~~ the labors of love <3
Oct. 25th, 2003 03:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reenkaSo why do you love the things you love? Why do you love the pairing(s) you love? Why do you write the pairings you love?
After![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
switchknife asked me in my poll from the day before yesterday to write some Harry/Snape (or Snape/Draco as Ish asked), I was thinking yeah, maybe I should branch out (more). You know, broadening horizons = a good thing, whatever. And I like broadening horizons-- my mind likes stretching. I mean, most people don't realize I -have- written plenty of things besides H/D (ahahaha 'cause they don't read those things), but only Harry/Ron as far as Harry-slashed-with-someone-else. I've never slashed Draco with anyone else, either. Just a bunch of weird het, incest and Harry/Ron/Hermione, I guess o_0
But anyway. I was reading TromboneBorges's `A Suitable Preparation', which is a good fic, nothing flashy or breathtaking, but solid-- and then Harry & Draco kissed, just like that. And suddenly, I saw stars. I flushed and I think I even got a little breathless. No, seriously. Dude. This is why I write (and read) this pairing. This is why. It's the only pairing that does this to me, in -any- fandom, man.
Am I just a freak? I dunno (well, I know I am, but). It's like, when Harry kisses Draco, I feel kissed. I feel infatuated all over again. I'm all wobbly knees and stupid grins and OMG HE REALLY LIKES HIM and. Dude, it's the good crack, yo.
So yeah, my mind likes stretching, but there's no passion in it. I don't write fanfic because it's an intellectual exercise, mostly-- then again, I don't write -anything- because it's purely an intellectual exercise, unless it's a gift for a friend, in which case it's also a labor of love. That's why writing really obscure pairings no one's written before baffles me-- I mean-- what's to be fannish about, there? Only the world, and the world doesn't motivate me like that. I mean, that's why I -began- writing fic-- because I was just so full of wow and guh and morepleaseohgodkisshimagainHarry.
I'm not even an H/D "shipper" in the plebey sense-- I don't buy into the "accepted fanon" of sexiness or whatever. I don't agree with a lot of shippers' interpretations of the pairing, I don't like a lot of fic, etc. But. Harry/Snape is hot sometimes, but in a very base way, and only when it hits those certain kinks. Medium-grade Harry/Draco slays me with a little kiss, man. I guess that's why I don't really identify with people who have heavy kinks they wanna see explored in fanfic of a specific pairing, say-- like, a certain sort of sex, interaction, what have you. I just. I'm not in lust. I'm in love.
Man, I (still) swoon at a smile.
EDIT -
Reading this article in the NYTimes about our ability (or really, lack thereof) to predict what will make us happiest, I realized that the thing in operation here is that H/D makes me happy. Now, this might seem simple and obvious, but the truth is-- don't we all seek out the things that make us happy? And maybe for some people, it's not the -H/D- that makes them happy in particular, but the slash, or the community, or the newness, or the-- whatever. And it doesn't make them happy after a while because we overestimate how long happiness lasts given any particular new and happy shiny thing.
And then there's the why I -write- H/D thing, and there's this quote from one of the psychologists in the article (George Leowenstein): ''Happiness is a signal that our brains use to motivate us to do certain things. And in the same way that our eye adapts to different levels of illumination, we're designed to kind of go back to the happiness set point. Our brains are not trying to be happy. Our brains are trying to regulate us.''
And yes-- I mean. Happiness is the signal, here. I am made happy, thus I write: it motivates me. I don't know, I think states of high emotion are the overall motivators for a lot of people's writing, but it's really very interesting how that works, psychologically speaking. And then we adapt to new and shiny things over time, yes. But what if we can find a shiny that keeps on giving? Wouldn't we cling to that shiny? I mean. That's what -I'm- doing, right? I'm clinging to my shiny~:))
~~
EDIT#2 - sigh. I'd forgotten how good Aja's smut was :(( waaah. Want moooore :((
After
switchknife asked me in my poll from the day before yesterday to write some Harry/Snape (or Snape/Draco as Ish asked), I was thinking yeah, maybe I should branch out (more). You know, broadening horizons = a good thing, whatever. And I like broadening horizons-- my mind likes stretching. I mean, most people don't realize I -have- written plenty of things besides H/D (ahahaha 'cause they don't read those things), but only Harry/Ron as far as Harry-slashed-with-someone-else. I've never slashed Draco with anyone else, either. Just a bunch of weird het, incest and Harry/Ron/Hermione, I guess o_0 But anyway. I was reading TromboneBorges's `A Suitable Preparation', which is a good fic, nothing flashy or breathtaking, but solid-- and then Harry & Draco kissed, just like that. And suddenly, I saw stars. I flushed and I think I even got a little breathless. No, seriously. Dude. This is why I write (and read) this pairing. This is why. It's the only pairing that does this to me, in -any- fandom, man.
Am I just a freak? I dunno (well, I know I am, but). It's like, when Harry kisses Draco, I feel kissed. I feel infatuated all over again. I'm all wobbly knees and stupid grins and OMG HE REALLY LIKES HIM and. Dude, it's the good crack, yo.
