|
I love the books and practically grew up with them, but I HATE HATE HATE how even the good wizards treat Muggles (i.e., in pretty much the same way as the SPCA treats animals). It first started to bother me when they had to keep mind-wiping the Muggle groundskeeper at the Quidditch World Cup in GoF and came to a head when Hermione gave her parents entirely new personas without their prior knowledge or consent in DH. Okay, so the relatives of wizards and the Prime Minister are in on the secret, but how will the rest of the Muggles protect themselves from Voldemort? Harry and Co. are all gung-ho about how the wizarding world has a right to know about Voldemort's return, but they never even think about telling the Muggles about it. No, maintaining the Masquerade is more important than protecting human rights. And why do they have to expend all that effort to maintain the Masquerade anyway? In the very first book, Hagrid explains to Harry that they need to do it to stop Muggles from bugging them for favors, but this excuse falls apart when you consider that wizards have no problem marketing their magical skills to each other. "Of course you may purchase these wares, fellow wizard, but the Muggles don't have the wisdom to fathom the majesty and power of my magical whoopie cushions."  Maybe the wizards needed to protect themselves from the masses centuries ago, when each village had maybe one or two wizard families that couldn't pack up and leave their homes easily, but the wizarding conspiracy grows less and less tenable as global communication and travel grow more and more accessible to everyone.(Oh yeah, and the UK wizards are ethnocentric: in GoF, they refuse to bow to international pressure and add carpets to the list of approved flying objects on the grounds that they're "Muggle things," even though rugs are much less conspicuous than wooden brooms.) Pththya-lyi fucked around with this message at 05:45 on Aug 14, 2010 |
#
¿
Aug 14, 2010 00:12
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 18:45 |
|
|
LooseChanj posted:Because if they didn't, there goes your "secret in crowd" wish fulfillment. That's true, but it sure doesn't mesh very well with the general message of "everyone deserves dignity and respect" that JKR's trying to convey. No wonder there are so many pure-blood supremacy fanfics. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 14, 2010 05:20
|
|
|
vseslav.botkin posted:It's interesting to imagine how the story would be different if it had been written by an American. That's why I'd love to read a fanfic set at an American wizard school, possibly at the place we Muggles know as Area 51. The so-called "alien cover-up" is actually a wizard cover-up - the UFOs come from the students practicing their magic outside, and the Men in Black come from the U.S. Department of Magic! I'd write that fanfic myself, but I can't think of a decent story to set there. EDIT: Yes, I know that she already mentioned the Salem Witches Institute in Book 4, but I refuse to believe that a huge country like America has only one wizard school.  Plus, even if it really is a school and not a women's association or something, it still sounds like an all-girl's school, and where are all those red-blooded American boys going to go? Finally, the American West, with its vast tracts of uninhabited land, is a much better place to hide a school than crowded New England. 
Pththya-lyi fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Aug 15, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2010 22:36
|
|
|
Whatever mental images I originally had of the characters were completely pushed out by the movies. (Well, I guess the Mary Grandpre illustrations formed my original mental images, but only for the characters depicted in said illustrations.) Other than that, I can't say that I have any problems with any of the casting decisions, but that's probably because I'm often so easy to please. I understand that Rowling thinks that Harry was wonderfully cast - that Daniel Radcliffe is almost exactly how she imagines Harry. So take that, Hedrigall! 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 18, 2010 06:09
|
|
|
Years ago, a friend of mine pointed out how silly it is that wizards can't create food. They can turn inanimate objects into animals and back again, but they can't turn them into dead and cooked versions of these same animals?  She also mentioned a fanfic that "explained" why wizards can't share their medical innovations with Muggledom, even on the sly: Muggle medicine makes wizards sick, and vice versa. According to the fanfic, Harry and Hermione's first childhood inoculations were also their last because they nearly died from allergic reactions. I wish I knew what the fanfic was called - it's been years since I've heard of it - but the idea was such a neat bit of fanon that it stuck with me.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2010 18:40
|
|
|
reflir posted:But this contradicts the canon, stitches worked on Arthur Weasley. By medicine, I meant chemical medicine - pills and liquids and whatnot - not sutures. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2010 21:23
|
|
|
