Enemies to Friends … girls object!
(my post on the topic on Reddit)
I have just re-read Tangerine-Alert trilogy on Harry avoiding his
participation in the Triwizard Tournament (volumes one, two,
and three), and although I generally liked the stories and some
of the ideas are really good, there was one overwhelming feeling
which made me almost puke: the ease with which Harry collaborated
with Lucius Malfoy. I understand that enemy to friends is a
lovely trope and gives it a good dramatic tension, but if you
want to really span the dramatic arch, then you have to span it
and not ignore it. All these stories are from the GoF time-frame,
so it is just not possible to get over the fact that Lucius
Malfoy intentionally tried to hurt Harry's best friend's sister
(if not more, we all know, that according to the fairy-tale rules
the knight slaying the dragon and saving the princess has to
get her hand in a marriage and half of her father's kingdom …
OK, the latter wouldn't be too much, true), also intentionally
(he knew the beast will go after muggleborns) tried to kill his
other best friend, tortured Dobby, etc. Draco was not a sweet
boy but aside from bullying Hermione he tried to kill Buckbeak
just because he was not willing to admit his mistake. It is not
possible for Harry to just skip over this with “Oh well, we
have different opinions on how to lead magical society and it
is probably my fault because I am not educated enough about the
magical culture.” No, Malfoys (and Snape) are horrible human
trash, and if they want to turn to the Light, they have plenty of
turning to do.
So, the story I would love to be able to read would be something
like one of these stories, where Harry decides that Lucius Malfoy
is the ally he needs (BTW, truly, Harry didn’t know about anybody
else who could help him after going for three years to one class
with Susan Bones?), and when the information leaks out, Ginny and
Hermione go ballistic, because Harry betrayed them. Dobby just
cannot take to his big heart that The Good Harry Potter allied
himself with his Bad Former Master and commits suicide.
Sequel to “Harry Potter and the Cloud with the Silver Lining”
“Harry Potter and the Cloud with the Silver Lining” by
ev11235813 is one of those stories which frustrate me to no
end. It feels like a prologue to a much larger story, but the
writing has stopped exactly at the moment when I felt the
real story may finally start …
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On Violence in the Magical World
(a comment on the Reddit thread “Lavender Brown is a good
friend.” started by u/Fan_of_Fanfics; more discussion on
that thread)
This is actually a very good comment, because it forced me
to think more about the magical world. Of course, I agree,
that culturally we are learned to be …
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Kind of sexy lamp test
(another discussion on the nature of bashing by /u/Chocokuki1993)
It is not about bashing, it is always (as with everywhere in
writing) about the plot. I would suggest something like the
sexy lamp test: “What would happen to the plot if you remove
this particular paragraph, chapter negatively portraying …
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Normal Hogwarts Life
(my comments during the thread
“Any fanfic or oneshots that are about deal with everyday
shenanigans that the Hogwarts staff go through?” by
/u/euphoric77)
Let me add here a dump of my “elsewhere_at_hogwarts/” folder (for
later reference):
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Effortless genius?
(my comments on “Is Hermione actually that smart?” by /u/sullivanbri966)
/u/VisenyaMartell:
I heard someone once claim that she is ‘a genius through
effort, not an effortless genius.’
I don’t think there is such thing as an effortless genius. Thomas
Alva Edison (who could be easily qualified as …
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The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet
(my comments on “The Strange Disappearance of Lizzy Bennet” by
HelenaMira, originally published on Reddit)
I really wanted to like this story. The beginning of the story
promised a good plot and I like neglectful!Mr Bennet and evil!Mrs
Bennet as a fresh alternative to otherwise generally boring canon …
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Geeky Mary Bennet
I have originally commented on “Mr. Collins, a male lead??? Is
this possible?” by u/JenniferRAKim on That Site, but now I
think I would just leave it here as a prompt:
That’s one way, or of course if it leads to my preferred ship Mr
Collins/Mary Bennet …
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Molly Weasley, the Potion Mistress?
(a record of discussion about the topic on the Reddit thread
“Could Molly and the ‘Love Potion’ incident be a communications
misunderstanding?” started by u/varrsar; more discussion on
that thread)
The biggest problem with Molly Weasley and Love Potions is that
everybody seems to remember something completely different than …
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On healing prayers and pain
(můj komentář na článek Dana Drápala „Uzdravování dnes“)
Nejhlubší zážitek ohledně uzdravení (kromě tedy několika případů,
kdy jsem se za uzdravení skutečně modlil) byl výjezd našeho sboru
v Americe, který vedl Randy Clark. Bylo to na dva dny a bylo
neuvěřitelné jak prostý a autentický byl, i když vyprávěl věci …
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Difference between Hungary and Czechia vis-à-vis Russia
Comment on the Reddit thread “Jana Černochová, Minister of
Defence of the Czech Republic, makes a statement”
and answer to the question by rocygapb)
Why is Hungarys suffering a case of amnesia? What is
different between these countries that suffered soviet
occupation and violence?
