What's Wrong With HP Fans?

[penfold_x]

Read furiosity's post regarding the number of Harry Potter fans who not only don't read gen fic, but claim to hate it. Lots of comments remarking on the scarcity of HP gen fic, something I've noticed in my own (mostly fruitless) search for readable, enjoyable HP gen fic. Which leads me to ask:

What the hell is wrong with you people?
No, really, what's wrong with HP fans? I've been in quite a few fandoms, and I've never had this much difficulty finding gen fic. While I am, as one person described, a "militant genner," I have quite a few slasher and shipper friends in my various fandoms, and I've spent time exploring sites and communities outside of my reading interests, so I think I have a pretty good picture of what's out there. In every case, be it Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate SG-1, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Real Ghostbusters, The Sentinel, Magnificent 7, Man from Uncle -- virtually any current fandom -- there is a large, active gen fiction community. I cracked open the program from last year's Media*West Con to check my perception against the list of last year's premiering zines: of about 100 new zines, approximately half were gen. Even Lord of the Rings, home of crazed RPS ficcers, had at least two gen zines last year.

One factor might be the lack of "old time" fans in HP fandom (this would neatly explain the lack of print zines as well). I can't say that I've examined this in any scientific way, but I get the impression from LJ the and few HP lists I've subscribed to that HP has a higher percentage of youger fans and people for whom this is their first fandom (compared to fandoms like Stargate or The Sentinel). I don't recognize a lot of the pen names I've encountered. Of course, this is a hard thing to gauge in a fandom that seems to be much more diffuse than other fandoms (a result of so much of the fandom being located in LJ?).

Others might argue that HP has an inordinatly large number of canon characters, several of whom are in canon relationships, or for whom JKR is dropping anvils, which leads to the relationship-heavy nature of HP fic. However, none of these canon relationships take up a great portion of canon; JKR doesn't spend pages delving into the Malfoys' marital angst or the Weasleys' after-hours action. Even the Ron/Hermione relationship takes up relatively little space, considering they're the two principle supporting characters. One can argue that some canon or near canon shipping is to be expected, but canon pairings don't account for the vast majority of ship and slash. What of the reams of fic written about "Draco turn[ing] into a godlike were-leopard by way of buttsex with Mrs. Norris" and other similarly remote, bizarre ship and slash fic? HP fans seem to delight in pairing characters that have never appeared in the same chapter, let alone exchanged three words. Most of the pairings in other fandoms seem to arise out of fans' perception of UST. Almost all of the HP pairings have no canon UST. Not a shadow. Not a shred. Not a scintilla. And few fans even bother to argue that they perceive any. So I don't think that can be it.

All I want is sharks with laser beams a little decent gen. Character studies, missing scenes, alternate endings, meta commentaries, a little hurt/comfort. Throw me a frickin' bone, people.

Comments

[hobsonphile.livejournal.com]

Word McWord. You've just summarized why I refuse to touch HP fandom with a ten foot pole, even though I greatly enjoy the books. Where is the gen? Where are the simple friendship fics and the long, plotty adventures? The plausible AU's? And yes, the platonic hurt/comfort, my kink to end all kinks?

*stays in Babylon 5 fandom, where gen is alive and well*

[nausica2.livejournal.com]

Well said. Most everybody in the fandom has a pairing. There are little people who don't have one.

Personally I don't really read fics. It's difficult to explain, but it's an ongoing story, it's a book and feels weird. I've read shoebox_project, though. Some of it is very OOC, but other stuff is funny, especially the careers advice part.

In Stargate I don't want any pairing at all, but here I wouldn't mind Ron/Hermione and I can understand why people see Sirius/Remus (I love their frienship, but saw lots of subtext in Cuaron's film and even in OoTP).

What I find most intriguing are the pairings that come from developing characters that aren't very developed in the books, mainly Draco. There you can see there are lots of young fans in here.

I think it was xochiquetzl who said Stargate is an "old school" fandom when she was discussing the OTP thing. It's interesting to notice the difference between these two fandoms, yes.

