moocow1985 @ July 18 2004, 01:22:49 UTC

Before I dig into this latest round, I'd just like to make a comment. HOLY CRAP (LIONS!) THAT'S ALOT OF POSTS! Should keep me entertained for a while!

(Thanks for doing this - is awesome!)

xnera @ July 18 2004, 01:31:57 UTC

Yeah, it is kinda long. Originally I was just going to do up to the 23rd, but I tacked on the 24th because it kinda wraps up the cannons outing mini-arc, so it felt like a logical break. But yes, much entertainment! I am off to get pizza and soda myself so I can settle in for a closer reading rather than the very-quick-skim I just did.

(You are welcome! It is very awesome to reread. I'm enjoying it alot myself.)

chinae @ July 18 2004, 01:57:32 UTC

Thanks for this.

vassilissa @ July 18 2004, 02:23:38 UTC *dives in*

"Percy Weasley and Cauldron of Perfect Thickness would like to cordially invite you to witness a touching union..."

*snort*

empress_nothing @ July 18 2004, 03:22:27 UTC

Oh lord.

'YOU INSOLENT LITTLE CURDLE OF COTTAGE CHEESE.'

I wasn't going to turn this into an angst-fest about how I miss PS, but now I must.

sniperica @ July 18 2004, 03:57:02 UTC

Their comments are so clever. I don't know where they come up with them.

I miss PS too. He was by far my favorite character.

illusive_blue @ July 18 2004, 19:03:12 UTC

...nor do I appreciate the subtle irony of reading about the lifes of ghosts.

I do!

I love MB.

Anonymous @ July 19 2004, 07:32:08 UTC

I would like to point out that I GOT OVER N_A BEING GONE FOR @ WEEKS AND A HALF. And then I see this.

:(

*sobs quitely in the corner*

Anonymous @ July 19 2004, 07:32:46 UTC

Oops, 2*.
Sorry for spamming.

jiffy_spiffy @ July 19 2004, 10:42:20 UTC

I have to be subjected to a very badly inked tattoo on my forearm because Voldemort was on a punk rock whimsy.

Ahahaha, I forgot about that.

chinae @ July 19 2004, 15:19:07 UTC

I'm sorry but this just killed me:

The Noble Marauders: "Oh, we're sorry you've been horribly mutilated. You didn't need your intestines, did you? We were just having a laugh. We certainly didn't *mean* for anyone to really be harmed, so what do you say we just call it all quits?"

Severus Snape: *is dead*


From Remus journal where he complains about Snape not paying him any attention.

I'm so enjoying reading through these posts.

sistermagpie @ July 20 2004, 14:34:03 UTC

Hee! I love these. One thing that struck me, having read the whole thing, is how the relationships of all the students change so much, but Draco and Hermione never seem to make any headway whatsoever. She's slapping him right here at the start, she'll be punching him by the end.

Also, couldn't help but notice that again everybody loves this idea that the Slytherins have no friends. This is something that always gets me in canon too. I mean, I can understand preferring other friends, but if the Slytherins went to my school I think I'd describe them as having friends. I just love that the game started right away with this theme and continued it throughout, while exploring all this issues about what it meant to be a friend for everybody.

ex_lev195 @ July 20 2004, 14:57:01 UTC

Pansy calling Draco the "Blond Bitch God" is rather disturbing. It's strange now to see how those two and Millicent mostly lack the friendship they had in the later months of NA.

sistermagpie @ July 20 2004, 16:42:10 UTC

Pansy is difficult because, especially when she's darque_pansy I suspect she's another person. They all seem to hang out with each other but there's definitely no sign of the affection they show on the game later on.

I'm not sure exactly how that was supposed to work. Pansy seems like sort of a false-start characterization, even using a different journal. The ps/MB interaction isn't so much different as just lacking the obvious affection behind their insults. But it seems later on like they made a point of showing us these three have known each other well for years--MB considers Draco a brother, so it's not just that ps and MB eventually realized they had a lot in common, you know? It's possible they grew apart or are going through a cold phase (especially if Pansy is acting crazy-Lucius seemed to consider her a loon for the entire game) and when they get close again they stop denying their past friendship and start celebrating it. Or it could be for MB and Draco at least that they just haven't gotten loose on the journals.

The one interesting thing about this Pansy is it ties in to the whole homosexual issue. Because it seems like Pansy is sort of fawning over him and he seems cold in return, which would make sense if he just wasn't attracted to her and so just decided to suck up the attention as his due.

illusive_blue @ July 20 2004, 17:23:49 UTC

Pansy seems like sort of a false-start characterization,

I absolutely agree. I have never read Pansy like this before and she doesn't seem settled or established in the way that the other characters are. The all seem to have traits that are recogniseable from canon, or, failing to appear much in canon, that make sense. (Or am I just expoiting my knowledge of the character from later entries?). This Pansy just doesn't sit right with me somehow - I never envisaged Pansy to be so...darque?

