Shipping part 2
Jul. 16th, 2007 05:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jlhHere are the answers to the questions folks asked in my previous entry.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mahoni and moony asked about Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas from Harry Potter: Since the first book, my favorite character after Harry and Hermione is definitely Seamus. He was the sort of kid I would have had a crush on when I was at school, funny and charming but also kind, which might be why it was so easy to see him as gay, since a lot of the people I was interested in from 15-30 were gay. l think the first story I read with them in it was a long continuation of a Percy/Neville thing I'd been reading, where Dean was helping Neville come to terms with his sexuality, while he had a crush on Seamus, and eventually the two of them work it out. What I loved about that story, and about their dynamic in canon and most fanon, is that Seamus is little, hyper, emotional, and Dean is bigger, calmer, more closed off. I've found that this is my sort of One True Slash Dynamic, where the hyper one is charismatic and more often the center of other people's attention, but the only person's attention he really wants is the calm one, who flies under other people's radar, but exudes more personal power and acts like an anchor for the hyper one, who has a tendency to uncertainty. It's also a dynamic I like with Sirius and Remus (which is why it was so easy to write them in a foursome) and one I try not to fall into when I write Chris Richardson/Blake Lewis, because I don't think it works as well with the, and besides I wanted to do something a little different.
dollsome asked about Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell from American Idol: I think I first noticed it at some point in season 4, when I started reading the TWoP recaps, and it just seemed like Simon wanted to slam Ryan up against a wall and have his way with him. And then in season 5, with Ryan's little crush on Ace and Simon's reaction to it, I couldn't look away. I was hooked. I have to admit, I watched all of season 3 pretty religiously and I never really thought about it, but at that time I didn't think much of Ryan. How little I knew! I think it takes a season of watching to really understand how true but also how sophisticated Simon's criticisms are, and also how well (though I think this is more that he gets better and better at it) Ryan handles Simon. Above I spoke about a One True Slash Dynamic, but something that I adore in pairings in general is that "I saw you before you woke up this morning" dynamic and Ryan and Simon have that in spades. They just immediately understood each other on an incredibly deep level. And given how they flirt and tease each other, sex is already in their relationship. As you know, it's tougher for me as a writer to keep them out of bed than to get them into it! But more importantly, I love their very evident and true affection for one another. It's as though they can't think of anything they'd like to do better than just sit around staring at each other and taking the piss. And they're both so ridiculous, so in love with the business and willing to do what it takes to get ahead, and yet so completely adorable. And what makes them really sexy isn't so much that they are hot, though they are, but that they are so insanely good at what they do, which really is the sexiest thing anyone can be. How can you not love them?
dizzledee asked about Harry Potter and Hermione Granger from Harry Potter: I want to note that while I never thought H/Hr would happen in canon, my love for them came from canon rather than fanon, and I still see a lot of little moments in canon that make me gleeful, even if they aren't really shippy. Basically, I love that, not unlike Ryan and Simon above, they so completely have each other's number. They have these sort of half conversations, where they don't have to say much to convey their idea to the other, and Ron doesn't really know what the hell they're talking about. I love that Harry doesn't react to Hermione's bossiness; he just lets her talk and then does whatever he wants. It's actually why I see Hermione to be the true sidekick for Harry, while Ron and Ginny trade off being the damsels in distress. So when Hermione is giving Harry shit about the Q tryouts and he's like, excuse me, I saw you helping Ron out there, and she's like, oh shut up! Or when she comes running through that Xmas party and is all, "you didn't see me" and he just has to laugh? I love those moments! I just love their dynamic together, and that's why I ship them.
zorb asked about Ron Weasley and Padma Patil from Harry Potter: Like many Harry/Hermione shippers, I really wanted to find a good match for Ron, back in the pre-Luna days. I think a Ravenclaw is very good for him because he clearly likes a smart woman and would do well with one who is just a little bit impractical, as Ravenclaws can be but as Hermione really isn't, because that gives him a place to give something back to her. And I remembered how Padma reacted to him after the second task, when despite their bad date at the ball she flirted with him in the hallway. I know that was just there for JKR to make a joke about Ron's status, but it intrigued me, and I thought I could probably build her into the kind of calm, intelligent woman who liked Ron pretty much as he was, but whose presence made him want to be a better version of himself. I also see them as a couple without a lot of drama—you know those people who just happened to find the right person early, and stay together and are happy pretty much from then on, and the struggles in their lives come from other quarters. That's how I write Ron and Padma, just chugging along. But you know, in a very tall and sexy manner.
