hackthis_archive | I can say no more.

Current Mood: amazed
Current Music: Jason Mraz ‘The Remedy’

I can say no more.

Four cups of tea, 200 sit-ups and 10 hours of VH1 Soul sound tracking later -- not to mention the day and a half I took to read it -- I have finished OoTP. I suspect I would have finished it yesterday if I‘d stopped jumping up and down and shrieking every 20 pages.

1. AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

2. Gayer than George Michael performing at Pride in Brighton, yo. Exhibit A: the part where Dudley asks if Cedric is Harry’s boyfriend. Exhibit B: The sorting hat’s song about Slytherin and Gryffindor. (I know that was no surprise to you lot). Exhibit C: Sirius and Remus cohabitation as a given. Exhibit D: At the Three Broomsticks where Rita Skeeter just about pisses herself at the idea that Harry's done anything with a girl. Think she overheard something between he and Draco when she was spying? That tears it for me.

3. Neville. Biggest woobie, yo. I have MAD Neville love.

4. Harry. Who knew that

ethrosdemon‘s True Heir series was so on target (I mean apart from her)? Talk about having rage issues. Plus, with all that mention of him being a nutter, man, was he suffering from a permanent case of PMT or what?

5. When are Ron and Hermione going to get their shit together? I mean apart from the whole being trapped together for a month at Grimmuld Place. (This is acceptable het)

6. Harry/Cho = Clark/Lana, complete with frilly girly hangouts, boys who get tongue-tied and crying jags. It’s so not working for me. Who goes on a date with one person to talk about somebody else?! Lana. And also, Cho - did I mention she annoyed the piss out of me? (This is non-acceptable het)

7. Complaint #1: Did Draco appear in more than five pages? Meh. All the more room to slash.

8. AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

9. Percy. Well, are we really surprised there? I mean, really. Lord Acton said it best, I'll just paraphrase' Power: the *other* dark lord.'

10. Occlumency is the study of the ability to lie, but personally I just think that’s one of those things: either you’re good at it or you’re not.

11. Also, to paraphrase former Headmaster Phineas Nigellus (who I adore) ‘Slytherins know the difference between bravery and stupidity. There’s nothing wrong with being loyal, but cover your own ass first.‘ Raise your hand if you’re proud to be Slytherin!

*starts singing about Weasley being king.*

12. Complaint #2: Why does JKR never allow Harry to tell Dumbledore what the fuck is going on when the shit is really going on? Notice how it’s always ‘no, I’m not going to tell anybody how fucked up shit really is because I’m brave.‘

That’s not brave, that’s stupid (please see #11).

How the fuck are you going to fight a war if you keep holding out? That’s always fucking bugged me: how Dumbledore is the wrap-up for the book. How about Harry share some shit when it’s happening, like I dunno the whole corridor vision.

Also, nobody ever seems to finish an important thought in these books. WTF?

13. Fred and George. George and Fred. More woobie love, yo. I am all about the ‘going out with a bang’ school of thought.

14. Complaint #3/Compliment #1: Could Harry be a little bit more egotistical and self-important? No, I think not. Don’t get me wrong, it’s Harry, I’m not totally player hating, but Merlin’s goolies in a vice, what a fucking bratty teenager. Woe is me, I am so misunderstood nobody has ever suffered as I have before. Get your head out your ass and realise that everybody‘s suffering just the same, except teens seem to angst about it more than anybody else (Big love to Sev and Phineas Nigellus for pointedly saying that ‘a lot of people are idiots at the age of 15‘(Also big ups to JKR for getting that teenage self-centredness just right)).

Life is pain, highness, anyone who says differently is selling something

15. In the wizarding world getting an 'E' is a brilliant thing. I so went to the wrong school.

16. For the first 500 pages I honestly thought the superweapon was the Seed of Discord. I mean look at how everybody was behaving all pissy. A weapon doesn’t have to be big to be powerful, and again, like the sorting hat pointed out ‘divided you’ll fall.’ What better way to get what you need?

17. Chapter 28 was among with most enlightening, that was the Snape memory one for the record. Dude, James was a conceited little fucker wasn’t he? Why wasn’t he a Slytherin again? More importantly with that lineage, why wasn’t Sirius?

