(no subject)

[heidi]

This is no happy ending. I'll try to rise above, cause, baby, I still believe in love...

Last year, I posted about the absolute rawness I still felt regarding OotP and especially Sirius's death, and in the last few weeks, watching PoA on cable (and various other Gary Oldman films where he ends up dead, just to make it more meta and complicated). And a year on, the rawness has become numbed, either by time or by hapenstance, I really don't know. It makes me think of ari_o's The Five Steps, but I know this isn't real grief, although it is definitely a real emotion. Watching my friends who spent years with Dogstar and their very real loss of at least a year of writing and communicating and communing in that universe is like re-experiencing a shred of the horror and shock that I saw all over my friendslist on that June day exactly two years ago. I wish there was a way to recapture the flist-posts from that day, because it would still be interesting reading, and it's one of the things that the FA forums have going for them - there's a whole section of threads of first impressions, whereas to read all the first impressions from my flist would require me to go to about 700 journals and I love you all but not that much, sorry. If someone ever wrote an LJ tool that would allow you to pull posts from a certain day from your whole flist, it would be Very Useful.

So, anyway, I'm not here so much to look back as I am to look forward, although I'm not sure that "let's look forward to HBP" is the real mood I'm expecting or generating here. Here I am, watching TLC's work on Potter Parties, pulling together volunteers for Spellbound outside Chicago, organizing stuff for Books of Wonder, and planning to cover the showing of Sorcerer's Stone in Santa Monica for WizardNews.com...

And I'm not sure I'm really looking forward to reading the book itself.

In fact, I sort of fear it. Honestly, I'm not sure how I can end up more devestated than I was at the end of reading OotP. But I'm concerned that she may take the easy or obvious approach on things where PoA and GoF led me to believe she had a more deft or subtle approach. Or it's possible that my One Big Expectation will be fulfilled and Voldemort will be defeated and end this book dead, dead, dead, and thus, Book Seven will be filled with the attemted recovery of the wizarding world and the realisation that Lucius was the Big Bad all along, and that evil never truly leaves us.

But somehow, I don't think so anymore.

Those, I think, are my two questions for the night:

1. What do you fear in HBP?
2. What do you look forward to?

Anon posting is allowed, and although I'm not turning off IP logging I'm not really interested in correlating IPs with, well, anything.

---

And just so I don't spam my flist with two posts a minute a part, I wanted to note that you can see the FictionAlley wristbands for the Katie O'Brien Scholarship Fundraiser here, and you can, of course, purchase yours here. I'm thrilled to announce that we've sold out our original order of five hundred bands, so we're about to order more to sell at the HBP parties that Team FA members will be at - if anyone wants to market the bands at a party they're going to, please let me know via comment or email. I can't send an unlimited number to everyone as FA has to prepay for the bands, and we don't have unlimited funds, but we can send "order information cards" to anyone who wants to hand them out at a party, and may be able to send a few to sell on the spot.

Comments

[february-sea.livejournal.com]

:) I'm really glad you've asked...

I'm VERY afraid that Draco will pass the point of no return, that he will commit to a path toward Voldemort from which there is no recovery, that he will be defined as absolutely 'evil'. I will be absolutely devastated.

I look forward to definitive choices and actions; the series is nearing its end, and there will have to be *some* sort of movement toward resolution. I think (I hope) that a lot of things will be explained or at least given enough background information to indicate which way the wind is blowing on a number of fronts. And PLEASE don't let all the Slytherins turn out to be evil. :(

And YAY for selling out on the wristbands--I am *haunting* my poor mail delivery guy waiting for mine to appear in my mailbox!!

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

But there's a detour. Isn't there?

: clings desperately to shinking sip of hope...

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

I'm certainly nervous about who's next on the chopping block - Hagrid, Remus - because how much can a boy be made to suffer? I'm not looking forward to more CAPSLOCK!Harry, either, but I don't think it can be helped. :P

On the other hand, I'm really looking forward to finding out more of Snape's backstory, because I believe he will be critical to the denouement of the series, and I like angst!

