#it feels like its shameful now to admit that you liked harry potter without casting some sort of negative judgment on the enjoyment of it? | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

romerona · 2 years ago

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1-2-3 She's out.

ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴏɴᴇ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀʏɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʏᴏᴜ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ꜰɪɴᴅ ʟᴏᴠᴇ, ɪᴛ ꜰɪɴᴅꜱ ʏᴏᴜ. ꜰᴏʀ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴇᴍᴇʀꜱᴏɴ, ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ꜰɪɴᴅ ʜᴇʀ, ɪᴛ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ꜱᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ ʜᴇʀ ᴏꜰꜰ ʜᴇʀ ꜰᴇᴇᴛ… ʟɪᴛᴇʀᴀʟʟʏ.

Harry James Potter x OC

Marauders alive. Wolfstar.

Masterlist.

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The Library of Hogwarts, a pinnacle of knowledge for all witches and wizards, a testament to the knowledge that the older generation entrusted to the new ones through their studies, experiments, adventures, and experiences of their own written down on blank pages for all to learn from them, a place for all those that sought out the unknown.

Love inhales selfishly the smell of old pages, bound in leather and pressed parchment, a comforting, familiar scent that she loved since her early life as golden light shining through the glass windows, casting the final light of the day over the worn-out books she was trying to read over but unfortunately failing in doing so, all thanks to the one and only Draco Malfoy, who had taken it upon himself to criticize every little thing about their new professor, Remus Lupin and occasionally taking hits at Hagrid too.

"I can't understand for the life of me what was going through Dumbledore's old skull when he decided to hire such people to teach us," He scoffs, leaning back against his chair, his green robe has been discarded once he arrived at their meeting spot. "One of greatest wizards of all time, yeah right. Shame he was allowed to return last year, he should keep away from Hogwarts in my opinion, we are better off without him–"

"Stop leaning against your chair before you fall and give yourself another injury." Love drawls from her book glancing at his bound-up right arms before turning back to read the same paragraph once again. "Thought I hardly call that an injury."

Draco narrow his eyes at her, Love could feel the heated glare but she continued to read unbothered by it. "It is a serious injury and I didn't cause it to myself, Love, it was that bloody half-breed's and his stupid bird's fault."

"Debatable, very debatable." Love mumbles, glancing at the parchment next to her and then at the books comparing texts before it was abruptly snapped shut and out of her reach, making her look up at the Slytherin boy with a glare who was still glaring back, what Draco just did was one of her biggest pet peeves and he knew that. "Really?"

"It's impolite to not look when someone is speaking to you." He shrugged with an air of indifference.

"Draco, I'm close to finishing my Kappa's essay," Love said, trying to keep her nerves settled "I promise once I'm done you'll have my undivided attention since you so much need it, so just give me the book."

He rolled his eyes, scoffing once again taking the book out of her hold when she tried to reach for it. "I wouldn't worry so much about it, Lupin hardly looks like someone who can read,"

Love purses her lips, closes her eyes and sighs, she just wants to finish the bloody essay so she can start with her Herbology work and Draco was making it very hard for her to do so, normally he was a... tolerable study partner but today she couldn't stand him, and the fastest way to get him to give her the book back was if she gives him her attention.

"Alright, what is it?" She said, opening her eyes to look at the boy in front of her.

Draco smirked triumphantly, still holding the book. "I want you to admit my injuries are severe and that the half-breed it's at fault."

She should just admit it to get Draco to give her the book back, to just give him what he wants per usual because in his mind he was always right, it was easy and quick but she couldn't.

"Why would I do that?" Love asks crossing her arms, looking at the way a frown was making its way to his pale face.

"Because it's the truth, look at my arm, Love"

"Draco, be reasonable right now." Love gave him a deadpan look. "There's nothing wrong with your arm now, Madam Pomfrey fixed it up for you, and the instructions–"

"Why are you siding with that filthy half-breed?" Draco sneered at her.

Love sighs again, getting tired of hearing the same story. "I'm just saying both of you are at fault, he shouldn't have brought such dangerous creatures to class but you didn't follow instructions, which were relatively easy."

"Are you daring to call me stupid?" He drawls, silver colour eyes hardening towards the girl.

"That's not what I–"

"The only one stupid here is you, Love." Draco cuts her off, his voice sharp enough to cut deeply. "You can't even see how people walk all over you, so I'm not surprised you can't understand that I'm right on this situation, but what am I expecting from a muggle-born?"

Love gritted her teeth looking away from him. It did hurt a bit, but she was used to harsh words from him every once in a while, whenever he loses his cool demeanour he tends to let his tongue have a mind of its own, though, she often wonders if there was some truth behind what he says. Anger brings out hidden feelings, after all.

"Screw you, Draco." Love said, gathering her belongings angrily. To shit with her essay, she couldn't be near him when he was like this.

"Right, be mad at me for telling you the truth," Hisses the boy, throwing the book on the table. "Go run to your precious Half-breed in his last days in Hogwarts."

Love ignored him, she quickly stood up from the table, not wanting to stay longer - or just enough to put her things in her bag- and stomped away, huffing angrily as she left the library to her Common Room.

He was wrong, Love would know if anyone was walking over her. Sure, she might be a bit nicer than necessary but she liked helping her classmates whenever she could, she was thought since she was a little girl to help people who needed it.

But then again, it could be true, maybe she wasn't noticing it but people around her did, an outside point of view could see it all and they don't say anything because it benefited them for her not to know, to keep her in the dark, maybe she was being walked all over, and the only one who told her the truth was Draco... But her friends, Padma and Emma wouldn't let that happen, right? They would at least tell her something, right?

Yes, they would. She trusts her friends with her life, they would never let people take advantage of her kindness. She knows they wouldn't, just as she would never let anyone take advantage of them in any way, shape or form, and Love shouldn't doubt that for a second.

She was just overthinking, per usual. Her head had been a real mess lately, it had been weeks and she still hasn't found her journal, no matter how many times she has searched for it, how many times she had turned upside down her room, her common room, the damn school, it hadn't appeared. Love even went as far as to ask Filch if he had seen her book, but he only laughed in her face and told her to lose hope, he said and quote, 'All that gets lost, Hogwarts takes away.'Creepy but as much as hated to admit it, she was starting to believe it was true.

That was the main crisis in her life, the main stress, plus, since the day of the Boggart, Snape has been very sensitive about that topic and he had his students suffer for it, though she heard the Gryffindors had it the worst, and Neville was getting bullied even worst now. Poor boy, it wasn't his fault, if anything the guilty for that boggart was Snape's himself. He was the one who likes to violate the boy just because he could, hence why Neville was terrified of him, it was common sense.

A gasp broke out of her when she felt the stairs shuffle making her collide with someone, and sending her things flying to the ground. Just Great. She closed her eyes and sighs not wanting to acknowledge anything yet.

"Oh, I'm sorry," said an unfamiliar voice as the stairs stop moving.

Love opened her eyes to catch an oddly familiar pair of green ones, which for some reason widened as if surprised.

Looking at the person better, Love came to the realization it was the famous Harry Potter, she sighs waving her hand dismissively. "It's not your fault."

She kneeled to pick up her books, and other trinkets when the Gryffindor boy mirrored her actions quickly, a little too quickly and with a bit of force making Love wonder for a moment if had fractured his knees from the impact.

"It's okay, really," Love gazes at him but his eyes were firmly on the scattered books.

He shook his head nervously, black hair swaying at the movement. "N-No, I- it's my fault, let me help you."

"It's not, it's the damn moving stairs," Love lets him help, as he picks up a couple of parchments off the floor. She giggles softly, "They are a bloody menace if you ask me, it's a miracle I haven't fallen off them."

"Well, I wasn't paying attention where I was walking, so, I guess I have some fault too," Harry said, glancing at her quickly.

"With that logic, it would be both of our faults since I wasn't paying attention either," Love said, picking up the last of her books, her hand clashing with Harry's for a second making both of them pull back awkwardly, "Sorry," Love stood up as Harry grabbed it quickly before standing up as well.

"But to be fair," Love continues with her previous statement. "These stairs have little room to move around, so it's not our fault but the founder's for making such small, tricky stairs." A grin made its way to Love's face as the boy frowns looking at the large stairs, then at her, once he glance at her and quickly realized what she was meaning.

He chuckles softly, his eyes catching hers again "Right, they should have been more considered about the students who daze away from their trail."

"It would have only been the right thing to do."

She smiles at him, and an awkward silence stretches as he continues to stare at her. Love cleared her throat looking at his hands which were still holding her books. "So, uhm- can you pass my books before the staircase moves again and this time actually sends me flying off of them?" She joked.

"I would catch you." Harry blurred, taking Love by surprise.

She blinked, bemused and confused. "What?"

"I- erm," he clear his throat, his cheeks turning a shade of soft crimson as he looked away. "I would catch you, if- if you fall."

Love couldn't help but smile, holding back a chuckle. "For those people who say chivalry is dead, they have yet to meet Harry Potter, do you often offer to catch people falling from the stairs?"

Harry glanced back at her, his own mouth parting in a smile, his cheeks still as pink as they were moments before. "Not really, just—

He was cut off by the movement beneath them, once again the stairs move. Love threw her hand to hold onto the handrail as the sudden change caused her to stumble a bit, she kind of hated the stairs when they move.

Finally, when they stopped moving, Love decided she had enough of them, she turned to the emerald gazed boy. "Okay, this would be my stop."

That snapped him out, and he quickly nodded and gave her the book he was holding tight to. "Oh, right, sorry."

Love quickly shoved them into her bag as Harry Potter grabbed something from the ground again, his broom, that's when Love finally noticed he was in his quidditch uniform, which was wet and covered in mud.

"Thanks for the help." Love gave Harry one last smile.

"No, thank you—"

Love frowns lightly at his words, they didn't make any sense and by the looks of it, Harry had realized that as well as he turned a deeper shade of pink. Love finally giggle, his facial expression was too funny not to.

"What I meant was— erm, you know—"

"No problem, Potter," She chuckled again, before continuing her route to her common room. "I'll see you around,"

"Yeah, brilliant, I'll- I'll definitely see you around."

Love chose to ignore his last statement and continue to climb up the stairs, yet a smile formed on her face. He was really nervous for some reason, it was kind of funny.

'What can you break, even if you never pick it up or touch it?'

Love breathes out the answer tiredly after walking up the stairs, that is the one thing she didn't like about her common room, the number of stairs she had to climb to get there.

The bronze eagle flaps its wings once and the door opens without another second to waste, letting the girl inside. Looking around, Love noticed Emma sitting alone at one table and moves towards him, letting herself fall onto one of the sofas with a tired sigh.

"Shut up, I'm trying to read," Emma mumbles, not even bothering to look up knowing that the only persons who would dare to sit at the same table as he was would be Love or Padma.

"Is it a good book?" Love asks, glancing at the cover. Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. C. S. Lewis.

"I'm trying to figure that out, but annoying twats keep interrupting me."

Love rolled her eyes, and she stayed quiet for a few seconds, granting Emma his wish before she spoke again. "Where's Padma?"

"Do I look like her bodyguard?" Emma huffs annoyed, putting his book down to look at Love. "Why would I know?"

"Because when I left you were with her?" Love gave him a hard look which was borderline amused.

