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edenfallingThis began as a character sketch last October, in an attempt to kick myself into gear on "Secrets" and see if I could stir up some half-formed post-HBP plotbunnies. I like it perhaps more than it really deserves -- but it's a relief to know that Ginny hasn't moved out of my head, and that I can rationalize the differences in her character between the first four books and the latest two.
[ETA: The ever-so-slightly revised final version is now up on AO3!]
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30 Things About Ginny Weasley
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1. She knows what people say, but she's not a slut. There's nothing wrong with liking boys and having some fun together, and it's not her fault if they think it's more serious than it really is.
2. She isn't a bitch, either. Well, not much. Okay, so she has a temper. Try growing up with her mother and six older brothers and see how nice you turn out.
3. She learned to cast jinxes before she learned any other magic. It was self-defense, really -- the twins stole Charlie's wand and jinxed her. She had to get revenge.
4. She may be infamous for her hexes, but she's actually quite good at Potions as well. One of the great trials of her life is that nobody seems to recognize this, because Snape hates her and sometimes she gets too angry to pay attention to what she's doing in class.
5. She's also good at Herbology. Ginny loves flowers -- they're one of the few really girly things she learned to like despite her brothers -- and if she had her way the back garden at the Burrow would have no vegetables at all. Instead, there would be huge sweeps of wildflowers and grasses, and then some tidier plants like rosebushes and topiary hedges. She knows that's not practical and her family needs to grow food, but sometimes she closes her eyes in the greenhouses and daydreams of petals and perfume.
6. Her other daydream, the one she doesn't admit to anyone, is of saving Tom. She's pretty sure that was impossible -- you can't save a person who doesn't want to be saved -- but she's secretly ashamed that she never tried, not once she found out he was behind the Petrifications. Even more secretly, she's glad she didn't try. That way she'll never be sure that she would have failed.
7. Ginny loathes failure. She hates weakness in general, particularly in herself. Weakness in other people is to be pitied, mocked, or despised, depending on how she feels about the person in question.
8. Despite this, she really does like most people. She wants people to be strong and sensible, and is sure most of them could be if they'd only bother or if someone could get them to listen. She's willing to help, but she runs out of patience faster than she likes to admit.
9. Ginny has mixed feelings about Quidditch. On the one hand, she loves flying and she loves the thrill of doing something she's good at and winning. On the other hand, she doesn't like being confined to the pitch, and she doesn't like the way the game and the other players spoil the purity of the sky. Sometimes she pauses during practices and pretends Harry's still on the team, so she can watch him spiral free above her.
10. She only had one close female friend before she was eleven. She's still somewhat unsure of how to deal with other girls and often falls back into the dominance games that she learned from her brothers. As a result, she has a lot of casual friends, but no girl besides Hermione really knows her. She doesn't have many close male friends either, though -- she's convinced that most boys are macho idiots, and will point to her brothers as evidence.
11. Ginny thinks Ron is an utter idiot for refusing to accept money from Harry. If Harry pays for things, she can save her own money and invest it in the twins' business. That's a much faster way to stop being poor than whatever half-formed plans Ron may have. She's been poor all her life -- oh, they've never gone hungry, but they've come closer than Mum wants to admit -- and she's not going to let pride or any notions of 'a woman's proper role' keep her there one second longer than necessary.
12. When she was nine, her friend talked her into kissing a feather pillow, for practice. Ginny was pleasantly surprised by how much nicer a boy's mouth is.
13. First she liked Harry because he's the Boy Who Lived. Then he stayed at her house and she realized that he was just a boy like her brothers... but different. He was quieter, for one thing, and there was a certain feeling around him. He made her feel like the world was a more special place, safer and brighter. Ginny's still not sure just what it is about Harry that pulls her, but it's there and she can't ignore it even when she tries. She's very glad that she likes his personality as well, and that he's easy on the eyes; otherwise, she might be in a bit of trouble.
14. No matter what anyone says, she did genuinely like her other boyfriends. She just never felt that pull toward them. Dean's a better kisser than Harry, though, and sometimes she misses that. She doesn't miss their arguments. Arguments that don't go anywhere are pointless, especially if they're not fun either.