This isn't really a source for good fanfiction, but if you like spergy snarking about Mary Sue fanfiction, you'll love Potter Sues! Now gather 'round, my friends, and I shall tell you the tale of how J.K. Rowling signed two of my books. It was about ten years ago, around the time of the U.S. release of PoA, and Rowling was on a promotional tour of America. When my dad learned that she was to stop in our hometown of Chicago, he knew that I'd flip over the opportunity to meet her: although he didn't understand the appeal of the books, I couldn't have made my love for them any more obvious. He took me to the Borders bookstore on North Michigan Avenue, where a gargantuan line snaked at least a block out of the store. It was a festival environment: costumed fans mingled with normally-clad onlookers, while employees bustled to-and-fro handing out stickers and daubing lighting-bolt scars onto eager foreheads. I was shocked to find that the pair of twenty-somethings in front of me knew next to nothing about Harry Potter, and one of them gaped in awe as I explained the character's backstory. A couple of hours after we arrived, the line started to move. As I walked the tortuous path through the store, I could see Rowling sitting in pride of place at the back of the store. It was an assembly-line setup, with two people sitting on either side of her. A customer would hand the book to the first attendant, who would slide it to the second attendant, who would open the book to the title page and then slide it to Rowling, who would dash her pen over it and hand it to the third attendant, who would shut the book and hand it to the fourth attendant, who would hand it back to the owner. There was no chance for chit-chat, not even to ask for a personalized greeting. I would only have a few seconds to tell her how much Harry Potter meant to me, so I had to make my words count. As we neared the signing table, one sentence came to mind. "I just love your books!" I shouted desperately. She looked up at me, an expression of mild surprise on her face, and spoke in a low brogue that I couldn't understand. (Later, Dad would tell me that she said "That's the nicest thing anyone could say to me.") I was delirious with joy. J.K. Rowling had just talked to me! Me! Dad came up behind me, a self-satisfied grin on his face. "Well, I'm impressed by how fast you're signing these books." She looked at him, non-plussed, and looked down at the next book to sign. I was mortified.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2010 02:43
|
|
|
Hedrigall posted:How is that "creating" food? You need the animals in the first place. Hint: the majority of the world's famine is not due to having multitudes of domesticated livestock/poultry running around but nobody knows how to kill and cook them. I'm not sure how to make this clearer. If a wizard can turn a teapot into a live chicken, couldn't he just kill and eat the chicken? If so, why couldn't he save a step and turn the teapot into a cooked chicken? The distinction just seems arbitrary, that's all. caleramaen posted:I don't think it's difficult to see why gay people wouldn't want straight people to find out about them. Remember how we were talking about how easy it would be for straights to kill humans? All it would take is a few anti-gay demagogues and the gay hunts would begin!
|
|
#
¿
Aug 24, 2010 03:03
|
|
|
IRQ posted:I don't think she was comfortable with fame at that point, if she is now. Yeah, he is awesome, but when you're a 13-year-old idiot it's hard to recognize that. Plus, he thought that Harry Potter was really dumb at the time - my book report summary of Sorcerer's Stone sure made it sound that way. But I knew that I had to remedy this, so shortly after the signing, I started reading the books to him at my bedtime. Soon he became a fan, too. I remember one time when my mom came in to yell at him for keeping me up past my bedtime and he was all "but this part is so exciting!"  I love him so much, he is a giant nerd like me.Also I feel old too, thinking about all this.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 29, 2010 22:47
|
|
|
Suprfli6 posted:Thinking that J K Rowling controls the destiny of all existence in lieu of free will and choice does in fact keep me awake at night. it explains so much I'm re-reading Harry Potter myself, thanks to this very thread. I'm up to GoF right now, it's just about as good as I remember it.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 30, 2010 23:13
|
|
|
Harmonians (people who prefer the pairing of Harry and Hermione, or "Harmony") are some of the craziest people in the fandom. Before Half-Blood Prince explicitly established Ron/Hermione and Harry/Ginny as canon, many Harmonians actually believed that Harry and Hermione's ride on Buckbeak in Prisoner of Azkaban was a "Symbolic Flight" that represents their true love for each other. When Buckbeak's name was changed to Witherwings, Harmonians interpreted it as Rowling taking a big steaming dump on their 'ship. Read more about Harmony here.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2010 22:11
|
|
|
I'm rereading GoF right now and I'm remembering all the objections I had to the Age Line that prevents underage kids from putting their names in the Goblet of Fire. Yeah, the Line can't be tricked by Aging Potions, but what was there to stop an underage wizard from 1) balling up his parchment and throwing it into the Goblet or 2) giving his parchment to a seventeen-year-old confederate who could drop it into the Goblet for him? Also, if underage wizards really aren't up to the task of competing in the TriWizard Tournament, then wouldn't the Goblet simply not pick them? Whomever the Goblet picks as Champion is objectively more skilled than the other applicants, whether or not he's underage! You guys, I am sperging so hard right now. Siriusly. Pththya-lyi fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Sep 2, 2010 |
