hackthis_archive | Bi-annual meta rave!

ethrosdemon and I are very happy in our new sandbox. Check out what she wrote: Between Snowdonia and Cardiff, Genius and Madness . It's Bevan/Oliver, with a side order of Nine. Not that I watch Dr Who, but I have heard that this is v good thing. Mostly I just say 'Yay for Wales!'

Recommendation: A Place to Be by

hesychasm. People are saying this is Harry/Neville, but I prefer to think of it as Neville gen, with some Harry business thrown in. Mostly I just say "read it, because it's absolutely gorgeous."

In the run up to the HBP business I've been trying to get my ducks in a row regarding this Montague business and whether or not I really want to kill Harry with my bare hands or if I just have not-so-latent Slytherin rage.

I'm not really sure these days if I hate Harry the character or I loathe what he's come to represent in canon and fanon. What does he represent to me, you ask?

Incessant whinging.

I've always been a great believer in the 'Shut the fuck up, and get on with it' school of thought, and Harry dwells and moans and bitches, like, well, a little bitch. I understand that this is the way of teenagers, to moan and whinge and skulk around the house because they are so misunderstood. I wasn't a teen that long ago; I know the drill.

What's missing from Harry now, for me, is that empathy. And the sympathy.

The thing is -- I used to like Harry, a lot, but the longer I spend in fandom they less I like him, and the more I find him a snivelling little shit. And really. I don't want that. I don't feel required to like him, but I want to be able to write him, or at least read about him, without thinking 'die!die!die' or 'Neville could do it so much better.'*

*I think that anyway, but that's not the point just now.

I think if JKR were more balanced in her characterisation, I'd be happier. If Harry seemed to be held accountable (besides to that fruitcake, Umbridge) for being a drama queen and irrational, and so in need of anger management classes, I'd be really happy.

I understand that Harry's having a tough time, but guess what? So is the fucking person next door! Chances are they just found out that their dad's a Death Eater, or that their mum's got an incurable disease or that all the money's gone.

Bad shit happens to people every day.

You are born; you live; one day, you grow old and die. It sucks, but that's the way of the fucking world.

The only difference is what you do with the time you've got. I am so tired of Harry acting like he's fucking entitled to anything more than the person next door just because he's got some fucking scar on his forehead.

I don't like the imbalance of feeling like I should love him just because he's got more, or less, than anybody else. Make me like him for himself and not because his name's all over the cover of the book.

While we're on imbalance and unbalanced though, can I just get this hate-crime business off my chest for a moment?

I know there's been talk of seeing the Montague-in-the-Vanishing-Cupboard as a hate-crime and while I think it was malicious, I don't know if was a hate crime. Montague provoked the twins. He's not blameless.

I don’t want to diminish the impact of what they did, because that shit was fucking serious; and I'm having issues here, because I've always liked the twins. I always thought they belonged in Slytherin too, but that's not the point. Someone explain to me what kind of message JKR is trying to send, because she never fucking addresses it!

I don't think that when you stick someone in a cupboard, and they reemerge in a toilet, you should ignore it. Call me old-fashioned.

So maybe, my real issue is JKR's lack of balance. I mean the twins lock a Slytherin in a cupboard, the poor boy shows up six days later in a fucking toilet and there's no fucking retribution?! There's no nothing? Regardless of what they intended, that was wrong.

If a Slytherin had done something like that, they would've been strung up by their gonads! But because they're Gryffindors it's excusable, and that, to me, is fucked up.

No sodding balance.

If you do something wrong, you should be called to the mat, regardless, but apparently, in the wizarding world, like the real world, if you have a little fame or are on 'the side of right' then you're not held accountable for your actions.

That's just fucked up -- but I guess that's the way of JKR's world too.

Okay, I had to get that off my chest, even if it didn't make any sense. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programme, which is trying to rub two words together and form a story.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

t's premature to loathe the entire book just because one characterization was so bad.

The problem with that is that the characterization that was so bad was the main character about whom 99.9% of the book is about. The other .1% is about Hagrid and Grawp, which is bad and wrong in and of itself.

And yes, the twins did do something wrong and they should have been taken to task for it, even though they probably didn't know how it would end up (though if they did, you know it was because one of them pushed the other one in and he wound up in the toilet as well). The books are very Gryffindor-centric and they're allowed much more (unless they're caught out by Snape), but that stems, again, from Harry's POV.

JKR needs to give Harry a bit more perspective and a bit of tempering. I find him to be annoying and whiny. The other reason I disliked OotP so much is that it that even when others are present (such as during the DA meetings) or even during the fight at the Ministry, the tertiary characters are barely important in the scope of things. It's All. Harry. All. The. Time, and it's a bit wearing as he's nothing but an annoying little prig throughout most of the book.

<-- has issues, obviously.

I agree with you 100% percent. Especially about the Harry business. And the Grawp business. *rolls eyes*

I fear that Hagrid will be the HBP (pure speculation - I know NOTHING!) just because that would mean a book FULL of Hagrid - more fuller than the others are.

In which case I could only be placated by lots of porn. *hints*

If the book is full of Hagrid, after I have a bonfire to burn it, and ingest large quantites of beer, I will have to write porn to consol myself. Did you have a pairing or two in mind... I say two, because surely one of them will make itch. I know you...

If you write me something Weasley twins, I'll write you either Neville/Draco or Ron/Draco.

Deal?

But I'm angry with the twins! Are we talking twincest here by the way? Wait. I just had an inspiring moment!

*cackles deviously*

If nothing else, surely there's some Slytherin dying to get back at the twinses?

I think

serialkarma wants to have words with you, see she's betaing this thing right now and I've kinda been running around nipping at her ankles. Really, it's all your fault though since I thought up the opening line the minute I got in bed last night, and instead of getting out of bed again and just writing the damn thing, I let it percolate all night. This morning as I was getting ready all I could think was I'm going to write crazy [spoiler for your story here]! So, uh, yeah. Your fault!

You know you love me.

You and I need to talk about Montaguecest.

Bi-annual meta rave!

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