[heidi8.livejournal.com]

This is one of those moments when I can safely say that all of fandom would come together in a massive outpouring of glee if she bumps off...


Grawp.

[moonlightnrain.livejournal.com]

1. What do you fear in HBP?
2. What do you look forward to?

1. I such a huge Snupin geek that I fear that she'll try to pair off either Snape or Lupin with a female character.

2. Judging by the UK Adult cover, there's bound to be lots of Potion Master goodness. Mmmmmm.

[moonlightnrain.livejournal.com]

I am

Losing my command of English is something I also fear, but not in reference to HBP.

[aome.livejournal.com]

I dread the next death(s). I actually wasn't that devastated by Sirius' demise - it was upsetting, and I really felt for Harry, but I, personally, accepted it as ... something that had to happen, I guess. Anyway - I'm nervous about the next deaths because, in order to have the necessary impact on Harry's hero-journey, the deaths have to start hurting even more, and Sirius hurt him quite enough. I suspect I will be hurt by whoever goes next. *wibble* And I also worry for Harry's mental health in this book, because he is rightly going to have a hell of a lot to deal with, emotionally.

I look forward to seeing how their studies change now that they're at NEWT-level, and just the general adventures and story development. And that 'first time' experience, which you only get once.

[(Anonymous)]

1. What do you fear in HBP?

Ron/Hermione. Harry/Ginny. Shipping in general. Fandom's batshit enough already.

2. What do you look forward to?

I hope someone important and close to Harry is gonna die. Money is on DD, hope is with Hermione.

[girlandetc.livejournal.com]

i actually agree with this comment, some. as much as i ship H/G, and kind of want it to come true in the books, i think part of me would be disappointed if it actually did. there's soooo much wank about ships - remember when JKR outed Ron/Luna on her site? - that i kinda don't want her to actually pair anyone in the books, for all the insanity it would cause.

that said, i really, really, really hope she gives us Big Hints that Remus/Sirius is real. cause. damn.

i'll be devestated if remus is the one to die. off anyone else and i'll handle it - shocked, yes, esp. if it's ron, hr, etc - but.. just not remus. please god jkr.. please..

money's on dumbledore here, too.

Hm...

[fearsclave.livejournal.com]

What am I afraid of? JKR choking. The kind of disappointment I felt when watching Episode I. Realizing half-way through that I'm reading an author whose delivery wasn't up to her vision or promise.

What am I hoping for? A book that'll take a couple of days of lying in the shade by the lake to read and re-read, and that won't leave me wishing I'd fished instead.

Re: Hm...

[smaragdgrun.livejournal.com]

Yup - this is where I am, too. Please, just let it be a decent read!

[lls-mutant.livejournal.com]

::pats Heidi sympathetically::

I don't think we'll be disappointed in the ending. I really don't. Too much reading theories and posts that don't come from JKR herself does that to a person.

What I fear

Two things, and they're both minor. I'm enough of a Wolfstar shipper that I'm hoping there won't be canon denial. (And for me, all it would take is Remus saying he loved Sirius "Like a brother.") And the other one is more me-related- I'm afraid I either won't finish Accidentally In Love before the book comes out (likely), or that HBP will blow AIL SO far out of the water that I won't finish it.

But those are minor. The rest of it, I'm not fearing much.

What I hope...

I've got this hope that Remus and Harry will have it out in a big way, and both of them will get their heads out of their butts. Not overly likely, but...

Other than that, I don't have too many pet theories or anything, so most of HBP should be fun for me. I'm not too worried about JKR disappointing me... I'll have faith. I think OotP set a lot of things up, which is why people were disappointed in parts of it, and HBP and Book 7 is when the setup will pay off.

For as bad a mood I've been in, that was surprisingly optimistic!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

It's weird...I can't think of anything specific, because any bad thing I can think of happening could be done well. Draco becoming dreadfully evil while a token "good Slytherins" step forward to join the mob attacking him and R/Hr and H/G skip off into the sunset sounds terrible to me, but perhaps that story could have meaning and I'd ultimately admire it.

