[ SECRET POST #3999 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3999 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.



__________________________________________________



02.
[Louisa May Alcott, Little Men]


__________________________________________________



03. https://i.imgur.com/lIKsZNu.jpg
[too big]


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.



__________________________________________________



09. [SPOILERS for Stranger Things]



__________________________________________________



10. [SPOILERS for Stranger Things]




__________________________________________________



11. [WARNING for discussion of abuse]



__________________________________________________



12. [WARNING for discussion of RL death]


















Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 00 pages, 00 secrets from Secret Submission Post #572.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[fscom]

07. https://i.imgur.com/fcVqDux.jpg

[(Anonymous)]

There were DEFINITELY fanfics that were stronger than the last few books. But in all fairness, when you become that hyper-famous and inspire such an enormous fandom, that probably would've happened even if the last book or two weren't total crap.

I always wondered what that would be like. Rowling isn't an amazing writer in terms of literary craftsmanship, but she is successful at being quirky, enchanting, and easy enough to follow along that audiences get sucked in and don't let go. That's a great skill. Plus, she built a sandbox world that was exciting and imaginative. Plot-wise, she tends to put out a bunch of threads and tie them together at the end, which is satisfying to read and appropriate for her target audience, if not particularly masterful. I don't begrudge her her success at all. But when you get so famous, and ignite such an enormous fandom... was she nervous about writing the later books? At that point, I wonder if she knew she couldn't keep up with people's expectations. Not just limited to fanfic proper, but I've heard much more satisfying and well-thought out theories and speculations, and plot suggestions, than what ended up being canon. There was too much creative energy out there, so I guess even if the final books had been decent, they would've probably disappointed.

[(Anonymous)]

I think any finale is hard to satisfy everyone with, to be quite honest. Even with a smaller fanbase than HP. You expect certain things, and when they don't happen the way you'd hoped it's easy to be disappointed.

This wasn't a series, but I read an anthology a while back that was a series of novella length stories about a single family. I loved it, but still felt there was a lot of lost potential. However, this was all based on what I was looking for as a reader, rather than necessarily what the writer was going for. So that could be at play here, too.

(For instance, I feel like a lot of fans wanted a... grittier ending than the more fairy tale ending we got. I get that, but JKR was never going to write Harry wiping blood off his forehead and smiling wryly at the rising sun in the distance. It was always going to end with everyone back at King's Cross, or have that kind of ending. Harry Potter wasn't Angel or Torchwood or The Walking Dead.)

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, not everyone would've been happy no matter what. I was more pointing out that when an author is trying to think of complex twists and stuff, at that point, the fans have already already thought of that and then some. It's hard to be clever when you lead a super fandom.

I personally thought HP got weaker the grittier it got. I didn't think the blood bath in book 7 was effective for me. Book 4 set a precedent on characters dying, but frankly, I would've rather either Ron or Hermoine die (preferably Ron - not because I hate Ron, but he would've made a better death scene) and spare everyone else. On one hand, it was kind of a cool concept that the books matured along with Harry, but on the other hand, I just felt this massive disconnect. The earlier books were so enchanting because so much was unexplained and so many quirky tidbits left open-ended. In later books, Rowling took those open tidbits and thoroughly explained and made use of them. The world felt much less magical as time went on. Again, maybe that's commentary on Harry growing up, and if that was intentional, well done to her. But at the same time, the things I enjoyed most about the books were gone, and I was less intrigued by the straight action drama.

But hey, if it had gone my way, I'm sure plenty of fans would've hated that, too.

[(Anonymous)]

when you become that hyper-famous and inspire such an enormous fandom, that probably would've happened even if the last book or two weren't total crap

That's a good point. Draw in millions of people, chances are a few of them are going to be able to do it better, and without constraint of any existing long-term plans for the ending or the exact same emotional attachment to the characters.

[(Anonymous)]

This is all true, but at the same time the last books would have been vastly better if only they're been heavily edited. The Hallows storyline was way too sudden and could have been much reduced and tied in better to Rowling's strengths as a mystery and character writer.

For example: the Book 6 flashback structure would have worked great in Book 7 to see what was happening at Hogwarts: it would make the camping trip less interminable, let us see the implications of Voldemort's rule for even the pureblood and halfblood kids, and tied it better into the perfectly functional structure of the previous books.

I don't blame Rowling for this, because she obviously wanted to be done with them, but it was her editors' job to sit down and improve the books structurally.

[(Anonymous)]

I have heard, though don't know how true it is, that the last books are so weak because at that point she was J. K. Rowling and entirely ignored any editing attempts because she obviously knew what she was doing. So it was Star Wars OT Lucas vs Star Wars Prequel Lucas.

She could have benefitted from someone telling her to trim the fat, and maybe let her Epilogue that she wrote thirty years ago go and stop trying to wrangle the story back to keep it canon.

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I don't mind the last books, but at the end of the day, the series is fundamentally different at that point compared to the early books, and it's a totally different style than the things that she was excellent about and that made her famous.

There's a reason Prisoner of Azkaban is the objectively best book.

[(Anonymous)]

How on earth is it "objectively the best book? I liked it - I loved them all enormously - but I don't believe terms like that can be applied to fiction. Liking or disliking a story is entirely subjective and based on a slew of personal tastes. Sure, POA might be the winner if you asked a bunch of people to take a poll, but "most popular" isn't the same as "objectively best." A person's taste in fiction simply CAN'T be objective.

[(Anonymous)]

same & same

[ninety6tears]

I feel bad for people who didn't enjoy the entire series. That's too bad.

[(Anonymous)]

Same. There's bits that might be "my favorite" but that doesn't mean I don't also love the rest.

[(Anonymous)]

Thirding this.

[(Anonymous)]

I feel bad for people who did, tbh.

[ninety6tears]

Whatever soothes the butthurt :)

[(Anonymous)]

Sorry time told on your mediocre fave :/

[ninety6tears]

It's cute that you think that's the reality outside of insular shipping-obsessed fandom.