15. She's extremely possessive of her family and friends. Fleur scorned her family and tried to steal Bill, as she saw it, so Ginny fought back. Hermione couldn't be sensible and just tell Ron how she felt -- she let weakness get the best of her -- and Ginny couldn't stand that. Harry is hers now, and he can talk all he wants about sending her away. She's not really going. Oh, she'll stop kissing him and all that, but there's no way she'll let go of him now.
16. She's a control freak; she likes everything to be just so, including the people she considers hers. When she's upset, she begins to organize things around her. If she's eating, she gets obsessively precise about cutting food and cleaning sauces off her plate. If she's with people, she takes charge and starts giving orders.
17. She has a strong sense of justice in the abstract, but it gets a little hazy when dealing with actual people -- her emotions get in the way.
18. She can be unthinkingly cruel to people she doesn't know well. She'll usually apologize if this is pointed out, since she's not emotionally invested the way she is when she's actually angry at someone.
19. Ginny often regrets her temper-driven impulses, like insulting Hermione or crashing her broom into Zacharias Smith, but she usually can't bring herself to apologize. She's aware that this is a character flaw. She's also aware that she doesn't try nearly as hard to correct it as she probably should. She can't quite bring herself to feel guilty about that.
20. Ginny has a deep-seated sense of inferiority, stemming from being the youngest, being female, and being relatively socially isolated until she came to Hogwarts. Her first year didn't help. She refuses to admit this to anyone, and often overcompensates for it -- standing out is useful, she tells herself, and if you have the right attitude, you can get away with murder.
21. She knows a lot of dirty jokes. One of her favorite games is telling them to people who think she's a sweet little girl. She likes to watch their reactions.
22. Who Ginny is depends on who she's with. Usually she doesn't mind that. Usually she doesn't even notice when she shifts from one face to another. But sometimes, when she's alone, she wonders if she still has a real face. Then she tells herself off for being a whinging idiot.
23. Ginny keeps more secrets than most people realize. She used to tell Ron everything -- except for borrowing the brooms, but that was because he was a boy and would've told the twins, and then she'd never have learned to fly -- but then he went to Hogwarts and started brushing her off. So she turned to Tom, and that... well, the less said about that year, the better. These days she's better at keeping up masks.
24. She has a habit of writing her thoughts on parchment to put them in order. Now and then she still pauses as if she expects an answer. When she catches herself doing that, she burns the paper in question.
25. Sometimes she cries in her sleep. She doesn't know she does this. None of her roommates have ever told her.
26. Intellectually, she knows that Tom Riddle is Voldemort, but she has trouble making the emotional connection. Tom felt human to her; Voldemort is the monster under the bed. Tom betrayed her; Voldemort can't engage any of her emotions other than hatred. She pities Tom, a little, when she remembers him. There's nothing left in Voldemort to pity. The stupidest thing of all is that he did that to himself.
27. She still feels excluded from the circle of HarryRonHermione, no matter what she sees in Harry's eyes when he looks at her these days, no matter how many memories she shares with Ron, and no matter if she's the only girl Hermione can really talk to. She's still not one of them. That makes her feel weak, feel like a failure, and she hates that. She's not going to stand around and let them keep her out anymore.
28. She won't back down or give up; she'll break first. She hates asking for help. Ginny grew up relying on her parents and brothers, but she's left home and her brothers have their own lives to worry about. She tried relying on Tom. She's through leaning on other people. The farthest she'll go is mutual support, and she saves that for Harry.
29. Ginny is terrified that Harry will die in the war.
30. She has never even considered that he might lose.
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End
The original character sketch, from 10/24/05.
---------------------------------------------
In other news, I figured out why I kept stalling on chapter 4 of "Guardian." I was trying to treat Naga's family like civilians, when really two ninja and one former kunoichi would not have what we consider 'normal' attitudes toward family life.
Once I reconsider the scene, I think the chapter will go much faster. :-)
[ETA: The ever-so-slightly revised final version is now up on AO3!]
---------------------------------------------
30 Things About Ginny Weasley
---------------------------------------------
1. She knows what people say, but she's not a slut. There's nothing wrong with liking boys and having some fun together, and it's not her fault if they think it's more serious than it really is.