[graculus.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. Where do we start with this? Personally, I swore I'd never get into HP fandom but it kind of grabbed me - alas, the good gen just isn't anything like as commonplace. There's bad slash out there but the worst slash seems to be *way* better than the worst gen, which falls into all the cliches a 14-year old MarySue writer can imagine. Even the most popular gen tropes out there (Severitus, Harry rescued from the Dursleys) show a startling lack of imagination.

I think you have to look at what people read before you can consider what they write. HP is a self-sustaining fandom in a lot of ways, with a lot of people in HP alone (many of them apparently under the illusion that they invented fandom), so where's the exposure to well-written gen as a comparison?

And if the average age of the writers is as low as we suspect it is, then they're not going to be approaching writing gen with the same literary background (both fandom and otherwise) as people who've been around longer.

Maybe people just aren't seeing the same gaps in canon to fill? I find there's generally scorn towards AUs, so I'm not even going into that subject, but you'd think there'd be much more room for manoeuvre, wouldn't you?

Personally, I'd say your inherent criticism of the ease the slashers write all sorts of pairings in HP shows they have much more of an imagination than the gen fans, but I think you'd also find that many of the people producing the most weird (and often wonderful, oddly enough) slash are significantly older than the mean.

[cleverthylacine]

Er, well. I write a plausible AU or two, but there's slash and het content in there mixed up with the gen.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Provided the het or slash isn't the focus, I enjoy a nice AU (ie, I really liked Blood Magic even though there's some minor het and gen scattered through it).

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

And yes, the platonic hurt/comfort, my kink to end all kinks?

You're pushing my buttons right there. Yes, where is the platonic h/c? Where, oh, where? *forlorn look*

*stays in Babylon 5 fandom, where gen is alive and well*

I've never been to B5 fandom, but your icon says there's Vir h/c to be read. Can I have some linky-love?

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

I can understand why people see Sirius/Remus (I love their frienship, but saw lots of subtext in Cuaron's film and even in OoTP).

*squints through determinately gen eyes*

Yes, given the hug in PoA, and the whole "we're part of a tragic group of friends torn by grief," I can see the argument.

What I find most intriguing are the pairings that come from developing characters that aren't very developed in the books, mainly Draco. There you can see there are lots of young fans in here.

Yes, I can see that, going back to the previous "Draco is a cipher girls project onto discussion."

There's an awful lot of fic written about characters for whom we have only the vaguest notion (Blaise, Justin, Susan, Padma, etc). It's an odd trend.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

There's bad slash out there but the worst slash seems to be *way* better than the worst gen, which falls into all the cliches a 14-year old MarySue writer can imagine.

It makes me want to hide my face in shame. I'm beginning to think I got rather spoiled over in SG, where there were so many fine gen writers. I'd put the gen SG up against the slash SG any day. And that's not even mentioning the high proportion of good h/c.

(many of them apparently under the illusion that they invented fandom)

*snort* Did I tell you about one of the HP4GU websites that I ran into where the creator claimed HP4GU coined the term 'ship'?

Maybe people just aren't seeing the same gaps in canon to fill?

That's a really good point. Most canon sources are episodic, which I think leaves a great deal more in terms of gaps. There are some examples of movies spawning huge traditional fandoms (like SW), but movies and books do seem on the whole less likely to generate traditional fanfic fandoms.

Also, the books are all Harry POV, which I suppose can be limiting. But I would think that the flip side of that is retelling stories from other characters' POV (for example, CoS from Lockhart POV has the potential to be incredibly amusing, while PS/SS or OotP from Snape's POV could be exciting).

I find there's generally scorn towards AUs, so I'm not even going into that subject, but you'd think there'd be much more room for manoeuvre, wouldn't you?

As you know, I adore AUs (esp if they are dark and tragic), so you wouldn't hear me complain, but yes, I would actually think HP would generate quite a few AUs (ie, Neville as TBWL, Harry's parents live). I came close to applying for an AU RPG because of the intriguing plot line.

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

Hhuh.

I guess I've always found it pretty easy to find gen I like in the HP fandom when I was in the mood for it, and I like HP gen better than the gen in most other fandoms, too. But because I don't read mainly gen, I suppse my desire isn't as unquenchable as yours is.

