I agree that the reason there is very little profanity in LnC fanfic is because the show just didn't have that tone, and generally, we're copying their lead.
However, I don't necessarily agree with the 'swearing is such a bad thing' view point. I can think of far, far worse things to say than a word that someone, sometime, probably arbitrarily, decided was a BAD word.
You're ugly.
You're worthless.
You can't get anything right.
You'll never succeed at anything.
I hate you.
I wish you were dead.
OK - they're not words, they're sentences, but a *^$#@ let out in frustration or pain or even just said for emphasis, particularly when there are no kids around, is IMO a lot less offensive than some cruel things said using non-swear words.
People who swear are easy targets. However, there are other people who are aghast at swearing, but quite happy to indulge in gossip. Or unfair character destruction. Or verbal bullying. Or judging others - particularly those who might use an occasional (or not-so-occasional) swear word.
I knew a little boy who moved from one English speaking country to another. A few days after starting his new school, he was chatting in a group of kids when suddenly a girl jumped up, pointed at him, and shouted "You swore!" Then she ran off, very self-importantly, to inform the teacher that a terrible crime had occurred.
The boy was dragged before the teacher, and after a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, (because the teacher couldn't actually bring herself to say the shameful words) he grasped that his crime had been to utter 'Shut up'.
Now, where the little boy had come from 'Shut up' was used mostly with affection, along the same lines as 'Get out of here' or 'You're kidding'. He was stunned to learn that words that were quite acceptable in some places inexplicably turned into swear words in other places. Even worse, the teacher (and the tattle tale) very effectively got across that because he used BAD words, he was obviously a BAD person.
I don't particularly like listening to/reading a lot of profanity in movies or books. But it's the writer's choice to put them there, and my choice to close the book or walk out of the movie if I want to.
The fact is that people swear. Some 'bad' people swear. And surprisingly, some 'good' people swear, too. In the scheme of things, I don't think it's the big deal it's often made out to be.
Corrina.
