What is it with my brain and some fandoms?

[ldhenson]

My post about Good Omens some time ago got me wondering again about a question that pops up from time to time (but is likely of limited interest to anyone but yours truly): What is it with my brain and some fandoms?

Specifically, why are there some fandoms where, when I look at the source material, I'm quite convinced of the inherent slashiness...and yet when I actually read the slash fic, my mind throws up a wall and I just can't see it?

Prime examples include Jack/Daniel, Jim/Blair, Chris/Vin, Chris/Ezra, Peter/Egon, Fraser/Vecchio, Sinclair/Garibaldi, Enjolras/Grantaire (oh god did I just admit to reading Les Mis fic?), Aziraphale/Crowley, and Jeeves/Wooster.

Could it be I'm just not reading the right fics? Could it be that my brain, long corrupted by years of fandom, habitually sees slash even where it doesn't really perceive any?

(Actually, I have a fairly good idea about a few of these, particularly the two at the end...I just can't fit the notion of sexual desire of any sort into their world(s) at all. Though apparently a lot of other people can. Well, different strokes and all that.)

Comments

[guede-mazaka.livejournal.com]

Slash is like alchemy--it's just as much the state of mind as it is the weird stuff that the authors meld together. Which is a crap explanation, but I can't otherwise explain why I can't get Jack/Barbossa except in certain instances of extremely well-written fic. But even then, the feeling only lasts as long as the story. Five minutes later, I'm looking at Geoffrey Rush in PotC, 'Tailor of Panama' and even 'Elizabeth,' and I'm thinking, "Nope. No vibes off this guy."

Re:

[ldhenson.livejournal.com]

Slash is like alchemy

Amen to that. I get the "no vibes" thing off plenty of characters; I just don't get why my brain seems to send up, in certain cases, false slash alarms as it were.

Actually, I think it may be because I sometimes prefer to leave things implied (which is a huge part of why I'm such a Terry Pratchett fan). When done right, subtext can be far more interesting than text. When done right. Otherwise, it's just frustrating.

I did manage to "get" a Jim/Blair fic once, an AU by a writer I'd long admired. Nothing before or since.

Jack/Barbossa? I'm a Jack/Will girl myself but that's something I'd be curious to see. Haven't read any POTC since, I think, September, and not because I don't want to. So many stories...so little time.