~~mary-sue!draco, introspection, and the perils of reasonableness

[reenka]

is it strange that when i read a story where draco acts reasonable and vaguely sane and well-- normal-- i immediately go, oh. i guess all it will take is for harry to realize how reasonable (reasonably human, i mean) draco really is, and everything will click into place. i mean-- if he isn't really a pompous pathetic jerk, what's the hold-up?
    this just struck me as funny, in a way.
    plenty of perfectly sane, pleasant people don't get it on with The Boy Who Lived, or anyone else for that matter. in fact, in the `real world', whatever that is, you don't have to be a stupid git to not be getting any play. i mean, it's not even that draco is -nice-, here. he seems vaguely sarcastic and cynical, but pretty intelligent and observant, somewhat more so than normal. people like that -especially-, are misunderstood and unlucky in love. like say, probably the author. well, a number of authors, anyway.

i wonder why this sort of draco rubs me the wrong way. i can't just say, well, he's ooc, and leave it at that. i mean, say, snitch!draco is pretty ooc, but do i care? hell no. he's hilarious and so fun to read, it doesn't matter. i think the thing is, this is what i would say is the quintessential mary-sue!draco. that's what irks me.
    i'm probably guilty of doing this with some extent-- at least in the beginning i was. i'm pretty careful to try to remember that draco is like, nothing like me, and nothing like anyone i know, except possibly the uber-mean incarnation of my ex, and my childhood awed fear-fantasy of my father (this would be lucius, which gives me slight insight into draco). anyway, my harry is probably a mary-sue as far as being too introspective and eerily cynical. ergh.

a -lot- of people write their characters as preternaturally perceptive, especially if they're writing first-person pov (a real pitfall all by itself). not so much that the character actually seems to be -objective- and aware of the thoughts and feelings of others-- no, it remains self-absorbed. what i mean is, aware of -themselves-.

most people aren't all that aware of themselves. i am, and i would imagine a number of writers are, but people like draco malfoy, Slytherin Prince of Denial? hell no.



it's a classic mistake to make first-person pov characters be intimately aware of their every action, their physical appearance, their most minute emotion. when combined with this being the character of draco malfoy-- who's supposed to be closed-minded and petty and childish and desperately arrogant and so on-- it just really rings false.
    i mean, the climax in most harry/draco stories is harry's (and -draco's-, more importantly) realization that draco is human, that he isn't who he thought he was. it's so romantic, because often enough that is enough to ensure their union-- because the attraction itself, the raw material, is usually taken for granted in h/d stories. unlike some other romances, this isn't something that lends itself well to slow build-up and gradual progression from friendship to love to intimacy. no, usually it's pure magic, raw magnetism, eventually -solified- by the slow build-up of the development of draco's character into something harry could admire and respect, as well as love & be attracted to.

if draco starts -out- `human', i really don't see what the point is, and why write harry/draco, except as you get this initial sort of "ooh, this isn't supposed to be happening" sort of vibe, but it seems kind of a shallow thing. without the raw conflict of the paradox of draco, the hidden depths and the bluster and the angst and so on, i can see them being -close-, and being friends, but the passion doesn't really inspire me as to its inevitable reality.
    you can break through this barrier rather quickly.
    and yes, i realize there are several really really good stories where a) draco starts out `human'; b) they have a slow build-up to friends and then to lovers. the Trilogy & `underwater light' come to mind most immediately.

here, you don't have so much of a mary sue as comedic elements working for you. he is fascinating, charming, effervescent, thus, not easily known-- instead of being the pov character, he is the enigmatic object of desire and contemplation. this remove is rather necessary, i feel. `underwater light' told from draco's perspective would be rather limp, i'd think, its main mystery broken before it could be created in the first place. the main mystery being draco's heart.

harry doesn't strike me as a good object of mystery and fascination. he's so legendarily easy to read-- he's not going to hide anything really vital about his feelings. were there anything to know, it's almost a given draco's going to be aware of it, unless he's a complete dumbass, heheheh.

    anyway.
    *sigh* once again, i've posted this here instead of in metapotter. hee. the lure of greater readership is really nothing to sneeze at ><;;

Comments

To percieve and perceive the perception

[unstasis.livejournal.com]

I guess the thing is that peope (and Harry especially in some weird ways (and Draco in perhaps some even weirder ways) can definitely be very aware themselves (too much of this and you have paranoid!Harry which I think is pretty cannon even (though "you're not paranoid if they really are out to get you" would definitely seem to apply here). I think that characters should be like ourselves, or at least the potential of ourselves tobe able to see all sorts of things. And we should be able percieve what they can mean to the characters. But you have to remember that everyhrting they see might not be "right" (as in a discovery that leads the plot the "right" way (ieek if you've ever role played when the GM when they get frustrated because the players aren't going along with his hidden plan (ie plot))), but its still seeing. I think tat's definitely where the the "humor" can come in with a highly aware character, that keeps finding an alternate way to go (perhaps messing up depending on your pov) and the plot almost has to smack him the face before he gets it (though that might be "stupider" less perceptive than Harry might really be.. I guess just try to get in the characters heads (or make up plausable ones if you're going with a character that needs a lot of fleshing out (like Draco, where if you're using canon most of the clues about his personality are very indirect almost liek a mystery novel to figure out if not nonexistant or wishful)) and then decide what and how they would be seeing. And then decide how and if they react (both Hand Das well as Ron and even Neville it could be imagined have some pretty deep repressing issues, and don't be afraid of them doing anything or knowing anytingunless its ooc. And if ther like Sherlock Holmes have them be wrong even if it is seemingly the only logical conclusion, because so many of these characters (with the exception of Hermione and possibly Dumbledor (though he's hiding something, though that's maybe overly thoughtful for what in a way is not as good of fodder to chew (the original books) as the large response its been given (but its a very pretty response all the same, in many if not most ways, outshining the original).

Umm and as I guess the great Earnest P. Warrel has said:
"You know what I mean?"