#✦ connection // nagini & credence. ✦

[dumbledore-and-grindelwald]

It’s time to talk about THIS SCENE... these scenes, to be more accurate.

One of the main themes of the story is loneliness. Jude has mentioned it several times when it comes to Albus. Mads has said that Gellert’s greatest feat is that he will be all alone and of course we have the ‘who will love you now, Dumbledore? Your’e all alone’ line later.

But what is happening here is amazing to me.These four men are each other’s homes in many ways. Albus is Gellert’s only home. Gellert and Aberforth are Albus’ home. Albus and Credence are Aberforth’s home. Aberforth and Albus are the home Credence seeks and Gellert (with the exception of his time with Nagini) is the closest thing to stability without too heavy abuse he’s known. And yet all of them have hurt or are planning to hurt the people that hold their heart one way or another.

We start by seeing Aberforth and Albus’ awkward dinner. We KNOW they love each other. They are each others’ home but they cannot be completely at home with each other. There’s something heavy in the air and it will always be in the room with them. When Albus sees the message ‘Do you know what it’s like, to be alone?’, Aberforth tells him not to ask. Albus looks worry and doesn’t. When Aberforth is left alone he keeps staring at the message and his head falls, because YES, he does. All four of them do. We transition to Credence by following the course of the Phoenix; of the creature that connects him to his family. Both he and Gellert are alone, sustained by symbols and by visions respectively. And yet Gellert discusses setting Credence after the man he loves and Credence is willing to do it despite how much he wants that family. Gellert seems consumed by loneliness. Even when his most loyal follower arrives, he doesn’t seem any more content or less sad. It’s also interesting that he sees the vision of Albus on that window. It looks like Albus is on the other side of bars, looking in. Knowing that all of these will end with Gellert being forever imprisoned in that very castle, in Nurmengard, with Albus being in the outside world and never forgetting him, there is heartbreaking symbolism in that image.

And of course the track playing is called ‘Do you know what it’s like?’, openly references the loneliness all four characters are feeling and it reflects this theme PERFECTLY.

[ultrahpfan5blog]

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore - First Thoughts

I have a mixed opinion on the FB films. The first one was decent in my opinion. I think because there was a good amount of focus on the titular beasts and the quest to find them, and the core quartet were very likable, the film had an enchanting whimsy about it which overcome the really dull plot about Credence and his abusive adopted mother and the pointless newspaper subplot with Jon Voigt and his kids. It was almost as if two movies were at war with itself, with a pretty enjoyable movie about a group of people trying to capture a bunch of creatures let loose in 1920's NY, and a dark and disturbing movie about an abused young man with out of control and destructive powers who is being manipulated by an evil man, and the two movies did not connect well together at all. FB2 was just a big misstep. Not only did it loose almost all the whimsy of the first film and the HP movies, it was grim and dark and boring. The film literally is just a bunch of people blundering around Paris, half of whom are new and we don't care about at all. Nagini, Kama, Grimmson, and even Leta have such half baked stories that really could have been removed. After all the build up of Leta in the first movie, the film half asses a story which could have been really interesting and uses it as a red herring for Credence. Then there was the butchering of Queenie for reasons passing understanding. It truly felt like a plotless movie and also an utterly morose one. Even the darker HP movies had an air of optimism to it. So I was not all that hyped about FB3, even though it looked good and I love the Wizarding World. I came out of FB3 with some mixed feelings, but leaning positive. It definitely is a step up from the previous film. I think the first film might still be better overall, but there is definitely at least some expansion of the world and some more whimsy and magic in this movie than in the previous film.

The film has some of the same issues the the previous film had. The narrative focus is very much divided. There are too many characters doing too many different things and not all of it is interesting. Some of it definitely drags and scenes last for too long and some of it just doesn't make sense or the film just doesn't provide the information to make sense. And the film gives some answers of Credence, but they end up being very underwhelming given the 2 film build up. What the film does have is a more interesting story backdrop compared to the previous movies. The film definitely is making a commentary on modern day politics and leaders dividing people through speeches about hatred. The parallels are fairly easy to see. The film almost feels like a slow burn political thriller for a good chunk of it. But the film also has a bit more optimistic feel to it and a bit more of that whimsy from the first film. Definitely there are more of the titular beasts in this movie and that contributes to the enjoyment. And the new characters in this film are likable. Kama is still somewhat pointless, and as delightful as Jacob is, from a story perspective, he really doesn't serve a purpose. But Newt is a more active part of the story here, as is Dumbledore. This does feel like Dumbledore's movie, even though the cast all gets to shine.

The cast is very good here. Jude Law definitely was the highlight for me. There is undercurrent of sadness to the character, as we know through his history, which is revealed in this film, and he plays that very well while still keeping his wise and witty demeanor. Mads Mikkelson is excellent as Grindelwald. While I didn't dislike Depp's portrayal of the character, his version was so openly and obviously villainous that I have a tough time imagining him in the role in this movie. Mads just brings a more human quality to him and a sense of charisma which at least makes it more understandable that a younger Dumbledore could have fallen for him. I just didn't buy it with Depp in the previous movie. Eddie Redmayne has settled into the character pretty well by this point. I know some find his performance a bit too mannered but I think he's pretty good. Dan Fogler continues to be a scene stealer, even though the character's purpose is a bit of a mystery. Jessica Williams as Lally is a delight and standout. Victoria Yeates as Bunty is fun while Allison Sudol as Queenie is pretty wasted. The whole Queenie storyline is one more thing that turned out to be a big anticlimax. William Nadylam as Kama is basically there to just stare. Callum Turner as Theseus is pretty good. Ezra Miller feels pretty underused here, which might be for the best given his current legal issues. Tina Goldstein and Newtina fans should be aware that Tina is not in this film beyond a scene and a half. Newt and Tina have one cute scene but that's about it. I am actually pretty curious about what is the future of Newt, Tina, Jacob, Queenie, Theseus etc... because I can see their involvement in this series having ended, or at least scaled down, after this movie, but I'm not sure.

All in all, its still a very middle of the road movie. I lean positive but I have a natural affinity for this world through HP. I can imagine non Wizarding World fans getting restless in this movie because there are pacing issues in this film and a number of obvious flaws. There is just enough intrigue and performance quality for me to recommend it. I give it a 6.5/10 right now.

[newt-and-salamander]

Okay, so here are my thoughts on Secrets of Dumbledore based on what we recently learned from the synopsis:

Professor Albus Dumbledore knows the powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald is moving to seize control of the wizarding world.  Unable to stop him alone, he entrusts Magizoologist Newt Scamander to lead an intrepid team of wizards, witches and one brave Muggle baker on a dangerous mission, where they encounter old and new beasts and clash with Grindelwald's growing legion of followers.  But with the stakes so high, how long can Dumbledore remain on the sidelines?

First of all: “Secrets of Dumbledore” is a quite boring name (I mean a few people even (almost) guessed it before) but I think it’s practical. It can refer (obviously) to Albus, but also to Credence/Aurelius, Aberforth, Ariana, … and whoever might be a secret Dumbledore. (Jacob? Picket?!? Everyone, probably.) Taking into account the author’s ominous “answers are given” she once said about FB3, I believe in the end we will know how exactly Credence, Dumbledore and Grindelwald are connected.

Also, I wonder how much the film really will be about Dumbledore? “Crimes of Grindelwald” wasn’t really about Grindelwald after all. I imagine it to be about Dumbledore and his family in the beginning, probably some flashbacks, then he gives Newt some kind of a mission. The main part of the film could be about Newt and his team trying to accomplish that mission, and in the end (maybe when Newt fights his duel with Grindelwald), Dumbledore realises that not everything turned out as he planned (or did it?) and decides that “the stakes are too high to remain on the sidelines”. The question is if he will be able to openly move against Grindelwald, that depends on the blood pact and maybe on whether Newt is able to accomplish his mission. Or maybe, Grindelwald fighting Newt already counts as moving against Dumbledore so he will break the blood pact first? But I rather think, both Dumbledore and Grindelwald are too smart to break the pact on accident – we don’t know of the consequences they would have to face if they violated the pact, but I don’t doubt they would be terrible.

What made me frown at first, but happy after I gave it some more thought, was the idea of Newt as a team leader. Because – I don’t really see him as a leader. He’s a private and quiet person. But (and this is the good part) he is also an absolute expert for magical beasts. So, if he is to lead a team, it is certainly because of something beast-related! And I love this possibility. It’s “fantastic beasts” after all, and in my opinion, the creatures are the most magical part of the films!

What are Newt and his team doing on their journey? I can see two main possibilities here: a) looking for a way to destroy the blood pact, b) looking for a way to properly separate an Obscurus from its host. A blood pact seems to be a very powerful kind of magical bond/object, but let’s not forget that Harry managed to destroy a Horkrux with a Basilisk’s fang – so maybe there are other beasts with strong curse-breaking abilities? As for the Obscurus, we know that Newt has tried before with a girl, but she died. We just don’t know if this was because he hadn’t perfectionated the spell yet, or if he just came too late to save her.

So, who is on the team? Jacob for sure, I don’t know another brave Muggle baker. I’m also sure Bunty will come along as it was said that she will be much more important in this film, and she also is a beast expert. Tina? Hopefully! Nagini and Yusuf Kama? Probably, because otherwise, what would be their purpose (sorry)? Theseus? Nah, he’s a ministry man, I suppose he will concentrate on politics. (And I can’t really see him being bossed around by his little brother. :D But it would be lots of fun. Maybe he will be on the Berlin part of the mission because I don’t imagine lots of creatures living there.) Then we have the ominous Eulalie Hicks who has to fit in somehow, but we don’t know enough about her at this point to know whether she will rather accompany Newt or maybe will be more of a kind of advisor for Dumbledore. And, of course, I wonder if we will see Flamel again? He’s an alchemist, so maybe he has some ideas about how to destroy a blood pact.

Regarding “old and new beasts”, we will certainly see Pickett and the Niffler (they are just too popular now and can’t be left out. Also, I’m rather sure Newt won’t go anywhere without Pickett. The Niffler has proven to be rather useful, especially now that he can track Tina’s footsteps, hehe. Okay, stealing the blood pact also was rather useful I admit). I wonder if we might also see Frank again, maybe connected to Eulalie. I really hope to see the Zouwu, I just loved her and maybe that’s (part of) the reason for a trip to China? As for new beasts… I have no idea and I doubt that my current copy of Mr Newt Scamander’s book will be a great help because some of the creatures weren’t featured in it before they appeared on screen. But I’m sure we will see a lot of the Phoenix (Fawkes?) because it/he is clearly connected to the Dumbledores. And what about the Kelpie? It still appears a little strange to me that Newt’s scene with it in CoG wasn’t cut for time as it has no connection to the plot - unless it has and we just have to find out.

It is also mentioned that Newt and his team will clash with Grindelwald’s followers. It’s obvious that this will involve Credence who is going to have a scene with Dumbledore (I think Jude Law said something like that, about having a scene with Ezra set in Berlin?). I also really hope we will see a lot of Queenie and learn more about her motivation because although we were shown her reasons to join Grindelwald in CoG, it didn’t really convince me. I especially hope for a scene with her and Tina, but… well, let’s just hope, okay? Another one of Grindelwald’s followers who I think has a very interesting role is Grimmson. He’s an undercover spy (so there’s a lot of potential for dramatic scenes where he turns out to be a traitor and turns against the ministry) and also it’s implied that he and Newt have some kind of a backstory (although that also wasn’t too clear in the film, but you could learn from the script that he hunts down magical creatures – and that’s most likely the reason why Newt and he hate each other, although it’s possible they had some more personal connection in the past… maybe fought together in the war or worked at the Ministry and were both disgusted by the other’s methods). I personally think he would be a great antagonist for Newt because their hatred for each other is so personal and natural, maybe Newts has a stronger dislike for him than for Grindelwald (much like Harry hated Snape more than Voldemort). But well, we know that in the end it will be Newt against Grindelwald…

…and that’s a point that worries me. Newt is astonishingly capable of getting himself out of dangerous situations with the help of his beasts, and he has already once defeated Grindelwald together with Tina, the Swooping Evil, and all of MACUSA’s Aurors. If this epic battle scene in the end is a 1:1 Newt against Grindelwald I see… well I don’t really see a way Newt could possibly win this fight. He’s clearly a really capable wizard but duelling is not his main interest. It might be enough to trick traffickers and escape, but we have already seen him in the NY underground fighting Grindelwald and I don’t know how it would have ended for him if Credence and Tina hadn’t interrupted the scene. Let’s see how he get’s out of the situation this time (and nope, please don’t let anybody sacrifice him- or herself for Newt, I want them all to be happy and alive… but if somebody is going to die for Newt I assume it’s either Bunty or Theseus. But, as I just said, this is definitely not going to happen because I love them all very much, so there’s no need to discuss that). I just hope the film doesn’t end with a cliff-hanger like Newt being defeated and taken hostage… because I cannot possibly wait at least another two years to learn how they solve this. Also, I have no idea if – from a marketing point of view – that would be a very good or a very bad idea. I think everyone just wants to see Newt happily together with Tina at the end of the 3rdfilm, but… who knows.

Anyway, these are my thoughts on Secrets of Dumbledore up to this point. I am super excited just thinking about the fact that we will get photos and a trailer soon!

