The Het Girls Creed

[redbrunja]

I love my friends, but they are all slashers.

I am not.

So here follows the het girl's creed- an open love letter to why I love het.

Because the best-written het has a relationship between two people with different views and the world, different perspectives, who are nevertheless equal.

But really, because I like girls. In lots of shows girls, women, they get the short end of the stick. It's hard to find cool female characters in books and movies. I challange you to find a female Light who's in a series anywhere near as popular as Death Note, much less the main character. When I was younger, one of my first critiera for reading a book was, "Is there going to be a girl in it?" I didn't demand that they be the protaganist (though I prefered it that way) but that they at least should be a main secondary character.

I stil like and relate to girls. So slash really doesn't have a draw for me- and for shows like Death Note or Saiyuki, I don't need to spend more time with the guys. I see that from the source text. What I'm intrested in are the women, the characters who don't get that massive amount of screen time. I want to know why Yaone willingly walked into the Centipede Demon's lair. Did she do it because she was ordered to? Because she thought she was saving her village? Why? I want to know what happens when Light's little sister comes across a scrap of the Death Note (what do you bet she likes apples?) I want to know why Naomi willingly gave up her badge, and how she caught her first serial killer, and how many times she's gone through the door with gun in hand (I highly doubt Kira was the first case where SHE was risking her life.) Most especially, I want to see Naomi and L working together. These are the stories I want told.

And also, I like romance. I just do. I like that little giggle I get when I know the characters like each other but they haven't admitted it yet. I like watching two characters snip at each and realize that there's a little bit of attraction hidden in there. I like it when two characters are enemies but cant seem to treat each other that way. I love when it's clear that two characters really love each other, are married and still so in love.

That's why I love het.

Comments

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

The heart is awesome (how did you get it?) but I'm confused.

Is that, "I love what you said"? "I'm sorry we slashers love to torture you?" "I love het, too?"

(The icon is awesome, by the way.)

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

♥ (hope that worked)

The love of het never show's, hireadd, but I love you any way.

Icon makers are teh awesome.

[mzminola.livejournal.com]

Was this declaration, or opening to discussion? Say something if I cross any lines
Except for being female-specific, everything up there can be in slash. Femslash to get the girls in. I too, love romance, and the realizations and civil enemies and longtime sweethearts. People don't need to be the opposite sex to have different perspectives on the world.

If it's strong female leads your seeking, I recomend the Thursday Next books be Jasper Fforde. Narbonic (http://www.narbonic.com/) The Amelia Peabody books by Elizabeth Peters. Anything by Lois McMaster Bujold. Miracle of Science (http://project-apollo.net/mos/). The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I wrote this as a love-letter to het, so it's both declaration and open to discussion and yes, I'm not arguing that all the dynamtics that I list can be in slash- but because it's male/male it doesn't give me what I want. I really, really like reading about women, and when there's a sitation that should be resolved between to males, I don't feel that sex is nessecary for it. Which is just personal preferance and the fact that most of the characters I see/read seem striegh to me.

I remember when I first came across slash, I really didn't have a strong reaction to it- it was nice, had some interesting interaction, and an interesting sex scene, but I felt no zing, no, "I'm going to save that one because I'll want to read it again."

Sometimes I feel I'm drowning in slash however- a large percentage of my friends/flist are either slashers, or bi (write both slash and het.) So I wrote this as a reaction.

Thanks for the book recs- I've read all of them except the webcomics, and I really, really love Bujold. I need tor reread some of her books when I have a chance.

[mzminola.livejournal.com]

Sex isn't necessary for resolution between men and women, either.

I had friends trying to gross me out by naming pairings of anyone with anyone/thing. It didn't work, though I did say "ew" to a few just on principle of nobody in the pairing/grouping being attractive.

I used to feel like drowning. Well, actually, it was just that I kept insisting that not every dang relationship has to be sexual.

Bujold is my literary icon/hero/goddess, which is why I adore my Dendarii Free Mercenaries t-shirt I got last NorWesCon.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

No, sex isn't always a resolution, and what I meant by that was, when I believe that there's an issue that I'd like to explore with a character, and I think having him interact with another male character is the best way to work with that, I don't feel the need for there to be sex, and I don't enjoy reading the sex the way I would if it was well-written het or femmeslash sex.

And I totally agree with the "sometimes they're just friends, okay?" feeling.

[pipsiko-stein.livejournal.com]

Haha, you're the only one of my friends that's not a slasher. XD

BOYS KISSING IS SO CUTE!

I'm glad you're a hetty. <3

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I'M NOT GLAD I'M THE ONLY ONE OF MY FRIENDS WHO'S NOT A SLASHER!!!! IT'S REALLY FRACKING ANNOYING!

[wishforhome.livejournal.com]

You're not the only one who isn'ta slasher!

Swear to god!

*points at self* *snuggles and comisserates*

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Love the icon by the way.

It's mostly in real life and in fic that I feel overwhelled by the slash; my flist is pretty well balanced.

[wishforhome.livejournal.com]

There is a lack of good hetfic. I am writing het!fic for NaNoWriMo, but it's an OFC.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Do you mean, OFC as in, totally orginal work, or OFC in an established universe, or OFC meets up with our hero and...

Because I would read any of those.

[wishforhome.livejournal.com]

Have you read my fic Fratricide? It's a 6600 word Supernatural fic with about 800ish words of a non-explicit one night stand Dean has with this girl he meets in a bar when he's in desperate need of a distraction from the fact that Sam is possessed. This girl informed me that I wasn't allowed to just finish the fic and have that be that, because whether I liked it or not, he was coming back, and over the course of a rather long amount of time, she would make him hers. So OFC meets up with Dean and... type fic.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yay! I could do with some good Dean mets girl and takes a tumble!

