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More Harry Potter
Upon re-reading some Harry Potter, I have thoughts. I skipped Goblet of Fire, because I realized I'd only read Order of the Phoenix once, and that's criminal. I'll read Goblet of Fire for Viktor and Snape goodness later.
Order of the Phoenix
Umbridge
A lot of people complained about this book, as I recall, because they considered Umbridge disappointing, a "two-dimensional" villain. There's a time and a place for villains to have sad angsty childhoods, okay? A psychotic woman who gives detentions with wherein you slice open your own skin with the pen and write with your blood... I don't want her to have a sad angsty childhood that explains her psychosis. I have no patience for that sort of crap nowadays. Oh, well, I guess that explains it -- the fuck that explains it. She's a fucking psycho, that's what explains it. Every villain has a sob story to make him or her more interesting, and I'm tired of being turned around and led over backwards and confused and being distracted from sympathizing with the hero.
Harry Potter is a story where you sympathize with the hero. It is a story where you become the hero, live vicariously through him for a while, experience growing up in a different way. It is not a story where you're meant to sympathize with the villains. When you're a hero you don't want to suddenly have to feel guilty about the hatred you feel for a villain -- it distracts you from sympathizing with the hero when suddenly you're asked to sympathize with someone else. In real life, you don't sympathize with your villains. You really hate that kid who steals your lunch money, you don't want to know if his mother is dying or what. He is going to beat you up and steal your lunch money whether or not you understand the reasons why.
If Umbridge hadn't been the unrepentantly psychotic villain she was, there would've been no place for her. The woman sent dementors to attack Harry in front of Muggles because the Ministry wanted to get him for something. Dude, there's no third dimension to that. She's nucking futs, to quote friends.
So I guess what I'm saying there is that I loathe Umbridge, and I do so happily.
Snape
Now, Snape. Snape is a three-dimensional villain. You forget about the little cool things that make his character so interesting when you wander away from the reading for a while. But he truly is a fascinating sort of villain, and quite a unique character. I don't like him -- I've never liked him, for a while actively hated him -- but that doesn't mean he isn't cool.
He despises Harry. Oh, how he despises Harry. But he does so for what are, essentially, childish reasons: your daddy picked on me in school and damnit you look just enough like him that I remember those school days all the time. (I can't stand people who insist that this isn't a childish reason, or that his hatred of Harry is justified considering his past with James. No it's not okay, yes it is childish, and think about it... do you really like Snape's character if you can't accept the things he does without justifying them to yourself? Or do you like your justifications?)
And he's mature enough to know that it's childish. When push comes to shove, Snape stops being evil long enough to help when help is needed and no one else can do it. He puts aside his petty grudge, makes the potions conjures stretchers and bandages up wounds; he puts aside his personal hatred and checks up on the well-being of lifelong enemies, organizes rescue parties for his least favorite students.
He's a bastard, but he's a cool one.
MWPP
They're jerks and I love them. James and Sirius weren't saints who lived pure wonderful lives, spreading joy and beauty wherever they went, and then suffered horribly and undeservedly for the sins of others. They were human beings. Jerks, even. I love them. *heart*
James and Sirius have such a wonderful deep relationship. How much brotherly love must there be between them to make James actually put away that Snitch for Sirius' sake, huh? *sniffle* And James' crush on Lily and the way he tries to hide it? Priceless. Lily herself was rather cool, sticking up to the bad boys and defending Snape, but not lying down and taking it when he doesn't appreciate it.
I don't care what anybody says, Sirius and Remus are totally married. If Remus was a girl, I don't think anyone would question this. There are a couple of lines here that, if Remus was a girl, would be extremely telling; as he isn't, they're merely suspicious. Lines like "Lupin, who was staying in the house with Sirius" -- not Lupin staying with them, because Harry and the Weasleys were living in Grimmauld Place too, just Sirius; if Lupin were Renee Lupin and not Remus Lupin, I bet many people would assume without undue stretch that Lupin was also staying in bed with Sirius. They gave gifts together -- and it's true that Remus is dirt poor and Sirius is pointlessly rich, but Remus doesn't seem likely to accept charity, he's more independent than that -- and the way he acted during Sirius and Molly's argument in the beginning (both towards Sirius and regarding him) I think he was very much Sirius' partner.
The Death
Before re-reading the book, I was 90% certain that Sirius is not dead. An hour after finishing the book, I am only 75% certain that Sirius is not dead, but I expect that a day or so from now I will be 90% sure again. I credit this feeling to the emotional weight of his horrible senseless death.
