Questions for LKH

[relmneiko.livejournal.com]

Sooo....

When's the last time Anita actually worked at her job? How does she get money for, y'know, food, and stuff? Or does Jean-Claude just shell out for everything?

Does/has Anita ever masturbated? This has seriously been killing me. I mean, for a woman whose life revolves around sex, it never even comes up in passing. Like even to mention that she was uncomfortable with it and didn't. Which would be weird, but still. MOVING ON...

In Danse Macabre, right before the (of course) glossed over sex scene (why couldn't she gloss over the other ones? WHY?!) with Augustine and Jean-Claude, Augustine says something like, "I know your preference is for women, and mine as well..."

...dude. You're having sex with a man. Willingly. And enjoying it. 'Arduer' or not, is there really any need to split hairs so fine?

Finally, though it may seem rather small... do you know what lubricant is? Do you realize that a common complaint about smut fanfic writers is lack of lube/bad lube? You hate fanfic writers, don't you? You don't want to be compared to a fanfic writer in any way, right?

Comments

[alex-lebeau.livejournal.com]

Honestly, I'm not comfy with playing myself, but I also barely have a sex drive. Anita is so constantly "ON" you couldn't pay me to believe she hasn't just given in and rubbed her way to glory like Aladdin's effing lamp. Even I get the urge sometimes; there's no way in hell she can't be.

And, ah, yeh. Should we bring up the mention of the soap Micah used as lube way back in Narcissus? Or should I just stay quiet and let everyone just forget that traumatizing scene?

[witchwillow.livejournal.com]

*ditto's the whee*

the "Aladin's effing lamp' is total chocolate buttercream icing.

[ladyblue99.livejournal.com]

*snerk*

"Rub once = massive orgasm"
"Rub twice = multiple orgasms"
"Rub thrice = clitoris falls off"

Sorry I couldn't help myself, and it seems neither can LKH with her flawed sex logic.

[summersdream.livejournal.com]

huh. I do know a guy who doesn't. But he's also like the least sex-inclined male on the planet. He likes sex, but not enough to go around replicating it (he also has a high stress job which I understand in some people will kill the sex drive? In which case, why does someone not stress Anita a bit more?). He has wet dreams though, so I wonder if subconscious masterbation counts?

Maybe the entire last 5 books or so is Anita having one long, ongoing dream.

[rinkori.livejournal.com]

Men who don't masturbate get wet dreams more often. Masturbate more, fewer wet dreams. It's just a physiological thing.

[sundrymusings.livejournal.com]

Thank heavens she has never brought this up, because I don’t think I could take reading about Anita and her big violet purple dildo named Jack!

[ladyblue99.livejournal.com]

*snerk*
Mr. Dildo's name is Francois dammit... Can't forget LKH's love of france LOL

[prettyclever.livejournal.com]

I agree with flo_over.

It would somehow be tawdry for Anita to do anything sexually that she's not compelled to do by things outside herself. LKH (imho) writes the porn as a mentally masturbatory pursuit: it gives LKH pleasure to imagine Anita as a sex goddess avatar for herself, and unless Anita were masturbating for the viewing pleasure of a lover, the action of masturbation would imply that Anita herself needed the physical release (prompting also the observation that if she can get herself off, the promiscuity is for reasons other than physical need &c). That is fundamentally opposed to the nature of LKH's erotic ambitions in her works; the apposite observation that LKH uses Anita to pursue her own gratification by proxy suggests that Anita must be worshipped. Without a worshipper, a goddess certainly does not default to worshipping herself, rather she seeks more worshippers. Ergo, ego tripping in-character promiscuity & roman à clef narrative.

[leggomylegolas.livejournal.com]

That's a very good point, actually. I hadn't seen it that way.

I would like to know exactly how many times in the entire series has Anita has sex with someone because she wanted to have sex. Not because of the ardeur, not because a bunch of werewolves will rape her if she doesn't, not because she has to be a distraction for some bad guys or go undercover or heal someone with sexual energy (SUCH a load of crap).

The idea of her masturbating is ridiculous, given how guilty she seems to feel about having partner sex. And that is pretty sad, since she's obviously not being written as a woman with low sex drive who just doesn't care. Also it's unrealistic.

Which is a VERY SHOCKING, given who we're talking about. :)

[relmneiko.livejournal.com]

That does make sense.

Outside of outright masturbation, Anita doesn't seem to think about sex or want sex unless she's in a sexual situation, and then she gets hot. I've heard people wondering about how few times Anita has possibly (ever?) had sex for pleasure as opposed to necessity. She never seems to seek out sex; it always comes to her. It's like she's the passive in the situation.

[dwg.livejournal.com]

A) I have no idea how she manages to pay the rent for her house - I'm pretty sure that Nathaniel is in charge of food, though, given that he's the domesticated one complete with apron and pearls. *gag*

B) I don't think so. The closest I've read in any of the books was in ID after the crotch-grinding of DOOM against Requiem's leather ties (um, OMFGYEEEOOOOUCHOWIESOMFG!!!!) and Anita was "a bit tender" afterward and when she went to have sex with JC some...ten minutes later, she sorta slapped his hands away saying that she didn't really want "manual stimulation" (yep, that's the term she used) due to still being a bit touchy. *scrubs brain with soaps* I scare me with how I remember that detail. Trust me, it's not from a lack of trying to erase it.

C) The gay isn't allowed to exist in Anita's world, despite all evidence to the contrary. This makes pandas sad. I'm fully convinced that Asher and JC really are screwing like bunnies every time she's nowhere around, along with plenty of the other guys. It's just that when she turns up, they have to hide it and pretend they like girls...which...possibly explains why so many of them are so wooden and without personality - they're putting all this effort in to pretend to be straight.

