There aren't many Ron/Luna cliches out there, but they exist. Now, I'm not saying cliches are bad. They aren't...they're just what shows up the most in fics.

- Ron likes Hermione, Hermione and Harry run off, Ron feels rejected and goes after Luna
- Luna is Ron's secret admirer and sends poems and things to him

Also, how does one make a Ron/Luna fic angsty? Ron/Luna is generally quite fluffy, but I was wondering if it's possible for it to become quite dark and angsty. I'm sure it can be achieved...but you know.

The first one seems almost overdone to me. Yes, Ron may or may not have a thing for Hermione, and yes it may be on the way of canon now according to certain authors who'd rather tell us through interviews and (more overexcessive ranting no one wants to hear)....
Anyway, I've gotten a taste for any fic that's able to show Ron realizing how he feels about Luna without involving Hermione at all. Too bad they're as rare as fish walking past my window.


The closest I've gotten myself has been a Luna-dying fic, but that was more tragedy than angst. However, flowerbee has written a very good Ron-goes-evil-fic, which I have yet to finish reading. Here it is.

What I think I enjoy most about R/L-fics is the potential for both humor and acceptance. It is the whole acceptance thing that makes the Gurdyroot scene so extra squeeish. I predicted that as pro-R/L long before we even got the book! Ron seemed like the character that would be most OK with Luna's craziness, and yet the one who'd surprise the others by being so. (Sounds crazy, but makes sense.)

I don't mind Ron having a thing for Hermione at the beginning. It's just when Hermione then runs off with Harry and so Ron goes with Luna. To me it feels like Luna is just sloppy seconds For example, if stories are post-HBP, then it's likely that we have to have Ron liking Hermione to begin with. But what authors don't take into account is the other ship - Harry/Ginny. Harry wouldn't just run off with Hermione like that.

So I think that if one writes a Ron/Luna fic post-HBP, the events must be taken into account - yes, Ron does like Hermione, Hermione does like Ron, Harry likes Ginny and Ginny likes Harry.



I like that too. That doesn't mean that Ron can't like Hermione in it - it just means that she doesn't have anything to do with Ron liking Luna.

I'm writing a fic where Ron is trying to have a long distance relationship with Hermione, but is around Luna 24/7. So Hermione won't actually have anything to do with Ron liking Luna, as she doesn't turn into a b*tch or run off with Harry (he's with Ginny, it's post-HBP). The time that Ron spends away from Hermione makes him realise that she isn't the one for her.

In the fic, I've also contrasted Luna and the women in his life. Here we have Luna - calm and serene, and then we have Hermione, Ginny and Molly. Three women that he's always been surrounded by, and they all have fiery tempers and whatnot. And to him, that's part of the reason why Luna is so special to him, so different, because she isn't like that. She's like a breath of fresh air to him.

I'm writing a fan fic that's predominately H/Hr (Post HBP, so it takes awhile to get to two together) with some R/L later on. Ron's on the side, realizing that he likes Luna as Hermione realizes she likes Harry, etc. It's not one of those stories where all the HBP ships are unceremoniously sunk in the first five minutes. http://my.execpc.com/12/E2/mitt124/mitt124.../year_seven.htm

You pretty much hit the nail on the head for why I don't read much R/Lu. (And as an R/hr shipper, why I had an aversion to it even before HBP) I like the ship enough to ship it, but yeah, most of the fics are basically H/Hr centric, and honestly, both ships tend to get screwed up in the process. I hate side ship R/Lu not even cause it's a side ship to H/hr really, but more cause the auther tends to be focused on the H/Hr, so R/Lu is kind of slapped together, and it shows in the weak characterization and really fast pacing that just wouldn't really work for them. In my mind, R/Lu is one of those ships that can work brilliantly, but needs build up and lots of friendship, and really can't be a one off snog thing unless the author wants it to go teh way pf Ron/Lav.