All the evidence, the hints and the foreshadowing, that Sirius may be back, are still there. I can still recall suspicious things JK has said in interviews. But Harry's mourning, the sorrow of Dumbledore and all those who spoke to Harry in the interim, are powerful enough to dent what otherwise seems certain: the primary villain rule is that if you can't see the body, they're not dead; Sirius was not hit with Avada Kedavra (which is green) but by some other spell (which was red), so he could not have been dead when he went through the curtain, and no one has yet told us if entering that curtain means InstaDeath. It seems like there would be something more tangibly deadly than simply falling through an archway, a zap or something, I don't know; Luna's otherwise nonsense foreshadowing that the things that go missing always come back in the end, that inexplicably makes Harry feel much better and stop mourning Sirius.
Still, in the wake of all that grief, I can't help doubting that he's alive... But I expect that doubt will pass.
Dumbledore's Big Secret
Now, there are a lot of things Dumbledore should've told Harry. Our revered headmaster's a moron, although it's totally understandable WHY he's a moron, and he's a moron with his heart in the right place. But the one big secret, the reason he didn't tell Harry anything, is because he didn't want Harry to deal with the hardship of knowing the prophecy, which says the following: only one of them can survive, Voldemort, or Harry.
Maybe it's just me, but... If Voldemort's tried to kill him four times and shows no signs of losing interest... Maybe you have to sort of take it for granted that until Voldemort dies, Harry's life is going to be in constant danger. (Unless Voldemort one day wakes up and goes, "You know what? Forget Potter. Let's start in Brazil, where Dumbledore isn't, and then we can build up the movement and eventually come back in triumph and extend my reign of terror over the whole globe. I wish Potter long life and good health, unless he is anonymously crushed under the bootheel of my regime.") It seems pretty obvious to me. Either Voldemort dies, or he kills Harry and Harry dies.
I mean, that was his big gigantic revelation? Hermione could've told him that, she more or less has been all along. I think Ron could figure it out if he wanted to. Hell, I think Goyle could make that tremendous leap of logic.
Dumbledore's Army
Okay, this was cool. Harry's going to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor when he grows up. (Since no way is he getting the required Outstanding on his Potions OWL to become an Auror, right? ...although, you know, the books just won't be the same without Snape as one of his professors.) He's so good at it and... and the whole thing about his secret little renegade study group was just too damn cool, and he sunk into it so naturally. It's totally his calling in life. He did a really good job with it, and helped a lot of people get a lot better.
The Weasley Twins
The cool parts about them -- like with Snape -- you forget when you fail to read the books for a while. But they're sodamncool. ...and totally hot, their actors.
It's funny how I can remember what their actors look like really well, but I've already almost completely forgotten what Lupin looked like. This is true. I swear my mind rejected him, and reverted to my original, Japanese-fanart-induced conception of him.
Romance
Ron's getting together with Hermione, end. If you don't see this coming, you may be delusional. JK herself isn't sure how people can still be asking her if Hermione is going to be paired with Harry. (Literally. On her site one of the frequently-asked questions is "Does Hermione love Ron or Harry?" and her response is, "I can't believe that some of you haven't worked this one out yet.") Also now entering the stage of delusional at this point is anyone who still believes in Harry/Draco, along with people who slash James and Snape. Or James period.
I also want to say Sirius/Harry slashers, but more because they hurt my soul than because they are officially noncoupleable.
Viktor isn't totally dead, for which I'm glad, because I like him gratuitously, even though Hermione's going to be with Ron. On the other hand, Cho is totally dead, for which I'm also glad, because God she turned out to be a flighty twit. I understand some of what she did, but still.
For Harry I assume two potential romantic interests, if any: Ginny and Luna if she sticks around. Ginny is apparently dating Dean right now, and I like that because it's unexpected and interesting, although it's a good thing for her chances with Harry that she "gave up on him", because now she can... talk around him. She's turned out to be a real Weasley-twin kind of girl, I like her. *heart* She also has the advantage of Ron sort of subtly rooting for her and Harry getting together.
And Luna, I think, healed Harry in a very real way with very simple heartfelt words, when nobody else could. That shows a kind of promise that few others have on their side -- Ginny's never managed to do that, and even Hermione and Ron more agitate him with that sort of business. But Harry felt surprisingly (even surprising to himself) comfortable talking with her about the loss of the only family he had left, when he'd turned away everyone else.
Neville and Ginny would also be cute; he took her to the dance, and tried to save her again in this book. Hee.
Now, on to other books.
(I will not write fanfiction, I will not write fanfiction, I will not write...)
