Okay, I've decided to add this page for all those who have sent me emails and who WILL send me emails with comments such as this is disgusting, how could you write/read that, this was good, but they're not THAT way, or even something so simple as Ewww!. Now I'm not one for getting offended because people are entitled to their own opinions and we all like different things. I'm just way too open-minded than most and I feel that sometimes you just need to justify what you do. So here it is . . .


The Introduction

When I first discovered the fanfiction community I was ecstatic. I felt it was a wonderful way of getting what you want. At the time it was Sailor Moon. I loved Serena/Darien pairings because it gave me the ADULT feel that you couldn't get from watching the anime. If I didn't want to see Serena ditzy or whiny anymore, or if I wanted to see Serena box Raye in the face, or if I wanted to see Darien actually STAND UP for Serena, it was an excellent way of making it happen. This is what fanfiction is all about. It's a fan's way of resolving a disappointment. If we didn't like the way an episode took place, we changed it.

Now my friend was a huge Gundam Wing fan (so was I, but I read only Heero/Relena) and she read nothing but yaoi (male/male pairings in anime). She loved Heero/Duo and I was okay with her reading it. I mean, whatever floats your boat, right? But then she wanted me to read it and I was like uh, no Because I just couldn't see myself reading about two guys getting it on. I just couldn't SEE what was so great about it. Take note . . . This was in my conventional days (high school) where I only read het. pairings and I just couldn't see myself NOT reading het. pairings. Anyway, she forced me to read a Heero/Duo pairing and from then on I never read a het. pairing again (except in Sailor Moon where I still read Serena/Darien because there just was no other pairing I liked).

Eventually I moved from Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing and settled on Harry Potter. NOW (like years after my very first fanfiction story) it's Harry Potter and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, my OTFs (One True Fanfictions). And I read nothing but slash (male/male pairings) in these two fandoms.


Now here is where I tell you why

I understand that none of these characters are gay and FRANKLY if it came down to real life, I would want them to be straight because I personally can't GET WITH a gay man. And I definitely wouldn't want my husband (Warrick Brown) to be gay. But it's not real life. It's fiction. And liking two male characters (never female, because I just CAN'T get into femslash) together doesn't make me a FREAK (sexually speaking, of course). It's not even about sex with fanfiction. I have read some GREAT fanfiction where sex never even came up. So, again, it's not about sex.

It's about putting your favorite personalities together. In Harry Potter we all want to know what it would be like if two rivals fell in love (Harry and Draco). The fact that they're both male isn't even a factor. Nobody cares. In CSI what would happen if best mates (Nick and Warrick) became more than friends. We love their playful banter and their loyalty to one another and we find it sexy and appealing. The fact that they're two guys (two macho guys at that) doesn't even ring any bells. You get what I'm saying? We KNOW that they're not gay . . . I mean, OBVIOUSLY. We aren't stupid. We just have an imagination and we tend to think outside the box. When given lemons, we make lemonade AND lemon meringue pie. Because that's what writers do.

We COULD put Harry with Pansy or Hermione with Draco, and Warrick with Catherine or Nick with Sara, but that's BORING. I mean, I like Catherine and Warrick on the show, but fanfiction would be dull - I'm sorry. I don't even like Sara half the time she's on screen so why the hell would I put her with my second favorite CSI guy. No. And Pansy Parkinson barely has a role in the books. We don't know that much about her or even have a clear idea of her personality so why would I put her with any of my favorite guys? Because she's a girl? Because they're in different houses? No. Hermione's too bossy for me and we have so much to go on when Draco is placed with Harry. Do you know how hard it is to write slash? To write two characters (who aren't normally gay) as gay? Do you?!! It takes imagination and a clear sense of that character's personality in order for a reader to BELIEVE it.

This is why I love it. There is so much talent in the slash-fandom and it shouldn't go to waste. Besides, I'm a better person for it. I wouldn't be as open-minded today if I hadn't read that Gundam Wing fic all those years ago. I'd be rigid, conventional, and BORING. I'd still be reading Sailor Moon, still have Serena running around screaming and whining, still have Darien treating her like shit and cheating on her with Raye, still have Serena the nerd and Darien the jock. The same damn storyline. Do you see now? Do you see why I MOVED ON? And after all of THAT, you still don't understand - maybe reading isn't your thing.