RoR ranting

[prillalar]

I wanted to do contrelamontre this week, but I also wanted to do something other than HP and nothing seems to have taken hold of my brain. But there's still time.

I did write a drabble for the hp100 "Room of Requirement" challenge: Need. Hey, it's R/S!

Let me take this opportunity, though, to complain about the Room of Requirement as a literary device. A room that appears when you really need it, equipped for whatever you need. I usually love JKR's inventiveness. But the RoR is so gratuitous and cheesy that, aside from this drabble, I can't bring myself to use it in fanfic. It's too much power without any expense. (Unless every time you open the door, a baby dies in China.)

But I do have some questions about it:

How is your "need" determined? I imagine that this is built into the parameters of the original spell. Is the room intelligent in some way, to evaluate your needs? Or is it just how much you want something? What if [idea deleted because I think I might write another drabble using it]?

What if Fred and George were running down the hallway, needing to escape from Filch and Dobby was coming in with Winky, needing a place for her to sleep off her Butterbeer? Who would find the room? Or would they both find rooms that would be different for each of them?

[Another idea deleted. Damn. That's the problem with discussing this stuff -- it leads to fanfic ideas and then I can't post them, but instead must hug them close until I can use them.]

I must say, though, that drabbles are the perfect vehicle for exploring the problems in ideas like the RoR. Short and to the point, over before they can become too ranty. Unlike this post. Was this too ranty?

Comments

[debchan.livejournal.com]

Was this too ranty?

Naw. I find the whole RoR thing to be, as you said, cheesy, and poorly thought out. Why couldn't Harry just go to it, now that he knows how, and wish for a room that would give him the tools to defeat Voldemort?

However, I am happy to note that I have not seen what I could have sworn would be posted after OotP: Your Couple of Choice Needing a Private Place to Screw With Plenty of Lube. And with candles, flowers, gauzy drapes, or whips and chains optional, of course.

[prillalar]

I think that everybody realises that it's Just Too Easy. I haven't even come across it too much in my badfic reading and that's saying something.

Really, I'm quite impressed with the fandom over that.