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2010 00:16
|
|
|
Obligatory Toast posted:You're forgetting number 2 happened to Harry. He was entered in by Barty Crouch Jr., under a fake fourth-school name, from which he was the only entrant and therefore guaranteed to get in and get killed by Voldemort. I did remember that plot point, but I just can't believe that nobody else thought to do that. You'd think this idea would have occurred to at least one of Hogwart's ~250 underage students. I was 13 years old when I first read the book, and if goody-two-shoes me could work out the loophole, then I'd think that the 16-year-old super-prankster Weasley twins could have done the same. quote:I'm certain that with number 1 you were likely to get caught by a teacher and have the poo poo punished out of you. I doubt it. Kids like the Golden Trio and the Weasley twins managed to sneak around Hogwarts a whole bunch of times and only occasionally got caught. Besides, once your name is in that Goblet, it doesn't matter whether or not you get caught - if you are named as the Champion, no one can stop you from competing in the tournament. (Okay, maybe they could stick you with a bunch of busywork that makes it all but impossible to prepare for the challenges, but then they'd risk getting you killed, and how could a dead Champion show up those snotty foreign kids?) Okay, okay, I think I'm done sperging.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 3, 2010 03:35
|
|
|
It's not that the Hufflepuffs are dumb, exactly - some, such as Cedric Diggory, get good grades - they're just not very street-smart. They are hard-working and persistent people who don't shy away from unglamorous work, and while these traits are unlikely to win them any glory, they're certainly not anything to be ashamed of. Maybe I'm just defending them because I have some Hufflepuff traits. I joined a Livejournal group a few years ago that made new members complete a Sorting questionnaire, and many of the members who helped Sort me remarked that I was a "Ravenpuff:" a person with a mix of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff traits. (I ultimately ended up in Ravenclaw. There were other combinations as well: I guess that Harry would be a Slytherdor and Hermione a Gryffinclaw. Yes, I know how dumb it all sounds.)
|
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2010 23:00
|
|
|
A more charitable view is that Slytherins are ambitious to a fault. Lots of people in the Livejournal group got Sorted into Slytherin in large part because they were open about their ambition and their impatience with people they saw as foolish. Those traits didn't necessarily make them nice people, but it definitely didn't mean that they were evil. But yeah, canon Slytherins are pretty nakedly malicious.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2010 00:42
|
|
|
But the addendum from that link says that she apparently retconned that in a different interview:quote:Contrary to a quote in an earlier interview, J.K. says Ron Weasley joined his brother, George, as a partner at their successful joke shop, Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. George named his first child and son Fred, and he goes on to have a very successful career, helped by Ron.  To change the subject, my BOYFRIEND glanced over my copy of OotP this afternoon and asked me an interesting question: why is it so important that Neville could have also fit the prophecy that Voldemort acted on? I think it's to establish that Harry isn't inherently special, but I want to know what you all think.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 7, 2010 00:00
|
|
|
Plus, what about all those times Snape bullied Neville for being bad at Potions, or Hermione for being good at Potions,* or Harry for existing? What about when he tried to discredit Lupin as a teacher because he couldn't stand the thought of James' old werewolf buddy holding the job he coveted? His "deep cover" doesn't justify those acts, nor do his heroic acts - however momentous - fully redeem him. *When he called Hermione an "insufferable know-it-all" and took points from Gryffindor for giving the correct answer to his question, teenage me was filled with so much CAPLOCKS RAEG, it is not even funny. I'm still kind of pissed off about it, to tell you the truth.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 20, 2010 21:30
|
|
|
Hedrigall posted:And spoke zero lines of dialogue nor were given names. IIRC, the only names they were ever given were the ones Hermione gave them when she modified their memories to protect them from Voldemort in DH - Wendell and Monica Wilkins, the childless couple who finally realize their dream of living in Australia.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 24, 2010 14:34
|
|
|
I think it's mostly because Professor Binns was such a crappy teacher that he could make any subject boring. He was so bad, in fact, that he killed all his potential replacements' interest in wizard history! EDIT: I am tempted to write a terrible fanfic about a brash young professor who tries to shake up the history curriculum, much to Binns' (and a certain ferrety Slytherin's) consternation. Pththya-lyi fucked around with this message at 09:19 on Mar 10, 2011 |
|
#
¿
Mar 10, 2011 09:10
|
|
|
Does MoR Harry even struggle or grow as a person in the story? I couldn't get through the first chapter, but it seemed like he was already a perfect person at the age of 10. Where could you possibly take the story from there and make it at all interesting? ShardPhoenix, why on Earth do you like that fic?