Order of the Phoenix
Umbridge
A lot of people complained about this book, as I recall, because they considered Umbridge disappointing, a "two-dimensional" villain. There's a time and a place for villains to have sad angsty childhoods, okay? A psychotic woman who gives detentions with wherein you slice open your own skin with the pen and write with your blood... I don't want her to have a sad angsty childhood that explains her psychosis. I have no patience for that sort of crap nowadays. Oh, well, I guess that explains it -- the fuck that explains it. She's a fucking psycho, that's what explains it. Every villain has a sob story to make him or her more interesting, and I'm tired of being turned around and led over backwards and confused and being distracted from sympathizing with the hero.
Harry Potter is a story where you sympathize with the hero. It is a story where you become the hero, live vicariously through him for a while, experience growing up in a different way. It is not a story where you're meant to sympathize with the villains. When you're a hero you don't want to suddenly have to feel guilty about the hatred you feel for a villain -- it distracts you from sympathizing with the hero when suddenly you're asked to sympathize with someone else. In real life, you don't sympathize with your villains. You really hate that kid who steals your lunch money, you don't want to know if his mother is dying or what. He is going to beat you up and steal your lunch money whether or not you understand the reasons why.
If Umbridge hadn't been the unrepentantly psychotic villain she was, there would've been no place for her. The woman sent dementors to attack Harry in front of Muggles because the Ministry wanted to get him for something. Dude, there's no third dimension to that. She's nucking futs, to quote friends.
So I guess what I'm saying there is that I loathe Umbridge, and I do so happily.
Snape
Now, Snape. Snape is a three-dimensional villain. You forget about the little cool things that make his character so interesting when you wander away from the reading for a while. But he truly is a fascinating sort of villain, and quite a unique character. I don't like him -- I've never liked him, for a while actively hated him -- but that doesn't mean he isn't cool.
He despises Harry. Oh, how he despises Harry. But he does so for what are, essentially, childish reasons: your daddy picked on me in school and damnit you look just enough like him that I remember those school days all the time. (I can't stand people who insist that this isn't a childish reason, or that his hatred of Harry is justified considering his past with James. No it's not okay, yes it is childish, and think about it... do you really like Snape's character if you can't accept the things he does without justifying them to yourself? Or do you like your justifications?)
And he's mature enough to know that it's childish. When push comes to shove, Snape stops being evil long enough to help when help is needed and no one else can do it. He puts aside his petty grudge, makes the potions conjures stretchers and bandages up wounds; he puts aside his personal hatred and checks up on the well-being of lifelong enemies, organizes rescue parties for his least favorite students.
He's a bastard, but he's a cool one.
MWPP
They're jerks and I love them. James and Sirius weren't saints who lived pure wonderful lives, spreading joy and beauty wherever they went, and then suffered horribly and undeservedly for the sins of others. They were human beings. Jerks, even. I love them. *heart*
James and Sirius have such a wonderful deep relationship. How much brotherly love must there be between them to make James actually put away that Snitch for Sirius' sake, huh? *sniffle* And James' crush on Lily and the way he tries to hide it? Priceless. Lily herself was rather cool, sticking up to the bad boys and defending Snape, but not lying down and taking it when he doesn't appreciate it.
I don't care what anybody says, Sirius and Remus are totally married. If Remus was a girl, I don't think anyone would question this. There are a couple of lines here that, if Remus was a girl, would be extremely telling; as he isn't, they're merely suspicious. Lines like "Lupin, who was staying in the house with Sirius" -- not Lupin staying with them, because Harry and the Weasleys were living in Grimmauld Place too, just Sirius; if Lupin were Renee Lupin and not Remus Lupin, I bet many people would assume without undue stretch that Lupin was also staying in bed with Sirius. They gave gifts together -- and it's true that Remus is dirt poor and Sirius is pointlessly rich, but Remus doesn't seem likely to accept charity, he's more independent than that -- and the way he acted during Sirius and Molly's argument in the beginning (both towards Sirius and regarding him) I think he was very much Sirius' partner.
The Death
Before re-reading the book, I was 90% certain that Sirius is not dead. An hour after finishing the book, I am only 75% certain that Sirius is not dead, but I expect that a day or so from now I will be 90% sure again. I credit this feeling to the emotional weight of his horrible senseless death.
All the evidence, the hints and the foreshadowing, that Sirius may be back, are still there. I can still recall suspicious things JK has said in interviews. But Harry's mourning, the sorrow of Dumbledore and all those who spoke to Harry in the interim, are powerful enough to dent what otherwise seems certain: the primary villain rule is that if you can't see the body, they're not dead; Sirius was not hit with Avada Kedavra (which is green) but by some other spell (which was red), so he could not have been dead when he went through the curtain, and no one has yet told us if entering that curtain means InstaDeath. It seems like there would be something more tangibly deadly than simply falling through an archway, a zap or something, I don't know; Luna's otherwise nonsense foreshadowing that the things that go missing always come back in the end, that inexplicably makes Harry feel much better and stop mourning Sirius.
