Wow! A post about fandom-stuff! (aka The Pairings Meme & a Tweak on FAP & legos!)

[heidi]

1. The pairing you first fell in love with: Draco/Hermione. And I still adore it - under certain circumstances. I have such a fixed view in my own mind about how it would/could work (and even with what JKR said, as I told wednesdayschild a few weeks ago, they could still date and not end up together as Draco's likely to be dead by the end of the series wah) that I don't always enjoy fics featuring or incorporating it, but the pairing? Oh yes, please.

2. The pairing you never expected to love as much as you do now: I never gave any thought to Sirius/Remus before I read Boys Own Camping Adventure but as soon as I did, it all made perfect sense.

3. The pairing everyone else loves that you don't: Ron/Hermione. I am sorry to those who like it, but I just feel that a girl shouldn't marry a boy who is both less intelligent and less ambitious than she is, and who picks fights with her. I just don't like the combination.

4. The pairing you love that everyone else hates: Draco/Hermione. There is much dislike for it. Even JKR hates it! Wah! Also, nobody writes Draco-obsessed-with-Sirius (sexual or not), and there needs to be at least some. I was arguing for the obsession even before OotP, and now, there's just so much fascinating baggage there! Also, I want to see some Lupin-perspective-on-Draco-during-PoA; is there any?

5. The pairing you used to love but don't any longer: Hmmm. I used to read more Snape/Lily and more Snape/Lucius than I have since OotP. I'm not sure why, but after OotP, I sort of lost interest in it. But I'd still read a well-recommended fic!

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We've updated The Knight Bus, where people can post about real-life events. All thread starting posts in the forum are moderated, but they can then be used for people to plan and learn about RL events, especially in the lead-up to the HBP release, and then GoF.

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Comments on RowM's photos from the Toy Fair in NYC:
a. Lucius would never wear synthetics.

b. Snape is in the graveyard scene. Hmmmm.

c. Wormtail has red hair? No wonder he glomed onto the Weasleys!

d. Have any R/Hr shippers made an icon out of this yet? If not, how many more minutes are you people going to wait?

e. This is the cutest ickle shark-seeker-person EVER! But, um, isn't it a bit eurotrashy in terms of the bathing suit THONG?

f. Am I the only one who doesn't like the gender-role allocation in the Mattel side of things?

Comments

[ackonrad.livejournal.com]

I used to like Draco/Hermione when I entered the fandom, but the fanfiction killed my love for the ship. There isn't a ship in this fandom that is handled worse in fanfiction than Draco/Hermione.

All right, maybe my dislike for Hermione has something to do with it, too.

Word on Ron/Hermione.

[kindofwhimsical.livejournal.com]

Amen on the Ron/Hermione! Those are exactly the reasons I find that pairing very disturbing.

[straussmonster.livejournal.com]

I hate all shipping with a burning passion, but I think that R/Hr is awfully likely to become canon, and to do so in a kind of way that requires rethinking all of the signs that Hermione doesn't actually like him/is truly profoundly annoyed by him.

But what happens is what happens, and I have no strong emotional attachment to any shipping outcome. I just think it will probably be funny to see some of the wailing of how she ruined it all.

[ladyblack888.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm not commenting on the rest, because evrybody is entitled to their own opinion, of course.
But:

Also, I want to see some Lupin-perspective-on-Draco-during-PoA; is there any?

Guh! I've been writting this 3 vignettes fic for ages, in which one of them features RL/DM implied RL/SB, set during PoA, from Remus' POV. Only it's so angsty, so screwed up, even I'm having issues with it.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Wow! I really do hope to read it someday! And, um, well, if you ever want a beta, let me know!

[ladyblack888.livejournal.com]

Oh! Wow *is honoured* That would be lovely. i can send it to you, once I finish it, of course *headdesk*

[momebie.livejournal.com]

I also think it's the cutest ickle shark seeker person ever!

*waits to see if icons will be made*

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

But will said icons focus on the shark head or...


The thong?

[akahannah.livejournal.com]

I'm really intrigued by your response to question 3 in the Pairings Meme ... would it be ok if I wrote a pro-Ron/Hermione response to this on my own journal? Not sure if I could fit my response into a reply on yours!

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Oh, sure - just zap me the link when you do?

[akahannah.livejournal.com]

No problemo.

[ladyguenivere.livejournal.com]

Ron isn't less intelligent and/or ambitious than Hermione. o.O

I hate it when people say that. ;P

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Why don't you think he's less intelligent? I don't think Harry, Draco or, for that matter, Krum are brighter than she is...

Snape may be, as may Sirius or Remus, but that's a whole other can of worms.

[aim-toothpaste.livejournal.com]

Just sort of barging into conversation in my usual clumsy manner...

I don't think Ron is more intelligent than Hermione. I think there are few characters even remotely her age that are. She's the brightest at school etc. Ron is definitely just as ambitious though. He wants to do great things and his greatest desires (Erised)appear to be focused on ambition.