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

I will grant that HP has the weirdest pairings of any fandom I am familiar with, along with some of the most persistent shippers of unconventional pairings.

[hobsonphile.livejournal.com]

There is Londo, G'Kar, and Vir gen to be read at my infant archive, Enemies & Allies (which also contains het and slash, but the gen has a formidable presence). My favorite example of Vir-related h/c, though, is selenak's Miracles, which is set after Vir's fight with Londo in And the Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place. Se wrote it as a Christmas present for me in 2003. She says that I inspire her to write WAFF for some reason. *g*

[ginnytonnick.livejournal.com]

You made the metafandom community. :)

[telepwen.livejournal.com]

I love you. You illustrate my points exactly. Why does fanfiction have to be shippy nothing but slash?

That said, I write nothing but gen (http://www.thedarkarts.org/authorLinks/Telepwen/).

Me? A feedback whore? Never.

[fernwithy.livejournal.com]

Here from D_S.

Well, there are a couple of gen communities, but we don't get much in terms of recs (other than the page that jetamors keeps). It doesn't seem to be part of the social aspect of HP fandom, where people flock by ship rather than just by character (which I don't get, personally, but I've gone off on this subject quite frequently). There's good stuff out there; it's just not publicized.

If you don't mind drabbles, there's hpgen100, and there's a monthly challenge at hp_gen_ch.

[telepwen.livejournal.com]

Then try Promises Unbroken (http://www.thedarkarts.org/authors/robinlady/PUpro.html). It's totally gen, and it's amazing.

[maubast.livejournal.com]

Here from daily_snitch

One factor might be the lack of "old time" fans in HP fandom (this would neatly explain the lack of print zines as well).

There were two zine agents carrying print HP zines. One carried slash zines and r'cd a C&D from Ms. Rowlings solicitors (I believe that is who it was from - I do know of a certainty she r'cd a C&D) so she stopped carrying those fanzines. The other agent carries 1 genzine.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Do you have a rec list?

[magicicada.livejournal.com]

Thank you for that. I very much agree with you. I don't at all mind fic that include ships, slash, femslash or het, but I want something with a plot and insight into characters and themes and something more than just an excuse to get Character A together with Character B. The Harry Potter books have so many aspects that deserve exploring more than just romantic relationships and sex, even in fics that sometimes involve them.

Jetamors’ Page of Gen Recs (http://www.geocities.com/tapairuparauri//genrecs.html) is a good source of genfic.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Me? A feedback whore? Never.

Nuttin' wrong with that.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

I still don't want a lapdance.

...

Just so we're clear.

[kayling.livejournal.com]

here via DS as well.

I completely understand where you're coming from. Before HP, I was in Buffy, and there's a nearly endless supply of gen or at least non-ship-focused fics there. While I've been in HP a rather long time (since 2001), I still search out gen fic every now and then when I get fed up with seeing crazy shit like Lily/Squid or Padfoot/Whomping Willow.

For a bit of fic pimping:
copperbadge writes a wonderful mostly gen AU fic called Stealing Harry. It's got slash as the "main" couple, but their relationship is not the major focus of the fic. I definitely recommend it: http://oojahs.snoo.org/frontpage.htm

[kayling.livejournal.com]

gah, that's supposed to be 'copperbadge writes...' stupid LJ tags.

[penfold-x.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestions.

It doesn't seem to be part of the social aspect of HP fandom, where people flock by ship rather than just by character (which I don't get, personally, but I've gone off on this subject quite frequently).

This is another thing that's been puzzling me. I've never experienced a fandom as diffuse as HP. I feel sort of left out of HP, like there's a hidden key or secret handshake I haven't figured out yet.

[ginnytonnick.livejournal.com]

Well, drat. There goes my weekend.

[mafdet.livejournal.com]

I second the recommendation for "Promises Unbroken." Normally I'm not a big fan of AU (more because so much is terribly written than because I'm against the concept) but Robin does such a wonderful job. You'll find yourself sucked right in.