Slythrape and 'Slyths'

ataniell93 wrote about house identification and darkfics here.

Occam's razor people: the reason we see so many Slytherin rapists in fic is that in canon, the villains, both petty and major, are overwhelmingly Slytherin. Most fics that deal in rape are of the salt-the-earth variety, where the Death Eaters have won the war and the world is nasty place to be. Alternatively, there's always your soap opera/after school special-inspired dealin'-with-terribleterrible-pain fics. These kinds of stories don't require a subtle kind of villainy, so JKR's mean, knuckle-dragging, or crapass scheming Slytherins are perfect. You don't use a James Potter to do a Goyle's, or a Bellatrix's work.

Second cut: the reason so many self-identified Slytherin people write rapefic is that fandom's version of Slytherin House has gained a reputation for producing darkfic, and thus people who want to address the subject gravitate to it. It's not an unearned rep and is, I think, driven by the moral ambiguity that's at the heart of JKR's Slytherin House. That sort of just-win mentality lets you, as a writer, take those characters to very dark places much faster than others - it's easy. Again, if you want to write the kind of fic where people tread all over moral lines, you join the network of fans that's already doing it. Thus we're seeing fics about Slythrapists by people who are both fans of Slytherin characters, and people who really could be sorted into the house.

House identification is a fun bonus to HP fandom and some of the reasons we like it so much are:

1. It helps us manufacture online identities that prominently feature characteristics we admire, and it works as a kind of id-shorthand. Calling yourself a Slytherin lets everyone know that you're cunning and ambitious, even if you aren't. It also instantly confers an expectation of a certain level of moral relaxation and boldness. You're the kind of person who will do anything for what she wants. You have no limits. You're dangerous.

2. It helps us build networks of like-minded people. If you're a Slyth and she's a Slyth, well chances are that you both liked the Slyth characters and will enjoy talking about them. It's also likely that you enjoyed certain things about the book - themes, story arcs, whatever - because there aren't too many different reasons for aligning yourself with Draco, Snape et al. You're making a public association with the villains and bastards of the series and there aren't too many different reasons for doing that.

When you get a whole bunch of like-minded people (and fans of said people) talking and writing together, you tend see reinforcement of the things that drew them together. So if that network came together to talk about the villains and the terrible things they do, well, there's going to be a lot of stuff that explores 'dark' themes. (We need btw to draw a very big line between fandom Slytherin House, and that subset of it interested particularly in 'dark themes'. They aren't even remotely close to being the same thing.)

None of this precludes their ability to see Slytherin characters 'as people', or to genuinely like them. You can write a fic about Lucius raping half the European continent and still enjoy his function in canon. Still like him as a man. Because even if you wrote him as a rapist, you could turn around and write him as a philanthropist. He's a character. A prop. And even if all you ever wrote was Slythrape, Slythtorture and the like you could still love the characters to death, both for what they are in canon, and what they allow you to do in your writing.

And that was a bit random.

randomly, about recs/link to my remix fic

I'm not the best recer, but - about recs. I find it near-impossible to find recers who are any use to me. seperis and musesfool are two that work for me. Having read their journals for two years, I know what they like and what sorts of things to expect from their recs. Also, they have good taste. This is not true of most recers.

The drive to rec is a basic one - you find something amazing and you want others to love it as much as you do. The easier way to spread the love is to rec. Most recs are anything but discriminating, though, pointing to everything that brings them joy and while this isn't a bad thing - joy is never bad, man - it isn't useful. Because if you combine it with common recer trait the second - inability to express what makes a fic great - you have a squeeful babble that says nothing.

Finding a recer that works for you is like dating, and therefore tedious and painful. You have to read a few fics before you can decide if the recer in question is worth revisiting, or just cutting loose. Often, too often these dates leave you with a big WTF. To continue to dreadful analogy, rec comms are like school dances, where everyone's hiding in their own dark corner, eying the other corners. You tentatively step out to dance and get nothing but trampled toes. Very rarely you'll look up into another dancer's eyes and see a spark. Rec comms make me want to curl up in my dark corner and cry.

So, what I look for in a rec: mood, writing style, writing skill, quality of characterization, canon-ness, fanon-ness (if so, what part of fanon?), emotional and psychological realism, themes, interesting or unique elements, correctly formatted links that respect the author's warnings. Not that I pay attention to warnings.

What makes a good rec for you?

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Title: Round Numbers (Axiomatic Blend)
Fandom: Harry Potter
Sumamry: "She edited her letters while composing them in her head, learning to give just enough to inspire verisimilitude. She learned to tell stories, in writing at least, and by the time summer came around, she'd told the same ones, over and over until they came automatically to her lips."
Characters: Hermione, Harry
Rating: PG 13
Notes: This is a remix of saeva's Passive Aggressive. lavenderoracle and naked_birthday did beta duties, with cedarlibrarian and seperis on the handholding crew.