~~ an actual pro-darkfic post, whadya know.

I suppose, as Aja said, the fandom -is- writing darker H/D these days, but. I still don't see any seriously realistic H/D out there-- I mean, is there something I'm missing? If so, what? Is there some realistic recent H/D someone wants to rec me? Hahah that sounds like a challenge, doesn't it. Maybe it is, at that :D

Anyway, here's a question I know oodles of people have been asking themselves (or... not)-- Why doesn't Reena write more fluffy H/D?
    Ah, yes. This reminds me why I resent the labels of 'angst' and 'fluff'. Human emotion is all created equal, in terms of influence; writers are not. I suppose sadness/anger can be easier to write for H/D, since they already have bad blood between them, and no development (or heavy-duty extrapolation) is needed. So laziness explains most things, as per usual.

However, another fact is that most of the 'fluff' I see is blatantly, painfully, extremely out of character. I mean, it's enjoyable to be sure (I do have a heart, you know), but unless you write a novel-length fic to back up those lovey-dovey boys, the suspension of disbelief required is steep. It all seems to take place in 'the happy place' where OoTP didn't happen. Or hey, GoF either, while we're at it. Remember the Good Old Days, when fics actually referred to the events of canon in specific??! How long ago was the last short story to do that?? No, seriously, man. Seriously. Remember when there was mention of the Triwizard Tournament, the Train Threat, the Warning In The Forest and even The Robe-shop, all in every third fic, fluff or angst? Well, no longer!

I actually really like writing soft & warm & intimate & sweetish things, just because angst can drain one. If one reads my non-H/D writing, one can easily see where all my fluff escapes to, ahahah. Just earlier today, I wrote what might be the fluffiest H/D snippet I've ever done, and it was a weird experience. It felt like a release-- like I was looking into the future and touching base with the dream I'm working towards. Generally, I write about beginnings rather than endings, so naturally I end up having to write angst. So yes, I'm seriously saying that having a non-angsty beginning for H/D at this point, particularly if you're starting from the beginning (years 6 & 7) is... well, pretty much unrealistic.

However, swtalmnd's anti-darkfic (sort of) rant doesn't address the issue of H/D realism, precisely. The issue was stuff like non-con & 'hatesex' (vs. sex between consenting individuals who like each other-- which makes me laugh, since I doubt Harry & Draco will ever like each other, but anyway). I've been called 'queen of H/D hatesex' or some such at one point, which is a label that bothers me; I don't -write- 'hatesex', man. I write sex between people who have issues that go much deeper than that. I hope.

( Hatesex, fluff & bunnies. Not necessarily in that order. )