Word! General peeve is when it seems like half the fic is about reasons why X and Y shouldn't ve together and Z is perfect for X, and really hate it with R/Lu cause yeah, I also ship him with Hermione, so I don't need somebody telling me why one of my ships is idiotic when I'm reading fic. When I get the urge to see my ship torn to pieces, I debate or read meta.

Oh, and I always liked em older cause I think Ron needs to mature, they need more time for their friendship to grow, and time is a good way to kill R/Hr.

Well, going by the books when I wrote my first R/L fic, I left Ron and Hermione's so called relationship open. Because technically no where on paper does it say Ron and Hermione are dating. The whole jealousy and so on is just something I can quickly look over or do something about it in few paragraphs. It's not hard, really. I don't make Ron go for Luna as a sloppy second or make the H/Hr relationship dominant because there's so little of R/L fics out there anyway. If it's R/L, it should strictly be R/L. Well, that's just my thought on this anyway. Don't have to agree with me at all.

I've kinda pictured it like this. Attack it from a character angle. I would use Ron's supposed "jealousy" from previous books, but who said the jealousy had to be over Hermione? I think it's cannonically sound to say that Harry and Hermione both see quite clearly Ron's hunger to be significant. Remember what JKR had Ron seeing in the mirror of Erised? He stood out from among his brothers. What if Ron were jealous of Harry's significance? Ron just wants to matter to somebody, to do something important with his life, a life he feels he's rubbish at.

I don't know if I'm particularly good at angst, and it's hard to write angst with a character like Luna because she hasn't really been shown to have a temper. But I imagine her sort of crying with Ron and getting mad at him at the same time, in a "don't you realize what a pain fame is?" kind of way. She'll say something like this, and it's kinda long:

"Ronald?" said Luna in a soft voice. "What's it like to be famous?"

Ron turned around. The very last person he expected to see at the edge of his family's pond, standing not ten feet away, was Luna Lovegood.

Ron stared at her as he spluttered, "I think you've got your Gryffindors crossed, Luna--Harry's the famous one...not me--I mean, that's just--"

"Yes, but you hang around with him so much," Luna interrupted quietly. "It must be lovely to know you've got a best friend like that, always there. You're always together, aren't you? Harry, Ron, and Hermione, the unstoppable Trio."

Ron winced inwardly at the dramatic way she said it. It was true, he decided. They were famous. It was almost like a title, a Christening. He gave a short scoff.

"It hasn't always been that way, you know. Blimey, back in fourth year, Harry and I wouldn't speak for almost a full term. Remember the Triwizard Tournament? You probably didn't know Ginny that well back then, but I got bloody angry at Harry for being a champion. I thought he had put his own name in the Goblet of Fire and helped himself to more fame. Of course, after V-Voldemort came back, and I saw what he had to go through, I didn't want any more of it than what I had to take as his best mate. I may be rubbish at most else, but when it came to Harry I decided that I wanted to be there for him, wherever he went."

Stepping closer, Luna let out a shaky sigh. "Oh Ronald, you're not rubbish. He's very lucky to have a friend like you, and so is Hermione. Don't you know that?" She matched her gaze to his, willing him to understand. "Ron--" She took a step closer to him, and her shoulders shook as she lowered her eyes and continued. "I've never had any real friends. That's why the D.A. was so important to me, because it meant I belonged to something. Something that other people actually wanted to be a part of. I didn't have to look for my "stuff" anymore, or even think about the fact that it was missing." She looked up, and grey met blue for the second time.

"I didn't have to search for my belongings anymore, because I knew where my belonging was. I was a member of the D.A., and I was useful. I'd had an adventure." She punctuated the last word with a sweeping gesture. Her eyes froze as she looked at him, considering. "It was actually nice not to be known only by the rubbish list plastered on the nearest castle wall, or as the most flighty Quiddich commentator in the history of Hogwarts."

Ron grinned at the memory. "I told you, you were brilliant at that--"

She laughed lightly, silencing him. "Oh, please. If McGonnagal hadn't stepped in, it might as well have been in Gobbledegook." She turned her face down and away, as if trying to hide from the memory of it.

