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On canon.
I'm a purist by nature, I think. I like my food separated and not mixed all up together. I drink a lot of water. This translates into fandom, causing me to enjoy any fics that don't work within the universe a lot less. That doesn't necessarily mean that I don't see why people would want to write something that there is no support for, like Haldir/Frodo or something completely crazy like Clark/Lana (I mean really, EVERYONE on that show has more sexual tension than those two. Any other pairing. Seriously.) It just means that I personally won't ascribe to it.
And yet I'm a slasher. How does that work, you may ask me? After all, slash is VERY rarely canon, unless we're considering Queer as Folk. And here's a deep dark secret of mine - I once wrote *gasp* HET! When I was back in year 8 and the only English-language television I got was a tape of (generally pretty bad) Australian drama was sent to me was when I first discovered the world of fanfiction, and I wrote what was in the show. Once I even wrote - you'll never believe it - OFC het (original character, for those not in the know). I created a female character. Though she was a small role in the fic and she was literally nothing like me or what I wish I could be, she was still there. I generally worked with the couples already either hinted at or pre-existing in the show.
I think the very first inkling I had of slashy thoughts was actually when I read Lord of the Rings in high school. I didn't really know what it was I was thinking of, having not come across slash before somehow, but I knew that there was something about Sam/Frodo that went beyond friendship in my mind. I distinctly remember being genuinely surprised by the insertion of Rosie into the end of the book, and instinctively disliked her.
The first slash I read was then RPS, not FPS. I swear it's true, though, that once you start seeing it you can't stop. Suddenly it was everywhere, and more and more characters and people were seeming slashy to me.
Because here's the thing: what slash REALLY feels like, to me anyway, is that first sexual tension, those first inklings that two characters are attracted to one another. It's almost like the story should just naturally progress, once the TV show or book or movie is over, into becoming a couple. There's a LOT of slash that makes a whole lot more sense in canon than the het pairings that the show sets up (see Clark/Lana vs. Clark/Lex in Smallville.) At other times it seems like it's just happening off in the background, like a het relationship only not specifically stated (reading Harry Potter, for instance, leads me to read Sirius/Remus in book 5 as essentially the same type of relationship as Mr and Mrs Weasley.)
I know a lot of people out there don't like slash, and it's not that I don't like het. I read it sometimes, but it doesn't appeal to me as much. I like the idea of Sayid/Shannon, and my favourite couples on Buffy are a complete mix: Xander/Anya, Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara, Spike/Angel. I don't read Buffy fanfiction, but if I did I would probably read a lot more het than in, say, Lord of the Rings, where het is almost non-existant and most of what exists, even if it is canon, seems a lot less likely than slash (Dom/Orlando is a hell of a lot more likely than Dom/Liv based strictly on the evidence we've got.)
My argument in a nutshell:Help! I'm in a nutshell! Must be a bloody big nutshell... Sorry. Slash is NOT always against canon, even if it's not expressly stated in canon.
ETA: And "addicting" is NOT A WORD! It's "addictive."
Did that make sense or am I talking out my ass?
Green Queen
I'm a purist by nature, I think. I like my food separated and not mixed all up together. I drink a lot of water. This translates into fandom, causing me to enjoy any fics that don't work within the universe a lot less. That doesn't necessarily mean that I don't see why people would want to write something that there is no support for, like Haldir/Frodo or something completely crazy like Clark/Lana (I mean really, EVERYONE on that show has more sexual tension than those two. Any other pairing. Seriously.) It just means that I personally won't ascribe to it.
And yet I'm a slasher. How does that work, you may ask me? After all, slash is VERY rarely canon, unless we're considering Queer as Folk. And here's a deep dark secret of mine - I once wrote *gasp* HET! When I was back in year 8 and the only English-language television I got was a tape of (generally pretty bad) Australian drama was sent to me was when I first discovered the world of fanfiction, and I wrote what was in the show. Once I even wrote - you'll never believe it - OFC het (original character, for those not in the know). I created a female character. Though she was a small role in the fic and she was literally nothing like me or what I wish I could be, she was still there. I generally worked with the couples already either hinted at or pre-existing in the show.
I think the very first inkling I had of slashy thoughts was actually when I read Lord of the Rings in high school. I didn't really know what it was I was thinking of, having not come across slash before somehow, but I knew that there was something about Sam/Frodo that went beyond friendship in my mind. I distinctly remember being genuinely surprised by the insertion of Rosie into the end of the book, and instinctively disliked her.
The first slash I read was then RPS, not FPS. I swear it's true, though, that once you start seeing it you can't stop. Suddenly it was everywhere, and more and more characters and people were seeming slashy to me.
Because here's the thing: what slash REALLY feels like, to me anyway, is that first sexual tension, those first inklings that two characters are attracted to one another. It's almost like the story should just naturally progress, once the TV show or book or movie is over, into becoming a couple. There's a LOT of slash that makes a whole lot more sense in canon than the het pairings that the show sets up (see Clark/Lana vs. Clark/Lex in Smallville.) At other times it seems like it's just happening off in the background, like a het relationship only not specifically stated (reading Harry Potter, for instance, leads me to read Sirius/Remus in book 5 as essentially the same type of relationship as Mr and Mrs Weasley.)