[appreciatingtokrev]

so i just watched secrets of dumbledore for the third time and hhhhhh i’ve got so many things to talk about i don’t even know where to start!! obviously, this is full of spoilers btw

i love jacob he’s amazing. i love how he held his pan in the beginning and how he put the niffler in it. i also love how he told queenie that dumbledore was wrong about his heart being full because there will always be space for her in it like boy adkgjfjg he’s so in love with her he’s so sweet

then there’s lally and omfg i love her. she’s so cool?? like? i love her she’s amazing the scene where jacob 'tried to assassinate grindelwald'? amazing amazing i loved it

yk how the first message we see on the mirror was 'forgive me' and it was written by aberforth? idk abt you guys but when i first watched the movie i was like hmm but then forgot about it and when i re-watched it it made so much sense. very good example of a hermeneutic circle imo

then there’s the scene where the qilin walked past both santos and tao and they looked at eachother for a second. and it wasn’t a look of 'why isn’t it me?' but of 'why is it neither of us/why is it him?' and i loveddd that hhhh. it really shows that they would’ve been happy with either of them as the winner and that they respect and like eachother. i love that for them and everybody else bc that means they’d both be at least decent leaders

i prefer short-haired credence. he just.. looks like snape. this brings us to my moms theory, being that he’ll become snape. i’m too lazy to type it all out rn but she’s actually got more points than i thought at first, dven though i believe it’s too crazy to be true lol.

so, we didn’t see nagini in here at all and... i’m not really disappointed? even though i thought i’d be? she just didn’t fit the plot this time but i hope to see her in the next movie

i really really like mads as grindelwald. he looks exactly like i’ve always imagined grindelwald looking and honestly, he acts him really well. i liked johnny as grindelwald but he was always a miscast for me and mads fits him so much better imo. a friend of mine said she prefers johnny bc he’s johnny bc he feels a lot more like an actual authority but tbh, i like how mads makes me feel more like he’s a normal person. like, he’s not connected to normal people at all and everybody sees him as authority anyway, but it doesn’t feel like he’s better and different from others?? because, in the end, he’s just some guy with fantasies? idk

now, then there’s the second qilin that bowed before dumbledore and santos. i liked that it bowed before dumbledore, it enhanced the plot and it fits, so, yes. it bowing before santos? zero plot enhancement, unneccessary and a waste of potentional. ever since i saw jacob 'playing' with the qilin for the firat time, it was clear for me that it’ll bow before him. especially after all the 'you’ve got a filled heart' talk and everybody else who called him a good guy. and just imagine how much plot enhancement we would’ve gotten! if he was the second person it’d bowed to, the people would’ve seen that muggles are good (i mean, many know, but for the sake of the crowds mind/not thinking for yourself and following the crowd (which btw was shown really well during the scenes in bhutan, imo)) and it would’ve also helped jacob to believe all of the talk about him being a good guy. i mean, santos would’ve won anyways because neither dumbledore nor jacob were candidates so the people should’ve just voted and i’m quite sure she would’ve won, so... i’m kinda mad it didn’t bow before jacob.

i really liked the scenes of, before and right after the duel between dumbledore and credence. idk, they were really pretty and i loved the ,,he’s not here for you. he’s here for me.’’ especially because credence clearly doesn’t know it’s because he’ll die soon, bdcause if he did, he would’ve said it’s there for dumbledore. but dumbledore knows and i think this is where he realises that he’s dying very soon, it’s the first time he sees the phoenix near credence.

i only realised when i watched it the second time but do you know who’s there when grindelwald 'revives' the qilin? 1) credence, obviously, which makes sense, because he wants him there, and we know that anyway because he talks to him during the scene. 2) that girl from paris (i hate her, btw), which also makes sense, because she’s where he is at least 99% of the time, unless he sends her away. and 3) vogel. ?? i mean, we know he’s rooting for grindelwald, at least after the scene where he tries to show that his qilin is alive (which it isn’t, and he knows), but i didn’t know the two were that close. tbh, i can’t really think of any other reason grindelwald wanted him there except for him trusting him not to tell anyone and wanting him to see it for whatever reason i can’t think of right now. it took a lot of trust though, he could’ve given him the not-so-alive qilin anyway without telling him about anything of that, but he chose to have him watch. really makes me wonder about their history. i mean, he only had people there with him who he trusted and who were, in a way, very close to him. so what exactly was vogel doing there??

then there’s grindelwald and dumbledores battle and afkfjghfgsfh. i’m not going to repeat what everybody else on here already said about it but. the small step grindelwald made towards dumbledore when he walked away to pick up the blood pact. right in the feels. the ,,who’s going to love you now, dumbledore?’’ right in the feels. also, is it just me or is that a clear statement of him still loving dumbledore? because, like, it’s clear that he did love him, just from this sentence alone. but it very heavily implies that he still loves him but now he defenitly has to stop because they’re gonna have to fight.

i reaaally like yusuf kama, btw! i feel like he’d be great as both a 'good' or a 'bad' guy and ngl i’m just excited to see more of him in general because i think he’s very interesting

i probably forgot half of the things i wanted to say but yeah 👍

[laceswan]

Chapter 1: Beginnings

Tensions were rising, the war was getting worse. Walking the streets was more and more dangerous by the day. They had stayed, tried to do something, for so long. But it was too dangerous. He was done being manipulated, done being a puppet and done fighting battles for anyone but himself. So Credence and Nagini left. They ran away from it all. For, when had they asked for this? When did they ever choose this life? It was the hand they were dealt, and it was the sacrifices they made that led them here. But it wasn't too late, even if they were deep into the schemes of Dumbledore, there must be a way to leave. A way to get away.

There was a small non-magique town between Paris and Belgium, perfect for the young couple to keep a low profile. They had a nice life there, even if magic was not involved. A wand had been given to Credence back in Nurmengard, but the moment they stepped foot onto a muggle train, that stick was broken in half. He wanted nothing to do with that life. All it had ever done was hurt and deceive him. For so long, he was determined to find a family, to find a name, and people used him for it. Well he was done. The two of them lived as muggles, in ignorant bliss of the magical world. They lived a life free of magic, as if they knew nothing of spells and wizarding wars. A wedding was held, attended by the few friends they had made in town. In 1935, Nagini bore a son. Pierre grew to be a healthy young boy under the care of two loving parents. He believed in magic, but not the kind with wands and spells. He believed that if one was kind, the world would be kind back. And he continued to believe that for five lovely years. The boy held few memories of his mother, but all of them were incredible. She was such a loving and elegant woman. She would take him out into the forest in the spring to collect flowers. On the cold winter nights, she would sing him to sleep by the fire. Even his notably melancholy father was happier in his memories. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. After her transformation, Credence was never the same. With his wife slithering about the house without her human mind, Credence decided to hand Pierre over to people who could take better care of a growing boy. Pierre grew up in the Scamander household, as a foster brother to Florian, who was born six years later. As a son to Newt Scamander, Pierre grew up around animals. He didn't like them much, considered them annoying relatives more than anything, but he did learn how to care for them, in fact he was quite good at it. He never lost his connection to his father, visiting him in France whenever possible. While his father never wanted to, insisting that the family they had made was enough, Pierre eventually decided to reclaim the Barebones name. The line in America had long since died out, and he saw no reason why he should not reclaim that part of his family's history.

At Hogwarts, Pierre was sorted into Ravenclaw, but became friends with students of all houses, including Alphard Black gained friends along with a few others long after graduating. While most of his friends stayed in the United Kingdom, Pierre moved back to France, in an attempt to be closer to his father. He lived in Paris, where he met Sylviane Delacour, instantly becoming her friend. Their romance was slow, gradual, comfortably getting closer until they realized that it was more than just a friendship. And slowly, gradually still did they continue to be close until they felt ready to marry. They shared a decently sized apartment in Paris, where they lived for many years. In 1961, it became more than just the two of them, with the arrival of their daughter, Yvette. It was not long after her birth that they had to relocate. Sylviane lost her job and they could no longer afford the apartment, nor did they know what to do. Fortunately (for them), Bunty had recently taken ill, putting Newt in need of a new assistant. So, Pierre and Sylviane moved out to London to stay with the Scamanders. Newt and Tina were quite pleased to have the extra help around.

Eventually, the family was able to get settled in London, soon getting jobs and a home of their own. Yvette grew up comfortably in London, learning English from the city, but speaking French at home. Living in London kept them close to her grandfather, and the animals that she had quite the affinity for. Both Pierre and Sylviane worked very hard, often returning home late. Yvette learned to care for herself, though she did spend quite a lot of time with her grandparents. Before she had been born, Pierre yearned for a son. He was terrified that a that a daughter would carry his mother's curse. Of course, he never disliked Yvette, but he was always wary. He kept her safe from afar, afraid of what he considered inevitable. He never learned when the nightly transformations would begin, so he just watched. He was afraid of getting attached, afraid of the pain that would come from losing her. It was almost neglect, the way her parented from a cautious distance. As a result, Yvette grew closer to her mother. Yvette gave little thought to her father. He was never home, and when he was he did not look in her direction. So, she never needed him. She learned to live with a near-stranger for a father. And it was fine. This was what her life had always been, so why expect anything different? After moving to London, Alphard also became closer to the Barebones family. They held connection the the Delacours, so the Black family actually encouraged this connection. Though, they only approved of the Barebones, not the Scamanders.

At age seven, Alphard introduced Yvette to his nephews, Regulus and Sirius, hoping she could help them learn French. Narcissa, Bellatrix, and Andromeda also met her later, and Yvette became something like a part of the family. Walburga asked her to speak French as often as she could around the, and invited her to the house a lot. Orion and Walburga were quite fond of the girl. Though, it was always quite clear they never thought of her as equal. Not bad, but certainly lesser. The way they treated her was almost in the same vein as a housekeeper of a pet. Something you cherish, but not a part of the family, and there to serve a purpose. Yvette didn't fully understand this until she was thirteen. Until then, she just thought of the Blacks as a surrogate family. She already had three grandfathers and a particularly strange family history, the addition of more family only made things better in her eyes. The more the merrier. Regulus and Yvette were the same age, and Sirius only a year older. However, looking at them, you couldn't tell. Sirius always felt protective of them, taking care of them and acting like a big brother who was far older than he was. Both Yvette and Regulus looked up to him. For Regulus, Sirius was his hero. Even when they walked out of the master bedroom with marks on their backs, he was able to smile and laugh. Even if Regulus was scared shitless, Sirius never was. But her never said it. He didn't say anything to his big brother, it all stayed inside. Yvette was quite the opposite. She was open and affectionate, wearing her heart on the cuff of her sleeve, always showing as she waved to greet them. Sirius loved having someone who appreciated him, especially when his brother always left silence between them.

Of the members of the Black family, Yvette was closest to the brothers. Their cousins were a good deal older than them, so she wasn't particularly close to them. Bellatrix and Narcissa were a little bit strange to young Yvette's mind, and they didn't seem to like her. Andromeda, however, was much nicer. She loved children, and was fifteen when she met Yvette. The two forged a bond that kept them close. Yvette got her hand-me-downs, they corresponded via owl when Andromeda was at Hogwarts. Andromeda never got to tell Yvette about her friends or lover, for she was afraid it would somehow get to her parents. The message did eventually get out though. Andromeda was disowned when she announced her engagement. Sirius and Regulus were not allowed to talk to her, much less go to her wedding. But Yvette wasn't part of the family. The Barebones received a letter one day, an invitation to the wedding. It had a separate, smaller envelope within that was addressed specifically to Yvette. She took it up to her room and opened it, to find that it was enchanted. A blue light emerged from the parchment as it floated to the floor. The shape of a woman came through the mist of pale blue, revealing a face that Yvette had not seen in a long time. Andromeda said her hellos to her surrogate little sister with the sweetest of smiles, and then the message got serious. She asked Yvette not to tell the family. Even if Sirius and Regulus would understand, the rest of the family would not. The message then brightened up again, bidding farewells and folding itself, and inanimate bit of paper once more. A few months later, the Barebones traveled out to Surrey for the wedding. Yvette was the flower girl, walking down the aisle first and sprinkling petals on the trail. After the ceremony, Andromeda found Yvette. Yvette got to meet Ted and their friends. After the wedding, Andromeda and Yvette stayed in touch, but rarely did they see each other. Normally, they would meet at Black family gatherings, but that didn't happen again. Still, Andromeda stayed like a distant older sister to Yvette. That summer, Yvette was faced with a decision. Ever since she was small, she wanted to go to Beauxbatons. It was what she expected. It was the school she heard about from her mother, the one she thought she would always go to. But then, she met Regulus. She met the Black brothers, the whole family. It changed her views. They were so incredible. All of them held themselves with poise and elegance, something Yvette had always admired. Yvette, in her young naiveté, wanted so much to be like them. To be calm like Walburga, kind like Andromeda, friendly like Alphard. And they were all Slytherins. When she looked into the future, Yvette pictured herself in a blue satin uniform at Beauxbatons. But Regulus was always there. She wanted him to be there. It put things on a scale. If she wanted the school, or the people who would be with her there. And once she put things like that, the decision was clear.

[llendrinall]

I'm with you on how terrible we found Fantastic Beasts. Now let me ask, how would you have written/built the Fantastic Beasts storyline?

I have not watched the 3rd movie so it’s possible that they have managed to turn it all around, but to start with I would give some actual connection to the movies beyond the title and characters. Otherwise it just feels like those children books: “X goes to the park”, “X in the supermarket”, where we see the same people in different situations but they are disconnected from each other.

I probably would have gone a different route all together, but suppose Warner has already hired the actors and started building the sets so we must use at least some elements from the movies. In that case I would make a story of discovery and reflection in three parts, with narcissism being the main theme.

First movie

Newt goes to NY with his magical bag. Most of the film is the same, but we get a sense of Newt being less childish (less painfully obvious and thinly surreptitious wand waving around muggles) and a bit more selfish. However, we should like him more for it.