"Luna, for Merlin's sake! Why can't you just accept a compliment once in a while?" he said, annoyed. He strode over to her, grasping her shoulders. She tried to turn away, but he only held tighter. She felt his fingers on her chin, tilting her head up again. "Is it that hard to believe that someone might be willing to look beyond your label?"

She watched Ron's eyes soften a bit as he looked at her. Because she could feel tears gathering behind her own, she jerked her chin out of his grip and backed away. He would NOT see her cry.

She stopped within five feet of him and took a cleansing breath. No one had gotten this deep before, but she was ready for it. Her gaze snapped to his, and this time there were tiny fury lines between her eyebrows. "And what about YOU, Mr. Weasley? she burst out. "You've been hiding behind labels your entire life, but most of them are self-made! How long will you stay down?"

Ron gaped at her, dumbstuck. He had never seen Luna mad before. Her temper was different from those he knew--not fiery and volitile, but cold and deadly, like the sting of an icy knife. It made her eyes wild and her features like marble. ###### if he was going to let her get the best of him.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know perfectly well what it means, Ronald," she said clear and low. "It means you've let your family dictate to you how worthy you are. You let them take the mickey out of Ickle Ronniekins because you showed them they could. You fought for significance--Charlie and Bill had the image, Percy had the brains, Fred and George had the pranks--and you certainly aren't the only Weasley female in seven generations. So where did that leave you? Soaking up the leftovers?" she finished, fuming.

Ron glared at her. How could she know how close that was to the truth?

He came closer to her, because he needed her to understand. "Luna--it was all I had." A defeated look came into his eyes then, a look of sadness that tore at her heart. His head drooped, and she wanted to gather him up. She stepped even closer, and laced her hands behind his neck. "Ronald, look at me." He did, but focused on the bridge of her nose.

"Do you know why I like to call you Ronald?" He looked at her in surprise, and she pressed on. "It's because it's unique. It's you. Something untarnished by your lot in life. Ronald hasn't been cloaked in second-hand dress robes. Ronald never had to scrounge for money, or feel ashamed of his heritage. Ronald's light isn't snuffed out by the shadow of Harry Potter. Ronald plays Quiddich like a rock star, once he remembers who he is. It's because, I can guaruntee you, there probably isn't another wizard alive who can stand up under the pressure of a name like Ronald Bilius Weasley."

Against his will, Ron's face broke into a grin. "I know. Mental, isn't it?"

She smiled softly then, and it was so beautiful it broke his heart. He decided he had no words to let her know how much this had meant to him, so he bypassed words and went straight to showing. He kissed her.

It was long, and slow, and all his own. She was here, and it was like everything else just melted away. How could he have ever thought she was loony? She made so much sense it scared him, and yet he had never known her until the barriers came down.

They broke apart, and he smiled into her eyes. "Luna Lovegood. Looks like your "love" was "good" for me, eh?"

She smirked. "Likewise, Mr. Weasley. After all, the princess has to be saved by her king, right?"

Ron chuckled. "Checkmate."

And you haven't got a PK author account because...? That was brilliant!

---

As I'm not exactly a huge fan of Ron or Luna, and couldn't class myself as a R/LL shipper, I may not be the best person to post in this topic.

However, I CAN see the reasons why the HMS Red Moon exists, and from an outsider's viewpoint, it's a beautifully crafted vessel indeed.


I don't believe Ron actually thinks of Hermione as anything more than a sister-by-friendship. He treats her the same way he treats Ginny, almost. I also believe that between Ron's NDE and Harry and Ginny's first kiss, Ron and Hermione have finally spoken to each other about their "feelings" and why they've been acting the way they have for all those years. I believe Hermione told Ron of her feelings for Harry, and Ron explained that he really does like Hermione as a friend but doesn't think of her as anything more than another sister. Because this is all off-page, it's as much speculation as Heron's comments on when R + Hr were "holed up together in Grimmauld Place" back in OotP. The difference is, we've got canon evidence to back up this theory.

