(no subject)

[doyle]

There's been discussion on bookworm_jen's journal about canon and unconventional relationships. She proposed 4 rankings of relationships:

1) Canon: We saw an actual relationship on screen or there was a clear reference to a past relationship.

2) Near-Canon: We saw flirting or a one time fling on screen, or there was the implication of a past relationship. I would put relationships that are only refered to in commentary or interviews into this category.

3) Non-Canon: There was no relationship on screen, but there was a significant amount of sub-text or build-up and the writers could easily have worked it into the series without distorting the characters too badly.

4) Unconventional: There was no relationship, and it's highly unlikely that the writers could or would have worked it into the series without drastically changing who the characters are.

I'm interested in how subjective these are, or how much we agree on what counts as canon or almost-canon, so I present a poll. I randomly picked 15 m/f, m/m and f/f pairings, some of which happened on the show, some of which didn't. To play, pick which of the categories above you think each one falls into.


[Poll #480215]


[Poll #480216]


[Poll #480217]

Comments

[thebratqueen.livejournal.com]

Dude, seriously! I may not have led the parade on the ship but Fred/Wes is canon. How much more canon can you be? Wes all but straddled Fred throughout s3-5! In several episodes I believe he was even carrying a sign. Then there was the whole "girl he loved died in his arms while he was in a relationship with her" episode which actually included multiple scenes between multiple characters talking about how, yes, Wes and Fred are in a relationship together. What in the flaming heck is left to make that canon? Are people actually waiting for the episode where we see his penis enter her vagina?

On a more serious note, I suspect the people who split the difference between 2 and 3 is probably going to show a lot on how slash fans think vs. non-slash fans (that's non, meaning het or gen, as opposed to anti-slash). I'd be willing to bet anything that a slash fan's near-canon is a non-slash fan's non-canon (and possibly vice versa). In other words, a slash fan would be more willing to take what's on screen as serious flirtation or attraction as exactly that, whereas a non-slash fan would probably want more before that was given weight.

Likewise since most same sex relationships tend to exist only in hints (see also: Willow/Tara in s4) slash fans probably have a different baseline on canon to begin with. Het relationships can actually involve flat-out showing or saying what's going on. So a het relationship that's only hinted at (like Giles/Anya) may get marked down in a way that a slash relationship might not.

[ros-fod.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I mean, let's give the words relationship a WIDE berth and still, just. What?

Esp. 4) Unconventional: There was no relationship, and it's highly unlikely that the writers could or would have worked it into the series without drastically changing who the characters are, because, dude, I wasn't even looking at the slash portion of this poll when I responded because "relationship" there is definitely going to be the color of the lens and not everyone's is rainbow, but are there people who think that Cordy kissed Connor and then the next morning they woke up nekkid in bed together because the fire ate away all their clothers, but really they just slept with some kind of Amish board dividing their bodies?

[ros-fod.livejournal.com]

And, then, again, a big D'oh, because props to JH for actual logic.