(not Luna??!)
Jun. 23rd, 2004 05:57 pmYou 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
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
no subject
Date: 2004-06-24 11:02 am (UTC)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*
no subject
Date: 2004-06-24 11:45 pm (UTC)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.
no subject
Date: 2004-06-25 12:57 am (UTC)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~:))