Anyway, sorry for going slightly off-topic, but I needed to say this to explain why I think there shouldn't be as many "Ron pines after Hermione" R/LL fics as there are. Basically, at the end of HBP, Ron and Hermione are finally best friends and are comfortable with each other, and Harry and Ginny have broken up. The tension in book seven will be between Ginny and Harry when she finally figures out that Harry's going off somewhere with R + Hr and hasn't mentioned anything at all about it to her. Either she'll be accepting and continue acting the way she did at the funeral, or she'll live up to her fiery demeanour


Anyone notice how the Ron / Luna moment happens after Ron's NDE? Ron and Hermione are now purely platonic friends, but Ron's still "with" Lavender. She interrupts his explanation of how "[Luna]'s really grown on [Ron]--". We should all know by now that being interrupted in the middle of a sentence is JKR's way of saying "CLUE!!!"


So, basically, R/LL fics post-HBP are completely free from any hindrances, in my opinion... R is growing to like LL, and we know that LL has always liked (loved?) R, on account of the fact that she mentions his faults and his strengths and still likes him. Isn't this one description of love?


There are no "cliché's" in R/LL fanfics, but there are certain elements that I believe shouldn't have any place in them whatsoever...

yeah, it always kinda bothers me when they put people together only after they fail with someone else (whether it be H/Hr after R/Hr or R/L after R/Hr). like, they have to fail at they originally wanted. I still don't see how people think Ron and Hermione belong together. they can barely stand being friends and that seems to be the Heron's reason for them wanting a romantic relationship.

I don't see a secret admirer angle as very plausible. Luna doesnt tip toe around things, if she has a thought she says it. actually, Ron and Luna have that in common. neither haveany sort of barrier between their brains and their mouths. the difference is that Ron tends to be insulting. thats something that always bothered me about Ron, he doesnt understand and/or care how his actions affect others. sorry about that, had to say it.

I have a fic on FF.net (going to post here eventually) thats H/Hr and R/L. I have yet to get to the actual story in it because I have been focusing on the building of relationships. not just those I mentioned before but Hermione's relationship with her roomates. for all those who really like Ron, I still have him as a good natured guy. a little suspicious but never really hostile.

My portrayal is quite comical. I have Luna blatenly hitting on Ron but he is oblivious. not just like leaving clues and sitting at the same table, she sits right next to him and starts touching his knee, she leans in close when she notices he's looking down her blouse. there is a lot more and as you can guess it's kinda mature but everyone who reads it laughs.

I actually never wanna see forward Luna again. This is a cliche isf there ever is one. Being open with any random person does not equal being comfortable enough to snog any random boy without provacation, it just doesn't, so yeah, I'm sick of that cliche.

Um, I have some choice words to say on R/Hr and HBP, but since it's not approprate to this thread, I'll just say that I don't see a set up for H/Hr in the books, and I see H/G, so even putting in H/Hr as a side ship( and it's never put in as just the side ship, even in fics that are classified as R/Lu) throws me cause in my head it doesn't fit so it needs explanation, but fine that's a personal preference.

Um, Miss_Harmony, stunning. Wanna post it to a Ron/Luna lj com? Granted, I think you should have ended it at mental and let the reader fill in the blanks, cause it might have created a stringer effect, and I like the friendship angle developing into more, and the kiss almost feels like overkill in my head, but otherwise, yeah perfect. (Plus then you can also pass it off as gen, and get a wider audience/use it to show the beauty of R/Lu without actually going into snogging.)

I agree there. I hate it when the side ships are just "together". No explanation at all or anything. Like, it'd just be nice for the author to elaborate on how it happened. A few paragraphs or an accompanying one-shot is enough, but yet someone people just don't do it. It bugs me, because to me it feels like the author is just being lazy.

