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whitewolfofwinterfell · 3 years ago

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Harry Potter re-read: thoughts and ranking my favourite books

In 2020 I completed a full re-read of Harry Potter for the first time since I was a child. It was a rollercoaster experience of highs and lows; excitement, nostalgia, frustration, joy, boredom and everything in between. It took the whole year (in between reading other books) and I hit a wall in the sumer, but I’m glad I persevered and made it to the end. This series will always hold a special place in my heart and as much as I love the movies, there’s so much detail that is missed from them. I didn’t realise just how much my memories of the HP universe had been shaped by the movies until I read the books. I feel like I’ve reconnected with the universe and characters in an authentic way and lots of my opinions have changed as a result.

Before we get to the ranking, some disclaimers:

If it wasn’t already obvious SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE HARRY POTTER SERIES (at this point I’d be surprised if there’s anybody that needs this warning, but better safe than sorry!).

This ranking is completely subjective and very changable. I love all of the books and I’ve based the ranking solely on my enjoyment of reading them.

In writing this post I am in no way supporting or endorsing J.K. Rowling’s works. Her ignorance and hatred is intolerable and abhorrent. I discuss this more in the conclusion of this post.

None of the images or gifs featured were made by me, all credit goes to the creators.

7. The Goblet of Fire

One of my favourite movies, but my least favourite book. This one hasn’t aged well for me. It’s too long, there’s much too filler and it has the disadvantage of coming after The Prisoner of Azkaban. I like the idea of the Triwizard Tournament in theory, but the execution is dull. We spend chapters upon chapters upon chapters with Harry and Hermione researching and preparing for the tasks and the tasks themselves are very anti-climatic. It’s also difficult to ignore the fact that the second and third tasks take part underwater and in a maze, and the audience can’t even see what’s going on. Apparently there’s no spell that can allow the audience to see underwater or inside a maze, not even those Muggle inventions called cameras *face palm*

The sub-plot with S.P.E.W was equally dull and didn’t add much to the story. I also found it deeply uncomfortable and upsetting to read about the enslavement of elves and the way that slavery was portrayed in general. The one positive I took from it was seeing Dobby with his crazy jumpers and socks. Dobby is The Best.

(credit to xbirdyblue on DeviantArt for this wonderful fanart image of Dobby)

The reactions to Harry’s name coming out of the Goblet of Fire is what infuriated me most in this book because it doesn’t even make sense. Firstly, does anybody really believe Harry’s capable of overcoming such powerful magic to put his name in? Secondly, why the fudging hell would Harry want to put his name in the Goblet? He’s a 14 year old child who has endured endless trauma; he’s spent most of his life living in an abusive household and the 3 years he’d been at Hogwarts fighting against Voldemort. He doesn’t want fame or glory, he just wants to live a normal, peaceful life and hang out with his best friends. Ron’s reaction is particularly annoying because he of all people should know Harry wouldn’t put his name in the Goblet. I understand why Ron felt that way and I love him but...

The one thing I did enjoy about this book is the evolution of Harry’s friendships with Ron and Hermione. Hermione is fiercely loyal to Harry and devoted every waking second to helping him succeed in the tasks. Despite Ron’s silly tantrum and their divide through most of the book, their falling out really does cement Harry’s love for Ron.

"He thought he could have coped with the rest of the school's behaviour if he could just have Ron back as his friend."

Harry liked Hermione very much, but she just wasn't the same as Ron. There was much less laughter and a lot more hanging round in the library."

"The thing Harry Potter will miss the most, sir!"

"Harry didn't care, he wouldn't have cared if Karkaroff had given him zero; Ron's indignation on his behalf was worth a hundred points to him."

What can I say? Ron is Harry’s platonic soul mate. That is all.

Barty Crouch’s escape from Azkaban and transformation into Moody is more cunning and intelligent than it was in the movies - this dude switched places with his mother and left her in Azkaban in his place!!

Fred and George were by far the highlight of this book for me. Their characters are great in the movies, but in the books they’re just--

Their antics, wit and banter are top notch. I’d actually forgotten that Harry gave his prize winnings from the Tournament to Fred and George, and it seems like such a huge injustice!! This act of kindness and selflessness on Harry’s part is largely why Fred and George are able to set up Wizard Wheezes. It’s a testament to Harry’s love for Fred and George that he gave them his winnings. Harry may not have needed the money but he could’ve done literally anything with it, and chose to give it to the twins because he believed in their ideas and wanted to give them the opportunity they needed.

GOF was always one of my favourite movies because of this moment:

Voldemort’s return was one of the most chilling, terrifying and shocking moments for me as a kid. The scene in the graveyard still stands out as being one of my favourite scenes from the movies. In the books, it didn’t have the same impact, unfortunately. In fact, this is what was noticeable to me all the way through reading this book - I like the movie more. The movie cuts out the filler, takes the interesting aspects of the book and does them better.

Overall, despite being at the bottom of my list, I still like GOF. It’s a huge step up in world-building and is an entertaining book with a great premise; I loved the Golden Trio’s friendship, the appearances from Dobby and Fred and George’s antics. Unfortunately, this book is let down by the sheer amount of filler, the underwhelming execution of the main plot and too much focus on sub-plots like S.P.E.W.

6. The Sorcerer’s Philosopher’s Stone

It was really difficult to rank Phliosopher’s Stone, because it holds a special place in my heart because it’s where the series began. This book does a great job at introducing Hogwarts and it captures those nostalgic, magical Hogwarts vibes unlike any of the other books. This book is all about the wonder and the joy of Hogwarts, and Hogwarts lives in my heart, so stepping into this magical world with Harry for the first time again was a joy to read.

I love the time spent in this book on experiencing the smaller wonders of the magical world with Harry - Platform 9 3/4, Hogwarts Express, Diagon Alley, Ollivanders, the Sorting Hat, Great Hall feasts, ghosts etc. It’s exciting and fun to read about, and truly a gem of a book for children.

Seeing Harry go from living in a cupboard and suffering abuse and neglect to an incredible world full of wonder and people who want to get to know him and show him kindness was a joy to read. I love the development of Harry, Ron and Hermione’s friendship and how, despite how short the book is, it’s developed properly. Their friendship with Hermione doesn’t happen overnight, but by the end there’s a genuine bond and trust between them.

But of course, as the first book in the series, the plot is lacking and the writing isn’t at its strongest. Also, despite how short it is I did feel a little bored reading the second half. It’s a great entry to the series and does a wonderful job at establishing the world, main trio and other characters, but in the grander scheme of the series it’s quite bland a forgettable.

5. The Deathly Hallows

Now this one came as a big surprise to me, because before my re-read I considered The Deathly Hallows to be my favourite book, but I just didn’t enjoy it this time around. The first 50-60% of this book got me like:

I was bored as hell. The travelling, the hunting for Horcruxes, Dumbledore’s backstory, the bickering between Harry, Ron and Hermione...it was tiresome. Fortunately, amongst that there were a lot of isolated things that I enjoyed.

Firstly, I adore the Tale of the Three Brothers, it’s interesting and I love the depiction of it in the movies - it’s just so cool!

Secondly, Ron and Hermione are very cute in this book, and for the first time I appreciated them as a romantic ship.

Thirdly, Harry looking through Sirius’ room and finding a letter from Lily broke my heart. This moment is so touching and completely unexpected, since I’d forgotten about it over the years.

(credit to alessiatrunifo for this stunning fanart)

Fourthly, LUNA LOVEGOOD. You know what? I have no qualms in saying Luna is one of my new favourite characters since my re-read. I always liked her, but she never stood out to me, and that’s changed. It’s not just that she’s unique and wacky, but that she’s fiercely independent, moral, kind and loyal. Luna has such a strong sense of who she is and she doesn’t let anyone or anything contradict that.

Can I also admit that I might slightly ship Harry and Luna now? 🙊 Luna seeing through Harry’s disguise as “Barney Weasley” based on his facial expressions alone and their reactions to the possibility of the other being in danger touched my heart.

"'She will [survive],' said Harry. He could not bear to contemplate the alternative. 'She's tough Luna, much tougher than you'd think. She's probably teaching all the inmates about Wrackspurts and Nargles.'"

"Oh, no, I didn't want you to be caught!"

They’re cute, okay?

Finally, Kreacher! This was perhaps one of the biggest surprises from reading this book, because I’d completely forgotten about Kreacher’s story. And boy, oh, boy did this pull on my heartstrings. Kreacher has one of the most tragic backstories in the HP universe and he absolutely deserves the redemption he got in this book. I loved seeing him develop a genine relationship with Harry, Ron and Hermione, and the fact that they never went back for him made me so sad. Poor Kreacher!

I enjoyed all of these elements of the first half of the book, and then I got to The Sacking of Severus Snape and it was like:

This is where the book finally took off for me (unfortunately, it took 30 chapters to get there) and as soon as Harry, Ron and Hermione are back in Hogwarts I couldn’t put it down. There are so many brilliant moments and things I loved that all I can really do is bullet point them:

The character reunions.

Percy finally redeeming himself!!!!

McGonnagal being the most badass to ever badass.

Neville Longbottom owns my heart ❤❤❤

Neville's grandmother's response to finding out Neville was fighting in the battle - "Naturally [he is]. Excuse me, I must go and assist him."

Ron and Hermione's first kiss!! and Harry’s reaction to it - "Is this the moment? OI! There's a war going on here!"

Percy handing in his resignation whilst Stupefy-ing his boss - "Hello, Minister! Did I mention I'm resigning?"

The Forest Again was such an emotional chapter. It got me good.

"You'll stay with me?" "Until the very end." 😭

"Harry, you wonderful boy. You brave, brave man."

"Perhaps those who are best suited to power are those who have never sought it. Those, who, like you, have leadership thrust upon them, and take up the mantle because they must, and find to their own surprise that they wear it well."

Did I mention that Neville is bloomin' amazing?

Kreacher!!!!!! "Fight! Fight! Fight for my master, defender of the house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord in the name of brave Regalus! Fight!"

Reading The Flaw in the Plan was soooo much more satisfying than watching it play out on-screen in the movie.

In many ways DH has some of the best, most satisfying moments of any of the books. It’s a strong conclusion to the series and there’s so much that I loved about it; so many memorable and emotional moments (Dobby and Fred’s deaths still hit hard 20 years later). Unfortunately, it was dragged down by the first half of the book and the epilogue. I tried so hard to keep an open mind about the epilogue, but the truth is it still BLOWS. And the more time that passes the more I resent the decisions that were made about character deaths. I understand that the stakes were high and we needed to lose characters close to our hearts but Fred?? Dobby??? Remus??? NO! Just no, okay? I don’t accept that.

4. The Order of the Phoenix

Now, The Order of the Phoenix had similar issues as DH for me - it had a very slow start but a great ending. I did take a couple of months break in the middle of reading this one and distinctly remember slogging my way through the first half and devouring the second half.

I’ve made no secret over the years that Sirius and Remus are two of favourite HP characters, so I expected to enjoy OOTP a lot for that reason. I did really enjoy all the smatterings of Sirius and Remus we go throughout this book. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough for me. This book really highlighted for me how limited Harry’s POV was, because I wanted more of an insight into the Order but Harry was kept in the dark the entire time which was frustrating.

One of the main character highlights of this book is the legend Minverva McGonnagal. Her sass, strength and determination to defend Hogwarts and its students against Dolores is astounding. Here are some of my favourite McGonnagal moments:

"Well, usually when a person shakes their head they mean 'no.'"

"Can I offer you a cough drop, Dolores?"

"I should have made my meaning plainer. [Harry] has achieved high marks in all Defence Against the Dark Arts tests set by a compotent teacher."

Defending Hagrid against Umbridge.

And of course:

(Still can’t believe the movie robbed us of this!)

Time for a less popular opinion - I loved Harry in this book. In general, this book made me feel very protective of Harry, because Harry is bloomin’ incredible and deserves so much better than what he gets in this book. He’s always had a bad rep in OOTP for being an annoying, angsty teenager, but in my opinion, this is Harry at his most relatable and lovable. After everything Harry went through, he’s entitled to be angry with the world. He endured everything that he did and took the responsibility of the world onto his shoulders with little complaint, and in OOTP he reaches breaking point. Honestly, I’m surprised it didn’t happen sooner. The adults in Harry’s life are glaringly irresponsible in this book. Not only do they force him back to the Dursley’s after the hugely traumatic events of GOF based on some bull about “blood magic”, but they purposefully hide the truth from him even though that puts him at greater risk and adds to his emotional distress. Everyone around Harry expects him to be mature and act like an adult when he’s fighting against the darkest wizard of all time, yet don’t give him the courtesy or respect of telling him the truth about significant things that impact him and the people he loves. Sirius os the only person that refuses to belittle Harry, but in some ways, his behaviour is just as damaging as those that tried to shelter Harry from the truth, because he expects too much of Harry and projects James’ personality onto him. The adults around Harry fail him to such an extent in this book that he establishes the DA because he can’t even rely on the adults around him to keep him and his friends safe. Harry’s emotions in this book aren’t only understandable, but justified and I felt an even deeper connection to him as a result. His vulnerability shows his strength and courage more than ever before. This is the point where he goes from the Chosen One to a true champion, because even when he reaches rock bottom and wants to give up, he doesn’t walk away. I love Harry so much.

The Department of Mysteries is by far one of my favourite sections from any of the books. I love the friendship dynamics, Luna, Neville and Ginny are given the chance to really shine, the stakes are high, the action is great and despite the trauma of Sirius’ death, that moment is so hard-hitting and memorable. This section of the book just took it to a new level for me. It was really great.

The emotion of Sirius’ death was captured so perfectly, and is such a huge turning point for Harry. Like I said above, choosing to go on even after losing Sirius proves that Harry is a true hero; that he isn’t just doing what he was doing out of obligation or has been told to but because he believes in doing the right thing. I best move on before I continue to speak about how amazing Harry James Potter is.

Now we come to Neville. Can you believe that I’d actually forgot the details of Neville being the Chosen One? It was a blast learning about that again and how he’s connected to the prophecy. I also loved that we got to see his family and not just be told about it via dialogue. Neville is by far one of the most loveable and interesting minor characters in the series. He has so many great moments in books 1-4, but he really shines in OOTP.

The more I write about this book, the more I find things to love. It’s just a shame that the first half lets it down, because overall, I think there’s a lot of great material here in terms of plot and character development.

