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reenkaI'm like some semi-evil H/D-reading/reccing -machine-. It's scary. I'm scared -.-
I really like![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dorrie6's `Contingency' (here & here).
This brings me back to liking so many fics that I don't necessarily find wholly plausible , but that have such lovely characterizations of a particular character (Harry, in this case) and style (accessible and tangy-sweet without being sappy), that I can only love them. A large part of it is simply the lee-way I give to my OTP fics. I think that's why I only read Snape/Harry when it's smut-- the smut is what makes me give it leeway and makes me accept aspects I'd never forgive in a "gen" story, for instance. Horrid characterizations of Harry, 97% of them.
I think objectivity isn't a tool easily combined with one's emotional responses to things. `Contingency' felt emotionally succinct-- believable and engaging. One didn't -want- to question it. If you go with the flow, you appreciate all the positive things while you allow the negatives to simply pass you by. It's no wonder so many people do it-- it's simply more pleasant. If you maximize the positve, you're able to have much greater pleasure in things, which leads to a happier life. Theoretically. Sometimes a fic steps on my toes and I can't do it. This usually occurs when you have uber-icy/sexy/cool!Draco (with exceptions), abused!Draco (or Harry), or I've-just-been-pretending-and-I'm-really-brilliant!Draco. We all have our pet peeves. I just have a lot.
Also really liked `Duel Temptation' by Darcy, but that's just a completely inexcusable penis joke, the whole fic, basically, although I go for that sort of thing. Again, depends on what one considers `sad', I guess. Am I even reccing these? I don't know, I just want to note them down because I'm compulsive like that. A Draco with two penises makes me happy. Is that so wrong? No, of course not, only if it makes me not do my homework. But oh well.
Amalin wrote mad-funny-adorable!H/D fic, and I'd say I love her writing more than ever except I can't possibly love it more, so. This is entirely biased, but hey. <333333333
EDIT - Overall, I guess I'd want to recljash's `Perspective' - it's understated, well-paced, tightly written and affecting. While I have some issues with it, I think it does a beautiful job of retaining an even keel and never really going overboard with any of its plot or characterization choices. As usual, the Draco wasn't My Draco (or even what I'd consider really canonish!Draco), but it still -works-, which is all I can ask for, really~:)
Also really enjoying `The Gods Themselves', because it's surreal and semi-meta and it has Draco and Hermione in Arithmancy class, which is like, whoa~:) Loveloveloveloveit. :D
~~
And... Slytherlynx's fandom pet-peeves post made me realize that I'm actually both much more and much less peeved about fanficcy things than when I had started. Pairings squick me a lot less, for one thing. I sort of hate Draco/Snape, but not really with any passion. Any two characters can be written well as a concept, I think. Obviously, a lot of concepts suck and could never be believable with certain characters (that is to say, certain characterizations are just ridiculous in any context), but you -can- get anyone together believably and well if you really wanted to. I mean, you -could-, you really could. You could also write any single character well and have a brilliant story-- you could.
That's why it bothers me that people say H/D sucks as a pairing, mostly because I read so much of it and thus -know- that a lot of it is objectively well-written. I would be the first to say that there isn't any perfect H/D, but then, there's no perfect X pairing, either as far as I know. Anyone who wants to recommend a brilliant 100% perfect fic of some other pairing for review is free to do so here, and I'll read it.
I think in general, any pet-peeves happen because so many instances of misuse of a particular idea/concept/situation had occurred. Like... possibly just because it's ridiculously hard to pull off a certain idea, possibly because it just doesn't make sense with the canonical source and grates on one's mind. On the other hand, I've read enough OOC fic to know that great writing can make up for an awful lot. So yeah. It all comes back to a) people's stupidity in behavior; b) bad writing. I've heard thatirinaauthor's H/G is Really Good, and I fully believe it's possible, though I hate H/G. I don't want to read it, especially, but hey.
