Lumos.

[rogueslayer452]

++ Richard Armitage has done another audiobook, David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. Unfortunately this doesn't have a free downloadable trial like his previous ones, however when you consider the overall time of the audiobook is 36 hours long I think it's worth the payment.

++ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the script for the upcoming play, is going to be released in book form. Upon reading the description of what the story is going to be about, I'm not exactly sure it's something I'm interested in. Sure, I'm curious about things post-war and how Harry and the rest of them overcame a lot of their ordeals, the state of the Wizarding World and all of that, but I do think the epilogue kind of ruined most of the enthusiasm fans would've had. Granted this is a play not strictly written by JKR herself, so it's neither here nor there when it comes to how canon it'll be (not that it stopped anyone from dismissing canon before, lbr). Nevertheless, it's still amazing how Harry Potter continues to be a huge phenomenon in pop culture. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them is going to be coming to theaters soon, there is going to be a play with a published script for people to read. It's just never-ending, and I love it.

Although in general I do want more things to come from this world that doesn't focus entirely on Harry himself or is just information from Pottermore. Fantastic Beasts is a good start where it's centering entirely on a different character, in a different era outside of Europe. I want to have something focusing on, say, the Founders of Hogwarts, Tom Riddle and his beginnings to becoming Lord Voldemort and the first war, the Marauders, the state of other characters post-war and how they're coping, other Wizarding schools worldwide and how everything affected them, etc. Sure, we have fanfiction for most of these things which is sometimes better than the actual canon revealed (thank goodness for the EWEs), but regardless there are endless possibilities for more things to be officially created from this massive world JKR created.

And hey, anything that makes us revisit this world in whatever form is good enough for me. Speaking of, I've just been revisiting Harry/Draco again because, well, once OTP always OTP. ♥

Comments

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

I keep reading people say they want more Marauders, and... I'm not really sure they do. I feel like JKR's idea of them isn't quite as positive as fandom's tends to be. Not that I think Snape was an innocent woobie who was bullied into Death Eaterhood by them - far from it; if anything, I see Snape as being the kid who wrote "I'm going to kill you and bang your mum" all over his binder and hung out with future gang members/Death Eaters. The one who had that innocent friend (Lily) everyone kind of wanted to pull aside and ask, "why?!" So I can't blame MWPP for not liking him. However... I also think for all of the good qualities MWPP had, they could also be really dark themselves (in different ways) and I don't think fandom would respond well to that.

ITA about the other ideas, though! That's why I'm stoked about the Fantastic Beasts movie, honestly. It's a different part of the Potterverse.

If I'm going to be honest? I never wanted an 8th Harry Potter book anyway. Ever. Even before DH. I really, truly felt that Harry's story ended and didn't even need an epilogue, although I actually kind of liked it, unlike most fans.

I'm still interested, and I'll definitely get the book when it comes out and may even binge read. It's just different for me than the book series, and even than the upcoming Newt Scamander films.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

However... I also think for all of the good qualities MWPP had, they could also be really dark themselves (in different ways) and I don't think fandom would respond well to that.

I can't speak for anyone else, but I, personally, would find that absolutely fascinating. It would give us a closer examination of who they were and what they were really like, seeing their faults and flaws and how some of them eventually grew out of it (and what areas some of them didn't). James Potter in particular, since there is still debate within the fandom (usually the Snape vs. James crowd) on his past behavior and why Lily would choose him. I think understanding and acknowledging that yeah, they weren't the greatest bunch and they had major flaws and did horrible things, but they were also children who chose particular paths for themselves and it would just be interesting to see how it happened.

If I'm going to be honest? I never wanted an 8th Harry Potter book anyway. Ever. Even before DH. I really, truly felt that Harry's story ended and didn't even need an epilogue

Yeah, I'm the same way. I love Harry, but after following his journey over seven books it felt like it was time his story needed to be concluded. Deathly Hallows was a wonderful bookend to Sorcerer's Stone to see how he had grown and everything coming to a close. I wanted it to end with him overlooking the aftermath of the battle with his friends and, while knowing that it won't be an easy time rebuilding things, he would know somehow everything was going to be okay. That's a satisfying and uplifting enough ending for readers who went through this journey with him, who suffered the losses he did with other characters, and it would have been a great way of seeing the silver lining after it all without a needless epilogue attached.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_profiterole_/]

I could do with a Marauder movie (based on fanfics XD).