3. The Chamber of Secrets

I know that The Chamber of Secrets is generally ranked low amongst most fans, but I love it. At this point, the books were more simplistic and just fun, and I like that. I also have to acknowledge that I have a deep affinity for the COS movie - I grew up watching it over and over, and of all the movies it’s still the one I know best and always come back to (still can’t believe the “Why couldn’t it be follow the butterflies line?” wasn’t even in the books!)

I love all of the different elements in this book:

Dobby

The Burrow

The flying car

Whomping Willow

Moaning Myrtle

This idiot

Gilderoy Lockhart is one of my favourite antagonists in the entire series, because he isn’t intentionally bad, he’s just an arrogant fool. His primary concern is his image and reputation and he was willing to go to any lengths to maintain it. He’s a bad person in a subtle and hilarious way.

Generally speaking, there are too many fun and entertaining moments to count in this book. I love the childish-ness of this book in comparison to the darker tone the series adopts from POA onwards. For me, COS still has the silliness and merriment that I really associate HP with. Entertainment value aside, the plot in COS is actually well executed.

As a short, concise and effective plot, Tom Riddle’s diary and the Chamber of Secrets works incredibly well. I liked the mystery and suspense of the culprit of the Muggle born attacks, and the big moments connected to it - finding out that Hagrid might be the perpetrator, Ginny being possessed by Voldemort, Hermione being petrified, Harry speaking Parceltongue. The stakes are high and this plot is strong enough to keep momentum going between the more light hearted moments.

Overall, COS is a quick, easy and fun read. It may not be the best written or complex book in the series, but I’m a huge advocate for it. Not only is it highly entertaining, but it also introduced a lot of great and important aspects to the series (Horcruxes, Tom Riddle being the heir of Slytherin, Harry being connected to Voldemort, polyjuice potion and Dobby), and built very well on what was established in PS.

2. The Half Blood Prince

The biggest surprise of this re-read was how much I bloomin’ loved Half Blood Prince. It has the perfect balance of plot, character development, mystery, humour and emotion. Out of the bigger books in the series, this was the one I finished the fastest (2 days), because it was quite literally un-put-downable (yes, that’s a word).

First, let’s talk about the plot, because wow, it’s a good ‘un. In my opinion, it’s the strongest and best written plot from any of the books. There’s Voldemort’s backstory, the development of Harry and Dumbledore’s relationship, Snape’s backstory, the mystery of the Half Blood Prince, Harry’s rivalry/suspicion of Malfoy, hunting Horcruxes and Dumbledore’s death. This book feels like an incredible pay-off for things that have been built up in the previous 5 books. We learn so much about certain characters - Dumbledore, Snape, Malfoy, Voldemort, Ginny - and regardless of whether I liked those characters or not, I was invested. The clues that Snape is the Half Blood Prince are cleverly interwoven within the narrative and the mystery keeps you guessing, even when you know who it is.

The last part of this book from Chapter 26 onwards was just explosive. Although I knew what was coming, I was surprised at the level of emotion I felt when Dumbledore and Harry were in the cave and when Dumbledore died. My heart was racing and I had tears in my eyes.

This book just doesn’t let up for a second. If we aren’t learning more about Voldemort, we’re following Draco to see what he’s up to or unravelling mysteries around the Half Blood Prince or trying to get information from Slughorn about horcruxes. Even the down time is enjoyable to read in this book (Chapter 9 was one of my favourite chapters to read) and the friendships and banter are stellar.

In terms of character development, this is also one of the strongest books. Dumbledore is finally developed beyond the omnipotent Gandalf-esque archetype and we learn bout his past and his flaws.

"I have already proven to you, I make mistakes like the next man. In fact, being - forgive me - rather cleverer than most men, my mistakes tend to be correspondingly huger."

The focus on Dumbledore also sets it up for his death, and you know what? It works. If we’d lost Dumbledore prior to HBP, I would’ve been shocked and upset, but losing him at this point hurts that much more because we learn so much more about him, see how important he is to Harry and how vital his guidance is in defeating Voldemort. Dumbledore’s death feels like all hope is lost, and so soon after losing Sirius it feels even harsher.

Insight into Snape’s back-story finally explains some of his motivations and actions (though it does not condone them).

Although Voldemort’s backstory doesn’t necessarily add to our understanding of him, it’s interesting to see how he came into the world, and learn about his family background. What this demonstrated most to me is that a lot of the time there is no reason for evil. Voldemort didn’t really have any motivations for what he did. Sure, he didn’t have the perfect, happy childhood but there isn’t really enough substance there to try to explain how or why he became the monster that he did.

More could’ve been done with Malfoy, but I enjoyed him having a bigger presence in this book and how the idea that family shapes who we are isn’t always true. Draco does what is expected of him from his family, but ultimately, he has his own conscience and inner turmoil that forces him to question things.

As for Harry...he goes to a dark place in this book. OOTP has always been cpnsidered as the “angsty Harry”, but HBP takes Harry to new places. Harry feels more ruthless, reckless and determined in this book than any other. There’s an underlying sense of apathy that lingers from Sirius’ death. He obsesses about his mission to extract the memory from Slughorn and his lessons with Dumbledore, and fixates on his hatred for Draco and Snape. The fact that Harry uses Sectumsempra on Draco is honestly the most alarming thing that Harry does because it shows how dark a place Harry has gone to. He knows the spell is going to inflict serious harm and yet he uses it anyway.

Generally, Harry abuses the potions book and manipulates, lies and takes advantage of almost everyone around him. I really see his dependency on that book and his choice to exploit it for his own benefit as adverse effects of the grief and trauma he endured. For once, he has the upper hand and I’d even argue that despite the Half Blood Prince being anonymous stranger to him, he relies on him as a mentor or parental figure. Yet despite it being a dark book for Harry, he also seems to get some genuine peace with Ginny. Although I’m not a Hinny shipper, it was so nice to see Harry experience some normality and contentment. No matter what he goes through, he remains kind hearted. I actually feel like this book more than any other emphasises that point - Harry could just as easily have gone down the same path as Vodlemort, but he made a choice not to.

“In spite of all the temptation you have endured, all the suffering, you remain pure of heart, just as pure as you were at the age of eleven, when you stared into a mirror that reflected your hears desire and it showed you the only way to thwart Lord Voldement, and not immortality or riches. Harry, have you any idea how few wizards could have seen what you saw in the mirror?"

Plot and character development aside, the comedy in this book is gold and I appreciate the movie (and Daniel Radcliffe) for maximising on that to create some of the best and funniest scenes in the movie franchise. Chapter 18 in particular was hilarious.

Now I have to speak about one of my favourite moments from this book:

Since GoF, Fleur was grossly mistreated and discriminated against by the Weasley’s (Molly and Ginny in particular). The way they treated her was sexist and xenophobic pure and simple. They had no reason to dislike her and all of their reasons seemed to be built on some flimsy notion that she was full of herself (why, just because she was beautiful? and even if she was, what’s wrong with confidence?!) and that she was annoying and loud because she was French. Seeing Fleur finally stand up to their bigotry was fantastic. It’s a moment I’d been waiting for for so long and I’m so glad we got it, because frankly, Molly and Ginny’s beahviour towards Fleur needed to be addressed because it was disgusting.

Overall, HBP demonstrates the strengths of HP as a series. In comparison to the other books, I don’t really have anything to crituqe I enjoyed all of it from beginning to end, which is why it almost took the top spot in this ranking.

1. The Prisoner of Azkaban

It was really close between first and second place, but Prisoner of Azkaban just managed it. This is where the HP series truly takes off and starts to shine. In comparison to what we got in PS and COS it’s richer - the plot is complex, the world building is more developed, the characters are great and it’s generally an entertaining read but with added complexity in comparison to its predecessors.

I like that POA allows us to spend so much time in Hogwarts hanging out, but that the plot comes to the forefront more. We’re all so familiar with HP at this point that it’s easy to forget the impact the plot-twists must’ve punched the first time we read them. But for me, it’d been so long since I’d read the series, that it really was like reading them for the first time and POA was one of the ones that surprised me at various points.

I’d forgot details like:

The Shrieking Shack got its name and reputation because Lupin locked himself up there during transformations; The Whomping Willow was planted to hide the secret passage to the Shrieking Shack and prevent Lupin from escaping and hurting people in his werewolf form

Crookshanks was Sirius’ ally

Sirius escaped Azkaban in his dog form

Unsurprisingly, Remus and Sirius were the highlight of this book for me. I know it’s basic but I really love them and the two of them having such a focus in this book really makes it.

Remus truly shines in this book. He’s a lovable character – a great teacher, a supportive mentor and a loyal friend. His tragic backstory only adds to his character. Snape tries to villainise Remus for being a werewolf, but the reality is that he’s a victim. He was an innocent child that was bitten by a vicious, cruel monster and has to live with the consequences of that for the rest of his life. He carries so much self-loathing, fear and insecurity because of what he is and he doesn’t deserve it. Dumbledore is the only one that separates the man from the wolf and takes Remus on his merits. He knows that Remus is a genuinely good person and a talented teacher, and he’s willing to make the necessary adjustments to enable Remus equal opportunity. Not only does it benefit Remus for Dumbledore to do this, but the students too, because let’s face it, Remus is a bloody damn good teacher.

Remus is arguably the most decent and responsible adult character in the entire HP universe. He respects Harry’s agency but also acknowledges that he’s still a child that needs protection and guidance. Instead of lying to Harry or throwing him into dangerous situations, he does perhaps the most helpful thing any adult ever does for Harry – he teaches him how to defend himself. I love that Lupin and Harry’s relationship in this book foreshadows the formation of the DA in OOTP; Lupin is the only one that teaches Harry practical DATDA skills and in the absence of Lupin as a teacher, Harry then takes on that role as a mentor and provides his friends with the skills to defend themselves.

Now we come to Sirius. Introducing Sirius as the enemy – a dangerously, mad criminal who is conspiring with Voldemort and wants Harry dead – and then revealing him to be the complete opposite was genius. Part of me wished I could completely forget so that I could experience the utter shock of finding that out for the first time. The fact that Harry saw his parents in the Mirror of Erised in PS and then finds Sirius and Lupin in this book touches my heart. Sirius is a direct link to Harry’s parents unlike anything he’s ever had. Although on the surface, their bond develops too quickly, considering that Harry is 13 years old and all he wants more than anything is to have parents and/or a connection to his parents, his quick attachment to Sirius makes sense. The thought of living with Sirius makes Harry so happy that he used it to power his patronus!!! Likewise, Sirius clings to Harry knowing that he’s the son of his best friends. He spent the entirety of his time in Azkaban knowing Harry was still out there somewhere without James and Lily and in danger from Voldemort. Immediately, Sirius provides Harry with the type of comfort about his parents that he’s never received before.

“You think the dead we have loved ever truly leave us? You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble? Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him. How else could you produce that particular Patronus? Prongs rode again last night.”

One of the highlights of this book is the scene where Snape catches Harry with the Marauders Map. That quote is just legendary.

"Mr Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business. Mr Prongs agrees with Mr Moony, and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git. Mr Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a Professor. Mr Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball."

Admittedly, the time travel in this book is problematic as hell. I’m grateful that Harry and Hermione were able to save Buckbeak and Sirius due to time travel, but if it was up to me, I’d remove time travel from the universe completely. It doesn’t fit, it’s too complicated and creates too many issues. McGonnagal condones the use of time travel for Hermione to attend extra lessons and yet won’t use it to tackle real, important problems, like I don’t know, war, death, disease, disasters etc. Not to mention the entire Voldemort problem and Harry becoming the Chosen One could’ve been resolved by going back to the night of James and Lily’s deaths.

One of my favourite elements of this book was seeing Ron and Hermione’s friendship with Hagrid. A lot of emphasis is placed on Harry’s friendship with Hagrid. but this book shows how devoted Ron and Hermione are to Hagrid. They both spend a lot of their time comforting him and helping him to prepare for Buckbeak’s trial.

This book has a great balance – it’s still on the shorter side but it doesn’t suffer for it. and here’s plenty of plot and character development. Ironically, whilst HBP is my favourite because of the emphasis on the main plot, POA is my favourite because it takes a break from Voldemort. It’s refreshing to take a step away from Voldemort and put the focus onto a new villain in Sirius, and then for the twist to be revealed that he’s not actually a villain but Harry’s godfather. The time-turner is the biggest draw-back in this book, but I can overlook that because there’s so much more to love in this book. It’s definitely the most re-readable book in terms of the length and plot. This book is a happy medium which incorporates the strengths from all of the other books in a smaller package than HBP - it’s fun but expands on the universe, introduces brilliant new characters and has a depth and complexity that the first two lack whilst not having the filler that books 4-7 have.

Conclusion

It’s hard to read these books without it being mingled with childhood nostalgia, so that undoubtedly informed my ranking. Despite being a children's series, the books still hold up reading them as an adult. I enjoyed rediscovering the smaller details I’d forgotten over the years and feel much closer to the universe as a result. The characters and their dynamics are by far my favourite thing about HP. I also enjoy the whimsical magic and how this is offset against the darker tone later in the series. However, in light of JKR’s hateful rhetoric, my attention was drawn to the problematic elements of the books such as the portrayal of slavery in addition to:

Lack of major/well-written characters of color

Anti-semitic caricature of goblin bankers

Cho Chang’s name (which many consider offensive), stereotypical placement in Ravenclaw (the smart house) while being the only East-Asian character in the books, and she functions almost exclusively as a love interest

Ableism all-around

Nagini, an evil snake who gets chopped in half, is actually an Asian woman according to Fantastic Beasts, making her the second of two named East Asian characters in the franchise

“Magic in North America,” a history of magic in North America published on Pottermore that grossly misappropriates and misconstrues Native American cultures

Anthony Goldstein, retconned token Jewish character, also stereotypically named

General stereotypical naming of non-Anglo-Saxon characters

Remus Lupin’s werewolf status as an AIDS metaphor while depicting his condition as making him monstrous, and the man who bit him goes around biting people for kicks

Declaring that Dumbledore is gay with exactly 0 in-canon references, and no other LGBTQ+ representation (article credit: Separating Art from Artist - Thoughts on J.K. Rowling written by Melina List on Medium)

This is the last time I will read these books, partly because I’ve outgrown them, but mostly because I can’t, without a heavy conscience ignore the relationship between JKR’s hateful views and her works. If you want to learn more about this, I’d recommend checking out a post from my_weird_bookish_heart on Instagram which explains why we couldn’t and shouldn’t ignore the problems in these books by adopting a “art is separate from the artist” mentality (if you would like the link to this please message me and I’l be happy to share it. We can all still love and enjoy HP, but we all have a moral duty to acknowledge and take responsibility for this and not feign ignorance. Views like JKR’s directly harm individuals and groups, not just in the trans community but also the Jewish and LGBTQIA+ communities and people of colour. I can’t and won’t accept that in silence. No matter how special HP was to me as a child, the lives of real humans are unquestionably more important.