Still, in the wake of all that grief, I can't help doubting that he's alive... But I expect that doubt will pass.
Dumbledore's Big Secret
Now, there are a lot of things Dumbledore should've told Harry. Our revered headmaster's a moron, although it's totally understandable WHY he's a moron, and he's a moron with his heart in the right place. But the one big secret, the reason he didn't tell Harry anything, is because he didn't want Harry to deal with the hardship of knowing the prophecy, which says the following: only one of them can survive, Voldemort, or Harry.
Maybe it's just me, but... If Voldemort's tried to kill him four times and shows no signs of losing interest... Maybe you have to sort of take it for granted that until Voldemort dies, Harry's life is going to be in constant danger. (Unless Voldemort one day wakes up and goes, "You know what? Forget Potter. Let's start in Brazil, where Dumbledore isn't, and then we can build up the movement and eventually come back in triumph and extend my reign of terror over the whole globe. I wish Potter long life and good health, unless he is anonymously crushed under the bootheel of my regime.") It seems pretty obvious to me. Either Voldemort dies, or he kills Harry and Harry dies.
I mean, that was his big gigantic revelation? Hermione could've told him that, she more or less has been all along. I think Ron could figure it out if he wanted to. Hell, I think Goyle could make that tremendous leap of logic.
Dumbledore's Army
Okay, this was cool. Harry's going to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor when he grows up. (Since no way is he getting the required Outstanding on his Potions OWL to become an Auror, right? ...although, you know, the books just won't be the same without Snape as one of his professors.) He's so good at it and... and the whole thing about his secret little renegade study group was just too damn cool, and he sunk into it so naturally. It's totally his calling in life. He did a really good job with it, and helped a lot of people get a lot better.
The Weasley Twins
The cool parts about them -- like with Snape -- you forget when you fail to read the books for a while. But they're sodamncool. ...and totally hot, their actors.
It's funny how I can remember what their actors look like really well, but I've already almost completely forgotten what Lupin looked like. This is true. I swear my mind rejected him, and reverted to my original, Japanese-fanart-induced conception of him.
Romance
Ron's getting together with Hermione, end. If you don't see this coming, you may be delusional. JK herself isn't sure how people can still be asking her if Hermione is going to be paired with Harry. (Literally. On her site one of the frequently-asked questions is "Does Hermione love Ron or Harry?" and her response is, "I can't believe that some of you haven't worked this one out yet.") Also now entering the stage of delusional at this point is anyone who still believes in Harry/Draco, along with people who slash James and Snape. Or James period.
I also want to say Sirius/Harry slashers, but more because they hurt my soul than because they are officially noncoupleable.
Viktor isn't totally dead, for which I'm glad, because I like him gratuitously, even though Hermione's going to be with Ron. On the other hand, Cho is totally dead, for which I'm also glad, because God she turned out to be a flighty twit. I understand some of what she did, but still.
For Harry I assume two potential romantic interests, if any: Ginny and Luna if she sticks around. Ginny is apparently dating Dean right now, and I like that because it's unexpected and interesting, although it's a good thing for her chances with Harry that she "gave up on him", because now she can... talk around him. She's turned out to be a real Weasley-twin kind of girl, I like her. *heart* She also has the advantage of Ron sort of subtly rooting for her and Harry getting together.
And Luna, I think, healed Harry in a very real way with very simple heartfelt words, when nobody else could. That shows a kind of promise that few others have on their side -- Ginny's never managed to do that, and even Hermione and Ron more agitate him with that sort of business. But Harry felt surprisingly (even surprising to himself) comfortable talking with her about the loss of the only family he had left, when he'd turned away everyone else.
Neville and Ginny would also be cute; he took her to the dance, and tried to save her again in this book. Hee.
Now, on to other books.
(I will not write fanfiction, I will not write fanfiction, I will not write...)
no subject
Something that I get confused about is Draco/Hermione. I'm going to make grand assumptions about what the supporters say and yell about them. Haha. Draco is such a pureblooded little brat - he wouldn't be insulting Hermione to "cover up" his crush on her or anything like that. And and... gah, WHY?!
Okay, I'm done. ^^; I do like all your points and wish I could contribute something reasonably intelligent-sounding but... I can't think of much. ^^; I'm sorry.