...at the solstice shall come a new...
Jun. 22nd, 2004 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aberrantangelsA year and a day ago now, "the Three-Year Summer" (as some fans call it) came to an end with the English-language publication of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The review I wrote of it, I passed along to my evil twin, and it eventually got posted.
I'm not going to repeat anything from that review. I will say that many of the assumptions that had grown up in the fandom since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out (particularly in fanfic) were exploded with an almost casual thoroughness, and the seeds of future assumptions and speculations were sown. I'm not going to offer any of those speculations, not even my own, because I know![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
thessalian hates that crap with a blind purple passion. I just want to honor one of the biggest of those assumptions, and to pour a metaphorical bottle of butterbeer on the curb for a playa who (probably) ain't with us no mo. (A lot of people think the deceased isn't; given the circumstances of decease, I can't blame them for thinking that. I will, however, point out JKR's repeated statements of one of the rules of Harry's world — dead is dead. No spell can bring back the dead. Even ghosthood is only a temporary pause on the way to whatever comes after this life, as Nearly Headless Nick Sir Nicholas explains to Harry.)
The last time we were this far from the release of a Harry Potter book was July 9, 2001. Neither Thess nor I was livejournaling yet; we were both still at the old place. On this date, she had fallen silent, I had worried out loud, she chid people who worry over nothing, I took it as read that she meant me. My behavior patterns have improved since then, I think; I doubt they can be much worse now, anyway.
Things were different then. I was still living in Mississippi, and Thess had not yet resolved to come down and meet me in person. Goblet of Fire had not yet taken home a Hugo award, nor had Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The World Trade Center was still standing. John Ashcroft had just been warned not to fly commercial air until further notice. Sorcerer's Stone and the Lord of the Rings movies had not yet hit cinemas. And those are just the things I think of off the top of my so-called head.
I really wanted to put this entry up yesterday, but I kept tweaking it. No more of that.
I'm not going to repeat anything from that review. I will say that many of the assumptions that had grown up in the fandom since Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire came out (particularly in fanfic) were exploded with an almost casual thoroughness, and the seeds of future assumptions and speculations were sown. I'm not going to offer any of those speculations, not even my own, because I know
thessalian hates that crap with a blind purple passion. I just want to honor one of the biggest of those assumptions, and to pour a metaphorical bottle of butterbeer on the curb for a playa who (probably) ain't with us no mo. (A lot of people think the deceased isn't; given the circumstances of decease, I can't blame them for thinking that. I will, however, point out JKR's repeated statements of one of the rules of Harry's world — dead is dead. No spell can bring back the dead. Even ghosthood is only a temporary pause on the way to whatever comes after this life, as The last time we were this far from the release of a Harry Potter book was July 9, 2001. Neither Thess nor I was livejournaling yet; we were both still at the old place. On this date, she had fallen silent, I had worried out loud, she chid people who worry over nothing, I took it as read that she meant me. My behavior patterns have improved since then, I think; I doubt they can be much worse now, anyway.
Things were different then. I was still living in Mississippi, and Thess had not yet resolved to come down and meet me in person. Goblet of Fire had not yet taken home a Hugo award, nor had Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The World Trade Center was still standing. John Ashcroft had just been warned not to fly commercial air until further notice. Sorcerer's Stone and the Lord of the Rings movies had not yet hit cinemas. And those are just the things I think of off the top of my so-called head.
I really wanted to put this entry up yesterday, but I kept tweaking it. No more of that.