Newt is, to the society of the time, completely mental. Rather than going on hunts and collecting trophies, he is recuing animals! I would emphasize that the animals he keeps have been compromised and can’t be safely returned to their habitats and since conditions and wizarding zoos are deplorable, he keeps them with him. The exception is that thunder bird he has come to release.

And that’s his goal, releasing the thunder bird, which he pursues with extreme focus. He doesn’t care about anything else which is why he is so open to Jacob the Muggle. Newt could be imprisoned* and Jacob would be obliviated into a stupor, but Newt doesn’t care about personal risks so he doesn’t care about the danger he poses to others. He is selfish that way. A generous kind of selfishness, sure, but dangerous.

I’m sorry, but the President of the MACUSA is not a woman nor a POC. It must be a white man surrounded by white men, one of whom might be either Catholic or Jewish and that’s all the diversity you see. Are there POC wizards? Yes. But not in positions of power. There is a bigger emphasis on the separation of wizards and No-Maj, with waaay more surveillance and harsher punishments. Suspicion alone may be enough to break your wand in some cases.

* And that’s how I could believe that POC wizards and witches (WWs from now on because “magicals” sounds weird) aren’t intervening in muggle spaces. They must be suffering similar levels of racism. They are tolerated, maybe they have better prospects that POC muggles, but that’s it. I can’t believe none of them would show some solidarity to the Non-Maj, unless it meant being summarily executed.

(Oh, and there would be this scene in which we see law-abiding and conscientious Tina stalking the house of an African-American muggle family. Nothing is said of it, other that Tina used to work with a muggle-born partner but now she works alone. Keen-eyed viewers will notice some hoodo trinkets in Tina’s flat, and a photograph of Tina with an African American woman, and then we will know).

I don’t remember Credence’s storyline very well, but it doesn’t matter. What is important is that Graves (powerful white man Graves) develops some sort of empathy. He doesn’t want it, but it’s there in his heart now. Maybe something with Newt’s animals. Some “beast” (look at how they say beasts and not animals) should have maimed and eaten Graves, but doesn’t because Newt is there in all his animal-loving glory. Graves gets to see the monster as merely a scared and hurt animal and learns to treat others with some decency and kindness.

That would be a nice classic movie, (prejudiced man gets over himself), but we can’t end it here. I would even allow for Tina’s scene stalking the house to be cut in order to have time for the climax: the moment when Graves realizes his society and his government may not always be right and defies direct orders by helping Credence. As I said, I don’t remember what the deal with Credence was, but Graves fixes it. There will be a personal cost to his career, but losing a promotion is nothing compared to saving a life, which is what he does. No ambiguous explosion or cloud of smoke. Credence is evidently and irrevocably safe at the cost of Graves being demoted.

There is no Gellert Grindelwald whatsoever, except maybe some government secretary mentioning they like that guy from Europe.

Second movie

Set in London rather than Paris. Newt receives the visit from a lovely, lovely, gentleman who, as it turns out, doesn’t think Newt is a fool. The charming gentleman asks Newt about the dragons, specifically the ones in Gringotts and oh, oh, Newt is against it. It’s abominable and unethical. But Newt would rather not think too much about it because, what can he do? He would rather focus on helping those he can and on spreading his thoughts on animal conservation. He is publishing a journal, although he admits it doesn’t do too well. He has twelve subscribers and seven of them openly mock his papers during dinner parties.

The charming gentleman says, but what if Newt could do something about it? What would Newt be willing to do? Would he break the law?

Newt laughs. He is forbidden from leaving the country. He is no stranger to jumping, crossing, tampering or breaking the law.

Marvelous! The charming gentleman reveals that he, like Newt, is unhappy with their society. It is weak and corrupt* and someone must do something about it. They have to fix it.

So the charming gentleman introduces Newt to some other like-minded friends and together they plan a heist to get into Gringotts and release the dragons. It is time to build a society one can feel proud of!

We get the heist, which is clever and delightful. The charming gentleman is brave, smart and powerful with his magic. There is a moment when some of the co-conspirators, and even the charming gentleman himself, get inside some vaults. This is not what they had planned! Not at all. But the charming gentleman assures Newt that he has good reasons.

They get out. And here comes the Nagini moment. Meaning I really, really, really, don’t need to see an Asian woman condemned to whatever that was in the second movie. I don’t need to have beautiful Neville kill a woman who has been turned into a snake and then a Horcrux.

But, do you want an “oh no” moment? Here it comes.

Because of the heist, Gringotts revises their security measures. That poor dragon in Deathly Hallows? The one with scars who had been conditioned to fear a certain sound? Newt’s fault. And the charming gentleman doesn’t care.

We have established in the previous movie that Newt is somewhat selfish and short-sighted. He rejects his society and cares only about his animals which is very nice. Newt is well intentioned, but that is not enough. Not caring about politics is the privilege of those in the elite (and despite Newts’ eccentricities he is very much the elite). The previous movie had Graves’ awakening. The man discovering something about himself in this movie is Newt.

Newt realizes that he must be an active participant in society. Sadly, he only realizes it after he has helped Gellert Grindelwald steal a number of very important artefacts as well as some gold to fund his project to reform Europe.

The epilogue of the movie has Albus Dumbledore visiting Newt, telling him not to be too hard on himself because he, Dumbledore, also fell for Gellert lies. And if Newt wants to do something about it, Dumbledore has some ideas.

* History fans might not realize immediately, but hopefully they will catch on the fact that all of the beautiful arguments from the charming gentleman are about weakness of the state, which is a common fascist trope.

Third movie

In which characters from previous movies are brought back without having to completely destroy their personalities.

Graves is in Europe and he pays a visit to Newt to ask for his help. Graves is using his new found empathy (that he didn’t want) to investigate a series of highly suspicious murders and incidents. The victims were all Latinas so it was dismissed, but Graves thinks there is something.

Two scenes later in comes Tina, who has quitted her job in order to track the murderer of some friend’s friend. An African American child is dead, no it was not the No-Maj, it was someone else, someone who wanted to cover their tracks and leave no witnesses and Tina is going to eat their heart.

Is it possible that Graves and Tina are after the same person? Yes and no. It is two different henchmen but Dumbledore has no trouble going beyond the small picture to see the pattern. He knows Grindelwald always had an interest in powerful artefacts, not just the Deathly Hallows.

Grindelwald has stolen the Macguffin, a powerful artefact belonging to a Latin-American community. With that and the Elder Wand he will be unstoppable. Oh no!

But! Newt realizes there is something missing. The raven is not a symbol of death in all cultures. Grindelwald might not fully understand what he has taken or how to use it.

So Graves and Tina go fight Grindelwald’s organization and be awesome together, delaying Grindelwald’s big coup. Meanwhile, Newt illegally leaves the country, goes back to NY, takes Queenie and deploys her. Because Queenie is nice. She plays the vapid pretty woman, but she is above all nice and if someone can make a hurt and distrustful community open their door to strangers, it is going to be Queenie with the help of Jacob’s bread.

And, indeed! They succeed. The bruja Latina explains about the Macguffin. Grildelwald doesn’t understand what he has stolen. It is not meant to be used like that at all.

They go back to Europe quickly, Newt relays this information to Dumbledore and he steps to his duel with Grindelwald armed with the knowledge and insight that comes from showing some measure of respect to other people for once.

(And if it seems that Dumbledore’s victory rests on other people’s work, well, Dumbledore’s main trait is his ability to earn people’s trust and devotion. But I guess Newt and Queenie could have brought the bruja with them and after a nice chat with Dumbledore she agrees to share their secrets with him, so he has the opportunity to show he is different).

Rather than having a man realize something, this movie is about the consequences of not opening your eyes: Gindelwald’s fall. It would also nicely establish Dumbledore’s best manipulative traits. If we must have het couples, Tina saves Newt’s from some mook and taker a kiss. Graves goes with the pretty Lestrange, I guess, to have a long life of morality sanctioned crimes.

(A TV show. Twelve episodes. Cancelled after the first season. Graves and Lestrange are back in the States helping oppressed communities and dodging the MACUSA and whatever the equivalent of the FBI was back then).

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

have u seen Crimes of Grindelwald? i’m curious about ur thoughts on [REDACTED] siding with Grindelwald? (just in case u haven’t seen it and don’t wanna be spoiled)

Oh, I’ve seen it! I actually thought it was better than most people give it credit for, but I agree that it’s weaker than the first Fantastic Beasts film, and that it feels more like a novel than a film. I think I know which character you mean, but just in case, I’ll talk about both people who sided with him. 

Queenie

I’ll admit, this movie didn’t really make her much more likable, but I understood the struggle she was going through. It humanized her. The scene where we see what it’s like to be a born-Legilimens really hit hard - they show that it’s not all fun and cool powers. Having to hear everyone’s thoughts would be exhausting. It could easily drive someone “crazy” especially if they can’t turn it off and hear all the things that their loved ones think about them but don’t say. Jacob shouldn’t have to answer for his private thoughts, because they aren’t actions - but Queenie can’t help hearing them and she’s only human, she’s going to have reactions. The enchantment, which I assume was an entrancing charm, is another story. (Anyone else reminded of Penny Haywood?) That was messed up and over the line. Way over the line. Even if I understood why she did it, she still completely disregarded Jacob’s choice and robbed him of his autonomy. Doesn’t matter if she thought she was getting them their “happy ever after.” But as we see by the end, she’s willing to do practically anything to get that happy ever after.

I don’t blame her for being swayed by Grindelwald’s rhetoric, because it’s written magnificently and both actors who have played him have brought it to life in enchanting ways. Seriously, on both of my first viewings I found myself thinking, “Well, maybe he has a point...” Before I caught myself. That’s the danger of propoganda - no one is immune to it. I don’t believe Queenie will be remaining with Grindelwald. I mean, she was shown to struggle with getting through the blue fire, indicating that her loyalties are still up in the air. After all, if Jacob won’t be with Queenie so long as she sides with Grindelwald, what’s the point? Sooner or later, he’s going to slip up around her.  He’ll say or do something that exposes him for not being nearly as tolerant as he pretends to be, and Queenie will realize what a terrible mistake she’s made. At which point, I’m sure the heroes will take her back, but she might need to do something cool and save the day first. If only to be forgiven in the eyes of the audience. 

Credence

I’m a little confused about his relationship to Grindelwald in the movie, I won’t lie. The main thing that I don’t really understand is...er, is Credence aware that Grindelwald is the same person as Graves? I can’t tell. The way that he reacts to seeing Grindelwald again is a little ambiguous. Does he recognize him as a famous, wanted criminal in the Wizarding World? Or is that look meant to signify a reunion? I want to say Credence does know that this is Graves, but I’m not sure how he could know that, seeing as how he “died” before Graves was unmasked. Oh well, it’s not a big deal. He wants to know who he is. I can respect that. I feel terrible for him though, returning to his abuser. And I feel terrible for Nagini, the poor thing, who can see what Credence cannot, that he’s just being used. Side note: I know everyone got really angry about Nagini getting a backstory as a human, but I can’t really understand why...I’m hyped for it! Come on, there was always something a little off about her, even in the books. And hearing lines like “Purebloods hunt the likes of us for sport” Oh, honey...how do you wind up working for Voldemort? Oh well, nevermind. We both know what the real topic of interest is. 

The ending twist. Literally, what the fuck. It’s impossible. It’s just plain impossible without rewriting the books themselves. If J.K. wants to ret-con McGonagall into being older, whatever. That was a minor detail. But the history of Dumbledore’s family? Sorry, but no. That is too important and is set in stone by the books. She can’t just change her mind now. Now I want to be clear, this isn’t a problem with Crimes of Grindelwald itself. This isn’t a flaw in the movie. It’s a cliffhanger, so by definition, it’s not going to be explained. But this sure puts a hell of a lot of pressure on the third Fantastic Beasts film to explain this in a satisfying way, and I’m not seeing how they can. Grindelwald could be lying, but that’s more or less the same as lying to the audience - since this was treated as a big reveal - so that’s not cool. The other possibility is that Credence is somehow connected to Arianna. Since she was clearly an Obscurial, but J.K. “hands out trivia like candy” Rowling has never confirmed this. Maybe Credence somehow has Arianna’s Obscurus? Or he could be Arianna reincarnated? Which would be bloody hilarious, actually, because that would make Credence a female character in a male body. If J.K wrote a trans woman by accident and made her a major character in this series I am going to laugh my ass off. 

[siren-of-redriver96]

Nagini and Yusuf (Nayus theory)

Time to open this treasure chest of possibilities 😍 Enjoy :)

By the end of TCOG, we see these two together a few times ... and I feel like there are some connections you could make between their characters :)

But first, on what we saw so far:

1. He saved her life in Paris (maybe after noticing that she doesn’t have a wand or a pocket to hold one - but don’t worry, their romance won’t be an immediate thing) - and he hesitates when she gets between him and Credence - it could also point to him not completing his mission if it should turn out to be ongoing. You could argue that he threatened her, but in this moment, he was seconds away from possibly fullfilling his vow and finally being able to live a normal life without fear for his own all the time

2. In relation to this - she may relate to this feeling, going through life under her curse ... while fear for her life may be a problem, considering that people may try and defend themselves against their snake form, there’s also the chance that they won’t be able to fight or escape quick enough ... and the years in which she’s still able to return to her human form is, as we learned, limited.