Emmanuel rolls his eyes and shrugs. "I don't know, I think Anthony Goldstein came to tell her something about Rogers needing her."

"So, she's in a Quidditch meeting," Love concludes, she leans back into her chair, letting her gaze travel to the nearby window, looking at the night sky, her mind went back to the nights she spend in Shanghai, how she and her family would stargaze every night without fail.

She should send them a letter soon.

"Hogsmeade is the 31, by the way."

At his voice, Love turns to her friend frowning. "What?"

"The trip to Hogsmeade," Emma didn't glance up from his book but nudged his head in the direction of the bulletin board where a couple of people hanged about. "Clearwater posted the bulletin a few hours ago."

Love's eyes shinned as she perked up from her seat, looking at the board and then at Emma. "Oh, that's great, I can't wait to visit Honeyduks."

"I'm more interested in the shrieking shack, I overheard that one could still hear the shrieks coming from it if you get close enough." Emma shared, slightly excited.

"And you want to hear them?" Love questions, suspiciously.

Emma shrugged, but a small smirk made its way to his face before he could answer, Padma slumped down next to Love and groaned.

"At Six in the bloody morning. Roger wants us to train at six in the morning," Padma grumbles, running a hand over her face. "Not even the sodding ghosts are awake at that time."

"Reckon ghosts don't sleep," Emma mumbles.

Padma rolled her eyes and kick his leg with her foot. "Shut up, you know what I meant, besides, it's just insane, who in their right mind would set practice at that hour?"

"All of this is for you to train so we can win the cup this year," Emma asked, frowning at his friend's lack of professionalism. "Or are you telling me you don't want to win the cup?"

"Don't be stupid, of course, I do, don't get me wrong I obviously want to win but this just seems a bit extreme."

"Well, on the bright side it's better than the Gryffindors," Love told her, making Padma glance at her. "I just passed Harry Potter in his uniform all wet and covered in mud from the field, at least it won't rain at six in the morning, I hope."

"I take rain any day over get up early." Padma huffed, placing her arm over her eyes.

Love places a hand on the girl's forehead affectionately. "Work hard now and be proud later,"

"Yeah, yeah, easy for you to say when you're not the one who has to wake up at six in the bloody morning."

"Emerson, is this yours?" A feminine voice called from behind her.

Love turned to see an older Ravenclaw girl holding a very familiar green amphibious in her hands making her gape at it. "Hoppy, how–?"

"I found him near the entrance," said the older Ravenclaw as she gave her the toad who croak when he settled on her hand. "Looks like he got lost or maybe he was trying to make a run for it."

Love frowns glancing down at her croaking toad."I hope not, anyways thank you for giving him back."

"No problem."

With that, the girl walks away leaving the trio and the amphibious behind. Love holds Hoppy in her palm, inspecting the toad for any harm that might come to him when he was on his little adventure.

"You were sleeping on my bed this afternoon, how did you get from there to here?" Love mumbles looking at his blinking yellow eyes.

"Maybe he's going through a rebellious phase?" Padma offers, returning to her self-pity after a moment. "Y'know running away from home and all that."

Love hums looking down at her toad, "Maybe, but don't go turning into Trevor now."

"I kind of want to get a pet," Emmanuel told them, placing his book down.

"What do you have in mind?" Love asks as she places Hoppy on her shoulder. "A cat perhaps?"

"An owl?" Padma added, looking up at the starry ceiling.

"It's not like I have many options." Emma purses his lips and shrugged. "Anyways, it's just a thought, I might not be ready for the responsibility yet."

"Fair..."

🤍

"What do you think you're doing, Mr Salazar?" Snape's cold voice drawls around the potions classroom as he stands in front of Emmanuel, who tensed up at the professor's words.

Emma glance at him before looking down at his potion, they were working on Anti-Paralysis Potion, and it was an extensive potion, they could use all the help they could get. "What you told us to, sir."

"Is your stature affecting your hearing?" The professor sneers, staring down his hooked nose at Emmanuel. "I did not tell you to mix the Mandrakes roots with the lacewing flies yet, that is after you blend the ginger with the water, which you are not doing."

Love shared a look with Padma before glancing at her other friend who was turning a deep shade of pink. From under the table, she grabbed his hand which was turning white at how tight he was clenching it and tried to smooth it open.

"Professor, but the book says–" Padma tried to speak but she was cut off by the older man.

"You do what I told you to," Professor Snape sends Padma a sharp look, "And when I tell you to do what the book says you do it which I did not today. Back to your potions, those who don't get it done today will have to make an essay on it for the next class."

"Throw that away and do it again," Snape continued, he tap his wand on the corner of Emmanuel's cauldron and in the next instant, its blue colour changed to bright yellow, not at all how it was supposed to go.

"It's going to take me all class," Emma mumbled, his eyes meeting Snape's for a short moment.

"Then we should learn how to listen and follow instructions." With one last look of disdain, he turn on his heel to scrutinize a couple of Hufflepuffs potions who stiffened when the professor approached them.

Finally managing to hold the boy's hand, Love to tighten her hold three times in return he holds her hand tightly before having to stand up to throw the potion away.

Love turns back to her potion, which in her opinion, it was the hardest potion she ever made so far. Beds of sweat dripped down her forehead as she grinds the bitterroot - which to her feels like they are made out of diamond– to a fine powder so she could add it to the potion and let it seemer.

She grinded with all her strength in hopes to accelerate the process, she didn't want to do another essay this week, alas she usually enjoys doing potion homework but this week has been a bit shit, so she rather not get any work for the weekend.

After what felt like a lifetime, the bell rang, and mostly no one got to the potion right, Love was thankful that she was not one of them, but her friends were not that lucky.

"I just don't get why he has to be such a massive cunt," Emmanuel huffs angrily as they sat on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the courtyard.

It was a nice day, one of the last to have sunlight and warmth which was rare in October. So, the trio decided to spend their free period outside before charms.

"Professor Dumbledore should revise his staff more often because Snape could use some examination." Love mumbles, head looking up at the sky, eyes closed as she let the sunlight fall on her face.

"Snape needs to be sacked, he does," Padma grunted, from next to Love, whilst doing her Astronomy chart homework she had forgotten about.

"You got that right," Emma said angrily, crossing his arms and shaking his head vexingly. "He even deserves more than to be sacked. He should go to prison, I don't understand what it is about me that he enjoys harassing.— Padma, if you answer I swear to Merlin."

"Hey, I wasn't going to say anything, that you thought I would it's your own mind coming up with answers." Padma snickers, earning a nasty glare and a slap on the arm from the boy. "Sorry, Sorry, I promise Emma the only one who has deep problems here is snape,"

Love hummed in agreement, "It's him, not you."

"... Thanks," Emma mumbled bashfully.

"Anyway, in another piece of news guess what Parvati told me– uh, why is Harry Potter coming this way?"

Opening her eyes, Love watches in confusion as the boy nervously walked towards them.

🤍

The night the September 1 of 1991 was a very memorable evening for Harry Potter, because not only it was his first time in Hogwarts, the place his parents and uncles talk about so much and with so much nostalgia and fondness, the place he had been counting the days to go since he could remember, the place he was meant to make a home out of. He also met her.

Harry Potter often likes to remember the first time he met Love Emerson. He could remember every little detail of his interaction with her.

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.

"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron Weasley, who had been a friend of Harry's for the longest time whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."

Harry smiled weakly. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but he did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Harry didn't feel brave or quick-witted or any of it at the moment, not to mention, he wanted– no, he needed to be in Gryffindor, like his whole family had been because regardless of what his mum and father says, that all houses are great and that they'll be proud of him wherever he gets sorted, he knew that deep down they were hoping he gets sorted in their former house, so it was making it all feel a bit worse.

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause --

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Harry saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.

"Bones, Susan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.

"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. Perhaps it was Harry's imagination, after all, he'd heard about Slytherin, but he thought they looked like an unpleasant lot.

He was starting to feel definitely sick now. He didn't want to disappoint his family, what if Ron gets into Gryffindor and he doesn't? Or worst what if he gets sorted into Slytherin? His father and uncle Sirius would love that.

His train of thought, or more like the nervous recked that was going on in his head was cut off short when he felt something softly bumping his arm making his head turn in that direction. It was a blonde girl, about his height, with bright blue eyes and pink cheeks.

"Sorry." She mumbled lowly and gave him an awkward smile. "The crowd's a bit crazy on my side, I couldn't count the many times someone had to dig their elbow in my ribs."

"It's alright." Harry smiled back at her dismissively, he thought that might have been the end of their conversation but it wasn't.

"This is awfully nerve-racking, isn't it?" The girl bit her lip as another student was called. "What house do you want to be sorted into?"

Harry turned to her again, meeting her nervous blue eyes which he was sure to mirror his own. "I hope I get into Gryffindor, my entire family has been sorted there."

"Ah, so you already knew about all of this?" The blonde girl quickly waves her hand motioning the hall.

"Not really," He thought for a second, he, of course, knew plenty of Hogwarts but not all as his parents and uncles wanted to keep a few parts a secret from him so he can experience them for the first time like the sorting, "Not all anyways, I thought we were going to do a spell or fight a troll."

"Now, that would have been quite tragic, to die before experiencing what the school was to offer would have definitely ruined my night but... it would have been a unique death, no doubt." She giggles making Harry smile a bit, he could help it, her laugh was contagious but his smile disappeared when he saw her eyes glance at his forehead.

He knew what was coming, It had occurred too many times for Harry not to know what was next. He brace himself for the unavoidable question to be thrown at him like it had a plethora of times before, for the question he hated for all the meaning behind it, for its–

"Has anyone ever told you that you have very lovely eyebrows?"

Harry blinked. "I– what?"

"They have a nice arch and they're the right amount of bushy," She told him, glancing at them. "My sister would be jealous of them–"

"Emerson, Love," McGonagall called making the girl's eyes widen.

She let out a nervous breath before walking away from him, leaving him more confused than ever. He watches as she sends the professor a nervous smile before sitting on the stool, – what did she mean by his eyebrows? Were they actually nice?-- the hat was placed on her head which cover half of her face, and it hummed — Nice arch? The right amount of bushy? What a weird girl– It took the hat a moment before he spoke.

"RAVENCLAW!!!"

When the hat was removed from her head, the girl was sporting the biggest smile, there was no more nervousness or awkwardness or anything other than excitement, her eyes gleaming as she sat down at the cheering table next to Terry Boot who was quick to offer her a handshake.

Harry didn't even notice he was staring until she looked back at him and send him a smile and a quick thumbs up before looking away when someone started to talk to her. Really, really weird girl.

He got sorted into Gryffindor, much to his relief, the hat attempted to get him into Slytherin but he would rather not talk about it now or ever, he'll take that secret to the grave. On better news, he couldn't wait to tell his parents, though he might be a bit worried about his father and uncles sending him a howler or something else more embarrassing but it's a risk he's willing to take.

Sitting on the red and golden table, chatting with Ron and his other peers about their families and trying the delicious treacle tart- which was just as good as his mother had told him it was if not better- he couldn't help as his eyes travel to the Ravenclaw table.

The weird girl was happily eating a chocolate pudding, laughing at something someone said before adding something of her own. It seems right for the hat to have sorted her in Ravenclaw, he didn't know much of the bunch other than they were the smart ones, and he didn't know the girl at all other than the little conversation they had, but for some reason, it made sense to him that she was in the blue and bronze house. Thought, for a single second he felt disappointed they weren't sorted in the same house but the thought went as quickly as it came.

