And you bring up a really good point here, that slash is really uncanonical by defintition--at least I know I've always thought of it that way. Meaning that if the two characters are together in canon it's not slash, it's just two characters who are gay or bisexual. I'm a person, for instance, who thinks that writing Brian/Justin from Queer as Folk is not slash because they're gay in canon.
So I'm more like you in looking at the relationships in canon--I'm really never looking for evidence. I guess I might be looking for "slashy bits" that just have that ring to it, something that sounds kind of sensual for whatever reason. There are a lot of slash ships that have those sorts of things. But what I'm really into is, as you say, the energy and potential for the characters. Sometimes ships that people argue have more basis because at least the characters care about each other not only don't interest me at all but seem less likely or easy to manage for whatever reason--Harry/Ron, for instance. There are certainly things in that relationship that can be slashed, but maybe not the things that people who love H/R usually like.
It's weird the way it brings up the whole OOC idea--is it OOC to slash certain pairs? And I feel that no, it isn't. I think you can keep the characters in character and slash them even if they would never do that in canon. I think I notice this a lot reading LOTR stuff--hobbit slash, to me, is interesting because by adding this sexual aspect you can see some of the parts of the relationship that aren't so clear in canon. In fact, I think hobbit slash brings out the cracks and flaws in the relationships while in HP slash often brings out the parts that bind characters together who were previously worlds apart.
Could it be that what you call slash fodder, is the kind of evidence or situations that lends itself well to fics that wants to tell of the *how* and that since they don’t necessarily tell anything about or even care about *why*, the writers of *how* might seem especially careless or unconcerned with character evidence or consistency? Slashing for the sake of slashing?
That could defintely be it. Or that one of the biggest draws of fanfic is the "what if?" factor, and the more there is in canon to begin with the more tempting the "what if?" scenario is. So if you've got Harry and Snape they already have an intense relationship. You just add the "what if?" of slash. Whereas with some rarer pairings the author has to convince you there's a reason to wonder "what if?" and then present their fic.
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And you bring up a really good point here, that slash is really uncanonical by defintition--at least I know I've always thought of it that way. Meaning that if the two characters are together in canon it's not slash, it's just two characters who are gay or bisexual. I'm a person, for instance, who thinks that writing Brian/Justin from Queer as Folk is not slash because they're gay in canon.
So I'm more like you in looking at the relationships in canon--I'm really never looking for evidence. I guess I might be looking for "slashy bits" that just have that ring to it, something that sounds kind of sensual for whatever reason. There are a lot of slash ships that have those sorts of things. But what I'm really into is, as you say, the energy and potential for the characters. Sometimes ships that people argue have more basis because at least the characters care about each other not only don't interest me at all but seem less likely or easy to manage for whatever reason--Harry/Ron, for instance. There are certainly things in that relationship that can be slashed, but maybe not the things that people who love H/R usually like.
It's weird the way it brings up the whole OOC idea--is it OOC to slash certain pairs? And I feel that no, it isn't. I think you can keep the characters in character and slash them even if they would never do that in canon. I think I notice this a lot reading LOTR stuff--hobbit slash, to me, is interesting because by adding this sexual aspect you can see some of the parts of the relationship that aren't so clear in canon. In fact, I think hobbit slash brings out the cracks and flaws in the relationships while in HP slash often brings out the parts that bind characters together who were previously worlds apart.
Could it be that what you call slash fodder, is the kind of evidence or situations that lends itself well to fics that wants to tell of the *how* and that since they don’t necessarily tell anything about or even care about *why*, the writers of *how* might seem especially careless or unconcerned with character evidence or consistency? Slashing for the sake of slashing?
That could defintely be it. Or that one of the biggest draws of fanfic is the "what if?" factor, and the more there is in canon to begin with the more tempting the "what if?" scenario is. So if you've got Harry and Snape they already have an intense relationship. You just add the "what if?" of slash. Whereas with some rarer pairings the author has to convince you there's a reason to wonder "what if?" and then present their fic.