3. Next morning, he gave her his coat ... cute gesture, kinda significant... :)

4. It would make sense that she stays in London so Newt can start researching a solution for her curse ... while Yusuf, being fluent in english too, could apply for the post of one of the aurors who fell in Paris - given the investigation skill he‘s shown so far and being bilingual, he should have good chances, at joining the hunt for Grindelwald even (just hope that the group doesn’t mention he captured them all at one point - they know his motive now, I’m sure they won’t).

My headcanon is that he starts at the ministry, while she becomes Newt’s second assistant (as his hospital is the safest place for her to stay, especially while he’s researching her curse, and I’m sure she’ll want to help him and Bunty out in the time between ... maybe she can even help with creatures like the Runespoor, being a parselmouth ... plus, I’m sure she’ll become friends with both of them :)

(in my hc, Bunty often talks to her about her feelings for Newt - while Yusuf befriends the aurors and Newt)

They start dating after a while, maybe not going out directly, but we know that her curse usually only happens on her own command, when she’s scared and at night ... visiting people she knows at home, for a start, should be doable.

5. About her not having a wand ... I don‘t know if they arrange for her to have one or if the ministry forbids this as long as both her curse is present and Credence is out there, but if they don’t, there’s a slight chance Yusuf may be able to help ...

He explained that his family is from Senegal (West Africa) ... we don’t know when they moved to France, or if he has relatives who still live there, but there’s a chance he knows someone personally who studied at Uagadou School of Magic ... until today, this school is known for teaching its‘ students magic via hand (which was used by the first wizards for a long time - the wand was a european invention.)

(Why it was invented at all is a whole other theory XD coming up maybe ;))

We know he has one, but that doesn’t mean he couldn’t know how to use magic the other way ... maybe he’s even hiding it to avoid troubles with the french ministry? I don’t know what the laws does about wizards who technically can’t be disarmed (like Dumbledore or Graves), but there must something...

I don’t think his family would deny him this knowledge (/advantage) and that he wouldn’t teach it to Nagini to help her - leave alone the rest of the group facing Grindelwald, but I think it could be a way he bonds with her specifically.

6. Concerning Credence: while them bonding over what they’ve been through and supporting each other is good, for an actual romance, this usually isn’t the best basis ... Yusuf, while having suffered from the loss of his mother, his fathers wanting to avenge her even at the risk of his son‘s life, and the burden of the Unbrekable Vow, seems a lot more stable so far (especially if he believes the vow is past for now ...) he also, see above, may have the advantage of being able to defend himself against her snake form at all times without drawing a wand.

Plus, story wise, it’s a nice idea that sometimes people get together with someone they met along the way, not whom they started with. In my mind, reuniting, Credence and Nagini may talk and decide, even if they still feel about each other a certain way after all this time... with her and Yusuf having developed mutual feelings, they can’t go back to their relationship while at the circus ... maybe Credence will even be about to get very occupied with trying to build a life for himself in the world outside hiding (or a new place to hide?) Meanwhile, I think they indeed will remain close friends :)

7. Of course, she won’t have forever ... we don’t know when Nagini first appeared in Voldemort’s company, but like I said, the time is limited - but their story may end up being about time well spent still being worthwhile - and I believe they both deserve to live it well :) Plus, facing the upcoming war, they may not be alone with trying to save the moment and enjoy life together while they can.

And who knows, I don’t think she’d tell him not to move on - add the message that there’s more than one the One out there :)

Thank you very much for reading :)

[alwaysahiccupandastrid]

It’s been over a year and I think I’m finally ready to say that I was disappointed by Tina’s character in CoG. I put it off for a while because she’s been my favourite since the first movie and so of course I don’t want to say shit about her? Also this fan base is way too hardcore and I was scared of being attacked or accused of “hating on” her but just hear me out. I’m not saying anything negative about Katherine or anything here, I’m just saying that I’m disappointed by how little Tina’s character was used in the second film.

I know there were so many things going on in CoG but I honestly feel like it couldn’t have hurt to extend the movie even by a few minutes if it meant showing Tina do something NOT related to a male character. In CoG, all she does is search for Credence (which, okay, fine) and get pissy with Newt (which, given why, I do understand) - and then after the Salamander Eyes scene, she is all but a background character. Like would it really have hurt to have a shot of her distraught that her sister joined Grindelwald? Even just a little something near the end where someone - newt? Jacob? Nagini? Anyone? - asks her if she’s okay??

In truth, I felt disappointed because I was more able to connect to Leta than Tina - and I’m not saying that connecting to Leta is a bad thing, absolutely not! It’s just that because Tina is the character I’ve looked up to and loved for three years now, it’s disappointing to watch the film and NOT feel the connection I did with her in the first.

Also, please don’t get me wrong, I ship Newtina so hard and I have fought to defend them since 2016 so damn hard, and I’m excited to see where the Newtina relationship goes, but I do NOT want Tina’s only role in the films to be that of Newt’s love interest/wife. She deserves to have her own storyline(s) away from a love interest, deserves to have her friendships/relationships with other characters explored, deserves to be a badass strong woman. I want people to love her not just because she’s half of the Newtina ship, but because she’s amazing and wonderful as she is.

I don’t know what happened between the first and second movies other than D*vid Y*tes’ being a turd and scenes getting cut, I don’t know if it’s just the way JKR wrote it, but I’m really hoping that the remaining films fix it.

Also can we PLEASE give Tina a decent f*cking haircut in the next movie?? The first one was actually cute and also fit the idea that she probably cut it herself not for fashion but practicality - the second film wasn’t a bad haircut but come on, Katherine is a beautiful woman, please let her wear a decent haircut!!

[aspiringauthorintraining]

Magizoologist-in-Training #7

Newt paused, hearing her question. But before he could come up with some sort of response, a shuffling noise came from the wall, grabbing both their attentions.

The bricks in the wall, shifted around, breaking apart and revealing a big, crowded arena. 

Seeing Credence and Nagini look at her and then hesitantly back at the new opening, (Y/N) was brought back to the severity of the situation. And although she wanted to hear Newt’s answer, she was scared after seeing the way he had paused. Maybe it was better this way. 

Regardless, bigger things, more important than her feelings, were at stake. She quickly wiped at her wet eyes, sniffling.

“Sorry, don’t know what came over me.” she apologized.

Newt continued to hold worry in his eyes. 

“Wh-“

“We should follow them.” she interrupted, looking anywhere but him.

Taking the first step, she furthered the distance between them, physically and emotionally, walking towards Credence and Nagini, who were waiting for her. She didn’t look back, assuming that he probably had his attention back on Tina or Leta now.

_____________

As they walked through the entrance, (Y/N) watched as wizards and witches murmured excitedly to each other, like they were waiting for something. She walked hesitantly closer, with Credence and Nagini in tow. She didn’t have a good feeling about this, and she wasn’t the only one. 

Nagini seemed the most hesitant out of them to follow, her eyes darting around the arena in panic.

“They’re pureblood,” she whispered, in fear. “They kill the likes of us for sport.” 

(Y/N) reached for Nagini’s hand, her other hand firmly on Credence’s forearm. 

“Whatever happens, we stick together, right?” she said, repeating her words from earlier. “If anything happens, they’ll have to get through me first.” 

Suddenly, claps sounded around the arena, and everyone’s attention was on the middle of the floor, where Grindelwald stood.

“Brothers, sisters, and friends, welcome.” He spoke, his voice oozing charisma. “You came today, because you crave something.” 

He continued his monologue, sharing his beliefs with his audience, who were happily eating up his lies. 

“The moment has come, to share a vision, of the future that awaits, if we do not rise up and take our rightful place in the world.”

A woman, one of his followers, walked up the platform, handing him a skull connected to a hose. Breathing in through the mouthpiece attached, he then released the smoke, that clouded the air above him. 

The images portrayed in the smoke were terrifying. 

Destruction. 

Death. 

Chaos. 

It was a repeat of what the muggles called, the Great War, but much, much worse. It was hell on earth.

“This is the product of their greed! Their lust for power!” Grindelwald explained with anger.

There was a stirring among the crowd, as a new group of people slowly walked down the steps, cautiously.

Grindelwald paused in his speech, smiling discreetly at their entrance. “There are aurors here today, among us, who have called us evil, murderers, and blood-thirsty. But they are wrong. We are none of those things. We do not hate, nor we do not act out of hatred towards others.” 

As he finished, a flash of green lit the room. Gasps sounded around the room. 

While everyone else had their attention on the girl, lifeless on the cold, stone ground, (Y/N) looked at Grindelwald. She saw him turn away from the crowd, briefly smiling, before rushing to the commotion. 

Did he plan this? she thought. She wouldn’t put it past him to manipulate the situation, to serve his greater purpose.

“You see, we are not the enemy.” He began, when the girl was confirmed dead. “We do not wish for violence. We only wish to be free, and are punished for it.” 

The other wizards nodded in agreement, while the aurors held out their wand and backed towards the exits, threatened.

“Go! Spread the word that it is not we who take away lives. This poor girl will not have died in vain!” 

The wizards in the arena started to disapparate one by one, until only a few wizards were left in the arena.

(Y/N) found Theseus, Newt’s brother, among the aurors remaining in the room. He, with the other aurors started to descend down the steps, circling around Grindelwald, with their wands ready. But Grindelwald didn’t seem to be alarmed by their advances. 

“Join me friends, we can make a better world.” He invited encouragingly, but no one made a move.

The wizard sighed loudly, shaking his head in disappointment, before reaching for his wand. Bright, cobalt flames flamed out from the tip of his wand as he circled it around the bottom of the arena. Waving his hands like a maestro conducting a symphony, the flames began to grow and spread along the floor rapidly.

At this, everyone retreated while Grindelwald’s followers willingly entered the flames, in display of their allegiance. (Y/N) watched in horror, when one of them cried in agony as he was consumed by flames.   

The remaining aurors tried escaping to the exits, only for the flames to follow, turning them into ash. Others tried to apparate, but the flames rose up from the ground, consuming them as well. 

There was no way out now. 

Grindelwald finally turned his attention to them. “Come my boy, there is much I have to tell you.” He spoke with faux kindness. 

Nagini latched onto his arm shaking her head urgently at Credence. 

“He knows who I am.” 

“He knows who you were born, not who you are!” Nagini argued, not letting go of Credence. 

“Whatever happens, we stay together, right?” he shouted against the roaring of the flames. 

Nagini looked into his eyes for a moment, before turning to (Y/N), conflicted by the words. “We stay together?” she asked for confirmation. 

_____

From across the room, Newt stilled as he saw (Y/N) among the flames.

“(Y/N)!” He yelled out, trying to grab her attention, but his voice was lost in the flames. 

He needed to get her out, to safety. He couldn’t lose her. 

He flicked his wand repeatedly at the flames between them, successfully nearing where she was, until he was grabbed back by his brother. As he stumbled back, a menacing flame shot up from where he was seconds ago.

______

Grindelwald turned to (Y/N) with sympathetic eyes, watching Credence hesitating. 

“Will you be able to leave them?” he asked her. “After you promised to protect them?”

She couldn’t, not now. 

“What is your choice dear? Choose wisely.”

“I-I-“ she stuttered. His words reminded her back to her conversation with Flamel. She felt certain that this was the moment.

“(Y/N)!” 

She whipped her head around, to see Newt trying to quell the massive flame separating them, but held back by his brother. Behind him Tina, Jacob, and Leta were backed up against a wall, the bright flames closing in on them. One wrong move and Grindelwald could kill everyone in the room.

The white haired man extended his hand out, inviting them into his circle of fire.

“(Y/N)!” Newt exclaimed. He tried again, breaking from his brother’s hold. But the fire’s intensity increased, his spells barely making a noticeable dent.

(Y/N) watched the others, with fear. For a man, who claimed to be peaceful, his actions certainly did not agree with his words. 

At that moment, she knew exactly what she had to do; the choice she had to make. Taking a deep breath, she faced Nagini and Credence. 

“Whatever happens, we stick together.” she firmly said, squeezing their joined hands.

Grindelwald smiled widely.

But she paused when they started descending the steps.

“Go. I’ll follow after.” she said, when the two looked back at her. 

Nodding, they let go of her hand, and walked into the flames. She let out a breath of relief when they remained unsinged by the fire, before Grindelwald apparated them out. 

Turning around, she watched Newt continually fighting the unrelenting flames. 

She wanted to tell him he was her best friend, and that she was thankful he had taken her under his wing. She wanted to ask him to understand what she was about to do. She wanted to ask him to say goodbye to Pickett, Niffler, and all the other creatures for her. Most importantly, she wanted to let him know that she loved him. 

But she couldn’t stop the words that came out instead.

“Did you look for me?” 

Newt froze, and his eyes widened in fear at the repeated question. His mouth opened to respond, but nothing came out. He couldn’t lie to (Y/N). Not to her. 

But for (Y/N), she got his answer.

Instead of tears this time, she looked at him, void of any emotion but indifference.

“Goodbye Mr. Scamander.” she said, lifelessly. 

Newt stiffened at the formal title and could only watch, as she walked into the escaped wizard criminal’s arms. His mind was screaming at him to stop her, but how could he?

It was his fault. He hadn’t even looked for her at all. He had basically left her to fend for herself, or worse, die. Who was he to ask her to stay? He was the person she wanted to get away from right now.

(Y/N) could feel tears pricking her eyes, the moment she turned away from Newt, but continued to act indifferent in order to convince the wizard standing on the stage. Thankfully he did not suspect anything, as she felt no heat when nearing the flames, walking into them with ease.

But as she walked closer, she saw a slight rustle from Grindelwald’s coat pocket. To her surprise, Newt’s Niffler peeked out from the pocket, looking at her. Quickly, she embraced the mad-man warmly, hopefully distracting him long enough, for Niffler to move into her coat without detection.

