Oops, I arrived late : /

I actually like the idea of Elementals in the Harry potter world. If it was written well, I think it could be cool. Unfortunately, I've yet to read an elemental fic that was any better than "passable." (Can't remember what it's called, will edit later).
My biggest peeve/rant for today, however, is how there is NOTHING new in HP fan fiction anymore. It takes ages to find any fic with an original idea, and that doesn't just rehash an old storyline. I say bring on the elementals, because at least that's something a little bit new.
Every single fic I find is a storyline I've read a million times, with tiny changes made to the details. There is thousands of things you can do with this universe- so why do I keep seeing the same shit over and over again!
I mean think about it. The HP universe- outside of Harry's journey- is basically left un-written about by Rowling.

Magical races, the war with Grindelwald, the Undead, time travel to the future, bounty hunters (Boba Fett style, not just Snatchers), Voldemort being a puppet for something else, Interesting OCs, McGonagall's backstory, Mermen, and a hundred others that I cant think of right now- And that's just the stuff Rowling already hinted at.
Also, as a side note, where is the epicness? Why no fic with massive army's, world destroying monsters, beings of unspeakable power. Why is it always a character story?

Anyway, that's my rant done for today. Honestly, I'm about to start writing fanfics myself... And NONE of you want to see that.

 

Dark Lord Lockhart?

 

Of course it was a love potion. I was replying to your earlier post where you cast the Ron/Romilda situation into doubt, namely how could it work if Ron wasn't interested in Romilda, which was a response to Newcomb's post. I was suggesting that this particular potion could've worked similarly to the Confundus Charm, which can be used to trick you into believing something that isn't true.

tldr; There's more than one kind of love potions.

 

I think the effects of powerful love potions like amorentia would be obvious to friends, who would realis what's going on and help e.g.HBP Harry recognised the fact that Ron has been dosed

 

I disagree, the effects Harry noticed in Ron were likely so obviously bad because of the cheapness of the potion.

Amortentia being of far higher quality might not show such outrageous symptoms.

 

For the record, keep in mind the chocolates are old, and Slughorn mentioned that age can make the potion stronger.

 

Amortentia is a little incongruous, when you think about it. You'd think that part of its power would be subtlety.

 

I like to think that with a powerful potion like Amortentia, it's possible to tailor it to the brewer's preference: you could make it subtle to make someone "fall in love" with you, or add/subtract an ingredient to make the drinker act really openly, to humiliate someone, if you so wished. Other kinds of magic are known to be flexible (Shield Charm) and we know it's possible to modify potions (HBP), so why not?

 

"Yes dear"–ism.

This horrible relationship dynamic, where women always grind their teeth and use the men's full name and men always cringe and pale. And then the men say "Yes, dear" and do what the women told them.

I don't know if that's a cultural thing (and prevalent in Great Britain), or just plain bad romance, but I see it used at least in one relationship in almost every fanfiction. And it's bullshit.

I've even read some fic where every fucking relationship was like this. Argh.

 

"Yes dear" is a trope in the UK, but it's not about doing what the woman says. "Yes dear" is a joke about the husband ignoring everything his wife says, because he's too busy reading the paper/watching the football etc. to listen to what she's saying, so he just says "yes dear" to present the illusion of conversation.

The joke is double sided too, because it normally involves the woman not really noticing that her husband is paying no attention, and so is also a joke about how all women want to do is talk at people -- it doesn't really matter what the husband says back, because his job is to listen, not interact.

All very tired, borderline insulting, gender stereotypes now, but in the 70s they loved that shit.

 

Be that as it may, I rarely read it used in that context, more often it is used like the above where the man simply folds and does whatever the woman has told him to do while visibly terrified.

It's pretty cringe worthy.

 

So… we have a lot of very cringe-worthy romance based on overused misunderstood gag from 70s?

Damn.

 

Hey dude, happy wife, happy life.

Remember that.

 

Yes dear.

/10

 

This.

In HP fanfiction it's nearly always the folding version of yes dear, usually accompanied with "the wife is always right" or "The secret to a successful relationship, Harry, is to bend over to your wife's every demand".

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It's pathetic and very similar to meek!Harry/Hermione that accompanies most of the mainstream H/Hr fics.

 

Most fanfic writers are tweeny girls who have seen the 'Yes dear' trope used in movies, tv and books but never really understood that it wasn't a female-empowerment message.

On that subject.

I've discovered that I can't read fanfiction written in first person. I'm not entirely sure why, but I think it's because it blatantly drives home the wish-fulfilment part of fanfiction that I very carefully pretend doesn't exist (or that I'm above). When I realise that the author spent hours writing about how 'I' am being mooned over by all the hot guys ever (it's always guys) I start to feel uneasy, as if I should be doing something more constructive with my life. It's like a big flag that says, "You're spending your free time reading the indulgent fantasies of a teenage girl, grow up dude."

 

I've noticed most H/Hr isn't actually about Harry or the romance, it's about Hermione, with Harry being a side character.

Anyway, a petpeeve:
Dentist jokes. Lots of fics have them, but it's not either not funny in the first place, or not funny anymore. I instantly close a fic if I notice some kind of "witty banter" about "Dentists are sadists, hurr" or "evul conspiracies by that most fearsome occupation, the Dentist" or shit like that.
Could be expanded to most popular and widespread jokes in the fandom, actually.

 

Dentist jokes are nowhere near close to the most popular. Have you forgotten about ferret!Malfoy?

Not that it's bad if done well, duh.

 

Not near as witty or prevalent as Bumbledork/ Fumbledork/ Bumblebee/ Moldyshorts etc

 

How about Dumbledoof?