I haven't read a lot of H/D, I mostly read S/R, but have you read astolat's recent H/D fic? Such a delight! :-)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you for bringing that to my attention! I've been kind of absent in reading Harry/Draco for a long time and am now playing catch-up, and it's so amazing to see that the fandom hasn't died down once. AO3 is filled with so much goodness! And I'm looking through old recced archives of things I probably missed as well. :D

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I still can't believe we're getting a black Hermione. :D

It's kind of like how I was with Hamilton. I know a lot of people were saying wait until you see the performance so you're first impression is to be wowed, but those tickets (plus traveling expenses), it'd be a miracle if I ever get to see it performed live. So I listened to the soundtrack, and was still wowed nonetheless.

what I'd love to see is more canon around the other wizarding schools, especially the news ones to which we were just introduced

I really want there to be, like, a miniseries centering around all the other wizarding schools and seeing the overview of what they went through during Voldemort's return and how they were affected by it. It would just be so interesting to see something not focused primarily in Europe, you know? How their systems operated, the kinds of things they did that differ from other schools, particularly Hogwarts.

[endeni]

Eheh, well as it happens I just posted an Harry/Draco rec list over at my journal. ;)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It was such a coincidence since I had just gotten back to reading Harry/Draco after a long dry spell (happens every time I rotate fandoms every so often), and you happened to have a recommendation post. ;)

[endeni]

Eheh, I too go through cyclic period in which my passion for a particular fandom or ship gets rekindled, what with me being so multifannish too... :D

[lusimeles.livejournal.com]

i'm excited yet apprehensive about cursed child at the same time, i think.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of people are. This might not necessarily count towards canon, though not that that matters, as I mentioned, but it still doesn't make anyone less apprehensive when it comes to reading what something as an extension of canon might entail. Not many were impressed with the epilogue and basing something strictly on the 19 years later part can be iffy.

[lusimeles.livejournal.com]

yeah, i mostly pretend the epilogue just didn't exist. i feel like i have parallel universe harry potter endings just flying around in my head all the time, really!

[noybusiness.livejournal.com]

Not many were impressed with the epilogue

I find it more likely that those of us who had no complaints about the epilogue were simply less vocal, by virtue of having no complaints.

[nemophilist.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine talking for 36 hours. Fair fucking play Richard.

SO READY FOR MORE HARRY.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Well, he obviously didn't talk for 36 hours straight. ;) But in all seriousness, he did state in an interview that they dedicated at least a hundred pages a day during recording, and that's still a lot of talking regardless. And managing to get the right pacing, the voices, not screwing anything up, it must be so challenging to do audiobooks in general. I salute anyone who manages to do this as frequently as Richard does.

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

Ehhhhh I'm not excited about the new HP book/play at all. I actually forgot all about it until you mentioned it and vaguely remember being like eh about the whole thing. idk, I'll wait and see what I hear from everyone else before I decide to read it. I keep thinking of the epilogue and then the description of the play/book and I'm like, nope, lmao.

I'm still holding out for the HP encyclopedia that I'm pretty sure is never happening. I'd rather have another story from the HP universe that's not focused on HP himself in anyway way.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I have to admit considering how many people were left unsatisfied with the epilogue, the fact that the play is based around those 19 years later leaves much to be desired. I mean, if it gets the to grit and realistic aspects instead of the "happily ever after" thing I might be curious, but overall I'm not entirely enthused by the whole idea of having a play centering around the epilogue years. I would much rather have something directly after the aftermath of the war, y'know? I don't know. Again, we'll have to see.

I think the whole legal fiasco with JKR vs. Vander Ark killed any progression of that encyclopedia, unfortunately. Pottermore and her Twitter are the only places where information is given now.

[icecoldrain.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I want details on the post war etc. in the immediate or near future of the final chapter. The epilogue is... well, don't even get me started on it lmao. I can go on about it for days. I'm not really interested in a story that takes place around the epilogue era at all.

I think you're right. I never go on pottermore and hear about her twitter stuff periodically instead. I'm still holding out though lol.