I dunno. Just thought I'd say what I think.

*hides*

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Hmmm. I've always felt like what Ron wants is more in line with wishful thinking, especially compared to the twins, or to Percy - the three of them are all ambitious in ways that are different from each other, of course, but they've all put a pretty intese amount of work towards various goals. Remember 6th year Percy, reading about prefects who gained power, and working as a prefect to enforce rules and do his job? And the twins spending hours in their room making things explode and whirr? I think in OotP, he spent a reasonable amount of effort at Quidditch, and arguably that could be in the ambition-vein, but perhaps it's just because sporty things strike me differently than mental challenges do?

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

I think a person is being ambitious when he/she has goals and actually does something to accomplish them. Like Hermione, when it comes to studying and being top of her class.

Ron, on the other hand- I don't know. Yes, he has all these wishes and dreams for himself. But he doesn't struck me as the type who'd do a whole lot to get there. Granted, quidditch might be the exception. But then again, I think what the mirror shows Ron is much more about him wanting to get noticed for something he accomplished by himself- and not just as Harry Potter's eternal sidekick and companion, than about specifically reaching those goals. IMO they are just a symbol.

Anyway, this is all just a lot of theory and I won't be hurt if anyone tells me it's all rubbish and I'm barking mad.*g* I simply love doing this, talking and discussing fandom and throwing ideas back and forth.

[arakne.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I don't love Draco/Hermione, but I wrote it and I loved it when I wrote it. I really thought it worked.

[prettyveela.livejournal.com]

I was about to *facepalm* you when you said the R/Hr comment but I fell in love with you again when you said you used to read Snape/Lily, lol. I'm a HUGE shipper of the pairing. I really love it. Why don't you like it anymore? Because it caught on a bit? :D

As for the Ron comment, I think people immediately react to the "less intelligent" comment because it can easily be implied that you're saying he's stupid(and I don't think you are).

Do you like H/Hr? Who would you pair Hermione up with if you could?

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

No, I'm not saying he is stupid. I am saying he's less intellligent than Hermione. Would anyone give me flack for saying he's less intelligent than Sirius? Or Snape? Because I think that, too.

I like H/Hr when it takes place at least a few years after school - I don't like the idea of Harry spending the rest of his life with someone who he dates while he's busy trying to defeat Volddemort - perhaps it's that echo from Speed about romances that begin under difficult circumstances resonating in my head, ten years on? But that's probably because I can't see any direction for Harry but a maturation post-defeat-of-Voldemort (or, well, death or loss of magical powers or something along those lines) and to my mind, that dovetails with the ambition-or-intelligence thing, at least to a degree.

[ginnievere.livejournal.com]

What gets me about R/Hr isn't that Ron is less intelligent or less ambitious, though I, too, think that he probably is. It's that he's so irritated by Hermione's intelligence. It isn't hard to find people who maintain that young girls often hide their intelligence because they're afraid that the young boys wont like them if they're percieved as smart. It's one of the main reasons why a lot of girls in our society wait until college or beyond to start dating (not that I'm saying that's necessarily bad). Sure, there have been times when Ron was really, really glad that Hermione is as smart as she is, but he's never liked it. And it's looking like he never will. I wouldn't have a problem with Hermione dating someone less intelligent (she's probably smart enough that the men who are her intellectual equal are few and far between), but I just can't imagine that she'd date someone who disliked such an integral part of her personality.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

How many months late on this, so I hope you get comments emailed to you.
Did you see Maureen Dowd's column a few weeks ago about the study on iq points and women and marriage?

[schnoogle.livejournal.com]

d and e are giving me a "Image not found" page.

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

And I can't find them in the TLC galleries via sidekick. Um, are they still not working?

[schnoogle.livejournal.com]

Still not working, but I think I found the correct images. (gallery_image_id=852 and =855?)

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

I just couldn't help myself and had to jump right in. *g*

I don't have much love lost for both Harry/ Hermione and Ron/ Hermione. Even though I'll pretty much read any HP ship, as long as it's well written, I think that, if you want to write those characters truly in character, then, neither ship can work in the long run IMO.

Neither Ron nor Harry share Hermione's views or interests for the most part. And not because they aren't intelligent- they are- but because they don't value knowledge and books nearly as much as she does. Hermione loves academics- those two hate it. She values rules- those two don't give a damn. She thinks first, and then acts, and worries a lot about repercussions, reactions etc., while the boys just act (and don't worry nearly as much).

I could go on and on. They all value their friendship a lot, and they make good friends, but lovers? No way. Imagine they were real people. Have you ever seen real people with those characters traits work as a couple? If they work in fanfic, it's mostly because either Ron or Harry change so much by growing up that they are hardly themselves anymore in the end. This is especially true for Ron/ Hermione.