So my fears aren't really anything specific but that I'll feel as awful or worse than I did after OotP. And I don't think that was so much stuff that happened but just the feeling that I'd been locked in a room with people I was beginning to understand were judgmental and cruel and not anyone I wanted to be around.

So that's more what it is, that Book VI will just seem mean-spirited and self-congratulatory. Hopefully this fear will turn out to be completely unfounded, of course.

[cleverthylacine]

What she said.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

I fear she might do the typical thing and kill off the hero's best friend (Ron, specifically; Hermione I suspect is safe because she's the only girl in Harry's sphere of Really Important People). That would be intensely irritating, even if it wouldn't kill my interest in the books.

I'm looking forward to whatever happens in the book. I'm just looking forward to the book - I like Rowling's adventures and her world (in the books), and I really want to know how it goes. Yayness. :D

well, I know you're talking plot, but...

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid she'll waste my time with a book which is

• 3-4x longer than it needs to be (whereas the first three books were models of elegant storytelling)

• stuffed like a turkey with a tedious midgame of no clear relevance to the endgame or series super-arc (see also: Umbridge)

• whiney and unpleasant in the dubious pursuit of increased emotional realism -- joy may be the central cliche for children's literature, but isn't it also a central selling point?

• begun with another tiresome Dursley sequence and concluded with another tiresome "revelation" -- really a rehash of Chapter one, Book one, that this town ain't big enough for both Harry and Voldemort

• illogically developed -- I simply do not see how at a time of war there can be such a thing as a school year at all (and indeed this is a central concept behind the first Narnia book, as the second sentence demonstrates), and yet I'm sure Rowling will actually try to sell the world two full school years of some sort of half-assed, half-developed war

In fact, I'm sure enough of my guesses that I'm not even buying the book.

Re: well, I know you're talking plot, but...

[girlandetc.livejournal.com]

that's a really interesting concept.. of it not actually being two SCHOOL years. i can imagine a really awesome story arc wherein the shit hits the fan at the end of year 6 and year 7 isn't really a year of school at all. hmm.

[dragongirlg.livejournal.com]

1. What do you fear in HBP?
Being disappointed and feeling unfulfilled when I finish reading it. Shipping. Flat characterization and needless angst.

2. What do you look forward to?
Backstory, history, another level to the universe.

[plaidphoenix.livejournal.com]

1. What do you fear in HBP?

That Snape will not be held acountable for doing such a rotten job of teaching Occulmancy to Harry.

2. What do you look forward to?

Snape being held accountable for doing such a rotten job of teaching Occulmancy to Harry.

[angelamermaid.livejournal.com]

I fear ... Harry/Hermione. Hagrid dying. Finishing the book and being so bored/disappointed/frustrated that I don't care when book 7 is released.

I hope ... Ron/Hermione. A third Creevey brother, even more adorkable than Dennis. Finding out everything that happened to Snape between GoF and OotP. Shrieking with laughter amid all the doom and gloom. Feeling like I felt at the end of The Empire Strikes Back the first time - just finished something dark yet satisfying, and can't wait to find out What Happens Next.

[kokopoko.livejournal.com]

You know, I'm glad I'm not the only one not looking forward to this next book. Book 5 killed the magic for me. Book 4 didn't flow into 5, the majority of 5 was dull and repetitive and then way too much action with parts that seemed to be missing. It's like she wrote the book at two entirely different points of her life. I just didn't like it. It didn't have the magic the first 4 did.

