Personal canon is fun!
Well, this has been going around between everyone and their mom, so here's my go!
Name a character and I'll tell you three (or more) facts about them from my own personal pseudo-canon.Okay, so the fandoms... Star Wars (feel free to go beyond movie characters if you are so inclined), Star Trek (TOS), LOTR, Harry Potter, Farscape, Battlestar ( Read more... )
Name a character and I'll tell you three (or more) facts about them from my own personal pseudo-canon.Okay, so the fandoms... Star Wars (feel free to go beyond movie characters if you are so inclined), Star Trek (TOS), LOTR, Harry Potter, Farscape, Battlestar ( Read more... )
Remus:
1. He hates the term 'Werewolf Rights'. The fact that the term even exists is what really disgusts him because it only proves that everyone has placed them in a category that separates them, including those who want to help, including werewolves themselves. Sirius always did complain that his ideas of rights and equality were entirely utopian. Over the years this has toned down into a very wry cynicism, and he no longer thinks on it much. He is resigned to it.
2. He happens to love muggle fiction and - perhaps somewhat perversely - leans toward the horror genre, though he reads it with a sense of humor. He started reading it mainly because he liked to read the werewolf books and laugh at what they got wrong, and it slowly turned into a weird past time. James thinks it's totally nutters, but Sirius thinks it's brilliant. It is also important to note that he is the true storyteller of the group; Peter stutters too much in front of crowds, Sirius is so overdramatic that no one ever believes him and James tells everything like it's a Quidditch play-by-play, so that leaves him to paint out their stories in words. It's one of the reasons he makes such a fantastic professor.
3. He almost died after Sirius was taken to Azkaban, but not through recklessness, neglect, or by another's hand; the wolf was confused and furious at being left alone and took it out on himself.
4. Just because he is not Harry's godfather does not mean that he does not love Harry as much as Sirius does. He is just better at hiding his concerns. He always has been, and it is good to remember that his past is further away from him than Sirius' is - Sirius has been focused on nothing but the past forever and time has halted for him, where as Remus has felt the clock tick and been pulled further and further away from it. He is also better at recognizing the pieces of Lily in Harry than Sirius is.
Sirius:
1. Despite Sirius' struggle to be everything that his family is not, he has moments where he makes comments that show his heritage in a bad way (comments that usually are more for boosting his ego by tearing others down, mostly insecurities at work). This causes a problem for James and Remus because they both know that he would want to be told that he is doing this, but they are also sure that he will react hysterically if they ever actually confront him about it.
2. Sirius honestly cannot stand it when James' hair starts lying flat. He was the one who actually started James messing it up on purpose. There is actually a reason for this that does not involve him always wanting to be the hottest thing on two feet around the school lake; James' wild hair is a physical representation of everything that Sirius wishes he could have done and had as a child. When he first met him he was instantly drawn to a boy who not only had crazy hair, but had crazy hair and parents who loved him for it anyway, and didn't blame him like every aspect of his person was something that had to be controlled.
3. Sirius will always care more about having his friends than about being in love. Friends are your family, but the act of being in love, of feeling that emotion without friendship to back it up, is fleeting. It was one of the reasons that he never really helped James in his pursuit of Lily. He always liked Lily, pain in the arse that she was, because he knew that she was a good match for James. He also knew that James wasn't ready for her because they weren't friends. He couldn't help them until they had some common ground to go on.
4. His reactions to being betrayed define him just as much as his friendships and choices do; his mother did beat him a few times in childhood, and he never cried once. He hates himself for the fact that he loves Regulus in spite of everything, even more because he feels that he should have been able to save him somehow. There is some tiny hidden part of him that misses the Peter that he knew, even if he wasn't the most impressive kid.
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Okay, your Remus facts were all so sweet and perfect and I couldn't agree more, but I really loved your Sirius facts. Remus is kind of a hard one to get wrong (although enough people certainly do), but I see so many Siriuses out there I really can't see as fitting with the character, but your characterizations are so lovely. I adored #2, and I really can't see Sirius with #1. I think he tries so hard to not be like them that he can't help but be like them in some ways.
And of course Sirius' friendships are more important than love. Sorry R/S shippers, but he broke out of prison for his best friend's son, not for Remus. And, wait for it, that's as it should be. I think some shippers don't like the notion that yes, James really was Sirius' best friend, because it doesn't seem romantic enough that Remus wasn't the "most important." But this is Remus Lupin we're talking about. He doesn't want or need that, and he certainly wouldn't ever want Sirius to put him before Harry.
I love that Remus sees the bits of Lily in Harry, too. I think it's somewhat exaggerated the extent to which Sirius went "=D James!" over his godson, especially since most of that came out in Book 5 when he wasn't at his most stable. In book 4 when he's advising Harry to stay out of trouble and fretting over him, he certainly is treating him far more like a son than like his former best friend. But even though he clearly does love Harry in his own right, that sort of all started because of James, and he's always going to related Harry to James. Remus is...well, perceptive is maybe the wrong word IMO, Sirius can be awfully perceptive but also awfully blind. I think Sirius tends to see the world as he wants to see it, and Remus sees is far more as the way it is.
♥
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I agree, Remus is kind of hard to get wrong, unless you're one of those ridiculous people who are under the impression that he needs lots and lots of looking after because of his lycanthropy or something like that. Remus is an alarmingly straightforward fellow, for all his shrouding. Sirius shouldn't be hard, but people do make him seem that way, with all their "he's a heartless bastard who doesn't treat my Snapey right!" To which I say O.o
You know, #2 actually came out of a fanfic I wrote a loooong time ago. I should dust that one off and repost it somewhere. I'm right with you on the family idea. I've seen so many people who loathe their parents make the exact same mistakes they did. It imprints so easily, especially at a young age.
