pauraque_bk (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pauraque_bk) wrote2004-02-18 06:21 pm
pauraque_bk) wrote2004-02-18 06:21 pm
A bit of fic theory
I was thinking earlier about how in both of my primary fandoms, the most popular slash pairings are antagonistic, whereas the most popular het pairings are -- what do you call that? -- extended friendships. "Buddy" pairings. You've got Mulder/Scully and Harry/Hermione-Ron/Hermione for het, and Mulder/Krycek and Harry/Draco for slash.
In HP, the most obvious "buddy" slash pairing (Harry/Ron) is relatively neglected[1], and the biggest antagonistic het pairing (Snape/Hermione) is nowhere near as popular as its "buddy" counterparts. The primary antagonistic het pairing in XF is Krycek/Scully, something of a niche interest. It's hard to make a judgment about buddy slash pairings in XF, because there aren't any really obvious ones (unless you count Mulder/Skinner, which doesn't approach the popularity of Mulder/Krycek).
I can think of many examples and counter-examples from other fandoms, so I wouldn't say this is a meta-fandom trend, but might it say something about the tone of a specific fandom? Or its relative attitudes toward slash and het?
[1] Though, of course, the second most obvious buddy slash pairing (Sirius/Remus) is much more popular. There may be other issues in S/R that remove it a few steps from other HP slash pairings -- its association with H/G and R/Hr, and the tendency to feminize Remus.
In HP, the most obvious "buddy" slash pairing (Harry/Ron) is relatively neglected[1], and the biggest antagonistic het pairing (Snape/Hermione) is nowhere near as popular as its "buddy" counterparts. The primary antagonistic het pairing in XF is Krycek/Scully, something of a niche interest. It's hard to make a judgment about buddy slash pairings in XF, because there aren't any really obvious ones (unless you count Mulder/Skinner, which doesn't approach the popularity of Mulder/Krycek).
I can think of many examples and counter-examples from other fandoms, so I wouldn't say this is a meta-fandom trend, but might it say something about the tone of a specific fandom? Or its relative attitudes toward slash and het?
[1] Though, of course, the second most obvious buddy slash pairing (Sirius/Remus) is much more popular. There may be other issues in S/R that remove it a few steps from other HP slash pairings -- its association with H/G and R/Hr, and the tendency to feminize Remus.
no subject
Oh, and het antagonists...try Buffy :-)
Re:
*nods* That may be largely true. I was going to say that I like both, but I can't quite think of a good example of a buddy pairing I like. I read Ron/Harry, but I like it best when it plays up the hostility between them. I like Harry/Neville too, but I like it for the "shadow self" stuff between them, as was mentioned below, though it isn't antagonistic in that case (yet!).