I know a lot of people out there don't like slash, and it's not that I don't like het. I read it sometimes, but it doesn't appeal to me as much. I like the idea of Sayid/Shannon, and my favourite couples on Buffy are a complete mix: Xander/Anya, Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara, Spike/Angel. I don't read Buffy fanfiction, but if I did I would probably read a lot more het than in, say, Lord of the Rings, where het is almost non-existant and most of what exists, even if it is canon, seems a lot less likely than slash (Dom/Orlando is a hell of a lot more likely than Dom/Liv based strictly on the evidence we've got.)
My argument in a nutshell:
ETA: And "addicting" is NOT A WORD! It's "addictive."
Did that make sense or am I talking out my ass?
Green Queen
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That was a bit mean.
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(And yes, Clark/Lana is so not plausible... :D)
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LOL I'm glad that seems to be the dominant opinion. Following my 'Lex has sexual chemistry with inatimate objects' comment, it seems as though Lana is in fact not inatimate but a black hole, sucking up sexual tension.
Unless it's with Chloe.
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p.s. a word becomes "real" once it's widely used (vernacular); see "bling", and Urban Dictionary (http://www.urbandictionary.com/).
;-) *mwah*
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I'm a total grammar troll, and the word 'addicting' just pisses me off since there was a perfectly good word in place for it earlier. Bling actually means something that there wasn't really a word for earlier, so it's a different thing.
Glad my rant made sense though, thanks!
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Maybe not a single word, but ...
;-)
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When I was really into the Buffy fandom, the best fic I ever read was one that heavily slashed Spike and Angel, and was so well written that it blurred the canon lines for me. From that point on, I saw lots of sexual tension between them in the shows, and had to remind myself that, according to Joss, when Spike was with Drusilla and a relatively new vampire, Angel did not have his way with him.
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I think another problem is that I read in fandoms that are fairly male-dominated - ie. Lord of the Rings - or have mostly very poorly constructed female characters, ie. The OC (Marissa) or Smallville (Lana). I think Smallville is the gayest show on TV.
I haven't been able to slash Lost, which is interesting. Then again the only pairings I've been remotely interested in are Charlie/Claire and Sayid/Shannon. (I do like to entertain the thought of Sayid and Sawyer, but I think it's the signal fire line that does it to me.)
I think if I had my way, people who had good chemistry with other people of the same sex would at least be bi. I don't want everybody to be gay, but then the canon worlds of these fandoms have everybody straight, and that's silly to my mind as well. I mean, there are 14 lead characters on Lost. 13 are adults. By odds at least one should be gay. Not to mention Harry Potter, where there are definitely enough characters to have a couple gay ones (and I do, of course, have my ideas on who that should be.) Thank Joss for Tara and Willow, eh?
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I do see your point in that in a world so fully realized as HP, that there would be gay characters. But, keep in mind, the books are technically written for children (even if I think that's a bunch of crap and a crap excuse used far too much). But for the sake of argument, they are "children's books" and just imagine how the crazy religious zealots would react if there were actual gay characters in a children's book - OMG the world would end! Forget about teaching tolerance from childhood; no it's better to raise a bunch of closed-minded bigots. Whoa. Sorry. Rant went a whole different way. But you get my point. Plus, I do think that Lupin's lycanthropy is a way to teach the children reading the books about tolerance, whether his being a werewolf is a metaphor for homosexuality or racism or whatever other ism fits.
As for Lost, the jury's still out on whether any of the characters are gay. My guess would have been Boone before he banged his sister, so maybe Hurley? We know it's not Sawyer or Jack or Charlie or Sayid or Michael or Locke - hey, maybe Walt! My money's on Walt. Though, it'd be cool if it were Hurley too.
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As for Harry Potter, I've had to reality check myself quite a few times while slashing people in my head (as I've said, you start seeing it everywhere) but Remus and Sirius...I've read the fifth book a lot and while I can't find any evidence that they are together I think one of the things that gets me is that I can't find any evidence that they aren't either.
But you know what the worst and to me weirdest Harry Potter ship debate is? Ron/Hermione vs. Harry/Hermione. I think some of those people are not reading the same books as me.
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It's exasperating sometimes, being a part of this fandom. There's a lot I have to ignore to get to what I like.
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And yes, it's *in the books*. Fifth book, Hermione: "Honestly, sometimes you're as bad as Ron...well, not quite as bad as Ron." That's essentially JKR hitting us over the head with it.
I'm glad I stay out of the HP fandom to be honest. It frustrates me too much. I'd rather just read about pretty hobbits, thanks ;)
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In reading fanfic, I tend to abandon a story - or not read it at all - if it's a Harry/Hermione one. The whole ship just doesn't seem natural to me. It's like a brother/sister relationship.
I tend to stay away from almost all of the LOTR fanfic. I've read some actor-fic (my friend Kim wrote a fantastic one, and started an even more fantastic one that she's pretty much abandoned midway through it) and I find it impossible to read slash starring them because I don't think they're gay, or bi, so it just seems pointless to read it. I'm not much of a slasher though. Except for that one Spike/Angel fic. And even that wasn't all Spike/Angel. It was the story of Spike, really.
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Well if you're not a slasher then it's not going to be your thing, so fair enough. Um, there's some good OC het out there actually. As long as it doesn't involve Marissa *shudder*. And I remember when I used to read X-Files het and it was good.
Oh, and Sliders! Sliders has excellent...well, not even pairing fic, just all gen and it's very good. THere's a whole site somewhere...slfic or something.
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Good Lost het then. Surely?
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I don't really know that I'll ever get into Lost fic.
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Thank you :)
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