And the R/S shippers really need to get over the idea of Remus needing to be the most important. I'll never forget reading a great fanfic where Remus and Sirius are finally together post-Azkaban, and Sirius tells Remus straight off that the most important thing to him is keeping Harry safe. And Remus says okay. Instantly. The author got a lot of reviews with people asking her why she did it and her response went thus, "... because it's canon, everyone. I'm sorry, but it is." And I laughed my arse off because someone actually said it.
I feel it's more insulting to Remus' character than Sirius' to make such a big deal out of that. Remus is not jealous of Sirius and James' friendship or Harry, everyone. You don't marry or end up with someone who hates your best friend, generally. It's supremely hard to do (which is why I hate it when people write Lily hating Sirius too, it drives me batshit insane), and it certainly wouldn't happen among the Marauders. Ultimately, I think it comes from getting the relationship backwards, if you're shipping R/S; Sirius needs Remus more than Remus needs him, imho. That doesn't mean that Remus doesn't need Sirius at all, but it does mean that Remus does not fall to pieces at the thought of not being the single most important thing in Sirius' life. He's a tough boy, people.
I think you're also right about Sirius treating Harry as James being exaggerated in book 5. Everyone seems to forget that we're getting that impression because of what Molly said. And I adore Molly, I really do, but she overreacts all the time. Because she's a mommy. Even everyone in her family thinks so. So she is partially right, but I think she's making a bigger deal out of it than she needs to. After book 5, I felt like people just started to skim over how Sirius treated Harry in book 4. Can you say super-duper protective, anyone? We need to remember that the behavior in book 5 is triggered by the house, damnit. That's what sets off the recklessness.
And Sirius definitely sees the world as he wants to much more than Remus ever could. He would have never survived Azkaban otherwise. Man... we could right one crazy-long essay on this, you realize. XD
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I dunno, I think in some ways Sirius is very tricky simply because he changes so much from book to book. He's kind of batshit for much of 3, sweet and wise and fatherly for 4, reckless and angry for 5, and then arrogant and sort of mean in the flashback...it can be hard to decide which idea of Sirius you go with. Plus, people seem to pull a lot of canon for Sirius out of their ass. 'He was a complete manwhore, obviously, and also totally crazy and ADD!' I mean, as legitimate as any other personal canon except that so many people just *assume* those qualities apply to Sirius.
Sirius needs Remus more than Remus needs him, imho. YES. Thank you. How can people not see this? I mean, yeah, Remus needs some looking after, the poor thing, but he wouldn't ever put up with being coddled (I'm sorry, but one of the reasons I don't like Remus/Tonks. All the problems he listed, too old, too poor, too dangerous etc. she dismissed because she's willing to be with someone with those qualities. Good for her. But I just don't think Remus could be happy being the needy one in a relationship. I don't think he'd let himself be cared for by someone he couldn't look after a lot in return. Anyway). Sirius, on the other hand, is kind of a mess. And considering all the shit with his family (and the fact that we know he tried to kill Snape back in school) indicates he was probably kind of a mess even before Azkaban.
Sorry, but that one just ticks me off. Like, whenever you read the whole 'who tops' debate, everyone goes on about Remus' needs. Remus should top cause he needs the control, or he should bottom cause it would be good for him to not have as much, or...etc. Just no. Whether they bottom or top or switch off or whatever, it'll be because of what Sirius needs, because Sirius is the one who needs it more and Remus is the kind of person who cares way more about what other people want than what he wants.
Also, being a werewolf is obviously pretty bad, but I think people exaggerate it. Remus probably doesn't have a crippling fear of loss of control that will cause sexual dysfunction if he has to, oh noes, bottom.
And yes XD. These two are one of the subjects that I know I could go on for days about.
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I think the key to understanding Sirius' seemingly bipolar personality from book to book is to realize that he is a person who is completely at mercy to his surroundings and memory. They have command of him more than anything because they are what he is left with. I always believed that Sirius was probably a little scary when he lived at home as a kid even whereas Hogwarts made him a safer person to be around (unless you were Snape, and frankly, we still have no idea what that was about).
Sirius in fanfic with the manwhore ADD stuff kinda pisses me off in a major way. It's fine for crack fic, but no real human being acts like that. Not even rich, semi-snotty ones. Also, I really don't understand the people who can't accept Sirius for his character flaws, but ADORE Snape at the same time. Erm, hello, your favorite character is a bastard. I love him, but he's still a bastard. And it's not okay for Sirius to have bastardly qualities too, why?
No, Remus definitely does not get coddled. I have a feeling that that's the only thing that could make him get truly dominating/scary. He just wouldn't stand for it. (see, but with Remus/Tonks, I don't really think that's what's going on. I think Tonks does need a lot of looking after, but we don't know enough about her character to realize exactly how. Let's face it, few people are that klutzy unless they are subconsciously trying to attract attention to something. Not as bad as she is. And I don't think that Remus' 'you don't really want me because' list is a worry of being the needy one so much as it is a worry that she'll later regret her choice. Because he has a lot of experience with that himself and it's a bitch....)
Thank you. If I ever read another fic with Remus angsting over his sexlife because of his werewolfness, I'm going to bite off the head of something cute. If you're going to have that affect how he has sex, do something different and hopefully interesting. I really think that any affect the lycanthropy has on sex between them would all be in Sirius' head. XD He likes the idea of added danger.
Seriously. A book. A seminar. With tea. (and stop making me want to write more S/R fic. or making me think about that R/T fic I always meant to write....)
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