|
|
#
¿
Apr 11, 2011 23:17
|
|
|
And my sperg is all about how even good wizards see Muggles as animals that need to be protected from wizards and magic, the poor dears!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 12, 2011 21:20
|
|
|
blue squares posted:In my opinion, Harry Potter is best read at a breakneck pace so as not to give the reader time to notice these inconsistencies and fallacies. Ah, good old Fridge Logic,* the stuff that rollicking drama's built on.  The "Muggles are like cats" thing dawned on me as I was reading Book 4 and stayed in the back of my mind as I read/reread the other books, but I confess that I didn't notice other inconsistencies until they were pointed out to me. Sometimes, in my darkest moments, a little voice whispers to me, telling me to write fanfiction that "fixes" some of these problems. I try to smother that little voice whenever I hear it: obeying it will only lead to madness and crapfic. That's what happened with MoR, and that's what would happen with me. *WARNING: TVTROPES LINK
|
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2011 07:35
|
|
|
Really? Considering how learning to cope with the reality of death is such a big theme in the Harry Potter books, that scene sounds like a colossal case of missing the point. I mean, Voldemort is driven to evil by the fear of his own mortality, so how's MoR Harry different from canon Voldemort?
|
|
#
¿
May 23, 2011 00:17
|
|
|
JinxCentaur23370 here! I wondered what a jinx centaur would look like, so I GISed it and got this as the first result: I hope I get to change my username soon!
|
|
#
¿
Apr 14, 2012 22:35
|
|
|
I'm a Hufflepuff! I honestly expected to get into Ravenclaw because I'm smart and lazy, but I have to admit that I do care more about being good than being wise. V V
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2012 09:38
|
|
|
bean_shadow posted:My wand is Elder with unicorn core, ten and three quarters inches, unyielding. I have a Harlequin toad (  ) and a hazel wand, ten-and-three-quarter inches, slightly springy, with a phoenix feather core.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2012 15:19
|
|
|
reflir posted:I read through most of the new information on pottermore yesterday, and what stood out the most is how autobiographical McGonagall's back story is. There's an obvious case to be made for Hermione being Rowling's self-insert (as well as Harry himself), but McGonagall is essentially Rowling's idealized grandma self, and no-one ever knew. Yeah, McGoogle's story made me mist up for real (  ), but you can tell that she put a lot more thought into it than in some other characters' write-ups (e.g. Quirrel).I also enjoyed Vernon and Petunia's back story. I can just see Vernon at the breakfast table, shaking out his Daily Mail and complaining about these drat wizards spending his tax money on newt eyes and leeches and all that other rubbish 
|
|
#
¿
Apr 16, 2012 20:32
|
|
|
Haywood Japwnme posted:I just got sorted into Gryffindor and got an apple wood 12.5" dragon core wand, I'm MahoganyWatch16760 if anyone wants to friend me. The flexibility of your wand is supposed to reflect your adaptability and willingness to change.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 17, 2012 01:13
|
|
|
Anya posted:Great, not only did I get stuck in Hufflepuff, I will probably get stuck getting Chamber of Secrets last too. I'm amused how Hufflepuff has the most members and finished last as well. I will bet dollars to donuts that most people who get Sorted into Hufflepuff are ashamed to be "stuck" in the Loser House and abandon their first accounts so that they can have a do-over. And I say this as a Badger.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 10, 2012 08:34
|
|
|
quote:Though hotly denied by subsequent generations, there is ample evidence to suggest that the first Lucius Malfoy was an unsuccessful aspirant to the hand of Elizabeth I, and some wizarding historians allege that the Queen's subsequent opposition to marriage was due to a jinx placed upon her by the thwarted Malfoy. Wanna read that fanfic SO BAD  e: That's really what the HP fanfiction community needs: more historical works, less Snape-sex and its ilk. Pththya-lyi fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Jul 11, 2012 |
|
#
¿
Jul 11, 2012 02:59
|
|
|
WeaponGradeSadness posted:It seems to be by and for people who hate Harry Potter.
