Harry and Draco -- But the little girls understand

[themostepotente]

WARNING -- SERIOUS FANDOM RANT

Is anyone as sick of pointless, plotless, inane, and tritely written Harry/Draco like I am?

I mean seriously, why the fuck do most people who attempt to write this pairing insist on following the SAME GODDAMN BORING outline?

Sound familiar?

Boy meets boy
Boy hates boy
Boy crushes on boy
Boy ends up fucking boy
Boy angsts
Boy still hates boy

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

What...the...fuck?

What about this pairing zaps the creativity from some people?

Where is it written that *gasp* established H/D with plot is a big fucking no no?

I don't profess to be the best H/D shipper. Far the fuck from it, but at least my H/D stories were different from the norm.

Oh fucking wheee, let's use the same fucking story and just change the kink. I see it all the time. I see the same shitty H/D authors being recced.

Fuck this.

If you hate seeing this as much as I do, voice your opinion. To the creative H/D writers - you KNOW who you are. Give me a shout out, hmm?

If you hate this pairing, tell us all why.

Really disgusted.

--P

Comments

[maeglinyedi.livejournal.com]

No offense meant, but your rant is as repetitive as the stories you're ranting about. Yes, some people like cliches. Yes, some people even like fanon cliches. So what? Whatever you're saying, has all been said before, for Harry/Draco, for Snape/Harry, for Sirius/Remus and for every other popular pairing out there. Don't like it? Don't read. Live and let live. Write and let write. Just my 2 knuts. :-)

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

I think H/D has the biggest stigma for shit fic though.

And yeah, I'm just ranting. You get to a point where you just get so fed up.

No offense taken where none is meant, Maeglin :-)

[maeglinyedi.livejournal.com]

I think H/D has the biggest stigma for shit fic though.

Oh yes, I think it has, too. It's probably because H/D attracts so many younger writers. When I started reading in this fandom two years ago, I quickly discovered that a lot of H/D fics were badly written and/or riddled with cliches. Moreso than in other ships (although Snape/Harry and Sirius/Remus, the other two big slash ships, have similar 'problems'). I got fed up with it pretty quickly back then and stopped reading H/D. These days I'll only read it when it's from an author I know and like or if it's recced by someone whose opinion I value. The same goes for Snape/Harry fics I read.

So, all that I'm trying to say is that your complaints about cliches in H/D fics are as old as the ship itself, really. But yeah, I do understand the need to rant, although in the end it won't solve anything, methinks. ;-)

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

So, all that I'm trying to say is that your complaints about cliches in H/D fics are as old as the ship itself, really. But yeah, I do understand the need to rant, although in the end it won't solve anything, methinks. ;-)

No -- it surely won't, but you can't blame a girl for trying :-)

Oh, and I went ahead and friended you, Maeg. I don't expect reciprocation, but I do enjoy reading your journal for fandom tidbits and recs.

--P

[kangeiko]

I'm a member of several hp slash fiction communities, and have had to un-friend the vast majority of them. The problem with the H/D fics, IMHO, is not only that many are repetitive and badly-written, but also that they are cross-posted to death. 'Not reading them' becomes considerably more time-consuming the more people cut their teeth on HP slash via schmoopy H/D fic and post it to every community under the sun. It's like themed smap!

I, do, however, agree that cliches are common to most popular pairings. That's part of the problem (growing prevalent amongst Snarry fics, too, unfortunately). H/D has always been a popular ship and, IME, it has always been difficult to weed out good fic to read.

[maeglinyedi.livejournal.com]

H/D has always been a popular ship and, IME, it has always been difficult to weed out good fic to read.

Yep, that is my experience with the ship as well. The 'bad' fics vastly outnumber the 'good' ones. Then again, good and bad is all really a matter of taste and personal opinion.

[cedarlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Don't like it? Don't read. Live and let live. Write and let write.

I don't think this is an entirely fair thing to say. The way I see it, themostepotente and others are on the lookout for good H/D and may start reading a story before realizing that it's not any good. There is no way to know if a story will appeal to you until you start reading it, no matter how much it's recced. To say "just don't read it" doesn't work. We all want to read good fic, but when we're constantly disappointed, rants come about.

[maeglinyedi.livejournal.com]

There is no way to know if a story will appeal to you until you start reading it, no matter how much it's recced.

I absolutely agree. However, usually the summary can give you an idea of possible cliches in a story. That's what I go by, when I read popular slash ships. Also, when I read a fic I can usually tell quite soon if I'll like it or not. If I don't like the story, I hit that back button and don't read the rest of it.

but when we're constantly disappointed, rants come about.

And I do understand that. It's just that these rants are as old as the ship itself. So I couldn't help pointing out the irony of ranting about repetitive fics when the rant is just as repetitive. ;-)

[loony-moony.livejournal.com]

Hear hear. :)