I never had a problem with her later characterisation though so I suppose this will resolve itself over time. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

xnera @ July 28 2004, 16:58:39 UTC

Commenting here, as I have not read the "new" stuff yet.

I honestly cannot recall how I felt about darque_pansy, other than I really dug her default icon. I think I liked her. I do remember being a bit unsure of la_pensee when she first appeared on the scene; it took me a while to warm up to her, but eventually she became one of my favorite characters. It's really strange how now it's darque_pansy that feels offputting and odd. My reaction has reversed because of where I am sitting now.

Even though the characterizations of darque_pansy and la_pensee differ so much, I think they do, in a way, follow from one another. There were definitely enough hints from la_pensee that she was being treated for depression, and that with the proper medication it was under control. But it *does* feel like a different character. I am trying to figure out if I am that completely different when my depression flares up. I know I have a problem with prioritizing. Some things that are trivial will become very, very important to me, while I will ignore the things that really are important. darque_pansy's stalking of Draco kinda feels like the former. I think that they *were* friends as kids, but as Pansy slipped into depression, he became the thing that she thought would provide her the most happiness, and thus started stalking him. Maybe. For all I know this could just be a huge fanwank.

We don't see much discussion about mental illness in the wizarding world, so I wonder if Draco started being cold to her simply because he didn't understand what was going on, or didn't know how to deal with it. To him, she probably really did appear insane (lord knows my family thinks I am).

As for the apparent lack of friendship between M.B. and Draco, I'm wondering if up to now they just haven't been very demonstrative of their friendship in public. Even if they were, the journals are a very different system than hanging out with someone in class. I interact with my friends differently online than I do in person, so it's possible they are just feeling their way.

And I wrote more than I expected I would. Wow!

sistermagpie @ July 29 2004, 00:58:48 UTC

But that was great--because I'm so glad you brought up Pansy having a mood disorder. I did always think that was the subtext of a lot of la-pensee's stuff, maybe because I also remembered darque_pansy...it's hard because of course not every teenager who decides to write about death and wear black is depressed. Goth can just be a way of getting attention--you THINK depression is cool so you say you're depressed all the time, whereas a person really suffering might just be unable to do anything. But it's hard to tell with just a journal character exactly how she's presenting herself at school.

Anyway, I did continue to feel like there was something like that going on with Pansy. I don't know whether my reading of her here is now being tainted by how I came to feel about her later, but reading it now it doesn't seem completely comical, like Pansy is just trying to get attention. I do think she eventually freaked Draco out honestly.

I guess I really just can make it work that this Pansy is putting Draco off because she really is acting strangely, fixating on him. It would also make sense to me that this was why Lucius would never entertain the idea of Pansy being his girlfriend later on. I figured he saw her as tainted or mad and didn't want that anywhere near his bloodline.

If she is dealing with something like that it makes me wonder how it was eventually handled. Pansy seemed to go to Madam Pomfrey a lot and often mentioned having colds, etc., which always to me sounded like she had a chronic condition that sounded like a mental one. But I don't know enough about the condition to recognize all but the most blatant signs! If this was the case with her I'm glad she had friends that seemed to eventually get to some understanding about it.

elyciel @ July 22 2004, 14:52:20 UTC

Hmmm. Did Sirius have a different player when NA first started? Because there's a very marked difference in writing style. This Sirius seems to have a thing for ellipses... like this... they are all over his entries... and comments...

I don't particularly like ellipses myself, so I'll stop the demonstration now. :)

Also, Goyle's smark!Kwikspell is PRICELESS! :D

Anonymous @ July 23 2004, 11:29:25 UTC

As far as I know, Sirius changed players more than once.

ex_lev195 @ July 23 2004, 16:45:17 UTC

Those ellipses have been driving... me... insane...

*cough*

elyciel @ July 23 2004, 16:47:59 UTC

Me! Too!

Ha, note the marked lack of ellipses in this reply! :D

lmblackjack21 @ July 22 2004, 21:10:02 UTC

The Noble Marauders: "Oh, we're sorry you've been horribly mutilated. You didn't need your intestines, did you? We were just having a laugh. We certainly didn't *mean* for anyone to really be harmed, so what do you say we just call it all quits?"

Severus Snape: *is dead*

<3

xxreddxx @ July 24 2004, 23:25:31 UTC

MB rawks. Must meet one day.

I knew you couldn't keep your overlarge nose out of this, Sevvie. - =)
Sirius is awesome. But, ya know, poor Sev =\

solarpowerspork @ Deleted Deleted

Deleted

airaloki @ July 28 2004, 18:38:32 UTC

You think that's bad? I only got into it as soon as it was over! *shakes head* stupid airaloki... but this is awsome! I can catch up now!