Care of Magical Shippers Episode 9 - Krum on, Romione! UNCUT

11:13PM Aug 24, 2021

Speakers:

Care of Magical Shippers Podcast

Megs

Nathan

Megs & Nathan

Keywords:

hermione

krum

ron

people

books

feel

talk

ship

viktor

fic

yule ball

characters

quidditch

bit

nathan

point

wizards

episode

victor

excited

Hi patrons it's Megs here. Please enjoy our hot mess of an uncut episode.

You're on the canon ground, I'm up in crackship space. let's start a shipping war, don't care if i get hate. don't like my pairings? well thrn you can hit the bricks - this is my OTP, I'll go down with this ship. I don't care, I ship it.

Okay. So I'm really excited about this one.

I have to say, normally with an episode I do a fair bit of like preparation in advance to like research and talk about stuff. And I had fully intended to do that with this and then none of it happened. So I don't know what's gonna happen.

Oh, that's fine. I read two fic i think but I have like thoughts anyways, well, we talked about this last time how honestly, we could just pick a ship and just start talking about it because we just work our minds through it regardless because we know everything so it's just like

yeah, this is i mean it's it's gonna be was it is right? i mean the listeners the listeners that are oh geez knows by now and know that whatever we do, is gonna be good. Just

Absolute nonsense.

This just might be a little bit of a different brand of nonsense. This week, we'll see. Plus I have been -

You have been drinking. So yeah, disclaimer, everyone. Nathan has been drinking, and I can't wait to take advantage of that. So - apparently once -

I'm a little bit a little bit disconcerted by how quickly you jumped on that, you were like, "yes, I'm taking advantage!".

Yes, exactly. Because I don't drink so it's always funny to see what other people do so but honestly, I'll probably just be normal. Just because we're,

I dare say I'm crazy enough that -. And even when I'm, I'm crazy enough to even when I haven't been drinking, it always seems like I have somehow.

So So. Yeah. So

I think Yeah, people ask me if I'm on drugs like, like, "Are you? Your eyes are dilated?" I'm like, No, I'm just really excited. Like, I don't know what to tell. Besides like, like,

I have I have two volumes, zero and 1000. And there is no there is just no middle ground.

No

Sorry about it.

So But anyway, yeah, we are here Care of Magical Shippers making an episode for you. Like, like we're supposed to do so.

And I think if my calculations are correct, I think this is episode nine. Unless we do some weird switcheroo with the episode numbers.

Oh my God. Oh, what are you doing to me? Okay, everyone, so it's episode nine or we'll dub in "Episode 11" [laughter].

I wanted to do that anyway it with nine like, like I'm saying nine now you guys know it's number nine. Nathan's just gonna dump in nine over me saying, nine. We're just gonna add like a load of echo to the word. So it's just like nine nine. So good. Yeah. But yeah, Meg's here, you know, you should know that by now. But, you know, who knows? We got some young people. Maybe this is your jam. And you're getting getting to us for the first time, which is exciting. So

I am not entirely sober Nathan. Yeah. And this week, we're here to talk to you about a poly ship. Yes, we are.

Yes. Yes. Yes. So this week, we are talking about her myeni Ron, and Victor Krum

I was like, okay. It was like it's mediocre. It's tepid. And then you come and tell us how you really feel Nathan? I'm sorry. Look, I know there are lots. There are lots of remaini stands in the world. And I don't mean to be, I don't mean to diss you. I know that you're that and I love you and I am here for you. But at the same time, I'm sorry. I just get so much more excited when we bring other people into this relationship. This week, we're going to talk to you about why because basically, we love everything that is non conventional.

Exactly. As beautiful as Romione is as a Canon pairing? It's just like, yeah, we just want to we want to spice things up, we want to do crazy things. And we did that with our first episode, you know, the Harry, Ron and Hermione. So this will be relatively similar but obviously, you know, have its differences because it I mean, from the from the beginning, we're starting with book four because that's when we meet, you know, Victor Krum, and Ron is like this super fan. He just thinks he's the most amazing Quidditch player. I mean, he won't stop talking about him. I think even the twins are like teasing him because he won't stop talking about him. And like, and he gets an action figure at the World Cup and he's just like, all about his and he knows all these these facts like oh, and he's just all into it. He is all about Viktor Krum. And of course, once we get to him coming to school, he's like, I wonder if they'll come sit, you know, at our table, like he's just like looking around between like Fleur obviously it was kind of like a do distracted by her but even for Krum they obviously go directly to slither and table and whatnot. But it's that starstruck of like, Krum there, and he sees him and all of that. And then when he takes Hermione to the Yule ball, of course, that's when we see like the remaining stuff Getting Started but of course, in the in the sense of like this poly situation, or even just Ron and Victor growing is like, he's, he gets so mad, obviously, like, we see his action figure, like rip to pieces, you know, like, he has like a little Krum hair, he finds like a Krum arm like that, or something like that. And I could see just as much as like, feeling jealous of, you know, Hermione and him but also like feeling betrayed that either like Chrome picked her or not realizing his like, bisexuality or, you know, just not able to come to grips with all of those feelings. And of course, Ron just kind of explodes with feelings. Like it's, it's like with us, he's like, zero or 1000. Like, yeah, that's just who Ron is. And yeah, I love I just, I just, I love Ron in the middle of everything. I think that's why I talked about in Haromione that like I saw Ron is like, the central and then Harry and Hermione like being partners with Ron, I see kind of the same thing and that you know, regard to this too. I mean, just what I like when I picture and want even though we obviously have like Krum you know, Hermione no, no, no, just kidding. rolling back rolling back. I don't see Ron in her mind. He together I see Chrome as the central with, with her with her mind he and then. So it's like, we think that he's jealous about her mind. And he he's really jealous of Hermione. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's like, that was an interesting thing that back then that Victoria brought up, like, what's their poly dynamic? Like, are they all together or is solely a couple you know, whatever. So yeah, I don't I don't know. I just, oh, it's just it's just so good. Um, yeah, I'll let you I'll let you talk for a little while.

