The process of slashing a text is described by Jenkins as reading the body for clues of a relationship.
Here and in other such moments, characters retrace the steps of the fan viewers who have searched the performers’ bodies for suggestions of these same unexpressed feelings.
JENKINS, HENRY (1992). TEXTUAL POACHER, ROUTLEDGE, 213.
We see that in stories, this practice of reading the text and even reading the body for these clues can be mirrored in the narrative where the characters recognise the same feelings the viewer does. Martin observes the same mirroring in how RPF fans read the stars’ body and their texts. They say about a fanfiction that deals with an editor discovering that Viggo Mortensen’s poem are about Orlando Bloom and Orlando Bloom after reading the collection, confronting Viggo Mortensen:
This story is particularly interesting because the narrative reflets the experience of the fan reading the poems (of Viggo Mortensen). David, the editor, can see which poems are about Orlando without having to ask. Upon reading the poems, the meaning is clear to Orlando himself.
MARTIN, ANNA (2014). WRITING THE STAR. STARDOM, FANDOM AND REAL PERSON FANFICTION.
Fans adapt a practice of reading for clues, hidden narratives and that can lead RPF, too. Have you observed the same similarity, too?