In which I ask a million questions
Ok, people. Talk to me. I want to hear why the OTP thing matters. I know that there are tons of people who won't read a fic if it's not with their OTP. Why is that important? Do all other pairings seem OOC? I'm really curious about this. I like all different kinds of stories, although there are some stories I don't read because of characters,
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My favorite pairing is Merlin/Arthur, and I'd be more likely to read a lower-quality M/A story than I would another pairing, but for me, I just like good writing. On the surface, Merlin/Uther seems really eww, but there is some really, really good (and hot) Uther/Merlin out there. I even read a story about Gwen during her exile that I really enjoy, even though I'm usually wishing she'd fall into a vat of starving rabid weasels.
The only negative experiences I've had are with Arwenites, but I don't really associate with them because they tend to be much younger.
You would expect that, because A/G was written like a Disney cartoon, and anyone who's actually experienced love know that it's not like that at all and if it were, I'd go screaming for the exit.
The other problem for me is canon stories. I really prefer canon, but it's hard to get around the Arthur married to Gwen thing. You can just do it like the show did, and leave her in the castle while Arthur's out on adventures with his boyfriend. Because Arthur is such an honor-driven man, I don't think he would cheat on her, and it would have to be Gwen that leaves him, and that's something that won't happen overnight.
Anyway, my point is that any pairing can be good if it's written well. Except F/F, because, eew. No offense, but girls are icky. ;) And I skip over any M/F sex.
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Wow, good for you (on reading Gwen). Who wrote that?
I really don't know anyone who ships Gwen/Arthur strongly. I don't think.
Well, you can always do pre-4.13 and get around the Gwen issue that way!
Indeed. I feel that way too. LOL. So, you are a gay man? I don't like to think of myself as icky and I rather enjoy men, so it kind of all works for me.
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I should have bookmarked the story - it's about Gwen's adventures in exile, and was really well-written and moving.
I don't know any Arwenites either, but I've been to their territory and it's not friendly. I know not all of them are homophbic, but too many are. You know that when someone begins a sentence with "I'm not homophobic, but...", whatever follows is going to be homophobic. Also, their capacity for denial exceeds Arthur's.
For a long PL story, getting rid of Gwen pre-4.13 seems to me to be too easy. And they're being married does give the opportunity for tons and tons of unrequited love and angst, and this way, I get to slowly CRUSH HER SOUL!
Poor Gwen was written sooooo badly on the show, and so irritating (like how she started talking like a pompous ass with no contractions once she was queen) that's it's hard to like her or give her a good part.
I think that in the real world, class difference is harder on a marriage than even religious or political difference. I think it would be nearly impossible for a maid to bear the burdens of being queen, which will be much greater for her because the nobility won't accept her. And historically, the people are usually pretty concerned with legitimacy.
Also, she's barren, so that just makes it worse.
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I feel like there are a lot of women with really fucked up sexual experiences. I am not sure if I'm going to be able to articulate this very well, but I have heard women say they can't relate to women's sexual experiences that they read in fanfic and it makes them uncomfortable. I also think that as a society we have this general discomfort with women's bodies; women are taught that their bodies are shameful. It's much easier to relate to men's sexual pleasure, alien as it might be.
I have nothing to back this up. It's just my opinion. Er, that got rather long.
Oh man. Nothing like encountering close-mindedness where you didn't expect it.
LOL. You have an evil streak, don't you?;)
Poor Gwen really got shafted. I agree completely.
Class differences are hard to bridge. Cultures are so very different across the classes.
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