Thank you for reading.

#hp #harry potter #hp books #harry potter books #hp review #hp book review #hp meta #mine #my meta #reposting from my sideblog cos i spent legit HOURS writing this and adding gifs and don't wanna lose it when i delete the blog

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saltpepperbeard · 5 years ago

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A Jotato’s THG Story (novel?)

So a few days ago, the lovely @everlarkedalways asked me to Weave My THG Tale™. And, in being VERY on brand in regards for my THG Story, I’m late to the party lol! Mostly because of work, partly because I was avoiding Ballad spoilers, and a tad bit because...I’m a potato. BUT, now that I am free of any large projects and finally have Ballad in my hands, I’m finally able to look past my potato roots and talk about how a certain wATER POTATO ARCHER CHANGED MY LIFE lmao.

Ara has jokes though, let me tell you. “Keep it short” l m a o; THIS IS ABOUT TO BE A NOVEL AND WE KNOW IT. ARE YOU READING BALLAD? HERE’S A NEW 500 PAGE BOOK FOR YOU TBH-

I’ve told this story a few times before, but it’s always delightful to look back on things and see all the twists and turns I’ve experienced with this franchise. The most notable being, I started out HATING Hunger Games lol!

I was in ninth grade when THG started to become like, a global phenomenon. Everyone was reading it, everyone was talking about it, and it was everywhere. And for whatever reason, instead of actually sitting down and, idk, GIVING IT A TRY LMAO, my reaction instead was to DESPISE IT. Guess it was that edgy, irate, “I’m ABOVE the general masses ha look at me,” fresh-out-of-middle-school mentality. And also, my justification for hating it so much was along the lines of, “Wow it’s just a series about kids killing each other? WHAT’S THE APPEAL???”

Which like fjlksjdksds...If I could look back on my early 2012 self?

She had no idea what was in store for her lmao.

Anyway, the premiere of the movie came and went, and I was still hard set in my ways. THAT WAS, until that same summer. I can’t exactly remember which clips I stumbled upon first? But I know I came across the Joshifer+Liz Banks interview, and also a ton of Perfectly Legal Movie Clips™ on YouTube. Both of which silently chained my soul without me realizing LMAO. I remember thinking that the main actors were so cute and played off each other well (AGAIN LMAO, GIRL, BIG STORM COMING), and also remember being totally intrigued by all the clips I watched. It was mainly clips of Katniss in the arena, and I think it made me realize that wow hey, there’s an ACTUAL STORY HERE, WITH A FEMALE PROTAGONIST NO LESS.

The story gets a tad fuzzy for me here, but I do believe I got the books and quickly read through them shortly after I essentially watched the entire movie on YouTube through clips jdksljdks. I can’t really recall what I thought about the books really? Because, I think I BREEZED through them. I was so excited that I just ZOOMED TF THROUGH. I inhaled the series in one GIANT GULP. I think I even read THG in a single day jdlsjklaads. It definitely wasn’t a cautious read through to get a better sense of the detail and literary devices.

BUT, despite my excitement, I still hadn’t reached the God Tier “OBSESSIVE” stage yet. The light bulb hadn’t fully come on yet. It wasn’t until late 2013 when Catching Fire came out that I REALLY STARTED TO GO BALLISTIC LMAO. Actually, one of my fondest THG memories comes from this time, because I think it was really like, the OFFICIAL starting block for my obsession.

I was riding on a bus to a Theatre Competition, and my best friend had just gotten the CF Soundtrack for us to listen to. I remember being absolutely enamored with it- Mirrors, We Remain, and Lean in particular. And idk, something at that point just kind of told me that Catching Fire was going to be my anchor. Sure enough, after the competition was over, said friend and I went to go see the movie together.

And I astral projected lmao. I ACHIEVED HUNGER GAMES ENLIGHTENMENT. THE LIGHT BULB SWITCHED TF ON.

I was quick to see it again the following day, and I think saw it another two times in theaters after that. I also started drawing fanart of it, and looking for more pictures/interviews. And the want for more content, the DESIRE to go crazy about it, is what eventually lead me to finding the fandom here on Tumblr. I had had a Tumblr since 2012, but never really used it with a purpose. But when I realized there were people posting all sorts of stuff about THG? Boom- another light bulb. I followed tons of people, and officially changed my url to what it is today. “Star’s” for my internet alias at the time, and “Mahogany” for my love of Effie/that Iconic Line.

HOWEVER LOL, Tumblr would lead me towards a different side, something I didn’t expect to get pulled into so hard at all. Because, I distinctly remember coming on one night in December of 2013, and seeing @joshmopolitan and a few others posting about Josh going to the UK game. And that of course, lead me down the Celebrity Rabbit Hole, and lead me towards the Chaotic, Wonderful, Crazy-

JOSHIFER FANDOM.

((Also, before you crinkle your nose, *raises cane* BACK IN MY DAY, EVERYONE SHIPPED JOSHIFER LOL. *Snow voice* DON’T LIE. Like, everyone thought they were cute to some sort of degree, or believed they were going to get together. Shoutout to the Joshifer Golden Days, man.))

And thank goodness for it tbh. Because it was JUST when I was itching to write fanfiction with everyone else, and just when I was struggling HARDCORE with writing Everlark. @joshmopolitan and @youarebeingridiculous were sort of my introductions into RPF, with @youarebeingridiculous giving me nudges towards my first Everlark fic, before also nudging me towards my first Joshifer fic. And when my first Joshifer fic garnered attention/when I had a blast writing it? ANOTHER. LIGHT. BULB LOL.

So I was dead af from that point on. I was absolutely drawn in. Even though I was still invested in THG, Joshifer was definitely my main focus from 2014-2016ish. I was there for the typical ship wars, there to read and write all the fanfiction, there to read all the theories, and there to partake in all the crazy moments. Shoutout to Cannes 2014 in particular lmao; I was in the car and my phone started going off like CRAZY, with many of my friends SCREAMING at me about the events/articles that had transpired.

Being attached to Joshifer also allowed me to write my first, and so far only, full length, These Words are a Lie. It started out as just a four part series, two parts of which I actually published. Befffooorrre getting to the third part and realizing I had WAY too much to deal with/explain/write, which consequently lead to me pulling them down and expanding upon them! And thus my messy, lovely, 25 chapter peanut journey started lmao. Though I look back on it now and realize how disjointed it was, I’m so thankful I was able to see that story completely through. I’m also very thankful for the SUPPORT and following it got. Wouldn’t have gotten through without y’all!

ANYWAY LMAO, because this is my THG story and not my Joshifer story, let’s get back to that. 2014 was WHACK because...LG was utterly tripping with its promotional material. And to think, it was just the START of odd/lacking promo, seeing as they were SOMEHOW WORSE WITH MJ2 LMAO. But even though I was incredibly salty at the time, it was so fun to be mad and chomping at the bit with everyone else lol. The SUFFERING OF NOT HAVING ANY NEW CONTENT BROUGHT US CLOSER TOGETHER. Also, going to Best Buy to watch the teaser trailer under Heavy Guard??? Was an EXPERIENCE LOL??? But man was I so stoked to get my poster and pin, because that was some of the first merch I got!

ALSO, MJ1 was the time where I got the idea to create a small YouTube series called “Tributes React.” I really really wish I could have been in the fandom earlier, because it would have been, dare I say, FIRE LOL to react to more than just the MJ1 and MJ2 trailers. But it was so so fun regardless, and everyone’s participation was incredible! And now all of our early, embarrassing, INTENSE fangirling is stuck here/memorialized forever PFFFF.

And, not to mention, Fran Solo himself watched one of them. Someone tweeted the video at him, and he tweeted back that it made all the hard times worth it. MY GREATEST FANDOM ACCOMPLISHMENT RIGHT THERE???

And finally getting to watch MJ1 in theaters lmao omg. I went with my friend before, and also one of my guy friends. And the entire time, he was HARD STARING AT ME WAITING FOR ME TO CRY LOL. SO HE COULD TEASE ME. AND HE GOT HIS WISH BECAUSE OF COURSE THE LAST 30 MINUTES OR SO UTTERLY RUINED ME. I remember shivering so so SO bad when the rescue mission for Peeta started, and having to hold my friends’ hands when they were creeping through the Tribute Center, and utterly SOBBING when Peeta attacked Katniss. Because...hello...I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again...WAY WAY MORE INTENSE THAN THE BOOK LMAO??

And then came the beginning of the end. I remember that promo time was even DRYER for MJ2 lmao, and that we were all DYING. Like, I think the big trailer didn’t release until like, SEPTEMBER??? WHICH...LG WHAT THE ACTUAL-

And we were also back to watching trailers in Best Buys jfkssdkdlsk. My Best Buy was also DUMB and didn’t have any posters, but @infinitegraces was awesome enough to send me numerous copies! Bless you, thank you; I had them on my wall all through college lol! DESPITE THEM BEING A HAUNTING REMINDER OF HOW HARD LG SMACKED US LMAO.

Despite my salt towards the INITIAL promo though, the premieres and what not definitely lead to MJ2 having a special place in my heart. I had just gone off to college, and was a timid, lonely little freshman with nowhere to turn. But the fandom was there for me, and MJ2 promos/premieres gave me something to be excited for. It all kept me going through that ROUGH first semester, and was there for me before I met my best friends. So thank you MJ2, and thank you all for sharing that excitement with me! <3

Also, I’d like to mention that I was SO desperate to continue the tradition of seeing the premiere with my friend thaaaaatttt...I left for Thanksgiving break two or three days early/skipped class JUST to make it back home in time to see it with her lol! I WASN’T HERE TO PLAY GAMES, Y’ALL. THG > ACADEMICS APPARENTLY PFFFF.

After that though, things kind of quieted down. I found friends and activities in college, the movies were done, and Joshifer was dying out. It lead me to use Tumblr sporadically, not posting AS much as I had before. I still had tons of love for everything, and still enjoyed coming on whenever I did!

Then I sort of stumbled upon our “renaissance,” like the lovely @everlarkedalways posting re-reads and re-watches. It tugged me in again, and made me excited to post content! I also branched out and began to write Everlark, and began talking about them/the books/meta more than I did in my earlier years.

And of course, said renaissance lead me to attending TOASTCON LMAO. Which I somehow managed to name. On accident. *Dabs unironically*

That of course, was such an amazing experience. Going to movie filming sites has always been on my bucket list, so getting to go to HUNGER GAMES SITES??? WITH FANDOM PEOPLE???? GOD TIER??????

I was also suffering from major panic/anxiety problems that summer, having just graduated college and being thrown out in the Real World™. So once again, THG and its fandom were there for me when nothing else could be. And despite me feeling off mentally, despite me feeling plagued by fatigue, I still thoroughly enjoyed meeting everyone/having such a once in a lifetime experience. Also, getting to FLEX on my friends when we watch the movies and go like “I WAS THERE! I WAS THERE!! I WAS THERE!!!” is...A Time PFFFF.

Then of course, I started working a full time job, and shifted a bit away from Tumblr/the fandom. Not DELIBERATELY; more like, I was too Mentally Tired to really do much after work. But now that Ballad is here, and now that we have new content once more? I feel like I’m waking back up. Hell, I even went to Atlanta to see MORE film sites right before the virus started to make its rounds.

And so here I am lol! A SEASONED THG VET WITH SEVEN YEARS AND COUNTING UNDER MY BELT. I would very much love to tag everyone who had an impact on me, and/or who I’ve interacted with and shared fun times with over the years. But A. Everyone really out here CONSTANTLY CHANGING THEIR URL’s, and B. The number would be Too Great and I would inevitably forget someone on accident.

SO THEN, if you’re reading this, and we’ve ever shared some kind of THG experience together, thank you, from the bottom of my heart. THG has been such a wondrous experience for me, and it’s lead me to meet all sorts of amazing, talented individuals. It’s also been there for me during darker times, and has supported me in every way possible.

I love you all, I love being here, and HERE’S TO MANY MORE TAGS/RAMBLES IN THE FUTURE LOL! Like lmao, a new movie, you guys??? WHAT??? TRIBUTES REACT ANYONE???

-Jotato Out <3

#Jodi rambles #Like #REALLY //REALLY// RAMBLES LOL #thg #THG Story #holy shit i'm so tired katniss #i've been writing for an HOUR LOL #I'M SO OUT OF PRACTICE WHEN IT COMES TO WRITING SPRINTS MAN #MY 2014 SELF IS TELLING ME TO STOP COMPLAINING BECAUSE SHE WOULD WRITE FOR EIGHT HOURS STRAIGHT GJSKLDJSK #I'M RUSTY LOL #RUSTY I TELL YOU #also this is probably littered with typos #what with my Clumsy Thumbsies #but here we are lmao #There's also even MORE stuff I have mention tbh #LIKE I NEARLY FORGOT TRIBUTES REACT LMAO SO I MEAN #WHAT OTHER MEMORIES DID I MISS #WHO CAN SAY #2014-2016 WAS UTTERLY CHALKED FULL

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clarasimone · 5 years ago

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The official birth of Jorleesi ?

I was in the mood for a little meta archeology :-)

I don’t know how many fans experienced what I did but, as I was watching Season 1, years after it aired, I began perusing the web in the hopes of finding delectable spoilers confirming that Jorleesi would become canon. And what I fell upon was this:

Oh how my heart rejoiced ! I thought, for sure, the series would give us A KISS. One of many ! Of course, we did get a kiss but we got this one:

I had not realized that the pic that I had found floating on the web was taken from a behind-the-scene photo shoot or documentary featurette.

Yet, to this day, I stand fascinated by how this misleading perspective shot fueled Jorleesi. I mean, it’s been almost 10 years now and that behind-the-scenes perspective on Iain Glen and Emilia Clarke still haunts our nights, inspires writing and makes our soul soar....

Hard not to when even HBO jumped on the bandwagon. Witness this page on their website:

https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/season-01/10-fire-and-blood/synopsis

If you click on the link above and you hover the mouse over Jorah and Dany, you’ll see a hidden tag appear saying: "Ser Jorah and Daenerys kiss" ! So, EXCUSEZ-MOI, but someone at HBO was shipping them before or along with us ;-)

Then, there’s this behind-the-scene featurette, only available on Youtube, called “A Horselord’s Funeral” in which the documentary vid cam travels next to the actors, for a few seconds, from the misleading but libido-caressing perspective ;-) In the show we, alas, never see this profile shot of the couple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ts6V7oyBd8

So, the famous pic either comes from a screen cap of a longer version of this shot, or it was taken from a still camera from the same perspective (@houseofthebear is looking for the source!)