But those are only my ideas on the whole situation, and they're not even cannon. *g*

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Interesting take on it. I think that two people can be together and work well together as a couple even if their interests aren't meshed. I'm a huge Sirius/Remus fangirl, and I don't think that they are of a piece in terms of interests, but I think they're more or less equally bright, although Remus may've had to work harder for things that came easily to Sirius. And I think it could've worked in school, after school, etc. But with Ron, Hermione and Harry, I don't see the same sort of meshing of two of them. And if I ever thought Ron could be anything but 100% het, I'd be mentally able to accept a triad - I just don't think he is.

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

I didn't express myself well enough. I agree that people can have different interests and still work as a couple.

But with Harry, Hermione and Ron... it's more than just different interests, IMO. It's also a different outlook on life, such as goals, motivations, aspirations for the future etc. I can't really pinpoint it. But as you said, they just don't seem to mesh, like Remus/ Sirius still might. (Huge fan of that ship btw).

And no, I don't think Ron is anything but 100% het, either. Lol! Too bad, really. They would make a pretty triad.

[wordplay.livejournal.com]

I agree with this. This is really my only peeve regarding shipping, the idea that Hermione has this choice to make between these two boys, like she's part of some romantic Let's Make A Deal or something. I think they are both terrible fits for her. If I have to choose one or the other I'll come down on the side of R/Hr, just because it's obvious to me that he's into her and I suspect there will be some activity between them while they're still at school, but I think they would be a terrible couple and I'd hope they'd get that out of their systems before someone loses an eye. I see no chemistry between Harry and Hermione at all, and it just absolutely doesn't work for me. Hermione just needs someone who is not one of those two.

In other words, Percy/Hermione 4eva. :D

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

Hmm... Percy/ Hermione, I can see why they might work- but wouldn't they be boring as hell? *g*

Personally, I prefer Hermione/ Draco.

[wordplay.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't think so. Although, my perspective is maybe a little different - I've been married very happily for 11 years and am so very over relationship drama (finding that there's enough drama to be getting on with in every other part of my life) and what I need in a partner is a likeness of mind and a harmony of spirits. So maybe this is why I like this pairing and find so much to like in it - it just resonates for me.

Also, my Draco is the biggest queen to ever be queen in the Queendom of Gay, so Hermione/Draco doesn't really work for me. She can be a marvelous friend to him, though, in a very faghagish kind of way.

[anna-in-the-sky.livejournal.com]

I think I need to check out your Percy/ Hermione fanfic then. And what you said about RL drama amuses me. Unfortunately I still tend to be a drama queen from time to time- I'm trying to get better at that. *g*

Draco, IMO, makes a great gay guy. I love him either way- he's sexay, lol.

[zorb]

I nearly posted a long rant of my own regarding f yesterday. I calmed down from the initial wrath, but seeing it mentioned again is bringing it all back. ;-) Damn you, Mattel. Damn you and your perpetuation of gender stratification. The toys they list aren't even particularly "girly/boyish" for the most part! *shakes angry fist of vengeful d00m*

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

Word. And I think Neville would be insulted to hear that plantstuff is for girls. So would Professor Snape be.

[cursive.livejournal.com]

Oh, I recently replied to a post in painless_j's journal agreeing that there really should be more Draco/Sirius. There really is just a lot of potential in that pairing and yet nobody writes it. I mean, I think it's fascinating and even I've only ever written a drabble.

So, that is strange enough to warrant more consideration...

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

One of the fascinating aspects is just how many parallels there are between them - moreso than draco to snape (as I'm in the "no, snape's family was not rich and there is no bloody snape manor" contingent) and there's canon supporting or at least arguing for a draco obsession with him. And those who are after pairings just for the pretty would be very satisfied by time travel fics, or portrait-stuff. I loved Tilly's long fic from last month because it realy got into some of the 'shared mentality' issues those two have.

And Sam wrote me a ficlet once where Sirius dragged Remus to sneak into Malfoy Manor so he could meet his new baby cousin. I need to find it somewhere...

[slinkhard.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one who doesn't like the gender-role allocation in the Mattel side of things?

It is rather irritating, but then I loathe Movie!Hermione so I can't get too upset over her absence from the lines. And of course, since her role has been vastly overblown, I guess it's kind of promotions 'karma'!
Ron/Draco/Snape are hardly in the films, but they get huge amounts of toys, and vice versa...
Those legoes are so cute, though!

Also, nobody writes Draco-obsessed-with-Sirius (sexual or not), and there needs to be at least some. I was arguing for the obsession even before OotP, and now, there's just so much fascinating baggage there! Also, I want to see some Lupin-perspective-on-Draco-during-PoA; is there any?

Didn't you say you had a post on the said obsession? Don't suppose you have a link? *is curious*
I believe painless_j has a Sirius/Draco masterlist, and slippyslope a Remus/Draco one. I don't think they list any gen, though :(