Okay, let me just step right in. Okay, first of all, I just want to say not to get too kinky too quickly, but we don't know that that action figure was destroyed in rage. I just Rhonda so much fangirling over Krum at the start of the book and they even make up that song for them in the film. I think Fred and George sing it where it's like "Victor I love you, Viktor I do, when we're apart my heart beats only for you." We'll probably cut that out i mean i listen as you know i can't sing but I love it because I'm extra. Oh my gosh. I forgot about that part. Thank you. Yes. They took a lot out of the book, but they also added some bits in and the I mean, not everything that they added was absolute garbage.

Because they're in the tents like after the the thing before the whole decade. And he's like, he flies like whatever. I'm gonna have to find out what he says

no, he says he says it's like a bird the way he rides the wind. Intense about it. And cape and his like soaring majestically, as Homer Simpson would say like a candy wrapper caught in up draft. So. So Ron, does Ron has his, like, fangirling moment. And then, like you say, we see this transitioning into potentially jealousy and hatred, but it's potentially other feelings as well, because we know that Ron is notoriously he's a bit similar to Harry in this respect, right? Where he has feelings, but he doesn't necessarily consciously do anything about them or realize that he's having them. And that manifests in a lot of very interesting ways. I mean, even when he's dating, lavender in book six, she sort of has to thrust herself upon him right, before anything happens, because he is a little bit slow on the uptake, right? Yeah. So So I sort of feel like anything, any romance, any pairing that happens with Ron, full stop has to be not instigated by him, which if we, if we pair him, if we're in this scenario, if we're pairing him with Krum, I can see Krum being the more confident one because first of all, he's a celebrity, you know, and he knows he's desirable. But second of all, he's just older. So he's got more of an idea of what he wants. And I think that puts Ron in a really interesting position, because he's suddenly having to go, Whoa, this, like, Ron is essentially assuming Hermione's position from Canon where Hermione feels desirable all of a sudden, because this massive international Quidditch star fancies her, right, so and then she goes, Oh, wow, not only am I desirable, and not only am I not only does this, you know, it's not only validating me, but it's reaffirming what I know to be true about myself. It's Viktor bloody Krum. So it's not just anybody, this is Victor Krum. And I sort of feel like for Victor to choose somebody like Ron is really wholesome in a way, because it's not who you would expect Viktor to pick, just like, just like maybe picking a mining isn't necessarily a pairing that you would expect to make. But it shows me that Krum is an outside the box thinker, who may be just was he's one of these celebrities that with with being thrust into the limelight so young, he's just looking for that bit of humanity, and that down to earth quality, and I'll let you talk for a bit.

Well, what was I gonna say? Oh, cuz you talked about confidence. So the way I see it, like when they're younger, I mean, granted, Krum is like 18. And they're, you know, 14/15. He is quiet, like, he is reserved, he doesn't like feed into all the celebrity stuff, like girls are like giggling around him at the library, and he just kind of ignores them. The reason he's drawn to Hermione is because she's not fawning all over him. You know, so that's really cool. But then on the flip side, we see at Bill and Fleurs wedding, when he comes in, he's like, what's the point of being an international Quidditch star? If all the pretty girls are taken, like he's, you know, he's shifted in his, you know, confidence because at that point, he's what like, he would be like, 24, not 24 - 20, like in his 20s now, so like, he's, you know, older and doing his thing and whatnot. But, um, I love the stories of post, like, post school. So say, you know, Ron and - Romione me happens, you know, Ron and Hermione are together and they're happy and you know, living their life and then Ron instead of becoming an aura, or instead of becoming, you know, working at Weasley wizard, wheezes, he gets into Quidditch, and then maybe he joins a team with Chrome or joins a team and then has a match against Trum. Krum has a match okay. Krum.

Are we definitely sure it's me that's been drinking? Are we sure about that?

I was just thinking that I'm like, I sound out of control. I'm like, I don't know. I know the listeners are questioning this 100% I'm just Yeah, what was I saying? Oh, Quidditch teams.

Yeah, so Ron will go into Quidditch.

Yeah. So this whole time say Ron is like still like was like low key jealous of Krum in her mind. He and he feels kind of still sort of protective of Hermione. He but not realizing part of it is his, you know, he was his worshipping and feelings for Krum and when they come back together, they have that conflict again, like he just either ignores him Or doesn't really talk to him and crumbs just like what the heck dude and then finally he somehow you see their relationship breaking down and I could see that you know, Ro- a crumb in her mind he reconnecting and either like having, you know, meals together or him coming over and Ron being like, so like unsure what you know, just like oh like Why is he here and whatever in Hermione's finally reading into like, you know, my dude, I think something else is going on. And she could feel like, you know, I realized that like, he was kind of my first love and it never really went away. And they figured out you know, their thing together, and it's just, um, yeah, I like the the Ron meeting him again, like in the future in the Quidditch World. And something like having that angsty build up and then having them, be it Ron and slash Krum or, you know, with the Hermione thing?

So yeah, yeah. Because, right, because you never really got over your first love. I mean, even if you've moved, if you've moved on, and you're with somebody else, and you're happy, there is always that side of you let go that looks at that and goes, Oh, yeah, but I remember how I felt when I was when I was in the middle of that. And I sort of feel like, especially for Hermione, who, we don't really get very much of a read on her as a feelingsy person through the books. She was presented as this very logical lateral booksmart person who, who has to hold everything together for everyone else. But I do feel like Hermione is a deep feeler as well. So I definitely think she wouldn't really get over her first love anyway, regardless of who ever that might happen to be. But like I say, the fact that it's Viktor Krum, and the fact that it, you know, it he whisked her off her feet at the Yule ball. I mean, could you have asked for a more romantic setting - you know, and he was older, and he was cosmopolitan. And he was exotic, because he's from a part of the world that we don't really know where durmstrang is exactly, but it's, you know, it's somewhere that she had never been before. And so he represents all these things to her that are different and exotic, and unique, and strange and wonderful. And in a way, that's how I could see Hermione and Victor picking up again, because there was so much. I mean, even though in the books, they never really pursued anything with each other. There was so much that had the potential to be picked up on and I can see especially if you're saying like post Hogwarts. I can see them getting back in touch and being like, yo, maybe we should go for what would the wizarding equivalent of going for a coffee be?

a butterbeer, I guess?