She was still weird, he would probably never speak to her again a fact he should be pleased for.

But after that night, Harry's green eyes seemed to have a mind of their own for wherever he went he searched for the weird girl with charming blue eyes who told him he had lovely eyebrows, his brain betraying him as it memorize every class he had with the girl whose soft hair looks like honey, eventually his heart joined the rebellion against him and threatened to beat out of his chest whenever he saw the soft dimples on her cheeks when a laugh breaks out of her pretty pink lips.

Whenever the girl was around he couldn't work properly.

It took him a bit to realize what all that meant, he even considered sending a letter to his father but he then thought about it better and decided against it, so, he settle for Ron who was just as clueless, the third option was talking to Fred and George who after teasing him were very helpful and help him conclude that well, he fancied the weird Ravenclaw girl.

Harry Potter fancied Love Emerson.

"I know you enjoy gazing but stop staring at her before she catches you and thinks you're insane, mate." Ron's voice cut through his thoughts. "Then you'll really have zero chances with her."

"I'm not staring," Harry mumbles, looking away from the girl to the book in his hands trying to hide his crimson cheeks.

Ron scoffs as he leans on the pillar, he and Harry had been standing by for the past ten minutes in hopes that Harry gather enough courage to walk up to her. "You always do, it's a bloody miracle she hadn't caught you yet."

Harry didn't bother answering, he only sends his friend an annoyed look making him hold his arms up in defence.

"Come on, Harry, talk to her!" Ron encourages, placing a hand on his shoulder and sending him a grin. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Before Harry could muster a word, another voice beat him to it, a very familiar voice much to his dismay.

"Talk to who?"

"Dad, what are doing here?" Harry exclaimed turning to face his father and uncles who he had noticed were coming behind his father.

James gave him a cheery smile. "I told you I and Sirius would be making rounds a few days a week, did you forget after all the fun we have when we're here?"

"No, no I didn't. I couldn't even if I wanted to." Harry mutters, remembering a few embarrassing moments his father and uncle had made him go through in the past weeks.

"Good, I was starting to worry you had." James sends him a cheeky smile, not innocent at all before turning to Ron's eyebrows wiggling. "Ron, who is my son supposed to talk to? A boy? A girl perhaps?"

"Harry's talking with a girl?" Sirius's voice broke through as he came up to them, and next to him, Remus Lupin grinning at the boys. "And I'm the last one to know?"

"I'm not," Harry exclaimed, trying to keep his cheeks from heating up.

Ron scoffs loudly making Harry nudge him on the ribs with a sharp look.

"So, it is a girl?" James exclaimed eyes going wide, a smile forming on his face. "Who is she?"

Harry's eyes momentarily glance at Remus who was smiling knowingly having known about his nephew's crush since the first week of classes, he had called out Harry in class for staring but he hadn't specified who he was staring at, he just likes to startle him from time to time. Remus also tried to talk to him about it whenever Harry came by for a cuppa but he always avoided the subject like a plague, which was a bit of contrast with his father who always used to jump at every opportunity to talk about his crush on Lily.

Ron went to open his mouth but Harry clasped a hand over it. "No one, can we just go now?"

"Is it Ginny?" Sirius asks, eyes roaming about to try and find the ginger Gryffindor.

"What?" Ron shrieked, looking at Sirius with a frown similar to Harry's, both wondering how the man could have come to that conclusion. "No, Harry does not fancy my sister and never will, he fancies–"

Harry lunges towards him, the boys struggle against each other to keep the other from doing something, and then Remus spoke up making Harry freeze.

"Could the mystery girl be Love Emerson?"

Harry sends Remus a glare of betrayal which he exchanges with a borderline mischievous grin.

"Yes, that's her, sitting on the fountain." Ron panted, pointing at the courtyard.

Sirius, James and Remus turn in the direction the ginger boy was pointing, his father and uncle more eager than his uncle Remus.

"Is it the blonde?" Asked Sirius, tilting his head to get a better look.

Harry pursed his lips, sighing knowing there was no way he could avoid this any longer nor the heat from raising to his face and nodded. "....Yes, that's her."

His father turns to him, and his eyes seem to sparkle with humour and mischief.

"Love, eh? That's a pretty name. What's she like?" James said making Harry's blush spread down his neck

"He's never actually talked to her. He just stares." Ron answers for him, earning the attention of the adults. "He was raving about how he spoke to her the other day but I hardly believe it was an actual conversation."

"Ron," Harry sends him a glare, not wanting to turn to the waiting eyes of his family.

Ron sends him an apologetic look in return "Sorry, mate, but it's the truth, we've been sitting here for the past fifteen minutes waiting for you to give her her book back."

"What book?" Sirius asks, turning back to Harry in expectation.

"Reckon is the book he's clutching, Pads," Remus mumbles pointing at the leather journal in the boy's hands.

Sirius frowns. "Well, why haven't you?"

"It's just not that simple."

"What do you mean is not that simple?" James quizzes, sending his son an amused grin as he points at the object in his hands. "This is the perfect opportunity to chat with her, son, the perfect excuse to show her the Potter charisma."

"But... what do I tell her? Hey, here's your book, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?" Harry huffs, shaking his head.

James nods eagerly. "I used to ask your out mum that way, look where it got me."

"Right, Lily rejected you until the seventh year and even then it was a stretch." Sirius scoffs a barking laugh.

"Well, it work in the end, didn't it?"

"Don't trust your father, Harry," Remus told the boy earning an outraged 'Oi' from the man. "Just go there, tell her you found the book laying around and wanted to give it back, then later when you see her again, try and talk to her about Hogsmeade, and if all goes right all will happen in due time."

"Yeah, go on Harry." Ron encourages once again.

Harry looked back at where the girl was taking the sun, he took a silent deep breath, his ears catching the comment of reassurance from his father and uncle as he walked forward. By how nervous he felt it might seem like he was going off to war or something like that, it was even worse knowing that his father, uncles and friend were witnessing this.

But Ron was right. What's the worst that could happen? He already spoke with her once– well twice if you count the first year– it went fine, dare he even say it went fantastic, she even touch his face, she laughed with him and smile at him, so Harry has high hopes that today could also go brilliant.

Before he knew it, he was standing right in front of Love, her eyes gazing up at him in confusion, he would have noticed the odd look her friends gave to each other if he hadn't been too immersed in Love.

"Yes?" She asks, sending him a puzzled grin.

"I–" He gulps before clearing his throat, glancing down at the object in his hands. "I- I wanted to give this back to you."

"Is that my journal?" Love asks eyes going wide as she spotted the leather-bound book.

"I believe so unless there's another Love Emerson around." Harry chuckles nervously as he attempts to joke.

"Not that I know of," Love stood up, eyes going between the book and the boy as she gave him a dazzling smile. "I've gone mad from looking for it for weeks... where did you find it?"

"Uh, y-you know, around."

Love laughs softly, shaking her head and walking a bit closer to him. "Of course, I've been breaking my head searching for it but Harry Potter finds it easily."

Now, Harry would never use the term feeling butterflies in his stomach, he didn't believe it was real, sure, he feels his nervous system failing him whenever Love was around and how thinks he might have a heart attack when she looks his general direction, yet he doesn't think he ever felt the said butterflies, but now, having her so close– she smells like coconut and expensive perfume– and her saying his name did something new to him.

His brain froze, which cause him to drop the journal to Love's feet hardly making her wince.

Feeling his whole face heating up, Harry quickly bent over to pick it up muttering a few sorry's while at the same time, Love did the same which he hadn't noticed until he bent back up and felt something hard hit the back of his head.

"Oww." Love groaned.

Harry's eyes widen and his mouth went dry when he saw Love holding her nose between her hands while Padma Patil and her other friend stood up to look at the girl.

"Holy– are you okay?" Padma asked, glancing at Harry and then back at Love.

The girl muttered something which no one could understand due to the hands that were covering part of her mouth.

The short boy grabbed her wrist in an attempt to free them from her nose. "Let me see."

Love winced as she drop her hands. Harry felt his stomach drop dramatically down to his feet, though he felt something heavier falling too he didn't look down to check, he didn't care, he couldn't, not when he saw the blood on her nose, which was dripping to her white shirt, staining it. "Is it bad?"

For Godrics sake, this is all going horribly, when did things take this turn? His head didn't even hurt that bad.

"Love, I-I'm so sorry–" He took a step towards Love while making a nervous attempt to apologize for causing her a broken nose when his foot slid with something making him stumble forward, in Love's direction, the force in which his body stumbled against her pushed the girl backwards, the back of her knees colliding with the side of the fountain forcing her to drop down into the water with a gasp but not before her head hit the statue of an odd looking bird that was in the middle of the fountain.

"Love!!" Both her friends cried, quickly moving into action.

Padma entered the water to grab the girl and the boy helped her to pull Love out of the water. She had a bit of blood running down her head making Harry feel slightly dizzy.

"She's out."The boy said worriedly as Padma got out of the fountain.

"Let's take her to Madam Pomfrey." Remus was quick to arrive, he swiftly gather Love into his arms, not worried about getting wet one bit and picked her up, "Come on."

Love's friends quickly gather all of their things including the damn journal which was for some reason back on the floor and followed Remus inside the castle, the commotion had gathered a few spectators, but Harry couldn't be bothered, he froze, he felt his soul leave his body, he was close to weeping, he wanted to die right then and there, he wanted to go up to the astronomy tower and throw himself off, he wanted to—-

"Harry, come on, son." He felt his father grab him by the shoulders and take him away from where he was standing, back to where it all began.

Sirius let out a breath from his nose, looking at his nephew— who was still in shock—with a hand covering his mouth. "Well, that went...." he didn't finish, he couldn't he only let out a sigh.

"Awful?" Ron mumbled, cringing a bit.

"It'll be okay, Harry." James send his son a sympathetic look as he hesitated. "I'm sure she'll forgive you, y'know, once she wakes up."

Harry, finally snapping out of it, groaned loudly, both hands covering his face in shame, embarrassment, distress, anger, too many emotions to count but one thing was undeniably true, he fucked up.

A/N: Hope you enjoy it. Tell me what you think about it.

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joonkorre · 4 years ago

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To my love,

@drarrymicrofic prompt: forbidden

read Paper Hearts by @dorthyanndrarry and have been completely obsessed w draco doing little mundane things as a hobby or bc it's therapeutic etc etc. i had to fold these paper cranes for an art project once. it's fucking addictive lmao. ao3

tw: very brief mention of blood

It’s just a thing Draco does when he’s bored. A past-time, or a hobby, even. If it’s past midnight and less tiring to be honest, he’d admit that it’s a coping method. But he never really feels like that as of late, as expected from a permanent resident in what is now the Dark Lord’s lair.

Light, clean air, silence, and Merlin knows what else, are lacking in abundance in the Malfoy Manor these days. However, with owl posts too easily intercepted and words too eagerly etched on skin rather than blank pages, paper is readily available. Draco has a lot of free time, being ‘Lucius’s worthless son’ and all. Thus, he writes.

Are you out there? How do you fare?

I haven’t eaten breakfast today. Perhaps I should’ve, but Nagini never leaves.

Will Harry Potter ever get caught?