18. You know, since Ginny's got herself a boyfriend and stopping mooning over Harry she’s become quite likable. She’s very much a Weasley I must say.

19. Judging by Harry’s marks in Potions, I’m wondering how he’s not still taking First Year instruction, you know? Maybe Remedial Potions wasn’t a half bad idea.

20. A tenner says that Umbridge is a registered animagus as a toad.

21. I love McGonagall, she’s got some serious cojones. Word to Minerva.

22. Ron = woobie. Also, what underdog? I'm thinking the Mirror of Erised has got some other properties going on because just wishing never got me anything like that.

23. Did Umbridge’s detention freak anybody else out too? This is a book for kids? Bringing new things to the world of S&M, yo.

24. When the OWL’s began and Harry read the opening question, how many people said ‘Swish and Flick’?

25. I’ve watched a lot of movies, read a lot of books, but that action sequence at the end is probably hands down the best one I have EVER come across.

26. And last but certainly not least:

I come from the old skool: if there is no body then there is no death. Ergo, I'll be seeing Sirius in book seven I expect.

I will be more coherent after I re-read it again.

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You know, I haven't read the book yet, but I thought I caught a spoiler saying that the flashbacks to James were actually from Snape's pensieve, which would mean Snape's POV. And while I'm not a fan of the Saint Potter school of thought, I do have to wonder why people seem to think Snape is anymore reliable as a character reference for James than Hagrid was in book one. Not saying you did this in your post, I'm just curious if I'd heard right. If so, I find the tendency to take Snape's view as given by some of the fans to be rather...worrisome. I don't have the mad Snapelove, I think the character has a lot of growing up to do and I find a lot of his behavior toward his own students inexcusable (his behavior toward other adults is something else entirely, as they are more free to respond in kind). It may make him a more real character, but I don't believe it makes him a more admirable character.

Hmmm. *bites nails* I'm not an enormous Snape lover, but I do enjoy the character for what he, and it's, worth. The reason I enjoyed the Snape chapter in OoTP so much, I think, is because it presented such a different point of view regarding the Marauders from what has been presented in the previous books as well as in most fan writing.

As far as I can recall, James has always been portrayed as the perfect boyfriend, the perfect son and student, etc., and it was very enlightening to see him, not necessarily through Severus's eyes, but more as someone who quite clearly had some severe short comings. As you pointed out there's bound to be some muddling since these are some one else's memories, but even with the bias aside it was pretty clear that, at fifteen, James was no prize. I like that. I don't do well with people who are presented as holier-than-thou, they make me suspicious.

Hmmm. *bites nails* I'm not an enormous Snape lover, but I do enjoy the character for what he, and it's, worth. The reason I enjoyed the Snape chapter in OoTP so much, I think, is because it presented such a different point of view regarding the Marauders from what has been presented in the previous books as well as in most fan writing.

See, and that I can get behind, despite not being at all impressed with Snape thus far. What disturbs me is the number of fans I generally consider fair-minded who are saying, "Oh, this is the One True Version of the Marauders!" and rejecting the good reports of these people outright. And while neither Sirius nor Remus are perfect, and while I detest Peter for the slimy little git he is, I do think we've been given enough evidence that a) Snape is biased and b) Sirius and Remus have some pretty good traits between them, that it throws me that people are ignoring said evidence in light of this new view.

As far as I can recall, James has always been portrayed as the perfect boyfriend, the perfect son and student, etc., and it was very enlightening to see him, not necessarily through Severus's eyes, but more as someone who quite clearly had some severe short comings. As you pointed out there's bound to be some muddling since these are some one else's memories, but even with the bias aside it was pretty clear that, at fifteen, James was no prize. I like that. I don't do well with people who are presented as holier-than-thou, they make me suspicious.

I absolutely agree. I've wanted to see James and, more importantly to my mind, Lily both rounded out. Like I said, what's making me wary right now is all the declarations of, "Oh, James is really a bastard!" without any qualifiers. Myself, I never doubted that James was no saint (and really, how many teenage boys are? I think it's Vic who shares my belief that humans between the ages of 13 and 18 should really be locked up for the sake of all), but I do think he had his good points, and I do think growing up helped smooth him out.

