I don't ship slash, but thank you for this post! I'm curious to see what people's responses are.

- Caroline, Gryffindor Prefect

Same with me! *points to avatar*

- Liz, Hufflepuff

I dont write but I so adore the Draco/Harry pairing cause I beleive it CAN happen.The sexual tension between these two is something else...I actually started reading slash before I read the books.

I 'ship anything that seems to provide an interesting dynamic. This includes het and slash. *shrugs*

It's not so much whether or not they've even met in canon, it's mostly just 'what would happen if these two characters did meet?' or 'how could I possibly get these two characters together and make it believable?'

Of course, to some, slash isn't believable ever, but that's a different debate for a different time. *giggles*

Heh, forgot...

-- Ambs, Slytherin

I second that. I only have two canon ships. Everything else I read because the dynamic interests me.

--Kelley, Slytherin, Mod, TODIEFOR

I totally agree with you. I'm never about possiblity in canon, I'm all about writing an interesting fic. And often the weirder the pairing, the more interesting!

*koff*likeHr/D*koff*

I'm pretty open to most pairings. So slash naturally is something I like. When it comes to shipping, I'm not into that much if it's canon-believable. (this coming from a R/Hr and H/G shipper which somehow seems weird).

I like pairing that has the potential of chemistry. Remus and Sirius have chemistry, canon-based so it's easy. Draco and Harry (the classic slash pairing) can have chemistry to so it doesn't seem farfetched. So it's all about if in my mind I think the two characters could somehow work.

I won't speak for anyone else, but my own 'ships tend towards slash because I find those particular combinations more compelling than het for whatever reason.

Not that I'm against het at all. In fact, I like quite a bit of it. A well written Lucius/Bellatrix, or Severus/Narcissa, or hell, even Lucius/Naricssa, will have me enthralled for hours. I've even found a few Lucius/Hermione that have caught my eye.

But still, I favor slash.

I'm a hopeless romantic at heart, and am a sucker for drama. The more star-crossed a pairing is, the greater the chance that I love it. Heh.

For example, Severus/Sirius-- they despise each other with every fiber of their beings, and would rather kill each other (sadly, a moot point now) than breathe the same air, but written well, that angst can be transformed into an amazing love/hate or hurt/comfort story. After all, there's a thin line between love and hate.

I've also gravitated towards Severus/Harry and Lucius/Harry for the same reason. Angst, drama and more angst. Shakespeare is mah pimp, basically. ;)

My own OTP in fandom is probably the most taboo-- Harry/Tom Riddle, or Harry/Voldemort. You don't get much more star-crossed than that.

They're connected to each other, even in prophecy. They had miserable childhoods (though granted, Tom is the reason for Harry having the life he's had), share similar looks, are mentally connected through Harry's scar, and they both speak Parseltongue. Harry has anger and hatred in him, just as Tom does, and he has rage, especially now in the advent of OOTP.

In a lot of ways, they're the same boy, separated by time and experience, only Tom gave in to his anger and resentments and hatreds and set out for revenge. Harry hasn't gone that far yet, but he's not the perfect Gryffindor Golden Boy that people expect him to be.

That's why I find them compelling. They're a lot alike, but very, very different at the same time, and it's that duality that makes me favor their 'ship over all the others, though I'll read anything that is well-written or interesting enough.

Hope that answers your question. :)

Cheers!

Tish,
Ravenclaw

Wow. I really enjoyed reading that! Thanks for the incite.

Jenn // Hufflepuff

I don't "ship" anything exactly, I'll read anything that sounds interesting to me, as long as it includes characters I like. I'll read Snape/Lupin which has pretty much NO book/film to back it up at all other than Snape makes Lupin the Wolfsbane potion - but I love both characters and as long as it's written well, I can forget about it having no book or film base.

But then there's Sirius/Lupin which has the whole Maruader-past, hugging, and affectionate dialogue which gives it some basis - not much, seeing as Sirius is usually interacting with Harry when in the scene, but enough that slash fans can jump on it, build theories around, and then offer quotes and images as "proof" when questioned on their ship.

