Culture Shock
First Impressions
By Ruskbyte
Reviews
Evan Mayerle posted a comment on Friday 23rd May 2008 12:55am for First Impressions
*snicker* No, this is not going the way Dumbles expected at all and I rather suspect he'd be seriously freaked if he knew how that troll had really been killed. It should be rather interesting to see how Quirrellmort takes his discharge as DADA professor, assuming Dumbles actually allows that to take place.
In the slightly longer term, I don't know who's going to get more weirded by events around *this* Harry, the Culture Minds in-system and/or connected or the wizarding world. It should be one heck of a ride, though.
bobman posted a comment on Friday 23rd May 2008 12:20am for First Impressions
And on a somewhat unrelated note, I've always wondered why, in stories where something is completely vaporised like the troll here, what about the bone? would it be turned into a fine dust and somewhat absorbed by the spray of blood, or would it be shattered, sending fragments of bone everywhere?
bobman posted a comment on Friday 23rd May 2008 12:11am for First Impressions
Great chapter as always. I can't imagine what Dumbledore is going to think after the drone and the comment about Harry having "learned of worlds far beyond [his] comprehension."
Incidentally, one of the only grammar errors (or errors of any kind) that I saw was when Sma was saying that to Dumbledore, and she says "You’ll find that Harry as learned of worlds beyond your comprehension" when it should be has.
Can't wait till the next chapter, and hope you become re-inspired at some point and are able to continue Backwards compatible and/or Flying Without a Broom.
Wolfric posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 10:53pm for First Impressions
Another fine chapter. I suspect Harry and Hermione's future interaction should be interesting. Thanks for writing. W.
Vukk posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 10:27pm for First Impressions
I like very few x-overs with harry potter. Yours is pretty good so far.
sunrisesunset posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 9:28pm for First Impressions
You don't know how giddy it makes me to find out that you've posted a new chapter of this fic. ^^
One hell of an overreaction! But shit happens - in this case, it explodes all over the walls. I think the Mythbusters once tried to see if you could paint a room with a gallon can and a stick of dynamite....
The story is progressing quite quickly, even though you are throwing in so many new elements via the Culture crossover. I like it.
Looking forward to the next installment, but quite satisfied with this one.
amulder posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 6:58pm for First Impressions
Argh, it's too short. Always too short. I want to keep reading. Darn it!
Sigh. well done story so far, I'm keen to see more. His reaction to Diagon Alley will be fun, as will figuring out Sma's position as the term progesses.
thanks for sharing!
t-dugong posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 6:44pm for First Impressions
nice chapter. I wonder if this Upper-Jumping works like a portkey or like the usual apparition. anyways, keep up the good work. :)
314159 posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 6:35pm for First Impressions
PTSD!Hermione and Harry WTF.
GinnyLover posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 6:06pm for First Impressions
Very nice! Cant wait for more!
MagyarEagle posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 5:54pm for First Impressions
I absolutely loved this chapter.
pfeil posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 5:42pm for First Impressions
While I can't say I was terribly surprised at what happened this chapter, I very much enjoyed it.
Hermione being as thankful as she is ought to bring them closer, which I was hoping for, especially now that she's realized that he did something that H:AH says is impossible.
I wonder how long it'll be before she hears him muttering about Hyperspace and such and figures out what's up?
mastapsi posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 5:29pm for First Impressions
Nice work. Good job on forcing the Culture to deal with another OCP. The wizarding world is entirely an Outside Context Problem for the Culture, they don't/won't know what hit them.
On the other hand, the same goes for the wizarding world. The Culture is an OCP for them. It will be interesting to see how this develops.
Cuey posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 4:38pm for First Impressions
Interesting. Not knowing much about the Culture I forgot that Harry would be hesitant to injure the troll. Good chapter.
Robin Patenall posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 4:08pm for First Impressions
I must admit that I was wondering when we'd see another chapter of this the other day and lo and behold we get one. A real corker as well. The collision between the troll and the Culture was always going to be messy although I did expect it to be messy in a slightly more metaphorical sense.
I'm sure that there are several interesting things that Dumbledore's pondering will throw up, the first of which will probably be exactly how Sma knew that Harry was in trouble and exactly where he was. She spent sometime haranguing him before ordering Skaffen-Amtiskaw to go and help Harry, so it wasn't just that there was a troll somewhere in the castle.
Of course, if he does think about that he might decide to reconsider his belief that Harry was the one that liquified the troll. He might not have seen anything like Skaffen-Amtiskaw nor have any idea of its capabilities but must be aware that Sma believes that it was capable of protecting Harry with lethal force and apparently knowing exactly where Harry was in the castle and hiding as an innocuous object.
I wonder if Dumbledore will become suspicious of Harry's two 'familiars'.
Darryn posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 3:36pm for First Impressions
Hi, just wanted to say this is one of the most interesting concepts for a story that I have read in a long time. I look forward to more.
Thanks.
slickrcbd posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 2:26pm for First Impressions
I'm surprised they don't decide to relocate Harry to one of the other schools. The usual barriors to such an action don't exist in this case. Harry doesn't have to worry about the langauge barrier as he can simply download a new language pack, and Dumbledore/Ministry can't stop him either through physical or financial means. It would make sense to choose a safer instution.
Other than that, it should be interesting to see what develops between this Harry and Hermione.
Kaerion posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 2:12pm for First Impressions
Well, you're certainly screwed after this chapter! I'm now completely convinced that you're an awesome writer, so from now on, I'll be expecting nothing but pure excellence! :D
Seriously though, despite how little time the chapter covered, I feel that I got to know Sma even better than before, and your depiction of Dumbledore continues to be just as good as in previous chapters. Among many other things, your consistency in the personalities of the main characters is one of the things I like best about this fic.
What little we saw of Hermione, both her thoughts in the bathroom, and her reactions in the Hospital Wing (immediately focusing on Harry doing something "impossible") was also very, very good. I have a feeling that her clinging to Harry will be symbolic of her later actions, so I'm already looking forward to how their relationship will evolve. I'm also very much looking forward to seeing the consequences of Sma's demands, since they could change a great many things as compared to canon, if Dumbledore actually goes through with them.
I am curious about Dumbledore's immediate conclusion that *Harry* was responsible for their abrupt departure though, rather than Sma, or someone or something else. Did he actually have a good reason for that assumption (such as some kind of visual clue), or am I just thinking too hard about this? :)
And in the great tradition of saving the best for last, I'm totally impressed by your portrayal of Harry in this chapter. I'd started falling into the trap of taking his maturity at face value, and forgetting that he's still just an 11 year old boy, no matter what kind of life he's led in the Culture, and you managed to remind me of, and make me consider those things in a masterful way. His reactions, from the way he froze when he faced the troll, to finally letting his shields down when he got back up to the ship, were 100% what you'd expect, perfectly in character, and made him into even more of a realistic and believable 3-dimensional character.
I'm in awe of you, sir! Keep up the great work!
-Kaerion
vl100butch posted a comment on Thursday 22nd May 2008 1:55pm for First Impressions
I sure didn't expect this....an interesting turn of events...and I'm sure you have more planned.
oh well, I hope your muse is very cooperative and we see the next chapter soon....
the_mean_marine posted a comment on Friday 23rd May 2008 1:40am for First Impressions