Angels vs demons but not, actually

[Mouse]

I've seen a couple of agents say they're interested in seeing stories featuring demons but not 'angels vs demons'. Now, the protag of L&C is the daughter of an angel. There are lots of demons in the story. At the end, there are indeed angels fighting demons but that's not actually what the story's about (there are no angel POVs and the angels battling with the demons is going on in the background), and the angels feature very, very minutely. So, does that still rule me out from any agent saying 'no angels vs demons' story?

Sort of related - I've also read an agent saying no stories where the/a villain is a rapist. I have an incubus villain. That's kinda what incubus's do. So that rules me out from that one too? (there is absolutely zero explicit rape in the story).

 

[The Judge]

I'd think you'd be OK on the angel issue, but if you want to be wholly in the clear on that front, could you make her angel parent another kind of being, and have those beings fight the demons in the final battle?

As to the incubus, are there any references to its raping people, even if there's no rape on the page? If its rapist history is alluded to, or it rapes off-screen, then that for me would cross the line, because it is then explicitly a rapist even if we don't see it happening. If its past is only implied because it's called an incubus, and that's what incubuses (incubi?) do, then I think you're in the clear.

That help?

 

[Mouse]

I'd think you'd be OK on the angel issue, but if you want to be wholly in the clear on that front, could you make her angel parent another kind of being, and have those beings fight the demons in the final battle?

No, because she's an immortal (which is the child of an angel).

As to the incubus, are there any references to its raping people, even if there's no rape on the page?

Yes. Poo.

That help?

It does, ta.

 

[The Judge]

Couldn't you create another class of being which gives immortality to its offspring but which isn't an angel? ie give the angels another name and tweak their appearance and behaviour a bit.

 

[Mouse]

Nah, tis an actual thing. (Like, not actual cos angels aren't real, but you know, actual mythology or whatever it is).

I just won't sub to that agent!

 

[Phyrebrat]

If Incubi or Succubi were good enough for Thomas Hardy, then they're good enough for you my dear div. I think a supernatual being whose raison d'etre is sexual exploration I'm sure they'd give you a pass.

Besides, isn't rape characterised as a hate crime rather than a sexual one; succubi and incubi are enamoured by the physical experience of sex. A demonic possession might include 'traditional' rape in terms of creating fear and from a place of hate, but not your spirits.

All this of course without having read it.

pH

 

[Mouse]

Cheers, ears. Think I'll just give that agent a miss as she'll likely find the vast majority of the MS offensive, I think.

 

[Ihe]

I always thought incubi or succubi gave very pleasurable experiences to their victims, which is why they could keep sucking their life energy, as the person willingly gave it in order to keep going. It's rape if there isn't consent, but what about the victims actively asking for it because of the demons' magical attraction/mental manipulation? I might be mixing up mythologies though.

 

[Joshua Jones]

This story does sound rather familiar... like I read it somewhere or something...

If it is the story I beta read, I honestly don't think the angels vs. demons aspect would be the catch point. I suspect that, being demons and angels are part of a cast of supernatural creatures, you may get dinged because demons are not significant enough in the conflict of the story. Granted, the incubus is important, but the central conflict of the story revolves around another group of beings you created, so I am not sure if the demon presence will be enough.

Also, I think you are probably going to get dinged on the rape aspect, probably because of a scene near the end rather than the backstory part. I don't want to give any spoilers, so feel free to PM me if you aren't sure what I am talking about. But, it is a part where the incubus is on the scene that I have in mind.

 

[Mouse]

Thanks!

I think at this stage I'm just ruling out potential agents rather than worrying about the story too much. I've not even finished my edit yet (though I have already queried my agent-of-choice but her response times are 90 days).