I tried to go out today. Do you know how it feels to have blood drained from your feet?

Comments of nonsensical nature like so. They help, though. Draco doesn’t quite know the psychology behind it, but he can’t help writing them. A passing interest, then once every two weeks, then every other day, then any piece of paper he can find. Any piece large enough.

To my love,

That Luna girl cries again.

He doesn’t understand why—he’s never understood much, now that he thinks about it—but he’s taken to writing those three words before every message. It feels nice, he supposes, to pretend there’s someone who looks forward to reading his letters, regardless of how boring or awful they are. No matter, a tiny phrase never hurts anyone. He hopes. How many things (small, insignificant things) did he say that—?

To my love,

The last of Mother’s roses have faded to a dull grey. They used to be the color of lilac.

He’s used his wand as a light tonight, a whispered Lumos scarcely bright enough to write down a sentence and cut a strip of paper away, making a square. Familiar folds and creases give way easily beneath his calloused fingers in the dark. Feeling the precise pleats, he bends the wings, then pulls out the tail and the neck. He runs a finger down the neck’s tip. Its head is formed.

To my love,

Should I have killed him?

Cracking open the dirty window right beside his bed, the cool scent of fog and sleepy meadows wafts against his face. A gentle tap of his wand, and the paper crane floats away into the night with minute flaps of wings. Where is it going? He never knows. To his love?

To my love,

There’s a suitcase hidden inside my mattress, ready to go.

Draco closes the window and slides under the cover. Staring up at the swirling darkness of his canopy, he hopes the crane gets to, say, the nearby valley before descending.

To my love,

Let’s run away together.

The scenery is nice there, at least.

----

There’s an analogy to be made about shackles and penance and father’s sins. Draco wouldn’t know. He’s not in the right state of mind to ponder it.

A shame. It’d be nice if his last thought before the Kiss is something poetic.

“He was but a child,” he hears his mother scream. A deafening crash echoes throughout the vast space as her chains weigh more with each word spoken out of turn, forcing her to the dirty floor. “A child!”

Titters and jeers swell in the overheated courtroom. Draco shifts his neck against his collar, silent. Much herculean effort has to be made to ensure his legs are still, lest he rushes to his mother’s side and. Well. He doesn’t know if moving without permission also results in the same punishment. It’ll be improper to collapse in defeat before he’s supposed to: after the Dementor’s had its way with him.

He stands there, unable to do all but look at the particularly orange tile four paces from his position.

“Before Draco Malfoy is given the Dementor’s Kiss as punishment for his crimes, relatives and loved ones are now allowed to say their last words to him,” the Wizengamot judge whose name Draco has let slipped out of his mind in a daze says with a bored drawl.

“If Mrs. Malfoy had just waited for this announcement, she wouldn’t be in her… predicament,” he says, his ‘but what can I do?’ attitude spurring the courtroom to snickers. Draco asks himself, for a brief, horrid moment, if Fiendfyre can be called forth without a wand.

After the laughter has died down, the judge says, “Is there a relative or loved one here who has something to tell Draco Malfoy before we proceed?”

The only one in the vicinity is his mother, whose sobs are choked off by heavy chains. His father has fled. Probably died, too, bless him.

The judge doesn’t even let Draco finish taking a breath and continues, “Alright. Draco Malfoy, you—”

“Wait.”

All noises cease, leaving behind the squeaking of trainers against tiles. Draco doesn’t look up even as the sounds get closer to where he stands.

“Mr, Mr. Potter,” the judge stammers, “you are not Mr. Malfoy’s relative nor loved one.”

“We have history. Shouldn’t that be enough?”

Ratty trainers come into Draco’s field of vision. It’s already too late.

“I—yes, that should be enough, Mr. Potter.”

“Thought so.”

Potter’s presence covers up the especially orange tile, and now Draco can look nowhere else but at the many pockets of the man's olive green jacket. Lifting his head remains a horrible idea.

Nothing seems to move, then, even dust particles seem to pause mid-air. From what Draco can deduce, Potter is content to just stare at him for a bit.

“Thanks for helping me out that time,” Potter finally says. Draco doesn’t know what he wants him to say. That night was fucking hell on earth, he could barely remember it with how hard he blocks it out of his head. So what if he didn’t turn Potter in? What does it matter?

Draco stays silent, even as Potter rustles in his innumerable pockets and grumbles when he can’t seem to find what he’s searching for. Before Draco knows it, Potter hums in pleasant surprise.

“I want to give you something,” he says, holding the mystery object out in a closed fist. Draco frowns, tempted to let his face shift into something long-past and glare at the man in front of him. “Come, now, don’t be stubborn.”

Rolling his eyes, Draco reaches for the object, wrists aching from the iron bands, pulsating with heat. To his confusion, Potter covers Draco's hand with both of his. The man is a furnace, his palms possibly even warmer than the iron bands, the sensation sending volatile, feverish streaks of lightning up Draco’s arms. Potter then tucks an item into Draco’s hand, keeping his hands close by as Draco peers at what he is gifted. His eyes widen.

A paper crane.

Potter's left forearm shifts a bit, jostling the jacket sleeve and capturing Draco’s eyes. This can’t be right. Draco glances at Potter’s right arm and the visibly holstered wand that he always carries with him. Back to his left arm, where the head of another wand is but a hint in the shadow. Draco would’ve thought so as well, would’ve thought Potter is being cautious, if not for the instant familiarity striking him like an elbow to the throat.

His head whips up so quickly his neck strains within the collar. Knowing emerald eyes meet his gaze. “Potter, no.”

An eyebrow cocks up. “Did you not say you want to run away?” Potter whispers back. His fingers trail to the edge of Draco’s armbands like they’re trying to sneak under and touch bare skin.

Draco gasps. Nothing makes sense anymore, absolutely nothing at all.

But from the way the court is growing evidently agitated, from the way Potter doesn’t let them bother him one bit, from the way he waits, endlessly patient.

Potter might be the only one able to make sense of anything at all.

Draco leans a hair closer, so his voice is clear to no one but the two of them.

“My mother,” he says, watching Potter’s irises get swallowed up by pure black. “Remember what she did for you, Potter, please. She can’t stay here…”

Potter nods, promising a later date, that they will both get her. And Merlin help him, Draco trusts every word.

A chair tumbles onto the ground. Shouts explode into existence, footsteps thumping. Draco grips Potter’s left forearm as Potter’s wand effortlessly slides out of its holster into a waiting hand. The fizzling heat of hastily casted hexes slices through the air. With his mother’s shout of relief in his ears, Draco succumbs to the squeezing suffocation of Apparition.

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odanurr87 · 4 years ago

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My thoughts on... The King: Eternal Monarch

Lee Min-ho as Lee Gon, and Kim Go-eun as Jeong Tae-eul.

Release date: April 17 - June 12, 2020

Episodes: 16

Available on: Netflix

Plot synopsis: On one fateful night of December 1994, the king of the Kingdom of Corea was brutally murdered by his illegitimate brother, Lee Lim. The king’s son, Lee Gon, was spared a similar fate thanks to the timely intervention of a mysterious saviour, who only left behind an identity card belonging to one Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul. 15 years later, King Lee Gon finds himself transported to the parallel world of the Republic of Korea where he meets Lieutenant Jeong Tae-eul and together they work to uncover a conspiracy across their two worlds.

Rewatch meter: Medium to High

Introduction

The King: Eternal Monarch is the latest work by writer Kim Eun-sook and, since I enjoyed two of her previous works (Descendants of the Sun and Goblin), I was quite looking forward to it. I didn't know actor Lee Min-ho at the time but I recalled Kim Go-eun from Goblin so I was relatively excited to see her in another main role. The pilot episode of the show was great, deftly introducing us to a host of characters and setting up several plot threads in a total runtime of 70 minutes, already incorporating the concepts of time travel and parallel worlds, not an easy task and a much welcome departure from most kdramas on air. Since I am a fan of sci-fi and modern fantasy however, that meant I'd put this show under the microscope so how did it fare?

Related reviews: Goblin

Characters

From left to right: Lee Jung-jin as Lee Lim, Jung Eun-chae as Goo Seo-rung, Lee Min-ho as Lee Gon, Kim Go-eun as Jeong Tae-eul, Woo Do-hwan as Jo Yeong, and Kim Kyung-nam as Kang Shin-jae.

The show enjoys, and suffers from, a host of characters on both worlds, with many actors playing dual roles because of the concept of parallel worlds. This (over)abundance of characters results in most having to play second fiddle to the two leads. In hindsight, a tighter cast would've worked better. A fair few of the characters (e.g. the detective hiding something from his wife, the pregnant lady, the mother of Lee Gon's doppelganger, god kid, and many more) did not ultimately justify their presence other than to set up (underwhelmingly resolved) mysteries to keep the audience engaged. More important characters, like Prime Minister Koo and Lee Lim, sadly never reached their full potential to my mind, being relegated to play more stereotypical antagonist roles in the end. While I can understand this decision with Lee Lim to an extent, it was a shame Prime Minister Koo’s character wasn’t more nuanced. While Lee Min-ho's characterization of Lee Gon has taken some flak I found him to act more or less in line with how a (fictional) king would, one excited at the prospect of having found the woman he's been searching for for most of his life. Kim Go-eun as Jeong Tae-eul was the one who truly delivered on the emotional end of the spectrum, as we all knew she would. Sadly, the character of Luna was more undercooked, and the show could probably have done without her.

Pacing

The all-out battle at the end of Episode 11, with Lee Gon showing off his skill with the sword, is one of the highlights of the show.

While the pacing of the show ramped up considerably towards the end it actually started rather slowly. Lee Gon discovers the Republic of Korea at the end of the first episode, yes, but it is not until the end of Episode 4 that he returns to his kingdom, with a skeptical Jeong Tae-eul in tow. Then, it is at the end of Episode 9 that Lee Gon and Lee Lim have their first encounter, with an all-out battle with Lee Lim's henchmen at the end of Episode 11, and the reveal of the identity of the savior at the end of Episode 13. I was quite satisfied with the show's pacing up until that point but a little worried about how they would tie everything up with 3 episodes left, worries that proved to be justified, as many plot threads were left unresolved or rushed to conclusion without living up to the expectations built up after several episodes. Considering the last episode of the show solves the main conflict in the first 20 minutes, I don't think this faster pacing was justified.

Execution

It is difficult not to conclude the execution of the plot wasn't nearly as tight as it could've been. The show continuously introduced new questions, new mysteries, and new characters, to keep us guessing, to keep us engaged, sometimes to the detriment of the overall storytelling quality. Who is this new character? How does s/he factor in Lee Lim's plan? Who's sending this stuff to PM Koo? What is the significance of the scars? There is no doubt these questions succeeded in keeping us engaged and I have to give it props for that. However, the execution was dragged down from indulging in superfluous characters and plot threads. Park Moon-sik's nightly escapades from his wife are a perfect example, a plot whose resolution was needlessly postponed till the final episode. Removing such plots could've open up time better served to further develop characters, like PM Koo, or explore Lee Lim's plans more thoroughly, an aspect where I feel the show dropped the ball, as these turned out to be contradictory and contrived, helping out the writer more than Lee Lim himself.