I'm writing a D/G story, but at the same time I'm developing the H/Hr/R/unrequited!Luna thing on the side, to the point where I think I'll probably going to have a sequel. Side pairings NEED to be developed. This is why Cassandra Claire's Draco Trilogy is so famous - every pairing that happens in it is developed properly.

And for what it's worth, I'm writing a R/L fic where that has H/G on the side *gasp*. It will be developed and it will serve a purpose. Harry is not going to leave Ginny for Hermione. It's not going to happen in my fic.

Ooh, please link when you finish. I'll totally fangirl you for that fic, and I don't normally like H/G in fanon. It's just, it'd be nice to see what I consider canon in an R/Lu fic once in a while. I don't even mind H/Hr in the fics so much as that there is never any show for that ship, it's straight five second tell and they're together, and that just doesn't work for me. I don't even like R/Hr fics (a ship that for me has show in canon) that don't show why these two are or should be together. Considering I find it jarring in ships that in my head don't need much explanation for me to buy, yeah, it doesn't work with R/Lu, which I love probably cause it's got the potential to be rocking if fleshed out and really developed. Too many authors go for the snog or shag at the end of the fic (and not just R/Lu ones) when in my head a fic that was mostly shippy undertones would resonante so much more with me.

I agree with you now that the kiss can be cut. I've never posted anything as an author before, but otherwise, yeah, I'd like to. Let me know what you think I should do. Thanks for the compliment!

I couldn't sleep last night, so, at around 2 AM, I wrote a very short R/L ficlet, if anyone wants to take a look.

http://talk.portkey.org/index.php?act=ST&f...t=0#entry244397

Again, I've never written Ron/Luna before, and Irealized how hard it is to balance the "awww, cute" of this ship with serious circumstances. Miss_Harmony, your fic is great, but I would cut the kiss and "princess" things at the end if I were you.

Whenever I do a fanfic. I always imagined them still at school I don't know why but all I have to say is that I hope Luna and Ron will soon get together

Sorry for being so long overdue, but how about posting it to the cookie jar at FA and the ficlit/challenge forum here. It's too short for a proper fic.

Herminia I read through yours and it isn't bad, but you fall into another trap. Your Luna comes across almost Hermionish in her methodical analysis of the situation, and while it sort of works cause at her core, Luna is very analytical about emotions, there just isn't any quirkiness in the fic, and something about Ron and Luna just feels like it should have a touch of humor. Then again I feel that way about Ron and anyone, so that could be a regular thing.

Which gets me into a standard issue with R/Lu. The authors who really mess up Luna by either taking her personality too far (this Luna that came across as someone with the menal functions of a five year old, or the ones who make her a generic airhead. She's hard to get, I know that, but you can have ranges and still get her right. I've seen a couple of variations, some people play on the weirdness, I play on her offneat wisdom, whatever works.


I'm a Post-Hogwarts type girl, was before HBP, but HBP solidified it. I don't know, I think that they need to be friends first, and Ron needs to grow up a bit more before they can have a functioning ship.

I agree. I think that Ron and Luna need a friendship first. HBP started going in that direction (*cheers*), so hopefully book seven will continue that trend. But I personally have issues writing out of Hogwarts stories. It may be that way since I'm not quite finished with school myself. *shrug* But oh well. I'm writing a fic now and i'm trying to gradually transition from H/G and R/Hr over the course of the story into H/Hr, R/L, N/G. I was mad about the shiping in HBP, but it is, after all, an official book in the HP series and I wanted to do JKR justice by not completely dismissing her ideas before transitioning to my own.

As for R/L fluff vs. angst... I'm traditionally a fluff/comedy writer, but, being the RPG freak that I am, i have to have some action scenes too, which helps remove a comical overtone. In my fics i try to bring R/L closer by first letting them discuss their problems with one another in some form, and then eventually a romance blossoms as they help each other get past the stress and troubles in their lives. that's not necessarily angsty, but it adds some drama to the story and doesn't portray the ship as a merely comical ship. I've always enjoyed showing the serious side to Ronald Weasley.