To my knowledge, there exists 3 versions of our treasured shot.

VERSION NUMBER 1 (below):

Jorah and Dany remain at a respectable distance and Daenerys is looking passed her Knight but they are touching/grabing each others’ arms, something the actual scene never lets us see! The way Jorah tentatively looks at his Khaleesi, you know something is brewing.... Note the out-of-focus objects/people in the foreground. The cam is peeping toming Dany and Jorah (the same way the vid cam does in the behind-the-scene featurette).

(Segway: there exists a less committed version of the above pic, in which we perceive Jorah’s passionate angst at seeing Dany enter the funeral pyre but it doesn’t look like the prologue to a kiss:)

The real first version of THE KISS inspired many wonderful fanart pieces. From our very own @favor757 below:

And also from these unknown (to me) artists:

In the following rendition, the artist cheated a bit: the characters peer in each other’s eyes :-)

More recently, the pic was also the inspiration for a post-season 8 fanart:

VERSION NUMBER 2:

AH-HA ! They are leaning in for THE KISS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The trajectory seems evident. I still cannot believe it ended up being a tender peck on the cheek given Jorah angling his face to Daenerys’ mouth and she having lowered her eyes to his face... and lips?

This version also gave us wonderful Jorleesi fanart:

Above @heartansoulart

AND NOW... VERSION NUMBER 3:

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it’s almost THE KISS isn’t it ? And where do we find this version ? Wait for it........

We find it on... Iain Glen’s own website, the rascal ;-)))))) Yes, he is the proud Captain of the HMS Jorleesi ;-))))))) http://iainglen.com/film/game-of-thrones/

This version inspired other fanart too.... by artists who took things even farther ;-) Below, if you look at the pic at the bottom, on the left, I believe J+D’s proximity is a manip’...

And then, why not:

(what’s wonderful below is that you can tell it’s art yet the faces look like they come from actual shots, but which ones ? I can’t trace the originals, it’s seamless, it’s magic)

Finally, there’s our very own @salzrand who, if I may venture to say, imagines what happens AFTER THE KISS, every time, but we recognize that alternate perspective of Season’s 1 almost KISS :-)

Now, going back to my autobiographical tale, I waited two seasons to see THE KISS appear because I never noticed that it was all taken from Season 1′s finale ;-) An excusable mistake given the altered perspective. I was waiting for the profile perspective darn it! And never seeing it, I kept thinking the scene was up-coming ;-)

It frustrated me to no end until I just fell down the fanfic and fanart hole and decided to adopt it as canon. Now, I don’t friggin’ care LOL

****************************************************************************************

And, for the sake of comparison, a vid of the actual scene:

youtube

So, as you were dearies !

p.s. if you find other fanart inspired by the 3 versions of the “THE KISS” or if you find other versions of “THE KISS” itself, reblog and add/paste or send them to me, OK ? xxx

#THE KISS GoT meta #Dany x Jorah #Iain Glen #emilia clarke #Ser Jorah Mormont #daenerys targaryen #jorleesi

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ick25 · 4 years ago

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What I think about Inuyasha’s writing.

I used to be a huge Inuyasha fan because I watched it in my teen years (The Latin Spanish dub, not the English dub where I find their voices to be pretty annoying). I would stay awake until eleven o’ clock just to watch a new episode on Cartoon Network and sing along with the translated versions of the intros. My early submissions on Deviantart were fanarts of Inuyasha, I used to draw him like crazy, and the show is even one of my original comic’s main inspirations. So what happened?

I love Inuyasha’s character, but as I grew older, I started hating or not caring about the other characters of the show (Except for Sesshomaru, of course) and grew tired of the story because I felt it wasn’t going anywhere. Inuyasha has good writing, but the pacing and how sometimes you can’t really take it seriously ruins it for me.

I want to talk about this now since I just heard about the sequel that is gonna happen soon with Inuyasha’s Lina Inverse of a daughter and Sesshomaru’s very confused twin daughters, and I’m thinking to myself: “How is Rumiko gonna ruin this story even more”. Don’t get me wrong, the creator, Rumiko Takahashii, is a very talented manga artist and writer, and I respect her, at one point I even saw her as my heroine, but now I want to surpass her.

How can Inuyasha, a story about a half demon, who falls in love with the reincarnation of his ex-girlfriend who can travel through time whenever she feels like it, has a hot demon brother that tried to kill him several times, wields a powerful magical sword forged from the fang of his deceased yet very famous demon father who I want to know more about, a dead human mother who may or may not have been a princess... Where was I going with this? o_o

As an aspiring storyteller/ animator, I want to talk about the problems with Inuyasha’s story, the things I love about it, as well as the bad things in it, and see why Inuyasha isn’t the writing masterpiece everyone likes to believe it is. And by the end, talking about what I would do to improve the story.

This is how I analyze Inuyasha. I never read the manga, so I’m gonna focus on the anime.

1. Inuyasha is a romantic comedy?

Rumiko Takashii is a successful manga artist and considered “The queen of anime”, because her art Style and humor have inspired many of the anime cliches we know today such as the nose bleeds shots, the beach episodes with fan service, and good o’l scenes where the girl calls a boy a pervert before comically sending them flying. She is the creator of another famous work called Ranma 1/2, an anime I used to love as a kid, but now...

I studied how to draw and create mangas and I have learned how to make a good story. After returning to Ranma recently, I have figured out the problem with Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashii’s style is repetitive. Rumiko is capable of writing a good plot and creating very good characters from time to time, but now many of her main characters feel very cliche. In her stories there is always gonna be a pervert, there is always gonna be a bad parent, a rivalry, crazy and or exaggerated situations, goofy looking characters, wise old men or women, beautiful female characters, Japanese or Chinese folklore, fighting, but most importantly, a girl with a love/hate relationship with a dumb, rowdy tsundere boy, where they argue so much that the girl ends up physically abusing the boy and the show passes it for something funny; and those are the ingredients for making a Rumiko Takahashii styled manga/anime.

Rumiko’s forte is in Romantic comedy, sometimes mixing different genres makes a story good and very realistic... If done right, which brings me to my next point.

2. Time travel just for fun.

What is Inuyasha about? It is about a half-demon teenage boy that has to partner with a teenage girl from the modern times, who accidentally travels through time via a magical well that has been in her family’s shinto shrine for generations, to find the shards of a powerful magical jewel that said girl accidentally shatters and scatters all over feudal Japan. This idea alone makes it a very interesting series, either for a book or a TV show.

What went wrong then? I believe the problem started around the third episode were it was shown that Kagome can easily go back to the present, have dinner with her family, take a bath, gather provisions, and even take her god damn bike with her to the past every time she wants without caring about creating a time paradox.

This is played for laughs because of the romantic comedy element, but if you do this in an show with action, deaths, and evil spirits wanting to take over the world, then that fact alone makes the entire story lose credibility, I mean, what is stopping Naraku or any other demon from finding a way to travel to the future through the well to take over a world where demons and magical powers are basically extinct? The fact that only Kagome AND Inuyasha are the only ones who can go through the well? How convenient!

If the time travel well was taken more seriously it could’ve lead to a much more interesting story, but apparently nobody cares about time travel and the effects it could have in the history of Japan. I think there were two instances that I recall from the anime (Before Inuyasha Second Act, because I already stopped caring about the show when it came out) where time travel was or could’ve been relevant; the episode about the man eating mask that had a Shikon shard for hundreds of years, and the second movie of Inuyasha where the whole group was immune to a time stopping spell because Kagome’s medical kit and necklace from the future created some kind of time barrier around them.

And nobody cared about any of those things afterwards! Not the fact that there could’ve been one extra shard, or that Naraku was present during the time barrier incident and never wondered about it. Both the episode and movie scene were just ways to have Inuyasha being the only one who can come to Kagome’s rescue because their love is the main focus. Speaking of love...

3. Frustrating love drama.

Part of Inuyasha’s tsundere personality comes from the fact that he had his heart broken by everyone’s favorite b***, Kikyo.

Kikyo was the young priestess who sealed Inuyasha in a tree for 50 years, at first it looked like the typical holy person trying to protect her village from a dangerous demon, but in reality, she was in a relationship with him and thought that Inuyasha tricked her so he could steal the Shikon jewel from her. This was because everyone’s favorite a**h*** , Naraku, shape-shifted into both of them to trick them into killing each other.

It’s easy to blame Naraku for this, but that actually shows how they didn’t really “love” each other because of how quickly they turned against the other.

I take this as a cautionary tale for first love. Inuyasha was just infatuated with Kikyo because of her beauty and kindness towards him, and when someone falls in love for the first time they don’t think straight, they don’t know what a real relationship entails, and not knowing that is exactly what happened to these two.

There was a special episode in the anime where we see how Inuyasha and Kikyo met and fell in love, in it we get a scene where Kikyo told Inuyasha that she was gonna give him a gift, which was gonna be the subduing necklace that Kagome tends to abuse a lot, however, Inuyasha decided to give her a gift as well, his mother’s lip balm she left him after dying. A very sweet gesture, right? How does Kikyo react to this?

That’s not a look of love, that’s a look of pity. RECIPROCATE, WOMAN! HE OPENED HIS HEART TO YOU AND YOU JUST FEEL SORRY FOR HIM?!

She does end up changing her mind about the subduing charm, but before this, she didn’t saw him as a person, and she was considered a saint by everyone in the village, but I guess that feeding the poor, nursing people, and playing with children is alright as long as they are humans, that’s almost racist. I hate Shippo, but I bet she wouldn’t be so caring about him or his dad if she saw them.

Kikyo absolutely sucks as a romantic partner! She doesn’t express anything, she doesn’t talk about her feelings, she doesn’t show any emotion apart from anger and slight contentment, and based on what we saw after Naraku set them up, I believe she never told him ANYTHING about herself. Unlike Kagome who he got to know very well as a person, Inuyasha didn’t even questioned her motives for attacking him, he automatically assumed that she manipulated him the whole time, and ran to the village to get the Shikon Jewel.

Rumiko wanted to make Kikyo more relatable so we could feel sorry for her and pass Naraku as an evil monster who destroyed what could’ve been a beautiful relationship, by having Kikyo wanting to live life as a normal girl, but can’t because she is the only one who can keep the Shikon jewel from being corrupted, and ultimately falling in love with Inuyasha because he saw her as a normal person (Unlike her with him). Well, it didn’t work, at least not for me.

I did feel sympathy for Kikyo... When she was alive! The series had a witch bring her back to life in a body made out of clay and using part of Kagome’s soul because she is the reincarnation of Kikyo. Why do this? To create drama by adding a love triangle into this romantic comedy of a show.

Feels like Rumiko doesn’t understand how reincarnation works because I think Kagome would’ve died during that ritual, and I really doubt Kikyo would’ve become such a B just out of jealousy; she wanted to take Inuyasha to hell with her, and he was not even dead yet! If this Kikyo really loved him, she would’ve let him go on with his life instead of roaming Japan feeling sorry for herself, taking advantage of a situation to keep Kagome away from Inuyasha, and barely doing anything to stop Naraku which was supposed to be her main goal. All of this made Kikyo unlikable instead of a relatable character trying to fix her past mistakes before going back to the grave.

4. Inuyasha’s background.

Something I absolutely love from Inuyasha’s story is the fact that it is set during a historical time period in Japan but with magical elements incorporated since many of the Japanese myths and folklore originated during those dark times. I love the fact that since everything was so dark back then, people would often see things that weren’t really there and made up stories to explain certain phenomena or just to keep children from misbehaving.

Inuyasha is full of Japanese folktales and magical creatures, and it clearly took inspiration from “Journey to the west”, a classic Chinese novel that’s one of the best adventure/ fantasy stories of all time, and that’s also been the main inspiration for many mangas and animes; it’s one of my favorites too.

Inuyasha’s background is one of the most interesting ones I’ve ever seen, it’s something common in fairy tales and myths where a human falls in love with a being from a magical race, like fairies, mermaids, gods, or in Asian folklore’s case, spirits or demons. In Inuyasha’s case, his mother was a human named Izayoi who fell in love with a powerful dog demon named Toga who was known as Inu no taisho (Dog general), animal spirits or demons can take human form, and the dog spirits are very common in Japanese folklore.

The third movie of Inuyasha shows us what Toga looked like before and how he died, and I’m actually more interested in how Inuyasha’s parents met more than his love triangle drama. In fact, Toga’s story sounds much more interesting because he was built up as this great demon lord who fought countless enemies, he was a gigantic dog monster that stopped a demon invasion from China, he could destroy multiple armies with one swing of a sword he forged from one of his fangs, he had disciples and loyal subjects, but he ultimately lost his status, he let his reputation be destroyed because he fell in love with a woman from a race that was considered inferior, and had a half demon child with her.

One of Inuyasha’s motivation’s (the main one being killing Naraku) is proving that he is stronger than his father who was a full demon, while Inuyasha himself is considered a weak half human who is unworthy of the tittle of being a descendant of Inu no taisho. Every time Inuyasha hears about a demon that his father couldn’t defeat in the past, he gets excited because, with the powerful sword his dad left him, he now has a chance to prove to everyone that he is not weak and that he is stronger than his father was.

Inuyasha never met his father because Toga died the very day he was born, so he was raised by his mother who died when he was still a child. His older brother, Sesshomaru, is a full demon that never really forgave his father for throwing his reputation away because of a human woman, and leaving him a magical sword that can also resurrect the dead instead of the one that can destroy numerous souls in one blow.

I’m not really sure, but I think the Sesshomaru from the beginning of the third movie looked like he was around Inuyasha’s age when Toga died.

Before:

After:

I like to think that’s the case.

Inuyasha’s background alone can hold up the entire series, as well as his tense relationship with his only living relative, however, the main focus is something else, something that I personally find very repetitive, boring, and even lame.

5. Is Naraku really worth it?

Note that I am not defending Naraku, he is unlikable, mainly because of all the bad things he’s done to the main characters, but the truth is that I don’t really hate him as much as I should, granted, he is a manipulative b*st**d and I don’t like him, but he is just evil for the sake of being evil in the story. If anything, I see him as pathetic.