Yeah. Am I gonna say beer butter again?

Beerbutter corks? Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, butter here or Yeah, pumpkin juice or maybe. Maybe they're going full mead on us. I don't know. Who knows. Yeah. Drink Coffee knows, maybe tea. They gotta be very, you know -

There are definitely like tea rooms. But I feel like so. So here's the thing, right? In the UK, or at least where I was from and how I was raised. Like, we drink tea, like a staple of the day. Like it's our it's our water. It's an it's so it's not really like I drink about seven or eight cups of cups of tea a day. And and it's, it's an addiction, but I'm not sorry. So I don't see it being this thing of like, if you're going to go on a date with someone, oh, let's go for a cup of tea. Because it's so it's so ordinary. It's so what I'm used to that it's not like, Oh, it's really special. That's right, you know? So, so I'm just like, I wonder if they would consider Butterbeer really pedestrian and they'd be like, no do you know let's not go for a Butterfinger. Let's go the whole hog and you know get fire whiskies and I don't know if there are like Wizarding shots, but probably someone is someone is bound to have written them fanfiction someone's probably gone and done a Aberforth fic where it's like how he got into bartending and Aberforth at bartending school and learning how to make sure that all the wizarding drama guys okay this probably does not exist but someone needs to make Okay, if it doesn't exist if you like go on AO3 or fanfiction or whatever website of your choice. If it does not exist, please someone write it and send it okay because I need that too.

Something that I'm going to Add to the website form is or like something is going to be like a prompt page of all the ridiculous notions you or I come up with that we need to be a fic so that people can go and make and write those stories for. Yes. Oh, like a request page guide. So yeah, there we go. So one of those I know that there's a bajillion other ones already talked about that we'll have to go back to.

So you know that one of us is gonna have to go back through all of our existing episodes. Where did we request?

Oh, my gosh, how fun. That would be so fun.

So as we record this, has the website gone live yet? Or not?

It should. I'm working on it. Yes. Now as we're recording, I designed it. And my and hopefully, it's being built today. So at least the beginnings of it. So yes, our [slurred] Yes.

Our webshite.

Webshite? So yes, our website should be up. And I will make sure we have a prompt section because that's just too good.

I am I can I just say whether or not the website is up or not. I have looked at some of the early like, photos and design ideas for it. And it looks incredible. I am so excited. Like I can't wait to go on. And look at every look at all the things and look at all the like different sections like merch at the Patreon all the links in one place. It's so exciting to me. I know like it's probably really nerdy and nobody's gonna be interested, but I don't care. I am excited to go it's like it's like, oh, my gosh, yes, we are. So yeah, so before I got sidetracked by the website, we were talking about like, possibly Viktor and Hermione getting together. Yeah, yeah, with with like fire, whiskey and shots. Um, so

I could see her mind a being some sort of like, international like, I don't know, like, whether it's not at the ministry or something like that. But like having something that she travels for work or have something that maybe takes her to wherever Viktor lives and because she would know where he is like, obviously, they wrote to each other she would and yeah, so just kind of like, hey, it's been a while let's, you know, get together or whatever. And then she kind of like feels those butterflies. And then finally, he's like, oh, I'll actually be you know, in London or whatever. During this time for this random thing. We should see each other again. And then that's where she and Ron probably come and they meet up and then it's just like, oh, that just did. I just, I just, I just, I love of course. I mean, we talked about this all the time. I love slash I think it's the most interesting and best thing ever.

[in a Davey and Goliath voice] So do I.

We are so slashy it's not even funny. Care of magical Slashers.

We can't call it that because people are just gonna figure pissing all over fanfiction for the rest of time. Care of Magical Slashers. If you need to slash come listen to us.

Because of course, I'm just thinking about, you know, like Ron and Victor. And I'm like, Oh, yeah Hermione's there too.

Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we really should have done a Ron and Viktor episode, but it would have been harder to justify so Herione's there too. Yeah, we really are all about the slash, I know that biases us. But hey, if you really love het ships, and you think there is so much good het material out there that we're not discussing, come on the pod and talk about it with us. And then you can balance out our wheel of crazy that is tilted way down into the slash spectrum. Because Because, you know, we want to present this in a way that is accessible and fun for you. So if you're like, Hey, there is all this great het stuff that you haven't talked about. Tell us about it. And we will feature it and/or you if you potentially might like to and have a lovely voice which I'm sure you do.

so sometimes I mean, we're here to learn and grow and obviously we look into things but that's why we love you guys in the fandom because it's because of you that we want to do this and learn so we're not going to know everything: we learn from you guys. So we need you with some of them that we don't understand. We need people who do to like explain it to us and convince us like we try for you, like we're trying to we're trying to do like, hey, here, we're here to explain and help you understand. So we need that too Yeah, we're not, you know, that's just, yeah, we're not perfect. I mean, you know,

we're all, we're all learning, we're all learning about all the sexy things in all the different permutations. And I'm just excited about finding more out about everything full stop, but it just so happens that a lot of the ships that I'm most interested in all tend to fall on the slash end of the scale. So, you know, call us out on it, you know, suggest to us that you think we should be reading and we will go and do that thing. Oh, and before I forget, I also have a little bit of business to take care of, because, because last week, because because in the last episode that we aired (Linny) which was Linny. I did a terrible Eastern European accent which, which So I should like, add a little disclaimer that all of my accents are done with love. And it's never meant to like, right. But so we put a question up on Twitter, asking people to come up with things for me to say in the accent. And one of them, one of them was you have a bug in your hair. And I forget, I forget what the other one was. Oh, I'll have to go and find it. Now. Let me think.

