The Yaoi Factor
Before I get into this next bit, I want to thank everyone for all the wonderful support and comments of "Circumstance". I enjoy writing it and am so very glad that a lot of you enjoy reading it!
I've received a few comments from reviewers who have asked me to "please, make it slash!"
How do you folks feel about slash in the Harry Potter universe? For me, it has to be very specific-- I can't just say "yes" to all.
Let me back up a bit-- How did you find out about slash/yaoi/shounen-ai? I'm willing to bet that most everyone stumbled upon it accidentally.
At least that's how I did. We only first got an internet hookup when I was a freshman in high school. I didn't know anything about the internet or fanfiction-- that it even existed-- let alone about slash fiction.
My introduction to both fanfic and yaoi was through my love of the anime series "Ronin Warriors" or by it's Japanese title "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers" (Come on, you know it's a classic!). While searching for this most excellent thing called "fanfic" I happened upon the infamous Mink's Ronin Yaoi Cake Archive which, sadly is no longer updated, but in it's heyday was the source for RW yaoi-fic.
So being the curious kid that I was, I decided to enter the site and learn what this thing called yaoi was... couldn't have been more shocked. I'd never have thought of that on my own! The truly hilarious thing was that my uncertainty about the internet made me fear that somehow someone (my parents) would find out this site that I'd been on. Of course, they knew even less about the web than I did. Nonetheless, I swore it off vowing never to go to the page again... (haha!)
But curiosity won over-- I kept thinking about it and I scoured the web looking for the origins of this yaoi-thing-- and much to my surprise I discovered slash, the whole kirk/spock thing had been around for decades! (I didn't know what a zine was either *sheesh*)
Through my thousands of hours of reading online, I found that I liked slash because it was wonderfully devoid of the dreaded Mary Sue and usually had plenty of angst moments which propelled our two heroes together. And I'd bet you that a lot of the better written HP stories are by slash authors (plot, sentence structure, characterization, spelling!).
Through Sentinel fic I read about "smarm" which was pretty much slash without the romantic love and I really liked the idea of that almost as much as shounen-ai. This is where mentor fic sort of slides in on the scale. I'd say it's right before smarm but after Gen.
So back to Harry Potter-- the idea of HP slash bothers me a little bit, especially when it comes to SS/HP... you have to be really careful with that one because I hate the idea of turning my beloved potions master into a pedophile. I've read some truly excellent stories where the author has gotten HP/SS to work in a very sweet, non-creepy, romantic (meaning a sentimental or idealized) way... and a lot of not so successful ones.
The most successful ones for me are the post-Hogwarts stories where they meet again and gradually hook up. As far as slashing students, like HP/DM-- like I said it depends. I think that they're too young (especially in the continuity of the first six books!).
I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't toyed with the idea-- I'd be lying if I said that I'm not still thinking about a HP/SS story. Hell, I alluded to a LM/SS encounter right in Circumstance. Those two are perfect candidates to be slashed, especially the way the Lucius seems to "think so highly of" Snape, who as been called his "lap dog". Even that Snape wanted to protect Draco in book six (even though in canon it seemed to be more for Narscissa if not for his own personal glory, which I don't believe but i digress, than for Lucius). Hmm, perhaps I'm reading into things a bit, but that's how fanfiction is born!
Any thoughts on this? I tend to have an open mind and I implore you to have one while reading this post. Slash/yaoi can be a volatile subject as most people are either strongly for or strongly against it.
I welcome any thoughts or comments.
I've received a few comments from reviewers who have asked me to "please, make it slash!"
How do you folks feel about slash in the Harry Potter universe? For me, it has to be very specific-- I can't just say "yes" to all.
Let me back up a bit-- How did you find out about slash/yaoi/shounen-ai? I'm willing to bet that most everyone stumbled upon it accidentally.
At least that's how I did. We only first got an internet hookup when I was a freshman in high school. I didn't know anything about the internet or fanfiction-- that it even existed-- let alone about slash fiction.
My introduction to both fanfic and yaoi was through my love of the anime series "Ronin Warriors" or by it's Japanese title "Yoroiden Samurai Troopers" (Come on, you know it's a classic!). While searching for this most excellent thing called "fanfic" I happened upon the infamous Mink's Ronin Yaoi Cake Archive which, sadly is no longer updated, but in it's heyday was the source for RW yaoi-fic.
So being the curious kid that I was, I decided to enter the site and learn what this thing called yaoi was... couldn't have been more shocked. I'd never have thought of that on my own! The truly hilarious thing was that my uncertainty about the internet made me fear that somehow someone (my parents) would find out this site that I'd been on. Of course, they knew even less about the web than I did. Nonetheless, I swore it off vowing never to go to the page again... (haha!)
But curiosity won over-- I kept thinking about it and I scoured the web looking for the origins of this yaoi-thing-- and much to my surprise I discovered slash, the whole kirk/spock thing had been around for decades! (I didn't know what a zine was either *sheesh*)
Through my thousands of hours of reading online, I found that I liked slash because it was wonderfully devoid of the dreaded Mary Sue and usually had plenty of angst moments which propelled our two heroes together. And I'd bet you that a lot of the better written HP stories are by slash authors (plot, sentence structure, characterization, spelling!).
Through Sentinel fic I read about "smarm" which was pretty much slash without the romantic love and I really liked the idea of that almost as much as shounen-ai. This is where mentor fic sort of slides in on the scale. I'd say it's right before smarm but after Gen.
So back to Harry Potter-- the idea of HP slash bothers me a little bit, especially when it comes to SS/HP... you have to be really careful with that one because I hate the idea of turning my beloved potions master into a pedophile. I've read some truly excellent stories where the author has gotten HP/SS to work in a very sweet, non-creepy, romantic (meaning a sentimental or idealized) way... and a lot of not so successful ones.
The most successful ones for me are the post-Hogwarts stories where they meet again and gradually hook up. As far as slashing students, like HP/DM-- like I said it depends. I think that they're too young (especially in the continuity of the first six books!).
I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't toyed with the idea-- I'd be lying if I said that I'm not still thinking about a HP/SS story. Hell, I alluded to a LM/SS encounter right in Circumstance. Those two are perfect candidates to be slashed, especially the way the Lucius seems to "think so highly of" Snape, who as been called his "lap dog". Even that Snape wanted to protect Draco in book six (even though in canon it seemed to be more for Narscissa if not for his own personal glory, which I don't believe but i digress, than for Lucius). Hmm, perhaps I'm reading into things a bit, but that's how fanfiction is born!
Any thoughts on this? I tend to have an open mind and I implore you to have one while reading this post. Slash/yaoi can be a volatile subject as most people are either strongly for or strongly against it.
I welcome any thoughts or comments.