“You chose wisely my dear. I have much to teach you.” Grindelwald purred in her ear.

_____

Theseus had to drag his brother toward the entrance, as Newt could only stare in shock. Grindelwald wouldn’t be distracted by (Y/N) for long, and the flames were gaining in on them, regardless of their spells. 

_____

The tension in (Y/N)’s body loosened slightly, feeling the Niffler safely hidden beneath her coat.  She mustered up a smile at Grindelwald, before apparating away, just outside of the burning cemetery. From her spot, she could see the others running out just in time, with Newt among them.

She looked down, feeling Niffler tapping at her chest, holding up a strange item. It was a blood peg. She inspected it briefly, not sure why the creature was carrying around such a thing. 

But there was no time. She needed to get back to Credence and Nagini now, having chosen her side.

“I need you to go find Newt, okay?” she asked, kissing the niffler. The creature seemed to understand, reaching for Reyna’s face with his tiny hands and placing his beak against her. She hadn’t noticed she was crying, until she saw Niffler’s fur slightly wet.

Hurriedly, she placed the vial back into the tiny creature’s pouch, and set him gently on the ground.

“Go.”  

The Niffler sprinted back to his wizard, but not without glancing back once more at (Y/N). 

She watched in horror, as the Grindelwald’s flames grew and morphed into something monstrous, engulfing more and more into its fire. But thankfully, seeing Flamel entering the scene, she knew she could leave rest assured of the others’ safety. And with a final glance at Niffler reaching Newt, she apparated.

_________________________________

(Hogwarts)

“I heard you chose a side.”

Newt nodded. 

“Newt,” Dumbledore paused. “I’m so sorry about (Y/N).”

He only nodded again. 

Newt didn’t want to talk about (Y/N). He was still trying to make sense of what had happened. Why she left, why he felt this way about her betrayal, and why he couldn’t get her out of his mind. He couldn’t get out the look of defeat in her eyes, when she spoke to him for the last time.

He regretted not searching for her. For not paying more attention to her, when he had the chance. He regretted every missed chance he had with her. 

No amount of comfort from Leta, Tina, or his brother could patch up the gaping hole left in his heart. He just felt numb.

Realizing Dumbledore staring at him quietly, he quickly changed the subject. Reaching into his pocket, he revealed the blood peg.

“How?” Dumbledore asked astounded.

Newt motioned to the Niffler sleeping soundly in his pocket. 

He had lost him during the chaos, not even realizing the mischievous creature had left his briefcase. How Niffler made it out in time, unscathed, was still a mystery.

And he smelt, strangely, of (Y/N)’s perfume.

With a flick of Theseus’ wrist, dissolving the cuffs on Dumbledore, the two men walked into the castle with the others following, having newfound hope in winning the impending war.

________________________________________________

(Location Unknown)

(Y/N) stood next to Grindelwald and Nagini, as they all watched Credence destroy the canyon with his wand. She was in awe at the revelation of his true identity, especially with the appearance of the phoenix, but terrified at the sheer destruction he had caused.

She turned to Grindelwald, curious of what other secrets he held.

“What did you mean back in the cemetery?” she asked.

The wizard turned to her with a knowing glint in his eyes, before walking to the doors. 

“Come child, there is much for you to learn.” 

*(A/N): And that’s all folks! Thank you so much for reading this series! As you can see, I left it as a cliff hanger, like the movie did. (And it’s a lot longer than usual chapters, which I hope didn’t bore you while reading.) When writing the one shot that this series was derived from, I always planned to end it this way and I never got to writing further than the ending of the movie. I wasn’t even planning on posting this story, but ended up doing it on impulse. I don’t know if I’ll make a sequel, before the third movie comes out. We’ll see if I get creative enough to write the sequel without basing it off the third movie. 

Also check out my other works I have posted! There’s only oneshots so far for Harry Potter, other than this series, so you don’t have to be scared of any other cliffhangers!

Anyways, thank you so much for all the likes, comments, and follows! Let me know what you thought of the series, the ending, (Y/N), (Y/N) and Newt’s relationship, and/or whatever else you can think of!

[armageddon-generation]

Improving Crimes of Grindlewald

Just watched this movie again, and I’m not touching the representational/ethical issues, but here are some ways to streamline the movie.

(some small changes to the first movie, since this is already fantasy)

Newt comes to New York because he suspects Obscurus activity, and wants to make up for not saving the one he keeps in his case as a reminder. This connects Newt emotionally to Credence and his B plot

Make the locations more magical - Central Park Zoo is cool but give it a Wizarding dimension: A museum with magic exhibits about how 'dangerous' Magical Beasts are, and MACUSA hunting many to extinction. Newt and his beasts 'accidentally' destroy this misinformation. There's a War Memorial hidden in the Park like the one for the Potters in Godric's Hollow. Newt and Jacob bond over their experiences.

Instead of the beast in that random building, have one go to Coney Island. A magical old-timey Fairground is the perfect setting for a Beast chase.

The shit ‘Graves was Grindlewald’ twist didn’t happen, he’s just a follower. Use him to build up Grindlewald's appearance in this movie

Establish Credence could be a Lestrange (MACUSA found adoption records when covering up the death of Mrs Barebone - President Piquery mentions to Newt "I believe you're familiar with the Lestrange family") to set up the twist in this movie

Newt helps set Queenie and Jacob back up at the end, including restoring his memory - it's consistent with Newt’s disregard for both authority and segregation

Opening and Prison sequence

Start with a montage (newspaper headlines and moving photos, like in the first movie) of MACUSA cracking down on Wizard/muggle segregation and escalating tensions as they grow more paranoid about Grindlewald - establishing the theme of the Ministry being their own worst enemy

We see Queenie and Jacob - trying to live happily in secret - get busted, arrested and separated. This is scary, aggressive.

Queenie tries to protect Jacob (a frightening Jean Grey - style attack with her Legilimensy, to establish how far she'll go for him) but she’s outnumbered, and the fan-favourite character from the last movie is knocked out and wrestled away.

A terrified Queenie is transported to the American wizard prison for processing as a criminal, where Percival Graves is awaiting transfer to trial. He and Queenie make eye-contact as he passes

Highlight MACUSA treating Queenie as a dangerous freak because of her Legilimensy

Grindlewald breaks into the prison and frees Graves. This is our first time meeting him and he subverts expectations; charming and benevolent  to his follower where Voldemort was abusive.

Grindlewald and Graves save Queenie and set the other wizards being processed for No-Maj fraternisation free

This sets up Queenie’s conflict of wanting marriage equality without turning her into an unstable psychopath - she has no home, no job, and can’t turn to Tina because as an auror, technically Tina should arrest Queenie

Grindlewald’s Followers

Graves replaces that random woman as Grindlewald’s right-hand. There is one corrupt auror 

This auror leads the attack and arrest of Queenie in the opening sequence, but it isn’t revealed he’s working for Grindlewald until later

 Then he is one of the aurors the Ministry sends to hunt down Credence, with Theseus Scamander.

Gindlewald’s agent kills the House-elf when the aurors confront Credence. Then, at the end when the agent betrays the aurors and tries to join Grindlewald, Grindlewald kills him to show both Queenie and Credence he’s on their side. Thus Grindlewald gets to be rutheless like in the original, but he’s also a master manipulator

This way we roll 3 characters into 1 (the American who helps Grindlewald escape, the English guy who kills the House-elf, and the follower Grindlewald kills)

Ministry scenes (+ Dumbledore)

Same scene with the Ministry trying to recruit Newt to kill Credence, only this time they turn to Theseus after he refuses - putting Theseus in direct conflict with Newt

Dumbledore scene without the safehouse, have him recite the poem that he only namedrops in the original, to give the audience more context clues for later.

Include the conversation cut from the original where he explains why he sent Newt to New York - to help Credence - and establish Newt and Credence as Dumbledore and Grindlewald’s respective champions. Kindness vs Raw Power

Cut the sequence at Newt’s house and save the creature stuff for the circus

Theseus

Include the deleted scene of he and Leta at the party to establish their relationship - except instead of the floating baby (already in the Boggart scene) the pure bloods try to persuade Leta to join Grindlewald, creating ambiguity in her morality that will be resolved in the finale

Expand Theseus' character by touching on his PTSD. The Ministry pick him because he's a "war hero", but Theseus is clearly uncomfortable with that title - "I was just a soldier, Sir. And this is meant to be peace time."

When Theseus confronts Newt about choosing a side, have him draw on their respective experiences in WW1 - "While you were down the line playing with your dragons some of us had to stand and fight."

This is why Theseus doesn't want to provoke Grindlewald's followers - he can't face another war, or the peace he fought for breaking down

Much as I hate the idea of Grindlewald stopping WW2, framing Theseus' character this way means the rally and prospect of another War has a big emotional impact on him

Credence attacking the aurors after the House-Elf's death triggers a PTSD flashback - as he heads back to the Ministry we see a flash of wizarding WW1, dragons etc

Centre the Plot Around the Circus - Getting the Characters Together

Tina has tracked Credence down to the Magical Circus moving through France. She wants to protect him (like she did in the last movie) from the aurors trying to kill him

She contacts Newt; he’d be perfect for this situation because

the circus is full of magical beasts

Credence has befriended a Maledictus, whom Newt would know about because of their close connection to beasts

Newt knows  and cares for Credence

This allows us to naturally incorporate more fantastic beasts into our Fantastic Beasts movie; Newt gets hired as the circus’ beast master (the ring master thinks his name will draw in a crowd) 

It also gives Newt a concrete reason to be there without being the ‘chosen one’ of the story - he just wants to make up for letting Credence down last time

It also cuts the stupid ‘Tina read gossip in a magazine and now she won’t talk to Newt’ subplot, and all the time wasted looking for her

Use this portion of the movie - travelling across France to Paris in the circus - to build the dynamic between Newt, Tina, Credence and Nagini, so we care about them.

Nagini (recast as a different ethnicity) uses her experience living with a curse to teach Credence how to control his Obscurus, creating a sense of responsibility for him

Newt talks to Nagini about her condition: Explore the emotional toll of being a Maledictus - Newt is initially weirdly jealous of the idea of turning into a beast, which Nagini finds funny

Insert the ‘creature caring’ sequence from Newt’s house here - the characters bond through the creatures.

Parallel the burgeoning romance between Credence and Nagini with the awkwardness of Newtina

Credence explains he survived because Grindlewald saved a part of his Obscurus while MACUSA was attacking, and released it just before he was captured. Credence then spent months stuck in that form, rebuilding himself, which also helped him control his Obscurus

This immediately puts Credence in Grindlewald's debt: he was able to save him when Newt couldn't

Insert the Hogwarts scenes and flashback here. Leta mentions her father in the present and past - e.g. when she and Newt talk about going home (CUT MCGONAGALL!) to better set up her story at the end

Paris

We arrive in Paris. Leta’s brother Yusuf attacks the performance and Credence stages his escape against Newt and Tina’s wishes.

The beast escapes as in the movie

The group gets split up - Credence and Nagini, Newt and Tina

Newt, and Tina chase Yusuf into Paris’ sewers, where they get pinned in a firefight. Newt attracts an urban water demon (the kappa from the circus?) that incapacitates Yusuf.

Tina interrogates Yusuf. He explains his version of events - Credence is Corvus Lestrange. Now we don’t get two twists straight after each other at the end

The escaped circus beast causing chaos outside distracts them enough for Yusuf to disapparate. They catch the beast as in the movie

Cut Nicholas Flamel - he’s gratuitous fan-service adding little to the plot

Grindlewald

Present Grindlewald to the audience as the characters see him - charming, personable, the exact opposite of Voldemort

This means no baby-killing 

Make him look normal but attractive (Depp looks inhuman and off-putting, a poor-man’s Voldemort)

Forget the albino hedgehog, we need to believe this man could charm the pants off Albus Dumbledore

Queenie uses her Legilimency to probe his mind.

He uses Oclumency, and we see a battle of the minds wage in the background as they talk. 

Grindlewald lets her in to selective thoughts - namely his beliefs about marriage equality and his wholehearted ‘belief’ in them

He also reveals to her his relationship with Dumbledore, as a way to convince her he’s doing the right thing - “Dumbledore wasn’t willing to fight for what was right, but he still agrees with me” and that he can relate to her struggle with Jacob

Grindlewald is the first person to praise Queenie’s mental powers and encourage her to embrace her Legilimensy - her whole life she's been Othered and objectified, in the first movie even Tina hid Queenie away

Queenie’s persuasion takes at least a few scenes - every time we see Grindlewald, check in on Queenie’s fall

Especially given the setting between the World Wars, use this as a way to explore how fascism works - the dangerous seductiveness of that mentality manifested through our villain

Cut the scenes with Queenie in the French Ministry/wandering Paris

Finding Credence

Credence and Nagini run free together through Paris (include the scenes cut from the original, including the one where the pheonix chick arrives)

They find the House Elf, but Theseus and the aurors arrive and the attack plays out as previously described

Theseus leading the aurors drives a wedge between Credence and Newt by association in the finale

After Credence escapes the aurors go immediately to the Mnistry to report

A scene of Theseus and Leta supporting each other in the Ministry, while he’s making his report (after his PTSD attack)

Leta: I don't trust them. You've already sacrificed so much for these people and their wars. Just... Let the others die first, alright?

Theseus [laughing]: you're such a Slytherin.

Leta: And you're far too much of a Gryffindor for my liking. It's going to get you killed.

This sets up Leta's sacrafice in the finale.