Time Travel

Sadly, the execution of time travel is a direct casualty of continuously trying to surprise the audience with new twists or for the sake of pulling at our heart strings. Up until Episode 13, its depiction of time travel lined up perfectly with the concept of a causal loop (e.g. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban), but then Episode 14 had characters remember new past events in real-time (think of the movie Frequency, with Jim Caviezel and Dennis Quaid), and Episode 15 resurrected a character who should've been dead, among potentially more problematic issues. Time travel is a fictional concept, but even fiction is guided by certain rules and, sadly, the depiction of time travel in The King: Eternal Monarch does not hold up under further scrutiny, what deflated my engagement somewhat. Here I was, trying to understand how the writer had put together the puzzle only to realize some of the pieces didn't line up or were from different puzzles altogether. This was not entirely unexpected, as few stories have used time travel consistently in the past, but I was mildly disappointed, particularly given the writer’s excellent work and attention to detail in Goblin.

Romance

Another highlight of the show, especially if you understand exactly what is going on in this scene.

While I can believe Lee Gon could’ve developed feelings for Jeong Tae-eul after searching for her for 20+years (fans of The Expanse will recall Miller also developed feelings for Julie while searching for her), the beginning of their romance in Episode 5 felt a bit forced. It also struck me as odd when Jeong Tae-eul was the one to declare her feelings of love for Lee Gon in Episode 7 instead of the other way around. In fact, it isn't until Episode 10 that Lee Gon admits his feelings for her in one of the most emotional scenes of the show. Perhaps if the two had switched around their declarations it would’ve made more sense.

In any case, their romantic relationship was cemented from Episode 10 onwards for me, although they had cute couple moments in earlier episodes, with Episode 6 featuring the most heartfelt conversations and interactions. For my part, watching their relationship continue to unfold was one of the highlights of the show, and it certainly delivered in the following episodes. Lee Gon's unyielding quest across time and space to find Jeong Tae-eul again and again was moving, though more powerful in Episode 14 than 16 to my mind, perhaps because of the music, editing, and added emotional impact of Jeong Tae-eul knowing Lee Gon is on his way. Perhaps if Episode 16 had dedicated more than 5 minutes (count them) of its runtime to show Lee Gon constantly leaving the palace to search for and meet different versions of Jeong Tae-eul throughout the years it would've been a lot more impactful, and potentially heartbreaking. Tying it to his appearance at the end of Episode 10 would've made it perfect.

Music

youtube

I hesitate slightly to say the soundtrack for The King: Eternal Monarch is on the same level as that of Goblin (time will tell), but if it's not, it certainly isn't far behind. Songs like "Gravity," "Orbit," and "Maze," or instrumental tracks like "One Day," "My Love and...," "Into the Fantasy," and "The Fantasia of Another Dimension," are a sample of this album's best. Sadly, not all tracks featured in the show are included in the album, such as the variant of “The King” that plays at the end of Episode 15 when Lee Gon bids farewell to Lady Noh. If you're a soundtrack aficionado like I am, I'd suggest you keep this album in your Spotify library or equivalent.

Conclusions

The King: Eternal Monarch is, by no means, a perfect show. It is technically not as good as writer Kim Eun-sook's previous Goblin, which overall covered the topics previously discussed better than The King did. However, that is not to say The King: Eternal Monarch isn't an overall good show as it is, one that boldly incorporates interesting concepts like time travel and parallel worlds to its narrative with ultimately mixed results. The music is great, production values are top notch, and all of the actors’ performances were on point, though a tighter cast would’ve benefited some of their performances. While the romance between Lee Min-ho’s and Kim Go-eun’s characters may be a hard sell for some, at least initially, it ultimately worked for me.

If you haven't watched the show yet and are reading this review now, then I'm sorry that you've missed out on the experience of watching the show week to week, discussing and dissecting it with other viewers, and rewatching episodes scouring for clues, a process it easily lends itself to as opposed to other kdramas. If you're into sci-fi and modern fantasy, then I'd encourage you to give it a watch, bearing in mind the previously discussed caveats. If you're into romance kdramas, set your expectations accordingly. If you're looking for more recommendations on modern fantasy+romance and have already watched Goblin, then allow me to recommend the excellent Hotel del Luna (which I’m currently in the process of reviewing after watching it, what, four times now?). For my part, I'm looking forward to Kim Eun-sook, Lee Min-ho, and Kim Go-eun's next projects.

#the king eternal monarch #lee min ho #kim go eun #kim eun sook #woo do hwan #kdrama #review #kdramas

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hogwarts-and-mistletoe · 6 years ago

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You, Only You

Rating: K+ Category: Sixth Year Summary: On the night of Slughorn’s Christmas party, Ron and Hermione finally clear the air.

Cormac hiccups, rises from his chair, and sways on the spot. A crystal goblet dangles precariously from his hand, one strong breeze away from slipping and shattering on the common room floor.

“Ready to go, then, Granger?”

He takes a few steps towards Hermione, stumbling over his own feet, and instinctively she takes several steps back.

“I suppose,” she replies, unable to help glancing down at her attire as if to confirm this for herself. And she’s not sure she agrees.

She’s in her best dress, yes, the gauzy blush-colored material skimming across her knees. And heels, which are already pinching her feet. But truly? She can’t bring herself to do much more. She’s simply wrested her hair back into a knot at the base of her neck, rather than bother with Sleakeazy; what little Muggle makeup she owns is still wrapped in its original packaging.

Cormac’s not worth the effort.

He drains the contents of his goblet into the back of his throat and tosses it haphazardly in the direction of the hearth, where it crashes against the brick and disintegrates.

Hermione cannot keep the disdain off her face. “What’s wrong with you?”

“S’alright,” he chuckles, approaching her again. “Elves’ll clean it up.”

Blood rises slowly, steadily up Hermione’s neck and into her face as she uses all the willpower she possesses to fight the barrage of disparaging remarks on the tip of her tongue. Instead, she simply vanishes the broken glass with a wave of her wand and marches towards the portrait hole.

He catches up with her just as she’s stepping into the corridor and slings an arm around her waist.

“Hey,” he said, Firewhiskey sharp on his breath. “Whaddya say we skip the party altogether?”

Hermione walks a little more quickly, shaking off his grasp.

“I told Harry I’d meet him there.”

Cormac scoffs. “Potter. Don’t you reckon he’s got enough friends already?”

Just two hours, Hermione tells herself. Two hours, then it’s over.

All she has to do is put in an appearance at the party. Just enough of one for the word of her arrival with Cormac McLaggen (who is currently taunting the portrait subjects as they walk) to enter the gossip circuits. News at Hogwarts never fails to travel fast, and it just needs to get back to one specific person for this all to be worth it.

At the thought of - of him - Hermione’s stomach twists uncomfortably. This is not how she imagined this evening would go.

Slughorn’s office is so festively decorated, the walls dripping with bunting, mistletoe hanging from the ceiling, that it feels like an assault. The air is heavy and thickly perfumed, like Trelawney’s classroom, and the guests - not all of whom are students, as the jolt to Hermione’s stomach upon catching sight of a vampire tells her - seem to press in from all sides. The poor little elves bearing trays of food appear in danger of being trampled. The music is loud and cloying and guests have to shout above it, creating a cacophony of discordant sound. Everything in her body is telling her to flee, that this isn’t worth it, that she doesn’t belong here, that he is too busy snogging Lavender Brown to care if Hermione goes to Christmas parties at all, let alone with a lout such as McLaggen.

“Ya wanna drink?” Cormac half-yells in her ear, his massive hand landing on the small of her back.

“Erm-“ She may as well, if only because the room is stiflingly hot. “Just a gillywater.”

“You got it.”

The smile he gives her as he slinks off in search of a serving tray has no warmth behind it, no affection. It’s a mere baring of teeth, a means to an end, and it sets her nerves on edge. As she waits, she scans the crowd, hoping and praying to catch a glimpse of Harry’s dark mop of hair or Luna’s radish earrings. Anyone friendly will do, particularly when Blaise Zabini pushes past her and nearly knocks her into the wall.

Cormac reappears a second later, as she’s still regaining her balance, to press an icy glass into her hand. Hermione goes to take a sip and nearly chokes.

“Are you sure this is gillywater?” she asks, repulsed and sputtering, as Cormac laughs.

“I might’ve enhanced it a bit,” he grins, though at her expression of disbelief, he continues. “Vodka,” he clarifies, opening his robes a bit to reveal a flask tucked inside. “But only a little.”

“Wha - how did you-“

“Just packed it in my trunk at the start of term,” he tells her, brimming with pride at this feat of deception. “I told Filch it was Muggle medicine, an’ he’s so thick, he believed me.”

For the first time in her life, Hermione feels sympathy for Argus Filch.

“Sorry you don’t like it,” Cormac adds flippantly, taking back the glass and drinking from it himself. “One of the elves over there has butterbeer, I think, if you’d rather have that.”

“It’s fine,” she finds herself saying, even though it plainly is not. The party has only just begun; perhaps she can salvage it. “So - er - so what NEWTs are you going to take?”

“NEWTs?” He furrows his brow like he’s never heard the term before. “Oh, I don’t know yet. Haven’t thought about it much.”

Too stunned to reply, Hermione snatches a glass from a nearby tray and, without thinking, gulps it down. It’s pumpkin juice, and it’s sickly-sweet, making her empty stomach churn.

“You look really fit tonight,” he says, eyes roving slowly up and down her figure, his hand returning to the small of her back. “You oughta dress like this more often.”

“Really?” she says skeptically, sure that he’s just spewing lines as they occur to him. “You think I should wear a party dress to class?”

“Yeah.” He chuckles again, his hand now unpleasantly close to the curve of her bottom. “It’d be hot.” Before Hermione can formulate a response - and it is taking all of her brain power to figure out what to say to him - he jerks his chin up to the ceiling. “Look.”

Against all her better judgment, she does, and of course it’s mistletoe hanging above them, taunting her.

Damn you, Professor Slughorn.

“Oh - er-“ Hermione gives a shaky attempt at laughing it off, as if the thought of them acting on the purpose of mistletoe is so preposterous, only to realize his hand is firmly situated on her backside now.

His mouth is on hers a second later, wet and sloppy and tasting faintly of alcohol and, somehow, onions, and his tongue pushes into her mouth, foreign and invasive, and this isn’t who she wants kissing her at all.

“Stop,” she blurts out, pushing his chest, needing distance, more distance, entire oceans would not be enough. “I’m - I’m just going to get one of those butterbeers after all.”

“Alright, I’ll be here,” he drawls, looking sickeningly pleased with himself.

As Cormac leans back against the wall, taking a surreptitious swig directly from his flask, Hermione steps around a small elf bearing a tray of crudités and strides purposefully towards the opposite end of the room. The scene before her has morphed into a sea of faceless bodies and voices that she can’t discern from one another. And then, when she’s sure she’s disappeared into it, become just another body among the many, she pivots on her heel and bolts for the door. She sprints past a bewildered Harry, and maybe in another universe she would have stopped to talk to him, but right now, she can think of nothing but getting away.

She feels cowardly, running rather than doing what she really wants to do - smack Cormac in the teeth. The shame rises in her, bubbling up from the pit of her stomach and into the back of her throat until she nearly chokes on it, wobbling down the hall in her heels, the abandoned corridor a slate-grey blur through her tears. Nothing that has happened tonight has been worth it. Though she set out to hurt Ron - God, actually hurt him, as though he hasn’t been her best friend for the past five years - all she’s done is make herself feel like the sludge at the bottom of the Black Lake.

