Inevitable 26: Why Is No One Listening To Me?

[mhalachai]

That noise y'all hear is me cheering that this chapter is done! I typed over 6,000 words today. Again, loves the vacation.

Inevitable Twenty-Six: Why Is No One Listening To Me? is posted.

At TTH
(and if TTH is broken:)
At Pomme de Sang
At Skyehawke

As usual, feel free to comment on anything. I love comments. Of all sizes.

Things I learned in the process of writing this chapter:
-There's an hour less sunlight at this time of year in St. Louis, compared with Vancouver.
-I was strongly tempted to use "British" words for breakfast food, but knew I'd just show the world what a goober I am, so Harry's eating bacon this morning.
-Capslock!Harry is fun to write.

Comments

[semirose.livejournal.com]

Aww, Anita's Nathaniel's doll, that's adorable. And Harry and Anita have real interaction rather than Anita being a)bossy or b)in the middle of a breakdown. This was such a nice chapter, very enjoyable.

Capslock!Harry is fun to write.
hee, I know, although Capslock!Lily is a lot of fun too.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

and whereas Anita would rant and rage if JC tried it, she lets Nate dress her up and put makeup on her for dates with other men. Go figure :P

hee, I know, although Capslock!Lily is a lot of fun too.

I knew it was genetic.

[child-labor.livejournal.com]

Wizarding Education

[(Anonymous)]

Part of it, IMO, is that Harry is still not used to being able to do magic outside of Hogwarts without worrying about the Ministry of Magic threatening to cause problems for him. (Or, since he's in the US of A, the Agency or Department - or, even more likely the Agencies and Departments ^_^ - of Magic.)

The other part of it (again, IMO) is the hidden "two-tier" education system in the (British?) Wizarding World. Despite the fact that Hogwarts is supposed to be the best magical school in the Wizarding World, the classes seem to be geared towards full-bloods and half-bloods that live in the Wizarding World. It seems to be a matter of the teachers unconsciously assuming that the relatives of their students would *obviously* have already told them about *that*, so that means the teacher can spend more time teaching them *this*. Still the end result is that most muggle-born/raised students (except the Ravenclaws and other bookworms) have holes in their education.

The Apprentice

Re: Wizarding Education

[child-labor.livejournal.com]

Re: Wizarding Education

[zed42.livejournal.com]

it's a point that's been raised in several fanfics i've run across.... there's some kind of "household charms" class or something that is considered the magical equivalent of "rocks for jocks" (crabbe and goyle seem to keep being put in there...)

Re: Wizarding Education

[(Anonymous)]

but then again...Harry may just not be paying as much attention in class as he could. I remember not hearing a thing about how you're supposed to apply for college though they apparently told me all about it...case of my thought drifting into la-la land yet again during school hours...how droll.

what a lovely chapter...just right and the characters were spot on.

E.A.V.

Re: Wizarding Education

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

*snicker* I think it's pretty much a given that Harry's not paying close attention in class.

Thanks for your comment!

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

I'm on vacation this week and that explains this chapter (Not sure about the other 25, tho :)

The reason Harry's not using his magic is simple: Dobby trauma. He's still convinced that if he uses magic, something's going to come and snap him on the ass about it. Also, he figures it's rude to do magic when no one else can. (a plot point I keep forgetting to address, thanks for reminding me.

[child-labor.livejournal.com]

School's In?

[(Anonymous)]

Between Anita and Richard, I think poor Harry's going to look forward to having to deal with Hermione nag him about working harder on his schoolwork. I honestly can see them (as Ulfric and Lupa) laying down the law that no werewolf (assuming, of course, that Harry's become a lycanthrope) in *this* pack is going to have such a poor education. I wonder how long before Harry's ready to get his GED?

(And, even if Harry isn't becoming a lycanthrope, you can see Anita using her position as "master (vampiric) guardian" to make sure that Harry gets a good Muggle education. With a strong emphasis on physical fitness (martial arts, anyone?) and preternatural lore/law.)

While Harry was in denial (about a need to prove things, at least to himself) in the last chapter, here we have have Anita taking a scenic river trip in Egypt. I somehow doubt that Anita reacted well when Manny tried to protect her, back when she was his (unofficial?) apprentice. Likewise, the idea of doing something semi-stupid in a relatively controlled environment, so you would know if you could do it if your life depended on it... No, Anita would *never* do something like that! ^_^

As you yourself pointed out in a previous journal entry, Anita and Harry are very much alike. (A fact that good old Edward will no doubt bring up, and find a great deal of amusement in.)

BTW, did you get my email to you about Chapter 25?

The Apprentice.

Re: School's In?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

I think Richard would be more hardcore about the lack of "proper" schooling than Anita. After all, he is a schoolteacher.

Anita's problems with Harry's little experiment last chapter isn't so much what Harry did, than he did it without her helping out. She's really bad at this whole letting other protect themseleves bit, but as she said in this chapter, she'll try. It might not work, but she will try.

I did get your email about 25, and have been composing a response. It's been a busy couple of days :)

Re: School's In?

[(Anonymous)]

True enough. Richard would be horrified by Harry's lack of knowledge on the standard (muggle) education mainstays of math, english, the sciences, ect... Anita will be more interested in physical education (aka martial arts, How To Successfully Run Away, Sharp-n-Pointy Objects 101, ect..), and his preternatural education (laws regarding, basic powers of, basic weaknesses of, ect...).

