My HP shipping manifesto

[rj_anderson]

Actually, it's not nearly as sophisticated (or even as important to me) as the title suggests. But a couple of nights ago lizbee and I were chatting about HP in general and my latest fic in particular, and these thoughts just sort of crystallized...

I have no emotional investment in who ends up with whom. If JKR wants to do Ron/Luna or Hermione/Neville or Harry/Susan Bones, that's her lookout as far as I'm concerned. I won't be as satisfied with that arrangement as I would with some others that make more sense to me, but I'm not going to hate JKR over it. She never pretended that the HP books were romances, or that romance was even going to be a major component of the series. In fact, so far it's been used primarily for comic relief, which suggests to me that some of the more intense shippers in HP fandom really need to loosen up.

What I do see is JKR setting us up, at least temporarily and perhaps in the longer term, for Ron/Hermione and probably Harry/Ginny as well. That's not to say she has to go that route, but I think her comments in interviews indicate pretty strongly that R/H, at least, is her intention and that she plans to do more with it at some point in the next two books. This seems evident enough to me that I'll genuinely be surprised (though not hurt) if she doesn't.

That being said, R/H is really not very interesting to me. They remind me of a couple from a black-and-white screwball comedy film -- always bickering, but secretly attracted to each other, and you know they'll get together in the end even if only to go on driving each other crazy. We're always being reminded of their quirks, their youth, their basic humanity. They're cute and sweet and a little bit corny -- what they definitely aren't is deep. For this reason, I've never sought out any R/H fics for their own sake -- I only read them if they're widely and heavily recced, written by authors I like and trust, and less than two chapters in length. Any longer, my interest wanes and I go on to something else.

Then, of course, there's H/H. Harry/Hermione seems to be the ship of choice for those who like their heroes and heroines larger than life. Their romance is seldom treated lightly or with humour -- instead it's Terribly Serious and Complicated (probably because there's always that awkward issue of what to do about Ron). Harry possesses extra-canonical Powers and/or nifty magical items, and frequently gets to be buff and gorgeous as well. Hermione isn't just smart, she's a genius, and if she doesn't get to grow up divinely beautiful, she at least gets to be stylish and have a great body. There are many tragic misunderstandings and complications before their Epic Love can bloom. Frankly, all the self-importance and overwrought emotion that seems to dominate the most celebrated H/H fics drives me absolutely bughouse. And if the fic isn't heavy on plot and action, I can't be bothered to read it at all, because I just don't see Harry and Hermione as a viable or interesting match in canon, and I've yet to meet a fic that made me think otherwise.

Which leaves us with H/G. The Harry/Ginny ship has a really bad reputation, mostly because of the immaturity of some H/G shippers and the silly, saccharine nature of a lot of H/G fics. It didn't help, of course, that it was difficult to get a handle on Ginny's character before OotP, and that there was widespread disagreement on how to portray her. Now that we have more information, however, it appears that she has a lot more strength of character than many people previously suspected (so much so, in fact, that some complain that Ginny is a different person in Book 5 than she was in any of the earlier books -- but I don't think that's at all true, myself: the clues are all there if you're willing to see them). There's a lot of room now for more thoughtful exploration of both Harry and Ginny's characters, particularly in light of the fact that both of them have suffered at Voldemort's hands, and have experienced his dark influence in a painful and unforgettable way. Neither Ron nor Hermione has any personal understanding of what it's like to battle Voldemort face to face, but Harry and Ginny share that knowledge and it's interesting (to me) to speculate about how that might affect them, singly and together.

So yes, I've come to recognize that if I have a ship at all, it's H/G. And I'd welcome some recs for mature, thoughtful H/G fics written post-OotP, if there are any out there (I'm sure there must be, by now). Where are the H/G fics being archived these days (besides the general archives like FA and FF.net, I mean), anyway?

Comments

[katinka31.livejournal.com]

Mosylu (http://www.sugarquill.net/index.php?action=profile&id=353) has long been one of my favorite Ginny-centric (and thus H/G centric) writers. :)

[katinka31.livejournal.com]

I meant to add that the third installment of her "Home" series -- A Home of Shifting Sand (http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=1850&chapno=1) -- was written post-OotP.

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

I, too, quite enjoy H/G, anticipate it in the books and thinks it deserves more respect/complex treatment in the fic world. That said, I think writers can (and, if they are so inclined, should) delve into Ron/Hermione and Harry/Hermione with depth that breaks out of the fanon-fluff patterns. All the characters are developed enough in the books that realistic, interesting relationships can be extrapolated.