I think this may just be another case of my frustration that people believe something negative is automatically more true than something positive, either because it's negative or because they like the source of the negative information better. None of which has anything to do with you or your post, so I'll stop taking up space in your LJ now. *g*

What disturbs me is the number of fans I generally consider fair-minded who are saying, "Oh, this is the One True Version of the Marauders!" and rejecting the good reports of these people outright. And while neither Sirius nor Remus are perfect, and while I detest Peter for the slimy little git he is, I do think we've been given enough evidence that a) Snape is biased and b) Sirius and Remus have some pretty good traits between them, that it throws me that people are ignoring said evidence in light of this new view.

*Oggles* Okay, yes, I said James was a concieted little shit, but I meant it in an admiring way. *grin* (Probably yet again why I am a pure Slyherin). Mordred forbid I dismiss someone just because they have an outburst once - okay, I have but this is a book where we've all had a chance to read into prior motives and the like, so you know, we'll ignore that for argument's sake. *winks*

I'd certainly never write off the Marauders because they picked on Snape. Yes, it was cruel and callous, yes, if it had been me everybody'd have been castrated inside a minutes, but because (say it with me) this is a book and we've been given all this development before hand (books 1-4), I think it's pretty safe to say that even with the bad there is still a fair amount of good, n'est pas? Just because this particular memory has generated sympathy for Snape, I don't see why that should detract it from anyone else. Maybe there's only a finite amount of sympathy to go round?

Also, you can ramble in my LJ as much as you want. *grin*

*Oggles* Okay, yes, I said James was a concieted little shit, but I meant it in an admiring way. *grin* (Probably yet again why I am a pure Slyherin).

Well, yours did come across as being happy he's so much more well-rounded than in previous books. I have seen two posts on two different lists, however, that were crowing about how the posters just knew James was rotten. Previous posts had led me to believe at least one of the posters was a usually fair-minded individual, so I was surprised by her reaction. Of course, I have seen anti-Snape sentiments I thought equally unreasonable (I may not be a fan, but I do believe the character has his positive attributes), so there you go.

And for myself, I'm hybrid Ravenclaw/Slytherin, heavy on the Ravenclaw side. I am more attached to me cleverness than my slyness. *g*

I'd certainly never write off the Marauders because they picked on Snape. Yes, it was cruel and callous, yes, if it had been me everybody'd have been castrated inside a minutes, but because (say it with me) this is a book and we've been given all this development before hand (books 1-4), I think it's pretty safe to say that even with the bad there is still a fair amount of good, n'est pas? Just because this particular memory has generated sympathy for Snape, I don't see why that should detract it from anyone else. Maybe there's only a finite amount of sympathy to go round?

That's what drew me up about the whole thing. It does seem some are treating sympathy as a finite resource, and if you have it for Snape, you can't have it for the Marauders, and vice versa. I've felt bad for the way Sirius, at least, treated Snape from the moment I learned about it in book three, but that doesn't stop me from sympathizing with Sirius' predicament nor does it stop me from wanting to smack Snape for the way he treats his students. I just hate to see the complexity of any of the characters ignored, especially since complexity of characterization is, I must confess, a rarity in JK's writing thus far. I'm glad to hear that's changed in book five, at least a bit.

Also, you can ramble in my LJ as much as you want. *grin*

*mwah* You are a doll. Really, I just linger on your LJ so much, staring at Jude and Ewan, I feel it behooves me to actually contribute something. *g*

And for myself, I'm hybrid Ravenclaw/Slytherin, heavy on the Ravenclaw side. I am more attached to me cleverness than my slyness. *g*

*winks* The hat considered putting me in Ravenclaw, but I had to pass. It also considered Gryffindor, to which I told it I would unravel it bit by bit if it tried.

I just hate to see the complexity of any of the characters ignored, especially since complexity of characterization is, I must confess, a rarity in JK's writing thus far. I'm glad to hear that's changed in book five, at least a bit.

Yes! In my very roundabout way, that's what I'm attempting to say. There have been complaints that the book was too long, but I see a lot of attempting to make up for what was missing in the others. I appreciate it. And I wish you would hurry up and read them all so you could write some! dork.