Glad to hear you got my message. Take as long as you need to compose the reply. I was just worried that I sent it to the wrong email address.

And, to skip back a few chapters (regarding Anita and Tammy talking about Wizarding World prejudices versus Religious Fundie prejudices), I was reminded of a bit from a story that put it best "we all are prejudiced against something and/or someone". That's a paraphrase, and it's an idea that probably makes some people rather uncomfortable, but I still think it's (regretfully) true. The only differences between prejudice in our world and in Harry's (or Anita's for that matter) is that you can add "magic" and "species" to the available options.

The Apprentice

Re: School's In?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

People usually are scared of that which they do not understand, and that plays well in the AB world of magic and preternatural stuff. Sometimes its easier for people to read about prejudices against lycantrhopes, for example, than make that transition to other prejudices closer to home.

[samira-86.livejournal.com]

Once again, another incredible chapter. I just wonder when Anita is going to kill, beat, or wound someone. I miss seeing that particular aspect of her. When do you think you will post another one? (Hopefully very soon, pretty please.)

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Ah, I can't answer that without giving away portions of the plot, now can I? Thanks for your comments.

[sabriel-0405.livejournal.com]

This was a great chapter on lots of levels. I love his relationship with Jason and Nathaniel. In this chapter, even in Harry's POV, we were really seeing Nathaniel happy at having a brother because Harry is that to him. A friend but more. A younger brother.

Anita is still so fragile. She hates that feeling, hates being out of control. She has intimacy issues even when she's willing and able to be physically intimate. Now, it's all cascading down around her. Ronnie's contribution was interesting and, I think, more jealousy based than anything else. (It was great that Harry answered the door shirtless.) It's a riot to watch Nathaniel play Dress-up Barbie with his life-sized Anita. Jean-Claude does the same thing. No wonders she's always feeling trapped! (Detractors comment on change of attire but don't seem to realize the reason for it.) (By the way, the word you were looking for in the post-Ronnie discussion was polyamorous.)

I can't wait for the next chapter. This story deserves every accolade it gets and more!

[zed42.livejournal.com]

By the way, the word you were looking for in the post-Ronnie discussion was polyamorous.

actually, polyandry works... she does, in fact, have many men... and she might as well be married to most of them... they certainly argue like it :)

[sabriel-0405.livejournal.com]

Point taken. Thanks for the clarification! (Though I think Ronnie is jealous of the sex not just the men. *grin*)

[zed42.livejournal.com]

well, since neither one is (as far as we know) bi, the one kind of follows from the other... :)

i think what ronnie's really jealous of is the fact that ms. marry-one-guy-and-no-sex-until-then is getting some from all sides and is happy about it, while poor ronnie, miss one-night-stand, has a guy proposing marriage and isn't happy in the slightest....

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Thanks! And you're right about the developing brother relationship. I wasn't planning on it, but it seems to be headed that way. Nate needs someone to relate to, and who is willing to tell him what to do if need be (but not take advantage of that).

Ronnie's reaction was based a tiny bit off the DM chapters... and I simply had to have Harry answer that door without a shirt. All part of my master plan :P

(Detractors comment on change of attire but don't seem to realize the reason for it.)

Detractors to my fic? Or to the change of clothing in general in the AB books?

[sabriel-0405.livejournal.com]

People commented that in ID, Anita was wearing a miniskirt to go to a zombie raising. Anita used to dress to piss off Bert. In fact she still does. But her clothing is better quality, tighter fitting because she's not ashamed to wear it that way and generally more feminine. Anita hasn't lost herself by becoming closer to the monsters. She's beginning to find herself.

(I saw the DM influence. It's really going to be hard to wait until July.)

[zed42.livejournal.com]

someone mentioned it above, but i'm going to say it anyway: you do a good job of capturing anita's "i must protect everyone because they can't protect themselves" streak, even if they _can_ protect themselves... the fact is, with his magic, harry can probably kick the ass of almost anyone in the cast six ways to sunday... it's just that he's going through some minor changes, and he doesn't have his usual support system around to help him deal with that and the "regular" stress of someone trying to kill him...

if anita ever manages to let someone fend for themselves once in a while, it'll be a miracle.... it seems that the only people acting like adults in the anita universe are jean-claude and rafael... :)

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

The way I see Harry, what's really holding him back from protecting himself fully (being all that he can be and such) are his own insecurities. Once he grows into himself, he'll be quite a dangerous fellow. Assuming he survives the books.

[lishel_fracrium.livejournal.com]

ummm I love this and I reveiwed but here's a question will there be any slash or a Harry pairing of any type?

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Hmm.... how to answer this without giving anything away? There might be slash pairings but nothing OOC for any of the characters, and I will begin a Harry pairing later on. No word on how far that will develop.

I think that was nicely vague, don't you? *g* Thanks for reviewing!

[penyn-1600.livejournal.com]

Anita is so going to give Jean Claude hell for what he did with Harry. And Ronnie, jeez. She's either jealous of Anita or more conservative than she thinks to be so casually judgemental.

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Ronnie's jealous. Not of Harry, but of Nate and Micah and JC and Richard and Asher and all the other guys Anita's got.

I love your buffy icon :)

[penyn-1600.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)