Ship opinions, Harry Potter.

[mari4212]

Dumbledore/McGonagall:

I have a soft spot for this ship. It so obviously could have worked. From their first scene together, they bounced well off of each other. The respect each of them felt for each other, the humor, their relationship all worked so well. And yet it never seemed to have happened in the books.

Remus/Tonks:

I know many people didn't really like this ship, and part of it was the way it got presented in the books, but I really can see this work. Part of it has to do with the way I see Andromeda being, and it's my belief that Tonks takes after her mother when it comes to romance. That is, she falls and falls hard, and nothing will deter her, no matter what others may say about it. And I can see this romance working out well, with both of them encouraging the other. The earliest moment I can identify when this ship worked well for me was in OoTP, when Remus is teasing Tonks about her name. That just speaks of a comfort with each other and a strong friendship already developing. And I'm always more of a fan of friendships that develop into relationships than any other type of romance. I don't exactly like how depressed Tonks was during HBP, but I don't assume that it's all about Remus. She has gone through a lot of upheaval, and Remus's rejection because he thought she could do better was just the last straw. As for Remus, I do think he needs her, and she offers him some things that he has lost. He's spent too much time alone, too much time without the simple happiness that comes from true friendship. Tonks is both a link to his past and an encouragement to look forward, and her decisiveness and positive attitude counters his faults, while he can balance out her faults. I can see them working, long term.

Neville/Luna:

I can see these two either working exceedingly well, or not at all. They're both alone, and they both have had tragedy in their lives. So on one hand, I think that they could understand each other very well. But at this point in their lives, I don't think either of them are what the other person needs or wants. I think they will always be good friends, but they'd make better friends than lovers. On the other hand, these two are amoung my favorite characters of all time from the books, and I want them to be happy. If they could be happy together, then they should be together.

Harry/Ginny:

To be perfectly honest, I'd like this ship a lot more if I had a good understanding of who
Ginny really is. I don't feel that I understand her character that well, so it's hard to understand all that goes on here. Right now my image of Ginny is of a bright firey woman, but I don't think I've seen all that makes her who she is. She works very well as the narrative Hero's reward, but I'm not sure what's in it for her. I liked her in OoTP, but not so much in HBP. Someone show me something that does a good job with this pairing, that shows their relationship in line with their personalities, and I promise I'll read it and that might help me here. With what JKR has given us, I don't really feel it.

Harry/Hermione:

I did like this ship a lot. No, I'm not going to start ranting about it not happening in canon. But I saw it more easily than Ron/Hermione, even when that had the larger hints. There is just such a deep bond of trust and love between the two of them as friends, and I can see it carrying over well into a relationship. Harry listens to her and hears her voice in his head when he's making decisions. They understand a lot of the same things, and see things in a similar light, with individual variations. And she is willing to sacrifice a lot for him. I'll accept that it's not canon, and the segment of the fandom that really supported this is insane at times, but I liked these two together.



So that's the HP ones. I'll try to get to the others tomorrow.

Comments

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

This isn't directly related to Harry/Ginny as a pairing, but are you familiar with the fic The Very Secret Diary? It gave me a whole bunch of insight into Ginny as a character, and is part of why I'm totally OK with Harry/Ginny - I think that, in the end, they are the only two people who can understand what the other has been through as far as Voldemort is concerned.

Ack, hit post too soon

[cheshire23.livejournal.com]

The fic is here, and it was written some time ago, before we knew Ginny's full name was Ginevra, not Virginia. But try not to let that bother you too much - the fic is WONDERFUL. And read "Disenchanted" afterwards - it's an epilogue of sorts, from Dumbledore's perspective.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

No, but I'll check that out. I think the only real problem I had with this ship has been it's treatment in canon.

Re: Ack, hit post too soon

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the link, I'm off to go read.

[apostrophet.livejournal.com]

Part of it has to do with the way I see Andromeda being, and it's my belief that Tonks takes after her mother when it comes to romance. That is, she falls and falls hard, and nothing will deter her, no matter what others may say about it.

I really like how you put that, and I think you're definitely on to something. It fits with what can be easily read into the character of Andromeda--that, to leave her family and marry a Muggle-born, she must have been a) very much in love and b) determined and stubborn. I hadn't thought about that parallel with Tonks, but it makes a lot of sense.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'd done a character meta on Andromeda not long ago, here: http://www.livejournal.com/users/mari4212/44531.html. That's what drove me to start understanding a bit of what goes into Tonks. But yes, Andromeda needed to be strong, stubborn, and very much in love to risk everything like that. Tonks has those traits.