If you go on to telegram to the like, files or images, it should be in there because I sent you screenshots I think Yeah,

yeah, telegram and doo doo doo. have to move your little zoom. Let's see. Why can I not find this? Oh, I'll do it later. It's fine. Let's talk about I'll sweep back round to it. I thought I had it and then I forgot the other one. And now I feel like a complete dick.

So. So of course, when we think of cannon versus movie Krum, obviously in canon Yeah. And books. He's not necessarily seen as like, attractive. Like, it's his celebrity. ness. Like his famous aspect of him that makes him so popular. Like he's got like a broken nose that never was fixed, right? He's just kind of like quiet and, and, like, in into himself and just not doesn't have the confidence that obviously he probably gets, you know, later on, after he leaves school. And yet, in the movies, we get this like, super hot dude, just like, I mean, you even like when I remember what going to the movie. And then Krum comes out and they have the ominoculars and they're like, Oh, it's Krum. And he comes out and he's like, shaking his fist. He's so pumped and he's just a super buff hot guy. And I'm like, Oh my god, what did they do? What did they do? Just like Yeah, but of course for some then they're just that's that's what people think or see like movie characters when you're reading or writing fanfic? For me I still picture who I pictured when reading or listening to the books like when I think of the actor like i don't i don't really I just know him as movie Krum but when I picture Krum my picture whatever the heck that I think he had longer hair and obviously broken nose and something like that. Yeah, I don't know. It's just I but I don't see I don't know maybe people like the ship for you know the sexy things of being like oh my gosh, Krum super hot and what Ron and Hermione together for me, because Krum isn't necessarily super attractive. And like even from beginning Hermione I think it was it was before the Yule ball. But up until that point, her mind he had like oversized teeth. Like you remember she was and she was had the spell from Draco and then had, yes, Madam Pomfrey, make them smaller, and then helped them be like a little more normal sized. So then she kind of become it gets a little bit more attractiveness to her even though when she does her hair for the Yule ball after that. She's just like, Fuck that. Like, that's so much work. I don't want to keep up with that. And she's not really about appearances. And so it's it just shows like, it doesn't matter what you look like half the time because usually people emotionally are like emotionally drawn to each other. And especially once you spend time even if you don't have that initial spark with someone, you can just just having time spent together pulls you together. And I feel like that's what happened with Ron and her mighty obviously. And then Pretend with like, the trio of like Ron Viktor and Hermione that just gives. If it's the movie Krum, obviously, it feels like it could be like hot sexual physical ness. When I think of book Krum, I see very like a lot of vulnerability, I see a lot of emotion driven the ability to make a really like, meaningful, deep story and relationship between all of them. Of course, we know we love emotion. So if there's no emotion in it, like, sound like we wouldn't read it, but we want love, you know, the emotional side of things. So that's kind of how I see it. And when I've read a couple of those fic like, I do see that like, it's Ron learning, like, Oh, I shouldn't just like have this opinion of this dude, because I was jealous of him way back when like, he's really cool. Like, he's actually like, genuine normal person that just wants to be cool with me. And then over time, you know, become something more or whatever. And I yeah, I think it's all three of them post war, get the opportunity to gain the confidence that they probably did it because even kromm was we talked about probably in a prev-. We talked about a lot of things. What am I saying? So, what are you there? Your videos paused. I'm Steve. Okay. I'm Oh, I'm still here. I don't know your videos. Just you're just pa- you're just okay. Yeah.

I didn't pause anything.

Yeah, you're I can hear you. It's just that your video feed isn't isn't

oh my god it has it. It's stuck. Hold on, maybe video and start video. Okay, I'm wondering will that fuck up the audio? I think so. And it shouldn't in theory, it shouldn't fuck up the audio. So if I stop video and then stop start video again. still just a picture of you the same picture? Yeah, I I have no idea what I don't either. Okay, so I think actually my droid cam client has had a moment and so it's not actually zoom. It's the thing that I use to turn my phone into a webcam no problem. I buy myself a bloody webcam and stop being so fucking stingy. Yeah Mr. Grant Money. Yo, man, we don't have that in america that's for sure. Well, it wasn't much but it was enough to cover an audition subscription. Also, I was happy about Yes. So now let me see where is where is droid cam. technical difficulties. Please stand by. Okay, start. Yeah. Okay, we got it. Is it working? we're good. Okay, so now mute preview. Preview. Okay, it should be good. Yes. All right. We got good. Right. So you were talking. So you were talking about Krum. Right. And there's, if we're happy enough to keep talking about Krum? Do you wanna get straight back into it?

Oh, okay. Great. So, so on the subject of Krum, I just have two things that I was thinking about as you were talking. One, the difference between book and movie Krum, you described book Krum as sort of sullen and stocky, and, you know, I'm film crumb as this really hot guy. Now, in terms of this isn't meant as a criticism of the actor. But in terms of Krum in the films in the film itself, I don't think Krum is hot. But then but now going back and looking at the actor, he's insanely hot, right? But I don't I don't get the Krum hotness factor from what is presented to us in the films and you know, I've seen I've seen all the memes where it's like things I want to ride in Harry Potter and it's like a Nimbus 2000 and then way way at the end is Krum. so so I've seen all the memes. I know that people are thirsty. I know that that happens. But for for me personally, that was not an avenue that I was like, Oh, yeah, Krum's looking good!

No, I mean, me. Not me either. But I just know what I was like, okay, they're just making him this. Yeah, like attractive. Famous Quidditch. I mean, Even his presence like he commands the room like he's just stomps in with Karkaroff like all confident like, Oh, yeah, obviously I'm like the coolest hot you know, dude or whatever and in the tundra or wherever the heck they are Yeah, so I just that's what i i love about the books. Krum is because we see him as very humble and quiet and because even like it's like you did the voice like, like Hermione. You have like a water beetle in your hair. Like he's just like trying to low key trying to get her attention back even though she's like, freaking out. Yeah, about Harry and Ron. And I just Yeah, he's like, it's Poor guy. He's probably like, I just went down and saved you. And now you just can't stop freaking out with your two friends.

