"Fanfic Tangent" (ship warning)

[ebonyink at hotmail.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 9963

--- In HPforGrownups at egroups.com, Flourish <slytherinkeeper at y...> 
wrote:
> LOL, I know she hasn't said anything... but you must
> admit that the books are very vague on any H/H
> relationship, whereas they definetly show that Ron
> likes Hermione. 

The first two books were also vague about the person who supposedly 
betrayed Harry's parents... Sirius was mentioned at the very 
beginning of PS/SS.  I can't remember if he was mentioned at all in 
CoS.  Then all of a sudden, Book #3 is named after him--the Prisoner 
of Azkaban, and he's been on stage or near it ever since.  

Dobby did a similar thing, being extremely important in CoS and then 
integral to the subplot of GoF.

As I've said, we H/Hers are steeling ourselves for impending doom... 
oh, I mean, the Inevitable R/H Pairing.  *But*... JKR has thrown me 
for a loop before.  I hope that if Book 5 has any hint of romance at 
all, she doesn't go for the obvious.  I hope she uses it as an 
opportunity to shock our socks off.  Just my opinion.

> Right now, I'm not going to commit to either side -
> this I have decided <g> I enjoy both H/R and H/H fics
> and that is that. 

All right, Switzerland!  I enjoy both R/H fics and H/H fics as well.  
But I enjoy H/H fics a great deal more.  <vbg>

>Harrykins and Hermy-oh-ninny don't
> belong together any more than Ronny-poo belongs with
> Hermy-oh-ninny, at least, not until the Creator says
> so.

But that's the cool thing about fanfic.  It may be illegal, but to be 
honest, the writer can do what he or she wants.  H/H may never flow 
from JKR's pen, but as it flows well from the pens of fans, it's a 
legitimate fandom ship.  

Also... and this is something I must say... H/H was derived from 
reading canon.  I've been chatting with R/Hers via IM about my story, 
and I was recently told that I'm H/H because I don't read canon.  
That amused me.  Haven't *all* HP fans and fic writers read canon?

 
> I've noted that more fanfic authors find Ron hard to
> write than any other character. 

Actually, adult Ron for me is a lot easier to write than adult 
Harry.  Writing Ron (and Carole's consulting) has helped to soften 
his character in my mind.  I adored the kid in PS/SS and CoS, started 
getting a little wary of him in PoA (the whole "Crookshanks ate 
Scabbers" incident got on my nerves), and by the end of GoF he was my 
least favorite of the Three.

Ron is a fun character to write!  I think that of the Three, he's the 
most people-centered.  I really think that if he does win the long-
sought after spotlight, he'll be a very approachable and human 
celebrity figure.  While Harry hates his celebrity most of the time 
(and he didn't *have* to hate it--that's just an aspect of his 
personality), Ron would enjoy it.  Harry and Hermione are a bit more 
introverted and private in some ways.  Ron's interpersonal skills are 
much better than theirs are... for instance, he seems to interact 
with the other boys in the dorm more than Harry does.  And Hermione 
doesn't really have much to do with Parvati and Lavender... this is 
why a majority of fanfic writers give her Ginny as a female friend.

The more I write (I've got a couple of projects in the works), the 
more I'm convinced of my ship preference.

> Er, just out of my reach. Really that whole rant is
> rather me-centric. Cassie, d'you feel somewhat the
> same? No offense, but when I've read him in DD/DS he's
> been always rather angry. (I shouldn't scold you about
> characterization, though, considering I've never
> written a fic with Ron as a central part!)
>  

In Cassie's defense, I think that Ron *is* a somewhat passionate 
character.  That aspect of him is very canonical.  A mellowed-out, 
laid-back Ron is completely OOC.

> There's a ton of Hermione-suicide fics, too, only one
> of which I've ever liked (I honestly can't remember
> the title/author right now, but it was a stream of
> conciousness that was beautifully written but didn't
> give you enough back story to ruin the moment). I do
> think that our favorite trio, being in Gryffindor,
> should show a little more backbone than that - after
> all, in Gryffindor "dwell the brave of heart," and to
> use a cliche, suicide is the coward's way out.

I do agree with you.  As a teacher, I wish those would be banned.  
Suicide is always among the top 1-2 causes of teenage deaths.  I've 
lost several peers and young friends this way.

Killing off the viewpoint character, unless there is a good reason to 
do so, is a cop-out in most cases.  This is why I don't think Harry 
will die in Book 7.  Or if he dies, he may not stay dead... etc.

Kathy (?) wrote:
> > but one of my biggest pet peeves are the
> > H/H fics that don't deal 
> > with the Ron issue at all, or deal with it too
> > tidily.  

This never bothered me.  Not because I think that Ron is a non-
entity.  But because despite all of our ship debating, Harry, Ron, 
and Hermione are first and foremost *friends*.  Ron has feelings for 
Hermione.  Has anyone ever considered that he *might* step aside or 
tamp those feelings down?

Also, here's another argument I hear often from the R/H side:  "Harry 
is the hero.  Harry has everything and Ron has nothing.  Harry can't 
have the girl too."  First, the premise of the argument bothers me.  
I love the Weasley family to pieces and feel that any kid lucky 
enough to grow up with Arthur and Molly for parents has a lot.  Harry 
would trade all his fame in a heartbeat to be in Ron's shoes.  And 
vice versa.

*That* is a problem in the friendship between the two boys that has 
nothing to do with Hermione.  Both of them, in some measure, wants to 
be the other.

Secondly, most of the H/Hers I talk to are bothered by the idea of 
Ron getting the girl on the basis that "he likes Hermione, and 
Harry's the hero, so Ron gets the girl."  Hermione isn't a 
possession!  She's their best friend, an equal, or as fanfic writer 
Parker put it so aptly in "Friend Enough?"--"the brains of this 
operation, the glue that holds us together".  

Why don't any of these arguments take her feelings into account?  
R/Hers insist that the Yule Ball events prove that she had tamped-
down feelings for Ron.  My take on it is that the whole business left 
a rather nasty taste in her mouth re: both of her best friends.  She 
knows that they both take her for granted.  Excuse my frankness, she 
resents the hell out of that. I rather think she'd also resent the 
conclusion being drawn that if Ron likes her, she should just fall 
into his arms.

Let's wait to see what Hermione thinks in canon.  For all we know, 
she might very wisely conclude that she'd rather keep her friendships 
the way they are... and continue to correspond with Viktor Krum.

Of course, my take on the interpersonal dynamics of the Trio at the 
end of GoF is summed up in a fic that Kathy recommended to me and 
here, "Friend Enough?" by Parker.  It's on my favorites page, and 
I've been singing the praises of this author's three fics for the 
past week.  (Kathy, to quote PoU, "you should know better than to 
give me such delicious leverage."  ;-))

--Ebony (sailing away merrily down the shipper stream on the SS H/H)