D) Oh dude, that reminds me of the JC/Augustine thing. Either Anita was gushing torrents (and hey, she's a "rainmaker" so why not!?!) for JC to use, or he had a bottle in his jacket and took the time out to prepare or something.

Then again, I will NEVER stop flailing about the liquid soap. NEVER. My uterus still quivers in fear and tries to crawl up out my throat at the idea.

[leggomylegolas.livejournal.com]

They used liquid soap as lube at some point?

Holy crap is that ever a bad idea! Almost as bad as a LOTR fanfic I came across once where they used cookie dough.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

A) She's Jean-Claude's 'ho and he's loaded. I guess he kind of gives her stuff. And Nathaniel and Micah have jobs, so they support her (besides being her luv slaves and housekeepers). ^^

[ladyblue99.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhhhh the crotch of doom strikes again, and no the liquid soap bit, made me internally gag, as in omfg, I can't believe I just read what I read, ahhhhh it burns, it burns mommy, make it stop, please make LKH stop.

[lannamichaels]

...dude. You're having sex with a man. Willingly. And enjoying it. 'Arduer' or not, is there really any need to split hairs so fine?

Don't get me started. "I'm straight! I swear, that isn't your dick up my ass! I'm straight I'm straight I'm straight!" *looks around* "Oh, Anita's not here. FUCK ME HARDER!"

[slayra.livejournal.com]

eh, eh, who wants to bet JC and Asher were lying through their teeth when they told Anita they weren't doing it like bunnies??

[pandorasblog]

I remember a mention of there being towels and KY jelly stored in a cupboard at either her or Richard's house. It's kind of surprising in light of later stuff, but then that was from the time before the books became crap - I think it's after she got her own house but before she and Richard began constantly screaming at and hating each other.

What flo_over and spifftastic say makes sense. Like teh gay and all kinds of other things, if it squicks LKH then it won't be in Anita's life either, but those are some particularly sharp explanations of the reasons which fit both author and character.

I could actually see the logic of Anita being uncomfortable with masturbation as a hangover from being very Christian - it's amazing how long the shadows of beliefs stay in one's thought patterns and behaviour, even for years after the beliefs themselves are absent or less strong.

[slayra.livejournal.com]

In Danse Macabre, right before the (of course) glossed over sex scene (why couldn't she gloss over the other ones? WHY?!) with Augustine and Jean-Claude, Augustine says something like, "I know your preference is for women, and mine as well..."

...dude. You're having sex with a man. Willingly. And enjoying it. 'Arduer' or not, is there really any need to split hairs so fine?

'Glossed over' is putting it nicely. I'd tell LKH to go watch gay porn before writing her next man-on-man scene. *rolls eyes*

It's just LKH's way of pretending half her characters aren't like... gay. I mean, JC loved Julianna? He loved Asher's ass, that's what. *rolls eyes yet again* And Augustine and all the tragic memories. Oh, sure, he only wanted JC because of the 'ardeur'. o____0 She's so kidding herself.

[sevariusjr.livejournal.com]

It's also LKH's way of showing that even pseudo-gay men cannot resist the all-powerful, all-consuming force that is Anita's snatch.

[relmneiko.livejournal.com]

I've gotta say, this is one situation where I don't feel like a crazy fantwit for saying, "I know canon better than the author does."

Scary, isn't it?

[slayra.livejournal.com]

It's all part of the 'incredible sex package - gain the ardeur and be forever tight, no matter how many men you have.' I was like, guh, no more 'tight and wet', pleeeeease! :p

I've thought of that as well. I mean, it's a contradiction, right? Anita Blake was a woman who didn't do casual sex... meaning she had to feel something for the men she has sex with. Does this mean her love is cheap? That she has feelings for men too easily? Or... that, in reality, by now she has no feelings of that kind for any of the men she sleeps with? That she only feels happy with them when they make her happy? Because a human being can love one, maybe two people at the same time, but... uh seven (or was that eight or nine or ten)? That's why there's probably no 'feelings' or 'emotions' involved anymore. Anita only feels lust towards most of the men and now she acts upon it... all sugar-coated with 'the ardeur'.

That's what I think. That's also why I don't like all the sex. LKH describes the mechanical motions of sex but the beauty of 'making love' that so many authors try to portray? Not there.

[quizzicalsphinx.livejournal.com]

Hm. I'm going back responding to former threads in the community and it seems I always respond to your comments. Forgive me if I'm filling up your in-box; I am not a stalker (even though your icon has terrific knockers . . .)

This is me from a writerly POV. I just last night finished up a scene where two characters who have been in a state of smitten since they first shared a chapter finally managed to sneak off long enough to "consummate their love" as we Victorians say. This to me was a good scene and a difficult one, because while I wanted the romance and the passion and the fireworks, I also wanted to stress what a difficult and nerve-wracking situation it was for the pair of them (lady of the hour is a tomboyish, rather sheltered virgin; gentleman could lose his job/manhood if her father ever found out, and so on). The emotions of the scene were meant to be the focal point, as opposed to the crude mechanics. I realised that while no one was going to be overly stunned by the idea that these two big horny kids finally scooted off for some alone-time, the reprecussions in their relationship were going to touch every scene for the rest of the story from that time on.

Anita-sex is not fun because LKH--in my mind at least--cheats. Yeah, we get the money shot, we get the moaning and groaning and spectacular orgasms, but there's no connection between characters either before, during, or after the scene, save for a perfunctory proclamation of devotion on the part of whatever flunky got his rocks off this time around. I realise I'm preaching to the choir, but sex in the Anitaverse adds nothing to the character development: they walk away from the scene completely unchanged.