Oh BEDA, how you make me reflect on how boring my life is! I had another nothing day where I did nothing but, unlike the last time this month, I can't talk about how much I love nothing days because I did that a couple of days ago. So I'm going to go through my day, step-by-step, in the (possibly doomed) hope that I did something, even one thing, remotely worth talking about. Not only for BEDA but in order to reassure myself I am not wasting my life away.
I got up late, very late and just had time for a shower before *another* builder came to look at *another* leak in our bathroom ceiling. Same old, same old. I do miss showering in the middle of the night though; I'm not sure if I do this because of some deep-seated but subconscious insecurity or I'm too lazy to be bothered before 2a.m. Somewhere in the vast middle ground between those probably, where all things I do lie.
I had lunch, got dressed and changed the cartridges on my new wireless printer. I did warn you I'd done nothing. I then moved my shoulder funny and now it really hurts, enough to make me gasp when I try and sit up straight. I blame it for my terrible posture rather than the aforementioned laziness. And then I started a new Harry/Severus slash fiction. I can talk about this! Finally.
A surprising number of people are interested in my love of gay television and, later, slash fiction. Or they at least indulge me as I talk about it. Lots of things make people outside the fold find certain things impossible to swallow, and I share their view on most. Harry/Ron, Wincest, Twincest, MPreg. But everyone, and I mean everyone, also hates Harry/Severus.
I did as well, for a long time. And there are still some, the poorly written ones mostly, that I don't like. But now I think it is probably my second favourite pair in the fandom, beaten only by Remus/Sirius which is so awesome it's basically canon. I can see why everyone is a bit wary of it - Severus is old enough to be Harry's father (literally having gone to school with him), holds nothing but resentment for Harry for being born, is generally greasy in appearance. How can he and Harry be a good couple?
Well, there are several reasons why I like this pairing. The first is that Snape is, by a mile, the most interesting and intriguing character in the Harry Potter verse. He epitomises evil in so many ways: his appearance, his demeanour, his house, his subject. And yet his story is one of redemption, a man who loved passionately and who saved so many, did so much good for a cause that belittled him. And even connected to Harry is story is, in essence, one of goodness. He saves Harry more than anyone else, physically and emotionally, because he treats Harry as badly as everyone else, maybe worse, where others might have stroked his ego.
A major motif of Harry/Severus is Harry coming to teach DADA (which should have happened in the epilogue but whatever) and Severus realising, as he never got to in canon, that Harry is more than the man he pegged him for. He is not arrogant or hot-headed but mature and self-sacrificing. And more like his mother than his father.
Another story (which occurs a lot in Harry Potter slash) is, for some reason, Severus and Harry *have* to be together. They've been accidentally bound or purposely bound to help Harry win, they are destined to be together etc etc. All the plot is pretty boring but the idea of them being *forced* together is another way in which Severus is forced to see Harry as the man he really is. And Severus may be a hard, cold man but we know he is not evil. And Harry is, to some extent, able to melt everyone's hearts. They are truly opposites and fit together well. Severus (unlike Draco who I admit can also fulfill most of these requirements) is old enough and sensible enough to save Harry from himself. And, unlike Harry/Sirius which I hate, there is no other emotional connection (other than misguided animosity) to hold them back.
It also allows for a lot of angst - 'I'm not good enough for you. You're young and beautiful and could have someone better' or 'I am unlovable and not worthy of you, a man much braver than me.' Lots of bad dreams and war wounds (another thing they share). And angst is a good bedrock for slash fic, I enjoy it much better than fluff.
Another major motif is 'inner-beauty'. Severus is not an outwardly attractive man but he has many qualities which make him incredibly sexual - his hands, his voice, his elegance, his movements. In this way, it is easy to make him a school-boy crush of Harry's as, compared to the other teachers, he is the only character to possess these qualities.
But above all, the relationship between them in good HPSS slash is one which is more complicated than most. It's not instantly happy or smutty or fluffy - it's a complex amalgamation of their characters which is both compelling and unique. They do not live happy ever after - they banter and they argue and it's explosive and mature and something people on the outside often cannot understand.
So there, my terrible defense of Harry/Severus. I truly believe it works and if you are remotely persuaded here are some of my favourite Harry/Severus which are a much better defence than this could ever be, although most are quite long. They persuaded me, maybe they can persuade you.
