(not Luna??!)

[reenka]

You know what's really kind of silly? (I make this mistake a lot, btw.) Over-identifying with people I like (or, characters, but I won't even get into that). I mean, at heart, it's just a faulty assumption-type thing. Over-generalizing is often at the root of most evil along with the usual drive for power and fear of death (but I won't get into that, heh).

I mean, I'm not Luna. Rinse & repeat three times, as necessary: I'm not Luna. I'm not Luna. I'm not Luna. Woo, what a relief. (Btw, if anyone wants a Luna-centric fic, I just found `Butterbeer Caps', which seems good.)

I keep trying to root it out of me (well, half-heartedly), but it won't go.

So if I see someone who seems to "get" the beauty of Buffy/Spike -aaaand- the beauty of Kyou/Tohru, all of a sudden I'm like, OMG WE R SOULM8ES!!1 (well... sort of), and then I'm crashing down to earth 'cause they also like Heero/Relena (OMG TEH EVAL, OMG) and Harry/Luna (which... isn't -bad-, precisely, just really not... romantic at all). But that's because I a) shouldn't extrapolate someone's view on romance just from a couple of things they believe (and I don't even know if they believe the same things I do about said relationships); b) shouldn't project myself so blatantly onto Luna (or whatever character) that I feel a bit silly shipping her with -anyone-. (I mean, I should know-- Luna "just isn't ready"). On the other hand, if you made Luna darker-- or better yet, mad (OMG PLOT BUNNY)-- you could do a Hamlet/Ophelia thing. Woo, I can see Ophelia!Luna. But then she'd have to die :D

It seems either people heavily identify with each other, thus kind of stealing another person's individual identity in a way, or they project their vision of the Other (that is to say, their ideals of what's perfectly Attractive-- or horrid-- in someone else), thus idealizing them past the point of possessing any real humanity. Bleh.

I don't even know if many people define themselves or rather, see a trend of similar rationales for the "way they ship" like I do. That is to say, every ship I believe in fits into a trend in my mind, of the way I generally perceive "romance" in the first place. Because, as should be obvious, pretty much -everything- is premade 'meta' a.k.a. 'on Plato's crack' in my head. :>

Basically, all the couples I like have something about their "spirit" in common, so I assume if someone likes more than one example of romance as I do, we must both be seeing this "spirit" (which makes me think we're ourselves compatible for friendship).

So that's why it boggles my mind that people can possibly like Buffy/Spike (a passionate, fighting-opposites-attract tragicomic sort of insane romance) and Heero/Relena (a lukewarm, idealize-your-anima/animus, the-hero-gets-the-girl cliche). It's like, duuude, Heero/Duo is much more like B/S (in my head)-- 'cause like, they're opposites-yet-equals in the whole complementary cliche sort of way.

Then it occurs to me to rethink Heero/Relena, and possibly you can see how Buffy/Spike can also be about the idealizing-the-anima cliche from Spike's pov (though that's not what I like about the pairing at all), and suddenly it all makes sense. You can definitely see how Heero/Relena is like Kyou/Tohru, which I adore (ACK ACK ACK STOP ABORT PANIC). In fact, I tend to blatantly ignore the unhealthyness of a boy idealizing his female love interest and focus on their disagreements and the romantic friction-- bleh, thus leading myself into a quagmire (I used a big word!) of sloppy thinking & projection-onto-perfectly-innocent-characters.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.
    But it all makes sense in my head, I SWEAR!!1

Comments

This was going to be 1 sentence thanking you for a rec, but I got off on a tangent...

[cellia.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the Luna fic rec. Enjoyed muchly.

I have never read a fic for it (and any author probably wouldn't do it "right" anyway), but I secretly(?) ship Harry/Luna to a scary degree. Was going to ask you to drabble it last post, but remembered your pairing-Luna-with-anyone squick.

Ophelia!Luna and Hamlet!Harry makes me giggle, but the annoying voice in my head is taking it too seriously and saying that Luna is odd and loopy... but more kind of tao and pragmatic and not generally given to dramatics. One could characterize her as more, um, Delirium-ish, but that's not exactly right either. I can't really think of anyone to compare her to off the top of my head. She's just sort of an odd duck that doesn't quite fit into the standard fictional character-types/roles I can think of, even for "mad girls".