Yeah, you know, I know. I know. And it must be it must be for someone that is quite withdrawn. To come into such a high energy situation must be really intense to process as well. As so I think it you know, we often see the the Krum/Hermione in a situation from her mind, nice perspective. But I think from his point of view, it's really interesting, because in the books, I don't know if this has ever sort of made explicit, but I sort of got a vibe from him, that he was really being sort of. I'm not sure what the right word is. But minded by Karkaroff to an almost creepy extent.

Oh Yes. Yes. Because he's like, having people bring wine for him or like, he's doting over him. Yeah,

yeah. And it's really, it's like, oh, he's the, he's the celebrity, he is the special one. And all of the rest of the Durmstrang boys are just the serfs, you know, they're just there, we all know that Krum is going to be the champion. He's been pre selected. And, you know, Karkaroff is presented as this really oily, you know, snake oil salesmen of a man who, who you know, with his yellowing teeth, and his, his tiny, wispy beard, it's we're given physical indicators of someone who is keyed to be suspicious from the get go. And I know that a lot of that is a lot of it is to make you suspicious of him putting Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire. And, and JK Rowling needing a red herring, so I understand that part of it. But I also get a really weird vibe from the Krum/Karkaroff relationship, especially considering that Karkaroff was a convicted Death Eater. And, you know, and does have this really shady past. And I sort of feel in a way that Krum is analogous to these really young pop stars, who are who are maneuvered into the spotlight from a really early age, they don't really have a life, they're told where to go and who to meet, and how to act. And, you know, and the whole experience is so intense for them and so overwhelming, that they tend to go off the rails a little bit. So I can see Krum reaching for people, not necessarily Ron and Hermione, but I think they would be useful to him in the situation, where to him, they represent something from the ordinary wizarding world, right? So they're almost his anchors back to what he considers what he might consider to be important in life. And when he's having to rescue Hermione from the lake, a that that is forcing a moment of realization of like, what, you know, what are my priorities versus what is the script of what I've been told to say and think and do for X amount of years? Because we don't know how long he's been chaperoned? Like, right?

Like when did he I guess like when I'd imagine that he probably was whatever, like, poached or recruited at some point while he was at school, obviously, but then he probably played Quidditch for the school. So he had to have been really good but I don't know if it was that point that when he became famous all of a sudden Karkaroff was like, well, kind of like this. Slughorn? You know, like like wants that trophy student that you had an effect on that you hope that they remember and will bring you with them you know, like when he's older Yeah, famous and whatever, like, Oh, yeah, my you know, Professor carcross was always there for me and blah, blah, blah, and like, he's this great guy. And, but, you know, I mean, it's just, um, but yeah, same with Slughorn. Same thing. really creepy. Yeah, it's just it's,

yeah, yes, but Slughorn sort of collected indiscriminately I suppose he he had his favorite certainly, but it was a sort of a wide catchment pool. Whereas with Karkaroff, it's like he said, - I'm so sorry.

I am so we are all we just use our hands. Karkaroff. [In Italian accent] He choosa de one boy, he choosa de one and obsess over him. And he fixate and is terrible! we're so

I am going to offend so many people. Please know that I'm not doing this to you know, play off any stereotypes. Everything is said out of love. But sometimes my brain just does weird things. Yes. With love, it's all in fun. Yeah, so So anyway, the point was that Karkaroff rewally, we only see him obsess over one student. And that to me makes it a lot creepier. Whereas Slughorn;s behavior is a pattern. It's an established pattern. And everybody sort of knows. Oh, yeah, it's Horace, you know, he'll try and collect you if you're in any way, if you in any way showing aptitude for anything, or he might exploit it to his advantage at some stage if you ever get well off in your career. So everybody sort of knows that's how you are around a Horace Slughorn. But with Karkaroff It's like he comes from this school that we don't really know a lot about. We don't really know a lot about the rest of the faculty either. But then he the way he treats the other durmstrang students is absolutely abysmal.

And he's like cleaning yourself up here a mess. You got stuff all over you. Like

Yeah, you can have wine when you're famous. Exactly. You know, I it's absolute the there is a word for it, but my brain is too foggy now to think of it. It is what is that word for like favoritism of one person anyway. It's absolute favoritism. Yeah, there is a better word somewhere in the English language, but for the life of me, I can't find it right now. So sue me.

So apparently, when Nathan drinks he gets to my level. Okay, so everyone knows there is going to be a word at least one word every episode that I have to Google at the end it because I nodded along, pretending I understood what Nathan said, when I really had no idea so.

Okay, all right. I i've been sort of going through old episodes to edit them and, you know, when I listen to them as I go, and then I will say to Megs things like, I don't know what the fuck I was talking about, like, I have No, I haven't. I don't even know what he's talking about. So I don't know how any of you are supposed to be following along. But, you know, I'm working on making I'm working on making what I say more human. Because sometimes I am not really human. But it's a it's a flaw that I'm working on Okay, I'm improving myself. I'm not I'm not eating anything with a shadow. It's fine.

Oh my god. Okay. Wow, okay. Okay, so playing off of that, um, yeah. Obviously, potentially This is like hugging the aspect of like, maybe some like unsavory behaviors going on, like Karkaroff to Krum, which could also affect his personality like why he's so reserved and quiet and because even though he is like this big personality, he's not seeking attention because maybe he's getting more attention than he would desire which could then affect you know, affect someone, obviously, if you know, I'm just gonna say it sexual assault. Like if you reach a point in whatever fashion that that means. Everyone process it processes that differently. And of course, the wizarding world as far as we know does not have therapy, which is like, terrible,

which is bloody awful. All wizards need therapy, all wizards are gay and all wizards need therapy. Yes, exactly.

So you know coming out of leaving school carcross obviously leaves and runs away and ends up killed so he's gone. So you could see that as an aspect of like his quote unquote, you know, predator or whatever or whoever Yeah, is gone,

Or the past catching up with him, literally.