Same with hating Snape or Lucius or Ron or Harry or Draco-- they do all get mishandled, which is what I dislike much more than the character. People are all interesting in the right writer's hands, aren't they? What's a boring person, anyway? Just a person who has no capacity to do interesting things-- but in fiction, -any- character can be made to do interesting things because the writer controls the circumstances the character's in. So I say I hate Lucius, but that's because I'm utterly bored with the things most writers do to Lucius. That's why I totally understand Slytherlynx's point about liking her own versions of pairings/ideas she dislikes-- one simply wants to see what one thinks works for these situations, and other things just grate.
I realize that some ideas (pairings, plot-devices, etc) just annoy one because they embody some ideal one hates. Like, such-and-such pairing is "all about" such-and-such. Which is why I would have said I hate Draco/Snape-- it's "all about" the sort of dysfunctional power-play and control issues that grate on me. So I guess maybe Harry/Draco could be "all about" er... opposites-attract and love-overcomes-all (or whatever) which might be Really Annoying. To someone. Also, Harry Doesn't Like Draco That Way, which means the fics grate on one's sense of how we perceive "reality"-- which I both understand and yet think is a limitation.
I actually really hate characters randomly stuck together for the writer's kink, something that feels superficial and un-thought-through. For instance, writing H/D because it's "hot" because Harry is dark-haired and Draco's blond. And then you have the sheer implausibility of this pairing (and many others). Some people like implausibility (hello, Dobby/Squid), some don't. I'm in the middle-- I like implausibility that is sold to me through gorgeous leaps in characterization and beautiful flowy writing and loveable, powerful interpretations of the characters. So I can see why you could be bothered by things you think would "Never Work" or never happen.
I'm trying to think of whether implausibility bothers me-- and yes, it does, of course, although I have a very strong love for the absurd and the ridiculous (as I tend to write it often, it should be clear). I'm very picky, obviously-- I want to be able to believe X scenario can happen, if it's a serious fic-- it's just... I don't know... part of the process of reading-- the desire to be eased into one's suspension of disbelief. Because that's what this is really about, right? Things for which we cannot suspend our disbelief.
So, theoretically, saying I hate slashed!Ron would mean I cannot suspend my disbelief in this case, and maybe I don't -want- to, because I have something invested in believing in straight!Ron (either you have a red-pube squick or you ship Ron/Hermione or you just don't like Ron and slashing him would somehow make you need to like him). For instance, I have a real strong dislike for shipped!Snape. I read Harry/Snape smut (because it's hot), but I actually am squicked by nekkid Snape and also I ship H/D like a mofo, so it's hard to suspend my disbelief that Harry can/should/would be with anyone but Draco. But I like Snape as a character because so many people (Rowling not the least of them) have created a Snape I can dig-- snarky and awful and bitchy and bitter. Mmmm, Snape. And yet, not much for the Snape-slash or the Snape/Hermione or what have you. On the other hand, I -really- don't like Lucius-- I might even like gen!Lucius (as with Snape), though not so much 'cause he's not too characterized in canon, so there's no much -besides- fanon.
Anyway, what am I saying? I don't know.
I can see why people are against certain concepts (which can be embodied in characters or pairings), but on the other hand, wholesale condemnation of pairings or characters seems... defensive to me. Not worth it, somehow. People who are truly intelligent and passionate about certain ideas can always sell them to me, no matter -what- they're pushing. I read `Drawing Down the Moon' with absolutely -zero- interest in Sirius/Remus, but the fic is so passionate and emotive that I couldn't help but love them. If you can bring my own favorite ideals to something, then it seems like my objections ("but this embodies things I disapprove of") would disappear. And I think love is love is love and thus can be made gripping and powerful in fiction no matter -who- it is (same with lust, fear, need, doubt, growth, insanity, etc), and also there's a basic humanity in all characters which can be tapped by the right writer.
I realized this when writing my own versions of characters I hated/disliked (Pansy, Ginny, even Narcissa). When I took the time to put -myself- and my own vision and ideals through the sift of their personalities, I realized their basic kinship to me, even though I'm still nothing like them in most ways (and of course, I'm also nothing like Draco personality-wise-- but a lot like him emotionally, because I'm like -everyone- emotionally). We are all both alike and different in many ways.
