphasize the way in which River continues to be autonomous and capable of consent, and the way in which Simon can be bumbling and overwhelmed by situations, which is I believe what much of Simon/Rivern fic does. Or, in a darker fic, one can emphasize her brokenness and Simon's power over her and write dubcon or noncon--although Simon raping his sister is hardly in character. (Peter raping Val, OTOH, very much is IMO, at least with the right build-up.) I can enjoy both types of stories (since both are rooted in a type of will to power), as well as the range in between. Indeed, much of the best fics make use of the ambiguity to great effect, and one can't quite decide if what one is reading is wonderfully beautiful or tragically horrible.
Indeed the narrative logic which demands that River must be insane--because otherwise she'd be too powerful a Mary Sue with too few limitations--applies to her relationship with Simon as well; it'd become too easy for the subtext to become text. Joss uses her insanity (the most obvious case being the deleted scene in "Our Mrs. Reynolds" but it's also true in the canon proper) as a way of creating subtext with which he wouldn't otherwise be able to get away. Indeed, I know I've read a few Simon/River fics (and it's a pairing I don't read much of as I can't stand to see it being done badly) which establish their sexual relationship before River going to the Academy--because a sane River at, say, 13 or 14 years old being capable of consent seems intuitively quite plausible.