[glassflower.livejournal.com]

Sorry to be random, but I always check your journal for interesting posts (you certainly don't lack them) and I feel a bit overwhelmed by how much I identify with what you wrote here...since I finished OotP, I've known perfectly well I wasn't ready for HBP yet, and now, when it's been two years already, I'm not sure I ever will be. I (and the rest of the fandom, I guess) wasn't nearly as excited about this book as I was about the last one, and all leads me to believe it has to do with the shock of Sirius's death, who was my favourite character and truly the last person in the world I'd have expected to see being killed. The rawness has become numb on my part, too, though I hadn't really thought about it in that way until I saw it written here - it used to be painful thinking about it, but now all the reaction I get from myself is a sad smile. I remember my reaction from that day, but not my first post in LJ about it...maybe I never did one. Anyway, to answer your questions, I don't think I fear anything (besides Jo opting for clichés) so much as I really wouldn't mind waiting some more, and I look forward to seeing the development of the characters much more than the actual end of the story.

[tenebris.livejournal.com]

What I fear
Remus's death. A pointless Dumbledore demise. And any shipping finalized.

What I hope
More Remus and Harry bonding. The push-pull Hero friendship, where Harry has to step to that next level of maturity. More backstory on Lily, especially if involves Petunia.

hmmm...

[(Anonymous)]

1. What do you fear in HBP?
a few things...I fear that everyone in the fandom will take it much too seriously, as I think some replies to this post sort of already prove. I fear R/Hr, if only because I love Ron and loathe Hermione, and I think he deserves better. H/G doesn't scare me. Bring it on. But I also am afraid that the Slytherins will remain one-dimensional characters that are put there only to sneer and be annoying...is a little depth too much to ask???


2. What do you look forward to?
I look foward to Ginny, Luna, and Neville being given more attention. I look foward to Quidditch, because the past two books (though I LOVED #5 and seem to be in the minority here) suffered for the loss of it. I look foward to McGonagall coming back and being awesome, and I look foward to the DA continuing (because I hope it does-- just because Umbridge is gone doesn't mean the DA needs to end).

Oh, and I hope Dumbledore gets what's coming to him...I love him dearly and all, but he was seriously misguided when he concealed all that information to Harry.

[sylphie.livejournal.com]

I am scared of...
-not liking it very much, like HP5. but personally I thought 5 would be the awkward transition book, so hopefully this one will be great.
-ron, hermione, lupin (the last marauder left is NOT allowed to be peter), mcgonagall, or a weasley besides maybe bill or charlie (MAYBE percy) dying.
-and many other things.

I am looking forward to...
-seeing who everyone's paired off with
-seeing if we will become closer to the other students in the book!

Anyways, I shouldn't think about HP6 too much. Will be all the way in China when it comes out, until Aug 8. Am dreading that whole three weeks or so where I'll have to absolutely avoid any fandom at all, and even my friends who will have read it and posted it. The internet will be a minefield. And very boring...

[girlandetc.livejournal.com]

off on a tangent, but..

this is one of the things about fandom that makes me go, "???". i mean.. yeah, so JKR solidifies something, i.e. the One Canonical Plot, or Sirius' death. fandom speculation is awesome and fun, but how does it put a huge dent in the ideas we can come up with for fanfic? no matter how JKR writes the end, i'm still going to love AU alt-ending fics just as much as i do now. i mean, with shipping, i kind of want JKR to leave it open-ended, just because i know it's going to cause a ton of fandom drama, and people take it way too seriously. but either way.. i ship H/G. this doesn't mean if H/Hr end up together i'm going to panic and burn my books and HATE. i might go, "HUH?" and write some LJ posts about it, but i'll still love the series, and i'll still read H/G fics. i'm not trying to attack you, i'm just genuinely curious as to why everyone is SO up in arms about this.. because to me, it doesn't make a difference. i'll still love the what if's.

[phoenixw.livejournal.com]

1. What do you fear in HBP?
Lupin's death. Though frankly I'm not sure there's anything worse that she can do to that poor man. I'm just more attached to him that is healthy for a fictional character.

2. What do you look forward to?
More exploration into the Wizarding world. Assuming she hasn't plumbed the depths of her creativity, I think we can look forward to more delightful and engaging characters and devices. It's a marvelous place, Wizarding Britain.

[prettyveela.livejournal.com]

In fact, I sort of fear it.