And THAT said, when you get all these great Harry/Ginny recs, I will be reading them! :D

[ms-pie.livejournal.com]

And THAT said, when you get all these great Harry/Ginny recs, I will be reading them! :D

Me too.

And ITA on everything you said in your post.

I am a *Huge* HP-fan, but haven't been involved in the fandom at all because it seemed v. Big and Scary. That being said, I'm thinking of expanding my fic-reading a bit, and would welcome said recs *g*

(And anything else that one should read -- the only HP fic I'd read before yours was "After the End" which I think everyone and their brother, regardless of fandom, has read. Or so it seems.)

[yahtzee63.livejournal.com]

Your icon fills me with deep happiness.

[ms-pie.livejournal.com]

Ditto!

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Any specific kind of stories you're interested in? Favorite characters, pairings, incidents in the HP timeline?

[ms-pie.livejournal.com]

Hmmm - That is a tough question. One of those "you don't know what you don't know" kind of things.

Generally, I love and adore The Weasleys above all else. I enjoyed Harry of OoTP -- in other words, the conflicted/angry Harry. He was much more real to me. (other than the excessive use of CAPS but that is a nit for another discussion)

In terms of timeline, I don't think I'd want to read anything pre-OoTP. That is all too "canon" for me to be messed with. So I guess the future-fic type of stuff.

But you know me -- I'll read anything as long as it is well-written. Good character studies with fabulous writing rock my world.

And that is it. Thoughts?

[rj-anderson.livejournal.com]

Well, I've personally read very little fic since OotP came out, which means I'm not really up on the newer fics and authors... so I'm going to ask my flist to help you out on this one.

My list is, inevitably, composed of fics that are heavy on the Snape side of things, but fortunately there's some good Harry characterization in there too. I'd definitely recommend lizbee's WiP Girl Most Likely (http://www.mirrordance.net/hpfic/girl/), which has an excellent, conflicted adult Harry and some nifty Weasley bits. I also enjoyed [Bad username or site: http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=kalinalea @ livejournal.com]'s The Buried Life (http://www.geocities.com/kalinalea/buriedprologue.htm) for its strong Harry portrayal, though it's pretty light on the Weasley side of things.

I know you said you didn't really want to go pre-OotP, but I can't begin to tell you how brilliant Arabella's The Very Secret Diary (http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=1026&chapno=1) is: it's a look into Ginny's diary entries as she falls under (and tries to resist) Tom Riddle's power in CoS, and as a sidelight on canon it's both terrifying and wholly convincing. Best read on a chapter-a-day basis, I think, which is how it came out -- all at once might seem like too much, but that's IMO of course.

I also just love hedda62's Denizen of the Deep (http://www.sugarquill.net/read.php?storyid=567&chapno=1), which is a delightful little fic about Dennis Creevey that doesn't, I think, contradict anything in OotP...

I know I'm leaving out about a zillion good fics here, but those are the ones off the top of my head.

[ms-pie.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much for these! I can't wait to do some reading :)

[angelofthenorth.livejournal.com]

I like H/G also, and I see a longer term future for them than R/H in many ways - both Harry and Ginny are exceptionally special and exceptionally ordinary at the same time - an odd paradox, but one that makes them well suited.

[sannalim.livejournal.com]

Very well said. You've captured it in a nutshell, as the saying goes.

I think there might have been a dedicated Harry/Ginny archive out there once upon a time, but I don't know where it is/was and have the suspicion that while it may have had some real gems, it also had a correspondingly overwhelming proportion of dreck and smut. Ick. So for now I stick to the SugarQuill. Some of its H/G fics are saccharine fluff; others are halfway decent. I'm rather liking Cendrillon's "Revelations" and Megan's "Summer of Truths," both of which write a growing Harry/Ginny friendship as a sub-plot to the rest of Harry's life after the end of OotP.

[persephone-kore.livejournal.com]

Maybe you mean Gryffindor Tower?

It's sort of been replaced by PhoenixSong.net, I think, which has fairly similar submission requirements to SQ, but a bit more relaxed about new authors submitting AUs and (again, I think) post-OotP fics. I don't know how those compare to GT, though, because I mostly only heard about it after the fact.

[hedda62.livejournal.com]

QuickQuote sayeth (as you've probably already read):

New communities: thefirelight, for Harry/Ginny shippers, associated with the soon-to-be-open Firelight Archive (http://www.thefirelight.net).

Liked the story, btw. And the icon is gorgeous.