So yeah, my mind likes stretching, but there's no passion in it. I don't write fanfic because it's an intellectual exercise, mostly-- then again, I don't write -anything- because it's purely an intellectual exercise, unless it's a gift for a friend, in which case it's also a labor of love. That's why writing really obscure pairings no one's written before baffles me-- I mean-- what's to be fannish about, there? Only the world, and the world doesn't motivate me like that. I mean, that's why I -began- writing fic-- because I was just so full of wow and guh and morepleaseohgodkisshimagainHarry.
I'm not even an H/D "shipper" in the plebey sense-- I don't buy into the "accepted fanon" of sexiness or whatever. I don't agree with a lot of shippers' interpretations of the pairing, I don't like a lot of fic, etc. But. Harry/Snape is hot sometimes, but in a very base way, and only when it hits those certain kinks. Medium-grade Harry/Draco slays me with a little kiss, man. I guess that's why I don't really identify with people who have heavy kinks they wanna see explored in fanfic of a specific pairing, say-- like, a certain sort of sex, interaction, what have you. I just. I'm not in lust. I'm in love.
Man, I (still) swoon at a smile.
EDIT -
Reading this article in the NYTimes about our ability (or really, lack thereof) to predict what will make us happiest, I realized that the thing in operation here is that H/D makes me happy. Now, this might seem simple and obvious, but the truth is-- don't we all seek out the things that make us happy? And maybe for some people, it's not the -H/D- that makes them happy in particular, but the slash, or the community, or the newness, or the-- whatever. And it doesn't make them happy after a while because we overestimate how long happiness lasts given any particular new and happy shiny thing.
And then there's the why I -write- H/D thing, and there's this quote from one of the psychologists in the article (George Leowenstein): ''Happiness is a signal that our brains use to motivate us to do certain things. And in the same way that our eye adapts to different levels of illumination, we're designed to kind of go back to the happiness set point. Our brains are not trying to be happy. Our brains are trying to regulate us.''
And yes-- I mean. Happiness is the signal, here. I am made happy, thus I write: it motivates me. I don't know, I think states of high emotion are the overall motivators for a lot of people's writing, but it's really very interesting how that works, psychologically speaking. And then we adapt to new and shiny things over time, yes. But what if we can find a shiny that keeps on giving? Wouldn't we cling to that shiny? I mean. That's what -I'm- doing, right? I'm clinging to my shiny~:))
~~
EDIT#2 - sigh. I'd forgotten how good Aja's smut was :(( waaah. Want moooore :((
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no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 01:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 02:01 pm (UTC):D :D :D :D!!!
*dances!*
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Date: 2003-10-25 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 02:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 02:09 pm (UTC)hey, stranger things have happened~:D
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Date: 2003-10-25 02:16 pm (UTC)Episode 3x05, Rite of Passage.
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Date: 2003-10-25 02:21 pm (UTC)also, you know, you could always write gr8 d/m without smut. i mean, this is fully made evident by julad, so it is now Law :D :D
heeee. i know how awful it is when people hound you for things you'd never want to write in a million years (AHAHAHA, ME WRITE DRACO/SNAPE AHAHAHAH), but i know you sekritly want to, so i'm all about slowly empowering you through nagging ;))
no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 02:28 pm (UTC)Yeah, I was actually impressed with myself about the V/C scene. I came to the frightening conclusion that I write hetsmut better than slash smut. AH THE SHAME :<
Only 1200 words written. I'd better go off and write more! God, it's so hard for me to get into a writing state. This is why I produce so little, and why I really should not be a WiP author. I'd love to be able to write whenever I wanted to, rather than whenever I felt like it.
And I use the word 'ruefully' too much. *expunges*
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Date: 2003-10-25 02:36 pm (UTC)and ahaha are you still (see, there's one of them) implying that i should also write d/s even though i've made this whole inspirational(!!) post about how deep, true and t00by my loff for h/d truly is (or rather, it makes me giggle like a schoolgirl, but, same diff).
heee. i'm so there with you, man. i wish i could make myself write my wip instead of the stupid bs i wind up writing/doing. i think it's partly because the things that even remotely matter to me are automatically things i have mental blocks against. in general, i can write bs anytime, but it takes that elusive "inspiration" to overcome my reluctance to suck ~:))
i shouldn't be a WIP author either, so i'm not. instead, i hound -myself- to do it, which doesn't actually -help-, really. the secret (for me) is i think to just write a whole -bunch- when i -do- write. like, instead of writing one chapter, write 'till you -drop-, try to run to the finish-line as long as you can. you don't have to post it all at once, but you know, take advantage when you can.
the muse is a fickle wench. tie her down and have your way with her, i say :D :D
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Date: 2003-10-26 02:53 am (UTC)Write drunk, and you'll overcome your urge to suck. Works for me. :)
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Date: 2003-10-25 07:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-10-25 10:35 pm (UTC)this gives me time to download the ep, man. heeeeee <3
the more HL you write, the more time for you to acclimate yourself & eventually venture into the scary waters of D/M SMUT, mwuahahah. *keeps eyes on the prize" ahahahaha >:D
i'm nothing if not obsessively persistent, man :D
*glee* *cracks whip unnecessarily* ;))