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I'm not offended, but I do think this question is so subjective as to become irrelevant. I don't think my opinions should carry such weight, on one hand, but on the other, I would not give anything such an extravagant rating. It's not telling anyone why I liked it. I can only speak to things that please me. I like plot. I like complexity and authors that are in love with language. I like authors that respect and stay as close to canon concepts as possible, and who do not write a character so out of character as to be unrecognizable. I like dialogue that's realistic and fluid. I like authors that bother to research things they write about. I like authors that grasp that "adult" does not mean pornographic or filled with gratuitous violence. I like authors that don't feel the need to spoon feed me every detail, who encourage me to use my own vivid imagination and who paint word pictures capable of allowing me to do just that. Obviously, if someone is only looking for something light, or just some PWP, my rating isn't going to help them very much.

The only stories I've ever seen hit the 1,000 mark are those where it's rated up by buddies, and not rated on merit.

In all honesty, as much as I've been in and around the Archives, I've not seen anything reach the 1,000 mark. I wasn't offended, just pointing out a serious weakness with the rating system. I read along the same lines as BW. Oddly, we share very similar tastes in tales.

I'm in agreement. You're specifically speaking about phobias, and I think that "irrational fear" is at the heart of the matter. Fear may be necessary for the survival of any species, but I'm thinkin' humans are the only species with the "irrational" type, since rationality is peculiar to our evolved brains. So, following this response to Remetan's post: Keith Inc. says I don't agree with the logic, here. First, using the word "phobia" as if it means the same as "fear" is minimizing its true nature. If this were really a case of irrationality, proudly stating that you want to keep your phobia is, in itself, irrational (at least as far the rational thinker goes). Perhaps you do have homophobia, in which case, read on. Additionally, implying that overcoming one's fears means they must engage in the object of the fear is ludicrous, as long as the fear is correctly labelled. Take, for example, the fear of flying or heights. It is really a fear of falling and injury/dying but when we label the activity which might lead to that undesirable outcome as a fear, we believe it is the activity, itself, that we fear. One does not overcome the fear of falling or dying by engaging in unsafe falling or actually dying. We know that we will fall from the air or a great height unless there is some mitigating factor, like aerodynamics of a plane or parachutes or even railings on a steep ledge plus our own impulse control to not jump. People constantly engage in activities that could lead to the feared result, but a rational being incorporates safety precautions to alleviate the natural fear. Stating it as just a fear of falling/dying is not really an accurate phrase for the people with phobias because the majority of humanity has it as a survival instinct but can still board a plane or look out over the Grand Canyon. When it is a phobia, it becomes irrational because the person can't accept any safety measure, and therefore cannot engage in any activity that might lead to the dreaded outcome. When they are educated and exposed to the activity that is labelled as fear inducing, then one can actually overcome the phobia of the activity, while still retaining the instinctual fear of the outcome, were it to happen. I hope this is clear because I'm attempting to apply this to homophobia. What is at the heart of homophobia? Irrational fear of what? I think the correct labelling must be defined as it's not about what others are doing, but how it affects oneself. Fear is personal, even a parental fear for your child is fear of species extinction at its core. So, it must be fear of an action upon yourself that would lead to undesirable outcome. First, we'll drop the "irrational" and just deal with the fear. Is it having a cock shoved up your ass? That's not a fear if you want it to happen. Perhaps it's nonconsensual anal sex? That would be rape, and I would say that is an instinctual fear held by all humans. (Mmm. aside from rape kinks) I wouldn't go into the history of why rape, in general, is feared except that reproduction (for vaginal rape) and control (for anal rape) is most likely the basic reason for both men and women, but that's just my opinion. Pain, injury, and ultimately, death from complications, are probable outcomes from any type of rape. Definitely, justified fear there. Now, how does a natural fear of anal rape become irrational? That comes when you feel certain activities would lead to your rape, even though the majority of humans can engage in them without getting raped. Things like: watching gay sex in a movie and feeling like you endorse it by doing so, being in the vicinity of gay men, whether as a friend or someone at a public event, and especially, accepting that it willingly occurs for others. None of these things will lead to your anal rape, hence, irrational. So, aside from rape, what about consensual anal sex? If it is truly consensual, where does the fear stem from for those who wouldn't engage, (because they have a choice)? Yeah, the thought of it makes one squirm because there still may be pain, and other undesirable outcomes like STD's and -- just what about the poop, man? Now we enter the territory of safety precautions. What are those precautions? Ah, well, you'd have to be educated in the subject matter to know, wouldn't you? How can anyone enjoy that? Again, exposure through art or film might educate you. If you have the knowledge, you can overcome the irrational feeling that somehow it can hurt you. Doesn't mean you should engage in the activity to desensitize yourself, even though, you might be astounded in your response were you to try that avenue. Ahhh, there is another fear. Fear of "becoming gay" if exposed to it. Pretty much irrational from the get go. No natural fear there, unless it's the fear of species extinction again. If you're curious but afraid, education can help, and yes, maybe you might engage when the fear is overcome, but it's still a choice. If you're adamant that you choose not to want gay sex, or not want to want it, then it is irrational to believe that exposure could change that. What you need to overcome is that belief, that somehow, no matter how you feel on the subject, you'll go against your better judgement and do it anyway. Talk about lack of self control. That has nothing to do with this particular phobia and you should check yourself for all other phobias related to impulse control. I'm saying that learning is not wanting or doing, but understanding and accepting. Whatever the reason for the fear of gay (anal) sex, it's pretty irrational to think you would be subjected to it under any circumstances other than consensual (which isn't an option for those people) or rape, which is out of everyone's control. All other fears relating to anal sex can be dealt with by getting educated, which is not within the purview of this post.

May I cheer? In my fantasy based fanfics, my characters wear (or eschew) smallclothes. I seriously doubt elves would be partial to boxers. They'd be awfully bulky under those tight little breeches, after all. Now, in a roleplay I'm doing with a friend, where my elves have taken up residence in Tokyo, they have discovered boxers, fundoshi under their formal kimono and hakama, and in one memorable instance (but we love him anyway) pantsu. In my case, I've never liked the basic brief-style underwear for men. I keep thinking of the way they're referred to as tighty-whiteys, and there goes the mood for me. Boxer briefs are better, though, especially those short-legged little ones that Calvin Klein had all over billboards everywhere.