2. She isn't a bitch, either. Well, not much. Okay, so she has a temper. Try growing up with her mother and six older brothers and see how nice you turn out.
3. She learned to cast jinxes before she learned any other magic. It was self-defense, really -- the twins stole Charlie's wand and jinxed her. She had to get revenge.
4. She may be infamous for her hexes, but she's actually quite good at Potions as well. One of the great trials of her life is that nobody seems to recognize this, because Snape hates her and sometimes she gets too angry to pay attention to what she's doing in class.
5. She's also good at Herbology. Ginny loves flowers -- they're one of the few really girly things she learned to like despite her brothers -- and if she had her way the back garden at the Burrow would have no vegetables at all. Instead, there would be huge sweeps of wildflowers and grasses, and then some tidier plants like rosebushes and topiary hedges. She knows that's not practical and her family needs to grow food, but sometimes she closes her eyes in the greenhouses and daydreams of petals and perfume.
6. Her other daydream, the one she doesn't admit to anyone, is of saving Tom. She's pretty sure that was impossible -- you can't save a person who doesn't want to be saved -- but she's secretly ashamed that she never tried, not once she found out he was behind the Petrifications. Even more secretly, she's glad she didn't try. That way she'll never be sure that she would have failed.
7. Ginny loathes failure. She hates weakness in general, particularly in herself. Weakness in other people is to be pitied, mocked, or despised, depending on how she feels about the person in question.
8. Despite this, she really does like most people. She wants people to be strong and sensible, and is sure most of them could be if they'd only bother or if someone could get them to listen. She's willing to help, but she runs out of patience faster than she likes to admit.
9. Ginny has mixed feelings about Quidditch. On the one hand, she loves flying and she loves the thrill of doing something she's good at and winning. On the other hand, she doesn't like being confined to the pitch, and she doesn't like the way the game and the other players spoil the purity of the sky. Sometimes she pauses during practices and pretends Harry's still on the team, so she can watch him spiral free above her.
10. She only had one close female friend before she was eleven. She's still somewhat unsure of how to deal with other girls and often falls back into the dominance games that she learned from her brothers. As a result, she has a lot of casual friends, but no girl besides Hermione really knows her. She doesn't have many close male friends either, though -- she's convinced that most boys are macho idiots, and will point to her brothers as evidence.
11. Ginny thinks Ron is an utter idiot for refusing to accept money from Harry. If Harry pays for things, she can save her own money and invest it in the twins' business. That's a much faster way to stop being poor than whatever half-formed plans Ron may have. She's been poor all her life -- oh, they've never gone hungry, but they've come closer than Mum wants to admit -- and she's not going to let pride or any notions of 'a woman's proper role' keep her there one second longer than necessary.
12. When she was nine, her friend talked her into kissing a feather pillow, for practice. Ginny was pleasantly surprised by how much nicer a boy's mouth is.
13. First she liked Harry because he's the Boy Who Lived. Then he stayed at her house and she realized that he was just a boy like her brothers... but different. He was quieter, for one thing, and there was a certain feeling around him. He made her feel like the world was a more special place, safer and brighter. Ginny's still not sure just what it is about Harry that pulls her, but it's there and she can't ignore it even when she tries. She's very glad that she likes his personality as well, and that he's easy on the eyes; otherwise, she might be in a bit of trouble.
14. No matter what anyone says, she did genuinely like her other boyfriends. She just never felt that pull toward them. Dean's a better kisser than Harry, though, and sometimes she misses that. She doesn't miss their arguments. Arguments that don't go anywhere are pointless, especially if they're not fun either.
15. She's extremely possessive of her family and friends. Fleur scorned her family and tried to steal Bill, as she saw it, so Ginny fought back. Hermione couldn't be sensible and just tell Ron how she felt -- she let weakness get the best of her -- and Ginny couldn't stand that. Harry is hers now, and he can talk all he wants about sending her away. She's not really going. Oh, she'll stop kissing him and all that, but there's no way she'll let go of him now.