Let’s see his main crimes: He cursed Miroku’s family, for some reason, killed Sango’s entire family by using her inexperience demon slayer little brother as a puppet, he basically conned Sesshomaru in hopes of killing Inuyasha, but most importantly, he is the reason Inuyasha and Kikyo broke up! :0

To me, Naraku is just a coward that likes to manipulate others for his own personal gain, he was born from a bandit named Onigumo who was burned in a fire after betraying the leader of his group of thieves so he could take his place, and allowed his bodied to be consumed by demons in order to get... Kikyo! The gross part is that Kikyo was like 15 at the time while he could easily be in his 20′s or 30′s. Kikyo, being a “saint”, found Onigumo’s burned body and nursed him in a cave, this ultimately made the bandit fall in love with her and allowed his body to be devoured by evil spirits in exchange for power, he was then reborn as Naraku who is basically a half demon like Inuyasha.

I heard that the manga didn’t really mentioned Naraku’s past life, but I think that’s for the best. Naraku became Inuyasha’s group’s ( and other characters’s) main target, but every single time they find him and think they got him cornered, he manages to escape in some way because of how much of a coward he really is. Because this happens over and over and over and over again in every season, it get’s tiresome and frustrating, to the point where I even ask myself: “Is this MF even worth it?!” Anyone would’ve just given up a long time ago. I liked it when they focused on fighting other demons and enemies with different motives, but after a while it was just Naraku, Naraku, Naraku!

At some point I even forgot what started this adventure in the first place, the Shikon Jewel shards that were accidentally shattered and scattered through out Japan! One shard alone can power up a demon, this idea alone makes it an interesting story, collect the shards before Japan is destroyed by overpowered demons and evil spirits, but no, turns out Naraku is collecting the shards too to the point that he already has a nearly complete jewel, well, that saves a lot of time!

I know, killing Naraku will get rid of Miroku’s wind tunnel curse, free Sango’s undead brother from his control, and Sesshomaru and other demons wanting revenge because he tried to use them, but what’s really Inuyasha’s beef with Naraku? Is he just mad because Naraku showed him just how totally incompatible he was with Kikyo? That’s what pisses me the most, to be honest.

As for Kagome, she definitely has no reason to be there, Naraku is the main antagonist and yet, he is kinda indifferent to Kagome. I don’t remember seeing Naraku doing anything bad to her or her family living in modern times that can be accessed through a magical well where he could easily... You know what? I’m done here.

Conclusion.

Inuyasha’s story has so much potential and yet it doesn’t take itself too serious. As I mentioned before, Inuyasha is treated more as a romantic comedy than a fantastical adventure kind of story. there is so much dept to the world building, but when focusing only on Inuyasha and Kagome falling in love, nothing else seem to matter. This could’ve worked if it had better writing. A simple or silly premise for a story can work if it has clever writing, something that Inuyasha really needed at times.

I liked to be surprised with clever writing in movies and shows, but if it was up to me, I’d definitely change a few things.

1. If you want a serious story, make Kagome be stuck in feudal Japan until the shards of the Shikon Jewel are recovered, or if this has to stay, don’t make the the stakes in the adventure so dire, either its a fantastical journey with two teenagers falling in love as the main focus, or a very serious adventure where their love is the only thing that can save the day.

2. Make Inuyasha and kikyo just friends, the love drama is unnecessary, specially since kikyo has almost no personality what so ever, unless you re-write her entire character. Or make Inuyasha fall in love with Kikyo, but Kikyo doesn’t feel the same and just sees him as a good friend, that at least would create some drama instead of the jealous ex-girlfriend that wants to kill everyone because she lost her chance in life.

3. Get rid of Naraku, the ultimate villain troupe gets tired very quickly, specially in a very long show that takes like 8 seasons to end. Or at least write him better and not turn the show into an endless chase for just one guy, specially since the main goal is to collect the shards of the Shikon jewel to destroy it once and for all.

This is just my opinion of course, and if you like the show just the way it is, then that’s alright, but seeing things you like with a critical eye, makes you appreciate them even more.

#Inuyasha #anime #my review #ick25

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ravenwolfie97 · 5 years ago

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2019 Art Summary

Once again, it is time for the annual art summary! I can’t believe this is the fifth year in a row I’ve done this, so I’m very proud about continuing to make art throughout the years and getting better at it every day. Anyways, let’s get into the good stuff!

I kicked off the year with a big inspiration from The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys comic series and made up my own original Killjoy just before the new year began. Their name is Violet Crime, and I had created an entire backstory with them being involved with the Ultra V’s, and even proposed running a roleplay blog with them and introducing story events such as meeting a pornodroid, but that never came to pass. Maybe next year I can try getting their story off the ground.

This month, I had suddenly gotten the idea for a TOME (2011) AU where the Forbidden Power slowly corrupted and altered Alpha’s model and mind, and I did a bunch of art of the different stages of corruption and drafted certain scenes that would play out if it happened in the show. I continued exploring this a little more throughout the year, and I hope to flesh it out even more later on.

This batch has an interesting background - I was taking a Religions class in the winter quarter, and for my final project we had the option of creating our own religion based on principles from those we learned about. So, since I had already made up a religion in Legends: Children of the Dragons, I jumped on that opportunity and started expanding upon it! Because of that, I started thinking about Legends a lot, and got inspired to write and draw a bunch! I worked a lot on figuring out the story’s structure and plot, since for the longest time it’s been very disorganized, so that inspiration boost was really helpful.

I didn’t draw too much this month, but I did want to showcase two more detailed drawings in particular. The first is a climactic scene from my friend Mana’s story Empire Tale: Starlight Speedway, where Argento (the character shown) finds out his friend was in alliance with the heir of his empire’s rival nation. The second was drawn for Adam Tilford, creator of the book and webseries Shattered Heaven, as part of an opportunity to feature fan art of a certain character in part of the show. I did my best to emulate Adam’s art style in both lineart and coloring, but it still definitely looks like mine, which is totally cool. Still super honored to have contributed it!

The TOME fandom is still a huge part of my life, and this month in particular was chock full of RPG content to draw. First was my own idea based on the official fanart contest, where members of my TOME Discord server paired TOMERPG OCs and drew a picture with them interacting, and my OC Circutree was randomly matched with @scribblehooves and her OC Valentina! There was also a trend (I forget who started it) where we designed our own versions of the White Hat Hacker, and since my choice was the Animalistic one, I gave it some details that more resembled my personal TOME OC / overall persona. Lastly, I just... really love Phaxal from TVTOME Adventures, and I felt an overwhelming need to make him into a TOMERPG character. He’s obviously a lot different from his aughts’ counterpart, but he’s still got that dark snark goin’ on.

June was actually rather slow in terms of art, with me being more preoccupied with binging TV shows and video games, as well as going on adventures in the outside world. However, I did make a cute piece for Mana with Lux and her girlfriend/wife Nexus from ETSS as part of an art trade. In the middle of the month, I had had a dream with a super cool character in it, and immediately I went to go and draw him, and that’s who the other character is; he doesn’t have a name, but he’s supposed to be a secret agent type of guy. Definitely inspired by Azure Striker Gunvolt, which I got super obsessed with again during that time.

I worked more on developing Legends stuff, so I wrote and drew out some more scene ideas along with various sketches. My big pieces for this month, though, were very summery and all about the TOME RPG and me and my friends’ OCs having a fun time. Not much to say other than it was really weird drawing everyone in swimsuits instead of their normal designs.

My favorite piece this month, by far, is my entry into Adam Tilford’s Shattered Heaven fanart contest. I got to draw a mecha, for goodness sake - I NEVER draw stuff like that because it’s so complicated. I’m really proud of the lighting on the piece, too. In addition to that, me and @mew-cake did an art trade of our personas! And it was super cool and fun! Friendship! :D

So, the Steven Universe movie came out this month. And that made fall super hard back into the fandom. And now I can actually draw the characters decently, which I think is super cool. Also TOME stuff continues to be a thing, and I continue to try new perspectives and poses and lighting and everything because I need to GROW and LEARN.

I participated in the actual #Inktober prompt challenge this year, and did so for a lot longer than I thought I’d be able to. I made a lot of pieces I’m actually quite proud of, and even though I didn’t complete it, I’m happy I did it as long as I did.

November was a pretty experimental month in terms of art. I tasked myself with drawing in the Pokemon and Hazbin Hotel styles, and I randomly got inspired by a color palette to do a very minimalist digital painting. In addition to all of these personal drawings, I got to work really hard as a member of my university’s fledgling Queer Art Collective (QuAC for short), and our first big project was to decorate a canvas for Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience, and I contributed five pieces to that: the trans flag with a human silhouette, the NB flag with a heart, the pastel genderfluid butterfly, the construction paper PROUD 2 B TRANS, and the lyrics to “Masquerade” by Tokio Hotel.

As the year closed, it’s been slow, with finals and holiday break and stuff. I can tell that I’m improving in my art, but there are still a lot of things I don’t know and things that I need to continue to improve upon. Hoping I can keep up the work in my last months of college and my transition into full-on adulthood.

See you all in the new year.

#my art stuff #art summary #tome #hazbin hotel #long post

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disastrcl · 5 years ago

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[ Message Incoming ]: Anonymous

Munday

Send one of the following symbols, if you can’t see the symbol, send the colour

🟠 Orange - Do you see any similarities between you and your muse?

【☆】Unfortunately I guess so in a ways to a bunch of muses. Not always good however. Like I’m very self-deprecating like Julian and a walking disaster as in, I will hurt myself and not realise it or do something stupid like him. Death I guess I relate in a way on how we’re both pretty depressed at times. Though with Jinx I’m just chaotic in a way like her. Not ‘I’m gonna destroy things’ way but more like time to being an utter shit post or do some stupid shit for fun.

That’s all I can really think of for now I’m afraid.

⚫ Black - Do you think you and your muse would be friends in real life?

【☆】I’m kinda unsure. Maybe Death and Julian but it would depend on how we meet I believe. I couldn’t see myself being friends with Callie. Mainly because I think I’d be too scared to interact with her. Jinx maybe? I’ve been friends before with people who had her kind of energy and lived life on the edge. She’s probably the one I’d most likely end up being friends with I think.

⚪ White - What drew you so much to your muse?

【☆】I’ve already answered this with Jinx so I’ll answer it with Death this time! It’s hard to say. Surprisingly I found out about AMOLAD back when I was roleplay Yuuri from Yuri on Ice and saw fanart that portrayed Yuuri and Viktor from this series so I decided to take a look. The webcomic wasn’t that far in I believe. I think it was only at Velveteen Rabbit at that point.

I don’t know how or why but I clicked with him and desperately wanted to write Death. Now I’m here 3 years later still writing him and I have so many old edits related to him. I guess I just got drawn into him because of how he is. How he acts and is so complex and I love that about him. I just adore him and I don’t see myself dropping him as a muse anytime soon!!!

🔴 Red - Do you have a dream AU you haven’t written in yet?

【☆】I gotta admit I can’t think of anything of the top of my head. Mainly because thanks to @robobiitch we’ve wrote a lot of AUs within our time of knowing each other. And when I say a lot I mean our Aus had Aus and sometimes even the Au of an Au had an Au. That’s how complicated it got at times. Not that I regret anything in the slightest. It was always fun writing them all even if I don’t remember every single one.

🔵 Blue - Have you cosplayed as your muse?

【☆】 I guess???? It’s complicated in a way I think. I created a Fresh!Tale Chara back in the day and cosplayed it once. I created the design for them but I don’t think I’ll ever be dressing as them again. Cosplayed Crowley and planned to write him, have the icons designed as well as his theme background as well but just never did.

I have cosplays of Julian, Connor, RK900, Star Guardian Rakan and Star Guardian Xayah. Julian I’ve only tested so never properly cosplayed him. Same with the Rakan and Xayah I plan to add though unfortunately Xayahs cosplay doesn’t fit me. Connor and RK900 I don’t roleplay but outta DBH I do plan to add RK900 at least but have ideas on one or two more I may add eventually?

So in reality I’ve done partial cosplays for a lot of muses and future muses. I do plan to cosplay Death and Wonderland Julian but I have to get the items for them first!

#ooc: permanently exhausted pigeon dead on the inside (ooc)#; personals/non rp do not reblog #; do not reblog #ooc: a wild ask about the mun appears (ooc asks)#((read more because oh this was a lot longer than i thought it was #afdsghj #this is fine lmao))#((sorry not sorry #for tagging you alina because #i've wrote so many aus with you i can't think of anything i haven't done asdfsghj))

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shinneth · 5 years ago

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R & S for the fandom questions??

R: A pairing you ship that don’t think anyone else ships.

Oof, would it be cheating if I said Sphalerite x 5XF since it’s not only a spur of the moment hookup, but between my own OCs for a fic series that isn’t even remotely popular? (... which I happen to be sinking the fuck out of said ship in my current story?)

I’ll throw in another one, anyway. This is tricky since most rare pairs I’m invested in, I eventually will find shippers. And while I did find shippers for this one at first, 10 years later I doubt any remain.

Luke x Natalia is especially frustrating to find content for because of how the story plays out in Tales of the Abyss. Long story short: you look for LukeNata art/fics, more often than not you’ll find content of Natalia with a completely different character.

And the fandom prefers to pair Nattie up with literally any other character but Luke for alternatives.

The most damning evidence of the few shippers left for this pairing fading away was the disappearance of a really neat and engaging fanfic that told the story of the game with some significant changes (including Natalia getting knocked up rather early in the game’s story).

I totally forgot the name of the fic, too. It was on AO3, but vanished without explanation and it makes me sad.

What I’m dead certain has no other shippers is this one from Tales of Legendia.

Though I admit in terms of canon itself, I don’t see myself actively shipping this since there’s virtually zero one-on-one interaction for Chloe Valens x Moses Sandor. Which is... kinda sad, since there’s a lot of cohesion between their group.

How I ended up shipping this is simple: back in my LiveJournal days, a little place called talesofdressing existed and I actively played there for a while. My main 3 characters consisted of a moody teenager Genis (Teenis?), my adorably stupid but good-hearted and determined rendition of Natalia, and Chloe taken right after she suffered her Batman backstory moment (aka young aristocratic Chloe who wanted revenge but hadn’t yet committed to chopping off her hair).

This made my Chloe rather unique since she was taken from a point before her crucial character development and ended up becoming a very different kind of Chloe due to being placed in a dressing room after her parents were killed, surrounded by people who already knew her future self as well as what happened to her.

Moses came to her first, and while at first put off by his immodest wardrobe and shoddy grooming, he was consistently nice and supportive to her. Outside of any given Norma, the rest of the Legendia cast was prone to criticizing her or comparing her unfavorably to the Chloe they were more familiar with. So Moses started to look far more gentlemanly by comparison, and so she gradually became infatuated with him.

