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Some stories were lighthearted, others serious, some a disquieting combination of the two, whimsy existing even amidst the dark and disturbing. As a slash reader I prefer a serious tone, but I also like to read this stuff, and I admit the lightness makes it easier to digest, because then you aren't quite so intellectually involved. I also suspect the writers want to be "nice" for each other, and this means balancing out whatever squickiness there is with something cute (more on that later.) The most representational of the fics was the "Whisper Wind Key" by Topaz. It had all the required elements: an abused young whore, a threatening but ultimately vulnerable older client, and a vague Medieval setting. Adrian the dark knight returns from battle and receives, to his surprise, a key to the flesh-and-blood Key who will be his reward. His POV alternates with that of the the whore's, who has a supernatural gift for quick healing, a curse when one is whore in a brothel that caters to clients with BDSM leanings. As with most of these stories the idea is to have the two disparate characters heal their hurts and grow to love and trust each other (and have hot sex) despite the difference in their ages and stations. The same plot repeated itself in "The Midnight Key" and "The Taurus Key" so it obviously it has a lot of appeal. "The Cancer Key" by Yo-yo-san was more whimsical and anime-influenced: all the characters had brightly colored hair, for one thing. Andri, an overtired rock star experiencing severe ennui, is given a forced vacation to the Palace whorehouse where he will recover his lust for life by means of the Cancer Key, a oceanic- themed sex worker who jollies him with light banter and sexual teasing. He seems like a happy whore, yet it's clear he's bound to the Palace somehow -- is he under a contract? Is slavery legal, or is it a criminal operation? If so, how has it remained undetected in the modern world? These questions were rarely explored in any of the fics, and left me, in this case at least, feeling undernourished as a reader. The story also contained a lot of the cliches of yaoi fiction, such as the characters fussing over each other's hair, makeup, and clothing, as well as taking lushly described baths. Well, at least they weren't wearing boxers.
But some authors gave the subject matter their own
twists. In "The Zenith Key" (Casey) the Key is possessed
by four different spirits corresponding to the elements,
each having a different viewpoint on his servitude,
while in "The Crystal Key" (Harukami) a street whore
recieves a key for a visit to a finer grade of whore.
"The Moonstone Key" (Kitsunehi) was a rollicking
adventure in its own right, and not just a relationship
fic, while "The Midnight Key" (Kitana) presents a
piquant cruelty that approaches the finest BDSM fiction
I've read:
Even more controversial was "The Starlight Key" by Mickey, which dealt with extremely taboo material: father-son, child-man incest. Marcus, the only son of a wealthy businessman, has been castrated and rendered imbecilic by a kidnapping ordeal he went through at age twelve; now eighteen, he's a physical twelve and a mental age six in constant need of affection. His frustrated father gives him the best psychological help money can buy, but it's not enough, and since the boy has recovered enough to trust others again, the psychologist recommends a visit to a Key at the Palace who can facilitate his sexual recovery. (A common element in these fics.) The Key turns out to be a fey, nonthreatening yet promiscuous creature who initiates warm baths and massages and gentle, healing coitus that eventually includes the father as well. This was a very daring story, and I don't think the author knows how daring... most porn writers wouldn't write a story like this, for example. It's a different kind of pornography altogether, one that's rooted in some very deep, taboo things in the female psyche... a distorted reflection in many ways of some male porn writers' stories of horrific rape and abuse towards females, and one that may spring from the same source. That said, the story didn't quite gel for me, as the plot failed believability in several ways... the legality of the slave issue, for one, and all the excuses the author pulled to get father and son together. Which was a shame, as the writing here was especially vivid -- I wanted to see how things were resolved after the last chapter left me hanging. But when subject matter is this complicated and taboo, more nuance is needed, more realism and research, and I don't mean research that comes from a New Age self-help book. In sum, I found nearly all of these stories worthwhile reads, and if some failed their believability quotient, they were all entertaining. None of the authors really knocked me out, but none of them made me feel I was wasting my time, either. It's clear from the comments on the site that the participants get a lot of enjoyment out of it, and they are even able to laugh at themselves by posting parodies of their work. A companion site, The Castle of the Chains, deals with the same themes but with F/F relationships. If you want to play with some pretty boys, come visit the Palace.
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