On the sex appeal of literary crushes (more or less)
Last week, it took my fancy to read Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Emily" series. I've never really been into the series as a child and have never owned and read the first book, so I hunted it down on the Internet. And then I met Dean Priest.
She heard him say, "My God!" softly to himself. [...] "How can I help you?" said Dean Priest hoarsely, as if to ( Read more... )
She heard him say, "My God!" softly to himself. [...] "How can I help you?" said Dean Priest hoarsely, as if to ( Read more... )
as a snarry addict, i still take most fics with a grain of salt... harry's characterization is usually aged up considerably, in maturity if not in physical age. it's a rare fic that preserves the animosity of their canon relationship while successfully extrapolating several years into the future, so i understand how that pairing could seem 'off' to you, as the vast majority of them require some suspension of disbelief.
but when it does work.... >:} I find that, emotionally, the two are equals. Severus is emotionally stunted. Harry could grow up to be a more understanding, less self-centered person. Moreover, in canon, I read their relationship as overflowing with sexual tension. Harry never seems to respect Severus as a teacher, just as Severus never treats Harry as just another student - their relationship is far, far more complex than that, and what we see in the 5th book is them taking the first grudging steps toward understanding and respecting each other as individuals. It will be a long ( ... )
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that in the next books Sirius and Severus will come to a sort of grudging acceptance.I definitely saw the possibility, too. While I like the mutual hate, I think it is possible to make them come to an understanding of sorts about some things. In a way, their grudge parallels the development (or lack thereof) of Draco's character. When it was introduced, it had a lot of potential, which Rowling simply neglects. Fortunately, this ( ... )
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Snarry was only an example. I've got the same problem with Harry/Remus and Harry/Sirius. I would have the same problem if a friend of mine got himself a 17-years-old girlfriend. I might like her and understand what he finds so appealing about her after I got to learn her, but on first hearing the news, I would be irritated at the very least.
Vs Snape and Harry, who each hate what the other represents, but, as we've begun to see, could respect and even like each other as people.That's ( ... )
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In my mind, there's too much real hate between them...
I fully agree that there is a lot of genuine and deeply rooted hatred between Sirius and Severus and that it borders on impossible to prevent them from killing each other let alone lead a civil conversation. But, before OotP was released, there was the distinct possibility for them to learn to accept each other. As arachnete2 pointed out, she was very disappointed that they weren't allowed to make a progress towards if not understanding then at least less open hostility. The way Rowling handled the Snape/Black dynamics in OotP reminds me of the way she handles Draco: There is definitely potential for development of interaction/character, but she ignores it completely. Although, of course, the fact that she didn't change their attitude towards each other fits ( ... )
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i guess i doubt that snape and sirius could ever manage anything beyond grudging acceptance, in the best of circumstances... but hey, that's me. :}
and as for harry at the end of ootp - i do slightly disagree. i think that he's falling back on his blaming of snape as a defense because of his own guilt about sirius's death; he just can't handle that and the revelations about his parents and his empathy with snape all at once... he retreats; he lashes out. but i firmly believe that the understanding is still there, under the surface, and their relationship will become even more... entangled... in future books.
could swear i had one more thing to say...... doo de doo...... er, i'm happy to say that i don't see harry trusting anyone anytime soon, last of all remus. note that he still calls him Lupin in his mind, and the lack of interaction between those two in general ( ... )
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Ooh! Good point! This just goes to show how preferred pairings can influence a person. I'd just sort of shoved that line to the back of my mind. ...Not that I'm saying I could imagine them jumping into bed now, but I do have a much clearer idea of the fact that... some progress might have been made... I guess part of it is that I just like them hating each other a lot. It's a nice outlet... "blah blah blah life sucks, but hey, at least i can still fantasize about (hexing snape/poisoning black)." and i guess in happy fluff land there would be no real intention to ever carry it through... whereas, in canon, they do want to murder each other. which is powerful. (typing before i've made up my mind again - ok, think break.)
... doo de doo ...
hmmmmmm..... i guess that's what my block is. snape's capacity for hatred is so great. i don't think he really hates harry, not ( ... )
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The way Rowling handled the Snape/Black dynamics in OotP reminds me of the way she handles Draco: There is definitely potential for development of interaction/character, but she ignores it completely. one of the things that consistently disturbs me about rowling is her seeming identification with dumbledore's "morality," ie Slytherins Are Bad (with maybe one exception... but even snape's iffy), Gryffindors Are Good (ignore the tyrants behind the curtain, please). Though, given the way she developed Snape and the marauders in OotP, she seems to be blatantly contradicting her own rule. ~_~ damn the woman and her ambiguity... I absolutely agree that Draco has a huge wealth of potential... Hell, I like to think that Lucius Malfoy is sort of the classier version of Sirius Black - doing what has to be done to serve his own interests and the interests of the ones he loves, no such thing as right or wrong. I don't know I don't know.... In interviews JKR makes me want to throttle her, but then OotP came along and ( ... )
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I agree. I hate having to rely so much on speculation... I want some confirmation, damn it! Draco is complex and sympathetic!!!
I was listening to the OotP audiobook last night and realised that what interests me most about the upcoming books is how Rowling's going to develop Dudley and Petunia...
Well she did say that we're going to know what Dudley's Worst Memory is (yaaayyy!!!!! ...here's hoping it' doesn't involve aunt marge). so, yes, i think she definitely has some development in store for them...
And whether she will kill off Remus *whines*
Nahhhhhhhh..... Remus suffers too prettily. >:} His destiny is to go on and on losing people, forever, trudging along life's roads in self-imposed stoicism and misery. ...Well if I were writing the story... I had convinced myself she was going to kill off Snape!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;_; But now I'm beginning to dip my toes back into tantalizing Harry-death scenerios ( ... )
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I know she did; but from all I know about her view on Dumbledore, she thinks he is a good person.
My problem with Dumbledore is that I don't really see him as a character. He was established as a plot device, necessary to explain the background and to facilitate the solution at the end of each novel, which is a popular method in many children books. We've never seen him do anything great. Rowling told us he was great - e.g. via Hagrid. In the early novels, Harry's (and everyone's) trust in Dumbledore always seemed a bit off, because he never prevented any horrible stuff from happening; he merely arrived at the end, like clockwork, and offered a neat summary, a life lesson and a conclusion so that the author could finish the book without bothering with loose threads. In OotP, Rowling tried to flesh him out, but ( ... )
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