[wishforhome.livejournal.com]

If you haven't read fratricide, you should. The girl doesn't have a huge part, but it's where she is introduced.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

When I have a free minute (not now, it's midterms) I'll give it a read.

[wishforhome.livejournal.com]

I know the feeling -- just got done with mine.

Repost 'cause I fail so hard at HTML tonight apparently

[kuchenhexe.livejournal.com]

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

There's a handful of pairings I like -- when they are written well and actually IN CHARACTER -- that qualify as slash, and I loves me some femmeslash, but by and large... I prefer het above all the rest.

Probably because I'm bi and I like getting both in my smut. :D I dunno. I'm really tired of the excess of slash in fandoms, quite honestly, and I'm starting to make a point of not getting interested in stuff that's mostly slash-friendly (like SPN.) It's like... umm... chicken fried steak. I love the stuff when it's cooked well and the gravy's right, but I don't want it all the time. I have it maybe once a year if even that often, truth be told. There's other stuff I like better. Once in a while I'm just in the mood for a good chicken fried steak, but that doesn't mean I want to make a steady diet of it.

Same thing with slash.

Re: Repost 'cause I fail so hard at HTML tonight apparently

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I love the icon (I especially love "Hawkeye is God"), and now I really want to know what should never happen again.

With slash I've gotten to the point where I'm really getting sick of the percentages. My fandoms went Supernatural (about fifty-fifty), FMA (60-40%) and now I'm getting into Saiyuki and Death Note, which are fandoms with NO HET.

I never had a problem with slash when I had plenty of well-written gen and het to read, and the {random fandom} het communites on lj were active, but now that there's such a disparity between het and slash I'm getting slightly irritated. I like femmeslash, because it's focused on the women, which I really, really like, so while I won't seek it out, I'll really enjoy it when I come across authors I know writing it.

I like your chiken-fried steak metaphor. For me, it's like coconut. I hate coconut, can't bear to eat anything with coconut in it, and recently, it seems like everyone is putting coconut is everything.

With smut, I think the fact that I don't have the parts they're describing, and don't have a POV character to act as a window into the action, nor do I have the "pretty boys kissing squee!" gene.

Re: Repost 'cause I fail so hard at HTML tonight apparently

[kuchenhexe.livejournal.com]

Yeah... and now it's kinda starting to feel like we're admitting to be a two-headed monster, sometimes, if we say slash isn't our preferred cuppa. -_-;

And I have no idea what should never happen again. XD I modified Ivanova's quote from Babylon:5 Season 1, A Voice in the Wilderness II (i think), because it fit Hawkeye way too well to pass up. XD

Re: Repost 'cause I fail so hard at HTML tonight apparently

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I second the feeling about not liking slash. I've had a friend who, twice, has responded to my "I don't like slash" comment with what as basically, "Oh, but have you read this kind, or..." And both times I was like- "I've read slash! I've read good slash! I've explored this idea suffiently to say without guilt that I have tried it and DON'T LIKE IT!"

Now I want somebody to write what shall never happen again. And that quote does fit Hawkeye most perfectly.

[devimelete.livejournal.com]

Hi, I just stumble on to your journal trying to find a good reason why I prefer het instand of slash and behold! a love letter for het.
(BTW, I love your fics and metas.)

Some of the friends I have are into slash, and while I can see what might draws them into it, it does nothing for me. Like you, I really really like women characters to the point that whenever I make an OC or a lead character out of a original story, more than likely the character be female. Sometimes I change my mind and create a male lead, but have a supporting female character that is his equal. I've always believed that the basis of good story telling is not letting the hero have all the power and the responsibility in the end, but rather his equals and his allies to help out in the fighting. That's what's pissing me off so much in Naruto: Naruto, by rights, should NOT be having superstrength. That's Sakura's ability, the only real power she has given to her by the author himself, to make her distinguished and needed. With Naruto having Sakura's strength, Sakura has become overcasted and thrown to the sidelines as a team mate.

(Oh wow, going horribly off tangent here.)

Going back to slash, I just don't find myself paticularly caring for it. Maybe it is just two guys to have similar viewpoints and there is no contrast as a result, but I just find slash (the good and the bad) just . . . lacking. (Though as an AMV maker, there is some really good slash vids that's not bad at all.)

And speaking of female characters, have you ever read Animorphs by K.A. Applegate? Totally awesome female leads there, they are practically the guys' equal.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

*nods*

Slash totally falls flat for me, because I'm all about the female characters, and then I don't find the thought of two guys having sex sexy.

That's what's pissing me off so much in Naruto: Naruto, by rights, should NOT be having superstrength. That's Sakura's ability, the only real power she has given to her by the author himself, to make her distinguished and needed. With Naruto having Sakura's strength, Sakura has become overcasted and thrown to the sidelines as a team mate.

*nods* Oh, don't even get me started on that. We finally get a technique that takes advantage of Sakura's natural talents (chakra control) and then Kishimoto starts making every female a medic nin or some varient thereof, and gives Sakura's superstrength, with totally level the playing field of Sakura with her normal amount of chakra and Sasuke and Naruto with their acres of it, and then gave Sakura's talents away.

I am beyond pissed about that.

And I have read Animorphs. I would say that series does a great job of having an equal mix of characters, and each character has a mix of male and female traits.