Pains and Contradictions
The Fifth Act
Runes Of War
Union Of Doom
The Scios Totalus Of Legend
A Question Of Circumstance
Light On The Dark Side Of Me
Showing posts with label slash fic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label slash fic. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 August 2010
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Luke, Noah and Conventionality
There is NC-17/R rated language and content in this blog. You have been warned people!
So, as you probably know I am a huge fan of the Daytime Soap couple Luke and Noah (so much in fact I posted this vlog about them). In my usual perusing of the few places in which Nuke fans can openly talk about just how obsessed they are with Nuke, I stumbled upon this question in a forum and it made me wonder a few things. The question was:
'who do you think the boy is and who is the girl in their relationship?'
(They also did not use a capital letter, so I shall not, no matter how annoying it is)
This statement offends me on several levels. The first and most obvious being that it is a symptom of a bigger problem. So many people seem to have a compulsive need to put every relationship into the conventions of heterosexuality. Luke and Noah are two men - both of them. One is not the boy, one is not the girl. They are both MEN. They have sex like two men would have sex. They kiss (sometimes). They suck cock. They wank each other off. And, I assume, so many people must watch Luke and Noah and hate to imagine that. That is why the show put them off having sex for so long, in an abhorrent move to keep those on the edge of complaining from switching over. This need speaks of a problem I have with so many Nuke fans - yes, they are a classic, romantic soap couple but they are a gay couple. You can't pretend that's not true, or assume they are an exception to some bigoted rule. If you want the romance, you have to take the reality that they have sex. When you can do that, that is genuine acceptance of the characters into the soap.
From reading slash fiction from this couple (and others), and seeing both sides of the flower and vase argument, I think it is safe to say I am qualified to make some judgements over the characters. If we're asking, not to be more crude than I already have been, who tops and who bottoms then, again, are we not trying to fit them into categories? 'Noah had a tough military upbringing, doubt his conscience would let him take it up the ass' is a vast stereotype. As is 'Luke got hot Italian blood running through his veins, he does all the work!' (These are paraphrasing of things I have seen before, not direct quotes from anywhere else). There is nothing in the show to give any indication which way round their relations may have and continue to occur, but my own interpretation is that their relationship goes through stages, and I would expect their sexual lives to move in parallel with these emotions. The fact that anyone needs all the time to put them in boxes shows a complete disregard from the subtleties and nuances of genuine relationships. Luke and Noah strive for a partnership, and I am sure that that would extend into any bedroom activities.
What makes Luke and Noah's relationship so endearing to watch is the fluidity with which those labels apply until they don't apply at all. Sometimes Luke is protecting Noah, sometimes the other way round, sometimes Luke needs to be centred, sometimes Noah does. They both make stupid decisions, both stand up for the other, both have complicated history and childhoods. That is what makes interesting and believable characters in drama, and in taking this all on, it is obvious that they defy stereotype by being a genuine partnership. That is not to say there is not some sign of co-dependance but it works both ways. This is, in fact, my answer for why woman consume and create more gay content such as slash fiction and pornography, than men. Woman are attracted to a relationship without stereotypes, where dynamics are built based on personality types and not gender, where men understand their partners emotionally and sexually. There is nothing sexier than a man realises he is more than that.
The other, equally alarming, point about this question is that is suggests that heterosexual relationships should have a dominant male and submissive female. Surely we are past the point of assuming the dynamics of relationships have or should be that way. I think to build a relationship upon roles based on gender stereotypes are intrinsically flawed, for there will always be situations in which, naturally, the roles would reverse. It is this kind of understanding of relationships that forces strong women to subdue themselves and men to hide their emotions, even when in long-term relationships. It is entirely negative for society, in the 21st Century, to still pander to inaccurate generalisations for all genders and sexuality's.
Overall, this question and the additional issues it raises plagues this subculture. Mpreg FanFiction stems from the same place - straight couples procreate, I must have this couple procreate. That is not to say there is not good mpreg fiction out there that does more than this with the sub-genre but it is where it comes from that worries me. I would like to think most people who watch Luke and Noah are more intelligent than this, and I am sure they are. If not, it's their loss. Because by trying to understand Nuke by conditions they do not fit, you miss what makes then a great couple in the first place.