It was adorable, but never meant to be requited. Little c eventually got a consolation prize in a Moses that was actually her age, but in my headcanon, they ultimately didn’t last (as I briefly had a Future Little c that confirmed as much, I think). I actually have a very elaborate headcanon for what goes on in Little c’s later life, still living in the world of the dressing room; who she hooks up with and how, she has kids, et cetera. But I’ll save that for another day... or if anyone really really really wants to know, they can ask.

But yeah, it was nearly impossible to find Chloe/Moses fanart even in the pre-Pixiv Japanese fansite days. I imagine even Pixiv has little to nothing to provide.

S: What’s a headcanon you have?

oh god I have headcanons for days

But let’s go with a simple one. While it’s an aspect of GAverse, the concept itself could easily be used in different ways by anyone else, so it’s perfectly accessible.

Headcanon: Peridot’s metal powers are unique to her

As in, no other peridot (or at a bare minimum, any from Era 2) is made to have these capabilities.

I like to believe this is a very solid headcanon based on a simple fact:

Peridot is SU’s quintessential Ms. Exposition and would have been actively trying to awaken these powers if all of her kind could control metal - she was clearly shocked she had this power when it first came about in Too Short to Ride, so this should by no means be a standard feature of peridots in general.

Also greatly diminishes, if not entirely kills the point of that episode or makes Peridot an uncharacteristically huge idiot if the metal powers were indeed standard for her kind. She’s pretty clear in the episode before awakening her powers that Era 2 gems are inherently limited in what they’re capable of because they’re so objectively inferior by design in every way possible. So much that without augments like the limb enhancers, they’re barely able to function as they were intended to.

So yeah, while this hasn’t been outright addressed in the show (I feel like it should raise immediate questions for why Peridot has these powers when by all rights she shouldn’t), it almost feels like this should be common sense. But for all I know, they’ll probably never take advantage of this golden opportunity for storytelling in canon. Therefore, it can’t be anything more than a very sturdy headcanon.

#answered asks #pikablob #peridot #su peridot #tales of the abyss #tales of legendia #tales of dressing #luke fon fabre #natalia luzu kimlasca lanvaldear #chloe valens #moses sandor

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thefantheorist · 6 years ago

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Miraculous Reveal? (Miraculous Ladybug)

Hello all my fellow Fan Theorists! Today we are going to be talking about Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. So I really like this show and if you’ve never seen it, you should totally check it out because it is worth it. So, in light of the most recent episode, Oblivio, a reveal scenario doesn’t seem too far off in the future, and a permanent one at that. And that’s where I come in. You see, so many people have speculated about what the reveal scenario is going to be like and many others have made fanfiction and fanart speculating the reveal, but for the first time, I think that we really have some solid ground to stand on.

Alright then, so first let’s start off by listing all the known facts that we have. First, it has been confirmed that Marinette will be the holder of the mouse miraculous, it has also been confirmed that she will use both the mouse miraculous and the fox miraculous at once, with the base probably being the mouse miraculous and her using the fox overtop.

It is also confirmed that she will use the dragon miraculous over top of her Ladybug disguise, this could be before, after, or during the time when she is Mulmouse.

Adrien will also be getting an upgrade to the snake Miraculous, whose powers are probably going to be those similar to a Siren, based on the fact that he’s got a little harp thingy and serpents of lore have been known to be able to hypnotize people.

But this is all just scratching the surface because there are other leaks on the series, like the fact that Kagami is seen de-transforming from the peacock miraculous, how Luka is probably going to be the holder of the snake miraculous probably given the miraculous by Adrien, and Adrien has been seen in just the snake miraculous costume. We also have the fact that Thomas Astruc himself confirmed that Marinette and Adrien would become a couple by the series conclusion, but we all know that they are gonna take a while to ring that towel dry.

So... with all of this evidence compiled, what is the actual theory here? Well, let’s start with that Dragon Bug outfit. So, recently Hawkmoth’s villains have become less like jokes and more like actual opponents that Ladybug and Chat have to face, and as things have gone on, each individual villain has become more and more of a threat. Oblivio from the most recent episode was a big threat, one that Ladybug and Chat barely beat, and they only beat him because they knew each other’s identities. So, I think that Ladybug and Chat are going to be facing a villain that is much stronger and more capable than any other villain they’ve faced before and they won’t be able to defeat them before they change back, but they will leave the scene, regroup, and head to Master Fu’s place to ask him for his guidance, where he will tell them that they can use other miraculous’ on top of the one they are wearing, cue Dragon Bug and Snake Noir. They will end up defeating the akuma and Hawkmoth will realize that Ladybug and Chat have access to many or all of the other miraculous’.

After this, I believe that they are going to use these special suits again when fighting a big threat, and the time limit on Adrien’s Chat Noir power will expire, cue the Adrien with snake miraculous image that everyone is freaking out over, saying that Chat will lose the ring.

While I think that Chat will de-transform into the snake, I don’t think that Ladybug will de-transform into the dragon, mostly because there is not concept art for it and also because if she did, she couldn’t use her lucky charm to clean up the mess until she recharged Tikki. I also think that Adrien will have the snake miraculous before Luka ends up getting it because of how similar the designs are. Adrien’s, while a bit embellished, is relatively simple, a body suit and a cool hood mask, but Luka’s is a lot more detailed, while also having practically the same design. Perhaps when Luka gets the miraculous, he will have seen Chat in his snake miraculous form and his costume will come out looking similar.

Now, back to the fight with the double miraculous. If I am right and there are two of these fights, then who are they fighting? Well, the first fight I imagine will be with Lila. She has proven herself to be a very capable villain in two incidences and both times she almost defeated them, so it isn’t too big of a leap to assume that she would be a villain capable enough that Ladybug and Chat Noir would need to consult Fu. But the next villain, I believe, is going to be Kagami. She has proven time and again that she is a threat, her akumatized form was almost too powerful, and it is honestly a waste to see her used as mere jealousy fodder for Chloe and Marinette. Now, I can’t be sure that the leak about Kagami having the peacock miraculous is accurate, but if it is, then I suspect that this akumatization will be before she gets the peacock miraculous. I believe after she is de-akumatized, Hawkmoth will realize how capable she is and how much hate is in her heart and want her as an ally, much like Lila, however, I believe that Hawkmoth will see more potential in Kagami than in Lila and will give her the Peacock miraculous. I also think that Kagami and Lila will have a fun dynamic, if the two do end up working under Hawkmoth, where they will dislike each other, but they’ll work well together as a team due to their hatred of Ladybug and Chat Noir and also of Marinette, but they will quarrel over Adrien at times.

Again, this might be fake, but I think that it would be awesome if it wasn’t. I also think that a lot of the fans want Kagami to be the peacock miraculous holder.

So, that leads me to the last bit of theory fodder that I haven’t talked about: Mulmouse. Marinette is going to be the holder of the mouse miraculous, but how? And how is she going to be fighting alongside Chat and Ladybug when she is Ladybug? Well, the answer is a lot simpler than you’d think: she gets revealed. The idea that Marinette would get unmasked is one that nobody really thinks is going to happen at the rate the show is going, but it has to happen eventually for the story to conclude, but what if the reveal doesn’t happen at the end of the story like everyone suspects? My suspicion is that in the season finale of either season 4 or 5, all of the new miraculous holders will be gathered together for a big fight, probably on the eiffel tower as that is where it all started with Hawkmoth in the first place. Volpina, Carapace, Queen Bee, whatever Luka’s hero name is gonna be, and Ladybug and Chat Noir will be battling it out with whatever big bad atrocity they need to defeat and they’ll manage to trap Ladybug and take her miraculous, revealing to the world that Marinette is Ladybug. Cue shocked gasps from everyone. The villains will manage to take the Ladybug miraculous and give it to Hawkmoth. Not only will that make things a lot less stale by giving Hawkmoth further motivation and drive to get Chat’s ring, it will also free Marinette up to be Mulmouse, which she will have doubts about because she lost the ladybug miraculous. She will also be devastated about losing Tikki.

So why do I think that Mulmouse has to take place after Dragon Bug and Snake Noir? Well, if Marinette really does lose the ladybug miraculous, she will probably take the mouse miraculous in order to help Chat find Tikki and stop Hawkmoth. But as the picture shows she eventually uses both the mouse miraculous and the fox miraculous, with the mouse as the base, which means that she has to have lost the Ladybug miraculous to be using the mouse miraculous, but if she loses the Ladybug miraculous, she won’t be able to transform into Dragon Bug. Do you see how complicated this is?

Anyways, let’s move on to the last piece of business:

Now, despite him disliking spoilers so much, I don’t think that he is lying here. It seems pretty obvious that the love square is the ship that will eventually become canon, but we just aren’t really sure when. However, I think that after Marinette gets revealed, that is when Adrien and Marinette will become a couple. Adrien will finally realize that Marinette is the girl he’s in love with and he will be all over her. But I don’t think it’s going to be immediately afterwards, in fact I think that Astruc is gonna milk it for all it’s worth. Adrien will probably not tell Marinette about his feelings because he thinks she doesn’t reciprocate them, and it’ll be a whole thing. Because THEY CAN’T JUST BE HAPPY, CAN THEY THOMAS?

So that is what I think will become of Miraculous Ladybug in the seasons to come. What do you think? Do you agree or am I way off base? And tell me your theories! Thank you all so much for the support and as always, have a wonderful week.

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aarspi · 5 years ago

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Project V Update

I hate calling it that lol, but as a working title it worked I guess haha. Anyways, I felt like I should update everyone on the project.

First off, it has a new name and it’s now called Ambrose, so if you see any future posts it will be tagged and titled with that.

Not only is there a major name change, now being Ambrose, which means Immortal, there’s also been a major plot change, and yes it’s a story still based in space, but the concept and experiences these characters go through is nothing similar to VLD, which was the goal.

I’m honestly over the disappointment I had with Voltron. I honest to God mean that. I celebrate the things I liked about it, but I’ll admit unhappiness really just pushed inspiration. So I created these characters and even discussed the possible plot ideas with my brother ( who writes the scripts and stuff) and we actually have a solid story concept.

The plot is actually incorporated into the 4UComics Universe (4U makes Daemons Venatus which can be read on webtoon), and yeah, that’s not the only story we make, we have a shit ton of other ideas that basically creates an entire universe. So that being said I can’t exactly talk about the story plot, because it will give away key points to other major stories and series we hope to make in the future. But what I can discuss is the new names, and the design concepts so far for Ambrose.

Disclaimer: I’m aware these character designs are VERY similar to the character of VLD. They’re still ‘work in progress’, or better as trial’n’error but at least they’ll give you an idea of what they’re going to look like. To be fair too, two of them came along way from being rip-off Leakira, though they kinda look like Leakira wannabe’s still. THEIR DESIGNS WILL CHANGE TO SOMETHING MORE UNIQUE IN THE FUTURE AS WE WANT THIS TO BE AS ORIGINAL AS POSSIBLE. I was just experimenting with styles and .. unfortunately my *cough*klance*cough* biases came into play haha.

Without Further adieu, here are the characters of Ambrose!

Keep in Mind: Names have meanings to who the characters are, and I wanted to keep elements incorporated.

Christian Emilio Lee Sanchez: [Christian - follower of christ; Emilio - Industrious: Diligent and hard-working; Lee - “Sheltered Side”; Sanchez - Set apart as or declared holy.]

Nickname: Goes by Lee for short Heritage: Latino/--- Weapon: I wanted to keep the sharpshooter style, but again it’s very Lance/Leandro-Like, but who knows. Personality: Suave, Cunning, Charming to the point where it’s sometimes downright obnoxious.

Bonus Reference Layout Wip:

Akira Clark: [Akira: Sunlight and Moonlight/ Light coming from the sun/ Bright; Clark: A Scribe.]

Nickname: Just goes by Akira. I actually love the name Akira, so please don’t bug me about it. Heritage: Korean Weapon: Staff and Agility Personality: Quiet, Kind, Mysterious, can be snarky/sassy and will talk back. Cynical at times, but protective, and sometimes sarcastic. (Basically I wanna explore, but put emphasis on snarky/sassy but friendly/kind, and quiet and mysterious to others.)

Aurora: [Aurora: Mythical Roman Goddess of the Dawn]

Nickname: Ro; Named after one of the strongest and most beautiful women I know in my life - my mom :3 Heritage: Unnamed Alien Race atm Weapon: Unknown atm Personality: Head strong, Mom-Like, Caring, Determined, Intelligent. Fun Fact: I adore the Tales of Series and my favourite game is Tales of Vesperia. Aurora’s race is mildly inspired by the krityan race within the game.

Lani Kameāloha: [Lani - Hawaiian for Sky; Kameāloha - “The beloved one”]

Nickname: Call him Lani - I’m well aware he legit looks like Black Shiro right now, but that will CHANGE. Also before anyone asks, no he does not die. Nor dies and comes back. Heritage: Hawaiian Weapon: Unknown atm Personality: Cunning, Tactical. Dad-Like. Strong, Courageous. If you hurt his unintentional adopted kids and intentional adopted brother, you should run.

•••

Okay so the Character designs aren’t as thought out as much from here on out, but I do have at least sketches to include with the names.

Terra (Ptera) (Unknown Last Name atm): [Terra - The planet Earth. Famous bearer: mythological Terra, the Roman Earth Goddess of the Greek Gaia.]

Nickname: Ptera, cause she loves Dinosaurs. Gremlin - Love Lee Heritage: Greek Weapon: Unknown atm Personality: Intelligent, cynical, hot-headed. Sarcastic. Her and Akira get along well. Fun fact: She has a little keychain of a Brachiosaurus that she lovingly calls Barry.

Halle Paea: [Halle: “Rock/Little Rock”; Paea: Polynesian/Samoan]

Nickname: Stud Muffin; Thanks Lee; you’re welcome <3 Just goes by Halle. Don’t worry, he’s used to people bringing up the actress. Weapon: Unknown atm/Giant Hammer (wip) Personality: Unsure, worrisome. Cool, logical. Fun fact: His Dad’s a dick.

Not!Coran and unamed main character:

And finally, I do want an equivalent to Coran, but, Coran Coran the Gorgeous man is just so unique already. This version, he would probably go back to his roots, similar to his counter part in the original DotU where he is the primary caregiver to Aurora, almost like a father for her, who keeps her calm, gives wisdom and opinions in ties of crisis and can always be relied on. I also wanted to bring back in the mistress/maid woman that also helped care for Allura as well. Her design may be recycled from a concept drawing for a Helsa fanfic I had been working but never finished, and would have more use for in this.

•••

Anyways! That is it! Thank you so much for supporting me and I hope you enjoy! Also, I’m super open to fanart if anyone wants to draw them, that’d be amazing! So don’t hesitate.