There were so many differences (I …
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Broken Dumbledore
(my comments on “Anger and Albus Dumbledore” by u/HorseLaw14)
I think he doesn’t understand emotions at all. Yes, I will say,
he knows nothing about love. And, no, I don’t care whether he is
gay or straight, there is absolutely no evidence anywhere for
Dumbledore/Minerva (or …
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Soul bonds and arranged marriages
Comment on the Reddit thread “Soul bonding fics with depth?”
by ZappyFence discussing “Error of Soul” by Materia-Blade)
Can you elaborate? As someone who read it, I'm still not sure
what people mean when they say this.
In the end every soul-bond fanfiction story is a story of
imposed/unintended …
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On Technology of Horcrux creation
(my comments on “Diary Horcrux Murder” by berkeleyjake)
It may be possible that the result of the ritual sacrifice can be
somehow stored and the ritual creating Horcrux can be done later.
What’s more important is this:
“Well, you split your soul, you see,” said Slughorn, “and
hide part …
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HP fanfiction as sci-fi
(my comments on the Reddit thread “What if there's no magic gene?” by 15_Redstones)
Concerning your thoughts about “The magic system is so whimsical,
I don’t think it should be susceptible to manipulation by
scientists.”, I am a bit torn. The one thing I really like about
the HP …
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Why to drop fanfiction story immediately
pink-pipes asked on Reddit
What Tropes or Scenes Have Made You Drop a Fic Immediately?
I have prepared this list:
- harem, Ménage à trois, polygamy, fluid sexuality, PWP,
Alpha/Beta/Omega dynamic
- creature inheritance … an immediate hard drop
- adult/child + Death Eater/normal romantic relationships (yes,
I am certain there …
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Historical Harry Potter stories
(my comments on the reddit thread “Fics like Starnlicht?” by
BallZealousideal2109)
It is strange how little fanfiction authors investigated the
whole area of the historical stories, a life of the magical
community outside (and before) the canonical storyline. Aside
from replants of the normal fanon stories to the past (“Prince …
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Overall post on “Breakfast in New York”
(cover letter for presenting my reviews of “Breakfast in New
York” by Radaslab; the first post and the second post)
I was rereading again “Breakfast in New York” by Radaslab and
I don’t know for certain why it aggravates me so much. Certainly
there is the conflict between generally …
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One more on “Breakfast in New York”
(second round of my comments on “Breakfast in New York” by
Radaslab; the first post)
There is this author’s note:
Eros Syndrome was not named or defined back then, but it was
there. Eros Syndrome was needed to explain certain things.
Namely, how could Hermione have let that happen …
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Good Petunia Stories
(my Reddit post “LF: Petunia is a witch afterall”)
I know about these:
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Foundations of The Dark Magic
(my comments on “The Light and the Dark” by Uncommonality)
One of the many issues with the universe of the Harry Potter
books, which has never been fully resolved in the books by Ms
Rowling is the true nature of the Dark Magic. It is really not
explained. Dark Magic …
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On Vampires
(my comment regarding vampires on AO3)
Technical question of the day. Would the Homonum Revelius
spell reveal a hiding vampire? I figure it will reveal
a hiding werewolf but they’re still sort of human. Aren’t
vampires supposed to be “dead” and so would such a spell
reveal them …
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On Pelagianism
(my comments on “The Roots of Josh Hawley’s Rage” by Katherine
Stewart in The New York Times, 2021-01-11; letter to a friend who
raged against Senator Josh Hawley right after The Storming of US
Capitol)
OK, let me start by quoting Alan Cox, Welsh (he would killed me,
if …
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On Faith after Witch-hunts
(my comments on “Doesn't it make sense for wizards to be
Christian? A Historical Perspective” by u/PhantomKeeperQazs)
Of course, all Europeans almost without an exceptions were
Christians well into the 19th century. It was traditionally
unacceptable (or perhaps only unfashionable) not to be Christian
in Europe well into the …
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Werewolf stories
(my entry on “What are you reading? Weekly Post for 2021-01-06”)
After the discussion on other
thread,
I was given reference to three Harmony+werewolves stories (Lupin bites
somebody in the end of the third year). I found them surprisingly good:
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