It's funny. I was never really a 'slasher' before. When I was lurking a lot in the Highlander fandom, well, Methos was my favorite character, and he is someone who always struck me as totally bisexual. At 5,000 years old, I couldn't see him thinking in terms of gender. The one pairing I didn't like was Methos/Duncan, because Duncan totally pinged 'straight as a board' to me. I never wrote any HL fanfic.
It wasn't until I actually came into the HP fandom last summer that I really had much interest in slash. And even now, it's not about the slash itself, it's about the dynamics between the particular characters. When I first read the books, I never even thought about the sexuality of the characters. At all. I didn't read them for the romance; I read them for the story - for the plot - for the interesting characters. And after PoA, Remus and Sirius quickly became my favorites, probably because they were about my age, and the trio were so young to me.
It wasn't until I stumbled upon a R/S fic, quite accidentally I might add, that the idea of the two of them as a couple entered my mind. And to my surprise, it really resonated with me. Not because of their gender, not because it was "ooh - teh hot slashy sex", but because I loved the dynamic of their personalities together. Their gender was almost... incidental. And I have gay friends as well. Yes, I saw the similarities between lycanthropy/homosexuality, but I never really applied it in that manner. It was a metaphor, not an actual comparison.
So why do I see Remus as gay/bi rather than straight? I can't honestly tell you. It's not any one thing in particular and there's no glaring neon sign flashing over him proclaiming "gay as a tree full of monkeys" or anything like that. I just tend to look at him as a private, closed person who, by his very nature and probably because of his condition, would not be one to scoff at attraction/love in whatever form it comes in. At least not as an adult - as a teen - it would probably have been awfully confusing. And because of who he is, he's also not the type to seek out love or relationships. Not so much because he doesn't think he deserves it, but because he's too much of a realist, and his friendships with the other marauders were more on par with a gift. I suppose I also see him as being much more comfortable with men than with women in general. He doesn't let people in - not easily - which is why I'm not happy with the R/T relationship as it's been portrayed.
I like Tonks. I'd read a few stories pairing them together, and the fanon Tonkses were much better written compatibility-wise. Sirius is such a force of nature, especially younger Sirius, that he wouldnt have taken no for an answer. Relentless. Canon Tonks doesn't have that... passion, that depth.
Anyway, I'm really going OT. I suppose fanon has influenced me though I don't slash just to slash. I don't like Snupin, and I wouldn't just pair Remus indiscriminantly with any male just for the sake of it. I need a reason beyond "ooh teh hot slashy sex!" I just really like him with Sirius. To me, it just fits - it works. And I can't really explain it any more than that.
I don't think I helped very much in answering your question...
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-07-27 04:18 pm (UTC)It wasn't until I actually came into the HP fandom last summer that I really had much interest in slash. And even now, it's not about the slash itself, it's about the dynamics between the particular characters. When I first read the books, I never even thought about the sexuality of the characters. At all. I didn't read them for the romance; I read them for the story - for the plot - for the interesting characters. And after PoA, Remus and Sirius quickly became my favorites, probably because they were about my age, and the trio were so young to me.
It wasn't until I stumbled upon a R/S fic, quite accidentally I might add, that the idea of the two of them as a couple entered my mind. And to my surprise, it really resonated with me. Not because of their gender, not because it was "ooh - teh hot slashy sex", but because I loved the dynamic of their personalities together. Their gender was almost... incidental. And I have gay friends as well. Yes, I saw the similarities between lycanthropy/homosexuality, but I never really applied it in that manner. It was a metaphor, not an actual comparison.
So why do I see Remus as gay/bi rather than straight? I can't honestly tell you. It's not any one thing in particular and there's no glaring neon sign flashing over him proclaiming "gay as a tree full of monkeys" or anything like that. I just tend to look at him as a private, closed person who, by his very nature and probably because of his condition, would not be one to scoff at attraction/love in whatever form it comes in. At least not as an adult - as a teen - it would probably have been awfully confusing. And because of who he is, he's also not the type to seek out love or relationships. Not so much because he doesn't think he deserves it, but because he's too much of a realist, and his friendships with the other marauders were more on par with a gift. I suppose I also see him as being much more comfortable with men than with women in general. He doesn't let people in - not easily - which is why I'm not happy with the R/T relationship as it's been portrayed.
I like Tonks. I'd read a few stories pairing them together, and the fanon Tonkses were much better written compatibility-wise. Sirius is such a force of nature, especially younger Sirius, that he wouldnt have taken no for an answer. Relentless. Canon Tonks doesn't have that... passion, that depth.
Anyway, I'm really going OT. I suppose fanon has influenced me though I don't slash just to slash. I don't like Snupin, and I wouldn't just pair Remus indiscriminantly with any male just for the sake of it. I need a reason beyond "ooh teh hot slashy sex!" I just really like him with Sirius. To me, it just fits - it works. And I can't really explain it any more than that.
I don't think I helped very much in answering your question...