It takes a near-tumble on a moving staircase for Hermione to shed her shoes altogether. With the stone floor cool under her bare feet, she spits the password at the Fat Lady (who looks offended, but swings open nevertheless) and steps into what she hopes is an empty common room.

It isn’t.

In a corner of the room, illuminated only by the wavering glow of the fireplace, Ron sits alone in front of a chess board. His lanky body is folded in on itself, a leg up to his chest pulled up to his chest, chin resting on his knee. As she hastily wipes the fresh tears from her face, he picks up his head, and his blue eyes land on her.

They regard each other, not moving, not speaking. Just… considering one another.

“You’re back early,” Ron comments, just the slightest trace of vitriol in his voice.

“Yes, well.” Hermione sniffs, trying to fix her face into an expression of utmost dignity. “It was a bit of a boring party.”

“So where’s your date?”

Now, there is definitely vitriol in his voice, but it doesn’t even sting the way it used to, the way it did after that fateful Quidditch match in November. It just makes her miss him and the warmth he used to have, the playful teasing, his sharp-tongued wit that never aimed to wound.

Hermione opts for honesty. “I left him there.”

Ron’s brows lift, briefly, and he nods. “I see.”

“And where’s yours?”

The dim light in the room is not enough to mask the ruddiness growing in Ron’s face. “I don’t know,” he admits. “I think we had a fight-“ there is a thud as his foot drops from the edge of his chair to the floor- “and she chucked me.”

“You think?”

“No, I know she chucked me.” He cringes. “She made that part clear.”

“Oh.” Despite everything, there is a little flutter of excitement in Hermione’s stomach that she can’t quite ignore. He’s single again. “You don’t exactly seem gutted over it.”

Mouthing, he attempts to piece together the words. “I - it just - well - she’s-“ He shrugs, resigned. “No. I s’pose I’m not.”

He does not look proud of this fact. His eyes are cast down to the chessboard - it appears he’s challenged himself in a match - and he’s fidgety, fingertips drumming on the edge of the table, as is his habit when he’s feeling guilty.

The fireplace crackles and hisses, flames dancing up against the soot-stained brick. Between them, the silence pulses, growing stronger, threatening to suffocate them.

And then they both speak at once.

“Why did you-“

Ron freezes, stunned, and then chuckles; the stretch of his lips lights up his whole face.

“No, no, ladies first,” he says with a wave of his hand. “You go.”

Swallowing, Hermione steels herself. She could turn, and walk up the stairs to her dorm, and she would probably end up never speaking to Ron again, but even just being in the same room is making her ache from missing him.

“Why did you get so mad at me?”

“Because,” he says in a tone that implies she should already know, “you acted like the Felix was the only reason I could play a decent Quidditch match-“

“Not that.” Hermione pads across the worn carpet floor, shrinking the gap between them. “You were already so mad at me before that happened, and I still don’t know why, I don’t know what I did - it was like you woke up one morning and decided you hated me-“ Her throat constricts, her voice breaking off.

Hurriedly, he shakes his head, as though eager to dispel the notion. “I don’t hate you.”

“You could’ve fooled me.”

“I don’t hate you,” he repeats, rising from his chair. “I’ve never hated you.”

“Then why - what happened?”

“It’s-“ He won’t meet her eyes. “It was nothing, really-“

“It must have been something,” she snaps back, infuriated, “and I want to know what.”

“It was stupid-“

“I don’t care!” she cries. “I want to know why you suddenly couldn’t stand to look at me, why you’d treat me like that - do you know how mean you’ve been to me lately?”

“How mean I’ve been?” He holds up a large hand, the back of it facing her. “I still have scars from the canaries, thank you-“

“And what about in class today?” she counters. “You think I liked being imitated like that?”

She can barely get the words out without choking on them: the recollection of the cruel laughter from Lavender and Parvati makes her want to sink into the floor.

“Yeah, that,” says Ron, not quite meeting her eyes. “I’m sorry about that.”

“As you should be.”

“Well, I am!” The flush in his face deepens to a boiling red. “It was an arsehole thing to do, I - I mean, I don’t know what else you want me to say.”

“I told you, I just want to know why you were so mad at me-“

“I wasn’t mad,” he says, with a brittleness in his voice that Hermione isn’t sure she’s ever heard from him. “I mean, okay, I was, but - but I was kinda just… just hurt, more than anything.”

Ron looks lost, almost hopeless, and fearing that he might just escape to his dorm never to be seen again, Hermione takes a step closer to him.

“But why?”

“I told you, it’s stupid-“

“I want to hear it.”

He gulps; he looks as though he’s about to walk to his own execution. “Basically… I didn’t want to be what I was to you.”

The words float through her brain without registering meaning. “Wh - what?”

“I didn’t want to go to the party with you if it was just, y’know, like a pity invite-“

“Pity?” she repeats, stunned. “You think I invited you out of pity?”

“I just reckoned you should go with who you actually wanted to go with-“

“Who I wanted to go with,” says Hermione, her voice trembling with the effort of maintaining some shred of control, “was you. Only you.”

“But I thought you were just - just asking as friends, so I wouldn’t be left out, ‘cause Harry pretty much had to go-“

“No,” says Hermione, desperate to be understood. He needs to know, she decides, with a rush of adrenaline that makes her hands shake. She has to tell him, and it has to be now. “It wasn’t just as friends.”

It’s Ron’s turn now to step closer, until just a foot of space separates them. In this big, empty room, all she hears are his low, shallow breaths. She thinks she might even be able to hear his heartbeat, quick and urgent, matching her own.

She’s a Gryffindor, and she knows that means she should be brave - and she is, when it comes to fighting dark wizards. But this vulnerability, and knowing, despite everything that’s just transpired between them, that Ron could still crush her heart… it requires a different kind of courage, and she has to summon it from deep within.

“And I’m sorry about the canaries,” she adds, “I really am, but when I saw you kissing her-“

“I should never have kissed her.” His words come out in a breath. “She wasn’t who I wanted to kiss.”

Hermione’s breath catches in her lungs as he moves closer, now just a sliver of glowing firelight between them. For the briefest half-second, Ron’s tongue darts out to wet his lips.

“Who did you want to kiss, then?”

Finally, he looks straight into her eyes. “You,” he says firmly. “Only you.”

Then he’s leaning towardss her, fair eyelashes fluttering against freckled cheeks, and he’s so close, just inches between them, then millimeters, then a brush of breath against her lips-

And she jumps back. “You can’t kiss me now,” she says frantically, almost tripping in her haste. “I’m sorry, you just, you can’t-“

His face falls. “But-“

“Cormac kissed me,” she confesses in a rush, “and it was awful and disgusting and I didn’t want him to at all - and if I kiss you now, it’ll be tainted by him.”

Biting her lip, she watches as he processes this, and prays she hasn’t ruined it entirely.

“You’re barking,” he says finally, brimming with affection. “D’you know that?”

“Then so are you.”

Low chuckles rumble out of him then, like he can’t help himself, and it’s contagious, and Merlin, it feels good to laugh with him again.

“Am I allowed to hug you, then, at least?”

In response, Hermione steps into his embrace, closing her eyes as her cheek settles against the heavy wool of his jumper. He smells faintly sweet, like butterbeer, and his arms hold her close and tight, like he plans on never letting go again.

“What were you going to ask me?” says Hermione quietly, her words muffled against his chest. “Before?”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter anymore.” His chin settles atop her head. “I’ve got my answer, now.”

#yulefest2018 #romione #submission

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drakorn · 7 years ago

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Tanz der Vampire St. Gallen - Act 1 Spoiler Review

Following my little commentary about the St. Gallen production, I have decided that I would actually like to make a full review. Now, back in April, @kahorifutunaka and I watched the St. Gallen production of Tanz der Vampire, directed by Ulrich Wiggers. At first, our opinions were quite mixed. Now we are closer to an agreement: The St. Gallen production does have some great solid directing and the cast is EXCELLENT, but the modern concept is wasted potential. But...why leave it here? You saw the title, right? Let’s get into full spoiler territory! To those who would like to still see the St. Gallen production without being spoiled too much, turn away right now. Everyone else, let’s go :D

Overtüre: Ok, here we can get a first positive: The Orchestra is actually full live in St. Gallen. You WILL get your goosebumps here...in the first few seconds. Remember how magnificent the animations in the original Tanz are? Well...here we get a forest graveyard first and most, followed by a gigantic castle that looks a bit like Bran Castle in Transylvania. The castle actually looks quite nice, but one would wonder “Why is the castle being shown now?” Well, this question is going to be answered in a few minutes. We then see...a much MUCH younger Professor Abronsius running onstage into the fog. We now see two gigantic rat statues with red eyes standing onstage. I am still unsure why they chose RATS of all things. I can imagine this famous Harry Potter meme being inserted here. “Let’s put rats in front of Krolock’s castle!” “But why rats?” “What other creature would you put there to be associated with vampires then?” “Oh, I don’t know...maybe a bat?” Anyway...Abronsius proceeds to examine those rats when he is suddenly...stuck in one of them? Yeah, I still don’t know what that was about...

He, ho, he: Only then does Alfred enter the stage. He is pretty much the same age as in the original version, just dressed entirely differently. He proceeds to sing his song until he discovers Abronsius in the grasp of one of the big bad rats! He frees him and together they proceed to walk...into the castle? Huh...weird...

Knoblauch: Ok, here is where things might get a little confusing at first glance. There are no more signs of a warm and cosy inn where the villagers hide from vampires. No, no, no...they are WITH the vampires already. Yeah, the inn and the castle have been merged into the same place. On the walls, you can see “Sanatorium K” written in fancy gothic letters. So...Krolock owns a Sanatorium...this version of Tanz is, therefore, taking place in an asylum? Jeesh, am I glad they mean the resort kind of asylum. If they would have shown Krolock and his cohorts merely THINKING that they are vampires because they are all cuckoo in their heads...I wouldn’t even know how to react tbh XD Anyway, the thing that ultimately takes the cake in this scene is the gigantic Garlic head in the middle of the room, with taps attached to it...wait...does it mean that the humans ACTUALLY drink garlic juice in this version? Holy moly, THEY are the crazy ones here! But anyway...there is actually something I like in this scene and that’s the costumes of Chagal and Rebecca. They don’t look like stereotypical jews anymore. Rebecca actually looks like a normal person here. Yeah, she’s a bit big, but she dresses nicely, has red hair, glasses and doesn’t look like a cartoon. Chagal looks like a hotel manager here, so...he’s in charge of the asylum? Does it mean, he is in direct communication with Krolock? Uh, this might make for some interesting change! Anyway, let’s see how this goes. So, Alfred and Abronsius stumble in and are taken care of. It is to note that Magda looks more like a nurse rather than a maid in this one. So...it IS an asylum for the mentally ill? I am SO confused. Anyway, Abronsius is woken up by something that looks like a very steaming liquid. And it must smell nice since he actively stretches out his nose. We also see some dark figure lurking in the upper floow...looks like a hotel page...uniform...strangely emo hair...and a hunchback? Is that Koukol? Yes, Koukol already features in Knoblauch here, where he is upstairs and runs away as soon as the two travellers arrive. Does it mean, he is already informing Krolock? That should be interesting. And then the dialogue happens...Abronsius asks “Is there a castle nearby?” Uuuuhm...you kinda JUST walked into the castle! Or perhaps he didn’t notice that this was the castle as it was dark and foggy...but I don’t know. And then Chagal says “No, no castle, nope, what are you talking about? We’re clearly in a castle but naaah, never heard of a CASTLE nearby, lol.” (He didn’t actually say that XD) Then we have the ONLY text change in the ENTIRE musical. The Dorftrottel says “But this place used to be a castle once.” Aaaaah, so Krolock renovated at least parts of his castle in order to build an asylum. Actually, the more you look into the scene, you can actually see vampires amongst the humans. You can point them out by their evil grins and white contact lenses, which I admit does look pretty good.