I have written this in relation to Luke and Noah but the same can be said for many other gay couples on television such as McDean, Chrolli, DeRo etc.
So, as you probably know I am a huge fan of the Daytime Soap couple Luke and Noah (so much in fact I posted this vlog about them). In my usual perusing of the few places in which Nuke fans can openly talk about just how obsessed they are with Nuke, I stumbled upon this question in a forum and it made me wonder a few things. The question was:
'who do you think the boy is and who is the girl in their relationship?'
(They also did not use a capital letter, so I shall not, no matter how annoying it is)
This statement offends me on several levels. The first and most obvious being that it is a symptom of a bigger problem. So many people seem to have a compulsive need to put every relationship into the conventions of heterosexuality. Luke and Noah are two men - both of them. One is not the boy, one is not the girl. They are both MEN. They have sex like two men would have sex. They kiss (sometimes). They suck cock. They wank each other off. And, I assume, so many people must watch Luke and Noah and hate to imagine that. That is why the show put them off having sex for so long, in an abhorrent move to keep those on the edge of complaining from switching over. This need speaks of a problem I have with so many Nuke fans - yes, they are a classic, romantic soap couple but they are a gay couple. You can't pretend that's not true, or assume they are an exception to some bigoted rule. If you want the romance, you have to take the reality that they have sex. When you can do that, that is genuine acceptance of the characters into the soap.
From reading slash fiction from this couple (and others), and seeing both sides of the flower and vase argument, I think it is safe to say I am qualified to make some judgements over the characters. If we're asking, not to be more crude than I already have been, who tops and who bottoms then, again, are we not trying to fit them into categories? 'Noah had a tough military upbringing, doubt his conscience would let him take it up the ass' is a vast stereotype. As is 'Luke got hot Italian blood running through his veins, he does all the work!' (These are paraphrasing of things I have seen before, not direct quotes from anywhere else). There is nothing in the show to give any indication which way round their relations may have and continue to occur, but my own interpretation is that their relationship goes through stages, and I would expect their sexual lives to move in parallel with these emotions. The fact that anyone needs all the time to put them in boxes shows a complete disregard from the subtleties and nuances of genuine relationships. Luke and Noah strive for a partnership, and I am sure that that would extend into any bedroom activities.
What makes Luke and Noah's relationship so endearing to watch is the fluidity with which those labels apply until they don't apply at all. Sometimes Luke is protecting Noah, sometimes the other way round, sometimes Luke needs to be centred, sometimes Noah does. They both make stupid decisions, both stand up for the other, both have complicated history and childhoods. That is what makes interesting and believable characters in drama, and in taking this all on, it is obvious that they defy stereotype by being a genuine partnership. That is not to say there is not some sign of co-dependance but it works both ways. This is, in fact, my answer for why woman consume and create more gay content such as slash fiction and pornography, than men. Woman are attracted to a relationship without stereotypes, where dynamics are built based on personality types and not gender, where men understand their partners emotionally and sexually. There is nothing sexier than a man realises he is more than that.
The other, equally alarming, point about this question is that is suggests that heterosexual relationships should have a dominant male and submissive female. Surely we are past the point of assuming the dynamics of relationships have or should be that way. I think to build a relationship upon roles based on gender stereotypes are intrinsically flawed, for there will always be situations in which, naturally, the roles would reverse. It is this kind of understanding of relationships that forces strong women to subdue themselves and men to hide their emotions, even when in long-term relationships. It is entirely negative for society, in the 21st Century, to still pander to inaccurate generalisations for all genders and sexuality's.
Overall, this question and the additional issues it raises plagues this subculture. Mpreg FanFiction stems from the same place - straight couples procreate, I must have this couple procreate. That is not to say there is not good mpreg fiction out there that does more than this with the sub-genre but it is where it comes from that worries me. I would like to think most people who watch Luke and Noah are more intelligent than this, and I am sure they are. If not, it's their loss. Because by trying to understand Nuke by conditions they do not fit, you miss what makes then a great couple in the first place.
I have written this in relation to Luke and Noah but the same can be said for many other gay couples on television such as McDean, Chrolli, DeRo etc.
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