No, it definately made sense. I can totally understand what you're saying. Ever since I came into the slash fandom, I have known that there was no way my pairing would ever happen. I have accepted that, and moved on. Although I do still have a soft spot for Harry/Luna, which I think would be great in canon. When I noticed the first H/G hint in HBP I thought. "Oh...it's gonna be H/G. Oh well." The only problem I have was that it seemed a little fast, but whatever. Remus/Tonks I didn't have a very big problem with either (but was anyone else slightly disturbed that Harry thought Tonks was in love with her cousin?). And I don't see what the fuss is- Remus could be bi and have shagged Sirius prior to liking Tonks. I was a little squicked at the Pince/Filch (WTF?) but hey, whatever floats JK's boat. I don't read canon for romance, that's what fanfiction is for.
Although, there were a hell of a lot of H/D slashy references in HBP. ;-)
Oh, the H/D ref. in HBP made the read 10x better than it would have been had i not been a fan of the ship. Didn't you just melt when Harry saw him crying in the bathroom? & when he felt bad for him...aww. lol. I want to go back & read just those parts.
I did love all the H/D refs, but I think, above all else, above all the slash hints, I loved that Draco was now actually a 3D character. Like I said above, I use canon in fanfiction for the characterisations rather than any specific actions. But of course, some actions build characterisations :D
I agree with everything you said, esp people being bitter about their ships. I mean, what did they do when Harry was all over Cho? They still made him lust over others. Ah, they'll get over it. Once again, brilliant 'essay'? you wrote.
I'd like to focus on an excellent issue you've brought up. There seems to be a lot of pressure coming from the slasher-friendly HP fans to have what you referred to as a "token gay character" and I think you've labelled it well. What purpose would this serve beyond appeasing a certain section of the fandom (a foolish endeavour and JKR knows it; to write in the hopes of simply making your fan base happy is to spell your own doom) or the GLBTQ community at large? (It stands for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer for those who don't know! ^_
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And, of course, we mustn't forget that HP is generally perceived as a children's book, and including references to homosexuality in childrens books is still very much a taboo. I guess it's probably linked to Section 28 (a law disputed a few years ago, I can't remember if it was overturned or not, banning the 'promotion' of homosexuality in schools). Also, the inclusion of a 'token gay character' is much more complicated than that. If they're a student, that goes against the general mental block people have about anyone under eighteen being GBLT, and then there's the issues to do with links with paedophilia, family values etc... basically, whatever JKR might want, I wouldn't think that her publishers would let her mention homosexuality. It just has too many risks of stirring up or alienating people, and with the books so much in the public eye they don't want to risk losing part of their fanbase. Be that as it may, I was kind of hoping that Tonks would turn out to be gay, but HBP threw that out of the window. Now I just have to hope
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no, i actually thought you were pretty spot-on. Although, i do disagree with your interpretation of how Hermione was written in HBP. i believe that Jo is writing, if anything, much better now than she was in the beginning. The reason Hermione is written to seem annoying is because, to Harry, she probably does appear to be so by now. (H/Hr shippers, hush. I'm all about the H/G)
Remember, this is a perspective series, and it's all written from the perspective of Harry. Who, it must be said, is somewhat biased against Miss Bushyhair. (See the two part essay by my good friend ginny_weasley for more info).
Oh I totally agree, now that you mention it. While reading it I found it totally believable that Harry would see Hermione that way, based on her actions, and I did not question it. I guess just afterwards and reading everyone's (*cough*H/Hr shippers*cough*) opinions I was looking at it from a different angle.
Oh good friend now is she? Wasn't I the one who pointed that post out in the first place? :) She definitely rocks. I must go see what new stuff she's written.
I don't know if this goes a bit off-topic but I'll take my chances. I agree, complaining about the books "ruining" fanfiction is ridicilous, since whatever JK does and we might hate her for it, her word is the law. I think fanfiction is and will always be sort of a plagiarism, which is part of why I don't write it (but I do read - two-faced maybe, but true).
My true question is: why on earth do we like slash? I'd say the most of us - maybe even all - are girls, why do we wish to read homosexual things? Of course the characters matter, but still. I've never figured that out, even I'm a part-time slasher myself. Enlighten me, please, if you have thought about this.
I've thought about your question a lot myself. I've also wondered time and time again why it is that, strictly stereotypically speaking, girls have no problem with male homosexuality and guys have no problem with female homosexuality, but bring up the idea of homosexuality with their own genders and people run for the hills. I think these two questions are related and I personally think it's all in the mind set. People (again stereotypically)think that homosexuality is fine when there is no way that *they* can be associated with it. So for a girl, two guys can go at it all they want and she still doesn't have to worry about another girl approaching her for a date. I think this security opens up the mind for acceptablity. So if it's acceptable, why not enjoy it
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When I noticed the first H/G hint in HBP I thought. "Oh...it's gonna be H/G. Oh well." The only problem I have was that it seemed a little fast, but whatever.
Remus/Tonks I didn't have a very big problem with either (but was anyone else slightly disturbed that Harry thought Tonks was in love with her cousin?). And I don't see what the fuss is- Remus could be bi and have shagged Sirius prior to liking Tonks.
I was a little squicked at the Pince/Filch (WTF?) but hey, whatever floats JK's boat.
I don't read canon for romance, that's what fanfiction is for.
Although, there were a hell of a lot of H/D slashy references in HBP. ;-)
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Ah, they'll get over it.
Once again, brilliant 'essay'? you wrote.
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*angry token gay guy*
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Am I way off the mark with my thoughts?
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Remember, this is a perspective series, and it's all written from the perspective of Harry. Who, it must be said, is somewhat biased against Miss Bushyhair. (See the two part essay by my good friend ginny_weasley for more info).
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Oh good friend now is she? Wasn't I the one who pointed that post out in the first place? :) She definitely rocks. I must go see what new stuff she's written.
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I agree, complaining about the books "ruining" fanfiction is ridicilous, since whatever JK does and we might hate her for it, her word is the law. I think fanfiction is and will always be sort of a plagiarism, which is part of why I don't write it (but I do read - two-faced maybe, but true).
My true question is: why on earth do we like slash? I'd say the most of us - maybe even all - are girls, why do we wish to read homosexual things?
Of course the characters matter, but still.
I've never figured that out, even I'm a part-time slasher myself.
Enlighten me, please, if you have thought about this.
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