Fanfic rec: The Way I See It (Harry Potter fandom)

[sholio]

The Way I See It by Minisinoo

I don't really read HP fanfic much anymore (still enjoy the books, just not in a fannish place for the series as a whole), but in the course of doing research for one of my original projects, I stumbled upon this lovely short piece -- a Hogwarts student's paper (with framing narration) that compares the European magic system with the Native American magic system. I know this summary makes it sound very dry, but it's not at all; it's a lovely and detailed comparison of two very different magical cultures. You don't really need familiarity with the Harry Potter universe to understand the story, aside from a general knowledge of the basic premise for the series (although this story has spoilers for books 4 and 6).

Comments

[ex-jenwryn533.livejournal.com]

You know what? I went and read this fic, and you are absolutely right - it's great. I actually haven't read much HP fan fiction... I adore the books, and can quote great slabs of the early ones because my brother and I had four months in a caravan in Tasmania where it did nothing but RAIN and we had nothing else to amuse ourselves with... But somehow I haven't read much fan fiction from that world. No real reason, I just haven't had the urge, and suppose I am sort of mentally distancing myself (if I go all analytical) because I'm not sure what we're supposed to do when the last book comes out. Anyway, the point of this long-winded comment (!!!) is to say thanks for the rec, and I'm glad I read it. It was certainly something very different, but right up my alley interest-wise, and worth a read! Jen.

[sholio]

Caravan in Tasmania? That sounds completely fascinating ... to me. It probably would have been deathly boring at the time...

I actually got into HP through fanfic -- when I'm not in a fannish space for any particular thing, I'll click around on fanfic for fandoms I'm unfamiliar with, and I happened to stumble upon some really good Potter fanfic that led to me buying the books. Other than that, though, I haven't read a whole lot of it. Some fandoms inspire me to seek out (and read) fic; others, though I may love the source material, just don't, and the Potterverse is one of those that doesn't, though I'm always open to reading a fic if it's good.

I really love stumbling upon fanfic that's more than just "the further adventures of so & so" -- not that I don't glom onto every single example of "further adventures" fanfic that I can find when I'm in fan-mode for a series, but I rarely go back and re-read them once I'm out of a fandom. But fanfic that really delves into the world in an interesting and unusual way ... that's rare.

[ex-jenwryn533.livejournal.com]

Caravan in Tasmania?

Actually, it was a lot of fun, despite the fact that we had to listen to my father whinging about the cold (he's a real cold fish, when we weren't actually doing something else he sat in bed and listened to sport on the radio!).

To explain, my folks live in a caravan and travel around constantly (my father is retired), and luckily I got to do that with them for a handful of years - and when I was smaller too - before uni. Very lucky person! And life in a 14-foot caravan, with no running water, and no electricity, and four people, it what we generally call 'character building'... or at least that's what we call it on a good day *grins*.