Newt and Tina now have to find Credence

They know about the House-elf because Credence told them in the circus, so they go to that address to find it destroyed

This is when they travel to the Ministry, to look at the Lestrange records

The corrupt auror with Theseus gets there first and runs with the information both Leta and Newt want

The demon cats attack Tina even though she is Ministry personel because Queenie is considered an associate of Grindlewald - Tina finds out her siater was arrested midway through this action sequence and Leta saves her while she’s distracted

Tina and Leta working together to protect Newt from the demon-cats

Theseus realises what is going on and tries to stop the corrupt auror but he escapes. Theseus then helps Newt, Tina and Leta escape

They release the circus beast as in the movie

Credence and Nagini meet Grindlewald, with Queenie. Grindlewald tells them about the informaton in the Lestrange crypt and lets them be.

Finale

Only Leta has to explain her story, then the rally plays out much the same (which is f*cking problematic but that’s not why I’m here)

No blood pact because it fucks with canon - Dumbledore is just reluctant to fight Grindlewald directly because of their relationship and the Elder Wand. This way Newt has the same frustration as the audience - why didn't you go?

Queenie tries to persuade the others to come with her, and reveals Dumbledore’s relationship with Grindlewald as justification, shaking Newt, but they refuse.

The corrupt auror who killed the house-elf and arrested Jacob is killed for Credence and Queenie’s benefit

Queenie and Credence are disapparated away

Then Grindlewald attacks Theseus’ aurors, but without the fire dragons; his speech was about not hurting anybody, so trying to destroy Paris straight after is stupid. Show Grindlewald's power with a 20:1 duel

Personally I wouldn’t kill Leta because she’s so interesting, but if she does die have it be here, holding Grindlewald off while the others escape (Tina, understanding, pulls Newt away and Newt pulls Theseus).

Leta's sacrafice is what directly inspires Newt choosing his side

When they meet Dumbledore in the last scene Newt is angry and upset about what Queenie told him, and tells Dumbledore his lovers’ quarrel got Leta killed

[triciaisonline]

THE  GOOD,  THE  BAD,  THE  MISGUIDED  &  THE  BIZARRE.

WARNING:  THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD.  READ  AT  YOUR  OWN  DISCRETION.

THIS ISN’T A  FULL  REVIEW,  JUST  MY  IMMEDIATE  THOUGHTS  AND  REACTIONS  UPON  SEEING  THE  FILM

THE  GOOD

almost every performance in this film is well done. i felt there were a few small characters that were not the greatest, like the auror who gets the job offered to newt, the circus guy. but the main cast delivered. 

this film looks beautiful. colleen atwood’s costumes look beautiful. special notes to everything worn by leta lestrange, the woman who follows grindelwald & brings queenie to meet him ( did she get a name? i swear they never named her... but there are so many characters in this movie... it’s impossible to keep them straight ). i love tina’s Parisian haircut. it suited her really well and served as a good reminder of passing time between this and the first.

i do like seeing other wizarding cultures, even if they didn’t really show us french wizard culture as much as i would have liked. especially since fleur delacour, beauxbatons are already areas people are interested in... it would have been nice to see more but i liked what i did see.

i liked that leta lestrange wasn’t the dark bellatrix type figure / temptress people were fanoning her out to be after being mentioned in the first film. i actually liked her character so i’m really mad that she was killed. i liked she had complexity, even if some parts of her will be brought up in other sections.

i forget it’s name, but i really like that giant cat creature. it’s cute. i love it. i want 5 for myself.

i liked seeing queenie get overwhelmed on the streets, because she’s a legilimens and all those thoughts would be overstimulating to her. i just thought it was a nice touch.

bunty telling newt to take off his shirt to go swimming was a mood.

i liked how jude law incorporated the manipulative parts of dumbledore, but it wasn’t in a obvious way. it was so well done, i really love it. it showed the morally flawed nature of the man really well. basically everything jude law did was perfect. including how he was the only one that seemed to subtly implicate that gellert and albus were gay. it’s not perfect, but i think he actually read the books before hand and knew whom he was playing really well. 

i know we don’t like him, but i do like how gellert addressed the rally. how he talks to people. reasons with them. how he rarely does the horrific acts himself, its always his followers. it’s chilling and really clever. it brings to mind cults, extreme right groups, dictators trying to induct and enforce their beliefs on the mass. 

THE BAD

what the fuck was with queenie?  don’t get me wrong, i’m not against queenie turning to gellert’s side or her heart being what gets used against her... because that has the making of good conflict. what i’m against is how it was done. queenie is in a total of five-six scenes in the film. one is a plot dump for what we have missed off screen, one-two are her looking for tina but they are the same narrative thread they basically count as one scene just spliced within other scenes,  she meets the french lady whom i swear never had her name said... then grindelwald then she’s at the rally where the ending of the film happens. she turns so fast. the film covers maybe a couple days? and you don’t even see the full conversation with grindelwald. so not only does she do nothing in this film, she turns to the bad side on a dime for what feels like cheap and unearned dramatics at the end of the film, but they are overshadowed and never even really acknowledged by the other characters because leta has her sacrifice right after, and credence has his conversion and that one is more plot driven then queenie’s which just feels like an afterthought. honestly all of queenie felt like it was added in last minute. she just doesn’t fit the rest of the film. she looks for tina, never finds her, tina never even asks or wonders about her. we dont even see her REACT to her own sister JOINING GRINDELWALD. newt forgets about her, jacob talks about her a bit, but other than being funny to watch, jacob also really doesn’t have anything to do in this movie. ironically, jacob feels more validated as a component because at least he’s helping newt as he looks for queenie, over queenie the reason jacob is there in the first place...and who is meant to have this big shocking “plot”  if you told me that this was all added in a final draft, after seeing queenie and jacob be so popular, i wouldn’t be surprised at all. so really, queenie’s betrayal not only made sense, but it literally didn’t even matter to the plot of the film or any of the character arcs. 

i also didn’t like how she just essentually drugged jacob with love potion which has literally been likened to date rape drugs and everything in earlier canon and analysis but here it gets hardly any response outside of “oh that queenie.... drugging jacob again to make him marry her”. i felt at least newt should have had a stronger reaction to it. especially when a big plot point later is someone having magic used on them to essentially do the same thing and cause all this family drama for the lestrange family. i think it’s suppose to be foreshadowing, but it’s not really handled well.

this one is kind of unimportant, but i also felt like queenie’s hair colour really looked off this time. i don’t know if it was a different wig or dye or if the colouring just didn’t flatter it... but it really made alison sudol look washed out in scenes and looked the wrong shade in others. i really don’t know but it bugged me a bit. 

i’m really mad that they killed off leta lestrange, she had so much build up... and she was actually more interesting than other character plots... but then they just... killed her off. and she really didn’t need to die... like its framed like a moment for newt to finally join the war properly and he sorta starts to connect with his brother again after, but i feel the entirety of the movie was enough to get him involved. so really, we just killed off a really interesting female character ( a woc character too ) just... for the sake of a male’s plot. wonderful.

on the subject of leta lestrange, i felt that whole scene with her, her brother, credence, tina and newt to be weirdly paced and shot. like so much information dump happened and people kept revealing things and it was hard to keep straight. 

there are so many plots. too many plots. so many micro-plots, not subplots. but smaller. the whole movie is micro-plots that result in everyone at the same place for the climax of the film, which would be cool except many of these characters, places, etc get little to no explanation or build up. just “i’m here now’. and there is no resolution. 

on that note, THERE IS NO RESOLUTION. THE MOVIE JUST STOPS. it feels like this movie either was meant to have an extended ending that got cut.. or they filmed and wrote it like it was the first part in a two parter, except it’s not. its a film in a series but its only one part. so it’s just a movie that ends abruptly and awkwardly with no kind of wrap up of anything. like yeah you want plot threads to fuel the next film, but literally nothing gets any kind of ending or closure. unless you count newt and thesus hugging? but that is all relied upon throwaway lines and its really ( again ) unimportant in the long run.. so it doesn’t count. 

so in the end, credence gets a wand and grindelwald tells him he’s actually a long lost dumbledore because in 2018 joanne rowling doesn’t even know her own canon and the fact he only has two siblings. and i mean, i get its meant to be a secret surprise brother, but when so much of the deathly hallows FOCUSES on his backstory with gellert and how it intertwines with his siblings, it feels really poorly thought out. the dumbledores and grindelwald’s backstory is pretty set in stone from the deathly hallows as told by both rita skeeter’s book, aberforth and even dead dumbledore himself. how it destroyed their family, and all of that is the set up for their conflict now.. so throwing in a surprise brother after all of that feels kind of cheap and lazy at this point. and again, no build up. no set up. just... “here’s a wand. i made this bird a phoenix. you're a dumbledore. end movie’. nothing foreshadows it. just “you're a dumbledore, credence.” he’s like the worst version of the hagrid meme.

THE MISGUIDED

lets talk about nagini, i’m not the high most authority on the subject as a white female, but from my understanding of the controversy from people much more informed than i am, the fact that nagini turned out to be basically a nothing almost feels worse than when she was framed like this big controversial focal point for the film. okay so, nagini literally didn’t need to be nagini. at all. she’s a snake once, and it’s in such an obvious “look its nagini from harry potter”. moreover, she literally didn’t even need to be a snake. its such a irrelevant part of the story. which just shows how much this nagini thing was just slapped on the character to create controversy to sell tickets and get people talking about the movie. WHICH JUST MAKES IT EVEN MORE WORSE, when you factor in that nagini is a nothing character on top of this. she is essentially scenery. she does nothing contribution wise except be there with credence until he goes to grindelwald and then stands with the heroes at hogwarts at the end for some reason, she just tagged along i guess. AND ALL OF THIS MAKES THE CONTROVERSY FEEL SO MUCH WORSE, because it’s literally an insensitive & thoughtless character created for the purpose of nothing. there isn’t even a big plot reason, nothing is contingent on her. you could remove her from the film and it changes nothing. which makes this the second woc character to get the shaft.

okay so the first film set up that there was a love plot of some kind involving newt and leta that would be explored in future films. and it’s not that it wasn’t there. you saw that with leta and newt; but what isn’t explained is how 1) she ended up with his brother, 2) how she got him expelled, 3) how that affected things between them, and 4) where is his brother in all of this? and they killed leta... so are we just done with that now? because it was set up that this would matter and it really didn’t. not that i didn’t like that her whole character wasn’t around a love plot... but i also kind of want answers? but also don’t think i didn’t notice how her whole plot was related to men in her life. i liked her, but she wasn’t perfectly written.  truthfully this film is held together by amazing design and actors. zoe kravitz brought this to life.

i didn’t mind the flashbacks... but it was weird how they didn’t really do any camera or editing tricks to differentiate between present day and flashback. more for the hogwarts one, its edited so it looks like the movie just changes to another movie for like fifteen minutes ( its a long flashback you guys ) and then cuts back. it was just really weirdly edited.

so, when did we stop calling MACUSA... MACUSA? it was just called american ministry of magic this time and since it had a name that was a huge part of marketing for the first film and was used a lot in the film as well. it just felt weird that they dropped it. also, they dropped the no-maj thing except for once when grindelwald uses a bunch of terms to describe muggles in his speech. i mean, i know we all mocked it.. but once you establish a universe, its jarring when the rules of it suddenly are changed because of focus group testing not liking it. 

i briefly touched upon this with queenie’s note, but jacob really felt like he was added just because he was popular in the first one. like in the first one, he’s essential to the plot and the character arcs of the main characters as well as a good character on his own. but... he felt shoehorned into the film. like he had a good ending, and the implication that he found queenie in the end felt like a good solid ending to his story. but this time, he’s just there. he helps newt a bit, has funny lines... but again, if you cut him out... you lost nothing. actually, you could cut queenie out and the film would progress as normal. they were entirely subplot and background noise.

i know we wanted to build up tina and newt, but its been 9 months. they havent seen each other since new york... this whole bit felt forced and was essentially the “misunderstanding trope”. and again... there was hardly any reward or pay off for that time. the whole thing is dropped by the third act and become irrelevant again. because the movie just... ends.

THE BIZARRE

there were a lot of dead babies for a wizarding world film.  like two babies are killed/murdered in the plot of this film and that felt.. kind of dark for this series. its like they want to be edgy but can’t commit to it so they do it in small bursts but then the rest f the movie is madcap adventure. so it really stands out.

the cast and crew went out of their way to state that the gay stuff wouldn’t be a thing in this movie. the bullshit reason being “everyone already knows so why bother”. and yeah, this is a clear case of insincere representation  ---  but  then you have jude law over here giving lines deeper meaning with his acting... the blood pact having them entwine hands and fingers and framed intimately when shown on screen.... and i swear, while not heart shaped, the blood pin thing that newt steals from grindelwald invokes the idea of heart shaped jewelry... and even if its not.. its worn on his chest above his heart? so it invokes the idea that way. which makes me beg the question, if it was going to be subverted anyway... and EVERYONE HAS KNOWN FOR 11 YEARS.. why oh why was it being treated like a hush hush secret ‘ gay but not really gay’ thing. just fucking let them be gay. let them be shown to be former lovers / someone dumbledore used to love. even if they don’t say it to characters, there are ways to convey that visually. and the mirror scene isn’t enough. i’m sorry but its not.  like calm down. its 2018. it’s not a secret.

in the beginning, grindelwald looks a bit like haymitch from the hunger games

thesus looked like percy weasley in a lot of scenes.

I’LL HAVE MORE COHESIVE THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS LATER ONCE I PROCESS IT ALL MORE. BUT THESE ARE MY INITIAL REACTIONS AND THOUGHTS UPON JUST SEEING THE FILM FOR THE FIRST TIME. 

