small rant on DV Hermione

[sarea]

Wow. Read Cassie's DV14 cookies and have been reading the comments ... I had no idea so many people loathed DV Hermione the way I do! It's such a wonderful feeling! I thought I was the only one who couldn't stand the bitch. Actually, DT Hermione in general makes me want to kick her until all the bones in my foot break. She's just so ridiculously perfect (and I mean in the sense that none of the characters except Ginny think she can do any wrong). Oh yes, Hermione could never be wrong.

Hermione is beautiful and smart and serene and has all three heroes in love with her. Puuuuuuke. The worst thing about it is that she's a complete hypocrite (my biggest pet peeve), and so far from deserving the pedestal both Harry and Draco put her on that it reflects poorly on them. Everything about her makes me roll my eyes. I had ceased hoping that Hermione would ever get her come uppance (and perhaps she still won't, not really), thinking that this was just Cassie's preferred characterization of her. It's surprising and gratifying to think that I was perhaps not giving Cassie enough credit.

However, I'm going to table that until I see the actual scene. Just because Rhysenn has exposed what I consider a truth about Hermione (her unbelievable, unending selfishness), doesn't mean that that's actually the conclusion that will come out of it. It's very possible that Hermione's status as She Who Can Do No Wrong will only be affirmed, with Rhysenn shown as being "wrong." Bleah.

Comments

[thena.livejournal.com]

I am so with the DV Hermione dislike. It is very puke worthy and I thought I was the only one since even though I've been reading Draco Triology since Draco Dormien days, I don't talk to many people about it but that Hermione is too perfect. But I find that can usually be a flaw to a lot fanfics with her as the lead, some fic writers do perfectionize her more and since she's almost perfect in canon. My view on fanon Hermione is another mixed thing but I totally agree with you and others who dislike DV Hermione. Have a good night and long weekend, Sarea.

[sydney-lynne.livejournal.com]

WORD!!!!! I actually don't really like DV that much anymore (although am hopelessly addicted, as it's like crack) mostly because I can't stand perfect (Woe, angst, whom should I love) DV!Hermione. Also DV!Draco gets on my nerves too for similar reasons, but at least Draco has some very obvious flaws in his character that Hermione doesn't.

In a related thought, am in such horror of the prospect of Draco/Hermione in DV that I found it necessary to add "hating draco/hermione" to my lj interests (and also because I want to be more like you-u *bats eyes*) Is all because of DV that I've come to dislike that ship so much in the first place. Gah.

[1anonymous1.livejournal.com]

*high fives*

We must destroy the bitch.

[nightfalltwen.livejournal.com]

Finally... I was worried I was one of the only ones who thought this way too.

I only really liked Hermione in the first story. Once she started becoming torn between Draco and Harry, that's when I started to really loathe her. I mean, I like Draco/Hermione to an extent... meaning I like some of the writers putting them together for a short story. But a novel length where she becomes a frigging Saint and has not one, not two but three main characters seeking her love... that just pisses me off as a reader.

hhhrrumphh!

[ceilidh]

Hermione is the main reason I don't read the DT as rabidly as I did at first. Hermione is my favorite canon character and that "I'm so perfect"-ness just didn't sit right with me.

Bravo!

[(Anonymous)]

Bravo! Bravo! *claps* The way you loathe DT!Hermione, you have no idea how similar I feel! I can't believe I actually liked her at the beginning of DD, but I was a little naive reader back then, just starting to read this great story. Ugh, I can't her in this fic, and I cringe every single time she is in a scene, especially if it's with Draco. *pukes* I really hope she gets a good bashing. Although I wish Ginny would be the one with the honor, I'm not sure that would happen. I don't know, maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I always get the sense that Hermione is in fact very selfish, and all the problems in the Draco/Harry/Hermione triangle often revolves around her.

I can't wait to read that scene with Rhysenn! She's my new hero! *fangirls Rhysenn* Tee hee.

*comes back and kicks Hermione in the shin* Muahahahahaha!!!!!

[trixiefirecra.livejournal.com]

WORD on the DV!Hermione hate. I despise the way Cassie writes Hermione and pretty much always have. Its absolutely nauseating how every single main character worships Hermione (well, it feels that way sometimes).