[awakenyourfaith.livejournal.com]

Holy moly, 36 hours? Can't think of a better way to pass the time :3

I'm interested to see how The Cursed Child will further things re: the future of the wizarding world.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

My thoughts exactly. (✿◠‿◠)

I'm hoping there's at least more details about the state of the world and how things have progressed or remained at a standstill with fixing and rebuilding things. It's one of the things that disappointed me about the epilogue, we didn't really learn about how things had been fixed in the aftermath of the war. Judging from the title and description alone, it may be focusing on how Harry's former fame will affect his son, and what it means to be the offspring of the hero and savior of the Wizarding World. But we shall see.

[place-to-hide.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I want to see Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them. I haven't read the book either.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

The film is mostly just based around the book, which is incredibly short to begin with, like a little over 100 pages. It's obviously going to be way more elaborate with infusing more about Newt Scamander's adventures, which are briefly touched on in the text itself.

I'm mostly curious because of the era (1920s) and it being located not in Europe but in America. We'll be seeing the wizarding world that isn't Hogwarts-based and I'm quite excited about that, tbh.

[place-to-hide.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I just don't know if I like that it takes place in America. I guess I'm just still skeptical about it.

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

36 hours - what a way to kill time :O

[woodycakes.livejournal.com]

36 HOURS OF ARMITAGE. YES PLEASE

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

IKR?! I LIVE FOR THIS KIND OF EARGASM CONTENT. (｡♥‿♥｡)

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

I'm not a huge Potterhead. However, I find the play more exciting than Fantastic Beasts. I'll go see FB, but I don't like Eddie Redmayne and I'm pretty meh about the whole concept. The play however ... I think it's my theatre background, lol, but it just appeals to me so much more.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

It's rather interesting seeing the differing opinions on these two new things, and which one is grabbing people more.

Personally, I'm more curious about Fantastic Beasts since, just based on the teaser trailer alone, it has already piqued my interest. I've always been wanting more things to focus on characters outside of Harry himself, and the era and location it seems to be much more interesting to me. But who knows? The Cursed Child might also be good too, in regards to the script and how it's acted (for those who are able to see it performed).

[eowyn.livejournal.com]

You're right, it is really interesting how people split on which they are more excited about.

For me, having the play released in that format is the best thing ever - I would've been disappointed had they made it a novelisation! Being able to read it as a script with stage directions is right up my alley!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I was discussing this at work today because this winter we have two not-really-sequel movies coming out - Fantastic Beasts from Harry Potter world and Rogue One from the Star Wars world. Do we have a term for these kinds of stories? Spin-off doesn't seem quite right, but they are not sequels or really prequels, since their connection to the main story isn't direct...thoughts?

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that's an interesting question. I've just been referring them as prequel spin-offs for the most part, though as you mentioned they have no direct connection to the plot of the main stories, they are simply stand-alones in the same universe. So, stand-alone prequel spin-offs? Prequel stand-alones? Idk.

[saturnsdaughter.livejournal.com]

I have mixed feelings about The Cursed Child. I'm one of those fans that pretends the epilogue doesn't exist, but if seeing the play was an option I would go if only to see a black Hermione.
I'm not that concerned about Fantastic Beasts either. It's cool that the world of magic extends beyond Europe, but my heart is at Hogwarts. I've been reading some H/D fics again myself and they're making me all nostalgic. :)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm also someone who pretends the epilogue never happened, and I think the unpopularity of the epilogue is definitely the main thing that many have no interest in dealing with the 19 years later aspect of that premise, for sure. At the same time, however, until the script comes out and people see the play being performed, we have no way of knowing how well this might actually be. Plus, as you mentioned, the play has a black Hermione, which is certainly one of the best things to come from it so far.

I just have this huge fascination with the Wizarding World as a whole. Hogwarts is where I've always wanted to go since reading the books, but as I've gotten older I find myself wanting to see more of how different cultures and politics operate in that world. I'm pretty excited to see the American equivalent to the Ministry of Magic.

I've been gone so long from reading H/D fic that it's overwhelming seeing that fandom hasn't stopped producing fanworks. I shouldn't be surprised, of course, but it's still amazing nonetheless. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

[captandor.livejournal.com]

I'm with you on wanting more on the Founders. That would be the series I'd just totally die over!

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I just feel like there's so much to tell with this world, these characters and the different areas to explore, that having an info dump of information on Pottermore just isn't enough to quench this thirst of wanting more stories about it.