What I'm talking about, I think, is the sheer universality of the human experience, of emotion, if expressed truthfully.
And that's where the "plausibility" comes in again, I guess, and the simple need for Good Writing in regards to any concept or situation. If you can draw out this universality of emotion through your writing, then there shouldn't be a squick involved. We can all understand each other, I think. That is the magic of story, anyway-- it has the ability to transcend boundaries, to make us walk within the skin of our enemies.
The reason I always characterization-critiqued fanfic without really canon-picking is because the worst offenses are always offenses against psychological soundness in general, not necessarily canon-based plausibility. If I find canon implausible (and sometimes I do), I have no qualms with a fic that attempts to transcend it or supplement it-- in fact that's what I think fanfic is for-- while aknowledging where it's coming from, so that it makes sense as being that character in the first place.
Fic where "everyone is gay" for instance, basically wouldn't happen in -any- universe. MPREG also. Random people who don't know each other and have no real reason to wouldn't normally hook up unless you work at making their encounter flow naturally rather harder than is usual. Incest isn't very common and neither is it a happy thing. Stupid brats don't become smooth "just like that"-- just doesn't happen-- ever. Threesomes are rare. People don't become sluts overnight unless something really extreme happens, and even then they'd need the personality and background for this behavior (and with Harry, the time!). Normal boys don't sweet-talk each other-- ever. Ugly mean professors very rarely sleep with students, and even -rarer- would it -ever- be consensual. People generally don't fuck for no reason when they're virgins. How much sex do you -really- think English boys get, anyway? (Don't answer that, heh, I'll be jealous). How many jerks just turn "okay" over the course of two weeks? Etc.
Easy shmeasy, right? Just use your brain, and poof! Badfic disappears ~:)
I really like
dorrie6's `Contingency' (here & here). This brings me back to liking so many fics that I don't necessarily find wholly plausible , but that have such lovely characterizations of a particular character (Harry, in this case) and style (accessible and tangy-sweet without being sappy), that I can only love them. A large part of it is simply the lee-way I give to my OTP fics. I think that's why I only read Snape/Harry when it's smut-- the smut is what makes me give it leeway and makes me accept aspects I'd never forgive in a "gen" story, for instance. Horrid characterizations of Harry, 97% of them.
I think objectivity isn't a tool easily combined with one's emotional responses to things. `Contingency' felt emotionally succinct-- believable and engaging. One didn't -want- to question it. If you go with the flow, you appreciate all the positive things while you allow the negatives to simply pass you by. It's no wonder so many people do it-- it's simply more pleasant. If you maximize the positve, you're able to have much greater pleasure in things, which leads to a happier life. Theoretically. Sometimes a fic steps on my toes and I can't do it. This usually occurs when you have uber-icy/sexy/cool!Draco (with exceptions), abused!Draco (or Harry), or I've-just-been-pretending-and-I'm-really-brilliant!Draco. We all have our pet peeves. I just have a lot.
Also really liked `Duel Temptation' by Darcy, but that's just a completely inexcusable penis joke, the whole fic, basically, although I go for that sort of thing. Again, depends on what one considers `sad', I guess. Am I even reccing these? I don't know, I just want to note them down because I'm compulsive like that. A Draco with two penises makes me happy. Is that so wrong? No, of course not, only if it makes me not do my homework. But oh well.