16. She's a control freak; she likes everything to be just so, including the people she considers hers. When she's upset, she begins to organize things around her. If she's eating, she gets obsessively precise about cutting food and cleaning sauces off her plate. If she's with people, she takes charge and starts giving orders.
17. She has a strong sense of justice in the abstract, but it gets a little hazy when dealing with actual people -- her emotions get in the way.
18. She can be unthinkingly cruel to people she doesn't know well. She'll usually apologize if this is pointed out, since she's not emotionally invested the way she is when she's actually angry at someone.
19. Ginny often regrets her temper-driven impulses, like insulting Hermione or crashing her broom into Zacharias Smith, but she usually can't bring herself to apologize. She's aware that this is a character flaw. She's also aware that she doesn't try nearly as hard to correct it as she probably should. She can't quite bring herself to feel guilty about that.
20. Ginny has a deep-seated sense of inferiority, stemming from being the youngest, being female, and being relatively socially isolated until she came to Hogwarts. Her first year didn't help. She refuses to admit this to anyone, and often overcompensates for it -- standing out is useful, she tells herself, and if you have the right attitude, you can get away with murder.
21. She knows a lot of dirty jokes. One of her favorite games is telling them to people who think she's a sweet little girl. She likes to watch their reactions.
22. Who Ginny is depends on who she's with. Usually she doesn't mind that. Usually she doesn't even notice when she shifts from one face to another. But sometimes, when she's alone, she wonders if she still has a real face. Then she tells herself off for being a whinging idiot.
23. Ginny keeps more secrets than most people realize. She used to tell Ron everything -- except for borrowing the brooms, but that was because he was a boy and would've told the twins, and then she'd never have learned to fly -- but then he went to Hogwarts and started brushing her off. So she turned to Tom, and that... well, the less said about that year, the better. These days she's better at keeping up masks.
24. She has a habit of writing her thoughts on parchment to put them in order. Now and then she still pauses as if she expects an answer. When she catches herself doing that, she burns the paper in question.
25. Sometimes she cries in her sleep. She doesn't know she does this. None of her roommates have ever told her.
26. Intellectually, she knows that Tom Riddle is Voldemort, but she has trouble making the emotional connection. Tom felt human to her; Voldemort is the monster under the bed. Tom betrayed her; Voldemort can't engage any of her emotions other than hatred. She pities Tom, a little, when she remembers him. There's nothing left in Voldemort to pity. The stupidest thing of all is that he did that to himself.
27. She still feels excluded from the circle of HarryRonHermione, no matter what she sees in Harry's eyes when he looks at her these days, no matter how many memories she shares with Ron, and no matter if she's the only girl Hermione can really talk to. She's still not one of them. That makes her feel weak, feel like a failure, and she hates that. She's not going to stand around and let them keep her out anymore.
28. She won't back down or give up; she'll break first. She hates asking for help. Ginny grew up relying on her parents and brothers, but she's left home and her brothers have their own lives to worry about. She tried relying on Tom. She's through leaning on other people. The farthest she'll go is mutual support, and she saves that for Harry.
29. Ginny is terrified that Harry will die in the war.
30. She has never even considered that he might lose.
---------------------------------------------
End
The original character sketch, from 10/24/05.
---------------------------------------------
In other news, I figured out why I kept stalling on chapter 4 of "Guardian." I was trying to treat Naga's family like civilians, when really two ninja and one former kunoichi would not have what we consider 'normal' attitudes toward family life.
Once I reconsider the scene, I think the chapter will go much faster. :-)
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(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-30 08:29 pm (UTC)*still bitter about how JKR played her*
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-31 01:41 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-30 08:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-31 01:42 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-31 04:01 am (UTC)Hmm, I know the feeling, and I can see why Ginny would feel that way. Fantastic character analysis; I wish we saw more of this real Ginny in fanfic, instead of JKR's 'innocent little girl' which seems to have been spread around the fandom rather a lot.
(no subject)
Date: 2006-01-31 06:30 am (UTC)You know, I never even notice Ginny until your fics
Date: 2006-02-21 06:41 am (UTC)Re: You know, I never even notice Ginny until your fics
Date: 2006-02-21 11:39 pm (UTC)