[profshallowness.livejournal.com]

I tend to agree with you, but I will probably be slightly more disappointed if R/Hr doesn't happen. It seems as if it is being trailed so obviously (but everyone has their own interpretation.) Although, in a way, I feel more strongly about H/G since OotP (the clincher for me, apart from everything else, is that they share the same sense of humour) but I'd give up the ship if I just got some more Ginny dvelopment. I really would. I like what she embodies of the Weasleys, I like her for herself.

I am trying to remain a fic free HP fan until the final book comes out (o good intentions, will you really last?) But more power to he writers who set about portraying their 'ship with some thought and consideraion.

[drmm.livejournal.com]

I've always liked H/G (until the Great Shipper Wars, I liked it more than R/Hr) but I've never read much fic about it. I think your problems with them are a lot like my problems with them.

And I don't know that I'd consider R/Hr boring. At this time, they're a lot like those old "we fight each other but secretly love each other" movies but I really think that later, as adults, they'd be an interesting couple to read about. Well, if well-written that is.

While I admit to preferring H/G and R/Hr, I will honestly not care a lot if other pairings happen ... as long as it isn't H/H. :}

[shellebelle93.livejournal.com]

Yup. In this fandom, I have to say H/G is my OTP. I love it much more than any other. There is a sweet side to this ship, but it doesn't have to be sticky-sweet, either. After OotP, I'm more convinced than ever that this will happen.

Though I still won't weep (hard) if it doesn't happen in canon. AU, anyone? :-)

[malabud.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear! I also think shipping tends to get out of hand in the HP fandom, but I do have ships that I secretly root for. I figure Ron/Hermione is almost a foregone conclusion. fernwithy has me pretty much converted to Lupin/Tonks, although I doubt it will happen in the books. (I also doubt the books will contradict the ship, which is always a plus. The Draco/Hermione shippers and the slashers do not have such solace.) But, I think Harry/Ginny will be the one to watch for. Because Harry is the main character, his relationships are of far more importance to the storyline than say R/Hr. If Ron and Hermione pair up, it will certainly affect him, but not like his own relationship would. And face it, Harry was a little oblivious to what was going on around him in OotP. Ron and Hermione could already be semi-dating and he wouldn't know! (Not that I think they are, however.)

As to Ginny herself, far too many people underestimated Ginny prior to OotP, and those same people are now complaining that practically everything we know about her is secondhand. Well, I think there's a point to that. As has been said so many times, the books are largely (excepting the first chapters of SS/PS and GoF) from Harry's POV. If he doesn't know it, see it, or hear it, then neither do we. Up to and including most of OotP, Harry just isn't around Ginny much, so of necessity, his (and our) knowledge of her must be secondhand. However, his circle of friends has expanded beyond the Trio now, and Ginny is an important part of that new circle. It seems Harry wasn't given the opportunity to really get to know her until he was ready. It is also striking that Ginny is so much like Harry. I think their resemblances to each other will continue to be revealed in the last two books.

I just have two recommendations, as I haven't read much H/G fanfic. It is a bit fluffy, but the characterization is just about perfect for Ginny. The scene is the train ride home where Ginny is doing the upside-down Quibbler quiz. Basil M.'s story "The Quibbler Quiz" can be found here (http://www.phoenixsong.net/basilm/basilm_quibblerq.htm). The sequel "A Long-Term Friend" is also pretty good and can be found here (http://www.phoenixsong.net/basilm/basilm_longtermfriend.htm).

[loriel-eris.livejournal.com]

The new H/G archive, or at least the one that rose from the ashes (honestly, no pun intended) of GT was PhoenixSong.net as someone mentioned above. I've also heard of GinnyPotter.com, but I have absolutely no idea what it's like.

I can't think of any post OotP H/G recs, but if you don't mind looking, PhoenixSong is where I'd suggest looking.

Oh, just thought of a couple. They were both started before OotP, however they're set post Hogwarts, I don't think they actually contradict anything in OotP and I would say that Ginny, in both of these, is a grown up version of Ootp Ginny.

Heal the Pain (http://www.phoenixsong.net/aibhinn/aibhinn.htm) by Aibhinn
The New Professor (http://www.phoenixsong.net/michele40/index.htm) by Michele40

Enjoy. :)

[lizbee.livejournal.com]

Icon=Purty!

You probably don't need me to throw my agreement in here, but I've spent the last two days having the Draco/Hermione versus Ron/Hermione argument with Amanda, so I will anyway:

Wordy McWord.

(Amanda argues that hate=mad love. Hence the Sarkney, as well. And she does present a good argument that Draco could redeem ... except that I don't think JKR has ever given any thought to the post-modernist analysis that Amanda uses.)

*headdesk*

[sff-corgi.livejournal.com]

Well said, well said. [golf clap] That's much like my thoughts on the subject(s).