Any questions you have, you are welcome to shoot my way, and I believe that’s it for now! Thank you!

Society6 • Redbubble • Support me with a Ko-fi ! • Check out the comic series called Daemons Venatus that I help work on! I need a lot of support if I ever want to see this created :D

Do not repost ANYWHERE!

#Ambrose #Vld #very long post #representation #there is some I promise #4ucomics #4u #Daemons Venatus #original comics #webseries

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passionpluto · 6 years ago

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Diamond Chrysalis Fandom Theory

Throughout my time in fandom, I’ve noticed something very distinct about the way fans respond to villains. Unlike many fan behaviors, this phenomenon is hardly fandom-exclusive, nor is it something that appears to have changed over time. In fact, I’d argue that it’s stayed largely the same for the past ten years, and may have been around for even longer (though I can’t say for sure because I’ve only been in fandoms for about that long). It’s something I call the Diamond Chrysalis Fandom Theory, and I call it that because of where I first noticed it popping up.

Back around the time I started seriously engaging in fandom, MLP was the cartoon fandom. A lot of the infamous brony incidents we still hear about today occurred in this period, but—perhaps more important to this discussion—MLP criticism was as alive and well as criticism of SU and other cartoons is today. And, just like today’s cartoon criticism, much of it centered around the show’s major and minor villains. As a new fan, I soaked in as much of it as I could and began to notice a pattern—the evil queen, Chrysalis, was among the most popular characters in the entire show, while the snobbish bully character, Diamond Tiara, was one of the least. For a while, even I was among the fans who hated Diamond Tiara and loved Queen Chrysalis, until I looked at their actions and realized that, as a villain, Chrysalis had done more damage than the rich little filly could dream to accomplish. Diamond Tiara’s modus operandi was to humiliate, while Chrysalis’s was to conquer and enslave.

And that’s when I started wondering—what makes us like a villain in the first place? Once fans learned about Diamond Tiara’s bad home life in a Season 5 episode, and once Iearned to sympathize with a character like her, I came up with a theory.

The closer a villain hits to home, the more likely it is that people will hate them.

Chrysalis is a fantasy villain, an evil bug-queen who feeds off love and can shapeshift into anyone she desires. We will never meet anyone like her, and even if we did, we’d still have some small bit of admiration for her. Her existence in the real world would mean fairy tales had come true and that magic was real—things humans have dreamt of for centuries. She is both dream and nightmare.

Diamond Tiara is someone we have known, or possibly even been at some point. Characters like her have the potential to bring up traumatic experiences that someone like Chrysalis wouldn’t. We feel safer with villains like Chrysalis, because villains like Diamond Tiara make us remember our childhood, or the ugly traits of the world we live in. That, I feel, is why villains like her will experience rabid hatedoms while other ones are liked.

Granted, this isn’t always bad. In fact, it can be used to great effect to make us feel repulsion towards a character—often to make an important point. For instance, while the shonen manga My Hero Academia has several character and storytelling flaws that even its own fans admit to, it is great at reinforcing the main villains’ point that heroes aren’t the amazing figures they’re often seen as. It’s a story that starts off simple, with seemingly perfect heroes and villains without much motivation, but grows more complex as the series moves forward. If the villains were to state that superheroes are flawed and unaccountable people in the first season, no one would likely believe them, as the world seems like a comic come true. However, the arc where villains begin to cast doubt on heroes comes immediately after we learn one of the most popular superheroes in Japan is a horrifically abusive father and husband. To this day, if you see a “do not interact” label on a My Hero Academia post, fans of this “hero” will likely be on it.

From a fan’s perspective, that’s slightly horrifying, but from an author’s perspective, it’s brilliant. It’s one of the most shining examples of how the Diamond Chrysalis Fandom Theory can apply to both heroes and villains—if we hate a hero for doing awful things that could occur in the real world, we’re more likely to believe the villains. If we hate a villain for the same sorts of things, we’re more likely to forgive other villains for doing worse things further removed from reality. It’s how fandoms like My Hero Academia’s can draw lovingly illustrated fanart of serial killers, while endlessly bashing heroes and villains who abuse children or bully their comrades. (Though one can concede that abusing a character who consistently ranks in the top 3 on popularity polls would guarantee a hatedom even without this theory.)

The Diamond Chrysalis phenomenon is not bad by any stretch. With traumatizing events like bullying, abuse, rape, and the like, reactions can be very visceral, and it’s completely valid if you hate a character for reminding you of your past. Even for people who have never had such events happen to them! I mainly developed this as a theory to see how fandoms tick rather than as a prescription for what they should do, and like any theory, it has exceptions. The Joker is perhaps the biggest—in spite of his treatment of Harley Quinn, many feel he is the best Batman villain ever created, and perhaps the best villain in all of comics.

But if you’ve ever looked out at the wide, wide world of fandom and wondered why we love our evil queens, our serial killers, our roguish thieves, or even just wondered how Bellatrix Lestrange and Dolores Umbridge can commit similar crimes to different fan treatments, I hope to provide an answer. Thank you for your time.

#fandom #analysis #my post #long post #i’ve had this theory for ages and only just now put it into words

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digikate813 · 6 years ago

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Fanfiction Writer Appreciation Recs

I’ve seen a bunch of people doing these, and i really wanted to too. I may be late to the party here, but I hope I can point you towards some cool stuff to check out. Most of what I read in the fanfiction circle is Gravity Falls, so this post is mostly just multi chapter fics from the Gravity Falls fandom! I might do one for one-shots, and I’m sorry if I forget any major ones, but this is what immediately comes to mind that I highly recommend.

Stanswap by @orangeoctopi7

Reverse Portal AU at it’s best! The Reverse Portal AU was popular for a while (almost on par with Blind Faith) and a lot of people tried to grab onto the idea, but after all this time, it just seems to have left a lot of incomplete works in it’s wake. That is not the case here. It’s still going, but it shows no sign of stopping until it tells it’s entire story. And this story has been insanely detailed and well executed. Retelling almost the entire series as if Ford was the one taking care of the kids, and the dilemmas he faces with the fact that Stan is stuck on the other side of the portal. Not to mention most of the jokes are on point with something you’d hear in Gravity Falls. The author is someone I am proud to call my friend, and that all started when this fic was recommended to me.

30 Seconds Later by @invisibletinkerer

A pretty recent one that i really hope gets more attention. I’ve seen people do fanart and stuff of Ford being the same age as when he got sucked into the portal, while his home dimension and Stan aged, but I didn’t really see much potential for a full story in that idea. That changes with this fic, which again is still ongoing, but updates fairly regularly. The interactions between the Grunkle Stan we know and love and a Ford who is still fresh from his sleep deprived paranoia days, and still susceptible to Bill’s possession brings so much engaging conflict that i cannot get enough of!

My Demons by @kazriku

An oldie but a goodie. This one is basically a Mystery Trio story that focuses mostly on Stan and Ford, and the first chapter was written before A Tale of Two Stans came out. Adjustments were made after that episode came out, but this fic is very much telling it’s own story on how the Stans became so distant, and the incident that lead to Ford being trapped on the other side of the portal. Filled with mysterious suspense and some entertaining brotherly bonding, even if it hasn’t updated in a while, if we’re talking about fanfics I appreciate, there was no way i couldn’t include this one. It was the first major GF Fanfic I read from the person who would become my first mutual, and chances are this fic lead to me reading all the ones you see here!

By the skin of your teeth by @apathetic-revenant

I didn’t realize just how popular this one was until today, but it deserves it. It’s so good! When Stan gets into his argument with Ford after Ford calls him for the first time in 10 years, he realizes that something's wrong with Ford. He’s very sick and his house is a wreck. There is so much tension and angst in this one as Stan puts the pieces together about what’s been going on with his brother, and Ford continuing to fight what seems like a losing battle. There’s a happy ending, but it takes quite a bit to get there, and it is glorious!

And Then There Were Three by @kalajorn

I’m just going to say it. This is one of my favorite Mystery Trio stories. Ever! With an author who I think really is under the radar in the community. Mystery Trio is probably my favorite AU for Gravity Falls, but depending on who you ask, it either got stronger or weaker once A Tale of Two Stans came out. For me, it only got stronger, and this fic is an excellent example of why. I adore the scenario presented here of how Stan and Ford eventually reunite. How there is some spark of their connection as brothers still there, but there are still forces interfering with that, and using the material from canon to build some great tension. Updates take some time, but i promise you it’s worth it. This story only gets more engaging with each chapter and i’m hoping it’ll stay that way.

A Little Bit Lost by @impishnature

Impish is really a beacon of life for the GF fandom. Regularly producing high quality content of all kinds. I could have put any number of her stories on here. If you miss Gravity Falls, and you want to reminisce about it over a weekend, scroll through her AO3. You’ll find a lot to enjoy. But one of my personal favorites is this compilation of fics surrounding the Feral Ford AU. An AU that vanished as quickly as it arrived. I was even going to write something small on it, but i just never got to it. Anyway, these stories of a paranoid, almost animalistic Ford from what trauma he faced on the other side of the portal is just so powerful. Every idea has a new obstacle. Sometimes it’s comforting. Sometimes it’s heartbreaking. But there’s always something to grab your attention and not let go. I come back to these a lot, and they are always a great read.

I’d also recommend her Mystery Trio fic Phobos, but that one hasn’t updated for a while. But I still really like it so here ya go!

Maybe it’s Not Too Late by @rum-and-shattered-dreams

Why was this one so hard to find? It’s awesome! One of the reasons I’ve dived so deeply into Gravity Falls fanfiction more then any other fandom I’ve been in, is because even after the official shows credits rolled, it still left us with so much potential for what other adventures were out there. And this is one of the best examples of that. It’s a great, insanely engaging post series adventure involving pretty much the entire main cast and the return of the Shapeshifter, with Fiddleford and Ford as the main focus. Yes, it is partly a Ship Fic, which I’m not crazy about, but I don’t really find it distracting. There is so much in this story, and the shipping is just another element of it. And FiddAuthor is one of the ships I tolerate more, so I don’t really mind that much. The rest is just too dang good!!

Better Kept Secret by BadonKaDank

Another one that nearly alluded my radar until a friend mentioned it to me back when it had just completed, and I’m glad they did because this story is AMAZING! Having someone from one of the boys’ past come back for revenge is another premise that was circulating for a while that I freaking adored!! There were a few good pieces of writing out there on this (and even a comic currently going on), but this fic is at the top of the chart for me. Filled with drama, action, intense and suspenseful moments, it’s one that really stuck with me that i can’t believe I almost missed.

Goodnight Stanley by Kitsunesocks

I haven’t seen many people mention this one, and while it may not be the most angst filled story involving the Stan Bros, it’s still a great one. Without giving too much away, while Stan and Ford are getting ready to head back to Gravity Falls, they discover that Bill might not be entirely gone, and that he may be plotting a way to come back right under their noses. Despite how common it is, this is a premise I’ve never been crazy about. I think @thesnadger Axolotl is the only story like this to engage me past the first chapter. Except this one. This is a great adventure of a story. The pacing is excellent and the characters are on point. Some of the most accurate I think I’ve seen in a Gravity Falls fic. I especially appreciate how proactive Dipper and Mabel are in this story. A lot of fics like this tend to push them to the side to make room for the Stans. But this story makes good use of everyone involved. It’s not the most emotionally driven story out there, but it’s one of the most well put together stories I’ve seen in a GF fic.

Blind Faith by @pinesinthewoods

Oh my God! This one! I originally wasn’t going to include this one because I know the author is no longer active in the fandom, but again, appreciation post. And this story deserves to be appreciated no matter what. You all know this AU, where Stan and Ford both wind up on the other side of the portal, and have to face the horrors on the other side together. Blind Faith was already fairly popular at this point, but this story propelled it to something else. Something stronger. Something with depth. Leaving you with chills as you finish every chapter. Aside from My Demons, this is probably the first fanfic I was checking for updates on, daily. This brought many new ideas to the AU that you still see in the occasional new content today, and that is something truly special. This is from yet another author who I am proud to call a friend, and it’s weird to think that back then, I was just a fan of something a lot of other people were. I’m sure most of you have read this one, but if you haven’t, go read it! It’s one of the best out there.

Stanley McGucket by @thelastspeecher

This is the sort of fic I don’t normally care for. Tons of original characters and a lot of shipping. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just not for me. But the premise was just too intriguing to resist. The idea of Stan being offered a job from Fiddleford’s parents and basically becoming an honorary member of the McGucket family is a really endearing premise. And when certain characters reunite or put the pieces together about who they are to each other, it really gets the ball rolling. You’re just waiting to see how everything will turn out, and it’s a pretty great ride. I followed this story and it’s expansions for a while. Then it branched into multiple AUs on it’s own and it just got way too confusing to keep up with the tag. But the main story is still a enjoyable ride from a type of fic that usually doesn’t grab me. But it had an interesting idea that pulled me in, and followed through on it. Welcome to the McGucket Family Tree Stanley

Amnesia by @ducksalive

Okay, yeah. This one isn’t technically a Gravity Falls fic. But I’m really into Ducktales right now and i was running out of Gravity Falls stories. So yeah, I’ve started diving into Ducktales fan fiction. Even wrote one of my own which you should definitely check out. Please? There’s not much out there that’s grabbed me as much as these other stories yet (if anybody knows any good Fenton Crackshell-Cabrera/Gizmoduck stuff out there, let me know), but something about this one had my attention.

I’m one of those people who is immediately intrigued by amnesia stories but the reason most people aren’t is because of how often they can go wrong. So far, that’s not the case here. In this story, Donald is the one with amnesia, and Glomgold finds him and convinces him that he’s his uncle, and that Scrooge is the enemy. From there it’s a race to try and help rescue Donald from a trap he doesn’t even know he’s in. While Donald constantly suffers for it. If you’re the type of person who likes family angst (which chances are you do if you’re a fan of any of the above fics) then you’ll get a kick out of this. Every time you think the family is going to get Donald back, Glomgold manages to snatch him away. And realizing just how far he’s willing to go to keep Scrooge’s nephew on his side is just shocking. This is another story that’s still ongoing, so there’s no telling how this will conclude yet, but at the moment, I am very emotionally invested in this one.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve gotten way more into fanfiction then I ever would have imagined. I never looked twice at it before, but now I’ve been a spectator to many creative stories, the authors of some of my favorites have become some of my closest friends, and I’ve even written a couple myself. I may be late to the actual day, but I hope this shows my appreciation for all the fanfic writers above and a few dozen I’m probably forgetting at the moment.