And then there's pairings which don't need a strong author to write convincingly or have a lot of canon fact to base it on. All you need is a willingness to write some UST and porn and there it is, Draco/Harry. They hate each other. They will probably never be friends. But they're both attractive boys, both popular with the fans, and have just enough exchange for you to think, hmm, maybe there's some sexual tension going on...and there you go, basis for some sexy, angst and tension-filled fic.

The last common slash scenario I can think of is that of minor characters, such as Dean Thomas/Seamus Finnegan. You don't have a lot of backstory or information about either of them so you're free to make it all up. There's no book or film evidence for you to base it on, you're basically just using a general character outline and then filling in the gaps. They're pretty much your original characters - just with a copyrighted character's name and appearance.

Hmm, I don't think I really answered your questions, but I had fun ranting. Hopefully I interested somebody, lol.

-Ami
Slytherin

Because slash is hot. ^_^

Well, no, actually, there's a deeper reason than that. For some reason I find slash pairings more compelling. I can't tell you why -- for some reason het ships don't quite snag my interest as much. Though I do think R/Hr and H/G stand a very good chance of being canon, and I like both those ideas.

My favorite ship is Sirius/Remus because it's so believeable. It's almost canon, really -- there's so much chemistry between them; and there's a lot we don't know about them, so it's easy to fill in the blanks. And they'd be so cute together. (Well, they would if I use my own casting for Sirius -- I didn't like the actor for him; though I loved David Thewlis.)

Eh -- actually, maybe it is just because slash is hot.

I used to be really into Harry/Draco, but I can only stay in happy fanon land for so long. I like things that actually could work in canon.

And really, I don't believe in the whole thin line between love and hate thing. Maybe it's just me. Fun to play around with, but -- naw.

~Olivia~
Ravenclaw

Actually, I forgot to put a winky after the comment about a fine line between love and hate. Heh.

In canon, I'm fairly sure nothing would *ever* have been possible between Severus/Sirius, or Harry/Tom. It's just not possible in either respect. Though I agree with Sirius/Remus, because I see the hints of it in the books.

But for the more far-fetched pairs like the ones I favor, it's fun to play around with them, and if they're written well, canon can just be set aside for awhile. :)

Tish,
Ravenclaw

Yeah, I agree. It's fun to read the no-chance-in-hell pairings sometimes.

^_^

Absolutely. XD The rare pair is totally fun.

I like the Draco/Harry Slash because I think it's adorable how they always fight & you can tell that they kind of flirt.

The reason that I also support the Harry/Snape slash is because of the passage in the 5th book where Harry feels sorry for Snape & says that they relate a lot. I just made me think that Harry supporting Snape would be adorable!
<3

I've never really been a fan of slash. Not because I don't support homosexual relationships, I just think that those types of pairing take away from the original story. Like it's weird for me to read a story where Snape/Sirius are a couple, because I know they hate each other.

That's just my personal view. :-p

Molly, Hufflepuff

Well, on the het side of things, I'm always a HarryxHermione fangirl. I have always loved the dynamic, and it's mainly because I think that RonxHermione can just go quite immature, whereas Hermione brings out the BEST in Harry, and visa versa.

And Slash, I'm a puppy girl. SiriusxRemus. I can't really explain why, but there's loads of possiblities, and the relationship has so many facets.

Because Sirius/Remus issocanon!!!

Hee. That was what I was going to write. It IS, OMG. Joint Christmas present... whatever.

Medb, Ravenclaw Prefect

Hum. There's two pairings that have ALWAYS been my OPT slash pairings. Others include Sirius/Remus and James/Sirius.

1) Fred/George. Just...their chemistry together, the way they always finish each other's sentences, they're in everything together - it's so cute.

2) Draco/Ron. I don't know why, but this only started recently, and though their fandom is a bit small, I like it. I guess I believe that there must be some sort of affection beneath all that animosity, and if not - then they can always get over it in the years to come. ^^

I just have to agree with the draco/ron one - I love that.. but the Fred/George grosses me out..Any character-related slash is just disgusting..especially lucius/draco. It almost made me cry. eh.

I'm not in to slash, but lately I've been jumping all over (figuratively of course!) Sirius/Remus. It's hot, they have a past... rawr.

Frances, Gryffindor