He's gone and Krum can finally live and be free. But obviously you have that trauma, you know, of whatever experience that you carry with you moving forward, and then having someone as compassionate and understanding as Hermione0 or even Ron, being you He can get to that level, like sometimes it takes him a while. But once he understands like something's wrong, or you really open up to him, like as a character, like he can really be like, I mean, you wouldn't imagine him to be as like, potentially stable or supportive as he can be. So I could see Krum needing whatever they can bring to whatever their relationship would be, and that they would be there for him. And it would be it would help him grow and become the best person that he can even with the wounds that it carries.

Yeah, yeah. And I, it's really interesting that you bring up that moving through trauma question, because I feel like we talk about it in terms of the Golden trio so often in terms of the war, right. And so often, in terms of like Voldemort is about so we know, terrible things are happening, people are going to die. And it's awful, and so everybody is affected. But of course, that isn't the only kind of trauma wizards have to deal with. And this is why it is really shocking that no wizards up seem to be actively engaging in therapy at all. But I do feel like there is great -

something Yeah, you're saying that like wizards, you know, having issues to deal with. So something that resonated with me with you saying that is? Remember when fudge goes to the Muggle minister, and he's like, you're wizards, like, get you can do magic, like, why don't you just catch this dark wizard? And, like, that's the problem. They can do magic too. So it's not like anyone is just because you can do magic doesn't mean you're protected. You know, like exists because Krum is an adult and has capabilities and is obviously super talented and able to do complex magic and able to do things that doesn't mean that he is, like invulnerable. Like he's everyone has that, you know, opportunity to be. I mean, look at the death eaters obviously, take advantage of a ton of people and you know,

exactly, exactly. But it's, it's really interesting in that for the vast majority of Harry Potter, we tend to think of, of evil through either the Voldemort lens or the the Umbridge lens, or you know, these really well trodden avenues of Oh, yeah, this is terrible. Because all the wizarding world is is going through Well, maybe not in a not in the Umbridge sense. But even then, you know, we because we all know when Umbridge The situations are sort of deeply relatable, even if you know, that we're not all going through it. But I do think that with with Krum, potentially having gone through some really, really dark stuff, there is also the potential coming out the other side of that the opportunity for a lot of self discovery, a lot of wholesomeness a lot of personal growing, a lot of Yeah, exactly. Healing, right. And I don't feel like enough healing is done in the books. This is why this is why shipping happens. Because part of getting people together at all, is about establishing an emotional connection between people that are similar, right? So the reason ships work is that there's enough similar there for people to vibe with, or even in the case of like, like crack ships, like Snockhart for instance. There's, there's sort of the love hate dynamic there that you can see working, but it's still, the principle is still the same, where it's two people that can deal with what they with what they have been through by being with each other. And that's why shipping is so shipping is therapy for us, in a way. It's like our extended therapy, right? Because, like, it's not it isn't dealt with in the books. And so it's, it's left open ended. And as as humans were, we're natural problem solvers. I think we want to look at things and go, Well, you know, how can I How can I fix this? How can I make it better, and for Krum, and I really do see him ending up with people like Ron and Hermione, who can who can ground him who can remind him what normalcy is, who can tell him that despite this, you know meteoric rise to fame, that he's had. And you know, the trials and pitfalls that have come with it. He is still a human wizard with a great deal to offer and I think it'll be good for Ron to see Krum, not as this mythologized, you know, wonderful Quidditch figure, but as this vulnerable human being with, with an awful lot of stuff to deal with, yes, but who is also more or less? on his level? You're obviously I'm not, I'm not talking Quidditch. But, you know, on on, you know, on his level in that when when Hermione gives the speech of the Yule ball about it's supposed to be about international magical cooperation. Isn't that what shipping is? Essentially, it's international magical cooperation. This is what this podcast is. Yes. Yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah, we are. And so why don't five hours? Oh, it's Wow. Yeah. Yeah. And the fact that we're even able to do it at all. And the reason that we want to do it all is I think therapy for anyone who is invested in this universe.

Absolutely. Yeah. Oh, 100%. And that's what is beautiful about fanfiction is that we can, like we talked about this and the big black dog episode about how it helps work us through our own like issues and traumas and like mental health journeys through characters like living vicariously through those just to get the things that we have bottled up inside out in a way that feels safe for us, versus you know, any other ways that we can do so. But yeah, I just, I, I don't know. I just feel like hair that Krum and Ron and Hermione Yeah, I mean, they have each have something to help balance and offer each other, that make them work together, but also are still very strong individuals, like you can still see them. It's not like one becomes more because of the other person or whatever, they stand alone. But together it's Oh, it's it's great because of course we talked about Krum and Ron have the you know, Quidditch ground that they can go off to and then Krum when he's at the library. I mean, essentially watching and waiting to be able to talk to Hermione but i i'd imagine their common ground is like knowledge and smarts and books, like he actually is really invested in studies and learning and growing and because otherwise, yeah, I don't know. So.

Yeah. Well, I I'm reminded of the line of Emma Watson's. I don't know if it's in the book or not. Because again, I'm a terrible fan. Apparently. I bought that. But Emma Watson has a line in the fourth film, where she's standing on that weird, rickety bridge that they aren't. And she's like Victor's more of a physical being. I just mean he's not particularly loquacious. And she just has has this sort of glint in her eye and you're like, Oh, yeah.

She's like, Krum is more of a physical being like the way she just like, it's not particularly loquacious. So yeah, so so he's like, portrayed as like a meathead. You know, like, in the movie? Yes. He is, like a, like a jock. Yeah, the flip flop. Like he's just I in the books, I see, he's the opposite.