|
|
#
¿
Jul 19, 2012 02:16
|
|
|
Bizarro Kanyon posted:This simply reminds me of that April Fool's joke where FX created a fake commercial for an Auror's television show. I still really want to see that TV show
|
|
#
¿
Dec 2, 2012 22:28
|
|
|
For years, I thought I was a Ravenclaw because I'm a huge nerd who attaches an almost sacred significance to learning for its own sake. I even got Sorted into Ravenclaw when I joined an LJ Harry Potter community, all based on my answers to the community's Sorting questionnaire. Even though I'm a bleeding heart, I thought I was a poor fit for Hufflepuff because I'm so lazy. But apparently my desire to help people and be a good person overwhelms my lazy braniac tendencies, at least in the Sorting Hat's eyes (folds?).
|
|
#
¿
Dec 6, 2012 04:52
|
|
|
Hufflepuffs are, well, kinda boring. They don't seek out dramatic or interesting situations or strive for greatness; they're just content to keep doin' what they're doin'. Those kinds of people are fine - the world needs them - but they're not usually the stuff of stories.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 9, 2012 19:10
|
|
|
MrFlibble posted:Peter Pettigrew too. You can just imagine that weak snivelling poo poo looking up to all the brave kids. I think that Peter does have a kind of courage - the courage to survive, no matter what it takes. I could easily see a coward betraying his friends to save his own skin, but mutilating himself to make his fake death more convincing? I honestly think that if I had a choice between 1) personally and intentionally cutting off one of my body parts and 2) certain death, I would wuss out so hard.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 24, 2012 12:43
|
|
|
Alchenar posted:I'm actually willing to accept that as one of the digs at Harry Potter fans. Learning Magic and confronting an evil Wizard is fine, but being savant-like smart is unrealistic for a 12 year old? I would argue that the last one lacks verisimilitude, which is related to but distinct from realism. The rules that govern how magic works in Harry Potter are adequately explained by the narrative, though some details fall apart under scrutiny (e.g. you can't Transfigure inorganic objects into food, but you can Transfigure them into live food animals). Being raised by professors doesn't adequately explain why a 10-year-old's dialogue reads like a poorly-written academic essay.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 27, 2012 11:57
|
|
|
What gives magical people the right to gently caress with Muggles' brains without their consent or knowledge? Hermione changing her parents' memories, their personalities, their identities is the zenith of "benevolent" Muggle abuse in the series. I love Harry Potter as much as the next person, but I really really hate how the witches and wizards persist in their campaign of lying and brainwashing to protect their secret. To my mind, the only legitimate argument for not bringing the veil down ASAP is that innocent people would be killed in literal witch hunts, but I just can't believe that the status quo can last.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 10, 2013 03:58
|
|
|
Paragon8 posted:As is the message ends up basically being "some people enjoy being servants and you shouldn't interfere with that" Also, "activism is stupid."
|
|
#
¿
Dec 13, 2013 03:37
|
|
|
Well if any group qualifies as the Master Race it's probably the magic-users  Anyway, I don't claim to understand fascist fanfiction authors, but I don't think you can compare them to the 501st Legion. The 501st's whole MO is to gently caress around in costumes and make people smile; they do lots of charity appearances. I just can't attribute the same motivations to these authors.
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2013 03:46
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ Apr 19, 2024 18:45 |
|
|
Olanphonia posted:Beyond the notes of fascism the others have pointed out, there is the whole 'shipping' community which is basically a series of different cults for every pairing of characters out there. People get really, seriously mad about whom a given teen wizard will get smoochy with. The best part was when a Harmony (Harry/Hermione) shipper compared the mockery Harmonians endured on the Internet to the racial oppression Harriet Tubman experienced. 
|
|
#
¿
Dec 17, 2013 16:17
|
|