[HPFGU-OTChatter] Fics with slash, children's books, the purpose of my schpiel on warnings (in other words, multiple responses)

[Laura Ingalls Huntley]

>3. If you want to avoid fics with student-teacher relationships, skip
>the brilliant Rebecca Anderson's Darkness & Light trilogy, but you'll
>be missing out on a wonderful characterisation of Snape. Too bad for
>you. But it also means that you probably shouldn't read any
>Minerva/Albus fics, either...


Alright, here we go.  I, for one, haven't weighed in on the slash
conversation at all because I feel that I don't have anything new to offer
it -- Homosexuality is natural, good, etc. etc. End of Story.  Why is this
not a settled issue already?

As for the question of student-teacher relationships (or, in a more general
sense, sexual/romantic relationships between children and adults) -- I, for
one, think adults who have sex with children are evil.  This is one of the
few things that I completely refuse to be open-minded about.  It's wrong.
Now, I don't agree with statutory rape laws, where an 18 year old can be
prosecuted for having sex with a 15 year old, and I don't know exactly where
you draw the line(s), but adults should not be sexually involved *in any
way* with children.  These are strong statements, I know...and on other
issues I would have peppered them with a liberal amount of generally's,
IMO's, etc.  However, I want people to be aware how strong I feel about this
subject.

That said, I have absolutely no problem with fanfiction that involves such
adult/child relationships.  I generally don't read them, but that's more
because most of them are about Snape, and I don't like *him*.  I don't feel
the need to be "protected" from them by warnings or labels, and I certainly
don't think the authors are doing anything wrong.  Fiction is fiction, kids,
whether it has "fan" attached to it or not.  In fiction, we have the
opportunity to explore different options, perspectives, etc.  It's really
sort of the point.

As a side note, I prefer that fanfiction is labeled with a rating, a
indication of the major pairings (H/H, H/R, S/L...or perhaps written out for
the uninitiated...Dumbledore/Minerva, etc.), and possibly a brief summary.
However, I would never go as far as to say that authors have an obligation
to follow this method.  I just feel that it makes wading through the gobs of
fanfiction much easier, if you know what sort of story you're looking for.
On the other hand, just picking something at random or trying a fic that you
wouldn't generally give a second glance can also be quite rewarding.

What I really wish is that there could be some way to rate for grammatical
errors, weak plots, etc. ^_~

Laura, who is sick of spending hours trying to find a worthwhile fic, only
to come up with something with the phrase "sk8ter boi" in it as well.