I'm *not* being defensive, really!

[emmagrant01]

I've seen several people remark lately that the H/D side of the HP fandom is on the downslide, that no good fic is being written anymore, and that the 'ship lost its sails after OOTP came out.

As a writer who came into this fandom after OOTP and fell in love with H/D anyway, this continues to baffle me! I see wonderful H/D fic being written all the time by many, many talented people. It could be because I wasn't around during the halcyon days of the 'ship and just don't know any better. It could be that I have a different perspective on the role of canon in fandom, coming from a fandom in which one member of the OTP was dead before the fandom even started (which forced people to be loose and creative with canon from the start). Yes, I've read all the "classic" fics. I don't actually think they're fundamentally better than the fic being written today, though that could be because of my post-OOTP mindset and my preference for post-Hogwarts fic (in which the writer has a lot more leeway and creative freedom, IMHO). There were many more novel-length fics a few years ago than there are now, but I'm not sure that's what people mean when they bemoan the decline of "good" H/D.

I can't be the only one who doesn't understand the source of this claim. Is it a case of "shiny new toy getting old" for the older fandom folks, or is it really true that something fundamentally changed about H/D after OOTP, something that will never be recovered?

*wonders why she always misses the "golden days" of every fandom by arriving two years too late*

Comments

[saladbats.livejournal.com]

I feel a bit like I am in the middle of many things that are wonderful and H/D. I always have lots to read and often it is very good. In fact, I feel some days like I don't have nearly enough time to read all the new H/D that is coming out. Which is certainly not a complaint. 8)

I think with the release of each new book, more possibilities for the fic emerge. Certainly gives writers a bit more to chew on canon-wise.

[emmagrant01.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think the issue is that the fandom changes a bit with each new injection of canon. New people come in with new ideas and perspectives, and things change. People adapt, or don't. Some people mourn the old days when the fandom was smaller and the canon was different, and I can understand that.