*winks* The hat considered putting me in Ravenclaw, but I had to pass. It also considered Gryffindor, to which I told it I would unravel it bit by bit if it tried.

*snicker* I could hear it pondering Gryffindor when it smacked into my reckless curiosity, but apparently the curiosity factor outweighed the reckless bit. Which is good, as I prefer to leave that "noble and brave and true" stuff to the professionals. I prefer "the enemy is there to be out-thought and out-maneuvered."

Yes! In my very roundabout way, that's what I'm attempting to say. There have been complaints that the book was too long, but I see a lot of attempting to make up for what was missing in the others. I appreciate it. And I wish you would hurry up and read them all so you could write some! dork.

::sticks out tongue:: I have read them all! Except book five. I've reached the conclusion that part of my problem is that I have nothing new to say with regards to the pairing I was trying to write, no new angle from which to present things. And while contextless snippets are feasible for Clark and Lex, they just don't work for Harry and Draco. The past few months, however, have seen me growing more enchanted with Sirius/Remus (whom I will always picture as Ewan, regardless of casting), and I may just have a thing or two to say about them.

The past few months, however, have seen me growing more enchanted with Sirius/Remus (whom I will always picture as Ewan, regardless of casting), and I may just have a thing or two to say about them.

Yes! Yes! Hell, even I want to write them, so you know, help. Please? Write HP!

I'm re-reading PoA right now to refresh myself on them in particular. I've a bit of a yen to write What Remus Did During Those Twelve Years, so I'm checking to see if there are any references in the books. I also want to read OotP and decide how much of a denialista I'll need to be from now on. You realize of course that you and Vic have both volunteered yourselves as betas by encouraging me. This is a good thing, I know you won't let me put anything embarrassing out in public.

And...I need a Remus/Sirius icon. Or maybe just Remus. The way I would cast him, damn it.

James was no saint (and really, how many teenage boys are? I think it's Vic who shares my belief that humans between the ages of 13 and 18 should really be locked up for the sake of all), but I do think he had his good points, and I do think growing up helped smooth him out.

*snerk*

Yeah, that's me.

Loathe the little teenagers, even when I was one. *g*

I think that while the pensieve is Snape's recollection, and may be biased, there's no way around the fact that even if James and Sirius did only *half* of what Snape recalls in that scene, they were still asshats.

Of course, I also have a huge squick for embarrassment/humiliation. It disturbs me on many levels to see anyone so humiliated.

I also think there's an element of public display - I knew a lot of jocks in both high school and college who were sweet in one-on-one situations who were total jerks when they were in a group or they were showing off for girls. And James and Sirius fit neatly into that paradigm (regardless of whether Sirius was actually an athlete or not. His fondness for Quidditch makes me think he was, though we have no evidence he was on the team, and I think she'd have told us if he had been).

Snape was *safe* to pick on, apparently, and Sirius and James were kings of the school (or of their year, anyway) - rich, talented, goodlooking - I *expected* them (Sirius especially, given his personality) to be obnoxious until they grew out of it.

Knowing their future behavior helps in forming a view of the characters, and James's fury at the 'mudblood' epithet is at least one redeeming thing about the whole scene (though I still think Snape had a thing for Lily, and had to respond that way because 1. he's Slytherin and 2. no boy likes to be defended by a girl, especially the girl he likes).

Then there's Peter's hero worship egging them on (ugh. Peter. I had hoped for more from his characterization than that), and Remus obviously too concerned for his own status in the group to put a stop to something he knew was wrong.

::hugs Remus::

I just wonder how Remus ever spoke to Sirius again after The Prank, because Sirius had obviously *not* outgrown his asshattery by the next year.

Loathe the little teenagers, even when I was one. *g*

It's possible I loathed them more when I was one. *g*

I think that while the pensieve is Snape's recollection, and may be biased, there's no way around the fact that even if James and Sirius did only *half* of what Snape recalls in that scene, they were still asshats.

This does not surprise me (and damn, I wish my book would get here). However, I have my doubts Snape didn't retaliate, even if he had to use different methods. This could be because of my own experiences with jocks (to borrow your marvelous comparison) and the freedom to use the chemistry lab during lunch hour when one was favored by the science teacher. *eg*

Of course, I also have a huge squick for embarrassment/humiliation. It disturbs me on many levels to see anyone so humiliated.