OVERALL, THIS FILM HAS WAY TOO MUCH GOING ON. DOESN’T FOCUS ENOUGH ON THE IMPORTANT PARTS, NEEDS TO FLESH IDEAS OUT MORE.. A LOT OF THINGS HAPPEN BUT ALSO, NOTHING MATTERS TO THE STORY. IT FELT LIKE A LOT OF SCENES WERE CUT OUT FOR TIME. THE MISMATCHED NATURE OF PLOTS FELT MORE LIKE TV EPISODES RATHER THAN A FILM. BUT THE ACTORS REALLY GIVE THE FILM SOME CREDIBILITY AND MAKE THE RIDE AT LEAST ENJOYABLE TO WATCH, BUT I’M NOT ITCHING TO SEE IT AGAIN. A LET DOWN AFTER THE FIRST FILM, BUT I HOPE FOR IMPROVEMENT. ALL IN ALL, JUST STOP LETTING JOANNE TALK  /  WRITE. SHE MAKES BEING A HP FAN IN 2018 SO HARD;  AND GOD  BLESS JUDE LAW.

[kallypsowrites]

The Crimes of Grindelwald and how not to write a mystery (spoilers)

Hey. J.K. We need to talk about this latest movie. I know you’ve been getting a lot of flack about the nagini thing, the trying to introduce too many new characters in one movie thing, the implying that weird ending where you implied Grindelwald wanted to stop the Holocaust. Weird stuff. But really I want to talk about the twist. The Aurelius “Credence” Dumbledore twist. I...I hesitate to even call it a twist because that implies that “who is Credence?” is a question any of us were asking at the end of the first movie. Like...he could have been his own character. But no I guess he...had to have a recognizeable name. Cause if there’s anything your books have taught us: it’s all about the family you come from. That’s what makes you powerful.

Anyway, the real problem is: this was a terribly constructed mystery. Which is really odd because mystery was what you used to do best in the Harry Potter books. Maybe writing for film posed different challenges for you or maybe you just give yourself too many toys to work with, preventing yourself from fully constructing this mystery but...whatever the case, I want to go back to your books.

The thing about the Harry Potter books was the mystery was always high stakes and figuring out the answers determined whether or not Harry would live or die. The mystery was directly connected to the plot, and therefore we cared about solving it. 

So in book 1 we ask the question: what is in the vault? It’s the sorceror’s stone, which can make people immortal or revive them from the brink of death. This is important because it seems Snape is trying to get it for Voldemort to help resurect him and we care because both Snape and Voldemort seemed to have been out to get Harry all year. So when we get into the vault and find out SURPRISE! It’s actually the unsuspecting, stuttering proffessor Quirrel who has Voldemort on the back of his head. This is satisfying because it’s unexpected but also the hints were dropped throughout the books. And it raises the stakes because Voldemort is LITERALLY on the back of Quirrel’s head. The sorceror’s stone itself is more of a plot device, but what makes it significant is that it COULD have brought voldemort back if Harry hadn’t stopped him.

In book 2, we get an even better mystery. Something is petrifying muggleborns and Harry think it might be Malfoy. Yet again, we have a red herring in the mystery. First it was Snape. Then it was Malfoy. The whole book revolves around the creature, it’s master, and the location of the chamber of secrets. Once again, the location of the chamber of secrets is just the plot device. What makes it significant is that finding it enables Harry to find and save Ginny. And, of course, it reveals that it was Voldemort all along, this time trapped in the memory of a diary. More upping of the stakes and the introduction of an element (the horcruxes) that will come back later.

In book 3, we hav ethe mystery of Sirius Black. Why did he betray Harry’s parents? Surprise! He didn’t. It was a red herring. The real culprit was Peter Pettigrew who supposidly died on that same night. Harry has been seeing Peter’s name on the map and we wonder why. it turns out he faked his death! And Sirius was innocent! This ups the stakes because the whole climax revolves around saving an innocent man from a cruel fate.

You’ve noticed so far that every mystery has had a red herring, but hints placed throughout for the true culprit. And it has a plot device that more or less serves to raise the stakes. Nicely enough, the plot device is all in the book title for us.

In book 4, the mystery is: who put Harry’s name in the goblet of fire? Red herring: Karkaroff or Snape again. True answer: Barty Crouch Jr. Does it actually matter who set up the goblet of fire? Not really. It’s really just a way to up the stakes more by having Harry witness Voldemort’s return.

In book 5 the mystery is: way more nebulous. There’s the question of why is Harry seeing through Voldemort’s eyes and what does it mean? Voldemort starts manipulating their connection to get Harry to pick up this prophesy. It’s kind of interesting but the REAL purpose of going to find the prophesy is to rescue Sirius and then raise the stakes when he dies, leaving Harry once again without a treasured loved one. 

In book 6 the mystery is twofold: what are horcruxes and who is the Half blood prince. The answer, you guessed it, ups the stakes. Horcruxes hold pieces of Voldemort’s soul and to kill him, they must be destroyed. And the identity of the half blood prince? Satisfying because it comes after Snape killed Dumbledore.

In book 7, the mystery is finding the horcruxes and also the deathly hallows. Though the deathly hallows are far less significant than the horcruxes. The ressurection stone serves a thematic purpose more than anything. And the point of the Elder wand is that Voldemort was never it’s owner. Harry is supposidly the master of death and so it’s more tied around that theme. The horcruxes are more central to the plot as finding each one enables Harry to ultimately kill Voldemort. This book is like a bunch of mini mysteries, but the mystery, once again, isn’t the point. It’s all leading up to the final confrontation with Voldemort which Harry wins with this really powerful speech and conversation.

So J.K., if we review, we see that your mysteries are well written with excellently placed red herring, sprinkled with plenty of hints to make the twists legitimate. But, at the end of the day: the answer to the mystery isn’t the point of the story. It was a vehicle to raise the personal stakes for the characters (though still tied very closely to the plot).

So...Aurelius Dumbledore. Let’s talk about that, shall we?

First of all, you try to set up the Lestrange family as a red herring. Except...we know nothing about the Lestrange family at all. When you introduce the idea that “he might be a Lestrange” our only thought is...Oh. Cool. What does that mean? How does that have any bearing on the plot? It’s also clumbsily introduced because we’ve only just met Leta Lestrange. And found out she had a brother who died. And that people think it could be Credence. But it’s not like...we’ve spent time with this character and gotten to known her sorrow over her brother’s death. It has to be TOLD to us. The whole backstory has to be described in order to have any weight. Leta’s half brother (who we don’t care about) describes Leta’s history for no reason as if to say “haha, HERE’S the answer”. Only to be like “ACTUALLY JUST KIDDING IT’S NOT THE ANSWER! YOU were FOOLED”.

No we weren’t. We had no context. We had no ability to guess this twist. This is the equivalent of “You’re a vampire Harry” “I’m a what?” “Haha, just kidding. You’re a wizard. Fooled you.”

So, whatever. The red herring is thrown in there for no apparent reason. They try to make this  a mystery when it didn’t need to be. But surely the answer...the reveal...matters? Right?

Haha, guess again. Here’s a question, J.K. What does Credence being a Dumbledore change? Why does it matter? Are you saying that because he’s a Dumbledore, he’s more powerful? Because that sounds like some pureblood bullshit right there. I could have sworn the whole point of Harry Potter was that blood ties didn’t matter and the strength of someone’s magic was like...personal or some shit. That’s why Hermione is powerful, right? You’re surely not saying that coming from a good family is what makes your magic strong right? So Credence being a Dumbledore shouldn’t be what actually gives him the power to face Albus.

Does it raise the emotional stakes? Not really. Dumbledore never knew this brother. This isn’t a Leta Lestrange situation of “I had a brother and he died”. Dumbeldore doesn’t even know Credence exists so he has no reason to care yet. This reveal effects NO ONE, except for Credence himself. It does not advance the plot. It does not raise the stakes. It is little more than a fun fact. Credence could have just been a really powerful wizard because of how he was able to suppress is obscurus for so long. He didn’t need to be special.

It’s as pointless as the Nangini reveal. It’s just...trivia. It’s a twist to be a twist. It doesn’t effect the plot. Lord knows Nangini does FUCK ALL in this movie. At most, it gives Credence an excuse to go with wizard hitler, and that’s just...so weak. He wasn’t concerned about where he came from in the last movie.

I just...he could have just been a powerful wizard. This movie has so many answers to questions I never asked: the history of the Lestrange family, Credence’s identity, Nangini’s backstory. No one needed or wanted these things. And what’s weird is that this involves so much retconning of Harry Potter canon. Weird how this whole “Dumbledore had another secret brother” thing was never mentioned in previous books or histories. Weird how there were NO HINTS in the original books about Nangini being a cursed snake. Weird how APPARENLY LETA IS THE LAST LESTRANGE BUT YOU JUST KILLED HER SO WHERE’D BELLATRIX’S HUSBAND COME FROM?

The mystery could have been removed and not made a difference. And the film treats the reveal like it’s some big deal. It’s not. It does not raise the stakes. Grindelwald himself raises the stakes by actually convincing some good people to join his side. I guess maybe a movie called Crimes of Grindelwald should have been focused on him right? And the other characters? And not bloated with this pointless mystery?

J.K. I know you can write mystery. I’ve seen you do it. A good mystery is made from keeping it simple, building in hints naturally, including well established red herrings and making the actual mystery drive the plot forward.

This...was an after thought. A way to distract from meaningly developing your five million characters and a sorry attempt to try to keep to the formula that you don’t seem to know how to execute anymore.

(Final note: I enjoyed parts of the movie. I thought the ending was over all strong and I actually loved Leta’s character. Also, shockingly, Grindelwald was one of the best things about this movie and I thought I was going to hate Depp’s performance. It’s a shame that so many of the characters had nothing to do because I bet they could be interesting. So, you know, what a mess. There are good parts but they don’t fit together to tell a cohesive story

[hexblooded]

warning: very long rant about COG and also some spoilers

Okay, so, balancing out the good, the bad and the completely unnecessary, it was not a bad movie. It kept me entertained enough, but it brought us all the build up and none of the pay off.

- first off: too many characters. I mean, they weren’t all unnecessary (Nagini and Nicolas Flamel and time traveler McGonagall aside) but if they had spread the plot into two movies, there would’ve been time to explore everyone way better.

- Newt is apparently the protagonist but he barely had a storyline besides kind of connecting all the actual front liners (I just need more Newt licking the floor and baby niflers)

- I wanted to see Tina doing her digging and detective work, I wanted her to be the one to find Credence and go with him to find Irma. In the first movie she shows such a sense of duty to him, and they just didn’t do that justice in COG, mainly because she had so little screen time.

- I wanted more Theseus, I wanted more Leta, I loved when he tried to get to her on the ending but I wanted to see them actually interact, I wanted to watch him seeing her struggle and comfort her, I wanted her to confide in him, I wanted to see him go to Newt and tell him “she needs you right now.” Because he knows they have an unique connection and she doesn’t need her fiancée, she needs Newt.

- The movie is called crimes of Grindelwald but, huh, the only thing he does is basically give crazy eyes and convincing speeches? Peoples kept talking the whole movie about how convincing and alluring and manipulative he is, but there wasn’t nearly enough of that (see the Queenie point below.)

- Quennie’s decision to join Grindelwald could also have been explored deeper. They tried to show her being overwhelmed and lost and pushed away and left behind, but then she has one conversation with Grindelwald and is convinced? I think it would take more, specially with her legilimency. If the process had been slower and they had taken the time to show the depth of the toll of not only being a legillimens, but also being shunned by her association with a muggle, and Grindelwald taking advantage of that and using his charm and wit to deceive her into joining him, that would’ve developed the whole story way better.

- Also, no Goldstein sister interactions? What if Queenie had found Tina but she brushed her off because of her obsession with the credence case? And then later Tina completely breaking because while she was so focused on Credence she let Queenie slip right through her fingers?

- And what’s with the sudden forced romance between Newt and Tina? I liked them in the first movie because by the end they were that easy going yet cute relationship, that had room to evolve naturally and, well, slowly into a couple. They could’ve shown details like she read his book and he kept her promotion clipping, but there was no need for the mistake with the wedding announcement thing and her being jealous and all that. It just didn’t work.

- And don’t even get me started on all the wasted potential of a Leta and Tina friendship (or, you know, just give me the gay, please?). We had just one or two glimpses (Tina’s embarrassed hi and Leta helping her out of the suitcase) but just imagine them hitting off right away because in more ways than one they are cut from the same cloth. Just, Leta absolutely didn’t need to die, she didn’t need a ‘death redemption’ and there was no need to ‘get her off the way’. It’s just very very bad writing.

- Dumbledore was okay, Jude Law is a gift for humanity and well, we know Dumbledore, so there wasn’t really that much, besides backstory (I need Toby Regbo and Jamie Campbell Bower to have a dramatic breakup scene okay?) that they did start now but with the overcrowding I’m not mad it’ll get pushed into the later movies, to explore anyway. And I can get past them having him teach dada because they did not have to cram another character in and they did need the boogeyman scene, if only for more baby!Newt and baby!Leta.

- And I’m not even gonna go there with the Aurelius thing because, sigh, just no.

Mainly, it was a film with potential, just badly scripted and structured. They have an amazing cast but don’t have good enough material for them to showcase their acting abilities. They just need to stop with the thousand isolated storylines, actually have the cast interact with each other and stop with the plot twists just for shock value and don’t try to bite off more than they can chew, they have 3 more movies, they could have afforded to slow down a little and choose more carefully what to explore in this one.