mahoni and moony asked about Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas from Harry Potter: Since the first book, my favorite character after Harry and Hermione is definitely Seamus. He was the sort of kid I would have had a crush on when I was at school, funny and charming but also kind, which might be why it was so easy to see him as gay, since a lot of the people I was interested in from 15-30 were gay. l think the first story I read with them in it was a long continuation of a Percy/Neville thing I'd been reading, where Dean was helping Neville come to terms with his sexuality, while he had a crush on Seamus, and eventually the two of them work it out. What I loved about that story, and about their dynamic in canon and most fanon, is that Seamus is little, hyper, emotional, and Dean is bigger, calmer, more closed off. I've found that this is my sort of One True Slash Dynamic, where the hyper one is charismatic and more often the center of other people's attention, but the only person's attention he really wants is the calm one, who flies under other people's radar, but exudes more personal power and acts like an anchor for the hyper one, who has a tendency to uncertainty. It's also a dynamic I like with Sirius and Remus (which is why it was so easy to write them in a foursome) and one I try not to fall into when I write Chris Richardson/Blake Lewis, because I don't think it works as well with the, and besides I wanted to do something a little different.dollsome asked about Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell from American Idol: I think I first noticed it at some point in season 4, when I started reading the TWoP recaps, and it just seemed like Simon wanted to slam Ryan up against a wall and have his way with him. And then in season 5, with Ryan's little crush on Ace and Simon's reaction to it, I couldn't look away. I was hooked. I have to admit, I watched all of season 3 pretty religiously and I never really thought about it, but at that time I didn't think much of Ryan. How little I knew! I think it takes a season of watching to really understand how true but also how sophisticated Simon's criticisms are, and also how well (though I think this is more that he gets better and better at it) Ryan handles Simon. Above I spoke about a One True Slash Dynamic, but something that I adore in pairings in general is that "I saw you before you woke up this morning" dynamic and Ryan and Simon have that in spades. They just immediately understood each other on an incredibly deep level. And given how they flirt and tease each other, sex is already in their relationship. As you know, it's tougher for me as a writer to keep them out of bed than to get them into it! But more importantly, I love their very evident and true affection for one another. It's as though they can't think of anything they'd like to do better than just sit around staring at each other and taking the piss. And they're both so ridiculous, so in love with the business and willing to do what it takes to get ahead, and yet so completely adorable. And what makes them really sexy isn't so much that they are hot, though they are, but that they are so insanely good at what they do, which really is the sexiest thing anyone can be. How can you not love them?dizzledee asked about Harry Potter and Hermione Granger from Harry Potter: I want to note that while I never thought H/Hr would happen in canon, my love for them came from canon rather than fanon, and I still see a lot of little moments in canon that make me gleeful, even if they aren't really shippy. Basically, I love that, not unlike Ryan and Simon above, they so completely have each other's number. They have these sort of half conversations, where they don't have to say much to convey their idea to the other, and Ron doesn't really know what the hell they're talking about. I love that Harry doesn't react to Hermione's bossiness; he just lets her talk and then does whatever he wants. It's actually why I see Hermione to be the true sidekick for Harry, while Ron and Ginny trade off being the damsels in distress. So when Hermione is giving Harry shit about the Q tryouts and he's like, excuse me, I saw you helping Ron out there, and she's like, oh shut up! Or when she comes running through that Xmas party and is all, "you didn't see me" and he just has to laugh? I love those moments! I just love their dynamic together, and that's why I ship them. zorb asked about Ron Weasley and Padma Patil from Harry Potter: Like many Harry/Hermione shippers, I really wanted to find a good match for Ron, back in the pre-Luna days. I think a Ravenclaw is very good for him because he clearly likes a smart woman and would do well with one who is just a little bit impractical, as Ravenclaws can be but as Hermione really isn't, because that gives him a place to give something back to her. And I remembered how Padma reacted to him after the second task, when despite their bad date at the ball she flirted with him in the hallway. I know that was just there for JKR to make a joke about Ron's status, but it intrigued me, and I thought I could probably build her into the kind of calm, intelligent woman who liked Ron pretty much as he was, but whose presence made him want to be a better version of himself. I also see them as a couple without a lot of drama—you know those people who just happened to find the right person early, and stay together and are happy pretty much from then on, and the struggles in their lives come from other quarters. That's how I write Ron and Padma, just chugging along. But you know, in a very tall and sexy manner.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-07-16 09:20 pm (UTC)I am so completely in agreement with you on H/Hr, and that's why I originally started shipping it back in the days of yore. I don't buy the t00by neverending love argument, and I hate seeing it in fanfic -- which is probably why I hate 95% of the H/Hr fic out there. I don't think it fits with either character at all. I see it as more of a, "Okay, you may be my best friend but I'm not going to listen to your unwanted advice, kthx" kind of thing. I love their interactions, and I love little things in their friendship, like in HBP when Ron's all (and I know he did this because he's romantically interested in Hermione, don't get me wrong), "OMG did Hermione kiss Krum?" and Harry's like, "Uh, dude, duh." It's GREAT. I never saw them as being particularly plausible in canon, when it was so obvious that JKR was going the R/Hr path (which is FINE with me, because I think their dynamic is interesting, too!), but I just enjoy reading about them, even as friends, because I think they so totally get each other, and it's so fun to read about.
/ramble
no subject
Date: 2007-07-17 06:29 am (UTC)And, you know, big ol' word to H/Hr, although I maintain that up until HBP, it had an equal chance of coming into canon as R/Hr did. *shrugs* That's why we have fandom.