(grumpy again)

[reenka]

At first I thought that it's just that I'm closed-minded or something, 'cause even looking at fics with pairings that conflict with an OTP makes me sort of cringe and want to rail against the (stupid) pairing in question... but... it's just that most people, even when they write get-together fics, don't actually bother to try convincing the reader that these people -should- be together. I mean, there's a basic question there, isn't there? -Why-? Why should the reader want these people together? Why do all these (fanfic) writers assume that only shippers will read their fic? Or do they?

It occurs to me that maybe that's true, actually. Maybe most people write for a) an audience of people who just don't care about what pairing they read or b) an audience that is already sold on the pairing in question. Possibly, there's a third common type of fic-- as in, c) an audience of people who're crazed fans of one of the characters and will happily see them with anyone at all, no matter how "out of character" the pairing seems.

I don't know if a pairing -can- be OOC. Can it?

Plenty of people write characters to be OOC to the degree that I can't see these versions of these characters together, even if I normally ship them. In that case, I don't care whether I'm already "sold", the fic in question reverses that. I don't know if that's common, though. Do people often read fics with their OTP that make them stop rooting for it in that case? Happens to me all the time. I mean, I really think that once you give a character enough issues (narcissism, extreme depression, mania, psychosis, extreme immaturity, commitment issues, anxiety issues) it'd make a lot more sense to not write a successful romance there. As in, I doubt these versions would-- or should-- last past a month with anyone.

I don't know if most writers or readers -want- to always start from square one in terms of non-canon pairings, though I don't see how one could honestly get away with anything else in a good story, porn aside. I suppose one can't help but start with some assumptions... but taking huge unsubstantiated things for granted is just sheer laziness, isn't it? As in, well, of -course- Draco has always wanted to fuck Harry. Of course, yes. Naturally. Gah. Bad writer, no biscuit.

Comments

[i-smile.livejournal.com]

I don't know if a pairing -can- be OOC. Can it?
To me, any pairing seems 'OOC' if we're not told why they got together. Or how, or when. (Even if it's set in the far future, we should be given a hint, right? I'm not asking for them to sit down and explain to one another their reasoning, just to show us something.) I don't know if this is necessarily what you're talking about, but it really jars me when I read, say, a H/D and the two are so close you'd think Draco was Ron--and there's no explanation, no "oh yeah this is how they got over this schoolyard enemies thing". Because, really, anything can be "in character" to me as long as I can see how he got there from the canon I know (or at least the bits I care about). I can see where Draco might always have wanted to fuck Harry, but--he's a kid (and kids are more likely to pass notes than come up and say "Let's have sex!"), he's been raised to hate people like Harry (and he doesn't seem to be the type to disobey his family lightly), he must have had some reason to be snotty every time they're together that I'd love the writer to explain in the context of his wanting Harry, and Harry's already rejected him (so even if Draco gets over his problems, we need Harry to say "Dude, you are sexy. Let's do it, then").

I mean, I really think that once you give a character enough issues... it'd make a lot more sense to not write a successful romance there. As in, I doubt these versions would-- or should-- last past a month with anyone.
I agree. And if they do last without major healing going on, it'll probably damage their emotional stability (further); there's a reason we call some relationships "unhealthy". Why would I want my favourite characters to get worse rather than better?

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yes. You can develop any character to change them if they'd need to change in order to be in whatever pairing. I mean, most people don't really do this to my satisfaction, of course. Then again, I suppose I'm more stringent and expect to be convinced more thoroughly than most writers imagine necessary, maybe? After all, they're all doing it for fun, etc.

I'm not sure where my own resistance ends and sloppy writing begins, in a lot of cases. Especially when I'm not willing to go down easily, like... this is better illustrated outside of HP. In HP I've become sort of lax in terms of pairings, though I barely read anything but H/D, 'cause I've written a number of them. But like, in Gundam Wing, say-- I'm really resistant to Heero/Trowa. I can't see either of them initiating contact. They don't have an established friendship. There's no -reason- for them to hook up, basically, unless you studiously create one from scratch. And "scratch" isn't a concept most writers seem to comprehend. (*bitterness*)

So yes, the all-important "why". I think "why" is a question every writer should keep in mind when writing anything, of course. That and "how", "what if", "when" and "where", etcetc. And then you could always get to the point where the "why" is just too ridiculously small of a chance to go after. Like, suuuure, the aliens could have implanted a chip in the character's head to make him a masochistic gay penguin (or whatever), but....... heh.