[vacantbloodbones]

The Disappointing Crimes of JKR

so it’s 2 am and I have a fight to finally get home (i’ve been MIA for a while because I needed a vacation tbh) THIS IS A LOOOONG ONE, YOU’VE BEEN WARNED! but on one of my flights I finally got to watch FB2 and it’s taken me a while to gather my thoughts. Like, I knew the disappointing confusion I was signing up for... I had seen SO many YT reviews on the film and from HP fans to just FB1 fans had gathered their opinions... and it was all negative...  So I had my apprehension going into watching this (thank fuck it was free) and I’ve got a lot of my own opinions to say... So if you are aware of myself, you know that I actually loved FB1 and how the flow and characters went. Genuinely, I think as a stand alone film it was actually a good, comprehensive piece of story and film; you had exposition, build up, character development, tension, climax and fallout/outro/conclusion...  So, what went OH SO WRONG in FB2, in my humble-ass opinion?  Well, lets get into this adventure with me, pals... stick with me as I rant my good ol’ heart out, grab some snacks, a drink, maybe some liquor of choice (in my case).  In the beginning, there was... well, absolute confusion??? For an entrance into a film, especially a franchise that has a previous film, I firmly believe there needs to be SOMETHING that explains and ties the previous entry to the latest one... Especially since this series hinges on a handful of characters (Newt, Tina, Credence, Grindelwald, and Queenie + Jacob) and to just throw us into Gellert’s VERY confusing transfer to Europe’s Ministry to answer for his crimes... The intro threw me off; there’s a time jump and there’s an extreme LACK of having our previously established characters development and fallout from the first film being EXPLAINED so we (audience) can make a connection to this next entry.  Like, Credence’s survival (yes, I’m well aware of the deleted scenes that were actually supposed to be shown at the end of FB1 according to Yates...) because we don’t get to connect the dots on screen of HOW and WHY Credence and his Obscurus survived with the additional information of his Obscurus being HANDLED (like, wasn’t the premise of the previous film the urgency of how this THING was going to KILL him and EVERYONE in NYC?), him finding his adoption paper, getting to Paris and into a travelling circus (which, also... makes no sense??)... We’ll put a pin on that for a bit here...  Also, Tina and Newt’s relationship; we really are left wondering how and why they are even romantically involved as the first film established them as strangers to mutual friends at the end... Something that should’ve been shown on screen could’ve been Newt choosing to continue his Beasts studies and books over staying and risking himself being in America for his love interest, Tina. Again, put a pin on that for now...  But instead, I just felt the into to the film was as vapid as JKR’s writing when she simply just doesn’t care for CONTINUITY and actually making sense of ANYTHING.  But nnnooooo, we just get an hour and a half of meaningless exposition and threads that aren’t even expanded or given closure to...  Gellert putting Abernathy as his doppelganger really pissed me off, because we never are shown an inkling as to WHY Abernathy chose or perhaps had always been on Gellert’s side (could’ve even expanded on the idea of Abernathy playing a role in Percival’s capture/implied death in the first film)... Even Seraphina doesn’t mention or show ANYTHING about their most powerful wandless wizard being GONE... he was SOMEONE alive and WORKING in MACUSA for a substantial amount of time... that had connections, powers above anyone, and obvious trust and influence to Seraphina... which also begs the question, why is there such a heavy emphasis on Gellert using his wand magic, when he had been using wandless while impersonating Mr. Graves?  Now, to get into another huge issue; character development continuity: How did the time jump from the intro give us very DIFFERENT characters than the one’s we had been introduced, learned to love/hate be turned into vacant shells of all their development?  Like, I’m sorry but what in the actual FUCK did JKR do with Queenie’s character? She seemed like a genuinely sweet and subtly powerful witch that used her gifts to her advantage... to this, desperate, powerless, and lost character? The Queenie we were shown had a sparkle for adventure and curiosity that gradually came to admire Jacob and truly was heart broken when his memory was erased--to kidnapping him, putting a love charm against his will, and forcing him to go to London with her? She acted the very opposite of who she is and she seemed to have strong morals to stand by her sister’s side, help no-maj’s out, and using her powers for what she felt was right.... To being hapless in Paris, because she wouldn’t own up to her kidnapping and using magic on Jacob against his will, and then DECIDING to JOIN Gellert’s very VAGUE AND STRANGE CULT.  Newt seemed more like a confused boy the entire installment with flashes of him and his abilities with connecting to beasts, thrown into this second installment as a reminder that “fantastic beasts” is in the title of the movie...  Also the broken up dialogue; I DIDNT GET A SINGLE STRAIGHT ANSWER IN ANY GODDAMN CONVERSATION HELD BY ANY CHARACTER! like WOW for a two hour+ movie I got ZERO dialogue that made me go ‘ahhh i get it now!’ no, everyone was running away from each other like a grade-school gym dance.  Jacob was still, sort of, Jacob... but he and Newt’s friendship didn’t feel authentic in this film as it did in the previous. The banter (or lack thereof) was kind of just a callback to me of saying ‘ahahaha, dont you remember Jacob being funny in the last movie????? well look at this funny moment thats totally not needed!’  EVERYONE AVOIDING EACH OTHER FROM MISCOMMUNICATION LIKE THEYRE TEENAGERS REALLY MADE THE ADULT TONE OF THE LAST FILM JUST FALL FLAT... I had screamed internally every time some interaction happened and then someone RUNS AWAY! like, aren’t they adults??? even HP films has young TEENS being more accountable and willing to talk than every adult in this MOVIE.  Lets get into Gellert’s confusing vague cult of reasoning; Gellert’s wishes and aspirations and him killing people and children to comparing his reasoning that he will stop WW2 with his hookah skull... just didn’t make sense, I’ll also add that Gellert’s LACK of character really just pissed me off, like, Voldemort wasn’t revealed until waaaay later and even when he was a face on the back of someone’s bald ass head; made a more CONVINCING and REASONED character with his motives. Gellert just seemed like a casual shit disturber and running a murderous vague cult because Albus won’t do shit and he knows it... He’s like an angsty teenager that never got had someone sit and hug it out type deal. Also, the way he treats his followers and the lack of showing HOW he got so many followers; like, I’m sorry but how did this angsty man-baby get followers???? Oh, right, he used his words that... AGAIN, fall goddamn short even when we FINALLY got to see his “gathering” and “speech” that was so hyped for almost 2 hours... It didn’t make sense to his reasoning or why he was acting out IMHO.  Alright, now let’s get to the character introduction... or really, half-assed intro to the many people I COULDNT CARE FOR... Expect my personal surprise with Theseus, we’re introduced to a man that seems more compelling and complex than Gellert (seriously tbh). Somehow we’re led to believe a guy who constantly (as we’re shown) to reach out to Newt that HES the one making their relationship complicated? When it becomes apparent that Leta and Newt are the two with complicated history and Theseus loves them both deeply????? Enough that he just stands back knowing damn well Newt and Leta have a past but he’s secure in his relationship between all both people he just wants them all to get along. Now, I get that Theseus wants Newt to be an Aura, but we’re also shown he has his reasons to help Newt (ultimately); Theseus showed more character development than ANYONE in this ENTIRE MOVIE (well Albus is second in this) but him CHASING HIS BROTHER TO GET ANSWERS is somehow ‘BAD TEMPER’ according to Tina... like really, almost all the female characters were lacking level-headed sanity purposely written by JKR so I would resent the characters I had grown to actually like???? Nagini is just thrown into the plot as a mother-like figure for Credence but Credence is displayed as some selfish man-child, he can’t reason with Nagini and it leads to their strange relationship ending with Nagini feeling betrayed. And then there’s Leta and her over-played storyline to be cut short by her sacrifice that literally didn’t do anything for the plot but make me want to punch a wall because Theseus is left with a broken heart and a brother who will ditch him in a minute to talk to Albus...  There were other characters that were so lacking in development that if any or all of them died, I felt like I could still sleep like a baby knowing that JKR had made such shitty vapid characters and lack of development, I felt NOTHING for practically everyone. Albus, Theseus, and Queenie had the most emotional complexity but even then, I’m giving them kudos because everything else was lacking so much I clung onto whoever threw an emotional fit first.  The whole dynamic between Albus, Gellert, and Credence really just angered me. Red herring the entire premise of Credence wanting to know his identity so DESPERATELY he was willing to join Gellert’s vague emo posse of a cult, only to be revealed as not a Lestrange (which we had been hyped tf up to know) as, instead, THE BRO ALBUS AND NOBODY IN THE HP UNIVERSE APPARENTLY KNEW OR WAS EVER EXPLAINED JUST WHY ALBUS’ BABY BROTHER IS ON A BOAT TO AMERICA (i’M GUESSING THIS EXPOSITION WILL BE EXCRUCIATINGLY TOLD ONLY TO BE SOME OTHER LIE AND BAM CREE IS DEAD)???? But YES lets not elaborate on the queer baiting of Credence, Albus, and Gellert... JKR just wanted to hype us up for nothing and all of Credence’s development and complexity is summed up to ‘lol ur a dumbledore, cree’ really is a slap to the face. Albus being trapped a majority at the school was a half-ass way for us to not have Albus confront Credence to get him to fin d his answers at Hogwarts... Lets be real.  But basically, everyone wasn’t themselves, people we were introduced to were flatlined or placed in stereotypical tropes, and every exposition turn was a red herring thats never elaborated on or concluded... the lack of goddamn comprehensive dialogue, and we got queer baited by the ever infamous JKR....  and my final take: WHERE THE FUCK IS PERCIVAL GRAVES?????  So, this was my long-ass ranting about this movie and why I probably watched it for the criminal reasoning to hurt myself and be disappointed in the end... Was i surprised? NO.  Am I going to watch the next installment... maybe... just for closure to this epic failure of a second installment.  Thanks for making it to the end, I hope this was less painful than the actual film. 

[modernday-orpheus]

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them: Crimes of Grindelwald, A Review

This got pretty long really quick so i put it under a read more. Spoiler alert obviously but please enjoy!

Alright, let’s take it from the top. Grindlewald’s escape. For I second, I almost believed he was locked up. Then I saw the look the dude have him in the room where he was kept. I knew something sketchy was going on.

I’m,,, weak for Newt and his suspenders

Poor Queenie

She just wants to get married to Jacob LET MY GIRL LIVE

“I’m not crazy.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“No, you just thought it.”

Damn… These two caught me hard with the feels.

Newt! Holds! His! Want! In! His! Mouth!

He is soft

Did anyone else notice it was Cormac McLaggen’s relative who stood up for Dumbledore? Iconic.

Also!

Jude Law as Dumbledore? I’m living for it

On a related note

Johnny freaking Depp as Grindelwald is truly spectacular

Dumbledore as DADA teacher? Yes please more of that ASAP

I loved Lita! She’s my queen! she could probably crush me beneath her foot and I’d thank her tbh

Um,,, young Newt is the cutest 

I’m really happy we got a little more backstory for Newt and Lita’s friendship

Newt and Theseus, name a more iconic duo, I dare you. You can’t.

two words for you: baby Nifflers. never have i ever seen a cuter animal.

Queenie crying on the curb had me crying in the theater and you’re lying if you say it did’t break your heart just a little.

So is nobody going to talk about how Grindelwald, aka Wizard Hitler, showed them clips of WW2 as a reason to forrow him? No? Okay.

Credence is another Dumbledore, neat, cool, great, I think Grindelwald is lying. Hes a manipulative son of a bitch and I wouldnt be surprised.

So the ministry coming after Dumbledore for every possible reason has aways been a thing, even in the 20s? Great.

Newt’s connection with his beasts is precious, I love how much they trust him just automatically,

Pickett is so sweet

Pickett and Newt going for the button in the beginning of the movie!

Dumbledore and Grindelwald’s oath had me shook. 

We! Met! Nicholas! Flamel!

This whole movie had me quaking

When the Niffler came back with the little oath thingy i said, out loud, “ Yes! Good! That is a very good Niffler! 

Hello yes I need a Queenie redemption arc already

Poor Jacob, that sweet man probably blames himself for Queenie switching sides.

Newt showing Lita the Bowtruckles.

Tina “I can handle it” Goldstein

So are her and Newt together or...?

For their entire salamander eyes scene I was just murmuring “Please don’t say it, please don’t say it” over and over again as though Newt could hear me.

thEN SHE SAID IT

IT WAS SO CUTE SHE KNEW WHAT HE WAS TOO EMBARRASSED TO SAY AND INSTEAD OF BEING INSULTED SHE JUST SORT OF SMILED AND THAT WAS SO GOOD

“I’m not to supposed to say” A FULLY GROWN ASS MAN!!! WHO GAVE HIM THE GODS DAMN RIGHT TO BE SO FREAKING ADORABLE!!!!!

Credence just needs love

Nagini deserved more screen time

Also,,, Nagini used to be a person apparently?????

Grindelwald better cut the shit trying to manipulate Credence

“Oh Newt, you never did meet a monster you couldn’t love.”

Damn girl, just damn

We really got to see more of Newt’s character this time around and it was much more clear why he’s a Hufflepuff

“I don’t do sides."

"I've chosen my side."

He just has such a kind soul. He's not doing this because he has to, he was even given the chance to refuse, he's doing this out of the genuine belief that what's happening is wrong and things need to change. I love him so much.

I also loved that moment in the tower with Young Newt and Lita, it was such a good moment of two people who, although they don't quite understand each other, can exist in perfect harmony.

"There are no odd creatures, only blinkered people."

I literally am in love with this movie someone come yell with me about it in my dms