Amalin wrote mad-funny-adorable!H/D fic, and I'd say I love her writing more than ever except I can't possibly love it more, so. This is entirely biased, but hey. <333333333
EDIT - Overall, I guess I'd want to rec
ljash's `Perspective' - it's understated, well-paced, tightly written and affecting. While I have some issues with it, I think it does a beautiful job of retaining an even keel and never really going overboard with any of its plot or characterization choices. As usual, the Draco wasn't My Draco (or even what I'd consider really canonish!Draco), but it still -works-, which is all I can ask for, really~:)Also really enjoying `The Gods Themselves', because it's surreal and semi-meta and it has Draco and Hermione in Arithmancy class, which is like, whoa~:) Loveloveloveloveit. :D
~~
And... Slytherlynx's fandom pet-peeves post made me realize that I'm actually both much more and much less peeved about fanficcy things than when I had started. Pairings squick me a lot less, for one thing. I sort of hate Draco/Snape, but not really with any passion. Any two characters can be written well as a concept, I think. Obviously, a lot of concepts suck and could never be believable with certain characters (that is to say, certain characterizations are just ridiculous in any context), but you -can- get anyone together believably and well if you really wanted to. I mean, you -could-, you really could. You could also write any single character well and have a brilliant story-- you could.
That's why it bothers me that people say H/D sucks as a pairing, mostly because I read so much of it and thus -know- that a lot of it is objectively well-written. I would be the first to say that there isn't any perfect H/D, but then, there's no perfect X pairing, either as far as I know. Anyone who wants to recommend a brilliant 100% perfect fic of some other pairing for review is free to do so here, and I'll read it.
I think in general, any pet-peeves happen because so many instances of misuse of a particular idea/concept/situation had occurred. Like... possibly just because it's ridiculously hard to pull off a certain idea, possibly because it just doesn't make sense with the canonical source and grates on one's mind. On the other hand, I've read enough OOC fic to know that great writing can make up for an awful lot. So yeah. It all comes back to a) people's stupidity in behavior; b) bad writing. I've heard that
irinaauthor's H/G is Really Good, and I fully believe it's possible, though I hate H/G. I don't want to read it, especially, but hey.Same with hating Snape or Lucius or Ron or Harry or Draco-- they do all get mishandled, which is what I dislike much more than the character. People are all interesting in the right writer's hands, aren't they? What's a boring person, anyway? Just a person who has no capacity to do interesting things-- but in fiction, -any- character can be made to do interesting things because the writer controls the circumstances the character's in. So I say I hate Lucius, but that's because I'm utterly bored with the things most writers do to Lucius. That's why I totally understand Slytherlynx's point about liking her own versions of pairings/ideas she dislikes-- one simply wants to see what one thinks works for these situations, and other things just grate.
I realize that some ideas (pairings, plot-devices, etc) just annoy one because they embody some ideal one hates. Like, such-and-such pairing is "all about" such-and-such. Which is why I would have said I hate Draco/Snape-- it's "all about" the sort of dysfunctional power-play and control issues that grate on me. So I guess maybe Harry/Draco could be "all about" er... opposites-attract and love-overcomes-all (or whatever) which might be Really Annoying. To someone. Also, Harry Doesn't Like Draco That Way, which means the fics grate on one's sense of how we perceive "reality"-- which I both understand and yet think is a limitation.
I actually really hate characters randomly stuck together for the writer's kink, something that feels superficial and un-thought-through. For instance, writing H/D because it's "hot" because Harry is dark-haired and Draco's blond. And then you have the sheer implausibility of this pairing (and many others). Some people like implausibility (hello, Dobby/Squid), some don't. I'm in the middle-- I like implausibility that is sold to me through gorgeous leaps in characterization and beautiful flowy writing and loveable, powerful interpretations of the characters. So I can see why you could be bothered by things you think would "Never Work" or never happen.
I'm trying to think of whether implausibility bothers me-- and yes, it does, of course, although I have a very strong love for the absurd and the ridiculous (as I tend to write it often, it should be clear). I'm very picky, obviously-- I want to be able to believe X scenario can happen, if it's a serious fic-- it's just... I don't know... part of the process of reading-- the desire to be eased into one's suspension of disbelief. Because that's what this is really about, right? Things for which we cannot suspend our disbelief.