#fanfiction #reccomendations #gravity falls #ducktales #fanfic #fanfiction appreciation

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untapdtreasure · 6 years ago

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TV Show Ask Game 1, 3, 5, 7, 9-29, and 31-49.

TV Show Ask Game

1. if you could reboot one TV show, which one would it be? Earth 2. But only if they could go back in time with the same cast at those ages. It was a brilliant concept that maybe just came ahead of its time.

3. have you ever quit a show before it finished? why? No. But I've wanted to. Once I start something I like to finish it.

5. what’s your comfort show? H20: Just Add Water. I seem to go back to it when I need something light and fun and that doesn't require a ton of thinking in order to enjoy it. I know it's an Australian teenage drama, but I absolutely adore it and the characters.

7. have you ever been inspired to start a new show based on gifs or memes it has produced? The Man From the High Castle and Westworld.

9. what’s one show you thought you’d hate but turned out to really enjoy? Family Guy. I usually don't care for shows with that kind of humor, but it has turned out to be a true gem and favorite of mine.

10. what’s one show you thought you’d love but turned out to really hate? Sons of Anarchy.

11. which TV show has the best musical soundtrack, in your opinion? Cold Case. And Supernatural.

12. have you ever watched a show just for a specific actor? did you enjoy it? I tried to watch Californication because of my love for David Duchovny. I didn't get past season one, and I haven't had the urge to continue it further.

13. what genre of TV show is your favourite? Science-Fiction.

14. do you tend to stick to one type of TV show (eg, short-form comedy), or are you into many different genres? I love a ton of different genres. I mean, sticking to one type is mega boring. And I'm not always in the mood for something funny or drama or sad or whatever. So I like to have options. Lots and lots of options.

15. do you feel like there are any overrated TV show formats? I'm not really sure what this means so I'm not going to comment.

16. do you feel like there are any underrated TV show formats? I'm not really sure what this means so I'm not going to comment.

17. have you ever written fanfiction for a TV show? I started with CSI and The X-Files a long time ago (2004) and still write it today. So yeah. I've written fanfiction for a television show that I love. Several of them in fact. Fifteen years and still going strong.

18. have you ever drawn fanart for a show? I cannot draw to save my life. So the closest thing I've ever drawn for a show was stick figures for The Walking Dead for another ask meme. LOL.

19. are there any shows on your “to watch” list right now? Oh my heck! There are a ton of shows and movies that are on my list to watch at a later date. I even go through it sometimes and delete things that I've added in the past that I know I will never get around to watching. It drives my husband mad to see all the crap in there that never gets watched.

20. Netflix, Hulu, or Prime originals? I happen to like some of all of them, but my favorites just so happen to be Hulu ones. The Handmaid's Tale and Hollie Hobby!

21. if you could be a guest star on any show, which one would it be? The X-Files but that won't ever happen because I'm pretty sure that the show is likely done this time around. I hope anyway. LOL.

22. if you could write your own TV show, what would it be like? A complete disaster. It would be a feel-good show with characters that care more about others around them than anything else. So yeah! A complete disaster. I'll leave the writing to the professionals and stick to writing fanfiction because it's so much easier.

23. are you a fan of will-they-won’t-they plots? Yes, I am. Some of the best ships have come from just that scenario.

24. how do you feel about bottle episodes? I have a love/hate relationship with them. When I haven't seen a character or a couple of characters for a bit, they are fun to play catch up with them, but then I would rather every episode have a little of everyone than focus on one group or character solely.

25. do you prefer proper opening credits, or a simple title card? A simple title card is all that I need because I'm ready to watch the show. I know who stars in it. I don't need to see it every time.

26. favourite TV show theme song? Pretty Little Liars.

27. which actor do you think deserves an Emmy for their work on TV? Melissa McBride and Andrew Lincoln from The Walking Dead.

28. who would be your dream cameo on your favourite show? Kathryn Erbe in the Zombie Apocolypse would be an absolute dream come true! I'd love to see her play in a scene opposite Melissa McBride's Carol.

29. do you tend to quote TV shows a lot? have you ever started using a word/phrase because of a TV show? No, I don't usually quote anything from a TV show unless I'm talking to a fellow fan and we're discussing the show. And I can't think of a time that I've ever taken a phrase from a show/movie and used it in real life. OHHH! Yes, I have! There is a contestant on Survivor that says, "Oh my heck!" and I love that phrase now. LOL.

31. do you use subtitles while watching TV if you can? I will rewind a scene and turn them on if I'm confused about something that is being said, or I'm making a comic strip/photo or gif set where I need the exact quote.

32. what’s one show you could watch over and over? Earth 2, H20: Just Add Water, Mako Mermaids, etc. I could go on and on with some of my favorite feel-good shows.

33. would you be interested in trying a show in another language? I've tried to watch a new series on Netflix, but it just really takes me out of it when I have to read the words. I can't focus on the actions and scenery if I'm constantly having to read the dialogue.

34. what are your top 5 shows right now? The Walking Dead, Law & Order: SVU, Heartland, The Rookie, and 9-1-1.

35. who are your top 5 TV characters right now? Carol Peletier, Lt. Olivia Benson, Athena Grant, Howard 'Chimney' Han, Rookie Officer John Nolan

36. what TV character would you die for? Carol Peletier. But not really.

37. which TV show setting would you most like to visit? The Walking Dead.

38. do you prefer hour long episodes, or 30 minute? It really depends on the material. Sometimes thirty minutes is long enough to tell a complete story, but sometimes, you really need that full hour.

39. do you prefer 22 episode seasons, or 13? It really depends on the show and the story being told.

40. is there a show coming out soon that you’re really excited about? The sixth season of The 100. There is nothing new coming out that I'm that interested in.

41. if you could change 1 detail about any show, what would you change and why? I would change the way in which season four of The Walking Dead was executed so that it made better sense. I wouldn’t necessarily change the main plot points, but I would change how the story was told and would elaborate on whatever needed to be elaborated on so that it made more sense narratively speaking. I believe that certain things had to happen to get the payoff down the road, but the way in which it was written and executed was entirely bogus. Scott Gimple did not trust his audience at all.

42. what’s the longest amount of time you’ve ever watched a show in one sitting? Five plus hours when binge watching ER with my Mom on the weekends.

43. what do you think is a good amount of seasons for a TV show? Six or Seven. But that depends on the show and material for the show. Some shows really can't be wrapped up in that time frame, but some that really should end on a good note. Justified is a wonderful show, but those in charge knew that it was time to let it go. But Supernatural doesn't seem to know that it should end already. The first five or six seasons were brilliant, but it got a little (or a lot) stupid after that.

44. if you could replace any actor on TV in playing their role, who would you like to play and why? I wouldn't want to replace anyone because I absolutely love and adore the people chosen to play their specific roles. I wouldn't want to mess with the chemistry of the cast for even one minute.

45. do you own any TV shows on DVD? I own several shows on DVD. Too many to list.

46. do you prefer to watch TV alone or with friends? Alone because if you watch with friends there is too much talking going on.

47. are there any shows you love but your friends aren’t interested in? Like almost everything. LOL. My tastes and theirs do not usually mesh. It's rare that we have overlapping interest in a show.

48. are there any shows your friends love but you aren’t interested in? Yes. Just about as many of my shows as their shows, honestly.

49. who are your favourite couples on TV? Well, most of them are really canon ships, but there is Carol & Daryl from The Walking Dead, Olivia Benson and Rafael Barba from SVU, Regina Mills and Robin of Locksley from Once Upon a Time, Mulder and Scully from The X-Files. There are several more, but I think those are plenty to list right now. I have an otps page if you'd like to see the ones that I love the most. Oh! Han & Leia from Star Wars.

#& asks answered #fandom musings #anonymous #Anonymous

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i-want-my-iwtv · 6 years ago

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Lestat, Louis is a sad sack of a man and doesn’t really seem to be worth loving. Ok so he’s “beautiful” that’s not enough to make a relationship last. Why is Louis worth loving?

//ooc: This is another fairly old ask, from November, 2017. I think anon was trying to rile Lestat by calling Louis “a sad sack of a man and doesn’t really seem to be worth loving.” Limiting him to just being “beautiful.” And while it is fun to rile Lestat and see how he reacts, idk… I was kind of taken aback by this and I had too many thoughts about it to have Lestat respond flippantly, which he would have. I think Lestat either gets defensive about loving Louis, or just dismisses these kinds of comments, one less person for him to compete with for Louis’ attention, lol.

TL;DR: I think when ppl ask that, part of where they may be coming from is that THEY feel like a “sad sack” who’s maybe not worth being loved, especially by the main character in a series, a flashy glittery murder machine. They worry that even if they’re loved for being “beautiful” that that really isn’t enough for a relationship, and that’s absolutely true, if we’re defining beauty as superficial characteristics. The beauty of Louis, to me, is in his character, and the emotions of the scene.

I’ve written a lot about what draws me, as a reader, to love Louis, probably the best stuff is in my #we appreciate and love louis in this house tag. But I’ll try not to go overboard and answer you here, anyway!

I think the deal with describing Louis as *~SO beautiful~* is partly that, hey, it’s fun to do, like having a favorite flower, and AR takes the opportunity to remind us of it, and put the camera on him in a scene, so we know he’s present. It also serves a purpose, we usually get at least a scrap of context about him and/or the scene:

“I glared at him, at the sharp graceful angles of his imperturbable face, […] his wide-set eyes, with their fine rich black lashes. How perfect the tender indentation of his upper lip.” -Lestat, The Tale of the Body Thief

^Let’s take this line and unpack it a little:

Lestat glares at Louis. –> Lestat is clearly pissed.

Louis’ imperturbable face –> Louis is not scared of Lestat being pissed.

And then Lestat lavishes this extra description on him, appreciatively. Attention on the lip area, now we’re picturing him pointedly staring there, which might precede a kiss, so we can infer that Lestat desperately wants to kiss him, probably. What I get from all that is the exquisite tension of Lestat wanting someone he can’t have, someone he treasures and wants even MORE bc of the difficulty.

It’s the tension of Lestat and other characters pining for Louis that AR wrings every drop out for us, she’s showing us how helpless these other characters are that they can only try to capture Louis with descriptions since he defies being owned by anyone. Unrequited love is a powerful thing.

Bringing these back, in case anyone else missed them and want to indulge in some Louis praise/discussion:

The first anon in this series: Honestly I can’t believe how gay everyone was for Louis ask and my response

“Louis rant” anon here.

A recent Louis canon hair fanart and commentary

Reply to an anon re: “fanon has cast Louis as a beautiful, frail flower destined and carried by Lestat’s will”

Anon grateful for “that whole “gay for Louis” ask reminded me of how much I love Louis” and my invitation to anyone to send rants about loving Louis (or any VC character!)

Also somewhat relevant: thoughts on Louis having a living lineage.

So, re: Anon might be identifying with Louis:

We can find ourselves slipping into the characters we love and identify with. Some ppl find Lestat relatable in his lust for life, self-centeredness, refusal to quit, constantly screwing up and berating himself in the narrative (but rarely being able to outright apologize to those he hurts)… a flawed character for sure but an inspiring one.

I think some ppl who relate to Louis and feel less flashy, less glamorous, there’s smtg very appealing about how such a character could be so idolized by the more flashy and glamorous one. What could such a *rockstar* like Lestat find attractive in Louis?? You said yourself Louis is a sad sack. And yes, beauty is not enough to keep a relationship going. But, as I mentioned above, Louis’ beauty is often described in a context that charges it with the emotions of the scene. At least to my reading, there’s more conveyed than just eye color.

Still, why wouldn’t Lestat demand someone who was more like himself?

But here’s the thing I think a lot of ppl miss when they’ve only seen movie!IWTV, or only read a few of the books.

^Louis & Lestat by @garama

I personally believe that Lestat sees in Louis a similarly wounded soul with a lust for life. At their core, neither really want to die. Louis kept getting into fights with ppl bc he couldn’t kill himself as a mortal. Lestat has stubbornly refused to die his entire life and has had plenty of reason to want death. They’ve both almost killed themselves and been brought back. There’s a similar torment in them dealing with their natures.

As an anon put it so eloquently: “I think ppl forget that Louis is just as passionate and vengeful as Lestat, it’s just that he isn’t as vocal or showy about it. He’s more intimate and intense.”

The way they communicate/express themselves, and the way they practice self-care is vastly different. Lestat builds up his beautiful shell with retail therapy, redecorating and refurbishing his dwellings, and attending all kinds of shows and making elaborate plans with his kills, just spoiling himself silly. Always down for indulging his senses. He’s chasing new experiences, learning the new slang, trying to keep himself in the latest fashions. Novelty.

Louis prefers his nights at home, low-drama, in his own creature comforts, with his books and poetry to escape into. We don’t know much of what he’s read but he seems to want to spend eternity reading. What is reading? Even if it’s nonfiction, it’s learning, being told a story, being more informed. It’s novelty, too. Escapism through the imagination.

And their personalities seem to complement each other. Lestat’s lust for adventure spices up Louis’ otherwise too-calm existence. Louis’ calm and dignified manner brings Lestat back down to earth when he gets too untethered. Their bickering is bc they care for each other, can see beneath each other’s disguises. Louis sees the frightened boy inside the frustration that makes Lestat lash out and attack first. Lestat sees the potential in Louis of someone who, if he could get over his inhibitions, could experience so much more in his life.

When AR was kind of RPing as Lestat in her #Fan Questions for Lestat series, she was asked smtg similar:

“…but if I did have to choose, the companion would be Louis. My longest most enduring friendship and love affair in this world was with Louis. And though his limitations can be maddening, they can also be as inspiring to me as his virtues… the best choices we make are not always the wise choices. Sometimes they are intensely emotional choices. And I’ve always had a deep Romantic respect for emotion. My love for Louis transcends wisdom. And I may need the pain as much as the consolation that an eternal relationship with Louis would involve.“

^This is one of those moments I talk about where I feel like she recaptures the old magic, taps into the vein (pun intended) that got us all addicted to this series in the first place. Why I can’t just discard the crackier later books. She’s not all that specific here, but it’s believable. At least, to me. Lestat admits that Louis’ limitations (and this can be so many things, things Lestat disagrees with him about as well as things Louis refuses to do) can be maddening, and inspiring.

And he admits that his love for Louis transcends wisdom. That may be a cop-out answer, but I’ve felt that kind of love in my life. Inexplicably bound to someone, despite the math of the personalities not seeming to mesh.

Love works in mysterious ways. Even for beautiful sad sacks and the arrogant bastards who love them

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