~~ relationships break-down (break down, break-down... get it??! heh)

So, I'm avoiding writing more of my Death Eater!Draco fic (um... coincidentally, currently I'm at a rather important Hermione scene) to babble randomly. God, I love babbling randomly. There's porn, art, and babbling-- what else is there in life?? ...Don't answer that.

Basically, I was reading lizbee's Hermione character analysis (which is brilliant), and got to thinking about-- well, Hermione-- but also her relationships with Harry & Ron, and how they realize that she's someone who can be difficult to like (which a lot of fanfic rather whitewashes). Naturally a R/Hr vs. H/Hr discussion ensued, though the arguments were actually coherent for once, and it led me to question myself more fully as to why I do prefer Hermione with Ron and what that says about how I see relationships. And of course then I got long-winded.
    Anyway, this post is dedicated to cellia, who'd laugh and disagree with me on more than a few counts :D That's what friends are for, right?

So:
Guidelines for Understanding & Predicting Shipping Preferences:

1 - Are 'desirable' relationships equivalent to each person bringing out the best in the other?

This, I feel, is an interesting question, and it's the one that really inspired this whole post. The initial context was the discussion in lizbee's Hermione post about whether Ron and Hermione bring out the best in each other now & would be likely to in a romantic context.

My instinct would be ( ... )

2 - Does two people (friends?) 'squabbling' mean lust and/or 'true love'?

( ... )

3 - What role does (mutual) understanding-- friendship, in other words-- play in the (long-term) 'success' of a romantic relationship?

( ... )

4 - Are 'good' ('healthy') relationships determined by whether the two characters are 'good for each other'?

( ... )

5 - Finally, what defines 'romantic success'-- whether long-term or short-term? And which is the 'superior' measure?

( ... )

~~

Also. Why is girl!Harry art so hot??! WHY WHY WHYyyyyyy???... Then again, I-- um-- like me some crossdressing!Draco fic, too. Omfg, teh kink!!1
    And oh my fuck, woman!Snape has killed me dead. o_0 Of course... djinniyah's Snape is pretty much perfect male -or- female. Wah. And OMG HER TOM!!1
    Whoah, baby... Hogwarts' wank Olympics fic <3333333