Hermione is my favourite character in the HPverse, which is why I find Cassie's characterization so troubling. Hermione is not perfect at all- she has flaws and good points - just like any other character. But Cassie writes her like another person would write a Mary Sue, and I loathe that.

Hopefully she redeems herself. But I stopped reading DV a while ago, so I'll wait and see.

even more ranting ahead ... heehee

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Everyone has made such excellent points! It's lovely to know I'm not alone. But you kind of put it into a nutshell, Trix -- I could have sworn I said something similar somewhere, but I can't find it. But generally: Hermione is written like a Mary Sue. Cassie's Hermione would be such a Mary Sue, if she were an original character and not one named Hermione. <g>

I don't know Cassie, so I can't say that Hermione is a Mary Sue, but there's a clear preference (up until this point) for that character. Maybe it was because Cassie liked her best (we know she hates Ginny; she hasn't made any secret of that fact), so she wanted her to have everything. Maybe Cassie completely identifies with her. I don't know. I mean, Cassie villainized Cho long before OotP Cho, and I chalked that up to the fact that she simply didn't like her.

Hermione's pretty perfect in the books. I'm not trying to dispute that. But she's not perfect in the eyes of the other characters. Or if she is, they find it annoying -- like Ron. She's human. She has flaws, and other people recognize them as such. DV Hermione has loads of flaws, but no one but a few select people see them, and she's generally portrayed as Perfect, and Everyone Likes Her (like a Mary Sue).

Now, I like Ginny. I don't know how anyone else feels about her (since that wasn't the subject of my rant <g>), but I like her. Given that when I started the DT, I hadn't read any other fanfic, and Ginny had been a noneity in the books (or actually, I found her a tad annoying), my like of Ginny is pretty much due all to Cassie. Ironic, when she herself doesn't like her.

Ginny is fallible (God, is she ever fallible). In fact, maybe because Cassie dislikes her so, so many huge things have ended up being Ginny's fault. Have I been disappointed in her? Have I ever wanted to wring her little neck? Sure. But ultimately? Her fallibility makes me like her even more. She has faults. She's human. In fact, I prefer Pansy and Blaise and Rhysenn to Hermione, too, for the same reason! They are actual human beings that I can relate to.

This other worldly being that is DV Hermione? cannot relate. At all. She's the type of girl who we shun, isn't she? Isn't this online thing supposed to be about power to the fringe girls? That's why we like characters like Scully and Buffy and Hermione, right? Because we relate to them as normal girls. DV Hermione is like those bland movie/TV heroines who are pursued by the hero for her looks (and since when was Hermione some gorgeous, ravishing creature, anyway?) or for some other inexplicable reason(s). Aren't we supposed to be rebelling against what those writers/creators think girls should be like?

But the problem is not just in the "heroine" ... it also reflects poorly on the heroes themselves. I respect Harry and Draco (and Ron) less for their complete infatuation with someone I find infinitely dislikable for her selfishness and hypocrisy.

*deep breath*

I guess I'm done now. <g>

Re: even more ranting ahead ... heehee

[jade-okelani.livejournal.com]

Word, sister.

Like Trix and Callie, Hermione is also my favorite canon character, so Cassie's characterization of her is really, really grating. I love Hermione because she's smart and tries too hard to be perfect -- and in fact, her very perfection is the reason she's so imperfect. There's a uniqueness to Hermione in canon that she just doesn't have in DV -- as you say, she's like every other vapid heroine.

Canon Hermione is annoying. She makes Ron roll his eyes. She causes Harry to get a little upset (best Harry characterization ever, just to make it clear I'm not picking on Cassie) and even -- gasp -- is disliked by many main and supporting characters, including Draco Malfoy.

I can buy Harry falling in love with her and turning a blind eye to some of her faults. I can even almost buy it of Ron -- but Draco?! Even a Draco in love with Hermione wouldn't lose his edge of perceptiveness, wouldn't become so complacent where she's concerned.

It's gotten so ridiculous that I actually have to wonder if she's doing it on purpose. Hermione is perfect. Nothing bad is her fault. Ginny is imperfect. All the bad things are her fault. It's just too much -- and Cassie is a good writer. I would go so far as to say a great writer. These are -- to me -- very obvious, sloppy character traits. Unless that's exactly what they're supposed to be, and she's doing it on purpose toward whatever goal.