Bitte, meine Herren: Chagal leads them into their rooms. Ok, STOP! Is this a HOLIDAY asylum, therefore a hotel, or a MENTAL asylum? The word Sanatorium can be used in quite a few variations! Or is it a combination of both? I am SO confused! PLEASE EXPLAIN YOURSELF, MUSICAL! You already changed ONE LINE, it can’t be that hard to include some extra dialogue to match the modern setting! Anyway, Alfred and Abronsius get TWO beds now (wow, how nice of Chagal!) And this time, they sleep stage right, while Sarah’s bedroom is stage left. Ok, let us talk about Sarah’s bedroom, because there is quite a few things to mention. First of all, she has Marilyn Manson posters, along with things from (I think) Twilight and Vampire Diaries. And Sarah has considerably darker hair in this version...OH. MY. GOD. They have given Sarah the Bella Swan treatment! She KNOWS about the vampires and WANTS to be bitten by them! THAT IS...actually really smart. I mean, think about it! Krolock is using the vampire romance hype of the 21st century to get his victims. This makes it all the more easier for him! And it also perfectly parodies the whole “immortal love” aspect. But then there is the other aesthetic thing...WHY are the rooms so dirty? Seriously, the colour is coming off the walls, it looks like a toilet XD Maybe that’s the intention, but I remember the cosy wooden inn...yeah...that was nice.

Eine schöne Tochter: This one is actually pretty entertaining and is one of the best modern transitions of this version. Chagal not only uses a hammer to lock Sarah’s door, no, he also uses a drill! I really like that idea! Perfect inclusion of modern elements.

Nie geseh’n: This is where the entirety of the stage gets used. I actually quite like this scene as well. Chagal finds Magda on a sort of balcony, smoking a cigarette. Her “sewing” remark is treated as sarcasm here. That’s a nice creative way of getting around without changing the lyrics. Also, instead of a Salami, Rebecca uses her walking stick (yeah, she has one here) to beat the shit out of Abronsius and Chagal. What I also enjoy is that the Orchestra pit is incorporated, as in, the actors actually walk through it in order to get to some parts. But here is something I don’t enjoy: Ok, Rebecca has been given red hair in this production...WHY would you change Sarah’s hair then? Come on, you had THE opportunity to create more resemblance and you tossed it out of the window. Shame....Shame....Shame....ok, that’s enough Game of Thrones. Look at the Finnish version, they did it better with the resemblance!

Gott ist tot: Ok...where do I begin to describe how Krolock looks like in this one? He dramatically appears on the rooftop over Sarah’s bedroom and begins walking around on it...dressed in a very thick fur coat. Also, this Krolock looks much older than the one in the original version. But I actually quite like his hairstyle. It is not as wild, it is more civilised. He looks like you would expect a contemporary aristocrat to look like. However...the fur coat and the song make him look like an (and many people have said this before me) undead sugar daddy. And his seductive cat-like movements on the rooftop, followed by a 30-second creepy as fuck stare into Sarah’s window, watching her sleep (ehehe, Twilight, ehehe), don’t really help the case XD Overall, I think Krolock’s first appearance in this version is a bit underwhelming. Remember how in the original version, he glides through the audience, spends the first part of the song in darkness and casts a giant shadow over the entire stage? All of that is unfortunately missing and nothing really makes up for it. The Finnish version had dying couples singing the “Sei bereit...” around him while he was still covered in darkness, THAT is a way of making up for it. But here...no, I didn’t really feel it tbh.

Alles ist hell: One of the biggest changes so far. It takes place in a gym hall (huh, so it IS a hotel then, because I don’t see why a mental asylum should have such a fancy looking gym). Again, we have vampires as well as humans in the gym. Sarah is also allowed outside in this one...well, I hope she is only allowed outside inside the building where her parents can see her, otherwise Draußen ist Freiheit would loose a bit of its impact. And here we have the now second appearance of Koukol. I don’t know, I really hate his hairstyle here. He looks like an emo. But I like that the entire bargain for candles gets a bit more obscure with the modern setting. Why would someone order so many candles when they have electric lights? This leads to the belief that Krolock has only refurbished a certain part of the castle and himself dwells in an older one. Quite an interesting idea here.

Wahrheit: I actually really enjoyed this scene. Abronsius is younger here and they take full advantage of that. A lot of this song is sung on the stationary bicycles of the gym, with Abronsius drinking water, and also breathing into an inhalator...huh, I...guess, he has asthma here? But I appreciate the hard work the actors put in here. It can’t be easy to sing a song like this on bicycles! Also, I like that instead of the wood falling down, a lamp explodes when Abronsius does his high note here. But again, some of the script (”Und dabei schlüpft meine Säge durch Zieder”) would have been up for a change. But at least the Nobel prize makes sense in this context, I guess.

Du bist wirklich sehr nett: I can’t really say that much about this version because it nearly plays out the exact same way. The only difference is that Sarah walks through the orchestra pit to get to Alfred. But yeah, this isn’t one of the scenes where you can change that much.

Einladung zum Ball: Holy moly, THIS scene, however, is a totally different story! First of all, Krolock’s teleportation is grander here. He has two doubles this time, one high up stage left and one further lower stage right. The light shines on them without revealing Krolock’s face, which makes it really believable. However, we also have the stage direction where Sarah gets out of the bath, goes behind the set, in order to sit in a bigger bath in order for the scene to play out. Krolock appears and delivers his invitation. The difference here is that Sarah isn’t frightened or shocked at all...she is happy. This Sarah REALLY wants to get bitten by Krolock. Also, she is actually naked in this one, and she even stands up, with her back facing the audience of course. Krolock quickly takes his fur coat and wraps it around Sarah, which looks quite hilarious actually. It looks like he’s saying “Sarah! This is not a PG15 show, and you are 17 for crying out loud! Here, have my coat and cover yourself!” He then walks away, leaving a magnificent impression on Sarah. We don’t actually see Chagal spanking her in this one, we just hear it. Oh, so we can have naked Sarah, but we can’t see her getting spanked? This show must have had a weeeird risk assessment XD

Draußen ist Freiheit: This version is totally different to the original What I find interesting is that Koukol actually opens the door so that Sarah can get out, which actually makes sense rather than her randomly being able to exit her house in the original version. But the real interesting thing is that Sarah in this version really seems to be annoyed with Alfred. It is so obvious that she wants to get away from him here.

Die roten Stiefel: This time it’s not just red boots but also a red corset. This is...interesting, but ok. And here is the part where I don’t like the look of the new vampires. In the original version, we had this magnificent dream sequence with red curtains and dance pairs. Here it is a bunch of people in leather clothes, pretty reminiscent of the Finale II vampires, which makes it look more dangerous, I’ll give them that, but also less dream-like. But there IS actually a good, even a great addition! This version has a Dream!Chagal coming out to fight Dream!Krolock over Dream!Sarah, which ensues in a battle with the two figures pulling her back and forth. THIS is something I would legitimately like to see in the original version!

Das Gebet: This scene, however...I did not like. In the original version, we have this entire inn, everyone holding candles, a moon shining, the Count standing on the rooftop, Sarah getting all emotional at the front. This version, however, looks like they were thinking “Well...we can’t cut it, so we need to have it somehow.” Everyone is praying in the centre, with Sarah further back and the Count is not even in it.

Trauer um Chagal: What is quite amusing here is that Chagal doesn’t really look that worried when he finds out that his daughter ran off. It actually looks like he’s being like “Oh come on! Seriously? Alright, let’s get her back.” He even drinks a bit of Vodka instead of eating Garlic, like he’s saying “Oh boy, will I have a chat with my boss now.” What follows next is the animation of a long and dark staircase...uhm...whooooooooo...gruuuuuhuhuuuuselig! And then we have one of the most unintentionally funny scenes in the show. Remember how I said that they didn’t change the lyrics? Well, okay, so all of the action, therefore, happens in a single building here. So WHY ON EARTH WOULD THE VILLAGE PEOPLE STILL INSIST THAT WOLVES WERE THE CULPRITS??? Is this a thing in Transylvania? Is it normal to find WOLVES strolling around INSIDE the building? Come on, this is a direct insult to Abronsius’ intelligence here. Also, the vampires among the people really act out their diabolical nature here as they really smirk and smile at the dead Chagal. Then we have this other thing...Chagal seemingly serves Krolock here...so why would Krolock kill him if he wants to bring back his daughter? I mean, I guess he could have found a replacement...but oh well, I’m getting too deep into this. Next scene!

Tot zu sein ist komisch: This is where Magda’s dark side is shown. Why? Because she LAUGHS when she sees Chagal’s dead body. Wow, that woman must have REALLY hated him. I mean, understandably so, but JESUS! And she doesn’t really seem that terrified when she’s bitten. I guess her working for a vampire Count makes her mentally prepared for what is to come eventually. She uses a bible instead of a cross against Chagal. And then...the next best unintentionally funny scene happens. And to this day I STILL don’t know what the creative decision behind that was. Okay, so we have Abronsius and Alfred wanting to impale Chagal, which leads to the chase sequence...only here it is accompanied by disco party lights. WHAT was that for? XD WHY did they do that? XD It’s so hilarious XD “UUuuh, yeaaaah, da vamp’s in da houseeeee, yeessssss!”

Durch die Wildnis zum Schloss: Right, cancel the “Wildnis” part, because nobody is going outside here. And again...”Bestimmt entdecken wir durch ihn das Schloss von diesem Grafen!” YOU ARE IN THE CASTLE, FOR GOD’S SAKE! Jesus Christ, they really should have changed the lyrics because this makes them look like absolute idiots now XD And then the travel sequence comes. I don’t know why, but I had a desire to burst out laughing during this. It shows empty rooms that clearly belong in a mental asylum (SO WHAT IS IT NOW, A HOTEL OR AN ASYLUM??? MAKE UP YOUR MIND, SHOW!) The funny thing is that it has a slow-motion sequence of a black figure running into the distance. I don’t know why, but this really made me laugh so much XD

Vor dem Schloss: Or in this case “In an older part of the castle”. We obviously get the vampires in the audience. They just don’t seem as creepy because of their leather clothes. Then Krolock comes in, wearing a shiny grey suit. Krolock and the amazing shining grey suit! XD Actually, I do admit that this scene is pretty well done. Krolock clearly is annoyed by Abronsius and CONSTANTLY stares at Alfred. When they have their moment together at the end, Krolock grabs his shoulders and stares him right into the soul. Overall, the contact between Krolock and Alfred is done much better here than in the original version, so props to them for this one. But again...please change the script occasionally. Königsberg is no longer the name of the city Abronsius comes from. It’s Kaliningrad now. Yeah... And Herbert...wow, Herbert looks great XD He has this purple suit and long open hair, which make him look like Legolas visiting a gay bar. And then we finally get to see Krolock’s shadow! Hooraaay! He walks up the stairs before the curtain comes down, stretches out his arms, and a giant shadow comes up, opening all of the castle windows. That was quite neat as well. Also, I love how he gets a short moment where he opens Abronsius’ back, sees what’s inside it and nods like he’s saying “I have work to do.”

