Warning! massive overuse of ''
Mar. 25th, 2003 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
inteligrrlYet another fandom irritant:
I'm dreadfully tired of hearing about 'masks', either worn or 'seen under'. "Enough with me metaphorical codswallop" Snape would declare upon hearing a student professing to 'see beneath his mask'. The only Hogwarts students I can think of who would even be in possession of enough 'drivel' to say anything about masks are the Creavy brothers and possibly Ginny. Yes, these characters have defense mechanisms, indifference and even a certain amount of reserve, but that doesn't mean they have to be drug into a bunch of pre-pubescent fantasies about their 'masks' being revealed.
The closest thing to masks most people posses are emotional walls, which only come down with trust and mutual respect, in other words THROUGH AN ADULT RELATIONSHIP, not because some idiotic person has declared they can 'their true self'. If anyone said to me that they could 'see beneath my mask' I'd be greatly tempted to tell them to go get stuffed, Snape I will guarantee would be a lot less politic about it.
*is iritated*
And another thing, the reason I got into Harry/Snape in the first place is because it has so much more potential for a real adult relationship to be portrayed than any other pairing. These are two people who don't like each other. There is almost no possibility for them to have a relationship if it isn't based on mutual respect, which would have to be developed by the author.
They aren't like Harry/Draco where hormones and antagonism are more than enough to get them into bed. There is a process that must take place to show why they would get together, especially if it's during Harry's school years. Having them jump into bed simply because they've looked at each other a certain way is quite simply cheating.
It's cheating the characters. It's cheating the story. It's cheating the reader.
*takes breath*
This isn't to say that I don't enjoy a good pwp, something with minimal setup and the only real reason behind the relationship is a mutual strong attraction. The trouble is that the overwhelming trend in the fandom is to avoid the actual issues that would come up. Especially in fics where the characters are supposed to "live happily ever after" there's a tendency to ignore the fact that there is no basis for them to be together at all, much less for a lasting relationship.
If just one in twenty of you acknowledged the implausibility of your fics I'd be happy, but no one seems to realize that they're taking a couple which has the potential to help us explore the intricacies and difficulties of human interaction and relationships and reducing them to watered down Hugh Grant movie characters.
Please, can we explore real issues here? Make this all seem like more than a plot device and refuse to take the path of least resistance. I promise, we'll all thank you in the end.
I'm dreadfully tired of hearing about 'masks', either worn or 'seen under'. "Enough with me metaphorical codswallop" Snape would declare upon hearing a student professing to 'see beneath his mask'. The only Hogwarts students I can think of who would even be in possession of enough 'drivel' to say anything about masks are the Creavy brothers and possibly Ginny. Yes, these characters have defense mechanisms, indifference and even a certain amount of reserve, but that doesn't mean they have to be drug into a bunch of pre-pubescent fantasies about their 'masks' being revealed.
The closest thing to masks most people posses are emotional walls, which only come down with trust and mutual respect, in other words THROUGH AN ADULT RELATIONSHIP, not because some idiotic person has declared they can 'their true self'. If anyone said to me that they could 'see beneath my mask' I'd be greatly tempted to tell them to go get stuffed, Snape I will guarantee would be a lot less politic about it.
*is iritated*
And another thing, the reason I got into Harry/Snape in the first place is because it has so much more potential for a real adult relationship to be portrayed than any other pairing. These are two people who don't like each other. There is almost no possibility for them to have a relationship if it isn't based on mutual respect, which would have to be developed by the author.
They aren't like Harry/Draco where hormones and antagonism are more than enough to get them into bed. There is a process that must take place to show why they would get together, especially if it's during Harry's school years. Having them jump into bed simply because they've looked at each other a certain way is quite simply cheating.
It's cheating the characters. It's cheating the story. It's cheating the reader.
*takes breath*
This isn't to say that I don't enjoy a good pwp, something with minimal setup and the only real reason behind the relationship is a mutual strong attraction. The trouble is that the overwhelming trend in the fandom is to avoid the actual issues that would come up. Especially in fics where the characters are supposed to "live happily ever after" there's a tendency to ignore the fact that there is no basis for them to be together at all, much less for a lasting relationship.
If just one in twenty of you acknowledged the implausibility of your fics I'd be happy, but no one seems to realize that they're taking a couple which has the potential to help us explore the intricacies and difficulties of human interaction and relationships and reducing them to watered down Hugh Grant movie characters.
Please, can we explore real issues here? Make this all seem like more than a plot device and refuse to take the path of least resistance. I promise, we'll all thank you in the end.