So it will the thing, the thing that gets me about how his character is presented is that we never really see who Krum is, because he's always he's either presented to us through the lens of Quidditch, or presented to us through the lens of the triwizard tournament, where he's a student of durmstrang, and he's under Karkaroff's wing all the time, we don't really know who Chrome is. And that, to me constitutes a real sadness about his character, because it's that thing of, you know, with celebrity status comes this thing of never really being never really having time to be yourself, or never really getting to present that. Outwardly. Anyway. So in the books, we get a really truncated version, and in the films of who Krum could be, and I think, actually, if he got into a relationship with Ron, I could see him you know, embracing this really funny side to himself. If he got into a relationship with Hermione I could see him, you know, tapping definitely into his own intellect a lot more. I definitely think he's naturally curious. I mean, we know He's talented enough to have ended up competing in the triwizard tournament, which you know, is no mean feat. And I think there's an awful lot about him. We just don't know. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't want to find out. Yeah,

I I don't think I've read a Krum like point of view fic like he's a character no in them like it's just but as far as like getting behind his head and now I'm now I'm curious about that. Finding Krum fics where we actually like get to know him. I just yeah, cuz he's another one of those characters that like you say we we get the surface, but we don't get what's underneath and that? Yeah, cuz I yeah.

Yeah, well Krum is one of those characters in the books that when they're introduced into the plot, you know, they're serving a purpose, like they're not meant to be. They're not meant to be like fully rounded, fleshed out characters, Krum fits into the same category to me as fudge does, where he's just, he's there to be a plot driver. You know, he's, he's literally because they have that moment where barty crouch Sr. is delirious in the, at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. And he has a moment of lucidity. And he's like, please go and get Dumbledore, I need to talk to Dumbledore. And then so then Harry dashes off. And but before that Harry and Krum have a little moment, and it's literally just, you know, I can literally hear the words plot device going off in my head, you know, before any of this happens. It's different. I suppose when you're reading it, you're 11 or 12? Yeah. And you're, you know, you're just taking it in for the joy of the story. But what, what fascinates me about what people could do with fanfic Krum, is that you could really go in any direction. You know, with any of the main characters you can, you can take it any direction. But there's a big dearth, a big wealth of exists existing information there that you can draw from, or, or actors, performances that you could go off of, or backstory that you can flesh out with somebody like Krum, there really isn't very much, except in those very short windows that we see him through. So I'm excited to read things that really, like you say, tell the story from his point of view. Because I wonder, I wouldn't you know, because we see with the durmstrang students, for instance, there's there's a little bit of disdain when they arrive at the castle and it's all it's too cold for them. And the food is too stodgy. And they're all like, you know, what, you know, what is this? It's all drafty. And there are statues everywhere. What's going on? We never really hear any of the Durmstrang students being like, this isn't what we used to do. You know, we know that they sit with a Slytherins. And we know that durmstrang has a reputation for teaching the Dark Arts, but because it's so clandestine, again, it's like Krum is a clandestine person coming from a clandestine school that we don't know anything about. So it's like a double bluff. D'you know what I mean?

Yeah, absolutely. Gosh, okay. Is there anything else?

Yeah. So in terms of, in terms of why I think Ron and Hermione work better with a plus, I think, Well, my main thing is that while Romione may be really wholesome, because it's already established in the books, any emotional development that happens with them, is already you know, we see it in the books, so I don't really look for it anywhere else, because it's already happened. So even if there's like post Hogwarts stuff, with a Ron Khomeini pairing, I am not as excited by it as I would be by a different pairing, because I feel like a lot of the themes are going to be the same regardless of when they're being explored, right. But why I think they work better with another person is first of all, JK Rowling said, Oh, I should never put them together. It should have been Hermione And Harry, which I, I take issue with again, because I feel like that's too simple. That's a that's reductive in a way as well. You know, it, it's just a different way to be unjust to two characters. But, but I don't, I have as much of a problem with Ron and Hermione when there is a third person in the mix, because I feel like it's established. Even JK Rowling has established that they have emotional and maybe physical needs that they can't completely meet In each other, so when they say when you add someone else to that dynamic, you open it up, you open the floor up to being like, Okay, what are they going to be like post Hogwarts? What are they going to be like as adults? How are they going to human? I with Krum? That's exciting to me because we've already sort of established that Hermione and Victor were a thing, Ron had the whole adoration slash jealousy thing. So it just it builds on cannon emotions that were already there. And lets you take them and dial them up to 11.

Well, because the the whole thing is these emotions that were given, weren't resolved with Romione they were resolved. We saw the completion the finish the end game, with this trio, we're given a platform to grow from but then we can, yeah, build off of that, and it can be new and exciting and different. And yeah, it'll it totally changes things. And that's so fun.

Yeah, and I feel like the the there are people gonna be perfectly within their rights to say, Oh, you know, run and her mighty work well enough on their own, they don't need a third person. And you know, you might be right for you. But personally, when I look at the book, personally, when I look at the characters, I just think both of them deserve more, both of them deserve some excitement. And I sort of feel like to say that Ron and Hermione belong canonically together is a bit like saying Hermione belongs as Minister of magic. It's, it feels too easy for me. Like, I don't think Hermione would be happy with a ministry job. She is. So she is the brightest witch of her age, she's so powerful. She's so emotionally intelligent, she's just so she's had to be so self aware, for so many years, that I don't think she'd be satisfied. Just being, you know, admittedly, even a very high, you know, very, in a very high position of power within the ministry, but I don't think that would fulfill her. I think she's gonna want to do something that is rooted in her moral conscience, like we see with SPEW. And, you know, knitting all of the elf-hats and things, you know, she she is a, she isn't afraid of taking a stand. She so she still knows her own mind. And this is why I think if she wasn't completely happy in their relationship, she would say to Ron, or they'd have like a really open discussion, because, you know, they can be really candid with each other. Look, this is what I'm not getting from this. Here's what I propose. You know, maybe they have an open relationship. Maybe it's poly. But I just think that it does them so much more emotional justice, to open up their relationship, and it gives me as a reader so much more to get excited about.

Absolutely. We normally, normally, I'm the one going WOO! Oh, my God, I so. So I don't I don't know if we'll keep this in. But as at the time of recording, I've gone back through episode, I think I got up to episode six in the Edit. And I get sick of the number of times I say "woo" something to say. Like, I think I mentioned the other day. And I was like I just I have to stop wooing. Yeah.