At least, that's what I tell myself when I'm rocking back and forth slowly in the corner, muttering but why, Cassie, but why?

Re: even more ranting ahead ... heehee

[sarea-okelani.livejournal.com]

Even a Draco in love with Hermione wouldn't lose his edge of perceptiveness, wouldn't become so complacent where she's concerned.

Yessssssss. Exactly. And that's where my hate of Draco/Hermione comes in, I think. Like sydney_lynne, I think DS/DV is the source of my dislike for that ship. Because Draco and Hermione both turn into different characters -- unrecognizable -- when they're paired in the DT (and I freely admit that the DT, being the reason I got into HP fanfic in the first place, has a lot of clout where relationships between the characters are concerned). I honestly cannot reconcile the two of them having any romantic interest in one another, but that's a personal thing and really has no place in this discussion. <g>

Unless that's exactly what they're supposed to be, and she's doing it on purpose toward whatever goal.

I hope so. I think Cassie's a fantastic writer, actually. Better than that, she's a gifted storyteller. This whole Rhysenn confronting Hermione with her faults thing has therefore given me hope that Cassie isn't blind to the way Hermione's been characterized; that there's a reason for it all, other than that she personally likes Hermione.

The one hope that I have about the whole H/D/Hr triangle is that it somehow has to do w/ the H/D bonding from DD. I can't remember now whether Draco showed any interest in Hermione whatsoever previous to switching into Harry's body. We know for a fact that even after they switched back, remnants of one another's personalities/traits remained. Couldn't Draco's love for Hermione and vice versa be explained by that? I mean, why does Draco love Hermione? We know why Harry loves her; even if we hadn't been told in DD, it's not that far a stretch to go. But for Draco Malfoy to love Hermione Granger? I need some serious evidence/reasoning. Have we gotten that?

Re: Oh I've got your ranting right here, baby

[jade-okelani.livejournal.com]

Because Draco and Hermione both turn into different characters -- unrecognizable -- when they're paired in the DT

This is also my biggest complaint with the 'ship. It's my biggest complaint with most 'ships I don't like -- when the two principal characters involved become totally different people. The integrity of their characters are sacrificed for the sake of the 'ship, because unless you make concessions and twist their characters around, the 'ship doesn't work.

That's what D/Hr is to me in the DT. And I think it does have a place in this discussion, because it goes back to the root of my dissatisfaction: Hermione's character.

I didn't always feel this way. I was fine with her in DD. I hated D/Hr on sight, the 'ship never, ever worked for me (I'm not pretending otherwise) but I still liked Hermione. I understood her confusion, and her desire to have Harry, the boy she'd been in love with for years. I wanted her to have him, because it broke my heart that he didn't love her back the way she wanted him to. I think she was written as being too physically beautiful, and not nearly annoying (to others) enough, but I could forgive it because she wasn't worshipped to the degree she is now.

The first time I began to dislike Hermione was in DS. I thought the "charmed to be in love with Draco" plot was ridiculous, and it felt like something being done for the sole reason of prolonging the D/Hr. To my mind, the D/Hr story was played out in DD, and never should have been touched on again in DV. DV belonged to H/Hr, D/G, and H/D (in whatever forms those relationships take). If DV has a weakness, to me, it's the continued presence of D/Hr. It weakens both Hermione and Draco (and not in a good way) and for me, drags the entire story down.

And DV is a good story. I don't think it deserves it.

However, I will say right now, that these are my feelings about a WIP that isn't yet complete. I don't know where Cassie's going. It could all have a purpose. Which is why I detest WIPs, and passionately hate that I'm addicted to one. *g*

Re: Oh I've got your ranting right here, baby

[(Anonymous)]

****
To my mind, the D/Hr story was played out in DD, and never should have been touched on again in DV. DV belonged to H/Hr, D/G, and H/D (in whatever forms those relationships take). If DV has a weakness, to me, it's the continued presence of D/Hr. It weakens both Hermione and Draco (and not in a good way) and for me, drags the entire story down.

****

*claps* My thoughts exactly! I'm so sick of scenes suggesting D/Hr in DV now. They are over. *stomps D/Hr to death*

*waves D/G flag*