[ellipsisms.livejournal.com]

I love that HP is such an awesome cultural phenomena, and I love that I came of age kind of when the whole thing was going on. So many people find HP so important to them in so many ways, and even though it's not my biggest fandom, I still think of myself in terms of the Hogwarts Sorting and everything, so it's just everywhere!

(Also lol my coworker has already gotten tickets to see the show in London!)

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I just remember first coming into online fandom and Harry Potter was one of the biggest things being talked about, and after all these years it's still in relevancy, not just as a fandom but as an overall cultural impact. Harry Potter has touched so many lives, and it doesn't matter whether you were there from the beginning or are just now discovering it, the fact that it's still so important to many people is absolutely amazing. It just warms my heart that it'll continue that way for a long, long time. ♥

[shyngi.livejournal.com]

My ultimate dreams is to have a tv-show about the Marauders era. Of course all this is only based on fandom's dreams casts and thoughts.

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I would just love to have a television series or miniseries about most of the things I mentioned, because while having feature films is great, there are restrictions and limitations as to what can be touched upon, as evident from the HP films themselves. I think a television series (Netflix) or webseries could give a lot more information and explore more depths that films couldn't. Different characters, different eras, other places of the Wizarding World that we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of. As I mentioned, the possibilities are endless in terms of adapting something from this world.

[icecream-junkie.livejournal.com]

Listening to Richard Armitage’s voice for 36 hours? I would definitely pay for that. *lol*

I’m not sure what to think about the HP play, yet. The epilogue of Deathly Hallows read like a bad fanfic and I’m worried the play might as well. On the other hand grown-up Harry struggling with his past and general grown-up life could be interesting as long as it’s well written. Though I’m not sure whether I want to read the script first or see the play first or rather whether I want to buy the book if I have not seen the play yet, because looking at the available dates in the official ticket store, the play is sold out until February 2017. I don’t even know what I will be doing in September 2016. I can’t plan a year ahead and buy tickets that cost a fortune. :(

I always loved the Harry Potter books because of the world JKR created. Don’t get me wrong, the story itself was interesting, but it were all those details about the wizarding world that made it impossible for me to put the books down once I started reading them. It’s something that, for example, the movies lack partially, because all those “unnecessary” details got cut out to fit the books into 2 hour long movies.
Anyway, I would really love to see more of this world. It doesn’t even have to be about Harry or any of the HP characters. It might even be better if it’s not about any of the established characters, because than you can’t be disappointed if it’s not what you expected. Although, I would love to read more about a younger version of Professor McGonagall. ♥

[rogueslayer452.livejournal.com]

I can’t plan a year ahead and buy tickets that cost a fortune. :(

That's basically my dilemma with Hamilton, lol.

But in truth yeah, how good The Cursed Child will be depends on how well-written the script and story is and, for those able to see it live, how the overall performance is. And anyway, like with anything with fandom, if it's not your cup of tea you can easily ignore it.

Don’t get me wrong, the story itself was interesting, but it were all those details about the wizarding world that made it impossible for me to put the books down once I started reading them. It’s something that, for example, the movies lack partially, because all those “unnecessary” details got cut out to fit the books into 2 hour long movies.

Yeah. I love the movies for what they are, but I was mildly disappointed when they didn't include certain things that I found fascinating. The world had a lot of interesting and rich details, and while I understand that the movies had their own vision of how to adapt the books, there is a certain limitation and seeing the things they cut due to budget or creative differences or whatever. I would love to see something else in a different medium that actually expands and explores more of that world the way the films didn't.

It might even be better if it’s not about any of the established characters, because than you can’t be disappointed if it’s not what you expected. Although, I would love to read more about a younger version of Professor McGonagall. ♥

Agreed, so much. Especially in terms of not established characters or even just minor characters that appeared briefly but weren't expanded on so they can finally be fleshed out more.

[teagues-veil.livejournal.com]

Harry/Draco FOR LIFE! I've recently gotten super into threesome relationships involving those two as well. ADDICTIVE.

I also agree 100% that the epilogue killed a lot of enthusiasm fans would have otherwise had the play. I'm kinda worried that it will ruin all my lovely post-war visions, ya'know... the ones largely fueled by fanfic. LOL. However will I survive?! *dramatic swoon* Oh right, ignore canon when I feel like it just like I do for H/D. :D