So, theoretically, saying I hate slashed!Ron would mean I cannot suspend my disbelief in this case, and maybe I don't -want- to, because I have something invested in believing in straight!Ron (either you have a red-pube squick or you ship Ron/Hermione or you just don't like Ron and slashing him would somehow make you need to like him). For instance, I have a real strong dislike for shipped!Snape. I read Harry/Snape smut (because it's hot), but I actually am squicked by nekkid Snape and also I ship H/D like a mofo, so it's hard to suspend my disbelief that Harry can/should/would be with anyone but Draco. But I like Snape as a character because so many people (Rowling not the least of them) have created a Snape I can dig-- snarky and awful and bitchy and bitter. Mmmm, Snape. And yet, not much for the Snape-slash or the Snape/Hermione or what have you. On the other hand, I -really- don't like Lucius-- I might even like gen!Lucius (as with Snape), though not so much 'cause he's not too characterized in canon, so there's no much -besides- fanon.
Anyway, what am I saying? I don't know.
I can see why people are against certain concepts (which can be embodied in characters or pairings), but on the other hand, wholesale condemnation of pairings or characters seems... defensive to me. Not worth it, somehow. People who are truly intelligent and passionate about certain ideas can always sell them to me, no matter -what- they're pushing. I read `Drawing Down the Moon' with absolutely -zero- interest in Sirius/Remus, but the fic is so passionate and emotive that I couldn't help but love them. If you can bring my own favorite ideals to something, then it seems like my objections ("but this embodies things I disapprove of") would disappear. And I think love is love is love and thus can be made gripping and powerful in fiction no matter -who- it is (same with lust, fear, need, doubt, growth, insanity, etc), and also there's a basic humanity in all characters which can be tapped by the right writer.
I realized this when writing my own versions of characters I hated/disliked (Pansy, Ginny, even Narcissa). When I took the time to put -myself- and my own vision and ideals through the sift of their personalities, I realized their basic kinship to me, even though I'm still nothing like them in most ways (and of course, I'm also nothing like Draco personality-wise-- but a lot like him emotionally, because I'm like -everyone- emotionally). We are all both alike and different in many ways.
What I'm talking about, I think, is the sheer universality of the human experience, of emotion, if expressed truthfully.
And that's where the "plausibility" comes in again, I guess, and the simple need for Good Writing in regards to any concept or situation. If you can draw out this universality of emotion through your writing, then there shouldn't be a squick involved. We can all understand each other, I think. That is the magic of story, anyway-- it has the ability to transcend boundaries, to make us walk within the skin of our enemies.
The reason I always characterization-critiqued fanfic without really canon-picking is because the worst offenses are always offenses against psychological soundness in general, not necessarily canon-based plausibility. If I find canon implausible (and sometimes I do), I have no qualms with a fic that attempts to transcend it or supplement it-- in fact that's what I think fanfic is for-- while aknowledging where it's coming from, so that it makes sense as being that character in the first place.
Fic where "everyone is gay" for instance, basically wouldn't happen in -any- universe. MPREG also. Random people who don't know each other and have no real reason to wouldn't normally hook up unless you work at making their encounter flow naturally rather harder than is usual. Incest isn't very common and neither is it a happy thing. Stupid brats don't become smooth "just like that"-- just doesn't happen-- ever. Threesomes are rare. People don't become sluts overnight unless something really extreme happens, and even then they'd need the personality and background for this behavior (and with Harry, the time!). Normal boys don't sweet-talk each other-- ever. Ugly mean professors very rarely sleep with students, and even -rarer- would it -ever- be consensual. People generally don't fuck for no reason when they're virgins. How much sex do you -really- think English boys get, anyway? (Don't answer that, heh, I'll be jealous). How many jerks just turn "okay" over the course of two weeks? Etc.
Easy shmeasy, right? Just use your brain, and poof! Badfic disappears ~:)
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no subject
Date: 2003-09-20 06:20 pm (UTC)Hahahahahaha. I love you, man.
*flings hearts around*
I was just going to comment on your exciting new use of capitals. <3, dude.
no subject
Date: 2003-09-20 06:26 pm (UTC)*Clears Throat*
Now that I know that Caps would get me Love, I will thus make sure to Use Them on As Many of An occasion as I could Possibly get Away with ;)
See, my first grade teacher was right. Grammar makes you popular >:D