Oooh, I'm glad you warned me. That's one of my greatest squicks, and one reason I'm so careful in navigating the minefield of BDSM stories.

Knowing their future behavior helps in forming a view of the characters, and James's fury at the 'mudblood' epithet is at least one redeeming thing about the whole scene (though I still think Snape had a thing for Lily, and had to respond that way because 1. he's Slytherin and 2. no boy likes to be defended by a girl, especially the girl he likes).

I haven't read the scene in question, obviously, but you already know I'm firmly in the Snape -> Lily camp. It's the only way certain things make sense to me.

::hugs Remus::

Ooh, let's just make that a group hug. *g*

I just wonder how Remus ever spoke to Sirius again after The Prank, because Sirius had obviously *not* outgrown his asshattery by the next year.

This continues to be one of those points I poke at that may yet produce fic. You realize, you're volunteered as a beta if this happens. *g*

Loathe the little teenagers, even when I was one. *g*

It's possible I loathed them more when I was one. *g*

Well, sure, but I'd have to include myself in there, in all my black-wearing, morbid-poetry writing glory.

This does not surprise me (and damn, I wish my book would get here). However, I have my doubts Snape didn't retaliate, even if he had to use different methods. This could be because of my own experiences with jocks (to borrow your marvelous comparison) and the freedom to use the chemistry lab during lunch hour when one was favored by the science teacher. *eg*

Oh, I'm sure Snape got revenge. *That* wouldn't be in the pensieve, because *that* would have been a good memory. In fact, I can imagine a steady stream of escalating retaliation and counter-retaliation leading to the Shack incident.

I haven't read the scene in question, obviously, but you already know I'm firmly in the Snape -> Lily camp. It's the only way certain things make sense to me.

Well, you know I believe in the Snape->Lily. *g*

::hugs Remus::

Ooh, let's just make that a group hug. *g*

Sure, why not? The man needs all the hugs he can get.

I just wonder how Remus ever spoke to Sirius again after The Prank, because Sirius had obviously *not* outgrown his asshattery by the next year.

This continues to be one of those points I poke at that may yet produce fic. You realize, you're volunteered as a beta if this happens. *g*

Ooh, I'd love to. Write write write. Please.

I'm busy working on an AU version of the incident, and it's not going so well. Sigh. I like the characters too much to make them as obnoxious as they should be.

Loathe the little teenagers, even when I was one. *g*

It's possible I loathed them more when I was one. *g*

Well, sure, but I'd have to include myself in there, in all my black-wearing, morbid-poetry writing glory.

Not me. I was genuine, unlike all those other Poseurs. *g* Actually, I was terrible at being a Goth, so that phase only lasted a few months. Mostly, I was a treehugger, and obnoxious in that "Hug the Earth!" way. Flannel and denim, baby, and angry "all you jerks are KILLING MOTHER NATURE" poetry. *koff* Yeah, Hermione's House Elf campaign? I know exactly where that's coming from.

Oh, I'm sure Snape got revenge. *That* wouldn't be in the pensieve, because *that* would have been a good memory. In fact, I can imagine a steady stream of escalating retaliation and counter-retaliation leading to the Shack incident.

....

I dare you to write this, because I want to read it. Now.

::hugs Remus::

Ooh, let's just make that a group hug. *g*

Sure, why not? The man needs all the hugs he can get.

Hugs, kisses, shags. They're all good when it's Moony.

I just wonder how Remus ever spoke to Sirius again after The Prank, because Sirius had obviously *not* outgrown his asshattery by the next year.

This continues to be one of those points I poke at that may yet produce fic. You realize, you're volunteered as a beta if this happens. *g*

Ooh, I'd love to. Write write write. Please.

Reading and taking notes right now. And I need to know if OotP made any mention of what Remus was up to in those years when Sirius was in Azkaban.

I'm busy working on an AU version of the incident, and it's not going so well. Sigh. I like the characters too much to make them as obnoxious as they should be.

That definitely makes it rough. While I'm looking forward to seeing young MWPP in OotP, I don't know that I'll ever write them school aged. They start to get most interesting to me after it all goes to hell.

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