So recently I started working overnights. Being Sunday, part of my job was to piece together and put out the Sunday papers, including the Sunday New York Times. Well, one of the very first things that I noticed was that the Arts and Entertainment section was dominated by a collage of Harry Potter centric pictures. So, being the fan that I am, I of course had to pause to read the article. It was fairly interesting, focusing mainly on the immense success of the films and movies, and how fans have developed some level of ownership of the franchise through fansites and fanfic.
Now, I must admit, embarrassing as it is, that I have been reading and writing fanfic since I was sixteen. That’s nine years. I realize that since I am no longer sixteen, nor do I live in my mother’s basement, I no longer should have this habit. I firmly maintain, however, that it has only strengthened my writing habits. Any fic site worth its salt requires that submissions be edited. And after getting my first fic rejected a dozen times, I learned how to edit my own crap fairly well. It also has helped me deal with rejection (see above), and get a feel for my own style (even though I was mimicking someone else’s). And the interaction with both readers and other writers has proven to be an invaluable resource. So, while I should be ashamed (and am, to a point), I’m not stopping.
Anywho, I digress.
So I’m reading this article, and having been involved in the world of Potter fic for a number of years, about died of laughter when I read the line “surprisingly, er, friendly Harry and Draco liaisons.” I knew, right off, the type of fic he was referring to.
Now, for those of you who don’t know, fan fiction is mainly used to explore things not explored in the books. So if you’ve always wondered what Dumbledore was like as a teen, you’d either hunt down a fic that meets those needs, or write one yourself. Same goes if you, say, believe that Harry and Draco have been at each other’s throats because of suppressed sexual tension.
Dargis also mentions a fic titled “Strawberry Yields,” another slash (fic that features a same sex relationship) lemon (fic where the main focus is of a sexual nature). Of course, being me, I went to hunt this fic down. I was expecting something on some big fic site, with a few thousand (or at least a few hundred) reviews. What I found was a fic on a site I’d never heard of with no reviews. I was the first person to comment, and it’s been up for over a year.
So I have to wonder, how is it that this writer for the Times found at least two slashy, lemony stories? Lemons are not terribly popular in Potter fic. Sure, they’re out there, and probably much more abundant than the average person on the street would think. But compared to, say, Twilight (a vast majority of Twific I’ve come across is citrusy in nature), it’s a small percentage. Most Potter fic, in my experience, are missing moments, stories that follow cannon (the Potter universe as laid out by the books and information JKR has released), but seek to tell what happened that we missed. Kind of funny, if you think of it.
Oh, just for the record, I’ve no problem with either slash or lemons. In fact, one of my favorite pieces of Twific is a slashy lemon.
I found the article interesting, though, as an overly obsessed Potterhead myself. I think that it’s important that fans hold some level of ownership of the things that they love. I’m not saying that I’m going to start printing Potter shirts and selling them on the street, but fansites and fic are a great way to keep fans interested in the books and movies, even in the lull between releases, and it doesn’t cost the people who really own the story a dime. Honestly, you’d think they’d be all for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment