Sunshine Challenge: Red
Jul. 1st, 2020 07:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
author_by_nightThe Sunshine Challenge is doing a color theme this year. I thought I would relate colors to mostly fandomy things, though not all of the time, and not all Harry Potter.
Today, however, I am focusing on the reddist of them all in Harry Potter: The Weasleys. It would take too long to talk about all of them in great detail, so instead have provided some brief thoughts on each Weasley, along with many treacle tarts and a cup of hot strong love.
Arthur: I love Arthur, although he's a little problematic with his near-worship of Muggles. But I think it comes from a good place, and he eventually channels this into fighting against the Ministry and even getting a promotion. I headcanon that he teaches his granddaughter Victoire to be as obsessed with Muggles as he is, albeit in a much more sensitive and productive way.
Molly: I adore Molly. She's fun because she has two very different sides - in real life, she'd be that housewife who gets in the news after lifting up a car a stranger was stuck under. She's sweet to Harry, strict with her kids, and savage with Bellatrix.
Bill and Fleur: I put them together because I wanted to give them a shout-out for having the best romantic arc in the series. I love that Fleur overcomes being judged (and lowkey slut shamed, which I think was absolutely intentional - although I have my feelings about JK Rowling right now, I think she did some things right, and Fleur's story in HBP was one of them). I think their story was handled really well - they stay in the background while also having a coherent D-Plot, as it were.
Charlie: Am I the only one who thinks before Ron and Hagrid got chummy, he was chummy with Hagrid? I don't see it ever having been on the same level as the trio, but I kind of like to imagine them having geeked out over dragons together. They definitely seemed to have a repore of sorts in GoF. I also see Charlie and Tonks as having had a past relationship, but that's purely headcanon.
Percy: A more complicated Weasley. I know a lot of people ask him how he could possibly be a Gryffindor, but I think you could argue his actions were demonstrative of the worst qualities of a Gryffindor: He found a cause and championed it beyond reason. Rather like Dumbledore was deceived by Grindlewald. Or maybe he was just an overly ambitious jerk who could've been in Slytherin; that may very well be the intended takeaway. However, my takeaway is that he believed in everything the Ministry did to a fault. I'm sure the ending of OoTP was a rude awakening, and I don't even know what he did during Deathly Hallows except literally come through.
Fred and George: Something I never realized until I began writing an It's a Wonderful Life homage with George (which I never finished, sorry!) is how much of an impact they had on Harry. They actually took care of him, from getting his luggage on the train in the first book to picking him up in the Ford Anglia to giving him the map. I think their role in Harry's life was often overlooked, since on the surface they were mostly just comic relief.
Ron: I love Ron, and I know this is a bit of an unpopular opinion. I just never understood the whole "Ron the Death Eater" trope I often saw applied to his character. I do think Ron got a little flanderdized, and even before that, he had some bad moments. But all of them did. I love Ron's loyalty, I love his dynamic with Hermione, and I really wish we'd seen more of chess player Ron.
Ginny: Another character a lot of people don't like, but I do? It's funny because even liking her, I remember thinking her character changed drastically in the fifth book - then I re-read the series a few years ago, and honestly, she didn't change that drastically in OoTP. I think it's more that fanon Ginny was always this sweet, quiet girl when even before OoTP, Ginny shows sides of the character she will become. That said, I liked her less in book six, but I don't think I really liked anyone in book six except for Luna and Neville. And Fleur. Book six was kind of that "everyone's doing their own thing" book.
Today, however, I am focusing on the reddist of them all in Harry Potter: The Weasleys. It would take too long to talk about all of them in great detail, so instead have provided some brief thoughts on each Weasley, along with many treacle tarts and a cup of hot strong love.
Arthur: I love Arthur, although he's a little problematic with his near-worship of Muggles. But I think it comes from a good place, and he eventually channels this into fighting against the Ministry and even getting a promotion. I headcanon that he teaches his granddaughter Victoire to be as obsessed with Muggles as he is, albeit in a much more sensitive and productive way.
Molly: I adore Molly. She's fun because she has two very different sides - in real life, she'd be that housewife who gets in the news after lifting up a car a stranger was stuck under. She's sweet to Harry, strict with her kids, and savage with Bellatrix.
Bill and Fleur: I put them together because I wanted to give them a shout-out for having the best romantic arc in the series. I love that Fleur overcomes being judged (and lowkey slut shamed, which I think was absolutely intentional - although I have my feelings about JK Rowling right now, I think she did some things right, and Fleur's story in HBP was one of them). I think their story was handled really well - they stay in the background while also having a coherent D-Plot, as it were.
Charlie: Am I the only one who thinks before Ron and Hagrid got chummy, he was chummy with Hagrid? I don't see it ever having been on the same level as the trio, but I kind of like to imagine them having geeked out over dragons together. They definitely seemed to have a repore of sorts in GoF. I also see Charlie and Tonks as having had a past relationship, but that's purely headcanon.
Percy: A more complicated Weasley. I know a lot of people ask him how he could possibly be a Gryffindor, but I think you could argue his actions were demonstrative of the worst qualities of a Gryffindor: He found a cause and championed it beyond reason. Rather like Dumbledore was deceived by Grindlewald. Or maybe he was just an overly ambitious jerk who could've been in Slytherin; that may very well be the intended takeaway. However, my takeaway is that he believed in everything the Ministry did to a fault. I'm sure the ending of OoTP was a rude awakening, and I don't even know what he did during Deathly Hallows except literally come through.
Fred and George: Something I never realized until I began writing an It's a Wonderful Life homage with George (which I never finished, sorry!) is how much of an impact they had on Harry. They actually took care of him, from getting his luggage on the train in the first book to picking him up in the Ford Anglia to giving him the map. I think their role in Harry's life was often overlooked, since on the surface they were mostly just comic relief.
Ron: I love Ron, and I know this is a bit of an unpopular opinion. I just never understood the whole "Ron the Death Eater" trope I often saw applied to his character. I do think Ron got a little flanderdized, and even before that, he had some bad moments. But all of them did. I love Ron's loyalty, I love his dynamic with Hermione, and I really wish we'd seen more of chess player Ron.
Ginny: Another character a lot of people don't like, but I do? It's funny because even liking her, I remember thinking her character changed drastically in the fifth book - then I re-read the series a few years ago, and honestly, she didn't change that drastically in OoTP. I think it's more that fanon Ginny was always this sweet, quiet girl when even before OoTP, Ginny shows sides of the character she will become. That said, I liked her less in book six, but I don't think I really liked anyone in book six except for Luna and Neville. And Fleur. Book six was kind of that "everyone's doing their own thing" book.
no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 12:15 pm (UTC)how could you make me tear up today?!
Alright,but I so love your little imagery about each Weasley,Molly being the housewife who lifts up the car to save someone,indeed! :D Arthur making Victoire a nerd about muggles,how sweet!
Bill & Fleur was one of the best couples tbh.Fleur came across as such a typical popular/mean-girl type of character but she wasn't?Maybe it was that she was from a different country/culture & didn't mesh with everyone immediately!I loved the way she defied expectations and assumptions!
WHAT DO YOU MEAN PEOPLE DON'T LIKE GINNY?! I will fight for that girl...though she might just do it herself lmao. It's probably that Harry started being around Ginny more so we got to see more of her from OOTP onwards. I know I was happy to see her have more time in the story because I'd adored her from the Prisoner of Azkaban time.
Ron is another faves of mine. Just like everyone he too has many sides & traits. So he gets jealous?Gets angry at his friends!Like excuse me?!People do,okay?!You remember being a teenager?!LMAO.
Percy is interesting. Remember Peter Pettigrew in Gryffindor? Sirius who is very typically Slytherin but was a Gryffindor? Hermione who could easily have been a Ravenclaw too? I think a lot of people put characters in a box just cause of the House traits.
Sorry this got so rant-y.I haven't talked about HP in a very long time,oh dear!XD Now I'm feeling nostalgic,maybe I should go back and read some!
no subject
Date: 2020-07-04 03:21 pm (UTC)Didn't mean to make you cry!
I definitely think there was some culture clash with Fleur. She's very direct and honest, rather than mincing words.
I think part of the Ginny dislike is that people don't like Harry ending up with her.
Peter's another character I can see either being intended for Slytherin OR just a hyper dark Gryffindor. Re-reading PoA, his reasoning for turning seems to have been "well, Voldemort was winning, why not just join him?" It was like he felt that if everyone just stopped fighting, everything would be fine. Was this a Gryffindor penchant for following a leader no matter what, though, or a Slytherin penchant for putting self interests first? Or just a non-House specific trait people sometimes have? Because I think you're right too that Houses can put characters into boxes when truth be told, no one fits into them, and I think even in canon they're really there so the characters have the best place to support their development into witches and wizards, and for the House Cup. I think Houses are still relevant, there's a lot of discussion of them and Terry Boot wonders why Hermione wasn't in Ravenclaw, but I also don't think they're as Do Or Die as either the canon characters OR fandom thinks. Dumbledore himself admits that maybe they sort too soon.
(And I agree Hermione could've technically been a Ravenclaw. I think for her it was primarily motivation - she's smart, but she's smart to show her capabilities and ultimately believes in fighting for what she perceives to be right. Whereas Luna, for example. is more interesting in exploring the various pockets of the world. She also wants to fight for what's right, but that seems very separate from her personal knowledge.)