So then, when it comes to let's hear voice starting over starting over, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah. So then Nathan, what is your point of view as far as their dynamic like we talked about with like Harry, Ron and Hermione? How do you see? What's your headcanon as far as like their relationship?

Well, as I've already said, I don't think Ron is aware enough to instigate anything. So personally, I don't think he'd be the sort of the center of the triangle. I think I can either see it being Viktor being center, or her mind being the center. And both work for me. Both are you know, I can see both happening. But I just Ron absolutely has his own opinions and knows his own mind. But he's almost like a pinball machine. You have to bounce the ball around a few times before anything lights up. Right.

Oh my! Bouncing Ron around, huh?

not that I'm giving you any ideas

yeah for as as the more we talk about it I mean either a like obviously I like Ron and Krum for sure. So I wouldn't do Hermione central like in my mind so to me probably the three of them like like three of them in a relationship together just because we have the foundation of Romione. And then the the tools and the teasing as far as getting Krum involved with the other two together. I yeah, I see them having their interesting little you know, life together and yeah, I don't know. That's that's how I see it. But yeah, I definitely ship this like, I am definitely all all on board for this one.

I even ship I even ship the awkward, like conversation about boundaries and limits and who who is doing what to who? over like, over like a pot of tea in Madam Puddyfoots or something? Where were they? They're all we're at Viktor's Of course, you know, doubly awkward because there's language barrier there. So maybe he like draws a little sketches? Diagrams? Yeah, yeah, I'm all about that. Because as awkward as it would be in the beginning, I think he could be so wholesome. I mean, I say this about every ship that we do. But I just think as for me, as long as there is potential for emotional resolution, it for, you know, characters, individual struggles, I'm probably going to ship it. If If you were to tell me that they got together and then something, you know, tragic happened to one of them, or they couldn't be together, then I would be like, I'd still ship it, but it would be. It would be marred for me. Like I need to know, really, I need to know with most characters, you know, unless they're inherently unlikable that they end up.

Everyone deserves their happy ending, even Voldemort, apparently because?

Well, yeah but this is the thing is it technically is it technically Voldemort if he never adopted the name?

I mean, yeah, it depends on when you write him, but it's, you know, yeah. Yeah. But anyway, so But yeah, we just yeah, we still we still love to marry. So that's

still on Tomarry. So many weeks later, we have not gotten off our ship. I mean, we've we've stepped onto the deck of another one, but we're just sort of straddling two ships perpetually where it's like, we don't want let go of Tomarry. we're not prepared to.

Our dinghy is just tied up on the side of this boat. And we're hopping back in said dinghy and then going back to our just like, oh, vacation we're going over dahdadahdada. Oh, Nathan, Nathan, Nathan, Nathan. David. Yeah, okay, that's fine. But next week, next week, I feel like this could be the next to marry. Okay, we're doing Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy

Oh, my God. So we went so so to give the listeners a little bit of context, right? We we went through a load of like shipping websites that we made lists of ships. And we were like, Okay, what do we definitely know that we want to cover? And then we were sort of going through and I was reading out things and then I was like, Arthur slash Lucius And then we both stopped and sort of went Arthur slash Lucius - Why have I not heard of that before? So I so it's not necessarily something that I've looked into an awful lot. But we were both chatting about it. We both think it could be really exciting because we're thinking of that scene in the second book, where they have the Muggle duel...

like Yeah. rolling around on the ground, punching each Oh, yeah. Yeah, they are. Yeah. Oh, man. I mean, he's always doing Muggle raids on Malfoy Manor. So you know, like, yeah,

9 in a night.

and one night I mean, whoo, Arthur. Wow. Yeah,

he just loves breaking and entering apparently.. You know. Anyway, more of that next week.

We're not sorry that you're about to start the next episode right now apparently. Yeah. Okay, anyway, so yes, once again, if you have any fic that's Arthur and Lucius, please let us know go to our website, submit via the form send us an email. We do have our Google Voice phone number which is also in the website description, please call us and give us your thoughts as far as this ship or even what we just talked about. We want to know you liked it, or if you didn't, or whatever, please tell us. And we're on the socials, obviously Twitter at magical ship pod, Instagram, you can find us.

You know our handles by now. there is all sorts of stuff in the description. Or if you want to feel like you're at the cutting edge of 1990s technology, you can always leave us a voicemail, because that's that's about as up to date with technology as I get apparently, I've just finished sitting for oil paintings. So this is really progressive of me. Leave us a voicemail and I'll able to understand it and go someone's communicating with us Megs.

Oh, wow, Nathan. Yes, this is - I love you.

I love you too. It's a good job. We're doing this podcast together. So anyway, we'd ruin another couple.

So we're excited to get going on those two dudes. So let us know about all the things and yeah, we will see you in a couple of weeks.

Yes, 14 day wins. No, no, no. And I'm not saying bye either. I'm just going to let it go completely silent. Have it be totally awkward. Just hang there.

Lovely. well that went well!

cool. Okay, so do I need to do my little bit of you know, admin for Twitter about voice thing? Or Really? Yeah, do it. Okay, so I can't find the bloody image.

Yeah, cuz that would be I probably if you do it like a separate thing. I'll probably add it to the next episode. All that quick Good. Good. Good. Good. Good.

So then Are we recording Arthur Lucius this week? Because I thought we had scheduled that in for next time.

Yeah. No, because we had to push later. So because Yeah, yes. almost nine your time.

it's about quarter to 9. we have a little bit of time.

Yeah. We would only have 40 minutes.

yeah, we could do our little like a little bonus. The slash discussion since we brought it up

Yes, we could. Oh my God, I've just realized we've been recording like in audition for an hour and 14 minutes. I really thought we'd have nothing to say. I was so unprepared. I was like nothing is gonna happen. How does this Megs how do we make words often I'm so I don't know. Number one. I'm a little tipsy because I've been on the Prosecco because of Wimbledon. And then number two like because well because tennis players thighs are everything. But then number two, which is woefully underprepared as I haven't read anything, I haven't looked into it. But then somehow I was like bleurgh, and all the words came out. So yeah.