Shippers and Non-Shippers

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 28114

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "Cindy C." <cynthiaanncoe at h...> wrote:
> I have been thinking of asking this question for a while, but I 
have 
> never figured out exactly how to phrase it.  So forgive me if this 
> comes off as a little awkward.  It isn't my intention to offend.
> 
> As we all know, to date, there has been only a small amount of 
overt 
> romantic activity described in the HP series.  There is almost none 
> in the first three books.  In GoF, there is "The Unexpected Task" 
> and "The Yule Ball."  Those chapters were played mostly for laughs, 
> IMHO.  Occasionally, we see Harry or Ron be smitten with a girl, 
and 
> Hermione had some rather muted interest in Krum.  That's about it.
> 
> Nevertheless, there is rampant speculation on the list about Ships, 
> and development of Ships in future books is one of the most eagerly 
> awaited developments.  Entire discussion groups exist to discuss 
> Ships.
> 
> I must admit I have no interest in Ships (or Slash) among any of 
the 
> adult characters.  If Sirius and Snape became rivals over a woman, 
I 
> would just melt away and die, I think.  If Lupin hooked up with 
Mrs. 
> Figg, well . . . I think I'd be turning those pages mighty fast.  

> Even for Harry, Ron and Hermione, I would prefer that they stick to 
> the knitting and not have significant romantic relationships until 
> post-Book 7.  I have no idea why this is, but perhaps it is a 
feeling 
> that the next three books should be fast-paced adventures, and 
Ships 
> would steer the books toward being romance novels?  I really don't 
> know.
> 
> So then, the question:  Does most people on the list look forward 
to 
> more ships?  If so, why would Ships enhance the books for you?  Do 
> the Shippers greatly outnumber the non-Shippers?  


I'm placing myself firmly in the undecided camp, in the sense that I 
have no burning desire to pair off the students in any particular 
fashion.  So whether R/Hr or H/Hr or H/G become the romantic flavor 
of the month, or not, is not of particular concern to me.  However, I 
do think that the issue of attraction has to be addressed in some 
fashion.  We've had some inklings of who's attracted to who and it 
would seem odd to me if these sub-plots simply disappeared.  I think 
that JKR can certainly work teenage romance in without it becoming 
too much of a distraction to the main thrust of the story.  

As for the adult characters, we've had some discussion on the list 
regarding the apparent lack of adult pairings other than the Weasleys 
and the Dursleys.  We have seen no indication that any of the major 
adult characters have significant-others.  I have always found this 
sort of disturbing.  Granted, we get the story from Harry's POV and 
he probably doesn't spend a lot of time wondering about whether or 
not there is a Mr. Hooch or a Mrs. Flitwick.  And, yes, maybe we can 
assume these people exist and are in evidence to the students at meal 
times or Christmas, etc.  But the fact that no one is ever mentioned 
gives me a feeling of incompleteness.  And, no, I don't think that 
everyone needs to be paired off.  It's just that I get this 
incredible sense of solitariness at times when thinking about the 
adults.

Marianne, who'd be more than happy to see Remus and/or Sirius and/or 
Severus paired off with that perfect someone