(no subject)
I spent yesterday evening re-reading Grindeldore for Goats (now expanded and cleaned-up with a new title, Thirty-Five Owls.) This might be my favourite fanfic of all time. It is well-written, engrossing and 100% canon-compliant. It is one of those fics you read that very much slots into canon: this is how it happened in my head, this is my personal canon. If JKR were to ask me for fic recommendations this would be one of the two that I'd give her. (The other is The Very Secret Diary, which I linked to a few months ago.) I think she would appreciate the dedication to canon, and the enrichment of it; perhaps she would even agree that is how it must have happened.) The relationship between Dumbledore and Grindelwald is perfectly encapsulated here; thirty-five short letters telling us exactly why these two became friends, became intellectual partners, became more. It is gorgeous, and if you are not fighting back the tears by the last letter you are entirely lacking a soul.
Poking about the net for AD/GG fic has left me with a thought. I think I've had this thought before, may even have brought it up with somebody but I don't think it was on LJ and if it was just pretend it's new. I was thinking, Grindelwald's uprising running parallel to the Second World War cannot be just a coincidence. Rather, perhaps the reason it was such a successful uprising was because of the war. Here are Muggles invading their countries, killing their neighbours, acting no better than animals. Grindelwald, with his plans of revealing wizardkind to Muggles and then taking control of them, must have seemed very reasonable: they can hardly control themselves, after all, and it would indeed be for "the greater good" that magical people take them in hand. It would only be a kindness, though they should probably fuss. Perhaps Grindelwald even took advantage of this happening, perhaps he in some way fraternised with Nazis to urge on the Muggle war effort to create more fuel for his own political fire. There's a good story in here somewhere.
(My HP nostalgia continues. I just thought about nocturne_alley for the first time in years. It was potterstinks that was my favourite, with his permanently "enraged" mood status. To this day I cannot see that status and not think of Draco Malfoy.)
Poking about the net for AD/GG fic has left me with a thought. I think I've had this thought before, may even have brought it up with somebody but I don't think it was on LJ and if it was just pretend it's new. I was thinking, Grindelwald's uprising running parallel to the Second World War cannot be just a coincidence. Rather, perhaps the reason it was such a successful uprising was because of the war. Here are Muggles invading their countries, killing their neighbours, acting no better than animals. Grindelwald, with his plans of revealing wizardkind to Muggles and then taking control of them, must have seemed very reasonable: they can hardly control themselves, after all, and it would indeed be for "the greater good" that magical people take them in hand. It would only be a kindness, though they should probably fuss. Perhaps Grindelwald even took advantage of this happening, perhaps he in some way fraternised with Nazis to urge on the Muggle war effort to create more fuel for his own political fire. There's a good story in here somewhere.
(My HP nostalgia continues. I just thought about nocturne_alley for the first time in years. It was potterstinks that was my favourite, with his permanently "enraged" mood status. To this day I cannot see that status and not think of Draco Malfoy.)