Ah THANK YOU for being one of the brave ones to say it. I hit on this in rynne's journal yesterday. Ever since JKR announced the release of book 6, the fandom has been more wanky than usual and I think the reason is that the fandom is scared.

The fact that it seems like a lot of fanfic writers are running scared amuses and fasinates me a bit. Fanon is the place to explore the things JKR hasn't expanded on, or to give your own interpetation of her world. I've seen for 2 years how people aren't happy with how JKR does this and that, well thank goodness we have fanon for that! I love fanon and I thought fanfic writers did too.

So why are the writers so scared? Does JKR's canon world affect them more than they're letting on to the rest of us? I think so. :)

As for OotP, it took me a few reads to love it, but now it's my second favorite book(the description of the DoM alone put it up there). If I remember correctly, didn't your book fall on the floor and it turned right to the page where Sirius died? Now THAT sucks. :(

As for me? I'm not really scared of anything at this point to be honest with you. I'm constantly amazed that JKR can bring this much emotion out of my fandom with fictional characters.

[girlandetc.livejournal.com]

i was asking about this same thing a few comments up (http://www.livejournal.com/users/heidi8/496569.html?thread=5145785#t5145785).

[peregrinuscanus.livejournal.com]

I'm with ginsu 's answers.
I fear how a War and 17 yr olds will be forced into the mould of a school year and moments of harmless fun that don't show *real* 17 year olds because this is going to be read by 9 year olds, right?

I also fear she's not going to redeem the Slytherins generally and Draco specifically. And I worry that the way to defeat Voldemort will be his death (though that will be in Book 7) rather than him being rendered utterly powerless. I also fear shippiness of the Harry/Ginny sort at all.

I look forward to a deeper understanding of Snape, and some resolution for Lupin, even if it's death.

[calanthe-b.livejournal.com]

1. What do you fear in HBP?

a) Any sign of Hermione being punished or 'taken down a peg', in narrative terms, for being a capable, confident, morally courageous human being with more spine than Ron.
b) Anything that even remotely resembles R/H.
c) Rowling defaulting on the deconstruction of the wainscot ideal andmovement towards true eucatastrophe and healing of the world established so clearly on OP.

2. What do you look forward to?

a) Hermione going from strength to strength.
b) Continued interrogation of the wainscot fantasy form via the high fantasy paradigm.
c) Continued opening-out of the setting that makes it clear that this is a story about a world, not a boy.
d) Dumbledore showing even more of his orchestrator's stripes.

[peregrinuscanus.livejournal.com]

*interested* Can you explain b) to me please?

[riibu.livejournal.com]

1. What do you fear in HBP?

I didn't like OotP as much as the previous books, and I fear that there will be decline in quality. I fear that JKR finds too simple solutions for the plot, flat characterization, and picturing Voldemort as a stupid evil cartoon figure. I really hope these will not happen, but these are my fears. Together with the fear I feel for the treatment of some characters like Draco or Pettigrew.

2. What do you look forward to?

I look forward to learning more about the wizarding world and character histories. The more little details the better! I want to see how Harry is going to cope in the situation. And the kids gradually facing the adulthood. More Neville and more Snape (perhaps not together, though, LOL!). A deeper understanding of Snape's character.

[(Anonymous)]

1. What do you fear in HBP?

The rotten stench of R/Hr or H/G, or worse, both. All Slytherins are evil. As mentioned above, Snape not being held accountable for not teaching Harry Occlumency. I fear the enormous backlash against JKR if she does something a lot of people don't like (making Draco join the Dark Side, write H/Hr, kill off a popular character). I fear my expectations are too high, I fear JKR's lost it, I fear the book sucking.

2. What do you look forward to?

New canon. More background, especially on the MWPP-era. JKR fleshing out The Prank. I hope there will be even more steps toward H/Hr, because I like that ship and think that Ron and Hermione continuously bring out the very worst in each other, making them hideously unsuitable. I want more on the Prophecy, which I think (hope) is far more complicated than we think. I want more Remus.

I'm really looking forward to this book.