[reading + empathy = love]

Jei's GW fic page always reminds me of this, but of course it's always true: the reason I read fanfics is 'cause I fall in love with the characters. Well, yes, that may be obvious, but I don't mean I (want to) just do it once; I want to do it over and over and over again, in a million ways that all score a goal in the same corner (feeeear my sports metaphors of DOOM).

Anyway, a lot of people probably think (if they think about it, which they probably don't, but if they did!) that I'm more concerned with 'accuracy' or ICness or whatever, but really that's a means to an end. My favorite stories (take Jei, for instance, or Silvia Kundera, Maya, Amalin and Aspen, among some others in HP) all have this in common: not accuracy, per se, but the ability to make me really like the pov character a lot. A lot. It's like being reintroduced to the character all over again, realizing ooohhh, so that's why you love them. (Usually it involves being snarky or cute or sensitive but in a non-whiny way, just sort of insightful and candid).

I think that's why I hate white-washing so much & campaign for 'accuracy' or whatever; it's 'cause I just can't love a character that's got any fakeness about them at all. I think... it's like in real life, I always go for authenticity in people, and it's the same in characters. I really don't care -what- they're like, as long as they're totally and wholly themselves and the writer shows me what's so endearing or touching about that. So theoretically I can like a really OOC fic if it basically recreated that character in this way that rung true even though it wasn't (it's just a lot harder to feel true when you're actually false).

I could be wrong, but I think most people don't read for this; they read for kink or familiarity or exploration or reassurance, whatever, but I haven't heard of reading to fall in love again. I don't think I consciously do it, anyway-- I'm just happiest when I can tell the writer really -gets- that character, because it can't help but shine very brightly through the fic.
    Like, it doesn't have to be 'the' character-- in the end, it just has to be their character; I totally get this feeling with Jei-- like she pretty much knows Heero inside and out, backwards and forwards, and he's just so lovable even though he never stops being a messed-up psycho in many ways! She totally writes fluff with semi-crazy!Heero, sort of like Silvia wrote fluff with completely-demented!Draco. It's really a gift :D I think the fluff comes from the love a writer has towards the character, totally. It's like, even the darkest fic would feel warm 'cause the character is never -truly- unsympathetic even when he does the most insane things.

Ahhh, I love that; that sense of truly empathizing with a character that may be nothing like me. It's just... one of the true central joys of reading to me, I think.
~~

PS: I know it's sad when I start reccing H/D PWP porn, but duuuude, Disturbing the Peace is like... the perfect fic to go along with that comic from yesterday. HEEEEE!!! (...this also makes me realize I don't know NEARLY enough British slang. Man. Draco just sounds SO MUCH CUTER when he's all... um... British, ahahahah. *cough*)