So, overall, Act 1 wasn’t bad but it wasn’t that overwhelmingly great either. I will see you all in Act 2 which will follow soon enough :D

#Tanz der Vampire #St. Gallen #Musical #Review #Spoilers!#Holy moly #That is long

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dapperfvck-arc · 7 years ago

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🔥 The TV show... (Because I really want to know exactly why you don't like it [or hate it?] because i'm so freaking curious. Also I think in general a Constantine TV show would do best on AMC rather than NBC... FEEL FREE TO COMPLETELY RANT. I WANT TO KNOW. Please.)

Unpopular Opinion Time!

Oh boy. Hooooo boy. I’m still going to be relatively gentle, because honestly, I’m saving my true vitriol for the times that I must defend my choice not to RP it or for the hysterical consensus opinion from the fandom that TV show was an improvement over the film (lol nope, aside from Matt Ryan “looking the part” but that’s a whole other can of worms).

Note: Cut for length and maybe a bit of brutality in my honesty.

*sighs* Ok, I’ll first preface this with that I still have like four episodes to go. Obviously, I have massive issues in the needless changes made to the adaption of comic canon. It was unnecessary to make Chas American while retaining the fact that he’s John’s oldest and best of friends. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but who knows. Maybe it’s explained a little better in one of the last few episodes, but you know. My hopes aren’t high. I don’t like Chas’s virtual invulnerability, not just because it takes away the stakes of the danger he’s putting himself in, but also? It’s a plot device scarcely used? So why make that choice if it’s not going to be capitalized on with meaningful frequency? I hated that Zed was portrayed as a novice, and that the teeth were taken out from the Newcastle Incident. Now obviously, I understand why they’d have to alter a bit of it due to Network censorship, but at the same??? I mean child abuse and sexual violence are nothing new on shows like Law and Order: SVU and Criminal minds so…Idek, it kind of comes off as an excuse. It’s not a child’s show. Maybe it could be argued that it was marketed toward teenagers, but it’s not like they’re ignorant to those horrors in the world. I’m not asking them to show Astra’s rape, just to acknowledge the true horror of the situation instead of making it all about John’s failure. So yeah, I was annoyed by the occasional attempt to adapt source material and completely mucking it all up.

Now to begin with, I completely get the SP/N’s fandom bitterness more than ever. Before watching it I thought they were just trying to be like “whaaaat, another show about magic and exorcism? Of course it’s a ripoff because don’t you know our fandom invented those things?” I honestly believe the crux of the issue is that NBC clearly wanted their own SP/N as well as to cash in the popularity of comic book based media, so there’s that. To me, it comes off as a shameless cash grab. I honestly believe if I felt like there was some kind of passion from its creators, I could have dealt with some of those changes, but I don’t get that. It’s been a soulless experience overall. Like it’s not been a matter of me nitpicking like “oh this is wrong, this has been changed, boo hoo, it’s not all existential horror and fucking and drugs.”

Because frankly...I just think it’s a bad show. It’s poorly written, poorly made, poorly researched, poorly acted, it’s just bad. The main issue I have with it is that it’s a lot of telling and not showing. There’s not a lot of tension or foreshadowing, just “boom this is how it is” and so much exposition. John, for example, about half of his dialogue in any given show is verbal exposition. It’s frustrating, tbh. Like, it doesn’t make sense for me in this day and age for a TV show, even on a network channel, to be this bad. Over the past several years, television series have improved exponentially in content and writing. It’s not shameful anymore to start off on TV anymore. We’re in a very exciting time that television and cinema are almost completely on equal par of perceived quality. So yeah, it’s been an even greater disappointment for me because it’s not just that they fuck with the source material but because on top of that it’s literally a bad show. I’m not one bit surprised that it wasn’t renewed because there just...Isn’t enough to like about it. It’s not faithful enough to the comic to secure that base of fans and it’s not good enough to be taken for face value.

The other massive issue I have is the portrayal of magic, which honestly extends to DC’s handling of Hellblazer and John as well. See, what you have to understand is that predominately, throughout the Vertigo series, it’s clear to me that most of its writers either have some awareness of how magic works or at least have done their research. I can follow the logic and ritual in what he’s doing. Let me tell you a little something about magic. It's all about focus and will. You can do and say whatever the hell you want as long as you're putting your intent behind it. The ritual of spell work, use of candles, crystals, incense, chanting, incantations, etc. are meant to be the focus of a magician's energy and will on a particular result, but it could be attempted without as well. To explain it in more fantastical terms, in Harry Potter casting without a wand is considered impressive. This implies that the wizard's focus and will is so strong that they no longer need a wand to draw out their intent. Now I get it. By this understanding magic doesn't make good TV viewing (I guess...), but my main concern with this series is there's no attempt to portray an iota of witchcraft's reality along with the fantastical. Now part of this problem is that they've removed a great deal of John's innate ability. He can no longer see spirits/ghosts and there is no mention to his connection to synchronicity (as far I’ve seen, mind). Instead of happening to end up where he needs to be or what have you, he's following a map, and he uses a lot of artifacts and other implementation to get the job done. Which bothers me on a few levels. For one, it imbues the focus, not the caster with the power, which is not how magic works (at least in the sense of portraying gritty urban fantasy), and for two, it's very much against character. Let me give you an example: In the two part story Newcastle Calling, at the end of it, John hands a dying man a twig, telling him it's the finger bone of St. Cavartigan and that it's known to bring relief to those in need. He tells him to squeeze it tightly and focus on the pain going away. Near the end of the scene, the young man tells John that it's working. A couple things can be taken away from this scene: John's will was that the dying man would believe as he was told and his instructions were rote ritual. By contrast, in the series, John would probably had actually given him a Saint's fingerbone. You see the comparison takes the power of the scene away, as well as the mystery. Is the power of John's suggestion so strong that he could make the guy believe by holding that twig his pain would do away? Or was he so desperate to believe in order to not die in pain? You can interpret it either way. Hell, I could invent other interpretations, but going by what I believe would happen in the show, it can only be interpreted in the most literal sense. Now, to be honest, most television shows portray magic poorly. Even movies do a better job while keeping fantastical elements. The Craft, for all it’s 90s cheese, is a great example of this. So I suppose I could be blamed for getting my hopes up to be dashed because it’s just following the formula of 95% of all TV shows that feature a magical element or theme, but I mean...it’s not like Buffy or Charmed that was working without a script, so to speak. The TV series had a ready made blueprint and still chose to take the mumbo-jumbo bullshit route. Now, I have a lot of theories on the why for this, but that’s another post altogether and this has already gone on for way too long and I still have more to say.

Now, I guess I should, at least briefly, touch on the elephant in the room: Matt Ryan as John. What did I think? Because a lot of people have told me that he’s the shining beacon of this show, even literally admitting that yeah, it’s a poor representation of Hellblazer but that Matt Ryan man, he’s great! The problem that I have is that it’s not a good a show, and so no, I don’t like him in the role. I’m not going to compare him to Keanu because that’s not fair for a number of reasons, and maybe I’m a little biased because I adore Keanu (there’s also that can of worms I mentioned earlier, which is honestly yet another separate post lol). The way John’s written for this show, he’s positively insufferable. He’s not charming at all, which is find the most offensive, because one thing that can be said across all series and iterations of the character is that John is magnetic even despite xyz (he’s dangerous, he can be an asshole, he’s unreliable, etc.). Here he’s just a know-it-all, condescending prick. Now I do think with better writing, in a better representation of John’s character and Hellblazer in general (and maybe with a voice coach or director to discourage that Welshy intonation because yeah, his accent does irritate the shit out of me, but I’ve been very vocal about that before and honestly, at this point, I’ve come to realize that Ryan’s vowels are the least of this show’s problem), I think he has potential to be a fine John. As it stands in the media he’s portrayed John in so far (idk, maybe he was good on Arrow, but I’m talking the TV Series here and the JLD animation, which I’ve admittedly not seen, but I hated the comic so I’m not real likely to give that a chance considering my disposition toward the source material), I’m not entirely sold on him. Like if they tried another TV series for Hellblazer and didn’t cast him in the role, I wouldn’t be upset over it.

I do agree that it probably could have been better on another channel, but here’s the rub, all the blood and gore and sex and loose censorship in the world could not save that show without better writing and direction. It could have been a fine show even on network if it had been crafted with some degree of caring. Let me give you an example off the top of head, namely the handling of the Newcastle incident. It was laid out pretty plainly within a few episodes. Alterations from canon aside, it doesn’t portray the horror of it at all and is one of the show’s many missed opportunities to really play up the scarier, more mysterious elements of John’s backstory. For example, instead of laying it out in a sloppy flashback with a laughable puppet, picture this scene instead: John is having a chat with someone, maybe Zed or Chas or some b-plot character. Something reminds him of the Newcastle incident and he gets a far off look in his eyes. The folly drops away to an eerie silence as the camera comes in tight on John's expression. Filling up the silence is a little girl's scream, then the voices of his friends, perhaps some sounds of violence, an inhuman sound or voice, it all blends together to become a hellish cacophony of sound as John's expression becomes more strained. Then suddenly the other person calling his name snaps him out of his reverie. The screams stop, the folly returns, and the scene appears jarringly normal. John shakes his head, makes a joke, and they move on. Yeah, that kind of scene has been done before, but the reason for that is it’s effective without giving away the whole story. It shows that this is a man haunted by something horrible. It’s also cheap and doesn’t necessitate straining the no doubt thin budget of a TV show that has yet to prove itself worthy of having more money thrown at it.

Honestly, the issues I have with this show are innumerable and I’m just scratching the surface here and laying out my biggest problems. I could nitpick for days, and that’s the reason I’ve stayed mum about my opinions. There are people that follow me and that I write with that really like and care about the show, and I don’t want to make them feel...you know, bad about it or that they can’t talk to me or whatever. You know, if they found it enjoyable more power to them. I just didn’t and that’s maybe on me. By no means am I trying to bash the show here (because lord if I wanted to, I could), but to offer up what was requested, and that’s my undiluted opinions and feelings about the series. Of course I’m sorry that I couldn’t share the joy and that I couldn’t even like it on a similar level that I do the film (as a very solid AU, which people have tried to sell the show as to me, knowing my previous understanding of some of the changes made that deviate strongly from canon. As I said, maybe if it had been better made and written, I could, but as it stands currently, I can’t and unless real changes are made in the future, I’m unlikely to alter my opinion of it).

So yeah that’s it. Apologies that this got so very long, but as you can tell, there’s been a lot that I’ve been holding back.

#idk some bloody punter ( anon )#do you need a light too? ( asks answered )#eyyyy so I got real honest here #probably a little more than I intended #I would not click the read more if you aren't prepared for me to be very frank on my opinions #by no means do I bash it #but I'm not kind to it either #so reader be warned and all that rot #unpopular opinion

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