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

I write fics for squicks (...ahahah so lame) all the time, dude, and for you I'd write pretty much anything. The problem is that whole inspiration thing where I'd need more than a pairing to start with :> :> The same girl who wrote that Luna fic wrote a fic where Harry's this hornball who suddenly wakes up and realizes Luna's HAWT and like... ooooh baby, hormones. That made me laugh, ahahahahah. Anyway, fact remains that -my- Harry (this is what it usually comes down to) doesn't go for 'good', understanding, intelligent girls, and more for unavailable pretty girls he admires for a) spirit; b) looks; c) skillz. He's still a boy, basically, eheheheh. *gooses Harry* No one likes girls like Luna 'that way' when she's 15-16, man. Once again, I should know. *coughs* And like, I'm not bitter, even, 'cause she/I/we wacko girls don't like them 'that way' either. Even Hermione is something like that, which is partly why she's resistant to Ron. Though Ron isn't trying hard enough. But anyway.

I like mad!Luna because it's like... the other side of the Luna coin, to have her be more Ophelia/Drusilla-like. If she cracked, y'know, ahahah. I always like it when characters crack. And dude, Luna's kind of the crone archetype in a girl's body. I always self-identified with the crone who lives at the edge of the world, even when I was like, 8, so it totally makes sense to me :> She's the archetypal changeling child, the witch-baby who Sees the other world rather than the typical magician who kind of has a more use-oriented approach.

Luna may be pragmatic, but it's in a very twisted way; like... her process of belief is different 'cause it's more tied with her imagination than book-learning as for Hermione. She's like... a geek, basically, rather than a nerd. *laughs* Y'know those UFO people who read OMNI and stuff. Yeah. *coughs*

[cellia.livejournal.com]

Hm, Luna a young crone...and disconnected geek. I'm wrapping my brain around that idea and liking it.

And, ag. Luna is NOT hawt. No. Bad fanartists (myself included) for drawing her too pretty. She might grow into some prettiness due to unhinted-at genetic luck, but I don't see her taking those grooming steps necessary to maximize this and prettify herself. And I agree 100% about Harry being a teenage boy and liking the pretty/spirited/skilled chicks. Now, Luna is not a standard geek losergirl in that she doesn't seem to have self-esteem issues, but for Harry/Luna I'm not thinking teenage crush or passionate love affair. I'm not even *gasp* particularly thinking about hot porn. (what is WRONG with me?)

I think of them ultimately in their late 20s to 40s as companions kind of constantly surprised by the other. (I don't see romance at a young age unless there is some magical plot device.) I just want to see them hang out. Lots. Like, a gen fic might even fill my needs. I like the idea of them going through the world together, enhancing the other's experience of it, and in their own bizarre/dysfunctional ways taking care of each other.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Have I ever told you how startlingly sane you were?? Don't worry, that's a compliment :D :D I'm very glad you're not after teenage-crush!H/L, since that hurts my head. You should read that fic so that your head hurts along with me. Muwahahah, etc.

I want to see them hang out too, see, though I've currently written only one H/L-type scene, for my post-OoTP Sirius-mourning Harryfic. It was beautiful and I wrote it last summer, but I got stuck on trying to make it more H/D-like at the end, because I am stupid and obsessive when it comes to some things ><;;

I so resent the people who make Hermione pretty/cool to make her Harry or Ron's girlfriend. EBIL PEOPLE!!1 >:O *sigh* old issues :>

I just like writing teenagers & teenage-type romance, I think. I must have issues or something. It doesn't even occur to me most times, to think of what "adult"-type pairings you could theoretically successfully have. I think it's just that adult!Harry hurts my head in general. In a similar way that adult!Tim Hunter hurts my head, but that's a whole 'nother kettle of bitter, bitter fish. It's kind of disturbing to realize you HATE a character you -adored- when they were 13. *sigh* But I blame that on the REALLY BLOODY SUCKTASTIC writer. And the art ain't too spiffy either. *stews*

Hehehe. Yeah, sometimes I'm not in the H/D for the porn, either, and just want them to hang out. I'm an odd duck also~:))