distortions in relationships in LOTR

[E. Fester]

I write slash occasionally, and read it, although I have to say that there aren't many authors worth reading.

I don't interpret Frodo and Sam's relationship to be anything more than an extremely strong friendship; they kiss, hold hands, etc., more than most friends, but people need physical contact. It's as simple as that. Going without any form of physical contact is extremely lonely, especially if you're trying to save the world

I don't have anything against slash if it's well-written, the characters are interesting and the relationships are well-done. What I dislike is fangirl gratification--girls who just want to see their objects of lust in bed together, without any thought as to what they find attractive about each other. It's boring, predictable, 2-dimensional, and immensely irritating (i.e. the slash equivalent of a romance novel). The emotional factor is necessary; physical attraction is too, but that's no excuse for graphic PWP.

I like slash. That's a fact. I like het (although I don't read it, only write it). Also a fact. I just like character interaction, both in friendships and romantic relationships. I understand why some people dislike slash; I used to, strongly, as the only slashfic I read was (unfortunately) in the 'Humour' section. The piece that got me interested in slash was short, extremely well-written, and rated PG-13. It's still one of my favourites.

The main argument against slash is that it's uncanon. But really, most fanfiction is. Even writing about a canon event from one character's point of view--which I think is called a POV fic--may be uncanon to an extent, because there's no way of telling if the original author would approve of the portrayal of his character.

Fanfiction (with the possible exception of parody) is a tribute to the author. It shows that you like and admire the characters and find them interesting. And while I find some of Tolkien's characters slightly tedious, I think some of them are a work of genius.

On that note, I haven't slashed LotR.

Originally Posted by Evisse the Blue

I mean, why not create your own characters and slash them?

I do