I'm not unfaithful, but I'll stray...
(And, yes, I have taken to quoting bad pop music in my titles. Shoot me.)
Here's the thing-I love my ship. A lot. It's why I've been devoting time to it for the last... *coughs* six years. (Also because I am a deeply troubled individual, but we won't get into that here.) I love Snape. I love Hermione.
I also love a lot of other HP characters-an irritating side-effect of enjoying the books, I know. I love Harry. I love Draco (who was actually my first HP love and I was rooting for him to switch sides from PS onward, and it kills me a bit when people write him as the evil bastard). I love Ron-and the rest of the Weasleys, actually. I think that a lot of the minor characters have the potential to be made interesting-Cho, Blaise, Dean, Goyle, Terry, Hannah, Pansy.
And here's the other thing. None of us live in a void. We're all surrounded by other people in a complex network: friends, enemies, family (who really fall into both categories), people we love but can't live with, people we hate but can't seem to get away from, people we don't know more about than a name. I don't think there is such a thing as an uncomplicated or unambiguous relationship; they all have the potential to explode into drama in under five seconds. (And I say this as a person who tries really hard to avoid drama in her own life. I would much rather watch it happen to other people.)
Where is the line between best friend and lover? Between best friend and worst enemy? Between faithful and cheating?
I bring this up because I had a bit of a temper tantrum at my ship this week, after reading what felt like the ten billionth fic in which Ron is depicted as a total worthless tool. And then flipping over to another ship and reading one in which the same thing happened.
Stop it, you're making me want to write Ron/Hermione. I am disturbed by these urges.
So I did what any self respecting woman with a craving would do. I binged on Ron/Pansy, a pairing that I have long been in love with but never fully explored. The results can be seen on KIA.
And I found an explosion of Ron exploration. He's not a jealous prat, said one, but insecure and terrified at the thought that Hermione is more experienced than he is! He's a wonderful father, cried another. And also a totally typical teenage boy (reminiscent of my true love, Sherman Mack, fourteen-year-old chef and Veronica Mars wannabe).
But why Pansy? I hear you ask. Why not? I reply.
And because why would you not want more Gryffindor/Slytherin fun? Pansy has been bashed by JKR several times, which endears her to me automatically. She's a stuck-up bitch, and those characters are always the most fun to read and write. The two of them are the sidekicks, and since when have sidekicks been boring?
It is also the ship most likely to give Hermione a heart attack, and since I most like her giving people a heart attack by ending up with Snape... It all evens out. (Remember when I said that I like drama as something that happens to other people?)
Yes, Ron can be an insensitive prat (I say this with the utmost sympathy, since it is something I am unfortunately very capable of), and he needs someone who won't take the prattery lying down (not that Hermione does) but also doesn't burst into tears every time it rears its ugly head.
And character bashing just isn't cool in any of its forms, unless it is POV-bashed (in which case, please counter it). I hate it when it's the Weasleys. I hate it when it's Draco. I hate it when it's Harry. I hate it when it's characters I hate. I'm no fan of Dumbles, but even that is reaching the level of completely and utterly preposterous. Why would you write an irritating and loathable caricature when you could have a multidimensional and somewhat sympathetic person?
Save me from the indignity of writing Ron/Hermione and please, please, please give me some Ronald love. If you give me Ron/Pansy, I will give you sex. Or cookies. Whichever you prefer.
Here's the thing-I love my ship. A lot. It's why I've been devoting time to it for the last... *coughs* six years. (Also because I am a deeply troubled individual, but we won't get into that here.) I love Snape. I love Hermione.
I also love a lot of other HP characters-an irritating side-effect of enjoying the books, I know. I love Harry. I love Draco (who was actually my first HP love and I was rooting for him to switch sides from PS onward, and it kills me a bit when people write him as the evil bastard). I love Ron-and the rest of the Weasleys, actually. I think that a lot of the minor characters have the potential to be made interesting-Cho, Blaise, Dean, Goyle, Terry, Hannah, Pansy.
And here's the other thing. None of us live in a void. We're all surrounded by other people in a complex network: friends, enemies, family (who really fall into both categories), people we love but can't live with, people we hate but can't seem to get away from, people we don't know more about than a name. I don't think there is such a thing as an uncomplicated or unambiguous relationship; they all have the potential to explode into drama in under five seconds. (And I say this as a person who tries really hard to avoid drama in her own life. I would much rather watch it happen to other people.)
Where is the line between best friend and lover? Between best friend and worst enemy? Between faithful and cheating?
I bring this up because I had a bit of a temper tantrum at my ship this week, after reading what felt like the ten billionth fic in which Ron is depicted as a total worthless tool. And then flipping over to another ship and reading one in which the same thing happened.
Stop it, you're making me want to write Ron/Hermione. I am disturbed by these urges.
So I did what any self respecting woman with a craving would do. I binged on Ron/Pansy, a pairing that I have long been in love with but never fully explored. The results can be seen on KIA.
And I found an explosion of Ron exploration. He's not a jealous prat, said one, but insecure and terrified at the thought that Hermione is more experienced than he is! He's a wonderful father, cried another. And also a totally typical teenage boy (reminiscent of my true love, Sherman Mack, fourteen-year-old chef and Veronica Mars wannabe).
But why Pansy? I hear you ask. Why not? I reply.
And because why would you not want more Gryffindor/Slytherin fun? Pansy has been bashed by JKR several times, which endears her to me automatically. She's a stuck-up bitch, and those characters are always the most fun to read and write. The two of them are the sidekicks, and since when have sidekicks been boring?
It is also the ship most likely to give Hermione a heart attack, and since I most like her giving people a heart attack by ending up with Snape... It all evens out. (Remember when I said that I like drama as something that happens to other people?)
Yes, Ron can be an insensitive prat (I say this with the utmost sympathy, since it is something I am unfortunately very capable of), and he needs someone who won't take the prattery lying down (not that Hermione does) but also doesn't burst into tears every time it rears its ugly head.
And character bashing just isn't cool in any of its forms, unless it is POV-bashed (in which case, please counter it). I hate it when it's the Weasleys. I hate it when it's Draco. I hate it when it's Harry. I hate it when it's characters I hate. I'm no fan of Dumbles, but even that is reaching the level of completely and utterly preposterous. Why would you write an irritating and loathable caricature when you could have a multidimensional and somewhat sympathetic person?
Save me from the indignity of writing Ron/Hermione and please, please, please give me some Ronald love. If you give me Ron/Pansy, I will give you sex. Or cookies. Whichever you prefer.